Bumpy Crown Prince,The crown prince died, and his grandson created the prosperity of the Western Han Dynasty
In the TV series "Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty", there is a character who plays an important role, he is the eldest son of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, who has served as the crown prince for 30 years. His life journey is full of legends and ruggedness, but in the end, he is tragically killed.
However, his grandson inherited his ideals and ascended to the throne, ushering in the ** era of the Western Han Dynasty. He is the crown prince Liu Ju, the most bumpy in the history of the Han Dynasty, and the eldest son of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.
His mother was the famous Empress Wei Zifu, and his uncle was Wei Qing, a famous general of the Han army. And his grandson is the famous Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty Liu Xun. So, what is the life of the crown prince Liu Ju?
Above: The Tomb of Liu Juzhi (present-day Didong Village, Lingbao City, Henan Province): The Secret to Securing the Throne** After Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty ascended the throne at the age of 16, although he made Chen Ajiao the empress, he was never able to give birth to a prince, which made his throne unstable.
However, all this changed in 128 BC, when Wei Zifu gave birth to the prince Liu Ju. This news made Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty ecstatic, and he asked Dongfang Shuo and others to make speeches to celebrate the birth of the prince.
In the same year, the lord's father wrote to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, hoping to make Wei Zifu the empress, and Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty also approved this request. In 122 BC, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty appointed Liu Ju as the crown prince, which made his throne fundamentally solid.
In order to better educate Liu Ju, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty found Shi De, Zhuang Qingzhai, Zhao Zhou and Zhou Bo's grandson Zhou Jiande and others to be his taifu, and also sent teachers to explain the ram and Gu Liang to Liu Ju.
All this shows that Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty attached great importance to Liu Ju's education and hoped that he could become a generation of kings who would be useful to the country like himself. Liu's educational experience also proves the importance of education in securing the throne.
Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty's trust in Liu Ju was not only reflected in the construction of a palace for him, but also in his full trust in Liu Ju's interpersonal interactions. Liu Ju has a wide range of interpersonal contacts, whether it is a noble birth, a common person, or even a ranger, he is willing to make friends.
Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was full of confidence in Liu Ju's ability, and every time he went on a tour, he would hand over political affairs to the prince with full authority, and he rarely cared about it. It can be seen from the records of the "Zizhi Tongjian" that the prince's decision to handle political affairs will be approved by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, and sometimes there is no need to ask in person.
This kind of trust and letting go enabled Liu Ju to develop in an all-round way, and also reflected the wisdom and foresight of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.
Zizhi Tongjian is a multi-volume chronicle edited by Sima Guang of the Northern Song Dynasty, which tells the changes in the relationship between the prince Liu Ju and Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.
With Wei Zifu's position as empress secured, her family members were reused, especially the two generals, Wei Qing and Huo Quzhi. Behind their success is inseparable from the support of Empress Wei Zifu and Prince Liu Ju, both of whom were very common relatives in ancient China.
Liu Ju had a generous personality and was tolerant of others, but Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was an emperor who pursued hegemony. As time passed, the difference between Liu Ju's ruling style and that of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty became more and more significant.
Liu Ju had a conflict with Emperor Wu of Han because of the attack on the Xiongnu, coupled with Wei Zifu's fall from grace, and the number of princes of Emperor Wu of Han increased, these factors caused the relationship between Liu Ju and Emperor Wu of Han to become delicate.
Above, Liu Che (156 B.C., 87 B.C.), also known as Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Sima Guang, recorded that Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty said to Liu Ju's uncle Wei Qing: "I have thought it through, and the crown prince Liu Ju is a kind and stable person, good and quiet, and will be able to settle the world."
But the affairs of the Han Dynasty are like a grass creation, the four Yi invaded, if I do not change the system, future generations will not be able to; If you don't go out to conquer, the world is uneasy. For the sake of the country, I must work for the people. If later emperors imitate me, they may repeat the same mistake as the Qin Dynasty fell.
The crown prince Liu is the master of Shoucheng, and I am very relieved. "Keywords: Prince Liu, steady, quiet, peaceful in the world, the lord of success. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty believed that the crown prince Liu Ju was an excellent leader with the talent to keep the success, and his steady and quiet personality would be able to stabilize the country and make the world peaceful.
However, the early days of the Han Dynasty faced foreign invasions, and the country would not have been at peace without such changes and military actions as Emperor Wu of Han. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty made sacrifices for the country and the people, and he also warned future emperors not to repeat the mistakes of the Qin Dynasty, but to become the master of Shoucheng like the crown prince Liu Ju.
As shown in the figure above, the historical materials of the Xiongnu territory in the Western Han Dynasty clearly reveal Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty's self-evaluation of governing the country and his expectations for the crown prince Liu Ju. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was convinced that everyone had their own specific tasks and missions, and his mission was to defeat the Xiongnu, create hegemony, and leave a prosperous Han Dynasty with a vast territory, subdued from all over the world, and no threat from the Xiongnu for future generations.
