According to the instructions of the clothes: Academic circles generally call the era of Emperor Liu Zhuang of the Ming Dynasty and The Era of Emperor Liu Zhuo of the Ming Dynasty as the rule of the Ming Chapter, that is to say, during this period, the politics was relatively clear, the society was more stable, and the people were more prosperous. I dared to drag Emperor He into the Ming Dynasty, mainly considering that after Emperor He, the Han Dynasty officially entered the era of foreign relatives and eunuchs.
This time we talk about Emperor Liu Zhuang of the Ming Dynasty.
Liu Zhuang is harsh, and everyone on earth knows it. According to the "Later Han Shu Zhong Liyi Biography", the imperial nature of the inspection, so that the eyes and ears are hidden, the number of ministers and ministers has been vilified, and the near Li Shangshu has been seen below.
This means that Liu Zhuang, a person with a small temperament and a hard time rubbing sand in his eyes, organized a group of spies to investigate the privacy of the ministers all day long, and beat up the cadres around him at every turn.
Is Liu Zhuang like this?
About yes.
There are two things that are representative:
One is the rebellion of Liu Ying, the king of Chu, Liu Zhuang Daxing Chu Prison, before and after the murder of thousands of people (see the humble text "HanMing Emperor Liu Zhuang's Rage Xing Chu Prison, Serving Yu Shi Han Lang Foolishly Rebelling Against the Dragon Scales"); the other is that Liu Zhuang once rolled up his sleeves, carried a stick, and chased a cadre of an organ all over the house, and then the boy drilled under the bed, Liu Zhuang shouted outside, you boy hurry out, and you promise not to kill you! (For details, see the humble text "Liu Zhuang, Emperor Of Hanming: Lang Guan Comes Out, Lang Guan Comes Out, See If You Can't Die!") 》）
These things have been said before, so I won't say more here. In short, Liu Zhuang, a man, could be cruel to his courtiers (he also killed the two Situs), and he was really harsh. However, Fan Ye, author of the Book of the Later Han Dynasty, has the following comments about Liu Zhuang:
Emperor Ming was proficient in criminal procedure and had clear laws and regulations, and he sat down in the courtroom, and those wronged and foggy cases could be justly judged. He never took advantage of his own interests, nor did he have arrogance. The verdict is reasonable, and in his time, the number of cases fell by eighty percent compared with the previous generation. Therefore, when people in later generations talk about political affairs, there is no one who does not respect the politics of Jianwu (Liu Xiunian) and Yongping (Liu Zhuangnian).
This time, we will look at what kind of emperor Liu Zhuang really is from a different perspective.
Reject the horse ass
In February 63 AD, Baoding was unearthed at Wang Luoshan (present-day unknown) and dedicated to Liu Zhuang. On April 7, Liu Zhuang issued an edict saying:
Xiangrui is something that is related to virtue. Nowadays, politics is not clear, and there are often obedient and evil things, how can it attract Xiangrui! The I Ching says: Ding is the symbol of the three gongs (ding has three legs, corresponding to the three gongs). This time Baoding appeared, could it be because the secretaries of state were conscientious and conscientious? Hereby gives fifty horses to each of the three dukes, and twenty-five horses to each of the nine secretaries and two thousand stone-level officials. Emperor Xian (Liu Xiu) once issued an edict prohibiting his subordinates from praising Shengming when they wrote to him, and recently there have been more and more vain words in the song chapters, and from now on, if there are any more beautiful words, Shangshu will not be allowed to accept them. I don't want to be teased by those horse ass elves in private because I love to listen to horse farts!
【Horse fart, all-pervasive, invincible】
Mr. Bai Yang commented: Liu Zhuang is just an ordinary king, however, read this edict: "Do not want to be ridiculed behind the back of the horse's ass." Insight into human nature is so profound. I don't know why, but some leaders who think they are ten thousand times smarter than Liu Zhuang are happy to do so. Therefore, the sound of laughter behind the back is not endless.
