The relationship between historical figures is sometimes very interesting, Li Yuan, who rebelled against the Sui and established the Tang Dynasty, was two years older than the Sui Emperor Yang Guangguang, was his cousin, and was born like the Yang family, all of whom were Northern Zhou nobles. Li Yuan and Yang Guang's mother were sisters, and his grandfather was a Northern Zhou heavy minister, so they were all real relatives. Whether it is the Li family or the Yang family, or the lonely family, their origins are all Guan Long Group. The core of this group was the "Eight Pillar State and twelve generals" of the Western Wei and Northern Zhou. Li Yuan's grandfather Li Hu was one of the Eight Pillar States, while Yang Guang's grandfather Yang Zhong was one of the Twelve Great Generals.
Today we will take a look at this so-called ancient first aristocratic group, ending the three-hundred-year-long division since the Western Jin Dynasty and opening the second stage of chinese history to unify the Eight Pillars of the Guanlong Group.
The formation of the "small group" of the Eight Pillars of the Guanlong Group
The concept of the Guanlong clique comes from the famous work of the historian Mr. Chen Yinke, "A Brief Treatise on the Origins of the Sui and Tang Dynasties", in which he gave his own judgment on the political forces of the Western Wei and Northern Zhou Dynasties, thus proposing the concept of "Guanlong Clique".
Guanlong is a geographical name that refers to the Guanzhong region of present-day Longshan, Gansu, west of Liupan Mountain, and east of the Yellow River. The so-called pillar state, "said to the country, such as the room has a pillar", is the meaning of the top pillar of the country, the Warring States period military attaches have the position of "upper pillar state". During the Northern Wei Dynasty, the title of Great General of the Pillar State was originally enfeoffed in Erzhu Rong, but was later abolished, and was re-established when Yuwen Tai, the founder of the Guanlong Clique, was in power.
The Eight Pillars of the Guanlong Clique and their descendants jointly dominated the fate of four dynasties, namely The Western Wei, Northern Zhou, Sui, and Tang, which can be called the first aristocratic group in ancient Chinese history, and its origin was the Eight Pillar States of Western Wei.
The original Eight Pillar States were: Yuwen Tai, Yuan Xin, Li Hu, Li Bi, Zhao Gui, Yu Jin, Du Guxin, and Hou Mo Chen Chong.
Most of these eight people had a common identity: the People of the Six Towns of the Northern Wei Dynasty. Yuwen Tai, a native of Wuchuan Town in Northern Wei, li hu, DuGuxin, Zhao Gui, Hou Mochen Chong, and others in the Eight Pillar Kingdom were all from the military families in the six towns of Northern Wei. The so-called six towns refer to the six military towns set up by the Northern Wei Dynasty on the border to prevent attacks on the northern enemy Rouran, namely: Woye, Huaishuo, Wuchuan, Fumu, Rouxuan, and Huaihuang.
After the death of Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty, who presided over the reform, the situation began to collapse, and in the imperial court, Wen Tian was militarily playful and corrupt; Locally, wolf smoke is everywhere and there are dangers. In Emperor Xiaowen's reforms, the people of Liuzhen were gradually marginalized, their interests were damaged, and contradictions gradually accumulated, and twenty-five years after Emperor Xiaowen's death, an uprising broke out in Liuzhen, and Northern Wei turned from prosperity to decline.
After suppressing the Six Towns Uprising, the Gao Huan clique that destroyed the Erzhu clan occupied the Central Plains rose. At the same time, the Yuwentai clique, which was sent to the Guanlong area to suppress the rebellion, also took advantage of the situation. The last emperor of Northern Wei, Emperor Xiaowu, was taken over by Yuwen Tai after he left Benguanzhong, and Northern Wei was completely divided into two parts: Eastern Wei and Western Wei. Eastern Wei was controlled by Gao Huan, and Western Wei was ruled by Yuwen Tai.
Yuwen Tai group side is not enemy of the Gao Huan group side, the Western Wei dynasty in the eighth year of the great defeat with the Eastern Wei Mountain, almost the entire army was destroyed, in order to prevent annexation, the establishment of the fu military system and the eight pillar state system, to unite the Wuchuan warlord aristocratic forces, the fu bing and the eight pillar state constitute the foundation of the Guanlong group, the top is the eight pillar state, the twelve generals.
