The great man will live forever

Chapter 216 Wang Mang’s era has come

In the twelfth month of the first year of Yuanshou (2 BC), Gengzi and Liu Xin appointed Dong Xian, the imperial concubine and prince-in-law, as the Grand Sima and General of the Wei. The book said: "I built you in public, and thought I was the auxiliary of the Han Dynasty! Go to Xi With your heart in mind, I will correct the common people's affairs, and I will take charge of them!"

At that time, Dong Xian was 22 years old. Although he was the third official, he often served as minister, received the minister's book, and all officials performed affairs because of their virtuousness.Because his father, Wei Gong, was not suitable for the position of minister, he moved to the position of Guanglu Dafu, with a rank of two thousand stones;

My younger brother, Kuan Xin, became the Prince Consort and the Commander-in-Chief of the Prince Consort. All the relatives of the Dong family were servants to the ministers and Cao Cao. They were invited by the court and favored the right hands of Ding and Fu...

The weight of the Grand Sima Ling Shangshu is extremely powerful.

In the early Han Dynasty, the prime minister was the head of hundreds of officials and had great power. The position of prime minister originally originated from the Qin Dynasty. The Qin Dynasty originated from the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. In the pre-Qin period, monarchs of various countries were assisted by ministers with humerus. At that time, they were It is called the country of prime minister, and the title of prime minister is not used.

In 221 BC, after Qin Shihuang Yingzheng unified China, he implemented the system of three ministers and nine ministers in the central government.At this time, the Prime Minister was changed to the Prime Minister. It can be said that one person is inferior to ten thousand people and has great power in his hands.

Many systems of the Han Dynasty were borrowed from and inherited from the Qin Dynasty, as was the state of prime minister. Xiao He and Cao Shen, who followed Liu Bang to conquer the world, both served as prime ministers.

However, during the reign of Emperor Hui of the Han Dynasty, the title of prime minister was re-introduced and the prime minister was divided into two, the left prime minister and the right prime minister. "Historical Records" records: "The Prime Minister Cao Shen passed away, the prince of An Guo Wang Ling was the right prime minister, and Chen Ping was the right prime minister. Prime Minister Zuo".

The prime minister received reports from the people below, and after summarizing various information, he wrote the situation and countermeasures into an official document, drafted it, and reported it to the palace.

When you arrive at the palace, the imperial envoy Dafu Temple will check to see if what is written is legal and reasonable, and then send it to the emperor for approval through the minister.

During this period, the minister was just a little kami who ran errands and only had the position of presenting official documents.

After the emperor saw the prime minister's report, he reviewed and approved it. If he felt that the plan was not feasible, he would send it back and redraft it. If he felt that it was feasible, he would stamp the approval and reply to the prime minister's office, and the prime minister would follow up on his report to implement it.

If the document issued by the emperor involves the drafting of a formal edict, it will be drafted by the Yushi Dafu Temple, and then sent to the emperor for approval through the Shangshu. After the emperor seals it and it is approved, it will be registered by the Shangshu, and then issued to the Yushi Dafu to be sent to the whole country...

Therefore, in the early days of the Han Dynasty, how to do something, who would do it, how much it would be done, and how much money would be spent were all the prime minister's business...

But that didn't work when it came to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. He admired Confucianism and no longer ruled by doing nothing, but wanted to control as much power as possible. The excessive power of the prime minister made Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty begin to feel threatened, so he began to appoint Confucian scholars as prime ministers. , and reduce the power of the prime minister.

Of course, another reason is that Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty wanted to fight so much. He wanted to fight all over the world and wanted to fight with the Huns every day.

The frontier summarized the situation of the Xiongnu, and then the prime minister analyzed it carefully, including how to fight, where to fight, and how much money to pay. He wrote a report and countermeasures and reported them to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. He took a look.

Good guy, just this few people are not enough. You, the prime minister, only have [-] people, and you are a laborer, so your plan will not work.

So, with a wave of my hand, "Come on, I'll do it myself and issue the edict directly."

"Fight, fight me to death, send troops from Dingxiang..."

"Wei Qing, take my tiger talisman and go directly to mobilize the troops, and then fight as you like and make your own use of it."

"What, the money is not enough? Prime Minister, you don't need to make any plans. Just go to Da Sinong and ask for one billion to be sent to Wei Qing."

"What? There are not enough horses? Prime Minister, go to the servant and bring me 10 horses, and send them to Wei Qing, Huo Qubing, and Liu Han."

"What, Da Sinong said that there is no money in the treasury? How about this, Prime Minister, you nationalize the salt and iron for me, set up a state-owned enterprise in each place, and pay me a profit of 4000 million yuan at the end of the year."

