In 87 BC, the mighty Emperor Wudi of Han finally completed his life completely.
As the most famous emperor in history, Emperor Wudi of Han's life and contribution to the country are naturally unparalleled. But at the same time, as a father, Emperor Wudi of Han actually owed a little to his children.
Judging from the historical records, the more than ten children of Emperor Wudi of Han finally lived safely into their old age, and died well, very few, and maybe even none!
So, why do most of the children of Emperor Wudi of Han not end well? What kind of ending did Emperor Wudi of Han's more than ten children end up with?
In fact, the reason why most of these children of Emperor Wudi of Han are miserable is actually related to the scourge of witchcraft in history. To better understand this problem, we have to briefly look at what is the end of the dozen or so children of Emperor Wudi of Han.
Let's start with the son.
During his lifetime, Emperor Wudi of Han had six sons. These six sons are the eldest son Liu Zheng, the second son Liu Hong, the third Liu Dan, the fourth Liu Xu, the fifth Liu Lu, and the sixth Liu Fuling.
Among these six children, Liu Cheng, the eldest son of Concubine, has always been the most crucial figure in the era of Emperor Wudi of Han. As the first son of Emperor Wudi of Han, Liu Zheng was destined to affect the national fortunes of the Han Dynasty from the day he was born. On the one hand, because he was the first son of Emperor Wudi of Han, he was most likely made crown prince in the future. On the other hand, it is also because Liu Zheng's foreign family is too strong.
Liu Zheng's mother, Wei Zifu, was born a singer, but by chance, she was favored by Emperor Wudi of Han, and was finally made empress. Throughout the era of Emperor Wudi of Han, Wei Zifu made a harem for more than thirty years. In these more than thirty years, the entire harem of the Han Dynasty was decided by Wei Zifu.
At the same time, Liu Zheng's second uncle, the famous general Wei Qing, took the lead in defeating the fierce people of the Xiongnu. The third uncle Wei Guang led the troops to take Xianyi, although his reputation is a little smaller, he is also a top cattle. His eldest uncle, Gongsun He, served as prime minister for more than ten years in the late reign of Emperor Wudi of Han, and he was the longest-serving prime minister in the era of Emperor Wudi of Han.
The cousin of the second aunt's family, Huo Qubing, was crowned Wolf Juxu, which was a rare cow man in the entire ancient history of China. The second uncle, Chen Zhang, was the grandson of the poisonous man Chen Ping in the early years of the Han Dynasty, and could directly represent the founding hero group of the Han Dynasty.
In addition, the Wei family's various relatives and friends in the army and the court are even more grasping. At the peak of the Wei family, half of the court was almost their family's territory.
With such a strong foreign support, Liu Zhi's position as a prince has been as stable as Mount Tai for a long time, and no one can touch him at all.
But it's a pity that because Liu Zheng himself is too upright, he offended many villains in the dynasty. After Wei Qing and Huo Qu died of illness, the influence of the Wei family in the army was greatly reduced. In addition, later Emperor Wudi of Han intended to balance the Wei family and began to vigorously promote another foreign qi, the Li family. Therefore, in the later years of the reign of Emperor Wudi of Han, the Han Dynasty high-level quickly formed a princely opposition.
In this opposition, there are not only some villains who do not like the prince, but also many supporters on the Li family's side. These people's ideas may be very different. However, their purpose is highly consistent, that is, to get rid of the prince and the Wei family. Because only in this way is it in their respective interests.
So then, the famous witchcraft disaster occurred in history.
The scourge of witchcraft, simply put, is that the opposition first set a trap and got rid of Liu Zheng's eldest uncle, the Han Dynasty prime minister. After the fall of the eldest uncle, the Wei family's henchmen in the court began to be eliminated in the name of cursing Emperor Wudi of Han. In this process, Emperor Wudi of Han's two daughters were also implicated to death.
