Standalone Northern and Southern Dynasties

Chapter 406 Shocking Change
Su Shun stood behind the imperial sedan chair of the new emperor Yuan Ziyou, his palms sweaty.

Su Ze, who was far away in Guanzhong, learned the news of the Heyin Incident through Su Shun.

Su Ze sighed in his heart, it finally happened.

Why did Erzhu Rong launch the Heyin Rebellion?
In the historical documents before Su Ze traveled through time, "Northern History" described the process of this coup in a rather comedic way.

Historical records say that Erzhu Rong launched a coup in order to usurp the throne, and after slaughtering all the ministers, Gao Huan persuaded Erzhu Rong to become emperor. At this time, Heba Yue, who was at odds with Gao Huan, persuaded Erzhu Rong, saying that raising an army was to serve the king, and that if he became emperor he would lose his moral integrity.

Then Erzhu Rong ordered the alchemists to cast statues, but all of them were broken, only the statue of Yuan Ziyou was completed. Erzhu Rong gave up the idea of ​​becoming emperor.

There is even a story in history books that Erzhu Rong was afraid of revenge from God because of his failure in casting the statue, so he wanted Yuan Tianmu to be the emperor, but Yuan Tianmu refused.

In Su Ze's view today, these are all fabricated stories in history books.

The reason is very simple. These are all records in "Northern History", which was compiled into a book in the Tang Dynasty.

The Tang Dynasty obtained its territory from the Sui Dynasty, and the Sui Dynasty obtained its territory from the Northern Zhou Dynasty. Therefore, Gao Huan, the founding emperor of the Northern Qi Dynasty, would certainly leave an image of an erratic and utilitarian villain in the "History of the Northern Dynasties".

In the "Book of Northern History", Erzhu Rong must have been a domineering and stupid military leader.

According to history books, Erzhu Rong was a man who only knew how to fight wars and was a clown in politics.

The reason for this is that the victory won by Erzhu Rong cannot be erased. Otherwise, the overall logic of history will not work, and we can only make up political jokes to discredit Erzhu Rong.

In the "Book of Northern History", there is also an "anecdote" about Erzhu Rong recognizing his father.

It is said that after Erzhu Rong attacked Sizhou, because the governor of Sizhou, Wei Qingbin, was one of the people with the surname Jia, Erzhu Rong wanted to recognize Wei Qingbin as his father.

This is brainless bashing. If Erzhu Rong really wants to acknowledge his father, he should change his surname to Wei Rong.

In terms of noble surnames, the surname Jia is not as noble as the surname Yuan. Why didn't Erzhu Rong follow his sworn brother Yuan Tianmu and change his surname to Yuan?
Moreover, considering Erzhu Rong's arrogance, it was good enough that he did not kill Wei Qingbin, a defeated general.

In this time and space, after Erzhu Rong conquered Sizhou, he actually imprisoned Wei Qingbin.

Considering the current situation, Su Ze could understand Erzhu Rong's behavior.

The water in Luoyang is too deep. Ge Rong in Hebei is getting more and more aggressive. He will definitely attack Luoyang again after the spring.

"Purge the court of evil officials" was Erzhu Rong's slogan when he entered Luoyang. Guanzhong was a strategically important place, so Erzhu Rong would certainly expand towards Hebei.

Such a crucial battle must and can only be fought by Erzhu Rong himself.

Therefore, Erzhu Rong could not stay in Luoyang for a long time, and he would leave Luoyang after the spring.

But once Erzhu Rong leaves Luoyang, his control over Luoyang will surely decline, and then the emperor and these insect-like Luoyang nobles will surely cause trouble.

This group of people may not have the ability to get things done, but they are definitely capable of doing bad things.

Therefore, Erzhu Rong launched the Heyin Rebellion only to clear out the old forces in Luoyang, intimidate Emperor Yuan Ziyou, and create a good environment for himself to go on an expedition to quell the rebellion.

Erzhu Rong launched the Heyin Rebellion in order to establish his authority, not to usurp the throne.

Of course, Erzhu Rong originally had another option, which was to move the emperor and all officials to Jinyang and keep them under his control.

