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68-423: Erzhu Tianguang's father was a cousin of Erzhu Rong , who was a Northern Wei general and the chief of the ethnic Xiongnu Qihu ( 契胡 ) tribe. In Erzhu Tianguang's youth, he was described to be resolute and capable in archery and horseriding. Erzhu Rong considered him a close confidant, and often discussed military matters with him. In 528, after Emperor Xiaoming was poisoned by his mother Empress Dowager Hu , it

136-516: A campaign to end Empress Dowager Hu's regency, and therefore prepared his army for campaign, while claiming that he was seeking to attack the rebel Ge Rong (葛榮), who had claimed the title Emperor of Qi. Empress Dowager Hu, under advice from Xu, tried to alienate Erzhu's generals from him by awarding them "iron certificates" (鐵券, tie quan , advance promises to pardon death-eligible crimes), and when Erzhu realized this, he became increasingly resentful of Empress Dowager Hu. Meanwhile, Emperor Xiaoming, who

204-410: A close watch on Emperor Xiaozhuang even though he was largely away from the capital. He also wanted Emperor Xiaozhuang to marry his daughter as his empress. Because this constituted incest under Confucian traditions, Emperor Xiaozhuang hesitated, but under the suggestion of the official Zu Ying (祖瑩), who advised that this marriage would be advantageous, Emperor Xiaozhuang agreed. Emperor Xiaozhuang

272-444: A coup or Emperor Xiaozhuang to act against him, and many fled. When Erzhu arrived at the capital, however, he entered the palace with minimal guards and without weapons, and so Emperor Xiaozhuang considered not acting against him. Yuan Hui, however, persuaded Emperor Xiaozhuang that even if Erzhu Rong was not planning a coup, that he still should not be allowed to be left alive. Emperor Xiaozhuang feared, however, that Yuan Tianmu, who

340-574: A harshly worded statement accusing Zheng and Xu of poisoning Emperor Xiaoming. Empress Dowager Hu sent Erzhu Rong's cousin Erzhu Shilong to try to persuade him to change his mind, but Erzhu Shilong instead encouraged him to continue his resistance. He therefore prepared to advance south, and meanwhile sent messengers to persuade Emperor Xuanwu's well-regarded cousin Yuan Ziyou the Prince of Changle to accept

408-547: A member of the Erzhu clan. Erzhu Rong therefore put Erzhu Tianguang in command of the army, with Heba and Houmochen Yue ( 侯莫陳悅 ) as Erzhu Tianguang's lieutenants. Erzhu Tianguang was given a relatively small army, and initially the campaign against Moqi appeared hopeless, but with Erzhu Tianguang himself and Heba both being capable generals, they scored initial victories and then misled Moqi into believing that they would rest several months before taking further action. Instead, they made

476-420: A surprise attack against Moqi, capturing him in battle, and then captured Moqi's capital Gaoping ( 高平 , in modern Guyuan , Ningxia ) and Moqi's prime minister Xiao Baoyin . Erzhu Tianguang's follow-up campaign against Moqi Chounu's general Moqi Daoluo ( 万俟道洛 ), however, was initially unsuccessful, and Erzhu Rong, in anger, had Emperor Xiaozhuang demote his rank and title to marquess. Erzhu Tianguang, however,

544-613: A surprise attack, defeating Moqi and capturing him. He then captured Moqi's capital Gaoping (高平, in modern Guyuan , Ningxia ), capturing Moqi's general Xiao Baoyin – a former major Northern Wei general and Southern Qi prince who had, during Emperor Xiaoming's reign unsuccessfully tried to reestablish Southern Qi. Moqi was executed, and while many officials friendly with Xiao tried to plead for Xiao's life, Emperor Xiaozhuang ordered Xiao to commit suicide. Erzhu Tianguang subsequently defeated another major rebel, Wang Qingyun (王慶雲), and Moqi Chounu's general Moqi Daoluo (万俟道洛), largely pacifying

612-513: A vassal state to Liang. Emperor Xiaozhuang's administration did not consider Yuan Hao a serious threat at the moment, and instead sent a large army, commanded by Yuan Tianmu and Erzhu Rong's nephew Erzhu Zhao , to attack Xing first. Xing was captured and executed in summer 529, but Chen and Yuan Hao, who declared himself the emperor of Northern Wei upon entering Northern Wei territory, took the opportunity to capture Yingyang (滎陽, in modern Zhengzhou , Henan ), defeating Yuan Tianmu as he returned from

