No matter how heroic an emperor is, he will face one word: death. Since ancient times, before the emperor died, he often needed to set up a prince, order the prince to supervise the country, and travel around to promote moral government. Liu Yu and Tuoba Si are no exception, as the first pair of political opponents in the history of the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Liu Yu and Tuoba Si chose a path that was quite consistent when their lives were about to come to an end.
In 422 AD, Liu Yu and Tuoba Si went to the end of their lives for different reasons. As emperors with a straight sword, their process of arranging the affairs behind them was surprisingly consistent.
In 422, Liu Yu suddenly became ill and ordered liu daopi the prince of Changsha, Xu Xianzhi of Sikong, Fu Liang, a servant of Shangshu, Xie Han, the leading general, and Tan Daoji, a general of the guards, to enter the forbidden city to serve the soup medicine. When all the ministers were greeting the heavens, Liu Yu refused, and only asked Xie Fangming, who was serving as a waiter, to ask the Zongmiao Temple, this was because Liu Yu did not believe in rare spiritual events such as gods and ghosts by nature, and only encountered many auspicious things when he was a commoner, and when Liu Yu was prominent, the historians asked Liu Yu if he had encountered the auspicious omens they had heard, but Liu Yu refused to answer.
The reason why Liu Yu sent someone to ask for the advice of his ancestors was because he had been tangled between Liu Yifu, the crown prince born to Lady Zhang, and Liu Yizhen, the prince of Luling, born to Sun Xiuhua. Liu Yifu likes to be close to the villain, and Xie Han does not like him very much, so he said, "You are still young, you should take into account Liu Songjiangshan, and you should not give the throne to a person who likes to be close to the villain." Liu Yu asked, "What does Qing think of Liu Yizhen, the King of Luling?" Xie Han replied, "Please allow me to look at his face." After that, Xie Han went out to see Liu Yizhen, Liu Yizhen was very happy, and always wanted to talk to Xie Han deeply, but Xie Han did not respond much to Liu Yizhen, and later said to Liu Yu, "Liu Yizhen is a person whose morality is not as good as talent, and he cannot be a monarch." Soon, Liu Yizhen was sent by Liu Yu to nanyu and other places to manage the military, and held the posts of general of cheqi, kaifu yi tongsan division, and southern Yuzhou assassin history, and then served as the governor of more than fifty prefectures, the number of which can not even be recorded in detail.
In that year, in the Northern Wei Dynasty, which was far away from Liu Song, Tuoba Yao, the king of Henan, fell ill and died, Tuoba Si was a relative of the same surname, Tuoba Tao was made the King of Taiping, and the official worshiped Xiangguo and the great general; Tuoba Pi was the King of Leping, Tuoba Mi was the King of Anding, Tuoba Fan was the King of Le'an, Tuoba Jian was the King of Yongchang, Tuoba Chong was the King of Jianning, and Tuoba Jun was the King of Xinxing. Tuoba Tao became the new core of power, military and administrative power were unified, and his position as prince was already expected.
Later, Tuoba Si was poisoned by drugs many times because of taking cold food, and there were frequent disasters within the Northern Wei Dynasty, which made Tuoba Si worried. To this end, the envoy of the Tuoba Si faction secretly asked Cui Hao, the Duke of White Horse, and said, "I am not getting better, I am afraid that I will suddenly die of illness, and my sons are still young, what should I do?" Cui Hao replied, "You are still young and will soon be fine, but you should still appoint a prince early, select a wise person to be the prince's master, let him associate with the ministers you usually trust, and let him oversee the country as soon as possible, so that you can rest assured." After that, Cui Hao believed that Tuoba Tao was wise and wise, gentle and courteous, and since ancient times, the heirs would be inherited, so Li Tuoba Tao was conducive to preventing the northern Wei dynasty from fighting for the throne. Tuoba Si also asked the duke of Nanping for advice from Sun Song, and Changsun Song also said that Tuoba Tao was the best candidate. After that, Tuoba Si ordered Tuoba Tao to become the regent of the dynasty and became the second master of the country. Tuoba Tao was very clever and generous, and the ministers would sometimes forward their doubts about Tuoba Tao to Tuoba Si, but Tuoba Si said, "This is not what I should know, I should let your lord know." ”
In May, Liu Yu became more ill, and he summoned the crown prince Liu Yifu and admonished his disobedient son, saying, "Although Tan Daoji is a man with strong execution and strategy, he has no foresight and is not as difficult to control as his brother Tan Daoshao. Xu Xianzhi and Fu Liang would never rebel, but Xie Han, a person who had fought with me in the south and the north several times, could adapt to changes at will, and if any of the courtiers wanted to rebel, it would be him. After that, he personally wrote an edict by hand, saying, "After the self, if there is a minor emperor in the Liu Song Dynasty who ascends the throne and the major affairs of the imperial court are controlled by a prime minister, the emperor's mother and queen may wish to come to the court to claim the throne." Subsequently, Sikong Xu Xianzhi, Zhongshu Ling Fu Liang, the leading general Xie Han, and the Zhenbei general Tan Daoji were all made ministers of Gu Ming, and soon after, Liu Yu died suddenly in the West Temple.
