Northern Wei Emperor Tuoba Hong can be said to be the emperor with the most mysteries in the history of Northern Wei, his life is extremely short, but he has left many historical doubts in the history books, and even become the prototype of the story adapted in modern historical theme film and television dramas. He was the eldest son of Tuoba Mao, Emperor Wencheng of Northern Wei, who succeeded to the throne at the age of eleven, died suddenly at the age of twenty-three, reigned for seven years, but left a lot of difficult historical mysteries. Among them, when he was seventeen years old, he suddenly issued an edict to cede the throne to his son Tuoba Hong, which caused turmoil in the Northern Wei dynasty and the opposition, and was also closely related to the sudden violent death later. This matter has been debated a great deal among later historians, and scholars of successive dynasties have made various statements, and this section provides a brief analysis of this issue.
After ten thousand years of political turmoil by Emperor Taiwu, Northern Wei entered a period of national strength recovery and development for a long time. This period was mainly concentrated in the two dynasties of Emperor Wencheng Tuoba Mao and Emperor Xianwen Tuoba Hong, and also laid the foundation for the sinicization reform of the later Xiaowen Emperor Tuoba Hong. Unlike the steady development of the Tuoba Dynasty, Tuoba Hong's middle and late Northern Wei court began to be turbulent again. The biggest reason for this was the struggle for power between Emperor Tuoba Hong and Empress Dowager Feng, which led to infighting and political turmoil in the imperial court. Tuoba Hong's ceding of the throne to his son Tuoba Hong was a turning point in this political struggle, and it also had a huge impact on the political direction of northern Wei. So the question is, why did Tuoba Hong, who was only seventeen years old at the time, make the decision to give up the throne?
Zen giving up the throne is not uncommon in ancient China, but there are very few people who take the initiative to zen. If it is a Zen concession that changes dynasties, it must be coerced by powerful ministers, such as Liu Xie, the emperor of Han Xian. In the same dynasty, it was indeed rare for Zen to give up the throne, but there were many elements of political coercion, such as Li Yuan, the emperor of Tang Gaozu. Of course, there are also active Zen concessions, but there are very deep reasons behind them, such as the Qianlong Emperor's love for Xinjue luo Hongli. Generally speaking, most of the people who take the initiative to zen are the emperors entering old age, somewhat out of control politically, or the need to cultivate successors to ensure the smooth succession of the throne. However, when the seventeen-year-old Tuoba Hong was developing his grand plans, he chose to take the initiative to zen and give up the throne, which had to make people feel suspicious.
As for the reason why Tuoba Hongchan gave up the throne this time, the Book of Wei reads that "Emperor Ya is thin in time affairs and often has the heart of leaving the world behind." The meaning of this sentence is very clear, that is, Tuoba Hong does not want to care about politics, wants to escape politics and choose to retreat, so he put forward the idea of giving up the throne this time. This statement has long been recognized by mainstream historical circles and is considered to be the main reason why Tuoba Hongchan gave up the throne. Many scholars have also found evidence that Tuoba Hong believed in Buddhism, was kind and innocent, and was tired of the political disputes of the imperial court, so he wanted to escape from the world. This statement has been adopted by many historians, but when compared with the historical records, it is found to be a ridiculous statement in the world. Also in the Book of Wei, there are many records that deviate from this statement.
For example, in the Book of Wei, it was pointed out that "the upper force was forced by the empress dowager, and the transmission was located in the prince". This shows that Tuoba Hongchan's concession to the throne was closely related to the political dispute with Empress Feng, and was carried out under the persecution of Empress Feng. After Tuoba Hongchan gave up the throne, he did not take the so-called operation of escaping the world, and in fact still controlled most of the power of the imperial court. After Tuoba Hongchan gave the throne, he moved to the humble Sogo Palace, but it was still "the great affairs of the country are salty and smelly". The history books record that he "looked at all opportunities and was strict in criminal law... First, Zhu Cao was suspicious of things, and he also passed on the edicts or made corrections. Therefore, no matter how big or small, all the laws are justified, and there must be no doubt... Since the matter is salty and detailed, the next dare not be reckless. From this, it can be seen that he has no avoidance of the world.
