Chapter 18 Chapter Eighteen: Wang Mang's True Face

If you evaluate the stupid kings in Chinese history, Wang Mang can be regarded as one of them. In the evaluations of various historians of later generations in China, Wang Mang is a person who has been scolded a lot, and the reasons for being scolded are also varied.For example, as a foreign relative, he usurped the power of the Western Han Dynasty, eventually abolished the Western Han Dynasty, and established his own new dynasty.In the eyes of feudal historians, he can be described as a rebellious and unscrupulous courtier and traitor. Moreover, since you usurped the Western Han Dynasty, you should govern it well. After he came to power, he messed around and caused chaos in the world. The whole land of China fell into a void. In the previous war, it is not an exaggeration to say that he was a fool and a thief.

Of course, there has always been a more sensational saying: Wang Mang was transformed from a snake demon.This statement comes from the "Creation Myth" of the Western Han Empire - Han Gaozu's Revolt against the White Snake.The content of the saying is: When Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty beheaded the white snake, the white snake said to him: "You will become the emperor in the future, and you will have a world, but I will fight against you. If you behead my head, I will make trouble for your dynasty." At the beginning, if you want to cut off my tail, I will make trouble for the end of your dynasty." Without further ado, Liu Bang cut off the snake demon from the middle. The good Han Dynasty just fell into two halves-the Eastern Han Dynasty and the Western Han Dynasty.

Therefore, in many historical materials, Wang Mang is described as a hideous, vicious villain.When many people talked about him, most of them talked about his hypocrisy and cunning, his insidious schemes when he usurped the power, and his perverse behavior after he won the world. In the final analysis, he came to a conclusion: this person is a demon, a villain who destroys the world.But looking closely at history, one has to wonder: Is Wang Mang really that bad? Wang Mang, a great celebrity in Hebei, was born in Shandong.He is the nephew of Wang Zhengjun, the empress of the Han Yuan Emperor. With his status as a foreign relative, he took root in the grassroots at the end of the Western Han Dynasty. He started from a small Huangmenlang, step by step, and became a powerful minister who controlled the power of the Western Han Empire, and eventually abolished the Han Dynasty. Self-reliance, the establishment of a new dynasty.This is how his title of "rebellious minister and thief" came down.

But this "rebellious minister and thief" had a very hard life in his early years. His family was originally a descendant of the Tian family after the fall of the Qi State. During the Liu Bang period, he was forced to relocate a large family in the Kanto region. As a result, their family was moved to the Daming area of ​​Hebei for border guards, and their surnames were also changed. "king".After the establishment of the Han Dynasty, the family remained dilapidated. It was not until the time of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty that someone became an official. Wang He, a member of the clan, became an embroidered censor, and he was just a small official with sesame seeds and mung beans. Promising, did not even get an official position.Although Wang Jin was unpromising, he was very good at giving birth to children. He gave birth to four boys and eight girls in his life, and one of them happened to be the daughter of Guangzong Yaozu——Wang Zhengjun.When Emperor Han Yuan was the crown prince, Wang Zhengjun was ordered to serve in the palace, and his belly was also uplifting. Within a few years, he gave birth to a son for Emperor Han Yuan, and naturally he was favored because of it. When Emperor Han Yuan ascended the throne, Wang Zhengjun became a queen. All of a sudden, one person attained enlightenment and ascended to heaven, and all the relatives of the Wang family were canonized. Most of Wang Zhengjun's parents, brothers, and sisters were enshrined as marquises and ministers. This happened in 39 BC. At that time, Wang Mang was only 6 years old. What's the matter with him.

There is no such thing as Wang Mang, not because Wang Mang is young, but because his chances are too bad. Wang Mang's father, Wang Man, also belongs to the brothers of the Wang clan, so he should have been canonized, but Wang Man died shortly after Wang Mang was born. He passed away, and then Wang Mang's elder brother also passed away, leaving Wang Mang a little boy, so of course it's none of his business to confer officials and worship titles.At that time, the Wang family was full of dignitaries, but Wang Mang's family lived poorly. Wang Mang was not angry, but instead worked hard.Since childhood, he has been known far and wide as a good young man.He has taken on the burden of family life since he was a child, respecting his mother and widowed sister-in-law, taking good care of his brother's nephew, and at the same time studying without delay. (the family has no money), and he studied hard. He loved Confucianism since he was a child. When he was young, he worshiped Chen Shen, a famous Confucian at that time, as his teacher.This Chen Shen is a relatively special scholar of Confucianism in the Western Han Dynasty. Although his knowledge is Confucianism, it is different from Dong Zhongshu and other schools. On the other hand, we must "learn from the ancients", that is, everything in modern times is hateful, and everything in ancient times is good, and we must follow ancient methods and systems in doing things.Looking at Wang Mang's future fate, a lot of his success came from the teacher's teachings, and his failures were all due to the teacher's teachings in the end.

