Chapter 136 Chapter 135 Former Deposed Emperor Liu Ziye

In May of the eighth year of Ming Dynasty (AD 464), Liu Jun, Emperor Xiaowu of Song Dynasty in the Southern Dynasty, died of illness.On the same day, the 16-year-old Prince Liu Ziye held a coronation ceremony surrounded by officials.The emperor only reigned for more than a year before being killed at the age of 17.Because there is neither a temple name nor a posthumous title, it is called "the former abolished emperor" in history. Liu Ziye is the eldest son of Liu Jun, Emperor Xiaowu of the Song Dynasty. He was born in the first month of the twenty-sixth year of Yuanjia (449 A.D.) and is a master of small characters.In the twenty-eighth year of Yuanjia (AD 451), Liu Jun served as the governor of Jiangzhou and left the town of Xunyang (now Jiujiang City, Jiangxi). His grandmother Lu and his mother Wang accompanied him. Liu Ziye was only 2 years old and was left in the capital.This year, Emperor Wen Liu Yilong killed his younger brother Pengcheng King Liu Yikang, which opened the prelude to the fratricide of the Liu Song royal family.In the 30th year of Yuanjia (AD 453), Liu Shao killed Wendi Liu Yilong and made himself emperor.Liu Jun raised troops to attack Liu Shao, and Liu Shao imprisoned Liu Ziye in Shizhong Xiaxing. At the same time, 12 sons of Jiangxia King Liu Yigong were also imprisoned in Shizhong Xiaxing.Liu Jun's troops rushed straight to Jiankang, and Liu Shao tried to kill Liu Ziye several times in panic, but in the end he still didn't dare to do so.When Liu Ziye was 4 years old, Liu Yigong rode out of the city alone to join Liu Jun, and Liu Shao killed all 12 of his sons in a rage.When Liu Jun entered Beijing, he killed his second brother Liu Shao and his sons, and later killed his younger brothers Liu Dan and Liu Hun.In the more than ten years since Liu Ziye was born, he has heard and seen all the incidents of fratricide and vendettas between monarchs and ministers.

When Liu Ziye was young, he loved reading, especially history, and he was quite familiar with the rise and fall of past dynasties.He was established as the crown prince in the year when Emperor Xiaowu came to the throne.At the beginning, he lived in Yongfu Province because he was young, and lived in the East Palace in the second year of Ming Dynasty (AD 458).He was irritable by nature and often displeased his father, and his biological mother, the queen, gradually became unfavorable to Liu Jun.Yin Shuyi was favored by the harem because of her youth and beauty. After her son Liu Ziluan was born, he was deeply loved by Liu Jun, and Liu Ziye became even more disliked in his father's eyes.Once, when Liu Jun drove west to tour, Liu Ziye wrote a letter to say hello, his handwriting was a little scribbled, and Liu Jun severely reprimanded him.Liu Ziye was terrified, and hurriedly confessed his mistake and apologized. Liu Jun said dissatisfiedly, "Your handwriting is always not improving. I also heard that you are usually slack and your temper is getting more and more irritable. Why are you so stubborn!" Liu Ziye heard Although he was unhappy in his heart, on the surface he obeyed orders.Later, Liu Jun wanted to abolish Liu Ziye and appointed Liu Ziluan as the crown prince. His servant Yuan Qiye tried his best to dissuade him, saying that "the prince is eager to learn and has the beauty of daily innovation." He gave up the idea of ​​abolishing Liu Ziye.But this move shocked Liu Ziye a lot, causing him to always have a heart for his father and his eighth younger brother Liu Ziluan.

Not long after Liu Ziye came to the throne, he began to take revenge on his father. He first ordered the abolition of the system established by Emperor Xiaowu Daming in the fifth year of Ming Dynasty and the system reformed since the reign of Xiaojian, and still followed the system established by Emperor Wen Yuanjia.Not only that, he also took the opportunity to ridicule his father Emperor Xiaowu.Once, he asked someone to paint portraits of his ancestors in the Taimiao. When he saw the portrait of Emperor Wu Liu Yu, he praised: "What a hero, he captured several emperors alive!" Turn your head away." Seeing the portrait of Liu Jun, he reprimanded the painter: "This is a rosacea, why didn't you paint it?" and ordered someone to fill it up immediately.

