The anecdote of Xiahou Sheng's characters
In fact, Hong Fan's biography has no direct logical connection with real politics. The so-called "bad people cut meat" is "timely", not necessarily. Where is Hong Fan's story so magical? Xiahou Sheng was more or less aware of the opportunity of state affairs, and then expressed it in Confucian classic language. The emperor really doesn't care about state affairs. It hasn't rained for a long time. There is indeed such a sentence in the scriptures, which is honest and impeccable as a timely warning for courtiers. However, the climax of Xiahou Sheng's life is yet to come. After Xuan Di acceded to the throne, he wrote a letter, saying that Liang Wudi's merits and achievements were prosperous, and he could not do all the propaganda. If he wants to build a temple for him, he will let his ministers discuss it. Xiahou Sheng is really not afraid of death. Huo Guang, out of his love for talents, regarded him as a hero who established a new king. In fact, he is suspected of leaning towards the king of Changyi. This kind of person is feared by the new king. He seems to be a man with his tail between his legs. Unexpectedly, he stood up and criticized Emperor Wudi: "Although Emperor Wudi had the merits of conquering four foreigners in the east and expelling the territory, he killed many scholars, exhausted the people's strength, wasted the world, was displaced and lost half." Locusts have grown up, naked for thousands of miles, or people eat people, and the stock has not recovered so far. It is not appropriate to build temples for the benefit of the people. "Gong Qing said with a grain of salt," this imperial edict, too. "The implication is that this matter has been decided by the emperor and cannot be criticized by courtiers. Xiahou Sheng replied, "Imperial edicts are not available. The friendship between a man and a priest should be outspoken. The discussion has been exported, although I have no regrets. Xiahou Sheng was immediately imprisoned, and Prime Minister Ba Huang was also imprisoned for conniving at Xiahou Sheng. In prison, Xiahou Sheng also taught Confucian classics to Ba Huang, and they enjoyed it, showing their enthusiasm for giving lectures. Later, because of the earthquake in 49 counties of Kanto that day, the two men were pardoned and went out to continue to be officials. According to Hanshu, Xiahou Sheng is "simple and upright, simple and dignified" and "when he sees the time, he is king, and the word is wrong"-in front of Xuan Di, he is called by his first name. But he is also very wise, so he doesn't mind that there will be more discussions in the future, so that he can speak freely ("Mr. Zheng Tongyan, no punishment before"). All of the above shows that I want to meet this master of Confucian classics. In May of the second year of the Western Han Dynasty (72 BC), Emperor Gaozu, who had been enthroned for less than two years, wrote a letter praising his great-grandfather Emperor Wudi in an all-round way, and invited the prime minister, the imperial censor, his ministers (hereditary Hou attacks are generally heroes or consorts, direct descendants), Wan Liangshi (senior officials earn an annual salary of Wan Liangshi) and doctors to discuss the "honorific title" and "temple music" of Emperor Wudi: filial piety and benevolence. Coordinate the melody, create music and songs, praise God, seal Mount Tai, set up a hall, celebrate the new moon, and be easy to serve colors; Open the sacred thread, respect the sages and show merits, rise and fall, and praise the next week; Prepare the ceremony of heaven and earth and broaden the road of Taoism. God reported the situation, Fu Rui responded, Baoding came out, and white phosphorus was obtained.
