Loyal Huo Zimeng
Emperor Zhao was young, and the real power in the court was Huo Guang.
Huo Guang's birth date is unknown, his courtesy name is Zimeng, and he was born in Pingyang, Hedong (now southwest of Linfen, Shanxi) in the Western Han Dynasty. He is the half-brother of Huo Qubing, the famous hussar general. He followed his elder brother Huo Qubing to the capital when he was a teenager.
Huo Guang's father, Huo Zhongru, once served as an official under the Marquis of Pingyang. He had an affair with the Marquis of Pingyang's maid Wei Shaoer and gave birth to Huo Qubing. After returning home, he married a wife and gave birth to a son, Huo Guang. It was not until Huo Qubing became a general in the capital that he learned that his biological father was Huo Zhongru. At the age of twenty-one, Huo Qubing had already made military exploits. As a hussar general, he led his troops to attack the Huns. When he passed by the east of the river, he recognized his father and purchased a large area of land, real estate and slaves for him. At that time, Huo Guang was only more than ten years old.
Huo Qubing took Huo Guang to Chang'an, placed him under his tent, and recommended him to the court as a Langguan. Later Huo Guang was promoted to the rank of minister of all Cao Cao, and served as a military adviser. The emperor soon began to pay attention to this loyal, reliable, upright and rigorous young man, and gradually placed him in important positions. Two years later, Huo Qubing died. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty had made Huo Guang his captain of the chariot, enjoying the treatment of Guanglu doctor.
Huo Guang was cautious in everything he did. As the saying goes, "Accompanying a king is like accompanying a tiger." Only such a person could have the last laugh beside the cruel and easy-to-kill Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. It is said that every time he left the palace or went down to the palace, he would start and end at fixed points. Someone had secretly followed him and made a mark. Afterwards, the calculation was accurate, which shows his prudence. These qualities of his were commended by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.
In 88 BC, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was already seventy years old. One day, Emperor Wu brought Huo Guang into the palace and gave Huo Guang a picture of "Zhou Gong carrying the princes of the dynasty on his back." The meaning of the picture pointed to the ancient Zhou Gong carrying King Xiaocheng to the dynasty. , meeting the story of the princes inheriting the throne, and finally assisting the young king to become the king. The intention is very obvious, that is, Huo Guang will assist the young master Fuling in the future just like Zhou Gong assisted the king.
Huo Guang accepted the order in the face of danger, so he naturally felt a heavy responsibility. On the one hand, Huo Guang is responsible for assisting the young master and not allowing him to make big mistakes; on the other hand, Huo Guang also needs to govern the country and maintain the stability of the world when the old emperor dies and the new emperor succeeds. In particular, we must prevent some people or families with evil intentions and the ability to oppose the current government.
The Han Dynasty paid special attention to the idea of the unity of man and nature. If auspicious clouds descended from heaven, people, from the emperor to the common people, would think that the country was lucky, the emperor was righteous, and the future would be bright; , it must be that the emperor is not governing the country properly, and disaster will occur. On this day, an unusual and strange phenomenon occurred in the sky. As a result, the people talked about it one after another, and even the ministers and officials were frightened. If things continued like this, there would definitely be trouble in the palace. Huo Guang made a quick decision and summoned the official Lang Guan who kept the imperial seal, asking him to hand over the imperial seal and keep it for his own protection in case of accidents. However, Lang Guan was also loyal to his duties, and the imperial seal represented the emperor's order. Huo Guang's move had to worry Lang Guan, fearing that he had evil intentions, so he refused to hand over the imperial seal to Huo Guang. Seeing that this man was so pedantic, Huo Guang decided to seize the imperial seal by force. Unexpectedly, this man was also a ruthless character. Seeing that the situation was not good, he held the hilt of his sword, pressed the imperial seal, and said to Huo Guang: "The head can be severed." , Blood can be shed, but it is impossible to obtain the imperial seal."
Huo Guang was so angry that he immediately turned around and left. He couldn't help but think to himself that he was the First Assistant Minister and his loyalty to the royal family was evident. This person was just a small official and he didn't trust him. He was really angry. People too. But afterwards, Huo Guang also felt that if it were him, he would definitely not give this imperial seal. If he really met someone with evil intentions, it would really not be a blessing to the country. From this perspective, Lang Guan not only had no fault, but meritorious service. The next day, Huo Guang ordered the official to be promoted two levels in a row. Huo Guang's spirit of disregarding personal grudges, doing things impartially, and making clear rewards and punishments for the court were admired by officials in the court, and his prestige increased day by day.
Huo Guang is fair and strict, and does not make any exceptions even for people who are friendly or close to him. In addition to Huo Guang, the auxiliary ministers at that time also included the chariot general Jin Rixi, the left general's servant Shangguan Jie, and the imperial censor Sang Hongyang. Among them, Jin Rixi and Huo Guang have the best relationship. In the second year after Emperor Zhao took the throne, Jin Rixi died of illness, leaving behind two sons, Jin Shan and Jin Jian. These two people were good friends who grew up with Emperor Zhao of the Han Dynasty, and Huo Guang also liked these two people better. Therefore, Emperor Zhao of the Han Dynasty decided to make these two people marquis.
According to the rules, the eldest son should inherit his father's title, and the second son Jin Jian can no longer be granted a title. Therefore, Huo Guang directly raised objections to the emperor, but the emperor disagreed. He believed that he was the emperor, and it was just a trivial matter, and there was no need to consider any rules.
