Liu Xun's ascension to the throne benefited from two aspects. First, Emperor Liu He's lawlessness made officials and relatives determined to depose him; second, Huo Guang and others had the strength to abolish the old and establish the new.
This change of throne went through the following steps:
1. The minister makes a suggestion and the suggestion is approved in the form of an edict.
2. Issue orders according to prescribed procedures to inform the world.
Although the recommendations were made in the name of all senior officials, there was no hope that they would win the approval of the soon-to-be-deposed emperor. So these suggestions were submitted to the Empress Dowager, who was the fifteen-year-old widow of Emperor Zhao and Huo Guang's granddaughter. Naturally, she approved the proposal of the officials headed by Huo Guang. She followed Empress Lu's approach in promulgating and approving the proposal to abdicate in the name of the Empress Dowager. Although this approach was somewhat controversial, it was possible because there were old precedents in the previous dynasty. It followed, so it was adopted by Huo Guang and others without hesitation. At the same time, the court made a rhetorical commitment to the principle of continuity and took steps to report changes in succession to the founding emperor's ancestral temple.
Therefore, Liu Xun's succession to the throne was just an attempt by the Western Han Dynasty to "abolish the old and establish the new." Even after Huo Guang's death, the Huo family tried to control the new emperor Liu Xun, but unfortunately it backfired. Since the interests of the Huo family and the current emperor conflicted, Emperor Xuan Liu Xun naturally wanted to take action against the Huo family.
Emperor Xuan's ability to become the resurgence king of the Western Han Dynasty was naturally unusual. Although he was among the people, he knew the internal affairs of the dynasty very well. For eighteen years, he has been growing up under the education of historians. Now, all he wants is a chance. However, when he first ascended the throne, the government was still firmly in the hands of Huo Guang; Huo Guang's close relatives and assistants controlled the imperial army; his son Huo Yu and grandnephew Huo Shan were the leaders of the court. Therefore, Emperor Xuan avoided his sharpness and adopted gentle methods to win over the Huo family.
It is said that Liu Xun observed the situation in the palace at that time and realized that he was likely to be promoted to the throne of emperor. However, what he was most worried about was that he would become a puppet in the future and become a tool for the Huo family to wield sole power. Therefore, he Only then did she take Xu Pingjun as his wife to prevent the further expansion of the power of Huo's relatives. Xu Pingjun's father once served Emperor Wu, and was later appointed to serve in the Changyi Kingdom where Emperor Liu He was deposed. Shortly before the death of Emperor Zhao, Xu Pingjun gave birth to a son for Emperor Xuan, who became the later Emperor Yuan.
As soon as Emperor Xuan came to the throne, there were many controversies surrounding the issue of the queen's position. Most people were in favor of selecting one of Huo Guang's daughters to inherit the queen's position and the mother's honor in the world. But the emperor firmly disagreed. Firstly, it was to prevent the Huo family from further expansion of power; secondly, he and Xu Pingjun were married and had a deep relationship and could not bear to let her be wronged.
Therefore, Emperor Xuan Liu Xun insisted on making Xu Pingjun his queen. Emperor Xuan seized the opportunity and issued an inexplicable edict, claiming that he had an old sword when he was poor, and now he misses it very much. Can all his beloved ministers find it for him?
"Old Sword" alludes to Xu Pingjun. The ministers tried to figure out their intentions and began to ask Xu Pingjun to be the queen one by one. Xu Pingjun was appointed queen in the first year of Yuanping (74 BC). Soon, the queen became pregnant. This is the allusion of "the old sword has deep love". From then on, this romantic allusion began to spread and became a romantic edict in Chinese history, a promise made by a prince to a poor girl.
In the third year of Benshi (71 BC), after Xu Pingjun gave birth to a daughter, Huo Guang's wife Huo Xian colluded with the imperial female doctor Chun Yuyan to add aconite to the nourishing decoction for Xu Pingjun to take after delivery. Xu Pingjun soon contracted the poison and died in pain. Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty was very sad and posthumously named her "Queen Gongai" and buried her in Duling South Garden (also known as Shaoling). A year later, Huo Guang's daughter Huo Chengjun got her wish and replaced her as queen.
Since then, Emperor Xuan has been keeping a low profile and secretly accumulating strength, but the Huo family has become increasingly arrogant. For example, after Huo Guang died, his burial was extravagant and luxurious, and the burial furnishings and clothing, such as jade clothes, etc., could only be used by the emperor. At Huo Guang's funeral, the Huo clan behaved arrogantly and extravagantly, showing off the power they believed they had very solidly. Unknowingly, Emperor Xuan's remaining gratitude to Huo Guang for making him emperor was consumed by the arrogance and domineering behavior of the Huo clan.
