Bai Juyi has a poem that reads like this:
Give the king a way to solve the doubts, no need to drill the turtle and wish the yarrow. (Drill turtle and wish yarrow are both ways of divination)
The test jade should be burned for three days, and the material must be aged for seven years.
Zhou Gong was afraid of rumors, and Wang Mang was humble and did not usurp the time.
Xiang Xiang died at the beginning, and who knows the truth of his life.
When I was reading the history of Zhou, I said that the Duke of Zhou really had an attempt to usurp power, which led to several younger brothers to launch a rebellion, and finally was forced to return the power to his nephew, but his son's fiefdom of the State of Lu left a trace, that is, only the Song State of other vassal states was eligible to use the specifications of the Song when sacrificing their ancestors, so why did the State of Lu use the specifications of the Song? In any case, the Duke of Zhou returned to power, and the Zhou Dynasty passed the bottleneck crisis.
Wang Mang is different.
The object of Wang Mang's imitation
1. Emerging stars
Wang Mang's great-grandfather did the imperial history of embroidery of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, and his grandfather Wang Ban did the history of Tingwei, and gave birth to four daughters and eight boys: the eldest queen Junxia, the second queen Zhengjunjun, that is, the empress of Emperor Yuan of the Han Dynasty, the third queen Junli, and the fourth queen's younger brother; The day after Wang Zhengjun entered the palace was the time when the Wang family was born.
Although the Wang family was prosperous, Wang Mang's father Wang Man died early and failed to be crowned with Wang Feng's seven brothers, so the history books said that he was "young and lonely", and his aunt Wang Zhengjun, the empress of Emperor Han Yuan, took pity on Wang Mang for losing his father at a young age, so he took him to "raise the harem".
In this special situation, Wang Mang had to mix in the top of the ruling class on the one hand, and at the same time, he understood the importance of power better than ordinary gentlemen.
Wang Mang studied diligently since he was a child, worshipped Confucianism as his teacher, traveled with learned people, and his mother and widowed sister-in-law were extremely filial, thus winning an excellent reputation. Especially to his uncle and Da Sima Wang Feng, he is obedient and prepared. Shi Feng's illness "tasted the medicine himself, messed up, and did not undress for months", thus moving Wang Feng. In the autumn of the third year of Yangshuo (22 BC), before Wang Feng died, he entrusted him to Empress Yuan and Emperor Cheng. Therefore, after Wang Feng's death, the 24-year-old Wang Mang was appointed as Huangmenlang, moved to the school captain, and entered the official career from then on. Huang Menlang is a subordinate official of the Shaofu, 600 stones, and a lieutenant of the Shooting Voice, more than 2,000 stones, a deputy ministerial-level cadre.
After entering the political arena, Wang Mang became more and more respectful. On the one hand, he befriended his uncles and uncles, and on the other hand, he won over the bureaucrats and celebrities in the opposition. At that time, some bureaucrats and aristocrats, especially Wang's relatives, were "extravagant and extravagant, and they were high-spirited with their voices", but Wang Mang, unlike other nobles, won the favor of uncles and uncles and the emperor. Wang Shang once wrote that he was willing to give him a part of his fiefdom, and after the Yuan Dynasty in the first year of Yongshi (16 years ago), Wang Man was posthumously named the Marquis of the new capital, and the 30-year-old Wang Mang's heir successively served as the captain of the cavalry, the doctor of Guanglu, and the servant. Captain Cavalry and Doctor Guanglu are both more than 2,000 stones, but Doctor Guanglu and Servant are government officials, while Captain Shooting and Captain Riding are military attachés.
After Wang Mang was promoted to the close minister of the Su Guard, "the Su Wei is cautious, the title is respectful, and the temperament is more humble." He did not hesitate to "scatter the clothes and clothes of the horses, give to the guests, and have nothing left at home", and he made extensive friends among celebrities and bureaucrats, and more and more people advocated for him, and his reputation gradually surpassed that of his uncles.