A year later, the opposition continued to expand the scale of the investigation, and then found the crown prince Liu Zhengshang. In the end, the opposition found the witch villain in Liu Zheng's mansion, and Liu Zheng was forced to raise troops to protect himself. After Liu Zheng raised his army, Emperor Wudi of Han could only send troops to suppress it for the purpose of prevention. So next, the opposition took advantage of this opportunity to eliminate Liu Zheng's army, and finally forced Liu Zheng to commit suicide.
At the same time that Liu Cheng committed suicide, the entire prince's mansion was also killed. Only Liu Zheng's grandson, who was not yet a hundred days old, survived by luck with the help of the doormen of the prince's mansion.
This is the end of the eldest son of Emperor Wudi of Han.
And after this witchcraft, it will also profoundly affect the fate of the vast majority of the children of Emperor Wudi of Han.
After Liu Zheng, Emperor Wudi of Han's next son was Liu Hong, the second eldest son.
This second son of Emperor Wudi of Han is not recorded much in history. This is mainly because the second eldest Liu Hong died relatively early, and there was no son when he died.
According to historical records, Liu Hong's biological mother was a favorite concubine of Emperor Wudi of Han. For this lady Wang, there is also no record in the history books, so later generations do not know her detailed life.
But obviously, behind Mrs. Wang, there should not be too powerful maiden family. Moreover, in the era of Emperor Wudi of Han, there were no particularly important officials with the surname Wang. Some later generations speculated that Mrs. Wang may be a descendant of Wang Ling, the founding hero of the Western Han Dynasty. But this speculation, without any historical evidence to prove, is just speculation.
In short, this second old Liu Hong has no background. Compared with the boss Liu Zheng, the strength is much worse. Moreover, long before the scourge of witchcraft, Liu Hong died. From the perspective of time, when Liu Hong died, the eldest Liu Cheng had just turned eighteen years old, so Liu Hong was definitely not yet an adult.
In this way, Liu Hong naturally has no chance to compete for a position with the boss.
Premature death, this ending, is definitely not good. What's more, the second elder does not even have a descendant, and this ending is really quite miserable.
After the second old, the next third Liu Dan, and the fourth Liu Xu, were born to the same mother. Their biological mother was a concubine surnamed Li in the harem of Emperor Wudi of Han.
But their mother is not favored. Although he gave birth to two sons to Emperor Wudi of Han, his own position was not high.
This led to the fact that the two princes, the third and fourth, had a low status for a long time, and Emperor Wudi of Han did not like them very much.
Of course, as a prince, when he becomes an adult, the third and fourth are still successfully crowned kings. The third Liu Dan was made King of Yan, and the fourth Liu Xu was made the King of Guangling.
But after becoming the lords of the clan, these two brothers are still not welcomed. Of course, this is not necessarily all bad, at least the scourge of witchcraft did not affect these two brothers. However, after the scourge of witchcraft ended, the bad luck of these two brothers came.
After the scourge of witchcraft ended, for the next two years, Emperor Wudi of Han had been working hard to investigate the case in the capital, and began to constantly clean up the forces that framed the prince. However, another issue of the Han Dynasty became a taboo topic at that time.
This topic is to establish a new prince.
Because the previous crown prince Liu Zheng was the result of years of training by Emperor Wudi of Han. Now that Liu Cheng is dead, the other princes, Emperor Wudi of Han are a little disdainful. Especially in that special period, no matter who proposed to make a prince, it would arouse the suspicion of Emperor Wudi of Han. Emperor Wudi of Han would have felt that this person might have participated in framing the crown prince before.
It was in such a state that the third man first touched this brow.
In 88 BC, more than two years after the end of the scourge of witchcraft, the third man suddenly made an application to Emperor Wudi of Han, hoping to go to the capital to work as a security guard and watch the door for his father.
Everyone can see that this application is obviously an ulterior motive. At that time, the capital was in chaos, and Emperor Wudi of Han's physical condition was getting worse and worse. As long as the third is responsible for the guarding of the capital, then next, the third is the successor of the firm.
In this regard, Emperor Wudi of Han naturally saw it clearly. But the problem was that Emperor Wudi of Han was very unhappy about this matter.
