Liu Xiu (5 BC – 29 March 57 AD), founding emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty, temple name "Shizu", courtesy name "Guangwu Emperor", famous politician and military figure in Chinese history. In the last years of the Western Han Dynasty, Wang Mang usurped the government, the sea fell apart, the world was in chaos, and Liu Xiu, who was a cloth cloth but had the blood of the previous dynasty, took advantage of the situation in his hometown to raise an army. In 25 AD, Liu Xiu openly broke with the Gengshi regime and ascended the throne in Hebei as emperor, in order to express the revival of liu's clan, still using "Han" as its national name, historically known as "Eastern Han". After a twelve-year-long war of unification, Liu Xiu successively put an end to the separatist regimes in Kwantung, Longyou, and Western Shu, ending the warlord scuffle and division that lasted for nearly twenty years at the end of the Western Han Dynasty. Liu Xiu reigned for thirty-three years, vigorously promoting Confucianism and promoting integrity, and the Eastern Han Dynasty was also praised by later historians as the era of "the most beautiful weathering and the most flourishing Confucianism" in Chinese history. On February 57, Liu Xiu died in the front hall of the Nangong Palace at the age of sixty-two. After Liu Xiu's death, his son Liu Zhuang succeeded to the throne, and in March of the same year, he buried Liu Xiu in the original mausoleum, and went to the temple to be the ancestor and the emperor of Guangwu. As the founding prince of the Eastern Han Dynasty, although Liu Xiu's fame was not as good as that of the Qin Emperor Han Wu, Tang Zong Song Zu, Ming Taizu Chengzu, and Kang Qianshengshi, who had made great achievements, he was no less famous in terms of political and military deeds. He was not only one of the few emperors in Chinese history to ascend to the throne through a peasant uprising, but also a Ming Emperor of the Zhongxing Han Dynasty. Some people even call him the most learned, the most powerful, and the most skillful emperor in Chinese history, and he can be called the pinnacle of Chinese emperors. General Fu Bo spent his life expanding his territory for Liu Xiu, the Ming Emperor, and finally ended up being framed by people for the defeat of his family. But history always loves to tease people, and General Fu Bo did not think until his death that he could form a family with his master Liu Xiu, and the younger daughter could marry Liu Xiu's son and eventually grow up to become a generation of empresses in the world of motherhood.
Son of the Plane: The Emperor of Heaven's favor
According to the Dongguan Records, on the night of January 15, 5 BC, the Guangwu Emperor Liu Xiu was born in luoyang county, which is today's Lankao County. At this time, Liu Xiu's father, Liu Qin, was the commander of Luoyang County. This palace was originally used to receive the emperor, but it has been closed since the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, because there is no suitable place for his wife to give birth, and Liu Qin can't take care of much, so he let his wife believe in the palace. It is said that when Liu Xiu was born, the red light shone throughout the palace. In Lot County, there was another jiahe growth that year, and one stem gave birth to nine ears. Liu Qin named the child "Xiu" for this, because he was the third son, so the word "Uncle Wen"
When friends of the same age were all married and immersed in the joys of the family, Liu Xiu, 20, made another decision: to go west to Chang'an, broaden his horizons, and study his studies. After coming to Chang'an, Liu Xiu became Xu Ziwei's student and studied the most classic and profound learning of the time, such as the Book of Shang. Liu Xiusheng was intelligent in nature, and he had a considerable opinion on this work on political affairs, and many people expressed great surprise at his talent. Due to the family's poor income, the tuition fee is insufficient. Liu Xiu also bought a donkey with a classmate and let the servants drive the donkey to pull the foot to earn money. Deng Yu, Zhu You, and others whom Liu Xiu met when he was studying in Chang'an eventually became the twenty-eight generals of Yuntai and were Liu Xiu's entrepreneurial team.
