It should be said that in the general direction of national governance, Empress Lu has a good grasp. The power struggle at the top level did not affect the middle and lower level officials and ordinary people, did not affect the foundation of the country, and the common people lived a normal life.

The problem with Empress Lu is that she is too partial to her own family. The old lady has the heart of a little woman, and she is satisfied with earning more benefits for her own children and her mother's family, and she never thought of letting the Lu family replace the Liu family as the emperor.

Don't talk about the emperor's family, it is the family of the common people, and the daughter-in-law takes more care of her mother's brothers and nephews, and she can also attract the dissatisfaction of her husband's relatives. The intensification of the contradictions between the two families of Liu and Lu is inevitable. Lu Hou's love for her mother's family instead pit her mother's family.

Whether it is the queen mother or an ordinary person, restraining one's desires is a lifelong practice.

In the clan surnamed Liu, only one person was lucky enough to be crowned king by Empress Lu. This lucky man is called Liu Ze, and he is Liu Bang's distant cousin. Liu Ze is a veteran who participated in the Peixian Uprising, although he has not made great contributions, with the identity of the same clan, when he was awarded the meritorious hero, he was named the Marquis of Yingling. It stands to reason that the feudal marquis has come to an end.

Liu Ze's wife is the daughter of Lu Hou's sister Lu Xiao, so that Liu Ze and Liu Lu's families can get close. When Empress Lu cleaned the Liu royal family, Liu Ze's life was also worried. He spent a lot of money and asked someone to find the cronies and eunuchs around Empress Lu, and wanted to find a king to be the king. Running for official positions has been around since ancient times.

In the spring of 181 BC, a total solar eclipse occurred. Lu Hou felt very uncomfortable, and said to the people around him: "Is this because of me!" She appointed Liang Wang Lu Chan as the prime minister, and Zhao Wang Lu Lu as the general, and completely grasped the administrative power and military power in her hands, so she felt more stable.

The cronies and eunuchs suggested to Empress Lu: "The Queen Mother has the surname Lu as the king, and the masses have opinions, so it is better to decorate the façade with the surname Liu, so that the princes of the Lu family can do it steadily." ”

Empress Lu thought so. Liu Ze got his wish, was named the king of Langya, and happily took office. Empress Lu only gave the name of King Langya, and divided the Langya County of Qi and gave it to Liu Ze. Liu Xiang, the king of Qi, was dissatisfied, and he had a dislike with Liu Ze.

Why do you want to talk about this story, because Liu Ze will appear later, and even affect the direction of history.

During Liu Ying's reign, Zhao Tuo, the king of Nanyue, was quite honest and sent envoys to Chang'an to pay tribute according to the rules. When Empress Lu came to the court, Zhao Tuo began not to take the Han in his eyes. The Han Dynasty realized Zhao Tuo's ambition and amended the bilateral trade regulations, prohibiting the export of iron tools to South Vietnam, restricting the export of cattle, horses, sheep and other livestock, and selling livestock only for the male, not the female.

Zhao Tuo was furious. The economic and technological backwardness of South Vietnam led to the gradual transformation to an agrarian civilization due to increasing exchanges with the Han Chinese. The iron-smelting industry in South Vietnam was not comparable to that of the Central Plains, and it required a large number of iron imports from the Han Dynasty. By restricting the import of livestock, the South Vietnamese would not be able to expand their livestock industry, which would be tantamount to cutting off their food rations.

Relations between South Vietnam and the central Han Dynasty under the rule of Empress Lü were tense, and the contradictions between Han and Vietnam intensified. In the spring of 183 BC, Zhao Tuo, the king of Nanyue, declared his independence from the Han Dynasty, proclaimed himself Emperor Wu of Nanyue, and sent troops to attack the neighboring kingdom of Changsha. Zhao Tuo intended to provoke, not to encroach on land. Empress Lü sent Hou Zhou Zao to lead his troops south to attack Zhao Tuo.

Inserting two sentences, Zhou Zao was one of the more than a dozen migrant workers who followed Liu Bang at the foot of Mangdang Mountain. So, don't be afraid of a low starting point, as long as you follow the right boss and add a little luck, you can get ahead.

The soldiers of the Central Plains did not adapt to the hot and humid climate of the south, and they all contracted infectious diseases and died in large numbers, and the Han army did not even cross the Wuling Mountains. Wuling, also known as Nanling, is composed of five mountains: Yuecheng Ridge, Du Pang Ridge, Mengzhu Ridge, Qitian Ridge and Da Yu Ridge, and is the watershed of the two major river basins of the Yangtze River and the Pearl River. The area south of the Wuling Mountains is commonly known as Lingnan, which is equivalent to the whole territory of present-day Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan, as well as parts of Hunan and Jiangxi.

Zhao Tuo accepted it when he saw that it was good, and withdrew his army after capturing several counties of Changsha State. He used both soft and hard, and the surrounding small countries of Minyue, Xi'ou and Luoyue surrendered to South Vietnam. The powerful South Vietnam became a great disaster for the Han Dynasty in the south. Until Empress Lü's death, the South Vietnamese issue remained unresolved.