The tomb of Liu He, the emperor of Han Dynasty, was confirmed. Is Liu He really like that in history?

Liu He was in office for 27 days, and numerous crimes were listed. In the end, he was characterized as "dissolute and confused, lost the emperor's etiquette, and confused the Han system", so that he hastily stepped down. Is Liu He a dissolute person after all? What absurd things did he do in just 27 days that made ministers unbearable?

The rich second generation of racing drivers in the Western Han Dynasty

Let's talk about what Liu He was like when he was the king of Changyi before he became emperor. Judging from the history books, Liu He was really a fun-loving person when he was young. When he had nothing to do, he invited his friends to watch song and dance performances, drink a little wine and get together for dinner, which was a typical rich man's life.

In fact, these are not too much. After all, as a young prince who attacked his father's title, he grew up in a well-off family and had no greater political ambitions and possibilities, so it is understandable to enjoy more life in peacetime. What's more, this L-expression of contentment with life is also a kind of self-protection to some extent. After all, the emperor wouldn't like a captaincy to study scriptures, visit teachers and make friends or practice martial arts in Qiang Bing every day at home. At the same time, there is no historical evidence that Liu He was "promiscuous" when he was the king of Changyi, and Liu He never ordered to kill anyone when he was the king and emperor of the vassal. On the whole, he was a very kind master.

Like many rich second generation today, Liu He's outstanding hobby is racing. Of course, he is a horse-drawn carriage. It is recorded in Han Ji Chuan that Liu He once traveled with his entourage. On a whim, he galloped wildly and ran 2 miles in less than half a day. Wang Ji, a subordinate admonisher, felt that the situation was serious, so he wrote a letter to remonstrate, thinking that racing was not in line with the system of rites and music and the status of a vassal, and it was also very dangerous. I hope Liu He will not do it again. Liu He admitted his mistake immediately after seeing the admonition book, and sent someone to give Wang Ji 5 Jin of beef, five stones of wine and five bundles of dried meat, which showed his sincerity in admitting his mistake and his gratitude to Wang Ji for his timely admonition. It's a pity that Liu He can correct his mistakes, but he can't stick to it for a long time. After a few days, he will get old habits and go back to the past.

judging from the story of the biography of Han Ji Wang, Liu He's men still have a group of loyal ministers who speak out and dare to remonstrate, and Liu He respects them, and basically they can be taught with an open mind. Just imagine, Liu He was educated by his ministers even though the carriage drove a little faster, so it is estimated that he can't make any other big mistakes.

several major crimes during his 27 days in office, about the charges of Liu He's being abolished, were finally summed up as "dissolute and confused, losing the emperor's etiquette, and disorderly Han system". From Huo Guang's impeachment report on Liu He in the biography of Wu Wuzi in Han Dynasty, we can probably sum up the following specific crimes:

1. The first emperor (Emperor Han Zhaodi) stole meat during his funeral < Between funerals, Liu He, who was used to eating and drinking at ordinary times, couldn't stand the simple meals during the national mourning, and wanted to secretly end a meatless diet in his own palace. At this time, the food supervisor said that "the mourning is not full, and the diet cannot be restored as usual". Perhaps Liu He was really greedy, and he still asked his men to buy some pork and chicken and bring them into the palace to steal. It is certainly impolite to steal meat during the national mourning, but it doesn't seem to be a particularly big sin. Besides, Liu He doesn't eat meat entirely because he is greedy. It may also be because he is in poor health and needs more nutrition. Because according to historical records, Liu He is very weak, and he is likely to suffer from diseases such as rheumatism. Before he was thirty, he was already unable to walk properly. And Liu He did die young, and finally only lived to be 33 years old. Liu He's illness is probably the hereditary disease of the whole Han Dynasty royal family. Because if you look at the emperors of the Western Han Dynasty, the emperors who died in accidents are not counted, and few of the emperors who died really lived long. Except for Emperor Wudi, who lived for 69 years, Emperor Wendi only lived for 46 years, Emperor Hanjing was 47 years old, Emperor Xuandi was 42 years old, and Emperor Hanzhao only lived for 2 years ... Therefore, it is not a big mistake for the emperor to have a good meal.