Wang Mang is good at using subtleties to show difference, such as not only raising widowed sisters-in-law and orphaned nephews, but also often "serving sheep wine" to comfort his nephew's teachers and classmates. He also specially married his eldest son and nephew on the same day, and during the wedding banquet, he left the table several times, claiming to go to feed his sick mother with medicine, these actions won Wang Mang the reputation of "virtuous" and "filial piety". Mang once bought a maidservant, but later he was afraid that others would say that he was as lustful as some other scholars, so he hurriedly confessed: I heard that General Zhu Bo had no children, and this maid was bought for General Zhu, so he gave the maid to Zhu Bo on the same day. This practice, in the last years of the Western Han Dynasty, when the ruling class was desolate and decadent, appeared to be different from the "public", so it was praised by the government and the opposition.
At that time, it was at the time when the Marquis of Quyang Wang Gen was the assistant of the Great Sima. Due to Wang Gen's long-term illness, he asked to be dismissed, according to the status at that time, the successor to Wang Gen as the great Sima should be Chun Yuchang, because Chun Yuchang was the aunt of the Yuan Queen, and because of the help of the emperor's favorite concubine Zhao Feiyan to become the queen, and was reused by the emperor, given the title of Marquis of Guannei, and later named the Marquis of Ling. Wang Mang is under Chun Yu Chang, and if he wants to obtain the position of Great Sima, he must first remove Chun Yu Chang. Wang Mang found out that Chun Yuchang was having an affair with the deposed sister of Empress Xu, so he first said to Wang Gen: Chun Yuchang is very happy to see that you are seriously ill. Wang Gen was very angry and asked Wang Mang to report directly to the Empress Yuan, and Wang Mang reported Chun Yuchang's adultery and other "arrogance" and other manifestations to the Empress Dowager one by one. The Empress Dowager was furious and spared the chief, and then discovered a conspiracy to help Empress Xu re-establish, and was convicted of great rebellion and died in prison.
got rid of his political enemies, and the position left by Wang Gen was firmly occupied by Wang Mang. When Wang Gen officially retired in November of the first year of Emperor Suihe (8 years ago), the 38-year-old Wang Mang was promoted to the rank of Great Sima, and succeeded Wang Feng, Wang Shang, Wang Yin, and Wang Gen as assistants.
Wang Mang served as the Great Sima for less than half a year, that is, in 7 BC, Emperor Cheng died, and Liu Xin succeeded to the throne as the grandson of Emperor Yuan, and had nothing to do with Wang Zhengjun. It was only because Emperor Cheng had no children that Liu Xin became the emperor's heir, and his grandmother Fu and mother Ding became powerful. Wang Mang was well versed in the changes in the court, and when he saw that the situation was unfavorable, he took the initiative to write a "beggar bones" to ask for retirement, and the emperor mourned that he was given preferential treatment and was not allowed. Special Prime Minister Kong Guang and others were reckless. Soon, Wang Mang had a conflict with the Empress Dowager Fu: at that time, because Emperor Mourning was drinking wine in Weiyang Palace, Empress Dowager Fu and Emperor Mourning sat side by side. Wang Mang ordered that Empress Dowager Fu was a concubine and was not allowed to sit with the emperor, and ordered her seat to be removed. Empress Dowager Fu was furious, so Wang Mang "begged bones" again, Emperor Wai knew that Wang's power was blazing, and he specially expressed his tolerance and rewarded, but the contradiction could not be concealed, and under the continuous expansion of the power of Ding's and Fu's relatives, Wang's relatives were squeezed out of the court.
In the second year of Jianping (5 years ago), the conflict between Wang Mang and Fu became public again: Wang Mang opposed the Empress Dowager Fu and Ding Ji both called the honorific title (Empress Dowager, Empress Dowager), and was participated by Zhu Bo in the "Reckless and Respectful Righteousness, Suppress and Depreciate the Honorific Title", "Please be exempted from being a concubine". Because Wang Mang was a close relative of the Empress Yuan, Emperor Mourning expressed "favor", "unavoidable, sent to the country" was expelled from the court, Wang Mang was forced to retire, and after returning to the new capital of Nanyang to seal the country, due to the control of the government by the two relatives of Ding and Fu, first the relatives Fu Xi was the great Sima, and later by Fu Yan and Ding Ming took turns to assist the government, and the power of the Wang family in the court was reduced.
