Chapter 20 Chapter Nineteen Ming Emperor Liu Zhuang

Liu Zhuang, Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty, whose childhood name was Yang, was the fourth son of Liu Xiu, Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han Dynasty.Born in Jianwu four years (AD 28), Jianwu fifteen years (AD 39) was granted the title of Donghai Duke, and Jianwu seventeen years (AD 41) was promoted to king.In the nineteenth year of Jianyuan (AD 43), he was ordered to be the prince and renamed Zhuang.He succeeded to the throne in the second year of Jianwu Zhongyuan (AD 57) and became the second emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty.However, Liu Zhuang's prince status and throne were not easy to come by.

Liu Zhuang, Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty, was originally the fourth son of Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu, and had his eldest son Liu Jiang on him.Liu Zhuang was born to Yin Lihua of Xinye, who was born to Guo Shi, the granddaughter of King Ding Gong.Between these two women, Liu Xiu fell in love with Yin Lihua, but at this time Yin Lihua had no child, but Guo had a boy.Considering the responsibility of inheriting the family, in the second year of Jianwu (AD 26), Liu Xiu made the Guo family the queen and made Yin Lihua the nobleman.In the same year, Liu Jiang was established as the crown prince.

The world has not yet settled down, Liu Xiu led the army to conquer Peng Chong.Yin Lihua also accompanied the army on the expedition.During the march, Yin Lihua became pregnant.In the Yuan family, Yin Lihua gave birth to a boy, who later became Emperor Ming Liu Zhuang, who was named Liu Yang at that time.This year is the fourth year of Jianwu (AD 28). Because Liu Yang was born by Yin Lihua, he was favored by Liu Xiu.When he was a teenager, he learned from Huan Rong, a master of Confucian classics. At the age of 10, he was able to recite and understand the classic "Spring and Autumn".Liu Xiu thinks his son is amazing, he is like a child prodigy.The early study and observation of government affairs by Emperor Guangwu's side added to Liu Yang's talents.In the fifteenth year of Jianwu (39 A.D.), Liu Xiu ordered an inspection of the cultivated fields and household registrations in the country, and ordered the governors and prefects to report one by one.On the day of reporting, 12-year-old Liu Yang stood behind Liu Xiu, observing the expressions of the reporting officials.Liu Xiu checked the documents carefully, flipped through them, and found this sentence in the official documents of Chenliu County: "You can ask Yingchuan and Hongnong, but you can't ask Henan and Nanyang." The officials below, everyone can't tell why.At this time, Liu Yang, who was standing behind Liu Xiu, got his father's permission, stood up and said: "Henan is the capital, and the senior officials of the central government live here; Nanyang is the hometown of His Majesty, and most of His relatives live here. Therefore The officials in charge of the inspection dare not ask more about the number of acres of land in these two places.” Liu Xiu suddenly realized, marveling at the sharp vision of a 12-year-old child.So there was a plan to take Liu Yang as the successor to the throne.

At this time, Guo Hou also increased her resentment due to falling out of favor, and satirized Yin Lihua and Liu Xiu from time to time, which further contributed to Liu Xiu's determination to abandon the elders and establish the younger ones.But the crown prince Liu Jiang was not at fault, and Liu Xiu was determined to dethrone Guo first.So in the seventeenth year of Jianwu (AD 41), Liu Xiu deposed Queen Guo on the charge of "resentment and resentment, and violated religious orders" and appointed Yin Lihua as queen.Crown Prince Liu Jiang felt that his mother had been abolished and the general situation was over, so he had to write a letter to Liu Xiu, asking to step aside and leave the vassal state.Because Liu Jiang was not at fault after all, Liu Xiu couldn't bear to approve it, and Liu Jiang asked the minister to be close to him to express his sincerity.Liu Xiu felt that the time was right, so in the nineteenth year of Jianwu (AD 43), he issued an imperial edict to make Liu Jiang the king of the East China Sea, and Liu Yang, the king of the East China Sea, as the prince, and changed his name to Zhuang.This year, Liu Zhuang was 16 years old.In the second year of Jianwu Zhongyuan (AD 57), Liu Xiu passed away, and Liu Zhuang officially ascended the throne as Emperor Ming at the age of 30.

