What is history: it is the echo of the past to the future, the reflection of the future on the past. - Hugo
The Western Han Dynasty was a relatively powerful dynasty, even in the middle and late period, the overall strength of the Western Han Dynasty was relatively strong, although there were also Emperor Cheng of Han, Emperor Ai of Han and other emperors, but they were far from reaching the level of overturning the Ship of the Western Han Dynasty. What is surprising is that the Western Han Dynasty finally ended up in the hands of a woman known as a virtuous person, who was Wang Zhengjun, the empress of the Han Yuan Emperor Liu Yi, that is, Empress Xiaoyuan, and she was also the aunt of Wang Mang, the historical stranger who ended the Western Han Dynasty.
Wang Zhengjun was the most important woman of the late Western Han Dynasty, born in 71 BC (16 years after the death of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty) and died in 13 AD at the age of 84, making her one of the longest-lived empresses in Chinese history. Wang Zhengjun had a noble status in his lifetime, and he was only an empress, empress dowager, and empress dowager for 61 years. Wang Zhengjun was born in a family of eunuchs, and her father Wang Forbidden had been a court lieutenant, and her mother was abandoned by her father to marry someone else at a very young age. It is worth mentioning that Wang Zhengjun was just about the age of Zhen (15 years old), he was married to someone else by his father, but before he could pass the door, the person died, and then he remarried the King of Dongping as a concubine, and the result was that before he crossed the door, the King of Dongping died. Later, some fortune tellers said, "This woman will marry a rich man." In 53 BC, the 18-year-old Wang Zhengjun was sent to the palace by her father, and by chance, she became the crown princess of Liu Yi, the prince of the Eastern Palace. It is said that at that time, the crown prince Liu Yi did not like Wang Zhengjun, but miraculously, Wang Zhengjun only slept one night before becoming pregnant, and later gave birth to a son Liu Xiao.
In 49 BC, Liu Yi succeeded to the throne and made his eldest son Liu Xiao the crown prince, although he did not like Wang Zhengjun very much, but his mother became an empress by virtue of her son. In this way, Wang Zhengjun lined up with her husband, son, and grandson to become emperor, and she also became an empress, empress, and empress dowager, and with the gradual change of Wang Zhengjun's status, her mother's family also gradually soared, first her eldest brother Wang Feng became a great general of Sima Da, and later there was even a grand scene of five Wang brothers being crowned marquis on the same day. The five princes were "Wang Feng, Wang Yin, Wang Shang, Wang Gen, and Wang Mang", and the Western Han Dynasty was almost monopolized by the Wang clique.
Among the Wang clan's foreign relatives, there was one of the youngest descendants who finally ended the powerful Western Han Dynasty, and this person was Wang Mang, the nephew of Wang Zhengjun. In fact, as the empress dowager and empress dowager, Wang Zhengjun always recognized the imperial power status of her husband's family in her mind, and in the later period, she even took the initiative to ask her nephew Wang Mang to retire and return home to alleviate the influence of Wang's foreign relatives. However, after Wang Mang stepped down, the Han Emperor used Dong Xian, who had "the good of broken sleeves", to lead the government program, this guy was an embroidered pillow, "the middle is not useful", and as a result, he had to recall Wang Mang to preside over the work. In this regard, Wang Zhengjun was also helpless. She also ordered the Wang family to distribute the land in the family, except for the ancestral grave land, to the poor. Although this is only a gesture, it has earned Wang Zhengjun the reputation of the mother of charity.
Wang Mang, this person, in history, is indeed a very special person, he is virtuous in his dealings with people, he is humble and frugal to people, he is a courtesy corporal, he respects the elders, he is simply a moral model at that time, and Wang Mang has a lot of ideas in doing things, always can think of or do something particularly advanced, which surprises the people at that time, and he will especially coax his aunt Wang Zhengjun to be happy. It is said that at that time, Wang Zhengjun hated the life of living in the deep palace for a long time, and when Wang Mang learned about it, he arranged for a carriage to carry his aunt every day to the suburbs to patrol. Wang Zhengjun often felt lonely in the palace later, and when Wang Mang heard about it, he sent someone to the Xiongnu to pick up her eldest daughter and return to the palace to accompany her. In this way, Wang Mang controlled the government while coaxing the old lady to be happy.
After that, Wang Zhengjun grew older and stronger, and Wang Mang became stronger and stronger, until he became the "Duke of An Han" and "Zaiheng, Taifu, and Sima Da". In the fifth year (5 years) of emperor Ping's reign, Wang Zhengjun gave Wang Mang Jiuxi, and in December of that year, the young Emperor Ping of Han died, and Wang Mang chose Liu Bao, the two-year-old Marquis of Guangqi, to succeed him. At the same time, the whole court unanimously proposed that Wang Mang be called the regent emperor, and the southern courtiers, listen to political affairs, and the ceremonies of the crown were "like the system of the son of heaven", and changed the name to "ju regent first year". Since then, Wang Mang has been the regent of the state as a "false emperor". When the news came out, Liu Chong, the Marquis of Anzhong, and Zhai Yi, the Taishou of Dong Commandery, moved the county and raised troops to curry favor. However, Wang Mang still used her name to suppress the opposition.
The three dynasties of Cheng, Lai and Ping were all completely unified, and the throne was vacant. The succession to the throne is entirely arranged by the Wang clan. The great foundation of the Western Han Dynasty was suddenly about to fall, but Wang Zhengjun was deceived by Wang Mang, entrusted with full power, and saw that the Western Han Dynasty was destroyed. Wang Mang, who had been a "false emperor" for a few days, quickly tore off his disguise and directly proposed to Wang Zhengjun: When ordering the world and the world to play a role, the word "regent" of "regent emperor" should be removed, and only in front of Wang Zhengjun and Empress Xiaoping would be called a false emperor. Wang Zhengjun had to agree to come down. A few days later, Wang Mang simply wore a crown on his head, and after paying homage to Wang Zhengjun, he went to the front hall of Weiyang Palace, that is, the throne of the true emperor, and the name of the country was "New", and the era was called "the founding of the country". This is the "New Mang Dynasty Han" incident in history. Later, Wang Mang asked Wang Zhengjun for the Chuanguo Jade Seal, and Wang Zhengjun was angry and hateful, and smashed the Jade Seal on the ground, causing the Chuanguo Jade Seal to shatter into a corner.
In February, the fifth year (13th year) of the founding of the people's republic, Wang Zhengjun passed away with endless sorrow and regret. The new emperor Wang Mang announced that he would serve her for three years and buried her in Sima Men (司馬門) in the mausoleum of Emperor Weiling of the Yuan Dynasty (in present-day northern Xi'an, Shaanxi). It can be seen that Wang Zhengjun, as a witness and initiator of the Western Han Dynasty from prosperity to decline, from birth to destruction, it should not be her original wish to bring down the Western Han Dynasty and let Wang Mang become emperor, but her longevity has really reduced the national left of the Western Han Dynasty. Therefore, some historians have put the responsibility for the demise of the Western Han Dynasty on her head, which also makes some sense.