The Western Han Dynasty is undoubtedly a very brilliant and brilliant dynasty in Chinese history, and it is not a generalist to be able to become a humeral subject in this dynasty. Today, the author will take you into the life of Huo Guang, the ruler of the Western Han Dynasty, to see how he came to the center of power step by step, how he achieved success, and how he was brutally beheaded two years after his death. What are some of the untold stories?
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Although Huo Guang did not seem to be from a high birth, his network of relations was very strong, and the famous general Huo Fuyi was his half-brother, and it was only at this level of relationship that he could relate to the most honorable people in the Western Han Dynasty at that time. Without looking at the monk's face and looking at the Buddha's face, who dared to oppose him at that time? What is more important is that after Huo went to Pingyang County to become famous, he went to Pingyang County to recognize his ancestors and returned to the sect, and by the way, he also brought back this half-brother. Huo Guang, who was recognized, has since embarked on a flat road. Therefore, this strong network of relations has prepared sufficient material conditions and external environment for Huo Guang to enter politics.
But as the saying goes, playing iron also needs to be hard, relying only on the support of the external environment, Huo Guang is not going to go far, fortunately, he himself is also very hard to make progress, not only is he dignified, but also does his best, very measured, and has been appreciated by Emperor Wu of Han. After Huo Guang's untimely death, Huo Guang was more and more relied on, and his official positions became higher and higher, and his power became greater and greater. At that time, after the crown prince Liu Zhu was wrongfully killed because of the scourge of witchcraft, Emperor Wu of Han's health deteriorated, and finally when he was seriously ill, he made the young Liu Fuling the crown prince and entrusted him to Huo Guang, which was very similar to the scene where Liu Bei was isolated from Zhuge Liang in the White Emperor City.
Portrait of Emperor Wu of Han
And Huo Guang, like Zhuge Liang, lived up to the expectations of the people and did his best to assist the young emperor. However, because Liu Fuling was too young, Huo Guang was in charge of the government at that time and became a minister with power and opposition. Such scenery was envied by others. These people prepared to put Huo Guang to death, so they made up a plan: fabricated evidence to report Huo Guang to Liu Fuling, and let him be demoted to power. Although Liu Fuling was young, he could still distinguish clearly who was loyal and who was traitorous, and he did not take this false accusation seriously, but instead ordered the execution of these fabricators in front of Huo Guang. With the support of the emperor, Huo Guang was also quick to cut through the chaos and kill the rebellious ministers who tried to subvert the royal family of the Han Dynasty.
In the following thirteen years, Huo Guang wholeheartedly assisted Liu Fuling, the Emperor of Han Zhao, and implemented a series of policies that were beneficial to the people's livelihood, so that after the death of Emperor Wu, the entire Han Dynasty returned to a thriving scene, and Huo Guang's policies were also admired by the people of the time. After the death of Emperor Zhao of Han, he rectified the chaos and deposed Liu He, who was absurd and unscrupulous, and Established Emperor Wu of Han's great-grandson Liu Yi as emperor. Huo Guang's various actions, each measure is to turn the tide and save the Western Han royal family from water and fire, saying that Huo Guang is a generation of loyal subjects, it is not bad at all. Is the huo guang clan really wronged by such a tragic end? I don't think so.
Huo Guang deposed Liu He
Huo Guang bowed down to death for the sake of the royal family, which was naturally praised by posterity. However, what everyone should understand is that the Huo Guang family is not the only one, in the later period of Huo Guang's power, his power was like the sun in the sky, and the identity of his family members naturally rose in the water, plus Huo Guang never avoided what was wrong with his family being an official, but instead arranged them all in the position of important military and political power. After such a long time, although he himself was able to maintain a certain good style, his descendants did not think so.
The crimes of these people can be described as innumerable: his domestic servants were bullying others, and after Huo Guang's death, they also had adultery with Huo Guangji's concubines; his son and son-in-law occupied the land and ran amok at the feet of Tianzi, and no one dared to take care of them; what was even more intolerable was that Huo Guang's wife sent someone to kill Liu Chengjun's wife Xu Pingjun for the sake of her daughter Huo Chengjun, who could become empress... And Huo Guang is turning a blind eye to some of these things, some people may wonder, does Huo Guang not know that he is in a high position of authority, and any wrong step will lead to a full of disasters? I can tell you definitively – he doesn't know!
Portrait of Emperor Xuan of Han
When Huo Guang was ten years old, he had already been taken with him by Huo Goyi, and Huo Wentyi was a martial general, so naturally it was impossible to teach him any advanced cultural knowledge! Prior to this, due to his family's poverty, Huo Guang did not receive any higher education. After becoming an official, he was busy with affairs, and he had no time to take care of the supplement of cultural knowledge. This has led to his own shallow level of education, and the teaching of his descendants and those around him is even less, or even none. Therefore, he was the only one in the entire Huo family who had real talent and practical learning, and the successor not only had no one but also committed many evils, which was also the fundamental reason why the Huo family was wiped out later.
Therefore, for the people at that time, except for Huo Guang, the killing of others was a great pleasure for the common people! However, it is worth mentioning that no matter how powerful Huo Guang was in his life, he absolutely did not move his mind to subvert the Regime of the Han Dynasty in the past, and this alone can distinguish him from other great traitors and evil people, which is also the best embodiment of Huo Guang's loyalty in his life!