Saying that Liu Bang, the ancestor of Han Gao, was a saint and a ming jun, the author does not dare to agree; Saying that Wang Mang is an ambitious usurper, the author does not necessarily agree. Restore the real history, maybe you will also have a different conclusion.
It is said that Wang Mang is a negative figure, and there are many depreciations and few praises in history, and some historians believe that he also has a positive role and affirms his reform intentions. But conspiracy and hypocrisy have always been hats on him, and the usurper's careerists have become a foregone conclusion.
Wang Mang's aunt was the empress of Emperor Yuan of Han, the biological mother of Emperor Hancheng, and when his uncle Wang Feng was in power, most of his uncles and brothers lived in luxury, but Wang Mang always maintained a humble and simple heart, humble and frugal, and the life posture of a corporal of courtesy, and when he was twenty-four years old, he was promoted to a lieutenant of archery, which was deeply appreciated by the palace ministers. They recommended him in front of the empress dowager and Emperor Hancheng, and many celebrities also appreciated Wang Mang's character and talent, and jointly wrote a letter of praise. In 16 BC, at the age of thirty, Wang Mang was made the Marquis of Xindu by Emperor Cheng of Han, and was promoted to the post of Knight Lieutenant and Guanglu Dafu Shizhong ,specializing in serving the emperor and participating in major affairs of the dynasty. At this time, Wang Mang's power fell to the opposition, but he did not see arrogance and arrogance at all, but was more humble and respectful, making friends with celebrities and scholars, and scattering the money and wealth of his family with the poor people.
Wang Gen, the Marquis of Quyang, was Wang Mang's uncle and had served as Sima Da for many years, and several times he said that he was going to retire, and Wang Mang's cousin and nephew of the empress dowager, Chun Yuchang, was the head of the Jiuqing, and according to the custom, he should inherit the position of Grand Sima (大司馬). After Chun Yuchang helped Emperor Cheng establish Zhao Feiyan as the emperor, Emperor Cheng was always grateful and made him the Marquis of Dingling, and Chun Yuchang's power began to expand. At this time, Chun Yu Chang was overwhelmed, constantly accepting bribes from all sides, arrogant and lascivious, and Empress Xu, who was deposed by Emperor Cheng, also gave Chun Yu Chang property, hoping that he could help to make Emperor Cheng make her empress dowager. After Wang Mang knew these things, he said to Wang Gen under the pretext of visiting the sick: "Chun Yuchang was very happy to see that you had been lying sick for a long time, and felt that he should assist you in the administration, and he had already made many vows, saying that he would help them to be knighted. Wang Gen was very angry and immediately told the empress dowager, and the empress dowager asked Emperor Cheng to dismiss Chun Yuchang's official position. Not long after, Wang Mang's other uncle, Wang Li, accepted a treasure sent by ChunYu's son Wang Rong to intercede for him. Emperor Cheng began to investigate the matter, Wang Li was afraid of setting himself on fire and telling Wang Rong to commit suicide, and Emperor Cheng, even more suspicious of the deception, imprisoned Chun Yuchang in the Zhao Prison in Luoyang, and finally found out his crimes and put him to death.
Through this incident, Wang Mang destroyed his relatives because of his great righteousness, exposed his brother's crimes and meritorious deeds, and was promoted to the rank of Grand Sima (大司馬).
After his promotion, Wang Mang was more diligent in government affairs, refraining from self-denial, selecting talents and abilities, and living frugally, but treating the scholars kindly. His mother was ill, and the ministers of the secretaries of state sent their wives to visit, but they only saw a woman dressed in shabby clothes come out to greet the guests, and the noble ladies thought that they were servants, and when they learned that this person was Wang Mang's wife, they were all shocked.
When Wang Mang's reputation was in the sky, Emperor Cheng died and Emperor Wai took the throne. Emperor Cheng had no sons, the crown prince was his nephew Liu Xin, Liu Xin took the throne, his mother became a foreign relative, the Wang family suffered a heavy blow, and all relevant officials were dismissed. Wang Mang returned to the new capital Houguo, which is now the southwest of Tanghe County, Henan, and has been closed to guests, no longer in contact with the outside world, and extremely respectful to local officials, without a little shelf. His second son, Wang, killed a slave, was reprimanded by him and ordered to commit suicide. In the three years since Wang Mang deposed Sima Da, hundreds of ministers have written to Wang Mang to cry out for injustice. Finally, in the first year of The Yuan Shou, Emperor Wu recalled Wang Mang in the name of serving the empress dowager. A year later, Emperor Wu fell ill and died, and Dong Xian, a close confidant of Emperor Wu, was dismissed from his post and committed suicide. Empress Dowager Tai became empress dowager again, and Wang Mang was again given the title of Grand Sima (大司馬), and they assisted the nine-year-old Zhongshan Wang Ping emperor as crown prince.
