In the history of our country, when it comes to women in power, most people think of Wu Zetian, Lu Pheasant and Cixi. These three female leaders indeed played a very important historical role in their respective eras and had a great impact on history.
But in fact, in the evolution of ancient Chinese history, examples of female governance can actually be traced back to very early times. For example, in the Qin State during the Warring States Period, there was a Queen Mother named Mi Bazi. Not only did she control the Qin State for decades as a woman, but she also made great contributions to the subsequent unification of the Qin State.
She is the prototype of Mi Yue in the TV series.
Empress Dowager Xuan Mi Bazi came from Chu State and was a princess of Chu State. Because of the marriage between Qin and Chu, she later married Qin State and King Qin Huiwen. Although at the end of the Warring States Period, the Qin and Chu families were at loggerheads. And when the Qin Dynasty fell later, it was also a few Chu people who made the greatest contribution. However, in Mi Bazi's time, Qin and Chu were still very friendly. Moreover, marriages between the two parties are very frequent. It can be said that the blood of Chu is actually flowing in the Qin royal family.
When she first married into the Qin Kingdom, Mi Bazi was just a concubine named "Bazi" at first, and she was not favored. She gave birth to three sons, and the eldest son was sent to Yan State as a hostage. If normal historical rules were followed, such a Mi Bazi would probably never get ahead in his life.
However, fate is always such a coincidence. After the death of King Qin Huiwen, the son of his wife Queen Huiwen succeeded to the throne and became King Wu of Qin. This King Wu of Qin is also a strange person. When he is free, King Wu of Qin likes to compete with others in weightlifting to prove his infinite strength. As a result, one time, I failed to lift a cauldron properly and instead of carrying it, I accidentally smashed myself.
The medical conditions at that time were limited, and King Qin Wu, who was hit by the cauldron, soon died. At this time, King Wu of Qin had no heirs, so there was a question about who would inherit his throne. What to do? There was no choice but to choose one of his younger brothers to inherit the throne.
So, Mi Bazi’s opportunity came.
Mi Bazi has a good brother named Wei Ran who is capable of both right and wrong. When King Huiwen was an official in the State of Qin, after King Wu died violently, Wei Ran led his troops to take back Mi Bazi's son and support him on the throne, who later became King Zhaoxiang of Qin. His son became the emperor, and Mi Bazi naturally became the Queen Mother of Qin Xuan.
When King Qin Zhaoxiang succeeded to the throne, he was only nineteen years old, which is equivalent to the age of a high school student today. In addition, he was not taken seriously before and his education level was average. Naturally, he lacked the ability to govern the country. So from this time on, Mi Bazi began to take all the power in his own hands, almost with a Empress is almost the same.
Her half-brother Wei Ran was named Ranghou, her half-brother was named Huayang Lord by Mi Rong, her natal relative Xiang Shou was the prime minister of Qin, and even the queen of King Zhaoxiang of Qin, They are also princesses of Chu State.
However, as a powerful empress dowager, Mi Bazi was qualified for Qin. But if her personal life is taken into consideration, it may be open to question.
In 306 AD, when King Qin Zhaoxiang succeeded to the throne, the young King Yiqu came to congratulate him according to the etiquette system. Mi Bazi had become a young widow at that time. Although she is a queen mother, she is still a woman who has lost her husband. In addition, the social atmosphere at that time was relatively open, and Yiqu was very important to the Qin State. For various reasons, Queen Mother Xuan used her beauty to seduce the young King Yiqu and gave birth to two sons for him.
Although from a personal emotional point of view, Mi Bazi may really like King Yiqu. But as the Queen Mother, she still remembers her position and mission. So later, Mi Bazi finally chose to kill King Yiqu and annexed the entire Yiqu area, which greatly increased Qin's national power and laid the foundation for Qin's subsequent unification of the world.
After Queen Mother Xuan killed King Yiqu, she completely handed over the Qin State that she had controlled for thirty-six years to her son. However, although the social atmosphere at that time was relatively open, it was a shame for the royal family for a queen mother to have an illegitimate child with someone else. Moreover, Queen Mother Xuan had no feelings for these two children, because the two children had always lived in Yiqu. So no matter what, the shame of the royal family cannot be tolerated in the end.
So, after Wei Ran conquered Yiqu, the two children born to King Yiqu and Mi Yue were killed by Wei Ran.
In October 265 BC, Mi Bazi died and was buried in Lishan.