Friends who are familiar with the history of the Western Han Dynasty should all know that since the Han Dynasty became emperor, the Western Han Dynasty's power has declined, its politics have become corrupt, its foreign relatives have monopolized power, and corrupt officials have taken charge, which has pushed a great Han Dynasty into the abyss of collapse. In the political arena at that time, there was such a well-known corrupt official who relied on the emperor's favor, used his power, and was creative in terms of personal interests, grabbing a lot of wealth.
Chun Yu chang stills (picture from the Internet)
Speaking of Chun Yuchang, his origin is not low. His mother was the empress of Emperor Yuan of Han and the sister of Empress Wang Zhengjun of Emperor Cheng of Han, which means that Wang Zhengjun was Chun Yuchang's aunt, who was a relative of the Emperor of the Eight Classics. When Chun Yuchang's aunt Wang Zhengjun was promoted from empress to empress dowager, the traces of Wang's relatives were out of control from then on—in addition to his brother Wang Feng being made the Grand Sima Grand General, several other brothers were also made marquis on the same day, including Wang Tan as the Marquis of Ping'a, Wang Shang as the Marquis of Chengdu, Wang Li as the Marquis of Hongyang, Wang Gen as the Marquis of Quyang, and Wang Fengshi as the Marquis of Gaoping, and people at that time called them the "Five Marquises".
This Chun Yu Chang is also a relative of Wang Mang, and Wang Zhengjun is both Chun Yu Chang's aunt and Wang Mang's aunt, and these two brothers are cousins. By the way, Wang Zhengjun, one of the most famous actions she left in the world was: when Wang Mang usurped the throne, she was so angry that she smashed the Chuanguo Jade Seal (handed down from the Qin Dynasty and inscribed with the eight seal characters "Ordered by Heaven, Both Shou Yongchang") on the ground, resulting in its missing piece. Wang Mang then specially arranged for the craftsmen to make up for it with gold, which is the last word.
The rise of the cousins Chun Yuchang and Wang Mang bears striking resemblance: they both developed their origins by escorting the same patient, the great general Wang Feng, a heavyweight during the HanCheng Emperor's time. Wang Feng is Chun Yu chang his uncle, but also Wang Mang his uncle, Wang Feng later lay sick in bed, these two cousins take turns to care, it can be said that serving the old man is very dedicated. The "Book of Han and the Biography of Yu Xing" records: "The great general Wang Feng was ill, (Chun Yu) was sick for a long time, and he was supported by the morning and night, and even had the grace of his nephew." And the "Book of Han and the Biography of Wang Mang" records: "The great general (Wang) Feng was ill, (Wang) Mang was sick, personally tasted medicine, messed up his head, and undressed for months." Judging from the historical records, Wang Mang's nursing attitude seems to be more diligent, his nephew Chun Yuchang only cooks morning and evening, often around, while his cousin Wang Mang risks his life to personally taste medicine, his hair is not combed, his face is not washed, his hair is dirty, and he has never taken off his clothes and slept. However, Chun Yuchang looks more lucky. Before Wang Feng died, he entrusted both his nephew Chun Yuchang and nephew Wang Mang to Emperor Cheng of Han and Empress Dowager Wang Zhengjun. Because Chun Yu Chang would come to do things in peacetime, he always pleased the emperor and the empress. Therefore, Emperor Chuncheng seemed to be more satisfied with Chun Yuchang, so Chun Yuchang started a little earlier, Wang Mang only got the position of Huangmenlang, and Chun Yuchang was worshiped as a lieutenant Zhu Cao, after which Chun Yuchang did his best to flatter and flatter, tried every means to approach and please Emperor Hancheng, and gradually gained the trust of Emperor Cheng, and soon rose to the rank of wei wei and became one of the nine secretaries.
Of course, mixing early does not mean mixing well. When people gain power, they must not be too complacent. And this Chun Yuchang made this mistake. Because, Chun Yuchang often took advantage of the opportunity of close contact with members of the imperial family to grasp a large amount of information about the imperial court, and used it to exchange benefits from the ministers and princes, like a traitorous businessman. This time, he actually put his hand on Empress Xu's body.
Stills of Empress Xiaocheng Xu (image from the Internet)
Here I would like to introduce you to the second protagonist of this article, Empress Xu. There were 2 empresses of the Han Dynasty with the surname Xu, the first empress Xu was named Xu Pingjun, the first empress of the Han Xuan Emperor Liu Qing (that is, the grandfather of Emperor HanCheng and the father of Emperor Han Yuan), and the mother of Emperor Liu Yi of Han Yuan. Empress Xu mentioned in this article is known as Empress Xiaocheng Xu, and she is xu Pingjun's niece, that is, the cousin of Liu Xiao, the emperor of Hancheng. And the reason why she was able to become the former empress of the Hancheng Emperor Liu Xiao was entirely the idea of Liu Xiao's father, that is, the Han Yuan Emperor Liu Yi, which was a political marriage. It is reasonable to say that such a political marriage with some chaotic generations should not be liked by Liu Xiao. What was surprising was that Liu Xiao actually liked it. On the one hand, this is because when Liu Xiao was the crown prince, he did not dare to disobey his father's orders, but had to try his best to please his father; on the other hand, Xu Shi was born in a large family, and he had a lot of cultural knowledge from elementary school, and he was also proficient in piano, chess, calligraphy and painting. In addition, she herself is also very beautiful, so Liu Xiao gladly accepted this somewhat chaotic marriage.
