Chapter 4 Chapter 4: How the Mother and Son of Emperor Han Wen made their fortunes

As an important unified dynasty in Chinese feudal society, the Western Han Dynasty was an undisputed prosperity.For example, the glorious "Government of Wenjing" has created a "GDP achievement" that has never been seen before in Chinese history. China's population has reached an unprecedented 60 million people. The ropes have rotted because they have not been used for a long time, and a lot of the state treasury's grain reserves have also rotted and deteriorated.It was the huge material reserves during this period that provided the most sufficient material guarantee for the defeat of the Huns in the era of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.The great Han Dynasty of the Chinese nation also laid the foundation for this period.

The "Wenjing" in "The Reign of Wenjing" refers to the two emperors who reigned successively during this period: Emperor Hanwen and Emperor Hanjing.In contrast, Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty seemed to have more talk: the Seven Kingdoms Rebellion that shocked the whole country was put down in his hands; the recuperation of the Western Han Dynasty also reached its peak during his reign.But in comparison, his father, Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty, Liu Heng, may have a more important position in history: the "rule of Wenjing" of the Han Dynasty started from his hands. For the prosperity of the entire Western Han Dynasty, Emperor Wen of Han is an extremely important figure.In the evaluation of emperors by later generations, he is even regarded as a model sage.

To be an emperor is to be famous, and there are naturally many ways.Some can fight, some can kill, some can work, and some can ruin the country.In contrast, perhaps only one word can be used for Emperor Hanwen's fame—forbearance.Whether it was before he ascended the throne or after he established the rule of the world, throughout his life, he was a person who was particularly able to "endure". When it comes to Emperor Hanwen's tolerance, we have to first talk about his mother, Empress Dowager Bo.As the folk saying goes, "A son follows his mother." This woman with a rough life experience is also a person who can "be patient".

Empress Dowager Bo's real name is now said in various ways, and her real name is no longer available. But when it comes to her identity, it can be said that she is both good and miserable.She is from Suzhou, and her mother is from the royal family of the Wei Kingdom, but she was not "legally born". Childhood life can be said to be a combination of poverty and superciliousness.This day had to be endured, and after a few years of suffering, the hardships finally came to an end. The Daze Township uprising sounded, and the survivors of the six countries stood up to welcome the liberation. With her royal status, she married Wei Wangbao as his wife when she became an adult, and she was also considered a noble lady of the royal family.Although this Wei Wangbao belongs to a royal family, his pursuit in life is not great.During the Peasant War at the end of Qin Dynasty, from the very beginning, he wanted to follow a good master, secure a piece of fiefdom, and become a prince behind closed doors.But there happened to be a fortune teller named Xu Negative, who immediately exclaimed after seeing her: This woman will give birth to an emperor in the future.With just this sentence, Wei Wangbao's mind became active: the son she gave birth to is the emperor, and I am her husband, that means...

When the mind is active, the behavior is also active. The good king of Wei doesn't want to be a king anymore, so he immediately raised the flag to rebel and tear up his face with Liu Bang who is fighting the world: fortune tellers say that my wife's son is the emperor, what am I afraid of you? .But how could he be Liu Bang's opponent, he was beaten up several times by Liu Bang's general Cao Shen, and Wei Wangbao was defeated and killed.He didn't understand Xu Negative's hexagram: it is true that your wife's son is the emperor, but the emperor's father may not be you.

The consequences of not understanding are serious for Mrs. Bo.The noble lady of the royal family couldn't do it, she turned into a family member of a criminal, and was sent to the palace as a servant, and was in charge of being a weaver girl in the weaving room.The weaving girl's job is not easy to do. The whole palace, from the emperor and empress down to the eunuchs and maids, wears everything inside and out, all from the hands of the weaver girl.The workload is heavy, the work is hard, the status is also very low, and the most important thing is that there is no chance in life.The women in the palace are nominally the emperor's wives. No matter how hard they are, the way to change their fate is to be favored by the emperor. It is best to give birth to a boy and a half girl, so that there is hope that all hardships will be rewarded.But mixed in the weaving room, this idea is very unreliable: which man would be idle and come to watch the women weaving?I have no choice but to continue to endure.