Wang Mang lost power in the imperial court, but his reputation in the township grew, once, his son Wang was killed a slave maid, Wang Mang forced his son to commit suicide to pay for his life, according to the law at the time, the nobles killed the slave and the maid will not pay for their lives, not to mention the noble relatives like Wang, in the bureaucratic and aristocratic circle where "strangling the maid" is like a child's play, Wang Mang's actions caused a great shock. As a result, many people were upset about his resignation, and some people wrote books to praise him. Wang Mang has always paid attention to the scholars, married a good magistrate, Kong Xiu guarded the new capital, Wang Mang gave him a good gift, and gave him a beautiful jade sword "to think it is good", so as to get the favor of the scholars and magistrates.
Wang Mang worked hard and soon got results. In the first year of Yuanshou (2 years ago), there was a solar eclipse, and the virtuous Zhou Hu, Song Chong and others took the opportunity to advocate for Wang Mang in front of the emperor, so Emperor Wai recalled Wang Mang. Previously, Empress Dowager Ding and Empress Dowager Fu died, and Emperor Mourning relied on Dong Xian to assist the government. But after the death of Emperor Mourning, Dong Xian didn't even know how to arrange the funeral, and Empress Yuan immediately ordered Wang Mang to be recalled to "Zuo" Dong Xian to manage affairs.
After Wang Mang returned, he played Dong Xian "for the great Sima disagrees with the people", expelled from the palace, collected the seal of the great Sima, and forced Dong Xian to commit suicide. The once-prosperous Ding, Fu's foreign relatives and Dong Xian were completely wiped out. Under the great Situ Kongguang, Wang Mang was once the great Sima, and was a close relative of the queen mother, and Wang Mang was promoted as the great Sima, and the former general He Wu and the left general Gongsun Lu opposed it, and the queen mother of course did not accept it, so Wang Mang was reappointed as the great Sima, led the Shangshu affairs, and continued to assist the government.
After Wang Mang was reappointed as the Great Sima, the first thing he did was to discuss with the Queen Mother to establish an heir. Emperor Mourning had no children, and decided to establish Liu Yan, the grandson of Emperor Yuan, Prince of Sun Yat-sen, as the emperor. In the first year of the Common Era, Liu Yan, who was only 9 years old and was disabled, was pushed to the throne, and the 72-year-old Empress Yuan was put in power. This old and young man had to hand over the government to Wang Mang to deal with.
Wang Mang was in power, and first abolished Emperor Cheng Empress Zhao and Empress Mourning Emperor Fu as concubines, forced him to commit suicide, and did not allow Emperor Ping's mother Wei to enter Beijing. The purpose of this was to completely eradicate the resurgence of other groups of relatives who were enemies of Wang's relatives. Wang Mang's son Wang Yu once helped the Wei Group, was discovered by Wang Mang, and was also executed, and even his daughter-in-law was killed after giving birth. The former general He Wu and the left general Gongsun Lu once held an opposing attitude, and were dismissed by Wang Mang from the performance, and later executed. Wang Li, Marquis of Hongyang, is the younger brother of Empress Yuan, Wang Mang's uncle, Wang Mang is afraid of hindering his dictatorship, and he also fabricates charges to ask the Queen Mother to let him go to the country, and the Queen Mother has no choice but to send Wang Li out.
Wang Mang pushed the famous Confucian Situ Kong Guang to the forefront, and whoever wanted to punish him would make Kong Guang play the Yuan Dynasty, but Kong Guang would not dare not go up. Wang Mang also instigated the Empress Dowager to approve Kong Guang's proposal. Wang Mang's henchmen Zhen Feng, Zhen Han, Ping Yan, Liu Xin, Sun Jian, etc., were respectively entrusted with important tasks, and the court was controlled by Wang Mang from then on.
After Wang Mang seized power, he instructed his henchmen to sing praises and praise their virtues, and he himself repeatedly pushed and conceded, expressing "humility", and as a result, the more "conceited", the greater Wang Mang's official title and the higher the power position. In the first year of the Yuan Dynasty (the first year of the Common Era), Wang Mang was named "Duke of Anhan" after the Yuan Dynasty, and he was above the three dukes. At this time, he was like Zhou Gong.
