The great man will live forever

Chapter 272 Liu Xiu is too anxious

"I heard that Han Xin acted negligently, violated national laws, and was not loyal to his family and country. As an important minister of a country, his conduct should be an example to the people, and he should do his best to be loyal to the country.

However, Han Xin failed to meet my expectations and requirements, which is really sad...

I have approved the edict and must wait for Han Xin to leave Luoyang within three days after receiving the edict, and will never allow him to exceed my order again.

Anyone who violates the rules will be punished in accordance with the law and will not be forgiven in order to maintain the authority and dignity of the Han Dynasty.

I only hope that Han Xin will return to his hometown in seclusion as soon as possible, concentrate on cultivating his moral character, look at his own mistakes, and be more loyal and law-abiding. I hope that the customs will be transformed into pure customs and be imitated by future generations..."

In the first month of the fifteenth year of Jianwu (39th year), Han Xin wrote to Liu Xiu and publicly stated in the court that the Han Dynasty would encounter crop failure and starvation. Han Xin pointed to the sky and the earth with urgent words.

On the 23rd of the first lunar month, Liu Xiu officially issued an edict to remove Han Xin from his post and send him back to his hometown.

The main contents of the edict are:

1. Remove Han Xin from his current official position and immediately remove him from his position in the court.

2. Han Xin was prohibited from holding any public office in the court and no longer had the power to govern.

3. Han Xin please leave Luoyang quickly and return to his hometown. He should not interfere in state affairs in government affairs.

Even so, Liu Xiu still felt upset and prepared to issue another edict to reprimand Han Xin.

"Your Majesty, you must not do it." Bao Yong, the captain of Sili School, repeatedly begged for Han Xin's mercy.

"Father, be careful about this matter!" Even Liu Han began to plead for mercy. He was not cold towards Han Xin, but Liu Xiu issued an edict to reprimand him again. This matter was a bit big, and it might cause waves. That was Sangong, are you going to kill him now?

There was an unspoken rule in the Han Dynasty that the three princes were not in harmony with the officials. This means that high-ranking officials at the three-gong level cannot be imprisoned.

If the emperor dislikes you, wants to punish you, and issues an imperial edict to reprimand you, then you should be prepared to commit suicide.

In fact, it is not just the three princes, but also many ministers.

There were reasons why the ministers of the Han Dynasty committed suicide after being blamed by the emperor. There were two main reasons. One was to respect themselves, and the other was to hide and punish them.

Speaking of self-respect has two meanings. One is self-esteem. The Han Dynasty was not far from ancient times, and the habit of despising life and death and focusing on honor and disgrace still existed.

At that time, honor, disgrace, morale, reputation, and integrity were often greater than money, life, and beauty...

Just look at the stories of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. For example, Wu Zixu ran away and met the fisherman. Because he said not to reveal his whereabouts, the fisherman thought he had suffered great humiliation and sank into the river.

"After I left, I warned the fisherman's father: 'Cover your son's sludge, and don't let it come out.' The fisherman's father promised. Zixu walked a few steps, and when he looked at the fisherman, he capsized the boat and sank into the river."

This kind of behavior was difficult to imagine in the Ming and Qing Dynasties and later generations. People in the Han Dynasty behaved similarly when encountering this situation. They would rather commit suicide than be humiliated.

Regarding this fisherman, some people in later generations said that he wanted to keep it secret rather than be humiliated. This actually needs to be viewed in conjunction with the previous article.

In fact, the fisherman had no intention of dying at first. After he helped Wu Zixu cross the river and get enough to eat, his conversation with Wu Zixu was as follows:

Xu said: "Please give me my father-in-law's surname." Fisherman said: "Today is very fierce. Two thieves meet each other. I call them thieves crossing Chu. The two thieves meet each other and form in silence. Why use the surname? The son is Lu Zhong. Man, I am the father-in-law of a fisherman, so wealth and honor should never be forgotten." Zixu said: "Nuo."

The fisherman originally did good deeds anonymously, but in the end he said farewell and said that wealth and wealth should never be forgotten. At this time, he had no intention to die, but what Wu Zixu said later made the fisherman feel distrustful, so he committed suicide to express his will.

