What If the Ten Philosophers of the Martial Temple of Emperors Were Chosen? Who Would Make the List?
"If you haven't suffered what someone else has, don't tell them to be kind."
"If you had suffered what I have, you might not be as kind as I am."
"Well said!"
[She should have turned Liu Bang into a human pig.]
People of ancient times: Turn Liu Bang into a human pig? People of later generations really dared to imagine it!
[If I were Lü Zhi, I'd be even more ruthless than she was.]
People of ancient times: More ruthless? How much more ruthless could she be?
[Anyone who abandons the wife who stood by him through hardship will never come to a good end. There was a reason for Lü Zhi's later ruthlessness.]
[That's why people who accomplish great things are all heartless.]
Emperor Jing of Han Liu Qi looked up at the heavenly screen and muttered to himself, "An emperor isn't heartless. He simply has no choice but to act that way for the sake of the realm."
[He wasn't heartless. He was just conceited. He thought he'd become so great that the wife who stood by him through hardship was no longer good enough for him. If he really were heartless, why would he take more concubines?]
[Lü Zhi and Empress Ma came from similar backgrounds, and so did their husbands. One ended up a notoriously vicious empress, while the other was a virtuous one. Was the problem with them or with their husbands?]
[Zhu Yuanzhang never thought of touching Empress Ma's position, nor did he think of deposing the crown prince, Zhu Biao. He certainly never let any concubine lord it over Empress Ma. I'm not saying people in that era had to stay with one partner for life, but shouldn't a man at least protect his first wife's rights?]
Zhu Yuanzhang: I like the sound of that.
[Zhu Yuanzhang didn't let down the wife who stood by him through hardship. In his heart, Empress Ma was his only wife, and Zhu Biao his only son. Even after Zhu Biao died, he never thought of letting another son inherit the throne. He chose Zhu Biao's son instead. Could Liu Bang compare?]
Liu Bang: No! I really can't compare on that! If my crown prince Liu Ying died, I'd be happier than I was sad.
Zhu Yuanzhang: My other sons are still my sons. Biao is just my favorite. My dear wife is the empress, so naturally she's my only wife.
Zhu Yuanzhang's other sons: We're all superfluous.
[People are shaped by their circumstances!]
[It was really a conflict caused by the distribution of benefits.]
The emperors of every dynasty: That makes sense!
[When Liu Bang was still a petty thug, Lü Zhi's father saw promise in him. He believed Liu Bang was destined to stand above others, so he offered his daughter to him in marriage.
Lü Zhi was fifteen or sixteen years younger than Liu Bang. The old ox ate tender grass and married a young beauty.
Later, the Lü Household joined Liu Bang's rebellion and made considerable contributions to his conquest of the realm.
The Lü Household felt that Liu Bang had given them too little.
Liu Bang, on the other hand, didn't dare give the Lü Household too much. He didn't even want the crown prince Liu Ying, who had Lü blood, to become emperor. He was afraid that after his death, Liu Ying would become the Lü Household's puppet, and the Liu Household's realm would become the Lü Household's.
The Tian clan's takeover of Qi was still fresh in everyone's minds.]
Liu Bang: What do you mean, the old ox ate tender grass? You there from the future, come out and explain yourself to me. The rest is all true. The Liu Household's realm must never fall into the Lü Household's hands.
Across the dynasties, in different times and places, people took different positions. Some sided with the Lü Household, while others felt Liu Bang had done nothing wrong.
Those who felt Liu Bang had done nothing wrong were naturally the emperors of every dynasty.
Those who sided with the Lü Household were the great aristocratic clans and wealthy landowners.
From their perspective, the Lü Household had invested in a future emperor, but the returns had fallen short of their expectations.
Comparatively speaking, the Lü Household's approach was the most primitive form of investment.
During the late Han and Three Kingdoms period, the great aristocratic clans wouldn't put all their eggs in one basket.
[If you were Liu Bang, how would you treat Lü Zhi?]
[First kill all the men in the Lü Household, then kill everyone in the Liu Household. Keep Lü Zhi and the Lü Household's women alive and have children with them. The children would bear the surname Liu and have Lü blood. With all the Lü men dead, the threat from the maternal relatives would be gone. The only remaining members of the Liu imperial clan would be Liu Bang's children with the Lü women, so there probably wouldn't be any more conflict between the Liu and Lü Households.]
