Emperor Ming Liu Zhuang?
Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty Liu Zhuang, whose young name was Yang, was the fourth son of Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Born in the fourth year of Jianwu (28), he was granted the title of Duke of Donghai in the fifteenth year of Jianwu (39), and became the king in the seventeenth year of Jianwu (41). Before Liu Zhuang was crown prince, Liu Xiu once had a crown prince, his eldest son Liu Qiang. When Liu Zhuang won the throne, we need to start with the fate of the two women in the harem of Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han Dynasty. One is Yin Lihua from Xinye, and the other is Guo, the granddaughter of Prince Dinggong.
In the competition between various forces, Liu Xiu gradually gained an absolute advantage. In 25 AD, Liu Xiu established the Eastern Han Dynasty. When Liu Xiu became emperor, he was faced with the problem of choosing who to be the queen. Liu Xiu fell in love with Yin Lihua, but at this time Yin Lihua was infertile, while Guo had a boy. In the feudal era, when political and patriarchal needs far outweighed the power of love, the emperor also had to consider the responsibility of continuing the family line. So in the second year of Jianwu (26), Liu Xiu made Guo his queen and Yin Lihua a noble. In the same year, Liu Qiang was established as the crown prince.
Before the world was at peace, Liu Xiu led his army to conquer Peng Chong. Yin Lihua also accompanied the army on the expedition. During the march, Yin Lihua became pregnant. In Yuan's place, Yin Lihua gave birth to a boy, who was later named Emperor Ming Liu Zhuang, and was named Liu Yang at this time. This year was the fourth year of Jianwu (28).
Because Liu Yang was born to Yin Lihua, he was particularly favored by Liu Xiu. When he was a boy, he studied from Huan Rong, a master of Confucian classics. At the age of 10, he could recite and understand the classic "Spring and Autumn". Liu Xiu felt that his son was amazing and was simply a child prodigy. And studying and observing government affairs activities with Emperor Guangwu earlier increased Liu Yang's talents. In the fifteenth year of Jianwu (39), Liu Xiu ordered an inspection of cultivated land and household registration in the country, and ordered the governors and prefects to report one by one. On the day of the report, 12-year-old Liu Yang stood behind Liu Xiu and observed the expressions of the reporting officials. Liu Xiu carefully checked the documents, flipped through them, and found this sentence in the official documents of Chenliu County: "You can ask in Yingchuan and Hongnong, but not in Henan and Nanyang." Liu Xiu was confused and asked The officials below asked: "What does this sentence mean?" Chen Liu's officials hurriedly came out and said that this brochure was picked up from Changshou Street and they didn't know what it meant. Liu Yang, who was standing behind Liu Xiu, walked up to his father with a smile, bowed, and asked, "Can I explain the meaning of this sentence?" Liu Xiu encouraged him and said, "Of course." So Liu Xiu encouraged him. Yang said: "Henan is the capital, and senior central officials live here; Nanyang is His Majesty's hometown, and most of His Majesty's relatives live here. Therefore, the officials responsible for inspection did not dare to ask more about the number of acres in these two places. ." Liu Xiu suddenly understood and marveled that a 12-year-old child had such a sharp vision. So there was a plan to make Liu Yang the heir to the throne.
At this time, Empress Guo's disgrace also increased her resentment. She often satirized Yin Lihua and Liu Xiu, which further contributed to Liu Xiu's determination to abolish the elder and establish the younger. But Crown Prince Liu Qiang did nothing wrong. Liu Xiu was determined to depose Guo first and then talk about it. So in the 17th year of Jianwu (41), Liu Xiu deposed Empress Guo and appointed Yin Lihua as empress on the charge of "resentment and violation of religious orders".
After Queen Guo was deposed, the crown prince Liu Qiang was in a very embarrassing situation. He fought and competed all day long, fearing that there would be something wrong. Zhi Yun, the minister in the palace, saw through Liu Xiu's thoughts, so he advised Liu Qiang: "Your Highness has been in doubt for a long time, violating filial piety at the top, and facing danger at the bottom. In the past, Emperor Gaozong of Yin was a great lord, and Yin Jifu was a good minister through the ages. However, due to his thinness, I am slightly dissatisfied with banishing the filial son. As for the great righteousness of "Spring and Autumn", the mother considers the son to be the most important, so it is better to take the opportunity to give up the throne and serve the mother, which is the best way to not disgrace the holy religion!" Liu Qiang thought about Zhi Yun. The weight of the words made him feel that his mother had been deposed and the situation was over, so he had no choice but to write to Liu Xiu, requesting to give up the throne and leave the vassal state. Liu Xiu couldn't bear to approve because Liu Qiang was not at fault after all. Liu Qiang also asked the ministers to express his sincerity. Liu Xiu felt that the time was ripe, so in the 19th year of Jianwu (43), he issued an edict: "The meaning of "Spring and Autumn" is to establish a son with dignity. Wang Yang of Donghai, the son of the queen, should inherit the throne. The crown prince is strong and respected. Zhi Qian retired, willing to prepare for the vassal state. The love between father and son has been lost for a long time, so he made Qiang the King of the East China Sea." After receiving the imperial edict, Liu Qiang handed over the prince's seal ribbon. On the same day, Liu Xiuce appointed Liu Yang, King of East China Sea, as the crown prince and changed his name to Zhuang. This year, Liu Zhuang was 16 years old.
