How fatuous was Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty in his later years?

The famous serial cases of court witchcraft in the Western Han Dynasty were caused by the concubines' struggle caused by Emperor Wu's addiction to Huang Lao witchcraft. However, other things involved in this incident are far more than the Han harem, including the struggle of the whole imperial power. I'm afraid that Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty would never have imagined that this incident eventually triggered a shocking "Prince Rebellion" case. Finally, Emperor Wu himself was separated from his wife, betrayed by others, and died in regret and sorrow.

As one of the few emperors in the history of China who can be called "the Great", Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty barely compared his contribution to the country with his militaristic mistakes for most of his life. However, a little witchcraft ruined the reputation of Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty. What kind of witchcraft is this? What are the unknown suspense behind it?

1, the cause of the witchcraft case turned out to be an illusion of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.

The witchcraft serial case originated from an illusion of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. In March of the first year of Zhenghe (92), Zhao Sujing and Wang Pengzu died, and there was a drought in summer. Before things outside the palace were decided, concubines attacked each other with witchcraft.

The so-called witchcraft is an ancient superstition that poisons the designated object with witchcraft. It was originally a form of witchcraft that harmed people based on folklore and superstition. The original meaning of the method is that poisonous insects make people eat and fall into disease. "Shuowen" insect cloud: ancient, there are insects in the belly. "Spring and Autumn Biography" said: vegetable worms are strange things, born in prostitution. The popular form of witchcraft in the Han Dynasty is to cut Tongmu into the image of an enemy, then stab Tongmu people with iron needles, bury them in the ground, and curse them with evil words in an attempt to make them suffer. The book "Investigation of Witchcraft in China" points out that people with double bodies take paper figures, grass figures, puppets, clay figurines, bronze statues and even jade statues as performers, engrave their names or birthdays, or get a little hair, nails and even clothes from the performers, and curse or bury them in the ground, or stab them with needles. It is said that the subjects will have the same reaction, which part of the idol will be stabbed and which part of the real person will be hurt by induction. In order to torture the enemy, the performer often nails the idol again and hates the demon idol, and finally kills the opponent with a huge nail. This kind of witchcraft was popular in Beijing at that time, and even introduced to the court. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was originally a "worship of ghosts and gods" (Historical Records? Buddhist Zen Buddhism's "Closed Sutra" has a downward effect and has been popular for some time. alchemists and wizards from all over the country gathered in Beijing. There are even some witches who frequently go in and out of the palace, instigate jealous concubines to be puppets, bury them in the ground, offer curses to kill their rival in love, and win the favor of the emperor. This kind of magic is strictly forbidden by the court and the emperor himself. As early as the fifth year of Yuanguang (BC 130), the witchcraft of Queen Chen was exposed, so Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty killed more than 300 people, including the witch Chu Fu, and deposed Queen Chen.

This phenomenon has become commonplace, so Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was too lazy to take care of it at that time. However, the laissez-faire of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty led to the intensification of the struggle between concubines, which eventually evolved into a bitch cursing the street and framing each other to curse Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty with witchcraft. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty suddenly became angry from embarrassment and executed a large number of related imperial secretaries and consorts. But in the later days, he always dreamed that someone was cursing him with Woodenhead, and he couldn't sleep for a while. One day, when he was sitting in Zhang Jian Palace, he saw a man with a sword enter the Hualong Huamen, but no one came to stop him.

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty thought he had met an assassin, so he shouted loudly. I don't know. The man dropped his sword and hid. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty broke out in a cold sweat, called for guards to escort him, and sent heavy troops to search around the palace. But I got nothing.

In fact, this is probably just an illusion of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. He has killed too many people in his life, and it is inevitable that he has no bottom. But the results of the investigation made him very disappointed and angry. No assassins were found, but a large number of muppets and spells were dug up in the harem and Chang 'an people's homes. Emperor Wu of song thought, it is no wonder that can't find the assassin. It turned out that someone used witchcraft to create spells to assassinate themselves. This matter must be investigated in detail. As a result, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty began to send people to investigate the "witchcraft case" on a large scale, and this major case that touched history began.

2. The fatuity of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty made Jiang Chong unjustly imprisoned.

The last thing that every emperor needs is to flatter the villain. There is nothing to be found in the witchcraft case, except that someone framed Sun Jingsheng, the son of the prime minister of the dynasty, saying that he cursed the emperor with witchcraft. Gong Sunhe's wife Jun is the sister of Wei Ruyun's son-in-law, so the relationship between Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and Gong Sunhe has been very close. Because of his father, Gong Jing survived as a servant, responsible for the management of the emperor's chariots and horses. However, it happened that Sun Jingsheng failed to live up to expectations, was arrogant and extravagant, greedy for money and lewd, and took bribes. As a result, he was locked up. GongSunHe caught Zhu Shian, a "Jiangyang thief" in Yangling, and wanted to make contributions to help his son make amends.

