Chapter 11 3. The Happiness Index of the Han Dynasty People

After Li Guang returned to the team in victory, Han Xiong did not fight at halftime.However, two years later, the Huns made a comeback.In 142 BC, in the spring and the first month, the Central Plains experienced an earthquake, and the earthquake trembled three times a day.In March, the Xiongnu, like ghost wolves emerging from the ground, charged towards Yanmen County again. In the past, Zhidu guarded Yanmen, and the Xiongnu regarded it as the gate of hell, and it was too late to escape.Today, Feng Jing, the governor of Yanmen County, doesn't seem to be eating dry food, and takes the initiative to meet the Xiongnu.Unexpectedly, Feng Jingli was killed in battle with the Huns.At this time, the soldiers of the Han Dynasty came and urgently mobilized cavalry, bows and arrows to guard Yanmen.Fortunately, the Xiongnu wandered around Yanmen Pass and went back.

After the Huns withdrew their troops, Liu Qi finally breathed a sigh of relief. As everyone knows, he doesn't have much energy to spend with the Huns.In 141 BC, abnormal celestial phenomena appeared continuously in the sky of the Han Dynasty.First of all, in October in winter, a solar eclipse is followed by a lunar eclipse, and the sky is red for five consecutive days.On December 29th, the thunder roared, and the sun turned purple; what was even more frightening was that the planets in the sky seemed to have an accident due to out-of-control traffic, and one after another deviated from their orbits and scurried across the sky.

According to the above scenes, according to the habits of the ancients, there must be a big event on the ground. As soon as he finished speaking, something happened. On the twenty-seventh day of the first lunar month, Liu Qi died in Weiyang Palace.At the age of death, forty-eight years old. After the death of Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang, I did not write a summary report to him.However, for Liu Qibeng, it is very necessary for me to write him a conclusion.Because the death of Liu Qi symbolized the end of an era in the Han Dynasty, leading to the debut of another new era with drums and gongs.If we perfunctory Liu Qi, we will not be able to understand the later Liu Che, let alone understand the glorious tradition and great future of the so-called Han Dynasty.

Looking back at history, later generations call the era created by Liu Qi and his son: the rule of Wenjing.Sima Qian did not have many good words for this era, but his colleague Ban Gu called the rule of Wenjing another grand era after the rule of Chengkang in the Zhou Dynasty.In today's words, this is a happy era. In Chinese history, it seems that no good person can be a good emperor.To be a good emperor seems impossible to be a good person.Looking back on Liu Qi's life and holding his hands, you will find that these are also a pair of executioners stained with a lot of innocent blood.

Chao deserved to die for his crimes, but he was still killed by Liu Qi; Zhou Yafu was just a little bit stubborn, so he falsely accused him of rebellion; as for the eldest son Liu Rong, it is even more chilling to mention it. Fortunately, the rule of Wenjing was a warm spring in the Han Dynasty. However, the rule of Wenjing in a broad sense should not only include the terms of the two emperors.Because, although Aunt Lu Zhi took a detour in political ideology, her national policy line has not changed.Therefore, Lu Zhi, Liu Ying and others also contributed to the medal of Wenjing Zhizhi. However, in order to understand the rule of Wenjing more clearly, we still talk about time in a narrow sense.

If it starts with Liu Heng's ascension to the throne, it will end with Liu Qibeng.Then, the rule of Wenjing lasted a total of thirty-eight years.Confucius said: The dead are like husbands, never giving up day and night.In my opinion, the thirty-eight years of Wenjing is a process from chrysalis to butterfly.This pair of father and son, like giants carrying a tripod, carried the dark gate of history, allowing the beautiful butterfly of the Han Dynasty to find the dawn, smell the fragrance of flowers, and rush back to spring. Looking at Chinese history, there are two standards to measure the happiness index of ancient Chinese people: food and clothing and political clarity.It would be even more OK if the common people could have their own entertainment time and places.If the above three criteria are used to evaluate Liu Qi and his son, we can show such a score: Satisfied.

According to Sima Guang, the rule of Wenjing brought huge wealth and income to the society.First of all, the money of the Han Dynasty government was piled up in the treasury. Secondly, the granaries all over the country are full, and some places even have no place to store them, and the grain rots in the open air and cannot be eaten. Again, the common people are well off and many can afford real BMWs.I heard that as long as you are on the street, if you are riding a filly or a young horse, then you are too cheap.You must come back from a shopping trip, and no one will think highly of you again.