A series of reforms carried out after Wang Mang's usurpation of the Han Dynasty greatly touched the interests of the peasants, so there were constant uprisings in various places, Liu Xiu and his brother Liu Xiu also formed their own rebel army, and later the two of them defected to the first emperor Liu Xuan, made a lot of merits, and became the main generals in the army. Especially in the Battle of Kunyang, Liu Xiu fought smoothly, the new army of a million troops was annihilated, Wang Mang died in the war, Liu Xiu made the first contribution, but the merit was high, and he and his brother Liu Xuan were also suspected by Liu Xuan. So he set up a "Hongmen Feast" and successfully killed Liu Ji. Subsequently, Emperor Gengshi wanted to borrow a knife to kill people and kill Liu Xiu. Unexpectedly, Liu Xiu, the "son of the face", although he fell for a while, but soon many heroes came to him, and in just a few months, he became a new force in Hebei. As his power grew, Liu Xiu officially broke with Emperor Gengshi and became emperor in Hebei.
Curiously, since Liu Xiu became emperor, no matter how difficult the battle, he could finally win. The most famous of these was the Battle of Kunyang, where Liu Xiu defeated Wang Mang's 400,000 troops with only 20,000 men. According to common sense, such a disparity in troop strength was sure that Liu Xiu would be defeated, but it seemed that the heavens were protecting him. Just when the two sides were fighting, it suddenly rained heavily, and Wang Mang's army was drowned tens of thousands in an instant, and it collapsed. Not only that, meteorites kept falling from the sky and smashing into Wang Mang's army, and Liu Xiu finally won the war.
In addition, according to historical records, when Liu Xiu was chased and killed by Wang Lang and other separatist forces in Hebei and fled to the Hutuo River, there was no boat, but the river surface happened to be frozen, Liu Xiu stepped on the ice, but his entourage fell into the river. When he did not know where to go, a white-bearded old man appeared and instructed him to go to Shindo County. There, Liu Xiu gathered four thousand men and horses, and later developed and conquered the Tongma Army and the Chimei Army, and finally unified the world. From the commoner to the emperor, the heavens have been cared for countless times, so history calls Liu Xiu a rare "son of the face" among the emperors of China.
When he was young, he was intoxicated with pastoral pastoral songs: an emperor who sympathized with the sufferings of the people
Liu Xiu's body was flowing with the blood of the Western Han Dynasty, he was the ninth grandson of Liu Bang, the ancestor of Han Gao, and the reason for settling in Nanyang was because of Liu Fa, the prince of Changsha Ding, the son of his sixth ancestor Jing Emperor. However, by the time of Liu Xiu's generation, the inheritance of knighthood had ended, and his father Liu Qin was only nanton county order.
In December 6 BC, Liu Xiu was born. Liu Qin and his wife were very happy about the birth of their youngest son, and specially named him "Xiu", which means that the crops produce good ears. Although Liu Xiu was far away from the royal branch, when he was born, his family was still quite good, and Liu Qinfan's husband and wife loved each other and gave birth to many children. Liu Xiu had two older brothers: Liu Ji and Liu Zhong, as well as two older sisters: Liu Huang (later Princess Huyang), Liu Yuan, and sister Liu Boji. When Liu Xiu was nine years old, his father Liu Qin died. Since then, the three Liu Xiu brothers have lived in the home of their uncle Liu Liang, while several sisters have continued to live with their mother.
Liu Xiu has a gentle temperament and likes to play in the fields, and the sharecroppers of the Liu family inevitably have to take care of him, and over time, Liu Xiu gradually developed a strong interest in the farmers, often leaving aside his small master status and cultivating the countryside with the tenant farmers. The personality of the elder brother Liu Xiu is exactly the opposite of Liu Xiu, who has no interest in pastoral life, and likes to make friends and make heroes, and raises many heroic teenagers in the countryside. He was very unaccustomed to his brother's indisputable attitude towards life, and often joked that he did not appear.
