Tragic childhood
First of all, let's talk about the name Liu E. Maybe Liu E didn't know she had the name Liu E. How did this name come from? Because her life is too legendary, novelists especially like to arrange her gossip, so slowly, they gave her the name of Liu E, which is one of the many names of ancient people for beautiful women, and this name is equivalent to Liu Damei.
Liu E comes from a very good family. Her ancestors came from Taiyuan, Shanxi, and later moved to Huayang, Sichuan. Her grandfather's name is Liu Yanqing, and he did a great job in the post-Jin and post-Han Dynasties of the Five Dynasties, and he became a right Xiao Wei general. Her father Liu Tong did a very good job in the early Song Dynasty. He served as the commander of Tiger Jie and the secretariat of history. Later, he died when he went to Taiyuan with Song Taizong and Zhao Guangyi. Liu E was a martyr orphan, and Liu E was the second daughter of the Liu family.
It rained all night, and it didn't take long for my father and my mother to die. Liu E, who was still a baby, became an orphan. Foster care in mother Ponzi's family since childhood. In ancient China, there was a very interesting phenomenon. Generally, orphans of boys were taken care of by their fathers' families, but when girls became orphans, they were usually taken care of by their grandmothers. Lin Daiyu in a Dream of Red Mansions was also fostered in her grandmothers' homes.
However, Liu E's grandmother's family didn't cultivate Liu E into a good family or a small jasper, but cultivated her into a singer. In ancient times, singers were not today's big stars. In ancient times, they were also called "actors", which was not a glorious career. Normal families would not let their daughters go this way. It is conceivable how miserable Liu E's childhood life was. Liu E is very talented in music and sings very well. She soon became a popular singer in the local area.
Liu E married a silversmith named Gong Mei when she was about 12 or 13 years old. It can be said that Liu E was tasted the ups and downs of the world at an early age. At the naive age of other children, she had already worked hard to manage the family's livelihood and developed a sophisticated world of the world early. Gong Mei felt unhappy in Sichuan, so the family moved to Kaifeng, the capital, and the young couple began to live a "floating" life. After arriving in Kaifeng, the beautiful life did not come as scheduled, but it became more and more difficult. So Liu E's love rat husband Gong Mei moved a bad idea and sold his beautiful wife for money. Liu E, who was only fifteen years old, experienced an emotional betrayal early, and she did not know how to turn a few hands. Finally, she was commanded by the Korean Wangfu. In the Song Dynasty, it was fashionable for nobles and literati to send concubines to each other, but this shameless life was described by their pens with great elegance. Ten years ago, there was a high school teacher who talked about the history of the two Song Dynasties in a lecture room. He said that he wanted to go back to the Song Dynasty and how beautiful the Song Dynasty was. I assumed with malicious intent that what he envied was the life of the Song Dynasty literati who had no shame, no lower limit and no sense of shame.
A note on the cultivation of the Empress
Liu E's second married husband is Zhao Heng, who used to be Zhao Dechang, Zhao Yuanxiu and Zhao Yuankan. He is the third son of Zhao Guangyi, Song Taizong. The emperors of the Northern Song Dynasty are all from Zhao Guangyi, except Zhao Kuangyin, the founder of the country. The characteristics of Zhao Guangyi are very good at literature and art, but they are generally unintelligent, and the most unintelligent is Zhao Heng. After this elder brother became emperor, Liao took the opportunity to come down to fight in the south. The founding of the third monarch unintelligent like this, really can't see, ministers under the guidance of prime minister Kou Zhun, holding up Zhao Heng USES personal expedition. When the soldiers in the frontier saw the emperor come to the front to accompany them desperately, their morale was encouraged, and they fought bravely, killing LiLin Xiao, a general of Liao State. The two sides were evenly matched in Chanyuan, and no one could do anything about it, so they began to hold peace talks. Unexpectedly, Zhao Heng, a swindler, told Cao Liyong, the negotiator of the Song Dynasty, "As long as the peace talks can be reached, even millions of dollars will be fine." He was really frightened, but Kou Zhun was angry and pointed at Cao Liyong's nose and threatened, "The bottom line is 3 thousand. If you exceed a penny, I will kill you. It's up to you." As a result, Song Fang paid 3, yuan in compensation.