Because at that time, in the eyes of Emperor Wudi of Han, no matter who wanted to support the new prince, it was possible to participate in framing Liu Zheng. Although the third man is far away, he obviously committed a taboo in this matter.
So next, instead of approving, Emperor Wudi of Han issued an order, severely rebuked Lao Sanyitong, and also took away three counties in Lao San's fiefdom. The most important thing is that since then, Emperor Wudi of Han suspected that the third elder may have participated in the murder of the crown prince. Therefore, since then, the third elder has completely lost the possibility of inheriting the throne.
I have to say that the trick of the third man asking himself to stay in the capital is really a faint move. At that time, among all the sons of Emperor Wudi of Han, the third was the oldest. If the third elder does nothing, he is actually the most likely to be established as an heir. But the problem is that it is because the third is too anxious and eager to grab the position, so in the end, he is out early.
Because the third elder was out early, Emperor Wudi of Han later chose to make the sixth elder Liu Fuling the crown prince. Later, after Emperor Wudi of Han died and Lao Liu successfully ascended the throne, Lao San was still very unwilling.
In this way, after the third elder ascended the throne for several years, as several auxiliary ministers on the side of the capital began to fight among themselves, the third man's mind became active again.
At that time, Emperor Wudi of Han left several auxiliary ministers to Lao Liu, one died, and the other two chose to support Lao San. Only the famous Huo Guang still supported the little emperor. Moreover, the eldest princess who was raising Liu Fuling in the palace at that time also secretly got in touch with the third elder, intending to launch a coup d'état to depose the sixth elder, and then support the third elder to ascend the throne instead.
As a result, this coup was finally crushed by Huo Guang. After the coup failed, the third man knew that he had no chance, so he directly committed suicide.
Although the death of the third elder was not due to the scourge of witchcraft, strictly speaking, it still had a lot to do with the scourge of witchcraft. If the crown prince Liu Cheng had not died, it was estimated that the third elder would not have rebelled later, and maybe he would have ended well in the end.
Compared with the third old, the luck of the fourth is also not bad. And what's more, the intelligence of the fourth seems to be inferior to the third, and the person is a typical reckless man.
In order to fight for the throne, the old three gangsters would also contact the courtiers to know how to play political struggles. But the fourth is different, and for these formal means of seizing the concubine, no one has used it.
During the reign of Emperor Wudi of Han, he did not participate in the seizure. When Emperor Han Zhao was in power, he did not do anything too out of line. The only outrageous thing is that this Wang Ye especially likes to fight with wild boars as a way to show his strength.
But the problem is, if he is a military general, of course it is good. But if he is a king, especially if he is still a king who wants to compete for the throne, it will be too fatal. Because this kind of behavior, in the eyes of others, is a typical reckless man.
Moreover, later, after Emperor Han Zhao died and Emperor Han Xuan ascended the throne, this Wang Ye began to live his mind. People began to play witchcraft, using witchcraft to curse Emperor Xuan of Han. He hoped to curse Emperor Xuan of Han to die early, and then he could become emperor himself.
At this level, it is also a miracle that he did not get involved in those winds and waves before and lived until the era of Emperor Xuan of Han.
Later, not surprisingly, the matter of the old fourth playing witchcraft was soon exposed. According to the law at that time, the fourth man would definitely end up dead. However, the fourth man himself was also very tough, in order to fight for a way for his children, people directly chose to commit suicide.
This ending is also quite tragic.
But I have to say that the death of the fourth man really has nothing to do with the scourge of witchcraft. His death can only be said to be self-inflicted.
After the fourth old, the next fifth old Liu Lu is an important figure. Because in a sense, the scourge of witchcraft is caused by him.
The mother of the fifth elder Liu Luo, also surnamed Li, was later called Mrs. Li. But unlike their mothers, this Mrs. Li is particularly favored. So the child born to this Mrs. Li is also particularly favored.
Coupled with a series of complex historical reasons, later, in the late reign of Emperor Wudi of Han, Emperor Wudi of Han also vigorously promoted the Li family. Mrs. Li's brother, Li Guangli, became the front-line commander of the Han Dynasty and took over Wei Qing's class.
