Yang Jian, also known as Emperor Wen of Sui, accepted the throne of Emperor Jing of Northern Zhou and established the Sui Dynasty. Interested friends with the editor to take a look at it.
In May of the second year of the elephant (580), Emperor Xuan died of a violent illness. As early as February of the first year of the elephant (579), Emperor Xuan passed on the position of his eldest son, Emperor Jing, Yuwen Yan, and became the Emperor Taishang, calling himself "Emperor Tianyuan" and still in charge of power. When Emperor Xuan died, Emperor Jing was only eight years old and unable to personally manage political affairs, so Liu Fang, Zheng Yi, and others corrected Yang Jian to assist the government, and Yang Jian was able to enter the general government.
The Northern Zhou Dynasty re-entered the era of xiangquan dominance, and the road to strengthening imperial power came to an end. In the process of Yang Jian's step-by-step generation of Zhou Jiansui, the Northern Zhou Sect Was also gradually eradicated by Yang Jian. After Emperor Xuan's death, Yang Jian assisted the government as a foreign relative, which was a major turning point in the political situation in the Northern Zhou Dynasty, and also an important foundation for Yang Jian's successful replacement of Zhou Jiansui.
I. Yang Jian's "Auxiliary Administration"
1. Emperor Xuan died
Emperor Xuan's illness lasted fifteen days from his violent illness to his death, during which time Yang Jian quickly came to power with the help of a group of Xuan Emperor's close attendants led by Liu Fang and Zheng Yi. Although Yang Jian came to power quickly, the process was thrilling. As his condition gradually deteriorated, Emperor Xuan had to hurry up and order the five kings to return to Beijing. A day later, Emperor Xuan's condition took a sharp turn for the worse, and he had to entrust the aftermath to his close associates Liu Fang and Yan Zhiyi.
Due to the aggravation of his illness, Emperor Xuan was unable to speak, and Emperor Jing was too young to personally govern, which gave Liu Fang and others the opportunity to correct the edict. After Emperor Xuan's death, his close associates and close ministers disagreed over the selection of auxiliary ministers and split into two camps.
A group of close ministers represented by Liu Fang and Zheng Yi elected Yang Jian to assist the government, which belonged to the faction of supporting the Xiangquan faction, and the imperial ornament doctor Liu Qiu, the imperial master Huang Fuji, and the internal history doctor Wei Wei also participated. Yan Zhiyi belonged to the faction of supporting imperial power, opposed to Yang Jian, who represented the power of Xiang, Yan Zhiyi was then the Grand Master of Yuzhengzhong, coexisting with Liu Fang and Zheng Yi in the core of power, believing that the auxiliary chancellor should be selected from the clan office, and Zhao Wang Yuwenzhao was the most suitable candidate.
While Yan Zhiyi advocated following Emperor Xuan's will, he also rebelled against Yang Jian by refusing to sign the false edict and handing over the seal. However, it was completely overridden by the Xiangquan faction and lacked foreign aid, which did not play a substantial role in countering Yang Jian. There is also a record of Yan Zhiyi's struggle with the Xiangquan faction, which is quite suspicious.
At the beginning of Emperor Xuan's death, Yuwen Zhao and the other five kings were still fiefdom, and in order to oppose Liu Fang and others, Yan Zhiyi conspired with eunuchs to lead the general Yuwen Zhong to assist the government. Confined to historical data, it is impossible to know who the great general Yuwen Zhong, who was the assistant politician cited by Yan Zhiyi, was.
What is certain is that Yuwen Zhong did not have any power in the dynasty, even if he had been led to the imperial seat by Yan Zhiyi and the eunuchs, as soon as he saw Emperor Xuan's former close minister Liu Fang and others enter the palace, he was in chaos, and finally was easily controlled by Yang Jian, which not only showed that Yu Wenzhong had no power to resist at this time, but also that Su Ri had no power to rely on. Yan Zhiyi advocated that the clan office should assist the government, and the citation of Yuwen Zhong should be the clan room, but it is impossible to determine its corresponding position in the clan room, and the identity remains to be investigated.
However, throughout the history, the records of the great general Yuwen Zhong are only this matter, and no members of the clan or Northern Zhou officials who matched it were found. At that time, there were many clans in the center, among which Emperor Xuan's brother Yuwen Zan was the most suitable candidate for auxiliary government in the dynasty from the perspective of identity, and Emperor Ming's eldest son Yuwen Xian, who was also a taishi and Yongzhou Mu, was the most powerful clan in the dynasty, and also very suitable for auxiliary government conditions.
2. Behind the scenes
In the tenth year of the reign of emperor (590), Yan Zhiyi entered the dynasty with the example, and Yang Jian praised him for having a big festival, "seeing the danger of being entrusted, the big festival is invincible, and the ancients are difficult, why add Qing", and rewarded him. The so-called "Great Festival" undoubtedly means that Yan Zhiyi scrupulously abided by Emperor Xuan's will and refused to sign the edict and hand over the seal, and it is difficult to compare the matter of introducing Yuwen Zhong's auxiliary government. If there was indeed such a thing, Yang Jian would definitely hold a grudge in his heart, and even if Yan Zhiyi could save his life at that time, it would be difficult to get a reward after ten years.