I don't quite agree with Mr. Bai Yang's view that "Liu Zhuang is just an ordinary king". I think that Liu Zhuang was able to specifically issue a decree prohibiting the patting of horses, and, judging from his later actions, he was indeed not tightly wrapped in layers of horse farts, and he was a great king. Because, rejecting the matter of horse fart is really a difficult thing in the world. To be honest, I don't really see much in reality, except for the historical figures mentioned in the books. Without talking about others, even if someone slaps my ass and says that the "Reading Book" I have given me is really well written, I must not be happy to have a nose bubble? As for how it is written, what does it matter?
In 65 AD, October 30, a total solar eclipse. Liu Zhuang issued an edict encouraging hundreds of officials to criticize the government and not to be scrupulous. Note that Liu Zhuang did not engage in the trick of "luring the snake out of the hole", and the officials all presented a secret song, discussing the gains and losses of the government and the government, and expressing their chests directly. Liu Zhuang had read the sonata and not only made profound self-criticism, but also announced the recital to the hundred officials and issued an edict saying:
What the courtiers accuse is all my fault. The people's grievances cannot be punished, corrupt officials and corrupt officials cannot be banned, but they use the people's power recklessly, build palaces, and there is no restraint in spending and taxation, and I am a moody person. Looking back at the precepts of the ancients, I am very afraid, but I am afraid that my character will be weak and I will be sluggish for a long time!
It can be seen that Liu Zhuang not only rejects the horse's ass, but also really listens to opinions, which is really rare.
Liu Zhuang was very strict with himself, and he was not ambiguous about the selection of officials.
Light and thick, heavy and thin
"Light and generous, heavy and thin" means to reward cadres with money and a wide hand; but to promote officials, even if it is a very unscratched post, it is extremely stingy.
History said that Liu Zhuang strictly followed the system created by his father Liu Xiu, and did not change or change. Don't say that you are an ordinary concubine, even if you are a member of the empress's family, you are not allowed to participate in politics. Liu Xiu's third daughter, Princess Guantao, once begged Liu Zhuang to find a position for her son. Lang Guan is an ordinary cadre of an organ, with no quota and no power in his hands. However, Liu Zhuang, as his uncle, did not even agree, but rewarded his nephew with ten million yuan. It means what do you love to do, less to the organs to add to my mess! Subsequently, Liu Zhuang told his courtiers that langguan and the stars in the sky corresponded to each other, and that the parent official sent to the place was the parent official of a county, and if he did not appoint anyone properly, the people would be miserable, so even if it was my nephew, I must refuse.
Liu Zhuang did this obviously not for the sake of Princess Tao's appearance, but to warn the courtiers that when you recommend talents to Lao Tzu, you must also weigh and weigh, get some cats and dogs to come over, and prepare to eat my old fist.
There was a Shangshu named Yan Zhang, his two sisters were liu zhuang nobles, Yan Zhang himself was proficient in the canonical system, quite capable, and the courtiers felt that he could bear a heavier burden, but Liu Zhuang resolutely refused to transfer him on the grounds that Yan Zhang was a relative of the harem.
Liu Zhuang attaches great importance to the assessment of officials, and all counties and feudal states must submit their year-end performance appraisals to officials every year. In 66 AD, Liu Zhuang issued an edict requiring the lieutenants and the various ministries to submit a letter of year to Beijing with the county magistrate and below, who had served for more than three years and had the best performance appraisal, and each prefecture recommended one person, along with the counties and feudal states to submit a letter of year-end performance appraisal. At the same time, those with the worst performance evaluations had to be reported to the imperial court.
For large projects, Liu Zhuang will personally grasp the implementation. During the Time of the Ping Emperor of the Western Han Dynasty, the Yellow River and the Beishui River once broke their mouths and have not been repaired. In 69 AD, Liu Zhuang commanded hundreds of thousands of conscripts and sent knowledgeable men to lead the construction of the embankment. From Xingyang to the east, to the mouth of the thousand-year-old sea, a total of more than 1,000 miles, every ten miles to build a sluice, so that the water flow between the sluices regulates each other, there is no longer the worry of breaking the embankment and leaking water. In April 70 AD, the project was completed. It is estimated that even the officials in charge did not expect that after Liu Zhuang received the completion report, he immediately went to Xingyang on the fourth day of this month to inspect the completion of the project.
