In China's long history, there have been countless dynasties and countless emperors and generals, deducing sad or happy life stories. Some emperors were diligent and hardworking, serving the country and the people, and doing their best; Some emperors were mediocre and extravagant, and eventually lost the country and the world. In such a troubled era of the Five Hu and Sixteen Kingdoms, there was such an absurd emperor in history, who was Liu Cong, the emperor of the Northern Han Dynasty.
Liu Cong was not from a famous family, and his father Liu Yuan was originally only a small leader of the Xiongnu clan. It was during that turbulent period of the Wuhu Rebellion that Liu Yuan had the opportunity to stand out and eventually establish the Northern Han regime in the Fen River Valley.
As Liu Yuan's fourth son, Liu Cong has been brilliant since he was a child, not only outstanding in writing, but also strong in martial arts. From an early age, he had an unquenchable thirst for power. In the depths of his heart, there has always been an ambition - one day he must sit on the throne and reign over the world.
When he was young, Liu Cong traveled everywhere, made friends with famous people, saw a lot of things, and accumulated rich experience and insight. This laid a good foundation for his future career. He was successively appointed as the lieutenant of the right department and the general of Chisha Zhonglang, responsible for the military and political affairs of the five Xiongnu departments, and won the support of the Xiongnu wealthy clan. In the process, Liu Cong showed extraordinary political and military talents, paving the way for his future emperorship.
In the first year of Yong'an (304), Liu Cong was made the king of Youxian and began to participate in the core affairs of the Northern Han Dynasty. However, at this time, the Northern Han regime was facing a situation of internal and external troubles. There are kings vying for power and profit inside, and strong enemies are eyeing each other outside. At this juncture, Liu Cong decided to take a risk, launch a coup d'état, and seize imperial power.
In a bloody palace coup, Liu Cong killed his brother Liu He and succeeded in seizing the throne. However, the newly enthroned emperor did not take it as his duty to be diligent in government affairs and benefit the people, but indulged in the erosive life of dogs and horses.
After Liu Cong ascended the throne, the entire harem concubines were like clouds. However, these beautiful women could not satisfy Liu Cong's perverted desires. Once, he heard that his uncle Taibao Liu Yin had two daughters and four granddaughters in his family, and he was as beautiful as a flower, so he became lustful. He sent people to forcibly bring these six women into the palace, made them concubines, and pampered them day and night.
Although these six women all have the same surname as Liu Cong, it stands to reason that they cannot intermarry. But Liu Cong simply ignored the constraints of ethics and etiquette. He just wants to possess these six young and beautiful carcasses to his heart's content and satisfy his perverted desires. So, in this palace that should be solemn and solemn, a farce of absurd and fornication was staged. All day long, Liu Cong and them had fun in the harem, drinking and guessing boxing, abandoning the government and politics, and ignoring state affairs.
Gradually, Liu Cong fell into a more unscrupulous and obscene life. He even resorted to extremely brutal methods against the palace maids who refused to sleep in bed. Once, he took a fancy to a palace maid named Lihua, but Lihua refused, so Liu Cong forcibly tied her to a gun carriage and burned her with fire and candles until she was tortured to death.
Another time, he heard that a certain palace maid had a strange fragrance on her body, so he forcibly arrested her to enjoy it, and finally the palace maid was also tossed by him into a human form, and soon passed away.
During Liu Cong's reign, the palace ladies were like meat on a chopping board, left to be slaughtered. The whole palace was like a living hell, full of wailing and weeping. His aunt and niece served him at the same time, and almost every day they staged the fragrant and obscene Spring Palace. This was undoubtedly a scandal in the society at that time, and it was contrary to human morality.
But Liu Cong didn't realize it. He even went so far as to rationalize this promiscuous life. His younger brother Liu Yi couldn't stand it, and repeatedly admonished Liu Cong to dissuade him from reforming himself. But instead of listening, Liu Cong became furious and put Liu Yi under house arrest. Liu Yi's tragic experience also sounded the alarm for the concubines in the harem, and they understood that if they did not obey Liu Cong, they would probably end up miserable.
At the same time, the political center of the Northern Han was in chaos. In the middle of the court, Liu Cong's cronies Dazai Liu Yannian and Taifu Liu Jing made up a ridiculous reason in order to cater to Liu Cong, saying that Liu Yin's ancestors and Liu Cong's ancestors were different Han people, so they could intermarry. When the ministers of the court heard this, they were naturally indignant and full of emotion, but they had no choice but to watch Liu Cong behave recklessly and corrupt the government.
Under these circumstances, the state apparatus of the Northern Han Dynasty was completely paralyzed, government decrees did not leave the palace gate, and no one cared about military and political affairs. The people are miserable in the war and famine, and the people are struggling to make a living. However, the powerful landlords and bureaucratic circles seized the opportunity to stir up trouble and make waves in the countryside, causing social turmoil and resentment among the people.
However, none of this alarmed the emperor who was obsessed with lust. It wasn't until one day that Liu Cong suddenly felt chest tightness in the wine, and then fell ill in bed, and woke up like a dream, and he realized that he was afraid that his time was running out.
On the occasion of his death, Liu Cong seemed to think of his life. Although he is talented, he wastes all his good youth on those stormy things. He did not contribute anything to the country, but allowed the Northern Han to decay more and more under his debaucherous rule.
Before Liu Cong died, he seemed to want to make up for his mistakes. He made his nephew Liu Cui the crown prince, and appointed a group of loyal ministers to assist the prince. He hoped to save the decline of the Northern Han Dynasty and give the people a peaceful living environment. However, the wheel of history has rolled forward, and Liu Cong's personal consciousness has been powerless.
In the first year of Yongjia (307), Liu Cong died of illness. At the age of 31, he ended his absurd life like this. During his reign, he did not leave anything of value to the Northern Han except for indulging in wine. On the contrary, his extravagance corrupted the government and government, intensified social contradictions, and became the fuse for the decline of the Northern Han Dynasty.
After Liu Cong's death in the Northern Han Dynasty, social contradictions broke out, and peasant uprisings broke out one after another. At the same time, Sima Teng and other powerful Han bureaucrats were also ready to make a move in a vain attempt to seize power. Coupled with the rebellion of the Xiongnu and other ethnic minorities, the Northern Han Dynasty was like a volcano full of dangers, and finally the Rebellion of the Eight Kings broke out in the third year of Yongjia (309).
In this 16-year battle for the throne, the national power of the Northern Han was completely hollowed out, and it was no longer able to control the whole country, and finally split into several small regimes. It was not until the end of the entire period of the Five Hu and Sixteen Kingdoms that it was reunified.
Through Liu Cong's life, we can clearly see how human nature has become distorted and crazy driven by desire in a turbulent era. When power is unchecked, when morality is degraded, when the king indulges in wine and is insensitive, the whole country and nation will fall into the abyss of no return.