Chapter 280 Another coup in Luoyang
Su Ze is about to have a happy event, and the system has even given him a task:
【marry.】
It was a long-awaited mission, and it was almost given for free. Su Ze regarded it as a wedding gift from this damn system.
The system task with only two words, what Su Ze faced was Hu Chen's rebels entrenched in Huazhou.
In order to deal with Hu Chen, Su Ze transferred Yu Jin from Gaoping Town to Yongle City.
Yu Jin was also very clear that this was a chance Su Ze gave him to have a fair fight with Hu Chen.
Ever since Yu Jin took office as the governor of Gaoping County, the tribal leaders led by Hu Chen have been against Yu Jin.
Yu Jin took the initiative and tricked Hu Chen into entering Gaoping City and then imprisoned him.
However, Hu Chen was not convinced by Jin. After releasing Hu Chen, he made a huge noise as soon as he entered Jingzhou, and also clamored to return to Gaoping County for revenge.
Yu Jin is also a proud and arrogant person, and he has been eager to have a fair fight with Hu Chen!
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However, before Princess Chenliu left Luoyang, her dowry guards had an important thing to do.
The third year of Zhengguang, February 20th.
Gaoyang Prince Yong submitted a memorial to the court, requesting that the title of General of the Cavalry be given to Jiangyang Prince Yuan Yi because Li Chong had been stripped of it.
The Grand General of Cavalry was the highest-ranking general title in the Northern Wei Dynasty. Before Li Chong, only those with great military achievements could be awarded this title.
Li Chong was able to be promoted to this title of general because of his outstanding performance in the Battle of Fushan Weir, which shocked the Southern Dynasty and left him the name of a crouching tiger.
In fact, Yuan Yi did not have any military achievements, but this memorial from Gaoyang King Yong was quickly unanimously approved by the Menxia Province and sent to Yuan Yi's residence.
Ever since Yuan Yi seized power, the forces that once gathered under his command because of Prince Qinghe have fallen apart.
Prince Guangyang Yuanshen was the most knowledgeable minister in the royal family about military affairs. As the war progressed, his influence grew and he gradually formed his own faction.
Li Chong and others who were considered Yuan Yi's collaborators also parted ways for various reasons.
Yuan Yi was surrounded by flatterers, and these people often had no talent.
In fact, Yuan Yi was somewhat hesitant about taking on the honorific title of General of the Cavalry.
The reason is very simple. One can only hold one general title. If Yuan Yi accepts the title of General of Cavalry, he will have to give up his current position as General of the Guards, who commands the imperial guards.
Even Yuan Yi, who had been indulging in alcohol and women for a long time and whose political sensitivity had decreased, believed that giving up the power of the palace guards was not a wise choice.
However, the rank of General of Cavalry is the highest among generals, and Yuan Yi really couldn't resist the temptation.
His followers naturally saw Yuan Yi's idea, and they all urged him to go in:
"Your Majesty, the Grand General of the Cavalry is above the Commander-in-Chief. Your Majesty has accepted the Grand General of the Cavalry, and the Imperial Guards will still obey. What is there to worry about?"
Yuan Yi thought about it and agreed. After Emperor Xiaowen made the order, the title of General of Cavalry was only given to one person, and under normal circumstances, the person would not be removed until he died of old age.
Li Chong's case was a completely special one, so he asked to remove the title of General of Cavalry.
If not for this, Yuan Yi would have to wait until Li Chong died of old age before he would have the opportunity to be promoted to General of the Cavalry.
If I decline and the court grants the title of General of Cavalry to someone else, won't I have to wait until that person dies of old age before I can be given this title?
Thinking of this, Yuan Yi no longer hesitated and decided to accept the title of General of Cavalry.
At this time, Prince Guangyang Yuanshen wrote another letter, suggesting that the ancestral practice of having close relatives of the royal family serve as generals of the guard should be restored.
At this time, the only member of the royal family who was qualified to hold this position in the court was Prince Gaoyang Yuanyong.
