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Text丨 Iron bones Zheng Li Fuguier
Editor丨Utopia is busy
In the Song Dynasty more than 2,000 years ago, a woman almost rewrote history and became the second female emperor after Wu Zetian. She is Liu E, a female politician who was in power for 30 years during the Northern Song Dynasty.
Liu E once got the opportunity to ascend the throne by chance, but gave up the throne at the last moment. A woman who could have controlled the country of China, why didn't she let go when the crown was in her hands? What is the story behind Liu E's decision? Walking into Liu E's legendary life, perhaps we can find the answer.
Liu E: The legendary life of an ordinary woman who crosses classes
Most people have only heard of Wu Zetian's name, but few people know that there is such a figure as Liu E in history, who almost ascended the throne and became another female emperor! The reason why he didn't become an emperor was not because he didn't have this strength, but because he didn't want to!
Liu E was born in an ordinary family, but unfortunately, when she was still very young, she became an orphan because of the war. Without her parents, she has lived a life of running around since she was a child.
At that time, she often couldn't eat, and in order to survive, Liu E could only wander around and make a living by performing arts. At one time, it was reduced to the point where it was impossible to live!
But even so, Liu E still maintains an optimistic and indomitable quality. She believes that one day it will be bitter! It turned out that she was right!
When he was 15 years old, Song Zhenzong, who was still the crown prince, passed by the street where Liu E was performing arts, and overheard her clear and moving singing, and was immediately deeply attracted.
Song Zhenzong began to come to this street frequently, just to listen to Liu E's singing again. In this process, he also had different feelings for Liu E, and after a long time, he knew that he was in love with her!
Finally, he solemnly confessed to Liu E, also revealed his identity, and asked to take her out of here and enter the palace. Liu E gladly accepted.
Liu E, who entered the palace, got a comfortable and comfortable life, and was able to stay with his beloved Song Zhenzong. Her heart was filled with joy and gratitude.
Later, Song Zhenzong succeeded to the throne as emperor, and he still loved Liu E deeply, regardless of the opposition of the courtiers, and insisted on canonizing Liu E as the queen.
According to the regulations at that time, the queen must be a noble woman with the right family, and Liu E's background did not meet the requirements. The courtiers raised strong opposition, which led to a serious confrontation between Song Zhenzong and the courtiers.
Song Zhenzong's proposal was rejected, and the candidate recommended by the courtiers was not accepted by Song Zhenzong, so it has been a stalemate.
During this period, Liu E served Song Zhenzong diligently, resolving his worries with gentleness and wisdom. Song Zhenzong also admired Liu E's ability and character even more.
But even if you want to become a queen, there is still one thing missing, and that is the prince! Liu E suddenly realized that maybe as long as she had children, those people would no longer rebel against her sealed path!
How much she wanted to conceive Song Zhenzong's child, but unfortunately her stomach had not moved.
Finally, with the support of Song Zhenzong, Liu E took decisive action and conspired with the palace maid to "borrow the womb to give birth to a child" and gave birth to a son.
The birth of the child completely changed Liu E's fate. She became the biological mother of the child, and her status in the court rose instantly. After Song Zhenzong proposed to appoint Liu E again, this time he finally got his wish.
In this way, when she was 44 years old, Liu E finally sat in the back seat of her heart. originally thought that the two of them would be able to live a happy life like this, but unfortunately, the good times did not last long, and in 1022, Song Zhenzong died!
This incident had a great impact on Liu E, but it also changed her life destiny from the side.
Liu E governed the country and stabilized the foundation of the Northern Song Dynasty
After the death of Song Zhenzong, Liu E supported the young Zhao Zhen to succeed to the throne, and began an 11-year dictatorship in the name of the empress dowager, which is very rare in feudal history.
She understands that the most dangerous period of a country is when the monarch is young, and it is necessary to assess the situation and stabilize the situation. Although her autocracy aroused the dissatisfaction of the government and the opposition, with her superior political skills, she gradually eliminated the opposition and stabilized the imperial power.
Of course, Liu E is not abusing power, but governing national politics with the intention of safeguarding the country. She reused loyal ministers such as Wang Zeng to check and balance power, and also issued laws to restrain her family members and prevent her relatives from interfering in politics.
Not only that, but financially, she issued Jiaozi banknotes to promote commerce. These measures have accumulated experience for future generations to change the law.
During Liu E's 11 years in power, the Northern Song Dynasty became increasingly powerful, culture and art flourished unprecedentedly, and the poetry and song, calligraphy, painting and printing industries made great progress. It can be said that it was Liu E's arbitrary means that brought the Northern Song Dynasty into its heyday.