In 8 AD, Wang Mang abolished the Han Dynasty, and the descendants of The Liu clan lost all their privileges and wealth, and Liu Xiu was 14 years old. In this dilemma of changing dynasties, the Liu family soon became ordinary people and lived a completely different and embarrassing life. Such a life made Liu Xiu's eldest brother Liu Xiu very dissatisfied, and often complained at home, claiming that he was determined to revive the Han Dynasty. He saw that his brother was still the same and was anxious. One day, Liu Xiu was hoeing grass in the field, and Liu Xiu led the brothers of the clan and the guest warriors, and Kulala came around. Liu Xiu pointed at Liu Xiu and said to the crowd, "My little brother Liu Xiu likes farming and can feed a person's stomach, isn't it very similar to Gao Zu's brother Liu Zhong?" The crowd burst into laughter. Liu Ji also said, "If you can achieve great things, don't forget to bring up my little brother." The crowd was full of tongues and tongues, mocking him. Liu Xiu's face turned red and he had an epiphany: "The world is in chaos, and indulging in pastoral songs and engaging in farming is not a long-term solution." Therefore, he stepped on the seedlings with his feet, threw the hoe, and angrily changed color, saying: "The great husband grew up in the heavens and the earth, you can make meritorious achievements, and I can also be recorded in the annals of history."
It was precisely because he was intoxicated with pastoral songs and understood the sufferings of the people when he arrived in Hebei, so after Liu Xiu arrived in Hebei, he first took Wang Mang's harsh government to strengthen the rule of officials and give preferential treatment to the people. Because of the drought and locust plague, the rise in grain prices, and the people's living difficulties, Liu Xiu ordered the local governor to give preferential treatment to widows and widows. Moreover, in order to avoid annoying the people, Liu Xiu ordered that the local government was not allowed to accept contributions. Liu Xiu not only sympathized with the people, but also showed special compassion for the slaves, and issued many edicts to remove slaves during his reign. In addition, Liu Xiu also paid attention to pardoning criminals, and pardoned prisoners in prisons as early as when he was in Hebei.
Marry a wife and marry Yin Lihua: the most dedicated emperor
Liu Xiu is one of the few single-minded emperors in Chinese history, and is a good man worthy of a woman's lifelong trust. After going west to Chang'an to study for a while, Liu Xiu's entanglement was exhausted, and he had to return to his hometown. After returning to his hometown, as a younger brother, Liu Xiu often went to Xinye to visit his brother-in-law Deng Chen, and often stayed at his sister's house. In this situation, Liu Xiu met the most important woman in his life, the future Guangwu Empress Yin Lihua.
Yin Lihua's mother's surname is Deng, and she is related to Liu Xiu's brother-in-law Deng Chen. Yin Lihua was more than nine years younger than Liu Xiu, and was still a naïve girl at that time, far from the age of marriage. However, her beauty and filial piety are already very famous in the Shinno area, and she is known as the first beauty of Shinno. Liu Xiu lived for more than twenty years, and he had never had a heart for a woman, but he didn't know why, as soon as he heard Yin Lihua's name, he was haunted by the majesty of the two thousand stone officials who had opened the way for the emperor when he first went out on a tour in Chang'an City.
Some people ridiculed Liu Xiu for saying that marrying Yin Lihua was an inconspicuous fantasy, and Liu Xiu's wealth and prestige could not be compared with the Yin family at all. Liu Xiu also knows that Yin Li is gorgeous and beautiful, and it is a very rare thing to really marry her as his wife. However, sometimes things in the world are such a coincidence, the failure of Wang Mang's reform of the system has caused chaos in the world, there are wars everywhere, and the first emperor Liu Xuan killed Liu Xiu's brother Liu Xiu, Liu Xiu was shocked, and there was a lot of worry that the more important emperor would take the opportunity to kill himself. So he went to the Emperor Gengshi to apologize, and began to live alone, not to interact with other people, not to serve his brother's funeral, and during his brother's funeral, he married the coveted Yin Lihua, showing that he was indulging in wine and had no quarrel with the world, so as not to arouse the suspicion of the Emperor of gengshi. Liu Xiu's forbearance made Emperor Gengshi feel embarrassed, so he gave him the title of Marquis of Wuxin.
Less than three months after Liu Xiu and Yin Lihua were married, they left their wives and went to Luoyang to start their own business. After Sending Yin Lihua to his mother's house, Liu Xiu met Liu Yang, the former King of Zhending, who had more than 100,000 troops and was dependent on Wang Lang's regime, in Zhending County. In order to promote cooperation between the two sides, Liu Xiu decided to marry Liu Yang's niece Guo Shengtong to strengthen mutual trust between the two sides. This marriage brought great gains to Liu Xiu, and many cities began to fall to Liu Xiu after this marriage, and eventually Liu Xiu became emperor.
