| Xia Yan (Columnist for Reading History)
On March 29, 87 BC, the han emperor Liu Che, the helmsman of the Han Empire, died at the Wuzhu Palace in Chang'an, and four days earlier he had made his youngest son Liu Fuling crown prince.
No one knows where the future Han will go, but before his death, Emperor Wu of Han explicitly designated Huo Guang as the great general of Sima Da, and together with Jin Ribao [dī], Shangguan Jie, and Sang Hongyang, he assisted Emperor Han Zhao, who was only eight years old. Emperor Wu of Han's meaning was clear, Huo Guang was the chief acting executive officer of the Han Empire that he had designated, and the other three were all deputies.
For a long time, many historical works have recorded that Huo Guang was a loyal and honest, cautious and careful person, and even many film and television works now portray him as a person who even reports to the toilet, and even Emperor Wudi of Han saw him and said that this guy had three words written on his face, "honest man".
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So is Huo Guang really an honest person? Today we will look at Huo Guang's words and deeds to see whether he is an honest man or a pretend.
First of all, let's talk about Huo Guang's life. Huo Guang was the first general of the Great Han Dynasty, the younger brother of the first General of the Third Ring of Chang'an, Huo Qi, and the younger brother of the Hun Riding General Huo Qi, note that this is a half-brother, because Young Master Huo is like his uncle Wei Qing. Huo's uncle was also the current emperor Liu Che, and Huo Wentyi was greatly favored by Emperor Wu of Han for his extraordinary military achievements. It should be said that Huo Guang could be reused by Emperor Wu of Han, largely because he had an older brother who was hanging up the sky.
In the sixth year of the Yuan Dynasty, Huo Went ill and died young, and Emperor Wu of Han was heartbroken, worse than the death of his son. This Emperor Wu of Han was truly in love with Huo, so he loved Wu and Wu and began to promote Huo Guang. It is worth mentioning that Huo Guang was still a handsome man with clear eyebrows, and Emperor Wu of Han asked him to stay by his side as a Lang official and be his own follower.
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During the more than twenty years that followed in the service of Emperor Wu of Han, Huo Guang set a Guinness record that he had not made a single mistake. Clock in on time, never arrive late or leave early for work; work is meticulous, he has repeatedly checked the documents above several times, and there has not been a single typo in the documents that have passed through his hands for twenty years; he has never pulled a gang to worship, does not raise doormen, does not accept bribes, and must make a report when he finds a dime.
How cautious was Huo Guang? For example, every time he walks from the family home to the office building, from the door of the office building to the office, he follows the system, no difference, for decades.
Huo Guang's diligent and earnest work would surely reach the ears of Emperor Wu of Han one day. After Emperor Wu of Han knew about it, he felt that Huo Guang was a talent, and successively appointed Huo Guang as the governor of Fengche and the doctor of Guanglu. In this way, within two years, Huo Guang was promoted from a follower to a high-ranking official at the ministerial level.
Later, everyone knows that before emperor Wu of Han died, he used the example of The Duke of Zhou as a king to let Huo Guang's younger son Liu Fuling.
From here, we can't be sure that Huo Guang is pretending, but at least it is certain that Huo Guang was forced to do so. Everyone thinks about it, when Huo Guang came to Chang'an, a place where a brick fell and smashed several ministers, he must be careful everywhere, and he is still a related household, the most important thing is that huo, the patron of his related household, has died of illness, can he not be a man with his tail between his legs? When Wei Qing was a great general, his sister was an empress, and his nephew was a prince, he was still trembling when he saw his brother-in-law, and he did not dare to say half a sentence.
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So when Huo Guang was in power, how did he behave? Still so honest? The answer is no.
After Liu Fuling ascended the throne, Huo Guang took over the power. But at this time in the Western Han Dynasty, Wen Jingzhizhi had accumulated decades of money that had long been spent by Emperor Wu of Han, and not only that, he also overdrawn the money in the Western Han credit card for several years. In the face of the mess left by Emperor Wu of The Han Dynasty, Huo Guang implemented a policy of making peace with the people, reducing taxes and vigorously developing the economy. After more than ten years of development, the contradictions left by Emperor Wu in his later years were basically resolved, and the Western Han Dynasty once again returned to the right track, laying a solid foundation for the subsequent Zhaoxuan Zhongxing.