When it comes to Liu He's poor health, there are actually many evidences and clues. For example, Wang Ji's admonition to Liu He, recorded in Hanshu, has repeatedly mentioned that Liu He should take care of his health and so on. Among the bamboo slips and wooden slips unearthed from the tomb of Hai Faint Hou, there are also some books on medicine and diet, such as Medical Books and Five Colors Eating Victory. It can be guessed that Liu He's health has not been very good, so he often reads some books on conditioning and health preservation. At the same time, many medicinal materials similar to Cordyceps sinensis have been unearthed in the tomb of Hai Faint Hou. It is not clear what the specific medicinal materials are, but they are always used for Liu He's tonic or body conditioning.

In addition, according to the archaeological team members of the tomb of Hou Yin Hai, one tooth of Liu He's remains is well preserved, and judging from the front teeth, Liu He probably suffered from diseases before his death. Of course, the further confirmed information needs to wait for the results of DNA testing. But in any case, eating food cannot be the main reason why Liu He was abolished.

2. Ten women were taken captive on the way to Beijing

This crime is recorded in the biography of Wu Wuzi in the Han Dynasty as "too advocating agriculture, making great slaves be good at clothes and cars", that is to say, during Liu He's visit to Beijing, he robbed many beautiful women along the way and hid them in the clothes cart. This sounds absolutely enough to rob the commoners and be dissolute! But there are also two problems:

First, did Liu He instruct his men to rob the girl, or did his men make their own decisions? After Liu He and his party had just arrived in Beijing, his admonishers raised the matter of robbing the commoners with Liu He. At that time, Liu He's reaction was "I didn't know about it". Liu He doesn't need to lie in front of his men. The truth is probably that Liu He saw many beautiful women on his way to Beijing, and he was happy. The men saw through the master's mind, and in order to cater to the master, they stole some and hid them in the clothes cart. In this way, Liu He can only manage his subordinates' lax faults, but not be dissolute.

Second, to say the least, even if Liu He became emperor with himself, his hormonal index suddenly soared, which is not a big sin. Think about the biggest regret of his predecessor, Emperor Han Zhaodi, who died without a son! This just let Liu He picked up a big bargain. Therefore, as soon as Liu He came to power, he learned from the lessons of the former emperor, and it was human nature to make a good advance and build more princes as soon as possible. Compared with Liu Sheng, the king of Zhongshan Jing in Han Dynasty (that is, the ancestor that Liu Bei ratified every day), Yi * * * gave birth to more than 12 sons, and Liu He really didn't consider these as anything. Besides, it's not that he's only been in office for 27 days, and with his poor tofu body, how much strength can he have even if he's ridiculous?

3. Appointing one's own old minister of Changyi

is actually not a sin. As far as Yu Gong is concerned, Liu He is not familiar with the minister of Beijing, and it is more tacit and convenient to cooperate with the servants of Changyi Wangfu. Personally, Liu He came to a strange city to be emperor. The first thing he can trust is of course his old class and old men. In terms of affection, it is normal for one person to get the word, and the chickens and dogs still ascend to heaven together. Needless to say, it is normal for the master to become emperor and the subordinates to be promoted and promoted, otherwise who will faithfully assist you in the future; In terms of reason, it is common sense to change a few ministers when a new emperor comes. Moreover, the history books do not record how much Liu He has made his old staff officials into titles, and his former head of changyi, Anle, was only made a Changle Weiwei.

But all this made one person very dissatisfied, that is, Huo Guang, the powerful minister of the dynasty. Since Emperor Zhao of the Han Dynasty, the state above the court has been "politics depends on light" (Hanshu). As soon as the new emperor Liu He came to power, he actively promoted his own people, which of course violated the interests of Huo Guang, and this is probably one of the main reasons why Liu He was later pulled down.

4. Hold the imperial seal every day.

It is recorded in Hanshu that Liu He held the imperial seal every day since he became emperor. Is this a sin? Shouldn't the imperial seal be held by the emperor? Actually, it's not like that. There was a special official in the Han Dynasty to take care of the imperial seal. The imperial seal should be kept by this official at ordinary times, and the emperor can take it and stamp it when he needs it. But even in this context, Liu He, who just became the emperor, was so happy that it was not a big sin to sleep for two nights with the decree, and it would never be abolished.

After reading the above performances of Liu He before and after he ascended the throne, people feel that they are not so outrageous. Of course, there may be deeper reasons that are not recorded in the history books, but all the reasons for abolishing Liu He are absolutely unavoidable.