But unfortunately, it is precisely because of the rapid rise of the Li family that these people in the Li family began to have the idea of seizing the throne. Therefore, in the later period of the reign of Emperor Wudi of Han, a group of people led by the fifth uncle Li Guangli began to secretly promote the scourge of witchcraft. Because once the crown prince Liu Zheng falls, Lao Wu is the most likely person to take over.
And just like that, then the scourge of witchcraft happened.
However, although the eldest Liu Cheng died, the fifth did not become the final victor. At the time of the witchcraft, Old Fifth himself was still a child, and it was impossible to participate in such a complex operation. All these things were secretly done by those henchmen of the Li family.
And after the witchcraft ended, the angry Emperor Wudi of Han, out of a sense of revenge, killed all those who framed the prince. The Li family behind Liu Lu was almost completely killed, and all his henchmen were lost.
And Liu Lu himself later died mysteriously, the cause of death is unknown. The most important thing is that Liu Luo later died just before Emperor Wudi of Han died, that is, the year when the third elder invited himself to the capital to guard the gate.
Therefore, many people in later generations said that the death of Lao Fifth was actually the black hand of Emperor Wudi of Han behind his back.
Regardless of whether this is true or not, in short, because of the scourge of witchcraft, Old Fifth himself will definitely not be qualified to inherit. Moreover, the fifth man himself died young, and this result is actually quite tragic.
As for Lao Liu, it was the later Han Zhao Emperor Liu Fuling.
Liu Fuling was the youngest son of Emperor Wudi of Han, and his mother was Emperor Wudi of Han's favorite lady in his later years. So at the end of Emperor Wudi of Han's life, because of the previous sons, they either died or were not suitable for succession. The youngest, Liu Fuling, became his successor.
But Liu Fuling's succession is actually very cruel. First of all, before Emperor Wudi of Han died, because he was worried that Mrs. Hookyi would interfere in imperial politics, he directly took Mrs. Hookyi away just before he died, making Liu Fuling directly a motherless child.
Secondly, because when Liu Fuling took over, he was only eight years old and underage. Therefore, after Liu Fuling took over, the imperial government could only be decided by the four auxiliary ministers. As for the harem, it was Liu Fuling's sister who had the final say. But later, this sister wanted to unite with several auxiliary ministers, deposed him together, and then supported the third old.
Thanks to Huo Guang's desperate protection of him, he was able to keep the throne by luck.
But this result, for Liu Fuling himself, may not be so beautiful. Because since then, Huo Guang's family has been the only one. Although Huo Guang did not want to usurp the throne, his requirements for the little emperor himself were very strict. Even which concubine Liu Fuling was looking for was taken care of.
Growing up in this environment, Liu Fuling himself will naturally not be happy. So in the end, Liu Fuling died young in his twenties and had no son.
Therefore, as the last victor of the era of Emperor Wudi of Han, Liu Fuling's story is actually quite tragic.
In addition to his sons, several daughters of Emperor Wudi of Han were also unfortunate.
Judging from historical records, Emperor Wudi of Han had a total of six daughters in his life. The six daughters were Princess Dangli, Princess Eyi, Princess Zhuyi, Princess Shiyi, Princess Yangshi and Princess Yi'an.
Among the six princesses, Princess Dangli was the oldest, not only the daughter born to Emperor Wudi of Han and Wei Zifu, but also the first child of Emperor Wudi of Han. In the prime of Emperor Wudi of Han, for a long time, Emperor Wudi of Han had no children. It was not until the birth of Princess Dangli that the shame of Emperor Wudi of Han being unable to give birth was completely washed away.
Therefore, for this eldest daughter, Emperor Wudi of Han has always done his best to pamper. Later, the eldest princess first married her cousin Cao Xiang, and after Cao Xiang's death, she remarried to Luan Da's Fangshi. And this Luan Da, later because he helped Emperor Wudi of Han seek immortals, was exposed as a liar, and was finally beheaded.
