The main reason why Liu Heng pretended to be crazy and stupid was to avoid Empress Lu's suspicion. This was his instinctive strategy to save his life. Moreover, he followed his mother in believing in Huang Lao's art and did not fight for or grab things. Therefore, among the princes at that time, Empress Lu believed that Liu Heng was the least threatening, so she saved her life. But how deep is Liu Heng's scheming? 1. Establish authority.
When Liu Heng was confirmed to take over as emperor, even Liu Heng himself did not believe it. Therefore, when he was about to go to Chang'an, he first sent people to Chang'an to inquire about the information, and then set off after confirming that it was correct. This shows his caution.
After Liu Heng became emperor, the ministers did not see how much ability he had at the time, but later he took action one after another, which made the ministers wake up. Liu Heng first reused Zhou Bo and used Zhou Bo to attack others.
Zhou Bo did not know that this was Emperor Wen's use at first. Because Zhou Bo thought he had merit in supporting Liu Heng, he was very arrogant towards Liu Heng. He did not take Liu Heng seriously after he retired from the court. But Liu Heng respected him very much and often watched Zhou Bo leave.
The minister suggested that Liu Heng did not need to show such respect to Zhou Bo, as it would be disrespectful of his status as an emperor, but Liu Heng was very unhappy after hearing this. Zhou Bo's subordinates also advised him: Don't be self-righteous, beware of being punished if you have great achievements. Zhou Bo suddenly realized this and quickly resigned from the post of prime minister.
Someone later accused Zhou Bo of treason. Since Zhou Bo had taken precautions and left no evidence, Liu Heng's investigation found no evidence and let Zhou Bo go.
In order to consolidate his power, Liu Heng tried to take control of the military and sent his own people to important positions to prevent anyone from using the army to cause chaos. 2. Use strategy.
When Liu Heng took office, the biggest foreign threat he faced was Zhao Tuo in the far south. This man wanted to establish himself as emperor during the Liu Bang period. When civil strife broke out in the Han Dynasty, especially after Liu Heng succeeded to the throne, Zhao Tuo did not take Liu Heng seriously at all. Therefore, he thought the time was ripe.
In 181 BC, Zhao Tuo destroyed the Anyang Kingdom and expanded the South Vietnam Kingdom to what is now northern and central Vietnam. Its territory was on par with the Han Dynasty.
Now Liu Heng was anxious, but there was nothing he could do about it. How could the Han Dynasty have so many troops to go south to conquer Zhao Tuo? At this time, the ministers had nothing to do, so Liu Heng used the Huang Lao technique taught by his mother and decided to write a letter to Zhao Tuo. The ministers in the DPRK were a little confused by Liu Heng's naive idea. Do they think writing a letter can be more powerful than fighting?
Zhao Tuo didn’t care much after receiving Liu Heng’s letter. He thought this was Liu Heng's letter to scare him, but he was shocked when he read the content of the letter.
Liu Heng told Zhao Tuo in a humble tone in the letter that the imperial court had sent two border generals to protect Zhao Tuo's relatives in the north, and also sent people to repair Zhao Tuo's ancestral tomb.
The more Zhao Tuo read, he felt the weight of this letter. Although the tone was very gentle, every sentence pierced Zhao Tuo's heart like a knife. Liu Heng also said in the letter that the war would waste people and money. The last sentence is the most important. Liu Heng said: The person who sent the letter to Zhao Tuo was very old, but he followed the court's instructions and lived a comfortable life.
Zhao Tuo lamented that there was another powerful emperor in the Liu family. If he didn't know what to do, he would definitely be destroyed. So he wrote a letter to Liu Heng in a more humble tone, expressing his willingness to become a minister and live a peaceful life.
Later generations praised Liu Heng for eliminating Zhao Tuo's rebellion with a letter. This is the origin of "half of the country is written on a piece of paper" in history. Is Zhao Tuo really convinced? Not necessarily, but Zhao Tuo also felt that the war was not good for him. Taking advantage of Liu Heng's letter, he quickly found a way out and continued to dominate South Vietnam. The difference between emperor and king was just one word. 3. Use Lue
Liu Heng’s reign was not stable. In addition to Zhao Tuo in the south, the Huns in the north were also a major problem Liu Heng faced. However, during Liu Heng's reign, in order to strengthen the Han Dynasty, he adopted restraint and tolerance towards the Xiongnu. At the same time, Liu Heng also actively cultivated and guarded the border.
Minister Chao Cuo suggested that Liu Heng adopt the method of "recruiting people to strengthen the border": establishing cities in border areas, and then recruiting people from the interior to move to the border areas, while cultivating the land and guarding the borders. In addition, residents of more than a thousand households who moved to each city were provided with farm tools, food and clothing by the court until they became self-sufficient. The people who moved to the border organized and trained according to the Han army's establishment and actively responded to the Huns' invasion on the border.
This countermeasure has a positive approach: whoever can recapture the wealth plundered by the Huns will be given half by the court. Liu Heng was very happy after seeing this policy and immediately approved its implementation.
He also established 36 horse breeding stations on the border, mainly in the north and west. He sent 30,000 official slaves and raised 300,000 horses. He also formulated incentives to reward farmers so that the number of horses could fully meet the requirements of border operations. .
After Liu Heng's series of border defense and war preparation measures, the Han Dynasty changed the previous system of single rotation of garrison, which not only developed the border but also enhanced the strength to attack the Xiongnu. Recuperation and war preparations progressed simultaneously, and the Han Dynasty's economy developed rapidly, laying a sufficient foundation for Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty to completely attack the Huns.
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