Among all the auxiliary ministers, Xu Xianzhi is very legendary, his birth is clothed, no learning and no skills, but he has always had ambitions, considering the overall situation, and calmly and moderately. When he entered the imperial court, he submitted to both the public and the public, believing that he had the prestige of being the prime minister. His people are silent and meticulous, silent, and moody. Xu Xianzhi was particularly good at playing chess, but when he watched others play chess, it was as if he could not play, and he never interjected, and people at that time admired him very much. Quiet and taciturn, not with sorrow and joy. Fu Liang and Cai Kuo often praised him, "Xu Xianzhi knows everything, and when things don't meet his requirements, he is particularly calm." Xu Xianzhi often gathered with Fu Liang and Xie Han to drink and feast, Fu Liang and Xie Xian were knowledgeable and had no obstacles in their debate, everyone thought that Xu Xianzhi, who did not learn and had no skills when he was young, would definitely be ugly, who knows, he was still neat in demeanor, and waited until Fu Liang and others finished speaking. At that time, a man named Zheng Xianzhi sighed, "After reading Xu Xianzhi and Fu Liang's remarks, I found that a person's talent is not entirely based on learning." ”
Soon after, the crown prince Liu Yifu was the emperor at the age of seventeen, and then pardoned the world, honoring the empress dowager as the empress dowager and the crown princess Sima Shi as the empress, and this empress was Sima Dewen's daughter Princess Haiyan.
On the side of Northern Wei, Tuoba Si ordered Changsun Song to be the same as The Duke xi jin of Shanyang and the Northern New Public Security, and at the same time to be the left assistant, Cui Hao and the Tai Wei Mu Guan, the scattered riding chang shi dai Dai Qiu Dui to do the right bow, while he himself listened to the government in the Western Palace, examining Tuoba Tao's decision, after hearing that Tuoba Tao was very decisive, Tuoba Si was very happy. After that, he issued an edict, "Changsun Song was an elder of the Four Dynasties and had meritorious service to the society; Xi Jin was able to speak eloquently and resourcefully, and was famous in Great Wei; An Tong was familiar with all kinds of customs and customs; Mu Guan and the political leaders of Great Wei got along very well and could see through the monarch's thoughts; Cui Hao had a strong sense of knowledge and insight; although Qiu Dui was not a great talent, he was attentive and cautious in doing things." With these six men assisting the prince, I and I parade around with you, crusading against rebellion and taming the four directions, and my grand ambitions in this life have come true. ”
The eldest grandson Song was originally surnamed Baba, Xi Jin was surnamed Daxi, Mu Guan was surnamed Qiu Muling, and Qiu Dui was surnamed Qiu Dun. This was because most of the northern Wei ministers were Hu people, and the surnames were easy to repeat, and later after Tuoba Hong moved to Luoyang, these surnames were all changed. Later historians were too complicated because the old surnames of ministers such as Changsun Song were too complicated, so they all recorded according to Han surnames. Later, Tuoba Si also believed that Liu Yu of the Eastern and Western Provinces, Gu Bi of the Menxia Dynasty, and Lu Luyuan, a Zhilang Disciple, were very loyal, cautious, respectful and diligent, so he gave the three of them to Tuoba Tao, who was in charge of the important affairs and orders of the Eastern Palace.
In June, crown prince Liu Yifu Li Shangshu servant Fu Liang was made Zhongshu Supervisor and Shangshu Ling, the leading general Xie Han continued to be Zhongshu Ling, and Xie Fangming was served as Danyang Yin. Xie Fangming is a person who is good at governing the affairs of states and counties, and every time he goes to a state and county, he can leave a virtuous name, can inherit the advantages of his predecessor, does not change the laws randomly, and if he must change, he will slowly change to avoid the people from finding it difficult to accept.
In November, Tuoba Tao, the Prince of Northern Wei, sent people to garrison Saishang and ordered Tuoba Mi and An Tong, the Prince of Anding, to garrison. Soon, Xi Jin and others attacked and captured the slippery platform, Wang Jingdu withdrew, and Wang Jingdu's Sima Yangwan was captured by the Northern Wei people, insisted on not surrendering, and was later killed. Tuoba Si sent Marquis Gou Er of Chenggao to do the slipway of the town of Shishi in Yanzhou.
