Ancient China, especially Confucian society, paid great attention to the issue of "rectification of names." Confucius said: "If the name is not correct, then the words will not go smoothly; if the words are not right, then the things will not be accomplished." Wang Mang cherished his reputation, but he forcibly ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor. In order to prove the legitimacy of his claim to the throne, Wang Mang sent someone to seize the imperial seal. Wang Mang played with the jade seal endlessly, and when he was looking at it, he suddenly discovered a big problem. This problem is very serious and difficult, that is, how to call Wang Zhengjun.
Wang Zhengjun, who is already old, has gone through many vicissitudes of life. Previously, Wang Zhengjun had witnessed the great achievements of Liu Xi, Liu Ao, Liu Xin and Liu Jizi as emperors, and he could be said to be the pillar of the Han Dynasty. Wang Mang established a new dynasty. If Wang Zhengjun was still called the Queen Mother, it would indicate that Wang Zhengjun was from the Han Dynasty, denying the legitimacy of the new dynasty, and was inconsistent at the beginning.
In order to prove the legitimacy of the new dynasty, Wang Mang studied hard and finally achieved success. He changed the title of Wang Zhengjun to "The Empress Dowager of the New Chamber of Wenmu". "New" refers to the new dynasty founded by Wang Mang, and "Empress Dowager" refers to Wang Zhengjun as the Queen Mother. The two are connected, which not only retains Wang Zhengjun's noble identity, but also reflects the legitimacy of the new dynasty. If there's anything wrong with it, it's that "Xinshi Wenmu Tai Huang Tai Hou" is too long and doesn't sound smooth.
After Wang Mang became emperor, he no longer obeyed Wang Zhengjun's orders. However, Wang Mang still retained the most basic etiquette towards Wang Zhengjun as a junior would treat an elder. If Wang Mang did not observe the most basic etiquette of filial piety, Wang Shun would not be the bridge between them.
Wang Zhengjun is getting older day by day, and he is about to return to the west. However, Wang Zhengjun did not have a mausoleum. After Fu Zhaoyi died, Liu Xin, an unfilial adoptive son, robbed Wang Zhengjun's mausoleum and buried Fu Zhaoyi. As the wife of the first wife, Wang Zhengjun couldn't be buried with her husband after death, which was really uncomfortable. After Liu Xin's death, Wang Mang came to power, and Wang Zhengjun was inconvenient to dig up Fu Zhaoyi's grave and whipped her body three hundred times.
Wang Mang had done the digging of graves before. After Zhai Yi's uprising failed and his body was quartered by five horses, Wang Mang dug up Zhai Yi's ancestral grave. Wang Mang used this to tell the world that rebels would not end well and would eventually affect their ancestors. Wang Zhengjun's tomb was robbed. Wang Mang knew that she was sad, so he decided to bury her together with Liu Shi after a hundred years. However, this would inevitably disturb Liu Shi who was sleeping underground, which violated Wang Zhengjun's taboo.
Wang Mang's move really hurt Wang Zhengjun's heart, and Wang Zhengjun ignored Wang Mang from then on. The new dynasty stipulates that the color of court uniforms is yellow, and the first day of December is the New Year. But Wang Zhengjun did not comply. She wore black clothes representing the Han Dynasty every day, and regarded the first day of the first lunar month as the New Year prescribed by the Han Dynasty. Every New Year, Wang Zhengjun goes to Liu's ancestral temple to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth to honor his ancestors. Wang Zhengjun also ate at a table alone and only talked to the people who were serving her. Wang Mang completely broke Wang Zhengjun's heart. Wang Zhengjun had no way to directly fight Wang Mang and could only respond with silence.
In February of the fifth year of the founding of the People's Republic of China (AD 13), Wang Zhengjun died at the age of 84.
Wang Zhengjun's death made Wang Mang, who regarded him as his opponent, very sad. Looking at the world, Wang Mang has really become a loner. Wang Mang went through the stages of loving fame, loving power, and finally loving ideals. In the past, Wang Mang loved fame and longed to "return to his heart"; after a while, Wang Mang loved power and hoped to ascend the throne and become emperor; now Wang Mang loves ideals and longs for the Zhou Dynasty society. Wang Mang struggled all his life and finally found his ideal. He made the restoration of Zhou Dynasty society his lifelong mission.
Wang Mang never understood why so many people opposed him because everything he did was to return to the Zhou Dynasty that even saints like Confucius longed for. In Wang Mang's ideal society, people make the best use of their talents and materials, and people respect and love each other; the people have land to farm, houses to live in, food to eat, and clothing to wear. Wang Mang knows the Datong society and the well-off society. He is very conceited and believes that with his own efforts, he can lead the people to a well-off society and eventually to great harmony. A well-off society is the dream of Confucian scholars, and a harmonious society is even more the dream of Confucian scholars. In terms of playing political tricks, Wang Mang is a fake Confucian scholar; in terms of striving for an ideal society, Wang Mang is a true Confucian scholar.