Unreliable things just happened.Liu Bang, who became the emperor, came to the weaving room on a whim one day. He glanced at Mrs. Bo and thought it was pleasing to the eye. concubine.But this "concubine" is a nameless concubine. There are three thousand beauties in the emperor's harem. Even if she pets one a day, it will hardly be her turn in the year of the monkey. She can only stay in the vacant room and continue to endure.This forbearance, from 206 BC to 202 BC, Liu Bang finally stepped into her room one day.According to the official history, a little sister in the palace talked about this woman's life experience and was overheard by Liu Bang. Liu Bang came here to pamper her on a whim.There is also a saying in unofficial history that Liu Bang went to the wrong door that day and entered her room by mistake, so he just followed suit and made a mistake.Whether it's a whim or a mistake, she and Liu Bang only stayed together for one night, and Liu Bang never came again after that night.

But a "low probability" event happened again, just like this "one-night couple", Mrs. Bo, who had endured it for many years, became pregnant, and the baby fell to the ground 10 months later, a big fat boy.This is Liu Bang's fourth son - Liu Heng.With this opportunity, she finally occupied a place among the concubines in the harem, and had the status as a concubine——Bo Ji. Being favored, giving birth to a son, having a title, all low-probability events happened one after another, and it seemed that she took advantage of all the good things.But at this time, her situation didn't seem to improve much.There are more women who are favored in the palace, and more of them are unable to give birth to children. Why can you conceive after a spring breeze?The jealous eyes of other concubines are naturally indispensable.And Liu Bang didn't have much affection for the mother and son. After having a son, Bo Ji stayed as a widow for another 8 years.Husband ignored her, gave birth to a son and was hated by others. Ladies in the harem, who doesn't form cliques?Who doesn't have three relatives, who doesn't have a backer?How difficult is it to live a peaceful life under open and dark arrows?Want peace?I have to endure it.

So Bo Ji continued to endure hardships: the truth is that, although he gave birth to a son for Liu Bang, everyone knew that Liu Bang didn't want to see these two girls, so not many people wanted to see them.There are few rewards, no money to win over the eunuchs and maids around her, and she gets a lot of stares, and even daily life, sometimes she has to rely on her own weaving to maintain.In such an environment, Bo Ji has developed a gentle attitude towards others and courteousness in everything.She treats every servant in the palace with gentleness, even the humble servants are polite when they meet each other.The concubines in the harem, no matter they are high-ranking or low-status, those who have sons but not sons, they are equally respectful. Even the sons are sometimes naughty and have conflicts with the princes in other rooms. If you win and lose, you have to bring your son to apologize to others.After enduring it, this rootless Bo Ji became a well-known good person in the harem.

And the situation in the harem of the Western Han Dynasty in those few years really changed the king's banner at the top of the city.In Liu Bang's later years, the most favored concubine was Mrs. Qi.This Mrs. Qi, whose real name is Qi Yi, was born in Dingtao, Shandong Province. She was not only beautiful, but also a famous dancer in the early Western Han Dynasty.When Liu Bang returned to his hometown Xuzhou in fine clothes, she was with her; after Liu Bang failed to conquer the Huns, she was by Liu Bang's side, and she was the one who healed his wounded heart every night.In Liu Bang's life in the harem in his later years, not only did she serve every night, but the two of them often held large-scale singing and dancing parties in the palace. Madam Qi often led the singing and dancing in person, which attracted applause.Not to mention Bo Ji, even Empress Lu, who is more expensive than the empress at this time, but has been separated from Liu Bang for a long time, is really cool to the extreme.

