The videos I watched became popular in ancient times

Anyone who has watched "The Emperor Wu of Han" knows that although Old Lady Dou, who respects Huang Lao and seems to be quiet and inactive, is actually not inactive at heart.

During the reign of Emperor Jing, she insisted on supporting her youngest son, Prince of Liang Liu Wu, to ascend the throne and forced him to abdicate several times, causing Emperor Jing of Han a lot of headaches.

In the early days of Emperor Wu's reign, he confronted the young Liu Che head-on and forced to kill the Confucian ministers whom Emperor Wu relied on.

He even wanted to depose Liu Che if they had a disagreement, forcing Liu Che to devote himself to Shanglin, where he spent his days shooting deer and hunting rabbits.

It can be said that Empress Dowager Dou used a series of iron-fisted tactics throughout the entire "Emperor Wu of Han", showing her character as a strong woman to the fullest.

"During the reign of Empress Dowager Lu, Dou entered the palace as a good girl to serve the Empress Dowager. Later, Empress Dowager Lu gave the concubines in the palace to various princes."

"Because the Dou family is in Qinghe, Dou really wants to go to Zhao State, which is close to home."

"In the end, due to the carelessness of the eunuchs, they failed to take it to heart and mistakenly sent Dou to Dai."

"After arriving in Dai, Dou was favored by King Liu Heng of Dai and gave birth to Liu Heng's daughter Liu Piao, and later gave birth to sons Liu Qi and Liu Wu."

"Before King Liu Heng of Dai entered the capital to become emperor, the queen died."

"Not long after he became emperor, the four sons born to the queen also died of illness one after another."

"A few months after Emperor Wen of Han, Liu Heng, ascended the throne, the ministers requested that a crown prince be appointed."

"Because Dou's son was older, his son Liu Qi was appointed as the crown prince."

"Later, Dou was made empress, and her daughter Liu Piao was made princess."

"The youngest son, Liu Wu, was made King of Dai, and later he was transferred to the State of Liang and became King Xiao of Liang."

"Later, Dou became blind due to illness. At the same time, Emperor Wen of Han was very fond of Lady Shen of Handan and Lady Yin, but neither of them gave birth to a child."

"So after Emperor Wen of Han died, Dou's son Liu Qi ascended the throne, and Empress Dou was honored as the Empress Dowager."

"Historically, Lady Handan Shen's status was equal to that of Lady Dou, and she could sit at the same table with Emperor Wen of Han."

"It was not until Yuan Ang dissuaded her by saying that Concubine Qi was tortured and killed by Empress Dowager Lu after she became favored that he allowed Madam Shen to sit at the bottom."

"After Emperor Jing of Han ascended the throne, Dou doted on her youngest son, Liu Wu."

"In 154 BC, Emperor Jing of Han expressed this to his brother Liu Wu at a banquet."

"After his death, the throne will be passed on to him. Dou was also very happy to hear this."

"But later it was abandoned because it did not conform to the Han Dynasty ancestral system and because court officials such as Dou Ying strongly opposed it. Also, because Liang Wang Liu Wu died of a fever before Emperor Jingdi."

Yang Jian: In the Western Han Dynasty, apart from Empress Lü, Empress Dowager Dou, who assisted Emperor Wen, Emperor Jing and Emperor Wu, was the most powerful woman in the court.

Empress Dowager Dou was not born into a wealthy family. She entered the palace as a girl from a good family during the reign of Empress Lü and served her. She was called Dou Ji.

His father fell into the abyss and died while fishing, and his younger brother was even abducted because of the family’s poverty. The Dou family could be classified as a poor family at first.

When Empress Lü was in power, she gave palace maids to princes with the surname Liu who were scattered all over the country, and Dou Ji was among them.

Because her home was in Qinghe, Zhao, in order to get a place closer to home, Dou Ji asked someone to plead with the person in charge in the palace.

In other words, he wanted to return to his hometown in Zhao, hoping to send him to the King of Zhao, who was originally from Zhao.

As a result, the official in charge, whether he forgot or did it on purpose, sent Dou Ji to the State of Dai.

Dou Ji was very unhappy at the time and burst into tears.

She was forced to go to Dai State, but she didn't know that this mistake was the opportunity for her future success.

