Author: Our special guest author Nine Fish Pavilion
When we think of the powerful ministers, we can naturally think of Huo Guang and General Huo of the Western Han Dynasty, who were appointed in danger and became the assistant ministers of emperor Zhao of Han. Huo Guang worked diligently during his tenure, and for the sake of the Han Dynasty, he was able to bow down and make a steady handover.
Not only that, Huo Guang also deposed the emperor Liu He, who was not a weapon, and established the Ming Emperor Han Xuan Emperor Liu Qing on the throne, Huo Guangquan fell to the opposition for twenty years, which can be described as full of honor and prestige, but such a powerful figure was killed by the whole clan after his death.
In this, we see desires, interests, authority, and conspiracies, so why does Huo Guang end up with a late and unsafe ending?
First, the Huo family poisoned the empress, and Huo Guang did not report it
After Emperor Xuan of Han ascended the throne, he obeyed Huo Guang, as long as Huo Guang did everything he said, as long as huo Guang promoted people, all the people promoted by Huo Guang were promoted, and how dare people not bow their heads under the low eaves, even the emperor.
At that time, Huo Guang held the power of the dynasty, and the reason why Liu Guang was made emperor, Huo Guang also had selfish intentions, that was because there was no one behind Liu Guang, and it was easier to control. Liu Que took the throne at the age of eighteen, and may have suffered a lot since he was a child, so he learned to judge the hour and size up the situation, learned to TaoGuang and cultivate obscurity, and perhaps Liu Que also learned a lot from Huo Guang.
Liu Qing's only idea was to propose that he wanted to make his original wife Xu Pingjun empress, which was not an excessive request, and Huo Guang also agreed, but this matter made Huo Guang's wife Huo Xian resentful.
The huo family's original plan was to let Huo Guang's daughter Huo Chengjun marry the emperor and become empress, which would continue to ensure the wealth of the Huo family, and now that Xu Pingjun became empress, he became a thorn in Huo Xian's eyes. In order to get rid of it once and for all, the fierce Huo Xian actually let the medical officer Chun Yuyan poison Empress Xu.
Judging from Liu Pingjun's performance after that, Liu Pingjun and his wife Xu Pingjun had a deep affection, Xu Pingjun was poisoned and killed, and Liu Pingjun must be heartbroken. The empress was poisoned, this matter was very important, the officials arrested all the medical officers, Huo Xian, worried that Chun Yuyan was not strict, told Huo Guang about it.
Historical records record that "officials who are in a hurry and show that they are afraid of failure have the light of real speech." The light is frightened, and wants to act spontaneously, but it is unbearable, and it is still with it. ”
Huo Guang was also shocked to hear this, this was related to his heroic name, if the matter was exposed, he, the Great General of Sima Dynasty, would also be able to do it. Huo Guang's first thought was to expose his wife and abandon the car to protect the marshal, but Huo Guang hesitated for a moment and did not make up his mind.
After that, Huo Guang chose to hide his anger and secretly ordered people to make the matter small, in other words, Huo Guang used his authority to suppress the matter. Liu Guang was so clever that he would naturally find some clues, but Liu Que still did not pursue Huo Guang, until Huo Guang's death, Liu Guang began to take revenge.
Second, Huo Guang and the Huo family were too greedy to know how to restrain themselves
During the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, Huo Guang has always been calm, low-key, and pragmatic, and has been reused by Emperor Wu of Han, but as Huo Guang's power has become more and more powerful, Huo Guang's footsteps have become more and more unstoppable. One person ascended to heaven with a chicken dog, which was vividly expressed in Huo Guang's body.
From the beginning of assisting Liu Fuling, the Emperor of Han Zhao, Huo Guang began to add officials to his family, and his son Huo Yu and Huo Guang's brother's grandson Huo Yun were made Zhonglang generals, and Huo Shan was made a fengche lieutenant.