The members of the Liu and Lü Households widened their eyes, as did the emperors in every time and place of the Great Han. Clearly, they were shocked by the comment on the heavenly screen!
They hadn't expected someone from a later generation to come up with such an idea.
Liu Bang and Lü Zhi were equally shocked.
It was a good idea.
But Liu Bang couldn't possibly kill everyone in the Liu Household, and Lü Zhi couldn't possibly kill all the men in the Lü Household.
Jia Xu: I thought I was ruthless enough, and that few people could compare with me. Compared with someone from a later generation, I know I fall short.
[To love her, you have to kill her whole family? And not just hers—you wouldn't even spare your own. You're the ruthless one!]
People of ancient times: Where did this god of slaughter come from?
"I think this idea from someone in a later generation is a good one! Liu Bang's brothers and nephews couldn't be trusted! Liu Bang's second elder brother, Liu Xi, was made King of Dai, and the Xiongnu attacked Dai. Liu Bang's second elder brother, the King of Dai, abandoned Dai and fled on his own. Liu Xi's son, Liu Bi, King of Wu, was the leader of the rebel kings."
[Liu Bang had eight sons and one daughter. Lü Zhi gave birth to one son and one daughter. Lü Zhi had too few children. If all of Liu Bang's sons had been hers, imagine how secure her position would have been!]
[I'm curious. Lü Zhi was in Xiang Yu's hands for more than two years. Nothing happened?]
[If I were Xiang Yu, Lü Zhi would have had at least two children in those two-plus years.]
In a certain time and place, Xiang Yu frowned when he saw the comment.
[I think Lü Zhi suffered lasting damage when she gave birth to Liu Ying and couldn't have any more children.]
[If the Ten Philosophers of the Martial Temple of Emperors were chosen, who do you think would make the list? #history]
"The Ten Philosophers of the Martial Temple of Emperors?"
"If emperors are brought into the Martial Temple, who would be the principal figure worshipped?"
"Surely it wouldn't be the First Emperor of Qin?"
"Probably not."
"Although the First Emperor swept through the Six States by force, he didn't personally command troops on the front lines. He didn't lead troops to conquer the realm himself, nor did he lead them to expand its territory. Could he enter the Martial Temple of Emperors?"
"In that case, the principal figure wouldn't be Emperor Wu of Han either!"
"Could the First Emperor of Qin and Emperor Wu of Han enter the Martial Temple of Emperors?"
The Ten Philosophers of the Martial Temple first appeared during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang.
People who lived after Emperor Xuanzong of Tang's era knew what the so-called Ten Philosophers of the Martial Temple of Emperors meant.
Among those who lived before Emperor Xuanzong of Tang's era, clever people and scholars could roughly guess what the Ten Philosophers of the Martial Temple of Emperors meant from the word "martial" in the temple's name.
Emperor Wu of Han Liu Che: "My posthumous title is Emperor Wu. I fought the Xiongnu in the north and expanded the realm. Surely there should be a place for me among the Ten Philosophers of the Martial Temple of Emperors?!"
["If the Ten Philosophers of the Martial Temple of Emperors were chosen, who do you think would make the list?"]
["Xiang Yu, Hegemon-King of Western Chu, who annihilated the main Qin army at Julu, burned the Qin palace, killed the Qin king, and enfeoffed the other lords."]
"Yu's divine valor has had no equal through the ages!"
"Although Xiang Yu wasn't an emperor, he was included in the Basic Annals. That makes him no different from an emperor, so he deserves a place."
["Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu of the Eastern Han, who destroyed Wang Mang's army of 420,000 at Kunyang and made his name in a single battle."]
["Emperor Wu Cao Cao of Cao Wei, who crushed Yuan Shao at Guandu, unified the north, and spent his life fighting wars."]
["Emperor Xuan Sima Yi of the Western Jin, who twice repelled Zhuge Liang's invasions, led an expedition to pacify Liaodong, and stole Cao Wei's realm."]
["Emperor Taiwu Tuoba Tao of Northern Wei, who defeated the Rouran, marched south against Liu Song, conquered Shanshan, Kucha, and other states, and unified the north."]