"You all have to work hard for me. I will grant you a title of marquis. If you tell the ugly story in front of me, if you don't do well, you will be beheaded. I am very merciful. You can do it without beheading. Please pay the money to atone for your sins..."

With this set of tactics, the Prime Minister becomes more like an errand boy.

Moreover, in the fifth year of Yuanshou, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty set up a new official position as "Sizhi". His official explanation was: "The chief minister assists the prime minister in illegal activities."

In name, he is the Prime Minister's assistant, but in fact, he monitors whether the Prime Minister acts for personal gain or bends the law.

Not only that, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty also increased the power of the inner dynasty. It was also from Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty that the powers of the ministers began to grow.

However, this official position is not a new addition. It was originally subordinate to the Shaofu, one of the Nine Qings, and was in charge of documents. It was an internal court official.

Emperor Wu initiated the practice of using eunuchs as ministers, and Emperors Xuan and Yuan inherited this system.These people often accompany the emperor and are highly valued.

The purpose of increasing his power was to squeeze out the prime ministers and imperial censors, and to place political affairs under the rule of the Shangshu. With the emperor as his backer, the Shangshu's power became more and more powerful.

In the later period, Shangshu Ling had great power and could make decisions and manage national policies and administrative affairs.

They can formulate policies and regulations, decide on the appointment, removal and promotion of officials, manage the country's financial, military and foreign affairs, as well as manage the country's cultural, educational and scientific and technological affairs.

By the time of Emperor Wu, the "right to suggest whether to do something", "the right to arrange how to do it", and "the right to suggest who should do it" originally held by the Prime Minister were taken away, leaving only the "right to implement things with drawings" "right" and "right to supervise whether things are done well".

The Shangshu obtained most of this power.

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty also created the official position of "Ling Shangshu Shi", which was held by his trusted inner court officials. They could be eunuchs or ministers. Whoever he trusted could do it.

The decision-making power of the prime minister has been greatly weakened. Generally, after discussion among all the internal court officials, the internal court official who "receives the secretarial affairs" will report to the emperor and put forward opinions, and the emperor will make the decision.

It is somewhat similar to the prototype of the Ming Dynasty's cabinet.

After Emperor Wu's death, the imperial power passed to Huo Guang through a series of titles such as "Da Sima, Grand General, Minister of Affairs".

There are four levels of generals who are "concurrent officers" of Da Sima: General, General of Hussars, General of Chariots and Cavalry, and General of Guards.

Among them, the status of the general and the hussar general is equivalent to that of the prime minister, while the status of the general of the cavalry and the general of the guard is that of the minister.

After the title of "concurrent official" was given to the Grand Sima, the position remained unchanged: the Grand Sima General and the Grand Sima Hussar General were higher than the Prime Minister.

This was also a creation of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. Just like the later Emperor Gaozu of the Tang Dynasty, Li Yuan, in order to commend his second son Li Shimin for his contribution, he created the title of "General Tiance". This position was above the Three Dukes and second only to the nominal The first three divisions of civil servants
In the fifth year of Yuanshuo (124 BC), Wei Qing was worshiped as a general because he defeated the Xiongnu. He was able to command all the generals. He was ranked above the Three Dukes, and everyone below the Qing Dynasty worshiped him.

In the fourth year of Yuanshou (119 BC), in order to respect the meritorious Wei Qing and Huo Qubing, Emperor Wu first appointed the Grand Sima as the General and promoted him to the rank of General. Wei Qing was appointed as the Grand Sima General, and Huo Qubing was appointed as the Grand Sima Hussar General.

After the death of Huo Qubing and Wei Qing, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty appointed Liu Han as the Great Sima Hussar General.

In a word, the Great General Sima who leads the Secretariat is equivalent to the invisible emperor.

Now, Dong Xian is the general of Sima Wei and the minister of the order. There is a gap, but it is not big.

People are like this, a child is cheap, too easy to get, but they don't cherish it, those who can't get it are in turmoil, and those who are favored are confident.

Probably because the throne came too easily, Emperor Ai of the Han Dynasty did not cherish it much. What he valued was feelings. He picked up the throne. Who made his great uncle, Emperor Cheng of the Han Dynasty, Liu Ao, childless?

Perhaps because she felt that she might not die soon and wanted to protect Dong Xian, or because she felt that she was not good enough to Dong Xian, Liu Xin did another extremely stupid thing.On that day, Liu Xin hosted a banquet in honor of Dong Xian, his father, son, and relatives in Qilin Palace. The ministers and ministers were all present.