From this point of view, this record is probably a forgery. Yang Jian was able to successfully take power and assist the government, and it was inseparable from the help of Empress Yang of Xuandi. Judging from this historical record, Empress Yang supported her father Yang Jianfuzheng, but it seems that there was no actual action, and even unwilling to let her father replace Zhou.
However, after Yang Jianjian Sui, he said: "The princess has made great contributions to me", indicating that Empress Yang played a pivotal role in the process of Yang Jian's Zhou Dynasty. In fact, after Emperor Xuan's death, Empress Yang presided over the affairs of the palace. Princess Leping was given the title of Empress Yang after Yang Jianjian's Sui Dynasty.
Wang Shao's above table was to seek a basis for the legitimacy of the Sui Dynasty's rule, and he would definitely attach the Fu Order to what had already happened, so it is certain that Empress Yang handled internal affairs after Emperor Xuan's death. From the Northern Dynasty to the Sui and Tang Dynasties, there was no shortage of empresses interfering in politics, and empresses often exerted great influence on politics.
Second, the weakness of the Northern Zhou imperial family
With the assistance of Emperor Xuan's close associates Liu Fang, Zheng Yi, and Empress Yang, Yang Jian became an auxiliary chancellor, and in May of the second year of the Elephant (580), he falsely assumed Huang Yu and worshiped Zuo Daxiang, "a hundred officials always listen to themselves." However, the political situation in the DPRK and China was not optimistic about it, and the political status before Yang Jian came to power has been discussed earlier, Yang Jian's performance in the Northern Zhou political arena is mediocre, and as Emperor Xuan's father-in-law, he has unworthy military and political achievements.
1. The clan does nothing
Although Yang Jian's qualifications as an assistant were justified, they were not the most suitable candidates, and the Northern Zhou Sect and the ministers who were more senior than Yang Jian were obviously more suitable for auxiliary government. If Yang Jian wants to secure his position as an auxiliary government, he must first eliminate these political threats.
The Northern Zhou Clan was the most threatening to Yang Jian, and his imperial status naturally had more auxiliary advantages than Yang Jian, and there were many people in the clan who were equally respected and important as Yuwen Zhao, the King of Zhao. In the case of Emperor Jing's young lack of political ability, the Northern Zhou Clan, especially the six kings of the Clan Dynasty, naturally became the representative of the imperial power, standing on the opposite side of the Xiang Power represented by Yang Jian.
The strategy adopted by Yang Jian's auxiliary government against the Northern Zhou Sect was to appease the whole while it was difficult to easily break down one by one. It can be seen that before emperor Jing ascended the throne, Yang Jian promised the Northern Zhou Sect with no political threat or extremely low political threat to a high position without real power, and only gave formal privileges to those who were senior and respected, and put an end to their path of advancement.
Moreover, once the clan appears to "seek to govern", it will be ruthlessly cut down and eradicated. After Yang Jian came to power, he successively added officials to Yuwen Zan, Yuwen Zhen, Yuwen Chun, Yuwen Shu, Yuwen Zhen, And Yu Wenshi, most of whom were difficult to pose a political threat to Yang Jian due to their young age and lack of knowledge.
Yuwen Zan, the King of Han, was the second son of Emperor Wu, and after Emperor Xuan's death, he entered the state of Shangzhu and served as the right chancellor. Yang Jian was then the Grand Chancellor of the Left Dynasty, a false Yellow Emperor. On the surface, Yuwen Zan's status was higher than Yang Jian's, but in fact, Yang Jian held great power after assisting the government, so that "the hundred officials always listened to the left chancellor", Yuwen Zan was just a decoration, and Wang Lu once said to Emperor Wu at the palace banquet: "But hate the heirs weak ears." ”
Emperor Wu was deeply impressed, but because Yuwen Zan was not talented, he did not take Wang Lu's suggestion to depose Emperor Xuan as crown prince. When Yuwen Zan was the Right Chancellor, he was still young, less than a weak crown, had little political experience, and was not Yang Jian's opponent at all, and was quickly solved by Liu Fang. Although Yuwen Zan had the advantage of being the second brother of Emperor Xuan, he had not yet reached this point, and he had no political threat to Yang Jian at all, so yang Jian was also relieved to grant him a high position in the future.
In August of the second year (580), the elephant was promoted to taishi, ranking first among the three dukes. Yang Jian was very wary of the Northern Zhou clan, generally young people who lacked political experience were often easily promoted to high positions, and the promotion speed was extremely fast, and some elderly clans, although the political threat to Yang Jian was extremely low, but because of the early entry into the shi, Yang Jian was still vigilant, and there were many restrictions on his advancement, such as the case of Yu Wenchun, the Duke of Qiguo.
