During Emperor Xiaomings reign

Erzhu Rong's ancestors were hereditary chiefs of the Qihu (契胡) tribe of Xiongnu 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 (爾朱羽健) 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 (爾朱新興) 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 (元禎) 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 (萬于乞真), killing the general Lu Yan (陸延), 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 (尉慶賓) 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 (爾朱羽生) 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 Erzhu Ying'e 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 (鄭儼) and Zheng's associate Xu Ge (徐紇). under advice from his generals Gao Huan and Heba Yue (賀拔岳) 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 (葛榮), 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" (鐵券, 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 (元寶暉) 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 (鄭先護, Zheng Yan's cousin) and Fei Mu (費穆) 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 (河陰, 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 (慕容紹宗), proceeded. Erzhu ordered the imperial officials to his camp at Heyin (河陰, 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 (劉靈助) 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 (晉陽, 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 Erzhu Ying'e as his empress. Because this constituted incest under Confucian traditions, Emperor Xiaozhuang hesitated, but under the suggestion of the official Zu Ying (祖瑩), 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 (葛榮), 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 (万俟醜奴), 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 (韓樓) 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 (陳慶之) 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 (滎陽, 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 (長子, 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 (賀拔岳) and Houmochen Yue (侯莫陳悅), 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 (王慶雲), and Moqi Chounu's general Moqi Daoluo (万俟道洛), largely pacifying the western empire. Soon thereafter, Erzhu Rong's generals Hou Yuan (侯淵) 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 (楊侃) and Yuan Luo (元羅) 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 (爾朱菩提) 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 Erzhu Ying'e as a concubine.

Wei Shou, the author of Northern Wei's official history, the Wei Shu, had these comments about Erzhu Rong:

:Erzhu Rong was a general of the empire who depended on the loyalty his subordinates had for him. He met the opportunity of Suzong's Xiaoming's temple name death by poisoning and the resentment of the people and the gods alike, to manifest his great ambition of saving the weak, and his campaign to reestablish the old dynasty and banish the evil had its door opened by Heaven. At that time, the hearts of the people were lost, and both the officials and the 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, not to return. At the battle of Heyin, all of the honored officials were all 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, but he was suspected and died violently and suddenly. This is why Kuai Che 蒯徹 persuaded Han Xin to rebel.

生平

早年經歷

爾朱榮有潔白美麗的容貌，愛好射獵，頗曉兵法。娶南安王拓跋楨女北鄉公主。在北魏後期政權中，爾朱榮憑借鎮壓六鎮之亂，迅速壯大了其軍事力量，擢為遊擊將軍、冠軍將軍、平北將軍、北道都督。鮮于脩禮謀反後，爾朱榮帶兵向東討伐，再度進號征東將軍、右衛將軍、署理車騎將軍，都督并肆汾雲廣恆六州諸軍事，升任大都督，加金紫光祿大夫。

起兵入洛

皇帝元詡因為不滿靈太后專權，寵幸男寵等放肆之舉，密詔爾朱榮入洛。靈太后得知後殺了元詡，將元詡剛剛誕生的女兒立為新帝，之後又為了長期把握朝政，又立了幼主元釗為帝，魏孝明帝死後，建義元年（528年），爾朱榮藉機慷慨宣言，要為元詡之死討個公道，殺奔洛陽。爾朱榮並扶植魏孝莊帝元子攸即位，元子攸封爾朱榮太原王，他的女兒大爾朱氏元子攸原本是魏孝明帝的側妃，此時又成為孝莊帝的皇后。元子攸稱帝的消息傳到洛陽，洛陽守軍紛紛倒戈。靈太后只好絕望地出家為尼，爾朱榮派遣騎兵進入洛陽，將胡太后和元釗抓至河陰（今河南孟津縣），面對胡太后的百般辯解，爾朱榮不為所動，將胡太后和元釗沉入黃河。

河陰之變

隨後考慮到自己在朝廷根基尚淺，自己的軍隊尚不到一萬，怕今後不好控制朝廷，聽從親信費穆的建議，想誅殺立威。于是發動了河陰之變，誘騙王公百官二千多人至河陰，爾朱榮陰冷著臉呵斥百官：「天下喪亂，先帝暴崩，皆由朝臣貪虐，不能匡弼！」以鐵騎包圍，盡殺之，就連元子攸身邊的兄弟元邵、元子正也未能倖免。榮又令其軍士言:「元氏既滅，爾朱氏興！」，皆稱萬歲，隨後將元子攸軟禁于營中。爾朱榮從而完全掌控朝政，登上權力巔峰的爾朱榮此時也動了稱帝的念頭。而且此時元子攸也不甘心做個傀儡皇帝，表示帝業自有天命，勸說他擇賢另立，或者自立為帝。高歡也勸說爾朱榮稱帝，但被賀拔岳勸阻。爾朱榮迷信，遇事不決，便鑄金人，爾朱榮連鑄了四個自己的金人都不能成功。甚至打算要立元天穆為帝，可卜者說唯有元子攸是天命所在。權衡一番後，最終還是向元子攸請罪，將他請入洛陽。

