vrcanaries Chapter 169 Liu Shi: Outwardly Confucian, inwardly Legalist, I know it very well!
Chapter 169 Liu Shi: Outwardly Confucian, inwardly Legalist, I know it very well!
"Legend has it that when Wang Jin's wife, Lady Li, was pregnant with Empress Wang Zhengjun, she dreamed of the bright moon entering her bosom. So Wang Jin and his wife wondered if this had some kind of meaning, such as that their second daughter was no ordinary person!"
"After Wang Zhengjun grew up, Wang Jin found her a wealthy young man. However, the young man died right after the betrothal gifts were received. Helpless, Wang Jin arranged another marriage for her, this time to be the concubine of the Prince of Dongping. But again, the man died right after the betrothal gifts were received!"
Wang Jin was very puzzled. What was going on? He had heard of women who were considered unlucky for their husbands, but he had never heard of someone who died right after receiving the betrothal gifts. Was he not going to return the betrothal gifts? Then Wang Jin went to ask a fortune teller for a divination. The result showed that his daughter had an extremely noble destiny. Even the prince couldn't control it. Who else could it be but that one in the palace?
"But it turns out that the Liu family isn't any good either! After that, Wang Jin first trained her, making her learn everything from music and chess to calligraphy and painting to the point of exhaustion, and then sent her to the palace."
A spoiled young master from the Song Dynasty: So this is what happened before I married Emperor Yuan of Han!
An old farmer from the Ming Dynasty: This girl is fierce!
An official from the Ming Dynasty: However, there were quite a few cases of empresses interfering in politics during the Han Dynasty, and none of them were easy to deal with!
……
"Let's talk about Liu Shi. Although he was not cruel or indulgent at all, he was fond of Confucianism and would listen to anything the people he liked said."
"For example, when he was the crown prince, he had a favorite concubine, Consort Sima. Before she fell ill and died, she plotted against him, saying to Liu Shi, 'I didn't die of illness. It must have been Your Highness's other concubines who were jealous and killed me.'" (Book of Han)
"Liu Shi agreed with these words and remained sullen. He became suspicious of one of his concubines and hesitated to favor any of them. This worried Emperor Xuan of Han, who then selected a new batch of women for him to enter the palace."
"But the Crown Prince was still reminiscing about Consort Sima when he casually pointed, and the wheel of fate continued to turn. The girl he pointed to was none other than Wang Zhengjun."
"Liu Shi did not like Wang Zhengjun, but sometimes you really have to rely on luck. Wang Zhengjun became pregnant after being favored once and gave birth to a big, healthy boy ten months later. He was the later Emperor Cheng of Han, Liu Ao."
A young man from the Han Dynasty, who was just watching the drama unfold, commented: "This guy is really lucky! Maybe it really is his destiny!"
A mischievous young man from the Song Dynasty: But how could Emperor Xuan of Han have a child who loves Confucianism?!
"A few years later, Emperor Xuan of Han died, and Liu Shi became emperor. Liu Ao naturally became the crown prince, and Wang Zhengjun became empress. Let's not talk about how well the emperor did, but let's talk about what the Wang family, the maternal relatives, faced at this time."
"Although Wang Zhengjun became empress, Emperor Yuan of Han did not like her, and the two rarely met. In addition, Liu Xun left two groups of people for his son in the court, making it very difficult for the Wang family to rise to power like the Wei and Huo families."
"Many people know that the Han Dynasty followed a system of Confucianism on the outside and Legalism on the inside. Therefore, the team that Emperor Xuan of Han left to Emperor Yuan of Han was based on this. One team was the Confucian team represented by Xiao Wangzhi and Zhou Kan, and the other team was the Legalist team represented by Shi Gao and others."
"According to Emperor Xuan of Han, no matter how mediocre Liu Shi was, he knew that Confucianism and Legalism should be used together, but he did not know that this child's elbow had really shifted to Confucianism."
Liu Xun of the Han Dynasty: ……..
Big Han Liu Zhuzhu: ? ? ?
A spendthrift father in the Song Dynasty: Choosing a good successor is quite important!
"After that, the Legalist and Confucian schools of thought engaged in a tug-of-war. Since Xiao Wangzhi, a Confucian scholar, was Liu Shi's teacher, he followed Xiao Wangzhi's advice and summoned great Confucian scholars from all over the country to have them by his side to give him advice on everything."
"Meanwhile, the Legalists were becoming increasingly anxious. If things continued this way, the Legalists would indeed be relegated to a subordinate position than the Confucians. So, their representative, Shi Gao, prepared to call upon someone. The person he summoned was named Shi Xian. Note that he is a remarkable figure!"
"Shi Xian is indeed well-versed in various laws, but he is different from other officials. He is an eunuch, and he has more time to whisper in Liu Shi's ear than other officials. Moreover, at this time, in order to suppress Confucianism, Legalism and eunuchs formed an alliance."
A spoiled young master from the Tang Dynasty: This combination looks familiar! Damn! Isn't that Li Si and Zhao Gao?!
First Emperor, Ancestral Dragon: ……..
Big-Handed Liu Zhuzhu: We're doomed!!!
……
"So the alliance whispered in Liu Shi's ear: Your Majesty, Xiao Wangzhi, relying on being the emperor's teacher, is forming cliques and engaging in corrupt practices. Could he be planning to usurp Your Majesty's throne?"
"Other emperors wouldn't believe such slander without any evidence, but Liu Shi believed it without even asking any questions and immediately imprisoned Xiao Wangzhi."