[Liu Zhuang is personally grasping the implementation]
Grasping the implementation of this part, it is estimated that no courtier dares to deceive him.
The management of the prince and foreign relatives is loose on the outside and tight on the inside
Liu Xiu had two empresses, one was Empress Guo and the other was Empress Yin, and they each bore Liu Xiu five sons, and another Xu Meiren also gave birth to a son. Liu Zhuang was born to Empress Yin, but he treated his other brothers, whether they were compatriots or not, with courtesy and equality. The brothers were all crowned kings and were often rewarded by Liu Zhuang. As mentioned earlier, four of these brothers were involved in rebellion, but Liu Zhuang did not kill them (some committed suicide), which can be said to be lenient to a certain extent.
But did Liu Zhuang blindly indulge his brothers? Not necessarily. Let's take an example.
In 74 AD, Liu Mu (grandson of Liu Xiu's second brother Liu Zhong and nephew of Liu Zhuang) died in Beihai (the capital of Ju County, west of Changle County, Shandong Province). This Liu Mu has loved to learn and read since he was a child, and Liu Xiu and Liu Zhuang both like him. When Liu Mu grew up and went to Fengguo, he once sent a cadre to the capital to go to the imperial court, and before leaving, Liu Mu asked this cadre, if the emperor asks me, how are you going to answer?
The cadre said, of course, I replied truthfully, the great king is loyal and filial, benevolent, respects the talents, and honors the corporals.
Liu Mu said, I rely on! You're saying that to kill me!" All you said was an act that I didn't understand when I was younger. You should say that since our great king attacked the lord, he was depressed, debauched, most fond of making beautiful women, drinking wine, flying eagles and running dogs, and proficient in everything. When you say this, you love me!
From Liu Mu's performance, we have reason to believe that Liu Zhuang is still wary of the princes, cousins and nephews, and brothers may be even more controlled. As long as there is no threat to the imperial power, you love how to hi how to hi, but if you touch the bottom line, you have a good look.
This is true for the princes, but what about the foreign relatives?
【Emperor, our prince likes to have a party the most!】 】
In the Liu Xiu and Liu Zhuang dynasties, foreign relatives were not enfeoffed without merit, and they would not be entrusted with heavy responsibilities. In fact, Liu Zhuang was more desperate than his father. According to the Later Han Dynasty Book of Dou Xian, Emperor Zhang once reprimanded his uncle Dou Xian, saying that he ,...... In the past, during the Yongping period (58-75 AD, during the reign of Emperor Liu Zhuang of the Ming Dynasty), Emperor Xian (Liu Zhuang) often ordered the three people of Yin Dang, Yin Bo, and Deng Die (Yin and Deng were all foreign relatives) to supervise each other, so none of the noble relatives dared to commit illegal acts.
That is to say, launching foreign relatives to fight foreign relatives is an important means for Liu Zhuang to manage foreign relatives!
Monopoly of power
When we read the Book of the Later Han Dynasty, we often find a strange phenomenon, that is, most of the characters who are ranked among the three dukes (Taiwei, Situ, and Sikong), if they have legends, most of them record the deeds before they are promoted to the three dukes, and once they are promoted to the three dukes, they often stop abruptly, and some even serve as taiwei and situ for more than ten years, and there is no word! Why?
Personally, I think this is because the Three Princes actually have no power, so there is nothing to record. After the Guangwu Emperor Liu Xiu became emperor, he should have been alert to the power of the emperors in the late Western Han Dynasty, and wanted to hold the power tightly in his hands, so he designed a model for managing the country through "three sitting alone".
The so-called three sitting alone is actually three posts. When the emperor organized the Hundred Officials' Imperial Assembly, the secretaries of state all sat at the table, and only Shang Shuling, Lieutenant Colonel Si Li, and Yu Shizhong sat at the special seat, which was the "three solitary seats".