Yuan Yi disagreed with this. It turned out that Yuan Yong had proposed to promote himself to the rank of General of Cavalry for the sake of his own advancement!
However, Yuan Yi felt relieved when Yuan Yong was appointed as the General of the Guard.
The reason is very simple. Yuan Yong, the "stupid brother" designated by Emperor Xiaowen, posed no real threat.
Although from the end of Emperor Xiaowen's reign to the present day, Yuan Yong has been promoted as the leader of the royal family's close relatives because of his status and seniority, and has even been respected as the head of the royal family.
But from Emperor Xiaowen to Emperor Xuanwu, and then to Empress Dowager Hu and Yuan Yi, no one took this clan leader seriously and treated him as a decoration.
Yuan Yi felt relieved when Yuan Yong was appointed as the General of the Guard, and he handed over the seal of the General of the Guard with peace of mind.
What Yuan Yi didn't know was that after Yuan Yong took office as the General of the Guard, he gave the two important positions of Commander of the South Gate and Commander of the North Gate to Yuan Yong's eldest son Yuan Tai and Prince of Changle Yuan Ziyou respectively.
These two gates are the two most important gates in the palace. The North Gate is the palace gate north of the Taiji Hall, connecting the Central Palace and the North Palace. It is also the gate in front of the Xuanguang Hall. It was from here that Liu Teng broke into the Xuanguang Hall and imprisoned Empress Dowager Hu.
The North Gate Commander is also an important position responsible for the security of the North Palace, and is now handed over to Yuan Ziyou.
The South Gate Duwei is the gate south of the Taiji Hall. This gate is the palace gate between the Central Palace and the Southern Courtyard. Ministers who want to enter the palace to meet the emperor and the empress dowager have to pass through this gate.
Now this position falls to Yuan Tai, the prince of Gaoyang.
Yuan Yi was unaware of the changes in these two key positions, and Yuan Fotu was training 500 imperial guards for the wedding in the military camp every day, and Yuan Yi did not take this matter seriously at all.
Seeing Yuan Yi so slow, Empress Dowager Hu and her side launched another attack.
This time the target was Yuan Yi's title of Shizhong.
Shizhong was an additional official title outside of the regular official positions in the Western Han Dynasty. Civil and military officials with titles such as Shizhong could enter the Forbidden City to handle affairs.
When Emperor Xiaowen was reforming the system, in order to facilitate the entry of important ministers to the palace for discussions, the important ministers on the left and right sides of the emperor were basically given the title of Shizhong, such as Prince of Pengcheng Yuan Xie, Li Chong, and Cui Guang.
After Emperor Xiaowen, Gao Zhao, a powerful official during the reign of Emperor Xuanwu, was also given the title of Shizhong and was in charge of state affairs.
Therefore, in today's imperial court, Shizhong is generally regarded as an additional title of prime minister, while Sanqi Changshi, which is also an official position in the inner court, is regarded as the deputy prime minister, or a ruling title one level lower than the prime minister.
But in fact, the only function of the title of Shizhong was to allow free entry and exit of the palace and meet the emperor.
It was also the case that Prince Gaoyang Yuan Yong submitted a memorial to the court, stating that the prime ministers were all meeting in the Menxia Province within the Central Palace, and that the complicated procedures for entering and leaving the palace were too inconvenient.
Moreover, after entering the imperial palace, the prime minister who was under 60 years old was not allowed to ride in a sedan chair, let alone a horse-drawn carriage or an ox-drawn cart, and riding a horse was of course prohibited.
Therefore, every time they went to the Menxia Province for a meeting, the prime ministers had to walk from the Nan Ya to the Menxia Province in the side hall of the Central Palace, which was really inconvenient.
This is also the reason why King Jiangyang Yuanyi was unwilling to go to the palace for meetings. The commuting time was too long.
