In 157 BC, Emperor Wen of Han died, and his eldest son Liu Qi succeeded him as Emperor Jing of Han. Liu Qi had a younger brother named Liu Wu, who was deeply loved by Empress Dowager Dou. As the saying goes, "The emperor loves the eldest son, and the people hurt the children", but the strange thing is that Dou Yifang, who is the empress of the Han Dynasty, prefers this little son.
After Liu Qi ascended the throne, Dou Yifang was honored as empress dowager. She was actually bent on letting Liu Wu succeed to the throne, but Liu Qi was the eldest son of Emperor Wen of Han and was made crown prince early in the morning, so she had to respect her husband's wishes. However, Empress Dou still hoped that in the future, Liu Qi would pass the throne to her younger brother instead of her own son. For this reason, Empress Dowager Dou raised the matter with Liu Qi more than once.
Emperor Jingdi of Han had a good relationship with his brother since childhood, and often sat in the same car. And Emperor Jing of Han had also promised to pass the throne to his younger brother in the future. However, we all know that in 153 BC, Liu Qi made his eldest son Liu Rong the crown prince, not Liu Wu. Then, as emperor, Emperor Jing of Han, had no jokes, and since he promised to pass the throne to his younger brother, why did he finally renege on his word?
(Han Jingdi stills)
It depends on the circumstances under which Emperor Jingdi of Han agreed. Liu Qi had twice promised to pass the throne to his younger brother Liu Wu in the future. The first time his mother, Empress Dou, mentioned it to him, and he assured her that she would pass the throne to Liu Wu in the future. The second time was at a banquet, when Emperor Jingdi of Han was drunk and took advantage of the wine and said, "Long live the king after a thousand autumns." ”
This time, in front of everyone, she officially promised Liu Wu, and Empress Dou was very satisfied when she heard it. Since Emperor Jingdi of Han had agreed to this matter twice, why did Liu Wu not become the crown prince in the end, first, he did not die, and second, he did not rebel. In fact, in the author's opinion, this is all just the strategy of the Han Jing Emperor.
(Liu Wu stills)
I. The first time Emperor Jingdi of Han jing promised Empress Dowager Dou was when he mentioned this matter in private, and no one witnessed it at that time, and Emperor Jingdi of Han jing did not admit to it. There is also empress dowager Dou who favored Liu Wu and even reached the level of doting, and after Liu Qi became emperor, she was not as close to her brother as before. Now seeing that his mother was bent on letting his brother succeed to the throne, completely disregarding his own feelings, Emperor Jingdi of Hanjing was also very unhappy in his heart, and out of resistance, he did not want to pass the throne to his younger brother.
Where is the strategy of the Han Jing Emperor here manifested? He did not want to make his brother the crown prince, but he did not want to offend his mother, so he always dealt with his mother in private. He knew that Empress Dowager Dou, as a foreign relative, could not interfere in politics, so she did not dare to openly suggest this matter, and could only impress Emperor Jingdi of Han with her affection. In order to maintain the relationship between mother and son, Emperor Jingdi of Han said yes verbally, and then slowly tried to find a way to solve the matter.
(Stills of Empress Dou and Emperor Jingdi of Han)
Second, Emperor Jingdi of Han openly promised at the banquet that he would pass the throne to his younger brother Liu Wu in the future, but under what circumstances? Even if he was drunk, since they were all drunk, how could he take it seriously. If anyone mentions it, he can say that he doesn't remember saying it.
Another very important point is how many years did Emperor Jingdi of Han jing say this? It was 154 BC, and a very important historical event occurred in this year, that is, the Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms. After hearing his brother's words, Liu Wu was modest on the surface, but in his heart he was unspeakably happy, and at this time he would definitely stand on the same front as his brother.
