Anecdote of the Fifth Queen Mother

Chapter 2 Empress Dowager Lu (1)
(241 BC to 180 BC)
Empress Dowager Lu, named Pheasant, was the queen of Liu Bang, Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty.After Liu Bang's death, she became the empress dowager, and she was the first uncrowned empress in Chinese history for 15 years. Both "Historical Records" and "Hanshu" set up a "book" for her.The official history of ancient China, "Benji" is dedicated to emperors.Two great historians, Sima Qian of the Western Han Dynasty and Ban Gu of the Eastern Han Dynasty, established a "Benji" for Empress Lu, and regarded her as the actual emperor.It can be seen that Queen Lu occupies a very important position in Chinese history.

Due to the long time, most people don't know who Lu Hou is.However, when the "Gang of Four" was rampant, Empress Lu's fortune came and she suddenly became famous, and was praised as a "female legalist" in Chinese history, almost on an equal footing with Qin Shihuang.Everyone knows that this is using the past to describe the present, comparing Jiang Qing to the contemporary Empress Lu.Jiang Qing was still afraid that people would not understand, so he openly compared himself to Empress Lu, and once said triumphantly: "Some people say that I am Empress Lu, and I am so honored", because "Empress Lu is an emperor without a hat, and in fact the power is in the hands of the emperor. in her hands".Once upon a time, the "Gang of Four" fell, and Empress Lu fell from the sky all of a sudden, and was ruthlessly criticized.She became a "ruthless and treacherous conspirator", a "reactionary who usurped power and surrendered", "a representative of the separatist forces who moved against the trend of history in the early Han Dynasty" and so on.In the past few years, the same empress Lu suddenly became worth a hundred times, and suddenly plummeted.People can't help but ask: What kind of historical figure is Empress Lu? This biography is written in the true face of history for everyone to comment on.

[-]. Get married with Liu Ji

Empress Lu became a historical figure because of her attachment to Liu Bang, so we have to talk about Liu Bang first.

Liu Bang's nickname is Liu Ji, and he is the third eldest.His eldest brother is Liu Bo, and his second brother is Liu Zhong.Uncle, Zhong, and Ji are actually the eldest, the second, and the third.Liu Ji is Liu Laosan, or Liu San.Liu Ji also has a younger brother, Liu Si, named Liu Jiao.In the Qin Dynasty, there were no government-run schools, and privately taught private schools were not popular. Generally, the children of ordinary people in the countryside did not go to school and had no official name.Liu Bang was named Bang after he became the emperor. Originally, he only had a nickname. According to the ranking, he was called the third son, and he was called Liu Ji in written and elegant words.Liu Ji was born in Liu Taigong's family in Zhongyangli, Fengyi Town, Peixian County in the third year of King Zhuangxiang of Qin Dynasty, that is, in 247 BC.Fengyi Town was upgraded to a county after Liu Bang became the emperor in the Western Han Dynasty, called Feng County.This is Feng County and Pei County in the Qin and Han Dynasties, that is, Feng County and Pei County in the northwest of Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province today.During the Warring States Period, it belonged to Chu.In 221 BC, Qin Shihuang unified the world and implemented the system of prefectures and counties throughout the country.There are counties under the county, and the grassroots organizations under the county include townships, pavilions, and ri.Pei County belongs to Sishui County.For the grassroots organizations under the county, one pavilion is ten miles away, and ten pavilions are one township.The head of the village is the head of the village, which is equivalent to the current village head.The officials of the township are called the three elders.Both township and li are administrative organizations.The pavilion has a pavilion chief who manages public security and traffic within ten miles.Ting has a bit of martial arts, so he can hunt down thieves.Liu Ji was born in a farming family, and his two elder brothers are honest farmers.Maybe it's because Liu Ji has two older brothers. Being spoiled by his parents, he didn't like to work since he was a child, and he didn't do business when he grew up.Later, he got a family background and became the head of a small pavilion in Surabaya.Sishui Pavilion, also known as Sishang Pavilion, is located in the eastern suburb of Pei County, less than half a mile away from the city.During the Qin and Han dynasties, the magistrates of counties were called orders in large counties and chiefs in small counties.Peixian County is a large county, and the chief is called Peiling.Pei Ling's meritorious secretary Xiao He, the warden Cao Can, and the county magistrate Xia Houying are all good friends of Liu Ji.These few people later became the founding heroes of the Western Han Dynasty.

