In 7 BC, Hancheng Liu Xiao died of illness, and during the more than twenty years that he was in charge of the Han Empire, due to his poor level and addiction to wine, he led to the rise of the foreign relatives of the Wang family and the fall of the power of the Han family.
For more than 20 years, the position of the great general Sima of the Han Empire, above 10,000 people under one person, was rotated by the Wang family, and it was passed down for a total of five generations.
Since then, the imperial power has been sidelined, and the court and the public are either relatives of the Wang family or the Wang family, or the protégés of the Wang family's henchmen, and in this extremely dangerous situation, Liu Xiao finally completed his absurd life.
However, Liu Xiao died suddenly and had no heirs, so the throne passed to his nephew Liu Xin, who was the emperor of Han.
When Liu Xin succeeded to the throne, it was Wang Mang who sat in the position of Grand Sima General, and he was the fifth powerful minister in the Wang family to sit in the position of Great General of Great Sima.
The most important thing is that the reason why foreign relatives can hold power is because of the relationship with the emperor as close relatives, and now the emperor Liu Xiao, on whom the Wang family depends, is dead, the new emperor has nothing to do with them, and the power of the Wang family that has been operating for more than 20 years is also facing challenges.
It was the new emperor Liu Xin's foreign family that launched the challenge, including Liu Xin's grandmother Fu family and mother Ding family.
So, during Liu Xin's reign, the Fu family and the Ding family alliance launched a final duel with the Wang family.
In this process, Liu Xin originally had the opportunity to overturn the Han family next to the imperial power, but he was worse than his previous emperor, Liu Xiao, and always missed the opportunity, which eventually led to the complete sidelining of the imperial power, and the Western Han Empire was completely cooled in his generation.
And all this has to start with the situation when Liu Xin took the throne.
The first confrontation between the Fu and Ding families and the Wang family
Originally, this imperial throne could not be Liu Xin's turn, but Liu Xiao was really not contentious, although there were many beautiful and moving wives in the harem, but Liu Xiao's operation in the sisters Zhao Feiyan and Zhao Hede was almost exclusively pampered by their sisters.
The most serious thing is that as long as Liu Xiao has children with other concubines, the Zhao Feiyan sisters will try to kill the pregnant concubine or baby, and the Zhao Feiyan sisters themselves cannot conceive children for many years.
So much so that after Liu Xiao was directly extinguished, the Wang family originally planned to make Liu Xiao's son the crown prince, but Liu Xiao had no heir at all, and under the pressure of public opinion from the government and the public, the Wang family had to agree to make Liu Xiao's nephew Liu Xin the crown prince.
Anyway, it is just to establish a prince, and in the future, when Liu Xiao has a son, he can change it again, and then the Wang family can continue to hold the power of the dynasty.
But who knows, Liu Xiao died suddenly within a few years, and this time disrupted all the plans of the Wang family.
Because the new emperor is not Liu Xiao's nephew, he is not related to the Wang family, and the new emperor will inevitably use his own foreign relatives, and the power of the Wang family will inevitably be threatened.
Among the foreign relatives of the new emperor Liu Xin, the most powerful is the Fu family.
This Fu family is headed by Empress Dowager Fu, while the Wang family is headed by Empress Dowager Wang Zhengjun.
These two women, in fact, had already fought each other more than twenty years ago, because they were both the wives of Liu Xi, the emperor of Han Yuan, but Wang Zhengjun was the empress, and Fu was Zhaoyi.
But Fu Shi has always been the favored one, and under Fu Zhaoyi's operation that year, Wang Zhengjun's son Liu Xiaodu was almost deposed as crown prince.
Now that Fu Zhaoyi's grandson has become the emperor, her family has naturally become a newly rising foreign power.
With Liu Xin's accession to the throne, the two foreign relatives ushered in the first collision.
And the theme of the collision is the problem of Fu's name!
Empress Dowager Wang Zhengjun and Fu are the same generation, and they are both the wives of Liu Xi, the Han Yuan Emperor, Wang Zhengjun's son Liu Xiao became the emperor, of course, she is the empress dowager, now that her son is dead and the new emperor ascends the throne, she naturally becomes the empress dowager.
Then, the new emperor is Liu Xiao, he is not the grandson of Wang Zhengjun, but the grandson of Fu Zhaoyi, he became the emperor, then Fu Zhaoyi's title should also be the empress dowager.