The second meaning of self-respect is the difference between superiority and inferiority. As early as the Qin Dynasty, Feng Quji and Feng Jie were imprisoned by Zhao Gao. The two committed suicide directly because they "will not humiliate their generals".

As a high-ranking official, especially one who reached the position of Sangong and Jiuqing, it was recognized as an insult in the Han Dynasty to face such a lowly class as the "sword and pen officials" and to be questioned by them.

For example, during the reign of Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty, Farming Yannian, the chief minister, was involved in corruption and was waiting for the emperor to deal with it. Someone interceded for him, but Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty did not agree.

At this time, Tian Yannian was already determined to die and said: "How can I go to prison with a face that makes everyone laugh at me and the soldiers spit on my back?"

Therefore, he waited for news at home with his sword in hand every day. When the emperor asked him to serve as a court captain, he committed suicide directly with his sword.

Xiao Wangzhi, the Taifu during the Han Yuan Dynasty, was the same, and it was his disciples who persuaded him to commit suicide.

"When the messenger arrived, he summoned him. He wanted to commit suicide, but my wife stopped him, thinking that it was not the emperor's will. I looked at him and asked my disciple Zhu Yun. Yun was a good man and advised him to commit suicide."

This strong sense of humiliation when faced with questioning by subordinates, coupled with the persistence of pre-Qin habits, caused many high-ranking officials to commit suicide directly. Of course, there is a little bit of wretched thinking in the middle.

Because the emperor also knew that Xia Tingwei would make many people commit suicide, so if the emperor still insisted on doing this, it would feel like he was going to die directly.

But in this case, ministers usually still have a choice. For example, Zhou Bo and Huang Ba were both imprisoned, but they survived because they were thick-skinned.

The so-called hidden execution is a kind of "suicide" behavior in the Han Dynasty, because generally speaking, the emperor personally ordered the execution to show that he was guilty, and suicide can preserve dignity. This dignity is dual.

Firstly, it is the dignity of the person who committed suicide, so that he does not have to be convicted and punished. Secondly, it is also the dignity of the emperor, so that it does not appear that the emperor is unlucky to his important ministers.

"Hanshu Jia Yi Biography" says:

The dignity of the master is like a hall, the ministers are like the majesty, and the common people are like the earth. Therefore, if your Majesty is on the ninth level, if Lian is far away, the hall will be high; if you are on the lower level, if Lian is close to you, the hall will be low.

Those who are high are difficult to climb, and those who are low are easy to climb. This is the reason. Therefore, the ancient sage-king system was divided into ranks, with ministers, officials, and scholars inside, and outside, dukes, marquises, uncles, sons, and sons. Then there were officials, teachers, and minor officials, extending to the common people. The ranks were clearly defined, and the emperor added them. Therefore, His respect is beyond reach.

There is a proverb: "If you want to throw a rat, avoid the weapon." This is a good advice. When a rat is close to a weapon, he is still afraid of throwing it in for fear of damaging the weapon. How much more so when a noble minister is close to the master! Integrity and propriety govern a gentleman, so there is death and humiliation.

Therefore, the sins of tattooing and tattooing are not as bad as those of a great official, because they are not far from the Lord. The courtesy does not dare to bite the king's horse in the road, and those who kick its cud will be punished; if you see the king's stick, you will get up; if you are ridden by the king, you will get down; if you enter the main gate, you will rush; even if the king's favorite ministers may have made mistakes, they will be punished and killed. Those who don’t add anything to their bodies are the reason for respecting the king...

Just like throwing a rat into a trap, when punishing ministers, they should protect their personal dignity as much as possible, "the crime of tattooing and tattooing is not as bad as that of a high official", "if you are given death, you will be killed and humiliated", and avoid direct killing or humiliation.

For these former nobles, as a monarch, you can deprive them of titles, dismiss them from office, impose death, or even exterminate their clans, but you cannot tie them to prison and hand them over to the Sikou officials to be whipped and insulted.

Otherwise, if these noble people are insulted by people of low status just because of crimes, it will not be conducive to maintaining the hierarchy in society, let alone maintaining rule.

There were many examples of these in the Han Dynasty. For example, Bo Zhao was the younger brother of Empress Dowager Bo, the mother of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty, and the emperor's uncle. He committed a capital crime for killing an envoy from the Han court.

