Four hundred years of turmoil: Yuan Hong died at the end of an era, and the smooth transition of Yuan Xun made great contributions

This article is the 462nd in a long series of articles, Four Hundred Years of Turmoil

On the first day of April in the first year of the Yongyuan Dynasty (499 AD), Yuan Hong died in Gutangyuan at the age of thirty-two, announcing the end of an era.

During Yuan Hong's tenure, he actively promoted the sinicization reform, effectively alleviated ethnic estrangement, promoted the progress of civilization and national integration, and on political vision and governing ability, he could be called the first person in the Northern Wei Dynasty, the only pity was that he died young and did not consolidate the achievements of the Northern Wei reform.

Above the court, Yuanhong was able to select the best and the best, and he was like a stream of advice, and he often said to the minister: "The lord of a country suffers from not being able to be fair and treat people with sincerity, if he can do these two things, even the people of Hu and Yue can make them brothers." ”

Not only was he a great success politically, But Yuanhong's personal qualities are also commendable, and he is very protective of his younger brothers and has never been suspicious of them.

Once, Yuanhong said to Wang Yuanxi of Xianyang and other younger brothers: "After death, if the descendants are not Xiao, you can do it according to the situation, you can assist and assist, and if you can't assist, you will replace it, and don't let Jiangshan be owned by others." ”

Although YuanHong's usage is harsh, as long as the minister is guilty, he will never tolerate tolerance, but if others have minor faults, they can often be lenient and not calculating.

Once, Yuanhong found a bug in the middle of the meal, and another time when the palace people accidentally burned his hand when they entered the soup, he laughed and ignored it, and did not punish him.

In terms of public and private use, Yuanhong has always advocated frugality, every time he goes out on a parade and uses troops, the relevant officials have told him to build roads, and Yuanhong always said: "Simply repair the bridge, you can pass through the carriages and horses, don't eradicate weeds, fill in and level." "I don't want to overuse people's power.

During the March in Huainan, Yuan Hong, as in his own territory, strictly forbade soldiers to trample and damage rice, and if he wanted to cut down the people's trees for military use, he left silk drapes as compensation.

For the palace where he lived, YuanHong was not allowed to repair it unless he had to, his clothes were worn out, he was still worn after washing them, and the saddle of the mount was only made of ironwood.

When Yuanhong was a teenager, he had great strength, was good at archery, and could use his fingers to break the bones of sheep and shoot hundreds of shots of animals and beasts. But after the age of fifteen, he stopped shooting.

He often said to Shi Guan: "When the historical facts of the dynasty are recorded truthfully, the emperor is blessed by himself, and no one can stop him, if the shi guan does not record his evil deeds, then what else can he be afraid of?" ”

Judging from these bits and pieces, even by the most demanding Confucian standards, yuanhong has to be admitted to be an outstanding emperor, which is perfect.

After Yuanhong's death, King Yuanxun of Pengcheng consulted with Yuancheng, the king of Rencheng, considering that Chen Xianda would not escape far away, worried that he would turn around and counterattack after learning of Yuanhong's death, and decided not to send a secret, so he placed Yuanhong's body in the car, and only Yuanxun, Yuancheng, and a few people around him knew the truth.

On the way back to the division, Yuan Xun went in and out of the big tent as usual, serving meals, sending soup and medicine, and dealing with various initiations outside, just like usual.

A few days later, the Northern Wei army arrived at Wancheng, and at night, Yuan Xun and Yuan Cheng pulled the car containing Yuan Hong's body to the county office to load it into a coffin, and then still carried the coffin in the car, and no one knew the truth.

Subsequently, Yuan Xun and Yuan Cheng sent Zhang Ru (張儒), a Zhongshu sherman, to summon the crown prince Yuan Ke (元恪) and secretly inform Yu Lie, who remained in Luoyang, of Yuan Hong's death.

Yu Lie arranged for who would accompany him and who would stay in Luoyang, and his words and deeds were as usual. It was not until Yuan Ke arrived in Luyang and met Yuan Hong's coffin that Northern Wei officially mourned.

