Wang Mang's dominance in the political world relies on his power and tactics. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses, and military affairs are Wang Mang's shortcomings. Wang Mang strives to win the hearts and minds of the people, all because he is afraid of losing them. In Wang Mang's ideology, the interference of war has never appeared. Advocating Zhou Gong's governance and living in a peaceful era, Wang Mang didn't know what war was.
When the rebels first rebelled, Wang Mang's reaction was very similar to that of Qin II. He believed that the world was healthy and the people would not rebel. It wasn't until the rebel army shook the city of Chang'an like a landslide and the courtiers wrote letters one after another that Wang Mang came to his senses. Things he never imagined happened. Wang Mang, who thought he had won the hearts of the people, became the target of ridicule and murder overnight. Wang Mang was confused.
Wang Zhengjun, who quietly waited for the passage of time, looked forward to the final answer given by history. She no longer has the power to interfere with the development of the entire incident, but as a person in the same era, she is eager to know the final outcome. For Wang Zhengjun, who was already overly sad, the result was just an event, a historical event without any human emotion.
The rebel army was powerful, and Wang Mang did not have any generals who were brave enough to serve as ten thousand men, so he made seven generals in a row. As far as war is concerned, Wang Mang firmly believes that there is strength in numbers, and he believes that seven people are enough to defeat the rebel army. Wang Mang's political ideal is to win the hearts and minds of the people and be admired by the people. He cherishes the people's hearts very much, and the idea that there is strength in numbers comes from Wang Mang's concept of people's hearts. This time, Wang Mang grafted political concepts onto military strategy, but did not apply political tactics to the military. From this point of view, Wang Mang failed very much. As a person who cares about the people's hearts, what he did was to trample on the people's hearts step by step.
Because the rebels were all from Kwantung, Wang Mang banned Kwantung people from serving as generals in order to prevent the troops from defecting. After seven generals led the army to attack the rebels, Wang Mang appointed three more generals and ordered them to garrison Hangu Pass, Wuguan and Wan County respectively. These three passes are the three lines of defense to protect Chang'an. Hangu Pass is the closest to Chang'an, and Wan County is the farthest from Chang'an. Liu Chong was weak on his own, and the first wave of rebels led by him was defeated in Wan County.
After losing the support of the people, Wang Mang faced internal and external attacks from the people. As soon as the troops to fight the rebels set off, civil strife broke out in the Gyeonggi area. Anyone who knows how to take advantage of opportunities will think that Wang Mang sent a large army to fight outside, and Chang'an has few soldiers. If he rebels in time, Wang Mang will not be able to defend the palace. It was precisely because Zhao Peng and Huo Hong knew how to see through this that they rebelled and wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to make a fortune. We can't blame them for this. I think Liu Bang, the great ancestor of the Han Dynasty, also took advantage of the chaos in the world and took advantage of the situation to raise troops. More and more people are taking advantage of the trend to raise troops, and the ranks of the rebels are gradually growing.
The imperial army was fighting outside, and Zhao and Huo Yijun encountered little resistance. Soon the rebel army led by the two of them was like a broken bamboo, and they captured twenty-three counties one after another. The rebel army led by Zhai Yi was strong, but it was only a sibling problem; Zhao and Huo Yi's army was small, but it was a nuisance to their confidants. Once the rebels invaded Chang'an City, Wang Mang could only face the misery of failure.
A close friend is in serious trouble, and it is really urgent. Wang Mang was so anxious that he quickly sent Wei Wei and Da Honglu to lead the troops out of the city, ordering them to attack Zhao Pengyi's army with all their strength. He also ordered the Cavalry Captain and the City Gate School Lieutenant to guard Chang'an City strictly and not allow random people to enter and exit at will. Wang Mang regarded the palace as his hometown and sent people to patrol it closely.
Wang Yu's teacher Wu Zhang's analysis was reasonable, but Wang Mang still respected heaven and feared God. When the rebels were attacking from both inside and outside, Wang Mang carried the three-year-old crown prince Liu Ying in his arms and headed to the Liu family's ancestral temple angrily. He swore to heaven and tried his best to prove that he did not want to be emperor. Wang Mang said that everything he did was to protect the Liu family's ancestral property, and he had no second thoughts. In order to appease the angry emotions of the people, Wang Mang sent a message to the princes in all directions, telling them that Liu Ying was safe and that Wang Mang had not hurt him even a hair.
God once again sided with Wang Mang. At the critical moment when Wang Mang was about to be defeated, Wang Mang's army defeated Zhai Yi's army in Chenliu County. Zhai Yi's 100,000-strong army was so vulnerable that it can only be said to be God's will. The rebel army failed and Zhai Yi was immediately arrested and finally quartered by five horses. Liu Xin, who wanted to be the emperor, took advantage of the chaos to flee and was nowhere to be found. The Zhai father and son, who were sincere for the foundation of the Han Dynasty, sacrificed their lives for the country one after another, which is really respectable!