680-570: The Book of Wei , written during the succeeding Northern Qi (whose imperial family was Gao Huan's descendants), was largely highly critical of the Erzhus, but remarked that Erzhu Tianguang was, unlike the other Erzhu clan members, neither corrupt nor violent, and praised him for his recapturing the western provinces for Northern Wei. Erzhu Rong Erzhu Rong (爾朱榮) (493 – November 1, 530 ), courtesy name Tianbao (天寶), formally Prince Wu of Jin (晉武王),

748-481: The Yellow River to drown. Empress Dowager Hu and Yuan Zhao would not be Erzhu's only victims, however. Fei suggested to Erzhu that since his army was actually small, as soon as the imperial officials realized the situation, they would resist him. He suggested that Erzhu carry out a massacre of the imperial officials, and Erzhu, despite the opposition of his strategist Murong Shaozong (慕容紹宗), proceeded. Erzhu ordered

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816-467: The nine bestowments – symbols of great honor that usually preceded usurpations, and Emperor Xiaozhuang pretended not to understand, and did not bestow the nine bestowments on Erzhu. Yuan Hui (元徽) the Prince of Chengyang, the husband of Emperor Xiaozhuang's cousin, and Li Yu (李彧), Emperor Xiaozhuang's brother-in-law, both wanted more power, and saw the Erzhus as in their way, and therefore persuaded Emperor Xiaozhuang that one day Erzhu Rong would indeed usurp

884-456: The Erzhus practiced husbandry and became extremely wealthy from the accumulation of livestock. Erzhu Rong himself was born in 493, during the reign of Emperor Xiaowen . When Erzhu Rong's father Erzhu Xinxing (爾朱新興) grew old, Erzhu Xinxing asked that the chief post be passed to Erzhu Rong, and the imperial government agreed. Erzhu Rong was described to be a pale-skinned man who was handsome, resolute, ambitious and capable in military matters, and

952-583: The Prince of Jin'an was declared emperor in early 466 in Xunyang (尋陽, in modern Jiujiang , Jiangxi ). After Emperor Ming's forces defeated Liu Zixun's and captured and executed Liu Zixun in fall 466, the Liu Song general Xue Andu (薛安都), the governor of Xu Province (徐州, modern northern Jiangsu and northern Anhui ), who had initially declared for Liu Zixun, was apprehensive that he would be punished by Emperor Ming, and so decided to surrender to Northern Wei, and soon, he

1020-502: The Princess Beixiang . Eventually, the Erzhu clan members, led by Erzhu Shilong and Erzhu Zhao, gathered with their armies, and defeated and killed Emperor Xiaozhuang. When they subsequently made Yuan Gong the Prince of Guangling emperor (as Emperor Jiemin), Erzhu Rong was posthumously honored the Prince of Jin, with the posthumous name Wu (武, "martial"), and enshrined in the shrine of Emperor Xiaowen. Erzhu Shilong also converted

1088-501: The Qihu (契胡) tribe of Jie extraction, and they used Erzhu as their family name after settling on Erzhu River (modern Zhujia River, Shanxi). Erzhu Rong's great-great-grandfather Erzhu Yujian (爾朱羽健) had assisted Northern Wei's founding emperor Emperor Daowu in his campaigns, and therefore was granted the Xiurong (秀容, in modern Shuozhou , Shanxi ) region as the Erzhus' hereditary domain. There,

1156-524: The Yellow River, causing Yuan Hao's forces to collapse, and while Chen tried to withdraw, his army was defeated as well. Yuan Hao was killed in flight, and Emperor Xiaozhuang again entered Luoyang to assume the throne. In spring 530, Erzhu Rong sent his nephew Erzhu Tianguang , assisted by the generals Heba Yue (賀拔岳) and Houmochen Yue (侯莫陳悅), to attack Moqi Chounu. Erzhu Tianguang, after tricking Moqi into believing that an attack would not come quickly, made