Then, Liu Ziye began to eliminate important officials from his father's time.The eunuch Hua Yuan'er was deeply loved by Liu Ziye and often received a lot of rewards, but the inner minister Dai Faxing often restricted this, so Hua Yuan'er hated Dai Faxing very much.Liu Ziye ordered Hua Yuan'er to go outside the palace to listen to rumors. Hua Yuan'er came back and reported: "There are rumors on the roads outside: 'There are two emperors in the palace, Faxing is the real emperor, and the official is a false emperor.' And the official lives deep in the palace. In the middle, there is no connection with the characters. Faxing is one with Dazai, Yan, and Liu. There are hundreds of people in the family, and the scholars inside and outside are not afraid to obey. Faxing is around Emperor Xiaowu, and he has been in the palace for a long time. I am afraid it will last forever. , this seat is not owned by the official." Liu Ziye took it for granted, and immediately issued an imperial edict to remove Dai Faxing from his official position, sent him back to the countryside, moved to a distant county, and later gave him death.Chao Shangzhi was also dismissed from the post of Zhongshu Tongshi Sheren.

Xi Xiandu, the servant of Sanqi outside Yuanwai, was also a confidant of Emperor Xiaowu Liu Jun. He was very harsh on the people, often beating the people who had been conquered and labored, and people hated him.Liu Ziye had long wanted to get rid of him.Once, he said in a joking tone: "Xiandu is a trouble for the people, and he should be eliminated." After listening to the left and right, he immediately sang promises and announced the decree to behead Xi Xiandu. Liu Ziye won the first battle, but he knew very well that to achieve his goal of pro-government, this was just the beginning, and the next step was to remove several auxiliary ministers arranged by his father.Liu Jun's dying edict was assisted by Dazai Liu Yigong, Shang Shuling Liu Yuanjing, Shen Qingzhi, Yan Shibo, and Wang Xuanmo.

Master Yan is a minister who is highly valued by Liu Jun and has held a position of power for many years.He is arrogant, extravagant, arrogant and arrogant, and is deeply hated by the well-clothed clan.Liu Ziye took him first, and issued an edict to appoint Yan Shibo as the left servant of the Shangshu, and remove Wei Weiqing and Danyang Yin from his posts, so that he had no power. its authority.Only then did Master Yan realize that the little emperor should not be underestimated, and he became terrified.Liu Ziye killed Dai Faxing and shocked the court, making all the ministers feel uneasy.Master Yan conspired with Liu Yuanjing to abolish the little emperor and replace him with Liu Yigong.Because Liu Yuanjing hadn't made up his mind for a long time, he went to ask Shen Qingzhi for advice.After Shen Qingzhi sent Liu Yuanjing away, he thought that his relationship with Liu Yigong had not been very close. It was not his wish to make Liu Yigong emperor; Liu Jun's edict asked Shen Qingzhi to participate in major affairs, but Master Yan was arbitrarily ruling the government, which he hated.After consideration, Shen Qingzhi categorically reported the conspiracy of Liu and Yan to Liu Ziye.After receiving Shen Qingzhi's report, Liu Ziye led the Yulin army to capture Liu Yigong, beheaded him, cut off his limbs, pulled out his stomach, picked out his eyeballs and soaked them in honey, and called them "ghost rice dumplings". Liu Yigong's 4 A son was also killed.While arresting and killing Liu Yigong, Liu Ziye sent someone to summon Liu Yuanjing, and then sent heavily armed soldiers to arrive. Liu Yuanjing was killed calmly, and his 8 sons, 6 younger brothers and nephews were also killed.Uncle Yan was arrested on the road and immediately beheaded. His six sons were also implicated and killed.

After Liu Ziye killed several Gu Ming ministers, he became bold and courageous, changed his name to "Jinghe" and began to manage government affairs in person.At this time, he still had one thing to worry about: Liu Yigong's 9-year-old eldest son, Boqin, was the governor of Xiangzhou, and if he didn't kill him, he might leave future troubles.So he sent someone to kill Boqin.From then on, Liu Ziye practiced tyranny unscrupulously, treating the court ministers as slaves, beating and torturing them at will. Xin'an Wang Liu Ziluan was favored by his father Liu Jun because of his birth mother Yin Concubine, which caused Liu Ziye to hate him.After Liu Ziye gained power, he immediately sent someone to give Liu Ziluan his death.When Liu Ziluan, who was only 7 years old, was dying, he said to the left and right with grief and indignation: "May I not be reborn in the emperor's house in the next life."After Liu Ziluan's brother and sister died, Liu Ziye still couldn't let go of his hatred, so he ordered people to dig the tomb of Concubine Yin, and Jingning Mausoleum where Liu Jun was buried.After Concubine Yin's death, Xie Zhuang wrote an essay for her, including the sentence "Praise Gui Yaomen". Liu Ziye thought that Xie Zhuang deliberately compared Concubine Yin to Mrs. Gouyi in the Han Dynasty, and wanted to order her to be killed.Someone persuaded: "Death is the same for everyone, and pain is only a momentary thing. Xie Zhuang was born to enjoy wealth and honor, and he didn't know the suffering of the world. Now he is locked up in Shangfang, so that he can taste the suffering of the world. , and then it’s not too late to kill him.” Hearing these words, Liu Ziye met his temperament of taking pleasure in torturing people, so he ordered Xie Zhuang to be imprisoned.Xie Zhuang suffered so much in Shangfang Prison, and was not released until Liu Ziye was killed.