At that time, Wang Mang was a well-known "outstanding young man". He was obsessed with Confucianism, and he made a lot of friends in the academic circle. have been debated.During this period of time, his most important thing was to forbear.He doesn't care about the poverty of his family.He respectfully served the elders of various families who had been knighted, and the one who served the most was Wang Feng, who served as a general during the Han Yuan Emperor.Wang Feng is Wang Mang's uncle. In his later years, Wang Mang often accompanied him.In 22 B.C., Wang Feng fell ill, and Wang Mang was by his side. He was inseparable for ten days and ten nights, and took good care of him. My son." Wang Feng admired this simple and filial good nephew from then on, but just a few months after admiring it, Wang Feng died of illness, and before he died, he specially entrusted the queen, Wang Zhengjun, to take good care of Wang Mang .Because of his dying care, Wang Mang, who had endured for many years, finally got a half-official position—Huang Menlang, and officially stepped into the officialdom of the Western Han Dynasty.

The official position Wang Mang got at this time was not considered a high-ranking official in the Western Han Dynasty at that time, but he was very lucky. Not long after he took office, he was promoted and appointed as the captain of Shesheng. He is a high-ranking official who belongs to the middle and high-level cadres in the army. He controls the crossbowmen of the Imperial Forest Army. He is a rich and powerful man.The reason why he was able to get this lucrative position was that Wang Mang had found a new object of tribute—Wang Yin, who succeeded Wang Feng as the Great Sima General and held the power of the Western Han Empire.Wang Yin is Wang Mang's uncle, and Wang Mang is also very filial to him, serving him attentively and courteously in front of Wang Yin.What especially has the "business advantage" is that Wang Yin's education level is limited, and he often scratches his head when it comes to official documents. Wang Mang often takes the initiative to help him deal with them, and he can be organized every time. He is a competent secretary.At the same time, Wang Mang is not only capable, but also good at shooting. His way of flattering is to wear a high hat. Even if there is a small matter in the court, Wang Mang will find an opportunity to praise his uncle well, so that he can work and flatter others. Good nephew, of course Wang Yin likes it, and if he likes it, he will naturally be given an important position.Another reason why Wang Mang got this lucrative job was that the Wang family had already controlled the power of the court at this time, and the crossbowmen of the imperial army were an important part of controlling the military power of the palace. Most of the young people are corrupted by their extravagant life, and only the 24-year-old Wang Mang is the only one who really maintains a good moral character and external image.

