In addition to never allowing noble relatives to rebel, Liu Xiu also strictly restricted noble relatives from having extralegal privileges and demanded that everyone be equal before the law.

According to people's current understanding, "everyone is equal before the law" should be the ultimate pursuit of human society, and Liu Xiu consciously did this back then, which is really commendable.

It is fair to say that even today, no matter which country in the world, there is still too much to learn in this area.

Speaking of which, we must talk about the story of Liu Xiu's eldest sister and the eldest princess of Huyang, Liu Huang.

When I first checked the family tree, everyone knew that in addition to Liu Xiu's 2 elder brothers, he also had 2 sisters and 1 younger sister, that is, the younger sister, Liu Boji, the eldest princess of Ningping, who married Li Tong as his wife; The second sister Liu Yuan, married to Deng Chen in her early years, was killed by Wang Mang's officers and soldiers in the battle of Xiaochang'an at the beginning of Liu Xiu's army, and Liu Xiu was posthumously awarded the title of "Xinye Festival Righteous Princess" after Liu Xiu ascended the throne; The eldest sister is this Liu Huang.

Liu Huang's husband was not known in his early years, and he died a few years after Liu Xiu became emperor, obviously mediocre in all aspects, otherwise he would not have left a name.

Liu Boji's women do not let her eyebrows, sassy and heroic, and her image of crisscrossing the field has been famous in history.

Although Liu Yuan did not make any great achievements or great causes, she gave Liu Xiu and Bo Ji horses in the Battle of Xiaochang'an that year, and she and her three daughters died generously, and her poignant farewell will always be remembered.

As for Liu Huang, I'm sorry, she has two things that people have remembered for nearly 2,000 years, both of which are a bit of a wretch.

The first thing was that she wanted to remarry.

As the eldest sister of the emperor today, Liu Huang has a high status, a lot of money, and great power, which can be said to be infinitely beautiful. After being named the eldest princess of Huyang, she did not go to her fiefdom Huyang (now Huyang Town, southwest of the Tang River, Henan), but lived in the bustling capital all the year round, living a life of fine clothes and food.

However, her life was not satisfactory. Her husband died within a few years of Liu Xiu's accession to the throne, and she actually lived a widowhood.

As a very characterful and strong woman, she feels very lonely and depressed, and spends her days playing and partying all day long.

The current social atmosphere is still relatively enlightened, neither like the previous Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, when it was completely men, there was no opportunity for women to speak at all, nor like the Song and Yuan dynasties that required women to abide by women's morals, and women can remarry after their husbands die, and even that widows remarry is a very common and normal thing.

However, Liu Huang wants to remarry, but it is not easy to do.

This is mainly because she has a high position and is a royal sister, and ordinary people can't afford to climb high, and they don't dare to climb high; She has a big temper, an arrogant personality, and is commanding, and does not take ordinary people and ordinary high-ranking cadres in her eyes; There is also the fact that it is really difficult to find a suitable candidate, even if there is such a person who can take her seriously, people must have their own families and careers.

I couldn't put down the shelf and tell others, and other ordinary people didn't dare to mention this matter to her, Liu Huang was very depressed, thought about it for a long time, and couldn't help it, so he told his third brother Liu Xiu the idea of remarrying.

Of course, Liu Xiu is also an open person, saying that he understands the pain of his sister's widowhood, agrees with his sister's desire to remarry, and is willing to actively look for candidates.

Liu Huang clearly told Liu Xiu that she had a crush on Song Hong, the great secretary of the court, and was determined to marry him.

Liu Huang has no bottom in her heart, she knows that her younger brother of the emperor has never handled the private affairs of the royal family ruthlessly.

Yes, this also makes Liu Xiu feel uncertain.

Liu Xiu felt that Song Hong, as the chief secretary, was ranked in Jiuqing, and was a core member of the imperial leadership team, he had both ability and political integrity, talent and appearance, and whoever married him would not lose the price, the problem was that Song Hong was too individual, and ordinary people couldn't hold him.

More importantly, Liu Xiu felt that even if he was a relative of the emperor, he could not be strong.

So, Liu Xiu said to the old lady, I will slowly find a way.

Let's give Song Hong a close-up.

