When it comes to feudal dynasties, people often think of the son of heaven. But in fact, the world is so big that the emperor alone cannot be completely taken care of, and he still needs his courtiers to take care of him. With the assistance of courtiers and to prevent courtiers from seizing power, the Son of Heaven has made a lot of efforts to realize the centralization of power by feudal monarchs over the dynasties.
The most taboo thing for Tianzi is bound to be the interference of foreign relatives in politics, and he also resents the existence of too many family families. However, the Eastern Han Dynasty was an exception, and during Liu Xiu's reign as emperor, the Eastern Han Dynasty had six famous families, which also made the emperor a guest of honor. It can not only ensure the power and status of the six major families, but also ensure that the Power of the Son of Heaven is monopolized, and the strength of the Guangwu Emperor needs no words.
The Tang family, headed by Deng Yu, is the most powerful of the six families. So, how powerful is the Tang family? Speaking out scares you, there are nearly a hundred high-ranking officials at the provincial and ministerial levels alone.
The imperial power of the Eastern Han Dynasty coexisted with the Hao clan, and the eighth emperor had a total of fourteen emperors
The history of the Eastern Han Dynasty and the Western Han Dynasty is called the two Han Dynasties, but there is a very big difference. The Western Han Dynasty, founded by Liu Bang, was held by the only emperor. But in the Eastern Han Dynasty, from the very beginning, politically, the imperial power and the shijia hao clan coexisted. The emperor concentrated power in his hands, and the Family Hao clan had a noble political and social status.
The history of the Eastern Han Dynasty and the rise and fall of the six major families at that time are complementary. In the early years of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Deng Yu family, the Geng Yi family, the Liang Tong family, the Dou Rong family, the Ma Yuan family and the Yin family helped Liu Xiu revive the Eastern Han Dynasty, and in the nearly two hundred years of the Eastern Han Dynasty, many important ministers of these six major families assisted more than ten generations of emperors, opened up the territory of the Eastern Han Empire, established the immortal merits of the History of Biao Bing, and also passed down many touching stories.
The coexistence of imperial power and hao clan sounds very dangerous. But under the checks and balances of the Eastern Han Emperor, it did not bring too much crisis. On the contrary, it is precisely because of the support of the six major families that the Eastern Han Dynasty can continue for the eighth generation. Compared with other dynasties, the Eastern Han Emperor's ability to check and balance was already very good, otherwise it would be difficult to reconcile the contradiction between imperial power and the power of the Hao clan.
Among the six major families, the most famous is the Tang family.
Deng Yu, the first general of the Twenty-Eight Generals of Yuntai, assisted Liu Xiu in establishing the Eastern Han Dynasty
As the saying goes, "suffering sees the truth", and sending charcoal in the snow can win people's hearts. Deng Yu to Liu Xiu is such a existence.
Deng Yu was originally an ordinary scholar who met Liu Xiu when he was studying in Chang'an. Liu Xiu passed through Hebei, and Deng Yu discussed with him the general trend of the world at that time: first analyzed the situation of the opponent; Then he analyzed Liu Xiu's situation; Finally, he put forward a proposal, "For the sake of the present, it is better to extend the heroes, to please the people's hearts, to establish the inheritance of the ancestors, to save the lives of all the people, to worry about the public, and the world is not enough to determine." A word, the future is planned clearly.
According to historical records, in 25 AD, Liu Xiu openly broke with the gengshi regime and ascended the throne as emperor at Qianqiuting in Southern Hebei Province, and in order to express the meaning of Liu's revival, he still used "Han" as his national name, which was called "Eastern Han" in history. After a twelve-year-long war of unification, Liu Xiu successively put an end to the separatist regimes in Kwantung, Longyou, and Western Shu, ending the warlord scuffle and division that had lasted for nearly twenty years since the end of Xinmang. During this period, Deng Yu's contribution was indispensable.
After Liu Xiu ascended the throne, he named the "former general" Deng Yu the "Great Situ", the Marquis of Fu, and the title of "Ten Thousand Households". After that, the Deng family began to prosper, and gradually became the largest family of the Eastern Han Dynasty. The other five families of the same period, although they also had a large sphere of influence, could not be compared with the Tang family in the end.
Deng Yugong retired, and the clan was prominent
After the establishment of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Deng Yu was named "the first hero of the founding of the country".
However, as the saying goes, "merit is high to cover the lord", and excessive power is still easy to arouse the suspicion of the emperor. After the world stabilized, Deng Yu obeyed the emperor's hint and immediately agreed with Jia Fu to "fight armor soldiers and Dun Confucianism" to show his support for the emperor's political strategy. He had thirteen children, each of whom mastered a skill. Rectifying family rules and raising children and grandchildren can become a model for future generations. All use is taken from the taxation of the fiefdom, and it is not cultivated for private property and does not seek private interests. Therefore, Liu Xiu respected him even more.
Although it was quite retired in the later period, the Deng family still enjoyed a high status in the Eastern Han Dynasty. According to the Dialectic of the Ancient and Modern Shengshi Book, "Since the Tang Dynasty Zhongxing, there have been many generations of favored nobles, 29 Marquises, 2 Gonghou, 13 people below the Great General, 14 middle 2,000 Dan, 22 lieutenant colonels, 48 Zhou Mu County Guards, and the rest of the attendants, generals, doctors, langs, and gurus are innumerable." ”
Converted into today's official positions, it is equivalent to the Deng clan, there are nearly a hundred provincial-level high-ranking officials alone, during which a woman became an empress, and the power of the Deng clan can be seen how big. Although the power of the family is amazing, it is also a classic of loyalty and patriotism, and it has never been an enemy of the king, so it does not pose a threat.
If you change to someone else, with such a powerful force, it is inevitable to have some careful thinking, but The Tang Clan is always loyal. Such a loyal clan, it is no wonder that the emperors of the Eastern Han Dynasty respected them.
brief summary
On this basis, the Western Han Dynasty was in chaos due to the interference of foreign relatives in politics, and on this basis, the Emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty naturally worried that the power of the clan was too great. At that time, the six major families that flourished, although many of them were amazingly powerful, were also under the control of the emperor. The prosperity of the Tang clan is also based on this.
Reference: The Book of the Later Han Dynasty and the Biography of Deng Yu
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