Chapter 65 Chapter 65 The Beloved Wei Qing

Emperor Xuan, who had experienced the life of the common people, was regarded as a wise emperor who acted in a special way among the many emperors during the two hundred years of the former Han Dynasty. "Why do you need so many rules!" Emperor Xuan often held a contemptuous attitude towards the red tape in the court.For him who once wandered on the verge of starvation and scrambled among the common people, the number of kowtows, the angle of knee bending, the posture of his hands, the difference between Jibai and Jibai... are all extremely boring things. Emperor Xuan believed that paying high salaries to officials who taught etiquette was a waste of public funds.

"According to the old rules, the boned meat must be placed on the left hand side, and the cut meat must be placed on the right hand side. But now those who are in charge of the imperial meal don't understand these rules. Please ask the emperor to order to restore the ancient style." A Confucian scholar said so. "Why do we have to restore the ancient style?" Emperor Xuan sneered. "This... because this is the rule of the past..." the Confucian replied. "In your opinion, it's better to have everything in the past, isn't it?" "Yes, indeed."

For Confucians, the past is an ideal era, and recalling the past is the ultimate good, and it is also something that everyone must do.No one should have any doubts about this.The Confucian was surprised by Emperor Xuan's question for a while. "Since this is the case, why don't we just go back to the original? People in ancient times ate with their hands. When the palace holds a banquet next time, I will forbid everyone to use bowls, plates and chopsticks. How about that?" Emperor Xuan said these words in a sarcastic tone. "This……" The Confucians were at a loss for words.

"Such a thing can't be done, can it! Then you should never bring up the restoration of the ancient style again!" Emperor Xuan said in a decisive tone. The position of the meat is different depending on whether it is bone-in or not--isn't it a waste of time to care about such things?When Emperor Xuan heard this kind of advice, he would raise an unknown fire, and think of the common people who had been with him. ——What is it for people to survive, the Confucianists in the world don't know it at all. Emperor Xuan is not only angry now, but also feels abhorrence towards Confucians.

"Everything in the world has order, and of course people need it even more." Once, when Emperor Xuan wanted to ask a question and was about to summon an official with a lower status, a Confucian objected. "Okay," Emperor Xuan said, "I want to redefine this order. This new order will be based on whether it is useful or not." Emperor Xuan demoted the Confucian who raised the issue of order to a humble position that could not be promoted to the palace, and promoted the small official who wanted to inquire into an admonishing doctor with a salary of eight hundred stones.

Since the Huo clan was destroyed and Emperor Xuan came to power with his own will, officials of the Confucian system were retired one by one, and Legalists—that is, realist practitioners—were continuously employed. People in politics, literature, and jurisprudence can give full play to their abilities and skills. As for craftsmen and equipment, even the later Yuan and Cheng emperors are far behind. "Hanshu" commented on Emperor Xuan in this way, and concluded that "it can be said to be revived". And such Emperor Xuan also has troubles. What bothered him was Crown Prince Seok.

The emperor who rules the world must be more realistic than anyone else.In addition, when necessary, the emperor had to sacrifice personal relationships.The reason why Emperor Xuan himself made Wang, who was not in his favor, the queen, was because she did not have children.If a childless woman is appointed as the queen, naturally there will be no such thing as foreign relatives controlling power. And the crown prince is all about emotion. "It was my education that failed!" Emperor Xuan deeply regretted it.The biggest failure was the appointment of Confucian officials as Shao Fu.Emperor Xuan, who hated Confucianists very much, invited a Confucian official to be his Shao Fu in order to make the crown prince educated and reasonable.

And this Confucian official not only read books to the pope and prince, but also taught him his outlook on life and other issues. "What a nosy!" Emperor Xuan, who discovered this, immediately dismissed the Confucian official, but it was too late. "You can't drive away Confucian scholars, you should use them more!" When the Confucian official was dismissed, the crown prince strongly remonstrated with his father. "What did you say!" Emperor Xuan was furious. ——What do you know, kid!When I was your age, I used to live in the back alleys of Chang’an, and I had to work like an ox and a horse every day to get food, so I really know what kind of hard life the people live, and I also fully understand what kind of politics they desire.It was for this reason that I tried my best to reject the Confucian rule that was ostentatious and capable of bluffing, and tried to use realistic administrators as much as possible.My choice is absolutely right!This kid has only read a few books, but he dares to criticize Lao Tzu, what is this!