In the early years of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Yushi Dafu was changed to Sikong, Yushi Dafu was originally the supreme inspector general, after changing to Sikong, let him manage the project, not let him manage supervision, in fact, it improved the political treatment of Yushi Dafu, but accepted his power. In this way, Yushi Zhongcheng, who was originally a mishi daifu, was in charge of the Goshidai (府), and held the power of supervision. How awesome the power of supervision is, everyone on earth knows.
Lieutenant Colonel Is Even More Awesome! Not only did he supervise the seven counties of the Beijing Division, but he was also in charge of detecting the offenders of the central hundred officials, who were both Beijing officials and local officials. When participating in the discussion of the government, he was above the nine secretaries, and when he was in the court, he was below the secretary of state. The power of supervision is so great that except for the three publics, they are "all corrected."
However, compared with Shang Shu Ling, Yu Shi Zhongcheng and Lieutenant Si Li had to stand aside. Shang Shu Ling had only one duty: to be in charge of the clerical and the music of the courtiers. It sounds nothing, but it's actually a lot of power. The administration of the Eastern Han Dynasty was vested in Shangshu, and Shangshuling became the head of the emperor responsible for overseeing all government decrees. Shang Shu Ling is the emperor's hand, and what the emperor wants to do is all done through him.
These three posts, in terms of rank, are far from the three tolerances; on the basis of real power, the three princes are often slightly inferior.
[Shang Shu Ling's pipe pen in his hand, can't help]
When we read this passage of the Eastern Han Dynasty, we often see four words: Lingshang Shushi. Ranking third duke, the consular secretary, indicates that the emperor ceded some of his power to him; without these four words, there is basically no substantive power. This is an important reason why most of the three dukes are not transmitted, or the records are very simple.
Liu Zhuang took all of his father's set according to the order, and his power would never be leaked.
However, this system also has disadvantages, that is, the emperor is capable and stable, and it is effective; if the emperor is not able to do so, the foreign relatives and eunuchs will sit on the throne, and the three dukes will have no way to compete with them. After He and Emperor Liu Zhao, the Eastern Han Dynasty fell into such a dead cycle.
Attach importance to people's livelihood
Whether an era is a chaotic world or a chaotic world, the most important indicator is not how many battles have been fought, not how wonderful the palace fights are, but how the people's lives are.
Liu Zhuang was harsh on officials, but for the people, whether out of sincerity or forced by helplessness, it was really good to tell the truth. Let's give a few examples.
In 57 AD, on February 5, Liu Zhuang succeeded to the throne as emperor. On April 24, the emperor promoted the male titles of the world to two grades each; the three elders, filial piety, and Li Tian were each of three grades, and after the eighth grade, they could be transferred to their sons, or the sons of half-mothers and half-brothers; those who had no household registration wanted to return to their hometowns, each of them was one level (HanXing Qin system, the knighthood was divided into twenty grades, and the common people could be promoted to about eight levels); widows, widows, orphans, soles, and terminally ill people were given ten millets per person.
This kind of general tuning of the title was finally carried out six times in the Liu Zhuang dynasty. In addition, Liu Zhuang also reduced the sentences of prisoners many times.
Beginning in 58 AD, in the first month of each year, when receiving officials from various counties and feudal states who presented cadres with year-end performance appraisals, these officials were asked to come forward in turn, face the tablet of The Guangwu Emperor Liu Xiu, and report to Liu Zhuang and his courtiers on the local grain prices and the sufferings of the people.
Initially, the bus (Palace Gate Reception Bureau) refused to accept complaints from officials and people every "anti-branch day" (according to a regulation on the dry branch day, there are about three anti-branch days per month, the specifics are not clear). After Liu Zhuang learned of this situation, he reprimanded the relevant personnel, saying that the common people left behind the matter of farming silkworms and ran to the Beijing division to reflect the situation, but because of this kind of anonymous taboo, they could not go to the book. This bullshit regulation, give Lao Tzu cancellation!
There are many things that care for the people, and there are many more, so I will not repeat them here.