He is a native of Chang'an, Zizhongzi, a native of Chang'an, born in a high-ranking family, and when he was young, he served as the director of the emperor's office (Shizhong) in the former Han Dynasty Emperor Ai, Emperor Ping, and Wang Mang Dynasty.

When Red Eyebrows entered Chang'an, he sent someone to summon him out to continue to be an official, he was determined not to play with Red Eyebrows, committed suicide by throwing himself into the water, and pretended to be dead after being rescued.

After Liu Xiu ascended the throne, he first became a doctor in Taizhong, and soon replaced Wang Liang as a big secretary.

Song Hong is clean, behaves squarely, does not seek personal gain, and in addition to daily use, all the food and rewards are given to relatives and friends, and the family has no money to spare.

This is a cadre who sits upright and has no desire.

There were 2 cases.

Song Hong once recommended learned talents at Liu Xiu's request, and recommended Huan Tan, a native of Peijun.

Liu Xiu appointed Huan Tan as the middle of the matter, and whenever there was a banquet, he would let Huan Tan play the piano to help the fun.

This made Song Hong very unhappy.

Once, when he was attending a court banquet, he left the table to give advice to Liu Xiu, saying: "The reason why the minister recommended Huan Tan was because he hoped that he could assist the emperor loyally and correctly, but now it is really the minister's sin to let the court indulge in music and delay in government affairs." ”

Liu Xiu listened to it and felt that what he said made sense, so he never let Huan Tan serve the banquet again.

Another time, Liu Xiu invited Song Hong to a banquet, and behind him was a brand-new screen, which was full of beautiful ladies.

While talking and laughing, Liu Xiu looked back at the ladies on the screen several times.

Seeing this, Song Hong was very unhappy, so he said solemnly: "I have never seen a person who cultivates virtue so lustful. ”

(I have not seen a virtuous person who is as lustful as he is.) ）

When Liu Xiu heard this, he immediately ordered the screen to be removed, and said to Song Hong with a smile: "When I hear what you say is right, I will obey and correct it, is it okay?" ”

Song Hong replied: "Your Majesty attaches great importance to cultivating virtue, and the minister is very happy. ”

Therefore, Liu Xiu felt that it was necessary to be more leisurely in proposing to such a person.

One day, Liu Xiu summoned Song Hong and asked Liu Huang to sit behind the screen and wait and observe.

After chatting for a while, Liu Xiu gradually cut to the chase. He said to Song Hong: "As the saying goes, it is normal for people to change friends and become rich and change wives, does Aiqing know?" ”

Song Hong replied solemnly: "The minister only knows that the poor and lowly friends cannot be forgotten, and the wives of the bad chaff will not go to court." ”

Liu Xiu listened to it and couldn't help but say to the back of the screen: "The thing can't be done." ”

(It's not a good deal.) ）

When Liu Huang saw that this was the case, his mood could be imagined: Song Hong would not divorce his wife, and he was the imperial sister and the eldest princess, of course, it was impossible for him to be a partial house and a concubine, so this matter could only be stopped.

There is another thing that makes Liu Huang feel even more embarrassed.

It turned out that after Liu Huang was widowed, Liu Xiu took special care of her, often visited her, and rewarded her with a lot of property.

After all, she is her sister, she grew up with her since she was a child, and she has spent so many difficult years together, and now so many relatives and friends are enjoying prosperity and wealth with her, but this old lady lives hard.

Liu Huang's family has a huge fortune and unlimited scenery, and he has raised hundreds of servants and domestic slaves to serve him.

It is completely conceivable that Liu Huang did not put much effort into strengthening the construction of his housekeeping team, and it was difficult to avoid and imagine that these domestic slaves would do something out of the ordinary.

Once, a house slave killed someone in broad daylight, and then hid in Liu Huang's mansion, and the case handlers of the Beijing government did not dare to enter the eldest princess's mansion to arrest him, and the case could not be closed.

It is very likely that this house slave is not the first time he has done something bad, otherwise the first offender would not have acted so much, but he was covered by Princess Liu Huang, and he was never held accountable.

However, this time is different, the new Luoyang Ling Dong Xuan is a fierce man, known to the northerners as a "hard nail", and he vows to take down this house slave.

Come, put the spotlight on Dong Xuan.

Dong Xuan, a native of Chenliu County (now Huaiyang, Henan), has a small number of words.

