Three Kingdoms Minor Figures Chronicle 0038: Imperial Court Civil Official Who Performed Blackening - Li Ru
The author of this article is the depths of dusk, and the editor-in-chief is Sasha, if reprinted, please be sure to indicate
Li Ru (李儒), courtesy name Wenyou, was the chief military division under Dong Zhuo in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. According to the narrative in the novel, he is not only Dong Zhuo's relative (son-in-law), but also has always been by Dong Zhuo's side, and has been a counselor on big and small matters, and has had many outstanding performances of planning and giving advice.
From taking advantage of the chaos to enter Beijing and surrender Lü Bu, to deposing the emperor and moving the capital to Chang'an, Dong Zhuo's important move along the way was inseparable from Li Ru's staff service. When Dong Zhuo killed the deposed Shao Emperor Liu Wei, it was also Li Ru who led people to break into the palace and forced the Shao Emperor to drink poisoned wine. Later, Wang Yun used a series of schemes to use the worldly beauty Sable Cicada to split the relationship between Dong Zhuo and Lü Bu, and it was Li Ru who first saw through the mystery and persuaded Dong Zhuo to abandon the Mink Cicada in exchange for Lü Bu's allegiance.
Later, Lü Bu and Wang Yun decided on an assassination plan, in the name of Tianzi giving way, to induce Dong Zhuo to be deceived, or Li Ru was the first to see through the truth, choosing this important occasion, saying that he could not get sick... However, after Dong Zhuo was killed, Li Ru could not escape the fate of the master and servant committing the same crime, and was tied up by the family slave rope and brought to the scene of Dong Zhuo's killing, and beheaded in court to show the public...
In short, Li Ru in the yanyi is completely a top-level strategist, with far-reaching strategies every time, and he can be called a super think tank of Dong Zhuo Group.
Sasha's note: In the game "Overlord's Continent", which I loved to play when I was a child, Li Ru had an intelligence of up to 92, and he almost threw explosive inflammation.
Li Ru made people both hate and admire, and also somewhat regret. What he hates is that he has aided and abetted the abuse and done a lot of things that hurt nature and reason; he admires his political vision and the precision of his advice; he regrets that he has no wisdom and strategy, but he does not have to stand on the wrong line on the right path. In the end, it was inevitable that he would perish with Dong Zhuo.
There are even rumors that Li Ru is not actually dead, and that the person who was tied up and brought to the execution ground was his stand-in.
After Dong Zhuo's death, he cleverly changed his name and surname, and continued to mix in the Three Kingdoms era with a new identity. Later, Jia Xu, a well-known and brilliant strategist, was actually the same person as him...
However, in fact, the real Li Ru in history is not at all what is described in the interpretation. It is true that he served under Dong Zhuo, and it is also true that he killed King Hongnong (Emperor Shao of Han), but his true identity is only a civilian official in the Eastern Han Court, and there is no record of conspiracy, sinister and cunning...
It can be said that in the novel "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", Li Ru is one of the characters with the biggest difference from the historical image, and can basically be counted as an original character.
Today, let us restore the true face of Li Ru in the Three Kingdoms era according to the records of the history books.
The year of Li Ru's birth and death is unknown, but only that he was a native of "Si Li Zuo Feng Yi Guo Yang" (present-day Heyang County, Weinan City, Shaanxi Province). It is not that, as the speech says, he is a high-ranking strategist under Dong Zhuo, a wise man, and his real official position is that he is a "doctor" of the Eastern Han Court.
According to historical records, the so-called "doctor" was an official position in charge of books and texts and familiar with historical events during the Qin and Han dynasties, with a strong academic nature. That is to say, Li Ru was actually a civilian official in essence, engaged in academic history books and other work, and had nothing to do with giving advice.
As for the relationship between Li Ru and Dong Zhuo, of course, it is not a close relationship between the son-in-law and the father-in-law. The two of them had nothing to do with each other before, and they didn't even know each other at all.
According to historical records, Dong Zhuo was a native of Lintao County,Longxi County (present-day Min County, Gansu), who grew up in Liangzhou and later served as the Assassin of Hezhou and the Taishou of Hedong. Li Ru, on the other hand, has been working as his doctor in chaozhong, and there is no intersection between the two.