1224-521: The army camp. Emperor Xiaozhuang, in fear and anger, sent a messenger to Erzhu, suggesting that he would be willing to yield the throne, either to Erzhu or to yet another person that Erzhu designated. Erzhu, under suggestion of Gao Huan , toyed with the ideas of taking the throne himself or offering it to Yuan Tianmu, himself a member of the imperial clan, albeit distant from the recent emperors' lineage. Subsequently, however, his sorcerer Liu Lingzhu (劉靈助) predicted that neither Erzhu himself nor Yuan Tianmu

1292-722: The campaign against Xing, and approached Luoyang. Emperor Xiaozhuang decided to flee Luoyang, and he crossed the Yellow River to rendezvous with Erzhu Rong and Yuan Tianmu at Zhangzi (長子, in modern Changzhi , Shanxi ). Meanwhile, Yuan Hao entered Luoyang unopposed, and the provinces south of the Yellow River largely declared allegiance to Yuan Hao. Yuan Hao, however, believed that he had already succeeded and began to plot against Chen and his Liang forces, wanting to throw off Liang's control. He therefore sent messengers to persuade Liang's Emperor Wu not to send any additional reinforcements. Erzhu's forces, meanwhile, were stymied against Chen, but eventually Erzhu made an attack at night and crossed

1360-536: The criminal cases generally were paid more attention, and while they took longer to process, the results were considered more just. In 476, legend claims that still resentful of Emperor Xianwen, Empress Dowager Feng killed him. (Most historians, including Sima Guang , believed that she poisoned him, but another version indicated that Empress Dowager Feng readied assassins who, when Emperor Xianwen came to her palace to greet her, seized and smothered him.) However, studies by Zhou Siyuan (周思源) point out that if Feng had killed

1428-530: The emperor. Both Emperor Xiaozhuang and Yuan Ye conferred princely titles on Erzhu Tianguang, and Erzhu Tianguang eventually accepted Yuan Ye's bestowment of the Prince of Longxi title, but did not make further threatening gestures against Emperor Xiaozhuang. Around the new year 531, Erzhu Zhao made a surprise attack on Luoyang and captured it and Emperor Xiaozhuang, and only then did Erzhu Tianguang go to Luoyang to meet with Erzhu Zhao and Erzhu Shilong, but soon returned to his post at Chang'an. While Erzhu Tianguang

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1496-440: The empire, which had been largely divided by agrarian rebellions that rose during the reign of Emperor Xiaoming. At that time, the more major rebels included: Erzhu's first target was Ge, who had put the important city Yecheng under siege and was getting close to the Yellow River. With just 7,000 cavalry soldiers, Erzhu caught the much larger Ge army by surprise and crushed it, capturing Ge and delivering him to Luoyang, where Ge

1564-553: The fortress of Beizhong ( 北中 , just north of Luoyang across the Yellow River ), and when Erzhu Dulü and Erzhu Tianguang failed to recapture Beizhong, they were forced to flee, and they were captured and delivered to Husi, who in turn delivered them, as well as the heads of Erzhu Shilong and Erzhu Shilong's brother Erzhu Yanbo ( 爾朱彥伯 ) (whom Husi had earlier captured and executed on 20 May) to Gao. Gao had Erzhu Tianguang and Erzhu Dulü executed in August. The official history of Northern Wei,

1632-454: The four-year-old crown prince took the throne as Emperor Xiaowen on September 20, 471. Emperor Xianwen himself took the title of Taishang Huangdi (retired emperor) the next day. As retired emperor, however, Emperor Xianwen continued to be in control of the Imperial regime, and all important matters were still submitted to him. He spent much time on criminal law matters, and during this time,

1700-657: The general Murong Baiyao (慕容白曜) to attack and try to capture Liu Song's Qing (青州, modern central and eastern Shandong) and Ji (冀州, modern northwestern Shandong) Provinces, which were cut off from the rest of Liu Song after Xue's defection, and by 469, both provinces fell into Northern Wei hands, and all of the regions north of the Huai River were by now Northern Wei territory. In 467, Emperor Xianwen's concubine Consort Li—a daughter of his uncle Li Hui (李惠) and therefore his cousin—bore his oldest child Tuoba Hong (different character than his own), and Empress Dowager Feng personally raised

