Han Shizu

The "Auxiliary Government Era" was stumbling, and it was rare to spend three years in peace. By the spring and February of the fourth year of Pingkang, a fierce political struggle broke out again in the power center of the Han Empire. The two main parties in the struggle were Emperor Liu Wenpeng and King of Lu Liu Wen. , the conflict revolved around the funeral of Concubine Zhe (Emperor).

Concubine Zhe, this extraordinary woman who accompanied Emperor Shizu almost all his life and witnessed the glorious and prosperous Taizong era, who was impeccable in personal morality and integrity, finally came to an end in the seventy-eighth year of her life. Died in Fuqing Palace, Luoyang.

There is no doubt that Concubine Zhe was a virtuous concubine. Even Emperor Shizu deeply respected her, and her reputation had already spread throughout the world. And even with such fleeting fame and respect, her status in the Han Empire can be seen from her identity as the biological mother of King Zhao and King Lu.

At the same time, with the passage of time, Emperor Shizu's political traces became less and less, but it is an indisputable fact that he was increasingly "sacred" by the people of the world. As one of the most trusted concubines of Emperor Shizu before his death, First, it is normal for the death of Princess Zhe to have a major impact on the court.

Even the arrogant Empress Dowager Murong would not dare to be arrogant and arrogant in the affairs of the concubine. Otherwise, the two kings of Zhao and Lu, as well as the Qi and Liang dynasties in Nanyang, would not agree. With the deterrence formed by these four kings, everyone Dare to challenge easily.

For example, Emperor Liu Wenpeng also took the imperial edict extremely seriously. After seven days of issuing an edict to abolish the imperial court, he also had to pray before his death, and asked ministers to discuss his posthumous honors. It was also on the issue of posthumous names that the emperor and King Lu had a dispute. contradiction.

As the son of Concubine Zhe, Liu Yan had a high level of respect for his mother, so he naturally wanted to give her the highest honor in her funeral. Instead of being posthumously named queen, she would be buried with a ceremony that would give her a more respectful treatment.

Moreover, Liu Yan firmly believed that his mother deserved a posthumous position. You must know that when Concubine Gao passed away, Emperor Shizu posthumously named Concubine Gao and Concubine Zhe as empresses. However, Concubine Gao and Concubine Zhe were of the same rank. What can be definitely inferred is that if Concubine Zhe died in the era of Shizu, she would also be named "concubine". "Etiquette" to deal with funeral affairs.

What's more, Concubine Gao is still remarried, while Concubine Zhe is from a clean background, has children, and serves the ancestors. How can she be inferior to Concubine Gao in terms of status and treatment? (After the remarks based on these meanings spread to the Linhai Kingdom in the south, Linhai King Liu Wenhai cursed Liu Yan and others, and later expressed his stern opposition to giving the title of Queen to Concubine Zhe.)

Of course, King Lu's promotion of this matter, in addition to his filial piety to restore his mother's position, inevitably had political purposes. At least, if Concubine Zhe becomes "Queen Zhe", as her son, Liu Yan, the "regent", will be able to add another halo to his body. Combined with "Prince + Assistant Prime Minister", controlling the government will be more impressive. convince.

If King Lu wants to push, the emperor will naturally stop him! For more than a year, Liu Wenpeng has been trying every means to take back his power, but he has always been hampered. And as the ministers have become more and more clear about him as the emperor, the resistance from all aspects has intensified.

Compared with his mother, the Empress Dowager Murong, Liu Wenpeng's methods were not much better. His moods, anger, likes and dislikes were mixed, and his straightforward personality and style made it extremely difficult for the ministers of the Manchu Dynasty to adapt. Opportunities like the "Lu Lu Incident" are not easy to come across, so more often than not, Liu Wenpeng can only deal with trivial matters.

To be fair, Liu Wenpeng didn't have any objections to Princess Zhe. Considering her background and experience, it wouldn't be a big deal to be given the honorary title in normal circumstances. But combined with the situation between the DPRK and China, and considering the struggle between the imperial power and the ministerial power of the empire, face or even filial piety cannot be taken into consideration.

Liu Wenpeng was worried that he could not oust Lu Wang Liu Ai from power. Liu Ai made such a move again. Liu Wenpeng could also see the threat that "the concubine's pursuit of honor" might bring to him. How could he allow it? Naturally, he could only firmly oppose it. Fight back.

Therefore, King Liu Ai of Lu submitted a report, and Emperor Liu Wenpeng issued an edict to discuss the matter. And this discussion is a big discussion. At the same time, this kind of discussion with obvious political struggle color often cannot produce any unified result. The key lies in the competition of strength and power between the two sides. The final result is often based on the strength of the two sides. On success or failure.

Facts have proved that under the current Han Empire system, and the system carefully constructed by the two generations of emperors Shizu and Taizong is still functioning normally, even an emperor who is not so good at exerting himself can set off boundless waves if he exerts his determination. , swallowing up opponents on the way forward.

After all, King Liu Ai of Lu was not the kind of powerful minister who really had power over the government. By the fourth year of Pingkang, the effectiveness of the "Taizong's decree" had been greatly reduced, and the voices and people who were dissatisfied with the control of government affairs by the ministers became louder, almost boiling. After all, there are a lot of people who look forward to "one emperor and one courtier" and seek advancement and promotion.

And Liu Wenpeng, no matter how willful and willful he was, was still an emperor, a Han emperor with a legitimate name and a strong foundation.

Therefore, at the beginning of the big discussion, King Lu, the Zhe family, and other related people tried their best to please and actively participated. There were many people who supported the request, and the momentum was very loud.

However, as those who were watching the situation stopped one after another, the speculators started to wave their flags, and the opposition gradually increased.

