After Liu Bang's death, Liu Ying, Emperor Hui of the Han Dynasty, ascended the throne, but because of his soft and kind personality, the real power was controlled by Lu Pheasant. Under the strict rule of Empress Lü, all the princes, heroes and relatives surnamed Lü were afraid of three points.
However, when Empress Lu returned to the west, the situation changed abruptly, and the group of heroes represented by Chen Ping and Zhou Bo colluded with the princes of the Han family to carry out a purge operation against the Lu family's forces, and searched for and executed all the descendants of the Lu family.
Immediately afterwards, they falsely claimed that the heirs of Emperor Hui of the Han Dynasty were impostors, cut off Liu Ying's lineage, and then welcomed Liu Heng back to Chang'an from the dynasty to restore the orthodoxy of the Han Dynasty.
Why is it that when Empress Lu is still alive, they behave like walking on thin ice, and after they die, they are bold and reckless?
Emperor Hui was weak, and Empress Lu called the system
On the one hand, Liu Ying was humble and gentle by nature and was powerless to resist her strong mother, and on the other hand, Empress Lu was ruthless and decisive, and successively lost many forces, such as Han Xin, the god of the Great Dao Army, Liu Ruyi, the son of Madame Qi, Liu You, the king of Zhao, and Liu Hui, the king of Liang.
At the same time, the treatment of Mrs. Qi's mother and son was even more cruel, causing Liu Ying to be physically and mentally traumatized and unable to govern, so the power fell into the hands of Empress Lu.
In order to consolidate his rule, Empress Lü implemented a series of measures.
The first step was to weaken the power of the Liu family and order the reward of the family brothers as kings. However, this move was opposed by the ministers headed by Wang Ling, because it violated Liu Bang's oath with the ministers to cut off horses during his lifetime, and only the surname Liu could be crowned king.
So Empress Lü deposed Wang Ling and appointed him as the former young emperor's concubine, and replaced him with Chen Ping, who supported Lü's separation.
What's more serious is that the emperor's life and death are in the hands of Empress Lu. Liu Ying passed away and was succeeded by the former young emperor, but because his own mother was killed by Empress Lu, he had a heart of revenge. Fearing that she would get into trouble, Empress Lü imprisoned the young emperor completely, and finally deposed and executed.
At this point, Empress Lü became an emperor-like existence, and no one dared to challenge her authority.
The next life weakened, and Empress Lu took control of the government. Lu Hou is a famous strongman in history, and many generals died because of her loss of power, such as the famous soldier Han Xin, and Mrs. Qi's son Liu Ruyi.
Zhao Wang Liu You, Liang Wang Liu Hui and others were also unfortunately killed. This all stems from Empress Lü's ruthless blows against her opponents and her brutal control over her own family.
After Liu Bang's death, Empress Lü took full control of the government and treated his concubine Mrs. Qi to extreme conditions, imprisoned her in Yongxiang for hard labor, and killed her own son Liu Ruyi. On this basis, he also chopped off Mrs. Qi's hands and feet, gouged out her eyes and stabbed her deafness to make her a "human biao", and finally threw it into the pigsty.
However, Empress Lu was still not satisfied, she made Liu Ying witness the miserable situation of her wife, and Liu Ying, who witnessed her mother being tortured, was instantly enveloped in terror and became depressed, and only recovered after a year. After that, Liu Ying no longer had the intention of interfering with government affairs, and indulged in wine all day long.
In the face of such a tough Empress Lu, the ministers were only silent, and those who dared to make a mistake in front of her were undoubtedly looking for death.
After Liu Ying was frightened and depressed and died, the former young emperor ascended the throne, but after learning that he was not Zhang Yan's own son and had been poisoned by Empress Lü, he publicly stated that he wanted to take revenge and blood hatred.
At this point, Empress Lü had a prestige comparable to that of the emperor, and it was difficult for anyone with power as a prince to resist, so during her reign, no one in the court dared to intervene.
Lu Hou is a contradictory mediator
Why did Empress Dowager Lu become so powerful? Not only because she was Liu Bang's wife, but more importantly, because she was more qualified to become Liu Bang's partner.
