In March of the first year (147) of the Eastern Han Dynasty,147, dark clouds enveloped the city of Luoyang.
Liang Ji, a great general who stole the authority of the imperial court, arrested the former lieutenant Li Gu on trumped-up charges and put him in prison. For a moment, the Beijing master was in an uproar, and the crowd was indignant. A young man named Wang Qiao, wearing a double shackle on his head, knelt in front of the palace gate and cried out for Li Gushang. In addition, Zhao Cheng, and several 10 other people, also carried torture instruments and claimed to go to the imperial court to appeal and defend themselves, and prepared to accompany Li Gu to prison. For a time, thousands of people gathered outside the court. This frightened the palace guards and eunuchs, who hurried inside to inform their masters. Empress Liang was afraid that things would be too big to clean up, so she hurriedly issued an edict and released Li Gu from prison. When the Jingshi people learned the news of Li Gu's release from prison, they rushed to tell each other, ecstatic, and cheered in the streets and alleys.
However, a few days passed, and not only the people in the city, but even the ministers of the imperial government did not see Li Gu's shadow. Originally, Liang Ji was shocked by the Qingxu of the masses, and he felt that only by killing Li Gu could he be at peace, so he replayed the empress dowager and arrested Li Gu again and put him on death row.
In the end, what hatred does Liang Ji and Li inherent in them have, and must they be put to death? Why does Li Gu's case affect the hearts of people in the world? This has to start from the political situation of the Eastern Han Court. ·
Speaking of the Eastern Han Dynasty, it must be regarded as a relatively powerful dynasty. The areas under its jurisdiction and the population it ruled were similar to those of the Western Han Dynasty, and its level of economic development was even higher than that of the Western Han Dynasty. Liu Xiu, the founding emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty, was also a more accomplished figure among the ancient emperors. In view of the serious lessons of the Western Han Princes' tyranny and foreign relatives, he once took a series of corrective measures to strengthen the imperial power, and the fiefs of the kings of the clan were small and under the supervision of the imperial court everywhere. The precautions against foreign relatives were more severe, and the number of officials appointed was limited to jiuqing. The three dukes were empty titles, and the rose returned to Shang Shutai, and the power was in the hands of the emperor. It can be said that the founding prince of the Eastern Han Dynasty took great pains to prevent the power from falling to the side.
However, since the three generations of Emperor Guangwu, Emperor Ming, and Emperor Zhang, there have been problems. Due to the decay of court life, most emperors died early, and almost all the emperors who ascended to the throne were ignorant children. Young empresses often rely on their mothers and brothers. In this way, foreign relatives often entered the dictatorship of the DPRK as auxiliary politicians. When the young emperor grew up, he was not willing to endure the hostage-holding of foreign relatives, and in order to regain power, he often accepted the eunuchs around him and launched coups to get rid of foreign relatives. After the emperor took power, the eunuchs were arrogant in the imperial court with the power of the founders, and thus evolved into a situation of eunuch dictatorship. Soon after the emperor took power, he died again, so he once again had the dictatorship of foreign relatives, and then naturally the eunuchs once again monopolized power. This alternating dictatorship of foreign eunuchs was a major feature of eastern Han politics. In order to pursue the power of their own families or cliques, the two foxes fake tiger power, fish and flesh people, exclude dissidents, frame Zhongliang, and make a mess of the Eastern Han court.
Li Gu (李固), courtesy name Zijian, was a native of Southern Zheng, Hanzhong (present-day Hanzhong, Shaanxi), and his father, Li Tai, who served as Sikong and Situ. Although Li Gu was the son of the Three Dukes, he did not have the habit of being a clumsy disciple. He has few great ambitions, worries about the country and the people, and always cares about and worries about major national affairs! Whenever he thought of the improper official style and political corruption caused by the arbitrariness of the eunuchs, it was difficult to suppress the righteous indignation in his heart, and he longed to get a sword of Shangfang, cut off all his power, and revitalize the dynasty.
In the first year of Yongjian (126 AD), Emperor Shun took the throne. At this time, Li Gu had reached the age of establishment, and it was time to participate in the government of the dynasty. At this time, the imperial court was overthrown three times by foreign eunuchs, which coincided with the peak of the dictatorship of foreign relatives, the dictatorship of the Liang clan. Knowing that there are tigers in the mountains, I prefer to go to the tiger mountains. In a letter to his like-minded Huang Qiong, he wrote: "If we are determined to do something to help the people, now is the time." Historically, there have been fewer political situations in the Qingming Dynasty and more times of secular chaos. If we must wait for a saint like Yao Shun, then people with lofty ideals will never have the opportunity to do things. "He is determined to go to the forefront of the stage of history and fight the dark forces.
