Finally, in October 41 AD, that is, 17 years after Liu Xiu ascended the throne, after a long time of repeated thinking, coupled with various political forces, especially the Nanyang Group and the Hebei Group, the work of changing the queen was finally put on the table.

One day, Liu Xiu personally issued an edict to the core members of the imperial court (the three dukes), enumerating the crimes of Empress Guo Shengtong and announcing that Yin Lihua would replace Guo Jin as empress.

This edict is very important, it is not only a document to replace the empress, but also a clear expression of Liu Xiu's political ideas and aesthetic orientation.

Although this edict has been translated in many ways, it is not as wonderful as the original text.

I speculate that the original text of the edict is likely to have been dictated by Liu Xiu himself and recorded by the staff, because on the issue of deposing the empress, no one has been able to organically combine profound strategy, astonishing courage and subtle writing as in the edict.

Then let's read the original article:

"The queen is stubborn and resentful, and she violates the decree, and she can't follow it, and she trains her in a different room. In the palace, if you see an eagle. It has nothing to do with the virtue of Ju, but has the wind of Lu and Huo, how can it be entrusted to the young orphan and respectful worship. Today, send the great Situ She, Zong Zhengji to hold the festival, its

Upper Queen's Seal. Yin nobles have a good family in the township, and they return to the lowly. 'The self is gone, in the present three years. 'It is advisable to worship the temple and be the mother of the world. The master details the old scriptures, and the time is honored. Abnormal things, non-national holidays, not birthday celebrations. The edict is specially issued to hear. ”

Here, we would like to explain two situations, but also to remind everyone to pay attention.

Liu Xiu said that Guo, like the Lu Hou and Huo Guang families, actually opened up family contradictions to the whole country, openly and obviously nationalized the family issue and politicized the issue of husband and wife.

According to Liu Xiu's personality, he was not forced to a certain extent, not to the point where he could not bear it, he would definitely not do this.

Also, Liu Xiu's "self is gone, in the past three years" is a sentence that confesses love in the quoted "Book of Songs", and his literary style and love for Yin Lihua leap into the edict.

Expressing his love for his wife in the official documents of the highest level of the country is also very unusual in Liu Xiu.

As soon as the edict was issued, the senior cadres of the imperial court were all shocked and confused.

But this matter is too big, and no one dares to take a random position.

(After the edict was issued, the ministers were stunned by each other and did not dare to speak.) ）

Also because this matter is too big, we might as well ask a few questions for the ministers.

The question is for Comrade Liu Xiu.

Question 1: In the above-mentioned edict, you clearly stated the reason for the abolition of Guo: she lacked the virtue of humility, and was as domineering and domineering as the Huo Guang and Lu Hou families of the previous dynasty, and could not entrust her with important tasks.

So, excuse me, why is Ms. Guo so powerful? In addition to personality factors, are there any other reasons, for example, she has the support of a strong Hebei Group behind her?

Question 2, in the above edict, you clearly stated the reason for Liyin: she was born in a grassroots village, she is my favorite, and she is the most suitable person for the world of motherhood.

So, may I ask, Ms. Yin's "humble background" and your "dream lover", you knew it when you were in college, and you also sighed, what did you do when you were a brother for so many years? Also, Is there no one behind Ms. Yin?

Okay, don't fool people, Comrade Liu Xiu, we can see more clearly that behind your abolition of Guo Liyin, it is actually the result of the elimination of political forces from all sides in the small family and everyone.

In this edict, Liu Xiu's position, feelings, and relevant measures are so clearly expressed that there is no one who does not understand.

Especially at the end of the edict, he was angry and resolute and said:

"It would have been very abnormal and undesirable for such a thing to happen, and it was not a great joy for me and the new queen, and it was not a blessing for the country, so you don't have to write to congratulate you."

(Abnormal things, non-national holidays, not birthday celebrations.) ）

In any case, the monarch's order is like a mountain.

At the same time as the edict was issued, Liu Xiu immediately sent the great Situ Dai She, Zongzheng Liu Ji to Guo Shengtong with the relevant procedures, and took away the queen's seal ribbon from her.