But in this time and space, Erzhu Rong had no choice because Su Ze was eyeing Guanzhong covetously.

But Su Ze originally thought that since he was intimidating Erzhu Rong in Guanzhong, his methods would be gentler and more sophisticated.

But Erzhu Rong is Erzhu Rong. If he is timid, he will not be Erzhu Rong. Perhaps it is precisely because of his deterrence in Guanzhong that Erzhu Rong became more determined to cut the Gordian knot and launch the Heyin Rebellion.
-
As expected, after the imperial sedan chair was lifted, Su Shun saw that Wang Zunye, the eunuch who was lecturing the emperor, was also dragged to the river bank by two soldiers as ferocious as wolves and tigers.

Yuan Ziyou's face turned pale now, and he seemed to understand what Erzhu Rong was going to do.

There were princes on the river bank, including Yuan Yong, the current head of the royal family who had escaped unscathed from several coups in Luoyang. Some princes whom Yuan Ziyou had secretly befriended through his brothers were also there.

There were gentry on the river bank, and both the five surnames of the Han people and the eight surnames of the Xianbei people had representatives on the river bank.

There were relatives by marriage on the river bank, and all of Empress Dowager Hu's relatives were also on the river bank.

Those on the riverbank were all forces that threatened Erzhu Rong's rule in Luoyang. These more than a thousand people also understood something and some of them were already crying and wailing.

Erzhu Rong rode his horse to the river bank surrounded by elite soldiers and shouted:

"Prince Gaoyang Yuan Yong is plotting a rebellion! You are all Yuan Yong's followers!"

There was an uproar on the river bank!
Some people cursed Erzhu Rong and called him a traitor to the country.

Some begged, saying that they had nothing to do with Yuan Yong.

Some cried bitterly, knowing that they could not escape now.

There are some crazy people who want to rush out and escape from the encirclement of elite soldiers. They will die the fastest.

Seeing the blood, the river bank became even more chaotic. Erzhu Rong didn't even think of listening to the last words of these insects. He ordered the soldiers to drive these princes and nobles into the Yellow River, and then rode back to Yuan Ziyou's imperial sedan chair.

Seeing Erzhu Rong's cruel methods, Yuan Ziyou was trembling with fear.

He was also a person who experienced many coups, but it was rare for someone like Erzhu Rong to implicate such a large number of people and to strike such a wide range.

In fact, Erzhu Rong did not kill many people in his various coups. During the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, he killed countless nobles, princes, and ministers, and he killed thirteen prime ministers.

Emperor Xuan of Han executed Huo Guang's entire family, and thousands of people were implicated.

During the Sui Dynasty, there was even a record of a major case that implicated 300,000 households.

As for the number of people implicated and executed in major cases during the Ming and Qing dynasties, it is not even on the same order of magnitude.

However, these emperors had to be killed slowly like Emperor Wu of Han, or their entire families were implicated. There were not many who were killed directly on the banks of the Yellow River like Erzhu Rong.

Moreover, when other emperors killed people, they would basically fabricate a crime and go through the judicial process to execute them. However, the only person who could be compared to Erzhu Rong in terms of his crude method, who directly tricked people into the Yellow River to hold a diving competition, was Huang Chao.

Erzhu Rong was also different from others. During the Heyin Rebellion, he did not kill the entire family, but only killed the leading figures of these families.

Su Ze even thought that if Erzhu Rong really killed all these families, his reputation in history books would be better.

Yuan Ziyou looked at Erzhu Rong. After all, he was also a descendant of the Yuan family. The remaining trace of blood in his blood supported him to ask:

"Emperors come and go, prosperity and decline are unpredictable. Did the King of Taiyuan support me just to make me a king who will lose his country?"

Erzhu Rong said:
"Your Majesty, you are too kind. I am a loyal minister of the Wei Dynasty and have no intention of usurping the throne."

"Then why did you massacre the ministers in Heyin?"

Erzhu Rong said righteously:

"Because they are treacherous ministers! I raised my army and announced it to the world to purge the emperor's side! Isn't the current situation of the Wei Dynasty caused by these insects?"

