There is a famous prophecy in history called "Hu people will not have a century-old national destiny." Many sources attribute the origin of this sentence to Zhu Yuanzhang, Taizu of the Ming Dynasty. In the twenty-sixth year of Emperor Zhizheng of the Yuan Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang, then King of Wu, published a message to launch the Northern Expedition. There is a sentence: "Ancient cloud: 'Hu There is no luck for a hundred years'".

Since there is the prefix "Gu Yun", it proves that this sentence was not invented by Lao Zhu or Lao Song. Sure enough, I rummaged through the pile of old papers for a long time and found that Yang Su, the founding father of the Sui Dynasty, once wrote a poem that said: "Traveling thousands of miles away, Hu's luck will be poor for a hundred years." (The words are from Yang's poem "Two Poems from the Fortress·One") I hate the Mongols. Wen Tianxiang, the deep-seated Prime Minister of the Southern Song Dynasty, also cursed his nemesis: "The descendants of the internal family are really prosperous, and the luck of the captives will never last a hundred years." (The poem "Two Kings")

Although Lao Wen was later The Mongols beheaded him, but his curse came true, and Meng Yuan was finished before he could survive a hundred years. So the very superstitious Zhu Yuanzhang regarded this sentence as a wise saying, and even later solemnly reopened his old scars in his capitulation letter to Tuohuan Temüer, Emperor Yuan Shun, who fled outside the Great Wall:

In fact, it is not true that "Hu people have no destiny for the country for a hundred years". The nomadic regimes outside the Great Wall, such as the Xiongnu and the Turks, which had posed a serious threat to the Central Plains dynasties, had been kings and hegemons on the Mobei grassland for more than a hundred years; if some people think that such regimes are too low-level of civilization and are far outside the region to be counted, then The Northern Wei Dynasty established by the Xianbei people (148 AD), the Liao Kingdom established by the Khitan people (209 AD), the Jin Kingdom established by the Jurchens (119 AD), the Xixia established by the Dangxiang people (189 AD), etc. How to calculate it? If some people continue to argue that these guys have not completed the unification, then don't forget that there was also a Qing Dynasty established by the Manchus...

But looking at it from another angle, this sentence cannot be wrong. After all, our ancestors have already concluded the debate between Huayi and Huayi:

To translate Mr. Han Changli’s famous saying into today’s vernacular is - anyone who is stupid will follow the trend to eat foreign food and celebrate foreign festivals , guys who talk nonsense and talk like birds are all barbarians! Only those who like to eat steamed buns and worship their ancestors, even if they open their mouths like "shit", or look like blond hair and blue eyes, are still Chinese.

According to this theory, it seems that the Northern Wei, Liao, Jin, Xixia and Qing Dynasties mentioned earlier cannot be thrown into the pile of barbarians. Only the ignorant Mongolians focused on promoting the "steppe style" in the Central Plains that has been civilized for thousands of years. As a result, the country's fate was very unlucky and it did not last more than a hundred years. It was considered worthy of it.

However, a truth similar to "Hu people have no national destiny for a hundred years" is that in ancient times, only guys with low intelligence were better at fighting. People like the Khitans and Jurchens who originally had muscles in their heads, once they began to warmly embrace the Han civilization that looked like flowers and brilliant brocade, but actually had the effect of ecstasy and eroding the bones, it also meant that It seems that they are not far from being finished.

The most representative example is the Northern Wei Dynasty established by the Xianbei people.

From the first year of the Tang Dynasty (AD 386), Tuoba Gui from Xianbei rebuilt the Dai Kingdom and called himself King of Dai (and proclaimed himself emperor 12 years later and changed the country's name to "Wei") until Taiyan During the more than 50 years since Tuoba Tao unified the north in the fifth year (AD 439), the newly emerged Northern Wei Dynasty was as radiant and unstoppable as the rising sun. Under the Tuoba clan's steel sword and iron hoof, the northern land that had been torn apart by the Wuhu Rebellion and had been war-torn for 135 years was finally reunited. It faced the Han regime in the south across the river and was known as the "Southern and Northern Dynasties" in history.