King Dai Liu Heng was the fourth son of Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang, and was the daughter of Concubine Dou.

He favored Concubine Dou alone, and the two were very loving and had a daughter, Liu Piao, and sons, Liu Qi and Liu Wu.

Liu Heng was enthroned as the third emperor of the Han Dynasty after Lu Zhi, and Liu Qi was enthroned as the crown prince.

As a mother is honored by her son, Dou Ji became the empress of Emperor Wen of Han.

His daughter Liu Piao was named Princess Guantao, and his second son Liu Wu was named King of Dai.

From then on, the Dou family, as relatives by marriage, rose rapidly and became both rich and powerful.

Old Lady Dou had an elder brother, Dou Jian, and a younger brother, Dou Guangguo.

In her early years, Dou Ji was separated from her brothers. She was reunited with them only after she became queen.

After experiencing the disaster of Empress Lu's dictatorship, the powerful officials Zhou Bo and Guan Ying at the time were deeply wary of Empress Dou's family.

Fearing that her foreign relatives would usurp power again, Dou Ji became the second Empress Lü.

Zhou Bo and Guan Ying also had a solution. In order to prevent trouble before it happens, they specifically chose gentlemen and elders who were highly respected at the time to make friends with the Dou brothers.

His words and deeds were all righteous and polite, and he managed to cultivate the Dou brothers into humble gentlemen.

But another double-edged sword came, and the Dou family has been home to many talented people since then.

Later generations such as Dou Ying all had real talents and knowledge, and were able to make speeches in literature and kill enemies in martial arts.

With the support of Empress Dowager Dou, countless descendants of the Dou family were granted titles of nobility and became a huge political force in the court.

In the later period of Emperor Wen of Han, Dou Ji was gradually neglected by Emperor Wen, Liu Heng, because of her old age, fading beauty and declining eyesight.

Although she was the queen, she suffered a lot of sorrow.

After Concubine Dou, Emperor Wen favored Lady Shen and even let her sit at the same table with the empress in public.

This was a great insult to Empress Dou in a feudal society with a strict hierarchy.

But she remained calm and treated it calmly with a broad mind.

Once, Empress Dou and Emperor Wen visited Shanglin Garden together.

The officials arranged for Madam Shen to sit with the empress according to the palace custom, but this was discovered by Yuan Ang, an upright and etiquette-conscious minister.

He went forward and moved Mrs. Shen's seat back to show the order of hierarchy.

This made Mrs. Shen very jealous. She started crying and making a fuss and refused to take her seat.

Emperor Wen was also furious and left the table with Madam Shen.

Yuan Ang, who was well versed in etiquette, later gave Emperor Wen a long speech on the great truth that only by maintaining order in hierarchy can there be harmony between superiors and subordinates.

He also suggested that Emperor Wen could favor Lady Shen and give her more money and property, but should not abandon etiquette. Only then did Emperor Wen understand.

It can be seen that during the reign of Emperor Wen, Old Lady Dou did not have an easy life.

The reason is very simple. Although the queen is the mother of the country, she is extremely noble.

But without the emperor's favor, the phoenix is ​​no better than a chicken.

But after Emperor Jing ascended the throne, the situation changed greatly and Empress Dowager Dou's power increased greatly.

Emperor Jing Liu Qi was a filial son, so the power of Empress Dowager Dou Yifang naturally increased.

Respecting the teachings of Huang-Lao, advocating tranquility and inaction, and pursuing a national policy of living in harmony with the people's livelihood were in line with the national conditions during the time of Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing.

It played a positive role in accumulating people's strength and forging wealth, and indirectly led to the rule of Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing.

But at the same time, Empress Dowager Dou insisted on the Huang-Lao school.

It cracked down on a large number of people with different political views and greatly strengthened its own power.

The first person to be hit was Doctor Yuan Gusheng. Simply because he despised the book "Laozi", Empress Dowager Dou threw him into the wild boar pen and forced him to fight wild boars with his bare hands.

If Emperor Jing had not come forward to protect him and threw a sword to him, Yuan Gusheng would have certainly lost his life.

Because of Emperor Jing's benevolence and filial piety, throughout his reign, all the Confucian scholars were given official positions.

