In 91 BC, in the fourth month of the leap month, a "witch curse" that shocked the government and the opposition occurred in the eldest son of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the crown prince Liu Ju. Historians generally believe that Liu Ju was innocent, and the whole incident originated from Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty's superstitious belief in immortal witchcraft in his later years, which was used by Jiang Chong and others, and eventually led to the tragedy of father and son.
However, is this really the case? Qing Shijun recently re-read the records in the history books and found several details worth pondering: riots broke out in the city of Chang'an, and some people claimed that the prince had rebelled.
Su Wen escaped, successfully returned to Ganquan Palace, and reported to Emperor Wu of Han that the crown prince was not guilty. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty said: "The crown prince must be afraid and resentful of Jiang Chong and others, so there is this change." ”
He knew in his heart that the general trend of the entire "witch Gu case" had been decided, he knew that the cool official Jiang Chong was targeting the crown prince Liu Ju, and he also understood that the prince Liu Ju's heart was full of fear, and he knew the reason why the prince Liu Ju had no way to appeal, because it was he himself who closed all the appeal channels of the prince Liu Ju.
When the crown prince Liu Ju was forced by Jiang Chong to have no way out, a sentence he said when he and his teacher Shi De discussed countermeasures showed that Empress Wei Zifu and the envoys of the crown prince Liu Ju could not see Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty at all during the "witch curse", but Su Wen, a small yellow gate (eunuch) who escaped from Chang'an City, could easily see Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, is this a bit unreasonable?
When Jiang Chong was in charge of the "witch Gu case", he rummaged through the palaces of the crown prince Liu Ju and the empress Wei Zifu and found ironclad evidence that they practiced witchcraft. Some people believe that this may be Jiang Chong's false accusation, because Jiang Chong has the usual method of expanding the results of the case - coercing confessions.
However, I don't think that's the case. There are three reasons: First, Jiang Chong can indeed use torture to extract confessions when dealing with others, but he does not seem to have such strength and room for maneuver when dealing with the crown prince Liu Ju.
During the search, Liu Ju or his entourage were almost all present, and Jiang Chong had no chance to operate in the dark. Secondly, judging from the fact that the prince could easily kill Jiang Chong later, although the prince's power is not large, compared with Jiang Chong, he still has an essential strength gap.
Therefore, whether it is from the perspective of operational space or strength gap, it is unlikely that Jiang Chong wants to frame Liu Ju.
Liu Ju, the crown prince of Wei, did carry out some feudal superstitious activities, and there was sufficient evidence of the crime.
So, why did the always honest Liu Ju get involved in the "witch Gu thing"? To answer this question, we need to look back at history. In 128 BC, the 29-year-old Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty Liu Che finally ushered in his first son Liu Zhi, which was undoubtedly a happy event for him who was "old enough to have a son".
As a result, he made Liu Ju's mother, Wei Zifu, the empress, and canonized the six-year-old Liu Ju as the crown prince in 122 BC. These historical facts clearly show that although the character of the crown prince Liu Ju was completely different from that of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Emperor Wu had always recognized this son very much.
However, the good times did not last long, and this situation of "father-kindness and filial piety" changed in 106 BC.
There were huge differences between the crown prince Liu Ju and Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty in terms of their governing philosophy. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty preferred to rule the country with cool officials and expand his territory; And the crown prince Liu Ju is more inclined to be quiet and inactive, and live with the people.
This formed two different concepts of statecraft in the temples of the Han Dynasty at that time. The cool officials attacked him because of their disagreement with the crown prince Liu, while the prince's supporters remained silent.
As time passed, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty ceased to acquiesce to it, and the political situation of the crown prince Liu Ju began to change. The death of Hou Weiqing of Changping gave more opportunities to those cool officials and ministers who wanted to overthrow the crown prince.
The political situation of the crown prince Liu Ju has become even more precarious.
Historical records have recorded two incidents in which Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty's inner chamberlain and eunuch slandered the crown prince Liu Ju, both of which occurred when Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and the empress were estranged and the prince and the palace people frolicked.
As a result, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was shaken in his heart and had the idea of easy storage. This statement is not fabricated out of thin air, but because of the later performance and development of events of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.
In the tenth year after Wei Qing's death, that is, ten years after the cool officials and ministers had been slandering Liu Ju, Mrs. Gou Yi was fourteen months pregnant and gave birth to Liu Fuling, the sixth son of the emperor.
This is a very happy thing for Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty to have a son in his old age. He even mentioned in front of his courtiers that Emperor Yao's mother was also fourteen months pregnant before giving birth to Yao, which was similar to the situation of Mrs. Gouyi.
Therefore, the original Lady Gouyi Palace was officially named "Yaomu Gate".
Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty gave Mrs. Gou Yi and the prince born to her a title full of political implications, and the deep meaning behind it is worth playing. Sima Guang pointed out in the "Zizhi Tongjian" that this encouraged the traitorous ministers to go against the will, and eventually caused the disaster of witchcraft.
Three years later, the son of Gongsun He, the prime minister of the Han Dynasty, was imprisoned for military expenses, and Gongsun He, who loved his son, pleaded with Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and was willing to arrest the fugitive Zhu Anshi in order to relieve his son's crimes.
Zhu Anshi was easily caught by Gongsun He, and he told Gongsun He that he would be exterminated. Soon after, Zhu Anshi reported to the imperial court that Gongsun He's son had an affair with Princess Yangshi, and buried a puppet somewhere in Ganquan Palace, cursing the emperor.
This incident triggered the destruction of the Gongsun He family.
Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty had a splitting headache and suddenly realized that the source of everything was Gongsun He. Gongsun He is not only the Xiangguo of the Han Dynasty, but also the brother-in-law of the crown prince Liu Ju, and the only reliance of Liu Ju in the imperial court.
However, this reliance was eliminated by a witch case. And the mastermind of this case, Zhu Anshi, is a grass people, but he knows many palace secrets, which is undoubtedly a trap.
Subsequently, Princess Yangshi, who had an affair with Gongsun He's son, and Wei Qing's eldest son, Wei Yan, were also killed because of this case. Since then, Liu Ju has lost all the strength he can rely on in the court.
Conclusion: Although Jiang Chong and Lady Gou Yi's push played a key role in the "witch Gu case", we find that Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty has been consciously weakening the power of the crown prince Liu Ju.
In addition, when the witch Gu incident affected the crown prince Liu Ju, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty went to Ganquan Palace to recuperate, resulting in Liu Ju being unable to appeal, and finally the tragedy ended. Behind this incident, there seems to be a pair of invisible hands pushing everything, and the owner of these big hands is none other than Emperor Wu of Han.
As for why the crown prince Liu Ju used witchcraft, the historical records say that this is a way to overcome misfortune, through the activities of witches in the palace, to pray for peace. Although there are two explanations for witchcraft, cursing others and praying for blessings, it is important to note that Emperor Wu of Han did want to weaken the power of the crown prince Liu Ju.