Yuwen Zhen, the Prince of Qin, was the third son of Emperor Wu, younger than Yuwen Zan, and in May of the second year of the elephant (580), Yang Jianfu was promoted to shangzhu state as soon as he was an assistant politician, while Yuwen Chun, who had been involved in politics for a long time, was promoted to shangzhu state in June of the same year. When Yuwen Washi was promoted to Ōtsuka Zai, Yuwen Tsubaki was appointed Grand Master. Although the status of close ministers such as Gosho and Uchishi had been greatly improved since Emperor Wu's pro-government, the power of Otsuka Zai had been greatly weakened. ”
However, Otsuka Zai's duty was, after all, to "rule the state as emperor", and he was still the nominal chief of officials such as Gosho and Uchishi, and was the head of the six secretaries, and its importance was not comparable to that of the office of the Great Priest. Although Yuwen Chun and Yuwen Chun were both six secretaries, Yuwen Chun's status was still inferior to that of the young Yuwen Chun.
2. Yang Jian's ambition
On the occasion of the Zhou sui dynasty, Yang Jian was made the King of Sui, and Yuwen Chun, as a taifu, together with Emperor Dazong and the general Zhao Yan, conferred the title of State Seal silk and Yang Jian, and soon as an official in the zen dynasty ceremony, he was advised to advance. The exact time of Yuwen Chun's appointment as Taifu is not recorded in the history books, and even in the Zhou Shu Jing Emperor Ji and Yuwen Chun's biography, there is no relevant record.
Yuwen Chun's status as a Taifu should have been added temporarily, in the service of the Zhou Sui Zen Ren ceremony. Sun Zhengjun believes that Zen Rang is one of the models of change of ancient Chinese dynasties, and among the many bureaucrats involved in Zen Rang, the most important is the official who gives the seal.
Since the Wei and Jin Dynasties, during the Southern and Northern Dynasties and even the Tang Dynasty, Zen Rangzhong mostly gave seals with a combination of "Taibao" and "Taiwei", but there were also some new changes in the Northern Dynasty, the Western Wei and Northern Zhou Zen Dynasties by Taibao and Dazong Bo Zhao Gui, and the Minbu Zhongfu Yuan Di Fengxi, in this Zen ceremony The significance of The Great Zongbo is more prominent.
Emperor Dazong of the Northern Zhou Dynasty was in charge of various ceremonial affairs of the state, and it was his duty to act as an official of the Zen concession ceremony. Yuwen Chun was able to appear as an official in the Zen ceremonies of the Zhou Sui Zen Dynasty, not as an official, but as a clan member.
The identity of Yuwen Chun's former patriarchal family symbolizes the recognition and affirmation of the new dynasty by the royal family of the old dynasty, and Yang Jian's previous series of slaughters of the Yuwen clan made Yuwen Chun the highest-ranking member of the Northern Zhou clan, so Yuwen Chun was fully qualified to represent the Northern Zhou royal family.
Yuwen Chun's role in this Zen dynasty ceremony is in line with the connotation of YuanDi of the Western Wei Dynasty in the Western Wei Northern Zhou Dynasty, which is one of Yang Jian's efforts to seek political legitimacy for his Zen Dynasty. During Yang Jian's reign, some of the clans serving in the Central Committee of northern Zhou could not pose a threat to Yang Jian's position, either because of their young age, or because of their lack of political experience or even political ability, or because they did not have political power to rely on.
During the Yuwen Protectorate period, the centralization of power in Northern Zhou continued to be effectively strengthened, and After Emperor Wu pro-government, he solved the problem of the main quarrel that had plagued Northern Zhou for many years, and the imperial power of Northern Zhou was restored, and the strengthening of centralized power reached a new height. Emperor Xuan's tyranny once again refreshed the degree of centralization of power in Northern Zhou, making the transition and implementation of power in Northern Zhou extremely easy to manipulate in the name of the emperor.
Liu Fang and Zheng Yi took advantage of this to successfully correct the edict, and Yang Jian also used this point to achieve the purpose of "blackmailing the Son of Heaven to order the princes". Yang Jian's auxiliary government was to some extent a kind of sabotage to the centralization of power in Northern Zhou. The resistance to Yang Jian's governance in the central government basically all came from the clan, and the antagonistic relationship between the two was fundamentally determined by the royal status of the clan.
epilogue
The courtiers ignored Yang Jian's attitude toward Zhou, and the vast majority of officials took a tacit or even affirmative stance toward Yang Jian's auxiliary government, especially the elder ministers Li Mu and Yu Yi firmly sided with Yang Jian in the three-way construction.
Li Mu even offered iron and Yang Jian, saying: "May the authority be enforced to iron the world." "The position of other ministers in the DPRK and China can be imagined. As early as when Yang Jian had just announced his auxiliary government, most of the hundred officials were subject to Yang Jian's force.