After the largest rebel army was wiped out, small characters like Zhao Peng who relied on speculation to survive were even more vulnerable. As the saying goes, people feel refreshed during happy events. Wang Mang, who had turned the corner, was even more aggressive at this time. He sent several large armies to squeeze Zhao Peng's rebel army to death. After the main forces were eliminated, Wang Mang spent more than two months to completely eradicate the rebels.
Rebels are everywhere, which is indeed very dangerous. After things calmed down, Wang Mang firmly believed that surviving a disaster would bring good fortune. For the sake of his future fortune, Wang Mang decided to take action. Wang Mang became more and more convinced that he was the one who should be the emperor in accordance with destiny.
Wang Zhengjun watched the rise and decline of the rebel army with mixed feelings. Just as Wang Zhengjun was lamenting, Wang Mang submitted a memorial, saying that after the rebel army was wiped out, auspicious signs appeared everywhere; the auspicious signs appeared one after another, which was the will of God; Wang Mang was more successful than the Duke of Zhou, and he no longer used the title of regent, but directly took control of the political power. Wang Mang said that when Liu Ying reaches the age of twenty, he will hand over power. Wang Mang said that when Liu Ying grows up to be twenty years old, only the ghost knows when Liu Ying will die.
During Wang Mang's regency, the world was full of disasters and auspiciousness. Without time travel, it is difficult to determine whether there are more disasters or more auspiciousness. However, rebels are everywhere, and even if there are no natural disasters, man-made disasters are not small; even if there is auspiciousness, it has long been crushed. Regardless of disaster or auspiciousness, it is always the loyal and honest people who suffer.
In the year 8 AD, on November 25th, Wang Mang went to the Liu Family Ancestral Temple to offer sacrifices and accept the coronation ceremony. Then, Wang Mang issued an edict saying that auspicious signs appeared one after another, indicating that he would ascend the throne and proclaim himself emperor. Even Liu Bang, the emperor of the Han Dynasty, agreed with him. ascended the throne. Wang Mang's remarks are extremely ridiculous. His bizarre remarks are nothing compared to Geng Yu's arguments back then.
On December 1, 8 AD, Wang Mang ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor, establishing a new dynasty.
Everything Wang Mang did was just to prove that his acquisition of imperial power was in line with God's will and the people's will. However, Wang Mang, who holds all the power and covers the sky with one hand, is very suspected of talking to himself. Even if the people have eyes, they have speech. In order to win the hearts of the people and prove his legitimacy, Wang Mang decided to snatch the jade seal from Wang Zhengjun.
After Liu Xin's death, in order to prevent Dong Xian from taking over power, Wang Zhengjun snatched the jade seal as soon as possible. Since grabbing the jade seal, the jade seal has never left Wang Zhengjun. Wang Mang ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor. Only the jade seal in hand can prove that he was abdicated. To put it simply, if Wang Mang does not have a jade seal, he is a usurper and a thief. For the sake of imperial power, Wang Mang spent a lot of effort and was only left with the last step. No matter what, he had to get there.
Since Wang Mang came to power, Wang Shun has been the bridge connecting Wang Mang and Wang Zhengjun. In order to avoid hurting his feelings, Wang Mang sent Wang Shun to ask Wang Zhengjun for the jade seal. This is not the first time that Wang Shun has forced Wang Zhengjun. Wang Shun has already summed up his experience in dealing with Wang Zhengjun, that is, he uses nice but very threatening words. This was not Wang Zhengjun's first encounter with Wang Shun. As soon as he saw Wang Shun, Wang Zhengjun had a conditioned reflex: he refused at the first moment, remained silent the second moment, and obeyed at the third moment.
Wang Shun took away the jade seal, and Wang Mang climbed to the pinnacle of power!
Wang Mang wrote and directed a drama that followed the will of God and the people. What he did can be said to be unprecedented and unprecedented. On the stage of history, the real protagonists are the people. However, Wang Mang stood in the spotlight from beginning to end. The officials who accompanied Wang Mang in the show vividly performed the roles of a cannibal, a shepherd, and a ruler. Maybe some people hate them for being incompetent and blocking the wheel of history. That's because we can't see clearly the common people behind them. You can't see behind their bright and beautiful clothes, the miserable lives of the people living at the bottom.
After proclaiming himself emperor, Wang Mang made up his mind to start drastic reforms. The emperor's reforms were improvements, not revolutions.
Improvement must start from the superstructure, develop slowly, and finally change the lower economic system. When Wang Mang made reforms, he first changed politics and struck at government institutions first.
To give an example, Wang Mang changed the title of Da Sinong to Xihe. Da Si Nong managed agriculture and was equivalent to the Minister of Agriculture. Wang Mang changed his name to Xi He, but the management content remained unchanged. The word "Xihe" comes from the Zhou Dynasty, because Wang Mang wanted to return to the Zhou Dynasty. Generally speaking, if you only change the name and leave the content unchanged, it is a false reform and will neither accomplish anything big nor do anything bad. However, Wang Mang was eager to restore the old system and changed it again and again, and the people couldn't stand it. Taking Da Sinong as an example again, Wang Mang changed it to Xihe. Before the people could adapt, he changed it to Gonggong. Not to mention that the people couldn't adapt, the courtiers were stunned by Wang Mang.
