Many times, politics is always linked to marriage. Sometimes marriage is a derivative of politics, and sometimes politics is a derivative of marriage. It cannot be generalized, and specific matters should be analyzed in detail.
Lou Jing proposed marriage to Liu Bang. Marriage is a derivative of politics. After Liu Bang's death, Lu Fei took power and forcibly married women from the Lu family to Liu's children, just to turn politics into a derivative of marriage.
With his status as a foreign relative, Wang Mang has been climbing all the way up, so he naturally knows what the word "foreign relative" means. Fu Zhaoyi almost brought down the Wang Group. Fortunately, she died early and Liu Xin was short-lived, so Wang Mang was able to make a comeback.
Never forgetting the past, he is the guide for the future. In order to prevent his relatives from entering the scope of imperial power, Wang Mang decided to firmly control Liu Jizi.
When he ascended the throne, Liu Xin moved Dingtao's hometown to Chang'an. Liu Jizi was only nine years old when he ascended the throne and was unable to bring his relatives into Chang'an. Wang Mang told Wang Zhengjun that the Fu family represented by Fu Zhaoyi was a typical example. Wang Mang's deep meaning was that when Liu Jizi ascended the throne, Liu Jizi's maternal relatives must not be allowed to interfere in politics.
Wang Mang is so good at acting that his words must be translated to make people understand him. When Fu Zhaoyi was alive, he tried to destroy the Wang family and always wanted to be on an equal footing with Wang Zhengjun; after his death, he was still unwilling and even robbed Wang Zhengjun's grave. Wang Zhengjun knew that his cousin was powerful and agreed to Wang Mang's request. Liu Jizi's maternal surname was Wei, and his mother was Wei Ji. Wang Mang sent people to the Zhongshan Kingdom to designate Wei Ji as Queen Xiao of Zhongshan, her two brothers as Guannei Marquis, and Liu Jizi's three sisters as "Jun". Now let me explain "Guannei Marquis". It is equivalent to a quasi-marquis, in name only, with a title but no treatment.
Wang Mang's only purpose in enfeoffing the Wei family was to let them stay in Zhongshan Kingdom and not run around if nothing happened. Wang Mang treats the Wei family like adults treat children. If an adult is busy with business, he or she will always tell the child to be obedient and stop running around. If he or she is disobedient, he or she will be spanked.
Two years after he ascended the throne, the common people of the Han Dynasty had not seen Liu Jizi do anything practical. Wang Mang handled all matters on his behalf. Two years after he ascended the throne, Liu Jizi was eleven years old. Facts have proven that the younger the child is, the better, and the earlier the relationship is developed, the better.
The main reason for the turmoil in the country is that the emperor has no children - Wang Mang said. The emperor's heir is related to the safety of the people in the world, and court officials should pay attention to it; Liu Jizi is eleven years old, and it is time to choose a queen. To be fair, the prince is indeed the foundation of the people of the world. If there is a problem with the heir to the throne, the world will really be in chaos. One of the reasons why Wang Mang was able to make a comeback and dominate Chang'an was that Liu Xin favored men and left no heirs.
When choosing a queen, one should choose from all over the world. If it is false to say that you should choose from the families of ordinary people in the world, you should also choose from the families of high-ranking officials. However, there are many people named Wang on the list of queen candidates. There are many people named Wang, which means that the Wang Group has a monopoly on the power to marry daughters to the emperor. I think Lu Pheasant used this trick back then.
Just when Wang Zhengjun was about to choose someone from the roster, Wang Mang suddenly said that his daughter was not talented enough to assist the emperor and asked to abstain. Wang Mang asked for the selection of a queen, so he naturally hoped that his daughter would be chosen. Wang Mang suddenly abstained from voting. Wang Zhengjun was very frightened. She carefully thought about where she had offended Wang Mang. Wang Mang is very good at hypocrisy. When others offend him, he does not tell them directly, but lets others think about it. He also does not say what he wants, but just gives a hint and lets others think about it. Of all the people in the world, Wang Mang is the most difficult to deal with.
Fortunately, Wang Zhengjun was able to understand what Wang Mang meant. Wang Zhengjun issued an edict, saying that since the daughter of Anhan Gong, who had made great achievements in the world, had abstained from voting, the Wang family's daughter was not worthy of being selected. After the edict was issued, everyone in the world knew that Wang Mang had a daughter who could be selected as the queen, and they gathered at the gate of Weiyang Palace to sit down and petition. Wang Mang was good at creating rumors and using some tricks to make his daughter's popularity soar and she became the queen in the eyes of the people.