Many shameless literati in later generations said through various calculations how insignificant this 3, was, and how much money the Song Dynasty got from the Liao country through various currency wars, and so on. Eldest brother, first of all, the money is not much, that's compensation. No matter how you wash it, this nature can't be changed. Through this incident, the unintelligent nature of the Song Dynasty was clearly seen by the surrounding neighbors, and the Song Dynasty was no longer dignified in their eyes, so they began to struggle hard, resulting in greater passivity. The Northern Song Dynasty had to fight on multiple lines, and the high military expenditure has always been the heaviest financial burden of the Song Dynasty. There is also a trade war that was not fought by Zhao Heng, and it will not be launched here. Please stop washing. It's disgusting.
Zhao Heng did something with no lower limit after the alliance of Chanyuan. He also knew that the alliance of Chanyuan had made a fool of himself. In order to save his image, he ordered people to forge a so-called "gobbledygook", which said that God recognized him as a good emperor and could hold a ceremony of closing Zen. Well, isn't this a new emperor's dress? Even more wonderful things came, and ministers swarmed with him to play a Zen farce. I would like to ask those who claimed that the literati in the Song Dynasty had integrity, how can they explain that the literati in the Manchu Dynasty did not stand up to stop this farce? Li Shimin, the emperor of the sandwich martial arts, wanted to close the Zen meditation, but he failed several times. He had to face at least. How dare you laugh at Li Tang for being dirty? Since Zhao Heng, no emperor has demonstrated his greatness by closing a meditation. They are afraid of having anything to do with Zhao Heng, and they really can't afford to lose that man.
Let me quote the later generations' comments on this matter:
The prime minister of the Yuan Dynasty took off: "It's strange that a country's monarch and ministers are as mad as illness and sigh, because they are allied with Zhouyi, and they have closed their doors to Zen, which makes them auspicious and prosperous, and the heavenly books have repeatedly fallen, leading them to welcome them to drink their peace." Explain the meaning of Tuotuo. I have signed the alliance of Aiyuan, but I still dare to engage in meditation, so many auspicious things, and deceive myself into making so-called gobbledygook. The monarch and his subjects in the Song Dynasty were so mad that I don't know what to say. It's really strange.
Li Zhi of the Ming Dynasty said, "Let's be a monarch and a minister, for this reason. Ridiculous! Alas! " Translate, who are you fooling, an open country, a monarch and a minister, who are you fooling? Ridiculous! Alas!
Having said so much, I just want to tell you who Liu E's second husband, Zhao Heng, is. This man is quite literary and artistic, and he is omnipotent in poetry and songs, but he is a coward in his bones and lacks a basic sense of honor. Of course, most emperors in the Northern Song Dynasty were like this bird.
Back to the point, let's continue to talk about Liu E. Sixteen-year-old Han Wang Zhao Heng got 15-year-old Liu E, which was very pleasing. This little sister is beautiful and sings well. They are bored together day and night. To what extent? When Zhao Guangyi summoned his son Zhao Heng one day, he suddenly found that his son was haggard and listless. So I went to Zhao Heng's wet nurse and asked the old lady if her son was ill. The wet nurse said, "What's wrong? There are goblins in the house. They don't sleep at night and toss around." Zhao Guangyi was furious, which was great. He asked Zhao Heng to get rid of Liu E quickly, and then immediately set out a suitable marriage for Zhao Heng. The young lady of Pan Meijia, a general, was dignified and elegant. How can I put it? There is no record in the history books, and it is estimated that it is just so-so. Six years later, Pan Huanghou died at the age of 22 in 989, and they had no children.
Zhao Heng didn't want to part with Liu E, so he put Liu E in his Zhang Yi's house. When he was free, they made an appointment or something. Zhang Yi dared to refuse in order to win the boss's favor, but from then on, Zhang Yi didn't dare to go home, for fear of being unclear, so he bought a house to live in, and his house became a foreign house in Zhao Heng.