Wang Mang Dafeng's fellow party Kong Guang and Wang Yun were the marquis of Lieu and the marquis of Guannei. Soon, in the name of "the queen mother should not be in charge of small matters", the hundred officials did not have to report to the queen mother, and the new officials did not need to meet the queen mother, and all of them were arranged by the Anhan government. In this way, even the power of the Empress Yuan was taken away by him.
In the second year of the first year of the Yuan Dynasty (2 A.D.), Wang Mang married his daughter to the 13-year-old Emperor Ping as the queen, and asked Wang Mang to give 25,600 hectares of Xinnoda, but Wang Mang refused to accept it, and gave 20,000 catties of gold, 20,000 yuan, Wang Mang only accepted 40 million, of which 33 million was given to the 11 families who married and the poor among the nine tribes. This performance really achieved the expected effect, and the great Situ Chen Chong, who had already understood Wang Mang's intentions, praised Wang Mang's "merits", and Wang Yun and others "toured the world" to publicize Wang Mang's refusal to accept the land. Wang Shun and others asked Jia'an Han Gong to be Zai Heng, compared to Yi Yin and Zhou Gong, and the Yuan Empress immediately complied, and Wang Mang accepted it after some pushing.
The number of people who wrote to ask for a reward for An Han Gong amounted to 487,572 people.
Wang Mang's status and power are thriving, and in May of the first five years of Emperor Ping (5 AD), he added "nine tins" to him after the Yuan Dynasty. The wind watcher brought back a forged ballad of 30,000 words praising Wang Mang. Liu Qing, Marquis of Quanling, wrote to "order An Han Gong to do the things of the Son of Heaven, such as the Duke of Zhou". At that time, Emperor Ping was already 14 years old, and he had dictatorship over Wang Mang, forbidding his mother to go to Beijing, killing his relatives and resenting him, and he was unwilling to listen to Wang Mang in everything. In the first five years of the Yuan Dynasty (5 A.D.), Wang Mang took the opportunity of "Shangjiao wine" to "put the medicinal wine", Emperor Ping was poisoned after drinking the medicinal wine, Wang Mang was willing to replace him, hidden in the golden treasure, placed in the front hall, and deliberately made the princes not speak. After Emperor Ping was poisoned, Wang Mang expressed his condolences and granted amnesty to the world, ordering officials to mourn for three years with more than 600 stones.
Then, Liu Ying, a two-year-old son of Liu Xian, the Marquis of Guangqi, was found from the Liu clan and made him the emperor and was called Ruziying. Wang Shun and others asked Empress Yuan to issue an edict, ordering Wang Mang to live "like the story of the Duke of Zhou", and all etiquette was the same as that of the Son of Heaven, and he acted as the emperor. After that, Wang Mang called him the "false emperor", and his subjects called him "Emperor Regent". The year 6 A.D. is the first year of Ju Sei.
In the first year (8 A.D.), there was a mourning chapter of the Zibang (now Sichuan Zibang) people who "had nothing to do, so as to speak a big word", made a copper kui, and put the forged rune book in it, and wrote Wang Mang as the true eldest son in the rune book, and wrote several ministers and their own names on it, saying that these people should be the assistant of the big officials. Mourning chapter will be this bronze to Wang Mang, sure enough, immediately issued a letter to the world, in the Weiyang Palace that is the true son of heaven, changed the name of the country to "new", with 9 A.D. as the first year of the founding of the country.
Many people attack Wang Mang's false benevolence and false righteousness, the false benevolence and false righteousness that can kill his own son is really amazing, the key problem is not here, there are two major problems that must be solved at that time, one is the land problem, the other is the slave problem, and many other problems, if not solved, the social contradictions will intensify, the fall of the Han Dynasty is a matter of time, the ruling class has felt the need to change the dynasty, so Wang Mang holds the supreme ruling power, which is conducive to solving many social problems that need to be solved urgently.
Second, Wang Mang restructured
After Wang Mang became the true emperor, he began his restructuring process.
1. Replace fire virtue with soil virtue. According to Dong Zhongshu's "Spring and Autumn Dew" Five Elements Mutual Birth Theory, wood gives birth to fire, fire gives birth to earth, earth gives birth to gold, gold gives birth to water, water gives birth to wood, the Han Dynasty is the virtue of fire, the end of fire virtue, and the birth of earth virtue. This is different from the Han Dynasty's own statement, the early Han Dynasty thought it was water virtue, Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty changed it to Tude, and Wang Mang thought that after the Yellow Emperor, the Yellow Emperor was Tude, and Wang Mang changed the Han Dynasty to Huode.