This is a rare fierce man who served as a local administrator during the Taiping period, he is not fierce on the battlefield, but selfless and selfless for officials to rectify illegal behavior.

It should be said that officialdom is more complex and bloody than the battlefield, and cutting people requires more wisdom and courage, so Dong Xuan was listed as the first of the "Cool Officials Biography" by the Book of the Later Han Dynasty.

In the past, Dong Xuan served as the minister of Beihai and Jiangxia Taishou, and he was ruthless in cracking down on murderers and local gentry, and he was quite politically popular, and he was dealt with and even imprisoned for this, but he did not regret it at all, and he did not deserve his style at all.

Interestingly, when he was appointed as Jiangxia Taishou to report to work, he had just walked to the border of the county, and heard that there was a big thief named Xia Xi in Jiangxia who was harming the local area, so he first sent a letter to the past, saying: "The imperial court sent me here because I am good at capturing traitors, and now I have reached the border of this county, send a letter to say hello first, you should think about your own way out!" ”

Xia Xi and the others had heard that this newcomer was too fierce and abnormal, and when they saw the letter, they immediately relented, or surrendered or fled.

Now, Dong Xuan learned about the murder of Princess Liu Huang's family slaves and was on the run, and made up his mind to take people.

However, he thinks that after all, it is not the eldest princess herself who killed someone, and it is not cost-effective to break into the princess's mansion to arrest someone, in case no one can be found at that time, it will be difficult for the matter to end.

As the chief cool official, Lao Dong naturally refuses to give up, and he also has his own style of action.

The time has finally come.

One day, Liu Huang went out in a car, and it happened to be this house slave driving.

In the Xiamen Pavilion, Dong Xuan, who had been waiting for a long time, blocked Liu Huang's carriage and horse.

Liu Huang was furious, and in front of the public, someone dared to stop my car!

Who knew that before she could get angry, Dong Xuan's anger was even greater than her!

Lao Dong dragged the horse and stopped the car, and while hitting the ground with the knife in his hand, he loudly reprimanded the princess for her negligence, saying that she harbored the house slave and broke the law, and she should be punished.

Just when Liu Huang was so angry that he couldn't speak, Lao Dong scolded the house slave to get out of the car.

The house slave got out of the car in fright, and Lao Dong immediately stepped forward and cut him on the spot.

Seeing Lao Dong kill his house slave on the street and in front of him, Liu Huang was so angry that it was inconvenient to quarrel in public, so he immediately went to Liu Xiu to reason.

What happened next was a political melodrama that has been passed down through the ages, which is worth seeing by all the officials and ordinary people, and all the decent historical books, including the Book of the Later Han Dynasty, have been recorded in expressive strokes.

In the palace, hearing Liu Huang's cry, Liu Xiu was furious and sent someone to call Dong Xuan, saying that he would be whipped to death.

(The lord immediately returned to the palace to sue the emperor, and the emperor was furious, summoned Xuan, and wanted to kill him.) ）

Lao Dong came and kowtowed to Liu Xiu and begged: "Please let the minister say a word before dying." ”

Liu Xiu said: "What do you want to say? ”

Lao Dong said neither humbly nor arrogantly: "Your Majesty reigns over the world, and prosperes in the great virtue of Shengming, now if you allow the princess to shield the domestic slaves and kill the good people, what else can Your Majesty use to govern the world?!" Well, don't whip you with a whip, just kill yourself! ”

As he spoke, Lao Dong hit the pillar with his head, and immediately bled all over his face.

Seeing this, Liu Xiu hurriedly ordered several eunuchs to drag Lao Dong and ask him to kowtow to Liu Huang to apologize.

Lao Dong's attitude is extremely resolute, refusing to accept softness, not kowtowing, and not apologizing.

In fact, Liu Xiu is also talking to the mud, thinking that there is nothing wrong with your old Dong, kowtow to the eldest princess and pay a loss, everyone has a step down.

However, Lao Dong is Lao Dong, recognize that he is not wrong, and would rather die than give in!

So, in the extremely embarrassing situation, several eunuchs just pressed Lao Dong's head and knocked it to the ground, Lao Dong put his hands on the ground, stiffened his neck, and refused to bow his head.