Distribution of power among the Eight Pillar States
Since it is a group, it must have the same interests. Yuwen Tai's basic plan was actually the twelve generals of the Eight-Pillar Kingdom, which were mainly officers of Wuchuan Town, plus some Kansai shi clans, and finally developed the Eight-Pillar State and the created Prefectural Military System, which was actually a power distribution plan.
The prefectural military system was the foundation on which the Guanlong clique depended, and under the auspices of Yuwen Tai, a unified army system of the Eight Pillar State, the Twelve Great Generals, the Twenty-Four Kaifu, and the Forty-Eight Yi tong was formed. At the top of this plan is the Eight-Pillar State, under which there are twelve great generals, each of which has two Kaifu, a total of 24 Kaifu, which are controlled by the Kaifu General, and the Kaifu is then subordinated to 48 Yitong, which is controlled by the Yitong General, and the power is interlocked and divided layer by layer.
Yuwen Tai's position is transcendent, always grasping the overall situation, leading the internal and external military, undertaking the duties of the chancellor and the great general, and through the interlocking power design, the elite are controlled in the hands. Yuan Xin was the representative of the Yuan clan of Western Wei, and he had no soldiers in his hands. The remaining six men each commanded two great generals, namely the "twelve generals" among the prefectural soldiers.
In the early days of the Western Wei Dynasty, there were 12 generals, 24 Kaifu, 48 Yitong, and 96 provinces, each with 500 military households, and seven civilian households producing a military household, with a total of 50,000 military forces (10,000 cavalry and 40,000 infantry).
Through this system, the upper aristocratic forces of the Guanlong clique were connected to the land through the prefectural military system, consolidating their own economic and military foundations. The core figures of the group also increase cohesion by establishing in-laws and relatives, so that their power can continue to flourish.
In the case of Dugu Xin, his eldest daughter married Yuwen Tai's eldest son, the later Northern Zhou Ming Emperor Yuwen Yu; The fourth daughter married Li Hu's son Li Fu, Li Yuan's father; The daughter married Yang Zhong's son Yang Jian.
Another example is Yuanxin, although he has never commanded a soldier, but by marrying with the Yuwen family for generations, this line of Yuanxin has been very prosperous until the Tang Dynasty.
Li Yuan also rose again by relying on in-laws. Although the Li family was also one of the original Eight Pillar States, Li Hu died relatively early, and when the Northern Zhou Dynasty was not yet established, Li Hu died, and Li Yuan's father Li Xun died early, and Li Yuan inherited the title of Duke of Tang when he was seven years old. Therefore, the Li family was not noble in the Northern Zhou Dynasty, until after the establishment of the Sui Dynasty, because Yang Jian's lonely empress took good care of her nephew Li Yuan, the Li family was once again prominent.
However, the distribution of power within the group was not static, and after Yuwen Tai's death, conflicts began to occur, and Zhao Gui, Du Guxin, and Hou Mochen Chong were successively killed by The Ruling Yuwen Hu. According to the strength of the continuous reshuffling and reorganization, the leaders of the group also changed from the Beginning of the Northern Zhou Yuwen Family, the Yang Family of the Sui Dynasty to the Li Family of the Tang Dynasty. In the early days, the valuable ones, to the later stages, their descendants were basically empty, and they were not very powerful in the early days, but the forces of the real government soldiers, and their descendants have always had real power. For example, the great general Yang Zhong, who was not originally in the Eight-Pillar State, his descendant Yang Jian eventually became a generation of ministers of the group.
The final chapter of power in the Eight-Pillar Kingdom
At the beginning of the Eight Pillar Kingdom, Zhao Gui achieved the merits of Yuwen Tai, Yuan Xinzuo Yuwen Tai was known for his royal prestige, Li Hu was famous for his battles, Li Bi was slightly able to join the army, Yu Jin was assisted by plotting, Hou Mo Chen Chong's bravery was brave, and Du Lonely Faith was used to care for the people. But power and destiny will always change until the last moment.
After the death of Yuwen Tai, the head of the Pillar State, power fell into the hands of his nephew Yuwen Hu, and his third son Yuwen Jue was supported by Yuwen Hu and replaced Western Wei to establish Northern Zhou, but he was only a puppet, and was eventually killed by Yuwen Hu at the age of sixteen. Yuwen Taishu's eldest son Yuwen Yu was later made king by Yuwen Go, but was eventually killed by Yuwen Go, at the age of twenty-seven. Yuwen Tai's fourth son, Yuwen Yong (宇文邕), eventually killed Yuwen Hu (宇文護), the chancellor of power, and took sole control of the imperial government. Yuwen Yong can be regarded as a generation of British lords, and during his reign, he worked hard to conquer Northern Qi and reunify the north.
