"As we all know, Liu Bang, the founder of the Han Dynasty, and Xiang Yu, the overlord, became their respective kings after conquering the Qin Dynasty. After several years of fighting, Liu Bang finally established the Han Dynasty, which is the Western Han Dynasty."
"Wang Mang was a political figure in the late Western Han Dynasty. He was originally a minister, but he eventually seized the throne and established a new dynasty."
"Both of these two people had an important influence on the history of the Western Han Dynasty, but one was successful and the other was disruptive."
"In the final analysis, there is a two-century difference between Wang Mang and Liu Bang. They should have no connection at all, but they have a slight connection because of a legendary dream."
"If it is just a coincidence or a joke, but this joke was actually recorded in "Historical Records", then this legend is extraordinary."
"The Han Dynasty experienced a period from 202 BC to 220 AD, a total of more than 400 years."
"And it was around two hundred years ago that Wang Mang killed Emperor Hanping and usurped the throne."
"Judging from this, the joking legend about Liu Bang, the founder of the Han Dynasty in the past, seems to have become true. Is Wang Mang really the reincarnation of the white snake under Liu Bang's sword?"
"Then it depends on everyone's imagination. I still have to look at the whole thing from an ordinary perspective."
"Wang Mang was born during the period of Emperor Yuan of the Han Dynasty, and was the daughter of a large family in the late Western Han Dynasty."
"Wang Mang's aunt Wang Zhengjun was the queen mother of the current dynasty, and his family's uncles were also high-ranking officials in the Western Han Dynasty. This family can be said to be at its peak."
"Wang Zhengjun has been in the palace for more than a year. Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty Liu Xun asked Queen Wang to select suitable maids in the harem to give to the prince."
"The queen selected five women, including Wang Zhengjun."
"When the prince arrived at the palace, he was not interested in the five women, but he did not want to disobey his mother's will, so he said: "One of them can do it. ""
"At this time, because Wang Zhengjun was sitting closest to the prince and dressed elegantly, everyone thought that the prince was interested in Wang Zhengjun, so they sent her to the East Palace. Liu She and Wang Zhengjun became husband and wife."
"The prince originally had more than ten concubines, but he had not been pregnant for many years. However, after Wang Zhengjun became the prince, he became pregnant overnight. This made Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty very happy."
"In 51 BC, Wang Zhengjun gave birth to a son. Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty personally named his grandson Liu Ao, nicknamed Taisun, and he always carried him with him."
"In 48 BC, Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty died, and Liu Shi ascended the throne as Emperor Yuan of the Han Dynasty."
"First, I will grant Wang Zhengjun the title of Jieyu, and after three days, she will be promoted to queen."
"In 33 BC, Emperor Yuan of the Han Dynasty died, and Liu Ao ascended the throne as Emperor Cheng of the Han Dynasty. He respected his mother Wang Zhengjun as the Empress Dowager, his uncle Wang Feng as the Great Sima General, and his brother Wang Chong as the Marquis of Ancheng."
"Later on the same day, Wang Tan was named Ping'ahou, Wang Shang was named Chengdu Hou, Wang Li was named Hongyang Marquis, Wang Gen was named Quyang Marquis, and Wang Fengshi was named Gaoping Hou, known as the "Five Hous" in the world."
"Although Wang Mang was born into such a family, his childhood was also a bit bumpy. Because his father died young, he did not have the protection of his father, so he would naturally have a rough life."
"Fortunately, he also has an uncle Wang Feng who is the Great Sima of the dynasty."
"When his uncle Wang Feng was seriously ill, Wang Mang personally tasted the decoction and nursed him day and night. Naturally, Wang Feng felt very sorry for his nephew."
"So before Wang Feng died, he used his own resources to buy Wang Mang the opportunity to be appreciated by Emperor Cheng of the Han Dynasty."
"Despite such opportunities, Wang Mang did not really enter official service until he was in his thirties."
"At that time, Wang Mang was granted the title of Marquis of the New Capital, and served as Cavalry Captain, Guanglu Doctor, and eventually became the emperor's bodyguard. This was the beginning of Wang Mang's appearance on the political stage of the Western Han Dynasty."
"In fact, even though Wang Mang was in a high position at this time, he was still frugal and honest. He even spent all his wealth just to help the poor. He had no characteristics of an ambitious man. This really has nothing to do with the legend. .”
"In 8 BC, after Grand Sima Wang Gen fell seriously ill, Wang Mang, who was nearly forty years old, ascended to the high position of Grand Sima in the court. He began to wield power at home and abroad, and gradually revealed his ambitions."
"Wang Mang is indeed different from ordinary people who seek to usurp the throne. He does not have a reputation for being ruthless or causing trouble to the government and the public. Instead, he has a reputation for filial piety and virtue. His ascension to the throne was actually expected by the public at first."
"Wang Mang's high moral character can be seen in several aspects, such as being filial to his mother, supporting his widowed sister-in-law, raising his nephews, and being courteous to others."
"When power was overwhelming at home and abroad, he was still impartial and honest, and he also helped the poor."
"Such a noble character naturally has a good reputation among the government and the public, as well as among the people."
"Even before Wang Mang attempted to usurp the throne, many people regarded him as a saint-like existence when Duke Zhou was still alive."
"In fact, everything Wang Mang did was out of ambition."
"Because when the Western Han Dynasty was experiencing corruption and social unrest, Wang Mang understood that his opportunity was coming, so he gathered a group of like-minded people to overthrow the Han Dynasty in one fell swoop and establish a new dynasty."
"How could he rise up so quickly without any planning? How could he say he has no ambition? The answer is no!"
"Wang Mang has always been known as a saint among the people. He is kind and has no worries in the people's hearts."
"Wang Mang is indeed able to fully grasp the people's hearts. He takes advantage of the people's psychology. After gaining support, he can still obey the public opinion."
"Wang Mang also promoted Confucianism, "people-oriented" and helped the people. In this way, his throne was naturally secure."
"It's just that Wang Mang was too idealistic after all. How could long-standing social problems be solved overnight? In the end, it took only a dozen years for him to embark on the road of destruction."
"In just 15 years, the world that I conquered was defeated."
"There were two main social contradictions in the late Western Han Dynasty. One was that a large amount of land was annexed by powerful landlords, and the other was that a large number of peasants who lost their land became slaves of powerful landlords."
"These problems have become increasingly serious since Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. The reason why Wang Mang was able to establish a new dynasty was because people had lost confidence in the rule of the Han Dynasty. The common people hoped that Wang Mang could solve these problems."
"Wang Mang has long been aware of the seriousness of the problem, and immediately implemented two new policies: "Wang Tian" and "Private Property" after taking office."
""Wang Tian" stipulates that all fields in the world belong to the imperial court, and private sales are not allowed."
“The ‘private family’ stipulates that slaves outside the palace are not allowed to be bought and sold. The original intention of this new policy is to stop the trend of farmers becoming slaves, thereby stopping land annexation and the sale of slaves.”
"In order to reduce the wealth of the rich and eliminate polarization, Wang Mang began to reform the currency system in AD 10."
"He abolished the five-baht currency and implemented six categories of twenty-eight currencies. Like the two new policies of Wang Tian and private households, this currency reform showed Wang Mang's nerdy style and revealed that he did not know how to govern the country at all."
(End of chapter)