1768-679: The generals Husi Chun and Heba Sheng ( 賀拔勝 , Heba Yue's brother) persuaded Erzhu Shilong to put pressure on Erzhu Tianguang to act against Gao Huan. Soon, Erzhu Tianguang took his army to converge with Erzhu Zhao, and Erzhu Shilong's brothers Erzhu Dulü ( 爾朱度律 ) and Erzhu Zhongyuan ( 爾朱仲遠 ) at the important city Yecheng , which Gao had taken earlier in 532. Despite numerical advantage, however, Gao defeated them, and Erzhu Zhao fled back to Jinyang ( 晉陽 , in modern Taiyuan , Shanxi ), while Erzhu Zhongyuan fled back to Huatai ( 滑台 , in modern Anyang , Henan ). Erzhu Tianguang and Erzhu Dulü retreated toward Luoyang, but Husi rebelled at this time, seizing

1836-745: The generals Zheng Xianhu (鄭先護, Zheng Yan's cousin) and Fei Mu (費穆) surrendered to Erzhu Rong. Upon hearing the bad news, Empress Dowager Hu ordered all of Emperor Xiaoming's consorts to become nuns. She herself took tonsure as well, but did not declare herself a nun. Erzhu ordered the imperial officials to welcome Emperor Xiaozhuang into the capital, and the officials complied. Erzhu then sent cavalry soldiers to arrest Empress Dowager Hu and Yuan Zhao and deliver them to his camp at Heyin (河陰, near Luoyang). Once Empress Dowager Hu met Erzhu, she tried to repeatedly explain and defend her actions. Erzhu became impatient of her explanations, and he left abruptly and ordered that Empress Dowager Hu and Yuan Zhao be thrown into

1904-468: The greater title of Duke of Guangzong. In 530, with Moqi Chounu, who had claimed imperial title by that point, attacking and seizing parts of the Guanzhong region, Erzhu Rong was initially going to send the general Heba Yue ( 賀拔岳 ) to command an army against Moqi. However, Heba Yue declined to be in command, believing that he would draw suspicions even if were victorious, and instead offering to serve under

1972-580: The hands of the official Yifu Hun , who assumed dictatorial powers and killed a large number of other officials, including Yang Baoping (楊保平), Jia Airen (賈愛仁) the Duke of Pingyang, and Zhang Tiandu (張天度), Qiumuling Duohou (丘穆陵多侯), Tuoba Yu (拓拔郁) the Duke of Shunyang, and Emperor Wencheng's prime minister Buliugu Li . However, in 466, Empress Dowager Feng staged a coup and had Yifu arrested and executed. She assumed regency herself. Empress Dowager Feng engaged Jia Xiu (賈秀), Gao Yun , and Gao Lü (高閭) as her assistants in

2040-521: The idea of moving the capital to Jinyang (晉陽, in modern Taiyuan , Shanxi ). It was not until Erzhu offered offices to the heirs of the officials who died and publicly renounced the idea of moving the capital that the people began to return to Luoyang. Nevertheless, Erzhu Rong, while publicly returning authority to Emperor Xiaozhuang, retained command of the armed forces, while putting several officials closely aligned with him, including Yuan Tianmu and his cousin Erzhu Shilong , into high positions, and kept

2108-551: The imperial government to control Erzhu Rong. Sometime during Emperor Xiaoming's reign, Emperor Xiaoming took Erzhu Rong's daughter Lady Erzhu as a concubine . By 528, the ambitious Erzhu Rong had seen that Empress Dowager Hu, who was serving as Emperor Xiaoming's regent , had grown increasingly unpopular with the people due to her toleration of corruption by her lover Zheng Yan (鄭儼) and Zheng's associate Xu Ge (徐紇). under advice from his generals Gao Huan and Heba Yue (賀拔岳) and close friend Yuan Tianmu (元天穆), Erzhu considered waging

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2176-480: The imperial officials to his camp at Heyin (河陰, near Luoyang) under the pretense that Emperor Xiaozhuang was going to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth there, and then surrounded the imperial officials and slaughtered them, killing more than 2,000 of them, including Emperor Xiaozhuang's uncle, the prime minister Yuan Yong the Prince of Gaoyang. Erzhu also sent soldiers to assassinate Yuan Shao and Yuan Zizheng, while putting Emperor Xiaozhuang under effective arrest in