Re-teach and respect the teacher
Liu Zhuang revered Confucianism, from the princes, kings, and marquises, down to the children of high-ranking officials and the descendants of meritorious men, and no one did not study Confucian classics. Liu Zhuang also set up a school in Luoyang Nangong for the dolls of the Fan, Guo, Yin, and Ma clans, who were known as the "Four Surnames of Xiao hou". Even the military attaches of the Janissaries such as Shimen and Yulin demanded that they study the Book of Filial Piety and understand its meaning. Interestingly, the Southern Xiongnu nobles also sent their sons to Luoyang to study.
【What to see?!】 We are the legendary four surnames of Xiao Hou! 】
Liu Zhuang has great respect for his teachers. In 59 AD, Liu Zhuang held a pension ceremony at Peiyong (National University), appointed Li Gong as the Third Elder and Huan Rong as the Fifth Elder, and the etiquette was extremely solemn, and the two old men were moved to tears, and all the Three Dukes and Nine Qing participated, all of whom felt solemn and solemn.
Note: Three elders and five more are ancient honorary titles. According to legend, Zhou Tianzi, in order to promote filial piety, set up this retired official who honored the elderly and highly educated with the courtesy of his father and brother. Some people say that there are three elders and one person in the fifth; some people say that the three elders are three people, and the five are five people.
At the end of the ceremony, Liu Zhuang conferred the title of Marquis of Guannei (the Three Elders seem to be honored by Wu geng, and the history books may have missed Li Gong. When Liu Zhuang was crown prince, Huan Rong had given him a teacher), and the three elders and the five elders all enjoyed two thousand stones for life, and rewarded all the three elders in various counties and counties, each with one stone of wine and forty pounds of meat.
[This is the "Jinxian Crown" worn by the three elders and five more, seven inches high in the front, three inches high in the back, and eight inches long]
Liu Zhuang: Actually, Shuo is also a person of temperament
In fact, Liu Zhuang is quite a true temperament. Not only will he roll up his sleeves and beat people up himself, but he will also tell a joke and perform a show in public.
On October 3, 67 AD, Liu Zhuang went to Nanyang County (Nanyang City, Henan Province) and gathered a group of students from the local school to play a gagaku. Xu is infected by the youthful atmosphere of the students, Liu Zhuang is not aware of the skill, personally blowing up the pottery (pronounced Ru Xi, an ancient musical instrument) and bamboo flute, and playing with the students.
Liu Zhuang's younger brother Liu Cang, the Prince of Dongping, had a wide heart and a big belly. In 68 AD, Liu Zhuang wrote to Liu Cang, saying:
...... I once asked you, what is the most enjoyable thing to stay at home? You say, it is most joyful to be good. You're saying it big enough, as big as your belly. Nineteen seals were sent to the princes, and the princes were five years old, and they were all to wear them.
Come to think of it, Liu Cang read this letter, laughed, and also missed his brother Liu Zhuang.
In 74 AD, Liu Zhuang went to the Yuan Mausoleum (Liu Xiu's tomb) to sweep the graves of his parents, and after the ceremony, Liu Zhuang watched the dressings of the old lady Empress Yin, and suddenly came from the sadness, crying loudly, and the people around the retinue all shed tears.
In 75 AD, on August 6, Liu Zhuang died in the front hall of the Eastern Palace at the age of forty-eight. Testament: No sleeping halls should be built, no sacrificial temples should be built, and only the tablets should be placed in the room where the clothes were stored in the sleeping hall of the Empress Dowager Yin.
This time, to be honest, it is more broken, and there is no particularly exciting place. However, I think that the ordinary recording of ordinary things may be the essence of "ruling the world".
Liu Zhuang succeeded to the throne in 57 AD, and by 69 AD, the history books record:
In this year, the world was stable, no one had to serve, there were many harvests, the people were rich, the grain and rice were only thirty dollars per hu (about twenty liters now), and cattle and sheep were everywhere.
From 403 BC to 69 AD, the Zizhi Tongjian was read for more than 470 years, and it was really rare to be able to read such a text! There was a feeling in my heart, and I was moved that the people at that time could be born in the world of Mingzhang.
If Liu Zhuang, the Emperor of Hanming, could not be called a great king, who could be called?
【Picture from the network】