At least, there was an upper limit to the power Liu Yan could draw on in pursuing the concubine, but on the emperor's side, the power of supporters was almost infinite. In the end, within the imperial court, except for the people of King Lu's family who were still insisting, the rest were full of opposition. Even the Zhe family died when they saw that things were not going well.

At the beginning, the two sides discussed the matter, quoted scriptures, and started a debate around the imperial etiquette. Later, it turned into personal attacks, old scores, and gossip, and the air in the court immediately became dirty.

The nature of the matter, as the impact spread to a wider range, went beyond the "concubine's posthumous title" itself, and completely turned into a head-on conflict between the imperial power and the prime minister's power, the "auxiliary ministers faction" and the "imperial party". When this kind of situation appeared, King Lu's "failure" also happened. Those who support the emperor in the imperial court may not respect him from the bottom of their hearts, but siding with the emperor is obviously a less risky choice. And the human nature of seeking advantages and avoiding disadvantages will also prompt them to chase the winner.

What's more, the situation within the imperial court is inherently complicated, with various forces intertwined and different interests. There are those who are foolish and loyal to the emperor, those who are devoted to the country, those who are knowledgeable, and those who are lucky enough to advance. If you want to be promoted quickly, it is obviously easier to serve a young emperor like Liu Wenpeng.

In fact, some people are worried about a willful emperor like Liu Wenpeng staying in the supreme position, but others are also secretly happy. After all, you only need to please people to gain glory and wealth. Isn't this better than serving a diligent and wise emperor? Is it easier to get along with those experienced ministers who seek the country?

As a result, King Liu Ai of Lu fell from power in the "Pursuit of Honor" in the fourth year of Pingkang. This struggle between imperial power and ministerial power ended in the victory of the imperial power.

Liu Yan completely lost power this time. After the "Zhe Taifei" was buried with her in the tomb, he was forced to leave the court and go to sea, and went to the Nanhai Island (Philippine Islands) to seal off the country and die. Along with this, a large number of "King Lu faction" were deposed, which to a certain extent prevented Liu Yan from having to worry about a shortage of talents in the early days of his rule.

With Liu Wei's resignation, the auxiliary government structure that had been maintained for more than three years collapsed completely. Yongxi's auxiliary ministers, Xiang Deming, and Li Jilong, who belonged to the noble faction that controlled military orders and military affairs, basically did not participate unless necessary. This is one of the reasons why the empire did not fall into chaos no matter how hard the central government fought.

The rest, such as Zhang Qixian and Li Hang, although they are still important ministers of the imperial court and leaders of scholars, have completely subdued many factions. In the final analysis, the class they represent does not occupy a core position in the ruling class of the Han Empire. The reason why they were able to hold high positions and hold great power before was mainly because Emperor Shizu and Emperor Taizong needed to use them to balance the court and exert influence on the empire. The huge noble and military landlord class carried out certain suppression.

One by one, the auxiliary ministers lost power, fell down, and left. The central power balance of the empire established before Emperor Taizong's death was completely broken, which represented the recovery of the imperial power belonging to Liu Wenpeng. Along with it, the power of the imperial family of meritorious officials gradually increased.

After all, with Liu Wenpeng in power, the repressive power and binding force on those with vested interests in the empire have actually been greatly reduced.

Of course, Liu Wenpeng couldn't see this. He was still immersed in the joy of defeating Liu Ai, the emperor's uncle, for this reason. He even awarded a lot of "heroes".

For example, Wang Qinruo, the secretary supervisor who firmly supported the emperor in the great debate, was promoted to the position of Vice Minister of Zhongshu, Tongping Zhangshi, and Counselor of Political Affairs. In fact, he assumed the previous powers and responsibilities of Lu Wang Liu Ai, which was a step up to the sky. Dong Yan, the envoy of salt and iron, was promoted to deputy envoy of finance. Other "meritorious officials" who played an important role in the process, such as Liu Gui, Wang Yue, Lin Te, Chen Xiangyu, etc., also received awards.

Compared to his father, Liu Wenpeng is much more generous in these matters. The rise of the imperial party has been unstoppable since then, and the Han Empire has truly entered the era of Emperor Pingkang.

However, while the emperor's power was being exercised with satisfaction, various contradictions were also growing and developing. The authority of the young emperor has been re-established, but the imperial decrees are not as unified as before. From top to bottom, from the inside out, there is a lot of chaos. This is the first time in decades that such strange things have happened.

The problem lies, obviously, with the emperor.

There is one person who has to be mentioned, King Zhao Liu Fang. If the person who has the purest heart for the concubine is undoubtedly him.

Because of this incident, Liu Fang became dissatisfied with the emperor for the first time. He didn't care whether the concubine could pursue the title of queen, but he was extremely dissatisfied with Liu Wenpeng's use of political struggle methods on this matter, which made the concubine unable to live in peace even after her death and had to face the discussion of the entire court. Liu Fang was extremely dissatisfied.

He didn't say it, but he was very angry in his heart. The same sentiment was also directed at the brother of King Lu Liu Ai. This was the reason why Liu Fang did not make any remarks or take any action on this matter from beginning to end.

Probably because of his guilty conscience, Liu Wenpeng remembered Liu Fang, his fourth uncle, and personally visited Liu Fang at "Chenglu" in Mangshan, apologized for the matter, and expressed his helplessness. However, the aging King of Zhao, Liu Fang, was deaf, blind, and slow to react, which made Liu Wenpeng return depressed.

In the autumn and August of the fourth year of Pingkang, with Zhang Qixian being deposed by Shangshu Ling, the Han Empire truly ushered in the era of Emperor Liu Wenpeng.