But the people of the Wang family must disagree, and the Wang family has been in power for more than twenty years, and its power in the imperial court is deeply entrenched, even if Liu Xin becomes the emperor, it is difficult to shake for a while.
Sure enough, just a few days after Liu Xin ascended the throne, Dong Hong, the Marquis of Gaochang, wrote to request that Fu be honored as "Empress Dowager", and this Empress Dowager enjoyed the same treatment and courtesy as the Empress Dowager.
However, this move was quickly opposed by the great general Wang Mang and the left general Shi Dan, and few people in the court and the public supported Fu.
Liu Xin is not stupid, he still has an understanding of the situation in the imperial court, the Wang family has been operating for more than twenty years, the power is monstrous, and the people in the court and the public are either the people of the Wang family or the henchmen of the Wang family.
At this time, he turned his face with the Wang family, and he was driven off his job if he didn't get it right.
Therefore, intimidated by the power of the Wang family, Liu Xin immediately ordered that Dong Hong, who wrote to Shangshu, be demoted to a commoner.
But Fu's side is not dry, you kid is the emperor, why do you turn your elbows out? Helping the Wang family bully their grandmother?
Therefore, Fu put pressure on his grandson Liu Xin, who can be said to be in a dilemma at this time, he has just ascended the throne, his foundation is still shallow, he still needs to rely on the Wang family, and he does not have the strength to showdown with the Wang family.
But if you compromise with the Wang family, grandmother Fu's side does not agree, it is simply stressful.
At the critical moment, Wang Zhengjun's side spoke, after all, Liu Xin became the emperor, and Fu's side always had to have a name, otherwise Yu Li would not be in line.
However, although Wang Zhengjun relented, she did not agree to honor Fu as "Empress Dowager", but agreed to honor Fu as "Empress Gong", and Liu Xin's mother Ding Shi as "Empress Gong".
Shangxinli, humble, with recklessness, Danyan, exempt from macro as a common man. Empress Dowager Fu was furious, and if she wanted to be honored, she posthumously named Tao Gong as the co-emperor (emperor), Empress Dowager Fu as the co-empress dowager, and Empress Ding as the co-empress. - Book of Han
After this incident, a historical spectacle appeared in the Han Empire: there were two empress dowagers and two empresses at the same time, namely Empress Dowager Wang Zhengjun, Empress Dowager Gong Fu (and Empress Dowager at the same level), Empress Gong Ding, and Empress Dowager Zhao Feiyan.
A year later, the Fu family and the Wang family then had a second collision.
One day in July 7 BC, Liu Xin held a banquet in the imperial palace, and the ancient people were particular about the order of seats, but this banquet was seated next to the Empress Dowager Wang Zhengjun.
This means that there is a person's seat that is juxtaposed with the Empress Dowager Wang Zhengjun.
It happened that Wang Mang was the first to arrive at the scene, and when he saw that there was an equivalent position next to Wang Zhengjun's seat, he was angry on the spot.
So the insider order: Whose seat is this?
Only then did the insider order tell him that he was the seat of Empress Dowager Gong Fu's family, Wang Mang stopped doing it on the spot after listening to it, her Fu family was only a Zhaoyi back then, how could she be worthy of sitting alongside the Empress Dowager?
In this way, at Wang Mang's strong request, the insider had to remove Fu's seat and replace it with an inconspicuous position next to it.
When Fu Shi on the other side heard this, he announced on the spot that he refused to attend the banquet in protest, and the banquet was dispersed unhappily.
After the incident, Wang Mang did a strange thing - he wrote to ask for his resignation.
At this time, Liu Xin had been on the throne for a year, and coupled with the rise of the two foreign relatives of the Fu and Ding families, he already had a certain foundation in the imperial court, so he immediately agreed to Wang Mang's request and gave him 500 jin of gold to retain Wang Mang's treatment as the third duke.
The inner order was for Empress Dowager Fu to sit next to the Empress Dowager. Reckless case, the insider Ling said: "Dingtao Empress Dowager Concubine, how can she be with the Supreme!" When Empress Dowager Fu heard this, she was furious, refused to know, and resented herself. Mang Fu beggar's bones, the mourning emperor gave Mang 500 catties of gold, An Che and horses, and the first one. - Book of Han
In fact, these were all discussed between Wang Zhengjun and Wang Mang, and they were their tactics in this power struggle.