Zhu Shian naturally wouldn't do nothing, so he wrote to Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty, claiming that Gong Jingsheng was having an affair with Yang Shi Princess, the daughter of Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty. Article 51 of "Historical Records" Volume 111 "Biography of General Wei Biao Qi" records: "(Gong Sunhe) Zuo Zi respected life and committed adultery." And sent wizards to bury puppets on the way the emperor passed by to curse Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. The path taken by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty has been under the jurisdiction of Sun Jingsheng, and Zhu Shian's accusation is well-founded. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty immediately believed this, so he arrested the Gongsunhe family and handed it over to Du Zhou, a famous cruel official at that time, for investigation. Du Zhou's personal feud not only killed Gong Sunhe and his son, but also killed Yang Shi Princess and Princess Zhu Yi who had nothing to do with the case. "Han Shu" Volume 6 "Ji Liu of Emperor Wu" records: "In the first month of the second spring, why did the Prime Minister die in prison? In the leap month, all princesses and Yang Shi Princess died of witchcraft. " Because Princess Zhu Yi and Wei Zifu's younger brother Wei Qing's son Wei Heng are cousins, and Wei Heng has quarreled with Du Zhou.

Although a group of people died, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was always suspicious and still thought that someone wanted to harm himself, so he handed over the "witchcraft case" to his favorite Jiang Chong for investigation. Jiang Chong is a villain who won the trust of Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty by nepotism and pretending to be "selfless". It was quite safe for Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty to hand over the witchcraft case to Jiang Chong for investigation, but he didn't expect Jiang Chong to incorporate personal grievances into the investigation.

Jiang Chong first made the whole world uneasy about this matter. He led the wizards of the conference semifinals to dig Woodenhead everywhere, catching those who used witchcraft to harm people, who kept praying at night and claimed to see ghosts. He also ordered people to sprinkle blood in some places in advance, and then interrogated the arrested people, pointing out that those places stained with blood were places where they used witchcraft to harm people, and imposed the punishment of burning them with iron tongs to force them to confess. So the people falsely accused each other of harming others with witchcraft, and officials often violated others in order to protect themselves. Tens of thousands of people died from the capital Chang 'an and Sanfu areas to counties and countries.

3. Jiang Chong framed Liu Yuxin, causing Liu Yuxin to commit suicide unjustly.

In the harem and the imperial court, Liu Yuxin was the one Jiang Chong wanted to move most, because he caught Herry Liu's cronies. Herry Liu begged Jiang Chong in every way, but Jiang Chong went his own way. As a result, Liu was offended. We don't know if Liu Jiji remembers to hold grudges, but Jiang Chong always wanted to get rid of Liu Ji. So he took the opportunity to frame the prince, and framed the prince, the later Han Dynasty and the eunuch Su Wen together.

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty is old and suspects that people around him are cursing him with witchcraft. And those who are caught and punished, no matter what the real situation is, no one dares to say their grievances. Jiang Chong spied the fear of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and instructed Tan, a wizard of the Hu people, to say, "There is a strange smell in the palace. If it is not removed, the emperor's illness will never be cured." So Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent Jiang Chong into the palace, all the way to the depths of the Forbidden City, destroying the emperor's throne and digging for the law. Jiang Chong started from the harem concubines' room, which Emperor Wu of Han paid little attention to, and then searched in turn until he found the queen's palace and the uterus of Empress Dowager Tai. The ground is littered everywhere, and there is no room for the prince and queen to put their beds. Jiang Chong threatened: "Woodenhead found the most in his mother's womb, and what he wrote in silk books is completely contrary to the truth and should be heard by your majesty."

Liu was afraid and asked Shao Fushide what to do. Because Shi De was the teacher of the Prince, he was afraid of being implicated and was killed. He told Liu: "In the past, Gong Sunhe and his son, two princesses and Wei Heng were all accused of using witchcraft to harm people. Now the wizard and the emperor's emissaries have dug up evidence from the palace. I don't know if it was set by a wizard or if it really exists. I can't explain clearly. You can falsely preach the imperial edict, arrest Jiang Chong and others, and thoroughly investigate their conspiracy. Besides, your majesty is ill and lives in Ganquan Palace. Neither the queen nor the people you sent to inquire about him have been able to see your majesty. Whether your majesty is still here is unknown, but treacherous court officials dare to do so. Fu Su, king of Qin, have you forgotten? " It is said that Liu said, "As a son, how can I kill the minister without authorization! It is better to go to Ganquan Palace to apologize, and maybe you will be lucky. " According to Liu, he planned to go to Ganquan Palace in person, but Jiang Chong caught Liu's business and made him very anxious. According to Liu, he couldn't think of any other way, so he acted according to Shi De's plan.

Subsequently, Chang 'an was in chaos. It is said that after Liu Yuxin killed Jiang Chong, he had to fight back. According to Liu, the attendants were sent to take them into the Changqiumen of Weiyang Palace by night, and reported everything to the imperial female officer who was leaning on China for a long time. Then, the horse-drawn carriage was sent to carry the shooter, the armory was opened to take out the weapons, and the guards of Changle Palace were sent. As a result, the resistance failed, and Zifu and Yi committed suicide one after another.

Later, when it was revealed, Emperor Wu regretted it, so he changed hands to retaliate against those who participated in the murder of Herry Liu. The prime minister Liu Quli and other related figures were killed or committed suicide for various reasons, which was widely involved. Kinship, kinship and power implicated almost everyone in the upper echelons of the Western Han regime at that time, which shocked the country. The prosperity of the great man created by Emperor Wu in his middle age was suddenly empty.

References: The Book of the Later Han Dynasty