In the second year of Jianwu Zhongyuan (57), Liu Xiu died, and Liu Zhuang officially ascended the throne as Emperor Ming at the age of 30.
Because of Wang Mang's restructuring and the ensuing social unrest, the country's etiquette system was destroyed. Therefore, the kings and ministers came to attend the funeral and did not follow the law, and the court was in chaos. Emperor Ming's brothers sat side by side with Emperor Ming in the palace and did not take the new emperor seriously at all. In order to establish prestige, Emperor Ming ordered Taiwei Zhao Xi, who was upright, dignified in manners and law-enforcement, to preside over the funeral. Zhao Xi lived up to the great trust and entered the court with his sword in hand. He invited the kings who were sitting with Emperor Ming to come down the palace steps and join the ranks of ministers to distinguish the emperor and his ministers. And the palace guard system was rectified, and the officials of the kingdom were not allowed to enter and exit the palace at will. The order of the imperial court gradually stabilized.
However, beneath the surface calm, there is still an undercurrent of unrest. His brothers were unconvinced that Emperor Ming inherited the throne as the fourth son. Emperor Ming's half-brother Liu Jing, King of Shanyang, forged the handwriting of Dahonglu Guo Kuang (the younger brother of Queen Guo) and wrote a letter to King Liu Qiang of Donghai, saying that he was innocent and was deposed, and the people were dissatisfied, and advised him to raise troops to take over The world. Liu Qiang was a timid man who was afraid of getting into trouble, so he hurriedly escorted the envoys and letters to the capital Luoyang and handed them over to Emperor Ming for investigation. Emperor Ming ordered prison officials to suspend interrogation of the envoy who delivered the message and secretly monitor who he was communicating with. After careful observation, it turned out that this letter was indeed written by Liu Jing, King of Shanyang. This incident shocked Emperor Ming greatly. If brothers from the same mother are like this, will brothers born from half-mothers be at peace? The top priority is to ease the conflicts within the royal family! Therefore, Liu Jing’s case was kept secret to avoid stirring up greater controversy. commotion. Emperor Ming treated the two empresses Yin and Guo with equal respect, saying, "Everything must be done equally, and they are all favored." Emperor Ming also cared for the former prince Liu Qiang, and his treatment was higher than that of ordinary princes. In the first year of Yongping (58), Liu Qiang fell ill. Emperor Ming sent envoys to his feudal country to inquire about the marquis, and ordered imperial doctors to diagnose and treat him. He also ordered Liu Qiang's half-brothers, King Liu Fu of Pei, King Liu Kang of Jinan, and King Liu Yanqian of Huaiyang. Go visit. In terms of personnel arrangements, Emperor Ming appointed the founding father of the Republic of Gaomi, Deng Yu, as the Taifu, and his brother Liu Cang, King of Dongping, as the Cavalry General. Zhao Xi, the Taiwei of the Guangwu Dynasty, retained his original position, so that the clan, heroes, and bureaucratic groups had their own political representatives, increasing the number of political representatives. the stabilizing force of the regime. At the same time, Emperor Ming also issued edicts to bestow civil nobility in the world, reorganize refugees, reduce or reduce penalties, take care of widowers and widowers, alleviate social conflicts to the greatest extent, and consolidate his rule.