2. Reform the official system. Set up four auxiliaries, Wang Shun Taishi, An Xingong, Ping Yan as Taifu, Xingong Xin, Liu Xinguoshi, Jiaxin Gong, liar Waizhang Guojun, Meixin Gong. Set up the "three dukes", Zhen Han Da Sima, Cheng Xin Gong, Wang Xun for the big Situ, Zhang Xinhou, Wang Yi for the big Sikong, Long Xingong. Set up the "four generals" Zhen Feng as the first general, Guangxin Gong, Wang Xing as the Wei general, Fengxin Gong, Sun Jian as the founding general, Cheng Xingong, Wang Sheng as the former general, Chongxin Gong. In a word, they all support Wang Mang's new regime. Because after Wang Mang proclaimed himself the Yellow Emperor, all descendants of the Yellow Emperor were crowned officials. He changed the official names according to the ancient books, and if there was Xihe in the "Shangshu", he set up Xihe; according to the "Zhou Li", he set up the pawn, Lian rate, and Dayin instead of the county guard, etc., and according to the Western Zhou system, he set up the secretary, the doctor, the scholar, and the five lords, marquis, uncles, sons, and men. He messed up the bureaucracy and changed it often.
3. Implement the Wang Tian system. The well field system was restored, and the land was state-owned, and no buying or selling was allowed. There are eight males in a family, and there can be a field and a well, that is, 900 acres. If the original number of fields exceeds the prescribed number, that is, there are less than eight males in a family, and the fields exceed 900 mu, the excess fields will be distributed to those who have no land in the clan and the neighbors who should receive the land. Families without land shall receive land according to the above system. Those who attacked the Ida system and incited people to break the laws and regulations were exiled to the border. The idea of trying to limit land annexation, trying to make all families have roughly the same land, is good, but are the bureaucrats and powerful willing to take out the land?
4. Slaves and maids are not allowed to be bought and sold, and they are called "private property". The source of slaves and maids was bankrupt peasants, and the usurers needed to be realized, and the usurers were mainly bureaucratic landlords, followed by powerful landlords and high-capital landlords.
5. Stabilize prices. According to the Confucian classics, the "five equals" are implemented. The specific measures are: "Establish five junguan in Chang'an and Wudu (Luoyang, Handan, Linzi, Wan, Chengdu), change the name of Chang'an East and West City Order, and the mayors of Luoyang, Handan, Linzi, Wan, and Chengdu are all Wujunsi city divisions,...... There are five people in the transaction and one person in the Qian Mansion...... Zhusi City is often held in the middle of the moon at four o'clock, which is the Jia (price) of the upper and lower levels. Each is used for its own level, and there is no need to be confined to other places. The people sell and buy the things of grain, cloth, silk and cotton, and those who are Zhou Yumin do not sell them, all the officials have to test and inspect them, and use their Benjia to take them, and they do not want to discount money. Everything is expensive, and if it is too much for a penny, it will be sold to the people in Pingjia. Those who are lowly and levelly, listen to the people and the city, in case of nobles. This is similar to the equalization system implemented by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, which can stabilize prices and increase government revenue.
6. Loans. "Zhou Li" has a credit system, so Wang Mang implemented it. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty respected Confucianism, and Confucianism paid special attention to thick burials, sacrifices, weddings, etc., and was extravagant and wasteful. The government borrows money, and the interest rate is relatively low, but whose cheese is it moving?
7. Liuzhen. It is the government to control the economy, the salt monopoly, the iron monopoly, and the government minting money were determined in the era of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, and the wine monopoly was abandoned during the Zhao Emperor, and now it is restored, and the government controls the famous mountains and rivers, plus five equal loans, a total of six. All these are ways to increase government revenue. Wang Mang also learned from Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty to reuse merchants for management, but the price set was too high, and it was difficult for the common people to survive.