Wang Zhengjun and Wang Mang knew that the new emperor ascended the throne, the Fu family and the Ding family rose, the Wang family would inevitably be hit, if they faced each other, the Fu family and the Ding family had the support of the emperor, and the Wang family had no chance of winning.
Therefore, they chose to retreat as an advance, take the initiative to fade out of the center of power, avoid the edge of Fu and Ding, preserve their vitality, wait for the opportunity, find the flaws, and then launch a fatal blow.
After Wang Mang retired, the power system that the Wang family had operated for more than 20 years was also dealt a serious blow, and under the union of the Fu and Ding families, most of the Wang family's henchmen in the imperial court were expelled and demoted.
It stands to reason that the foreign forces that had been rampant for more than 20 years were crushed and the emperor regained power, and the Western Han Empire should be put on the right track.
But this is impossible, because the foreign qi has always existed, but the foreign qi has been changed, the old foreign qi has fallen, and the new foreign qi has appeared.
The rise of new foreign qi, the opportunity for the Han family to turn over
Since Wang Mang's retirement, Liu Xin initially wanted to be a good emperor, but he still actively implemented some policies to curb land acquisition, exempt the poor from taxes, and actively adjust the personnel of the imperial court to eliminate the influence of the royal family.
But he never expected that as soon as he was about to do a big job, he was ruthlessly hit.
And it was his grandmother, Empress Dowager Fu, who hit him.
The thing is that after Wang Mang resigned, the position of Grand Sima was vacated, and this vital position should be entrusted to someone who trusted and had the ability.
Liu Xin also thought so, and there was really such a suitable candidate at that time, he was Fu Xi.
Fu Xi this person has good ability, and he is a member of the Fu family, and in terms of generation, he is one generation higher than Empress Dowager Gong Fu.
The most important thing is that Fu Xi is an honest person, he recognizes reason or not, even if the people of the Fu family make mistakes, he will definitely enforce the law impartially and without mercy.
Therefore, Fu Xi was also hated by many arrogant disciples within the Fu family, and even Empress Dowager Fu was dissatisfied.
Initially, when Liu Xin planned to appoint Fu Xi as Grand Sima, she was strongly opposed by Empress Dowager Fu, who was in opposition to her.
Liu Xin, fearful of pressure from his grandmother, simply appointed his teacher when he was crown prince, Taifu Shidan, as Grand Sima.
At this time, not only was Empress Dowager Gong unwilling, but even many court ministers also objected, on the grounds that Shi Dan was not related to the emperor, and it was not in line with the etiquette system to make him a great sima.
And the deeper calculation is actually that Empress Dowager Gong Fu wants to follow the example of Empress Lu in the past to control the imperial government, and Shi Dan is not with her, which is not conducive to her controlling the imperial government.
In this way, after a month-long stalemate between the emperor and his grandmother Fu, Fu chose to compromise and agreed to make Fu Xi the Grand Sima, while Shi Dan was replaced by the Grand Sikong.
After listening to the recklessness, everyone returned to rejoice. Xi congratulated his brother Kong Xiang Hou Yan and Xi, and the daughter was the empress. and Emperor Yang'an Marquis Ding Ming, all of whom were close to foreign subordinates. Joy and humility. Empress Dowager Fu began to deal with political affairs, and was happy to consult with him, because Empress Dowager Fu did not want to make Xi assist in government. Shanghe then used the left general Shi Dan Dai Wang Mang as the great sima, gave him a hundred catties of gold, and the general printed silk, and recuperated with Guanglu Dafu. - Book of Han
In the first month of the next year, Nai Yu Shi Dan became the Great Sikong, and Bai Xi became the Great Sima and was given the title of Marquis of Gao Wu. - Book of Han
Fu Shi originally thought that he had sold Fu Xi a favor, and he would be grateful in his heart and no longer go against him.
But she still miscalculated, Fu Xi's upright character would not change because of this favor.
Sure enough, it didn't take long for Fu Shi not to be satisfied with the honorific title of "Empress Dowager Gong", and wanted to go one step further and ask for another honorific title to obtain the same title as the Empress Dowager Wang Zhengjun.
Who knows, Fu Xi immediately joined forces with Shi Dan to object, saying that the honorific title of Fu's "Empress Dowager Gong" has long been agreed upon and cannot be changed at will, and where in the world are there two honorific titles? This is clearly a disagreement with etiquette.
A year later, Fu Shi was still unwilling and asked to give himself the honorific title again, but Fu Xi still objected.