Based on the above historical records, it can be seen that Tuoba Hongchan's access to the throne was not at all a "heart of the world", but was forced by Empress Feng's choice in the political struggle. Judging from his behavior after Zen ceded the throne, he not only still seized the imperial power, but also went one step further. He even led a large army to attack the Ruoran tribe, killing all the way to the south of the desert, forcing Rou and then retreating thousands of miles. Moreover, he also "paraded in the northern suburbs", showing his muscles through military parades and competing with Empress Feng. This also forced Empress Feng to issue an edict "martial law at home and abroad" and close the gate of Pingcheng, the capital of Northern Wei. From these historical materials, it can be seen that his concession of the throne was not a concession to Empress Feng, but a further control of imperial power, which made his political struggle with Empress Feng increasingly fierce.
Empress Feng, known as Empress Dowager Feng of civilization, was the empress dowager of The Wencheng Emperor Tuoba Mao and the concubine of Tuoba Hong. According to the Tradition of Northern Wei Lizi giving death to his mother, Tuoba Hong became crown prince at the same time, his birth mother Li Guiren was killed by his father Tuoba Mao, so he was basically raised by Empress Feng. At the beginning of his reign, Tuoba Hong was too young to control the government, causing the cheri general Yi Hun to dominate the imperial government, threatening his dominance. At this time, it was Empress Feng who came forward and summoned Tuoba Pi, Yuanhe, Niu Yi and others to kill Yihun, which made the power of the imperial court return. It can be said that in the early days of the reign, the mother and son were still relatively harmonious, and there was no later tit-for-tat scene, let alone a turbulent situation in the imperial court.
Judging from the historical data, the contradiction between Empress Feng and Tuoba Hong began after Yihun was killed. Empress Feng took the opportunity to listen to the government and handle all military and state affairs after killing Yihun, so the imperial power of Northern Wei was controlled by Empress Feng. It was not until after the birth of Tuoba Hong's son Tuoba Hong that Empress Feng said that she would return the imperial power to Tuoba Hong, and retired to the deep palace to personally raise her grandson Tuoba Hong. However, from the historical data, Empress Feng also obviously retreated into advance, retreating without end. The imperial court seemed to be pro-government by Tuoba Hong, but the court was full of ministers promoted by Empress Feng, which made Tuoba Hong have to look at Empress Feng's face to do anything, which made the young emperor feel bad. Therefore, in order to compete for the right to speak in the imperial court, the two sides launched a series of political struggles.
The fuse for this struggle to spiral out of control was that Tuoba Hong took the opportunity to execute Empress Feng's lover, Li Yi's family. Li Yi was born in the Li clan of Zhao County, and was the son of a well-known door valve family in the north. He was both a big handsome man and a very high talent, which made Empress Feng very appreciative. When Tuoba Mao died, Empress Feng was very young, and the days of widowhood were difficult to survive, so she hooked up with Li Yi. Li Yi was very favored by Empress Feng, and not only gave a large amount of gold and silver treasures, but also allowed many of Li Yi's brothers to occupy important official positions in the imperial court. When Tuoba Hong saw all this, he resented Empress Feng for messing around in the harem, and was also dissatisfied with Zhao Jun's Li clan occupying too many official positions, so he found various reasons to deal with Li Yi. Xiangzhou assassin Li Bi was denounced for accepting bribes, which just gave Tuoba Hong a chance.
Li Bi and Li Yi were the same sect and were good friends of Li Yi's brother Shangshu Li Shi. Tuoba Hong coerced him into denouncing the Li Yi brothers, listing twenty or thirty counts. Tuoba Hong then executed Li Yi, his brother Li Shi, his cousin Li Xiande, and others for this crime, making Empress Feng resent him very much. The Book of Wei says, "The empress dowager did not act right, and li Yi was favored internally, and the empress dowager was cursed because of the matter, and the empress dowager was unhappy." ”
This incident intensified the contradiction between Tuoba Hong and Empress Feng, causing the two sides to completely tear their faces, and the struggle fell into a white-hot situation. Tuoba Hongchan's accession to the throne was produced in this context, and the history books say that he was forced by Empress Feng, referring to Empress Feng's revenge because of the death of her lover Li Yi. Specifically, what means Empress Feng took is not recorded in the history books. However, judging from Tuoba Hong's choice of Zen operation, the struggle must be very fierce.
The importance of the throne to the emperor is self-evident. Tuoba Hong did not even want the throne, and when he became emperor, he preferred to move to the simple Sogo Palace, which showed that the situation was very critical. It is said that solitaire Palace is so simple that it does not even have a masonry foundation, which is completely based on rammed loess, and the whole palace is also very old. Such an environment is obviously incomparable with the imperial palace, but Tuoba Hong is still eager to move in, which shows that he has reached the point where he can't wait to escape from the palace. In this case, it can be inferred that his life is likely to be threatened in the palace, and only by leaving the palace can he be saved. Both the imperial palace and the imperial city were Empress Feng's base camps, and all the power of the guards was in the hands of Empress Feng, so that Tuoba Hong had to make the choice to flee.
