Service Under Emperor Xiaoming
Emperor Xuanwu died suddenly in 515. Yu and the official Cui Guang (崔光), without first consulting Emperor Xuanwu's wife Empress Gao (Gao Zhao's niece), quickly declared Emperor Xuanwu's young son, the crown prince Yuan Xu, emperor (as Emperor Xiaoming). When Empress Gao wanted to put Emperor Xiaoming's mother Consort Hu to death, Yu, Cui, the eunuch Liu Teng (劉騰), and the general Hou Gang (侯剛), protected Consort Hu by hiding her. Yu and Cui soon forced Empress Gao to confer regent authorities on Emperor Xuanwu's uncle Yuan Yong the Prince of Gaoyang and Emperor Xiaowen's cousin Yuan Cheng (元澄) the Prince of Rencheng, and when Gao Zhao subsequently returned to the capital Luoyang from a military campaign against rival Liang Dynasty that Emperor Xuanwu had commissioned, Yu and Yuan Yong ambushed him and put him to death. Empress Gao was removed, and Consort Hu became empress dowager.
Yu Zhong, by this point, was in control of the government, and while he was not in name regent, he was effectively the regent, making almost all key decisions. He had himself created the Duke of Changshan. The officials Pei Zhi (裴植) and Guo Zuo (郭祚), who were unhappy about Yu's authoritarian acts, secretly suggested to Yuan Yong to have Yu removed from his post and sent to a province to be governor. Yu heard the news and falsely accused Pei and Guo of crimes. Pei and Guo were executed, and Yu wanted to kill Yuan Yong as well, but Cui refused to agree, and so Yuan Yong was merely removed of his post.
After Yu had effectively served as regent for six months, however, Empress Dowager Hu assumed titular regency, and while she appreciated Yu's saving her life, she also continuously received reports that Yu was abusing his power, and so she had him sent to Ji Province (冀州, modern central Hebei) to serve as governor. Soon, Yu's ducal title was stripped and many of his acts while in power were reversed, but because Empress Dowager Hu remembered what he had done for her, she soon recalled him to the capital and gave him an honorary post, but did not put him in power any more. In 516, she created him the Duke of Lingshou. He died in 518, and while initially, it was proposed that his posthumous name be "Wuchou" (meaning "martial and abusive"), Empress Dowager Hu instead declared it to be "Wujing" (meaning "martial and alert").
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Yu Zhong |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | Northern Wei regent |
| Date of birth | 452 |
| Place of birth | |
| Date of death | 518 |
| Place of death | |
Read more about this topic: Yu Zhong
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