Chapter 306 The end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Yellow Turban Uprising
Hearing the words of the First Emperor, Li Nian felt a strange and happy feeling in his heart, because the Shi Huangdi had also done this in history, and it is said that the First Emperor set the precedent.
Now the First Emperor said that Liu Hong sold his official position and got a title, and he had a sense of humor like a crow laughing at a pig. Of course, the First Emperor's selling of his official position and getting a title was still different from Liu Hong.
Noticing Li Nian's strange look, the First Emperor understood. He asked: "Why, the person you know in history also did this?"
But in order to make up for his other historical self, and out of confidence in himself, the First Emperor added: "There must be a major reason why he sold his official position!"
Who sells his official position and gets a title without any reason?
Li Niandao: "As far as I know, the His Majesty in history did indeed sell his official position and win titles. He is also considered to be the first to sell his official position, which was imitated by later dynasties."
Hearing these words, the First Emperor was quite speechless. He felt that these people must have wanted to sell their official positions, and then pulled the Qin Emperor out to take the blame. Could it be that without the Qin Emperor setting the precedent, these guys would not have Are you selling your official position?
He could guess what those kings were thinking: It is not our fault to sell official positions and win titles. Qin Shihuang has already done it, and we are just imitating it. The root cause is that Qin Shihuang made this bad start.
"But His Majesty sold his official position and received a title for disaster relief, and the order was 'the common people pay thousands of stones for the first level of title'. There are restrictions on selling officials, but Liu Hong is different!"
Hearing this, the First Emperor felt instantly relieved: I knew that there must be a major reason why the other person sold his official position, and it was different from the Han Ling Emperor Liu Hong.
"He was very ruthless in selling officials. He clearly marked the price. Not only did he sell county magistrates, but also ministers. The father of the later Emperor Wu of Wei bought a 'gong' position through this method."
The Han Ling Emperor Liu Hong was really a talent. The minister was an important member of the country, with a high and powerful position. He was almost the highest authority under the emperor. How could Liu Hong sell it to others at a price?
On the other hand, Emperor Wu of Wei should be related to the "Wei" in the "three-thirds of Wei, Shu, and Wu" in the historical dynasty songs. If Li Nian specifically mentioned it, he should be regarded as an extraordinary figure.
Li Nian continued: "Liu Hong accumulated a lot of wealth by selling his official positions, and the eunuchs who were close to him also had a lot of money. This was also the second reason Liu Hongzhi favored and trusted the eunuchs ten times, making him They became so corrupt in the late Eastern Han Dynasty that even generals who led troops in wars had to bribe them in order to report their military exploits to the court. ”
"That is to say, it is not enough for a general to lead an army in war and have military exploits. He must have someone to speak for him in the court so that his military achievements can be reported. Since Shi Changshi is close to Liu Hong, he is naturally good at speaking. candidate.”
"If you don't bribe the ten permanent servants or their subordinates, even if you have great military exploits, they will not be known to the court, and they will not be reused by the court."
This made Meng Tian laugh angrily, what kind of imperial court is it? It's too dark. The generals are fighting desperately, and they have to bribe these eunuchs and eunuchs? Without bribery, the great military exploits cannot be counted!
Meng Tian said: "By doing this, the Eastern Han Dynasty will not be destroyed. There is no natural reason!"
Li Nian nodded and said: "From a historical perspective, the demise of the Eastern Han Dynasty is inevitable, but there are reasons why Liu Hong favored eunuchs. Liu Hong did not ascend the throne through his status as a prince, and he was young when he ascended the throne, and his foundation in the court and palace was weak. Not enough confidants.”
"It is not easy for the harem, relatives, and courtiers to become Liu Hong's confidants. Needless to say, the dangers of the harem and relatives. The courtiers at that time were also not good people. Most of them came from powerful families, valued reputation, and liked to talk. In their hearts , the family is better than the court and the king.”
"These people open their mouths to talk about the world, but keep their mouths shut to talk about the common people. They often criticize and admonish the king from a moral point of view. However, few of them really want to do things for the king and the world. In fact, they are just for their own selfish interests."
"It is naturally difficult for Liu Hong to trust such people. If these people are eliminated, eunuchs become more suitable candidates, and there are many advantages in choosing eunuchs:"
"Eunuchs have a low status and are not easy to join forces with other types of people. The power of eunuchs depends entirely on the king's favor. If the king no longer trusts them, they will lose power. If they want to stabilize their power position, they can only try their best to please them. Kings and eunuchs are infertile and have no heirs. No matter how powerful they are, their power will only last during their lifetime and cannot be passed down..."
"Of course, eunuchs also have shortcomings. One of the more common and biggest shortcomings is their greed for money. However, compared with the benefits of appointing eunuchs, this flaw can be ignored in the eyes of many kings: What's wrong with being greedy? No matter how greedy you are, you can still be greedy. How much? Even if you are really greedy, you can find a way to get it into your hands in the future. ”
The First Emperor frowned. He found that the problem of eunuchs interfering in politics was really a difficult problem to solve. Even if a king like him would not have the problem of eunuchs interfering in politics, what about the future kings of Qin?
Eunuchs are really useful, so they are used. As long as the future kings of Qin are not stupid, they will definitely find eunuchs useful, and then eunuchs may appear to interfere in politics.
The First Emperor said: "Is there any solution to the harm caused by eunuchs?"
Li Nian shook his head and said: "As long as eunuchs exist, there is no proper solution. We can only set up rules to prevent them, but it is difficult to eradicate them."
The real root of the eunuch problem lies in power. As long as power does not require eunuchs, then there will naturally be no eunuch problem. In other words, the eunuch problem can only be solved when the power that requires eunuchs disappears.
The First Emperor also realized this and did not ask any more questions. Li Nian continued: "With Liu Hong's favor, the Shi Changshi became extremely powerful."
"While helping Liu Hong to sell his official position and enjoy his life, they also levied excessive taxes and deprived the common people, causing widespread complaints among the people. Later, the Yellow Turban Uprising broke out, endangering the Eastern Han Dynasty. Some people believed that the Yellow Turban Uprising was forced out by the exclusive power of the eunuchs, relatives of his relatives."
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"But the person who said this is obviously biased. He didn't mention a word about the powerful families of the Eastern Han Dynasty. The exclusive power of relatives and eunuchs was indeed the cause of the Yellow Turban Uprising, but the powerful families cannot escape their responsibility. The harm of powerful families has been discussed with Your Majesty before. I have already said it before, so I won’t repeat it here. Your Majesty only needs to know that in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, the power of powerful families was even greater than that in the late Western Han Dynasty.”
"The Yellow Turban Uprising was a large-scale uprising led by Zhang Jiao. Zhang Jiao, a native of Julu, Jizhou, was the leader of the Taiping Road in the late Eastern Han Dynasty and the leader of the Yellow Turban Uprising. He called himself the Great Master and General Tiangong."
Hearing Li Nian talk about Zhang Jiao, the First Emperor and the other three were immediately very interested. This was the person who caused later generations to add in Li Nian's words, "The poor man Zhang Jiao, please die!"
Although this sentence was added by later generations, Zhang Jiao was indeed a character who dared to launch an uprising in the Eastern Han Dynasty and said no to the Eastern Han Dynasty.
"Taiping Dao believes in Huangdi and Laozi, so Taiping Dao is often considered a sect of Taoism. Zhang Jiao believes that the Yellow Emperor's era was the most peaceful and beautiful era."
"In that era, there were no hunger, cold, disease, fraud or theft, nor the killing of powerful people. Zhang Jiao longed for the era of the Yellow Emperor. This should be the reason why he proposed that 'the sky is dead, and the yellow sky should stand.'"
"The last years of the Eastern Han Dynasty were indeed not a good time. There were famines at the top, which made it difficult for the fields to have harvests. The emperor was absurd, the officials were corrupt, the eunuchs, relatives, and courtiers were fighting constantly, and powerful families were causing harm to the place. In other words, the Eastern Han Dynasty was also unlucky. Since Deng Sui, disasters have occurred frequently!”
But despite the frequent disasters in the middle and later periods, the Eastern Han Dynasty still managed to hold on for a long time before falling, which is quite remarkable.
"Under these factors, the people in the world naturally had a difficult life. At this time, Zhang Jiao began to promote his way of peace and spread his idea of 'bringing peace', which used talisman water to save people." "This is In the eyes of later generations, it was a kind of ignorant and superstitious behavior. behavior, but in desperate times, even a bowl of Talisman Water is a luxury for some people. Talisman Water cannot cure diseases, nor can it relieve hunger, but it makes the people feel a little warmth and kindness in that environment. See Hope.”
"With Zhang Jiao's efforts, in more than ten years, the number of followers of Taiping Dao has increased to hundreds of thousands, spreading all over the world."
Meng Tian asked in surprise: "There are so many people, and the Eastern Han Dynasty court didn't notice?"
Li Nian smiled and said: "Of course I have noticed it, but the Eastern Han Dynasty was chaotic and corrupt, and Zhang Jiao and others also responded to it. Some local officials even thought that Zhang Jiao's preaching was good and could appease the people, so they discovered the hidden dangers. Some officials either dared not say it or were unwilling to say it, and those who dared to say it could not reach the central court. "
"Under such circumstances, Zhang Jiao was forced to preach for more than ten years, but he was not taken seriously by the Eastern Han Dynasty court."
Meng Tian once again lamented: "The political situation is so chaotic and corrupt that He should perish!" Presumably, the Eastern Han Dynasty came to an end during Zhang Jiao's Yellow Turban Uprising.
Unexpectedly, Li Nian said: "But the Yellow Turban Uprising failed and the Eastern Han Dynasty was not destroyed. Although there were various problems in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, the Eastern Han Dynasty's army was still strong."
Hearing these words, the First Emperor and the other three were startled. What, the Eastern Han Dynasty had so many problems, including natural disasters and man-made disasters, but it was not wiped out by the Yellow Turban Uprising. This fate is really hard.
"In March of the seventh year of Guanghe, Zhang Jiao raised troops to rebel against the Han under the slogan: 'Heaven is dead, Huang Tian is standing, the year is Jiazi, and the world is prosperous.' Because there were traitors, the uprising was not fully prepared, and it was a hasty launch. If If Zhang Jiao’s preparations are completed, he should be able to support it for a while longer.”
"But even if Zhang Jiao's preparations are completed, the Eastern Han Dynasty cannot be destroyed. Although the Eastern Han Dynasty is old, its strength is still superior to the Yellow Turban Army. The scale of the Yellow Turban Uprising was huge. Within one month after the uprising, there were wars in seven states and 28 counties across the country. The Yellow Turban Army The army's offensive was like a rainbow, some states and counties were lost, and officials fled."
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"However, the Eastern Han Dynasty led the army to quell the rebellion with generals such as Lu Zhi, Zhu Jun, and Huangfu Song. It was also in this war to quell the Yellow Turbans that many heroes of the late Han Dynasty appeared on the stage, including Cao Cao of Wei, Liu Bei of Shu, and Sun Jian of Wu. , all made great achievements here.”
"It can be said to be the end of Zhang Jiao, the platform for the heroes of the late Han Dynasty to appear!"
Hearing the words "Liu Bei of Shu", the First Emperor had an inexplicable emotion in his heart: This Liu Bei was the descendant of Liu Bang and the founder of the Shu Han. The dynasty established by Liu Bang was really capable. After the fall of the Western Han Dynasty, There was the Eastern Han Dynasty, and after the Eastern Han Dynasty died, another Shu Han Dynasty popped up.
He is dead, but not completely dead. He is about to be buried in the ground this time. He can actually breathe a few more breaths, which means he is very alive...
Is this the benefit of having many descendants?
Do I also want to add more people to the clan?
When the Qin Dynasty enters a period of decline in the future, it will be able to live like Liu Bang's Han Dynasty.
Li Nian, who didn't know that the First Emperor had thought of many benefits for his descendants from Liu Bei, continued: "Under the crusade of these people, the Yellow Turban Army's overwhelming offensive was stopped, and the victory soon turned into defeat. Gradually, they could only parry, and it was difficult to fight back. ”
"What is even more unfortunate is that Zhang Jiao died of illness. Zhang Jiao was the founder of Taiping Dao. His position in the Yellow Turban Army cannot be replaced. His death is like the spiritual pillar supporting the Yellow Turban Army has collapsed."
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"If Zhang Jiao was still alive, he could still command many Yellow Turbans to fight against the Eastern Han Dynasty's counter-rebellion army, but if one of them died, the Yellow Turbans would have no backbone, and his younger brothers Zhang Liang and Zhang Bao would not be able to convince the public without his influence. The Yellow Turban Army is coming to an end.”
"In October of the same year, Huangfu Song defeated Zhang Liang's army in Guangzong and captured the first 30,000 men. He went to the river and killed about 50,000 people. He burned more than 30,000 taels of vehicles and captured all the women of the Yellow Turban Army. He captured a lot of them."
"In November, Huangfu Song and Julu Governor Feng Yi and Guo Dian captured Quyang, and successfully killed Zhang Bao. They also destroyed more than 100,000 Yellow Turban troops and built a capital temple in the south of the city."
"Although Zhang Jiao died of illness, after Guangzong was defeated, his body was broken into a coffin by Huangfu Song and his head was transported back to Luoyang. At this point, the Yellow Turban Army was completely gone and the Yellow Turban Rebellion subsided."
After listening to this speech, the three people of the First Emperor had mixed emotions. From the perspective of the king and the ministers of the court, they should regard Zhang Jiao and the Yellow Turban Army as rebellious officials and traitors, but inexplicably they felt that Zhang Jiao was a pity. Then But he raised the flag of rebellion against the powerful Eastern Han Dynasty.
Li Nianke didn't care what the three of them thought, and continued: "Although Zhang Jiao died and the Yellow Turban was destroyed, they severely damaged the Eastern Han Dynasty and opened a huge wound on the already weakening giant of the Eastern Han Dynasty, causing it to bleed. It’s hard to stop, and it will go further towards destruction.”
"After the Yellow Turban Uprising subsided, Liu Hong also realized that he might become a subjugated king and took some measures to save the Eastern Han Dynasty, but it was of no use. Moreover, Liu Hong was not that kind of resolute king. Even if he felt that the Eastern Han Dynasty was in danger, Even in danger of collapse, he still indulges in pleasure. ”
"Yes, the Eastern Han Dynasty may be destroyed, and he may become a subjugated king, but this does not prevent him from finding ways to save it while continuing to enjoy himself, without delaying both!"
These words made the first emperor and the three of them look strange. They said "no delay". With such a ridiculous emperor, it was amazing that the Eastern Han Dynasty could survive the Yellow Turban Uprising.
Although Liu Hong was an absurd emperor, it does not mean that he was completely incompetent. If he had not ascended the throne at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, but during a stable stage of the dynasty, his evaluation would not necessarily be particularly bad, and the Eastern Han Dynasty did not die at the hands of Liu Hong.
Li Niandao: "The Yellow Turban Uprising also made many people see the weakness of the Eastern Han Dynasty court, and rebellions occurred frequently in various places. It was at this time that Liu Hong committed the most fatal mistake for the Eastern Han Dynasty: in the fifth year of Zhongping, Liu Yan, who was then Taichang, He proposed to Liu Hong that he should use the clan and important ministers as state pastors. ”
"The Eastern Han Dynasty also adopted the system of prefectures and counties. It just added one more level of 'state' and became states, counties, and counties. The states governed counties and counties. The main officials of the states and counties were the governor and the prefect. The official position of the governor of the state seemed to be in the county. Above the prefect, however, the duty of the state governor at that time was to supervise the officials of the counties in the state, and was not the highest administrative officer in the state. ”
The three of them, the First Emperor, were all veteran officials, and upon hearing these words they understood the advantages and disadvantages of this arrangement.
The advantage is that it can limit the power of the governor and prevent him from taking over the power of a state and becoming the local emperor of the local state, threatening the central government. The disadvantage is that the governor may not be able to restrain the prefect, especially when the world is in chaos. The prefect holds the actual power of a county, but the governor does not. Only supervisory power.
If the powerful governor doesn't want to be monitored by the governor, what can the governor do?
(End of chapter)