There are giant fish in the sea. When God and man meet, the mountain is called Long Live. Merits and deeds are flourishing, which cannot be declared, but the temple is not called, and I mourn for it. (Emperor Xiaowu personally practiced benevolence and righteousness, strengthened military power, marched into the Xiongnu in the north, and made his leader Khan flee to a distant place. The ancestral hall displays the treasures captured and contributed by Fuping Qiang, Kunming, Luo Zhen, Fuyue, Dongyue, Dongping Destroyer, Gou and North Korea, and many barbarians have surrendered. He unified the melody, directed the creation of music and songs, offered sacrifices to gods, climbed Mount Tai to worship Zen, set up a hall to worship the Emperor of Heaven, changed the calendar year number, and updated his clothes and costumes. Inherit the legacy of the sages, respect the sages, reward heroes, renew the seal for the descendants of the sages after the break, and commend the descendants of the Zhou Dynasty. The ritual of worshipping heaven and earth has been completed, which has expanded the way of inheriting tradition and studying academics. His achievements have been rewarded by God, and all kinds of good omen are endless. Baoding was unearthed, Bailin was captured, giant fish were offered in the sea, and immortals appeared everywhere. Shan Ye cheered for a long time. His merits are beyond words, but there is no music commensurate with his merits in his temple, which makes his skin feel very sad and uneasy. Ministers gathered in the imperial court naturally understood the great political significance of this imperial edict, immediately expressed their heartfelt support, demonstrated the necessity and timeliness of the imperial edict in succession, and put forward the title and scheme of respecting the first emperor. Only Xiahou Sheng, the master of Changxin Shaofu (the Empress Dowager), raised a surprising objection: Although Emperor Wu had the merit of traveling around and expelling the territory, he killed many scholars, consumed all the people's wealth, wasted the world, was displaced and lost half of his things. Locusts are everywhere, thousands of miles of bare land, and people still eat people, and livestock have not recovered so far. It is not appropriate to build temples for the benefit of the people. (Although Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty had the merit of expelling the four barbarians and expanding the territory, it caused a large number of military and civilian deaths, made the people extravagant, and even exhausted the country's financial resources, emptied the national treasury, displaced the people and killed half of the population. Locust plague occurred everywhere, thousands of miles naked, and even the phenomenon of man eating man appeared, which has not yet recovered. Emperor Wu has no merit and kindness to the people, and should not do temple music for him. )
This naturally caused an uproar among ministers. Although there is no reason to refute Xiahou Sheng, they all object: "This is an imperial decree!" " "Don't you dare to oppose the imperial edict?" Some kind people advised him not to risk disobeying the supreme instructions and denying the great emperor, but Xiahou Sheng was unmoved: "This imperial decree should not be carried out. The duty of a courtier is to stick to the truth and be outspoken, not to obey the emperor's will in order to please him. My words have been exported and I will never take them back, even if I die. " In order to resolutely safeguard the emperor's authority and carry out the imperial edict to the letter, Prime Minister Cai Yi and Tian Guangming, the ancient scholar, took the lead in denouncing Xiahou Sheng's crime of "criticizing books and destroying the former dynasty", which was characterized as "great rebellion"; He also exposed Ba Huang, the prime minister's long history (secretary-general of the prime minister's office), who knew Xiahou Sheng's views in advance and did not report them, and was guilty of shielding and encouraging them; Both of them were arrested, imprisoned and sentenced to death. After this turmoil, the ministers carried out the imperial edict with greater enthusiasm, and soon drew up a plan: the temple name of Emperor Chun Wu was Sejong Hall, in which the dance music of Shengde, Shi Wen and Five Stars was played, which was always enshrined in front of the people of the whole country and passed down from generation to generation because of his great achievements. Forty-nine counties and countries visited by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty before his death (about half of all counties and countries in China) have established Shizong Temple, just like Gaozu (Liu Bang) Temple and Taizong (Heng) Temple. Among the six emperors in the Western Han Dynasty before Xuan Di, Emperor Wu was the third emperor who enjoyed a special status. Xuan Di immediately approved it and ordered it to be implemented nationwide. In order to celebrate this important decision, adult men all over the country were specially awarded first-class titles, and wine and meat were given to the people to celebrate the whole world. However, Xuan Di, Emperor Gaozu of Han Dynasty, did not execute Xiahou Sheng and Ba Huang for treason and enslavement of three clans as usual, but was imprisoned for a long time, and Xiahou Sheng and he did not change his position at all. Xiahou Sheng is a famous Confucian scholar. Ba Huang demanded an education in prison. Xiahou Sheng refused, saying that we were all capital crimes. Ba Huang quoted Confucius as saying, "He who listens to the Tao dies in the evening." Xiahou Sheng was deeply moved and has been teaching him. Two years later, earthquakes occurred in 49 counties in Kanto, causing landslides, wall houses collapsed and more than 6,000 people died. Xuan Di declared amnesty while wooing, Xiahou Sheng and Ba Huang were released, and were appointed as remonstrating officers (the emperor was close to remonstrating officers, the imperial court minister) and Yangzhou secretariat (Yangzhou regional supervision) respectively. This reveals the subtle attitude of Xuan Di, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, and also shows that the background of discussing temple music by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty is not so simple. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was Xuan Di's great-grandfather, but Xuan Di's grandparents and parents died at the hands of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, and Xuan Di himself was almost killed in infancy. Xuan Di's grandfather Herry Liu is the eldest son of Emperor Wu. Although Emperor Wu ascended the throne in his teens and had many concubines, it was not until the age of 29 that Mrs. Wei gave birth to Herry Liu, and she was overjoyed. Mrs Wei was immediately made queen, and Liu Zhi was made crown prince at the age of seven. Liu/kloc-was admitted at the age of 0/6, and soon gave birth to great-great-grandson Liu Jin (stone). In the second year of Zhenghe (9 1 first year), Mrs. Shi Wang was born and was called the great-grandson of the emperor. The 66-year-old Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty lived under one roof for four generations, which was really unusual among the emperors of the Western Han Dynasty, and even among the emperors of past dynasties.