The momentum was exciting, and Mrs. Qi's belly was also upbeat, and gave birth to Liu Bang's son Liu Ruyi.But this Liu Ruyi is talented, intelligent and handsome, so Liu Bang loves him very much.And Empress Lu's own son Liu Ying, although he had been established as the prince early.Not to mention Liu Ying's cowardly personality, she is also very circuitous in her work, which often makes Liu Bang feel that "a son is not like his father".In his later years, Liu Bang even had the idea of ​​changing the prince. Fortunately, the officials opposed it, especially Zhang Liang, one of the "Three Heroes of the Western Han Dynasty", resisted it, and even begged for help with his old face. He invited four famous hermits "Shang Shan Sihao" assisted him to stop Liu Bang's thoughts.But for Madam Qi, the consequences of giving up her mind are serious. Sure enough, in 195 BC, as soon as Liu Bang kicked his legs and died, Empress Lv, who "righteously" became the empress dowager, began to counterattack.The old account of keeping the vacant room alone for more than 10 years must be paid back.Madam Qi, who was very popular back then, was cut off by Empress Lu, blinded her eyes, and thrown into a pigsty to be tortured to death.Her son, Liu Ruyi, who once competed with Liu Ying for the crown prince, was named King Zhao and was protected by Emperor Hui of the Han Dynasty Liu Ying with all his strength, but Empress Lu, who was gnashing her teeth with hatred, still refused to let him go. Send someone to kill him with poison.In the following years, in order to consolidate the dominance of the Lu family's relatives, Empress Lu wantedonly killed Liu Bang's sons.Among Liu Bang's 8 sons, apart from his own son Hanhui Emperor Liu Ying, Liu You starved to death after being imprisoned by Empress Lu, and Liu Hui was forced to commit suicide. Although Liu Jian died young, his son was also killed by Empress Lu. After the lineage was extinct, among the surviving people, Qi Wang Liu Fei was difficult to attack because of his strong fiefdom, and Huainan King Liu Chang was because he was located in Huainan, where the sky was high and the emperor was far away.But Bo Ji and Liu Heng's mother and son were able to survive this bloody storm, but they still owed it to one word-forbearance. In fact, Empress Lu, who punished dissidents in the harem, was not only not Bo Ji's enemy, but also became a friend in a certain sense.What Empress Lu hated were the concubines who were favored by Liu Bang during his lifetime, and Bo Ji, like her, stayed alone in the vacant house for several years. The similar situation made Empress Lu feel rare compassion for the mother and son.As the prince, Liu Heng was enfeoffed as Dai Wang, and the fiefdom was in Shanxi Daidi, which was adjacent to the Xiongnu. It was poor and chaotic, not a good place, but it could also avoid the right and wrong in the palace.After Empress Lu came to power, Bo Ji asked many times to go to Daidi to reunite with her son.For this old and ugly concubine who fell out of favor at this time, Empress Lu finally "humanized" her once, approved Bo Ji's request, and went with Bo Ji's mother and younger brother. Reunion.After all the open and dark attacks in the palace, they finally escaped safely. Liu Heng's fate changed again in 180 BC. In this year, Empress Lu, who had covered the sky with one hand for more than 10 years, passed away suddenly. During this period, the Lu family had basically controlled the power of the Western Han Empire.Before her death, Queen Lu's last words were to keep the funeral secret, and her nephews Lu Chan and Lu Lu sent heavy troops to Chang'an to prevent a coup d'état.However, the heroic lineage dedicated to safeguarding the Liu family's world, joined forces with the prince Qi Wang Liu Xiang and others to crusade against the Lu family, plus Chen Ping and Zhou Bo instigated rebellion against the army in Chang'an City, and staged a good show of "Zhou Bo's seizure of the army".As a result, before Empress Lu's bones were cold, her family was overthrown by the rebellious Liu family. Zhou Bo led his army to slaughter all of the Lu family in Chang'an City, and even Liu Hong, the young emperor supported by Empress Lu, was also deposed.At this time, the question arises: the Lu family has been overthrown, and the Liu family's royal family has turned over, but who will be the emperor? According to the rules of inheritance of the royal family in the Western Han Dynasty, the emperor naturally wanted to "inherit the father's business".Among the princes of Liu Bang who survived the bloody storm of Empress Lu, only Huainan King Liu Chang and Dai Wang Liu Heng were left.Of course, "intergenerational succession" is also possible, that is, to choose a successor from the third generation of Liu's descendants, and there is only one successor that everyone expects - Qi Wang Liu Xiang.He is the eldest grandson of Liu Bang, and in the process of destroying the Lu family, it was he who played a key role in raising the flag in Shandong. It is natural for such a person who has made great contributions to succeed him.The supreme power of the Western Han Empire seems to have nothing to do with Bo Ji's mother