I believe that everyone has heard such a sentence: behind a successful man, there must be a great woman who silently supports him and pays for him. Empress Ma behind Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang is a model, and Zhu Yuanzhang often said: "The virtuous wife of the family and the good face of the country of Judah." And the Lü Yan we want to talk about today also did not abandon Liu Bang when she was a cloth dress, and also became a famous Lü Hou in history after Liu Bang became famous, but later generations have mixed evaluations of her, which is quite controversial.
First, the Cloth Empress standing silently behind Liu Bang
In the last year of the Qin Dynasty, the Lü family moved to Pei County, because they knew Pei County Ling, pei county officials were privately flattered, and the Lü family competed for gifts when they feasted on the joy of housewarming, and the number of ceremonies on the table was naturally different. Liu Bang, who was the head of the Surabaya Pavilion at that time, was quite a bit of a scoundrel, and he did not follow anything, but he lied that he was paying ten thousand dollars with gifts. Lü Gong, the head of the Lü family, was furious, but strangely, when Lü Gong saw Liu Bang, he was very respectful, and even insisted on marrying his daughter Lü Yan to him despite his wife's objections. Historical records record that Lü Gong met and saw Liu Bang's Heavenly Son's qi, fate is extraordinary, it will become a great cause, so Lü Yan thus became Liu Bang's wife.
As we all know, in the early years, Liu Bang was idle all day, did not find his own ambition, and still did not do family production after marriage. Although it was said that it was a designated marriage, and the husband was so "rogue", Lü Yan still took on the work of the family's nongsang, honored his parents, took care of his children, without the slightest complaint, and even liu Bang released the fugitives because of drunkenness, and when he took refuge in the swamp area under the Mangyan Mountain, Lü Yan did not travel far to send him grain and clothing, and has been paying silently, like a virtuous and capable wife.
Until the end of the Qin dynasty, Liu Bang was proclaimed as the Duke of Pei to lead the army to revolt, after entering Xianyang was established by Xiang Yu as the King of Han, shortly before the start of the Chu-Han War, Lü Yan and Liu Bang's parents were also in Pei County, in the second year of Han (205 BC) the Han army and the Chu army fought in Suishui, the Han army was defeated, Lü Yan and Liu Bang's family members were captured by Xiang Yu, and were taken hostage in the Chu army, until two years later, when Chu Han discussed peace and was released back to Han, and later Xiang Yu was frustrated by Han Xin, and the army defeated Wujiang, and had no choice but to kill himself. Liu Bang naturally won the war, sitting in the world Liu Bang created the Han Empire, as a wife, Lü Yan also naturally became an empress, but at this time Liu Bang had a woman who was favored by him - Lady Qi.
Second, the struggle for the position of prince created a fierce empress
In ancient times, it was normal for kings to have wives and concubines, and harems were not uncommon for power struggles. Liu Bang is the Buyi Emperor, Lü Yan is also considered to be the Cloth Empress, Liu Bang is working outside, and Lü Yan is also dedicated to taking care of her parents and children at home, so the status of the empress will not be shaken by a pet concubine who appears halfway, but the change of the prince's position has allowed the empress to star in a cruel palace fight drama, and gradually go farther and farther on the road to power.
The eldest son, Liu Ying, was born to Lü Yan when Liu Bang was still the head of Surabaya Pavilion, and Han Gaozu was made crown prince in the fifth year (202 BC), but then fell into the Yi Chu storm. From the later nickname "Filial Piety", it can be seen that Liu Ying is a benevolent and weak person, plus Liu Bang believes that Liu Ying is not like himself, and Liu Ruyi, the son born to Lady Qi, is more like him, making Liu Ruyi more deeply loved by Liu Bang. In addition, Empress Lü was already old and faded and was not favored; Lady Qi was young and beautiful, often serving Liu Bang, and often blowing the pillow side wind to establish another prince, and the favor of Lady Qi made Liu Bang gradually have the idea of changing the crown prince, but was opposed by the courtiers.
This news reached Lü Hou, making her feel threatened by Lady Qi, and he found Zhang Liang, who was traveling in all directions, and asked him for advice, although Zhang Liang's plan eventually allowed Liu Ying to keep the position of crown prince, but also made Lü Houji hate Lady Qi.