However, Tuoba's ambitions go far beyond that. Tuoba Tao attacked Rouran 13 times in the north, not only expanding the territory thousands of miles away, but also setting up six towns to consolidate the northern border, so that the Huma outside the Great Wall would not be in danger for the next hundred years:

After that, Emperor Wen of the Song Dynasty of the Southern Dynasty Liu Yilong dreamed of "sealing the wolf in Xu" and launching the Yuanjia Northern Expedition. So Tuoba Tao fought bravely, going all the way to the Yangtze River, causing Liu Yilong to end up "looking north in a hurry".

Tuoba Tao defeated Rouran in the north and attacked Liu Song in the south. The powerful army of the Northern Wei Dynasty had strong troops and horses, and was aggressive and unstoppable.

The Southern Dynasty suffered repeated defeats, and the Yangtze River defense line was in danger. The division of the north and the south since the end of the Han Dynasty seemed to be about to end at the hands of the Tuoba family. Yang Jian, the great ancestor of the Sui Dynasty, who would not be born for several decades, seemed to have no chance to rebuild the country. The unparalleled achievements of the great unification were put into his own name...

However, as Tuoba Tao was killed by an eunuch, Zong Ai, the Northern Wei Dynasty, which had been attacking in all directions and expanding its territory since the founding of the country, never stopped. It was like slamming on the brakes and making no further progress. Not only that, from the death of Tuoba Tao to the fall of the Northern Wei Dynasty, the Song, Qi, and Liang Kingdoms of the Southern Dynasty launched six Northern Expeditions. Although they all returned without success, the Northern Wei Dynasty was satisfied every time it defeated the enemy, and no ancestors would drink from the Yangtze River. Even the ambition to pacify the world.

Why is this?

Because Emperor Taiwu Tuoba Tao was famous for his great martial arts, but his descendants all gave up eating meat and vegetarian food and went to chant sutras - it is said that Tuoba Tao hated Buddhism very much, and the famous "Taiwu destroyed Buddhism" He did it. But while I was yelling at the monks to kill him, my son Tuoba Huang was trying his best to protect the Buddha like an old hen guarding his calf. His grandson Tuoba Jun was even more diligent in building Buddhism (such as building the Yungang Grottoes). ). When Tuoba Hong came to the throne, he even refused to become emperor in order to concentrate on chanting sutras. He very irresponsibly abdicated the throne to his son Tuoba Hong who had just turned 5 years old.

Does the name Tuoba Hong sound familiar? He was the famous Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty, and he also initiated an even more famous "Taihe Reform" (also known as Xiaowen's Sinicization), which was highly rated in middle school history textbooks, for example, for promoting national integration and so on.

Let’s first review what Tuoba Hong did in his reforms—to put it bluntly, there were two things, one was moving the capital, and the other was restructuring.

Let’s talk about moving the capital first. The capital of the Northern Wei Dynasty was originally located in Pingcheng (today's Datong, Shanxi). Tuobahong was influenced by Sinology and admired the Chinese style, so he wanted to move to the Central Plains. However, most of the Xianbei nobles liked to travel and hunt, and did not want to go south to see the world. Tuobahong lied to them that he wanted to conquer the Liu and Song Dynasties in the south, so that in the 17th year of Taihe (AD 494), he could abduct the country's elite troops to Luoyang. He got up and sat down. With the soldiers in hand, he can naturally do whatever he wants. While he ordered the construction of a new capital, he moved all the noble officials who were deceived but could only stare blankly to the south, finally completing the great cause of moving the capital.

Let’s talk about restructuring. From the 18th year of Taihe to the death of Tuoba Hong, he has been vigorously promoting reforms in internal affairs and education. This is the famous "Taihe Reform". The main contents are as follows:

1. No clothing. Tuobahong had long imitated the Han system of wearing Yanmian clothes. After moving the capital, he even banned scholars and civilians from wearing Hu clothing and could only wear Han clothing.

