The fourth among the princes has always been very magical. Anyone who has watched Qing palace dramas will understand what this is. Yongzheng was the fourth master, Qianlong was also the fourth master, and further back there was Yongle Emperor Zhu Di. They were all famous. The Han Wen Emperor Liu Heng I want to talk about here is also ranked fourth.
The fame of Emperor Wen of Han is not small. The story of his abolition of corporal punishment is also recorded in junior high school history textbooks. Those who are interested can read it again. Liu Heng single-handedly created the famous Wenjing rule in ancient Chinese history. He was light on corvee and low on taxes, and rested with the people. He reversed the social and economic decline since the end of Qin and ushered in the prosperous age of Han Dynasty. He can be called a wise king. However, the fourth master's road to the throne was not smooth, even more legendary than the two in the Qing Dynasty.
When Liu Heng ascended the throne, he did not inherit the mantle of his father, but, similar to Zhu Di, he took the throne from his nephew. Calculating carefully, Liu Heng was the fifth emperor of the Western Han Dynasty, preceded by his father Liu Bang, second brother Liu Ying, eldest nephew Liu Gong, and youngest nephew Liu Hong. But Liu Heng was not like Zhu Di, who brazenly rebelled and seized power. He was originally an outsider, but he was pushed forward by the ministers of the court.
This matter is full of black humor. After Liu Bang's death, Empress Lu came to the court to take charge of the government and suppressed dissidents vigorously. The Lu family's party became extremely powerful for a time. After Queen Lu's death, the suppressed courtiers and the Liu clan united to overthrow Lu. Once successful, they planned to establish a new emperor who had nothing to do with Lu's party. Qi King Liu Xiang, who originally contributed a lot to the operation to overthrow Lu, was the loudest voice. However, the ministers who controlled the situation in Chang'an at that time were afraid that this powerful prince would kill him in the future. Among the available heirs, the acting king Liu Heng had the most peaceful personality and was the real power in Chang'an City. Finally decided to support Liu Heng. Liu Heng, who had always stayed out of the matter, became the new emperor.
It has always been considered that Liu Heng was lucky enough to ascend the throne. He had neither the strength nor the will to compete for the throne, so this honor fell on him. It was really a twist of fate.
However, it would be unfair to say that it was all due to luck. Liu Heng’s life was not easy before he became Dabao.
Of course, if Liu Heng wants to use this political resource, he must first ensure that he can survive to this critical moment, and it is not easy to do this. The death rate of the Liu brothers is astonishingly high. !
Liu Heng left Chang'an to join the vassal state at the age of eight. Liu Bang died the next year, and soon after his mistress, Queen Lu, came to the court. Empress Lu was known as a ruthless character. She first eliminated all the former love rivals in the palace, and then swept away the dissident forces outside the palace. The situation inside the palace was turbulent and ups and downs. Liu Heng, on the other hand, lived in a quiet little corner of Daiguo, living alone for fifteen years.
In the past fifteen years, six of Liu Heng’s seven brothers have passed away. You must know that Liu Heng was only 24 years old when he succeeded to the throne. As a royal family that enjoys the world’s resources, such a high death rate The rate is really abnormal. Most of this was given by Empress Lu. This mother of the country was energetic and full of desire for power, and she was especially vigilant against Liu Bang's sons. The third child Liu Ruyi, the fifth child Liu You, and the sixth child Liu Hui were all killed by her. Although the eldest brother Liu Fei, the second child Liu Ying, and the eighth child Liu Jian all died of illness, they were all caused by Empress Lu. The energetic Empress Lu spared only the fourth child Liu Heng and the seventh child Liu Chang. There must be special factors involved.
Lao Qi Liu Chang can explain it very well. Although he is not Empress Lu’s biological son, he was adopted by Empress Lu because he lost his mother when he was young. Therefore, Liu Chang has a close relationship with the Lu family, and Empress Lu treats him very seriously. Also very trusting. Liu Heng's ability to survive for so long cannot be explained by his "cowardice" alone. In addition to being "soft", Liu Heng is also very aware of current affairs. Liu Heng did not make the wrong choice among several choices related to his destiny.
First of all, there is the marriage issue. In addition to suppressing the younger generation, Empress Lu also uses some means to win them over, but her methods are too wishful thinking. Empress Lu married almost every prince with a girl from the Lu family, even her own son Emperor Hui, thus creating the spectacle of uncle and niece getting married. Naturally, these strong-willed melons will not be sweet. Liu and Lu Pei's marriage life seems to be not very harmonious. The fifth child, Liu Hui, and the sixth child, Liu You, both lost their lives because they did not have a good relationship with their Queen Lu. . Even with Empress Lu's strong desire to control, she would definitely not miss the fourth child, Liu Heng. Liu Heng theoretically had a queen named Lu, otherwise he would not have been so secure in his position as king.
The reason why we can't be so sure is that after looking through various historical materials, there is no specific record of Liu Heng's first queen.