and son. But there are problems with several "popular" characters.The first is Liu Xiang, the king of Qi. Not to mention his elite soldiers, his family background is even more problematic: his younger brother Liu Zhang married the eldest granddaughter of the Lu family, which means that their family and the Lu family are "sons and daughters".And Liu Xiang's own mother's uncle's lineage is not a fuel-efficient lamp.His mother's family, the Si family, is a powerful local family in Shandong. Not to mention the deep-rooted influence, it is also known for its viciousness and brutality. The entire Lu family is a copycat version.If such a person ascends the throne, I am afraid that the nightmare of the Lu family's dictatorship will repeat itself.As for Liu Chang, the king of Huainan, that's even more out of consideration, not to mention "mother's family is evil", he himself is also a playboy who seeks pleasure.Therefore, the most suitable candidate can only be Dai Wang Liu Heng.He himself has no bad deeds, and his mother, Bo Ji, is also a well-known honest person and Liu Bang's own son.Of course, the more critical issue is that these two women have no roots and no roots, and they usually keep a low profile, and they seem to be easy to control when they become emperors. Of course, having enough qualifications is not enough, the key depends on who nominates them. The ones who advocate Liu Heng's succession are the two key figures who put down the Lu family rebellion: Chen Ping and Zhou Bo.These two men were Liu Bang's heroes who conquered the world back then, and at this time they held the two major government armies of the Western Han Empire: the Southern Army and the Northern Army, so their suggestions are the most important.Of course Liu Xiang stopped cooking and led his troops back to Shandong.Liu Chang didn't count on it either.In this way, Liu Heng, the most unwelcome son when Liu Bangjian was alive, became the third emperor of the Western Han Empire.Perhaps no one would have imagined that this seemingly indifferent prince engraved his name on the list of Chinese sages in the following decades. These are things for later, but at that time, for Bo Ji and her son, this was really a big pie.The envoy sent by Chang'an to welcome Li soon arrived in Daidi and invited Liu Heng to go to Chang'an to ascend the throne.But for this huge pie, Bo Ji's mother and son's reaction at first was very consistent - don't. Don't have a reason: the Lu family rebelled, the ministers and the royal family all contributed a lot, but the mother and son of Bo Ji, who were far away in Daidi, hadn't made any contribution. , Now that you're done and rewarded for your merits, I'll give you the biggest piece of ingot, why? Therefore, after receiving the news, Liu Heng did not act rashly. First, he sent his uncle Bo Zhao (Bo Ji's younger brother) to the capital. After meeting Zhou Bo and Chen Ping, who were in power at this time, and learned the truth, he left. to the capital.On September 23, 180 BC, Liu Heng officially ascended the throne in Chang'an. This is Emperor Wen of Han who created the "Government of Wenjing".And Bo Ji, who was the emperor's biological mother, was also promoted to be Empress Dowager Bo.This pair of mother and son who have endured for decades finally endured to the peak of power in the Western Han Empire, of course, in name. The so-called "nominal" is because the emperors of the Western Han Dynasty during this period were actually incapable of being a family in many cases. Not to mention the external situation, the Lu family's rebellion was quelled, relying on the efforts of the Liu clan and the heroes and veterans. Qi Wang Liu Xiang and Chengyang Wang Liu Zhang are both local powerful factions with heavy military forces. At this time, it has gradually become a powerful local school.The heroes and generals of the central government are also not to be messed with. Zhou Bo and Chen Ping, the two important ministers, are all meritorious figures from following Liu Bang to conquer the world to quelling the Lu family rebellion. It only works when they talk. Whether to be emperor or not, it is only after Liu Heng finds out their tone that he makes a decision.In the early days of ascension to the throne, Liu Heng's mother and son had only one identity—a decoration. Therefore, Liu Heng's mother and son still knew their identities. In the early days of their enthronement, the decorations were quite good: when Liu Heng came to Beijing to ascend the throne, he only brought along six cronies including Song Chang.The first thing after ascension to the throne was to enshrine and punish the meritorious officials of Lu: the three major heroes Zhou Bo and Chen Ping became the left and right prime ministers respectively, and Guan Ying became the Taiwei in charge of military power.He also made great efforts to win over the Liu clan.In addition to rewarding the three immediate relatives of King Liu Xiang of Qi, King Liu Zhang of Chengyang, and King Liu Chang of Huainan, he was granted the title of princes and kings of the same surname.In the first year of his ascension to the throne, eight Zongwangs surnamed Liu were named.Liu Heng is also very