The powerful alliance, what’s the secret?
When Wei Qing and Princess Pingyang got married, Wei Qing was the general and his sister was the queen. As the "uncle of the country", the general, Changpinghou , marrying the emperor's widowed sister, is this considered a "well-matched match", right?
According to historical records, Princess Pingyang was newly widowed. Someone proposed marriage to Wei Qing on her behalf. Princess Pingyang smiled and said: "When I leave my house, I often have people riding in and out of my house. What use is it for me to be my husband?" It means that Wei Qing's background is too low. He was once a riding slave in Princess Pingyang's family. Now she wants to marry him. Isn't it a bit embarrassing?
Princess Pingyang’s refusal was not firm. Moreover, the concept of "family status" in Han Dynasty was not as serious as that of later generations - probably because when Qin destroyed the Six Kingdoms, "princes, emperors, and grandsons resigned from the palace downstairs, and came to Qin in their chariots. They sang at court and played music at night, and were members of the Qin Palace." It uprooted and destroyed the nobles of the Six Kingdoms. At the end of Qin Dynasty, Chu and Han fought for hegemony, and wars broke out, which destroyed the noble clans of Qin Dynasty to ashes.
The founding emperor of the Han Dynasty was a local official, and the queen was a daughter of a wealthy family; Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty One of the reasons why Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty was selected as emperor was that his mother's family was slightly cold and would not form a strong influence of relatives; Dou, the empress of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty and the biological mother of the next emperor, was a "family son", that is, she was born as a palace maid; Wang, the empress of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty and the biological mother of the next emperor, was a folk woman who was divorced and remarried; and the second empress of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was simply a singer.
It can be seen from these examples that in the early years of the Han Dynasty, people did not attach much importance to "noble family" and "originality". Although Princess Pingyang refused, she said it with a smile (she really said it with a smile, this is how it is recorded in "Historical Records"). It seemed that she did not refuse firmly, and even had a bit of a joke.
The atmosphere of the Han Dynasty was also relatively open, and the concept of "from one to the end" was not strong. "Historical Records" says that "if a widowed princess in Pingyang should be married to a prince, she should be married to a prince." It is customary and common for a princess who is married for the second time (actually a third marriage, two husbands have died) to marry a prince, even if it is not expressly stipulated. "The Lord and the Speaker of the Left and Right Anzhong Liehou can marry him." Princess Pingyang was discussing with people who could be her husband. It was completely different from the custom of later generations who would blush and avoid the marriage as soon as they heard about it.
When Wei Qing married Princess Pingyang, both parties were quite old. One of the reasons why the matchmaker recommended Wei Qing was that "three sons are marquises". Wei Qing was not only married long ago, but also had three sons of marquises. Neither party is married for the first time.
Two people of noble status, both remarried, had a close relationship with the emperor and were deeply trusted by the emperor. Their marriage was simply a matter of course.
In many film and television works, in order to exaggerate this relationship, Princess Pingyang had an affair with Wei Qing even before her husband died. Most of the princesses in the Han Dynasty were bohemian and few were chaste. If the affair between Princess Pingyang and Wei Qing was true, it would not be surprising. But at that time, Wei Qing was a domestic servant of Princess Pingyang's first husband, Cao Shou. After Cao Shou's death, Princess Pingyang remarried Xia Houpo. After losing her husband for the second time, she talked about her marriage to Wei Qing. If one assumes that Princess Pingyang and Wei Qing have an "unfailing love", it would be an overstatement and over-exaggeration.
Not to mention Princess Pingyang, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty established the first queen Chen Ajiao in order to use the power of Gillian's mother Princess Guantao to consolidate his throne; the second queen Wei Zifu was established in order to win over and promote generals with grassroots backgrounds such as Wei Qing. His love is not pure either.
In that era, politics was much more important than personal emotions. Whether Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty deposed or established a queen, or whether Princess Pingyang married Wei Qing, they all had political backgrounds and cannot be regarded as purely emotional events.
