What is the most attractive thing about the ancient Chinese political system? Of course it's the throne! Obtaining the throne means that someone has supreme power and countless wealth, and the relatives and friends around him will "ascend to heaven one by one." In order to seize the throne, ancient princes (who were sons, brothers or uncles of the current emperor) often sought to ascend to the dragon chair at all costs by launching coups or civil wars. For example, after the Jianwen Emperor Zhu Yunjiao ascended the throne, Zhu Di, the King of Yan, who had no connection with the throne, launched a civil war, the goal of which was to drive Zhu Yunjiao from the dragon chair. After a four-year civil war, Zhu Di successfully ascended the Dragon Chair and changed his era name to Yongle in 1402. Since then, the inheritance of the Ming Dynasty throne has shifted from the line of the crown prince Zhu Biao to the line of Zhu Di of the Ming Dynasty.
Zhu Di is the only successful case of the ancient Chinese prince rebelling and seizing the throne! Throughout Chinese history, there are not a few people like Zhu Di who seek the throne and want to rebel, but like Zhu Di, there are very few people who successfully seize the throne through rebellion. This shows that in most of the ancient Chinese political history, the current emperor will do everything possible to maintain the imperial power, prevent the prince from rebelling and seizing the throne, and ensure the stability of the regime and the supremacy of the imperial power. So, what methods did the emperors of successive dynasties use to prevent the prince from rebelling?
Above: Emperor Taizong of Han, Liu Heng (203 BC – 157 BC), also known as Emperor Wen of Han
First, the Emperor of the Western Han Dynasty weakened the power of the princes and consolidated the imperial power by mastering the combination of forbidden armies and Tui En Order.
In 179 BC, the Zhulu Coup d'état broke out in the Han Dynasty, and Liu Xiang the Prince of Qi, the eldest grandson of Liu Bang of Han Gaozu, and Liu Chang, the King of Huainan, the seventh son of Gaozu, made great contributions to the coup d'état, and these two princes were full of hope for the throne. What surprised Liu Xiang and Liu Chang was that the heroes of the Western Han Dynasty actually supported Liu Heng, the acting king, from today's Shanxi Province, to ascend to the dragon chair and become Emperor Wen of Han.
Liu Xiang and Liu Chang were naturally dissatisfied with the fact that Liu Heng, the acting king who had not made any meritorious contributions in the Zhulu coup, ascended to the dragon chair. Liu Chang, in particular, wanted to collude with Minyue in 174 BC to launch a coup d'état to overthrow Liu Heng, but was suppressed by Liu Heng. Liu Heng pardoned Liu Chang for his capital offenses and stripped Liu Chang of his title of prince. By 154 BC, the Han Dynasty, following Liu Chang's rebellion, had followed the rebellion of the current emperor: the Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms of Wu and Chu, which had been put down in less than three months under the resolute suppression of Emperor Jing of Han and Zhou Yafu.
During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the Western Han Dynasty also had a rebellion by Liu An, the king of Huainan. In order to consolidate the imperial power and prevent the princes from rebelling, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty adopted the method of "pushing the grace order" to weaken the rights of the princes. After the promulgation of the Tuien Order, although the eldest son of the prince was able to inherit the throne, the other sons of the prince could be crowned in the territory of the kingdom and directly administered by the county, which made the territory directly controlled by the princes smaller and smaller. The lands of the princely states could not be contiguous, separated by counties directly administered by the emperor, and the counties also occupied favorable terrain. If the princes dared to rebel, the surrounding counties could directly suppress the rebellion.
Above_ Lü Hou usurped power
In addition to using the Tuien Order to prevent Wang Ye from rebelling, the Emperor of the Han Dynasty also prevented Wang Ye from colluding with courtiers to bribe the army to rebel by mastering the prohibition of the army in the north and south. The Southern Army and the Northern Army were the Janissaries of the Han Dynasty, and Lü Hou had let Lü Lu and Lü Chan control the Forbidden Army of the North and the South, thus subverting the Great Han Dynasty. After the Zhulu coup, in order to prevent the subversion of the emperor from happening again, Liu Heng, the acting king, entered the capital and ascended the throne, and let his cronies, Zhang Wu and Song Chang, command the forbidden army in the north and south. During the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, Emperor Wu of Han set up 8 lieutenants in the Northern Army to further strengthen the emperor's control over the forbidden army. In order to prevent the lieutenants from supporting the army and respecting themselves, and threatening the emperor with the plot against the emperor, Emperor Wu of han also set up a superintendent of military history. According to emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the mobilization of the northern army must be issued by the emperor himself. No one but the emperor himself had the right to mobilize the Northern Army.
Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty's absolute control over the forbidden army had a very good effect. In the later period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the crown prince Liu Zhao rebelled. Liu Zhao hoped that the Northern Army would cooperate with its own actions, but the Northern Army was absolutely loyal to Emperor Wu of Han, and Liu Used the Militia Organized by the People to fight against the officers and soldiers, and finally committed suicide. If Emperor Wu of Han did not have absolute control over the Forbidden Army, Liu Zhu was likely to have the Northern Army turn its guns to cooperate with his rebellion and seize the throne.
Since Emperor Wu of Han controlled the forbidden army in the north and south, during the period of Emperor Zhao of Han and Emperor Xuan of Han after Emperor Wu of Han, the coups d'état of the princes were successfully crushed by the emperor. For example, during the reign of Emperor Han Zhao, Liu Dan, the King of Yan, wanted to launch a coup d'état, but because Huo Guang controlled the forbidden army and real power, Liu Dan's coup was suppressed by Huo Guang and Emperor Han Zhao.
Above: Liu Zhuang, Emperor of the Han Dynasty (28–75)
Second, during the Eastern Han Dynasty, Emperor Ming of Han completely consolidated imperial power by suppressing a coup d'état by Liu Ying, the king of Chu, and shocked other members of the imperial family who were eager to move against imperial power. Until the fall of the Eastern Han Dynasty, except for the dictatorship of eunuchs and foreign relatives, there was no incident of wang ye plotting rebellion in the Eastern Han Dynasty.
Emperor Liu Zhuang of the Han Dynasty, the second emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty. When he ascended the throne in 57 AD, during his reign, Liu Zhuang firmly implemented the governing strategy of his father Liu Xiu, strengthened the centralization of power internally, severely cracked down on the dictatorship of foreign relatives and the rebellion of the imperial family, suppressed the Northern Xiongnu forces externally, and let Ban surpass the countries of the Western Regions and realize the close ties between the Han Dynasty and the countries of the Western Regions.
It is worth mentioning that in terms of cracking down on brother rebellion, Liu Zhuang was an emperor with a heavy suspicion. As long as the brothers have a little movement of rebellion, Liu Zhuang can nip the brothers' rebellion in the bud.
Liu Zhuang has a younger brother named Liu Ying, who likes Buddhism and also likes to make friends with guests from all over the world. After Liu Zhuang's edict was issued, Liu Ying made extensive friends with the world's alchemists, and also worked as a golden turtle and jade crane, using words as auspicious, which directly touched Liu Zhuang's political taboos. In Liu Zhuang's view, as a prince and brother, Liu Ying may rebel among the people who have made friends with the world. Later, Yan Guang reported that Liu Ying, Wang Ping, Yan Zhong, and others had made rumors and books, and there were traces of rebellion, and asked the imperial court to kill Liu Ying. Emperor Hanming deposed Liu Ying as King of Chu, and Liu Ying committed suicide in fear of sin. Emperor Ming of Han launched a political purge of Liu Ying's henchmen, and thousands of officials were involved.
Above: Liu Xiu, Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han Dynasty (15 January 5 BC – 29 March 57 BC), courtesy name Wenshu
In addition to punishing Liu Ying, Emperor Ming of Han also severely punished Liu Jing for his wrongdoing. Before Liu Zhuang became crown prince, Emperor Guangwu of Han had a crown prince, Liu Jiang, the eldest son. Liu Jiang's mother, Guo Shengtong, was deposed as empress, and Liu Jiang voluntarily resigned as crown prince in order to protect himself. This made Liu Zhuang, who later became the crown prince, grateful to his eldest brother Liu Jiang. As a prince, Liu Jing actually took the initiative to write a letter to Liu Jiang after the Han Ming Emperor Liu Zhuang ascended the throne, hoping that Liu Jiang would learn from The High Ancestor Liu Bang to overthrow Liu Zhuang. Liu Jiang took the initiative to hand over the letter to Liu Zhuang, who did not pursue the matter and wanted to let go of the long line to catch big fish. However, Liu Jing did not want to repent, and asked the Fangshi in the fiefdom: "Do I look like the former emperor?" When the former emperor is 30 years old, he can start a soldier, and I can also start a soldier. Fang Shi reported Liu Jing's words of preparation for rebellion to the local officials. In the end, Liu Jing committed suicide in fear of sin.
