The rise and fall of the Lü Group: The rise and fall of the Han Gaozu to the Han Wen Emperor
Among the many founding emperors, Liu Bang may not be strong, but in terms of knowing and employing people, he must be one of the best. It can be said that because of the weakness of the crown prince Liu Yingyan, Liu Bang's inheritance to the Han family has not been settled for a long time, and he has finally achieved a balanced position through a series of operations, according to Liu Bang"The court was temperate inside and outside, and there were obstacles outside, and Liu was the king"As long as the imperial court maintains balance, and there is the help of important ministers, then the Han family will definitely be intact.
However, Liu Bang probably did not expect that soon after his death, the situation he had carefully prepared was quickly overturned by a series of changes, and Lu Hou Fazan Han Gao quickly became the leader of the dynasty, the power of the Lu family continued to grow, and the Liu family was brutally suppressed. After the death of Empress Lü, the imperial court fell into a huge crisis again, until Liu Bang abandoned the lonely ministers, quickly mobilized, completely eliminated the Lü faction, killed all Liu Ying's sons, and the throne was inherited by Liu Heng, Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty.
Let's take a look at the series of political upheavals that took place in the early years of the Western Han Dynasty.
Why is Liu Bang here"Sick listening"The four ministers of Tuogu are so concerned?
Due to Liu Ying's character problems, Liu Bang tried to replace the crown prince in the following years, but without success. Since the crown prince's position was irreplaceable, Liu Bang could have suffered a big loss, but he helped Liu Ying prepare to formalize Liu Ying's later position, ensure that Liu Ying could sit on the throne, and at the same time ensure the succession of the Han dynasty.
In order to balance the power of the imperial court, Liu Bang on the one hand eliminated the kings with different surnames except for Wu Rui, the king of Changsha, and let the kings of the Liu family guard various places as a barrier for the royal family, and at the same time made a white horse alliance with the ministers, stipulating"Those who are not Liu cannot be kings"。On the other hand, Liu Bang cleared the Lu clique of power in the army and ensured that military power was in the hands of those loyal to Liu Bang, so he ordered Chen Ping and Zhou Bo to kill Fan Xu before he died. At the same time, he let in"The Prince's Rebellion"Liu **, who showed a desire for power and political talent, was pre-governmental.
Liu Bang was seriously wounded during the suppression of the Anglo-Bu rebellion, and his life was threatened. Liu Bang questioned Lu Hou on his deathbed and decided who to entrust his important ministers to, which is famous"The Prime Minister's dying question"。Empress Lu asked Liu Bang who could be the prime minister after Xiao He, and Liu Bang thought it might be Cao Shen. Liu Bang thought that Cao Shen might be Wang Ling after him, but he didn't think that Wang Ling was wise enough to ask Chen Ping to help him. Chen Ping has wisdom, but he cannot make decisions on major issues. Zhou Bo is not good at words, but he is loyal and can be a captain.
Why did Liu Bang choose these four people? First of all, these four people are undoubtedly loyal to the Han family, among which Cao Shen is Liu Bang's old friend, as early as when Liu Bang was the chief of the Surabaya Pavilion, their relationship was very good, not only the first to follow Liu Bang to do things, certainly not a lineage, but also in the establishment of the Western Han Dynasty and a lineage, long-term prime minister of Qi Province, not only helped Liu Bang's eldest son Liu Fei to manage the Qi State, but also suppressed the rebellion many times and led troops to follow Liu Bang, but was very capable, undoubtedly extremely suitable to take over Xiao He's position. Liu Bang wrote in "Historical Records - The Biography of Xiao He Lie"."In the past, Xiao He's son also"。Xiao He"It is a name that is very suitable to replace Xiao He.
Interestingly, after Cao Shen, Wang Ling, Chen Ping, and Zhou Bo successively assisted the government, Wang Ling followed Liu Bang with all his heart because his mother died at the hands of Xiang Yu, his loyalty was absolutely unquestionable, but he rarely lacked talent; As Liu Bang's important adviser, Chen Ping naturally has extraordinary intelligence, but although he is loyal, he thinks more about his own interests. Chen Ping, as Liu Bang's important adviser, naturally has extraordinary intelligence, but although he is loyal, he thinks more about his own interests, which can be seen from the fact that when he was ordered to kill Fan Xu, in order to save his life, he did not obey Liu Bang's orders, and on the way back, when he heard the news of Liu Bang's death, he ran directly to Lu Hou to ask for credit, which can be seen. Zhou Bo was loyal, but lacked initiative, and under Chen Ping's persuasion, he easily killed Fan Xu. Wang Ling, Chen Ping, and Zhou Bo all have shortcomings, but if the three of them join forces to help, they can all avoid these problems to a certain extent.