Although Yuan Xin did not have great talent, this person took a key step in his life, when Emperor Xiaowu of Northern Wei escaped from the Gao clique and defected to Yuwen Tai, he took the lead in responding and became the first person in the Western Wei imperial family. Yuwen Tai left him a place in the Eight Pillar Kingdom, relying on frequent intermarriage with the Yuwen clan, and in the Northern Zhou Dynasty, instead of declining, it flourished.
When Zhao Gui was in Yuwen Taishi, his status was second only to him. After Yuwen Tai's death, it was Yuwen Hu who was in power, and when Yuwen Hu killed the two emperors, Zhao Gui and his door valve nobles did not mix with the infighting of the Yuwen family, but they wanted him to be subordinate to Yuwen Hu and watch this young man calling the wind and rain on the stage, and he could not bear it. So he found Dugu Xin to conspire to kill Yuwen Hu, and as a result, he was denounced, and finally killed by Yu Wen Hu, and the descendants did not seem to have any high-ranking officials, and this branch fell.
Dugu Xin was forced to commit suicide by Yu Wen Hu because of his participation in Zhao Gui's murder of Yuwen Hu, but fortunately, the daughters married well, and the two empresses of Northern Zhou and the empresses of Emperor Wen of Sui and Li Yuan's mother were all daughters of Du Guxin, and after the establishment of the Sui Dynasty, their reputations were restored. After the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, he was posthumously awarded the title of King of Liang.
Hou Mo Chen Chong, like Du Guxin, was forced to die by Yuwen Hu, and the cause was Hou Mo Chen Chong, who had always spoken little, because of his "many mouths" saying that "There is a disaster in Jin Gong Yu Wen Hu this year", and finally someone denounced this matter, and Yu Wen Hu sent troops to surround Hou Mo Chen Chong's residence, and finally forced him to commit suicide.
Li Hu died earlier, seventeen years after the Death of the Western Wei Dynasty, and was a Lieutenant of Bai Taiwei (白太尉), the Duke of Longxi Commandery (龍西郡公), one of the Eight Pillar States. After the establishment of Northern Zhou, he was posthumously awarded the title of Duke of Tang, with eight sons, and the third son, Li Xun, married the daughter of Sima Duxin, and attacked the Duke of Longxi County, and after the establishment of Northern Zhou, he was crowned duke of Tang. After his death, his son Li Yuan attacked the lord, and the Li family eventually established the Tang Dynasty.
Li Bi was not too well-known in history, but his great-grandson Li Mi became an important historical figure in the late Sui and early Tang dynasties. After the establishment of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, Li Bi was given the title of Taishi (太師), the Duke of Zhao guo (赵国公), died of illness at the age of sixty-four, and was posthumously awarded the title of Duke of Wei after his death, worthy of the taizu Yuwen Tai temple court. His descendants were the Duke of Wei during the Northern Zhou Dynasty, and the hereditary Duke of Pushan Commandery in Sui.
After Yuwen Tai's death, Yu Jin supported Yuwen Hu, so during the Northern Zhou Dynasty, he was enfeoffed as the Duke of Yan and treated him with the courtesy of the Three Elders, and he was known for his strategy in the Eight Pillar Kingdom, so Yuwen Hu had to take him and ask him for advice when he was marching and fighting. He finally died in office at the age of seventy-six. His descendants were even more prominent in the Zhou and Sui dynasties after his death.
Finally the Historian says:
The Guanlong Clique, which has spanned for more than a hundred years, in the early Tang Dynasty, fought with the emerging Shandong Hao clan in the open and in secret. The representative of the Guanlong clique, Changsun Wuji, became the last highlight of his tenure as the minister of Gu Ming. Since then, it began to decline, and during the reign of Empress Wu, Daxing keju took up soldiers, breaking the power base of the Guanlong clique, and the fundamental prefectural military system of the clique was gradually abolished. By the time of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, the power of guanlong's military aristocratic clique no longer existed.
In the history of more than 100 years, Guanlong Group has greatly promoted the development of Chinese history. It has played a positive role in promoting economic and social development and multi-ethnic integration. The vigorous and enterprising, bloody and simple Confucian tradition has been integrated and promoted in Guanlong, and the spirit and culture it has shaped have long been integrated into the national bloodline.