At this time, the Zhongchang attendant was called Wang Hong. He was the son of Wang Mang's uncle Wang Tan. He was Wang Mang's cousin. The two had a good relationship since childhood and were considered an outlier in the Wang family. This guy was smart by nature, had a strategy, and had integrity. He was a famous scholar in Langxie. .

In order to support his grandmother, the Empress Dowager Fu, and his mother, the Empress Dowager Ding, and other relatives, Emperor Ai of the Han Dynasty, Liu Xin, severely attacked the Wang Feng and Wang Mang families who had been assisting the government for a long time, causing the Wang family to almost collapse.

Later, at the begging of the Empress Dowager Wang Zhengjun, Emperor Ai of the Han Dynasty allowed some of the Wang family's children to serve in the court, and also brought Wang Mang back to Chang'an. Wang Hong served as a regular minister and gave many suggestions.

Everyone drank happily, maybe they were drunk, maybe they had other ideas, Liu Xin picked up the wine glass, looked at Dong Xian calmly, and said with a smile: "I want to use the method of Yao, Zen, and Shun to meditate on you, what do you think? "

Good guy, Jun Wuxiyan, what is he doing? Everyone was shocked.

Wang Hong hurriedly stepped forward and said: "The world belongs to Emperor Gao, not to His Majesty! Your Majesty inherited the temple of his ancestors and should pass it on to his descendants and shoulder important responsibilities. The emperor cannot make fun of words!"

Liu Xin was silent while holding the glass of wine. The scene was very quiet, so quiet that it was scary.

"Disappointment, you go down and go back to your hometown."

"promise."

Wang Hong saluted and retreated respectfully, walking with firm steps.

After a while, the Queen Mother Wang Zhengjun apologized for Wang Hong. Liu Xin looked at her face and recalled Wang Hong again.

This guy still refuses to give up. He is really afraid that Liu Xin will do something stupid again. Can the throne be easily abdicated?

Can your emperor say that?It's my grandson who is selling his land in front of me, so I don't feel bad at all.

Wang Hong did not take Wang Jia's advice and continued to write a letter to advise: "I heard that the king established the Three Dukes. According to the laws of the Three Lights, the people who hold these positions should be talented.

"The Book of Changes" says: "The tripod is broken, and the royal family's food is overturned." 'It means that the three men are incompetent.In ancient times, Emperor Xiaowen favored Deng Tong and was only a middle-ranking official; Emperor Wu trusted Han Yan and only gave him favors, but neither of them rose to high positions.

But now the Grand Sima and the General of Wei, Dong Xian, had never made any meritorious service in the Han Dynasty, nor had they had a profound background, nor had they shown outstanding talents or noble moral character. However, they were promoted to important positions in the Central Government in just a few years. Position, commanding the imperial army, being knighted despite having no merit, father, son and brothers being promoted and rewarded one after another, the treasury is empty, the people are noisy, and the streets are talking about it, it is really not in line with the will of heaven!
The ancient God of Bao transformed into a human being and gave birth to Bao Si, which caused chaos in the Zhou Kingdom. I am afraid that His Majesty will have some words of blame, and the virtuous may also be harmed because of the villain's improper advancement and retreat. This is not a way to set an example for future generations..."

The ancients collectively referred to the sun, moon, and five stars as the three lights. "Zhuangzi on the Sword" says: "The sky is rounded up to smooth the three lights, the sun is down to the earth to harmonize the four seasons, and the public opinion is harmonized to calm the four towns.

"Baihutong. Feng Gonghou": "The way of heaven is all based on three. The sky has three lights, the sun, the moon, and the stars; the earth has three shapes, high, low, and flat; people have three respects, the king, the father, and the teacher."

Good guy, he just pointed at the emperor Liu Xin and cursed him. Liu Xin was very unhappy, but felt that Wang Hong was still young and had just forced a prime minister to death not long ago. He probably regretted it, so he bypassed Wang Hong for the time being.

Not long after, in the second year of Yuanshou, 1 BC, in June, Wu Wu, Emperor Ai of the Han Dynasty Liu Xin died in Weiyang Palace.

"What? The emperor died?"

In Changle Palace, Wang Zhengjun, who received the news, did not expect that Liu Xin was very young, only 25 years old. The most important thing was that this guy had no sons. This heir was a big problem. Two generations of emperors in the Han Dynasty had no sons. It was simply Already...

Today's Empress Dowager Wang Zhengjun is 70 years old. This person is really alive. He is almost a grown-up. From the time when Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty happened, he has lived until now and has experienced four generations of emperors. It is incredible.