It was not until Dong Zhuo entered Beijing that he unified the military power and dominated the government alone, that he could be regarded as "an official in the same dynasty" as Li Ru. Because dong Zhuo was domineering and cruel and easy to kill, all those who had some military power in the dprk, such as Cao Cao Yuan Shao Yuan Shu and others, threw down their soldiers and fled Luoyang and started a new stove.
As for the other hundred officials who did not flee from the DPRK, because they were afraid of Dong Zhuo's strong force, they had to acquiesce to their "regency" nature.
In the first year of the Han Dynasty, that is, in 190 AD, in order to establish his own authority and better control the Eastern Han court, Dong Zhuo established Liu Xie as emperor and deposed the young emperor Liu Wei as the King of Hongnong. At this time, Li Ru also took the position of "Hongnong Wang Lang Zhongling"... There is no doubt that this position of Lang Zhongling was appointed to him by Dong Zhuo.
According to historical records, Lang Zhongling was also one of the "Nine Secretaries" in ancient times, and his official position should be larger than that of "Doctor". That is to say, Dong Zhuo actually gave Li Ru the official a knighthood.
At this time, Li Ru was able to have a relationship with Dong Zhuo and was led, and he was reluctantly counted as a member of Dong Zhuo's group.
Then, Li Ru did the biggest thing in his life, which was also the thing that caused him to become infamous and left a "vicious and vicious" face in history - poisoning and killing the Han Shao Emperor.
It is not that as stated in the novel, the Young Emperor made a "poem of resentment" because he was deposed, because he was angry in his heart. Although he vented his dissatisfaction in his heart, he was caught by Dong Zhuo and took the opportunity to kill him.
In fact, the real cause of Death of Liu Zhuo was because Dong Zhuo had abolished the old and established the new, which caused shock to the government and the public, and exposed his ambition to dominate the world and aroused the dissatisfaction of the princes of the world. Under the impetus of Yuan Shao's brother Yuan Shu, they formed a "joint army of the princes of Guandong" and slaughtered Xiang Luoyang in a mighty way to get rid of Dong Zhuo, who was angry and resentful.
There is no doubt that Dong Zhuo's abolition of the Young Emperor was the fuse for the combined forces of the princes to raise an army, and it was also the reason for Yuan Shao and others to attack him. So Dong Zhuo felt, since you don't agree with me to change the new emperor and want to change back to the old emperor, then I will simply kill the old emperor and make your division unknown...
And Li Ru, it was at this time that he received an order from Dong Zhuo to prepare the poisoned wine and bring people into the palace for Liu To drink...
According to Wu Ye's Book of the Later Han Dynasty, "The Kwantung army rose up and jointly discussed Dong Zhuo. Dong Zhuo placed Liu Zhen, the king of Hongnong, in the cabinet, and made LangZhong order Li Ru to offer poison, but Liu Zhuo refused to drink it, and Dong Zhuo and others forced him. Therefore, after Liu Yan and his wife Tang Ji and the palace people drank and feasted, they drank medicine and died..."
It can be seen that Li Ru was actually just "preparing and offering" the poison. The person who really invited Liu Wei, the King of Hongnong, and forced him to drink the poison was actually Dong Zhuo's own efforts.
That is to say, it is completely unreasonable to carry the black cauldron of "poisoning the former emperor" on Li Ru alone.
He was just an executor of the poison preparation, obeying Dong Zhuo's orders. Even if he didn't do it, Dong Zhuo would let others do it, and Liu Wei, the King of Hongnong, couldn't escape being poisoned. Even, if Li Ru dared not to prepare poison and openly refuse the order, it was entirely possible to anger Dong Zhuo, and in the end he would take his own life...
What is the point of giving one's own life for the sake of a mortal?
However, Li Ru's reputation was also darkened, and he has since left a reputation in history.
No matter how involuntarily he was, and no matter how innocent he was, in the eyes of others, he was one of the accomplices of the poisoned Han Shao Emperor.
Later, Dong Zhuo was assassinated by Wang Yun, and the remnants of the Western Liang army fought back desperately, defeating Lü Bu and retaking Chang'an, Li Dai recommended Li Ru as a "servant" in front of Emperor Xian of Han, but instead of getting approval, he was also scolded. Fortunately, Li Dai was protecting him, so he was not demoted.
(Yuan Hong's "Later Han Dynasty" records that Li Daiju's doctor Li Ru was a servant, and the emperor issued an edict: "Before Ru, for the order of Hongnong Wang Langzhong, it was advisable to kill my brother. "What Dong Zhuo did is not The original intention of Confucianism, and the innocent cannot be punished." ”）
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These are all the records of Li Ru in the history books, and after that, he has no trace of the historical records.