Therefore, Gaoyang King Yuan Yong proposed that the Menxia Province itself became the court's temporary decision-making body during Emperor Xiaowen's reforms. In fact, the Menxia Province's duty was to advise the king and be responsible for the issuance of court edicts and documents. It was not a decision-making or deliberative body itself.
Therefore, Yuan Yong proposed that according to the old rules, "the government should be returned to the Secretariat" and recommended Yuan Yi to serve as the Minister of the Secretariat and record the affairs of the Secretariat.
This statement was not made by Yuan Yong. In fact, the court had long been dissatisfied with the Menxia Province, an internal court agency, becoming the prime minister's agency above all other officials.
In the Eastern Han and Western Jin dynasties, the Shangshutai was the most respected position, and the Recorder of the Shangshushi was the prime minister. For example, Cao Cao's adoptive grandfather Cao Teng served as the Recorder of the Shangshushi in the Eastern Han Dynasty. In addition, when Emperor Xiaowen established the hundreds of officials, he seemed to have considered the idea of "governing the Shangshutai" in the future. In the Northern Wei official system, the Shangshuling was one of the most valuable positions for civil servants, and like the Three Dukes, it was basically not easily granted.
Yuan Yong's suggestion is actually reasonable. As an executive body, the Secretariat actually has great power.
The thirty-six departments under the Secretariat are basically responsible for all aspects of the court. The Shangshu Ling is in charge of the remote transmission of the Shangshu Tai and at the same time controls the decision-making and administrative powers. This is a complete powerful official.
Moreover, the Shangshu Tai is located in the Southern Courtyard, and there is no need to enter the Forbidden City. Important officials in the Southern Courtyard can ride in carriages or even ride horses, which makes commuting to and from work convenient.
Moreover, it is very convenient to send matters within the Shangshu Province directly to Yuan Yi's mansion. Unlike the Menxia Province, all documents entering and leaving the palace must be checked and filed before they can be released. The transmission of documents is slow, and Yuan Yi has to walk to the Menxia Province to handle government affairs every once in a while.
In this way, Yuan Yi could even call the ministers of the Secretariat directly to his home to handle government affairs.
Yuan Yi's followers also liked this suggestion.
There were not many official positions in the Menxia Province, and they were all inner court officials. In theory, they could only be granted by the emperor and the empress dowager, and the procedures were cumbersome.
But the situation was different with the Secretariat. It had thirty-six departments and countless government offices. If Yuan Yi took office as the Minister of the Chancellery, he could easily arrange his confidants into the Secretariat, and they would have hope of promotion.
Moreover, throughout the dynasties, the decision-making bodies have always been "highly respected ministers and low-ranking officials", while the administrative bodies have always been "rich and powerful officials".
The reason is of course very simple. Only important officials have access to decision-making power, and minor officials in the Menxia Province are just messengers.
However, in administrative agencies, any work needs to be done by specific people, which gives opportunities for manipulation. Even for some specific work, the officials in charge themselves are not clear about the technical details, and only their experienced subordinates are clear about the entire process.
For the followers of King Jiangyang, of course it would be more beneficial for them to have Yuan Yi serve as the Minister of the Chancellery.
Naturally, Yuan Yi was stripped of his title of Shizhong.
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Zhengguang three years, March 1st.
Originally, tomorrow was the day to escort Princess Chenliu's wedding party.
Since Jiangyang Prince Yuan Yi was stripped of his title of Shizhong, he has been handling government affairs in his mansion these days and has not even gone to the imperial palace.
However, on March 1st, Empress Dowager Hu suddenly went to the Taiji Hall and summoned the ministers to the palace, demanding that King Jiangyang Yuan Yi be punished and having the ministers impeach him for his crimes.
After hearing the news, Yuan Yi was shocked. He immediately led his guards and prepared to rush into the palace to control Empress Dowager Hu.
But Yuan Yi led his men to the South Gate. The South Gate Commander, Prince Gaoyang's son Yuan Tai, stood on the gate and shouted to Yuan Yi:
"Your Majesty, you cannot enter the palace unless you are a minister!"