Her movements were very deft. After all, she had experienced such scenes several times. She immediately asked people to collect the seal ribbon after the emperor's death, and summoned the Grand Sima Dong Xian.

"How do you think funerals should be handled?"

Good guy, this is making things difficult for him. Dong Xian is only 23 years old now and has never experienced the death of an emperor. How does he know how to handle funerals?

At this moment, he was full of worries about his future. Faced with Wang Zhengjun's inquiry, he hesitated for a while, not knowing how to answer.

"Well, since you are not qualified, don't be this great Sima. Wang Mang, the lord of the new capital, has handled the funeral of the late emperor as a great Sima before. Knowing the old practice, I will order Wang Mang to help you."

"Thank you, Empress Dowager."

Dong Xian kowtowed to show that he was greatly favored. Now that the emperor was dead, there was no one to protect him.

Wang Zhengjun sent an envoy to summon Wang Mang. After Wang Mang arrived, he used the Empress Dowager to instruct people to impeach Dong Xian for not attending to the medicine when Emperor Ai of the Han Dynasty was ill, and banned Dong Xian from entering the gate of Sima Mansion in the palace.

Dong Xian had no choice but to go to the palace to take off his hat and walk barefoot to apologize.

On June 27, Wang Mang decided to kill everyone, and then sent an edict to Dong Xian in the name of the Empress Dowager's edict, saying: "Since Dong Xian, the Marquis of Gao'an, has entered the palace, the relationship between yin and yang has been lost. , disasters are coming frequently, and the people are miserable.

In the past, the three princes were your majesty's most important assistants, but the virtuous were ignorant of the principles of heaven and earth. Their duties as commander-in-chief could not satisfy everyone, and they could not contribute to defeat the enemy or pacify the remote areas.The seal and ribbon of the Grand Sima should be recovered and the wise men should leave their posts and return home. Only in this way can the anger of the public be quelled. "

On that day, both Dong Xian and his wife committed suicide. Their family members were so frightened that they buried them at night.

Wang Mang suspected that Dong Xian was pretending to be dead. Someone asked him to open Dong Xian's coffin and go to check to make sure he was dead.

At the same time, he also hinted that the great Situ Kong Guang wrote: "Dong Xian was good at flattery by nature, and colluded with evil people to obtain titles. Father and son controlled each other's government, and brothers were favorites. He excessively accepted rewards, built mansions, and tombs. , like the mausoleum of a king, wasting huge amounts of property and leaving the country financially empty.

The father and son were arrogant and disobedient, did not respect the envoys sent by the emperor, and did not kneel down when receiving rewards. Their crimes were extremely obvious.

Dong Xian committed suicide and confessed. After his death, his father Dong Gong and others did not repent. They painted cinnabar on the coffin and painted the colors of the four seasons. There is a blue dragon on the left and a white tiger on the right. The sun and moon are attached with gold and silver above, and they are decorated with jade clothes. It is decorated with pearls and jade, and the level of dignity is unprecedented.

As for Dong Gong and others, they escaped the crime of execution, but they should not continue to serve in the court.I request that their property be returned to the court.All those involved with Dong Xian were dismissed from office. "

Therefore, Dong Xian's father Dong Gong, younger brother Dong Kuanxin and their families moved to Hepu, and Dong Xian's mother returned to her hometown of Julu.

The imperial court sold Dong's property for a total of 43 yuan.After Dong Xian's coffin was opened, his body was revealed for examination before being buried in the tomb.

Zhu Xu, a native of Pei State, who was favored by Dong Xian, impeached himself and left Da Sima's mansion. He bought coffins and clothes to pack Dong Xian's body and bury him.

The Empress Dowager Wang Zhengjun immediately ordered officials to select candidates for the new Grand Sima. After all, Wang Mang had not been officially accepted. As a relative of the Queen Mother and the previous Grand Sima, he was highly praised by the public and was recommended by many officials.

However, former general He Wu and left general Gongsun Lu conspired and believed that in the past, the centralization of power by relatives almost endangered the country. Now that the two emperors Xiaocheng and Xiaoai had no heirs, it was appropriate to choose a younger close relative as the monarch, and it was not appropriate to allow relatives and ministers to centralize power.

Therefore, He Wu recommended Gongsun Lu to be the Grand Sima, and Gongsun Lu also recommended He Wu.

In the end, the Empress Dowager Wang Zhengjun himself directly ordered Wang Mang to be appointed as the Grand Sima and also in charge of the Secretariat.

Now, Wang Mang's era has arrived.

(End of this chapter)