The people petitioned and thousands of people praised him. This was what Wang Mang wanted to see most. The people asked him to marry their daughter, and he readily agreed. Wang Zhengjun sent senior officials from Changle Shaofu, Zongzheng and Shangshuling to the Wang family to inspect Wang Mang's daughter. Senior government officials are dispatched to build momentum for Wang Mang. This is called hypocrisy. People in the three departments think Wang Mang's daughter is very good, just like Wang Mang, unparalleled in the world. The impact of the selection of the queen on society was greater than that of the selection of Liu Jizi as the emperor. This was Wang Mang's contribution.
Facts have proved that Wang Mang left the old antique Kong Guang very useful. Kong Guang made a divination in front of the altar and said that it would be very auspicious for Liu Jizi to marry Wang Mang's daughter. The two dolls were born to be a pair, and the earth made a pair. It's hard to say whether they were a match made in heaven. I just know that they were brought together by Wang Mang, not created by the earth.
In today's society, gifts are very important when marrying a wife, and it was the same in ancient times. The imperial court gave the Wang family a betrothal gift of 20,000 kilograms of gold, which converted into 20,000,000 yuan.
How much is this betrothal gift?
Lu Pheasant stipulated that the queen's betrothal gift should be two hundred catties of gold and twelve horses. The imperial court allocated 20,000 kilograms of gold as a betrothal gift, equivalent to marrying two hundred queens. Wang Mang has great achievements and power. This is not because he blackmailed the country, but because the country bribed him. Wang Mang didn't like money, so he only collected 63 million, and allocated 43 million from it to the poor families in the Wang Group. Wang Mang married his daughter as the queen and actually received a betrothal gift of 20 million yuan from the court. Wang Mang took the opportunity to give money to poor people in the Wang Group, which is called borrowing flowers to offer to Buddha. If we follow today's logic, there will definitely be many high-ranking officials and nobles who will take advantage of Wang Mang's opportunity to marry his daughter and give Wang Mang a lot of gifts. If the estimate is correct, after his daughter's marriage is completed, Wang Mang will be as rich as the country.
For the sake of reputation, Wang Mang was willing to force his son Wang Huo to death; for the sake of power, Wang Mang was willing to sacrifice his daughter. For marriage, if there is no emotion, it will be very painful for two people to get along; if they are joined together to take advantage of each other, the marriage will be very tiring; if one party is forced to marry, and the other party is forced to marry, such a marriage is sin. Liu Jizi was already more than ten years old and began to be sensible. Wang Mang's daughter was similar in age to Liu Jizi and knew what kind of person her father was. These two children cannot control their own destiny. They are just victims of Wang Mang's wishes. Most people fall victim to power, it's sad but common.
Wang Mang is about to marry his daughter and become the emperor's father-in-law. The emperor's father-in-law, in other words, is the father-in-law of the country. Wang Mang took another step forward, and officials came to congratulate him and express their sincere blessings. Wang Mang married his daughter at the invitation of countless people. Wang Mang was very happy as his reputation grew and his reputation spread further and further day by day. People feel refreshed when happy events occur, and Wang Mang's life becomes more comfortable day by day. After Wang Mang's daughter married Liu Jizi and became the queen, the Wang family had two queens, the other one being Wang Zhengjun.
Every family has happy events, especially the Wang family. However, just as the banquet was about to be held, a fire broke out in the Wang family's backyard. A fire in the backyard is either a natural disaster or a man-made disaster. Wang Mang is not like Lu Pheasant, who has done many things that are harmful to nature, so natural disasters will not happen to him. A fire in the backyard is often compared to civil unrest, meaning there is a mole. The Wang family may have accumulated virtues from their ancestors and raised a very upright son. The person who caused the fire in the backyard was Wang Mang's son, whose name was Wang Yu.
It is better to know a son than to be a father, in the same way, to know a father is to be better than a son. Wang Yu has a good character and a simple mind, but he is kind and upright. Wang Yu couldn't stand Wang Mang's hypocrisy, and thought Wang Mang was harmful to nature and justice. In order to make up for the sins Wang Mang had done, he decided to rebel against his family and Wang Mang. Some people who rebel against their families succeed, while others fail. This is not only a matter of difference between people, but also a difference of times.
