Emperor Hui of the Han Dynasty Liu Ying had six sons, and he actually let his younger brother Liu Heng get the throne. This seems to defy common sense and is puzzling. Emperor Hui of the Han Dynasty was originally the eldest son of Liu Bang, the ancestor of the Han Dynasty, and should inherit the throne, but why did his younger brother Liu Heng ascend the throne as emperor in the end? What kind of magnificent family history is hidden behind this? Is the root cause of the fall of the Han Dynasty somehow related to this decision?
Liu Ying's tragic life
Emperor Hui of the Han Dynasty, Liu Ying, had a bad fate and suffered a lot since he was a child. He was born in the early years of the Western Han Dynasty, his father was Liu Bang, the ancestor of the Han Dynasty, and his mother was the orthodox queen Lu Pheasant. It stands to reason that as the eldest son of the emperor, Liu Ying should have had a smooth journey, but fate played a big joke on him.
Liu Bang didn't pay much attention to Liu Ying, and even abandoned him on the road of the carriage several times. Even so, Liu Ying still kept the crown prince by luck, relying on her mother Lu Pheasant to spare no effort to maintain it. However, the comedy soon turned into a tragedy, after Liu Bang's death, Empress Lu was in power and abused Mrs. Qi to death, frightening the simple-minded Liu Ying. Since then, Liu Ying has been drinking and having fun all day long, and the government has been abandoned.
Liu Ying's queen is her niece Zhang Yan, another bad idea of Empress Lu. Zhang Yan didn't dare to have children, so Liu Ying's six sons were all born to beauties in the palace. Pity the proud son of the sky, who has fallen to such a state and lives a mediocre life. In the end, the 23-year-old Liu Ying died and became the shortest-lived emperor of a generation of emperors.
Empress Lu's conspiracy and methods
Empress Lu was originally Liu Bang's concubine, and was later made empress because she gave birth to her eldest son, Liu Ying. A woman born as a concubine, greedy for power and ambitious, is destined to remove all obstacles and monopolize power in the future.
After Liu Bang's death, Empress Lu immediately blocked the news and conspired with the eunuchs to kill the important ministers of the court. She abused Mrs. Qi, who was in prison, beat her alive and threw her into the toilet, and then forced Liu Ying to come to observe. Liu Ying, who was already simple-minded, was frightened, and since then she has been unable to govern the government normally.
Empress Lu secretly manipulated the government and seized power alone, and Liu Ying, Emperor Hui of the Han Dynasty, was just an ornament. In order to further consolidate her power, she made Liu Ying's eldest son Liu Gong emperor, known as the "former young emperor" in history. But after Liu Gong learned the truth about his mother's tragic death, he hated Empress Lu to the core, and Empress Lu imprisoned him and starved him to death.
Next, another crown prince Liu Hong succeeded to the throne, known as the "Later Young Emperor" in history. However, Empress Lu's power-hungry was like a ghost, and she also executed Liu Hong's mother. In the end, the Lu family was destroyed, and Liu Hong was also killed by Liu Xingju, the son of Liu Fei. Poor Liu Ying's six sons, none of them were spared, and they all suffered misfortune.
Empress Lu's intrigues and cunning, and his humble methods, not only buried Liu Ying's family, but also buried the root of the fall of the Western Han Dynasty. She is a nightmare of a generation and a sinner of history, and she is still abusing her own flesh and blood until her death.
The clan brothers of the Han Dynasty turned against each other
The struggle for power in the Han Dynasty can be described as a thrilling drama of family grievances. Liu Bang, the ancestor of the Han Dynasty, had a total of eight sons, and he originally planned to pass on the throne to his third son, Liu Ruyi. However, he was obstructed by Empress Lu Pheasant and opposed by the courtiers, and finally Liu Bang had no choice but to appoint his eldest son Liu Ying as the crown prince.
After Liu Bang's death, Empress Lu monopolized the power and exterminated Mrs. Qi and her son Liu Ruyi. At the same time, she manipulated Liu Ying, the puppet emperor. The Lu family's desire for power was in full swing, which directly led to endless strife within the clan.
Liu Fei is the eldest son of Liu Bang, who had given him the richest Qi kingdom that year. But Liu Fei did not settle down, he secretly peeked at the powerful Lu family, and stared at him. Finally, after the Lü clan was destroyed, Liu Fei's son Liu Xingju killed the puppet emperor Liu Hong.