Wang Mang worked conscientiously and took care of everything. He single-handedly took over the whole country's memorials and worked very hard. He was already a model worker in the country, but the people of the world still opposed him. The upper class opposed Wang Mang because Wang Mang harmed their interests; the people opposed Wang Mang because Wang Mang disrupted their lives. Wang Mang was sitting in Chang'an, concentrating on reviewing the memorials, unaware that the world was in chaos.
In the years since Wang Mang became emperor, there have been constant natural disasters and man-made disasters, and the people have been in dire straits. In 17 AD, a famine occurred, especially in Jingzhou. Too many people are starving to death. People will starve to death if they can't find anything to eat. Lying at home is a death of hunger, and rising up is also a death. Rather than sit back and wait for death, it is better to give it a try.
The hungry people in Jingzhou surrendered their lives to God, jointly elected a leader, and went into the city to rob the city on a large scale. The people are the creators of history, and the people were united and the robbery was successful. After the robbery was successful, they occupied Green Forest Mountain and specialized in robbing the government and providing relief to the victims. They were honored as the Green Forest Army. Later generations admired the behavior of the Green Forest Army and respected the word "Green Forest", which evolved into the idiom "Green Forest Hero".
The Green Forest Army was like a spark, setting a prairie fire immediately. Peasants revolted and flocked to Chang'an.
Rise up and revitalize the Han Dynasty
Liu Xiu's life experience
The person who ended the chaos and restored peace to the world was Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu.
Liu Xiu, courtesy name Uncle Wen, was a native of Caiyang County, Nanyang County. He was the ninth-generation grandson of the great ancestor Liu Bang. His ancestry can be traced back to Liu Fa, who was born to Emperor Jing. When Liu Fa's branch reached Liu Xiu, it was in dilapidated condition. Liu Xiu was proud that he had the blood of the great ancestor, and he could never remain unknown in this life. As a child, Liu Xiu already had the ambition to help the Han Dynasty.
Liu Xiu's father, Liu Qin, was a small Nandun Ling. The "Book of Han" records: "Ling and chief are all Qin officials. Those with more than 10,000 households are ordered, with a rank of one thousand to six hundred shi; those with less than 10,000 households are chiefs. The rank is from 500 to 300 shi."
From this point of view, Liu Qin is nothing more than a county magistrate with a rank of one thousand to six hundred stones. From the King of Changsha to Liu Qin, the Nandun magistrate, the Liu Fa clan is really in decline, with each generation becoming worse than the last. In the third year of the Yuan Dynasty of Emperor Ping of the Han Dynasty (AD 3), Liu Qin passed away, and the family lost its only political support and financial source. Brothers Liu Boxheng, Liu Xiu, and Liu Zhong, Liu Qin's eldest daughter Liu Huang, second daughter Liu Yuan, and third daughter Liu Both his uncle and his mother Fan Xian suddenly fell into the difficult situation of not having enough food to eat and not having enough clothes to keep out the cold. Fortunately, at that time, Liu Xiu's uncle Liu Liang still had a few acres of thin farmland at home, and he was still able to survive in these troubled times. Brothers Liu Xiu and Liu Boxheng had been diligent and sensible since they were young, so Liu Liang adopted them. Since then, Liu Xiu has become a farmer in Chongling County, Nanyang County.
Twenty years later, Liu Xiu had grown into a strong young man. He was seven feet three inches tall, with thick eyebrows, a big mouth, a high nose, and a full forehead. In order to support his mother and several unmarried sisters, Liu Xiu worked diligently every day and did not relax in farming. However, his eldest brother Liu Boxheng liked chivalry and adopted retainers. He often laughed at Liu Xiu who only knew how to engage in farming and also took care of his family. Liu Xiu is like Liu Xi, the elder brother of the great ancestor Liu Bang, who has no ambition and is in chaos in the world.
The sparrow knows the ambition of the swan. Liu Xiu is not only good at farming, but also able to find books in his spare time to increase his knowledge and experience. On the other hand, his brother, despite his resolute temperament and heroic spirit, is very ambitious. In addition, Liu Xiu was also an economically savvy person. After being busy in the summer and autumn of the next year, Liu Xiu used the slack time to transport grains and other agricultural products to Xinye and Nanyang for sale. An ancient saying goes, "A man is judged by his childhood, but a horse is judged by its hooves and claws." Liu Xiu has been philanthropic since he was a child. He has learned to be kind and helpful to others. His conduct is pure and beautiful, and he has the demeanor of a gentleman. He is highly praised by the villagers.
During the reign of Wang Mang and Tianfeng, Xu Ziwei from Lujiang, a Chinese doctor who was proficient in "Shangshu", opened a lecture hall at Taixue in Chang'an. After Liu Xiu heard about it, he sold some grain and other belongings, pooled money with like-minded people in his hometown and bought a donkey. He hired someone to drive a donkey cart to Chang'an, the capital, and this was the starting point of his glorious life.