When Liu's Han family was in the Western Han Dynasty, the power fell into the hands of foreign officials, which finally led to Wang Mang's exclusive "new" policy.After Wang Mang's reform and the subsequent social turmoil, the country's etiquette system was destroyed.Therefore, after the death of Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu, the kings and ministers came to the funeral without law, and the court was in chaos.Sitting side by side with Emperor Ming in the palace, Emperor Ming's brothers didn't take the new emperor seriously.In order to establish prestige, Emperor Ming ordered Captain Zhao Xi, who was upright, dignified, and law-abiding, to preside over the funeral.Zhao Xi lived up to his trust, entered the court with his sword in hand, and invited the kings who were sitting with Emperor Ming to come down the steps of the palace and join the ranks of ministers, so as to distinguish the difference between monarchs and ministers.And rectify the palace guard system, the kingdom officials are not allowed to enter and leave the palace casually.The order of the court gradually stabilized.In addition, Emperor Ming supervised very strictly no matter the lower-level officials around him or the important ministers such as the Sangong and Jiuqing, and whenever he made a mistake, he would be reprimanded face to face.The official administration of the Yongping Dynasty was praised by later historians.

However, his brothers were not convinced that Emperor Ming inherited the Datong as the fourth son.Emperor Ming's brother-in-law Shanyang King Liu Jing forged the handwriting of Da Honglu Guo Kuang (Empress Guo's younger brother) and wrote a letter to East China Sea King Liu Jiang, urging him to raise troops to conquer the world.Liu Jiang was a timid person, so he hurriedly escorted the envoys and the original letters to Luoyang, the capital city, and handed them over to Emperor Ming for investigation.Emperor Ming secretly found out that this letter was made by Shanyang King Liu Jing.In order not to stir up more commotion, Emperor Ming kept the case of Liu Jing a secret; Emperor Ming paid equal respect to Empress Yin and Queen Guo; Emperor Ming also cared for the former prince Liu Jiang, and treated him better than ordinary princes .In terms of personnel, Emperor Ming appointed the founding father of the country, Gaomihou Dengyu, as the Taifu, and his mother and brother, Dongping Wang Liucang, as the Hussar General. regime's stabilizing force.At the same time, Emperor Ming also issued an imperial edict, bestowing the titles of the people all over the world, settling refugees, reducing punishment, taking care of widows, widows and loneliness, easing social conflicts to the greatest extent, and consolidating his rule.

Emperor Ming did not blindly adopt a concession policy.Once his rule was consolidated, he began to severely suppress the opposition and strengthen his autocratic rule.In the thirteenth year of Yongping (AD 70), the King of Chu's British Prison dealt a heavy blow to the power of the princes and kings.Liu Ying, king of Chu, was born to Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu and Xu Meiren.Because beauty Xu was not favored, Liu Ying was also treated indifferently, and was sealed in a remote place with a small fiefdom.At that time, Buddhism was gradually introduced to China. Liu Ying became interested in Buddhism amidst all kinds of boredom. She visited Buddhism several times, hoping to protect herself with the help of Buddha's spiritual light.This year, a man named Yan Guang wrote to the imperial court to impeach Liu Ying, Wang Ping and Yan Zhong from Yuyang, etc., for making books in the name of believing in Buddhism and plotting wrongdoing.Emperor Ming received the report and immediately ordered Zongzheng (the central official in charge of royal affairs) to send personnel to investigate.The officials sent out soon reported that Liu Ying, the king of Chu, recruited cunning, fabricated prophecies, and attempted to usurp the throne. The evidence of the crime was solid.Ask Liu Ying to be sentenced to death.Emperor Ming received the report and announced that Liu Ying, king of Chu, would be deprived of his title and moved to Jing County, Danyang.Liu Ying traveled to Danyang and committed suicide.The accomplices Yan Zhong and Wang Ping confessed indiscriminately because they couldn't stand the severe torture of the guards in Luoyang Prison, implicating many innocent people.Among these people are Tunxiang Hou Gengjian, Langling Hou Zangxin, Huze Hou Deng Kui, Qucheng Hou Liu Jian and so on.The four of them were strangers to Yan Zhong and Wang Ping, and did not know each other, but at this time Emperor Ming had already poured the hatred he had forbearance against the clan kings on Chu Wangying Prison, so he did not distinguish between those recruited by Yan Zhong and Wang Ping. Whether the evidence of the crime is established or not, it will be treated poorly, and the officials below flatter their wishes, resulting in many unjust prisons.Later, under the remonstrance of the censor Shi Hanlang, Emperor Ming came to his senses, changed his course, went to Luoyang Prison to investigate the case, released more than a thousand innocent people, and stabilized the government and the public.

