Death
In 528, with Empress Dowager Hu and Emperor Xiaoming in a conflict after Emperor Xiaoming wanted to put Empress Dowager Hu's lover Zheng Yan (鄭儼) to death by conspiring with the general Erzhu Rong, Empress Dowager Hu poisoned Emperor Xiaoming and put the young child Yuan Zhao, a great-grandson of Emperor Xiaowen from a collateral line, on the throne. Erzhu refused to recognize Yuan Zhao's imperial authority and advanced on Luoyang, quickly capturing it. He made Yuan Xie's son Yuan Ziyou emperor (as Emperor Xiaozhuang) and threw Empress Dowager Hu and Yuan Zhao into the Yellow River to drown.
Erzhu then believed that, in order to show his might, he needed to massacre the high level officials, whom the people viewed as corrupt. Under guise that they were needed to attend Emperor Xiaozhuang in sacrificing to heaven, he had them, led by Yuan Yong, report to Heyin, near Luoyang. Then, he had his cavalry surround them and massacre them. Erzhu would later regret this action, and he had Yuan Yong and the other officials killed buried with honor.
Read more about this topic: Yuan Yong
Famous quotes containing the word death:
“The breath of an aristocrat is the death rattle of freedom.”
—Georg Büchner (1813–1837)
“Nothing is a matter of life and death except life and death.”
—Angela Carter (1940–1992)
“We term sleep a death ... by which we may be literally said to die daily; in fine, so like death, I dare not trust it without my prayers.”
—Thomas Browne (1605–1682)