Chapter 5 The new owner of Weiyang Palace

When Song Chang walked to the Wei Bridge, he saw Chen Ping leading all the officials in line to welcome him from a distance, so he quickly turned his horse's head to inform Liu Heng.When Liu Heng saw a group of people from the central government, he immediately got out of the car and saluted the officials.He used this to maintain his weak image in the hearts of the officials, and at the same time, he wanted to gain a good reputation. In addition, he wanted to test the true attitude of Zhou Bo and others. Zhou Bo came to tell Liu Heng mysteriously at this time, and wanted to have a few private words with him.After all, Zhou Bo is a rough man, with too low political EQ. Who would dare to talk to people in such a private way in such a tense situation? Of course, Liu Heng would not dare to go. Maybe Zhou Bo would be there in the dark. ambush.

Fortunately, Song Chang came out to make a rescue at this time: "If you have a business, you can say it in public. There is nothing to hide. If you have a private matter, the acting king will not talk to you." Song Chang was righteous. In fact, the subtext is: Hurry up and announce good things, if you want to play any tricks, it's better to get rid of your mind as soon as possible. Zhou Bo didn't have time to feel sad that his privacy was not protected, so he quickly took out the imperial seal and talisman.However, Liu Heng didn't accept it at this time. Of course, he made it clear that he was pretending.It's all here, it's impossible to sincerely refuse to be the emperor, but to accept the emperor's items abruptly is not in accordance with the etiquette.Moreover, Liu Heng wants to establish his prestige, so why should Zhou Bo do whatever he says?You can't let Zhou Bo control yourself.So Liu Heng said to Zhou Bo indifferently: "We will discuss these matters when we arrive in the country of Dai, and we will discuss these matters in the posthouse in the capital." After speaking, he drove away.

Zhou Bo's hot face was pressed against his cold buttocks, and he suddenly felt autumnal, suddenly cold. Seeing Liu Heng leaving, everyone hurried forward to chase him.In Daiguo's office in Chang'an, Prime Minister Chen Ping, Taiwei Zhou Bo, General Chai Wu (one said Chen Wu), Yushi doctor Zhang Cang, Zongzheng Liu Yingke, Zhu Xuhou Liu Zhang, Dongmuhou Liu Xingju, Dianke Liu Jie and other eight core figures of the imperial court saluted together and said: "Dai Wang, let us tell you the truth from the bottom of our hearts. Where is Liu Hong the son of Emperor Hui? That little boy is not worthy of being an emperor at all. Marquis An, Queen Wu Qing, King Langya Liu Ze, and other clans, ministers, princes, and high-ranking officials over two thousand shi have discussed it. You are the eldest of Emperor Gao's surviving sons, and you must do your part to the throne. Don't you, my lord? If you want to resign, hurry up and ascend the throne."

Liu Heng was secretly happy, but in order to comply with etiquette, he had to act, so he said: "Inheriting Emperor Gao's ancestral temple is a very important matter. I have no virtue or ability, and I am not worthy at all. You'd better discuss it with my fourth uncle, King Liu of Chu. Bar." Of course, the ministers refused to agree, and continued to ask him to become the emperor. Liu Heng declined five times in total.When Liu Heng declined, he had to salute, three times to the west and two times to the south, and completed a set of actions in a fake manner. Finally, Chen Ping, the leader of the ministers, came out to persuade Liu Heng again, and Liu Hengcai said "the clan, the general" All the princes, kings, and lieutenants all think that I am the most suitable, so I dare not refuse." Such a high-sounding rhetoric accepted the request of the hero group.

If Liu Heng wants to be emperor, he will naturally live in Weiyang Palace, but at this time the young emperor Liu Hong has not been dealt with, and he is still occupying the emperor's throne.At this time, Dong Mohou Liu Xingju took the initiative to ask Liu Heng to clean Weiyang Palace with Teng Gong Xiahou Ying.Anyone with a discerning eye knows that this "cleaning" is actually to solve the problem of the young emperor Liu Hong. Liu and Teng found the young emperor and told the little emperor, "You are not from the Liu family, so you cannot be the emperor." The little emperor was very obedient and immediately disarmed the guards.

At this time, a eunuch leader named Zhang Ze jumped out.This person may have been brought by Liu Heng from the country of Dai. The master became the emperor, and these people who worked under him became more confident in their speech.After listening to Zhang Ze's advice, some soldiers who wanted to resist felt that the monarchs and ministers and heroes of the country were too powerful, so they simply disarmed and went home. Anyway, they felt that it was the same for anyone to be emperor, as long as they managed the people well. Teng Ying placed Liu Hong in the Shaofu government office, and then Liu Xingju reported the situation of Weiyang Palace to Liu Heng.When Liu Heng and his party entered the palace gate, they were stopped by the head of the guard, but after hearing Zhou Bo's explanation, they immediately broke up and left, and the whole coup was gone.That night, the group of heroes assassinated Emperor Hui's sons King Liang, King Huaiyang, King Changshan, and Liu Hong to prevent future troubles.

