After Liu Bang's death, Liu Ying ascended the throne as Emperor Hui of the Han Dynasty. Liu Ying was cowardly and indecisive by nature, and the power gradually fell into the hands of Empress Lu. After Liu Ying died of illness, Empress Lu monopolized the government and turned the Liu family world into the Lu family's world, and the court ministers and the Liu clan were deeply indignant, but they were afraid of the cruelty of the Lu family and dared not speak out. After Empress Lü fell ill and died, Zhu Lü was terrified and feared being hurt and ostracized.
So, he secretly gathered at the house of General Lu Lu and conspired to cause chaos in order to completely seize the Liu family. This matter reached the ears of Liu Xiang, the king of Qi of the Liu clan, Liu Xiang decided to raise troops to fight against Zhu Lu in order to protect the Liu family, and then got in touch with the founding ministers Zhou Bo and Chen Ping, and designed to dismiss Lu Lu, Zhu Lu was executed regardless of men, women and children, and the Lu group was completely wiped out.
However, after quelling the Zhulu Rebellion, it was Liu Heng, the acting king, who ascended to the throne. It is known that he played little role in this operation. Correspondingly, Liu Xiang, the king of Qi who made great contributions, was the eldest grandson of Liu Bang, but he failed to ascend the throne, why is this?
One
Specifically, Liu Xiang (?-179 BC), the eldest grandson of Liu Bang, the ancestor of the Han Dynasty, the eldest son of Liu Fei, the king of Qi Mourning, and the nephew of Emperor Liu Ying of the Han Dynasty and Emperor Liu Heng of the Han Dynasty. In 189 BC, Liu Fei died, and Liu Xiang became the throne of Qi. In 188 BC, Emperor Hui of the Han Dynasty Liu Ying died at the age of 23. In the following year, Lü Tai was crowned king, and Jinan County was cut off as the fiefdom of King Lü. And this naturally aroused the dissatisfaction of Liu Xiang, the king of Qi, and prompted him to stand on the opposite side of the Lu family.
In 186 BC, Liu Xiang's younger brother Liu Zhang entered Chang'an and was named Marquis of Zhu Xu. In 180 B.C., Empress Lu died, Lü Chan and Lü Lu attempted to mutiny, Liu Zhang knew his plan, and told Liu Xiang to send troops into the pass to punish Zhu Lü, in order to seize the throne, Liu Xiang then raised troops to the west. For Liu Xiang, there was a plan to compete for the throne of the Western Han Dynasty emperor from the beginning. When Lu Chan heard the news, he sent the infant to lead the troops to meet the attack, and the infant was sent to Xingyang to make peace with Qi Lian. After Guan Ying and others defected, Liu Xiang, Liu Zhang, Zhou Bo, and Chen Ping destroyed Zhu Lu and pacified the civil strife.
Two
After the Zhulu Rebellion was put down, Liu Bang's eldest grandson, King Qi, was the best candidate for the emperor in terms of blood and merit. Moreover, the Qi country where Liu Xiang is located was also very wealthy in the Western Han Dynasty, and it is far from being comparable to the country where Liu Heng is located, similar to the current first-tier cities and third- and fourth-tier cities. In other words, if you really want to compete for strength, Liu Heng is not Liu Xiang's opponent.
Therefore, Liu Xiang was also happily preparing to enter Chang'an, looking forward to the supreme throne. However, at the critical moment, the early Han Dynasty Hero Group recommended Liu Heng, the son of Liu Bang who did not like it, to be the emperor. In this regard, in the eyes of many historians, a key role in hindering Liu Xiang's accession to the throne was Liu Ze, the king of Langya.
According to the records of the Book of Han and other historical materials, when Liu Xiang, the king of Qi, raised his army, he designed to hold Liu Ze hostage and seize Langya's army, and Liu Ze held a grudge. Later, Liu Ze pretended to go to Chang'an to persuade the ministers to establish Liu Xiang as the emperor, but after he arrived in Chang'an, he pointed out: Liu Xiang's uncle Sijun is not a good type, and if Liu Xiang is established, the matter of the Lu family being the country will be repeated. In the end, Zhou Bo and Chen Ping supported Liu Heng, the fourth son of Gaozu of the Han Dynasty, as the emperor and Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty.
Three
Further, the strength of relatives has become a disadvantage for Liu Xiang, the king of Qi. Once the king of Qi was supported to enter the imperial court, his relatives would also grow, which would undoubtedly cultivate another Lu clan, so the heroes of the early Han Dynasty could not agree to the king of Qi ascending the throne. Bo Ji, the mother of Liu Heng, was originally the concubine of Wei Bao, the king of Wei, at the end of Qin. In the early days of the Chu-Han dispute, Wei Bao attached himself to the Han and rebelled against the Han, but was defeated and captured by the Han generals Han Xin and Cao Shen, and was later killed by the Han general Zhou Cao. Therefore, Bo Ji became a prisoner and sent to the weaving room to weave cloth. Later, Liu Bang saw that she was a little beautiful, so he was included in the harem, and he was not pampered for more than a year.
Because his mother's family has little power, after Liu Heng ascends the throne, there will be no problem of relatives interfering in court politics, which prompted him to get the support of heroes in the early Han Dynasty. For the heroes of the early Han Dynasty, knowing that only by helping Liu Heng, who had no chance or background, to the throne, Liu Heng would be grateful to the heroes, only promised, and obedient, but after Liu Xiang, the king of Qi, ascended the throne, because of his own strength, he would not respect these old ministers too much.
In addition, in order to ensure Liu Heng's smooth accession to the throne, the hero Guan Ying in the early Han Dynasty led troops to be stationed in Xingyang to threaten the Qi army's grain route, and then Zhou Bo and Chen Ping used the return of the three counties of Chengyang, Langya, and Jinan of Qi that the Lu clan had plundered as a lure to force Liu Xiang, the king of Qi, to withdraw from the competition for the throne. Under the combined factors, Liu Xiang, the king of Qi, could only lead troops back to China. In the end, King Qi, who had the greatest credit and the most righteous blood, did not get to the throne of the emperor of the Western Han Dynasty. What do you think about this?