河陰之變導致爾朱榮和北魏皇室徹底決裂，再無恢復關係的可能。當爾朱榮打算率領部隊進入洛陽的時，斬殺朝臣的殘暴之舉已經引得眾怒，部隊都不敢貿然進城，軍中呼籲遷都的聲音高漲。留在洛陽的各級官員早已成為驚弓之鳥，不敢露面。加上不斷有流言爾朱榮要縱兵劫掠洛陽，人心惶惶，導致此時「京邑士子，十無一存，率皆逃竄，無敢出者，直衛空虛，官守廢曠。」爾朱榮後來也後悔自己殺戮宗室太多，恢復被殺者的身後待遇。

權勢滔天

等洛陽稍有安定，爾朱榮對洛陽還是不放心，正式提出打算遷都晉陽，元子攸忌憚爾朱榮的權勢不敢阻攔，爾朱榮卻遭到元諶的極力反對，在爾朱世隆的極力勸阻下才化解了這場針鋒相對的局面，爾朱榮放棄遷都的決定。爾朱榮對自己濫殺朝臣的事情惴惴不安，再次向入宮向元子攸請罪，表示自己絕無二心，元子攸也加以寬慰。當晚，爾朱榮在宮裡喝得酩酊大醉，元子攸拿起了刀打算殺害爾朱榮，在左右近侍的苦勸下作罷。半夜，爾朱榮酒醒，對自己剛才放鬆警戒心有餘悸，從此爾朱榮再也不敢在宮中過夜。爾朱榮和元子攸肆意宴飲狩獵，談笑高歌，毫不顧忌君臣禮儀。爾朱榮性格多疑，武器經常帶在身邊，稍有不如意就動輒殺伐。

爾朱榮先後平定了葛榮、邢杲、万俟醜奴等六鎮起義的隊伍，更擊敗了攻陷洛陽的南梁名將陳慶之，殺掉了南梁擁立的傀儡皇帝元顥，將出逃長子的元子攸重新迎回了洛陽。此時，天下基本平定，爾朱榮基本統一了北魏在北方全境，被元子攸加封為天柱大將軍，採邑達二十萬戶。但身處洛陽的皇帝元子攸更加憂慮，擔心他更加肆無忌憚地幹預朝廷，因為此時元子攸的內外大臣基本都是爾朱榮安插的眼線，他的一舉一動都會匯報給遠在晉陽遙控中央的爾朱榮。更加過分的是，元子攸的皇后大爾朱氏，仰仗父親的威嚴，呵斥丈夫：「天子由我家置立，今便如此，我父本日即自作，今亦複決？」。忍無可忍的元子攸不甘心坐以待斃，開始策劃剷除爾朱榮的勢力。

權臣遇害

宮內的小道消息傳到爾朱世隆的耳里，爾朱世隆為了阻止爾朱榮來洛陽，寫了封匿名信貼在家前的門口上，言：「天子與楊侃，高道穆為計，欲殺天柱。」隨後揭下，令人傳報給爾朱榮，但是爾朱榮對此毫不在意，反而嘲笑爾朱世隆：「爾朱世隆無膽，朝中誰敢生此心！」。永安三年九月，爾朱榮剛到洛陽，元子攸本來想直接動手，但考慮到爾朱榮心腹元天穆在并州，恐為後患，所以只好先隱忍。洛陽城中有人警告爾朱榮，皇帝皇帝元子攸正準備殺他，爾朱榮竟將此事當面詢問元子攸，元子攸急中生智，說道：「外人亦言王欲害我，豈可信之？」爾朱榮對自己入洛的各種傳聞早有耳聞，見元子攸如此直言不諱，反而對他放下心來。從此，只帶十餘名赤手空拳的衛士入宮覲見。

永安三年九月二十五日（530年11月1日），孝莊帝伏兵明光殿，聲稱皇后大爾朱氏生下了太子，派元徽向爾朱榮報喜。元子攸聽說爾朱榮進宮臉色緊張，連忙喝酒以遮掩。爾朱榮見到光祿少卿魯安、典御李侃晞從東廂門執刀闖入，便撲向元子攸。元子攸用藏在膝下的刀砍到爾朱榮，魯安等揮刀亂砍，殺爾朱榮與元天穆等人，又殺同時進宮的爾朱榮子爾朱菩提等。

爾朱榮死後，爾朱榮的侄子爾朱兆由并州出兵洛陽，殺死孝莊帝，立元恭為節閔帝，追封爾朱榮為晉武王。高歡收納了爾朱榮軍隊二十餘萬人，進佔冀州。

家庭

高祖

• 爾朱羽健，北魏散騎常侍、領民酋長

曾祖

• 爾朱鬱德，北魏領民酋長

祖父

• 爾朱代勤，北魏代理寧南將軍、肆州刺史、領民酋長、梁郡莊公

父親

• 爾朱新興，北魏散騎常侍、平北將軍、秀容第一領民酋長、西河簡王

子女

• 大爾朱氏

• 爾朱菩提 （516-530）

• 爾朱義羅

• 爾朱文殊（525-534）

• 爾朱文暢 （527-545）

• 爾朱文略

• 爾朱氏，嫁于長孺

• 爾朱氏，嫁北魏侍中、撫軍將軍、陳留王元寬

世系圖