2. Duanbei language. In the 19th year of Taihe, Tuoba Hong issued an edict that "Northern dialect" was not allowed to be spoken in the court, and only Chinese could be spoken. Anyone who violated the regulations would be dismissed from office:

3. Change your surname. In the 20th year of Taihe, Tuobahong announced that he would change his surname to "Yuan" and asked the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty to learn from him:

So the Xianbei Baba clan became the Changsun clan, and the Daxi clan became the Xi clan. , the Yizhan family is the Shusun family, the Qiu Muling family is the Mu family, the Buliugu family is the Lu family, and so on. Anyway, at that time, even good friends who had known each other for many years often couldn't figure out each other's last names...

4. Marriage name family. It is to encourage intermarriage between Xianbei nobles and Han families in the Central Plains. Yuan (Tuoba) Hong also set an example by granting the Lu family of Fanyang, the Cui family of Qinghe, the Zheng family of Xingyang and the Wang family of Taiyuan to be Chinese noble families, and accepted their daughters in the harem. He also ordered the princes to also accept daughters with Han nationality surnames.

5. Home burial is prohibited. The edict ordered that Xianbei people who moved to Luoyang after the 19th year of Taihe were not allowed to be buried in their ancestral land in the north.

6. Change the system. Imitate the Han system, such as revising weights and measures according to Han law, imitating Han's five-baht coins and casting Taihe five-baht coins. He also vigorously collected ancient books on Han laws and etiquette, and on this basis he implemented political systems such as the Banlu system, the land equalization system, and the household registration system.

7. Promote literature. In Luoyang, the Imperial Academy and four primary schools were established, Confucianism was promoted, and Confucian students were reemployed. Not only that, Yuan Hong himself likes literature and has the ability to export it:

From the perspective of our descendants, Yuan Hong’s implementation of sinicization promoted national identity, accelerated the blood integration of the Chinese nation, and laid the foundation for later generations. The great unification of the Sui and Tang Dynasties laid a solid foundation, which was naturally a great thing. But just from the perspective of the Northern Wei Dynasty, this matter is difficult to say.

Although Yuan Hong did not inherit the martial arts skills of his ancestors who opened up new territories, his achievements in civil and political affairs were unparalleled among the dozen or so emperors of the Northern Wei Dynasty. Moreover, he ascended the throne at the age of 5 and implemented the "Taihe Reform" when he was only 28 years old. It was a good time for him to be strong and create great achievements. But who would have thought that he would die of illness just 5 years later?

Yuanhong died young, which prevented his great reforms from being fully implemented. The conservative forces among the Xianbei nobles still retained great power. This was the main reason that led to numerous internal conflicts and constant rebellions among the ruling class of the Northern Wei Dynasty, which ultimately led to the decline of the country, the deception of powerful ministers, and the subsequent collapse of the country. Even before Yuan Hong's death, conservative forces had always been opposed to the reform. Mu Tai, the governor of Hengzhou, and Lu Rui, the governor of Dingzhou, launched rebellions successively. Even the prince Yuan Xun died because of his opposition to the reform.

Yuan Xun, also known as Xuan Dao, was the eldest son of Yuan Hong. When he was 11 years old, he was established as the prince. From then on, whenever Yuan Hong went on patrol or went on an expedition, Yuan Xun stayed in Luoyang to supervise the country as usual.

Although His Highness the Crown Prince is young, he is tall and fat, so he cannot stand the heat of the Central Plains and always wants to go back to the north to enjoy the cool weather. Minister Gao Daoyue tried to dissuade him, but was actually killed by him. After learning about this, Yuan Hong was so angry that he refused to say anything. He also felt that if this son who was not close to him inherited the throne, he would definitely bring disaster to the country and the people, so he deposed him as the crown prince. :

Later, someone reported Yuan Xun for treason, and Yuan Hong simply gave him a glass of poisoned wine and poisoned his own son to death.