Wang Yin served as General Da Sima for 7 years, and was later replaced by another uncle of Wang Mang, Wang Shang. At this time, he was already the son of Wang Zhengjun——When Emperor Han Cheng was in power, the Wang family became even more powerful.At this time, Wang Shang, who is in power, is also Wang Mang's uncle, but he is known for his calmness and calmness among the various figures in the Wang family.For example, once, there were rumors in the capital that there would be a flood soon, and Emperor Cheng of the Han Dynasty was almost ready to move the capital. At the critical moment, Wang Shang stepped forward to stop the rumors, and finally proved that this was indeed a false alarm.For such a character, Wang Mang's method is still filial piety.He is very good at watching people order dishes. Compared with Wang Yin, he likes to be flattered by others. Wang Shang's biggest problem is that he is good at being a teacher. Therefore, Wang Mang's way of being filial is to often ask Wang Shang for instructions on work. Pretend to be stupid and ask Wang Shang for instructions. Every time Wang Shang will talk endlessly and give Wang Mang a half-day class. No matter how boring the content of the "class" is, Wang Mang will pretend to listen to his mother telling stories, and he can listen to Wang Mang in front of Wang Shang. He was fascinated, and then waited for Wang Shang to finish his speech, and then acted like he had suddenly realized, and flattered Wang Shang greatly, and this round of flattery was on point again.In 16 BC, Wang Shang deliberately went to Emperor Cheng of the Han Dynasty, requesting that 16 cities under his name be awarded to Wang Mang, which shows that Wang Mang has been regarded as "one of his own".At this time, Wang Mang had already made many friends in the court. In addition to Wang Shang, there were also many famous people in the court at that time, such as Changle Yuefu Dai Chong, Shizhong Jinshe, Shanggudu Wei Yangbin, Zhonglang Chen Tang, etc. The next time he wrote a letter praising Wang Mang's virtues, in this way, Wang Mang was granted the title of Marquis of the new capital and gave food to 1,500 households.The reason why there is such a good "popular evaluation" is mainly because Wang Mang's work performance at this time is very good.As the "Lieutenant of Shesheng", Wang Mang's military training is very good, and the assessment results of the crossbowmen have skyrocketed. At the same time, Wang Mang is also very good at messing around. The remaining money was either used to help the poor, or used to make friends with officials, especially during this period of time, the Western Han Empire was hit by two consecutive floods, Wang Mang not only actively donated money, but also sold his property for disaster relief, thus destroying his family The caring person who relieved the difficulties naturally won the respect of the court. This year, Wang Mang was also transferred from the captain of Shesheng to the captain of cavalry. Although the official position was transferred at the same level, the captain of cavalry mastered the elite cavalry of the Imperial Army The army is the most powerful among all kinds of captains, and Wang Mang also added the official position of Doctor Guanglu.With this official position, he can participate in various meetings of the imperial court and attend the discussion and decision-making of major national affairs. Wang Mang, who is only 30 years old, has thus become a figure with both military power and political power, just like a new political star of the Western Han Empire.But this new political star is very humble, he treats people politely, and he never forgets his roots. Even if he was his boss when he was Huang Menlang, even though his official position is not as good as him at this time, he still respects him when he meets him. Plus.Such a style was even spread as a good story in the official circles at that time.

Wang Mang first came into contact with the supreme power of the Western Han Empire when he was 38 years old.This year, Wang Gen, who served as the Great General of the Great Sima, was seriously ill and was unable to take up this important position. The vacuum of official positions made many officials eager to try, and Wang Mang was one of them.At this time, although he has become the backbone of the Wang family, he is not qualified to inherit Wang Gen's official position. At this time, the expected successor is the empress dowager Wang Zhengjun's nephew (son of Wang Zhengjun's sister) Chunyu Chang, This person not only has the support of his aunt Wang Zhengjun, but also has an unusual relationship with the current emperor Han Chengdi.When Emperor Cheng of the Han Dynasty wanted to make Zhao Feiyan the empress, it was Chun Yuchang's mediation that allowed the move to be supported by the Queen Mother Wang Zhengjun. Emperor Cheng of the Han Dynasty was always grateful for this matter.With such a close relationship, Wang Mang seems to have no chance of succeeding.

So from the beginning of the matter, Wang Mang made a very interesting statement. He stated on various occasions that he had no intention of competing with Chun Yuchang for the position of General Sima. In this way, Chunyu Chang felt at ease. Before Wang Gen left his post, he couldn't wait to pretend to be the "Great General Sima" and domineering everywhere, so that Wang Gen, who didn't think much of him before, began to have feelings for him. opinion.At the same time, Wang Mang secretly found out Chunyu Chang's braid.For many years, Chun Yuchang had been having an affair with the deposed Empress Xu's sister. Before being established as the "successor", Chun Yuchang was afraid to disclose this matter due to influence. Seeing that the "successor" was done, Chun Yuchang simply So arrogant, he even blatantly married Empress Xu's sister into the house as a concubine, but he forgot that this kind of thing was considered "big rebellion" in the feudal era.He forgot about Wang Mang, but he didn't forget. Taking advantage of Wang Gen's dissatisfaction with Chunyu Chang, Wang Mang quickly prescribed medicine in front of Wang Gen, and Wang Gen added oil and vinegar, which aroused Emperor Han Cheng's anger.Dare to have an affair with my "sister-in-law", it's against you!Then Chunyu Chang was immediately investigated and prosecuted. Not only did he fail to succeed, but he was also beaten to death in prison by Emperor Cheng of the Han Dynasty. The whole family was sent into exile. , Wang Mang also took the initiative to intercede.Under Wang Mang's persuasion, Chunyu Chang was spared the fate of implicating the whole family, and his wife's life was preserved.Good guy, let Wang Mang do it all.