After striking at the rebellion of Liu Jing and Liu Ying, Liu Zhuang completely consolidated imperial power. Because Liu Zhuang severely cracked down on Wang Ye's rebellion, especially in the political struggle to hunt down liu Ying and rebel against the party, this political struggle gave a huge shock to the prince of the Eastern Han Dynasty. After Liu Zhuang's death, there were cases of foreign relatives and eunuchs interfering in politics in the Eastern Han Dynasty, but no prince dared to openly call out the imperial power.
Emperor Ming of Han made an indelible contribution to consolidating the supremacy of imperial power in the Eastern Han Dynasty.
Li Shimin (李李) (28 January 598 – 10 July 649) of the Tang Dynasty, was a native of Chengji, Longxi (present-day Qin'an County, Gansu).
Third, in the early Tang Dynasty, it was frequent in the early period. In order to prevent the prince from rebelling, Li Longji put his brother and descendants under house arrest in Xingqing Park, the Ten Kings' Residence, and other places, and sent people to guard them to prevent the occurrence of rebellion to the greatest extent possible.
In the early Tang Dynasty, due to the change of Li Shimin's XuanwuMen, the Tang Dynasty coups were frequent. After Li Shimin's xuanwumen rebellion, the Tang Dynasty also had many coups d'états, such as Li Chengqian's attempted rebellion, the princess gaoyang's rebellion, the Shenlong coup, the Jinglong coup, the Tanglong coup, and the congenital coup, and Li Longji was the emperor who seized imperial power by launching two military coups. In order to prevent his brother and son from learning to launch a coup on his own, Li Longji took a series of measures to consolidate imperial power and monitor his brother and son.
Li Longji was grateful to his brothers, including the eldest brother Li Chengqi and others, because his position as crown prince was given up by Li Dan's eldest son, Li Chengqi. However, after Li Longji ascended the throne, he was still uneasy about his eldest brother, so Li Longji sent people to build a courtyard in today's Xingqing Park in Xi'an, the main building of which was named "Calyx Xianghui Building". The Li Longji brothers and others love to play music, and as long as they are okay every day after going to the court, Li Longji will go to the Xingqing Palace to play instruments with his brothers.
Li Longji, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (8 September 685 – 3 May 762)
Of course, on the surface, playing instruments with his brothers, Li Longji went to Xingqing Palace for another purpose, that is, to spy on his brothers, and he also strictly forbade courtiers from having too many contacts with their brothers. And Li Longji's brothers also know politics very well, and they never ask about the government and politics, and finally all of them died well.
In dealing with the crown prince, Li Longji put all his children and grandchildren under house arrest in the sixteenth king's residence and sent eunuchs to guard the crown prince and grandson. Li Longji was very suspicious of the crown prince and grandson, and even had the tragedy of killing three sons in one day. Even The crown prince Li Heng himself was cautious and cautious, walking on thin ice.
After Li Longji and Li Heng, the Tang emperor gradually reused eunuchs, and even let eunuchs grasp the power of the Shence Army. Eunuchs with military power can depose the emperor, can decide the emperor's life and death, and it is almost impossible for the prince to collude with the ministers to rebel.
Above_ Emperor Shenzong of Song (1048–1085)
Fourth, the Emperor of the Song Dynasty adopted a series of systems to prevent the change of Xuanwu Gate and ensure the supremacy of imperial power.
The system of the Song Dynasty emperors guarding the princes of the clan was:
1. Zongzheng Temple system, the Emperor of the Song Dynasty specially set up Zongzheng Temple to supervise the princes of the Zong family. Emperor Shenzong of Song himself even stipulated that the administrator of zongzheng temple in the Song dynasty could not be served by the Zhao family.
