Liu Wu, King of Liang, the second son of Emperor Wen of the Western Han Dynasty Liu Heng and Empress Dowager Dou, the younger brother of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty, and the monarch of Liang State. During his 24 years in charge of the Liang State, he paid attention to recruiting talents, which made the Liang State enter the heyday of history, especially creating the most prosperous cultural situation in the history of the Liang State.
Liu Wu, the king of Liang, was known for his filial piety, and he was filial to his mother, Empress Dowager Dou, and loyal to his brother, Emperor Liu Qi of Han.
Unfortunately, due to the improper handling of the issue of succession to the throne, a large political turmoil was triggered, which led to an estrangement between him and Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty, so he was frustrated and hated, and finally died of a violent illness.
This has to start with a palace banquet in the third year of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty. At that banquet, in addition to Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty, the participants included King Liang, Empress Dowager Dou and her nephew Dou Ying.
At first, the atmosphere of the banquet was warm and everyone was very happy. Unexpectedly, when he was drunk, Emperor Jing of Han casually promised Liu Wu, the king of Liang, the words of "long live the thousand autumns and pass it on to the king", which means that Emperor Jing of Han will pass the throne to his brother King Liang one day in the future.
Although King Liang knew that this was not the original intention of the imperial brother, he was secretly happy in his heart and kept this matter in his heart. Empress Dowager Dou, who was on the side, naturally agreed. However, Dou Ying expressed his resolute opposition to Emperor Jing of Han's promise of succession in accordance with the "Han Law Covenant" of the former Emperor Liu Bang.
The Empress Dowager Dou was very angry when she heard Dou Ying's words, and Dou Ying offended the Empress Dowager Dou because of this. In the same year, the "Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms" led by Liu Bi, the king of Wu, broke out, and the king of Liang held on to Suiyang to resist the rebels, making great contributions to the suppression of the rebellion of the Han Dynasty.
Because of their meritorious efforts in quelling the rebellion, Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty and Empress Dowager Dou rewarded King Liang, and King Liang even received the same treatment as Emperor Jing of Han, and he could enter and leave the palace of the Son of Heaven at will.
In the fourth year of Emperor Jing, Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty set up his eldest son Liu Rong as the crown prince according to the ancestral system, although King Liang was helpless, but the complex of "emperor dream" lingered in his heart.
Surprisingly, Liu Rong was deposed after only three years of being made crown prince. Liu Rong's deposition once again ignited the spark of Emperor Liang's dream, and he believed that the time had come to inherit the throne, so he deliberately went to Beijing to plot this matter with Empress Dowager Dou.
Empress Dowager Dou took the opportunity to exert force on Emperor Han Jing and constantly reminded Emperor Han Jing to fulfill that promise. However, due to the resolute opposition of Yuan Ang and other courtiers, Empress Dowager Dou no longer insisted, so Liu Wu, the king of Liang, returned to Liang.
King Liang's "emperor dream" came to naught, but the seeds of hatred for Dou Ying and Yuan Ang were planted in his heart. King Liang's "dream of being emperor" did not end there, and his ambitions swelled day by day, which then caused a considerable political storm. The always arrogant King Liang decided to take revenge on the courtiers who had been handed down by Emperor Jing of Han.
King Liang instructed Yang Sheng, Gongsun Wei and others to carry out assassination activities against Yuan Ang and other courtiers. After the incident, Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty sent someone to find out that the murderer behind the incident was actually Liu Wu, the king of Liang.
Emperor Jing of Han was furious and determined to bring King Liang to justice. Later, under the mediation and protection of the Empress Dowager Dou, King Liang put the blame on Yang Sheng and Gongsun Wei, and made them commit suicide, which can be regarded as escaping.
After this turmoil, Emperor Jing of Han began to hate and deliberately alienate King Liang. A few years later, King Liang saw that there was no hope of succeeding to the throne, so he died depressed. The "emperor dream" of Liu Wu, the king of Liang, was finally shattered.