In the life of Princess Dangli, the marriage was extremely unfortunate. And at the end of the reign of Emperor Wudi of Han, because she was the eldest daughter of Wei Zifu, she was naturally inevitably involved in the scourge of witchcraft. There is controversy in the history books about whether Princess Dangli died in the scourge of witchcraft. Some people say that she died before the scourge of witchcraft, and others say that she did die in the scourge of witchcraft.
However, one thing we do know is that Princess Dangli's son, Cao Zong, really died in the scourge of witchcraft.
And after Princess Li, the next Eyi Princess is the princess who raised the little emperor Liu Fuling to grow up. Princess Eyi's mother is not a favored concubine, so she was not involved in witchcraft. Before Emperor Wudi of Han died, she began to be responsible for entering the palace to raise the little emperor.
But the problem was that later, this Eyi princess, together with two other auxiliary ministers, planned to depose the little emperor and install the third eldest in favor. Later, after the incident was revealed, Princess Eyi also chose to commit suicide.
This result is obviously not very good.
After Princess Eyi, the next Princess Zhuyi and Princess Shiyi are said to be the daughters of Wei Zifu. These two princesses are not well recorded in the history books. We only know that Princess Zhuyi clearly died in the scourge of witchcraft. As for Princess Shiyi, there is really no record at all.
After that, Princess Yangshi was a key figure in the scourge of witchcraft. Princess Yangshi was not born to Wei Zifu, and the history books do not record who her biological mother was. But obviously, the relationship between Princess Yangshi and the Wei family should be very good.
Before the witchcraft disaster, Princess Yangshi had an affair with the son of Wei Zifu's eldest sister's family, and the two had an affair. The son of the eldest sister of the Wei family, he served as the imperial servant of one of the Nine Qings at that time, and his father was also the prime minister at that time. Logically, the identities of the two should have been door-to-door, and there was no need for fornication. As for why fornication is recorded in the history books, we don't know about this.
Later, those who opposed the prince took advantage of this relationship to bring the crime of witchcraft to the palace. To put it simply, at that time, they first overthrew the prime minister's family and got rid of the prince's henchmen in the court.
Then, they took advantage of the adultery between Princess Yangshi and the son of the prime minister and splashed dirty water on Princess Yangshi. In the end, this Yangshi princess also died in the scourge of witchcraft.
As for the last Princess Yi'an, although she was not involved in the scourge of witchcraft, her fate was also not bad.
Princess Yi'an's mother is unknown, and there are not many records of her life. We only know that Princess Yi'an was definitely not born of Wei Zifu. When Princess Yi'an became an adult, she married the son of Emperor Wudi of Han's sister, Zhaopingjun.
This marriage seems to be a door-to-door match, but after the two got married, Zhaopingjun became more and more arrogant. So later, Zhaopeijun committed a crime and killed the closest nanny next to Princess Yi'an.
From this point of view, Princess Yi'an's marriage is estimated to be not very happy.
Because of this incident, Shohei-kun was questioned. At that time, Emperor Wudi of Han originally wanted to let him go and leave a descendant for his sister. But at this critical moment, that legendary celebrity Dongfang Shuo rarely jumped out and demanded accountability for Zhaopingjun. Because of Dongfang Shuo's insistence, later, Emperor Wudi of Han could only execute this nephew and make his daughter a widow.
And apart from this incident, there is no more thing about Princess Yi'an in history.
All of the above is the end of all the children of Emperor Wudi of Han. At least, these are the endings recorded in the history books.
From the ending of this child, it is not difficult to see that these children of Emperor Wudi of Han basically did not have a good ending. The vast majority of people either committed suicide, were killed, or died directly in the scourge of witchcraft.
And this result, in the final analysis, can only be said that power ruined them. As a generation of heroes, Emperor Wudi of Han's contribution to history is unparalleled. But at the same time, such a father is also more likely to bring a huge negative impact to his children. Especially in terms of power, the children of Emperor Wudi of Han, from birth, were destined to be unable to escape the vortex of power struggle.
I have to say that it is really difficult to be a child of Emperor Wudi of Han.