Although many people are covering up the relationship between Liu Heng and Lu, intentionally or unintentionally, what is certain is that he and the queen in the mist have three or four sons. I think the relationship between the couple is still very harmonious. His fifth brother Liu Hui and his sixth brother Liu You were both at odds with Queen Lu, and were eventually not tolerated by Queen Lu. Liu Heng was obviously much better behaved and did not cause trouble at all, which also convinced Empress Lu that Liu Heng was one of her own.
In addition to being happy with forced marriage, Liu Heng also resisted the temptation of "big admission".
Among the kings with the same surname in the early Han Dynasty, King Qi, King Zhao and King Liang were the most noble, and Empress Lu especially liked to torment King Zhao. Among the Liu Heng brothers, the first Liu Ruyi, the third brother, to be lost in the hands of Empress Lu was the King of Zhao. Later, Empress Lu asked the sixth and fifth brothers to fill the vacancy, and without exception, they all died and took office. The king of Zhao can be said to be the most dangerous position in the Han Dynasty during the period of Queen Lu. After Lao Liu died, King Zhao's seat became vacant again, so Empress Lu wanted to transfer Liu Heng to him. Queen Lu's move was not necessarily malicious. On the contrary, she wanted to further win over Liu Heng. She moved from the bitter and cold remote country of Dai to the rich and convenient country of Zhao. This cannot be regarded as a punishment or a warning. As for the "curse of King Zhao" in Queen Lu's view, It's just something that doesn't exist. Liu Heng was not willing to accept this "good intention" at all, but how to refuse is definitely a college question.
Liu Heng has always been a good boy in front of Empress Lu, and it is difficult to say a single word. According to historical records, Liu Heng's response was to directly give Empress Lu a break, saying that he only wanted to defend the country on the border for his mother and the Han Dynasty, and did not want to return to the interior to enjoy himself. Empress Lu didn't make any other reaction, so she complied with his wishes and allowed him to continue to stay in the country of Dai.
This is a bit strange. Queen Lu has always been strong, and her will cannot be overturned by a few nice words. Liu Heng must have done other tricks to please him. Looking at the changes in the future, the most likely scenario is that Liu Heng recommended Lu Lu as the new King of Zhao in the dictionary.
Lu Lu comes from the lineage of Empress Lu’s second brother Lu Shi. Previously, Empress Lu’s eldest brother Lu Ze and younger sister Lu Yu both had the title of king. Now only this lineage remains. It's the Marquis. If Lu Lu can be granted the title of King of Zhao, the Lu family will be truly fulfilled, their strength will be improved to a higher level, and Empress Lu will not show favoritism to others. Although Empress Lu didn't care about other people's opinions on the matter of conferring the king, it was always good for someone from the royal family named Liu to take the initiative. Of course, this is just a guess. Anyway, the result is that Liu Heng continues to be his acting king, and the Lu family has reached the peak of power since then.
However, things must be reversed, and Queen Lu died of illness the second year after Liu Heng rejected Queen Zhao. Without this "Old Buddha", Qi King Liu Xiang, the eldest brother of Liu Fei, immediately launched an army to overthrow Lu. The Lu family was obviously not able to adapt to the situation without a big tree to rely on, and immediately became confused. A split quickly occurred within the Lu family. Some people wanted to continue to hold power, while others advocated returning power to the Liu family. There was no consensus. Just when the Lu family was in chaos, the ministers in Chang'an City united with members of the royal family to launch a coup and wiped out the Lu family one by one. Within a year, the Lu Party that Queen Lu had worked so hard to build evaporated. This gave Liu Heng an opportunity to take over.
When Lu Dang fell, the underage Emperor Liu Hong was on the throne. Liu Hong was appointed by Empress Lu and was also his grandson. Naturally, he could not be trusted by the ministers. Therefore, changing the emperor's position became everyone's consensus. There are several heirs to the throne at this time. The first is the aforementioned King of Qi Liu Xiang. Liu Xiang's father Liu Fei is Liu Bang's eldest son. Liu Xiang is Liu Bang's eldest son and eldest grandson. Several of them work in Chang'an City and have deep roots. Next, in addition to Liu Heng, those who are still eligible to inherit are Liu Sui and Liu Chang, who are from the fifth Liu You lineage. However, Liu Chang had a deep relationship with Lu Dang, so they had to be eliminated first. As for Liu Sui, who had no power and was a junior, he could not be ranked ahead of Liu Xiang no matter what. After such an inventory, the next emperor is either Liu Xiang or Liu Heng.
Liu Xiang was ambitious and determined to win the throne, otherwise he would not be the first to jump out and overthrow Lu. But haste makes waste. It was Liu Xiang's eagerness for quick success that frightened those ministers. The key point was that his brothers and staff of King Qi would also occupy the positions of veteran ministers. In this way, coupled with the fact that many people in the royal family looked down upon the domineering lineage of King Qi, everyone supported the establishment of the more senior acting king Liu Heng, and Liu Xiang was unable to oppose it.
Liu Heng was pushed to the center of power in this way, but this seat was destined to be uneasy. Surrounded by ministers with ulterior motives, and outside are the angry brothers of the King of Qi. However, Liu Heng not only secured the throne, but also single-handedly created the Wenjing Dynasty. Luck alone could not do this.