At that time, Emperor Wen wanted to deal with Bo Zhao, but it was difficult to attack his uncle directly, so he sent someone to drink with his uncle and hinted that he should commit suicide;

Bo Zhao didn't want to, so Emperor Wen simply sent his ministers to mourn his uncle in mourning clothes. In the end, Bo Zhao had no choice but to commit suicide.

There were many three princes or ministers who committed suicide in the Han Dynasty, such as Zhou Yafu, Zhao Wan, Wang Zang, Wang Hui, Li Guang, Li Cai, Zhuang Qingzhai, Zhang Tang, Wang Wenshu, Xian Xuan, Wang Qing, Bao Shengzhi, Shang Qiucheng , Ma Shijian, Xu Ren, Wang Su, Tian Yannian, Tian Guangming, Tian Shun, Fan Mingyou, Xiao Wangzhi, Zheng Hong...

Therefore, once Liu Xiu denounced the imperial edict, it meant that he had murderous intentions and wanted to kill Han Xin.

If you don't commit suicide, you will suffer the consequences. That's what Zhou Yafu was like back then:

Living in Wuhe, Yafu's son bought his father Shang Fangjia, an official in charge of work, and bought five hundred quilts that could be used to bury him. Take what is mediocre and miserable, and don’t give money back. It is known that he stole the county official's weapons, and he complained about it and sued his son.

After hearing the book, officials came up and down. The officials blamed Yafu, but Yafu was wrong. He scolded him and said, "I don't need it." He summoned Yi Tingwei. Tingwei asked: "What do you want to do?"

Yafu said: "The vessels I bought are burial vessels. What is the opposite?"

The official said: "Even if you don't want to rebel against the ground, you want to rebel against the ground." The official invasion became more urgent. At the beginning, officials arrested Yafu. Yafu wanted to commit suicide, but his wife stopped him, so he could not die. So he was admitted to the imperial court. He died of vomiting blood after not eating for five days.

The country is absolutely...

Before he was caught, Zhou Yafu thought about committing suicide, but his wife persuaded him to stop. After all, he had made a lot of contributions. The emperor wouldn't kill himself for such a small thing, right?

But when he heard his charges later, he was dumbfounded. It was so humiliating. "He died of vomiting blood because he did not eat for five days."

Han Xin cited that the country would encounter a great famine. During the statement, he was very emotional and his words were very fierce. As a result, Long Yan was so angry that he was dismissed from his position and sent back to his hometown.

After Han Xin went on the road, Liu Xiu was still upset and wanted to send envoys to catch up with Han Xin and issue an imperial edict to punish Han Xin. This meant that Liu Xiu wanted to take action and kill Han Xin. It would not be good to just give him death. We can only hide the rules and let him commit suicide.

Han Xin's "proof" was actually a "prophecy" popular at the time. It was very unscientific to talk about celestial phenomena instead of current weather forecast reports.

Liu Xiu couldn't stand it anymore, because the celestial warning had another meaning in ancient times: "The emperor has some bad ethics!"

"Stop talking anymore, I have made up my mind!"

Liu Xiu waved his hand. No matter whether Sili Colonel Bao Yong repeatedly begged for mercy or Liu Han said good things, it was of no use because Liu Xiu was angry. Even though he was wise and mighty, people have emotions.

It's not a machine, the main reason is that Han Xin speaks too directly and violates taboos. Prophecy is a big taboo for him.

"Your Majesty!" Bao Yong wanted to persuade again.

Liu Han sighed and said, "If Father wants it, then so be it."

Immediately, he took Bao Yong and walked out.

"Prince."

"Let's go, Mr. Bao, do you want my father to send someone to invite you?"

Liu Han understood that if Bao Yong tried to persuade him again, he would probably be kicked out of the central government. Historically, when Liu Xiu ordered to censure Han Xin, Bao Yong tried his best to dissuade him, and finally angered Liu Xiu. He ordered Bao Yong to be demoted as the Prime Minister of the East China Sea. Drive out of the center.

Under Liu Han's pull, Bao Yong and him left the hall.