They had been sneaking around for 14 years. In 997, Zhao Heng's father Zhao Guangyi died of illness, and no one could manage Zhao Heng anymore. So Zhao Heng took Liu E into the palace. Don't get me wrong, there's no drama here where all shall be well, jack shall have Jill, and Liu E dotes on the sixth house. Zhao Heng hasn't been idle for a while these years. Not only did he marry a first wife, Queen Guo, but he also married a lot of concubines. And Zhao Heng called Liu E into the palace, and didn't give her any birthright. It is estimated that Liu E's treatment at that time was better than ordinary maids. It should be said that Liu E's difficulty at this time is hellish, but she didn't give up. After many operations, she became good girlfriends with Yang, the favorite princess of Zhenzong Zhao Heng. The two men established an offensive and defensive alliance in the harem, and this friendship was maintained until Liu E's death.
After 1 years of fame and wealth, in 14, Liu E, 35 years old, was named as a four-product beauty, and was soon named as a xiuyi and a virtuous princess. If nothing else happens, Liu E's struggle in the harem is the summit, and her life is complete. Liu E made a behavior that seems very confusing today. Because Liu E's blood relatives in the world are gone, she regarded her ex-husband Gong Mei as her dry brother, and Gong Mei took the opportunity to change her surname to Liu. Since then, her ex-husband's family has become her maiden. I have to say, Gong Mei, the daughter-in-law, is worth marrying.
In fact, every time I see this place, I have a question. Why did Liu E, who has been unknown for 1 years, suddenly find favor? Is it her beauty? Is it her euphemistic voice? My personal guess is that from this time on, Zhao Heng discovered Liu E's ability to handle government affairs, and Zhao Heng, who was not energetic, could not handle a mountain of official business at all. Liu E should have undertaken a lot of government affairs in Zhao Heng at this time, otherwise there was no way to explain that Liu E, who had been out of favor for 1 years, suddenly found favor and soon rose to the position of princess.
In 17, Song Zhenzong Zhao Heng's second wife, Queen Guo, died of illness, so Zhao Heng wanted to make Liu E the queen. However, Kou Zhun, Li Di, Xiang Minzhong, Wang Dan and others firmly opposed Liu E's humble birth and could not be the mother of a country, and recommended their favorite "Shen Cairen" as the new queen. I have to say that no matter in the Song Dynasty or the Ming Dynasty, this group of literati interfered with the emperor's harem in the spirit of being more self-disciplined and stricter than the law. They never cared how many concubines they had in their own homes, but they desperately demanded that the emperor should not be lewd, otherwise they would criticize. There are too many such examples, so we won't start.
Zhao Heng is so bored that I can't even make decisions about my own harem? So Zhao Anren, who took the lead in recommending Shen Cairen as the queen, was arranged to be an official in the local area. The ministers knew that the consequences of blind competition were very serious, so they kept their mouths shut. The matter of establishing a queen was put on hold.
In 11, when Zhao Zhen went to see Liu E, he accidentally favored Li, Liu E's maid. Unexpectedly, he gave birth to a son, later Zhao Zhen of Song Renzong and the only son of Zhao Heng. So the emperor Zhao Heng, Liu E, the maid Lee and the favorite concubine Yang reached an agreement, saying that this son was born to Liu E and then fostered by Yang's side. This is definitely a win-win solution.
Two years later, in 112, Liu E, blessed by her son, was canonized as a queen, and no one dared to openly oppose her. Liu E was 43 years old this year. Liu E not only keeps the harem in good order, but also accompanies Song Zhenzong and Zhao Heng to work overtime to handle official business until midnight every day. Liu E is very smart and savvy, and she is well-read. She has a good memory for history books, especially be adept at. No matter what government affairs she meets, she can remember the ins and outs of the related government affairs, and no matter what she handles, she can learn from others.
Later, Song Zhenzong Zhao Heng's health became worse and worse, and the administrative affairs of Dasong were gradually handled by Liu E..