Wang Mang, who has done his best to be a good person, of course got good things.In 8 BC, Emperor Cheng of the Han Dynasty appointed Wang Mang as the great Sima, and he became a powerful figure under one person and above ten thousand people in the Western Han Empire at this time. Wang Mang, who has been a man with his tail between his legs for decades, reached the peak of power at the age of 38.Then, continue to be a man with your tail between your legs. In the post of Da Sima, Wang Mang gave people the deepest impression of incorruptibility.He was a clean and honest official with a frugal life. He usually wore simple clothes when he went in and out, and hired famous Confucian scholars at that time to serve as his staff. .Especially when Wang Mang's mother was seriously ill, officials from all walks of life came to visit and saw that Wang Mang's mother was wearing homespun clothes, similar to other people's slaves.The reputation of Wang Mang's incorruptibility spread throughout the world. But Wang Mang, who is famous all over the world, was kicked out after only one year as the chief Sima.The main reason was that the Emperor Han Cheng died at that time, and the emperor Han Ai who came to Beijing as a prince from other places came to the throne. The family of Ding Ji, the mother of Emperor Han Ai, also took the opportunity to enter the high-level power of the Western Han Empire.The struggle for power and profit between Wang and Ding became more and more fierce. In order to balance the relationship, Wang Zhengjun, who was already the "empress dowager" at this time, took the initiative to persuade Wang Mang to hand over the position of chief minister. Wang Mang was also very savvy and readily agreed.In order to compensate Wang Mang, Emperor Ai of the Han Dynasty also specially granted Wang Mang 350 households to eat. Afterwards, Wang Mang retreated and voluntarily resigned and returned to the Nanyang Xinye fiefdom.Although he lost power, Wang Mang's ability to go up and down again aroused the praise of the people at that time. The period when Wang Mang lived in seclusion in Xinye was another important period in his life.At this time, his main experience was to make friends with famous Confucian scholars in the Western Han Dynasty at that time, and win people's hearts wantonly.Another incident that happened at this time also raised Wang Mang's reputation.Wang Mang's second son, Wang Huo, killed someone. According to Wang Mang's status at the time, it was entirely possible to exonerate his son.This incident became the fuse for Wang Mang's comeback.At this time in the Western Han Dynasty, the relatives were powerful, and the nobles trampled on the law, which aroused public outrage among the people. It was hard for Wang Mang to be such a good man. Naturally, all walks of life received rave reviews from the court officials, down to folk scholars, and even ordinary people. , Some people spontaneously called for grievances for Wang Mang. At the most, "hundreds" of people who yelled for grievances every day invited Wang Mang to come out of the mountain, which became a common voice from top to bottom.In 2 BC, a solar eclipse happened, and Confucian scholars who were close to Wang Mang took the opportunity to make a big fuss, publicizing that it was God's will, and Wang Mang was asked to come out of the mountain again.Under tremendous pressure, Emperor Ai of the Han Dynasty, who wanted to clean up the relatives of the Wang family, had no choice but to bow his head and recall Wang Mang.God was really helping Wang Mang at this time. Not long after he came back, Emperor Ai of Han passed away.In 1 BC, Emperor Han Ping came to the throne, and Wang Mang returned to the post of Da Sima. In 1 AD, the high-ranking Wang Mang was promoted to be the Duke of An Han. In control, no one can restrain him except the Empress Dowager Wang Zhengjun. Although the Empress Dowager Wang Zhengjun has all the power, she is not a political strongman like Queen Lu. She has no energy to manage major national affairs, and she just wants to live a life of motherhood with peace of mind. Therefore, after Wang Mang became the chief minister, Wang Zhengjun Entrust all important affairs of state to Wang Mang.Except for the matter of connoisseurship, Wang Mang can handle other major national affairs by himself. At this time, Wang Mang has become a tyrant who monopolizes power.Wang Mang, who had endured it for decades, finally didn't have to bear it anymore, and he began to act arbitrarily.As the emperor, Emperor Han Ping was basically emptied by him, almost all major national affairs were decided by him, and he was full of cronies inside and outside the court.Moreover, Wang Mang is also a person who always seeks to improve. When he was a school captain, he wanted to be a marquis. After he was a marquis, he wanted to be a great Sima. After becoming a great Sima, he wanted to be a prince. Now that the power is monopolized, the next step is to usurp the throne of the Han Dynasty. It will be a matter of course. Under the court situation at that time, it was his son Wang Yu who first saw Wang Mang's ambition to usurp the throne.Aware of Wang Mang's ambition, he secretly asked Wang Zhengjun to demote Wang Mang. If Wang Zhengjun obeyed at this time, maybe the event of the Western Han Dynasty's demise would not have happened. I believe that Wang Mang has this ambition and hesitates.However, Wang Mang would not