Liu Zhuangshao, Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty, was clever and shrewd everywhere.After he ascended the throne, he took care of the government affairs personally, asking about everything big and small.One day, Emperor Ming gave 10 bolts of silk to the envoy from the Western Regions, but Shulang, who was in charge of registration, mistakenly gave it to 100 bolts, and handed over the record to Da Si Nong for entry.Emperor Ming asked for the record book and found the mistake. He was furious and hurriedly summoned Shang Shulang to re-enter the palace. He wanted to impose a heavy punishment on the spot.Zhong Liyi, the official of Shangshutai, heard about it outside the palace, hurried into the palace, kowtowed his head and begged for mercy, saying: "A mistake is a small mistake, and it is not enough to impose a severe punishment. Lang Guan is my subordinate. If your majesty wants to punish, just punish me. It is enough to punish hundreds of officials." Emperor Ming's anger gradually calmed down.One day, Lang Guan Yaosong made a minor mistake, and Emperor Ming picked up a wooden stick and was about to beat him as punishment.Under Emperor Ming's personal government affairs and strict supervision and responsibility, at that time, the rules and disciplines were pruned, the official system was strict, and the various policies achieved a lot.

At that time, the course of the Yellow River moved southward and entered the sea from Dongwan (in today's Shandong Province).Because there is no dike restraint, the downstream often floods.In order to restore agricultural production, in the twelfth year of Yongping (AD 69), Emperor Ming ordered the famous water conservancy engineering experts Wang Jing and Wang Wu to be responsible for repairing the Yellow River.Wang Jing and Wang Wu led hundreds of thousands of migrant workers and soldiers to first use the "weir flow method" to build Junyi Canal, and then built canals and embankments for more than a thousand miles from Xingyang to Qiancheng Haikou, so as to divert the river and Bian.Constrained by newly built embankments, the Yellow River is strong enough to scour the sand and flow into the sea.After the joint efforts of the army and the people, the flood of the Yellow River was finally subdued.

In dealing with the intrusion of surrounding nomadic peoples, due to social stability and the recovery of national power, Emperor Ming changed the defensive posture of the Guangwu Dynasty and adopted an active offensive strategy.In the eighth year of Yongping (AD 65), the Northern Xiongnu cavalry attacked the counties in Hexi, burned the cities, killed and looted so many people that the gates of Hexi were closed at daytime, and the people suffered a lot.In the fifteenth year of Yongping (AD 72), the Northern Xiongnu invaded Hexi again, and coerced the small countries in the Western Regions to join them.Facing the rampant intrusion of the northern Huns, Geng Bing said: "China is wasting money, and the border is restless. The trouble lies with the Xiongnu! To fight with war is the way of a sage king." Emperor Ming agreed with Geng Bing's opinion.In that year, Emperor Ming sent Dou Gu and Geng Bing out of Liangzhou (the Eastern Han Dynasty ruled Long County, now north of Qingshui County, Gansu Province) as preparations for the Northern Expedition.In the sixteenth year of Yongping (AD 73), Emperor Ming ordered the generals to lead cavalry troops composed of the Southern Huns, Wuhuan, Xianbei and other ethnic minorities to go out to the north, which opened the prelude to the war between the Eastern Han government and the Northern Huns.During this expedition, Dou Gu went west to Jiuquan, defeated the Huyan King's tribe in Tianshan (now north of Turpan, Xinjiang), chased to Puleihai (now Balikun Lake), and occupied Yiwulu City (now Hami County, Xinjiang).