In addition to Liu Fei's lineage, Liu Bang's fourth son, Liu Heng, is also eyeing him. Liu Heng was originally the king of the country and was deeply loved by the people of Rongma in the frontier. After Zhulu was destroyed, some warlords proclaimed him emperor, and it was Emperor Wen of Han. The rule of Wenjing stemmed from Liu Heng's re-rule of the Western Han Dynasty.
It can be seen that the contradictions and entanglements within the Han Dynasty clan are intricate. The opposition between brothers and the competition for power have staged a thrilling family drama. The turmoil of the Lu clan was the fuse, triggering the internal fighting of the sect that lasted for decades.
The internal and external troubles of the Western Han Dynasty
Although the Western Han Dynasty was founded at the beginning, although it made great efforts, as the years grew, internal and external troubles followed, which also laid the root cause for the later fall of the Han Dynasty.
The internal contradictions first came from the struggle for power in the clan. Liu Bang, the ancestor of the Han Dynasty, changed the heir arrangement before his death, and changed the throne from his beloved third son Liu Ruyi to his eldest son Liu Ying, which directly led to endless infighting in the family in later generations. After Liu Bang's death, Empress Lu monopolized power and slaughtered Mrs. Qi and Liu Ruyi, intensifying the clan conflict.
In addition, eunuchs were also an important source of internal trouble. Emperor Hui of the Han Dynasty Liu Ying was mediocre and incompetent, and the government was controlled by eunuchs. The eunuchs were overwhelmed and embezzled, and became the scourge of the Han Dynasty. Later, after Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty Liu Heng seized power, he slaughtered the eunuchs cruelly, and also buried the root of the dynasty's civil strife.
The external invasion mainly came from the harassment of the northern nomads. The Huns were brave and good at fighting, and repeatedly invaded the Central Plains in the south, and the Han Dynasty had to allocate heavy troops to resist. Later, more foreign tribes such as the Dongyue people and the Red Fox clan peeped into the Central Plains, and the decay of the dynasty finally led to the fall of the Western Han Dynasty.
Of course, the decline and fall of the Western Han Dynasty is also inseparable from the mediocrity and corruption of the rulers themselves. In the era of Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty, the authoritarian eunuchs were in power, and they were hit by the Yellow Turban Uprising, and the government and the opposition were in turmoil. During the reign of Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty, his national strength was even weaker, and he was usurped by Cao Cao. It can be said that internal and external troubles were the main reasons for the demise of the Western Han Dynasty.
Liu Heng finally succeeded to the throne
After the short-lived death of Emperor Hui of the Han Dynasty, Liu Ying, the Western Han Dynasty entered a period of turmoil and chaos. After Empress Lu was killed, the former young emperor Liu Gong and the later young emperor Liu Hong were successively made emperors, but they were soon killed by Liu Fei's son Liu Xingju.
At this time, Liu Heng, who had always been idle on the frontier, saw the opportunity and decided to seize power. Liu Heng was originally the fourth son of Liu Bang and was once named the monarch of the acting kingdom. He was brave and good at fighting, assisted his father in pacifying the Xiongnu many times, and was deeply loved by the frontier soldiers.
In 87 BC, Liu Heng sent people to return to the Beijing Division, claiming to be "accompanying the captain" to unify the world. Soon, he led a large army west against the Xiongnu and crippled its main force. With high merit and military support, Liu Heng was naturally proclaimed emperor for Emperor Wen of Han.
After ascending the throne, Liu Heng first killed the killer and wiped out Liu Fei and his henchmen. The reign of Wenjing thus began, and he was diligent and diligent, focusing on meritocracy, and reinvigorating the rule of the Western Han Dynasty. At the same time, Emperor Wen also cultivated land on a large scale, reformed the tax system, and consolidated imperial power in many ways.
It can be said that Liu Heng has been in the camp for decades and finally won the throne. As a generation of British lords, he revitalized the Han dynasty and laid the foundation of the Central Plains regime. At the same time, his personal experience also reflects the cruelty and ruthlessness of the power struggle. History is like this, heroes are like this, and looking at the past, the change of imperial power is the norm.