Because he wanted to occupy his aunt, Princess Cai Chang, Liu Ziye killed her husband He Mai, General Ningshuo.After killing He Mai, it was expected that Shen Qingzhi would come to remonstrate, so he first sent people to close the bridges on Qingxi to prevent Shen Qingzhi from entering the palace.After Shen Qingzhi heard about He Mai's incident, he really went to ask to meet Liu Ziye, but he encountered many obstacles and had to return disappointed.In order to completely silence the admonishing old minister, Liu Ziye sent Shen Qingzhi's nephew Shen Youzhi to give him poison to kill himself.Shen Qingzhi refused to drink the medicine, and Shen Youzhi killed him.His son, Uncle Shen Wen, the servant, said to his younger brother Shen Wenji, Zhongshu Lang, "I die, you will take revenge!" After speaking, he took the medicine given to Shen Qingzhi and drank it, and died on the spot.Shen Qingzhi's other son, Secretary Lang Shen Zhaoming, also hanged himself to death.Shen Wenji saw that his father and brother were killed one after the other in the blink of an eye, roared loudly, swung his knife and leaped out of the encirclement, and got away.In order to deceive the public, Liu Ziye falsely claimed that Shen Qingzhi was old and sick, and presented him as a gift to Shizhong and Taiwei.

The leading general, Wang Xuanmo, was also a veteran of the third generation. Before his death, Emperor Xiaowu Liu Jun left a will, asking him to command the outer prison.Seeing that Liu Ziye was violent and erratic, and the punishment was excessive, he cried out many times to dissuade him.Liu Ziye was furious and yelled aggressively, Wang Xuanmo was so frightened that he didn't dare to say a word, bowed and bowed his head to back out.From then on, Wang Xuanmo was frightened all day long, his expression was in a trance, and he often shouted in panic: "The soldiers who arrested me have arrived at the door!" At this time, it was also rumored that Wang Xuanmo was killed.Cai Xingzong saw Bao Farong, the signer sent by Wang Xuanmo, to persuade Wang Xuanmo to make trouble.Wang Xuanmo did not dare to act on Cai Xingzong's words, but sent Bao Farong to tell him: "Such a big event is not easy to do, but please rest assured, I will never leak your words."

The princes and ministers are not self-protective, and they are in fear all day long, but the most dangerous are Liu Ziye's uncles.Liu Ziye's younger brothers were all young and did not pose much threat to his throne; his uncles were young and powerful, which became his heart disease.In order to prevent his uncles from causing chaos, he transferred them to the capital, detained them in the palace, and insulted and abused them in every possible way.He often keeps the three oldest emperor uncles by his side, never leaving his side.He wanted to kill the three kings, up to 10 times.Liu Xiuren, the king of Jian'an, had many schemes. Whenever Liu Ziye wanted to kill, he would tactfully talk and flatter Liu Ziye to please Liu Ziye, which made Liu Ziye dispel the idea of ​​killing the three kings time and time again.Among the three kings, the king of eastern Hunan was in the worst situation.Liu Ziye once sent someone to dig a big pit, filled it with mud and water, asked him to take off his clothes, crawl in the pit naked, and eat the food in the trough with his mouth like a pig. lol.Once, the king of Xiangdong accidentally offended him. He immediately ordered to strip him of his clothes, tie his hands and feet, and carry him to the Taigong like a pig, and said to the left and right: "Today the pig is slaughtered!" In desperation, he remembered that Liu Ziye hid the concubine of Shao Fuqing Liu Meng in the palace, and planned to make her the prince after giving birth to a son, so he quickly smiled at Liu Ziye and said: "Pigs should not die." Liu Ziye glared at him , asked: "Why?" Liu Xiuren said with a smile: "After the prince is born, the pig will be killed and the liver and lungs will be taken." He releases.