Although Liu Ji has some hooligan habits, he treats people generously and has a straightforward personality.When he was young, he often brought some friends to eat and drink at home. His father Liu Taigong often reprimanded him for being idle and not doing his job properly, unlike his two elder brothers.The two sisters-in-law also had great opinions on him.Once at noon, Liu Ji came home with some friends.His sister-in-law was very angry and deliberately made the pots and bowls loud, as if she was washing the pots and dishes, and did not cook for the guests.The guest left and left, making Liu Ji very embarrassed.This incident caused Liu Ji to hold a grudge against his sister-in-law.Decades later, when he became the emperor, he was still worried about it, and deliberately named his sister-in-law's son Gengjiehou, which meant that he was only worthy of eating soup.Liu Ji didn't let his father go, and took revenge in a joking way.In the ninth year of Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty, that is, 198 BC, Liu Bang hosted a banquet in the front hall of Weiyang Palace in Chang'an to entertain the princes, kings and officials.When everyone was drinking happily, Liu Bang left his seat and raised his glass to wish his father a birthday.He said: "When I was young, your old man often said that I was not good enough, not as good as my two elder brothers. Let's see now, how much income my elder brother can earn from farming, how can I be as rich as I am today." Liu Ji is still the same when he became emperor. Open-minded and informal, one can imagine how unrestrained he was when he was young.

In the year when Qin Shihuang unified China, Liu Ji was already 36 years old and had not yet married.He is always too high to be too low, how can a person of some status be willing to marry his daughter to him.Liu Ji is not a law-abiding person, he is greedy for wine and lustful.With being a pavilion chief, he has some power in his hands, and he has a few good friends in the county, who would dare to do anything to him!Liu Ji Jincheng often drank in two restaurants, Wang Yu and Wu Cheng, and always refused to pay on credit.The two hotels were helpless, so they offered a favor, saying that as soon as Liu Ji entered the store, there was a dragon-shaped cloud in the sky, which made the hotel more guests, business boomed, and Liu Ji's debts were written off.Of course, Liu Ji also provided protection to the two female boss hotels, which was also a reward.

The story is divided into two parts, and let's talk about the protagonist Lu Hou in this biography.She was born in Shanfu County, a family surnamed Lu who is good at looking at faces.His father, Lu Gong, was recorded in the "Xiang Jing" as Lu Mingwen, and his style name was Shuping.Lu Gong is a good man, he belongs to the class of scholars, and his family status is higher than that of Liu Ji.Shanfu County, which is now Shanxian County in Shandong Province, belonged to Dang County in Qin Dynasty.Shanfu is adjacent to Pei County, and the distance between the two counties is less than [-] miles.Fengyi, where Liu Ji lives, is between the two counties, only a few dozen miles away from Shanfu County.Duke Lu of course knows a thing or two about Liu Ji's character.

Around 221 BC, Lu Gong moved from his single father to Pei County in order to avoid his enemies.The magistrate of Pei County is a good friend of Lu Gong.He wanted to marry Lu Gong's daughter Lu Zhi as his wife, but Lu Gong refused.In order to please Lu Gong, the county magistrate of Pei respected him very much.The county magistrate also held a grand banquet for Lu Gong, and all the local gentlemen and government deacons in Pei County went to pay homage to him.The county meritorious Cao Xiao He is the host of this banquet, and is responsible for registering and collecting gift money.