How overbearing! One person's likes and dislikes can ruin a generation.

The dispute between Emperor Wu and Empress Dowager Dou in the early period was more of a struggle for power than a struggle of ideology.

At this time, Empress Dowager Dou was even more powerful than during the reign of Emperor Jing, holding the tiger talisman.

The Confucian school, which had been suppressed for a long time, seized on Emperor Wu of Han's desire to make a fresh start and proposed ideas such as promoting Confucianism, which violated the authority of the Empress Dowager.

The memorial submitted by Wang Zang and Zhao Wan to the Empress Dowager was a direct challenge to the authority of the Grand Empress Dowager.

So the old lady took decisive action and took over Wei Wan's position first.

He then summoned the elders of the princes and forced Wang Zang and Zhao Wan to death in one fell swoop, and removed Prime Minister Dou Ying who supported Liu Che.

In this fight, Old Lady Dou had the last laugh.

Liu Che finally realized that his strength was too weak and it would be difficult to accomplish anything.

He then reread Huang Lao's works, taking a step back in order to advance, and devoted himself to Shanglin Garden, where he spent the whole day shooting deer and chasing rabbits.

In the end, it was not Liu Che who defeated Old Lady Dou, but time.

Later, the brush of history was handed to Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che, who was able to show his talents and paint a bold picture in Chinese history that "if the enemy can go, I can go too."

"Dou respected the words of Huangdi and Laozi with his own rich knowledge."

"He often interfered in government affairs and pursued a policy of governing by doing nothing."

"The emperor and the princes would also read Huangdi and Laozi and respect Taoist thought."

"This also prevented previous ideas such as Confucianism from being taken seriously during the reign of Emperor Jing of Han."

"Dou liked the books written by Laozi. During the reign of Emperor Jing of Han, he summoned Yuan Gusheng to ask about the book Laozi."

"Yuan Gusheng thought that this book was just a book that ordinary people read, and there was nothing special about it."

"Dou was furious and ordered him to go to the pig pen and kill the pig."

"In order to appease the Queen Mother's anger, Emperor Jing of Han gave Yuan Gusheng a sharp blade and ordered him to kill him."

"Emperor Jing of Han saw that Yuan Gusheng was honest and upright, so he appointed him as the Grand Tutor of Prince Qinghe."

"Until the early days of Emperor Wu of Han, Empress Dowager Dou still held on to her power and continued to promote the policy of inaction."

"In 155 BC, Chao Cuo wrote a letter to Emperor Jing of Han, Liu Qi."

"It was suggested that the feudal lords of the whole country should be reduced in power. After Liu Qi adopted this suggestion, the work of reducing the power of the feudal lords was carried out throughout the country."

"This move fundamentally weakened the power of local vassal kings, but also deepened the contradictions between the court and the vassal kings."

"When Emperor Jing of Han, Liu Qi, heard the princes' slogans of killing Chao Cuo and clearing the court of corrupt officials, he was terrified."

"Dou gave him some instructions and personally ordered the execution of Chao Cuo."

"Under pressure, Chao Cuo was beheaded in the East Market."

"Seven states including Wu, Chu, Qi and Zhao rebelled against the imperial court over the issue of reducing the number of vassal states. Liu Wu, the youngest son of the Dou family, was the King of Liang Xiao and held Suiyang City. He appointed Han Anguo and others as generals to participate in the war."

"The Chu and Wu states were blocked in Liang State in the early stage and did not dare to rush westward. They were in a stalemate with Zhou Yafu for three months and were eventually destroyed due to insufficient fighting power."

Empress Dugu: It was wise of Empress Dowager Dou not to change the surname of the Han people to Dou.

After Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang, the Han Dynasty entered the era of Emperor Hui.

After Emperor Hui, there were Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing.

After Emperor Jing came Emperor Wu.

Throughout the Han Dynasty, the only people who could influence government affairs were Empress Lü and Empress Dowager Dou.

Empress Dowager Dou was the wife of Emperor Wen, the mother of Emperor Jing, and the grandmother of Emperor Wu.

Since Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty, Liu Bang, was defeated at the Mount Baideng, the Huang-Lao school of thought has become popular in China.