After so many years, Liu Han got to know Liu Xiu very well. Liu Xiu was very powerful. Whether it was leading troops in battles, political maneuvering, or knowledge, he could be ranked among the best among the emperors of the past dynasties. He was a typical hexagonal warrior, almost No dead ends.

But man has no one, he is not a god, even saints make mistakes, let alone the emperor?

He is very able to listen to advice, but if you are too straightforward and blindly contradict him, even though your advice may be offensive, sometimes he will not listen.

Liu Xiu's experiences when he was young made him a "scholar of the world". He looked gentle on the outside, but in his heart he was full of chivalry and arrogance, and even a bit domineering at certain times.

If you want to force such a person to submit by force, how is that possible? After Liu Xiu and his ministers have done enough to be "gentle and courteous", it will definitely break their bones if they try again!

Han Xin's experience was not an exception. There was a man named Shen Tugang who even served as a minister, but because he "failed to obey the decree with numerous remonstrances", he was demoted to a small county magistrate by Liu Xiu.

This person can be regarded as being born into a family of officials, and is a descendant of Shen Tujia, the prime minister during the reign of Emperor Wen of Han Dynasty.

Shentu first served as a meritorious officer in the county. During the Ping Dynasty of the Han Dynasty, Wang Mang was in power and the court was full of suspicions. Shen Tugang hated him deeply. He was a virtuous and upright man. Because of his countermeasures and deeds, he disobeyed Wang Mang's will and was dismissed and returned to his hometown.

Wang Mang usurped the Han Dynasty, and Shentu just fled to Hexi and Bashu, where he lived for more than 20 years. At that time, Kaixiao wanted to betray Emperor Wu Liu Xiu and join the southwestern warlord Gongsun Shu, but Shentu tried to persuade him to no avail.

In the 31th year of Jianwu (st year), Emperor Guangwu issued an edict to conquer Shen Tugang and appointed him as a censor. Soon after, he was promoted to Shangshu Ling.

Shentu was rigid and upright, and he often admired Shi Loi and Ji An. He violated Yan Zhijian many times in the court, and was later demoted to Pingyin order. He was reinstated as a Taizhong doctor. He resigned due to illness and died at home.

There are three works: "Countermeasures for Promoting Virtue and Righteousness", "Speaking of Wei Su" and "Book of Return to Wei Jing".

The main reason is that once, when Liu Xiu was about to go out for a palace tour, Shen Tu just stopped the driver and said that the world has not yet been unified, and your majesty should not be greedy for pleasure.

Liu Xiu refused to listen, and Shen Tugang pushed Liu Xiu's carriage on his head, refusing to let him go out.

Although Liu Xiu did not have an attack that time, Liang Zi finally settled the matter and finally found an excuse to kick Shen Tugang out of the capital.

It is human nature that loyal words are offensive to the ears. In this regard, Liu Xiu is not as good as Li Shimin. Li Shimin was scolded by Wei Zheng many times and was unable to step down. In private, he even said more than once: "If I have the chance, I must kill this old man."

Even so, he still reused Wei Zheng.     In addition to this, Liu Xiu was always wary of the people who took refuge in Gengshi back then.

Han Xin, Feng Yan, and Bao Yong were Liu Xuan's subordinates at that time. Liu Xiu first recruited them to surrender, but they refused to do so and were extremely stubborn. They were not willing to surrender until the death of Liu Xuan, the Gengshi Emperor, was confirmed.

The most obvious one is Feng Yan, who was a prodigy when he was young and became well-versed in books at the age of 20. During the reign of Wang Mang, many princes recommended him, but Feng Yan refused to serve.

Later, Lian Dan, the general of Gengshi, went on a crusade against Shandong. Wang Mang urged the battle, and Feng Yan persuaded Lian Dan to station troops in major counties to wait for changes. Lian Dan refused to listen and died in battle, while Feng Yan fled to Hedong.

In the second year of Gengshi (24th year), Shangshu Pu shot Bao Yongxing, the general of the Han Dynasty, and Feng Yan proposed to occupy Bingzhou. Bao Yongnai made Yan the general of the Han Dynasty.

When Emperor Guangwu came to the throne, Bao Yong and Feng Yan refused to surrender. Later, when they learned that Emperor Gengshi was dead, they dismissed their troops and surrendered to Emperor Guangwu. They were appointed as Quyang Orders. They deserved rewards for their meritorious service, but they were slandered, so they could not reward them.