Although Liu Bang was a village hooligan, he later returned to his hometown as a pavilion chief. At first, he had no capital to oppose tyranny, but because he married the rich girl Lu Pheasant, he laid the foundation of the marquis.
In fact, the power of Empress Dowager Lu's father's family was far stronger than that of Liu Bang, and the Lu family held a large amount of military power during Liu Bang's uprising, and assisted in planning the three Qin and going east to fight for the world, and the Lu clan participated in almost the whole process.
Liu Bang was frustrated and fled in the Battle of Pengcheng, and the reason why he was able to rise again was nothing more than relying on the protection provided by Lu Ze, the brother of the Empress Dowager Lu. The subsequent battles of Jingsuo, Xingyang and Chenxia were also indispensable to Lu Ze's covert assistance.
Liu Bang's old department of Pei County, Empress Dowager Lu was well known by heart, and her sister Lu Xiao married Fan Xu, which further narrowed the connection between the two sides.
Lü Xiao served as a bridge for the unity and cooperation between the Lü family and the meritorious heroes, and the husband's family and the meritorious group had a stable link, which further established the non-hostile relationship between the foreign relatives group and the meritorious group under the leadership of the Empress Dowager Lü.
After settling the group of heroes, Empress Dowager Lu needed to deal with the issue of the vassal king surnamed Liu. It was difficult for the vassal king to coexist with the foreign relatives group because of his bloodline, but the Empress Dowager Lü, as a member of the royal family, temporarily played a role in easing the contradictions between the two sides.
Therefore, as long as the Empress Dowager Lu is alive, the meritorious group and the kings surnamed Liu will not be able to attack the relatives of the Lu family, which shows that the Empress Dowager Lu is not a woman who has fallen out of favor, but a key person who is deeply involved in the establishment of the Han Dynasty and the stability of the situation.
诛灭吕氏余党
After Liu Bang's death, Lu Pheasant, as the ruler, made everyone sincerely afraid of his wisdom and skill. However, after her death, the delicate political situation immediately changed.
The dynasty was divided into many forces, especially the founding fathers represented by Fan Xu and others, who gradually lost their influence during the reign of Lü Pheasant due to the constant presence of the monarch. As a last resort, the princes and kings surnamed Liu began to worry that the Lu clan's forces would pose a threat to the Liu royal family.
Under this critical situation, the Lu family's relatives were highly divided and became the object of contention from all sides. As a result, the forces representing the various aristocratic classes put aside their hostility and worked together to eliminate the Lu clan with all their might, and shrewdly demarcated their respective interest territories. They understand that success is only possible if the potential source of trouble is terminated.
In this conspiracy and bloody battle, they were ruthless and wiped out the Lu family, both men and women, and even those who had married other royal families surnamed Liu and their immediate family members were not spared.
Liu Ying's heirs and the princess of Liu Heng and his four descendants are among them. It can be seen that the cruelty of political contests is never humane.
After eliminating the forces of the Lu family, Chen Ping and Zhou Bo used ingenious techniques to stabilize the princes surnamed Liu. As a result, the Han regime was able to maintain basic stability. However, the hidden danger still exists, and the various princes are still uneasy.
So the two ministers, Chen and Zhou, immediately held a court meeting and asked the court officials to discuss the selection of the new emperor.
Although Liu Xiang, the king of Qi, and Liu Chang, the king of Huainan, showed their superiority, they were ultimately defeated because their relatives were too domineering or had a close relationship with Empress Lü. After weighing it repeatedly, Chen and Erren chose Liu Heng, the acting king who still had no deep background, to inherit the unification.
Liu Heng was deeply suspicious of this, and he was at a loss to follow the intentions of Chen and Zhou, but he knew that the attraction of the imperial throne was huge. So he first asked his uncle to go to Chang'an to inquire about the situation, and then installed trusted cronies to control the military forces in Chang'an City and the palace. Finally, after many preparations, Liu Heng entered the palace and officially ascended the throne.
Soon after, Liu Heng used the means of bribery and suppression to play games with the meritorious group, and it was not until Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty came to power that the meritorious group really declined.