Dou came from a humble background and often advised Emperor Wen to be frugal and reduce taxes and levies.

During the reign of Emperor Jing, although Dou was blind, she pursued a policy of tranquility and inaction.

Under her influence, the Han Dynasty began to usher in the reign of Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing in its early years.

After Emperor Wu ascended the throne, she continued to rule the country from behind the scenes as the Empress Dowager.

Dou always loved Emperor Wu and always taught him to follow the rules of his predecessor and do many good deeds.

The Dou family was quite strict with their family members. All the children in the family who served as officials had to ensure that they had good morals, were thrifty, and would not bring disgrace to the people.

Although they had the tiger talisman in their hands, Dou never acted presumptuously.

From the reign of Emperor Jing to the late reign of Emperor Wu, Dou's main policy was to spur the imperial court.

While inheriting the Huang-Lao school of thought from the early days of the Han Dynasty, it was more closely connected with the people's livelihood.

Dou believed that the Qin Dynasty was short-lived because there were too many tyrannies.

It was because of Dou's persistence that the Han Dynasty came to the time of Emperor Wu of Han.

Only with a huge economic foundation could we continue to wage war against the Huns.

From this we can see that Dou's Huang-Lao school of thought was the most suitable doctrine for the basic national conditions in the early Han Dynasty.

This led to Emperor Wu of Later Dynasties's several expeditions against the Huns.

This is why we have the self-signal that “Whoever offends the mighty Han will be punished, no matter how far away they are.”

When Emperor Wen ascended the throne, Dou suggested that the people could not endure the pain of war, and families could not endure the cruelty of sending off the elderly.

Our dynasty should follow the example of the late emperor and continue to implement a relaxed policy.

There is no rain in dry areas, and there are mostly lakes and swamps in flooded areas.

The country should develop water conservancy projects to facilitate people's crop planting.

The punishment is too harsh. Corporal punishment is the greatest harm to the body.

Those who have been subjected to corporal punishment cannot farm and can only beg, which is not good for the people.

In the early Han Dynasty, Liu Bang granted fiefdoms to many states.

When the Lu family was in power, they divided the world into fiefdoms, and added the county system that had been popular since the Qin Dynasty.

After Emperor Hui of Han, the Han Dynasty adopted a policy of developing both counties and kingdoms.

The growing power of counties and kingdoms is detrimental to the court. Your Majesty should take precautions early on.

Under her advice, Emperor Wen of Han implemented a series of relaxed policies.

It injected a breath of spring breeze into a society that had experienced war.

During the reign of Emperor Jing, many states grew in power.

Emperor Jingdi implemented the Enfeoffment Order, which led to the Rebellion of the Seven States.

The Dou family divided up the military power and ordered troops across the country to encircle and suppress the rebellion.

Among them, she even promoted many ministers who had dissatisfaction with her, regardless of past grudges.

Dou's actions helped to quell the Rebellion of the Seven States and prevent the dynasty from suffering greater losses.

During the reign of Emperor Wu, the country began to grow strong and the Huns kept attacking the border.

Dou's Huang-Lao school of thought was contrary to Liu Che's governing philosophy of governing the country by law and following Confucianism.

Dou saw that the Han Dynasty had not yet truly recovered, and the hidden dangers left over from the Seven Kingdoms Rebellion during the reign of Emperor Jing had not yet been eradicated.

He then used his power to pressure Emperor Wu to accept the advice of Huang-Lao philosophy.

From Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang to the early period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the Huang-Lao school of thought was always upheld and practiced, and the Dou family played a key role in it.

The Han Dynasty ruled the country with filial piety, and Emperor Jingdi and Emperor Wu also showed fundamental respect to the empress dowager who brought recuperation to the dynasty.

During the Han Dynasty, judging from political achievements alone, Dou's achievements were relatively mild compared to those of Lu Zhi.

Moreover, she did not treat her ministers and kingdoms in a more brutal manner like Lu Zhi did.

Although she recruited her two brothers into the dynasty to hold important positions, she did not take any measures to reward them lavishly.

It can be said that after Emperor Gaozu, she was the only person who always adhered to the Huang-Lao school of thought.

Her series of measures did lay the foundation for the later military development of Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che.

