The Hongmen banquet between Liu Bang and Xiang Yu has become familiar to people, but do you know that the Northern Zhou Dynasty also staged a thrilling "Hongmen Banquet"? In this Hongmen banquet, which was jokingly called the "copycat version", the five princes died because of it!
【The "Hongmen Banquet" of the Northern Zhou Dynasty】
Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, Yuwen Yong, a generation of male lords, was determined to unify the world, but he died of illness during the Northern Expedition to the Turks. Emperor Xuan of Zhou, who succeeded to the throne, did not have the eloquence of his father and ancestors, but also was extravagant and died in a short life. At this time, Yang Jian, as the prime minister and a relative, quietly controlled the power, and had a hidden intention to usurp the throne.
The five kings, that is, the five sons of Yuwentai, Zhao Wang Yuwenzhao, Chen Wang Yuwenchun, Yue Wang Yuwensheng, Dai Wang Yuwenda, and Teng Wang Yuwen, saw that the country's power was on the side, and they were unwilling to be slaughtered, so they planned a Hongmen banquet, intending to assassinate Yang Jian and recapture the Yuwen family.
This is undoubtedly a Hongmen feast full of murderous machines!
Yang Jian knew that this trip was full of dangers, but he still resolutely went to the banquet. He was full of confidence, believing that the Five Kings were already under his control, and it was difficult for him to make waves.
The five kings returned to the capital, like birds in a cage, and when the news came out, the world was in an uproar. Yang Jian's heart to usurp the throne is like Sima Zhao's heart, and passers-by know it. At this time, the important ministers and nobles of the Northern Zhou Dynasty rose up to resist, forming a trend of "tripartite difficulty". However, at this time of internal and external troubles, Yang Jian still decided to go to the banquet, and his courage can be seen.
The banquet was held in Zhao Wangyu's Wenzhao Mansion. According to the practice of the Hongmen Banquet, there should be a master who secretly ambushes and assassinates the target when the time is ripe. It's a pity that the five kings failed to invite a suitable "Xiang Zhuang", and in a hurry, Yuwen Zhao had to take on this position himself.
After three rounds of wine and five flavors of food, Yuwen Zhao held a melon plate and pretended to be courteous to invite Yang Jian to eat melons. The knife flashed in Yang Jian's throat, but he never made up his mind to stab it.
And Yang Jian had already prepared, and his "Fan Xu", Yuan Guan, stepped forward, buckled his knife forward, and loudly urged Yang Jian to leave. King Zhao was very displeased when he saw this, but Yuan Zhou's momentum was like a rainbow, and King Zhao was so shocked by him that he didn't dare to attack.
King Zhao tried to leave his seat several times to send out a code, but was skillfully defused by Yuan Guan. Seeing that the situation was not good, King Zhao excused himself for water under the pretext of being thirsty, but Yuan Zhou turned a deaf ear.
At this time, King Teng arrived, and Yang Jian got up to greet him. Yuan Xuan took the opportunity to warn Yang Jian to leave quickly. Yang Jian thought that the five kings had no soldiers in their hands and were not to be afraid. Yuan Zhou was very anxious, but Yang Jian was still obsessed and continued to fight with the five kings.
Yuan Zhou heard the sound of sharpening knives and armor piercing in the inner courtyard, and knew that the situation was serious, so he forcibly set up Yang Jian and fled the scene. King Zhao was in a hurry to chase after him personally, but was blocked by Yuan Zhou, and finally watched Yang Jian flee.
[Missed opportunity, regret is hard to eliminate]
This Hongmen banquet ended with Yang Jian's escape. The defeated Five Kings were arrested and killed by Yang Jian on various charges the next day. Soon, the name "Northern Zhou" also disappeared. After Yang Jian pacified the "tripartite difficulty", he forced the eight-year-old Emperor Jing of Zhou to give him the throne, changed the name of the country to "Sui", unified the north, easily eliminated the Chen dynasty in the south, and became the completer of the second great unification in Chinese history.
The success or failure of this Hongmen banquet is only a matter of millimeters. If King Zhao can decisively issue an action order, history may be rewritten. However, history has no assumptions, and we can only learn from it and lament the vagaries of fate.