Even if they were as close as father and son, they would kill him if they wanted to. This shows how intense the struggle between reformers and conservatives was at that time. Once Yuan Hong, who was mentally strong and unswerving in implementing the New Deal, died of illness, this struggle would inevitably intensify and gradually turn to the coveting and erosion of imperial power. What's even worse is that the genes and luck of the Lao Yuan (Tuoba) family are not very good. Emperors generally either have short lifespans (the longest lived Tuoba Tao only lived to 44 years old, not counting the rebellious Yuan Fa Monk), or Got killed early. Especially after Yuan Hong fell to the Northern Wei Dynasty, 13 emperors changed in just 36 years. How can this be better?

Secondly, as mentioned before, most of the nations that were better at fighting in the cold weapon era were not very smart and lived a difficult life. The Xianbei people of the Northern Wei Dynasty originally lived in the cold and barren north and developed a brave and determined national character. However, after moving south and accepting Chineseization, the luxury and warmth of the Central Plains corroded the Xianbei people's hard bones and cold hearts. Although they have achieved the evolution from barbarism to civilization, and their brains have gradually become enlightened, their innate bravery, riding and shooting instincts have slowly been worn away, especially as the lives of the royal family and nobles have become increasingly extravagant, and their ancestors have expanded their territories. The enterprising spirit disappeared without a trace.

Furthermore, since the Xianbei people, especially the royal nobles, moved south in large numbers, not only has the northern frontier fortress been depleted in population and military strength, but the Xianbei people who stayed behind in the frontier fortress have become increasingly dissatisfied with their poor living conditions. He was very envious of the prosperity and wealth of the Central Plains, which paved the way for the subsequent rebellion in the Six Towns.

After the death of Emperor Xiaowen Yuanhong, Emperor Xuanwu Yuan Ke came to the throne, which was the beginning of the decline of the Northern Wei Dynasty; Emperor Xiaoming Yuan Xu, who came to the throne after Yuan Ke's death, was only 5 years old, and his mother, the Empress Dowager Hu, was in chaos. Political affairs finally led to the chaos of the Northern Wei Dynasty.

Yuan Hong's son Yuan Ke inherited his father's legacy and continued to vigorously promote Chineseization and took measures such as expanding the new capital of Luoyang, which further intensified the conflict with the Xianbei elders, especially the royal family. This forced him to rely on the power of Gao Zhao and other foreign ministers to govern himself. However, this also caused the decline of the Northern Wei royal family and the power of powerful ministers, until the emperor was bullied to the point of death. This was the first thunder that Yuan Ke laid for the collapse of the Northern Wei Dynasty.

Ever since Taiwu destroyed Buddhism, Tuoba Tao's descendants have inexplicably started to fight against their ancestors. They are extremely obsessed with Buddhism, and Yuan Ke is no exception. During his reign, he not only built the Yique Grottoes, but also vigorously built Buddhist temples. By the end of his reign, there were more than 13,000 Buddhist temples in the Northern Wei Dynasty. Yuan Ke's vigorous efforts to promote Buddhism resulted in countless expenses, and also caused a large number of monks to have no work to produce and occupy a large amount of land, which greatly damaged the national power of the Northern Wei Dynasty. This was the second thunder he laid for his own country.

Since the reign of Emperor Wu of the Northern Wei Dynasty, Tuoba Gui, he has followed the story of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Liu Che, who killed Mrs. Gou Yi and set up family laws. Whenever a prince is established, his mother will be killed. Although this method was bloody and cruel, it effectively prevented relatives from interfering in politics.

However, after Yuan Ke made his son Yuan Xu the crown prince, he could not bear to kill his mother Hu because of his belief in Buddhism. This led to chaos in the Hu family after his death and completely dragged the Northern Wei Dynasty into the abyss of national subjugation. This is what he buried. The third thunder.