At this time, the rigid side of Huo Guang's character was revealed. He said sternly: "I am familiar with the Jin family, and your Majesty is very close to his two brothers. However, I know deeply that you cannot use personal power to abolish public service, otherwise you will suffer." To the criticism of the people of the world, in addition, those who have no merit cannot be granted the title of marquis. This is the rule established by Emperor Gaozu. Although the emperor is the most respected person, he cannot abolish the rule without authorization because of his own selfishness. Otherwise, the world will be determined. There will be chaos." Upon hearing this, the emperor felt Huo Guang's sincerity and decided to give up the matter of making him a marquis. Huo Guang then took the opportunity to teach the emperor: "The people still miss Emperor Xiaowen of the Han Dynasty, Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty and the late emperors. During the Qingming Festival, many people worship them as gods at home." Emperor Zhao of the Han Dynasty didn't quite understand. He asked curiously: "Why do the people love them so much?"
Huo Guang smiled happily, turned around and cupped his hands and said: "Because they love the people like their own children and never shirk their responsibility for the affairs of the people. When they go west, the people will naturally feel reluctant to leave." So, the emperor secretly decided that he would also work hard to govern. , like the previous emperors, became an emperor admired by all people.
At Huo Guang's suggestion, the two jointly discussed four measures to appease the people: first, to investigate and punish officials who had neglected their duties; second, to ask counties and counties to recommend virtuous talents; third, to redress the grievances of those who were falsely accused; fourth, to redress the grievances of those who had been falsely accused; , to comfort the lonely and suffering poor. In order to develop agricultural production, Huo Guang sent people to various places to check the production conditions every spring plowing. The government loaned seeds and grain to poor people who were short of food and had few children.
In the autumn, he also issued an edict: "There have been many disasters in the past, but this year silkworms and wheat have been injured. Please do not accept the responsibility for raising seeds and food, and do not ask the people to pay annual rent." Return them all, and order the people to march out when the time comes, and do not come out until they stop. Those who are given to the officials in the central capital will be reduced."
In order to reform the official administration, Emperor Zhao selected and appointed talented people. The emperor issued an order: "The three assistants and Taichang will appoint two virtuous people each, and one person will be the most literary in the county. The ministers and civil nobility will be given less than two thousand stones, each with their own merits." .”
Huo Guang has always been concerned about handling the relationship between himself and the monarch since he began to serve as emperor. Otherwise, not only will your own reputation be ruined and your political opponents will take advantage of you, but you will also bring harm to the world.
When Huo Guang was in power, his biggest political opponents were General Shangguan Jie of the Left and King Liu Dan of Yan. Originally, according to the plan of Shangguan Jie and King Yan, if Huo Guang had any unruly behavior or excessive behavior when he was in power, they could legitimately "clear the emperor's side" and then depose the emperor and establish himself. It's a pity that Huo Guang's greatest strength is that he is cautious. They tried their best, but they still couldn't get any hold on Huo Guang.
Shangguan Jie felt that it was not a long-term solution to continue like this. To achieve great things, they had to use all available resources by hook or by crook, so they turned their attention to Princess Yongchang, the sister of Emperor Zhao. This man was older than Emperor Zhao, and had been favored and favored by Emperor Wu since he was a child. Although the princess is not as resourceful as Shangguan Jie and other cunning people, she is also ambitious. Therefore, Shangguan Jie and King Yan decided to establish a good relationship with the princess first, and then gradually approach the supreme power of the dynasty. Of course, contacting the princess directly would be too eye-catching, and it would be easy for Huo Guang to be on guard, and there was no guarantee that the princess would pay attention to them. Therefore, Shangguan Jie first went to curry favor with Ding, a close relative of the princess, and tried his best to seek promotion for Ding. The princess was very happy to learn about this, so she became more and more friendly to Shangguan Jie, and Shangguan Jie became close friends with Ding, the princess, and others. After the first step was completed, through his relationship with the princess, Shangguan Jie made intensive arrangements for his granddaughter to enter the palace, and eventually her granddaughter was named Jieyu. Anyone with a discerning eye can see at a glance that Shangguan Jie's move was intended to replace the status of Huo Guang and Emperor Zhao through the princess and his granddaughter.
After the death of Prince Liu Ju, King Liu Dan of Yan thought that the position of emperor must belong to him. Unexpectedly, Cheng Yaojin would show up halfway, allowing Emperor Zhao to take the lead, and he became dissatisfied. Coincidentally, Sang Hongyang, the imperial censor, was successful in managing finances during the reign of Emperor Wu. He was unwilling to live under Huo Guang, so he wanted to overthrow Emperor Zhao, drive Huo Guang out of power, and let himself and Shangguan Jie preside over national affairs. Now that Shangguan Jie has found a big tree like the eldest princess as a backer, and leaving himself alone, Sang Hongyang colludes with King Liu Dan of Yan. This formed two political forces headed by Yan Wang Liu Dan and the eldest princess.
Now that Huo Guang holds the throne, he is half as strong as any of them. Therefore, in order to achieve a common goal, these two forces have united into one force to seek political power. Naturally, the first stumbling block in seeking political power was Huo Guang. Therefore, Shangguan Jie formulated the following plans: First, use the identity of King Liu Dan of Yan to launch a coup; second, after the coup is successful, remove King Dan of Yan and abolish Chang The power of the princess is left to him alone to control the government affairs independently. Suddenly, the situation in Chang'an, the capital, was like an arrow, ready to explode.
The preparations for a coup are very complicated, and support from below is essential. The so-called lower levels are ordinary officials. If they support one party, that party can make full use of many resources, thus increasing the possibility of a successful coup. As a result, all power groups began to cultivate their own cronies.
