Emperor Xuan of Han, formerly known as Liu Yiji (劉病已), was the tenth emperor of the Western Han Dynasty, the great-grandson of Emperor Liu Che of the Han Dynasty, the grandson of Liu Zhao, the crown prince of Han, and the son of Liu Jin, the grandson of Emperor Shi, and was an emperor with many ill-fated lives.
Although Liu Yi was already a royal bloodline, but because Emperor Wu of Han listened to rumors in his later years, causing the disaster of witchcraft, he was unfortunately imprisoned in the county prison while he was still in his infancy, and although he was released from prison and adopted, he liked to travel to the downtown area as a young man, so most of his young time was spent in the folk.
It is precisely in this way that he has a deep understanding of the sufferings of the people, and at the same time he has learned to explore the gains and losses of the officials and distinguish between the treacherous and evil in Luli, which will be of great help to him in the future when he sits on the throne and govern, and also lays the groundwork for him to deepen reform later.
Huo Guang was the emperor's assistant minister, the half-brother of Huo Fuyi, who was deeply trusted by Emperor Wu of Han, and became a prominent courtier after his death. After the death of Emperor Han Zhao, he reported to Empress Shangguan for the abolition of Liu He, who had been emperor for twenty-seven days, on the grounds of sexual immorality, and he was also the first minister in Chinese history to depose the emperor. After the abolition of the emperor, he welcomed Emperor Wu of Han's great-grandson Liu Yi from the people to inherit the throne, and was known as Emperor Xuan of Han.
At the beginning of the reign of Emperor Xuan of Han, Huo Guang said that he would return to the emperor, but Emperor Xuan of Han did not accept it, and the decision on the affairs of the imperial court was still questioned by Huo Guang before reporting to the emperor. Every time Huo Guang went on a pilgrimage, Emperor Xuan retracted his countenance and treated him with courtesy, which showed that Liu Guang still showed great respect for Huo Guang. Of course, this is also a deep understanding of its momentum, and chose to be patient.
In the sixth year of emperor Xuan of Han's reign, Huo Guang died, and Emperor Xuan buried Huo Guang, who was buried with Emperor Wu of Han in Maoling on a grand scale. In addition, Emperor Xuan of Han also gave Huo Guang an incomparably glorious nickname "Xuancheng".
After the burial of Huo Guang, Emperor Xuan began to lay out and began to regain power. On the one hand, he promoted and reused ministers loyal to him, and entrusted the Janissaries and military powers to his confidants; on the other hand, he raised and secretly surrendered to the people of the Huo family, overthrew them, and allowed himself to slowly grasp the actual power.
For Emperor Xuan's removal of the Huo Guang family, in fact, this is also the consequence of Huo Guang's descendants. After the death of huo guang, the main heart, instead of converging one or two, they became more arrogant and lawless, stirring up public resentment.
At the same time, Huo Guang's wife Huo Xian's poisoning of the former empress and the intention of murdering the crown prince were revealed, and the Huo family was dissatisfied with Liu Xiang's seizure of power, and feared that the emperor would attack him, and even planned to rebel against Liu Xiang and depose Liu Xiang and establish another emperor.
In 66 BC, except for the son-in-law who denounced the reward and avoided death, the rest of the huo family committed suicide or was killed, the empress Huo Chengjun was also deposed, and twelve years later committed suicide, thousands of families in Chang'an City were implicated in the annihilation of the clan, and the Huo Guang family could be said to have paid a heavy price.
Liu Qing, who had been a puppet emperor in name only for six years under Huo Guang's power, had been patient and had been patient step by step, and had also been patient with his beloved wife Xu Pingjun being killed by Huo Guang's wife Huo Xian.
He secretly accumulated strength and cultivated his henchmen, that is, one day after Huo Guang's death, he could use careful planning to slowly cut off the military power controlled by the Huo clan in the form of bright rise and dark descent, division and disintegration. Facts have proved that this sentient and righteous plebeian emperor was also a sage who was deeply equipped with city government and strategy, and was proficient in the art of power.
After the eradication of the Huo Guang family, the Han Xuan Emperor Liu Qing sat firmly on the emperor's throne, began to exert benevolent government, exerted great efforts to govern, and selected the best and the brightest, one of his pioneering deeds was to set up granaries throughout the country to equalize grain prices and bless the people.