He cared about the people all his life and adhered to morality even though he held military power.

It is beneficial to the country and brings blessings to the people.

During the period of being in power, we should rest and recuperate and ease class contradictions.

"For the victory in this war, King Liang was awarded many rewards."

"He was given fertile land to build a palace, and gained the favor of the Dou family."

"In 150 BC, Emperor Jing of Han, Liu Qi, abolished the position of crown prince."

"Dou wanted to let Liang Xiao Wang Liu Wu inherit the throne, but was opposed by Yuan Ang and others."

"The proposal was dropped, and King Xiao of Liang bid farewell to the court and returned to his fiefdom."

"In 141 BC, Emperor Jing of Han, Liu Qi, died and his son, Liu Che, ascended the throne, known in history as Emperor Wu of Han, and honored his grandmother, Lady Dou, as the Grand Empress Dowager."

"Weiqi Hou Dou Ying was the son of Dou's cousin. He was granted the title of marquis for his meritorious service in quelling the rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms of Wu and Chu."

"But because he advocated Confucianism, he opposed the ideas of Taoism."

"It was contrary to Dou's ideas and beliefs, so he was disliked by Dou."

"Wang Zang of Lanling and Zhao Wan of Dai County wanted to hold a grand court meeting in the name of building the Mingtang, and recommended their teacher to the emperor as the instructor of this event."

"After hearing this, the emperor sent valuable gifts and silk bundles, and rode in a carriage with four horses to welcome Shen Pei."

"After Shen Pei arrived in Beijing, the emperor asked for his ideas on governing the country."

"He was also appointed as a senior official and ordered to work in the residence office set up by the State of Lu in Chang'an."

"That is, the vassal states set up a place in Chang'an City to inquire about the palace information and discuss the establishment of the Mingtang."

"After hearing this, Dou was displeased and found faults between Wang Zang and Zhao Wan and blamed the emperor."

"Finally, they were forced to stop building the Mingtang, and Wang Zang and Zhao Wan were handed over to the judge and convicted. In the end, both of them committed suicide."

"Shen Pei returned to Lu on the pretext of illness, and it was not until Dou's death that Emperor Wu of Han could promote Confucianism."

"In 135 BC, Dou died and was buried with Emperor Wen of Han in the Ba Mausoleum."

"At the same time, he placed the will in the East Palace and gave all his money and property to his daughter Liu Piao."

Li Shimin: Empress Dowager Dou was already a blind old lady, but Emperor Wu of Han was still so wary of her.

There were twelve emperors in the Western Han Dynasty. Apart from Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang, the most brilliant emperor was Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che.

Under Liu Che's governance, the Han Dynasty's borders were stabilized, imperial power was returned to the central government, and the political ecology developed well.

But when talking about Liu Che, one person that must be mentioned is his grandmother, Empress Dowager Dou. After Liu Che ascended the throne, he honored Dou Yifang as the Grand Empress Dowager.

In theory, this is just an honor and does not represent power in one's hands, but Empress Dowager Dou has always controlled the government.

Empress Dowager Dou was no ordinary person. Throughout the history of the Han Dynasty, she was the only person who could suppress Emperor Wu of Han.

In the royal family, there is no respect for the elderly that ordinary people have, so cases of patricide to seize the throne are common, not to mention the killing of one's own grandmother.

The reason why Emperor Wu of Han was so afraid of his grandmother can be traced back to Empress Dowager Dou’s struggle.

As the queen of Emperor Gaozu of Han, Empress Lü can be said to have fully demonstrated her feminism.

Not only did he continue to control his son Emperor Hui of Han after Liu Bang's death, he also brutally murdered Liu Bang's beloved concubine, Concubine Qi.

At that time, Empress Dowager Dou was still called Dou Yifang. As a commoner woman, she was chosen by the palace to serve Empress Lu.

What Empress Lu hated most was young and beautiful women, so most of the maids around her ended up in a bad way.

However, Dou Yifang, who was good-looking, felt like a fish in water around Empress Lu, which shows that Empress Dowager Dou had a natural ability to control people.

After serving Empress Lü for several years, he followed the rules of the Han Dynasty.

These palace maids will be assigned to local princes, which is also one of the benefits bestowed by the court on the princes.

Dou Yifang was from Zhao, but due to the eunuch's negligence, she was assigned to Dai and became the concubine of King Dai Liu Heng.

Liu Heng was very fond of Dou Yifang, and Dou Yifang was also very fertile, giving birth to two sons and a daughter for Liu Heng.

But strangely, the sons born to Liu Heng's original wife died one after another after Dou Yifang arrived.

Until the death of Empress Lü, Emperor Hui of Han had no children, so Liu Heng, as Liu Bang's eldest surviving son, was enthroned as Emperor Wen of Han.

After becoming emperor, the first thing he did was to decide on the crown prince. Dou Yifang's eldest son Liu Qi naturally became the crown prince.

At this time, Emperor Wen of Han's original wife had also passed away, and Dou Yifang was promoted to empress because of her son's status.

Ever since Dou Yifang became the queen, the Dou family can be said to have risen to great heights.

Not only was her father conferred the title of a prince, but her brothers, who were still servants, were also brought to the imperial city and became nobles.

Later, relying on the favor of Emperor Wen of Han, Dou Yifang began to place her brothers as officials in various departments of the court.

His younger brother Dou Guangguo was conferred the title of Marquis Zhangwu, and his nephew Dou Ying was conferred the title of general.

After Emperor Wen of Han died, his son Liu Qi succeeded to the throne and became Emperor Jing of Han. Empress Dowager Dou now reached the peak of her life.

When Empress Dowager Dou looked around, she saw that the generals in the court were from the Dou family, the prime minister was from the Dou family, the ministers of the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War were all from the Dou family, and even the emperor was her son.

Empress Dowager Dou did not like her eldest son Liu Qi. Her favorite was her youngest son, Prince of Liang Liu Wu.

So she kept urging Liu Qixian not to appoint a crown prince, meaning that the throne would be passed on to your younger brother in the future.

At this time, Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che, was only a few years old. He grew up under such influence and was naturally very afraid of his grandmother, Empress Dowager Dou.

When Empress Dowager Dou first proposed to make Liu Wu the crown prince, it aroused opposition from court ministers, among whom Yuan Ang was the most fierce.

Yuan Ang was an old minister during the reign of Emperor Wen of Han. He took the lead in opposing it, and the matter came to no avail.

So Empress Dowager Dou and Liu Wu planned to assassinate Yuan Ang, but the plan was exposed.

Emperor Jing of Han did not punish his brother for treason, but instead tried to avoid angering Empress Dowager Dou.

He even asked his sister Liu Piao to intercede for him, and only then did Empress Dowager Dou forgive him.

An emperor faced a mother and a younger brother who were planning to usurp the throne.

Not only did they not take away their power, but they also asked for their forgiveness.

There is no such thing in the world, but Emperor Jing of Han did it.

After Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che, ascended the throne, Empress Dowager Dou did not take her sixteen-year-old grandson seriously at all and still controlled the government.

Although Empress Dowager Dou was blind, she did not become blind suddenly.

During the reign of Emperor Wen of Han, Empress Dowager Dou became blind due to a serious illness. After Emperor Jing of Han ascended the throne, she was still able to control him.

So after Liu Che came to power, he discovered that the emperor's greatest power, including military and political power, was all in the hands of his grandmother.

Without the tiger talisman, Liu Che could not mobilize the army.

Although he was an emperor, he was only an emperor in name only.

Therefore, Liu Che's scope of activities in the court was very narrow.

Not only could he not do anything, but even the slightest different suggestion would offend the Dou family. During his growing-up period, Emperor Wu of Han was walking on thin ice.

Another point is that since Emperor Wu of Han abolished all schools of thought and only respected Confucianism, he was a staunch supporter of Confucianism.

But Empress Dowager Dou liked Lao Tzu and Taoist teachings.

From this point of view, Emperor Wu of Han faced many constraints in the early days.

Not only can they not get anything practical done, they can't even talk about their own ideals.

Once someone reported it to Empress Dowager Dou, it would be unknown whether he could still be emperor.

It was not until the death of Empress Dowager Dou in the sixth year of Jianyuan that Emperor Wu of Han began to make great plans and ushered in a prosperous era for the Han Dynasty. (End of this chapter)