According to folklore, Li Ru later defected to Yuan Shao, but was jealous and died by Yuan Shao. There are also rumors that Li Ru followed Dong Cheng, as a member of the Hundred Officials of the Dynasty, returned to Luoyang with Emperor Xian of Han, and finally arrived under Cao Cao...
Of course, these are just rumors or legends, and have not been verified in any way.
In fact, I personally feel that Li Ru should have left his career and gone into hiding.
For him, this is the most suitable way to go, and it is also the best destination.
From the beginning of "participating in the murder" of Emperor Shao of Han, Li Ru inevitably bore the historical infamy of "killing the lord". Even if he couldn't help himself and did what he was told, this account was firmly recorded on his body, and he absolutely couldn't shake it off.
Later, after Li Guo and his men took control of Chang'an, Li Dai recommended him to be promoted to an official position in front of Emperor Xian of Han and protected him from punishment. It can be seen that Li Daiguo and others have already regarded him as their own... However, for Li Ru, this is undoubtedly another blackening of his reputation. Before, he assisted and abetted under Dong Zhuo, and now that Dong Zhuo is dead, he has joined Dong Zhuo's old subordinate Li Guo and others. This is simply to paint your own image more and more black, jumping into the Yellow River can not be washed away...
Later, the contradictions between Li Guo and Li Guo broke out, and they each led an army to fight in Chang'an, while Emperor Xian of Han, under the protection of Dong Cheng and others, took hundreds of officials from the court and embarked on a journey back to Luoyang. At this time, will Li Ru follow them?
Most likely not, because he was accused of poisoning King Hongnong, and he had long been hated by the officials of the dprk, and Emperor Xian of Han had always remembered his revenge for killing his brother. In Chang'an, the Western Liang Army's sphere of influence, there was the protection of Li Dai Guo And others, and no one dared to do anything to him. If he dared to pack his bags and keep up with the team of Dong Gui, he was afraid that before he could take a few steps out of Chang'an City, he would be beaten to death by everyone, including Emperor Xian of Han.
Li Ru was not stupid, he should not have followed Emperor Xian of Han to the east. But even if he stayed in Chang'an, his life could not be better.
As I said just now, Li Ru is only a civilian official, and he will not lead soldiers to fight or plot in the account. Li Daiguo and other leaders of the Western Liang Army were all rough people, and they could only fight, kill, plunder, and plunder; he was a civilian official who engaged in books and compiled literature and history, and what materials could he use when he stayed in the Western Liang Army?
Is it feasible to switch to other forces?
Estimates are also not feasible. As mentioned earlier, Li Ru bore the notoriety of "poisoning the former emperor", and no force would easily accept him while the han court sign was still alive.
What's more, he didn't have much ability, as a civilian official, in this chaotic world of warrior rule, there was no great use. And who would risk "accepting sinners in the court" to take in someone like him who was of little use?
I'm afraid, it would be better to slash him with a knife, give the people of the world evil breath, and express their loyalty to the royal family by the way, as an opportunity to enhance their reputation...
Since no matter where he goes, he is hated by people, so for Li Ru, the best place to go is to let himself dive, keep a low profile, and try to be forgotten by the world. Returning to the countryside became his only way to go...
In this regard, we can make a simple summary of the character of Li Ru:
First, he was just a doctor of the Eastern Han Court, an ordinary civilian official, who had nothing to do with Dong Zhuo before. He was not Dong Zhuo's son-in-law, let alone the think tank of the Western Liang Army, the chief military division.
Second, Li Ru was associated with Dong Zhuo after Dong Zhuo entered the capital, and he was appointed by the latter as the Commander of the Hongnong Wang Lang, who was also a civilian official.
Third, under Dong Zhuo's orders and coercion, Li Ru participated in the poisoning of Liu Wei, the king of Hongnong, which made his reputation stink. Later, either actively or passively, he mixed with Li Daiguo and others, which further confirmed his notoriety of "Dong Zhuo's minions".
Fourth, Li Ru does not give advice, nor does he have those wonderful performances in the novel. Cruel and shameless atrocities such as abolishing the old and establishing a new emperor and burning Luoyang City have nothing to do with him.
