Preface
On the ancient political stage, the scenes of Zhou Yafu, Dou Ying, Chao Cuo, Yuan An, and Tian Wei, these heavyweights intertwined and competed for power, are like a splendid and colorful historical picture. Under this seemingly calm appearance, the dark tide is surging, and the wrestling of interest groups has never stopped.
The contradictions between the imperial power and the ministers, and the disputes between the ministers and the ministers, are nothing but a game of interests. Do you think you get it? Let's find out what kind of machinations are going on behind these power struggles?
Chao Cuo and Yuan An: The joint counterattack of the hero's relatives
At the beginning of the succession of Emperor Liu Qi of the Han Dynasty, the government and the opposition were peaceful. However, the undercurrent is surging, and the contradictions between the imperial power and the foreign relatives and heroes are intensifying. As the teacher of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty, Chao Cuo advocated a radical policy of cutting feudal domains, which was intended to strengthen the centralization of power. This practice directly threatens the vested interests of foreign relatives and meritorious heroes.
Chao Cuo came from a humble background, but with his talent and loyalty, he became the most trusted advisor of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty. He knew that only by weakening the strength of the vassal king could he establish a stable internal environment for the Han Dynasty, so as to free up his hands to fight against the external Xiongnu. However, this practice will undoubtedly offend the relatives and meritorious groups who are attached to the vassal king.
Dou Ying, as the crown prince and concubine, has fundamental differences with Chao Cuo's proposition. As a representative of the group of foreign relatives, he advocated gradual and orderly progress and should not be in a hurry. After all, the strategy of boiling frogs in warm water during the period of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty also achieved certain results. Moreover, Dou Ying knew that once the strength of the vassal kings was weakened, the forces of his relatives would inevitably be hit.
At the same time, the hero Yuan Ang also harbored a deep hatred for Chao Cuo. Chao Cuo once participated in one of his books and almost killed him. What's more, Yuan An's best friend Shen Tujia was also angry to death. These grievances and entanglements made Yuan Ang more determined to get rid of Chao Wrong.
At the moment of crisis, Dou Ying and Yuan Ang joined forces to fight back. Dou Ying found Yuan Ang and asked him to come forward to kill Chao Cuo. "Your Majesty, now only one person is needed, and the rebels will naturally retreat without a fight. Yuan Ang said. He even framed Chao Cuo as the mastermind behind forcing the vassal king to make a rebellion, in an attempt to get Emperor Jing of Han to abolish Chao Cuo.
Faced with the joint efforts of Dou Ying and Yuan An, Emperor Jing of Han was in a dilemma. On the one hand, Chao Cuo is his brain trust, and he is a key figure in the implementation of the policy of cutting the feudal domain. On the other hand, Dou Ying and Yuan Ang are both his confidants, and if he offends them, the government will fall into chaos.
In the end, Emperor Jing of Han chose to sacrifice Chao Cuo in exchange for the support of Dou Ying and Yuan An. Chao Cuo was beheaded in the city, and Dou Ying and Yuan Ang won temporarily. However, this is only the beginning of the power struggle.
Dou Ying and Zhou Yafu: A direct confrontation between the relatives of the heroes
Chao Cuo's death did not calm the turmoil in the government and the opposition. On the contrary, a new contradiction soon emerged - the showdown between Dou Ying and Zhou Yafu. Zhou Yafu, as a minister of military merit, represented the interests of the army. And Dou Ying is the representative of the Waiqi group. The interests of the two men are fundamentally conflicting and they are destined to be difficult to work together.
As a military hero, Zhou Yafu was an indispensable force in the eyes of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty. He once quelled the Rebellion of the Seven Kings and made considerable achievements in military affairs. Although Dou Ying is quite talented in governing the country, after all, he was born in a group of relatives and has not made much achievements in the military.
Emperor Jing of Han saw through this, so he began to sow discord. He first took advantage of the vacancy of the lieutenant position to let Dou Ying and Zhou Yafu have their own opinions. Dou Ying recommended Luan Bu, while Zhou Yafu recommended his henchman Han Rong. The two argued, and in the end they were both ignored by Emperor Jing of Han.
Next, Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty deposed the crown prince Liu Rong, deposed Prime Minister Tao Qing, and promoted Zhou Yafu to Prime Minister. This is also a heavy blow to Dou Ying, because Liu Rong is not only Dou Ying's student, but also his successor.
However, Zhou Yafu is a martial artist after all, and he does not have the talent to govern the country. Soon, because of a gaffe, he was denounced as a "cowardly person" by Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty. In the end, Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty took Zhou Yafu's son into custody on the grounds that he had purchased armor, causing him to die on a hunger strike.
Dou Ying witnessed all this, but there was nothing he could do. He could only obtain a "testament" before Emperor Jing of Han died, allowing him to "act cheaply". However, this edict was actually forged and became the handle of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty to deal with Dou Ying in the future.
Dou Ying and Tian Wei: You sing and I will appear
After Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty Liu Che succeeded to the throne, Dou Ying was once reused. However, with the death of Empress Dowager Dou, his position began to waver. The power of the court fell into the hands of Tian Wei and the Empress Dowager Wang Huan.
Tian Wei came from a humble background, but with his own sycophancy, he successfully entered Wang Wan's field of vision. From a small Lang official, he has risen step by step to the top of the hundred officials, which can be said to be all the way up. For such a person, Dou Ying is naturally disdainful. After all, he was the teacher of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty and had a high status in the court.
However, Tian Wei took a fancy to Dou Ying's real estate in the south of the city and sent someone to ask for it. This is a provocation to Dou Ying. As a representative of the foreign relatives group, Dou Ying naturally will not give in easily. His good brother Bushman directly beat up the people sent by Tian Wei.
Dou Ying, who was furious, decided to take out the "edict" of Emperor Jing of Han and bring down Tian Wei. Unexpectedly, this edict was found in the palace without a trace, and it was confirmed to be a forgery. In the face of Dou Ying's crime of "false edict", although Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty had concerns, Zhang Tang, the court commander, said categorically: "The false edict is a great crime of disrespect, and I will be beheaded in the city, and at the same time, I will exterminate the clan! The national law is like this, even Your Majesty cannot be pardoned!"
In this way, the Dou Ying clan was all exterminated. Although Tian Wei won, he also fell seriously ill because of this, and finally died in the cynicism of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.
epilogue
The brutality of this power struggle also reflects the complexity of the society at the time. The contradictions between the imperial power and the meritorious officials of foreign relatives and the entanglement of interests between ministers all reflect this point. Even seemingly righteous actions are difficult to escape from the fate of being taken advantage of. That's the essence of Game of Thrones.
We have to sigh that even in this seemingly calm and prosperous era, there are undercurrents surging, and the wrestling of interest groups has never stopped. The imperial power is the ultimate winner, and the ministers are nothing more than pawns to be manipulated. The brutality of this power struggle also makes us have to think twice. We have to understand that in this power game, no one is the real winner, only the imperial power is the ultimate winner.