If an era is so good that even the common people are scrambling to compare it with BMW, I think this era must be really rich.Marx said that the economic base determines the superstructure.For ordinary people, the superstructure they care about is nothing more than social welfare and pension and medical care systems. Adding an extravagant idea, I am afraid it is the right of citizens to speak.If the people of the Han Dynasty were really upset one day and stood on the street and scolded the emperor to avoid being arrested, then the happiness index would be the envy of the gods. In fact, it is not only the extravagant imagination of the people of the Han Dynasty to completely open the right of citizens to speak, and scold whoever they like, but also the most romantic reverie of the ancient Chinese for more than two thousand years.In ancient China, especially in such a beautiful era as the rule of Wenjing, why couldn't there be a little bit of democracy.I think this is indeed a question worthy of our exploration.But this grand historical and social issue should be left to the old pedants in the ivory tower.Now, what we are most concerned about is the charm and conscience of Wenjing Zhizhi.

In my opinion, if any emperor or era wants to be glorious in the history, it is not only to solve the problem of food and clothing for the people.There is another important issue that also needs to be resolved. Guan Zhong, the father of reform in Chinese history, once said: “The barn is real and you know the etiquette, and you know the honor and disgrace if you have enough food and clothing.”In layman's terms, it means grasping material civilization and spiritual civilization with both hands, and both hands must be strong. For the people of the Han Dynasty, what is etiquette, I believe the master Shu Suntong and his disciples have explained it quite clearly to them.The so-called concept of honor and disgrace in the Han Dynasty is nothing more than suffering less crimes of flesh and blood.

Have you ever recalled that Qin Shihuang burned books and robbed Confucianism, the world's punishments were like shackles and shackles, everyone in the world had difficulty breathing, and it was difficult to move an inch.All kinds of tyranny in the Qin Dynasty are not called conscience, but black heart.When it comes time to win Hu Hai as emperor, he can even be called a wolf.However, on the contrary, since Gaozu, several emperors, including Lu Zhi, have been doing a popular project: reducing punishment. However, it was Liu Qi who could truly liberate the people of the Han Dynasty from torture.At the beginning of Liu Qi's ascension to the throne, he thought that Liu Heng had not reduced the relevant punishment enough.So he stipulated that if a criminal should be given 500 lashes, he should be given 300 lashes instead; if he should be given 300 lashes, he should be given 200 lashes instead.

However, twelve years later, Liu Qi discovered that he had not improved enough and had to continue to improve.Because those who deserved three hundred and two hundred lashes were either killed or maimed.How is this different from killing someone alive? Therefore, in 144 BC, Liu Qi issued another edict: for those who deserved 300 lashes, reduce it to 200; for those who deserve 200 lashes, change it to 100.Don't think that each is less than a hundred. If Liu Qi only changed to this step, the Han Dynasty really didn't know how many people were disabled.Why do you say that, because the problem lies in the whip and the way of playing. Before, the Han Dynasty always served criminals with big sticks, and they hit the back straight, without any discount.This way of fighting, not to mention people, even if you pull an elephant, I am afraid that it will be beaten into a disability.Ever since, Liu Qi promulgated a new law: "Whip and Stick Enforcement Law". The law stipulates that only bamboo sticks can be used for whipping (bamboo sticks are weaker than wooden sticks); the standard for bamboo sticks is one inch in diameter at one end and half an inch thinner at the end (a larger diameter means greater pressure); Only the buttocks are spanked (slaps on the back hurt the internal organs), and they are beaten to the end in one breath, and no substitutions are allowed in the middle (every fool knows that substitutions are powerful enough, and beating kills people faster). What is conscience?This is the conscience of history and the conscience of the country! If a person from the Han Dynasty stood in front of you at that time, you would ask him: Are you happy?He might answer like this: happiness. If you ask again: Where is your happiness?He would say something like this: There is food to eat, money to spend, housing to live in, low unemployment, and a BMW to drive.If you commit a crime, you will be beaten less, and you can go home after forbearance.If your hands are itchy, you can go to Yanmen County to join the army, defend your home and country against the Xiongnu. I think, just the words about the happiness index of the people of the above Han Dynasty are enough to fully explain the charm of the rule of Wenjing.In fact, the rule of Wenjing did not feed a butterfly with flower wings.It is an eagle that soars high and looks down on the world. The era created by this eagle is called: Hanwu Xiongfeng! !