Chapter 12 2. Wang Mang usurped the Han

Wang Mang is the nephew of Wang Zhengjun, the empress of the Han Yuan Emperor, and he is a "relative" in the traditional sense. Regarding the origin of the Wang family, Wang Mang said in "Ziben": "The Yellow Emperor was surnamed Yao, and the eighth generation was born Yushun. Shun started with Gui and took Wei as his surname. After King Wu of Zhou named Shun, Gui was full of Chen. Hu Gong, the thirteenth generation was born. After the end of the word Jingzhong, he went to Qi. Duke Huan of Qi thought he was Qing, and his surname was Tian. In the eleventh generation, Tianhe had the state of Qi, and the second generation became king. Until Wang Jian was destroyed by Qin. Xiang Yu, The feudal Sun An was the king of Jibei. When the Han Dynasty flourished, An lost his country, and the Qi people called it the "Wang Family" because they thought it was a family." So Wang Mang took Yu Shun as the emperor's ancestor.

Although being born in a foreign relative is not considered glorious, Wang Mang himself was indeed an outstanding figure among the children of a foreign relative at that time. His father, Wang Man, died early, and he did not have time to catch up with his brothers to become a marquis. Therefore, Wang Mang has been very low-key since he was a child, and he dared not compare himself with the children of the Wang family. Hou Zi, who is extravagant in the time, is distinguished by the beauty of his horse and horse, is lonely and poor, and is respectful and thrifty because of his frugality." He worshiped Chen Shen of Pei County as his teacher, studied the "Book of Rites", was diligent and erudite, and talked with Confucian scholars. Wearing the same clothes doesn't have the airs of a child from your family at all.

He takes good care of his widowed mother, sister-in-law, and young nephew. He also likes to make friends with heroes and talents, and he is very filial to his uncles. In terms of self-cultivation and family harmony, he has done quite well, which was praised by the people of the time.The elders all thought that he was modest and prudent, filial and humble, and they often spoke well of Wang Zhengjun for him. Uncle Wang Shang was even willing to give him his fief as a marquis. At that time, Emperor Cheng of the Han Dynasty was in power, he was the son of Wang Zhengjun, and Wang Mang was his aunt cousin, so at the behest of the Queen Mother, Wang Mang was granted the title of Marquis of the New Capital.From then on, Wang Mang, Hou of the new capital, gradually became an influential figure in the political arena of the late Western Han Dynasty who governed the country and the world.

However, the more honorable his title, the more modest his integrity, and the more generous his actions, "Scattering the horses and furs, and giving them to the guests, there is nothing left for the family", while his wife "does not drag the clothes on the floor, and covers her knees with cloth", which was rejected by the visiting minister. Mrs. Liehou is regarded as a child servant. Famous people in the world, such as Changle Shaofu Dai Chong, Shizhong Jinshe, Hu Qixiao Wei Jihong, Shanggu Du Wei Yangbin, Zhonglang Chen Tang, etc., all had friendship with Wang Mang, and they went around to create public opinion and reputation for him.

Wang Mang did not condone the crimes committed by the powerful and close relatives.His aunt's cousin, Chunyu Chang, broke the law and was punished because of his report; his son Wang Huo killed his servant, and Wang Mang also forced him to commit suicide. Wang Mang had ups and downs in his life, but no matter whether he was in the court or in the opposition, people never stopped praising him. Later generations said that "Wang Mang's humility has not usurped the time", but it is difficult to fake such things as self-cultivation and family harmony for decades.Although Wang Mang is firmly nailed to the pillar of shame in history, we cannot conclude that he has been lying all his life and has never done a decent thing.

In the rage of the last days, he is indeed an outstanding figure. In 1 BC, when Emperor Ai died, Wang Mang made great contributions to help Emperor Ping, and was promoted to the rank of Grand Sima. Emperor Ping was only nine years old, and appointed him to Wang Mang. In the first year of AD, Wang Mang was named Tai Tuo and An Han Gong. In the fourth year of AD, Wang Mang was named Chancellor, Shanggong, and added Jiuxi. At the end of the fifth year of AD, Emperor Ping collapsed and Ru Ziying was born. Wang Mang forced Yuan Empress Wang Zhengjun to designate him as a "false emperor" and act as an acting emperor.

On New Year's Day in the ninth year of AD, Wang Mang became "real" and became the "true emperor" with the title of "Xin".In this series of processes, public opinion has played a big role.We can even think that Wang Mang's usurping of the Han was an exceptionally successful example of popular election operations. Even Ban Gu, who stood on the opposite side of Wang Mang, had to admit that during Wang Mang's reign, his politics were clear, his national power was strong, and his people were stable: "In a world of filial piety and peace, politics came out of recklessness, praise for good deeds, and self-esteem. Looking at his words, Fang Wai Hundreds of barbarians, thinking about death and not accepting it, stop asking for Jiaying, and sing praises together."

Satisfied common people's achievements in governing created the public opinion foundation for Wang Mang to usurp the Han. If you die at that time, who will know the authenticity of your life?Only winners are not condemned, and Wang Mang is a loser, so what is there to say?