2244-518: The news still leaked. Zheng and Xu advised Empress Dowager Hu to poison Emperor Xiaoming, and she did so. She, after initially declaring a child of Emperor Xiaoming emperor, soon admitted that the child was a daughter, not a son, and therefore ineligible for the throne. She then declared Yuan Zhao , a two-year-old child and son of Yuan Baohui (元寶暉) the Prince of Lintao (a distant cousin of Emperor Xiaoming), emperor. Erzhu refused to recognize Yuan Zhao as emperor. With support from Yuan Tianmu, he issued

2312-844: The official Li Yi (李奕) as her lover. In 470, the official Li Xin (李訢), who was a close friend of Li Yi's brother Li Fu (李敷), was accused of corruption, and Emperor Xianwen became aware of the accusations even though Li Fu tried to suppress the reports. He had known about his stepmother's relationship with Li Yi and, while he had not taken any actions against it at that point, disapproved of it. He sentenced Li Xin to death, but then informed Li Xin that if he could report on crimes that Li Fu and Li Yi had committed, he would be spared. After initial reluctance, Li Xin did so, and another man named Fan Biao (范標) also did so. Emperor Xianwen then executed Li Fu and Li Yi. Empress Dowager Feng became resentful of Emperor Xianwen after that point. In 471, because of Emperor Xianwen's philosophical interests, he wanted to leave

2380-466: The palace, and some wanted to slaughter Erzhu's associates in the capital and militarily resist. Emperor Xiaozhuang hesitated and did not take any actions initially. Meanwhile, Erzhu Shilong heard rumors of Emperor Xiaozhuang's conspiracy and reported them to Erzhu Rong, but Erzhu Rong did not believe that Emperor Xiaozhuang would dare to turn against him and therefore arrived at Luoyang anyway. The populace of Luoyang expected either Erzhu Rong to carry out

2448-412: The rebel Emperor of Qi, Ge Rong ( 葛榮 ), he entrusted his entire home base, including Bing Province ( 并州 , roughly modern Taiyuan , Shanxi ) to Erzhu Tianguang as well, remarking, "Only you can make me feel secure about places where I am not at." In 529, Erzhu Tianguang was one of the generals under the command of Erzhu Rong's close associate Yuan Tianmu ( 元天穆 ) when Yuan Tianmu attacked and defeated

2516-569: The rebel general Xing Gao ( 邢杲 ). At the same time, however, Yuan Hao the Prince of Beihai, who also claimed the throne, was attacking Luoyang with the support of rival Liang Dynasty , and Yuan Tianmu was unable to stop Yuan Hao. Emperor Xiaozhuang fled Luoyang, and Yuan Tianmu and Erzhu Tianguang also fled north with their troops, joining with Erzhu Rong. Erzhu Rong sent Erzhu Tianguang back to Bing and Si Provinces to secure them, before he himself advanced south and defeated Yuan Hao. After Yuan Hao's defeat, Emperor Xiaozhuang created Erzhu Tianguang

2584-457: The rebel generals Gedouling Yili ( 紇豆陵伊利 ) and Moqi Shouluogan ( 万俟受洛干 ), who controlled the modern central and western Gansu , and prepared for possible action in the east, although he did not immediately intervene in the campaign between Gao and his fellow Erzhu clan members, even after Gao defeated Erzhu Zhao in battle late in 531. In 532, hoping to force Erzhu Tianguang to come to his clan members' aid so that they could be destroyed together,

2652-496: The rebuilding of the Northern Wei state by putting down the various agrarian rebellions that had fractured the state during Emperor Xiaoming's reign. However, in 530, Emperor Xiaozhuang, believing that Erzhu would eventually usurp the throne, tricked Erzhu into the palace and ambushed him. Subsequently, however, Erzhu's clan members, led by his cousin Erzhu Shilong and nephew Erzhu Zhao , defeated and killed Emperor Xiaozhuang. He

2720-441: The regency. Later, she also incorporated her brother Feng Xi (馮熙) into the decision-making circle. Empress Dowager Feng was soon presented with a major opportunity to expand Northern Wei territory, as also in 466, rival Liu Song had a major dynastic succession struggle after Liu Ziye was assassinated in 465. Emperor Qianfei's uncle Emperor Ming of Song was declared emperor in the capital Jiankang , while his brother Liu Zixun