2. During the Han and Tang dynasties, the clan could lead soldiers to fight. For example, Emperor Jingdi of Han's younger brother Liu Wu the Prince of Liang led troops to guard Shangqiu to help Emperor Jingdi of Han quell the rebellion. During the Tang Dynasty, Li Daozong made great contributions in the Tang Dynasty's war to eliminate the surrounding countries.
However, the Song Dynasty was originally a dynasty that seized the world by military coup, and in order to prevent Wang Ye from colluding with army generals to perform another "Chen Qiao Mutiny", the Emperor of the Song Dynasty clearly stipulated: The clan is not allowed to lead troops to fight, and the clan cannot hold military positions.
3. The clan does not receive important positions in important frontier areas of the country and cannot serve as prime minister. During the Southern Song Dynasty, zhao ruyu, the chancellor, was impeached by Han Nongxu because of his status as a descendant of Emperor Taizong of Song.
Zhu Di (1360-1424), also known as Ming Chengzu, Yongle Emperor
Fifth, during the Ming and Qing dynasties, the centralization of power was further strengthened. Except for the special case of Zhu Di's successful rebellion, it was impossible for the Ming Dynasty princes to rebel.
Zhu Yuanzhang had appointed more than 20 of his sons as the king of the domain, but in order to prevent the king of the domain from having too much power and colluding with the courtiers to threaten the imperial power, Zhu Yuanzhang once stipulated that the king of the domain could only enter Nanjing once every three years, so as to avoid collusion between the king and the ministers. In order to prevent the kings of the clan from contacting each other, Zhu Yuanzhang also ordered that the time for the king of the clan to enter the capital could not be the same.
Zhu Di relied on civil war to seize the throne, and in order to prevent his brothers from learning from him to return to the "Battle of Jingnan", Zhu Di took a series of measures to suppress the power of the prince after he ascended the throne. Zhu Di's method of suppressing the prince's power was 3: moving the king of the clan to the interior. Zhu Quan, the King of Ning, made a great contribution to the Battle of Jingnan, and Zhu Di, in order to monitor the King of Ning, moved zhu Quan's garrison from Shanxi to Nanchang. After Zhu Di ascended the throne, the escort troops of the Daiwang, Minwang, and Zhou kings were stripped. The king of the clan was abolished as a shuren, and Zhu Di deposed the arrogant and lawless prince as a shuren.
In order to further monitor Wang Ye's actions, Zhu Di also resurrected secret service agencies such as Jinyiwei and Dongchang to consolidate imperial power.
After Zhu Di, the Ming Dynasty broke out during the Zhu Zhanji period, and the Zhu Houzhao period broke out the rebellion of Zhu Chenhao, the king of Anhua, and Zhu Chenhao, the king of Ning, but because Zhu Di took all measures to reduce the army of the king of the domain, the army in the hands of Zhu Gaoxu, Zhu Huanhao, and Zhu Chenhao could not compete with the imperial court, and the Ming Dynasty effortlessly suppressed the rebellion of the king of the domain.
Above_ Qing Dynasty Prince Heshuoqing, i.e. Yi Li (24 March 1838 – 29 January 1917)
After the Qing Dynasty entered the customs, in order to prevent the Qing Dynasty from threatening the imperial power with the "Battle of Jingnan", the Qing Dynasty, which had reached the peak of its centralized system, took a series of measures to restrict the rights of the clans.
First of all, the clan system of the Qing Dynasty was demoted, except for the 8 Iron Hat Kings, the titles of the rest of the princes were demoted. The title of a certain prince is a prince, his son is the king of the county, his grandson is Belle, his great-grandson is beizi, and he is demoted to a generation of knighthoods after a generation, which is similar to the tuien order of Emperor Wu of Han.
Secondly, the Qing Dynasty prince was not allowed to leave the capital, which made it very convenient for the emperor to monitor the whereabouts of the prince. Finally, the Qing government set up a zongren mansion to manage the wangye's clan office, and did not allow the prince to enter the cabinet and the military aircraft department to hold important positions, which limited the possibility of wangye interfering in politics.
Although these means can be used to keep the throne alive, there are still many people who risk their lives to rebel.
Author: Military Handsome Guy Correction/Editor: Lilith
References: A History of the Ancient Chinese Political System by Luo Huiying, Sichuan University Press
The text was created by the History University Hall team, and the picture originated from the Internet and the copyright belongs to the original author