King Liang and Empress Dowager Dou sent forces to Emperor Jing of Han's promise to be located in King Liang, which was strongly supported by Empress Dowager Dou. First of all, King Liang is loyal and filial, benevolent, righteous and kind. King Liang was known for his filial piety, and he was very filial to his mother, the Empress Dowager Dou, and whenever he heard that the Empress Dowager was sick, he was always restless.
Before the incident of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty passing on the throne of King Liang, he was full of deep friendship with his brother Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty, loyally defended the society of the country, and made outstanding achievements in the process of fighting against the "Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms".
Secondly, he likes elegance, has the style of a courteous and virtuous corporal, and is full of famous people in the world, forming a political and cultural group with a strong centripetal force around him. Under the vigorous advocacy of King Liang, the culture of Liang presented a very prosperous situation.
However, the shortcomings of King Liang are also obvious. First of all, he is domineering, overjoyed, and ambitious. The Liang State "lives in the world", the land is vast and rich, the economy is rich, and the court's reward to the King of Liang is "invincible", "there are more jewels and jade treasures than the Beijing Division", and the wealth is huge.
Liang is located in the national capital Chang'an, the throat of the southeastern vassal states, the geographical location is quite important. King Liang relied on his status and merits, and lived a luxurious life.
In addition, King Liang enjoyed the same treatment as the Son of Heaven, and the pacification of the "Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms" turned the Han court from danger to safety, and his outstanding military exploits were enough to become his proud political capital.
The deposition of the crown prince Liu Rong seems to have made King Liang see the opportunity to inherit the throne and provided King Liang with the possibility of succession. With political capital, material foundation, and practical possibilities in place, King Liang's ambition to covet the throne continued to swell.
Secondly, he is narrow-minded and will be retribution. After the crown prince Liu Rong was deposed, King Liang thought that the military exploits of the "Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms" and the support of the Empress Dowager Dou could easily realize his "emperor dream". But when he saw that Emperor Jing of Han had broken his promise and decided to make Liu Che the crown prince, he began to resent Yuan Ang and other courtiers.
In fact, his narrow-mindedness is not accidental, it has been manifested in the "Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms". King Liang's narrow-mindedness naturally would not let go of Yuan An, he coveted the throne and failed, so he became angry with Yuan Ang and a group of courtiers, and sent assassins to carry out assassination activities, causing a lot of political turmoil.
Although the assassination was caused by Emperor Jing's dishonesty, it was mainly caused by King Liang's narrow-minded and retributive character. King Liang is the chaser of the "emperor's dream", so Empress Dowager Dou is his backer and staunch supporter.
Empress Dowager Dou played a role in Liu Wu's pursuit of the "emperor's dream". If there was no Empress Dowager Dou, a joke at the banquet between Emperor Jing of Han and King Liang, maybe the two sides would laugh it off, which could only help deepen the brotherly relationship, at least not cause a tragedy.
Judging from the historical records, the Empress Dowager Dou is a typical woman from a good family, with a serious idea of "farmhouse", and she is full of doting on her young son Liu Wu. Judging from the sentence "the reward is invincible" to King Liang, her approach is a bit excessive, and her "farmhouse" thinking makes it difficult to distinguish between family affairs and state affairs, so that the two are confused.
As soon as someone objected to the matter of the legend of King Liang, it would immediately touch her sensitive nerves, causing her to immediately erupt full of anger. Didn't Dou Ying suffer hardships? King Liang's fatal character shortcomings and Empress Dowager Dou's idea of "farmhouse" were the main driving forces behind the tragedy of King Liang.
According to the ancestral system of the Han Dynasty, it is natural for the son to inherit the father's business, and after Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty deposed the crown prince, the throne can be inherited by other princes, and it will not be the turn of his younger brother Liu Wu in any case.
Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty's promise to pass on to the king of Liang was only based on the objective situation that he had not been on the throne long ago, the situation was difficult, and the princes were young and could not be appointed as the crown princes.
King Liang, as the younger brother of Emperor Jing of Han, undoubtedly became an important force that Emperor Jing of Han could rely on. The outbreak of the "Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms" just verified this idea of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty.