Yuan Yi finally realized that he had been tricked, and he shouted to the guards on the city wall:
"I am the General of the Cavalry. Open the city gate immediately!"
The captain of the imperial guards at the city gate hesitated for a moment, but when he saw Prince Yuan Tai of Gaoyang, he immediately said:
"The Imperial Guards only know the generals who lead the army, but not the generals who lead the cavalry!"
Yuan Yi was panicked now, and Yuan Tai simply ordered the soldiers on the city gate to shoot arrows, and Yuan Yi's men immediately scattered like monkeys.
Only a few loyal subordinates escorted Yuan Yi back to the palace.
At this time, one of his subordinates persuaded Yuan Yi to leave Luoyang and join Erzhu Rong, and then lead Xiurong's army to attack Luoyang.
He also asked Yuan Yi to go to Guanzhong and lead Xiao Baoyin's army to counterattack Luoyang.
But at this moment Yuan Yi's head was buzzing and he couldn't make a decision at all.
At this time, news came from outside the mansion that Prince Changle Yuan Ziyou led five hundred imperial guards to surround Yuan Yi's mansion.
Prince Changle Yuan Ziyou made a statement in front of the gate of Prince Jiangyang's Palace, stating that the court would only hold Yuan Yi accountable and would let the other members of his group off.
At this time, Yuan Yi's retainers, those who accompanied him day and night for drinking and entertainment, laid down their weapons, opened the gates of the palace and fled.
As expected, Yuan Ziyou let bygones be bygones and merely checked their faces. After confirming that Yuan Yi and Qiao Zhuang were not there, he let all the guests go.
By the time Yuan Yi finally regained consciousness from the confusion, Yuan Ziyou had already led his troops into the palace and directly surrounded his room.
Seeing Yuan Ziyou, who was dressed in armor and looked very heroic, Yuan Yi collapsed on the couch and pointed at Yuan Ziyou and said:
"Will there be no more of today's events?"
All Yuan Yi could do was to sow discord.
Yuan Ziyou said righteously:
"How can I care about myself when I am fighting against traitors for the country?"
After saying this, Yuan Ziyou took out the imperial edict that he had prepared long ago. After reading it out, the entire edict removed all the nonsense in four-six parallel prose, and the core content was just one thing -
He ordered Yuan Yi to commit suicide by drinking poison.
Yuan Yi finally showed a bit of the blood of a Northern Wei prince at this time. He picked up the poisoned wine and asked:
"After drinking this wine, can I be buried in the Beimang Tomb?"
The Xianbei people attached great importance to funerals, and Yuan Yi had already started building his own tomb.
Moreover, as Emperor Xiaowen became more extravagant after the sinicization of the country, Luoyang also used tombs to compete for wealth.
Another reason why Yuan Yi couldn't let go of his own tomb was the astrological map drawn on the dome of his tomb.
Although Luoyang was already full of Buddhist temples, the Xianbei nobles still followed their most primitive beliefs at funerals.
When the Xianbei people first rose to power, they migrated for the survival of their tribe.
Just when they were in desperate situation, the stars in the sky fell to the earth and transformed into "Xianbei" beasts "whose shape was like a horse and whose voice was like a cow", leading the migrating team in front.
This myth is the origin of the name "Xianbei", and the worship of the starry sky is the deepest primitive religious belief of the Xianbei.
Yuan Yi drew a star map on the dome of the tomb, in which there was a Milky Way running through the dome, with a total of 300 stars. They were all drawn by craftsmen under the guidance of astronomical officials based on the observation of the real starry sky.
Prince Changle nodded, and Queen Mother Hu only let Yuan Yi drink poisoned wine, and even forgave his wife and son. After all, Yuan Yi’s wife was Queen Mother Hu’s sister.
Yuan Yi drank the poisoned wine and fell to the ground and died soon after.
In March of the third year of Zhengguang, the Northern Wei Dynasty changed the reign title to "Xiaochang" and issued a general amnesty.
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(End of this chapter)