In ancient Chinese history, starting from Qin Shihuang to the end of the Qing Dynasty in 1912, it took 2132 years. During this period, more than 400 emperors were produced, but the vast majority were male emperors. Female titles The emperor only has , Wu Zetian, and .
However, in the past dynasties, there have been one or two strong female politicians. They have all served as ministers of government and even dethroned emperors. They are usually empress dowagers or empress dowagers, such as Han Gaozu Liu Bang's wife - Lu Pheasant , such as Emperor Wen of Han Dynasty 's wife - Dou Yifang , and later Northern Wei Empress Dowager Hu, etc.
Among these female figures, one is the protagonist we are going to talk about today - Song Zhenzong's wife Liu E. History says that she had Lu Wu's talents but not his evil deeds. So the reason why she did not proclaim herself emperor is Why?
Why was Liu E able to serve as an official in the court?
1. The fate between Liu E and Song ZhenzongZhao Heng was destined by heaven.
Liu E was originally a child of an ordinary family. She got married when she was a teenager. You may be confused after seeing this. I find it a bit unbelievable, how can become the mother of the country even though she is already married?
Because of this, it is said that Song Zhenzong and Queen Liu were destined by heaven. It is said that Liu E and her husband came to the capital to do business and often dealt with customers, so Liu E's beautiful face spread and was praised by Xiang Wang Zhao Heng’s domestic slave knew.
In order to please Zhao Heng, this slave told Zhao Heng that Zhao Heng was very fond of beauty, so he hurriedly went to find out whether it was really as good as the slave said.
When Zhao Heng saw Liu E in person, he was completely fascinated, and then asked his subordinates to do some work to let Liu E and Zhao Heng meet. Liu E may have been conquered by Zhao Heng's royal temperament. In short, Liu E came together with Zhao Heng willingly.
Later, Zhao Heng went through many twists and turns in order to marry Zhao Heng, but was rejected by Song Taizong . When he became emperor, Kou Zhun and other ministers still objected to his appointment of Liu E as his queen. However, Song Zhenzong had already made up his mind and insisted on making Liu E his queen. For the queen. This shows that the fate between the two is really destined!
2, Liu E’s magnanimity and Song Zhenzong’s true love
Since ancient times, the succession of the family line has been a major event for Chinese people, and for the Song Dynasty the Zhao royal family is even more related to the country. However, the sons born to Zhao Heng’s original queen all died in infancy. However, Emperor Zhenzong's love for Liu E remained unchanged. Seeing this, Liu E did not want her husband to be sad, so she very generously asked Zhenzong to visit her maid, Li. Shi.
I didn’t expect that this Li family was so ambitious that she soon became pregnant with the dragon seed. Song Zhenzong’s love for Liu E was so great that he even announced that Empress Liu was pregnant. Then after Li family gave birth to Zhao Zhen, He was immediately raised by Liu E. Of course, Liu E had always been kind to Li, but was not as unofficial anecdotes said.
Faced with such a queen who understands righteousness, Song Zhenzong will only become more and more fond of him, so when Song Zhenzong handles major political affairs, he also lets Liu E participate in it, and gradually allows Liu E, who was already extremely intelligent, to embark on a new path. political path.
In 1022 AD, Song Zhenzong died. He left a legacy and was succeeded by Zhao Zhen. However, because the monarch was young, Liu E was allowed to take charge of the government in the name of the Queen Mother. So far, a generation of legendary women in China's feudal dynasty was born.
Liu E did not mean to proclaim himself emperor.
Emperor and imperial power were the goals that many people dreamed of on the political path in ancient China, but they could not be realized due to various reasons such as time, opportunity, and ability. But if there is a basis for implementation, she definitely wants to try it. For Liu E, there is also the "pioneer" Wu Zetian, so will inevitably have some strange ideas in her heart.
First of all, The ancients liked to write acrostic poems or express their true intentions in a subtle way. For example, Song Renzong and Zhao Zhen's first reign name was "Tian Sheng", which separated the word "天". It is a "二" and a "人", plus the word "Sheng" at the end, to form the two characters "二圣", which refers to Song Renzong and the Empress Dowager Liu. "Sheng" is originally the word used by the emperor. , even the queen would generally use it, so such a vague meaning must be Liu E's idea, Zhao Zhen was just a child at the time, so how could he care about this.
Secondly, two important ministers in the early days of Renzong of the Song Dynasty were overthrown by Liu E. What these two have in common is that they both served as prime ministers of the Song Dynasty . Another thing they have in common is that they have repeatedly opposed Liu E's arrogance. In ancient times, Etiquette and law are strict, especially those related to imperial power, and Liu E challenged the etiquette and law system many times in order to demonstrate her authority.
That's why she encountered opposition from the ministers of the DPRK and China, and in the end these two were really defeated by Liu E's methods. Empress Dowager Liu must have wanted to firmly grasp the alluring supreme power.