After Liu Bang's death, Liu Ying succeeded to the throne, Emperor Hui of Han Liu Ying was benevolent and weak in nature, Empress Lü became Empress Lü and began the persecution of Lady Qi's mother and son, she first imprisoned Lady Qi and reduced her to a slave, Liu Ying was kind and kind, and also had feelings for Liu Ruyi, knowing that her mother wanted to kill Liu Ruyi, she deliberately left Liu Ruyi in the palace to sleep with and eat, wanting to protect her brother, but she was poisoned by Empress Lü. Lü Hou later made Lady Qi into a "human hand" and threw it into the latrine, and the so-called "human hand" is a person who cuts off his hands and feet, deafens both ears, gouges out his eyes, and is dumb and poisonous, just like a pig. Such a method eliminated the harem, and the name of the poisonous queen was born. And Liu Ying also fell into depression because of the fierceness of her mother," ignoring the government and politics, and Lü Hou began to tilt her power to the opposition.
3. The precedent of the dictatorship of foreign relatives and the precursor of the rule of Wenjing
Wen Tianxiang commented on Lü Yan: "Emperor Zhonglu of Weiran Nuwa", Lü Hou already had the authority of "emperor". She became the first woman to claim the imperial title system after Qin Shi Huang unified China, and was also included in the main record of the emperor's political affairs by Sima Qian, and she also opened the precedent of foreign relations' monopoly. Before his death, Liu Bang made an oath of the White Horse Alliance, telling the world that non-Liu Clan could not be crowned king. However, Lü Hou openly violated the rules established by Liu Bang, made Lü Lü the king, actively supported the strength of the Lü clan, and had the momentum of "Lü Family's world", wantonly attacked the Liu clan's imperial forces, excluded the old ministers who opposed her, and promoted her cronies, which was strongly opposed by Liu's clan and ministers, but she suppressed them with bloody means. Lü Hou's power was unquestionable, and he was in power for eight years and controlled for eight years.
All this turmoil did not end until the death of Lü Hou due to illness in the eighth year of Gao Hou (180 BC), after Lü Hou's death, the chancellor Zhou Bo and the chancellor Chen Pingping swept away the Lü family, did not recognize the young emperor Liu Hong, who succeeded lü hou (because he was not the son of Emperor Hui of Han), and made Liu Heng the emperor, known as Emperor Wen of Han.
The evaluation of the dictatorship of foreign relatives in later generations to Lü Hou was obviously derogatory. Although the means of the Lü Dynasty's claim system were too extreme, creating a precedent for the monopoly of foreign relatives, so that the phenomenon of monopoly of foreign relatives was not uncommon in the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Western Han Dynasty, and even the following thousand years, the reason was only the struggle for power and concentration, just like "Newton was only the first to discover gravity, but gravity itself actually existed" This situation. Sima Qian commented on Lü Hou as follows: "Staying at home and the world is at peace, the people are rich", the people at the end of the Qin Dynasty did not have a good life, for the ruling class, encouraging recuperation and recuperation, abolishing the old system of the Qin Dynasty was the most important, Lü Hou even though he had the monopoly of power from foreign relatives, but he was only above the court, in terms of governing the country, he still carried out the technique of Huang Lao, which Liu Bang had advocated, still reused Xiao He, Cao San, and other able rulers, light taxes, abolished torture, encouraged the development of non-governmental farmers and merchants, and most of them adopted the idea of governing the country without doing anything, for the future "rule of Wenjing" A solid foundation is laid
The means of Lü Yan, the first "poisonous queen" in ancient times, make people shudder, but Lü Yan's political achievements in the eight years of the pro-dynasty system are also worthy of recognition. From the daughter of Lü Gong in Pei County to the virtuous wife of the chief of the Surabaya Pavilion, to the empress dowager Lü, the change in the personality of Lü Hou before and after is worth thinking about, if there is no lady Qi, if Liu Bang and Lü Hou are as respectful as Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma, whether this "poisonous queen" will become the "virtuous queen" of the mother's world, but history cannot repeat itself, and we do not know.