But as the saying goes, there is no cold in the high places, and there must always be someone who is jealous of you and frames you. Huo Guang, as the chief assistant minister, of course, wants a bowl of water to be flat, which cannot avoid offending some powerful people, such as Shangguan Jie and Sang Hongyang, who are also auxiliary ministers.
Therefore, Shangguan Jie and Sang Hongyang united with a group of imperial relatives to form an anti-Huo Guang alliance, and also reported Huo Guang to Emperor Han Zhao's real name. But Emperor Han Zhao did not eat only one set at all: "Huo Guang was ordered by my father Emperor Wu of Han, and any of you who reports it again is a rebellion." With the support of Emperor Zhao of Han, Huo Guang shun swept away the counter-revolutionary clique led by the above officials and Sang Hongyang in one fell swoop.
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So where is the most controversial scene about Huo Guang? I think there are two aspects.
One is that he abolished the establishment of the matter, abolishing the Changyi King Liu He instead of Liu Yi.
That's right, it was the hai xiahou that was dug out of the ground in Nanchang some time ago. This king reigned for twenty-seven days, created more than a thousand evils, and averaged nearly fifty a day, and I really didn't know what this old brother emperor was. Huo Guang has not made a single mistake for more than twenty years, and when this news spreads, it is estimated that Huo Guang has collapsed. So Huo Guangsong asked Empress Shangguan to depose Liu He, which led to the famous Emperor Xuan of Han.
However, some people in later generations believe that Huo Guangxing's deposing of the emperor actually created a good excuse for some people with ulterior motives to rebel. In the following more than a thousand years, a large number of people rebelled under the signs of Yi Yin and Huo Guang. For example, Dong Zhuo deposed the Han Shao Emperor Liu Xie and the Li Han Xian Emperor Liu Xie, Sima Shi abolished Cao Fang and Li Cao Xian, Sima Zhao killed Cao Fang, Li Cao Huan, and so on.
Another controversial aspect of Huo Guang was that he had covered up his wife's plot to kill Empress Xuan of Han.
After Liu Yi had ascended the throne, he wanted to make his original concubine Xu Pingjun empress. As we all know, Liu Yi has been the only emperor in Chinese history who has squatted in the number room, and after he was released from prison, he experienced ups and downs, tasting the sweet and sour of the folk, Xu Pingjun did not give up, and the feelings of the two small mouths were very deep.
However, at this time, Huo Guangquan was in the opposition, and the affairs of the imperial court had to be passed through Huo Guang's eyes before being reported to Emperor Xuan of Han. Therefore, a bunch of ministers suggested that Emperor Xuan of Han make Huo Guang's daughter Huo Chengjun empress. However, Emperor Xuan of Han and Xu Pingjun had already confirmed their eyes, and finally found an excuse to make Xu Pingjun empress.
Originally, Huo Guang felt that this matter would be over, but his wife did not do it, and the imperial doctor actually poisoned Empress Xu to death. After Huo Guang knew, his scalp tingled with anger, which was a sin of the Nine Tribes. He did not confess this to Emperor Xuan of Han, but helped his wife cover up the past. Although this matter was not resolved, Emperor Xuan of Han would definitely not give up, which also laid the groundwork for huo Guang's family to be wiped out after Huo Guang's death.
The poisoning of Empress Xu was only a portrayal of Huo Guang's control of the government, in fact, after he destroyed Shangguan Jie and Sang Hongyang, he began to get lost in the vortex of power, and he placed his son Huo Yu, two nephews and grandsons, as well as several cousins and grandsons in important positions. This is also why after his wife poisoned Emperor Xuan of Han's wife, Emperor Xuan of Han did not hold the Huo family responsible at that time.
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Therefore, Huo Guang's loyalty and honesty at that time were most likely to be pretended, or at least forced. When he truly becomes a ruler above ten thousand people under one man, his true scene can be revealed. So from this point of view, Huo Guang was really wise and foolish.
However, one thing that needs to be pointed out to everyone is that although Huo Guang is a powerful minister, he has never had the idea of rebellion, and most of the time he has been in power, he has worked for the Great Han Dynasty, but in the last few years of his life, he is a bit inseparable from the power in his hands.
Therefore, even after his death, the Huo family was condemned by the clan, but Emperor Xuan of Han still listed him as the first of the "Eleven Heroes of the Qilin Pavilion", which was also the best praise for Huo Guang's lifelong contribution.
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