As we all know, there are two biggest contributors to the Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms, one is Zhou Yafu, who is in charge of command, and the other is Liu Wu. Liu Wuzhen guarded Juyang and sent people to block the most powerful Wu and Chu armies, and the Wu and Chu armies were blocked and could not cross the barrier of the Liang State, and three months later, the Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms was quelled by Zhou Yafu. Among them, Liu Wu played a great role.
However, just one year after the Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms was put down, Emperor Jing of Han made his eldest son Liu Rong crown prince. In order to appease Empress Dou and Liu Wu, Emperor Jing of Han gave a great reward to his brother, and the history books recorded: "Liang made hundreds of thousands of weapons, crossbows, and spears, and the treasury had millions of dollars, and the pearls and jade treasures were more than the capital masters." It is conceivable that although Liu Qi could not predict the outbreak of the Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms, he cut the domain to the detriment of many people's interests, and he would not be unaware. Therefore, what was said at the banquet was not deliberately trying to engulf Liu Wu, so as not to prevent him from standing with those clan kings.
Later, Liu Rong's mother and son fell out of favor, and Emperor Jing of Han deposed Liu Rong as crown prince, at which time Empress Dou stood up again and persuaded Emperor Jing of Han to make Liu Wu crown prince. However, this time, without the Han Jing Emperor coming out, the Qunchen did not agree at first. In the end, under the obstruction of the group of courtiers, Empress Dou had to give up. If the first two times were due to the strategy of the Han Jing Emperor, then this time the Han Jing Emperor did not come forward, and where did he reflect his strategy?
(Stills of Emperor Jingdi of Han and Li Ji)
This is very understandable, the reason why Liu Qi abolished Liu Rong was because he was disappointed in Li Ji's arrogance and indulgence, and he thought that such a woman could not become an empress dowager in the future. And such a domineering woman cannot teach a good son. Moreover, this matter was related to the eldest princess Liu Yan, who asked her son Liu Che to marry Liu Fei's daughter Chen Ajiao, and Liu Yan naturally had to consider her son-in-law, and she often said bad things about Li Ji in front of Emperor Jingdi of Han, causing Emperor Jingdi of Han to completely dislike Li Ji's mother and son.
Therefore, when Emperor Jingdi of Han decided to depose the crown prince, he already had an idea in his mind, that is, to establish Wang Jie as the queen and Liu Che the Prince of Jiaodong, the son of The King of Jiaodong, as the crown prince. As for the thoughts in Empress Dou's heart, Emperor Jing of Han was also clear, so the author deduced that Liu Qi knew that his mother had to persuade him to make his younger brother Liu Wu the crown prince, so he communicated with the chancellor in advance.
First of all, Emperor Jing of Han himself had a son, so naturally he should have made his son the crown prince, and when Emperor Wen of Han Liu Heng, as the brother of Emperor Hui of Han, he was able to succeed to the throne, also because everyone said that Emperor Huidi's son was not his own, and that Lü Hou was looking for someone to fake. On the night that Emperor Wen of Han entered the palace, all of Emperor Hui's sons died. From this, it can be seen that the emperor's son is still there, and how can a brother be the crown prince?
(Stills of Liu Yan and the Han Jing Emperor)
Besides, Empress Dou was a female streamer and a foreign relative, and she could not interfere in the affairs of the dynasty, and her participation in the affairs of the crown prince again and again was originally illegal. And Liu Wu, whom she wholeheartedly supports, is difficult to guarantee that he is not standing on the same front as his mother and playing his own small calculations. Therefore, Emperor Jing of Han did not need to say anything more, and the courtiers would naturally support him and make his son the crown prince.
Now we return to the original topic, since emperor Jing of Han promised to pass the throne to his younger brother, why did he finally renege on his word? The answer was that he did not want to pass the throne to his younger brother at all, and because of this, Emperor Jing of Han would exert so many imperial strategies, and would fight with his mother Empress Dou for a long time, and even because of this matter, the relationship with his mother was broken. However, in the end, emperor Jing of Han won, and Liu Wu did not become the crown prince until his death.
(References "History", "Book of Han")