Taking power again allowed Wang Mang to quickly assemble his own team of confidants. In the first year of the First Year of the Yuan Dynasty, that is, in the first month of the first year of the Common Era, the ministers suggested that Wang Mang should be rewarded for his merits in "Fixing the Anzong Temple". Wang Mang, however, said that he had made a joint decision with Kong Guang, Wang Shun, Zhen Feng, and Zhen Handan, and that he should reward these people. And when these four people were knighted, Wang Mang was still reluctant to accept the commendation. Therefore, the empress dowager issued an edict: CrownIng Wang Mang as a taifu, calling him the Duke of Anhan, increasing the number of households with 28,000 households, and using Xiao Xiangguo's former residence as the official residence of the Duke of Anhan, and making it a decree to be observed forever.
Wang Mang felt sincerely afraid, and although he accepted the title, he did not want to add land and households under any circumstances. After several resignations, the imperial court was finally changed to the world, and everyone in the country was favored by Wang Mang. This made the whole country praise Wang Mang.
At the end of the year, Emperor Ping died, and it was at this time that Wugong County ordered Meng Tong to dig a stone in a well and write in red characters: "Tell An Han Gong Mang to be emperor." The ministers believed that this was a heavenly edict and asked Wang Mang to do "the work of the regent emperor" or "the regent of the emperor", and the crown prince Liu Bao was a "widow".
At this time, Wang Mang's intention to become an emperor was already obvious, and he gradually began to remove all kinds of obstacles that prevented him from becoming emperor, and at this time, various factors were also helping Wang Mang. In the decades before he ascended the throne, frost fell in the summer, thundered in the winter, earthquakes were frequent, meteorites fell from the sky, eclipses and lunar eclipses, and God pretended to be gods and ghosts, causing panic among the people. The stone thing makes people feel that it is a heavenly descent, and it just so happens that after Wang Mang came to power, the disaster was greatly reduced, which made people believe that Wang Mang was a talent descended from heaven.
After Wang Mang became emperor regent, a minor official, the head of the Changxing Pavilion in Zibo County, said to the imperial court: "Dreaming of the Heavenly Prince saying to himself: 'The regent emperor should be true, and said that if it is true, he will see a new well growing in the pavilion in the morning.' "As a result, on the second day, the chief of the pavilion did find a deep well on the flat ground. At the same time, all parts of the country were vying for objects containing the information of the "Mandate of Heaven", and the content was that Wang Mang should obey the will of Heaven and claim the title of emperor. In the face of this, Wang Mang only resigned, and the more he resigned, the more the subjects eagerly hoped that he could ascend the throne, the more selfless he was, and the more fanatically the subjects elected him to the throne.
Finally, in November 8 AD, when Wang Mang had been the "regent emperor" for three years, someone presented a miracle to the imperial court urging Wang Mang to take the throne, and Wang Mang finally took the throne and became the true emperor.
From then on, the name of the country was changed to "New", and Wang Mang simultaneously abolished Liu Bao's title of crown prince, made him the Duke of Ding'an, gave ding'an duke land within a hundred miles radius, and placed the Han Dynasty ancestral hall there. Since then, the history of the Western Han Dynasty for 214 years has come to an end.
Now it seems that there is some truth in saying that Wang Mang was the democratically elected emperor of that era. When Wang Mang became emperor, the famous scholar Yang Xiong wrote a "Drama Qin Meixin", saying that Wang Mang was "worthy of the Five Emperors and the Crown of the Three Kings" and "obeyed the Mandate of Heaven", praising Wang Mang's immeasurable merits.
Of course, some researchers believe that those "miracles" are just ugly dramas that Wang Mang wants to ascend to the throne and directs himself, which can only expose Wang Mang's usurper ambitions. However, combined with various actual circumstances, in that environment at that time, this was more likely to be a spontaneous and voluntary act of the subjects, because Wang Mang had given the people a lot of favors before. It can be said that these acts actually conceal the sincere expectations of the people, and it is also the actions of Wang Mang in the thirty years before he ascended the throne that won the support and love of his subjects.
Wang Mang abolished the royal Huchi Garden and moved the poor to live here, and the food and clothing needed to build the fields were supplied by the local government. He also ordered the construction of low-cost housing communities in the capital to provide for the poor, and he also expanded the enrollment of Taixue and built schools to allow more people to receive education. The Book of Han? According to the biography of Wang Mang, Wang Mang set up a number of research institutes in Chang'an City, and gathered all the people who had contributed to the study of classical documents and books here to do research and study. In addition, he also paid great attention to ideological construction, studied the various etiquette systems of the Zhou Li, divided the dress, housing, marriage and funeral styles according to rank, and stipulated that the punishment of children was prohibited, and women should not be arrested if they were not serious crimes. Whenever there was a natural disaster, Wang Mang took the initiative to eat vegetarian food and pardon the world.
Various historical facts show that Wang Mang actually took power in accordance with the requirements of history and formulated a reform plan. Throughout the world, most of the founders of religions have a broad mind and a magnificent personality, and those who believe in them often only see the aura of idols and ignore their shortcomings. However, under the chaotic circumstances of the dictatorship of foreign relatives during the Western Han Dynasty, it was necessary to appear such a person who conformed to the will of the people and reassured the people. In the end, Wang Mang failed completely, and died a very tragic death, even his tongue was cut off and eaten. But when he was desperate, there were still thousands of people who were willing to die with him, and I wondered if this would bring him a little comfort.
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