He believes that at that time, it will not be too late for Liu Ju and his children and grandchildren to recuperate. However, Liu Ju had a different view of Emperor Wu of Han's foreign wars, and he had more contact with the people at the bottom, hoping that his father would follow the path of Emperor Wen of Han.
However, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty insisted: "Isn't it great that I will bear all the hardships and hardships so that your descendants can enjoy a stable and peaceful life?" This conflict between the father-son ruling style eventually became the fuse of the contradiction between the two.
As Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty deepened his affection for another concubine, Madame Li, the position of the crown prince Liu became more and more embarrassing.
Wei Qing, whose name is Zhongqing, is a native of Pingyang, Hedong, and was the political backer of the prince. After his death, the crown prince lost important support, causing a political upheaval. According to the "Zizhi Tongjian", there were a large number of loyal ministers within the court who supported the prince, and those who used harshly ** constantly slandered the prince.
Because of some **** factions, the crown prince has received far less praise than slander. After Wei Qing's death, the courtiers lost the support of Wei Qing, a relative, and they began to want to frame the prince.
Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty's ruling style was biased towards Legalism, and he preferred those Legalist ministers. The crown prince, on the other hand, was more inclined to the leniency of Emperor Wen of Han, and he had a group of ministers who supported him.
However, after Wei Qing's death, people in the court who were hostile to the crown prince began to slander him, such as the eunuch Su Wen. He slandered Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty that the prince was molesting the palace maid.
After this incident came out, the prince was deeply indignant at Su Wen. In addition, Jiang Chong also had a conflict with the crown prince. Once, the carriage of the prince's guests was discovered by Jiang Chong on the galloping road.
Although Liu Ju apologized to Jiang Chong, Jiang Chong still reported the matter to Emperor Wu of Han and received his appreciation.
The picture above is that the witch curse during the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty originated from Gongsun He's father and son**. Although Prime Minister Gongsun He tried to rescue his son Gongsun Jingsheng, he was ultimately unsuccessful.
Someone falsely accused Gongsun Jingsheng and Princess Yangshi of cursing Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, which led to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty ordering the arrest of Gongsun He's father and son, and the two were unfortunately killed, and the witch curse began. Jiang Chong is a person who must repay his eyes, which is in stark contrast to the prince's generous personality.
In order to prevent the crown prince from retaliating after he ascended the throne, he tried his best to falsely accuse the prince. Jiang Chong's conspiracy sparked a witch curse, and countless innocent people were harmed. He sent troops to search for the puppeteers, and when they found them, they forced them to confess their guilt by burning them.
However, the puppet figure that Jiang Chong found in the palace was actually his own false accusation against the prince, who had no motive to curse Emperor Wu of Han. The truth of this tragedy has long been revealed by later generations of historians.
Above, Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty Liu Xun, formerly known as Liu Aiji, was the grandson of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. He once suffered from the scourge of witchcraft, and the crown prince Liu Ju led an army to resist, but unfortunately died in the end. After his grandson Liu Xun ascended the throne, he reformed the Han Dynasty's judiciary, bringing the Han Dynasty to its peak.
Liu's teacher, Shi De, had persuaded him not to rebel against Jiang Chong, but he still persisted and eventually launched an uprising. However, Jiang Chong was killed, and Liu Ju was also hunted down by order of Emperor Wu of Han.
His wife, concubine, and son also died. Later, Tian Qianqiu wrote a letter to avenge the crown prince's grievances, and Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty repented and ordered Jiang Chong's entire family to be killed and Su Wen burned to death. Finally, he ordered the construction of the Meditation Womb and the Returning Meditation Terrace.
Above: Tian Qianqiu, a native of the Western Han Dynasty, the grandson of Liu Ju and the father of Liu Xun. As the crown prince, Liu Ju's generous personality caused political turmoil in the later years of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, and he was eventually killed.
However, the descendants of Liu Yi were not depressed by this, and Liu Xun ascended the throne in 74 BC and became emperor of the Han Dynasty. He deeply hated unjust, false and wrongly decided cases, reformed the judicial system, established court captains, ensured judicial fairness, abolished the law of joint sitting, and encouraged leniency and light punishment.
He also sent ** to inspect all parts of the country to report the abuse of criminal law**, so as to correct the severe torture during the Han Wu Emperor. In addition, Liu Xun also actively promoted the rule of culture, set up a standing position, rectified industry and commerce, curbed land annexation, and lightly taxed the poor, so as to develop the economy.
His internal policy line was the leniency of the Wenjing period, and externally, he took the tough line of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, forcing the Xiongnu to submit and making the Han Dynasty strong and prosperous to the peak. Although Liu Ju's experience is painful, Liu Xun's actions are undoubtedly a compensation for his regret.
Hopefully, history will remember this story and allow people to learn from it and pursue a more just and equal society. Author: Sun Yi Editor: Lilith References: "Book of Han", "Zizhi Tongjian", "Revisiting the Father-Son Relationship between Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and Prince Liu Ju", Wang Yang, Journal of Harbin University, December 2013.
All texts are created by the team of the History University Hall, the pictures come from the Internet, and the copyright belongs to the original author.