(Xuan did not obey, forced the envoy to stop, Xuan both hands stronghold, and finally refused to attach.) ）

In fact, this may not be what Liu Xiu wants to see.

Although 2000 years have passed, it is not difficult for us to imagine that Liu Xiu's mood at that time was also very complicated: that is, what a good old Dong, what are you doing wrong?

Seeing the situation in front of him, seeing that Liu Xiu always wanted to make peace with the mud, Liu Huang was very unhappy, he couldn't get out of this bad breath, and he was helpless, so he said to Liu Xiu angrily:

"When Uncle Wen (Liu Xiuzi) was still an ordinary person, he hid fugitives and death criminals, and officials and officials did not dare to come to the door to ask for people. Now that you are the Son of Heaven, can't the authority yield to a small Luoyang County Order? ”

Liu Xiu had no choice but to reply with a smiling face:

"The Son of Heaven is different from ordinary people."

(The Son of Heaven is not the same as the white clothes.) ）

With his sister and mud, Liu Xiu's words couldn't be clearer: It is precisely as the Son of Heaven that I should take the lead in setting an example, taking the lead in abiding by national laws, and firmly supporting cadres to enforce the law fairly!

In this way, Liu Xiu did not pursue Lao Dong's crimes, and ordered Lao Dong to be released quickly.

Liu Huang was helpless and had to swallow this evil breath.

However, she must have been tossed around by this incident, and she was greatly stimulated or educated, and her words and deeds were much more restrained, because since then, there has been no record of her in the history books.

Liu Xiu released Lao Dong and immediately rewarded him with 300,000 yuan to show his courage to adhere to principles.

Because the matter involved Princess Liu Huang, Liu Xiu did not issue a document or hold a meeting, but publicly affirmed Lao Dong's behavior in the form of a reward.

Lao Dong was rewarded and distributed all of them to his colleagues.

Since then, his enthusiasm for upholding principles, fighting crime, and fighting against the strong has increased.

At the feet of the Son of Heaven in the capital, there are many high-ranking officials and gentry, and it is indeed a heavy job, dirty work, tiring work, thankless work, and a job that plays himself into it accidentally.

For a time, the capital called him "Crouching Tiger".

There are also folk songs praising him: "The drum does not sound Dong Shaoping." It means that Dong Shaoping is an official, the society is fair, the drums in front of the yamen are silent, and the people have no grievances.

Historians also praised Lao Dong, calling him a "strong order", that is, a "hard-necked county order".

Although the Book of the Later Han Dynasty lists Lao Dong as the chief cool official, it is full of praise for him.

We also sincerely believe that Lao Dong adheres to principles and achieves equality before the system; He dared to face difficulties, even if he was demoted, dismissed, imprisoned, and given death, he did not change his original intention; He is not greedy for money, he is upright, his sleeves are clean, and he is an official model worthy of learning from all officials and worthy of the commemoration of all ordinary people.

At the same time, we must also see that the reason why Lao Dong became Lao Dong is that in addition to his own temperament and efforts, it is also inseparable from the cultivation and use of the organization.

In other words, the reason why Lao Dong was able to write a political legend on the Luoyang Order is also the result of Liu Xiu's meritocracy and advocating the cleanliness of officialdom, otherwise, in a political environment where there is no distinction between right and wrong, there are 100 or 1,000 Lao Dong, and they will also play to death for corrupt officials, mediocre officials and powerful people!!

Lao Dong served as the commander of Luoyang County for 5 years and died in office.

At that time, Liu Xiu specially sent people to mourn and visit, and the scene was really emotional:

Lao Dong only had a cloth to wrap his body, his wife and children were relatively crying, and there were only a few buckets of barley and a broken car at home.

When Liu Xiu got the report, he was very sad and self-reproachful, saying: "Dong Xuan is honest, I didn't know until he died!" ”

I only know that Lao Dong is diligent and dares to insist, but I didn't know that he was so honest before!

Therefore, Liu Xiu personally arranged for him to be buried with the highest level of office that Lao Dong had ever held, the etiquette of 2,000 Shi doctors, and arranged for his son to work in the central organs with a reward.

Liu Xiu publicly stated by praising Lao Dong that everyone is equal before the law of the Han family, and anyone who violates the law, including the emperor's relatives and relatives, will be punished as they deserve.