In the following years, Liu Bang finally realized it through a series of operations"The palace and the palace contain each other, and the surname Liu outside the palace is the king barrier"The balance of the situation, Cao Shen, Wang Ling, Chen Ping, and Zhou Bo can undoubtedly ensure the stability of Liu Liu's kingdom, and Liu Bang can be said to care about Liu Ying.
After Liu Bang's death, the Lü family quickly took control of the government, triggering a series of changes.
If Li Shimin could develop smoothly according to Liu Bang's agreement, there would not have been a series of turmoil later. That's right"Plans can't keep up with the changes"。Soon after Liu Bang's death, a series of events quickly disrupted his arrangements, and the Lü Houqiang people soon took control of the entire Han dynasty.
First revision: Emperor Hui of the Han Dynasty Liu Ying is not in power. After Liu Bang's death, Lü Pheasant quickly launched a purge of the old threat to the status of Mrs. Qi and her son Liu Ruyi's mother-son status, first killing Liu Ruyi and then rushing away"Visit"When his son Liu Ying turned Mrs. Qi into a pig, Liu Ying was worried that she would get sick at first, but then she was disheartened and had no intention of going to politics. Although Liu Ying still sits on the throne, he has a weak personality and is still the nominal emperor. It was not easy for Empress Lü to intervene in the government without scruples, but when Liu Ying took the initiative to retreat into the background, she gave Empress Lü the opportunity to quickly seize power, and the balance soon began to tilt in favor of Empress Lü.
The second change: Cao Shen died, and the royal tomb was abolished. After the death of Xiao He in the second year of Emperor Hui of Han (193 BC), Cao Shen succeeded him as prime minister, but did not die until four years later in the sixth year of Emperor Hui of Han (189 BC). Under Liu Bang's system, Wang Ling was the right prime minister, Chen Ping was the left prime minister, and Zhou Bo was the lieutenant. Although Cao Shen's role as prime minister was limited, Empress Lü was still wary of him, and it was not until after Cao Shen's death that Empress Lü proposed that Lü divide the kings, and Wang Ling resolutely opposed it. Empress Lu questioned Chen Ping and Zhou Bo, Chen Ping decided to stay out of the matter, and Zhou Bo was even more undecided. As a result, Wang Ling was promoted to Taifu. In a fit of rage, the tomb went into seclusion until the death of Empress Han Gao in the eighth year (180 BC).
During this period, the Liu Bang dynasty collapsed due to the ambiguous behavior of Chen Ping and Zhou Bo, and there were no voices in the court against Empress Lü. Empress Lü monopolized power in the palace and began to prepare for the long-term rule of the Lü family. During this period, the only people who could pose a threat to Empress Lu were the kings, who were divided among the descendants of the Liu family, especially the sons of Liu Bang.
The contradiction between Empress Lü and the Liu family became increasingly prominent, and the Liu family wanted to ensure the long-term stability of the Lu family.
Empress Lu, who leaned towards the government and the opposition, once again began to carefully plan for the long-term stability of the Lu family. In order to achieve this goal, Empress Lü adopted the method of political means and political marriage.
First: Zhang Yan married Liu Ying and became rich. Zhang Yan was the daughter of Princess Lü Yuan, the daughter of Empress Lü, and Zhang Ao, the nephew of Emperor Liu Ying of the Han Dynasty. In October of the fourth year of Emperor Hui of the Han Dynasty (192 BC), Empress Lü ordained the eleven-year-old Zhang Yan as the empress of Emperor Hui of the Han Dynasty, hoping that Zhang Yan would give birth to Liu Ying's eldest son. However, because Zhang Yan was too young and Liu Ying thought that their marriage was immoral, Zhang Yan never gave birth to a child. Empress Lu asked Zhang Yan to pretend to be pregnant, and then arrested Liu Alun, the son of Emperor Hui of the Han Dynasty, and a prostitute, falsely claimed that Zhang Yan was born, made the crown prince, and killed Liu Alun's mother.
Second, the Lu family divided the kings and controlled the military power of the capital. Under the connivance of Chen Ping and Zhou Bo, Empress Lü carried out many confinements on the Lü family: first posthumously crowned his deceased brother Lü Ze as the king of Lü, and then posthumously crowned his nephew Lü Tai as the king of Lü (this move was overthrown with the connivance of his son Lü Jia), Lü Yan as the king of Liang, and Lü Lu as the king of Zhao. In addition, Lü Yan and Lü Lu also commanded the northern and southern armies as generals, and controlled the armed forces of the capital.