hesitate. If he dared to block the way, even his own son would be killed. Wang Yu was imprisoned for this, and died in prison shortly afterwards. His pregnant wife was also executed by Wang Mang (killed only after giving birth). .Even his own son was killed, not to mention the others. Taking advantage of this matter, Wang Mang began to set up a large prison, first arresting his son's teacher Lu Jian and others, and then arresting the former general He Wu who was loyal to the Han Dynasty , Hu Qiang Duwei Xin Zun, Hangu Duwei Xintong, Shuiheng Duwei Xin Mao, Nanyang Taishou Xinbo, many of these people were old friends of Wang Mang, but in order to seize power, Wang Mang's six relatives did not recognize them, and these were the first batch. Most of the officials arrested were in charge of military power in the Guanzhong area and even in Chang'an. The purpose of getting rid of them was to further control the power.After that, Wang Mang extended his tentacles to the Liu family, including Princess Jingwu, the younger sister of Emperor Han Yuan, Liu Li, King of Liang, and Liu Ren, King of Ahou, who were also forced to commit suicide one after another. The opposition was wiped out, and the Empress Dowager Wang Zhengjun was therefore unable to contend with Wang Mang. Afterwards, Wang Mang turned his daughter into a queen, and himself became the head of the country.Obtained an unprecedented official position in the history of the Han Empire - Shanggong.Wang Mang was not satisfied, he then poisoned Emperor Han Ping, and made the two-year-old little emperor "Ruzi" Liu Ying emperor.At this time, Wang Mang was already the actual ruler of the Han Empire, and the change of dynasty was the last step left. Wang Mang's seizure of power, like the palace coups of previous dynasties, started with superstition as propaganda.In 8 A.D., at that time, villagers in Zitong County forged a copper chamber, on which it was stated that Liu Bang issued the "Book of Heaven", and appointed Wang Mang to replace the Han Dynasty and establish a new dynasty.This matter hit Wang Mang's heart, he went to the ancestral temple to offer sacrifices, and set a date for the change of dynasty.On New Year's Day of the following year, Wang Mang officially announced the abolition of the Han Dynasty, changed the name of the country to the "New" Dynasty, and officially became the founding emperor of the new dynasty. In desperation, he threw the Chuanguo Yuxi to him, and a corner of the Chuanguo Yuxi of the Han Empire was dropped.After becoming an emperor, he naturally had to establish a prince. Two of Wang Mang's four sons were killed by Wang Mang himself. Became a prince.Liu Ying, the deposed emperor of the Western Han Dynasty, was canonized as "Prince Anding" and took the Shandong Plain as his fiefdom. The subjugated king of the Western Han Dynasty was only 5 years old at this time, and he lived in the Shandong Plain, serving the ancestral temple, and lived for another 16 years.Until the demise of the new dynasty, he died at the hands of Gengshi Emperor Liu Xuan, who was also of the Liu family. Wang Mang treated the last emperor of the previous dynasty fairly kindly. In the early days of Wang Mang's usurpation, the whole country really supported it. One was that the people of the Western Han Empire lost all support and the tyranny continued. It was indeed at the end of their lives. The other was that Wang Mang was a very well-known figure at that time, especially the Confucian scholars at that time. I believe that Wang Mang can remove the old and bring forth the new, creating a new prosperity.Wang Mang himself planned to do the same. After he ascended the throne, he also launched a "New Deal". This is the famous Wang Mang reform in history. The main content of Wang Mang's reform is "returning": first, to restore the well field system in the Western Zhou Dynasty, prohibit land sales, curb land mergers, and stipulate the maximum number of acres of land for landlords, and the excess fields should be allocated to landless farmers for farming The second is to prohibit the trading of slaves and maidservants; the third is to engage in "state-owned enterprises" and bring the three operating rights of salt, iron and wine back to the state; the fourth is to restore the control of ancient times.As we all know, the result of these four reforms is to cause chaos in the world, so why is this happening? When people talk about Wang Mang's reforms, later generations always say "historical retrogression" across the board, but judging from the situation at that time, these reform measures by Wang Mang were originally intended to change the social crisis at the end of the Western Han Dynasty.The two major social crises faced by the end of the Western Han Dynasty were serious land annexation and a decrease in national agricultural taxes;The country has no money and the people are angry. If there is no reform, there will be chaos. The key is how to change.Wang Mang’s four reforms were wrong. The first one was to restore the well field system. This was not only his point of view, but also the point of view of many Confucian scholars at that time. At that time, a mainstream view of Confucianism was that the well field system in ancient times was good, and the modern land system was good. Bad, a land system where everyone has land to cultivate is the best.Wang Mang’s original intention to curb mergers was not wrong, but the