After that, Xi Jin and others attacked Zhai Guang and others in Tulou, and finally succeeded, taking advantage of the victory to occupy The Tiger Prison Pass, Mao Dezu and Xi Jin fought a decisive battle, and each time they could crack Xi Jin's tactics. Tuoba Si also sent three thousand people stationed in Heyang in an attempt to capture Jin Yong, and Mao Dezu sent Dou Huang and others along the Yellow River to defend against Northern Wei soldiers. In December of the same year, Tuoba Si arrived in Jizhou and sent his uncle Sun Jian from The Jihe River to inspect Qingzhou and Yanzhou. Liu Pu sent Gao Daojin with five hundred men to occupy Xiangcheng, and Wang Zhongde stationed himself at Hulu. Yu Lilei crossed the Yellow River, joined Xi Jin, and attacked Dou Huang together, only to succeed.
Tuoba Si sent the daidai Eqing, Lu Dafei to join 7,000 people and Zhou Ji and Shusun Jian, and others to cross the Yellow River to the south and camp at Zhuan. Xu Yan fled south, and from then on the counties of Taishan, Gaoping, and Jinxiang fell into the hands of Northern Wei, and Uncle Sun Jian and others marched eastward into Qingzhou, and Sima Aizhi and Sima Jizhi surrendered to Northern Wei successively. Northern Wei soldiers attacked Tiger Prison Pass, and Qingzhou stabbed Shi Zhu to defend Dongyang City and sent people to warn them.
Soon, Liu Yifu sent Tan Daoji and Wang Zhongde to counterattack Northern Wei, and Liu Yizhen sent Shen Shuhu with three thousand people to meet and aid Liu Pu, which slightly saved the war.
After Liu Yu became seriously ill, he granted amnesty to the world, and it was at this time that displaced people near Shaanxi and Gansu marched south into Liangzhou for refuge. Liu Yu sent people to Jiangnan to deliver 10,000 pieces of silk cloth during his illness, and through CaoYun, transported the grain from Jingzhou and Yongzhou to help the victims. In addition to providing relief to the victims, Liu Yu also paid attention to quelling the chaos. For example, Diao Kui was killed, his son Diao Mi escaped, and soon after, Diao Mi led dozens of people into Jingkou City, and the local tai wei Liu Fu Sima Lu Zhongyuan received the order and was defeated and executed.
In addition, Liu Yu also attaches great importance to education and local management. In the year of his death, Liu Yu ordered that since ancient times, every country has put teaching first, and the former emperors have built schools in order to educate the people. However, at that time, it was a time of chaos in the north and south, and the people's livelihood was poor, so the school was abandoned. Therefore, Liu Song's current national policy should focus on educating the noble disciples, opening Mongolian studies, selecting officials from Confucian origins, and the content of the examination should be excellent classics from the past. In terms of local politics, the area around Yuzhou, south of the Yangtze River, north of the Yellow River Luoshui, the people are scarce, the land is flat and barren, in order to manage Yuzhou well, from then on all the counties in Huaixi were assigned to the territory of Yuzhou, from the east of the Huai River to The Southern Yu Prefecture, Feng Pengcheng King Liu Yikang as the Southern Yu Prefecture Assassin History.
Liu Yu was pure-hearted and simple all his life, and he did things seriously and followed the rules. The quilts used, the clothes worn, and the furnishings of the residence are very simple, and they rarely go out to play and feast, and the number of concubines and concubines is particularly small. Lady Yao, the niece of Later Qin Gaozu, was very favored, and even delayed the proper government affairs in order to let Lady Yao sleep, and after Xie Qian's advice, Liu Yu was ashamed and dismissed Lady Yao.
All his life's savings were spent on government spending, and he never hid his private money. It is said that once, Lingnan once paid tribute to a barrel of fine cloth, about eight zhang long at one end, and Liu Yu was so disgusted that the manufacturing process of this tube cloth was laborious and hurt the people, and he immediately ordered the relevant departments to impeach the local Taishou, returned the cloth to Lingnan, and strictly forbade Lingnan to produce such cloth.
The princess of Liu Song was married, and the dowry given by Liu Yu was no more than 200,000 yuan, not even the decoration of splendid embroidery, and the prohibition of frugality was strictly observed inside and outside the court, and did not dare to waste extravagantly. Even if the palace had been established and some departments wanted to use silver nails, Liu Yu resolutely did not allow it, so he had to use iron nails instead. Liu Yu likes to wear toothed wooden shoes, and the only way to entertain him is to take ten retinues to walk outside the Shenhu Gate. Liu Yu's sons had to take off their official clothes in the morning and dusk, only wearing skirts and hats, and performing ceremonies between the family.