2788-534: The region. He thus received increasing authorities and honors, and was by 526 the Duke of Liang Commandery. That year, when he approached the government-held Si Province (肆州, roughly modern Xinzhou , Shanxi ), the governor of Si Province, Wei Qingbin (尉慶賓) became apprehensive of his intentions and refused to let him enter. This drew Erzhu's ire, and he attacked Wei, seizing him and commissioning his uncle Erzhu Yusheng (爾朱羽生) as governor without imperial permission. From this point on, it became increasingly difficult for

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2856-407: The same time, according to Northern Wei customs, ordered Consort Li to commit suicide. On 20 June 465, Emperor Wencheng died, and the 11-year-old Crown Prince Hong ascended the throne as Emperor Xianwen the next day. Emperor Wencheng's wife Empress Feng was honored as empress dowager , and Emperor Xianwen's deceased mother Consort Li was posthumously honored as Empress Yuan. Power soon fell into

2924-569: The same year and was described in traditional histories to be missed by all in the palace, she was probably forced to commit suicide pursuant to Northern Wei customs. In 470, resentful that Murong Baiyao had flattered Yifu Hun while Yifu was in power, Emperor Xianwen, in an act that appeared to be uncharacteristic for his reign, falsely accused Murong Baiyao of treason and put him and his son Murong Ruyi (慕容如意) to death. Also in 470, an event would damage Emperor Xianwen's relationship with his stepmother Empress Dowager Feng. Empress Dowager Feng had taken

2992-623: The temple of the Duke of Zhou to be a temple of Erzhu Rong. After the Erzhus were defeated and overthrown by Gao Huan in 532, much of the honor given to Erzhu Rong was removed, but Erzhu Rong was never personally denounced, as Gao had been a subordinate of his and subsequently took Lady Erzhu as a concubine. Wei Shou had these comments about Erzhu Rong: Emperor Xianwen of Northern Wei Emperor Xianwen of Northern Wei ((北)魏獻文帝) ( c. August 454 – 20 July 476 ), personal name Tuoba Hong , Xianbei name Didouyin (第豆胤), courtesy name Wanmin (萬民),

3060-539: The throne as a competing claimant to the throne. Yuan Ziyou agreed, and as Erzhu Rong approached Luoyang, Yuan Ziyou and his brothers Yuan Shao (元劭) the Prince of Pengcheng and Yuan Zizheng (元子正) the Duke of Bacheng secretly left Luoyang to join Erzhu's army. Erzhu declared him emperor (as Emperor Xiaozhuang). In turn, Emperor Xiaozhuang created Erzhu the Prince of Taiyuan. As soon as news of Emperor Xiaozhuang's ascension reached Luoyang, Luoyang's defenses collapsed, and Zheng and Xu, abandoning Empress Dowager Hu, fled, while

3128-444: The throne to spend more time on his studies. He wanted to pass his throne to his uncle Tuoba Zitui (拓拔子推) the Prince of Jingzhao, who was highly praised by all officials. He therefore summoned an imperial council to discuss the matter. The officials largely opposed Emperor Xianwen's proposal, and suggested instead that if Emperor Xianwen wanted to leave the throne, he should pass the throne to Crown Prince Hong. He therefore did so, and

3196-572: The throne, ambushed him in the palace and killed him. Erzhu Rong's cousin Erzhu Shilong and nephew Erzhu Zhao rebelled, declaring Erzhu Rong's wife Princess Beixiang's nephew Yuan Ye the Prince of Changguang emperor. However, Erzhu Tianguang initially took no corresponding action; rather, when Emperor Xiaozhuang sent his official Zhu Rui ( 朱瑞 ) to try to persuade Erzhu Tianguang to join his side, Erzhu Tianguang deliberately made ambiguous gestures, trying to instead encourage Emperor Xiaozhuang to abandon Luoyang and flee, rather than to directly confront

3264-470: The throne. Emperor Xiaozhuang also feared a repeat of the Heyin Massacre, and therefore engaged his officials Yang Kan (楊侃) and Yuan Luo (元羅) in the conspiracy as well. in fall 530, with Empress Erzhu pregnant, Erzhu Rong requested to come to the capital to attend to his daughter for childbirth. Emperor Xiaozhuang's associates were divided in their opinions—some wanted to assassinate Erzhu when he came to

