生平

早年经历

尔朱荣有洁白美丽的容貌，爱好射猎，颇晓兵法。娶南安王拓跋桢女北乡公主。在北魏后期政权中，尔朱荣凭借镇压六镇之乱，迅速壮大了其军事力量，擢为游击将军、冠军将军、平北将军、北道都督。鲜于修礼谋反后，尔朱荣带兵向东讨伐，再度进号征东将军、右卫将军、署理车骑将军，都督并肆汾云广恒六州诸军事，升任大都督，加金紫光禄大夫。

起兵入洛

皇帝元诩因为不满灵太后专权，宠幸男宠等放肆之举，密诏尔朱荣入洛。灵太后得知后杀了元诩，将元诩刚刚诞生的女儿立为新帝，之后又为了长期把握朝政，又立了幼主元钊为帝，魏孝明帝死后，建义元年（528年），尔朱荣藉机慷慨宣言，要为元诩之死讨个公道，杀奔洛阳。尔朱荣并扶植魏孝庄帝元子攸即位，元子攸封尔朱荣太原王，他的女儿大尔朱氏原本是魏孝明帝的侧妃，此时又成为孝庄帝的皇后。元子攸称帝的消息传到洛阳，洛阳守军纷纷倒戈。灵太后只好绝望地出家为尼，尔朱荣派遣骑兵进入洛阳，将灵太后和元钊抓至河阴（今河南孟津县），面对灵太后的百般辩解，尔朱荣不为所动，将灵太后和元钊沉入黄河。

河阴之变

随后考虑到自己在朝廷根基尚浅，自己的军队尚不到一万，怕今后不好控制朝廷，听从亲信费穆的建议，想诛杀立威。于是发动了河阴之变，诱骗王公百官二千多人至河阴，尔朱荣阴冷著脸呵斥百官：「天下丧乱，先帝暴崩，皆由朝臣贪虐，不能匡弼！」以铁骑包围，尽杀之，就连元子攸身边的兄弟元邵、元子正也未能幸免。荣又令其军士言:「元氏既灭，尔朱氏兴！」，皆称万岁，随后将元子攸软禁于营中。尔朱荣从而完全掌控朝政，登上权力巅峰的尔朱荣此时也动了称帝的念头。而且此时元子攸也不甘心做个傀儡皇帝，表示帝业自有天命，劝说他择贤另立，或者自立为帝。高欢也劝说尔朱荣称帝，但被贺拔岳劝阻。尔朱荣迷信，遇事不决，便铸金人，尔朱荣连铸了四个自己的金人都不能成功。甚至打算要立元天穆为帝，可卜者说唯有元子攸是天命所在。权衡一番后，最终还是向元子攸请罪，将他请入洛阳。

河阴之变导致尔朱荣和北魏皇室彻底决裂，再无恢复关系的可能。当尔朱荣打算率领部队进入洛阳之时，斩杀朝臣的残暴之举已经引得众怒，部队都不敢贸然进城，军中呼吁迁都的声音高涨。留在洛阳的各级官员早已成为惊弓之鸟，不敢露面。加上不断有流言尔朱荣要纵兵劫掠洛阳，人心惶惶，导致此时「京邑士子，十无一存，率皆逃窜，无敢出者，直卫空虚，官守废旷。」尔朱荣后来也后悔自己杀戮宗室太多，恢复被杀者的身后待遇。

权势滔天

等洛阳稍有安定，尔朱荣对洛阳还是不放心，正式提出打算迁都晋阳，元子攸忌惮尔朱荣的权势不敢阻拦，尔朱荣却遭到元谌的极力反对，在尔朱世隆的极力劝阻下才化解了这场针锋相对的局面，尔朱荣放弃迁都的决定。尔朱荣对自己滥杀朝臣的事情惴惴不安，再次入宫向元子攸请罪，表示自己绝无二心，元子攸也加以宽慰。当晚，尔朱荣在宫里喝得酩酊大醉，元子攸拿起了刀打算杀害尔朱荣，在左右近侍的苦劝下作罢。半夜，尔朱荣酒醒，对自己刚才放松警戒心有馀悸，从此尔朱荣再也不敢在宫中过夜。尔朱荣和元子攸肆意宴饮狩猎，谈笑高歌，毫不顾忌君臣礼仪。尔朱荣性格多疑，武器经常带在身边，稍有不如意就动辄杀伐。