Guo Shengtong was helpless, so he had to move to another palace.

In fact, if according to the rebuke of Guo Shengtong in the edict, she is already intolerable by family rules and unforgivable by national law, and it is okay to impose a seclusion, death, and exile on her.

However, accusations are accusations, and bad reputations are bad reputations, and the relevant institutions and personnel have not found even a single piece of evidence that can be used to convict Guo Shengtong.

Of course, to this day, we have not found it in the historical materials.

This shows that the establishment of her at the beginning and the abolition of her now are all due to Liu Xiu's political considerations, and they are all a strategy for him to use or suppress his relatives.

In Liu Xiu, the living room is a continuation of the imperial court, and family affairs are an organic part of state affairs.

Speaking of this, we can't help but sigh: for the country, this is obviously unfortunate; And for Renjun, this is not necessarily not sad.

This is just like what Liu Xiu said in the edict, this is not a great joy, and it is not a blessing to the country, so everyone does not need to congratulate him.

But then again, Liu Xiu is a generation of kings after all, just like when he conquers his opponent until the other party no longer poses a threat, he suppresses his relatives and does not kill them all, so as not to disturb the dynasty anymore.

Although Guo Shengtong was deposed, Liu Xiu did not put her in the cold palace, but arranged a suitable place and destination for her.

Within a few days of the edict of Empress Yi, Liu Xiu promoted Guo Shengtong's second son Liu Fu from Youyi Gong to the king of Zhongshan, and allocated Changshan County (the area around Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province) to Zhongshan State.

At the same time, Liu Xiu named Guo Shengtong as the Queen Mother of Zhongshan.

With sad and complicated feelings, Guo Shengtong and his son Liu Fu went to Lunu, the capital of Zhongshan Kingdom.

Three years later, that is, in 44 A.D., Liu Fu was named King Pei, and his jurisdiction was in today's Feng County and Pei County in Jiangsu Province and Suzhou and Huaibei in Anhui Province.

The boat went with the water, Guo Shengtong became the queen mother of Pei, and followed his son from Lunu to Xiangxian County, the capital of Peiguo (now northwest of Suixi, Anhui).

In Lunu, Guo Sheng passed 3 years of worry-free food and clothing, and was depressed.

The current Xiangxian has become her place of death.

Of course, it is not yet time to tell the anecdotes of Empress Guo's later years, so let's talk about her eldest son Liu Yi.

At the same time as Liu Xiu changed the queen, the then crown prince Liu Yi became the focus of national attention.

In any family in China, it is impossible to say that the father and mother quarrel and the child is not affected, and the emperor's family is no exception.

Now, how Liu Xiu arranges the crown prince Liu Yi has become a hot topic among cadres and the masses across the country.

Although Liu Xiu has a group of children, the choice of the crown prince is very important, and he plays an indispensable role in the court and the living room.

Therefore, we should solemnly introduce and focus on the selection of the crown prince.

The current crown prince Liu Yi was only 2 years old when he was immediately arrested, and he still doesn't remember what happened.

Now, when his mother Guo Shengtong was abolished, he was already an 18-year-old boy.

Liu Yi is a smart man.

The old mother was deposed, and he clearly knew that although he was the eldest son, it was difficult to keep the status of the prince, and it was a matter of time before he gave up his position, because not only Aunt Yin, but even her sons were also very good and favored by their father.

So, he felt that danger was approaching him step by step.

Since the crown prince's position is going to leave sooner or later, instead of letting his father take it, it is better to resign and take the initiative with an attitude.

So, with a panic and anxiety, under huge mental pressure, Liu Yi expressed his wish to his father many times through the people around him and his own grandfather:

He was sincerely willing to resign from the crown prince, become a king like other brothers, and go to his own fiefdom.

At first, Liu Xiu felt unbearable, and did not agree, and refused many times.

After dragging on for more than 1 year, Liu Xiucai agreed to Liu Yi's request and swapped positions between him and Liu Yang, who had been named the king of the East China Sea.