Huo Guang's son-in-law was a guard of the Eastern and Western Palaces, and Huo Guang's relatives and friends were all over the government and the opposition, and they were deeply rooted, which was not only seen by Emperor Liu Qian, but also by Manchu Wenwu. General Huo Da did pay a lot for the Han Dynasty, but this unrestrained Enyin family, will inevitably be repulsed, all good things let the Huo family, high-ranking officials all let the Huo family do, is this the world the Huo family?
Huo Guang wants to use one force to fight against the whole world, how can this not be lost, the extreme of things must be reversed, the moon is profitable and the truth of loss Huo Guang should be understood, but Huo Guang's desire and the Huo family's greed are too heavy, do not know how to converge, only to cause the final tragedy.
Third, the Huo family conspired to rebel
After Huo Guang's death, the power of the Huo family immediately plummeted, as the saying goes, "it is good to cool under the big tree", since Huo Guang's big tree fell, then the Huo family's children will be exposed to the poisonous sun until they are roasted into meat residue.
Immediately the order was issued, huo Guang's eldest son-in-law Fan Mingyou was transferred to Guanglu Xun, and the second son-in-law was transferred to Anding Taishou, giving Huo Yu the hat of Sima Da, but without real power. Generally speaking, all the officials and generals who were in the Yulin Army, the Guards of the Two Palaces, and other unified troops were replaced by the emperor's cronies, that is, the children of the Xu family and the Shi family.
Historical records record "Shan Yue" (山曰): "The Emperor is good at reducing the temple lambs, the moths, and the frogs, and this crime can also be committed." "Ordered the empress dowager to buy wine for BoPingjun, summoned the chancellor and the Marquis of Ping'en, and made Fan Mingyou and Deng Guanghan empress dowager to behead her, and to establish Yu for abolishing the Son of Heaven."
When Huo Guang was there, no one dared to move the Huo family in the slightest, but Huo Guang's death exposed the weakness of the Huo family. Forced to be helpless, the huo family's children chose to rebel, but their actions had not yet begun, they were arrested one by one, some committed suicide, some were executed, and thousands of families were implicated and killed by the Huo family.
On the one hand, Huo Xian poisoned and killed Empress Xu, and Emperor Liu Qian was bound to take revenge, even if the Huo family's children were to keep to themselves, they would not be able to escape death, on the other hand, since the Huo family's children plotted to rebel, this just gave Liu Xiang a reason to destroy the entire Huo clan, and the murder of the major crime of rebellion was deserved.
Fourth, once Huo Guang died, there was no one to succeed him, and people went to tea and cold
In the era of one-man rule, the role of the emperor or the ruler is huge, and the power of the individual can be exerted to the extreme, but because the power is not constrained, it will also cause the power to flood and contaminate the disaster.
The reason why Huo Guang was able to tilt his power to the opposition for twenty years was inseparable from his excellent government ability and level of power and strategizing, whether it was Shangguan Jie, Sang Hongyang or Liu Dan, the King of Yan, he could not help Huo Guang, but was fatally struck by Huo Guang.
The chance of the tiger out of the door is generally not large, and among Huo Guang's disciples, there is really no remarkable figure, as soon as Huo Guang died, the Huo family's children immediately became ants on the hot pot and fish on the board, and in the face of Liu Qing's suppression, there was almost no power to fight back.
The fact may not be so simple, but after years of experience, Liu Qing has also become a political veteran, and he can also play with huo's sons in the palm of his hands and firmly control the imperial power in his own hands, which can be said to be a fearsome future.
5. Conclusion
To sum up, people will have defects, there are drawbacks, people are not perfect, Huo Guang is the same, in Huo Guang's body, we see loyalty and sincerity, but we also see greed and helplessness. Of course, Huo Guang made outstanding contributions to the Han Dynasty, enough to make a name for himself in history, and he eventually sank into the gully of desire, which is really regrettable.
Reference: Book of Han, Vol. 68
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