My life is like walking on thin ice

Chapter 357 The Emperor’s Mental Technique
When Liu Rong walked out of Changxin Hall, put his hands behind his back and looked up at the sky, the dark clouds that had shrouded Liu Rong for many years disappeared like a spring breeze.

——Empress Dowager Dou was Liu Rong’s concern.

To be precise, a Han empress dowager as powerful as Empress Dowager Dou was a thorn in the side of every Han emperor who was determined to "do something" and leave some positive comments in history books.

The second Han emperor, Emperor Xiaohui, Liu Ying, died suddenly at the age of 23 because of Empress Dowager Lü's worry.
The former Emperor Shaodi Liu Gong and the latter Emperor Shaodi Liu Hong, under the tyranny of Empress Dowager Lu, one was imprisoned to death by his own grandmother, and the other was attacked by all the dukes and ministers in the court, who said he was a royal bastard "not the son of Emperor Hui, but the son of Lu's promiscuous harem."

Even during the time of Emperor Taizong Xiaowen, the only "living saint" of the Han Dynasty and one of the most saintly and powerful rulers in Chinese feudal history, there was still a woman named Bo who was known as the empress dowager and constantly hindered the emperor's power.

Emperor Taizong Xiaowen's political skills are among the best in the entire history of China and even in the history of human civilization.

But even so, Emperor Taizong still inevitably paid a great price in order to break free from the constraints of the Empress Dowager and keep power firmly in his own hands.

——Everyone knows that during the reign of Emperor Taizong, there were two officially recognized empress dowagers and two empresses.

The former are Empress Dowager Bo, Emperor Taizong’s biological mother, and Empress Gao, Lü Zhi, Emperor Taizong’s real mother.

The latter were Empress Dou, the wife of Emperor Taizong and the mother of the late Emperor Xiaojing, and Empress Zhang, the wife of Emperor Xiaohui.

In his previous life, Liu Rong heard many people say that there was nothing they could do about it.

——Emperor Taizong had to honor his biological mother, Empress Dowager Bo;
But considering the legal system and his biological mother, Empress Dowager Lu, Emperor Taizong had no choice but to acknowledge her.

As for the empress - after the original wife, Queen Lu, died "accidentally", the mother of the eldest prince Liu Qi, Dou, was made the legitimate wife, and the harem and the Eastern Palace were stabilized, which was very necessary for Emperor Taizong during the puppet period.

But Emperor Taizong had no better way to deal with the widow of his late brother, Emperor Xiaohui: Empress Xiaohui Zhang Yan.

Since Empress Dowager Lü allowed Empress Zhang to continue to be the Empress after Emperor Xiaohui passed away, Emperor Taizong could only follow suit and continue to let Empress Zhang be called "Empress";
In addition, out of ethical considerations, a Gui Palace was built specifically for his deceased brother and sister-in-law so that they could move out of the Weiyang Palace with a legitimate reason.

This is exaggerated!
For Emperor Taizong, who was reluctant to wear clothes that were too nice, eat food that was too delicious, and did not allow women in the harem to have their skirts dragging on the ground or to put on makeup, spending huge amounts of money to build a palace seemed an extremely exaggerated thing.

But everyone thought that the two Empress Dowagers and the two Queens were only forced upon Emperor Taizong;
However, they did not know that it was not reality that forced Emperor Taizong into a "helpless" situation.

In his previous life, Liu Rong had heard a very interesting saying.

——Emperor Wen of Han, Liu Heng, recognized the legitimacy of Empress Dowager Lü, which was tantamount to suppressing his biological mother, Empress Dowager Bo, in disguise!

Regardless of whether this statement is credible or not, or whether it conforms to reality - at least there is no logical loophole at all!
What would have happened if Emperor Taizong did not acknowledge Empress Dowager Lü and instead honored his biological mother, Lady Bo, as "Empress Gao"?
In fact, nothing will happen.

What is the meaning of "shaking the foundation"? When Emperor Taizong first succeeded to the throne, he himself had no foundation to speak of;

What is the "unstable legal system"? Since the Later Shao Emperor was "not the son of Emperor Hui", Emperor Taizong himself had no legal system.

In the final analysis, whether Emperor Taizong recognized Empress Lü Zhi as his wife and at the same time indirectly confirmed his biological mother Bo's status as "Emperor Gao's concubine", or directly denied Empress Lü's legitimacy and honored Bo as Empress Gao, it could not change any facts.

——Emperor Taizong came to the throne illegitimately.

——The death of Emperor Shao Liu Hong was mysterious.

Emperor Xiaohui's lineage died out, and Emperor Taizong usurped the throne as a concubine, or in other words, a side branch replaced the legitimate heir, which in itself was extremely inconsistent with the human ethics and folk culture of the time.