Of course, Emperor Ming did not blindly adopt a concession policy towards the internal struggles of the ruling class. Once his rule was consolidated, he began to severely suppress opposition and strengthen his autocratic rule. The imprisonment of King Chu in the 13th year of Yongping (70) was a heavy blow to the power of the princes and kings. King Liu Ying of Chu was born to Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu and Xu Meiren. Because Xu Mei was unfavored, Liu Ying was also treated coldly and was sealed in a remote place with a small fiefdom. At that time, Buddhism was gradually introduced into China. Liu Ying became interested in Buddhism despite all kinds of boredom. She visited Buddhism several times, hoping to rely on the Buddha's aura to protect herself. This year, a man named Yan Guang went to the court to write a letter to impeach Liu Ying and Wang Ping, Yan Zhong and others from Yuyang. They used the name of Buddhism to create books and plot evil. Emperor Ming received the report and immediately ordered Zongzheng (the central official in charge of royal affairs) to send personnel to investigate. The officials sent out soon reported that King Liu Ying of Chu had recruited cunning people to fabricate prophecies in an attempt to usurp the throne, and the evidence was conclusive. Request that Liu Ying be sentenced to death. After receiving the conclusion of the report, Emperor Ming announced that he would deprive King Liu Ying of Chu of his title and move him to Danyang Jing County. Liu Ying traveled to Danyang and committed suicide.
Although Liu Ying died, the case was not over. Yan Zhong and Wang Ping, the accomplices of Chu King Liu Ying, were detained in Luoyang Prison for interrogation. Unable to withstand the torture of the jailers, the two confessed indiscriminately, implicating many innocent people. Among these people were Geng Jian, the Marquis of Tunxiang, Zang Xin, the Marquis of Langling, Deng Kui, the Marquis of Huze, and Liu Jian, the Marquis of Qucheng. The four of them were strangers to Yan Zhong and Wang Ping and did not know each other. But at this time, Emperor Ming had poured out the hatred he had tolerated against the clan kings in the Chu King Ying's Prison, so he punished all the people recruited by Yan Zhong and Wang Ping, regardless of whether the evidence of the crime was established or not. The officials below flattered him Inadvertently, many injustices were caused. Only Shi Hanlang, the imperial censor, was upright and dared to handle the case in accordance with the law. He took advantage of Emperor Ming's opportunity to investigate the case and denounced Geng Jian and the other four as innocent.
Emperor Ming suddenly changed his expression and asked Han Lang: "You said that Geng Jian and the other four princes were not guilty, why did Yan Zhong and Wang Ping confess that they were involved in the crime?" Han Lang adjusted his clothes and calmly replied: "Yan Zhong, Wang and Ping knew they had committed an unpardonable crime, so they confessed casually and wanted to survive in death!" Emperor Ming asked again: "Since you know this situation, why didn't you report it earlier?" Han Lang replied: "Although I am aware of the grievances of the four people, I am afraid that someone else in the country will be falsely accused, so I dare not report it immediately." Emperor Ming was furious and shouted to have Han Lang taken down and punished. Han Lang shouted: "I uphold justice for the country, but I wish I could die even if I say a word!" Emperor Ming asked the left and right to wait and let Han Lang finish his words. Hanlang kowtowed and said: "I am interrogating criminals under your majesty's order. It will be one year. I can't just punish the criminals, but I have to defend them. I know I will die. I hope your majesty will listen to my words and come to his senses. For so many people The ministers in the court knew the injustice, but no one dared to speak out. I can tell the truth today, and I will have no regrets!" After hearing Han Lang's words, Emperor Ming remained silent for a long time and waved his hand to Han Lang to withdraw. When I returned to the dormitory that night, I felt restless and couldn't sleep all night. Han Lang's bitter advice was undoubtedly a sobering dose, which gradually calmed down Emperor Ming's dizzy mind. The poor management of the Chu Prison in recent days has made the ministers in the DPRK panic and fearful of being implicated. The people are also full of suspicions and rumors are spreading. Liu Ying, the king of Chu, liked to be sociable during his lifetime, and most of the courtiers had some contacts with him. If this continues, the situation will be unpredictable and turbulent. Emperor Ming sighed deeply. Yes, it’s time to change course. The next morning, Emperor Ming personally visited Luoyang Prison to investigate the case. All prisoners without conclusive evidence will be released and sent home. This time, the Communist Party of China let go more than 1,000 people. The courtiers gradually calmed down, and their faces became much more peaceful when they went to court. The rumors among the people naturally subsided.