"It's just that no one could have imagined that Emperor Liu Shi would be so unreliable. After Xiao Wangzhi was imprisoned, Liu Shi had forgotten about it. He even asked during court: 'Where is my teacher Xiao Wangzhi?'"
Then someone replied: "His Majesty has imprisoned him!" Liu Shi then said: "How could I have imprisoned my teacher? Release him immediately! I still want my teacher to be the prime minister!"
"Xiao Wangzhi was almost released, but unexpectedly Shi Xian jumped out and said: Your Majesty, you have already imprisoned him and your words are law. Wouldn't it damage Your Majesty's reputation to just release him directly? Why not punish him first and then Your Majesty can pardon him? Wouldn't that demonstrate Your Majesty's wisdom?"
Xiao Wangzhi: Having you is my blessing!
A spoiled young master from the Song Dynasty: Was it intentional or accidental?! How could you forget something like that?!
A scion of a prominent family in the Ming Dynasty: ? ? ? This… how come his father, who is so powerful, has such an easily fooled son?!
Emperor Liu Xun of the Han Dynasty: ...I want to know too!
……
"After being misled by Shi Xian, Liu Shi thought it made a lot of sense, so Xiao Wangzhi was allowed to leave, but he was dismissed from his post and demoted to a commoner."
"Not long after, Shi Xian slandered him again, saying: 'Xiao Wangzhi used to make money all by himself. Before His Majesty will give him an important position, it would be better to keep him locked up for a while longer to temper his arrogance!'"
"Liu Shi hesitated for a moment before ordering Xiao Wangzhi to be imprisoned. Could someone like Xiao Wangzhi tolerate such humiliation? Obviously not. So Emperor Yuan of Han's bizarre actions directly angered Xiao Wangzhi to the point of suicide."
A poor student from the Song Dynasty: It seems that eunuchs held power in the late Western Han Dynasty!
A mischievous child from the Tang Dynasty: He even managed to kill the Imperial Tutor! The Han Dynasty was truly hopeless!
Emperor Liu Xun of the Han Dynasty: ...You unfilial son! ...%? % (Utterly vulgar)
……
Emperor Xuan of Han
Upon hearing this, Emperor Xuan couldn't help but itch to have such a child! How could someone with such a distinguished reputation have given birth to such a child!
Liu Xun grew angrier the more he thought about it, and stormed off to the Eastern Palace!
That brat! I'm definitely going to give him a good beating!
……
"With Xiao Wangzhi gone, Shi Xian has seized power in the court. Other officials feel that since he dares to mess with even the Imperial Tutor, they dare not disobey him, because a large number of people who dislike Shi Xian have already been dismissed, exiled, or killed."
"Having learned from past mistakes, ordinary officials would never dare to go against him. The regent team that Emperor Xuan of Han had left behind to assist his eldest son's road to power collapsed, and the Han court was thrown into chaos."
"And for some reason, Emperor Yuan of Han was not in good health and disliked Wang Zhengjun, which also affected his Crown Prince Liu Ao."
"So Emperor Yuan of Han planned to change the crown prince. At that time, he favored a woman named Consort Fu and wanted to make her son Liu Kang the crown prince. The father was a sentimental man, and this son was quite similar to the Liu family!"
"Wang Zhengjun panicked upon hearing this news, because the deposed crown prince of the Liu family did not have a good ending, and the Wang family might also be punished as a result!"
Crown Prince Liu Ju of the Han Dynasty: ...Just tell me your name!
Liu Xun of the Han Dynasty: !!!
A scion of a prominent family in the Song Dynasty: Good heavens! My father didn't depose his crown prince, but he wants to depose his son's crown prince!?
A bystander from the Ming Dynasty commented: "Emperor Yuan of Han wasn't a very good ruler! He believed everything people said!"
……
"So the Wang family started frantically calling for people, and a few days later, a man named Shi Dan ran to Emperor Yuan of Han and cried, saying: 'Everyone outside is saying that you are going to change the crown prince! But the crown prince has not done anything wrong! The ministers will definitely disagree... I will take my leave first.'"
Emperor Yuan of Han was greatly alarmed and quickly stopped him, saying, "My dear minister, there's no need for that. Let's talk this over some more." Immediately afterward, Shi Xian, who was standing nearby, added that he would also do his best to assist the Crown Prince!
"Perhaps seeing the opposition from these people, Emperor Yuan of Han did not change the crown prince in the end. Not long after, Emperor Yuan of Han, who was in poor health, passed away, and Crown Prince Liu Ao succeeded him as Emperor Cheng of Han."
"Wang Zhengjun was also promoted to Empress Dowager. As the saying goes, when one person attains enlightenment, even his chickens and dogs rise to heaven. The Wang family thus entered a major turning point in their careers. The only person standing in their way was the treacherous minister Shi Xian."
"After Liu Ao became emperor, he discarded Shi Xian, who had been in power, and demoted him to the position of Bi Ma Wen (弼马温), which was to manage the horses for the Empress Dowager. Shi Xian was truly wronged by this change in status."
A spoiled brat from the Song Dynasty: Good heavens! You're using me and then discarding me, aren't you!
A farming whiz from the Ming Dynasty: It turns out Emperor Yuan of Han didn't really do much before he died!?
Liu Xun of the Han Dynasty: ...
A certain romantic scholar from the Tang Dynasty: The emperors after the Western Han Dynasty were progressively worse than the last! Their vitality had run out!
……