Historically, Liu E has been given mixed reviews, with some arguing that Liu E was one of the few women in feudal society who could arbitrarily dictate the government, and that her dictatorship, although controversial, made an important contribution to the consolidation and development of the Northern Song Dynasty. She was a brilliant politician who cared about the rise and fall of nations.
This can be seen from the time when Song Zhenzong was still alive, and at that time, unlike the other concubines who only knew pleasure, Liu E worked hard to learn all kinds of knowledge and dabbled in a wide range of classics, so as to assist the emperor in governing the country in the future.
The training of living in the palace allowed Liu E to develop outstanding political skills. She won the trust of Zhenzong and often discussed state affairs with Zhenzong. Zhenzong was sick in bed in his later years, and a large number of court affairs were handled by Liu E. Liu E strategized, made correct decisions, and was deeply relied on by Zhenzong.
After Zhenzong's death, Liu E overrode public opinion and supported the 13-year-old Zhao Zhen to succeed to the throne. She understands that the country is in a critical period of turmoil and must remain calm and steady. During her 11 years of regency, Liu E judged the situation, properly coped with various complex situations, and made decisive and cautious political decisions.
She eliminated dissidents, stabilized the imperial power, and reused loyal ministers to restore unity to the court. It is said that she also designed and drew a map of the relationship between ministers in order to understand the distribution of power between the DPRK and China and prevent the powerful from joining forces to seize power. This is a testament to her brilliant mind and vision.
So is such an outstanding woman, obviously her power has reached the peak, but why didn't she follow Wu Zetian to ascend the throne and proclaim herself emperor?
The reason why Liu E is not the emperor
We have to admit that Liu E is indeed a legendary female politician in Chinese history. With her superior political skills and outstanding ability, she took over power during the most critical period of the Song Dynasty, stabilized the situation, and won a precious period of peace for the Song Dynasty.
However, even though Liu E once held the highest power, she never chose to be emperor and establish her own dynasty. The most critical reason for this lies in Liu E's background and identity.
Liu E was born in poverty, and when she grew up, she was fortunate to enter the palace by Emperor Zhenzong of the Song Dynasty and was gradually favored. Her glory and wealth depend on the emperor's favor, not her own strength.
Therefore, Liu E understands very well that her power is based on the emperor's favor and is not stable. If he claims to be emperor without authorization, he will inevitably attract criticism from the government and the opposition and cause political turmoil.
Of course, Liu E also has deep feelings for Song Zhenzong. Emperor Zhenzong not only appreciated Liu E, but also made an exception for Liu E's child Zhao Zhen to become the crown prince.
All the glory that Liu E has obtained comes from the kindness of Emperor Zhenzong. If he usurps the throne and becomes emperor, it is tantamount to ingratitude, which is contrary to Liu E's principle of doing things.
At that time, the Song Dynasty was in decline, and Liu E realized the importance of stabilizing the overall situation. External troubles are becoming increasingly serious, wars are constantly going on in the frontiers, and the forces of the government and the opposition are complicated. If the emperor is declared autocratic at this time, it will inevitably lead to turmoil in the government and the opposition, and the future is worrying. Preserving the Song Dynasty is the top priority.
Most importantly, Liu E also knows that she does not have enough political strength to govern alone. She does not have the support of strong forces inside or outside the court, and once she becomes emperor, she will inevitably be impeached and restrained by important ministers.
This is different from Wu Zetian's situation back then, Wu Zetian has a strong foreign relative power as a backing, and Liu E obviously does not have this condition.
As a woman, Liu E understands better how difficult the road to power is. Liu E understands that even if she succeeds in claiming the dictatorship of the emperor, will she be able to stabilize her position? How many enemy sieges can you withstand?
Therefore, even if power is in front of her, Liu E has no further ambitions. During the turbulent and eventful period of national crisis, Liu E only wanted to do her best to stabilize the overall situation of the country and society, so that the Song Dynasty could continue. She has no dangerous selfish intentions, and only wants to do her best to assist the prince to calm down enemies at home and abroad.
It is speculated that the reason why Liu E gave up being the emperor was out of realpolitik considerations, and also from her gratitude and retribution to the emperor. She chose to stabilize the country with wisdom and repay the emperor's kindness with selfless dedication. This high degree of political wisdom and moral consciousness has made Liu E worthy of the status of an outstanding statesman in history.
Wisdom and power are often hard to come by. Whether Liu E is really so benevolent and wise remains to be seen. History is always flowing in the long river, and everyone will leave their own mark. We can only strive to do good, and hope that future generations will look at history and judge fairly.
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