Yes, Li Ru in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms and the real Li Ru in history are two completely different people. Li Ru is rarely recorded in the history books and is not famous, but it is only because in the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", Lao Luo's hype, Li Ru became famous...
In this regard, we can't help but have a question, that is, why did Luo Guanzhong blacken Li Ru and deliberately describe him as such a face?
Who will be the prototype of the Li Ru portrayed in the rendition?
In fact, this is also the need of the plot, in order to make the story in the novel more vivid and full, but also in order to better shape the image of other characters, Luo Guanzhong made Li Ru become the sinister and cunning dark image in the act.
As for the prototype of Li Ru in the novel, it is actually no one else, it is Dong Zhuo himself. Luo Guanzhong needed to create such a sinister wolf around the tyrannical and ferocious Dong Zhuo.
According to historical records, whether it was to co-opt Lü Bu to kill Ding Yuan, depose the Young Emperor and establish emperors, blackmail the Son of Heaven to order the princes, or release Yuan Shao Cao Cao, reuse Cai Yong and other literati, burn Luoyang and move Chang'an, and other events, it was Dong Zhuo's own idea... That is to say, if you put aside the negative labels of cruelty and fierceness, against the sky and no way, Dong Zhuo is actually a man of both culture and martial arts, far-reaching wisdom, and worthy of a generation of tyrants. Otherwise, he would not have been able to single-handedly stir up the entire Eastern Han Dynasty court so drastically.
The "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is a novel, and the characters in the novel often need to be "extreme" and "simple".
Therefore, in order to further highlight Dong Zhuo's "violent impulsive, cruel and murderous" side, he was made into a pure bad person and the culprit of the chaotic world. Luo Guanzhong must find a way to suppress it, and Dong Zhuo can fight a good battle and be resourceful on the other side...
If you want to do this, the best way is undoubtedly to shape another person around Dong Zhuo and let him have Dong Zhuo's wisdom and strategy. Then write some of the things that Dong Zhuo did as his plan.
In this way, the character of Dong Zhuo is equivalent to being divided into two, and his far-sighted and decisive decision-making is cleverly transplanted to others. And what remains is naturally the original ferocious and good blood, murderous spirit, monopoly of the government, and the side of the disaster to the country and the people...
Unfortunately, Li Ru fell on top of this role of "Dong Zhuo's other half". Originally, he had indeed participated in the evil deeds of poisoning and killing the Young Emperor, and his reputation was not good. It is not impossible to say that he is a member of Dong Zhuo's command and has participated in the actions of the Western Liang Army Group.
In this way, we see the ghostly Li Ru in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", who is as vicious and cunning as a ghost, aiding and abetting abuse, and can be just right every time to provide Dong Zhuo with a brilliant plan.
In essence, he is actually just another incarnation of Dong Zhuo, in order to render Dong Zhuo's brutal ignorance, and render the other half of Dong Zhuo...
However, in fact, Li Ru was only an innocent civilian official, and he only did academic research within his share. It was only because under Dong Zhuo's orders that he became an accomplice to the poisoning of Liu Wei, and the original image was not so dark.
As a result, after Luo Guanzhong's blackness, Li Ru truly became Dong Zhuo's minions and accomplices in the abuse. And because the novel "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is widely known and deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, Li Ru's dark image has really taken root in the hearts of future generations.
If Li Ruquan had known, I am afraid that he would have to lift the lid out of the coffin and slap Luo Guanzhong twice before he could be relieved...
PS: The rumor about "Jia Xu Li Ru is the same person" is naturally self-defeating. In fact, this rumor, if it is only analyzed from the plot of the novel, is not completely unreasonable.
After all, in the novel, Li Jia and Li Jia are the kind of top strategists who have a poisonous vision and plan the world, and it is impossible to determine whether Luo Guanzhong referred to Jia Xu's deeds when shaping the image of Li Ru's novel...
However, back to the historical facts, the real Li Ru in history is just a civilian official of an academic nature, and naturally it is impossible to be Jia Xu, who later calculated everything and made a monstrous strategy.
What's more, according to the Book of Later Han, when Li Dai recommended Li Ru as "Shizhong" in front of Emperor Xiandi of Han, he also recommended Jia Xu as "Zuo Fengyi".
That is to say, Li Jia and Li Jia had once been officials of the same dynasty, and they had appeared together in the court hall in front of Emperor Xiandi of Han.
Let me ask you, is it possible for a person to decorate the two corners like magic in public?
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