3332-456: The western empire. Soon thereafter, Erzhu Rong's generals Hou Yuan (侯淵) and Liu Lingzhu defeated and killed Han Lou, and the empire became basically reunified. However, Emperor Xiaozhuang was secretly unhappy about these victories by the Erzhu forces, believing that this made an usurpation by Erzhu Rong closer to reality. Inside his own palace, he felt under pressure by the jealous Empress Erzhu. Erzhu Rong gave hints that he wanted to be awarded

3400-492: The western provinces, and in summer 531 he attacked the rebel general Suqin Mingda ( 宿勤明達 ) and captured him, taking Xia Province ( 夏州 , roughly modern Yulin , Shanxi ), which Suqin controlled, under his own control, while delivering Suqin to Luoyang to be executed. However, when the general Gao Huan rebelled at Xindu ( 信都 , in modern Hengshui , Hebei ) later in the summer, Erzhu Tianguang abandoned his planned campaigns against

3468-418: The young prince. She soon terminated her regency and returned imperial powers to Emperor Xianwen, who was 13 years old at this point. As emperor, Emperor Xianwen was described as hardworking and appropriate in his awards and punishments—in particular, in promoting honest officials and demoting corrupt ones, and it was said that only starting in his reign were Northern Wei officials praised for being honest. He

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3536-431: Was 18 in age by this point, was not any happier about Empress Dowager Hu's toleration of corruption and hold on power than Erzhu. He sent secret messengers to Erzhu, ordering him to advance on Luoyang to force Empress Dowager Hu to give up power and to kill Zheng and Xu. Erzhu therefore started heading toward Luoyang. However, for reasons unknown, Emperor Xiaoming then sent another messenger to him to order him to stop, but

3604-542: Was a general of the Xianbei -led Chinese Northern Wei dynasty . He was of Xiongnu ancestry, and after Emperor Xiaoming was killed by his mother Empress Dowager Hu in 528, Erzhu overthrew her and put Emperor Xiaozhuang on the throne, but at the same time slaughtered many imperial officials and took over most of actual power, effectively ruling as military dictator of the Northern Wei State. He then contributed much to

3672-438: Was after consulting with Erzhu Tianguang that Erzhu Rong set out to attack the capital Luoyang to overthrow Empress Dowager Hu. As he did, he entrusted one of his home provinces, Si Province ( 肆州 , roughly modern Xinzhou , Shanxi ) to Erzhu Tianguang, and after Erzhu Rong killed Empress Dowager Hu and made Emperor Xiaozhuang emperor, Erzhu Tianguang was created the Duke of Chang'an. In 528, when Erzhu Rong set out to destroy

3740-424: Was also said to be heavily into studies of religions and philosophies, including both Taoism and Buddhism . During his reign as emperor, he abolished 15 non-regular taxes that had earlier been abolished by Emperor Wencheng but soon re-instated, and it was said that after this the people's livelihood gradually improved. In 469, Emperor Xianwen created Tuoba Hong crown prince. As Tuoba Hong's mother Consort Li died

3808-541: Was an emperor of the Xianbei-led Northern Wei dynasty of China. He was the first emperor in Chinese history who, after retiring at age 17 in favor of his 4-year-old son Emperor Xiaowen to become Taishang Huang (retired emperor) in 471, continued to hold on to power until his death in 476—when the official history states vaguely that he may have been killed by his stepmother Empress Dowager Feng . Tuoba Hong

3876-489: Was born in 454, as Emperor Wencheng 's oldest son. His mother was Consort Li, who had previously been captured in war and had become a concubine of Tuoba Ren (拓拔仁) the Prince of Yongchang, a distant relative of Emperor Wencheng, who was executed in 453 after having been accused of crimes. After Tuoba Ren's death, she was seized and taken into the palace, where she became Emperor Wencheng's concubine. In c. March 456, Emperor Wencheng created Tuoba Hong crown prince —and, at

3944-478: Was eventually able to force Moqi Daoluo to flee to another rebel general, Wang Qingyun, and then defeated and captured both Moqi Daoluo and Wang. With the Guanzhong region and the surrounding provinces pacified, Erzhu Tianguang was put in charge of those provinces, with his headquarters at Chang'an . His title was restored to duke. Late in 530, Emperor Xiaozhuang, apprehensive that Erzhu Rong would eventually seized