On April 12, Yuan Ke ascended the throne and pardoned the world, and Yuan Xun knelt down to him to hand over Yuan Hong's will. This year, Yuan Ke was sixteen years old.

At that time, most of Yuan Ke's subordinate officials of the Eastern Palace suspected that Yuan Xun had different intentions, so they took strict precautions, but Yuan Xun was honest and honest with them, and the etiquette was thoughtful, and finally eliminated the estrangement.

After Yuan Xi arrived in Luyang, he did not enter the city at the first time, but first stayed outside the city to observe whether there were any changes and abnormalities, and waited until it was sure that it was safe before entering the city.

After entering the city, Yuan Xi said to Yuan Xun, "This action of yours is not only hard, but also very dangerous. Yuan Xun said, "My brother is old and knowledgeable, so he knows that there is danger, although I said that I was holding a snake and riding a tiger on this trip, I didn't feel that it was so difficult." Yuan Xi smiled, "You are complaining that I came late." ”

Judging from their conversations, if Yuan Xun had even the slightest selfishness, it would inevitably lead to turmoil.

Subsequently, Yuan Xun and the others gave Empress Feng death with Yuanhong's edict, and King Yuan of Beihai sent Changqiu Qing Baiquan to send her poison, and Empress Feng shouted loudly while running, refusing to drink the medicine, crying: "Where will there be such an edict from the Lord, this is the king who wants to murder me!" Therefore, Bai Zhen grabbed her and forcibly poured poison into her, and Empress Feng was killed on the spot, and was honored as Empress You.

When the coffin arrived at the southern outskirts of Luoyang, YuanXi and the others were sure that Empress Feng was indeed dead, and said to each other: "If there is no will of the former emperor, and our brothers and sisters also want to find ways to get rid of her, how can we let this outlawed woman dominate the world and kill my generation?" ”

After taking the throne, Yuan Ke wanted to make Yuan Xun the prime minister, and Yuan Xun repeatedly stated Yuan Hong's will and asked to go along with his ambitions, and Yuan Ke cried at him with sadness.

Yuan Xun repeatedly requested not to hold a court post, and Yuan Ke used him as an envoy to the seven states of The Military, The Great General of the Horse Riding, the Kaifu Yi Tongsan Division, and the Dingzhou Assassin History, and Yuan Xun repeatedly resigned, but Yuan Ke insisted on not allowing it, and Yuan Xun had to take office.

As long as Yuan Xun was in Luoyang for one day, the clan did not dare to act rashly. When Yuan Xun left Luoyang, infighting broke out immediately.

The infighting began with Yuan Cheng, who believed that Wang Su had defected to Northern Wei for the sake of a man from Jiangnan, but his official position was above him, and his heart was quite uneven. It so happened that Yan Shumao, who had surrendered from Southern Qi, reported that Wang Su had plotted to flee back to Jiangnan, and Yuan Cheng detained Wang Su without authorization, and said that Wang Su was plotting rebellion.

After investigation, Wang Su's rebellion was not true. Yuan Xi and others took the opportunity to play Yuan Ke and accused Yuan Cheng of detaining Zaifu without authorization, and Yuan Cheng was dismissed from his official post and returned to the palace, and soon became the Assassin of Yongzhou, and the power of the government gradually fell into the hands of Yuan Xiang and Yuan Xi.

On June 24, Yuan Ke posthumously made his biological mother Gao Shi empress Dowager Wenzhao, and posthumously bestowed Gao Yang, the father of gao shi, as the Duke of Bohai, and let his grandson Gao Meng attack the title, and also made Gao Zhao, the brother of Gao Zhao, the Duke of Pingyuan, and the younger brother Gao Xian the Duke of Chengcheng.

Before that, Yuan Ke had never seen his uncle, and only now did he reward them with a headscarf and personally receive them, and the Gao brothers could not help but be afraid.

Yuan Ke's intention in this move is self-evident, he wants to use foreign relatives to balance the power of the clan. And Gao Zhao also seized this opportunity to perform vigorously, and eventually became the strongest foreign relative of Northern Wei.