When Lü Yan first married Liu Bang, Liu Bang still had nothing, but Lü Yan did not dislike him, but was willing to be a good wife and mother for him. Later, Liu Bang raised an army, and Lü Yan also supported him behind his back, and even during his captivity by Xiang Yu, he did not damage Liu Bang's majesty in the slightest.
The two started from scratch, and Liu Bang was naturally very grateful to his wife. But since Lü Yan was put back by Xiang Yu, everything had changed. Because when Lü Yan returned, he found that her husband had fallen in love with another woman, that is, Qi Ji. He was a hostage at Xiang Yu's place, suffered a lot, and after returning, her husband changed his heart. Such a strong person as Lü Yan naturally held a grudge against Qi Ji.
After Liu Bang became emperor, Lü Yan became the first empress of the Han Dynasty as his wife, and Qi Ji was Lady Qi. Liu Ying was made crown prince as a concubine. Originally, for Lü Hou, she became an empress, her son became the crown prince, and Lady Qi was not enough to suffer, who knew that at this time, the thing that Made Lü Hou most afraid of happened.
Lady Qi was favored, and her status in the harem was second only to Lü Hou, and she took advantage of her own favor and deliberately made Liu Bang the crown prince. When Liu Bang was the King of Han, he got Lady Qi and gave birth to a son, Liu Ruyi, with her. Lady Qi meant that she hoped that Liu Bang would depose Liu Ying and make Liu Ruyi the crown prince instead.
However, Liu Ying was the only son of Empress Lü, a righteous prince of the Han Dynasty, supported by his courtiers, Liu Ruyi was only a concubine, and no one would support him as crown prince. These Liu Bang could not have been unaware, and if this was the case, why did Liu Bang insist on deposing the crown prince? The author believes that Liu Bang may have the following considerations.
First, spoil Mrs. Qi
Lady Qi can get Liu Bang's favor for many years, which shows that she is not an ordinary person, at least she knows how to please Liu Bang. Lady Qi has a magic weapon, that is, her tears, every time she cries in front of Liu Bang, Liu Bang will always be soft-hearted, so as to obey her.
Lady Qi often cried and told Liu Bang that she had asked him to make Liu Ruyi the crown prince, and Liu Bang was also moved. Once Liu Bang fell ill, Lady Qi took Liu Ruyi to serve, and Liu Bang hugged Liu Ruyi and sighed: "We must not let the son who is not an instrument live above my beloved son." ”
Obviously, Liu Bang's son who is "not a tool" is Talking about Liu Ying, and his beloved son is naturally Liu Ruyi. Since then, Liu Bang has put this matter on the agenda, repeatedly looking for opportunities to depose Liu Ying. Every time she went down to the court, Lady Qi always asked if it was done, and when she heard Liu Bang say no, she immediately cried and cried again.
Liu Bang could not see his favorite concubine, and was always so sad, so he decided to quickly complete the matter. The next day he held a banquet, at the banquet, Liu Bang saw Liu Ying standing next to Liu Ying, that is, Shangshan Sihao. Shangshan Sihao was a doctor in the late Qin and early Han dynasties, and was very famous at that time.
Liu Bang immediately summoned Lady Qi and said to her, "I want to change it, and the four of them will be assisted, and the wings have been formed, and it is difficult to move." Lü Hou is really and masterful. Lady Qi cried bitterly after hearing this, but unfortunately this time Liu Bang could do nothing but comfort her all the time and try her best to protect the mother and son.
Second, Liu Ying is too weak
Liu Bang wanted to depose Liu Ying, not just because he loved Lady Qi. Liu Bang was a wise monarch, and he would not change the crown prince of the state at will just because he was a favored concubine. He was the founding emperor, and if the Han Dynasty was to be passed down from generation to generation, the crown prince must be good enough. In Liu Bang's heart, Liu Ying is not the best candidate.
The history books record: "Filial piety is benevolent and weak, and Gaozu thought that he was not like me, and often wanted to abolish the prince, and set up a qi jizi ruyi, ruyi like me." This was the main reason why Liu Bang wanted to depose the prince, and he thought that Liu Ying had a weak personality and did not look like himself at all. On the contrary, Liu Ruyi's personality is very similar to his own, and if he succeeds to the throne, he will definitely do as well as himself.
Coupled with the fact that Liu Ruyi was also Lady Qi's son, this added points to him, so Liu Bang would be so eager to abolish Liu Ying. It was just that he did not expect that the Qunchen would react so much to this matter, and even someone called shangshan Sihao to warn Liu Bang not to depose the prince, which made Liu Bang completely dead.1
3. Assert imperial power
I think that Liu Bang wanted to depose the crown prince, on the one hand, he loved Lady Qi, on the other hand, he felt that Liu Ruyi was more like himself, but on the other hand, he wanted to declare imperial power. When Liu Bang was in Pei County, he was a looked down upon, and even his father, Liu Taigong, thought that he was not out of the ordinary, so he did not want to see him.
After Liu Bang became emperor, he also specifically asked Liu Taigong: "The first lord often regards his subjects as rogues and cannot govern the industry, which is better than Zhongli." What is the cause of this so-and-so and how much? This means: "Your old man used to say that I have no ability, not as good as the second brother, and now you look at it again, who has done a bigger career with the second brother?" ”
It can be seen that Liu Bang did not hold a grudge against the people who had looked down on him before, but he also wanted to raise his eyebrows and breathe in front of them. At first, they all looked down on him, but now he is the emperor, and no one dares to refute what he says. He just wanted to choose a more suitable person to be the prince of the Han Dynasty, but he was opposed by so many people, which inevitably made Liu Bang unhappy.
He wanted to prove to the courtiers that he was the emperor and that it was easy to change to a prince. It's just that he didn't expect that his decision was indeed a bit inappropriate. It wasn't until he saw Shangshan Sihao that Liu Bang completely understood. This also indirectly proves that Liu Bang is not a mediocre monarch who does not know how to do things.
In fact, in my opinion, if It were not for Lady Qi's constant urging, Liu Bang might have given up a long time ago. He did not want to disappoint Lady Qi, and he was afraid that after his death, Lady Qi's mother and son would be persecuted, so he constantly wanted to improve their status so that no one would dare to hurt them.
Everything Liu Bang did was indeed well-intentioned, but he ignored the status and importance of a concubine in the society at that time. It was precisely because of Liu Bang's move that Lü Hou pointed all the spearheads at Lady Qi's mother and son, resulting in the tragic end of the mother and son later. The only thing we don't know is that if Liu Bang succeeds in changing to prince, how will the story develop?
(References "History", "Book of Han")