Although Liu E is very capable, she handled both the harem and the court affairs thoroughly, but this greatly choked the civil servants' lungs, so they began to spread all kinds of rumors that Liu E was going to rebel. Especially in 119, Taibai Star appeared in broad daylight, so they made rumors that it was a sign that a woman was going to rebel, and Zhao Heng began to waver. So when chatting with confidant Zhou Huaizheng, he mentioned the possibility of letting the prince supervise the country. After Kou Zhun heard about it, he immediately sneaked into the palace to see Song Zhenzong Zhao Heng. I have to say that Kou Zhun is a great man. The whole process completely avoided Liu E's eyes and ears, and when he got home, he called his cronies to draft a letter to supervise the country. However, some of his cronies revealed this to Liu E, and Liu E immediately ran to Song Zhenzong to confront him. Song Zhenzong and Tang Gaozong Li Zhi reacted the same way. "I didn't know, I didn't say, I didn't do it, it was all done by Kou Zhun." I have to say that it's a heroic tragedy to follow the wrong boss, so Liu E took Kou Zhun on the grounds of Kou Zhun's call, and replaced Kou Zhun with confidant Ding Wei Song dynasty as the new prime minister.
Zhou Huaizheng, the confidant of Zhao Heng mentioned earlier, knew that he was going to die, so he prepared to launch a coup. The slogan was to kill Liu E and Ding Wei Song dynasty, welcome back to Kou Zhun, establish a prince as an emperor, and ask Zhao Heng to be the emperor's father. The plan was quite good, but it was soon betrayed by his men. Liu E and Ding Wei Song dynasty sent people to arrest Zhou Huaizheng and all his henchmen. Zhou Huaizheng himself was killed, and Kou Zhun was demoted again and again until he was demoted to join the army as an official in Leizhou. Finally, he died in Leizhou, which is now in Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province. In that year, it was a wild place in Lingnan.
After this incident, Liu E asked Zhao Zhen, a 9-year-old prince, to discuss government affairs with ministers in Zishantang every day, and began to learn to be a Chu Jun. Liu E read the memorial in the harem, and her husband Zhao Heng lived a retired life.
facing the imperial court system
In 122 AD, Song Zhenzong, who had been lingering on his sickbed for a long time, ended his long life, and returned to the west. At the age of 12, Zhao Zhen was proclaimed emperor, that is, Song Renzong, the first benevolent king in history.
Ding Wei Song dynasty, the prime minister, saw that the emperor was young. If Liu E was put on the sidelines at this time, he could monopolize the state affairs, and his power was always attractive. So he began to plan to let 12-year-old Song Renzong lead the government. How can this little trick escape the eyes of Liu E, who is skilled in tactics? So Liu E summoned the officials in Chengming Temple, and presented a lot of evidence of Ding Wei Song dynasty's graft and collusion with Leiyungong, the eunuch of the Imperial Palace. In public, Ding Wei Song dynasty was beaten at a loss, and Liu E took the opportunity to kill Ding Wei Song dynasty, and the officials tried to persuade him that there was a training program for not killing the scholar-officials, so Liu E reluctantly demoted Ding Wei Song dynasty to the cliff state of Hainan Island, which was more remote than Kou Zhun. However, Ding Wei Song dynasty has a good mentality. He spent more than three years in Yazhou, more than five years in Leizhou, nearly four years in Daozhou, and about three years in Gwangju. He has been exiled for fifteen years, and those who have no gray hair on their temples have to take the measure. Finally, he died behind Liu E, convinced?
After what happened in Ding Wei Song dynasty, Liu E realized how dangerous it was to relax her power, so the 54-year-old Liu E took the name of Song Zhenzong's will, "Respect the Queen as the Empress Dowager, and the military powers will be handled by the Empress Dowager", that is, Liu E handled state affairs in the name of the Empress Dowager. Every five days, Liu E took Zhao Zhen to court in Chengming Hall, the emperor sat on the left, Liu E sat on the right, and a curtain was hung in front of the Empress Dowager's face.
Liu E's weighing system is still very distinctive. She made herself a robe of a male emperor, that is, a gown. When she went out, she had to take a big chair. The honor guard should be as ostentation and extravagance as a male emperor, not as ostentation and extravagance as the empress dowager. She just showed her authority in a masculine way, which is a bit like Empress Dowager Cixi asking Guangxu to call her dear dad. And two years later, in 124, he accepted the title given to himself by the emperor Zhao Zhen, "Ying Tianqi has made great contributions to the Empress Dowager, who respects virtue, benevolence and longevity."