But just a few months after Xuan Di was born, an event that shocked the ruling and opposition parties happened. Because Jiang Chong's minions made mischief, the sick and suspicious Emperor Wu actually believed his bizarre rumor that there was a huge "witchcraft" conspiracy group from the imperial court to the harem, trying to murder him through witchcraft curse. After Liang Wudi killed Wu Jian's father and son, two princesses and Wei Ruyun's nephew, Jiang Chong expanded his investigation to the palace. It is said that the child molester was dug up and cursed in the womb. At that time, Emperor Wu was in Ganquan Palace, hundreds of miles away from Chang 'an, and even the queen could not be contacted. The prince panicked, fearing that he could not defend himself to Emperor Wu. He decided to take the initiative, falsely spread Liang Wudi's will and kill Jiang Chong and his gang. Prince sent his troops in the name of pacifying Jiang Chong rebellion, and Prime Minister Liu Qu? Hug? After the defeat, he escaped from Chang 'an and Wei Ruyun committed suicide. The prince committed suicide when he was rounded up in Huxian county. Shi and several other children of the prince were killed, only the baby was left, and he was also locked up. Shortly before the death of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Mr. Feng Shui told him that Chang 'an's prisons were full of emperors, and Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent messengers to all prisons to kill all prisoners, regardless of weight. The messenger arrived in the middle of the night, and Li Ji, who was in charge of this case, closed the door and wouldn't let him in, which saved Xuandi's life. Since then, Xuan Di has been living among the people. At the age of eighteen, he was made emperor by General Huo Guangli. Although the great-grandfather who had never met actually killed his family, he was the source of the throne and power. Among the six sons of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, except the eldest son (Prince), Wang Hong, Dan and Changyi? M is dead, and Guangling Wang Xu is still alive. When Emperor Zhao died, ministers once advocated the establishment of Guangling King, which was rejected by Huo Guang on the grounds of "immoral behavior" and established Changyi Wang He (Liu? M's son). When King Changyi was abolished, there were quite a few grandchildren and great-grandchildren of Emperor Wudi. If the selection scope is expanded beyond the first part of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, there will be more suitable candidates in Liu Zongshi, which is nothing more than the reason why it cannot be established. As far as "xian" is concerned, there is nothing to praise for living among the people all the time. Even in his biographies for later generations, he can only cite the fact that he has studied the Book of Songs and that he is "eager to learn". But he had to admit that he "likes being a ranger and has been humiliated in Lianshao County. It seems that at least some street hooligans are used to it. Therefore, his only advantage is the great-grandson of Emperor Wu, and everything can not be separated from the influence of Emperor Wu. If he denies Emperor Wu, his own orthodoxy will be lost. Therefore, Xuan Di can not only criticize Emperor Wu, but also praise his achievements, give him the greatest respect and safeguard his absolute authority.
As usual, after Xuan Di acceded to the throne, he wanted to commemorate his father. But when he asked the relevant departments to determine posthumous title's "old crown prince", the result was still a "crime". "The criminal prince" means "the wronged prince". This is because although Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty knew the innocence of the prince before his death, he never rehabilitated him, and ministers did not dare to change it rashly. Xuan Di can only accept the grievances left by the first emperor, because if he wants to maintain the banner of Emperor Wu, he can no longer set a standard of right and wrong, even though it concerns his grandfather and father. Another important constraint on Xuan Di is General Huo Guang. On the deathbed of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Huo Guang was accompanied by Jin Ri, Shangguan Jie and Sang Hongyang, but Jin Ri was soon shot to death. Shangguan Jie and Sang Hongyang were both killed for treason, and Huo Guang became the only minister who cared about life. After the death of Emperor Zhao, Liu He, the king of Changyi, was established, and soon the king was abolished and established again. The final decision was made by Huo Guang. By the time Xuan Di ascended the throne, Huo Guang had been in office for 15 years. In such a powerful, powerful, in fact, has the highest power, and even can kill the emperor's "general" under the protection of Xuan Di's situation and mentality, it is conceivable that the subaltern who has no political capital and personnel foundation directly ascended the throne. At the beginning of Xuan Di's accession to the throne, he was going to visit the Gaozu Temple, and it was Huo Guang who stood in his car as a guard. Xuan Di was nervous and afraid, "as if there was a thorn in his back". Xuan Di had previously married Xu Guanghan's daughter and gave birth to a son (Yuan Di), but Huo Guang wanted to marry his youngest daughter, and ministers had begun to establish the queen's opinion. Xuan Di didn't dare to confront openly, so he wrote an imperial edict and found the sword he had used before. Ministers understood his real meaning and suggested that Xu Shi be the queen. Traditionally, Xu Guanghan should be named