Third, dismember the kings of the Liu family, ** the sons of Liu Bang. Under the orders of Empress Lü, the kings of the Liu clan were first forced to marry a woman from the Lü clan, and then killed for various reasons. Among them, Liu Ruyi, the king of Zhao, Liu You, the king of Huaiyang, and Liu Chou, the king of Liang, were killed by Empress Lu, and Liu Jian, the king of Yan, died of illness, and his heirs were also killed by killing. Of Liu Bang's eight sons, only Liu Chang, the king of Huainan raised by Empress Lü, and Liu Heng, the acting king that Liu Bang's mother disliked, survived, while Liu Fei escaped because he respected Princess Lü Yuan (Empress Lü's daughter) and demoted him to widowhood. As a result, the obstacles posed by the Liu kings to the imperial family were largely removed, and the Lü group was able to quickly consolidate its position.
Although Liu Gong learned the truth about his mother's killing after Liu Ying's death, and threatened to take revenge in the future, he was later killed by Empress Lü, and Liu Hong became the emperor, but at that time, Lü's position was already very stable, and if the situation really developed according to Lü's plan, Lü's family would definitely continue to prosper for a period of time in the future. Unfortunately, Empress Lü's actions made the contradiction between Lü and Liu extremely acute, and it was only under Empress Lü's stable rule that the contradiction did not break out.
After the death of Empress Lu,"The Lu Rebellion"broke out, Liu Bang's grandson Liu Heng was killed, and Liu Bang ascended the throne.
Although Empress Lü influenced the administration of the country during her reign and played a decisive role in the development of the Han Dynasty, her consolidation of power led to extremely fierce conflicts between the ** court and local princes, and between the princes of the Lü clan and the Liu clan, which quickly erupted after Empress Lü's death.
Lü must have foreseen the coming storm, for on his deathbed in August of the eighth year of Gao's reign (180 BCE), he left a final order for the Lü family, asking them to maintain their military strength, guard the palace, and warn them not to leave the palace for his funeral, as they might drown.
Just before Lü Pheasant's death, Liu Zhang, Marquis of Zhuxu (Liu Fei's second son), who lived in Chang'an at the time, sent someone to inform his elder brother Liu Xiang, then the king of Qi, that the Lü clan was going to rebel and was preparing to send troops to the west, and Liu Zhang and Liu Xingju, the Marquis of Dongmu, were fighting for the throne. As a result, King Xiang of Qi deceived the army of Liu Ze, the king of Lang, to"Zhulu"In the name of the army, he marched westward.
After the palace got the news, the minister Lu Yan sent the general Gui Ying to lead the army. So, Gui Yingtun troops Xingyang, blocked Liu Xiang's army in front of Guanzhong, and sent someone to tell Liu Xiang to wait for the result in the capital.
In the capital, Chen Ping and Zhou Bo saw that the world was about to be in chaos, so they first sent someone to take away the talisman from Lu Lu, and then quickly launched a rebellion to destroy the Lu family. But judging from the reaction of the Lu people, they had no intention of rebelling, otherwise they would not have killed them without resistance. Judging from the reaction of the Lu people, it is clear that they have no intention of rebelling, otherwise there would not have been a strong army, and they would not have been killed without resistance. The main reason why they were assassinated was because the state of Lu rose rapidly after experiencing various contradictions and chaos in the world.
After the Lü clan was destroyed, Chen Ping, Zhou Bo and others deposed Liu Xiong on the grounds that the son of the reigning emperor Liu Ying was not born to Liu Ying, and at the same time discussed the establishment of a new monarch. Because Liu Xiang was too ambitious, his uncle Yijun was not good, and Liu Chang, the king of Huainan, was raised by Empress Lu, so Liu Heng (Liu Bang's eldest son), the acting king of the family, who was relatively weak, entered the ministers' field of vision.
In the leap September of this year, Liu Heng, the acting king, came to Chang'an and ascended to the throne with the support of the ministers. Soon after Liu Heng ascended the throne, Liu Ying's remaining four sons, that is, Liu Bang's four descendants, Liu Hong, King of Jichuan, Liu Hong, King of Huaiyang, and Liu Tai, King of Changshan, were deposed, and the later Young Emperor Liu Hong, King Liu Tai of Huaiyang, and Liu Chao were killed.
There is no doubt that the newly enthroned Han Gaozu Liu Heng and Chen Ping, Zhou Bo and others were killed"Zhulu"'s heroes will not let Liu Ying's son stay in the world. Although this move killed all of Liu Bang's descendants, it was extremely beneficial to the stability of the Han Dynasty.