After Liu Ji heard the news, he also came to the banquet in a big way, but he was empty-handed and did not bring any congratulatory gifts.Xiao He knew that Liu Ji had always been informal and did not prepare gifts, so he didn't want to make him lose face in the hall, so he announced loudly to everyone: "If the gift is less than a thousand dollars, you must sit down in the hall!" When Liu Ji saw that it was Xiao He After accepting the gift, he heard the voice of "Sit down at the hall", how could he lose face like this!So I came up with a plan, I will give you a congratulatory gift of [-], let you Xiao He write down the credit, and see what happens to you.Liu Ji made up his mind, took out the post, and wrote [-] congratulatory gifts.Lu Gong took the gift list and was very surprised to see the [-] congratulatory gift, such a heavy gift, he had to go out to greet him personally, and let Liu Ji take the seat.Liu Ji was also polite, and walked up to the table with his head held high.Lu Gong took a closer look, and saw that Liu Ji was born with a high nose and big eyes, a broad forehead, a few beautiful beards, and a dignified appearance, which made people like him.Lu Gong respected Liu Ji very much.Xiao He thought that Lu Gong respected Liu Ji's ten thousand gift money, so he said, "Liu Ji likes to talk big, I'm afraid he can't keep it." Lu Gong didn't care, he had other plans in mind.

The banquet was about to end, Duke Lu cast a wink and kept Liu Ji behind.He said to Liu Ji: "I have been looking at people since I was young, and I have never met a person as blessed as you. I wonder if you are married? How old is this year?" Liu Ji said: "The family is poor. She is 37 years old and not yet married." Lu Gong said: "It's a coincidence. My second daughter is still in my boudoir. If you don't mind, I would like to be married to you." Liu Ji really didn't like it.Originally, the congratulatory gift didn't cost a penny, but it was just to earn a meal and dinner, and I gave an empty favor of [-] yuan, but I earned a daughter-in-law for nothing, I am really overjoyed.Liu Ji immediately thanked his father-in-law, made a date to welcome his relatives, and left.

After Liu Ji left, Lu Gong told his wife about the engagement, and his wife was very angry.It turned out that Lu Gong had two men and three women.The two males are Lu Ze and Lu Shizhi; the three females are Lu Changjian, Lu Zhi, and Lu Wei.Among the five brothers and sisters, Mr. Lu thought that Lu Zhi was the most blessed and the most beautiful. He loved him like a jewel in his palm and refused to accept others easily. Even the county magistrate of Pei refused his marriage proposal.Now he has promised Liu Ji, who is not doing his job properly and is a big talker, who is more than ten years older, like a flower planted on a pile of cow dung, so as not to be annoying.Lu Gong said to his wife: "What do you women know? I am the master of this marriage." The wife couldn't hold back her husband, so she had to marry her beloved daughter Lu Zhi to Liu Ji.

Prior to this, although Liu Ji was not married, he had already hooked up with a girl surnamed Cao to live in concubine.Lu's pheasant had a noble family and was born like a flower like a jade. After Liu Ji got married in such a respectable family, he naturally made Lu's pheasant his wife.The Cao family girl became a concubine.Later, Lu Zhi gave birth to a son and a daughter to Liu Ji, namely Liu Ying, Emperor Hui of the Han Dynasty, and Princess Lu Yuanchang.Mrs. Cao also gave birth to a boy named Liu Fei, who was originally the eldest son, but he was not allowed to be crowned prince because he was a concubine, and he was named King Qi.This is all for later.

Second, face to face is expensive

Lü Pheasant, whose nickname is E-槁 (xǚ), became her character when she grew up.Ejin means beautiful.Pheasant, commonly known as pheasant, has beautiful feathers, especially the male pheasant, which is covered with beautiful feathers and drags a long tail, which is very beautiful.Empress Lu's name is pheasant and the word E'e is to describe her beauty. According to the "Book of the Later Han Dynasty: Biography of Liu Penzi", a red-browed soldier Chang'an at the end of the Western Han Dynasty stole Empress Lu's tomb. Empress Lu's figure is still as beautiful as jade.But this young lady married Liu Bang, so she had to change her life as a lady and go to work in the fields.Liu Bang worked as the head of the pavilion in Sishui, Peixian County. He often went out on business, chasing fugitives and thieves, or escorting convicts and prisoners.Once Liu Bang went to Xue County to catch fugitives.Xue Jun ruled Lu County, which is now Qufu in Shandong Province, hundreds of miles away from Pei County.It seems that Liu Bang's mobile life is inconvenient to settle down in Peixian County, so he sent Lu Zhi to his hometown Fengyi Town to live with his parents Liu Taigong and Liu Granny.Liu Taigong and his wife worked in the fields all their lives.It is said that Liu Bang's mother, Mrs. Liu, had intercourse with a god and man while working in the fields, thus giving birth to Liu Bang.The person who had sex with Mrs. Liu in the field was of course not a god, but an affair with Mrs. Liu when she was young.So what is Liu Bang's surname, it is impossible to study.When Lu's pheasant came to such a farm, he naturally had to show his face and work in the fields.Maybe Mrs. Liu died early. After Lv Zhi gave birth to children, when he went to work in the fields, he took them with him and let them play in the fields.