After Huo Guang's death, the emperor began to cultivate his own power. The most typical example is: appointing Zhang Anshi as Shangshu Ling; and appointing the most capable Wei Prime Minister at the time as prime minister. After Huo Guang's death, the power and dignity of the prime minister were rapidly restored; Then he appointed Bingji as the imperial censor, and entrusted his father-in-law Xu Guanghan with important responsibilities, gradually taking power into his own hands.
In the third year of Dijie (67 BC), a year after Huo Guang's death, Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty made Xu Guanghan, Xu Pingjun's father, the Marquis of Ping'en. At the same time, he appointed Liu Shi, who was born to Xu Pingjun among the common people, as the crown prince. Huo Xian was so angry that he "was so angry that he stopped eating and vomited blood" and ordered Huo Chengjun to wait for an opportunity to poison Liu Shi. But because the prince's teacher (or nanny) first tested the vegetables for poison, Huo Chengjun failed several times.
This is in line with the saying that "a gentleman's zeal will be cut off in five lifetimes." Although Huo Guang made great contributions to the Han Dynasty, the Huo family did not know how to cherish their blessings. They became increasingly arrogant and did not take anyone seriously. Although members of the Huo family held high positions, they did not know how to be an official. When they came to court, they "reported illness several times and went out privately". "Chao Ye" also called "cangtou slaves" to do the work for them. In the end, even the domestic slaves relied on their power. He actually entered the Yushi Mansion and kicked the door because of a dispute with others, and threatened at every turn that "the county magistrate (referring to Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty) cannot come here unless he is my general (referring to Huo Guang)."
Liu Xun, who is the emperor, is already "tolerable, but what is intolerable".
First of all, Emperor Xuan dismissed Huo Guang's two sons-in-law, East Palace and West Palace Guards, from their posts, and deprived them of the power of the imperial guards. In this way, he tightly held the power to defend himself in his own hands.
Secondly, Emperor Xuan also transferred Huo Guang's two nieces and sons-in-law from the positions of Zhonglang General and Cavalry Captain, and let his cronies serve as commanders of the Northern and Southern Army and Habayashi Lang, and then took the military power into his own hands. In this way, if the Huo family made any moves, Emperor Xuan could suppress them with force.
Thirdly, Emperor Xuan also promoted Huo Guang's son Huo Yu to the rank of Grand Sima. He was promoted openly and secretly, which actually deprived him of his real power, and the power of his right general to station troops was in vain.
Finally, in order to eliminate the positions of Huo Shan and Huo Yun as ministers, Emperor Xuan also vigorously reformed the system of petitions and ordered officials and people to submit petitions directly to the emperor for review without going through the ministers.
The Huo family didn't notice the wine bags and rice bags at first, thinking it was Emperor Xuan's favor to the Huo family. At this time, all the power held by the Huo family was deprived by Emperor Xuan, especially the military power was gradually concentrated in the hands of Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty. The Huo family finally understood that this emperor was by no means a simple-minded person, and when they thought of Emperor Xuan's deep love for Xu Pingjun, the Huo family The Huo family also murdered him, which made several insiders shudder. In panic, the Huo family finally decided to take risks and stage a rebellion to overthrow Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty and preserve their vested interests. They devised two plots, one to kill the prime minister, and the other to depose the emperor and replace him with Huo Yu.
Both attempts were supported by edicts issued in the name of the Empress Dowager. The Queen Mother was Huo Guang's granddaughter, and her edicts had been used very effectively, but this time the Huo family was unlucky. News of the conspiracy leaked to Emperor Xuan's ears. Not only did the coup fail to achieve its set goals, but the Huo family also suffered the disaster of annihilation. Those who participated in the rebellion were sentenced to death. Among them, Huo Guangzi, Huo Yu, Huo Yun, and nephew Huo Shan were all killed or committed suicide. Huo Chengjun, who conspired to poison the prince, was also deposed by Emperor Xuan and ordered to move to Zhaotai Palace in Shanglinyuan.
Twelve years later, in the fourth year of Wufeng (54 BC), he was again moved to Yunlin Pavilion. Huo Chengjun committed suicide and was buried in the east of Kunwu Pavilion, Lantian County.
The original text of the post-abolition edict:
The queen was deceived and had evil intentions. She took poison and plotted with her mother, Lu Xuancheng, in order to endanger the prince. She had no mother's favor, so she was not suitable to wear the clothes of the ancestral temple and could not inherit the destiny. It's so sad. He retreated to the palace, and there is a secretary on the seal and ribbon.
At this point, Liu Xun finally avenged his wife Xu Pingjun. Compared with Empress Dowager Lu, Wei Zifu and others, Xu Pingjun finally got the true feelings of Emperor Xuan. From this point of view, Xu Pingjun was lucky. Since then, the Huo family's power, which had been entrenched in the Western Han Dynasty for more than ten years, was destroyed, and Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty finally established his absolute rule.