On this basis - on the basis that the half-brother seized the throne from his elder brother, and then replaced "Empress Gao, Empress Bo" with "Empress Gao, Empress Lü"...

how to say……

For a murderer, does it matter whether he has ever stolen a bag of instant noodles in a supermarket?

Same thing.

For Emperor Taizong, who "came to the throne illegitimately" and "was a descendant of a branch of the family", who to honor as the empress dowager was like whether or not to steal a packet of instant noodles.

Whether you stole or not, you are a 'murderer'.

No one will think that you, a murderer, still have a conscience just because you didn't steal.
No one would think that you are guilty of a more serious crime and should be shot twice just because you stole.

In this situation, Emperor Taizong chose: not to steal.

They still respected Lü Zhi as Empress Dowager Gao, and completely extracted Lü Zhi, the core figure of the Lü family's foreign relatives, from the Lü Rebellion, and gave her the political characterization that "the Lü Rebellion could have been related to anyone except Empress Dowager Lü, who was innocent."

It should be noted that this political characterization was achieved when Emperor Taizong had just arrived in Chang'an and sat on the throne. He could not even control his own imperial guards, and his eating, drinking, defecating and urinating were all monitored by old ministers such as Chen Ping. It was as if he had defied heaven and changed his fate.

There are many different opinions as to why Emperor Taizong did this, and each has its own reasons.

But among these reasons, the imaginative inference of "suppressing biological mother Queen Bo" is also quite convincing.

At least from the perspective of imperial power, doing so is in the interests of Emperor Taizong.

This is only the first step.

The second step is Bo Zhao.

As we all know, the real confidence of the Empress Dowager Han came from a nephew of the same clan who was outstanding in ability and held great power, especially military power.

As for such representative figures of external relatives, the emperors of all dynasties of the Han Dynasty were always on high alert.

Emperor Taizu Gao personally arranged the funeral of Zhou Lu Hou Lu Ze.

As a result, this foreign relative general and founding hero, who obviously should not have been so mediocre, was not recorded in history books in as much space as Yang Xi, who stole one of Xiang Yu's legs!
The person Emperor Taizong dealt with was Bo Zhao.

A key figure who is as vital to the Bo family's in-laws as Lu Ze is to the Lu family. He can even be said to be the only hope.

Moreover, the means used were extremely cruel.

——All the ministers and officials in the court, as well as the nobles and relatives of the meritorious officials, came to the door together and cried bitterly outside the mansion of Marquis Chen!

You have to know that this is the Han Dynasty!

The Han Dynasty would easily commit suicide to show their determination if they were insulted for no reason! In such a strong social atmosphere, there is no difference between crying for a living funeral and sentencing to death!

Even after using such a deadly move, he was still fooled by Bo Zhao's shamelessness. Emperor Taizong still did not give up, but rolled up his sleeves and took the stage himself.

It can only be said that throughout history, there was only one person who received such treatment as the emperor personally setting up a mourning hall to 'invite you to die', and that was Bo Zhao, Marquis of Chen in the Han Dynasty.

By "honoring Empress Lü as Empress Gao", he maintained his biological mother Empress Dowager Bo's lowly status as "Emperor Gao's concubine", thus weakening Empress Dowager Bo's legal foundation to the greatest extent;
Afterwards, he personally forced Bo Zhao to death, eliminating the only influential political figure of the Bo family's maternal relatives, leaving the Bo family no longer able to "do anything".

In the end, Emperor Taizong even did not forget to do the aftermath.

——Conferring the title of Crown Princess on the Bo family, in order to block the desperate escape route of the Bo family’s in-laws with an illusory future.

At this point, politics has become an art...

Emperor Taizong took three steps to perfectly resolve the issue of Empress Dowager Bo and the Bo family's in-laws;
The process is truly amazing, and I even want to pick up a notebook and take notes like crazy.

But to look at it from another angle: But that was Emperor Taizong Xiaowen?
Emperor Wen of Han is widely recognized by later generations as "the only wise ruler after the Three Dynasties"!
Even such an outstanding feudal emperor had to go through so much trouble and planning to deal with the Empress Dowager and her dependent relatives in a beautiful way.

What about the other emperors?
Those whose level was not as good as Emperor Taizong - that is to say, how did all the emperors except Emperor Taizu Liu Bang deal with the empress dowager and external relatives during the more than 400 years before and after the Han Dynasty?
Emperor Taizu Liu Bang chose to kill Lü Ze with brutal means;
Emperor Xiaohui failed at the point of achieving his goal and died in depression.

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Emperor Taizong took great pains to completely suppress the Bo family's relatives;

But during the reign of Emperor Xianjing, another family of foreign relatives rose to power - the Dou family became an influential force in the Han political arena.

Emperor Xiaojing undoubtedly failed in his handling of the Dou family, his foreign relatives.

Whether in this world where he only lived for six years, or in the original timeline where he reigned for sixteen years, Emperor Xiaojing Liu Qi was unable to shake the Dou family's deep-rooted and intertwined power in the court.