Compared with Liu Yu, Tuoba Si of Northern Wei paid more attention to clearing the way for the future new monarch in terms of military and people's livelihood. In 422, Tuoba Si asked Tuoba Tao to parade in the ceremonial system of a vice-lord, while he himself toured Qiaoshan mountain and sent emissaries to sacrifice the temples of the Yellow Emperor and Tang Yao. He toured Youzhou to the east, visited the elders of Youzhou, asked them about the troubles they encountered in handling affairs, and some of them were given knighthoods. Emissaries were sent to inspect the prefectures and counties, observe local customs, and reduce the rent by half of the fields they passed.
After Liu Yu's death, the dianzhong general Shen Fan and others were about to return to Liu Song, and when they reached the Yellow River, Tuoba Si suddenly sent someone to arrest them, and secretly decided to send troops to attack Luoyang, Hu Prison, and the Fiefdom of Chutai.
Cui Hao suggested, "Your Majesty, you don't think that Liu Yu was born in a reckless and reckless way, and accepts tribute from Liu Song, and Liu Yu also respects you in peacetime." As a result, he unfortunately died, and you fell into the well and took advantage of the chaos to attack, even if you got Liu Song, you also left a curse. Moreover, we in Great Wei cannot get Jiangnan at once and fight against the new emperor of Liu Song, and once we fail, Your Majesty will be ruined. The minister believes that we should first sincerely worship and sacrifice, and it is the best policy to win the hearts and minds of the people in Jiangnan. Liu Yu has just died, we have a large army to suppress the border without authorization, Liu Song will definitely fight with us to the death, it is better to wait for the opportunity, take advantage of their command ministers to fight each other for power, so that the new emperor of Liu Song will have suspicion with these ministers, so that there will be civil unrest within Liu Song, so that we can get Huaibei without spending a single soldier. ”
Tuoba Si asked rhetorically, "But Liu Yu also took advantage of Yao Xing's death to destroy Liu Song and occupy Yao Xing's niece, so why can't I take advantage of Liu Yu's death to go on a crusade?!" Cui Hao said, "No, Your Majesty, after Yao Xing's death, his sons fought with each other to give Liu Yu an opportunity, but now that there is no gap between Liu Song and his subjects, we can't act rashly." ”
When the Northern Wei soldiers were about to leave, the Northern Wei Qunchen began to discuss whether to attack the city first or seize the land first, Xi Jin thought that the city should be attacked first, Cui Hao said, "The Han people are good at defending the city, when the Xiang clan attacked Xiangyang, they could not be broken for many years, and now we are attacking the small city with a large number of soldiers, if we do not conquer it quickly, the morale will decline, and when the Liu Song reinforcements arrive, we will be in danger." It is better to set up local officials and collect grain and rent for us, with land grabbing as the mainstay and Jianghuai as the restriction, and then Luoyang, Sliding Terrace and Tiger Prison will flee south. ”
However, Gongsun Biao insisted on attacking the city, and Tuoba Si had to agree, sending Xi Jin and others to bring infantry and cavalry. However, Xi Jin and others attacked the slide, unable to succeed, and asked for more troops, Tuoba Si was furious, severely questioned Xi Jin, and sent more than 50,000 people south across Lingnan to try to turn the tide. However, before the pro-conquest Tuoba Si arrived, Liu SongdongJun Taishou Wang Jingdu abandoned the city and fled. In December, Tuoba Si attacked Qing and Yan'er Prefectures, and the following year used the strategy of cutting off water sources to lay siege to the Tiger Prison Pass. From then on, Northern Wei seized the south bank of the Yellow River and pushed directly into Liu Song territory. Unfortunately, Tuoba Si relapsed from his old illness after his conquest and died in the Western Palace in 423 AD.
In general, Liu Yu and Tuoba Si drew on the power transition between the former emperor and the new emperor in the Western Han Dynasty, and both emperors adopted the law of primogeniture when dealing with the aftermath, selecting the crown prince in the form of a mother-noble evaluation, and learning from the method of Emperor Wu of han setting up a number of auxiliary ministers to extradite power.
However, the difference between Liu Song and Northern Wei was that Liu Yu paid more attention to the feelings of his ministers, and his attitude towards the ministers was mainly defensive, allowing the empress dowager to be called a check and balance minister under certain conditions. Tuoba Si preferred to cultivate a relationship of trust between the prince and his ministers, and fully trusted the crown prince Tuoba Tao rather than being used by people with hearts, becoming a tool of power struggle.
However, due to the shortcomings of the system of ministers, it was easy to cause one of the most powerful ministers to swallow up or kill other relatively low-ability courtiers, which was very easy to cause turmoil within the imperial court. And this is also an important reason why in the end, Liu Song's internal roommates Ge, and Northern Wei fell into the hands of the Erzhu clan and the Gao clan.
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