Stills of The Hancheng Emperor (Image from the Internet)
Speaking of the Hancheng Emperor Liu Xiao, although he was playful and lustful, he had been spoiling Empress Xu for more than ten years from the first two or three years when Xu shi was a princess and when he became an empress. At this time, there were two huge forces in the entire court. One was Empress Xu's father, Xu Jia. During the reign of Emperor Yuan of the Han Dynasty, he was a general of the Great Sima Che Riders. He worked for seven or eight years until the death of Emperor Yuan of Han. After Emperor Hancheng came to power, in addition to continuing to let Xu Jia assist the government, he also made his uncle Wang Feng the Great General of Sima da and asked him to assist the government. The reason why Emperor Hancheng let his uncle participate in the auxiliary government was mostly because he did not like his father-in-law Xu Jia, who was an "old man", and later even gave him some money to let him go back to the pension. After Xu Jia returned, he died soon after.
The loss and death of her father Xu Jia also meant that Empress Xu had no first reliance in the dynasty. Not only that, Empress Xu soon lost a second reliance, that is, the sons and daughters he gave birth to For Liu Xiao died prematurely. Then Empress Xu lost a third reliance, that is, as she grew older, she lost her good face. This was unbearable for the lustful Hancheng Emperor. As a result, Emperor Hancheng began to shift his interest to other concubines. At this time, Emperor Hancheng had already begun to spoil the singer Zhao Feiyan, and at the same time, he also favored Zhao Feiyan's sister Zhao Hede. In order to replace Empress Xu's position, Zhao Feiyan framed Empress Xu's mother's family for cursing Emperor Hancheng's pregnant concubines with "flattery". In the end, the result was that it was true (of course, whether it was true or not, the truth can no longer be verified). In the end, in the end, Emperor Hancheng, in a fit of rage, executed Empress Xu's sister Xu Gurudwara and deposed Empress Xu as empress, and from then on, Empress Xu became Empress Xu.
Stills of Emperor Hancheng and Zhao Feiyan (image from the Internet)
When Zhao Feiyan was made empress, the original Empress Xu was forced to move to Changding Palace. However, just such a poor woman, Chun Yuchang did not let go of her last bit of extractable value. The cunning Chun Yuchang, on the one hand, pleased Zhao Feiyan, and on the other hand, he fornicated with another sister of Empress Xu, and through her promise to Empress Xu: "I can help you return to the palace and become empress zuo."
Originally, Empress Xu's idea was to be able to return to the palace to be a concubine (Jieyu is a type of concubine, the rank is still relatively high, only after the empress and Zhaoyi) is already good, did not think that there is still hope to be the left empress, so ecstatic, Chun Yu long as much to give as much as possible, no mercy, before and after to give Chun Yu long carriage, money, expensive clothes and so on. Historical records record: "After receiving the permission, the money is multiplied by public opinion, and the royal goods are ten million before and after." Why did Empress Xu believe in Chun Yuchang? Of course, this boy can contact the emperor and the empress dowager at any time, and can speak well.
This Chun Yu grew up to be so bad that he took advantage of the information asymmetry environment to blackmail Empress Xu in a frenzy, saying that he would persuade the emperor to re-establish Xu as empress dowager. Judging from the records, there should be no mention of half a word. Not only that, he also used Empress Xu to ask for something from him, and took advantage of Empress Xu, and every time he wrote a letter to Empress Xu, he did not forget to harass her.
This is the most immoral and unkind thing that Chun Yu did in his long life. He squeezed out the money of a desperate woman while promising her a bright future. And this beautiful future is nothing more than a bubble—a bubble filled with women's blood and tears, which is not even tolerated by heaven, and certainly not tolerated by the Western Han court.
Besides, Chun Yuchang's cousin, Wang Mang, who is slowly rising, began to expose Chun Yuchang's crimes, not that Wang Mang was not rude, but that Chun Yuchang was really too unbearable. In addition, Wang Mang also wanted to ascend to the throne. Finally, Chun Yuchang lost the trust of the empress dowager, and Emperor Hancheng also felt that it was a shame to keep such a minister by his side, so he found a reason to dismiss him. Historical records record: Once, when Chun Yuchang got on the carriage, he saw Wang Mang's mother, and instead of being humble and courteous, he directly got on the carriage in front of the elders. He was dismissed from office and returned to his fiefdom.
However, Chun Yuchang's willpower was very strong and his vitality was very tenacious, and he still wanted to use every opportunity to return to the Han court. He could actually think of bribing his enemy, Wang Li, the Marquis of Hongyang, to win his help. Just when Chun Yuchang was about to be sent back to the fiefdom, there was a large number of carriages left in the capital, and Chun Yuchang immediately thought of giving them to Wang Li and asking him to say a few kind words in front of the emperor. Although Emperor Hancheng was indulgent in sound, he was a wise man, and this incident immediately aroused his suspicions, so he handed wang li and Chun Yuchang both to the judicial organs for interrogation. During the interrogation, the matter of insulting Empress Xu was also shaken out, and when the matter was committed, it was naturally a dead end. In the end, Chun Yuchang was sentenced to death, and Empress Xu was also killed by Emperor Hancheng with poison. The former is deserved, the latter is really pitiful. Wang Mang thus smoothly sat in the position of Grand Sima and laid the foundation for his future "Wang Mang Daihan".