Mr. Lu Zhi gave birth to a daughter, whose name was not recorded in the history books. When she grew up, she married Zhang Ao, the son of Zhao Wang Zhang Er, and was revered as Princess Lu Yuan.The son born later is Emperor Hui Liu Ying, as explained earlier.One summer, Liu Bang finished his business and took leave to go home to visit his wife and children.It was the busy season of farming, and Lu Zhi was working in the fields with his two sons and daughters.An old man passed by on the field road and begged Lu Zhi for a sip of water.Lu Zhi saw that the old man was hungry and thirsty, so he rewarded him with a simple meal brought to the field.After the old man finished eating, he expressed his thanks, and specially looked at Lu Zhi and said: "Madam Fuxiang, you will be a great nobleman in the world, and you will meet her two sons first. The old man said, "Madam, your noble minister." , it comes from your son, he will be very expensive, and you will be precious. " Then he met Miss Lu Yuan again, and the old man said: "She will also be honored. "After the old man met, he hurried on his way. After a while, Liu Bang came to the field, and Lu Zhi told all the things he had just seen. After hearing this, Liu Bang hurriedly chased the old man. After catching up, he said: "Please give I look at the picture. The old man met Liu Bang and said: "Just now I saw the pictures of my wife and son, and they are not my own blessings. Their blessings are all born of you."Your blessings are priceless. "The four words "unbelievably expensive" are lingo for being an emperor. Saying these words was outrageous in the era of feudal autocracy, and would result in decapitation, so these four words were used instead. After hearing this, Liu Bang was very happy and kept saying Thank you, and said to the old man: "As the old man said, I will never forget your kindness, and I will definitely repay you generously. "But after Liu Bang became emperor, the old man was never seen again.

The above-mentioned story of "the face of the nobles" is recorded in Sima Qian's "Historical Records" and Ban Gu's "Hanshu".But after scrutiny, it is a bit strange.We might as well use the records of "Historical Records" and "Hanshu" to investigate and investigate.

As mentioned earlier, Lu Gong moved to Peixian County in about 221 BC to avoid enmity.This date was introduced, and it is more accurate to say that Lu Zhi married Liu Bang between 221 BC and 218 BC, that is, the earliest date was 221 BC, and the latest was 218 BC.Of course, this is just an estimate, not a special case.The fall of Chu was in 223 BC, and Qin Shihuang unified the six countries and implemented the prefecture and county system in 221 BC, so there was an order in Pei County.It is impossible for Lu Gong to move to Pei County earlier than this year.Empress Lu's daughter, Princess Lu Yuan married Prince Zhao Zhang Ao in 202 BC.In ancient times, women who were twenty-eight years old could marry.Calculated according to this age, Princess Lu Yuan was born no later than 217 BC.Therefore, Empress Lu married Liu Bang should be between 221 BC and 218 BC. "Han Shu Huidi Ji" records that Huidi was five years old and Liu Bang was the king of Han.In 206 BC, Xiang Yu named Liu Bang the King of the Han Dynasty. Based on this, Emperor Hui Liu Yingdang was born in 210 BC, which was the 37th year of Qin Shihuang.According to folklore at that time, the southeast had the spirit of the Son of Heaven. Qin Shihuang specially went to the southeast to visit the southeast, climbed Mount Kuaiji, Zhejiang, and engraved stones to praise his meritorious deeds in order to suppress the spirit of the Son of Heaven.As early as the year before this, a meteorite fell in Dongjun, and someone carved a line on it: "The emperor died and the land was divided." Dongjun is in the Central Plains, and the county is Puyang, which is southwest of Puyang, Henan.Due to the tyranny of Qin and the boiling of public grievances, the Qin Dynasty was facing the eve of a peasant uprising.When Qin Shihuang went on a tour to suppress the emperor's anger, he was ambushed by Zhang Liang on the road and almost lost his life.Although Qin Shihuang escaped Zhang Liang's assassin, he could not escape his Yangshou.In 210 BC, he toured the southeast, and died halfway in Hebei on the way back. In 209 BC, Qin II came to the throne.In the second year, 208 BC, a peasant uprising led by Chen Sheng and Wu Guang broke out in July of this year.Long before the Chen Sheng and Wu Guang uprisings, peasants who could not bear hard labor hid everywhere in the mountains, forests, grasses and swamps to resist.Chu people Yingbu and Huanchu once fled and rebelled against the government in Daze.At this time, Liu Bang also fled in Mangdang Mountain as a "thief".In this way, in 210 BC, Liu Ying was still a baby, and it was impossible for Lu Zhi to take it with him in the field; to take a step back, Lu Zhi was working in the field with a baby on his back. ", there is no report about returning home.If it is said that Liu Bang visited his family and his father had a face-to-face meeting before 210 BC, at that time, Empress Lu only had Princess Lu Yuan, and there was no Emperor Hui.