尔朱荣先后平定了葛荣、邢杲、万俟丑奴等六镇之乱的队伍，更击败了攻陷洛阳的南梁名将陈庆之，杀掉了南梁拥立的傀儡皇帝元颢，将出逃长子的元子攸重新迎回了洛阳。此时，天下基本平定，尔朱荣基本统一了北魏在北方全境，被元子攸加封为天柱大将军，采邑达二十万户。但身处洛阳的皇帝元子攸更加忧虑，担心他更加肆无忌惮地干预朝廷，因为此时元子攸的内外大臣基本都是尔朱荣安插的眼线，他的一举一动都会汇报给远在晋阳遥控中央的尔朱荣。更加过分的是，元子攸的皇后大尔朱氏，仰仗父亲的威严，呵斥丈夫：「天子由我家置立，今便如此，我父本日即自作，今亦复决？」。忍无可忍的元子攸不甘心坐以待毙，开始策划铲除尔朱荣的势力。

权臣遇害

宫内的小道消息传到尔朱世隆的耳里，尔朱世隆为了阻止尔朱荣来洛阳，写了封匿名信贴在家前的门口上，言：「天子与杨侃，高道穆为计，欲杀天柱。」随后揭下，令人传报给尔朱荣，但是尔朱荣对此毫不在意，反而嘲笑尔朱世隆：「尔朱世隆无胆，朝中谁敢生此心！」。永安三年九月，尔朱荣刚到洛阳，元子攸本来想直接动手，但考虑到尔朱荣心腹元天穆在并州，恐为后患，所以只好先隐忍。洛阳城中有人警告尔朱荣，皇帝元子攸正准备杀他，尔朱荣竟将此事当面询问元子攸，元子攸急中生智，说道：「外人亦言王欲害我，岂可信之？」尔朱荣对自己入洛的各种传闻早有耳闻，见元子攸如此直言不讳，反而对他放下心来。此后，只带十馀名赤手空拳的卫士入宫觐。

永安三年九月二十五日（530年11月1日），孝庄帝伏兵明光殿，声称皇后大尔朱氏生下了太子，派元徽向尔朱荣报喜。元子攸听说尔朱荣进宫脸色紧张，连忙喝酒以遮掩。尔朱荣见到光禄少卿鲁安、典御李侃晞从东厢门执刀闯入，便扑向元子攸。元子攸用藏在膝下的刀砍到尔朱荣，鲁安等挥刀乱砍，杀尔朱荣与元天穆等人，又杀同时进宫的尔朱荣子尔朱菩提等。

尔朱荣死后，尔朱荣的侄子尔朱兆由并州出兵洛阳，杀死孝庄帝，立元恭为节闵帝。高欢收纳了尔朱荣军队二十馀万人，进占冀州。

家庭

高祖

• 尔朱羽健，北魏散骑常侍、领民酋长

曾祖

• 尔朱郁德，北魏领民酋长

祖父

• 尔朱代勤，北魏代理宁南将军、肆州刺史、领民酋长、梁郡庄公

父亲

• 尔朱新兴，北魏散骑常侍、平北将军、秀容第一领民酋长、西河简王

兄弟姐妹

• 尔朱氏，嫁东魏骠骑大将军、仪同三司、洛州刺史、济北郡公穆建

夫人

• 北乡公主，追尊魏景穆帝拓跋晃孙女，南安王元桢之女

子女

• 大尔朱氏

• 尔朱菩提

• 尔朱义罗

• 尔朱文殊

• 尔朱文畅

• 尔朱文略

• 尔朱氏，嫁于长孺

• 尔朱氏，嫁北魏侍中、抚军将军、陈留王元宽

世系图

延伸阅读

During Emperor Xiaomings reign

Erzhu Rong's ancestors were hereditary chiefs of 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 (尔朱羽健) 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, 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 (尔朱新兴) 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 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 (元祯) the Prince of Nan'an, a brother of Emperor Wencheng.

In 524, as Northern Wei 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 (万于乞真), killing the general Lu Yan (陆延), 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 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 (尉庆宾) 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 (尔朱羽生) as governor without imperial permission. From this point on, it became increasingly difficult for 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.

