In the impression of ordinary people, Confucianism is very kind, but in fact, it is not, many Confucians are as vicious and cruel as the cool officials of the Fa, or even more so. Because Confucians have the ideal of planning the world, but this ideal is often unrealistic, they do bad things unscrupulously.
Empress Dowager Dou had long seen this, she believed in Huang Lao, paying attention to quiet and inaction, while the Confucians advocated "enterprising" - enterprising is a good thing, but once the emperor is enterprising, the life of the people is over. During the reign of Emperor Jingdi of Han, Confucians were proficient in the Book of Poetry, but the scholarship at that time was not pure, and they studied the Book of Poetry for political ideals.
Empress Dowager Dou summoned Yuangu and asked how the book "Lao Tzu" was, and Yuangu said contemptuously: "This book is not a governing ceremony, and only housewives will read it." Empress Dowager Dou was furious and said, "Your Confucian classic is the Handbook of Labor Reform. "And throw The Dragon into the beast pen and ask him to assassinate the wild boar."
Why did Empress Dowager Dou say that the Confucian classics were the Handbook of Labor Reform? Because there is a lofty ideal in it, in order to achieve this ideal, Confucians believe that people's hearts must be purified. So when Confucians see a person committing a crime, they do not discuss things on the basis of facts, but look at whether the person's heart is noble: if it is noble, there is no guilt; otherwise, the small crime becomes a major crime, and the punishment is heavier.
Under the suppression of Empress Dowager Dou, Emperor Jing did not dare to promote Confucianism in particular, and the days flowed slowly for the time being. After Emperor Jing's death, Emperor Wu succeeded to the throne, and he was eager to try. A bunch of dormant Confucians were broken, gathered around him and sang praises, and one after another obtained official positions. They successively offered wonderful blueprints for governing the world, such as the establishment of the Ming Hall in the south of Chang'an City, the formulation of the hajj system, and the regular summoning of princes... Emperor Wu was so happy that he couldn't find the north. One person named Zhao Xuan even suggested, "In the future, there is no need to ask Empress Dou for major state affairs."
When Empress Dowager Dou learned of this, she was furious and sent someone to find evidence of Zhao Xuan and others. Soon Zhao Xuan was arrested and investigated along with another Confucian Wang Zang. The two also knew each other, and both committed suicide immediately. Emperor Wu was discouraged, so he had to temporarily put away his lofty feelings and wait patiently.
In 135 BC, Empress Dou finally died, and Emperor Wu and Ru Sheng were overjoyed, so they could rub their fists together and do a good job. At this time, the Han Dynasty had been established for 67 years, because it had always adopted a policy of not tossing, the national treasury was enriched, and the people were rich, but the next thing we also knew - Emperor Wu drove full horsepower to toss, conquered Korea in the east, attacked the Xiongnu in the north, broke south Vietnam, and sealed Mount Taishan... In the later years of Emperor Wu's life, the total population of the Han Dynasty lost half, the national treasury dried up, the world's uprisings were on fire, and the country was on the verge of exhaustion. Emperor Wu knew that it was not good, and quickly issued an edict to temporarily abandon the policy of tossing and turning. The people cooperated, put down their swords and bows, and then held the hoe, so the economy was back on track.
When Emperor Wu tossed and turned, what if he didn't have money? Taxation of merchants, encouragement of denunciation, sale of official titles... The treasury was soon replenished again. What if someone objects? kill. Someone did not object, but only left his mouth to express dissatisfaction, and the existing legal provisions are not enough to cure him. Cause him a quarrel and provoke trouble. But the punishment for picking quarrels and provoking trouble is too light, and it cannot be used as an example! Easy to do, the Confucian frowned and said: "Although it is only a mouthful, but the heart is really bad, it must be severely punished." So Daisinong Yanyi was beheaded. Zhang Tang, a jurist who handled the case, said with satisfaction: "I couldn't find a way to cure you, but fortunately there are Confucian classics." ”
Although Guo Xie is a ranger, he is not bad as a person, nor does he bully others. He was later arrested for secretly helping him kill someone, and after interrogation by the officials, Shangqu said that he was not guilty. Emperor Wu saw the report and asked his ministers to express their opinions, and Gongsun Hong, a Confucian-born imperial master, said: "Although Guo Xie did not know about many cases, it was worse than knowing. This is not a minor sin, not even an ordinary capital offense, but a great rebellion, which should be punished by the clan. So Emperor Wu issued an edict to wipe out the three tribes of Guo Xie.
It can be said that the people of the Han Dynasty were basically killed by the Confucians who were good and happy. They thought they had culture and ideals, and without them, Emperor Wu would not know where to go even if he wanted to toss. Some people say that the Confucian students in the "Salt and Iron Treatise" do not seem to be like this, they are opposed to conquest. But that was another wave of Confucians, and if they governed the country according to their blueprint, the people would still be dead.