In the second year of Yang Jia (133 AD), natural disasters such as earth movements, landslides, and fires occurred one after another, and the heavens seemed to be angry, as if warning those in power. To this end, the imperial court issued a special edict asking the secretary of state to nominate honest and courageous celebrities to the imperial court to take countermeasures, point out the shortcomings of the current government, and contribute to the governance plan. Under the recommendation of loyal ministers and local sages, Li Gu went to the court to deal with it. His countermeasures are different from others, not whitewashing the peace, not avoiding the heavy and light, not dodging and dodging, and pointing out the problem of the monopoly of foreign relatives to the point. In response to the matter of Emperor Shun sealing the nursing mother Song E, Li Gu pointed out: "Since the Hanxing more than 300 years, there have been eight lords in succession, and there are so many nursing mothers, but none of them have been knighted. Splitting the land and opening up the country to seal the nursing mother, contrary to the old code, must not be feasible. He pointed out without hesitation: "Today, the Liang clan not only has a very high title, but also the sons and daughters of the Liang clan follow the officials and the power of the imperial court, which is something that has never happened during the time of Emperor Zhang of the Ming Dynasty, and the post of liang Ji, a lieutenant of the infantry school, should be removed from his post, so that the power can be removed from foreign relations and the government should be returned to the country!"
Since the middle of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the power of eunuchs has gradually become prominent, and they have been on the side of the emperor every day, holding the Mandate of Heaven and playing with authority, both because of merit, or to raise sons to attack knights, and they are overburdened and form a party of their own. To this end, Li Gu also suggested: "Dismiss the eunuchs, remove their weight, and reiterate the old decree that the children of eunuchs should not observe filial piety and honesty, and should not be officials, and the number of eunuchs should be reduced, leaving only 2 regular attendants and 5 Xiaohuangmen." Li Gu finally reminded in a serious tone:
"The imperial court is like a person's confidant, the world's states and counties are like a person's limbs, and the abdominal pain is not lifted on all fours." What I worry about is the disease of the heart, not the disease of the limbs. If we exclude the dictatorship of the relatives, go to the eunuchs to gain power, and leave the imperial door and unite as one family, why worry that the world is not peaceful? ”
Li Gu's generous statement can really be described as vivid, to the point, like a sharp knife piercing the key point of the maladministration at that time. Emperor Shun, who had just turned 18 years old, wanted to make a difference, and naturally admired it after seeing it, so he set it as the first countermeasure, and immediately canceled the sub-sealing of the nursing mother Song E, and dismissed some eunuchs. The atmosphere was stirred.
However, this is only a superficial phenomenon. The opposition forces, who were bitterly hurt by Li Gu, gritted their teeth against Li Gu and instructed people to write a song to frame Li Gu. Relying on the defenses of certain loyal ministers, Li Gucai survived. Li Gu's enthusiasm was exchanged for only an empty official. Not only was he expelled from the imperial court, but he was also transferred to do the Order of the Guanghan Dynasty. He went all the way to the post, and his heart was full of feelings, so he unsealed the seal halfway and returned to his hometown of Hanzhong.
After Li Gu returned to his hometown, the situation in the DPRK and China did not improve. On the contrary, the situation of foreign relatives interfering in politics that he was distressed about became more and more serious. In the third year of Yang Jia (134), Liang Shang, the father of Empress Dowager Liang Na of the Shun Emperor, seized the important position of a general with great power. Yonghe 6th year (141). Liang Shang fell ill and died, and was succeeded by his son Liang Ji. Although he was stuttering and unable to speak, he was scheming, and relied on his father's power to rise to his official position. At this point, he succeeded his father as a great general and ascended to the highest point of power.
Although Li Gu was light in his official car, he dared to move the soil on the head of the tai nian. At this time, he should be made a subordinate official of the General's Palace. As soon as he entered the General's Mansion, he persuaded Liang Ji to take the lead in giving up the power of foreign relatives, and Liang Ji was furious and demoted him to the history of Jingzhou. Li Gu punished the officials of liang ji's party in Jingzhou, and was again reprimanded and demoted to Taishan Taishou. The more severely Liang's blows to Li Gu, the higher Li Gu's prestige. The emissaries of the imperial court inspected the prefectures and counties, and li Gu was the first in the political world. Under the recommendation of the chancellor of the Imperial Household, in the first year of Han An (142), Emperor Shun ordered Li Gu to be transferred to the capital as a general. After several twists and turns, Li Gu, a hard-boned figure, returned to the imperial court.
As soon as Li Gu arrived at Luoyang, the capital, he gave Emperor Shun a proposal to gather sages, and recommended more than a dozen people with lofty ideals in the government and the opposition, and Emperor Shun adopted his suggestion, requisitioned Yang Lun, Yang Hou, and others who were in opposition, promoted Huang Qiong and Zhou Ju in the dynasty, and appointed Li Gu as the chief secretary. For a time, a group of people with lofty ideals, represented by Li Gu, were formed around Emperor Shun, who were determined to refresh the government. Just when Li Gu was full of ambition and wanted to make a difference, the 30-year-old Shun Emperor died suddenly of illness in August of the third year of Han An (144 AD). The reason for Emperor Shun's sudden death is unknown, but this is undoubtedly a heavy blow to Li Gu, and it also gives Liang Ji the opportunity to rule for a long time.