Thirdly, Liu E once tested her trusted minister very directly, probably to ask her ministers what they thought of Wu Zetian. But at that time, this trusted minister very directly poured cold water on her, saying that Wu Zetian was Tang Dynasty. To the sinners of , everything does is harmful to the country!
Although the result was not good, Liu E's intention was still very obvious.
Fourth, Liu E expressed her intention to proclaim herself emperor very directly twice. One is that she wants to build seven temples for her Liu family. These seven temples are the highest standards in the ancestral temple system and only the emperor can do it. Such a direct attitude was definitely not realized. It was strongly opposed by the ministers, and it was not implemented in the end.
The second is When she was seriously ill, she wanted to wear the emperor's dress to worship at the Ancestral Temple. Although it was finally realized, it still lacked three accessories that represented the emperor, and this time it could only be regarded as Song Renzong satisfied her to show his filial piety. Vanity.
The truth about why Liu E didn’t proclaim himself emperor
1, she had no power base
First of all, Liu E was just a common woman of ordinary origin, she did not have a powerful natal family, nor did she have any confidants who truly dedicated everything to herself, and proclaiming herself emperor was not Something that you can do if you want to do it requires a lot of manpower, material and financial resources for close preparation and momentum building.
For example, Wu Zetian was prepared to do this, but Liu E did not have the authority of Wu Zetian and could not let others pave the way for her. Simply speaking, with Liu E's credibility, no one in the Song Dynasty would praise her or commit fraud.
Secondly, Wu Zetian was attacking the powerful families at that time, which gave the common people the opportunity to ascend to high positions in the imperial court. Moreover, Wu Zetian was relatively successful, severely attacking the powerful families, allowing the common people to completely find their own way to turn around, facing Under such circumstances, the common people certainly strongly supported Wu Zetian.
Liu E, in contrast, on the contrary, after Zhu WenwenFive Dynasties and Ten Kingdomsother forces massacred the aristocratic families at that time, by the Song Dynasty, there were no so-called aristocratic families, and everyone was a common class, and These people are deeply beholden to the Zhao royal family. How could support Liu E as emperor!
2, Song Taizu ordered not to kill scholars and scholar-bureaucrats
The political structure of the Song Dynasty was unprecedented and unprecedented. Because Song Taizu only ascended the throne through the Chenqiao mutiny, he was very wary of soldiers, especially the literati. Care and concern, especially for scholar-bureaucrats, so the national policy of the Song Dynasty was " Emphasizing culture and suppressing military affairs". In the end, Zhao Kuangyin also left a will not to kill scholar-bureaucrats.
Coupled with the continuation and stability of Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty, this pattern was further strengthened, thus completely forming a political pattern in which the emperor and scholar-bureaucrats jointly ruled the world.
Faced with such a situation, if Liu E proclaimed himself emperor, how could the civil service group agree? After all, civil servants valued etiquette most, and Liu E's proclaiming emperor would be risking the world's disapproval. Therefore, the Song Dynasty civil service group would never agree.
To put it bluntly, even if you support Liu E, you must always consider your own political interests. If Liu E succeeds in becoming emperor, the civil servants will think about what political benefits they can get. is the power of high-ranking officials?
The Zhao royal family has already given it! Or various privileges? The Zhao family also gave many privileges to literati! Or is it rich money? The Song Dynasty was the dynasty with the highest salary in Chinese feudal history! So Liu E has nothing worthy of the support of the Song Dynasty civil servant group!
3, Liu E’s background and heart are not cruel.
First of all, Liu E, as an ordinary woman who has been married, has seen and experienced the suffering of the people among the people. She knows that if she proclaims herself emperor, it may cause problems. Unpredictable consequences; at the same time, she has not forgotten and cannot forget Song Zhenzong Zhao Heng's love for her. Everything she has was given by Song Zhenzong, her husband who doted on him all his life. Liu E cannot be an ungrateful person.
Secondly, Emperors have been emperors since ancient times. Most of them are ruthless people. They will be extremely enthusiastic about things that can achieve their goals. They will use any means to do things. If someone blocks it, there will be bloody revenge. For example, Wu Zetian, in order to ascend the throne, continuously He can kill his own son!
Liu E does not have such a "cruel heart". If Liu E wants to act crazy, I am afraid that the Song Dynasty will soon perish, because there are other political forces watching covetously. Coupled with the many obstacles faced by the Song Dynasty, she did not want to go to war and was willing to give up her ambition and become a mother who can help her children!
In short, Liu E is an ordinary person, is not a god, and she can't be moved in the face of the supreme imperial power, so she made a lot of efforts to satisfy her impulse, but she failed because Liu E's ambition was suppressed by the Song Dynasty. Defeated by the reality of the situation, Liu E had to wake up and let herself spend her life peacefully.