knowledgeable about major national affairs. He continues to implement the "Huang-Lao Theory" established by Han Gaozu Liu Bang when he was in power, and advocates "governance by doing nothing".In the initial period of his accession to the throne, the heroes were very satisfied, the clans were very satisfied, and the common people were also very satisfied.Up and down the court can be described as "harmony". But Emperor Hanwen himself would not be satisfied with such "harmony".Now he is no longer the acting king who swallows his anger, and is no longer the fourth prince who is a man with his tail between his legs, but a high-ranking emperor. He cannot accept the status of "showing off" no matter what.What's more, the series of events from Liu Bang's enthronement to the Lu's Rebellion proved that although the Western Han Dynasty was the first feudal unified empire in Chinese history, a highly centralized autocratic system had not been established in the early Western Han Dynasty. The establishment of the country in the Western Han Dynasty adopted the parallel system of prefectures and counties and the enfeoffment system. At first, princes and kings with different surnames were canonized. The administrative power of the government still has not established absolute authority.Whether it is the princes in the town of power or the nobles with outstanding achievements, their high positions and powers are all feared by the emperor. To be a real emperor, you must gather back the power.Not to mention that in order to consolidate the stability of the country, it is also necessary to deal with the Huns who continue to wreak havoc in the north. Therefore, this is the greatest contribution of Hanwen Emperor Liu Heng during his reign: since he started, he has changed China's loose state system since Xia, Shang and Zhou, and started to establish a unified and highly centralized feudal dynasty.The later "great unification" of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was actually more of a tree planted by Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty. Naturally, it is not easy to achieve this. All power struggles in history have been bloody and intriguing.However, Emperor Hanwen's method was very gentle. He endured first, endured again, and endured in the end. He played tricks in his patience, step by step, and finally established his absolute authority. For example, in the early days of Liu Heng's accession to Beijing, he seemed to be very "knowledgeable" and very modest to others, but on the first day he entered the palace, he ordered his cronies Song Chang to be the general of the guard, to appease the northern and southern armies, and another His confidant Zhang Wu was the doctor's order, responsible for inspecting the palace, the military power in the palace, and the control of the most elite northern and southern armies in the Western Han Dynasty. In this way, Emperor Wenwen of the Han Dynasty quietly grabbed his hands.After Zhu Lu was punished, Liu Heng pardoned the world again. It is worth mentioning that Liu Heng pardoned Liu Zhang's wife Lu Shi (the eldest granddaughter of the Lu family). He joined the lineage of King Qi, who had not yet ascended the throne, and received the support of the clan. As for the two powerful forces, the clan and the heroes, Liu Heng's other method is to "split".Before Liu Heng ascended the throne, according to the old rule of the Western Han Dynasty: most of the feudal princes and noble relatives lived in Chang'an, and their daily expenses were provided by their fiefdoms. Not to mention the huge expenses, Chang'an became the hero clan. A place of collusion.Therefore, in October of the second year after Liu Heng ascended the throne, he issued an edict ordering all the princes and nobles stationed in Chang'an to return to their fiefs and not to stay in Chang'an on the grounds of saving expenses.The significance of this is not only the reduction of state expenditures, but more importantly, the wings of veteran veterans such as Chen Ping and Zhou Bo have been greatly cut, and most of their cronies have been transferred away from their side. The originally entangled forces have gradually become lonely.Because of this, Liu Heng, the emperor, began to "harden his temper" from then on. Compared with the above-mentioned seemingly high-sounding policies, it is a small person and a seemingly inconspicuous memorandum that really have great significance for Emperor Hanwen's life in power. In 174 BC, the 28-year-old Jia Yi published "Public Security Policy" ". Jia Yi was famous in later generations, but he was only a small person at that time.And his "Security Policy" was not regarded as a very important memorial at the time, but it was this memorial that pointed to the big problem that Emperor Wenwen of Han had troubled: the problem that the princes could not lose their tails.This memorial is very long, and the core content is: princes and kings with the same surname are as unreliable as princes and kings with different surnames, and those who are powerful will inevitably think of rebellion. The stronger the strength, the faster the rebellion.It is the worst policy to launch a