History entered the sixth year of Zhongping (189), when the 33-year-old Han Ling Emperor died, followed by a bloody battle. In the imperial capital Luoyang, the foreign forces led by the great general He Jin and the eunuch forces led by Zhang Rang and Duan Jue fought a final decisive battle, which I called the "Luoyang Palace Change".
During the Luoyang Palace rebellion, He Jin was killed by eunuchs, and Zhang Rang, Duan Jue, and others were also forced to commit suicide. At this point, the Luoyang Palace changed and ended with the collapse of the two major forces of foreign relatives and eunuchs. Soon after, Dong Zhuo usurped the Luoyang Palace and became the fruit of victory, arbitrarily abolished the Han Shao Emperor Liu Wei and supported Liu Xie the Prince of Chenliu.
There is no doubt that Dong Zhuo's unauthorized abolition of the establishment is bound to have an attempt to establish personal authority in order to exert his own dictatorship, and there is no doubt about this. But why did he choose Liu Xie? What are the specific factors here? On this issue, on the basis of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms and the Book of the Later Han Dynasty, the author believes that it can actually be explained by the following three points:
As we all know, Liu Xie's biological mother was Wang Meiren, who was poisoned by Empress He shortly after Liu Xie's birth. After that, Liu Xie was raised by Empress Dong, the mother of the Han Ling Emperor. Because of this, Liu Xie had a nickname at that time, that is, "Dong Hou".
Since Dong Zhuo himself happened to be surnamed Dong, Dong Zhuo thought that he and Empress Dong were of the same ethnic group, so there was a specific connection with Liu Xie, the "Marquis of Dong", as the "Book of Later Han and the Biography of Dong Zhuo" said, "(Liu Xie) was raised by Empress Dong, and Zhuo thought that he was of the same ethnic group as Empress Dowager Dong and had the intention of abolishing it." ”
In this situation, Dong Zhuo's recognition of Liu Xie increased rapidly, so it was only natural that he supported Liu Xie as emperor. It should be noted that all this is just dong zhuo's wishful thinking, in fact, he has nothing to do with empress dowager Dong and "Marquis Of Dong" Liu Xie. Dong Zhuo's move is actually to use this to elevate his own identity.
After the change of Luoyang Palace, the performance of the Han Shao Emperor Liu Wei and Liu Xie, the King of ChenLiu, at that time was not the same. According to the Book of the Later Han Dynasty, The Biography of Dong Zhuo:
Emperor Zhuo arrived with his soldiers and wept in horror. Zhuo and Yan cannot resign; with Chen Liu Wang's language, they will be troubled.
It can be seen that Liu Xie is more stable and calm than Liu Xie. In other words, Liu Xie had more imperial qualifications and talents. Through this dialogue, Dong Zhuo undoubtedly believed that Liu Xie was more capable and more suitable for being an emperor, that is, "Zhuo took the king as a sage" as mentioned in the history books.
It should be pointed out that Dong Zhuo did not support the more capable Liu Xie as emperor for the sake of the future of the Eastern Han Dynasty, but purely took this objective fact of Liu Xiexian's ability as a reason for his unauthorized abolition, so as to block the mouths of the courtiers. Therefore, in essence, Dong Zhuo's purpose is nothing more than personal monopoly!
Liu Xie was born in the fourth year of emperor Guanghe of Hanling (181), so he was only 9 years old when he changed his palace in Luoyang. For Dong Zhuo, changing Liu Xie to emperor was undoubtedly more conducive to his own control. After all, for warlords, the younger the emperor is, the more useful it is to urinate.
Objectively speaking, compared with the above two points, Liu Xie's younger age is the biggest motivation for Dong Zhuo to make up his mind to support Liu Xie. Behind this, it nakedly shows how strong Dong Zhuo's intention to be authoritarian is.
Based on the above analysis, after the change of Luoyang Palace, the reason why Dong Zhuo chose to support Liu Xie, the king of ChenLiu, as emperor was actually after a comprehensive consideration. Only by supporting Liu Xie can it conform to Dong Zhuo's interests to the greatest extent and make it easier for Dong Zhuo to monopolize power! The above is the author's personal opinion, and I look forward to your other high opinions.