Chapter 49 13. Standing aloof from the world, ascending the throne on behalf of Wang Chengen

Empress Lu passed away after 15 years of dictatorship, and the power of the Lu family was overthrown one by one by the old ministers of Han Gaozu. When the old and the new changed, these veterans faced a very serious problem. The final achievement of Empress Lu's tireless work of "removing seedlings" is that Liu Bang's sons are only left with Liu Heng, the acting king, and Liu Chang, the king of Huainan. Who should be chosen as the new king?The veterans had a heated discussion. The ministers generally believed that Liu Chang's mother's family was strong and domineering. If Liu Chang became the emperor, there might be a disaster of foreign relatives monopolizing power, and maybe there would be a second Empress Lu. This was what the ministers were more afraid of.The Bo family, the mother of Dai Wang Liu Heng, has always been famous for self-denial and prudence, and Bo Ji has no competition with the world, virtuous and virtuous, so Liu Heng must have the style of his mother.In contrast, the ministers made up their minds and sent people to Daiguo to welcome Liu Heng to Beijing as emperor.

Why do ministers regard the mother's family as the most important criterion when examining candidates for the new emperor?This is not unreasonable. When Empress Lu was in power, the Lu family was so powerful that they almost took over the Liu family. If there is such a powerful empress dowager, I am afraid that the white horse agreement with the first emperor will be broken.When the Han Dynasty was first established, it experienced a war. The people urgently needed to recuperate, and what they needed was a benevolent king. Wouldn't Liu Heng be the best candidate? In this way, the emperor's dragon robe, like a big pie, fell on the head of Liu Heng, the undisputed king far away in Jinyang.

Liu Heng's aloofness from the world comes from the earnest teaching of his mother Bo Ji. Bo Ji is the most inconspicuous woman around Liu Bang.She was originally the concubine of King Bao of Wei. Later, King Wei was destroyed by Liu Bang, and she was brought into the harem by Liu Bang.Liu Bang's harem is full of beauties, and Bo Ji is an ordinary person. Liu Bang never paid attention to her, so she was ridiculed by her companions.Unexpectedly, it happened to be heard by Liu Bang, and he felt pity for her, so he got lucky with her, and Bo Ji gave birth to Liu Heng, the next generation king.Later, Mrs. Qi favored the harem, and Bo Ji almost never saw her husband Liu Bang again.

In terms of marriage, Bo Ji is an even more unfortunate woman than Empress Lu.But Bo Ji has no resentment at all, she advocates Taoism, has the idea of ​​self-calm and letting nature take its course, in the harem, she is tolerant and courteous in everything, and is loyal. The palace struggle between Lv Zhi and Mrs. Qi can be said to be the most tragic one in all dynasties, and Mrs. Qi's terrible ending is unique.However, although Lu Zhi's revenge on Mrs. Qi is so cruel and vicious, her attitude towards Bo Ji is very fair.This is of course because Bo Ji is cautious, but also because Bo Ji, like her, has not received the kind treatment that her husband Liu Bang should give her.Because of this, Bo Ji unexpectedly received a special favor from Lu Zhi: Empress Lu sent Bo Ji to Jinyang, the fiefdom of her son Liu Heng, not only reuniting her mother and son, but also giving her the title of "Deputy Queen Mother", making her a She became the noble lady second only to Lu Zhi in the Han Dynasty.

Along with Bo Ji, her younger brother Bo Zhao and her mother Wei Wei came to Daiguo. Bo Ji has been used to living without a husband for many years. Now that she is reunited with all her family members and enjoying the wealth and honor in her son's kingdom, Bo Ji is very contented.Liu Heng was young, and Bo Ji, as the empress dowager, actually became the ruler of the country.But Bo Ji did not change her previous behavior. She often taught Liu Heng: "As a prince, you must be self-restraining and cautious in every way, be content with everything, and thank God for His blessings." This kind of thinking deeply influenced Liu Heng, and Liu Heng day Growing up, he never thought about the throne far away in Chang'an, but treated the people well in his own kingdom, governed by doing nothing, and won the love of the people.

At this time, the Han Dynasty needed such an emperor, as if it was destined in the dark, and the meaning of Bo Ji's life was to raise an excellent emperor for the Han Dynasty. In the ninth month of the first year of Emperor Wenwen of the Han Dynasty (179 BC), it has been a year since Empress Lu passed away. In this year, Chang'an was bloody and stormy, and earth-shaking changes took place, but Jinyang, the fiefdom of Dai State, was as peaceful as in previous years.The autumn wind was rustling, and the envoys who welcomed Liu Heng to Beijing as emperor came to Dai Kingdom. At this time, Liu Heng had been the prince for seventeen years and was twenty-four years old.After listening to the messenger's words, he was stunned for a moment, and he couldn't believe that there was such a thing in the world.The throne was out of reach for him, and his mother often taught him not to covet things that did not belong to him.There are so many princes, why choose yourself alone? Is this a conspiracy?

When the envoy went down, Liu Heng asked his subordinates: "What do you think of this matter?" The ministers talked a lot: "I don't know what the ministers of the court have come up with..." "Your Majesty, don't believe this easily... At this time, a man named Song Chang said: "Zhu Lu is settled, and the court will naturally choose a new emperor to take the throne to welcome the king. I think it is logical. This is not a conspiracy." But Song Chang's words were strongly opposed by others. Against it, Liu Heng couldn't make up his mind, so he came back and asked his mother.

Bo Ji thought for a while and said, "My son doesn't have to worry, maybe it's God's will." Bo Ji has always believed in divination, so she suggested to Liu Heng to do astrology divination, maybe God will give a clear indication.Following his mother's advice, Liu Heng asked someone to do astrology divination.The result of divination is good fortune. Liu Heng was slightly relieved, and Bo Ji said: "You must be cautious about this matter. You don't want to go yet, let your uncle go to Beijing with the envoy first, and see how the situation in the court is." Liu Heng agreed with his mother's idea.So Liu Heng's uncle, Bo Zhao, went to Beijing with the envoy. When Bo Zhao arrived in Chang'an, he found that the court had made arrangements for Liu Heng, so he wrote a letter and sent it to the country of Dai.When Liu Heng received his uncle's letter, he finally dispelled his doubts. Under Bo Ji's arrangement, he set off for Chang'an in a light car.

When Liu Heng came to fifty miles outside Chang'an City, his subordinates suggested to him again to send someone to inquire about the news so as not to fall into a trap.After he was sure, he went to Weiqiao to meet the ministers who greeted him.When the crowd sent him into the Weiyang Palace, he became the fifth emperor of the Han Dynasty. After Liu Heng came to the throne, he made his mother Bo Ji the empress dowager.Liu Heng is the famous Emperor Wen of Han in history. Emperor Wen's accession to the throne is quite legendary. A queen dowager who is indifferent to the world and a prince who is pure and innocent, thus became the biggest victor in the court struggle.Later generations commented that Bo Ji "has no competition with the world, and the world cannot compete with her." Bo Ji retreated in the court battle, not only saved herself, but also saved her son, and finally became the empress dowager of the world. .Bo Ji is a special case in the law of royal power competition where the strong survive.The Taoist thought that Liu Heng learned from his mother coincided with the political thought of "governing by doing nothing" in the early Han Dynasty, so he was supported by courtiers.After Liu Heng came to the throne, he put people first, practiced frugality, lightened corvees and paid little taxes, which made the social economy develop significantly at that time.The refugees returned to their hometowns, the household registrations prospered rapidly, and the ruling order was gradually consolidated. The ancient Chinese feudal society entered the first rule of the world, which was called "the rule of Wenjing" in history.