Lü Hou's biggest failure: nepotism
Bihambok/Text
To be precise, Lü Hou was more like a comrade-in-arms of Liu Bang, and the political significance was even stronger. Professor Yi Zhongtian believes that "Liu Bang and Lü Hou are more of a political relationship, not necessarily much love. ”
Li Ji once said that "Emperor Gao and Empress Lü jointly determined the world". Whether it is staying in the rear to be busy with government affairs when fighting the world, or sitting in the world after killing heroes, claiming the throne of the dynasty, and sealing the Zhulu.
It should be said that Lü Hou has meritorious service, and Professor Ding Wanming summed up the merits in four aspects: First, thin taxes. He continued to follow the national policy of "resting with the people", practicing "ruling by doing nothing", and "reducing the rent of the land and restoring the fifteen taxes to one". The second is to abolish harsh government. The edict "removes the sins of the three ethnic groups and decrees the evil words"; "commutes sentences and promulgates the law of atonement"; formulates a system of "changing the age of the pawns"; and removes the law of the book. The third is to correct the people's style. Advocate the practice of governing the country with diligence and thrift, strictly control the atmosphere of extravagance and waste, and so on. The fourth is filial piety. The edict decreed that the county state "raises up the people to filial piety and restores those who work hard", and encourages the peasants to engage in production by exempting them from servitude as a preferential measure.
However, Lü Hou's historical evaluation is not very high. Although there are criticisms of cruelty and killing heroes, it is more likely to be the great seal of Zhulu, "nepotism" unscrupulous.
Originally, in a feudal dynasty under the family world, it was common to appoint relatives, not to mention the good story of "raising the virtuous and not avoiding relatives and hatred".
This good story is recorded in the article "Going private" in the "Lü's Spring and Autumn", which is about a historical event about the Jin people Qi Xi and the Jin Pinggong during the Spring and Autumn Period.
Jin Pinggong asked Qi Huangyang, "There is no chief in Nanyang, who is suitable to fill this vacancy?" Qi Huangyang replied, "It is appropriate to solve the fox." Ping Gong said, "Isn't Xie Fox your enemy?" He replied, "You are asking who is appropriate, not who is my enemy." Pinggong said, "Very good. "According to his appointment to know the fox. The nobles in the capital praised the appointment as right. After some time, Pinggong asked Qi Huangyang again: The country lacks a military commander, who is suitable for this job? He replied, "Qi Noon is appropriate." Ping Gong said, "Isn't Qi Wu your son?" He replied: You are asking who is appropriate, not who is my son. Ping Gong said, "That's right. Qi Wu was appointed according to him. The nobles in the capital praised the appointment.
Confucius heard this: "Good, Qi Huangyang's theory also!" The external lift does not avoid revenge, the inner lift does not avoid the son, And Qi Huangyang can be described as a public servant. ”
Therefore, with regard to the employment of personnel, as long as they have both ability and political integrity, as long as they are suitable talents, whether they are relatives or enemies, they are all right. An important word embodied in this is "public", and the key to employing people also lies in "all over the world".
However, Lü Hou deviated from this avenue, and it was really hard to imagine that he had to go out of so many tricks in the face of Dafeng Zhulu, after all, he was also a male lord who fought the world and sat in the world, otherwise why would Sima Qian include him in this era and treat him like an emperor.
Historians interpret this as a form of fear. Yi Zhongtian wrote that Lü Hou had confessed his worries to his confidante: You see those meritorious yuanxun, calling the emperor to the north of the former emperor is already awkward and wronged, is it possible that he is willing to serve the young lord?
One more thing can be proved by that. Shi Zai, Emperor Xiaohui died, mourned, the empress dowager cried, but there were no tears. Zhang Liang's son Zhang Peiyi, who was only fifteen years old and said to Chen Ping, the chancellor: "The empress dowager has only filial piety, and now she is broken, and she is not sad to cry, and the king knows that she understands it?" Chen Ping hurriedly asked Zhang Peijiang how he viewed this problem, and he said, "Emperor Wu Zhuangzi, Empress Dowager Fear Jun, and so on." Junjin asked Lü Tai, Lü Chan, and Lü Lu to be the generals, and the generals to the northern and southern armies, as well as all the Lü Lü, to enter the palace and use things in the middle, so that the empress dowager would be at ease, and the jun would be lucky to get rid of the disaster. "The Prime Minister is like a plan. The Empress said that her weeping was mourning. Lü Shiquan thus arose.