In terms of personality, Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty was a mean, calculating, and capricious person, who had wrongfully killed his important ministers. For the succession to the throne, Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty first appointed the crown prince Liu Rong, who was deposed within a few years, and then Liu Rong was forced to commit suicide.
Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty was still like this to the prince, and he must have known the usual performance of the tyrannical and narrow-minded King Liang. According to Emperor Han Jingdi's capricious character, he can completely say that it doesn't count. Therefore, he will not be passed on to the king of Liang.
Dou Ying and Yuan Ang were staunch supporters of the imperial power of the Han Jing Emperor, and the two considered the problem from the perspective of the country's long-term peace and stability, without the slightest selfish distraction. They dare to take responsibility, speak up, don't care about personal gains and losses, and are not afraid of offending King Liang and Empress Dowager Dou. Dou Ying, Yuan Ang and other courtiers successfully persuaded Emperor Jing of Han to pass on to the king of Liang because they won the emperor's trust.
From the above analysis, it can be seen that the turmoil of King Liang's "emperor's dream" was caused by the vicious expansion of King Liang's ambition and Empress Dowager Dou's blind insistence, and its inducement was the idea of "farmhouse" formed by Emperor Jingdi of Han and Empress Dowager Dou's narrow-mindedness and personal temperament.
The reason why King Liang's "emperor dream" was shattered was due to factors such as the agreement of the Han ancestral system, the character of Emperor Jing of Han himself, and the pressure of courtiers to resolutely support the ancestral system, but more importantly, in the game of the two political forces around the issue of succession to the throne, the power of determination was finally in the hands of the supreme Emperor Jing of Han.
The lessons of King Liang's life tragedy caused by the collapse of his "dream of being the emperor" and his depressed end can be described as thought-provoking. First, be careful in what you say and do. In the era of feudal autocracy, the emperor had the authority to speak his word.
As the supreme ruler of the Han Dynasty, Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty made any promises for any purpose, which is a serious irresponsible performance.
Judging from the historical records of Emperor Han Jing's sentence "calmly speaking", Emperor Han Jing did not lose his words after drinking, let alone spit out the truth after drinking, but a joke.
This casual promise made by Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty when his consciousness was still clear, but Liu Wu, the king of Liang, was unforgettable and haunted for the rest of his life, causing a lot of political turmoil and causing the king of Liang to finally embark on a road of no return.
Because it is rumored that King Liang is the emperor's brother himself, Dou Ying and his mother Empress Dowager Dou testify. The speaker has no intention, but the listener has a heart. This is a profound lesson to learn as a leader.
The second person is self-aware. King Liang's "Emperor Dream" turmoil originated from a joke of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty, which was absurd by King Liang's seriousness and Empress Dowager Dou's repeated insistence.
King Liang's "dream of being emperor" was not to usurp the throne, but to achieve his own goals through proper means and legal procedures.
King Liang had no ambition to covet the throne, and it was Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty's promise and Empress Dowager Dou's favoritism and encouragement that gave birth to King Liang's idea of non-division.
Therefore, the ambition of King Liang's "emperor dream" continued to expand, and Empress Dowager Dou and Emperor Jing of Han had an unshirkable responsibility. Once the "emperor dream" was shattered, King Liang was disappointed and hated, and actually took the action of assassinating Yuan Ang and other courtiers, which made a big mistake in his life.
Far from helping King Liang to seize the throne, the assassination pushed King Liang into danger.
To a certain extent, the expansion of the ambition of King Liang's "emperor dream" would more or less bring unstability to the unified regime of the Han court, and his assassination of courtiers had violated the laws of the Han Empire, which was full of potential threats and was not allowed to be accepted by Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty.
It was the assassination of Yuan Ang and other courtiers that made Emperor Jing of Han change his previous opinion of his younger brother King Liang and distance himself from him step by step. If King Liang can keep to himself, he may be able to spend the rest of his life in peace. People are self-aware, and the "blister" under King Liang's feet is exactly what he came out of.