Fan Ye, the author of "Book of the Later Han Dynasty" commented: "Emperor Ming was good at criminal justice and had clear laws and regulations." Emperor Ming himself may have been very conceited about this, so after he came to the throne, he was personally involved in government affairs and took care of everything, no matter how big or small. . One day, Emperor Ming gave 10 pieces of silk to the envoy from the Western Regions. Shangshulang, who was responsible for registering the plan, mistakenly recorded it as a hundred pieces and forwarded the record to Da Sinong for entry. I don't know if Emperor Ming saw the records, or for some other reason, Emperor Ming asked Da Sinong for the accounting books to check, and found the mistake. Emperor Ming was furious and summoned Shangshu Lang back into the palace. He wanted to impose severe punishment on the spot. He ordered him to be pressed down by his left and right sides, and he beat him severely with a big stick in his hand. Zhong Liyi, the chief of the Shangshutai, heard this outside the palace and hurriedly entered the palace, kowtowed and begged, saying: "Mistakes are small mistakes and cannot be punished severely. Lang Guan is my subordinate. If your Majesty wants to punish me, just punish me." It is enough to punish hundreds of officials." Emperor Ming's anger gradually subsided. One day, Lang Guan Yaosong made a minor mistake. Emperor Ming picked up a wooden stick and was about to hit him. Yaosong was frightened and quickly got under the bed to hide. Emperor Ming became even more angry and shouted loudly: "Come out, Lang out! Come out!" Yaosong replied under the bed: "The emperor Mu Mu, the princes Huang Huang, have never heard of others, and they rise up to challenge Lang!" After hearing this, Emperor Ming also turned his anger into joy. , threw away the wooden stick and said: "Come out, I will spare you this time." Emperor Ming was not only strict with the lower-level officials around him, but also supervised important ministers such as the Sangong and Jiuqing. Every time he made a mistake, he would reprimand him face to face. The official administration of the Yongping Dynasty was praised by later historians.
At that time, the course of the Yellow River moved southward and entered the sea from Dongwan (today's Shandong). Without dikes to restrain it, downstream flooding often occurs. In order to restore agricultural production, in the twelfth year of Yongping (69), Emperor Ming ordered Wang Jing and Wang Wu, famous engineering and water conservancy experts, to be responsible for repairing the Yellow River. Wang Jing and Wang Wu led hundreds of thousands of migrant workers and soldiers to first build the Junyi Canal using the "weir flow method", and then built canals and embankments for more than a thousand miles from Xingyang to Qiancheng Haikou to divert the river. The Yellow River is restrained by newly built embankments, and the water is strong enough to wash away the sand and flow into the sea. Through the joint efforts of the military and civilians, the Yellow River floods were finally overcome, providing safety guarantee for the production and life of the people along the coast.
In dealing with the intrusion of surrounding nomadic peoples, due to social stability and the restoration of national strength, Emperor Ming changed the defensive posture of the Guangwu Dynasty and adopted an active offensive strategy. In the eighth year of Yongping (65), the Northern Xiongnu cavalry attacked the counties in Hexi, burned the cities, killed and looted many people, and even the city gates in Hexi were closed during the day, and the people suffered a lot. In the fifteenth year of Yongping (72), the Northern Xiongnu invaded Hexi again and forced the small countries in the western region to join the invasion. In the face of the rampant intrusion of the Northern Huns, Geng Bing wrote: "China is wasting money and its borders are restless. The trouble lies solely with the Huns! Fighting with war is the way of a sage king." Emperor Ming was interested in the Northern Expedition and agreed with Geng Bing's opinion.
In that year, Emperor Ming sent Dou Gu and Geng Bing out of Tunliangzhou (Long County in the Eastern Han Dynasty, north of today's Qingshui County in Gansu Province) as preparations for the Northern Expedition. In the 16th year of Yongping (73), Emperor Ming ordered his generals to lead a cavalry force composed of the Southern Xiongnu and Wuhuan, Xianbei and other ethnic minorities to march north of the Great Wall in four directions, which opened the prelude to the war between the Eastern Han Dynasty and the Northern Xiongnu. During this expedition, Dou Gu went west out of Jiuquan, defeated the Huyan King's tribe in the Tianshan Mountains (now north of Turpan City, Xinjiang), pursued them to Pulehai (now Barkol Lake), and occupied Yiwulu City (now Hami County, Xinjiang).