Chen Ping and Zhou Bo's move is very meaningful. Normally, they should have dealt with Emperor Shao long ago. The group of heroes only attacked Emperor Hui's sons after Liu Heng entered the Weiyang Palace. In fact, it was to avoid being accused of regicide. When Liu Heng first arrived in Chang'an, although he found that the heroes were extremely enthusiastic about him, this enthusiasm caused him uneasiness.On the night of entering the Weiyang Palace, he appointed Song Chang as the general of the guard, who alone controlled the military power of the Southern Army and the Northern Army, and appointed Zhang Wu as Lang Zhongling to stay in the palace.The hero group didn't pay attention to Liu Heng's small actions at all. After all, they really didn't have any evil intentions.

After letting the troops of the Dai State line take control of the army, Liu Heng became the emperor in a safe and secure manner. "Historical Records Xiaowen Ji" has a characteristic, that is, it likes to record Liu Heng's edict. Niu Yunzhen said: "Xiaowen's edict is ancient and gentle in quality, and it is actually the legacy of three generations. And the administrative affairs are also called it, not just empty words. Taishi Most of the edicts of other emperors are not recorded, but only the edicts of filial piety are recorded in detail, and those who have seen them in filial piety can also see the strictness of Tai Shi Gong's historical style." ("Commentary on Kongshantang Historical Records") explains Liu Heng The imperial edict is very literary and has historical value.Therefore, Sima Qian focused on excerpting Liu Heng's imperial edict in his works.On the night when Liu Heng entered the Weiyang Palace, he issued an imperial edict to the effect: "The prime minister, the Taiwei, and the doctor of history have been disrupting the court and plotting rebellion in recent years. These guys all want to threaten our Liu family's community. Jiangshan, thanks to the princes and generals who eliminated them and let them get the punishment they deserve. I have just ascended the throne, and now I am going to amnesty the world. Every adult male will be rewarded with a first-level title, and every female household without an adult male will be given one head Niu, ten stone wine, specially approved for the five-day celebration by the people of the whole country, and people can gather to drink."

There is an issue of "the right of assembly" to be explained here.Illegal assemblies and demonstrations are prohibited in our society today, and it was the same in the Qin and Han Dynasties. At that time, it was illegal for more than three people to gather and drink without reason, and a fine of four taels was required.The emperors were very sensitive. They always felt that it would be bad for people to get together, and they might gather people to rebel. Therefore, drinking and gatherings were not allowed. From this point of view, in the edict, Liu Heng allowed the big guys to gather for drinking on the good day of his enthronement, which is a great favor. At the same time, it also shows that Liu Heng will implement a relatively loose policy on the people, which is a precursor to the formal introduction of "government by doing nothing".

From then on, Liu Heng began his 23-year-long rule. Although he still had a powerful group of heroes beside him at this time, all of this was not a problem in Liu Heng's view.In the early years of Liu Heng's administration, the policy for the group of heroes was to "bundle", linking the interests of the heroes with Liu Heng's own interests. Transform the contradiction between the hero and the emperor into the contradiction between the kingdom and the central government. In addition, Liu Heng continued many good policies in the Empress Lu period, such as reducing torture, implementing inaction, honoring Huang Lao, encouraging production, relaxing control of industry and commerce, emancipating the mind, encouraging contention among a hundred schools of thought, and allowing the sale of titles Measures such as increasing income for people and governments.

The primary reason for continuing the policies of Empress Lu's period is of course that they coincide with Liu Heng's own thoughts on governing the country, and the second is that the deterrent power of Empress Lu can be used to deter the group of heroes.The heroic group is not afraid of anything, but Queen Lu.This woman oppressed the most sensitive nerves of everyone in the heroic group, and her shadow always enveloped every heroic veteran. Zhou Bo and others were deeply branded as fearing their relatives.From it, we can also see Liu Heng's city government as a mature politician, as well as the atmosphere of the New Deal of the entire Han Empire. On the seventh day of October in 179 BC, Liu Heng paid homage to the Gaozu Temple. The 23-year-old Liu Heng officially ascended the throne. The vast territory of the empire was nakedly displayed in front of him. Foreign aggression is still a situation that the new monarch has to face. Can it really change?