In the sixth year of Jianwu (30th year), Feng Yan wrote to Chen Bashi. Emperor Guangwu summoned Feng Yan. However, Shangshu Ling Wang Hu, Shangshu Zhou Shengfeng and others were all excluded, so they were not allowed to enter.

Later, he got in touch with his relatives and moved to the Department of Li. Emperor Guangwu punished his relatives, and Feng Yan was convicted. He returned to his hometown in the west and stayed behind closed doors to protect himself. At the end of Jianwu period, Shang Shu published it on his own, but in the end it was of no use.

After Emperor Ming came to the throne, Feng Yan was falsely accused of "writing too much", so he was abandoned at home and died in poverty...

He was treated unfairly because he insisted on being loyal to Liu Xuan. Feng Yan felt very innocent about this, and he even told Liu Xiu a story to defend himself:

"In ancient times, there was a man named Lao Wang next door who molested his two neighbor's wives. The older woman resisted with all her strength, while the younger one complied.

Later, the neighbor died unexpectedly, and Lao Wang next door married the older woman instead of the younger one.

Others expressed their incomprehension, and Lao Wang said: 'They used to be other people's, and I always wanted them to obey me. Now that they are mine, of course I hope she can reject others for me! ’”

This is the story of Lao Wang, his neighbor next door. Feng Yan also said, this is the "doctrine". I am like that older woman who sticks to the doctrine. Now that I have surrendered to you, I will not abandon you easily. Don't I? Should it be commended?

It's a pity that Liu Xiu doesn't think so. Liu Xuan is like his restricted area sometimes. After all, he killed his only brother and wanted to kill him. He can't be touched easily. Feng Yan will never be able to stand up for the rest of his life.

Of course, the other reason is that these people often talk about Liu Xuan and go to express their condolences. Liu Xuan has been dead for so long, and you still miss him. How can I reuse him?

Another point is that Liu Xiu believed in Chen Wei very much. His belief in Chen Wei should be divided into three stages. The first stage is called "cannot disbelieve", the second stage is called "cannot believe" and the third stage is called "cannot disbelieve". .

Throughout his life, he did many ridiculous things in the prophecy. When he came to the throne in the first year of Jianwu, Liu Xiu actually appointed officials based on the hints of "Chi Fu Fu".

During the Guangwu Dynasty, if anyone did not believe in prophecies, he would often be in bad luck.

The four great academic figures in the early Eastern Han Dynasty were Huan Tan, Zheng Xing, Du Lin and Chen Yuan.

Zheng Xing believed in destiny, but not in prophecies. He was a theist and believed in the influence of heaven and man. At the same time, he did not believe that God would issue an "imperial edict" (prophecy), and all the prophecies and pictures were just forgeries.

This man is quite powerful. He specializes in the Chunqiu Zuo Shi Zhuan and the Zuo Shi Zhuan school of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Half of them came from his disciples. During the New Dynasty, he and his disciples studied and preached "The Biography of the Zuo Family" with the famous Imperial Master Liu Xin.

Liu Xiu wanted to use the prophecies to determine the rituals of the suburbs, but Zheng Xing just said, "I don't understand the prophecies," which made Liu Xiu furious.

Zheng Xing was quite sensible and escaped punishment by saying, "I have never learned prophecies, which does not mean that the prophecies are wrong." Because he did not adhere to the prophecy theory, Zheng Xing could not be reused throughout his life.

Yin Min's thoughts are generally close to Zheng Xing's, and he is also a theist who opposes prophecies. He also advocates "the Five Classics of benevolence, righteousness, and righteousness as the basis."

This person is familiar with "Ouyang Shangshu", "Guwen", "Mao Shi", "Gu Liang", "Zuo Shi Chun Qiu" and other works. He has served as a doctor, Changling magistrate, admonishing doctor, etc., but because of his opposition to prophecy Thoughts have never been reused.

Not long after the founding of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Liu Xiu knew of his talent and ordered Yin Min to sort out the prophecies left by the new dynasty. Yin Min was unwilling. He said: "Prophecies are not the words of a saint. There are many mistakes, which will harm future generations."