In order to consolidate the results of military activities, Dou Gu ordered the fake Sima Banchao and Guo Xun to carry out diplomatic activities in various countries in the Western Regions. Ban Chao and Guo Xun led 36 people to Shanshan first. King Shanshan was very respectful to Ban Chao and others at first and entertained them attentively. After a few days, he suddenly became cold. Ban Chao discussed with Guo Xun and said: "The king's courtesy is not as good as before. The Northern Huns must have sent envoys again." So the next day, Ban Chao saw King Shanshan and asked: "The Huns envoys have been here for several days. Where do they live?" ?" King Shanshan was shocked and had no choice but to tell the truth. In the evening, Ban Chao secretly called a gathering of 36 of his subordinates and encouraged: "You come here with me to make achievements and gain wealth. Now that the Huns envoy has arrived, King Shanshan's attitude has changed, and our situation is very dangerous. "The people below said: "Now that things have come to an end, I am willing to live and die with Sima and fight against adversity!" Ban Chao jumped up and said impassionedly: "If you don't enter the tiger's den, you won't get the tiger's cubs! We took advantage of the night to attack the Huns' envoys. Shanshan was naturally timid. He was so successful that he made one move. "It happened that the north wind blew strongly that night, and Ban Chao and his party went to the residence of the Xiongnu envoys. They set fire to the place where the Xiongnu envoys lived. Taking advantage of the chaos, the officials went in and killed the Xiongnu envoys. More than a hundred people from Shanshan were killed. The next day, Ban Chao and others presented the head of the Huns envoy to King Shanshan. King Shanshan was shocked and quickly apologized, stating that from now on he would be attached to the Han Dynasty and would never have second thoughts, and he would accept his son as a pledge. Ban Chao returned to the capital Luoyang with the proton. Emperor Ming was very happy and issued an edict to promote him to military commander and order him to continue running the Western Regions.
In terms of ideology and culture, Emperor Ming advocated Confucianism and ordered the crown prince, princes, princes, ministers’ children, and meritorious officials’ children to read scriptures. He also established a school in Nangong for the descendants of his relatives, the Fan family, the Guo family, the Yin family, and the Ma family, and hired talented Confucian teachers to teach and teach. Among the "Five Classics", Emperor Ming singled out the Classic of Filial Piety and advocated "ruling the world with filial piety". He even ordered the guards at Qimen and Yulin to recite the Classic of Filial Piety. Emperor Ming also attached great importance to the etiquette system. He personally discussed with Liu Cang, King of Dongping, and formulated rituals for worshiping heaven, earth and ancestors, and established a system of carriages and uniforms for the emperor, princes, and officials according to rank. Emperor Ming strongly advocated respecting teachers and respecting morality. When Emperor Ming was the crown prince, he studied Shangshu with Dr. Huan Rong. After he came to the throne, he still respected Huan Rong as his teacher of etiquette. Huan Rong was transferred to Taichang as a young master. Emperor Ming often visited Taichang's mansion in person to listen to Huan Rong's lectures. Huan Rong's students asked Emperor Ming to explain, and Emperor Ming smiled modestly and said: "Teacher is here, don't ask me." Huan Rong was over 80 years old at this time and often fell ill, so Emperor Ming sent an imperial doctor to treat his illness. When Huan Rong died, Emperor Ming personally held the disciple ceremony and mourned for him by wearing filial piety. Of course, Emperor Ming did this out of the friendship between teachers and students, but more importantly, it served as an example. The purpose was to promote a culture of respecting teachers and respecting morality in society, so as to maintain the ethics and morals and political rule of the feudal landlord class.
Emperor Ming also adopted an eclectic approach to foreign cultures. It is said that Emperor Ming once slept and dreamed of a tall golden man with white light emitting from his head, descending in the center of the palace. Just as he was about to open his mouth to question, the golden man leaped into the sky with another roar and flew towards the west. After waking up from the dream, I was puzzled. At the court meeting the next day, he described what he saw in his dream to the ministers in detail, but most people did not know the reason. Dr. Fu Yi added: "I heard that there is a god in the West, who is named Buddha. The Buddha has Buddhist scriptures, that is Buddhism. In the past during the Yuanshou period of Emperor Wu, Huo Qubing, the general of the Hussars, attacked the Xiongnu and captured 12 golden figures enshrined by King Xiutu. , placed in Ganquan Palace, burning incense as a tribute. After long wars, those 12 golden figures have long disappeared. Perhaps what your Majesty dreamed of today was the phantom of the Buddha!" ??This sentence aroused Emperor Ming's curious thoughts, so he sent his doctor. Cai Min went west to Tianzhu to obtain Buddhist scriptures. Cai Min suffered a lot of hardships all the way until he arrived at Dayuezhi. Together with Dayuezhi monks She Moteng and Zhu Falan, they used white horses to carry Buddhist scriptures and returned to Luoyang. Emperor Ming ordered the construction of China's first Buddhist temple, White Horse Temple, in Luoyang City to store Buddhist scriptures and teach Buddhism.
In the autumn of the 18th year of Yongping (75), Emperor Ming fell ill and soon died in the front hall of the East Palace in Luoyang at the age of 48. At that time, he was buried in Xianjie Mausoleum, with the temple name "Xianzong".