In order to consolidate the achievements of military activities, Dou Gu ordered the fake Sima Banchao and his enlisted Guo Xun to carry out diplomatic activities in the countries of the Western Regions.Ban Chao and Guo Xun led 36 people, went to Shanshan first, and killed more than 100 envoys sent by the Huns to separate the country in Shanshan, forcing the king of Shanshan to declare that he would be attached to the Han Dynasty from now on, and he would never have a second heart, and that Nazi was a quality.Ban Chao returned to the capital Luoyang with Proton, and Emperor Ming issued an edict to promote him to the rank of military commander and order him to continue to manage the Western Regions.Since then, the Western Regions have become a part of the unified empire of the Central Plains and have achieved considerable development. Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty advocated Confucianism, and he ordered the crown prince, princes and kings, the children of ministers, and the children of meritorious officials to read the scriptures.He also set up a school in Nangong for the children of his relatives Fan, Guo, Yin, and Ma, and hired brilliant scripture teachers to preach and teach.Among the "Five Classics", Emperor Ming emphasized the filial piety, advocating "governing the world with filial piety", and even ordered the soldiers guarding Qimen and Habayashi to recite the filial piety.Emperor Ming also attached great importance to the etiquette system.He personally discussed with Liu Cang, the king of Dongping, and formulated the rituals of offering sacrifices to heaven, earth and ancestors, and established a system of uniforms for emperors, princes, and officials according to their ranks. Emperor Ming also advocated respecting teachers.When Emperor Ming was the crown prince, he had studied Shangshu with Huan Rong, a doctor. After he ascended the throne, he still respected Huan Rong as a teacher.Huan Rong was transferred to Taichang with Shao Fu, and Emperor Ming often visited Taichang's mansion in person to listen to Huan Rong's lectures.The students of Huan Rong asked Emperor Ming to explain, and Emperor Ming smiled modestly and said, "Your teacher is here, you don't need to ask me." Huan Rong was over 80 years old at that time, and often could not afford to fall ill, so Emperor Ming sent an imperial physician to treat him.When Huan Rong passed away, Emperor Ming personally carried out the rituals of his disciples and made filial obedience to mourn for him.Of course, Emperor Ming did this out of the friendship between teachers and students, but more importantly, his role as an example, the purpose is to advocate a kind of atmosphere of respecting teachers and morals to the society. During the reign of Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty, Buddhism gradually spread to China.Although the Emperor Ming suppressed Liu Ying and others because of his sycophancy, he acted on his own merits. In essence, he did not object wholeheartedly, but adopted an all-inclusive policy.Legend has it that Emperor Ming once slept and dreamed of a tall golden man with white light emitting from the top of his head, landing in the center of the palace.He was about to open his mouth to question, when the golden man jumped into the air with another cry and flew towards the west.After waking up from the dream, I couldn't figure it out.During the court meeting the next day, Emperor Ming explained what he had seen in his dream to his officials, but most of them did not know the reason.Dr. Fu Yijin said: "I heard that there are gods in the west, and they are called Buddhas. Buddhas have Buddhist scriptures, so they have Buddha capitals. In the reign of Emperor Wu Yuanshou, General Huo Qubing attacked the Huns and captured 12 golden men enshrined by King Xiutu. , placed in the Ganquan Palace, burning incense as a gift. After a long war, the 12 golden men have long since disappeared. What your Majesty dreamed today may be the phantom of the Buddha!" ​​The words aroused Emperor Ming's curious thoughts, so he sent his doctor Cai Yinxi Go to Tianzhu and ask for Buddhist scriptures.Cai Yin traveled all the way and endured untold hardships. When he arrived at Dayuezhi, together with monks She Moteng and Zhu Falan of Dayuezhi, they returned to Luoyang with Buddhist scriptures on their white horses.Emperor Ming ordered the construction of Baima Temple, the first Buddhist temple in China, in the city of Luoyang to store Buddhist scriptures and teach Buddhism. In the autumn of the eighteenth year of Yongping (AD 75), Emperor Ming fell ill and died in the front hall of the East Palace in Luoyang soon after. He was 48 years old.At that time, he was buried in Xianjie Mausoleum, with the posthumous title of "Xiaoming" and the temple name of "Xianzong".