"Hanshu" records what Emperor Xuan said in anger when he refuted the use of Confucian scholars' advice: Vulgar Confucianism is not up to date, but the past is not the present, which makes people dazzled by the name and reality, and does not know what to keep, so what is the point of appointment! Politics is the most realistic.And the Dauphin is like a lyric poet—in other words, a man of unreality.The reason why he likes Confucianism is probably because Confucianism tends to be unrealistic. The crown prince fell in love with a woman. The woman's name was Sima Liangdi. "Liang Di" is the name of a female official, referring to the prince's concubine.Taking Emperor Xuan's grandmother as an example, she was named Shi Liangdi because she was the concubine of Prince Li.

In other words, the crown prince's lover is a woman surnamed Sima, and her real name is not recorded in history books. Sima Liangdi is a very slender beauty with a look of weakness.In fact, her body was ravaged by illness.Not only the body is like this, even the nerves are also delicate and abnormal. The crown prince's harem has dozens of side chambers. The term "side room" is misleading.Generally speaking, the main wife comes first, and then the concubine. However, the power holders in this era have many concubines to serve them before deciding on the main wife. The crown prince of Emperor Xuan is no exception. Although there are dozens of concubines, the main room has not yet been decided.

Dozens of concubines are actually in name only, and the only one the crown prince loves is Sima Liangdi.None of the other women in the harem had ever slept with the crown prince, they were all virgins who stayed alone. Regarding the period when the crown prince held the "crown ceremony" (the coronation ceremony when a man became an adult), there are two reports: the third year of Yuankang (63 BC) and the first year of Wufeng (57 BC).If the former is true, the age is twelve; if the latter is true, the age is eighteen.In short, he started taking concubines, probably around the age of fifteen.In this way, by the age of twenty, one or two children should have been born. The crown prince has never had a child.In fact, this is a matter of course, because he only loves Sima Liangdi, and she is sick and weak, and cannot bear children at all. Emperor Xuan, who was anxious for his grandson, was extremely anxious about this. ——The only one I love is Qing. The crown prince with the temperament of a lyric poet must have said such a thing.I believe that Sima Liangdi must also cuddle up to him, and reply in a slender voice - I hope you don't touch women other than me. Seeing her so charming appearance, the crown prince became more emotional: "To me, you are my forever love!" As he spoke, he hugged her thin shoulders tightly. The rest of the women who were selected into the harem not only had never been favored by the crown prince, but they never even had the chance to listen to him or even be glanced at.The resentment of these dozens of virgins is naturally extraordinary. Sima Liangdi, who was extremely sensitive, fully understood the silent complaints of these women.In modern terms, it is "persecution paranoia". Sima Liangdi believed that she was getting thinner and thinner not because of illness, but because of being cursed by these harem women. "I will definitely be cursed to death by those women!" She often said things like this. The Crown Prince, who was originally irrational in character, did not regard this sentence as the delusional ravings of a seriously ill and mentally disturbed woman. Sima Liangdi said at the end of her life: "I definitely did not die by destiny, my life span must be longer. I hope to be by your side forever, but because of the terrible curse of the harem woman, I have to let go Returning to the West. Although I died unexpectedly, my soul will live forever in your heart, Prince." The Crown Prince burst into tears.His clenched fists trembled slightly, biting the corner of his lips, and said: "Those hateful women dare to curse the person I love most! I will hate them forever!" After the death of Emperor Sima Liang, the Crown Prince fell ill because of his grief. "What a wimp!" Emperor Xuan shook his head and said. This son is really incompetent!Can the Han Empire be entrusted to such a kid!Either he is obsessed with useless Confucianism, or he is in pain because of the death of a woman. Is this kind of son useful? "How about killing this guy?" When the crown prince made some comments on the appointment of Confucian scholars, Emperor Xuan had such an idea when he was furious. He believed that Liu Qin, born of