Kuai Tong said that everyone who wants to be an emperor loves power, and the Wei family thinks so too. Do you remember that in order to stabilize his power, Wang Mang ordered the Wei family to stay in the fiefdom and not move around. Things will cry when they are not equal. Wherever there is oppression, there will be resistance. If Wang Mang oppresses the Wei family, the Wei family will resist. Anyway, death is inevitable. For the sake of power, for tomorrow, for the sake of future generations, Liu Jizi's uncle Wei Bao decided to draw his sword and swing at Wang Mang.
Liu Bang was so drunk that he cut the white snake in half without thinking. Weibao didn't drink and his mind was normal. But for a big boss like Wei Bao, having a clear mind is a bad thing. The more sober he is, the less he knows how to kill the python. All people want to do great things, but not all people dare to do them. Some people dare to do it because they feel they are capable; some people dare to do it because their purpose is to test their ability; some people dare to do it because they have not weighed their ability in advance. Wei Bao belongs to the third category of people. He is ambitious but lacks wisdom.
In an accidental and unmissable opportunity, Wei Bao met military advisor Wang Yu. Wei Bao had nothing to do. Wang Yu told him that if he wanted to kill Wang Mang, he had to go to Chang'an first. There was no other way. It's okay to go to Chang'an, but you can't crawl in secretly, you have to go in openly. Wang Yu followed his father's example and built momentum first. As the old saying goes, treat the person in his own way. Wang Yu knows this trick and has a bright future. If Wang Yu could get guidance from an expert, he would have a bright future, but he was born in the wrong era. In Wang Yu's eyes, the only master, Wang Mang, was just a person of low moral character. Even if Wang Mang was his father, Wang Yu would not bother to worship him as his teacher.
In this way, Wang Yu came up with a plan, and he conspired with Wei Bao and Wei Ji to defeat Wang Mang. This matter is of great importance, and if anything goes wrong, the participants will definitely be executed. Wei Ji wrote a letter, scolding Fu and Ding's concubines for disrupting the imperial court, corrupting human relations, and committing heinous crimes. She promised that the Wei family would never follow their example. The potential rivals confessed their loyalty. In order to save each other's face and to silence each other, Wang Mang granted Wei Ji 7,000 households in the fief. The purpose of Wei Ji's uprising was to enter Chang'an and she must not give up halfway. Wang Mang wanted to use sugar-coated bullets to deal with it, so the military strategist Wang Yu ordered the vanguard Wei Ji to use the trick of a woman crying, making trouble and hanging herself.
Wang Mang is not Liu Ao, who has the unique skill of not eating women. Every time Wei Ji wrote to ask for an audience with Liu Jizi, Wang Mang responded with sugar-coated bullets. When women's tricks don't work, military strategist Wang Yu resorts to his trump card - men's tricks. Wang Yu found his teacher Wu Zhang, his wife Lu Yan and his uncle Lu Kuan to prepare for a natural disaster.
Chen Sheng and Wu Guang borrowed God's will to rebel against Qin; Wang Jia wanted to kill Dong Xian, borrowing God's will; Wang Yu wanted to replace his father, but also borrowed God's will. But Wu Zhang had a bad idea and poured blood on the gate of Wang's house, hoping to scare Wang Mang into handing over his power. Wang Yu gave the important task of spilling blood to his pregnant wife, but Lu Yan was in a hurry and was caught while spilling blood.
For the sake of reputation, Wang Mang once forced his son Wang Huo to commit suicide; Wang Yu wanted to punish him, but he would naturally not forgive him. Wang Mang is a person who loves to create momentum and wants to use this to intimidate those who dare to oppose him. Wang Mang followed the thin vine and grasped the big melon, and arrested and imprisoned all the anti-Wang Mang group. Wang Yu's ambition was not fulfilled and he committed suicide first. After Lu Yan gave birth to a child in prison, Wang Mang immediately executed her. After the death of military advisor Wang Yu, everyone in the Wei group was beheaded except Liu Jizi's biological mother Wei Ji.
After this incident, Wang Mang thought of Wang Li, whom he had long disliked. Back then, Wang Mang had a conflict with Wang Zhengjun for the first time in order to kick Wang Li out of Chang'an. Wang Mang felt that some people would be tortured to death sooner or later, and for the sake of a long-term plan, he wanted to conduct a purge. Wang Mang took advantage of the fire in the backyard to arrest Wang Li and imprison him. In order to force Wang Li to death, Wang Mang sent people to monitor Wang Li day and night, leaving him without any freedom. The embezzler Wang Li could not endure hardship and committed suicide in prison.