Campaign against Empress Dowager Hu and the Heyin Massacre

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 (郑俨) and Zheng's associate Xu Ge (徐纥). under advice from his generals Gao Huan and Heba Yue (贺拔岳) and close friend Yuan Tianmu (元天穆), Erzhu considered waging 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 (葛荣), 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" (铁券, 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 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 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 (元宝晖) 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 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 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 the generals Zheng Xianhu (郑先护, Zheng Yan's cousin) and Fei Mu (费穆) 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 (河阴, 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 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 (慕容绍宗), proceeded. Erzhu ordered the imperial officials to his camp at Heyin (河阴, 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 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 (刘灵助) predicted that neither Erzhu himself nor Yuan Tianmu 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 the idea of moving the capital to Jinyang (晋阳, 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.

During Emperor Xiaozhuangs reign

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 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 (祖莹), who advised that this marriage would be advantageous, Emperor Xiaozhuang agreed.

Emperor Xiaozhuang 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 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:

• Ge Rong (葛荣), with an army largely of Xianbei soldiers from the six garrisons on the northern borders, with the title of Emperor of Qi and controlling most of the provinces in modern Hebei

• Xing Gao (邢杲), with an army largely consisting of refugees from Ge Rong's and other associated rebellions, with the title of Prince of Han and controlling most of the provinces in modern Shandong

• Moqi Chounu (万俟丑奴), with the title of emperor and controlling most of the provinces in Shaanxi and eastern Gansu

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 was executed in winter 528. Ge's general Han Lou (韩楼) 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 (陈庆之) to escort him, with an intent to install Yuan Hao as Northern Wei's emperor as 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 (荥阳, in modern Zhengzhou, Henan), defeating Yuan Tianmu as he returned from 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 (长子, 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 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 (贺拔岳) and Houmochen Yue (侯莫陈悦), to attack Moqi Chounu. Erzhu Tianguang, after tricking Moqi into believing that an attack would not come quickly, made 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 (王庆云), and Moqi Chounu's general Moqi Daoluo (万俟道洛), largely pacifying the western empire. Soon thereafter, Erzhu Rong's generals Hou Yuan (侯渊) and Liu Lingzhu defeated and killed Han Lou, and the empire became basically reunified.

Death

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 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 the throne. Emperor Xiaozhuang also feared a repeat of the Heyin Massacre, and therefore engaged his officials Yang Kan (杨侃) and Yuan Luo (元罗) 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 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 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 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, 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 (尔朱菩提) and Erzhu's attendants. The populace rejoiced news of Erzhu Rong's death, but Erzhu Rong's wife 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 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:

:Erzhu Rong was a general of the empire who depended on the loyalty his subordinates had for him. Suzong's Xiaoming's temple name death by poisoning incurred the wrath of the people and the gods alike. He thus had great ambitions of saving the weak, and his campaign to reestablish the old dynasty and banish evils, had its door opened by Heaven. At that time, the hearts and minds of the people were lost, and the morales of officials and generals have collapsed, and people hoped that someone would express the voice of the righteous, to start a just uprising, like Duke Huan of Qi and Duke Wen of Jin. Indeed, Erzhu Rong easily succeeded, with his warhorses not even sweating, and both the government and the people followed him. He placed a prince on the throne to allow the government to have a sovereign, and he allowed the imperial ancestors to be worshipped along with Heaven. The traditions of the empire were not destroyed. Thereafter, he captured Ge Rong, killed Yuan Hao, executed Xing Gao, cut short Han Lou's life, and both Moqi Chounu and Xiao Baoyin were taken to the execution field to be beheaded. These rebel leaders seized regions and were not minor thieves who captured just singular cities or villages. Without Erzhu Rong's full efforts to eliminate these disasters, many people would have claim kingships and many peoples would have claim imperial thrones. Were not Erzhu Rong's achievements great? But from the very beginning, he had improper thoughts and wanted to seize the throne, and he threw Empress Hu and the Young Lord Zhao into the Yellow River. At the massacre of Heyin, all of the honored officials were massacred. These were the reasons why he was condemned by men and gods, and was finally killed. If Erzhu Rong did not commit errors of treachery and cruelty, but instead encouraged himself with virtues and righteousness, then how could even Yi Yin great prime minister of Shang dynasty or Huo Guang compare to him? But even at the end, even though he did not carry out acts of treason, he was suspected and died violently and suddenly. This is why Kuai Che 蒯彻 persuaded Han Xin to rebel.