In fact, this fear still stems from the attachment to power, rooted in the expansion of power. The son can no longer be relied upon, and thinks that the mother's family is the most reliable, but does not know that the most reliable is not the most reliable.
Empress Lü wanted to make Zhu Lü king and consult with several important courtiers, but Wang Ling opposed it, and Chen Ping and Zhou Bo opposed it. The reason for the tomb is Emperor Gao's "Alliance of White Horses", and those who are not surnamed Liu must not be kings, otherwise the whole world will strike at them.
Liu Bang hoped to learn the lessons of the Qin Dynasty, so he divided the princes to defend the Central Dynasty, but he was not at ease with the king with a different surname, and he thought that the king with the same surname was reliable. In fact, it is also wishful thinking. After that, the Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms finally broke out.
However, in order to consolidate and even expand his power, Lü Hou was unstoppable. Lü Yan posthumously enfeoffed his two late brothers, the eldest brother Lü Ze as the King of Mourning Wu, and Lü Shizhi as the King of Zhao zhao, and successively made more than a dozen members of the Lü family the prince as princes.
It's just that as soon as Lü Hou dies, everything will not be able to sway. On the one hand, the two forces of the Liu Clan and the Meritorious General Su were relatively powerful. On the other hand, the Lü family can only be mediocre, and it is difficult to achieve great things.
For example, Lü Lu, it is difficult for you to imagine that he will voluntarily surrender his military power, whether he is afraid or incompetent, I am afraid that most of them are incompetent. Just because of the persuasion of "good friend" Li Ji and others: "The emperor has ordered that the lieutenant Zhou Bo command the northern army and wants you to quickly return to your feudal country." Hurry up, or someone will pick you up! ”
Lü Lu thought that this friend would not deceive himself, so he gave all the sealed letters to Li Yi and asked him to hand them over to Zhou Bo. Therefore, Zhou Bo raised his arm and exhaled, and the followers gathered...
A bloody struggle between the Liu royal group and the Lü foreign relatives group ended in the victory of the imperial group.
Lü Houzhi did so, first, endangering national stability, provoking coup d'état and infighting, and depleting the country's vitality. The second is to let the Lü family suffer the disaster of destruction, the Lü clan men and women "no young and long are killed", originally the Lü clan is also a large clan with merit, could have enjoyed peace, and as a result, they were discredited. Third, the employment system has been seriously damaged, and inbreeding has become unimaginable, even in the feudal era of the family world. Since then, foreign relatives of the Han Dynasty have always existed, but the degree is different.
Emperor Wudi of han's vigilance against foreign relatives reached its peak. A few days after Emperor Wu of Han made Liu Fuling crown prince, he suddenly reprimanded Lady Zhao of the Hook Yi clan and ordered her to be taken to prison, and soon Lady Hook Yi died in the palace. Regarding Lizi killing his mother, Emperor Wudi of Han said: "In the ancient country, so chaos was also made, and the lord and the young mother were strong. The female protagonist lives alone and arrogant, sexually promiscuous, and cannot be forbidden. Don't women hear about Lü Hou evil? ”
Nepotism and inbreeding have always been a major taboo in the selection and employment of people, and are also a major source of the loss of vitality in many places or units. This kind of "pro" can also be extended.
The corresponding pattern is "meritocracy", "both ability and political integrity", and "meritocracy".
In the Three Kingdoms era, Cao Cao put forward the idea of "meritocracy", and even sometimes even "morality" can be ignored, which shows that there is a hunger for talents, which has attracted a large number of talents to Cao Cao's side.
Lin Zexu also once said a thought-provoking remark: "If my descendants are like me, if they leave money and do anything, and if they are wise and rich, they will lose their ambitions; if their children and grandchildren are inferior to me, what they do with money will increase their excesses."
In the long run, nepotism is not a good thing. Why is "not rich for three generations"? Why is "second generation official" often a derogatory term? It shows that it is difficult for some people to see the long term.
For the development of society, the flow of social classes is very important, nepotism will often lead to the solidification of classes, so that fairness and justice are greatly lost, society is deadlocked, and hidden dangers will appear.