well field system is not so easy to restore. You said that land sales are prohibited, so the tax-heavy self-cultivated farmers could obtain economic benefits by selling their land, but now even this last way of survival is also broken. , of course not.As for the land of the big households, they are of course opposed to land trading, and they have various ways to conceal the land. The so-called maximum acre limit is just a dead letter.As for the prohibition of buying and selling slaves, this is also unrealistic. Slaves are the private property of big families. Since the land can be concealed, the number of slaves can also be concealed. Moreover, being a slave at that time was also a way out for many landless peasants. Their way of life was also cut off.Bringing all kinds of management rights to the central government was done by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, but Wang Mang didn't know how to manage them, nor how to get benefits from "state-owned enterprises". .In order to give ordinary people opportunities for development, Wang Mang also set up a "national credit system", that is, ordinary people can borrow from the government and repay them within a specified time. This seems to be very progressive, but it is actually a big mistake. , Borrowing by the government can only become a means for officials to deprive the people, because they can arbitrarily raise interest rates and collect a large amount of extra repayments from the people.As for the fourth item, it is formal and has no practical significance, so the so-called reform is a change for nothing. But during Wang Mang's period, the four reforms still worked—bad ones.Because of the prohibition of land trading, a large number of local landlords concealed their land, and the self-cultivators were impoverished, resulting in serious damage to production and a sharp drop in national tax revenue; because of the prohibition of slavery trading, a large number of peasants could not even work as slaves, so the only way out was to rebel; the government set up state-owned enterprises , deprived the interests of merchants, and stimulated the price of goods. As a result, the price of goods soared, not only did the people have a hard time, but also officials and landlords.In order to make up for the financial crisis, Wang Mang reformed the currency system four times. In fact, he used inflation to increase income. The increase in national income made the common people unable to live. If they could not live, they could only rebel. And Wang Mang himself was almost on the verge of collapse. First, Wang Mang's general Zhen Xun rebelled, and then Wang Mang's grandson Wang Zong rebelled. Although he was suppressed, Wang Mang never trusted anyone from then on, and the rebellion was not far away.Wang Lin, the crown prince established by Wang Mang, tried to replace Wang Mang on his own because he had an affair with Wang Mang's lover Yuan Bi, and was finally abolished as the crown prince and committed suicide. So far, three of Wang Mang's four sons died in his own hands.During this period, peasant uprisings broke out everywhere, and clans surnamed Liu also rose up one after another, and the world fell into chaos.In 23 A.D., the Green Forest Uprising Army, which supported the Liu clan Liu Xuan as the emperor, broke through Chang'an on October 1. After two days of bloody battle, Wang Mang never broke through the siege. He was finally killed by Chang'an businessman Du Wu, and then was killed by the rebel army. The new dynasty, which was chopped into meat sauce and caused great chaos in China, died after only 15 years. For Wang Mang, the world said that he is a foolish king, but judging from his various performances before he ascended the throne, his deep scheming and long-term forbearance are indeed in stark contrast to his ridiculous policies after he ascended the throne. In fact, the root of Wang Mang's tragedy lies in It's a matter of school.Wang Mang grew up under the influence of Confucianism. In fact, his policy program was more based on the content of the Western Han Confucian school at that time. His well field system and other content were actually the main views of the Confucian conservatives in the late Western Han Dynasty.And Wang Mang himself has no doubts about his reform measures.In terms of personality, the scheming Wang Mang also has a "naive" side in his personality. He is a rare emperor in Chinese history who loves science. During his reign, he organized the first flight test in Chinese history. That is to say, people wear clothes that resemble the wings of a big bird and try to fly in an attempt to form the earliest "air force" in human history. However, when the national economy is facing collapse and food is in short supply, Wang Mang even organizes manpower to conduct food experiments in an attempt to To study whether such things as straw and soil can be transformed into food for ordinary people.Many of these things were used as jokes by later generations.In fact, Wang Mang himself firmly believed in the Confucian beliefs he had learned since he was a child. In the spring of 23 AD, he led all the officials to organize a "crying for heaven" ceremony, praying to heaven, and shouting that all sins are his own, don't harm The common people cried their noses and tears all day, and even cried blood in the end, but God still didn't help him in the end, because history never believed in tears.