Liu Xiu refused to listen and immediately ordered him to do it. Yin Min did something explosive:

"Min because of his Que Wenzeng said: 'You have no mouth, and you are a auxiliary to the Han Dynasty.' The emperor was surprised when he saw it, and summoned Min to ask why. Min replied: 'I saw that my predecessors added and damaged books, so I dare not overestimate myself and steal luck. just in case.'"

To put it simply, when he saw a missing text in a prophecy, he took up his pen and added the sentence "You have no words to support Han".

"Jun" Wukou means "Yin", which means that the person named Yin will be an assistant minister and prime minister. Good guy, this is to make yourself the prime minister. Don't you believe in prophecy? Then let me be the prime minister.

Liu Xiu was stunned and asked, "Yin Qing, what do you mean?"

Yin Min said carelessly: "Your Majesty, isn't that what the prophecy is? No matter how many predecessors increase or decrease, I will also learn from it. If I'm lucky, it might come true!"

Yin Min pointed out the nature of the prophecy. Logically speaking, this thing should have come down from heaven, but in fact it was basically forged and not reliable at all.

Didn't Liu Xiu, Liu Xiu, appoint Sun Xian, who popped up from nowhere, as the chief minister based on the "Red Fu Fu"? Why can't I trick the prime minister into doing the right thing?

Liu Xiu was speechless, but he couldn't say anything. He could only insist that the prophecy was from heaven.

His method was so clever that Liu Xiu couldn't get angry. Although he escaped censure, he would remain at the bottom of his body for the rest of his life, unable to stretch.

Huan Tan was different from them. He was the greatest classics master between the two Han Dynasties and an astronomer. He was even known as "Prime Minister Su" and his "New Treatise" was praised as comparable to "The Analects of Confucius".

This is an atheist, but also a staunch anti-prophecy scholar, who can be regarded as a pioneer of ancient materialism in my country.

Of course, if you believe in God, you will exist; if you don’t believe in it, there will be no God.

Even later generations cannot prove it, let alone falsify it.

If God is an advanced life, a super-dimensional creature, there is a high probability that it exists. After all, human knowledge is still too little, and it may be an existence that humans cannot imagine. How can we imagine the human world with the mind of an ant?

Every time Huan Tan wrote a memorial, he advised Liu Xiu to "take benevolence, justice and justice as the basis" and not to believe in "weird and imaginary things". Liu Xiu became "more displeased" every time, and Huan Tan's advice never received any advice. adoption.

Later, in order to facilitate the observation of celestial phenomena, Liu Xiu even ordered a discussion meeting to build a spiritual platform, and Huan Tan was ordered to attend. Liu Xiu asked Huan Tan: "I want to decide national affairs through prophecy. What do you think?"

Huan Tan was silent for a while and said, "I never read prophecies."

Liu Xiu asked, "Why don't you read the prophecies?"

Huan Tan once again said: "Prophecy and Wei are not scriptures." Liu Xiu was furious and even wanted to order Huan Tan to be executed immediately!

Good guy, Huan Tan was so frightened that he kowtowed until his head was bleeding and he was spared death. However, Liu Xiu demoted him to the position of Prime Minister of Lu'an County.

An old man in his seventies died of illness on the road out of worry and anger!

Regardless of the absurdity of the prophecy, Huan Tan did not deserve such unfair treatment even due to differences in academic cognition.

Of course, people change. In the later period, Liu Xiu became more and more convinced of prophecies, and there was also a political purpose in this.

Most of the things that an accomplished emperor has to do are not simple.

In the early days, Liu Xiu "had to believe". He believed in it on his own initiative because of the environment. At that time, everyone believed it. If you didn't believe it, you would be too different. Moreover, many Confucian leaders believed it. Liu Xiu had no choice but to follow the trend.

More importantly, the prophecy that "the Han Dynasty will be revived and Liu Xiu will be the emperor" directly brought him into it.

Although Liu Xiu also knew that the "Liu Xiu" in the prophecy was most likely not him, I am afraid there was still a strong cry deep in his heart: "Why must that Liu Xiu not be me?"

