Chapter 72 71 Huo Guang Assistant Government

In order to defeat the Xiongnu and gain access to the Western Regions, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, coupled with his extravagant life, liked to talk about ostentation, and was also superstitious about gods. He spent a lot of manpower and material resources on building projects year after year.For many years, the money and food accumulated during the time of Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing were almost spent. In order to make money, he reused cruel officials, increased taxes and donations, and even allowed rich people to pay for titles and sell official positions. When these people became officials, of course they had to hunt down the common people desperately. Coupled with floods and droughts, the people were forced to live in hardship, and a large number of farmers in various places rose up to rebel against the government.

It was not until the last few years of his reign that he decided to stop using troops, and advocated improved farm tools and farming techniques.He also went to the field himself, pretending to be a farmer, and ordered officials all over the country to encourage farmers to increase production.In this way, the country gradually stabilized. In 87 BC, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty fell ill and died.Emperor Han Zhao who came to the throne was only eight years old.According to the instructions of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty before his death, General Huo Guang was to assist him. Huo Guang mastered the power of the court and helped Emperor Han Zhao continue to adopt the policy of recuperation, reduce taxes, reduce labor, and manage state affairs well.

However, several ministers in the court regarded Huo Guang as a thorn in their side and had to get rid of him. General Zuo Shangguan Jie wanted to marry his six-year-old granddaughter to Emperor Han Zhao to be his queen, but Huo Guang did not agree.Later, with the help of Emperor Zhaodi's sister, Princess Gaichang, Shangguan Jie made his granddaughter the queen.Shangguan Jie and his son Shangguan An wanted to seal a person close to the eldest princess as a marquis, but Huo Guang refused no matter what. Shangguan Jie, father and son, and Princess Gai all regarded Huo Guang as a thorn in their side. They colluded with Yan Wang Liu Dan and tried every means to frame Huo Guang.

When Emperor Zhaodi of the Han Dynasty was fourteen years old, Huo Guang once inspected the Habayashi Army (the emperor's Imperial Guard) and transferred a school lieutenant to his general's mansion.Shangguan Jie and the others seized these two incidents, forged a memorial to the King of Yan, and sent a confidant who pretended to be an envoy of the King of Yan to Emperor Han Zhao. The letter roughly said: When General Huo Guang inspected the Habayashi Army, the horses and chariots he sat in were the same as those of the emperor.He also made his own claim and called the captain.There must be a conspiracy here.I am willing to leave my fief and return to the capital to defend the emperor, lest bad people make trouble.

Emperor Zhao of the Han Dynasty received the memorial, read it again and again, and put it aside. The next day Huo Guang was going to the palace for an audience. He was so frightened that he did not dare to enter the palace when he heard the news that Liu Dan, the King of Yan, had written to him. Emperor Zhao of the Han Dynasty ordered his servants to call Huo Guang in.As soon as Huo Guang entered, he took off his hat and fell on the ground to apologize. Emperor Zhao of the Han Dynasty said: "Although the general wears a good hat, I know that someone intends to frame you." Huo Guang kowtowed and said, "How did Your Majesty know?"

Emperor Han Zhao said: "Isn't this very clear? The general inspected the Yulin Army near Chang'an, and the call of the school lieutenant was the most recent thing. It took less than ten days. King Yan is far away in the north. How can he know these things? Even if he knows I wrote the memorial and sent it right away, before I got here in time. Besides, if the general really wants to rebel, he doesn’t need to rely on a school lieutenant. This is obviously someone who wants to frame the general, and the memorial of King Yan is a forgery. " After hearing this, Huo Guang and other ministers all admired the intelligence of the young Han Zhaodi.

Emperor Han Zhao lowered his face, and said to the ministers: "You have to arrest the person who sent the false memorial for questioning." Shangguan Jie was afraid that Emperor Zhao would investigate closely and their conspiracy would be exposed, so he said to Emperor Han Zhao, "Your Majesty don't need to pursue such trivial matters." From here on, Emperor Zhao of the Han Dynasty became suspicious of Shangguan Jie and his group. Shangguan Jie and others did not stop there, they secretly agreed that Princess Gaichang would come forward to invite Huo Guang to drink.They set up an ambush and planned to stab Huo Guang to death when he was going to the banquet, and sent someone to inform Yan Wang Liu Dan to come to the capital.

Shangguan Jie also planned to depose Emperor Zhao after killing Huo Guang, and let him be the emperor himself.Unexpectedly, someone had already leaked this secret to Huo Guang. Huo Guang hurriedly reported to Emperor Han Zhao.Emperor Zhaodi of the Han Dynasty ordered Tian Qianqiu, the prime minister, to send troops quickly to arrest Shangguan Jie and his gang and execute them. Emperor Zhaodi of the Han Dynasty fell ill and died at the age of 21 without children.Huo Guang listened to other people's opinions and made Liu He, the grandson of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the king of Changyi, the emperor.Liu He was originally a libertine. He brought more than 200 cronies from Changyi (now southeast of Juye, Shandong), and ate, drank and had fun with them every day. He made 1,127 pieces in only 27 days since he took the throne. Things that shouldn't be done made the palace a mess.

After discussing with the ministers, Huo Guang and the ministers jointly wrote a letter, asking the empress dowager to issue an edict to abolish Liu He, and set up Liu Xun, the great-grandson of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, as Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty.