Miserable childhood
First of all, let's talk about the name Liu E. Maybe Liu E doesn't know that she has the name Liu E. How did this name come from? Because her life is too legendary, novelists especially like to sort out her gossip, so slowly, she was given a name called Liu E, which is one of the many names of beauty in ancient times, and this name is equivalent to.
Liu E comes from a very good family. His ancestral home was Taiyuan, Shanxi, and later he moved to Huayang, Sichuan. Her grandfather's name is Liu Yanqing, who made great achievements in the Five Dynasties' post-Jin and post-Han Dynasties and became a right general. Her father Liu Tong did very well in the early Song Dynasty. He used to be the commander of Tiger Festival and the secretariat of history. Later, he died when he went to Taiyuan with Song Taizong and Zhao Guangyi. Liu E is a martyr orphan, and Liu E is the second daughter of the Liu family.
It rained all night, and it wasn't long before my parents died, and Liu E, who was still in infancy, became an orphan. He was fostered in his mother's Ponzi family since childhood. In ancient China, there was a very interesting phenomenon. Generally speaking, orphans of boys are taken care of by their fathers' families, but when girls become orphans, they are usually taken care of by their grandmothers. Lin Daiyu in A Dream of Red Mansions was also fostered by her grandmother.
However, Liu E's grandmother's family did not cultivate Liu E into a good family or a small jasper, but cultivated her into a singer. In ancient times, singers were not big stars today. In ancient times, they also had a name called "player", which was not a glorious occupation. Normal families will not let their daughters go this way. You can imagine how miserable Liu E's childhood was. Liu E is very talented in music and sings well. She soon became a popular local singer.
When Liu E was about twelve or thirteen years old, she married a silversmith named Gong Mei. It can be said that Liu E tasted the joys and sorrows of the world in her childhood. At the age of other children's naivety, she has worked hard to manage her family's livelihood and developed a worldly wisdom early. Gong Mei felt unhappy in Sichuan, so her family moved to Kaifeng, the capital, and the young couple began a "wandering" life. After arriving in Kaifeng, the good life did not come as scheduled, but it became more and more difficult. So, Gong Mei, Liu E's love rat husband, had a bad idea and sold his beautiful wife for money. Liu E, who is only fifteen years old, experienced an emotional betrayal early and I don't know how many hands she has turned. Finally, she was commanded by Wang Fu. In Song Dynasty, it was fashionable for nobles and literati to exchange concubines, but this shameless life was described very elegantly by their works. 10 years ago, there was a high school teacher who talked about the history of the Song Dynasty in a lecture hall. He said he wanted to go back to the Song Dynasty, how beautiful it was. I assume with malicious intent that what he envies is the life of a scholar in the Song Dynasty who has no sense of shame, no lower limit and no sense of shame.
The queen raised herself.
Liu E's second husband was and was Zhao Dechang, Zhao and Zhao Yuankan. He is the third son of Zhao Guangyi Song Taizong. The emperor of the Northern Song Dynasty is one line except the founding emperor. Zhao Guangyi is characterized by its excellent literature and art, but it is generally unintelligent, and Zhao Heng is the most unintelligent. After this buddy became emperor, Liao took the opportunity to fight the Song Dynasty in the south. His first reaction was to escape and prepare to move. The founding of the third monarch unintelligent like this, really can't stand it, ministers under the guidance of prime minister Kou Zhun, holding up Zhao Heng USES personal expedition. When the frontier soldiers saw the emperor come to the front to accompany them desperately, their morale was encouraged. They fought bravely and killed LiLin Xiao, the general of Liao State. The two sides were evenly matched in the Buddhist temple, and no one could do anything about it, so they began peace talks. Unexpectedly, the swindler Zhao Heng said to Cao Liyong, a negotiator in the Song Dynasty, "As long as peace talks can be reached, even millions of dollars will do." He was really scared, but Kou Zhun got angry and pointed at Cao Liyong's nose and threatened, "The bottom line is 300,000. If you exceed a penny, I will kill you. Look at you. " As a result, Song Fang paid 300,000 yuan in compensation.
Many shameless literati in later generations said how insignificant this 300 thousand was through various calculations, how much money the Song Dynasty got from Liao State through various currency wars, and so on. Brother, first of all, there is not much money, that is compensation. No matter how you wash it, this nature cannot be changed. Through this incident, the cowardly nature of the Song Dynasty was clearly seen by neighbors, and the Song Dynasty was no longer majestic in their eyes, so they began to struggle desperately, resulting in greater passivity. The Northern Song Dynasty had to fight on multiple fronts, and the high military expenditure was always the heaviest financial burden in the Song Dynasty. There is another trade war that Zhao Heng didn't fight and won't start here. Please stop washing. That's disgusting.
Zhao Henggan did something without a lower limit after forming an alliance in the Buddhist temple. He also knows that the single-source alliance has made a fool of itself. In order to save his image, he ordered people to forge a so-called "gobbledygook", which said that God recognized him and thought that Zhao Heng was a good emperor, and he could hold a retreat ceremony. Well, isn't this the emperor's new dress? Even more wonderful things came, and the ministers swarmed and played a Zen farce with him. I would like to ask those who claimed that the literati in the Song Dynasty had integrity, how to explain that the Manchu literati did not stand up to stop this farce? Li Shimin, the emperor of sandwich martial arts, tried to close meditation, but failed several times. People should at least face it. How dare you laugh at Li Tang's filth? Since Zhao Heng, no emperor has shown his greatness by ending meditation. They are afraid of having anything to do with Zhao Heng. They really can't lose that person.
Quote the comments of later generations on this matter:
The Prime Minister of the Yuan Dynasty took off and said, "Since the alliance with China, he has practiced Zen rites, auspicious omen and holy books, and made peace. It is strange that the monarch and ministers of a country are crazy and sick. " Explain the meaning of tuotuo. I have signed the Love Source Alliance, and I dare to meditate. There are so many auspicious things, and I deceive myself and make the so-called gobbledygook. The monarchs and subjects in the Song Dynasty were so angry that I didn't know what to say. It's really weird.
Li Zhi of the Ming Dynasty said, "The monarch and the minister are not as good as each other. Ridiculous! Hey! " Translate, who are you fooling, an open country, a monarch and a minister, who are you fooling? Ridiculous! Alas!
Having said that, I just want to talk about who Liu E's second husband, Zhao Heng, is. This man is quite literary, and he can do anything with poetry and songs, but he is a coward at heart and lacks a basic sense of honor. Of course, most emperors in the Northern Song Dynasty were such birds.
Let's go on talking about Liu E. /kloc-Wang Han, 0/6 years old, got Liu E, 0/5 years old. This is amazing. This little sister is beautiful and sings well. Two people are bored together day and night. To what extent? One day, when Zhao Guangyi summoned his son Zhao Heng, he suddenly found that his son was haggard and listless. So I went to Zhao Heng's wet nurse and asked the old lady if her son was ill. The nurse said, "What's the matter? There are goblins in the house. They don't sleep at night and toss and turn. " Zhao Guangyi was furious, which was good. He asked Zhao Heng to get rid of Liu E quickly, and then immediately booked a suitable marriage for Zhao Heng. General, the lady of Pan Mei's family is dignified and elegant. How can I put it? It's not recorded in the history books, so it's probably just so-so. Six years later, in 989, Pan Huanghou died at the age of 22, and they had no children.
Zhao Heng didn't want to be separated from Liu E, so he put Liu E in his Zhang Jian's house. They made an appointment when they were free. In order to please the boss, Zhang Jian did not dare to refuse, but from then on, Zhang Jian did not dare to go home, for fear that he could not explain clearly, so he bought a house and lived by himself, and his home became a foreign house in Zhao Heng.
In this way, they secretly passed 14. In 997, Zhao Heng's father Zhao Guangyi died of illness, and no one could manage Zhao Heng anymore, so he took Liu E into the palace. Don't get me wrong, there is no drama here. All's well that ends well, and Liu E dotes on the sixth house. Over the years, Zhao Heng has not been idle for a moment. He not only married his first wife, Queen Guo, but also married many concubines. And Zhao Heng called Liu E into the palace and didn't give her any birthright. It is estimated that Liu E was treated better than ordinary maids. It should be said that Liu E's difficulties at this time are hellish, but she didn't give up. After many operations, she and Yang, the favorite princess of Zhenzong, became good girlfriends. The two established an offensive and defensive alliance in the harem, and this friendship was maintained until Liu E's death.
10 years later, 1004, 35-year-old Liu E was named a four-quality beauty, and soon she was named Princess Hexian. If nothing happens, Liu E's struggle in the harem is the peak, and her life is complete. Liu E made an act that seems puzzling today. Because Liu E's blood relatives in the world are gone, she regards her ex-husband Gong Mei as her dry brother, and Gong Mei takes the opportunity to change her surname to Liu. Since then, her ex-husband's family has become her maiden. I have to say that Gong Mei, a daughter-in-law, is worth marrying.
In fact, every time I see this place, I have a question. /kloc-Why is Liu E, who has been unknown for 0/0 years, suddenly favored? Is it her beauty? Is that her euphemistic voice? My personal guess is that since this time, Zhao Heng has discovered Liu E's ability to handle government affairs, and Zhao Heng, who is not energetic, can't handle the mountain of official business at all. Liu E should have undertaken a lot of government affairs in Zhao Heng at this time, otherwise there is no way to explain that Liu E, who fell out of favor 10, suddenly fell out of favor and soon rose to the position of princess.
1007, his second wife, Queen Guo, died of illness, so he wanted to make Liu E the queen. However, Kou Zhun, Li Jue, Xiang Minzhong, Wang Dan and others resolutely opposed Liu E's humble background and could not be the mother of a country, and elected their favorite "Shen Cairen" as the new queen. I have to say that this group of literati interfered in the emperor's harem in the spirit of being strict with themselves, whether in the Song Dynasty or the Ming Dynasty. They never care how many concubines they have in their home, but they desperately ask the emperor not to be lewd, or they will criticize. There are too many such examples, so I won't expand them.
Zhao Heng is so boring that I can't even decide my own harem? So Zhao Anren, who was the first to recommend Shen Cairen as the queen, was arranged to be an official in the local area. Ministers knew the consequences of blind competition were serious, so they kept their mouths shut. The establishment of the queen has been shelved.
In 65438 AD, when Zhao Zhen went to see Liu E, he preferred Liu E's maid Li. Unexpectedly, he gave birth to a son, later Zhao Zhen of Song Renzong, and the only son of Zhao Heng. So the emperor, Liu E, Li Maid and Yang Favourite reached an agreement that this son was born in Liu E and was raised by Yang alone. This is definitely a win-win solution.
Two years later, in A.D.10/2, Liu E, who was blessed by her son, was made queen, and no one dared to openly oppose it. Liu E was 43 years old this year. Liu E not only kept the harem in good order, but also accompanied Song Zhenzong and Zhao Heng to work overtime every day to handle official business until midnight. Liu E is smart, savvy and well-read. She has a good memory of history books, especially good at it. No matter what government affairs she meets, she can remember the ins and outs of relevant government affairs, and no matter what she handles, she can learn from others.
Later, the health of Zhao Heng in Song Zhenzong became worse and worse, and the government affairs of Dasong were slowly handled by Liu E.
Although Liu E was particularly capable and handled the affairs of the harem and the imperial court thoroughly, it greatly choked the lungs of civil servants, so they began to spread all kinds of rumors that Liu E was preparing to rebel. Especially in 10 19, Taibai star appeared in broad daylight, so they rumored that it was a sign that a woman was going to rebel, and Zhao Heng began to waver, so when chatting with confidant Zhou Huaizheng, he mentioned the possibility of letting the prince supervise the country. When Kou Zhun heard this, he immediately entered the palace in secret and met Song Zhenzong Zhao Heng. Have to say, Kou Zhun is a great man, the whole process completely avoided Liu E. When I got home, I called my cronies to draft the imperial edict of the Prince, but it was revealed to Liu E by several of his cronies. Liu E immediately ran to confront Song Zhenzong, and Song Zhenzong's reaction was exactly the same as that of Li Zhi, Tang Gaozong. "I don't know, I didn't say, I didn't do it, Kou Zhun did it." Have to say, with the wrong boss, is really a heroic tragedy, so Liu E on the grounds of Kou Zhun's call, won the Kou Zhun, replaced Kou Zhun as the new prime minister with confidant Ding Wei Song Dynasty.
Zhao Heng's confidant Zhou Huaizheng knew that he was going to die, so he was ready to launch a coup. The slogan is to kill Liu E and Ding Wei in the Song Dynasty, welcome back to Kou Zhun, make the prince emperor, and ask Zhao Heng to be the emperor's father. The plan was good, but it was soon betrayed by his people. Liu E and Ding Wei sent people to arrest Zhou Huaizheng and all his henchmen in the Song Dynasty. Zhou Huaizheng himself was killed, and Kou Zhun was demoted again and again until he was demoted to Leizhou to join the army as an official. Finally died in Leizhou, which is now Zhanjiang, Guangdong. That year, it was the wild land of Lingnan.
After this incident, Liu E asked the 9-year-old Prince Zhao Zhen to discuss government affairs with ministers in Zishantang every day, and began to learn to be a Chu Jun. Liu E read newspapers in the harem, and her husband Zhao Heng lived in seclusion.
Pre-imperial weighing system
In A.D. 1022, Song Zhenzong, who lingered on his sickbed for a long time, ended his long life. He sailed westward, and 12-year-old Zhao Zhen was declared emperor, that is, Song Renzong, the first benevolent king in history.
Ding Wei, the prime minister of the Song Dynasty, saw that the emperor was young. At this time, if Liu E was used, he could monopolize the state affairs. Power is always charming, so he began to plan to let 12-year-old Song Renzong lead the government. How can this little trick escape the eyes of Liu E, a skilled tactician? Therefore, Liu E summoned the officials of Chengming Temple and presented a lot of evidence of corruption and collusion between Ding Wei Song Dynasty and the palace eunuch Lei Yungong. Ding Wei Song Dynasty was beaten at a loss in public, and Liu E took the opportunity to kill Ding Wei Song Dynasty. Officials tried to persuade them that there was a training plan that didn't kill the literati, so Liu E reluctantly demoted Ding Wei Song Dynasty to Cliff State on Hainan Island, which was more remote than Kou Zhun. However, Ding Wei had a good attitude in Song Dynasty. He stayed in Yazhou for more than three years, Leizhou for more than five years, Daozhou for nearly four years and Gwangju for about three years. He was exiled for fifteen years, and those who had no white hair on their temples had to take measures. Finally died behind Liu E, convinced?
After what happened in the Song Dynasty in Ding Wei, Liu E realized how dangerous it was to relax his power, so the 54-year-old Liu E accepted Song Zhenzong's will, saying, "Respect the Queen as the Empress Dowager, and relieve the military power according to the Empress Dowager", that is, Liu E handled state affairs in the name of the Empress Dowager. Every five days, Liu E took Zhao Zhen to court in Chengming Hall, with the emperor sitting on the left and Liu E sitting on the right, putting a curtain in front of Empress Dowager Cixi's face, that is, hanging a curtain for politics.
Liu E said that the system is still very distinctive. She made herself a robe of a male emperor, that is, a costume. When she goes out, she has to sit in a big seat. The pomp and circumstance of the guard of honor should be the same as that of the male emperor, not that of the empress dowager. She just showed her authority in a masculine way, a bit like Empress Dowager Cixi who asked Guangxu to call her dear father. Two years later, on 1024, he accepted the honorific title given to himself by Emperor Zhao Zhen, saying, "The Empress Dowager Ying should be blessed, honored, respected, kind, benevolent and longevity".
Liu E said that the eleven-year system left Renzong a country with clear politics and rich treasuries, which laid a solid foundation for the national strength of the Northern Song Dynasty to reach its peak during the Song Renzong period. It was rated as "Empress Dowager System" by history books. Although the imperial court left the palace, its orders were strict and its kindness was extended to the world.
This article admits several interesting stories during the reign of Liu E.
First, after the death of her husband Zhao Heng, Liu E buried the so-called gobbledygook with Zhao Heng, ending the most absurd face project of the Zhen Dynasty.
Second, one day when Liu E was discussing state affairs with ministers, he burst into tears. The ministers were puzzled and asked, "What happened to your old lady?" Liu E said, "How difficult it is for our country. Thanks to you civil servants, we orphans and widows can sit firmly in the world. Whenever I think about it, I will be moved by this old woman. How can I thank you? " The civil servants immediately became modest: "Empress Dowager, these are all things we should do." Liu E said at once, "Well, the descendants of the royal family and the country are favored. You should also report all your descendants and relatives. If there is an opportunity, I will also prefer your descendants and relatives. " The civil servants were so excited that they reported their marriage to Liu E. In this way, Liu E sorted out the kinship of civil servants and wrote this diagram on the wall. Whenever a commendation is presented, Liu E will carefully scrutinize the checks and balances according to this chart to prevent a faction in the civil service from having too much power, thus ensuring that there is no factional struggle during the period of Liu E's system.
Third, issue jiaozi to promote paper money. China has been a country poor in precious metals since ancient times. Liu E changed the paper money "Jiaozi" invented by Sichuan merchants into official issuance, and set up "Yizhou Jiaozi Service Office" in Chengdu, with officials from Beijing and North Korea as the producer, presided over Jiaozi issuance, "set up a paper copy office to rectify the disadvantages of counterfeit banknotes" and strictly controlled its printing process. First Bank issued 1256340 bonds with a reserve of 360000 bonds (in Sichuan Railway Money). Song Ting officially issued the world's first paper money-Jiaozi, also known as "Guanjiaozi", which was more than 600 years earlier than the paper money issued by the European Swedish Bank in 16 1. The release of Jiaozi greatly promoted the rapid development of commerce in Song Dynasty, which was one of the important reasons for the prosperity of Song Dynasty. At the same time, the paper money system was also learned and inherited by Liao, Jin and later Yuan in the north. It was not until Zhu Yuanzhang was badly beaten that Zhang was replaced by silver.