As soon as this incident came out, it completely angered Fu, and shortly thereafter, under Fu's operation, he first deposed Shi Dan, and then demoted Prime Minister Kong Guang to a commoner.
It is worth noting that Shi Dan and Kong Guang were both competent and upright ministers, and after they were demoted, the Fu family filled in the arrogant sons of the Fu family and the Ding family, thus forming a new foreign dictatorship.
Fu Xi was also deposed soon after, giving him back his fief.
Ding and Fu are extravagant, and they are both jealous and frugal. Empress Dowager Fu also wanted to be honored, and she was honored with Emperor Cheng's mother, and Xi and Prime Minister Kong Guang and Grand Sikong Shi Dan jointly held the right discussion. Empress Dowager Fu was furious, and had no choice but to dismiss Shi Dan to move and rejoice, and the joy was not smooth. - Book of Han
And the emperor Liu Xin, too young, and too incompetent, lacks political skills, and is afraid of the pressure of his grandmother, he has no ability to break his grandmother's wrist, and can only watch all this happen.
The rivers and mountains of the Western Han Empire, after the Wang family seized real power, fell into the hands of the Fu family, and the emperor has always been a decoration.
This is also the first opportunity Liu Xin lost to turn over.
If he had the ability of Emperor Xuan of Han, he could completely withstand the pressure of the Fu family, keep Fu Xi and Kong Guang, and not be the only one behind the Fu family.
In the days that followed, Liu Xin, the emperor, almost became a mascot, and the Fu family had the final say in the affairs of the dynasty, in fact, it was the Fu family who had the final say.
And Liu Xin himself saw that it could not be saved, and simply lay flat, this emperor still has a quirk.
He fell in love with a sissy named Dong Xian, and mixed with this Dong Xian every day, and the two ate together, played together, and shared a bed together.
Once, Liu Xin slept with Dong Xian, and the next day Liu Xin woke up first, while Dong Xian was still asleep, but Dong Xian's head pressed against Liu Xin's sleeve.
Liu Xin wanted to get up, but if he pulled out his sleeve directly, he would wake up Dong Xian, so the young emperor immediately whispered to someone to bring him a knife and cut off the sleeve before getting out of bed.
This incident has become a famous allusion in history - the fetish of broken sleeves.
The so-called sleeve-breaking fetish, in modern times, is also known as same-sex love.
Often lie up with the upper bed. Taste the day, through the upper sleeve, the upper desire to rise, the virtuous is not conscious, do not want to move the virtuous, but break the sleeve and rise. This is the end of his love. - Book of Han
In this way, it was not until 2 BC, which was the fifth year of Liu Xin's accession to the throne, that the grandmother Fu Shi, who weighed on his head, finally passed away.
And most of the remaining people in the Fu family and the Ding family are some young people, and there are no capable people.
The foreign relatives of the Wang family are temporarily in a state of strategic contraction and dare not show their heads.
At this time, if Liu Xin could vigorously promote a group of capable ministers to fill the core posts of the imperial court, and crack down on those arrogant and domineering Fu and Ding foreign relatives, he could completely reverse the situation of foreign qi dictatorship.
But this benevolent brother made a fatal mistake and missed the last chance for the Han family to turn over.
After the post of Great Sima was vacated, he actually asked Dong Xian to take the most critical and core position like Great Sima.
People like Dong Xian have no ability at all, but Liu Xin likes him, and such a person is of no use at all when he becomes a big Sima.
At that time, Prime Minister Wang Jia strongly opposed it, and Liu Xin even forced Wang Jia to death, and also wanted to help Dong Xian to the position of Grand Sima.
To what extent did Liu Xin pamper Dong Xian? According to historical records, Liu Xin even publicly stated that he was willing to cede the throne to Dong Xian.
Such absurd words, either Liu Xin is a serious love brain, or he is really ridiculous.
In this way, although Empress Dowager Gong and the Fu family were dead, and the Fu family and the Ding family were leaderless, Liu Xin did not seize the opportunity to reverse the unfavorable situation of foreign dictatorship.
Most importantly, shortly after Fu's death, Empress Dowager Wang Zhengjun realized that the time was ripe for the Wang family to return to the imperial court.
So, at the request of Wang Zhengjun, Liu Xin actually agreed to recall Wang Mang!
Moreover, Liu Xin was also a short-lived emperor, and a few months after Wang Mang's return, Liu Xin died at the age of 25, less than a year after the death of Empress Dowager Gong Fu.