military crusade, which will cause war and destroy production and national stability.Therefore, the best way is to split up the feudal lands of the princes as much as possible, distribute them to their descendants, and weaken their power. Only in this way can the threat of the princes be completely eliminated. Jia Yi's memorials were appreciated by Emperor Wenwen of the Han Dynasty, but this is a very long-term strategy after all, and it is unrealistic to implement it all at once.During the reign of Emperor Hanwen, he implemented one of them in a small part, but it was an extremely important one. That is, in 164 BC, taking advantage of the death of King Qi, more than 70 cities under the jurisdiction of the most powerful state of Qi among the Western Han vassal kings were split into seven pieces at one go, and entrusted to the princes of King Qi.This action seems ordinary, but 10 years later, his son Han Jingdi Liu Qi will definitely appreciate his father's wise move: 10 years later, in the Seven Kingdoms Rebellion, it was precisely because the most powerful state of Qi was split up that It reduced the difficulty of countering the rebellion of the Han Empire. The government army of the Han Dynasty also used the method of calming down the land first, and finally wiped out the rebels. Although these policies of Emperor Wenwen of the Han Dynasty were quiet, they still caused a backlash. The more famous one was the rebellion of Liu Xing, King of Jibei during his reign, which was the first precedent for princes with the same surname to rebel against the central government.Later, Huainan King Liu Chang, who had competed with him for the throne, also rebelled.The two rebellions were suppressed successively.And Liu Heng also adopted a seemingly tolerant decision: Liu Chang's three sons were not convicted, but instead inherited their father's title. to the central Sichuan area. Although there was a slight rebound, Emperor Han Wen's painstaking efforts were not in vain. During his reign, the expanding power of the princes was contained, and the status of the heroes and nobles was also weakened.He gradually established his prestige and mastered the real power of the Han Empire. A more interesting comparison is: Zhou Bo, as a hero who punished Lv, had a high position when Emperor Hanwen ascended the throne in the early days, and even before Emperor Wenwen ascended the throne, he specially sent envoys to the capital to meet Zhou Bo.However, after Emperor Hanwen ascended the throne, Zhou Bo, as a prime minister, was greatly weakened by Emperor Hanwen's policies of relocating the princes and controlling military power.In the later period, Emperor Wenwen of the Han Dynasty asked him questions, and occasionally he answered incorrectly, and he even "sweated profusely".The Emperor Wen of Han in this period was the real emperor. Historians have written endlessly about the various political achievements of Emperor Wenwen of the Han Dynasty.For example, he continued the policy of rest and recuperation, advocated frugality, cut taxes many times, and developed production.Contain the power of local princes, strengthen the centralization of power, support meritorious officials, and gather state power.At the same time, the laws were revised to reduce harsh provisions, especially the "corporal punishment" that began in the Western Zhou Dynasty, which civilized the laws of China's feudal society.In the Western Han Dynasty under his rule, production was restored, the treasury was enriched, the authority of the central government was strengthened, and the people lived and worked in peace and contentment.In terms of crime rate, at the lowest time, there were only 40 cases solved each year in the whole country. It was a famous "harmonious society" in the history of Chinese feudalism.However, in contrast, his most influential policies on the entire Western Han Dynasty were two: one was the abolition of the Yongzhuan system, and the other was military reform. Let’s first talk about the use of the pass system. This is an important national policy formulated by the Western Han Dynasty since Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty. It is stipulated that border fortresses and military towns must set up checkpoints. Entry and exit checkpoints require a "pass" issued by the government, that is, approval. Otherwise, they cannot enter and leave privately. .In 168 BC, Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty formally issued an edict to abolish this policy. Since then, the population flow of officials and people in the Western Han Dynasty has become increasingly frequent, and the circulation of goods and goods has become increasingly prosperous.For the Han Empire, where agriculture was recovering day by day, the abolition of the traditional system promoted exchanges and integration between different regions, and it was a catalyst for the national economy to take off.The consolidation of the unified situation of the Western Han Dynasty and the economic prosperity of Wenjing rule are closely related to this. Another thing that historians don't pay much attention to is the military reform of the Han Empire during the period of Emperor