Liu Xiu claimed that the emperor encountered the problem of establishing an empress in the second year, and he already had two wives--- Yin Lihua and Guo Shengtong, and the question of who to set up for the future really made Liu Xiu embarrassed. On the one hand, Guo Shengtong and Liu Xiu suffered together and laid the foundation of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and at this time she had already given birth to a prince. On the other hand, Yin Lihua was his loyal wife and the dream of his youth. After much deliberation, Liu Xiu decided to leave the empress position to Yin Lihua and sent fu jun to welcome her to Luoyang. Unexpectedly, Yin Lihua said, "The feeling of distress must not be forgotten, and Guo Guiren has already given birth to a son." Insisting on refusing to accept the empress's canonization, Emperor Guangwu had no choice but to set up the Guo clan as his successor and seal Yin Lihua as a nobleman.
Yin Lihua's modesty is inseparable from the family style of her famous family. Yin Lihua's requirements for his relatives were very strict, Yin Lihua's brother Yin Zhi was meritorious in the conquest with the army, Liu Xiuben planned to break the rules and seal the reward to show compensation for Yin Lihua, but he was refused by Yin Zhi, he said: "The world is initially decided, the general has many meritorious deeds, and the relationship between the subjects and foreign relatives cannot show the injustice of the world." ”
After Yin Lihua's mother and brother were killed by thieves, Liu Xiu issued an edict to appease her, but Liu Xiu emphasized her and the original Yin Lihua's suffering in the edict, and attacked Empress Guo Shengtong, believing that she had neither virtue nor grace, and that the position of empress should have been Yin Lihua, and Guo Shengtong's ability to become empress was all the result of Yin Lihua's "stubborn words". In this way, Guo Shengtong completely fell out of favor in front of Liu Xiu, and two years later Liu Xiu deposed Empress Guo and made Yin Lihua empress. Liu Xiu's long-term apology to Yin Lihua finally gave him the opportunity to compensate. Although Yin Lihua really did not have the idea of becoming an empress, she also understood Liu Xiu's true feelings for her, and her heart was naturally very satisfied. But she still adhered to her original intention, was frugal and benevolent, humble and self-inhibiting, did not like to laugh, was cautious and supple in matters, and treated with compassion and love, and the world called her a virtuous queen.
Yin Lihua was cautious all her life, her moral character was noble, she never interfered in the politics of the dynasty, and she was able to restrain her family, and it was precisely because of Yin Lihua's help that Liu Xiu was able to take care of her worries and create the era of "Guangwu Zhongxing". After Liu Xiu's death, Yin Lihua's son Emperor Hanming succeeded to the throne, honoring Yin Lihua as empress dowager, and seven years later Yin Lihua died and was buried with Liu Xiu in the original mausoleum. Since the ancient harem competed for favors, the emperor's marriage rarely resulted in happiness and satisfaction, but Liu Xiu and Yin Lihua created an exception, in addition to Liu Xiu's kindness, Yin Lihua's character is also an important reason. Unfortunately, although Yin Lihua tried her best to avoid foreign relatives interfering in politics, the Eastern Han Dynasty eventually died from foreign relatives.
The two most important women in Liu Xiu's life, Yin Lihua and Guo Shengtong, but Liu Xiu did not divide his heart into two halves, half to Yin Lihua and half to Guo Shengtong. Whether it was a young man dressed in white, the king of the green forest and the good Hanshan, or the Guangwu Emperor of the Nine-Five. Liu Xiu's love for Yin Lihua is always the same. His union with Guo Shengtong is a political marriage imposed on him by history, although Guo Shengtong is a poor woman in love, but she is also the luckiest of The deposed concubines in China, she is the only deposed queen who has not been beaten into the cold palace, not only that, Liu Xiu has also been kind to her family, and she herself has lived a free, rich and stable life.
Liu Xiu's life is a legendary life, and his literary tao martial strategy and martial rule are perfect among the emperors in ancient Chinese history, and it is no wonder that Chairman Mao Zedong evaluated him with three "most", that is, the most able to fight, the most learned, and the most able to employ people.