the Zhang family and established as the king of Huaiyang, was more realistic than the crown prince despite his young age. Emperor Xuan discussed this matter with Prime Minister Huang Ba. "I intend to abolish the Crown Prince and replace him with King Huaiyang. Do you have any objections?" "Why do you do this?" the prime minister asked. "Because he is obsessed with Confucianism, and when a woman dies, she is in agony, which is out of control. I suspect that such a person is not qualified to take charge of state affairs." "Please tell me something, Rong Chen. The crown prince is indeed easy to be moved by emotions, but the prince is well educated and talented. Even if there are some shortcomings, but a person who is only over 20 years old, after training, such a The shortcomings will be corrected." "However, he has no children. In order to maintain the Han Dynasty, of course he needs to have heirs. The emperor has no heirs, this is a big problem!" "Your Highness is only in his early twenties, who says he won't have children in the future?" "He has been in contact with women for seven or eight years. If he can have children, the women in the harem should have given birth to him a few years ago!" "There are two types of people, precocious and late. How about observing for a period of time?" the prime minister said. "Okay! Let's wait another year. If there is no sign of having a child after one year, I will abolish him and replace him with King Huaiyang," said Emperor Xuan. The reason why Emperor Xuan hesitated to abolish the prince was to cut off the constant memory of the late Queen Xu.The realist Emperor Xuan shared this level of sentimentality.Empress Xu, who was poisoned by Huo Guang's wife, was a combination of Emperor Xuan and the people. This crown prince was born in the back alleys of the people.At that time, Emperor Xuan often wore only a pair of thongs, coaxing and coaxing the crown prince who was still in his infancy.Therefore, unless he had to, he couldn't bear to abolish the crown prince. Someone behind the screen heard the conversation between Emperor Xuan and the prime minister.This is not wiretapping.It is the task of this person to guard this place and wait for instructions. This person was Xu Jia, the servant on duty in the palace. In the post-Han period, most of the Zhongchangshi were served by eunuchs. In "Three Kingdoms", Zhongchangshi is almost equal to another name for eunuch.But in the former Han Dynasty, the post of Zhongchangshi was held by ordinary scholar-bureaucrats. Xu Jia is the son of Xu Yanshou who passed away last year.Xu Yanshou is the younger brother of Xu Guanghan, the father of Empress Xu.To Empress Xu, Xu Jia was a cousin, and to the crown prince, he was an uncle. "This is no small matter!" Of course Xu Jia had this idea. The reason why he was able to serve the emperor as a permanent servant and was guaranteed a promotion was because of his in-law relationship with the crown prince.Once the crown prince is deposed, he will have no relationship with the palace, not to mention promotion, it will be difficult to maintain his current position. In order to keep the crown prince from being abolished, the only way is for him to have a son within a year. However, the crown prince who lost Sima Liangdi was not close to women because of his excessive grief.In the past, Sima Liangdi was his only concubine, and he seemed to insist on this very much. She is the only woman in my heart... He often murmured like a raving. "If His Highness doesn't give birth to a son within a year, the crown prince will be abolished." Xu Jia tried to persuade him again and again, but the crown prince said with a gloomy expression: "I have no intention of being emperor at all." Xu Jia had no choice but to turn to the queen for help. As mentioned earlier, the Wang family was established as the queen because she had no children.She regarded the young crown prince as her own and raised her up.Therefore, the crown prince was very close to her and regarded her as his biological mother. If the crown prince ascends the throne, she will be able to maintain her authority in the court as the empress dowager.What will happen if the Crown Prince is abolished and King Huaiyang assumes the throne instead? The mother of Huaiyang King Liu Qin, Zhang Shi, is still alive.At that time, it is not difficult to imagine that the Zhang family will hold power in the court as the emperor's biological mother.In that situation, the Queen will have no choice but to humble herself everywhere.If so, it is bearable, but it is not impossible to be killed if it is considered to be a thorn in the back.