Preface
Huo Quai, the name is solemn and slightly sad. He was an immortal hero who fought against the Xiongnu in the Western Han Dynasty, but countless people sighed because of his untimely death.
However, what is even more puzzling is that the famous general of the Han Dynasty, who died suddenly at the age of 24, suddenly had a son and two grandsons after his death. Where did these people come from, and where did their fate go?
身世起落,奴才成将
Before telling the story of Huo Quai's extra sons and grandsons, it is necessary for us to understand the life experience of this famous general of the Han Dynasty. Huo Qubing was born into a wealthy merchant family, and his mother was originally a slave girl. During the hostess's pregnancy, she had an affair with an official from out of town, and soon gave birth to Huo Qu's disease. As an illegitimate child, he was looked down upon and bullied in the Lord's house. Later, the hostess kicked his mother out of the house, and the mother and son had to rely on each other to survive.
In order to make a living, Huo Quai's mother remarried, but she could only be a concubine. This made Xiao Huo's life even more difficult, and he suffered cold eyes and contempt all year round. However, good fortune came suddenly. Huo Quai's aunt married into the palace, and later became the queen's guard.
With the protection of the queen, Huo Qubing finally lived a decent life. Under the recommendation of his aunt Wei Zifu, the young Huo Qubing was able to enter the palace to serve. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty found that this little attendant was not only handsome, but also intelligent and strong in martial arts. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was overjoyed and specially transferred him to the Praetorian Guard for training.
The training of the Praetorian Guards was extremely difficult, but it was not difficult for the diligent and studious Huo Quzhi. He worked hard to train his cavalry and archery skills, and soon became the best of the light cavalry. At the age of seventeen, Huo Qubing went out with the army to fight against the Xiongnu. In the first field battle, he made the first contribution and killed the Hun colonel in one fell swoop.
Since then, Huo Qubing has been like a tiger on the battlefield. Every time he went on an expedition, he could successfully get a glimpse of the loopholes of the Hun army, and then take the lead in charging into battle and breaking the enemy army. At the age of twenty, Huo Quzhi was already a colonel in the Praetorian Guard. His well-trained "Huo Family Army" killed decisively on the battlefield, making the enemy fearful.
In the past few years when Huo Qubing led the army to pursue, the Han Dynasty army penetrated thousands of miles into the north of the Saibei, forcing the Huns to retreat westward by force, and Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was triumphant. At that time, people praised Huo Qubing as a "natural martial artist" and a general of the Han Dynasty.
In the winter of the age of twenty-two, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty personally held a banquet in Jiuyuan to celebrate his achievements, and he highly praised Huo Qubing and Wei Qing's military exploits, both of whom were named "Champion Hou". At the banquet, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty also generously rewarded the two with gold, silver and jewelry. Huo Quai, who was originally from a humble background, finally entered the circle of powerful people after several years of fighting bravely to kill the enemy.
Tragedy and accident, the flower has no owner
However, the good times were short-lived. In the spring of the following year, the Han army continued its northern expedition. This time, Huo Quzhi led 5,000 light horsemen deep into the treacherous Qilian Mountains. After a field battle with the Xiongnu, Huo Quai's mount accidentally fell off a cliff, seriously injuring the twenty-four-year-old Han general.
Due to the difficult conditions of the march at that time, the Han army went deep into the ground, and the military doctors could not rescue them in time. In this way, Huo Quai, who was in the prime of life, unfortunately passed away in an accident, and countless Han soldiers wept bitterly for him.
The sudden death of Huo Quai's illness also deeply grieved Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, and he personally presided over the funeral of the champion Hou. In order to highlight Huo Quai's exploits, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty also ordered the establishment of a special ancestral hall for him in Chang'an. This was unprecedented at the time.
However, what is embarrassing is that this famous general who defended the country with his life did not leave his own flesh and blood. According to the rules of the Han Dynasty, princes who died young and had no children could be inherited by their brothers, and the title of champion marquis of Huo Qubing should also be the same.
Surprisingly, during the investigation after Huo Qu's death, Han Ting found that he did have a posthumous son. It turned out that during his service in the Praetorian Guard, Huo Qubing had an illegitimate child with a palace maid. In order to save the palace maid's life, Han Ting did not pursue it, but recognized the legal inheritance of this illegitimate son called "Huo Yan".
But fate made people, and Xiao Huo Huan, who was only ten years old, died of illness, and Huo Qu's illness broke off the incense. Some say that it is the hero who has encountered the jealousy of the god of jealousy. Some people also believe that it was Xiao Huo's short life that led to all kinds of disputes in the future. In any case, this is a tragedy.
Huo Guang stole the heart of the country and caused trouble to the Sun family
After Huo Huan's death, there was another family ready to move - that is, Huo Quai's half-brother Huo Guang's family. It was their ambition that led to the tragedy of "Disaster to the Sun Family".
When Huo Qubing was still alive, Huo Guang had already achieved fame. Although the two brothers were not from noble backgrounds, they both made great achievements with their talents and bravery. Huo Guang once went to fight against the Xiongnu with Huo Quai, and was also a fierce general under Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.
After Huo Quai's sudden death, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty felt a deep pity and specially asked Huo Guang if he was willing to inherit Huo Quai's title. Huo Guang's mind changed at this time, he secretly thought that if he got the title of champion marquis, his status in the court would definitely be higher, so he expressed his willingness to accept the emperor's "compassion".
Soon, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty named Huo Guang as the champion marquis, and received Huo Quai's old department. This made Huo Guang have a heavy army in his hands, and his power was equal to that of the kingdom. Since then, he has had extravagant hopes and wants to use Huo Quzhi's reputation to make his children and grandchildren prominent.
In order to realize this ambition, Huo Guang waited until he was old and asked Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty to let his two grandsons, Huo Shan and Huo Yun, succeed Huo Quai, so that he could inherit the title of Champion Marquis. Emperor Wu of Han was a little skeptical at first, but agreed despite Huo Guang's repeated pleas.
This move caused dissatisfaction among the children of the royal family. They believe that this is completely the evil behavior of Huo Guang's family to seek power and profit and tamper with their ancestors. However, it was not exposed at the time, and it was like a time bomb buried in the ground.
Woe to Huoshan Huoyun, the fate of the family ended
After Huo Guang died, Huo Shan and Huo Yun really took over the banner of the Huo family and continued to expand their power. They not only consolidated the military and political power accumulated by their grandfather Huo Guang during his lifetime, but also conspired to install cronies in the imperial court in a vain attempt to get involved in the power of the court.
This aroused the strong dissatisfaction of the royal family. They united and impeached Huo Shan Huo Yun against the usurper of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. Huo Shan Huo Yun was frightened and fled the palace overnight. In the end, the Han Wei soldiers pursued the two and brought them to justice. Under torture, they were forced to confess to the crime of rebellion.
Due to Huo Quai's outstanding military exploits during his lifetime, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty couldn't bear to break them into pieces, so he just sent the two to the frontier after raiding their homes. However, fate made people, and on the way, Huo Yun knew that a catastrophe was coming, so he committed suicide in the carriage; As for Huoshan, he was also killed by the local natives in the wilderness of the frontier.
At this point, the Huo family, which once dominated the court, was ruined. They were condemned for their treachery, and they were doomed. This painful lesson makes people have to reflect on the horror of the desire for power. At the same time, it also reminds us that no matter what means, fame and fortune will reap the consequences if they deviate from morality.
Conclusion: Cherish life and don't forget morality
The most precious thing in life is the splendor of life. Huo Quzhi exchanged a short period of 24 years for immortal feats, which is an indelible historical feat. However, power and status will eventually be obliterated by time, and only universal values and morality will never fade.
At the end of the story, the irony is that the hero who fought bloodily and his superficial heirs could not escape the fate of being tainted by power and conspiracy. These tragedies could have been avoided, but the desire for power magnified the evil factor in human nature. It reminds us that in the pursuit of fame and fortune, we must not forget the true nature of life and the bottom line of morality.
The name behind you can be glorified or dusted. We might as well learn from Xi Huo Quai's cloudy life, no matter how many ups and downs he has experienced, he still chooses to do it without hesitation. If everyone can hold the beacon of morality, the world will become more hopeful.