The second period of the Northern Dynasty was the opposition between the Eastern and Western Wei Dynasties, which existed at the same time. The emperors in the name of the Eastern and Western Wei dynasties were all Tuoba imperial or Yuan, but the major affairs of the state were in the hands of the powerful ministers, including the emperor. When Eastern Wei took the lead in ousting Emperor Xiaojing and successfully usurping the throne and sitting on the throne, the puppet emperor of Western Wei, Emperor Gong of Wei, Tuoba Kuo (元轮廓), also knew that he was about to step down and gave way to others, and the so-called "Wei" really ended.
Western Wei
Father and son are puppets
The last emperor of northern Wei, Emperor Xiaowu, was poisoned by Yuwen Tai, and because Yuwen Tai claimed that the emperor was not ripe, the Northern Wei imperial family Yuan Baoju was made emperor, and Western Wei was officially launched, opposing Eastern Wei.
And the three fathers and sons of Yuan Baoju climbed onto the dragon chair without real power one by one and listened to the command of the Yuwen family. After Yuan Baoju's death, the eldest son, Yuan Qin, succeeded to the throne as deposed emperor. Yuan Qin could not stand Yuwen Tai's dictatorship during his term of office, so he also launched a power grab against Yu Wentai, but unfortunately it also failed, so it was abolished. Yuwen Tai made Yuan Qin's younger brother Yuan Kuo emperor, emperor Of Wei Gong, and the titular last emperor of Western Wei.
From Yuan Baoju to Yuan Kuo, although both father and son were emperors, Western Wei was not surnamed Yuan, but surnamed Yuwen. The relationship between Yuan Baoju and Yuwen Tai, like the relationship between Yuan Shanmi and Gao Huan, is careful to maintain the relationship with the powerful ministers. After Yuan Qin succeeded to the throne, he wanted to launch a power grab but was deposed in failure, and the plot here is similar to the failure of Yuan Shanmi's action against Gao Cheng, and he is imprisoned. And when Yuan Kuo's inability to return to heaven and meet With Yuan Shan against Gao Yang, the scene reappeared.
The Eight Pillars of the Western Wei Dynasty
Stuff with the same ending
In 556 AD, Yuwen Tai, who had the same dream as Gao Huan but did not realize it, died of illness. Yuwen Hou, the next ruler of the Yuwen family, came to power, and Yuwen Hu assisted Yuwen Tai's eldest son, Yuwen Jue.
Because Yuwen Tai entrusted Yuwen Jue to Yuwen Hu before his death, the actual power was in Yuwen Hu's hands. Yuwen Hu stepped up the operation of the Yuwen family becoming an imperial family, and at the end of 556 AD, Yuwen Hu forced Emperor Gong of Wei to be located in Yuwen Jue, and then Yuwen Jue was proclaimed emperor and established Zhou, known as Northern Zhou. The Northern Dynasty officially entered the third period, and northern Zhou and Northern Qi were opposed.
After Western Wei Yuankuo was deposed, he was made the Duke of Song, but he was not killed. The end is consistent with the Eastern Wei Yuan Shan see, Zen position, first sealed, then killed. At this point, the Tuoba royal family truly withdrew from the stage of history.
Northern Zhou
Western Wei power was concentrated in the hands of the Yuwen family, so it was only a matter of time before it was replaced like Eastern Wei. However, the Development of Western Wei and Eastern Wei differed, and Yuwen Tai laid the foundation for the gap between Eastern and Western Wei and the later Northern Zhou and Northern Qi.
Defeating the Eastern Wei in many battles, while occupying most of the land from Southern Liang, coupled with effective political and economic measures, the Western Wei state gradually regained strength, and the social contradictions of the Eastern Wei were more prominent than those of the Eastern Wei. To a certain extent, this also affected the balance of strength between Northern Zhou and Northern Qi, and even the end of Northern Zhou's final destruction of Northern Qi.
The prefectural military system established by Yuwen Tai
When Yuwen Tai established Yuan Baoju, Yuan Qin, and Yuan Kuo as emperors, his replacement heart was definitely there, and it was getting stronger and stronger. However, because the time and place are not mature, they have not usurped the throne for a long time. Instead, three Yuan emperors were established successively to control the emperor to achieve the purpose of controlling the overall situation.
After the usurpation of the throne by the same Gao family in the east, the time had come for the Yuwen family to claim the title of emperor. The establishment of the Northern Zhou Dynasty was also the arrival of the last period of the Northern Dynasty. Northern Zhou and Northern Qi began a new round of competition until one side eliminated the other.