Liu Xiu announced to the world: remove Liu Yi from the position of prince and be named the king of the East China Sea; Liu Yang, the former king of the East China Sea, was the crown prince.

(Seventeen years and Guo Hou abolished, Yi often cherished relatives and relatives were not at ease, because of the left and right and the kings Chen Qi sincere, willing to prepare the vassal country.) Guangwu can't bear it, and those who are late to return are a few years old, but Xu Yan. In the nineteenth year, he was named the king of the East China Sea. ）

Here, Liu Yi's panic and Liu Xiu's hesitation have profound reasons.

The reason why Liu Xiu hesitated to replace Liu Yi was because the abolition of the crown prince was related to the will of the people and the stability of the political situation. According to the system, the crown prince is the chief heir to the throne, unless he commits a heinous crime, he can't be exchanged casually under normal circumstances.

In other words, it is even more important to come up with strong reasons and evidence for changing the crown prince than for the queen.

At the same time, Liu Yi has been diligent and studious since he was a child, and he has no fault when he grows up, he is a sensible and well-behaved child.

It's all my own flesh and blood!

Therefore, taking down his mother, Liu Xiu has already experienced a long-term and complex ideological struggle and political trade-off, and now if Liu Yi is also taken down, Liu Xiu will indeed not be able to do it for a while.

However, replacing Liu Yi and making Liu Yang the prince is also a conclusion that Liu Xiu had to make after years of repeated thinking.

Changing the positions of Liu Yi and Liu Yang is related to the long-term stability of the country and the happiness and stability of the family, and it is very necessary.

Liu Yi has been ambitious since he was a child, likes to read and learn, loves to use his brain, and loves to study problems.

At the same time, as the crown prince, Liu Xiu often took him to the court to learn the decision-making and planning of national politics.

However, what deeply troubled and uneasy Liu Xiu was that Liu Yi was often keen to study some art of war and some ways of conquest.

When the last dynasty came back, whenever my father asked about the emperor's skills, Liu Yi often said that he wanted to conquer all directions and expand his territory.

In other words, this kid has wanted to conquer the world with his fists since he was a child.

Unfortunately, this is exactly what Liu Xiu is very worried about.

It should be said that Liu Xiu was not a military family member when he was a child, nor was he born in the army, let alone attended a military academy, but as a military wizard, after he was involuntarily involved in one war after another, he either strategized, commanded, or swung a sword on a prancing horse

, took the lead, and created one miracle after another.

It should be said that some people say that he is "the emperor who knows the most at war", and he is not an award.

However, the war was very cruel, and Liu Xiu was also accustomed to seeing the devastation of life during his many years of riding horses, and he felt very tired from the long-term fatigue of the saddle horse.

In the long-term study, work, life and conquest, Liu Xiu formed his own view of war:

That is, studying military books and training troops and martial arts are only means, and the purpose is only to pursue justice and protect the territory and the people. I can't tolerate the darkness of society and the encroachment of others, but I never want to deliberately provoke, make trouble, or take the initiative to violate others, so as not to give others,

It will inevitably bring great disasters to itself.

In other words, Liu Xiu thinks that he must fight the battle he should fight, but he will never take the initiative to find a war to fight.

This is almost the same thing as a great man who said, "If anyone does not offend me, I will not offend, but if anyone offends me, I will offend."

As the first brother's position became more and more stable, Liu Xiu became more and more tired of the war while having to fight in the east and west.

With the gradual realization of the strategic intention of reunifying the whole country, his war-weariness has gradually accumulated to the extreme.

Liu Xiu's thoughts and psychology directly led to a series of relevant measures after he ascended the throne, which were all done when he was working in the imperial court, and we are now in his living room, and we don't focus on this.

Anyway, Liu Yi's youthfulness, courage and aggressiveness obviously do not fit Liu Xiu's mind.

If the position of the first brother is handed over to Liu Yi in the future, what will this aggressive son do, Liu Xiu simply doesn't want to think about it.

In this way, in ordinary life, as well as when taking Liu Yi to study court politics, Liu Xiu inevitably had to correct and guide Xiao Liu Yi.