Then, is there any truth to the fact of face-to-face recorded in "Historical Records" and "Hanshu"?Because the ancients were superstitious, people often entrust ghosts and gods to manifest themselves when they have major events, which is called God's will.The Chen Sheng and Wu Guang uprisings once made bonfires and the sound of foxes to amaze the public.Liu Bang also pretended to God's will before the incident.In 210 BC, Liu Bang escorted a group of convict laborers to Guanzhong to repair the Lishan Mausoleum as the head of the pavilion, and went to Xizezhong Pavilion in Fengyi Town to have a rest and eat.At this time, they had only walked dozens of miles out of the city, and they fled a lot that night.Liu Bang couldn't help it, seeing that he couldn't make a job when he was sent to Lishan.Seeing that the world is in turmoil, it is thousands of miles away from Peixian County to Lishan Mountain, what should we do if we rebel!So Liu Bang said to everyone: "Let's go our separate ways, I want to live in exile. Those who are willing to rebel will go with me!" There are more than ten strong men among the prisoners who are willing to go with Liu Bang, and Liu Bang sent this team Pulled to the Mangdang Mountains.On the way, there was a big snake blocking the way ahead.Those who were walking in front retreated in fright.At this time, Liu Bang, taking advantage of the wine and relying on some martial arts, went forward alone, drew out his sword and cut the big snake in two.Later, it was reported that an old woman cried at night, saying that the red emperor had killed the white emperor.This is the story of Liu Bang, Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty, who used his sword to kill snakes and revolted.

When Liu Bang arrived at Mount Mangdang, he sent a message to Lu Zhi.Lu's pheasant often went to the mountains to look for Liu Bang. After each meeting, the couple agreed on the next meeting place, so Lu's pheasant found it as soon as he found it.Liu Bang deliberately asked Lu Zhi in front of everyone: "How do you know our behavior?" I found you." This story was passed on to ten, ten to hundreds, and young people from far and near Pei County came to seek refuge with Liu Bang.When Chen Sheng and Wu Guang started the incident, Liu Bang also gathered a team of hundreds of people.At this time, Xiao He, Cao Can, Fan Kui and others in Peixian County called Liu Bang back to Peixian County, killed the county magistrate, and Liu Bang became the county magistrate himself.The Chu people called Ling Gong, so Liu Bang called him Pei Gong.

Judging from the history of Liu Bang's uprising, the story of Lu's pheasant being a face-to-face nobleman was obviously fabricated.Lu Zhizuo assisted Liu Bang in the uprising and weaved the story of destiny, which showed her extraordinary skills.She was born with beauty and slender hands; she was married to Liu Bang and was able to farm in the fields; when Liu Bang rebelled, she went to the mountains to contact her, she was brave and bold, and she could be called a heroine.Lu's pheasant has a strong adaptability to life.

Lu Yan's younger sister, Lu Yan, married Fan Kuai, a dog in Pei County.Fan Kuai followed Liu Bang's uprising and was a fierce general.Lu Ze's two elder brothers, Lu Ze and Lu Shizhi, followed Liu Bang, and also made military exploits as generals.

(End of this chapter)