In the fourth year of Yanchang, Yuan Ke suddenly died of illness, and a coup ensued in the Northern Wei Dynasty, and the powerful minister Gao Zhao was killed. Although the 5-year-old prince Yuanxu ascended the throne, the queen mother Hu was able to attend the court.

Empress Dowager Hu worshiped Buddhism even more than Emperor Yuan. During his reign, princes and nobles took pride in building luxurious temples, and ordinary people became monks one after another. The available civilian power for the government and the army was almost cut off. At the same time, she also favored private individuals, namely the eunuch Liu Teng, her brother-in-law Yuan Yi, and her lover Yuan Yi. As a result, these three people were jealous and vying for power and profit. First, Liu Teng killed Yuan Yi and then imprisoned the empress dowager, who served as the emperor. After his death, Yuan Yi took control of the government, violated the court's rules and regulations, imposed excessive taxes, and made the people miserable and rebellions broke out. Empress Dowager Hu finally managed to kill Yuan Yi, and it was hard to change her old habit of doting on her loyal ministers Zheng Yan and Xu He, so she continued to make the already messed up government even more miserable.

During the chaos between the Hu family and Yuan Yi, the Liuzhen and Erzhu family rebellions occurred successively. In fact, the rule of the Northern Wei Dynasty had collapsed. In the third year of Yongxi (AD 534), Emperor Xiaowu of the Northern Wei Dynasty, Yuan Xiu, who was kidnapped by the powerful minister Gao Huan, could not bear it anymore and fled Luoyang west to Yuwentai. So Gao Huan naturally changed the 11-year-old Yuan Shanjian to be the emperor, that is, Emperor Xiaojing of the Eastern Wei Dynasty. Just two months later, Yuwentai killed Yuan Xiu who eagerly regarded him as his savior, and changed the name to Nanyang King Yuan Baoju. Emperor, namely Emperor Wen of the Western Wei Dynasty. From then on, the Northern Wei Dynasty was divided into east and west. The Eastern Wei Dynasty was completely controlled by the Gao family (later usurped the throne and established itself as the Northern Qi Dynasty). The Western Wei Dynasty became the plaything of the Yuwen family (later usurped the throne and established itself as the Northern Zhou Dynasty). The descendants of Xianbei heroes such as Tuoba Gui and Tuoba Tao were completely Become a puppet.

Unfortunately, with such a prodigal descendant, it seems that no matter whether Yuan Hong implements the Chinese reform or not, it will be the same, but it is not the case. The Xianbei people were not highly civilized. They relied on their indomitable courage and spirit of unity to pacify the north, which had been in chaos for more than a hundred years, and built a huge empire. If this vibrant founding atmosphere were maintained, the Northern Wei Dynasty might not have the chance to cross the Yangtze River and unify the world again (although this would be a step back in civilization).

But it is possible to conquer the world immediately, but it is difficult to rule the world. Therefore, in order to consolidate the country and maintain long-term peace and stability, Yuanhong had sufficient strategic considerations to implement the Sinicization reform. This is not only objectively conducive to ethnic integration, allowing the Xianbei people, who are disadvantaged in terms of population, education and governance capabilities, to maintain their dominance for a longer period of time, but also enhances national power and further strengthens the strategic advantage of the Northern Wei Dynasty over the Southern Dynasties.

It is a pity that the Wuhu Rebellion that lasted for more than a hundred years has made the northern Han people no longer the "chosen people" in the eyes of foreigners. "Sheep" is very disgusted and resistant to being held in a high position. Therefore, the opposition forces Yuan Hong faced were far stronger than he imagined, and the advancement of the Sinicization reform was not smooth.

What's even more terrible is that he died young. Not to mention heroes among his descendants, he didn't even have the honor of being a successor. As a result, the struggle for reform turned into a struggle for power, and even the imperial power itself could not be protected.

This is Yuan Hong's misfortune, and it is also the fate of the Northern Wei Dynasty. No one can do anything about it.