This answer left Yuan Ziyou speechless.

Yes, the dynasty that was taken over from Emperor Xiaowen had become like this in less than thirty years. The princes, nobles and aristocratic families in Heyin must bear most of the responsibility.

If the imperial guards had not been exhausted and there had not been constant political struggles in the court after several expeditions, Erzhu Rong would not have attacked Luoyang.

It is not an exaggeration to say that it is all his own fault.

Looking at Yuan Ziyou who talked back to him, Erzhu Rong's attitude became softer.

What he needed was an emperor who was smart enough and restrained enough.

After the spring, he was going to go out to attack Ge Rong. Erzhu Rong had already made the decision to attack east first and then west. Guanzhong was an independent area with the dangers of Tongguan and the Yellow River, so it was too difficult to attack Guanzhong.

In comparison, Ge Rong, who plundered Hebei, was a better target.

As long as he could pacify Hebei as soon as possible, he could use the territories outside Guanzhong to fight against Guanzhong. The territories outside Guanzhong would definitely be richer and have greater war potential.

Once Erzhu Rong leaves Luoyang, his control over Luoyang will inevitably decline.

He needs a smart person to cooperate with him, and this smart person must also understand the principle of tolerance for the sake of the country in the face of the overall situation, and should not continue to cause trouble after being educated.

Seeing Yuan Ziyou's expression, Erzhu Rong was sure that he was terrified.

Based on Erzhu Rong's hunting experience, such frightened prey would immediately collapse to the ground in fear after hearing the sound of the bowstring.

Erzhu Rong was confident that he had "tamed" Yuan Ziyou.

The sounds on the river bank became quieter and quieter. As the soldiers' encirclement narrowed, more princes and nobles were pushed off the river bank and fell into the surging Yellow River.

The instinct for survival made the people on the river bank show all kinds of human nature.

Huangmen Lang Wang Zunye was indeed a great scholar of the time. He straightened his clothes on the river bank, kowtowed in the direction of Yuan Ziyou's sedan chair, and then calmly jumped into the Yellow River to die.

The pampered and noble King Gaoyang Yuanyong, regardless of his status as a prince, knelt on the ground and begged for mercy from Gao Huan, who was urging the soldiers to advance. Not only did he cry and have a runny nose, he even couldn't control his urine and feces.

Gao Huan found the scene disgusting so he snatched a soldier's spear and stabbed Yuan Yong to death. He then ordered his body to be thrown into the Yellow River.

There were also some who tried to resist. Yuan Ziyou's two brothers, King Pengcheng and King Shiping, led some of Yuan's sons and daughters to charge at the soldiers. However, they had no horses and no weapons, so their action was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot. They died one after another on the soldiers' spears.

There were also some who tried to be clever, such as Hejian Wang Yuanchen, who hid among the corpses and pretended to be dead, but was discovered by Heba Sheng, who stabbed him to death with a spear.

By noon, Yuan Tianmu, who stayed in Luoyang, received the news and finally rushed to Heyin on horseback. At this time, more than a thousand princes, nobles and aristocrats had been driven into the Yellow River, and the river bank was dyed red with blood.

Yuan Tianmu looked at Erzhu Rong and sighed deeply. He rode his horse up to Erzhu Rong and said:
"King Taiyuan, are you going to kill all the officials in Luoyang?"

Erzhu Rong smiled and said:

"Brother, why are you so angry? These are all the insects around His Majesty. Now they have been cleared out. All the officials in Luoyang City will be forgiven and promoted three levels."

Gao Huan and Heba Sheng also came back to report. Erzhu Rong pointed to the river bank and said:

"This soil is more auspicious than the five-colored soil. Take a piece and bring it to the altar. Your Majesty, please ascend the altar and offer sacrifices to the altar."

The story of cutting the Gordian knot comes from Gao Yang, the son of Gao Huan.

"Book of Northern Qi·Wenxuanji" records: "Emperor Gaozu tried to observe the thoughts of his disciples and asked each of them to sort out the disorderly threads. The emperor drew his sword and cut them off, saying: 'Those who are disorderly must be cut off.'"



(End of this chapter)