In fact, according to the national conditions at that time, it was normal for fathers to educate their sons and teachers to educate students, even if sometimes they talked a little heavily. Just like Liu Xiu, it is purely normal to scold Xiao Liu Yi when teaching him.

However, Xiao Liu Yi doesn't see it that way.

In the opinion of the uncertain Guo Shengtong, Liu Xiu is becoming more and more strict with Xiao Liu Yi, and it is all yin beauties who are behind their backs.

was jealous, and his son's position as the crown prince was threatened, Guo Shengtong was very unhappy, so he showed it in different ways in the harem:

Resentment of Liu Xiu, jealousy of Yin Lihua, suspicion of Xiao Liu Yang and other children born to Yin Lihua, several anxious and resentful emotions burned in his heart all day long, Guo Shengtong wanted to scold everyone when he saw it.

Liu Xiu also conscientiously did her ideological and political work, and persuaded and enlightened her many times, but she did not enter the oil and salt (several violated the fatwa).

Yin Lihua was not a person who provoked right and wrong, as soon as she saw Sister Guo like this, she first put down her worth, tolerated everywhere, and did not have the same knowledge as Sister Guo.

In 39 AD, that is, the year when Liu Xiu issued an edict to crown 10 sons as dukes, Yin Lihua calmed down family conflicts, and even moved to live in a palace outside the capital for a time.

This shows that there is smoke everywhere in the backyard of Liu Xiu's house.

Family conflicts can also be very torturous, and if this family conflict is still mixed with work, it will be even more annoying.

This was true of the commoners, and the emperor was no exception.

In June 43 AD, after many years of worry and hesitation for 2 years, Liu Xiu finally issued an edict: replace the crown prince.

Liu Xiu issued an edict saying:

"Liu Yang, the king of the East China Sea, is the son of the empress (Yin Lihua) and should inherit the throne. The current crown prince Liu Yi insisted on humility and was willing to retire to the vassal state. For the sake of father and son, it is really difficult to disobey. Therefore, it is now announced that Liu Yi is the king of the East China Sea and Liu is established

Yang was the crown prince and changed his name to Liu Zhuang. ”

In this way, Liu Xiu changed the position of the two brothers.

In view of the fact that this transposition of the two brothers is a major event at home and in the imperial court, and it does have a profound impact on the political direction of the empire, we might as well record this edict:

"The righteousness of "Spring and Autumn" is precious. Wang Yang of the East China Sea, the son of the queen, should inherit the unification. The crown prince is revered and humble, and is willing to prepare for the vassal country. The love between father and son has been lost for a long time. It was renamed Zhuang with Yi as the king of the East China Sea and Liyang as the crown prince. ”

This time the crown prince's brother changed his position, which was indeed a big event, and Liu Yi also experienced a drastic change in the depths of his heart.

We say that through this change of the crown prince, Liu Yi has been reborn in the depths of his personal thoughts, and it is not an exaggeration.

It seems that overnight, no, it may actually be hundreds of days and nights since his mother was abolished, Liu Yi has gradually grown up.

The old mother Guo Shengtong was abolished, and she has completely lost her influence in the harem, and the Hebei Group is also a little wilted, and Liu Yi feels very helpless.

At this time, his teacher and court attendant Zhi Yun played a certain role.

Everyone has taken a closer look, Empress Liu Xiu abolished and Prince Yi are all big moves, whether in the living room or in the imperial court, they are important decisions and major actions

People came out to give suggestions and ideas, but, sorry, we stared at it for a long time, and we didn't see anyone come out to speak.

It's not normal!

What did everyone do?!

We continued to stare and watch, and we found that only Teacher Zhi stood up and spoke at a critical time.

As for why other comrades are speechless on this issue, you can combine Liu Xiu's complicated housework and speak with only people like Teacher Zhi, think about it carefully, and naturally see each other with benevolence and wisdom.

Let's take a look at Mr. Zhi, he is a fierce man among Liu Xiuwenchen and has a lot of personality.