Later, he indeed became emperor. Before Liu Xiu ascended the throne, his biggest wish was to see with his own eyes whether the "Chi Fu Fu" that was rumored to be magical really had the word "Liu Xiu" in it.

However, when Liu Xiu saw the "Red Fu Talisman" presented by Qiang Hua, his heart suddenly became cold and he suddenly became enlightened: "The prophecy is unreliable. It is not true at first glance."

But to him, the truth or falsehood is not important now. What is important is that everyone in the world believes it. Of course he, the beneficiary, must believe it and pretend to be a believer!

He, Liu Xiu, was destined by destiny, just like Liu Bingji, Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty.

From that time on, in order to maintain his rule, Liu Xiu had to "have to believe" in prophecies. Everything was based on political needs, and the facts were no longer important.

The most direct evidence is that when he discovered that many of the prophecies left by the new dynasty were beneficial to Wang Mang, he even asked Yin Min to tamper with the content:

"The Emperor, with his acumen and extensive knowledge of the classics, ordered the editor to make prophecies, and sent Cui Fa to go to Cui Fa's office to record the comparisons for Wang Mang."

He wanted to build the theory of prophecy into the new ideology of the Eastern Han Dynasty, turning it from a "false god" into the empire's new spiritual belief.

Therefore, everyone, including himself, must believe it!

At this time, he could no longer disbelieve it, because Chenwei had become a symbol of the legitimacy of the Eastern Han Dynasty's regime, unifying the thoughts of the people in the world. I am the one destined by destiny!

Once it is destiny, how many people dare to rebel? Generally no one dares to resist God?

The tragedy of people like Zheng Xing, Yin Min and Huan Tan is that they did not see through this layer at all. They simply mistook Liu Xiu for blind superstition and tried to influence and change Liu Xiu through self-adherence to academics.

But, how could the emperor change so easily?

Therefore, Han Xin's death seemed to be natural.

Sure enough, in April of the fifteenth year of Jianwu (39 years), Han Xin and his son Han Ying received an edict from Liu Xiu on the road.

"Why is this so?" Han Xin burst into tears looking at the edict, feeling a little regretful.

"That's it, that's it!"

In order not to harm his family, he immediately committed suicide with his sword.

"Father!" Han Ying saw Han Xin committing suicide, hugged him and cried bitterly, and then committed suicide.

Han Xin, who had always been famous, died innocently. The ministers in the court were dissatisfied and wrote letters one after another, which filled the palace. Liu Xiu also regretted it.

"Qiang'er, did I do something wrong?" He was a little sad, a little frustrated, and even worried, so he called Liu Han.

"Human life should not be touched lightly, but Han Xin went too far and even used prophecies to accuse the emperor. This is intolerable. The emperor is also a little anxious, and the backlash is a bit big. Please give an order to appease him."

Liu Xiu was stunned and looked at him a few times.

"Do you know what I'm going to do?"

"Father and son are one. Naturally, we know that the aristocratic family is too powerful. I will always support my father."

"Okay, okay." Liu Xiu smiled and patted his shoulder.

"Then I decreed that he should be buried well and his family should be treated well?"

"My son, let me preside over his funeral."

"Okay, I feel more at ease with you."

After listening to Liu Han's words, Liu Xiu also prepared to take his time, in order to make up for his past mistakes and appease the heroes of the court.

He issued an edict to grant money and food to the Han family. He also ordered Yousi to be buried with the ceremony of a great Situ, and asked Prince Liu Qiang to preside over his funeral. This was regarded as enough dignity and comfort and care for his family.

In fact, Liu Han also knew that Han Xin's death was just the tip of the iceberg in the conflicts between Liu Xiu, civil officials, and the group of heroes.

It is easy to win a kingdom, but it is difficult to secure a kingdom. After Liu Xiu gained a kingdom, he had to start a new war, a more difficult war, without gunpowder smoke, but the same tragic war, to solve the root cause of the disease since the end of the Western Han Dynasty!

And the difficulty of this job is no easier for him than conquering the country.

To solve the root cause of this problem, he had to attack the powerful gentry groups and civil servants, and these people were precisely the heroes who helped him establish the Eastern Han Dynasty.

Fortunately, unlike in history, he now has Liu Han as a helper.

(End of this chapter)