Wang Mang's death: a god-like beginning, a fool-like end. Wang Mang, this name has left a strong mark in the history books. As a relative of the eunuchs of the Han Dynasty, he rose rapidly, and later became even more emboldened, seized the throne, and established himself as emperor. At the beginning, he humbly accepted advice, was diligent and loved the people, his national strength was unprecedentedly strong, and he hoarded gold and silver. However, as time passed, he became incompetent and extravagant, which led to the country falling into war and misery. By the end, his dynasty was in tatters and besieged on all sides. Wang Mang, who once shocked the world, was reduced to the point of being killed by a meat vendor, and his life can be described as "a beginning like a god and an end like a fool". What was the reason for this wise monarch to fall into such a situation?
Wang Mang was born in the noble Wang family of the Han Dynasty, and his ancestors had meritorious deeds, so his family was wealthy. As a young man, he was diligent and studious, and read a wide range of books, especially Confucian classics. With his extraordinary talent, he soon entered the imperial court and held important positions, leaning towards the government and the opposition. However, Wang Mang's thinking began to deviate, and he was obsessed with the ancient "Zhou rites", believing that only by restoring the ancient system could the country achieve long-term peace and stability. So, when the emperor Wang Mang was incompetent, he took the opportunity to launch a coup d'état, deposed the dynasty, established himself as emperor, and established a new dynasty.
At the beginning, Wang Mang's actions were not bad. He built a large number of buildings, built water conservancy, reduced servitude, and gradually stabilized society. In order to replenish the state treasury, he also took some effective measures, such as nationalizing gold and restricting private hoarding of gold and silver. In just a few years, Wang Mang's treasury has hoarded more than 800,000 catties of gold, equivalent to more than 200 tons now, which can really be said to be the richest man in the ancient world. In the eyes of others, although he ascended the throne as a usurper, he was still a master.
It's a pity that it's just the calm before the storm. As time passed, Wang Mang became more and more mediocre and rampant. He used indiscriminate force to suppress dissent and kill innocent people at will. What's even more outrageous is that in order to satisfy his selfish desires, he did not hesitate to burn, kill, loot, and spend extravagantly. The people are struggling to make a living, and society is in chaos. What's more, Wang Mang is superstitious about astrological phenomena, claiming to be a "descendant of Emperor Shun", immersed in an illusory and absurd dream, and gradually drifting away from reality.
By the end of the dynasty, Wang Mang was already powerful and embattled. He was reluctant to give enough money to the remaining tens of thousands of elite officers and soldiers, and only symbolically distributed a mere 4,000 yuan. This also attracted dissatisfaction and ridicule from the soldiers. At the same time, he made a series of ridiculous decisions, such as releasing repeat offenders and letting them fight for their lives. As a result, the felons did not appreciate it at all, and after escaping, they actually dug up the ancestral graves of the dynasty, squandered their property, and wantonly burned the ancestral tablets. This hit Wang Mang's self-esteem hard and made him hesitate.
Seeing that the dynasty was about to collapse, Wang Mang began a desperate fight. He ordered people to lead the remnants of the soldiers to fight bravely to kill the enemy, and he himself wore court clothes, sat on the dragon chair, and waited for a miracle to happen. However, more and more Han troops poured into Chang'an City, and the palace was turned into a sea of fire. Girl, this is cool! Just when Wang Mang was outside the wandering object, a pork seller suddenly rushed in, and when he saw him, he stabbed him mercilessly. I want to think that the new son of heaven died like this, and there is no place to bury him. I asked myself, do I understand why he ended up so miserable?
Through the above description, it is not difficult for us to see that the root cause of Wang Mang's degeneration lies in several aspects: First, he blindly indulged in ancient precepts, rested on his laurels, and completely detached himself from the real society. Secondly, he is tyrannical, superstitious and absurd, and kills innocents indiscriminately based on his own selfish desires. Moreover, he was greedy and hoarded a lot of money for himself, but he was stingy with his subjects, which made the treasury waste. In the end, he was stupid and incompetent, did not know how to be flexible in the face of danger, and was clumsy in employing people and generals, which led to the gradual disintegration of the dynasty and the decline of national strength.
Through Wang Mang's lesson, we should understand: blindly obsessing with ancient teachings and detaching from reality is doomed to failure; Indiscriminate killing of innocents is too brutal, and it will surely reap the consequences; Excessive greed and hoarding of strange wealth are harmful to others and oneself; Incompetence and clumsiness in employing people will surely bring disaster to all people. As the head of a country, he should be humble and admonishable, work diligently, do not abuse the people, and put the people first, so that the country can live and work in peace and contentment.