Historically, it was precisely because of this reason - it was precisely because Emperor Xiaojing did not deal with the Dou family that the violent turmoil that occurred later led to Emperor Wu of Han's new policy, but was easily deposed by Empress Dowager Dou, and even the situation of dethronement and reinstatement was almost severe.

As a visitor from later generations, Liu Rong knew even more clearly that during the more than 400 years before and after the Han Dynasty, whether it was the demise of the Eastern and Western Han Dynasties or the drastic changes in the middle of the dynasty, people could almost close their eyes and identify the culprit as the empress dowager of the time and the foreign relatives behind her.

——At the beginning of the Western Han Dynasty, the Lu family dominated the country for nearly twenty years and almost caused the Han Dynasty to "perish in the second generation"!
During the reign of Emperor Taizong, Bo Zhao, Marquis of Chen, was lawless and almost "returned to the Lu family"!
Then there were the Dou and Wang families during the reigns of Emperor Xiaojing and Emperor Wu of Han;
The protagonist of "The one who disturbs my family must be the prince": Emperor Xuan of Han Liu Xun's deep love for his old sword and his love for Nanyuan;
At the end of the Western Han Dynasty, Wang Zhengjun was so angry that her nephew Wang Mang usurped the ancestral temple and the country that she broke a corner of the imperial seal.

Not to mention the famous Eastern Han kindergarten in history, and He Jin, the foreign relative general at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, who personally nailed the coffin of the Eastern Han Dynasty...

It is no exaggeration to say that the strength of the Han Dynasty lies in its dual monarchy, which maintained the lower limit of the emperor's level above the passing line, and the empress dowager's family could become the most solid force when the emperor was weak.

The fall of the Han Dynasty was also due to the lack of concentration of power, or the outflow of power, caused by the dual monarchy, as well as the repeated misconduct of the foreign relatives, especially the foreign relatives from the empress dowager's mother's family.

Liu Rong was no exception.

As early as the time of the previous emperor, Liu Rong had said to him more than once: Old man, you must take good care of your health!
Even if you can't outlive the old empress dowager to death, at least don't let your son become the 'little emperor' in the eyes of the old empress dowager at such a young age!

It is obvious that Liu Rong is self-aware.

Liu Rong was very clear that it would be impossible for him to possess the same superb political skills as Emperor Taizong Xiaowen until he was at least thirty years old.

Therefore, he could not have easily eliminated the empress dowager, that is, the constraints on the imperial power by the empress dowager's family and relatives, like Emperor Taizong did at the beginning of his reign when his foundation was unstable.

Therefore, Liu Rong's attitude towards Empress Dowager Dou has always been ambiguous.

——In principle, never offend the old queen!
In actual practice, as long as it does not involve fundamental interests, we will tolerate it if we can and give in if we can.

It was the victory in the two wars that gave Liu Rong some confidence and he no longer demanded anything from the old empress dowager.

Before that, there was always a question in Liu Rong's mind: Will I be like Emperor Wu of Han in history, where the old empress dowager stripped me of all my power and even my dignity overnight, and then threw me into the Taimiao to reflect on my mistakes, or even deposed from the throne?

Today, the thorn was pulled out a little.

Although it wasn't completely pulled out, at least it wasn't as deep and it didn't hurt as much.

Because from the old empress dowager's final statement, Liu Rong had clearly felt that the old empress dowager seemed to have some vague thoughts of lying down.

To put it more bluntly, the old queen mother had already concluded that she had little chance of winning over the current emperor;

It will no longer be of much help or influence on the future political ecology and general direction of the Han Dynasty.

Therefore, the old empress dowager's statement of "go ahead and do it, but don't be too aggressive" won Liu Rong's absolute respect for an old man - an "old emperor".

In the future, Liu Rong will do the same as he did in the past and as all previous emperors: report every matter in detail to the old empress dowager, and use this to appease her increasingly sensitive desire for power and control.

But at the same time, Liu Rong will also take more radical, or "slightly less timid and less overly cautious" measures in the implementation of certain systems.

For example: The old queen mother's retirement does not mean that there is no queen mother in charge of the Han Dynasty's Eastern Palace...

"The old lady's retreat..."

"It's not the right time~"

···
"If we can hold out until the old queen mother passes away, and there is only my mother in the Eastern Palace, I can take advantage of the situation and say 'The harem is not allowed to interfere in government affairs'."

"But if the old lady retires alive, this matter will be a little difficult to handle..."

Although his mind was filled with thousands of thoughts, most of which were worries, a hint of genuine relaxation and comfort quietly emerged between Liu Rong's brows.

Anyway, today is a good day.

Perhaps it should be said that it was not until today that Liu Rong could say with confidence: I rule the world!

It was also from this day that the Han family - and even China - truly entered the era of 'the glory of the emperor'...

(End of this chapter)