As early as the beginning of his accession to the throne, Liu Ziye wanted to have fun.But frightened by the majesty and admonition of the queen mother and veterans, it is not too presumptuous.After killing Liu Yigong and other ministers of Gu Ming, Liu Ziye was relieved and bold, and enjoyed himself to his heart's content.He often led his cronies out of the palace to play, and no one dared to dissuade him.Shen Qingzhi became Liu Ziye's favored minister because of his accusations against Liu Yuanjing and others, and he was able to accompany him to play in the chariot.Liu Ziye's sister, Princess Shanyin, was often in the same car.Princess Shanyin, named Liu Chuyu, was born to the same mother as Liu Ziye, and was married to Prince Consort He Ji.The princess is lustful and dissatisfied with her life.Once, she brazenly said to Liu Ziye: "Although the concubine and your majesty are different men and women, they both entrusted their bodies to the late emperor. Your majesty has tens of thousands of palaces, and the only concubine is a concubine. It is too unfair." Liu Ziye listened, haha Laughing: It’s a trivial matter, what’s wrong with it!So it was ordered that 30 beautiful and romantic men should be selected as the face heads of the princess, and they would be promoted to the princess of Kuaiji County, the same rank as the king of the county, so that she could enjoy the same treatment as the prince.The princess was still dissatisfied. Seeing that Chu Yuan, the official minister, was beautiful, she had evil thoughts and begged Liu Ziye to allow Chu Yuan to be her attendant.Chu Yuan served the princess for more than 10 days, and was persecuted by her many times. He had no choice but to beg bitterly and vowed to die, so he was saved. Liu Ziye is even more ridiculous than her sister.In his harem there is a "Mrs. Xie", who is actually his aunt, Liu Yingmei, the tenth daughter of Emperor Wen Liu Yilong.Liu Yingmei is the new eldest princess Cai, married He Mai, general of Ningshuo, and was secretly taken into the harem by Liu Ziye. To the outside world, she lied that the princess had passed away and sent the body of a servant girl in the first palace to He Mai's mansion for funeral.Liu Ziye thought that this technique of embedding flowers and trees was very clever, but he couldn't fool He Mai.He Maisu is a hero, and there are many dead men in the mansion. He actively conspired, and planned to raise troops to destroy Liu Ziye when he was traveling, and make Liu Jun's third son, King Liu Zixun of Jin'an, emperor, but unfortunately, Liu Ziye personally executed the soldiers. He Mai. Liu Ziye observed that all the emperors since Emperor Wu Liuyu found that none of the princes had secured the throne. The prince of Wendi Liu Yifu was abolished by his ministers, and the prince of Wendi Liu Shao was killed by the army of Emperor Xiaowu Liu Jun; He is Liu Yu's third son, and Emperor Xiaowu Liu Jun is Liu Yilong's third son. Therefore, he believes that the third eldest among his brothers is the biggest threat to the throne.At that time, his third younger brother Liu Zixun, King of Jin'an, served as the governor of Jiangzhou and stationed in Xunyang (now Jiujiang, Jiangxi), which became his worry.He adopted the minister's plan and sent someone to send medicine to Liu Zixun to die.When Liu Zixun was young, his subordinate Shi Deng Wan and others became angry when they heard the news. At this time, Liu Ziye is living a life of drunkenness, dreaming and death, and licentiousness.One day, he ordered all the concubines, princesses, and princesses to enter the palace, line up in front of him, and forcibly insult them from left to right.Nanping King Liu Shuo's concubine, Jiang Shi, vowed to die. Liu Ziye was furious, and ordered her three sons to be killed, and Jiang Shi was whipped 100 times.Once, Liu Ziye led people to play in the Zhulin Hall behind Hualin Garden. Suddenly, he had a whim and ordered all the palace people to chase each other naked to make fun of them. One of them refused to follow his orders and was immediately beheaded.After enjoying himself, Liu Ziye stayed overnight in the Zhulin Hall and dreamed of a woman scolding him: "The emperor is disobedient and cruel, and he will die before autumn next year." When he woke up the next day, Liu Ziye recalled what he had dreamed, and was very annoyed. He found a court lady whose appearance was similar to the woman in the dream, and beheaded her.At night, he dreamed that the murdered court lady scolded him and said, "I have sued you to heaven!" Liu Ziye woke up from the dream, annoyed and frightened, and ordered the wizard to occupy him for him.The wizard told him: "There are ghosts in the bamboo forest hall." On the night of November 29th, Liu Ziye retreated from the guards and led a group of witches and hundreds of colorful girls to shoot ghosts in the bamboo forest hall. At this time, Ruan Dianfu, Shou Jizhi, the master of the palace, Wang Jingze, the fine armor general, and Dai Mingbao, the scholar of Zhongshushe, were secretly preparing to kill the emperor and set up a new one.After Liu Ziye led the crowd to shoot ghosts and was about to play music, he suddenly saw Shou Jizhi, whom he usually hated very much, rushing in with a knife. Jiang Chanzhi, Chunyu Wenzu and others followed closely behind. He drew his bow and set up an arrow to shoot at Shou Jizhi, but he missed in panic.At this time, there was chaos in the bamboo forest hall, and the colorful girls were terrified, screaming and running for their lives.Liu Ziye dropped his bow and arrow, fled in a hurry, shouted "Jiji" a few times, and was stabbed to death by Shouji who was chasing him.On the second day after Liu Ziye's death, his body was still lying in the mouth of the Imperial Physician's Pavilion, with no one to take care of him.Later, a simple funeral was held, and he was buried in the south of Moling County. He had no temple name or posthumous title, and he was known as the "former abolished emperor" in history.