The "Auxiliary Government Era" was stumbling, and it was rare to spend three years in peace. In the spring and February of the fourth year of Pingkang, a fierce political struggle once again broke out in the power center of the Han Empire. The two main parties in the struggle were Emperor Liu Wenpeng and King of Lu Liu Wen.
, the conflict revolves around the funeral of Concubine Zhe (Emperor).
Concubine Zhe, this extraordinary woman who accompanied Emperor Shizu almost all his life and witnessed the glorious and prosperous Taizong era, who was impeccable in personal morality and integrity, finally came to an end in the seventy-eighth year of her life.
Died in Fuqing Palace, Luoyang.
There is no doubt that Concubine Zhe is a virtuous concubine. Even Emperor Shizu deeply respects her, and her reputation has already spread throughout the world. And even those fleeting reputations and respects are due to her status as the biological mother of King Zhao and King Lu.
, we can know her status in the Han Empire.
At the same time, with the passage of time, Emperor Shizu's political traces became less and less, but it is an indisputable fact that he was increasingly "sacred" by the people of the world. As one of the most trusted concubines of Emperor Shizu before his death,
1. It is normal for the death of Princess Zhe to have a major impact on the imperial court.
Even the arrogant Empress Dowager Murong would not dare to be arrogant and arrogant in the affairs of the concubine. Otherwise, the two kings of Zhao and Lu, as well as the Qi and Liang dynasties of Nanyang, would not agree. With the deterrence formed by these four kings, everyone
Dare to challenge easily.
For example, Emperor Liu Wenpeng also took the imperial edict extremely seriously. He issued an imperial edict and abolished the imperial court for seven days. He also had to pray before his death, and asked ministers to discuss his posthumous honors. It was also on the issue of posthumous names that the emperor and King Lu had a dispute.
contradiction.
As the son of Concubine Zhe, Liu Ai had a high level of respect for his mother, and naturally wanted to give her the highest honor in her funeral. Instead of being posthumously named empress, she would be buried with a more respectful treatment.
Moreover, Liu Yan firmly believed that his mother deserved to be given a posthumous title. You must know that when Concubine Gao passed away, Emperor Shizu posthumously named Concubine Gao as concubine. Concubines Gao and Zhe were of the same rank, so we can make a definite inference.
What is interesting is that if a concubine dies during the time of the ancestors, the funeral affairs must be handled with "posthumous rites".
What's more, Concubine Gao is still a remarried person, while Concubine Zhe has an innocent background, has children, and serves the ancestors. How can she be inferior to Concubine Gao in terms of status and treatment? (Remarks based on this meaning spread to the Queen of Linhai in the south.
, Linhai King Liu Wenhai cursed Liu Yan and others, and later expressed his stern opposition to giving the title of Queen to Concubine Zhe.)
Of course, King Lu promoted this matter not only out of filial piety for his mother, but also for political purposes. At least, if Concubine Zhe became the "Queen Zhe", as her son, Liu Yan would
The "Prince Regent" can add another aura to his body, and combined with the "Prince + Prime Minister", the control of government affairs will be more convincing.
If King Lu wants to push back, then the emperor will naturally stop him! In the past year or so, Liu Wenpeng has been trying every means to take back his power, but he has always been hampered. And as the ministers have become more and more clear about him as the emperor, people from all aspects have
On the contrary, the resistance has strengthened.
Compared with his mother, the Empress Dowager Murong, Liu Wenpeng's methods were not much better. His moods, anger, likes and dislikes, and his straightforward character and style made it extremely difficult for the ministers of the Manchu Dynasty to adapt. Like the "Invasion of Lu Incident"
Opportunities are not so easy to come across, so more often than not, Liu Wenpeng can only deal with trivial matters.
To be fair, Liu Wenpeng had no objections to Concubine Zhe. Considering her background and experience, it wouldn't be a big deal to be given a posthumous title in ordinary times. But combined with the situation in the DPRK, considering the relationship between imperial power and ministerial power,
If you are struggling, you cannot care about face or even filial piety.
Liu Wenpeng was worried that he could not oust Lu Wang Liu Ai from power, so Liu Ai made such a move again, and Liu Wenpeng could also see the threat that "the concubine's pursuit of honor" might bring to him, so how could he allow it? Naturally, he could only firmly oppose it.
Fight back.
So, King Liu Ai of Lu reported it, and Emperor Liu Wenpeng issued an edict to discuss the matter. This discussion was a big discussion. At the same time, such discussions with obvious political struggles often failed to produce any unified results. The key lies in the two sides.
In the competition of strength and power, the final result is often judged by strength.
Facts have proved that under the current Han Empire system, and the system carefully constructed by the two generations of emperors Shizu and Taizong is still functioning normally, even an emperor who is not so good at exerting himself can set off boundless waves if he exerts his determination.
, swallowing up opponents on the way forward.
After all, King Liu Ai of Lu was not the kind of powerful minister who really had power over the government. By the fourth year of Pingkang, the effectiveness of the "Taizong's decree" was greatly reduced, and the people and voices who were dissatisfied with the ministers' control of the government became louder, almost almost
Boiling. After all, there are a lot of people who look forward to "one emperor and one courtier" and seek progress and promotion.
And Liu Wenpeng, no matter how wanton and willful he was, was still an emperor, a Han emperor with a legitimate name and a good foundation.
Therefore, at the beginning of the great discussion, King Lu, the Zhe family, and other related people made great efforts to please and actively participated in the petition. Many people supported the request, and the momentum was very loud.
However, as those who were watching the situation stopped one after another, the speculators started to wave their flags, and the opposition slowly grew.