Wen Wen.According to the development law of general feudal dynasties, the initial period of the founding of the dynasty was the period when the national army’s combat effectiveness was the strongest. Afterwards, the soldiers who grew up in the peaceful age would degenerate in combat effectiveness compared with the previous generations, while the army of the Western Han Dynasty was just the opposite.In terms of the combat effectiveness of the army, even the Han army in the early Liu Bang era can hardly compare with Xiang Yu's Chu army.The real take-off of the combat effectiveness of the Han army began in the era of Emperor Wenwen of the Han Dynasty.During the period of Emperor Wenwen of the Han Dynasty, the Huns harassed the border of the Western Han Dynasty intensified. Emperor Wenwen of the Han Dynasty organized heavy troops to fight against the Huns twice, but he was helpless in the face of the high-speed movement of the Huns cavalry.After learning from the pain, Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty Liu Heng was determined to reform the military and develop an iron cavalry capable of competing with the Huns.On the one hand, he adopted the system of "worshiping princes with chestnuts", that is, as long as military rations were delivered to the border areas, he could be rewarded with titles and reserve military rations for the country's border defense.In addition, it was also from him that the Han Dynasty recruited the Xiongnu tribe, bought a large number of horses, and recruited the Huns to join the army to serve the Han Dynasty.From then on, the Western Han Dynasty began to have its own cavalry troops. It was during this period that Li Guang and other famous generals who were later powerful in the Han-Hungarian War began to emerge.All of the above were the harbingers of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty launching a counterattack against the Huns. But just like the life experience of Emperor Hanwen, the Western Han Dynasty in this period was still in a period of "endurance".After Han Gaozu and Lu Hou recuperated, although the comprehensive national strength of the Western Han Dynasty has increased, it has only recovered.At the same time, the political and economic development of the Western Han Dynasty also encountered bottlenecks: the power of the domestic vassals was too large, the centralization of power was restricted, and although agriculture was recovering day by day, land conflicts became increasingly intensified after the population increased.This is the important point of Emperor Wenwen's administration. In politics, the authority of the central government was strengthened through the support of nobles and the weakening of the feudal lords; Farming enthusiasm, ease land conflicts.The Western Han Dynasty, which took off economically, was still in the stage of political forbearance. It continued to accept humiliating marriage terms with the Xiongnu, and used women, money and food to maintain peace.For the southwest, continue to recognize the separate regimes of the South Vietnamese countries.The era under the rule of Emperor Wenwen of the Han Dynasty was actually a China that was "accumulating thickly". Bo Ji in the era of "thick accumulation" finally sat on the throne of the queen mother, but she did not "succeed wildly" after she made a fortune.In terms of life, as the empress dowager, she took the lead in frugality, and her daily expenses were reduced by two-thirds compared with when Lu Zhi was the empress dowager.For the concubines and concubines who treated her so harshly back then, she does not miss the old evil, especially for those concubines who bullied her in the Liu Bang era. Silk accepts Ji Enyang.She was also very kind to Empress Lu who had helped her. A minister once suggested that Empress Lu's coffin be opened and her body whipped, and that Queen Mother Bo be given the position of "Queen of the Household" in Liu Bang's imperial mausoleum, all of which were rejected by her.What historians talk about most is the mother-child relationship between Emperor Wen of Han and Empress Dowager Bo.Emperor Wenwen of the Han Dynasty was extremely filial to his mother, Empress Dowager Bo. Empress Dowager Bo was seriously ill for three years. Emperor Wenwen of Han personally served at the bedside every day, feeding water and medicine with his own hands.This kind of situation, not to mention the emperor's family, even the folks who "have no filial son before the bed for a long time", are extremely rare.But such a filial son finally walked ahead of his mother.In 157 BC, Liu Heng, the 56-year-old Han Wendi, passed away. The Han Empire he left behind was already a Han Empire with increasingly powerful military power, increasingly centralized power, a thriving economy, and people living and working in peace and contentment. The only thing he was worried about was still It's my own mother.There are two last words on his deathbed. One is to ask his wife Dou to be filial to his mother on his behalf;Having a son who is so filial, for the Empress Dowager Bo who has been "forbearing" all her life, perhaps there is only one sentence: good people are rewarded with good things.