After all, a great man cannot avoid being vulgar and cannot get rid of the seven emotions and six desires. Liu Xiu's diligent study had no ambition at first, but was to marry Yin Lihua from Xinye County, Nanyang after becoming rich.
Liu Xiu studied in Chang'an for only three short years, but it laid a certain foundation for his subsequent life. Chang'an was the most prosperous city in the world at that time, with a prosperous culture. The eye-opening Liu Xiu made friends with many heroes here, such as Zhu You, Yan Guang, Deng Yu and others, who were all amazing figures in the history of the Eastern Han Dynasty.
Zhu You, courtesy name Zhongxian, was a native of Wancheng, Nanyang County. He was a talented scholar with both civil and military skills. He was quite famous among the Confucian scholars in Chang'an. He had been friends with brother Liu Xiu since he was a child. Since Liu Xiu was far inferior to him in knowledge, Liu Xiu often went to his residence to seek advice from him. It is said that one time Liu Xiu fell ill in Chang'an and wanted to buy honey for medicine. Although Liu Xiu had gone to Chang'an to study at this time, his family situation had not changed. Therefore, the money to buy honey became Liu Xiu's biggest dilemma at this time. After Zhu You found out, he used his own money to help Liu Xiu buy the honey. Liu Xiu has always been grateful for this. Later, Liu Xiu conquered the world and gave Zhu You a stone of white honey in return. He asked him jokingly: "Brother Zhongxian, how does this honey taste compared to the one we bought in Chang'an?" After that, the two looked at each other and laughed, and the scenes from that year came to mind one by one.
Yan Guang, courtesy name Ziling, was from Yuyao, Kuaiji County, also known as Yan Zun. He was very talented and learned, and when he was young, he was already famous all over the world. It is a pity that he was aloof and aloof, did not admire wealth or serve the powerful, and later became one of the famous hermits. Although Yan Guang is aloof and arrogant, he hits it off with the humble and studious Liu Xiu. As time passed, the two slowly became close friends and became a good story at the time.
Deng Yu, whose courtesy name was Zhonghua, was a native of Xinye, Nanyang. He was only thirteen years old at the time and was also educated in Chang'an. Although Deng Yu was the youngest, he was able to recite the Book of Songs and was a child prodigy. Liu Xiu was very surprised by this and always wanted to make friends with him. Deng Yu also saw Liu Xiu's majestic appearance and felt that it was extraordinary. Deng Yu listened to his words, looked at his character, and examined his mind. He felt that Liu Xiu was extraordinary and definitely not something in the pool. As a result, the two became friends and became good friends.
Although Liu Xiu's three years of study and life in Chang'an soon came to an end due to family difficulties, he studied "Shang Shu" and only roughly understood the contents of the book. But he benefited a lot from his interactions with Zhu You, Yan Guang, and Deng Yu. The three of them gave Liu Xiu great inspiration in knowledge, knowledge, and moral character. Later, they became his confidants and assistants as he gradually became stronger. Several young heroes talked, laughed, and talked about the world, attracting countless heroic people. Delighted and fascinated. It was also during the interactions here that Liu Xiu gradually developed his graceful and generous demeanor, his open-minded mind, his perseverance and generous character, his ability to respond calmly to changes, and his foresight and foresight to control his subordinates. He finally succeeded in conquering the world.
At this time, murderous intentions were already hidden within Wang Mang's government. The source of everything is just a prophecy. It is a mysterious theory that flourished in the Qin and Han Dynasties. At that time, people believed that it could bring good luck and avoid disaster, restore the past, and predict the future. Later, Zhang Heng and others also spoke out about the superstitious prophecies of the Han Dynasty. Irony is unacceptable. In the entire Wang Mang regime, only Liu Xin was proficient in the art of prophecy. He was cunning and cunning, and he treated Wang Mang with subservience, so he was favored by Wang Mang, but he was not satisfied. After consulting a large amount of information and deducing the future situation, Liu Xin was surprised to find that in the next few decades, the Liu family should once again be ordered by heaven to regain the world. And the name of the person who obeyed the fate was also leaked in the deduction, and he was called Liu Xiu. Although Liu Xin had a prominent position, he was always ambitious. His father, Liu Xiang, was a descendant of Liu Jiao, King of Chu Yuan, the younger brother of Han Emperor Liu Bang. He was also an important court minister during the periods of Han Yuan Emperor Liu Xi and Han Cheng Emperor Liu Ao. Liu Xiang successively held the positions of Zhonglang and Guanglu Doctor. He was loyal to the Han Dynasty and was not tolerated by Wang Mang. He criticized Liu Xin's slavish character and unrealistic ambition many times, but to no avail. This time Liu Xiang died, Liu Xin lost his only restraint, and he was convinced of the results of his deduction. So, he changed his name to Liu Xiu to match the celestial phenomenon. At the same time, he dreams that one day he will be able to ascend the throne of the Ninth Five Emperors.
He did not expect that this man named Liu Xiu, the only one in the world, was struggling to survive in Nanyang County, thousands of miles away.