8. Currency reform. According to the system of the Zhou Dynasty, Wang Mang made a wrong knife in addition to the five baht coins, one worth 5,000 yuan, one deed knife was worth 500, and one big money was worth 50. The sword coins of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period were restored, and the currency system was chaotic. In the first year of the founding of the People's Republic of China (6 A.D.), the deed knife, the wrong knife and the five special coins were made into small coins, with a diameter of six cents and a weight of one baht, which was parallel to the "big money fifty" used before. The reason for this currency reform is absurd:
Today, the people say that the emperor is a new emperor, and the king is abolished. The husband "Liu" is the word "Mao, gold, knife", and the first month is just Mao, and the benefits of the golden knife are not allowed. The scheming secretary is said to be the same as heaven and man, and it is obvious. It is not to be admired when it goes to Gangmao, and the benefits of the golden knife are not allowed. (In "Hanshu: The Biography of Wang Mang")
In the second year of the founding of the People's Republic of China, Wang Mang ordered the promulgation of the "Five Treasures and Goods", which was the most chaotic batch of currencies in Chinese history. The so-called "five goods" are six kinds of "money goods", two kinds of "silver goods", four kinds of "turtle goods", five kinds of "shellfish goods", and five kinds of "cloth goods". The common people couldn't figure it out at all, and they still used five baht money, and Wang Mang ordered punishment and arrested many ordinary people. There were so many merchants who stole large sums of money and broke the ban that by 13 years, even the order to punish the theft was abolished.
Wang Mang did not give up, and then changed it, making it even more chaotic.
9. Change of place name. Wang Mang felt that the thirteen state assassin histories of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty were inconsistent with the "Yu Gong", so he changed it to Kyushu and needed to redraw the state boundary. The state was demarcated, the counties were also re-demarcated, and some new county names were established. Also, Chang'an was changed to Chang'an, Luoyi was changed to Yiyang and Yiyang, Changle Palace was changed to Changle Palace, Weiyang Palace was changed to Shoucheng Room, and so on. In short, place names are infinitely confusing.
10. Change the name of ethnic minorities. Wang Mang wanted to respect the king, changed the Xiongnu to slaves, and later changed to slaves, and then changed to slaves, and Shan Yu changed to obey, and later improved Yu, and changed the seal to Zhang, which provoked the rebellion of the Huns and intensified the national contradictions. The leaders of other ethnic minorities were changed to marquis. The change of Goguryeo to Haguryeo aroused the dissatisfaction of the Goryeo people.
These reforms of Wang Mang only have some positive significance in restricting land annexation, restricting the slave trade, the monopoly system, stabilizing prices, and the credit system, and the rest are not called reforms, but are called indiscriminate reforms, and there is no need at all.
3. Wang Mang perished
At the end of the Western Han Dynasty, the class contradictions were already very acute, and Wang Mang's reform not only failed to resolve the contradictions, but also intensified the contradictions, including class contradictions, national contradictions, and contradictions within the ruling class, all of which intensified.
The first was the peasant uprising one after another, the largest uprising of the Green Forest Army, followed by the Red Eyebrow Uprising.
The second was the separation of ethnic minorities and the re-invasion of the Xiongnu.
The third is that the descendants of the royal family of the Western Han Dynasty raised troops to oppose Wang Mang's usurpation of power.
In the 23rd year, on the evening of the third day of October, the masses attacked the gradual platform where Wang Mang was hiding, and the merchant Du Wu was the first to kill Wang Mang, and the captain of the school Donghai Gongbin cut off Wang Mang's bald head, and dozens of people fought to cut Wang Mang's body. The rebel army sent Wang Mang's head to Nanyang, and people came to beat it, and finally even his tongue was cut off and eaten.
Fourth, try to comment
I once said that in the history of China, there were only three people who succeeded in reform: the first was the Shang Dynasty reform, which laid the foundation for the strength and prosperity of the Qin State, and later eliminated the Six Eastern Kingdoms; the second was Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, many systems were followed by later generations, expanding the territory and pushing the Western Han Dynasty into its heyday; and the third was the reform and opening up.
Wang Mang's reform of the system originally conformed to the requirements of history, and he had already grasped the supreme ruling power, and it was very convenient to carry out reforms, but he did not eat the past, changed the orders of the dynasty and changed them every day, especially some unnecessary changes, which messed up politics, the economy, and the people's will, and finally all the people abandoned him, and the end was like this.
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