Yu Wenyong was filial and respectful to the elderly since childhood, and he was smart and organic. Yu Wentai once said, "This son can inherit my ambition and glory. 12 years, served as county magistrate and worshipped generals. Yu Wenyu acceded to the throne and rose to Xiangguo and Zhou Pu Secretariat; Soon, he became a general, ruled the empire and joined the Duke of Lu. Yu Wenyu's deep friendship with his brothers made him participate in the important affairs of the court. He has a deep disposition and foresight, but he never says much unless someone asks him. Yu Wenyu often boasts: "If he doesn't speak, he can hit the nail on the head as soon as he opens his mouth. "In 560, Yuwen Hu secretly ordered the doctor of Feather Catering Department to poison the sugar mallet, and Yuwen Hu died of poisoning, leaving an imperial edict at his deathbed: Yu Wenyong succeeded to the throne because his son was too young to be an heir.
On April 1 day, 560, Yu Wenyong ascended the throne, but the imperial power was still in the hands of Otsuka and Gong Jin Yuwen Hu. Yuwen Yong is calm and resourceful. He keeps a low profile, and no one can measure his depth. In 572, he and his entourage conspired to kill Yuwen Hu and regain power.
After Yu Wenyong took the lead, he restrained himself, listened attentively and respected the crowd. He lives frugally, wears a cloth robe and covers a quilt, and has no gold and jade ornaments; The splendid silk decorated in the palace was demolished by the First Committee and replaced by earth steps several feet high, without even a bucket. It is forbidden to carve beams and draw columns and spread splendid flowers. The number of concubines in the harem decreased 10. His usage is strict, and he accepts it humbly. He went to the military camp to learn martial arts, and the hardships were unbearable for his followers. Whenever he banquets for soldiers, he must personally raise a glass to persuade them to drink and hand in prizes. In the battle of Qi, he found soldiers marching barefoot, so he took off his boots and gave them to him personally, and took the lead in conquering.
In 573, the Northern Zhou Dynasty suffered from natural disasters and social unrest, and Yuwen Yong decided to carry out reforms. He resolutely issued an imperial edict to release the government, private handmaiden and miscellaneous household as civilians, and got rid of Xianbei's old habit of refusing to release the plundered population as slaves. Since then, there is no longer a saying of "miscellaneous households" in the old land of Beiqi. He recruited Han farmers as soldiers and changed non-commissioned officers into servants. In 577, the Outline of the Criminal Law was formulated, which stipulated that all those who held arms in association and seized more than 0/piece of cloth and silk, those who did not hold arms in association and seized more than 5 pieces of cloth and silk, officials at all levels stole more than 20 pieces of official property from themselves, defrauded 30 pieces of official property, and lost 5 households and more than 3 hectares of land 1 0 ton, all of them were sentenced to death, and heavy penalties were used. More than one Confucian scholar was sent to the imperial court to be an official. He agreed on weights and measures, promulgated the world, and cast "distribution rights", with 1 as 5, parallel to the five baht; Later, five lines of money were cast, 1 is 10, which is parallel to "Buquan".
The most important thing in Yuwen Yong's political reform is to destroy the Buddha. At that time, there were more than 10000 Buddhist temples and more than 2 million monks and nuns in the Northern Zhou Dynasty. They got something for nothing, but also occupied the fields, which led to the intensification of class contradictions. In 577, Yu Wenyong announced to the monks that he would destroy the Buddha. A monk threatened him, saying, "The Buddha is forbidden to go to hell." He replied firmly: "As long as the people are at peace, I am willing to go to hell to suffer." He called ministers, shamans and Taoists to debate the three religions, with Confucianism as the first, Taoism as the second and Buddhism as the last. Ordered the banning of Buddhism and Taoism, forced the secularization of Buddhism and Taoism, and all the monks and Buddhist households (miscellaneous households) in Buddhist temples were released; Confiscation of land and temple property of monks and nuns for military purposes; Destroy bronze Buddha statues and bronze bells to cast copper coins and weapons; Millions of monks and nuns exploited by monasteries were organized into farmland households, engaged in farming, and recruited able-bodied men of appropriate age to serve as soldiers to expand the army. The extinction of Buddhism has increased wealth, developed production and lightened some burdens of the people. Yu Wenyong's brief introduction eased class contradictions and greatly enhanced national strength.
In the first year of the extinction of Buddhism (577), the Northern Zhou Dynasty conquered the Northern Qi Dynasty and gained 50 counties, 162 county and 380 county, with 3.03 million households and a population of 240,000, and once again became a famous figure in the Central Plains headed by Li. Yuwen Yong reuse Li said: "I used to give the official document to Qi, thinking that he fell from the sky, but I didn't expect him to be used by me today." The thirst for talents cannot be expressed in words.
After Yuwen Yong unified the north, it captured Jiangbei and Huainan, and its territory extended to the north bank of the Yangtze River, which laid the foundation for the Sui Dynasty to unify the whole country. In May, 578, Yu Wenyong led his army to fight against the Turkish invasion in five ways. Yu Wenyong was introduced due to illness and stopped at Yunyang Palace. In June, he was seriously ill, retired from the DPRK, and died on the way at night. The testamentary edict said: "I was prepared to inherit the will of my ancestors, conform to the will of the people, level the quartet and unify the world, but unfortunately I was seriously ill and could not realize this great wish."
Yu Wenyong, aged 36, was named Gaozu, Emperor of posthumous title, and was buried in Xiaoling Mausoleum.
After the death of Yuwen Yong's seven sons, Yu Yun (Yunyun), the eldest son, succeeded to the throne in accordance with the testamentary edict and proclaimed himself emperor of the Northern Zhou Dynasty.