4012-512: Was executed in winter 528. Ge's general Han Lou (韓樓) took part of his army and took over modern Beijing and Tianjin . Around the same time, rival Liang dynasty 's Emperor Wu created Emperor Xiaozhuang's cousin Yuan Hao the Prince of Beihai, who had fled to Liang following the Heyin Massacre, the Prince of Wei and sent an army commanded by the general Chen Qingzhi (陳慶之) to escort him, with an intent to install Yuan Hao as Northern Wei's emperor as

4080-445: Was favored to be an emperor by the gods, and that only Emperor Xiaozhuang was favored. Erzhu therefore stopped those plans, and offered a deep apology to Emperor Xiaozhuang, claiming that the massacre was a result of the soldiers going out of control. However, the people of Luoyang and the surviving imperial officials, fearful of further massacre, fled Luoyang, which was then left nearly empty, particularly because Erzhu publicly pondered

4148-444: Was in not pardoning Dong's associates and forcing them into rebellion. He therefore prepared to first kill Erzhu Rong and then declaring a general pardon. Under pretense that Empress Erzhu had given birth, he summoned Erzhu Rong and Yuan Tianmu into the palace and surprised and killed them. Also killed were Erzhu Rong's son Erzhu Puti (爾朱菩提) and Erzhu's attendants. The populace rejoiced news of Erzhu Rong's death, but Erzhu Rong's wife

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4216-516: Was in the middle of facing a large number of agrarian rebellions, a man from Xiurong, Qifu Moyu (乞伏莫于), started a rebellion as well in Xiurong, and he was soon joined by a shepherd, Wanyu Qizhen (萬于乞真), killing the general Lu Yan (陸延), whom the imperial government had sent against them. Erzhu used his own private forces to defeat Qifu and Wanyu. As a result of this victory, he received a general commission, and he started to further accumulate soldiers, soon engaging in campaigns to defeat more rebels around

4284-516: Was joined by Bi Zhongjing (畢眾敬) the governor of Yan Province (兗州, modern western Shandong ) and Chang Zhenqi (常珍奇) the governor of Ru'nan Commandery (汝南, roughly modern Zhumadian , Henan ). Empress Dowager Feng sent the general Yuchi Yuan (尉遲元) to accept the surrenders of these Liu Song generals and to secure the region just north of the Huai River , and Yuchi subsequently defeated two attempts by Emperor Ming to recapture those provinces. She also sent

4352-509: Was often compared by historians to the Han dynasty general Dong Zhuo , for his ferocity in battle and for his violence and lack of tact. Unlike Dong Zhuo however, by accounts of Wei Shou , the author of Northern Wei's official history, the Wei Shu , Erzhu Rong's military skills had few equals in his time, and he is not recorded to have ever lost a battle. Erzhu Rong's ancestors were hereditary chiefs of

4420-416: Was particularly strict in military discipline. As he saw the empire begin to degrade during Emperor Xiaoming 's reign, he began to consider whether the empire would collapse, and he sold part of his livestock to gather brave warriors around him. He married a distant member of the imperial Yuan clan, the daughter of Yuan Zhen (元禎) the Prince of Nan'an, a brother of Emperor Wencheng . In 524, as Northern Wei

4488-458: Was said to be diligent in governmental matters, and even though Erzhu was not particularly pleased with the development, Emperor Xiaozhuang proceeded to take much interest in criminal matters, as well as refusing to comply with all of Erzhu's recommendations for officials. He did not dare to directly cross Erzhu, however, and Erzhu continued to install officials close to him in the imperial administration. Meanwhile, Erzhu proceeded to try to reunify

4556-446: Was still at Luoyang, however, he suggested to Erzhu Shilong, who had become concerned that Yuan Ye's lineage was too far from the recent emperors' to be a proper candidate for the throne, to make Emperor Xianwen 's grandson Yuan Gong the Prince of Guangling emperor. In spring 531, Erzhu Shilong took such action, forcing Yuan Ye to yield the throne to Yuan Gong, who took the throne as Emperor Jiemin. Erzhu Tianguang continued to control

4624-440: Was then at Jinyang, would be a latent threat, and therefore summoned Yuan Tianmu to the capital as well. Meanwhile, with rumors that Erzhu was planning to arrest Emperor Xiaozhuang and move the capital to Jinyang, Emperor Xiaozhuang became even more apprehensive and anxious to carry out the plot. He studied the historical accounts of the Han dynasty general Dong Zhuo , and concluded that Wang Yun 's failure, after he killed Dong,

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