At the same time, Liu E also tried to cultivate Injong's Zhao Zhen. In order to make Injong succeed, Liu E was too strict and bound by etiquette, but Yang Fei, another foster mother of Injong, was spoiled by Injong, who was afraid of Liu E and close to Yang Fei since childhood. But Song Renzong knew that Liu E was very kind to him. Liu E died, and Song Renzong was ready to serve Liu E. As the saying goes, "Empress Dowager Cixi tried her best to protect the emperor, and Renzong was ready to serve Empress Dowager Cixi."
In A.D. 1033, Liu E was seriously ill. Liu E, who had been in the system for eleven years, knew that he couldn't hide this time, so he pardoned the minister who had been demoted since he called the system. Kou Zhun, Cao Liyong and other political opponents of Liu E were reinstated and moved to Song Dynasty.
Behind the innocence
That month, Liu E died, and Injong called his ministers in the Imperial Palace to announce the death of Liu E. Then he asked a question: "The Queen Mother pulled her clothes many times when she died. I can't figure out what this means? " The purpose of Injong's question is obvious. If given the chance, he will express Huang's thoughts quickly. Xue Kui, who is involved in politics, said: "This is because the Queen Mother doesn't want to wear a dragon robe for burial." Injong immediately showed an epiphany and let Liu E change into the queen mother's dress.
Then a very disgusting thing happened. Zhao (the prototype of the Eight Immortals King), the most prestigious member of the Zhao family, stood up and told a big gossip: "Your Majesty, I will tell you a secret. You are not actually Liu E's son. You are from Li Sheng. Liu E killed your real mother and took you away. "
Song Renzong was furious. He blamed himself for not recognizing his mother and resented Liu E's cruelty, so people surrounded Liu E's mansion. He personally went to Hongfu Hospital where Li Fei's coffin was located, and found that Li Chenfei was buried after the ceremony, and his face was like life under the care of mercury. Song Renzong realized that his mother, Li Fei, died of natural causes and obtained the highest specifications. Liu E never mistreated Li Fei. Renzong recalled Liu E's kindness to himself and sighed: "People's words are credible!" Later, Injong learned that Injong's mother, Li Fei, was born in poverty and had no relatives. Liu E once sent Liu Mei (Liu E's ex-husband) and Zhang Huaide to find relatives in Li Fei. As a result, he found Li Fei's younger brother Li Yonghe and arranged to be a junior official in Class Three.
Song Renzong personally went to Liu E's coffin to burn incense and worship, crying and saying, "From now on, the Great Queen will be innocent all her life! (Renzong called Liu E the great queen and Yang the little queen) "
Sadly, the political opponents who were pardoned before Liu E's death saw Liu E's death and knew that Liu E was not Renzong's biological mother, so they began to slander Liu E crazily. They not only wrote a paper defaming Liu E, but also wrote it through various folk literary works. When Song Renzong heard this, he was very angry and said, "What are you talking about?" So he ordered the court and the people not to slander Liu E.
However, Renzong still overestimated the moral integrity of the literati in the Song Dynasty. They wrote the historic masterpiece "Civet cats for princes", describing Liu E as a heinous villain in the city, and writing themselves as a great loyal minister to protect the sky, which has been sung ever since. How vicious it is to control public opinion and reverse black and white.
At the beginning of Injong's accession to the throne, Song Dynasty officials headed by Fu Bi said to Injong: "Your Majesty, when Liu E called the system, you were completely under the control of Liu E, and Liu E only controlled his desires under the protection of loyal officials. You didn't usurp the throne as emperor like Wu Zetian. Since you are the emperor, you should reward us loyal ministers! " I don't deny that Fu Bi is a loyal minister and a capable minister, but is it good to eat blood steamed bread like this? The old lady likes everything about the emperor. What is the significance of her being emperor? Liu E's own relatives have all passed away. She has only two relatives in this world, one is her ex-husband's dry brother, and the other is her raised son Zhao Zhen. Did she usurp the throne to pass it on to her ex-husband and brother? They are bullying the old lady, and they can't talk back when they are dead!
This is the moral integrity of the scholar-officials in the Song Dynasty! ! ! ! ! !
This is an excerpt from the evaluation of Liu E by later generations:
Sima Guang: Xianming Zhang, the Queen Mother Su, really made a great contribution to the Zhao family by protecting the sacred bow, rectifying the discipline in all directions, encouraging the virtuous and retiring the traitors. ("Empress Dowager")
Su Shi: For more than 70 years since Song Xing, the people did not know the soldiers, but taught them when they were rich, which was extremely holy and beautiful. (Su Shi 6 1 lay set)