At least, there was an upper limit to the power that Liu Yan could draw on when it came to pursuing the concubine, but on the emperor's side, the power of supporters was almost infinite. In the end, within the imperial court, except for King Lu,
Apart from those who were still persevering, the rest were in opposition. Even the Zhe family, seeing that things were not going well, stopped.
If at the beginning, the two sides discussed matters, cited scriptures, and debated around the imperial etiquette, then later on, it turned into personal attacks, old scores, and gossip. The air in the court immediately became filthy.
The nature of the matter, as the impact spread to a wider scope, went beyond the "concubine's posthumous title" itself, and completely turned into a direct conflict between the imperial power and the prime minister's power, and the "auxiliary ministers faction" and the "imperial party".
When this kind of situation appeared, King Lu's "defeat" also happened. Those who supported the emperor from top to bottom in the court may not respect him from the bottom of their hearts, but standing on the emperor's side was obviously a risk
Smaller choices. And the human nature of seeking advantages and avoiding disadvantages will also prompt them to chase the winner.
What's more, the situation within the imperial court is inherently complex, with various forces intertwined and different interests. There are those who are foolish and loyal to the emperor, those who are dedicated to the country, those who are knowledgeable, and those who are lucky enough to advance.
If you want to be promoted quickly, it is obviously easier to serve a young emperor like Liu Wenpeng.
In fact, some people are worried that a willful emperor like Liu Wenpeng stays in the supreme position, but others are also secretly happy. After all, just by being popular, you can get glory and wealth. Isn't this better than serving a diligent and wise emperor?
Is it easier to get along with those experienced ministers who seek the country?
As a result, King Liu Ai of Lu fell from power in the "Pursuit of Honor" in the fourth year of Pingkang Dynasty. This struggle between imperial power and ministerial power ended in the victory of imperial power.
Liu Yan completely lost power this time. After the "Zhe Taifei" was buried with him, he was forced to leave the court and go to the sea, and went to the Nanhai Island (Philippine Islands) to seal the country and join the country. Along with it, there was a large wave of "King Lu faction"
"Being deposed, to a certain extent, Liu Yan did not have to worry about the shortage of talents in the early days of his rule.
With Liu Wei's resignation, the auxiliary government structure that had been maintained for more than three years collapsed completely. Yongxi's auxiliary ministers, Xiang Deming, and Li Jilong were all noble factions who controlled military orders and military affairs. They basically did not participate unless necessary.
This is one of the reasons why the empire did not fall into chaos no matter how hard the central government fought.
The rest, such as Zhang Qixian and Li Hang, although they are still important ministers and scholar leaders, they have completely subdued many factions. In the final analysis, the class they represent does not occupy a core position in the ruling class of the Han Empire.
, and the reason why they were able to hold high positions and hold great power before was mainly because Emperor Shizu and Emperor Taizong needed to use them to balance the court situation and suppress the empire's huge class of nobles, nobles and military meritorious landlords to a certain extent.
One by one, the auxiliary ministers lost power, fell down, and left. The central power balance of the empire established before Emperor Taizong's death was completely broken, which represented the recovery of the imperial power belonging to Liu Wenpeng. Along with it, the power of the imperial family of meritorious officials gradually increased.
After all, with Liu Wenpeng in power, the repressive power and binding force on those with vested interests in the empire have actually been greatly reduced.
Of course, Liu Wenpeng couldn't see this. He was still immersed in the joy of defeating Liu Ai, the emperor's uncle, and for this reason, he also awarded a lot of "heroes".
For example, Wang Qinruo, the secretary supervisor who firmly supported the emperor in the great debate, was promoted to the position of minister of Zhongshu, Tongping Zhangshi, and participated in political affairs. In fact, he assumed the previous power and responsibilities of King Liu Ai of Lu. It can be said that he rose to the top in one step. Yantie envoy Dong
Yan, Jin was appointed deputy financial envoy, and other "meritorious officials" who played an important role in the process, such as Liu Gui, Wang Yue, Lin Te, Chen Xiangyu, etc., also received awards.
Compared with his father, Liu Wenpeng was much more generous in these matters. The rise of the imperial party has been unstoppable since then, and the Han Empire has truly entered the era of Emperor Pingkang.
However, while the emperor's power was being exercised with satisfaction, various contradictions were also developing. The young emperor's authority was re-established, but the imperial decrees were not as unified as before, from top to bottom, from the inside out.
Outside, there was a lot of chaos, and this was the first time in decades that such weird things happened.
Where the problem lies, it's obviously the emperor.
There is one person who must be mentioned, King Zhao Liu Fang. If anyone can say that he has the purest heart towards the concubine, he is undoubtedly him.
Because of this matter, Liu Fang became dissatisfied with the emperor for the first time. He didn't care whether the concubine could pursue the title of empress, but he used political struggle methods against Liu Wenpeng on this matter, making the concubine uneasy even after her death.
, and had to face the Manchu discussion, Liu Fang was extremely dissatisfied.
He didn't say it, but he was very angry in his heart. The same emotion was also directed at the brother of Lu Wang Liu Ai. This is why Liu Fang did not make any remarks or take any action on this matter from beginning to end.
Probably because of his guilty conscience, Liu Wenpeng remembered Liu Fang, his fourth uncle, and personally visited Liu Fang at the "Chenglu" in Mangshan, apologized for the matter, and expressed his helplessness. However, the old Zhao
Wang Liufang was deaf, blind, and slow to react, which made Liu Wenpeng return depressed.
In the autumn and August of the fourth year of Pingkang, with Zhang Qixian being deposed by Shangshu Ling, the Han Empire truly ushered in the era of Emperor Liu Wenpeng.