Hou. It took Huo Guang more than a year to name him Chang on the pretext that he was castrated and should not be the Lord of Hou. When you regenerate later. Huo Guang's wife ordered a female doctor to poison her, but Huo Guang's daughter became a queen. After Xuan Di acceded to the throne, Huo Guang once said that he would pay a receipt to the regime. Of course, Xuan Di dare not accept it. After some humility, he ordered that Huo Guang should be informed of everything before the fight. Every time Huo Guang appeared in front of the imperial court, he declared that the imperial city was trembling and humble to the extreme. Xuan Di naturally won't forget the fate of King Chang Yi. Whether he is "virtuous" is actually decided by Huo Guang, and the only thing that Huo Guang can't deny is the great-grandson status of Emperor Wu. Huo Guang's power was also granted by Emperor Wu before he died, so the higher the banner of Emperor Wu, the safer his position will be. In fact, in his later years, the dissatisfaction of his subjects was quite serious. Emperor Wu had to write a letter to himself to ease the contradiction. At the Salt and Iron Conference held in Zhao Di's sixth year (the first 8 1 year), more than 60 virtuous and insightful people selected from all over the country recounted the sufferings of the people and had a heated debate with the imperial historian Sang Hongyang. Good people's literature severely criticized Wu Dai's policies of salt and iron official camp, tax corvee, Xiongnu's use of troops and territorial expansion. Not to mention that they scolded Qin Shihuang a lot, they actually referred to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, and even directly accused Emperor Wu of being very sharp. Morality and literature are so important, of course, with the acquiescence or support of the ruling general Huo Guang. This is not that Huo Guang intentionally betrayed Emperor Wu, but that the country is in urgent need of rest, and it has reached the point where the policy of Emperor Wu must be changed. Xuan Di, who came from the folk and was closely related to the lower class, could not help but know the consequences left by Emperor Wu, so he praised Emperor Wu again and set up a temple music, but he had to do it.
Although Xiahou Sheng strongly criticized Emperor Wu, he did not deny his achievements of "cooperating with the four barbarians and expanding the territory". However, the sins of Emperor Wu he listed are also ironclad facts, and even the ministers who undertook imperial edicts in the Qing Dynasty could not defend Emperor Wu. The fact that he cited "killing many people, exhausting people's wealth and using it, extravagance and extravagance" can also be said to be a common problem. Besides, which emperor doesn't kill people and is not extravagant? "Locusts are everywhere, thousands of miles of bare land, or people eat people" can be explained by "natural disasters continue"; But the hardest thing to pass the buck is that "things are half dead." If half the people in a society die, where is the wisdom and greatness of the rulers? What Xiahou Sheng said is true or not, which has not been seriously researched for more than two thousand years, and some people in contemporary times disagree. I did some research when I was writing Population Geography of the Western Han Dynasty, and found that the population loss during the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was far from half, but it was extremely serious. During the fifty-four years of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the population maintained normal growth in only seven years (about seven thousandths per year), which was lower than the normal growth in twenty-one years, and the population decreased or did not increase in twenty-six years. Moreover, the main cause of mass deaths is not natural disasters, but man-made disasters. Of course, some wars launched by Emperor Wu were necessary and forced, such as fighting back against the invasion of Xiongnu, and then taking the initiative to attack and destroy the effective forces of Xiongnu; But some of them are unnecessary and completely avoidable, even just to satisfy personal desires. For example, fighting in Dayuan, far away from Central Asia, is to plunder famous local horses and take the opportunity to make Li Furen's younger brother Li Guangli do meritorious service. But no matter what kind of war, it will cause a lot of population losses, not to mention too big and too frequent. The impact of the war is not only the direct casualties of the population, but also the reduction of manpower and animal power used in agricultural production. At that time, most of the battlefields were in distant frontiers, even as far away as Fergana Valley in Central Asia, but all the food and materials needed were shipped from the eastern foot of Taihang Mountain. Sometimes the casualties of transport personnel or livestock teams consume the vast majority, and only a few tenths of the grain is transported to the destination. In wars, hundreds of thousands of animals are often requisitioned and used up. For example, in the fourth year of Yuanshou (before 1 19), Wei Qing and Huo Qubing recruited Xiongnu. 140,000 horses accompanied the fortress, but less than 30,000 horses returned; For another example, when Li Guangli sent troops to the Western Regions in the third year of Taitai (the first year of 102), there were hundreds of thousands of people, including 30,000 cows and 30,000 horses, and tens of thousands of other large animals. Only more than 10,000 people and more than 1,000 horses can return to Yumenguan in the second year.