Government policies must be consistent and coordinated, otherwise they cannot be implemented. Wang Mang changed his orders overnight, making it impossible for the people to remember the names of various departments. Taking place names as an example again, Wang Mang changed a place name several times in succession. As a result, if the Han people wrote letters without specifying the address, the letters would not be delivered at all. Wang Mang had good intentions for reform, but he used the wrong means. As a result, Wang Mang could only shoot himself in the foot.
As soon as the first cut was made, the meat had not yet been cut. Wang Mang's second sword extended towards the land. In ancient China, agriculture was emphasized over commerce, and land was the basis for people's survival. National tax revenue mainly comes from land. If the land policy is in chaos, the world will be in chaos. In order to restore the Zhou Dynasty system, Wang Mang was determined to imitate the Zhou Dynasty and implement the well field system. The basis of the well-field system is that land is state-owned and the state distributes land. However, as history progressed to the Han Dynasty, land had begun to be privatized, and the government allowed private individuals to buy and sell land. The private ownership of land led to the emergence of many powerful landlords and clans with large surnames in the Han Dynasty. Wang Mang's new government wanted to take back the land, and the powerful landlords and clans with big surnames who became rich because of their control of the land were naturally dissatisfied. The power of powerful landlords and clans with big surnames is not great, but they should not be underestimated. After all, they are the overlord of one party. If these people unite to rebel, Wang Mang can only watch the world in chaos.
Wang Mang took back the land and divided the land equally among the people according to the population, which naturally won the support of the people. However, Wang Mang promulgated a new decree prohibiting human trafficking. It must be admitted that the government's ban on human trafficking is conducive to safeguarding human dignity and is a good law.
However, dignity also requires an economic foundation. If a person does not have an economic foundation, he can only starve to death for the sake of dignity. China is a small civil society, and ordinary people have no financial accumulation. They usually eat last year’s food this year. If there is a famine year, the people will suffer from famine. In years of famine, in order to avoid starvation, people had no choice but to sell themselves into slavery. Nowadays, Wang Mang prohibits the buying and selling of people, which means that in times of famine, people cannot sell themselves, except for robbery and rebellion, and they can only wait to die. It is good to ban the buying and selling of people, but the prerequisite is that the country can protect the basic life of the people.
Historically, the most famous of Wang Mang's reforms was the currency reform. Wang Mang abolished the five-baht coin of the Han Dynasty, replaced the old with the new, and exchanged the small for the large. It was very simple. However, Wang Mang, who likes to complicate simple problems, is helpless when faced with complex problems. Wang Mang approved six new currencies, namely gold coins, silver coins, turtle coins, shell coins, coins, and cloth coins.
It is conceivable that when ordinary Han people go to buy a cow, they may carry a bag of money on their backs. If the currencies brought by buyers and sellers happen to be different, people in the market will not buy or sell things, but exchange currencies with each other. Anyone who studies economics understands that money is just a symbol commonly used in the market. Market transactions themselves require currency to be versatile. The monetary policy formulated by Wang Mang caused the currency to lose its versatility, which was equivalent to bringing the people back to the original barter transaction stage.
It can be said that it disrupted the daily life of the civilian class to a great extent, and at the same time had the greatest impact on the interests of the merchant class in the Western Han Dynasty. How can the most important currency in market transactions lose its versatility? What the bourgeoisie needs most is the circulation of large amounts of money in their hands.
Wang Mang imitated the system of the Shang Dynasty and exercised central control over the economy. He established Wujunsi City and Qianfu Guan in major cities such as Chang'an and Luoyang. Wujunsi City unified material dispatch and stabilized market prices. If the people lack funds, the Qian government official is responsible for lending money to the people.
The imperial court acted as a bank and loan company, lending money to the people. If the new imperial court does this, the huge landowners and aristocratic class group will not agree. I am the one lending money, but you are robbing me of my business and cutting off my financial path!
In short, Wang Mang's reform was not a slight innovation based on the Zhou Dynasty. Its fundamental purpose was not to adapt to the changes of the times, but to realize the perfect ideal society in his own mind.
It was also his series of related operations that led later generations to speculate that he might be a time traveler.
But no matter what, he is a loser after all!
Then who did he lose to? Did he lose to the landlord class of the Western Han Dynasty? The aristocratic class of the Western Han Dynasty?
He was defeated by the entire social group of the Western Han Dynasty!
I can say with certainty that if he had not launched the policy of state ownership of land and had not established Wujunsi City and Qianfu Officials, it would have touched the fundamental interests of the huge landlord class group and the aristocratic class group, and they would have faced the loss of a large amount of cheap labor. crisis, thus launching successive rebellions. If there had not been a large-scale mixed uprising launched by the landlord class inciting the peasant masses, the probability of the survival of the Great New Dynasty would have been higher than in real history.
The beginning of the establishment of each new dynasty was achieved through in-depth cooperation with the corresponding vested interest groups, and the exchange of interests.