After Emperor Shun's death, Li Guguan was promoted to taiwei (太尉) and consulted Shang Shushi with Liang Ji. Li Gu believed that only an elderly, intelligent and virtuous person who could preside over the imperial government could exclude the dictatorship of foreign relatives, so he advocated the establishment of Liu Garlic, the king of Qinghe. However, due to the fact that the general held real power and the empress dowager was his sister, the result was that Liang Ji had the upper hand. First, he was emperor Chong, who was only two years old. The following year, Emperor Chong died, and he was appointed as an 8-year-old emperor. This was Liang Ji's wishful thinking, but later it was not satisfactory. Although Emperor Feng was only 8 years old, he was indeed very early and wise. In order to prevent future troubles, Liang Ji put poison in the boiled cake. The little emperor died violently after eating it. Li Gufu wept bitterly and vowed to track down the murderer. If Li Gu seized on this matter and interrogated the people around the little emperor with severe torture, it would be possible to track down Liang Ji, the culprit of the assassination of the king. Unfortunately, Li Gu did not pursue it to the end and let Liang Ji slip over.
Liang Ji's two moves to establish a young lord and the tragic death of Emperor Qian, Li stubbornly insisted on fighting to the death on the issue of establishing emperor. Li Gu, together with Hu Guang, Zhao Jing, Du Qiao, and others, proposed to establish Liu Garlic, the King of Qinghe, on the grounds that Liu Garlic was of high prestige and was the eldest brother of Emperor Qian. This proposal was agreed by most of the courtiers. Liang Ji proposed to make Liu Zhi the Marquis of Liwu emperor, and when he spoke, his attitude was arbitrary, his speech was fierce, and his killing opportunities were exposed. Since Hu Guang and Zhao Jie were forced by Liang Ji's obscenity to protect the lives of the officials, they all gave up their own propositions and said in unison: "Only the orders of the great generals are obeyed." Only Li Gu and Du Qiao were unyielding and insisted on their original opinions. The fierce Liang Ji deposed Li Gu from his post under the 2nd day, depriving him of his right to negotiate. In the 3rd heaven, Hu Guang was made a lieutenant, Zhao Jie was a situ, and the general Liang Ji was consulted by Shang Shushi. On the 5th day, Liang Ji welcomed Liu Zhi, the Marquis of Liwu, into the Nangong Palace, that is, the emperor's throne, for Emperor Huan.
In the struggle over the 3rd emperor establishment, he lost so badly that Li Guyuan did not expect it. However, there are still things that Li Gu did not expect later. In the first year of Jianhe (147), emperor Huan was initially established, and Liu Wen of Ganling was dissatisfied, and he united with Liu Tuan of Wei County to establish Liu Garlic, the king of Qinghe, and was reprimanded for the incident. A year ago, although Li Gu and Du Qiao advocated the establishment of Liu Garlic, they had no connection with this "Second Liu" conspiracy activity. And Liang Ji, who was fierce in his heart, connected Li Gu and Du Qiao with this matter. Emperor Huan had already learned from the eunuchs Tang Heng and Zuo Qi that Li and Du had opposed the establishment of himself emperor, so he held a grudge. This opportunity for revenge came, so Li Gu was arrested and imprisoned. Previously, Li Gu was dismissed from office, and the government and the public were already indignant, but they dared to be angry and did not dare to speak out. This time, Li Gu was imprisoned on trumped-up charges, so the crowd was indignant, and the scene at the beginning of this article occurred.
Before his death, Li Gu wrote a desperate letter to Hu Guang and Zhao Jie, in which he wrote: "I Li Gu, who have received great favors from the imperial court, are determined to raise up the Han Chamber, which is about to fall, regardless of the danger of his life. You have stood with me too. Unexpectedly, in the face of the fierce flames of the Foreign Relatives Liang Clan, you were frightened and gave in, and the things that could have been successful failed. The decline of the Han family will never be recovered from now on! You are in important positions, enjoying houlu, only concerned with personal safety, and seeing that the royal family will fall to the rescue. With such a grave sin, I believe that a just historian will not spare you in the future. As for me Li Gu, although I am dead, I have died righteously, and there is nothing to regret. After Hu Guang and Zhao Jie got the book, they were full of shame and had no place for themselves. These soft bones, only sighs and drooling. Li Gu died unjustly in prison. Another loyal minister, Du Qiao, was also executed for the same crime, and was violently killed with Li Gu in the north of Luoyang.
The monopoly of power of foreign eunuchs was the two major tumors in the body of the Eastern Han Dynasty court. If the poison is not removed, why should the government and government be revived? When Li Gu first appeared on the political stage, he issued a political declaration to crusade against foreign relatives and eunuchs. For the revival of the Han Dynasty, he united with his colleagues and waged an indomitable struggle against his foreign relative at the time, the Liang clan, for fifteen years. The more fierce the struggle became, the taller Li Gu's image became later. However, Li Gu's painstaking efforts to support the Han Chamber not only did not receive praise from the imperial court, but instead ended up in a tragic end of unjust death in prison and violent corpses on the street. Li Gu died a heroic death, and died unjustly! However, the people's hearts cannot be insulted, Li Gu was once released from prison, and the moving scene of the people cheering for long live is proof of this.