As soon as Liu Xin died, Grand Sima Dongxian was a man of mediocre ability, and where could he fight the Empress Dowager Wang Zhengjun and Wang Mang.
Soon, under the blows of Wang Zhengjun and Wang Mang, Dong Xian was stripped of his post as Grand Sima, and Wang Mang, with the support of Wang Zhengjun, regained real power and took control of the forbidden army.
After Wang Mang returned to power, he appointed a 9-year-old boy as emperor, which was for Emperor Ping of Han, and at this point, the Western Han Empire was completely cool, and there was no possibility of overturning.
Only 9 years later, Wang Mang usurped the Han dynasty and proclaimed himself emperor.
Yan Guo said
Looking at the whole process of the Western Han Dynasty's imperial power and the eventual usurpation of Jiangshan by foreign qi, it is linked to the beginning of the decline of the Western Han Dynasty, that is, the era of Liu Xi, the Han Yuan Emperor.
Emperor Xuan of Han once said that those who messed with the Han family, the prince also.
Because at that time, the crown prince Liu Xi advocated Confucianism and advocated the reuse of Confucian ministers, rather than the domineering and domineering governing concept adopted by Emperor Xuan of Han.
But in fact, the decline and even the final demise of the Western Han Dynasty had little to do with the importance of not using Confucianism, and two reasons were very important.
First, the ability of the emperor himself.
For the dictatorship of foreign qi and the disorderly administration of eunuchs, this kind of thing has a great relationship with the ability of the emperor himself, Emperor Wudi of Han can control foreign qi, Emperor Xuan of Han can also control foreign qi, and can control eunuchs.
Therefore, during their reign, foreign relatives like Wei Qing and Huo Qubing became great generals, but they still could not dictate power, because Emperor Wudi of Han could control it.
During the reign of Emperor Xuan of Han, the foreign relatives of the Xu family and the foreign relatives of the Shi family did not have dictatorial power, because Emperor Xuan of Han could control them, and the eunuch Shi Xian did not dare to mess with the government, because Emperor Xuan of Han could hold down.
But each generation of emperors, the ability is different, the ability of the Han Yuan Emperor is not good, indecisive, too dependent on eunuchs, easy to be fooled by eunuchs, resulting in eunuchs chaotic government.
After the Hancheng Emperor Liu Wei, his ability was even worse, he knew that Wang Feng was in danger of dictatorship, but he was still afraid of the pressure of the Empress Dowager Wang Zhengjun and the pressure of the Wang family, and removed the prime minister Wang Shang, resulting in the Wang family being the only one, and finally the power was sidelined.
Moreover, Liu Xiao was obsessed with beauty, did not want to make progress, and completely lay flat, which directly led to the dictatorship of the Wang family for more than 20 years.
After Liu Xiao's death, the new emperor Liu Xin was not only bad, but also eccentric, and he was also under pressure from Fu to depose Prime Minister Kong Guang, Grand Sikong Shidan, and Grand Sima Fu Xi.
This directly led to the imperial power falling into the hands of the Fu family.
In the period of two generations of emperors who fell next to the imperial power of the Western Han Dynasty, there were honest Wang Shang in the era of Liu Xiao, the emperor of Hancheng, and there were honest Fu Xi, Shi Dan, and Kong Guang in the era of Liu Xin, the emperor of Han mourning.
However, the ability of these two emperors was too poor and mediocre, not only could not fight foreign qi, but also had a weak personality, and under the pressure of foreign qi, he deposed the honest minister who stood on his side, resulting in the fall of imperial power.
They are not without opportunities, nor are they without supporters, but their abilities are too poor and their personalities are too soft, and they directly bury the rivers and mountains.
Secondly, there is the problem of institutions.
In fact, since the Sui and Tang dynasties, the story of foreign dictatorship has become less and less, and by the Ming and Qing dynasties, it hardly appeared.
Because the further back you go, the more perfect the system becomes, the more perfect the distribution of power and checks and balances, and it is difficult for foreign officials to be authoritarian anymore.
Finally, there was a Changsun Wuji in the Tang Dynasty, but his power was far worse than that of the foreign relatives of the Han Dynasty, and there were many people who could balance Changsun Wuji, so he was not an opponent of Emperor Li Zhi at all.
References: Book of Han, Zizhi Tongjian
Note: The pictures in this article are all from Internet searches, invaded and deleted.