Judging from the historical data, there are still many clues to print this inference. At first, Tuoba Hong did not want to cede the throne to his son Tuoba Hong, but chose the Emperor's uncle Tuoba Zi Tui. However, this idea was opposed by the Qunchen, who strongly demanded that the crown prince Tuoba Hong take the throne. Tuoba Hong did not choose his son, but chose the emperor's uncle, in fact, to prevent Empress Feng from seizing power. Because Tuoba Hong was adopted by Empress Feng, if he was allowed to inherit the throne, it was obvious that Empress Feng would monopolize the power, which was very unfavorable to Tuoba Hong. However, after being opposed by the courtiers, Tuoba Hong finally chose Tuoba Hong, which shows that it is more important for him to flee the palace than to let Empress Feng take power again, because his life is threatened.
When listening to the opinions of the ministers, Tuoba Hong specifically sought out the old minister Gao Yun. Gao Yun was the teacher of Tuoba Hong's grandfather Tuoba Huang, and assisted the Wencheng Emperor Tuoba Hao in ruling, and was a senior minister in the court. It is recorded in the Book of Wei that "when he showed his ancestors, he was hesitant, and he wanted to establish Prince Jingzhao as a prince, and gathered the ministers to ask questions." Yun Jin knelt down before him and wept: "The subject does not dare to say much, in order to listen to the gods, may His Majesty go to the Sizong Temple to entrust the weight, and remember the matter of Zhou Gong's embrace of the king." From this historical data, it can be seen that Tuoba Hong had "no hesitation" before the Zen position, which is very interesting. The term is generally used in cases where the emperor is critically ill and is then rescued. But Tuoba Hong was in his prime, how could he suddenly become critically ill?
Combined with the rumors in the Book of Wei about Tuoba Hong's violent death, there is, "There is really a scourge of poison." " statement. It can be boldly speculated that Tuoba Hong may not have been seriously ill, but had been poisoned. Both the imperial palace and the imperial city guards were in the hands of Empress Feng, and Empress Feng must be the biggest suspect. With this suspicion, Tuoba Hong naturally would not give his opponent a second chance, and moving out of the imperial palace to form a small imperial court became an option. In fact, after moving out of the palace, Tuoba Hong never saw this situation again, and his small imperial court held great power, and Empress Feng fought against the imperial court in the palace. It can be seen from this that it is very likely that Tuoba Hong's life in the imperial palace is threatened and he has to use Zen to give up the throne to avoid danger.
So someone asked the question, Tuoba Hong is not Zen, can't he run out by himself? Some people also asked why he would do this if it was passed on to Tuoba Hong, which would still benefit Empress Feng. The first problem is that the emperor cannot leave the imperial city for a long time without special affairs. Even if they want to leave, they must be protected by the Imperial Palace and the Imperial Guard Army. These armies were already unreliable, and Tuoba Hong did not dare to stay with him. The second question, in order to prevent Empress Feng from taking advantage of the opportunity to make a big move, Tuoba Hong adopted Gao Yun's suggestion to imitate the model of Zhou Gongdan and Zhou Chengwang and set up Gu Ming ministers. He appointed Shangshu Lu Fang (馛) as Taibao (太保), and together with Taiwei Yuanhe (太尉元贺), held the title of Emperor Xi (陳逧) the Emperor's Seal, thus restraining Empress Feng and preventing her from taking advantage of Tuoba Hong's young age to monopolize power.
Judging from the historical records, Tuoba Hong's operation was still very effective, and within a few years, Empress Feng could not play, so that his power could expand rapidly. Unfortunately, a few years later, Yuanhe was relieved of his post due to illness, and the xuanbu Shangshu Lu Fang died of illness, causing Empress Feng to lose control, which eventually triggered a fierce conflict between the two. In this conflict, Tuoba Hong's sudden and violent death triggered political turmoil in the Northern Wei court and left a new historical mystery. However, judging from the operation of the Tuoba Hong Zen position, it basically got the desired effect. In the few years from his zen throne to his violent death, he basically controlled the power of the state, suppressed the power of Empress Feng's clique, and sat firmly in the position of Emperor Taishang.