First, the identity gap.
Empress Dong, during the time of Emperor Ling of Han, was the empress dowager with unlimited scenery, and during the period of Emperor Shao of Han, she was the empress dowager of the ineffable. In the final analysis, Empress Dong was nothing more than the wife of Liu Cang, the Marquis of Xieliting, who was at best a concubine, and was essentially different from the empresses and nobles of the Han Huan Emperor, and even the beauties, palace people, and women. Although Empress Dong was the biological mother of Emperor Hanling, Emperor Hanling was dead. Empress Dong became an old lady who had no one to rely on. During the reign of Emperor Shao of Han, Empress Dong was only the grandmother of Emperor Shao, and Emperor Shao's biological mother was Empress He. Therefore, Empress He's assumption of power was in line with the custom or tradition of the empress dowager's reign.
Second, there is a huge disparity in power.
Liu Wei ascended the throne as emperor of the Han Dynasty. The He family, represented by Empress He, held great power in the court. He Jin was a great general, He Miao was a che riding general, and most of the loyal Han courtiers sided with the He family, who held the military and political power of the Eastern Han Empire. The Dong family, represented by Empress Dowager Dong, lost power. Empress Dong's nephew Dong Zhong was only a general on horseback. Although the Hussar General was between the Great General and the Charioteer General, his military power was far inferior to that of the Great General. For this reason, Empress Dong could only rely on eunuchs to oppose the courtiers, and fundamentally lost the capital to compete with Empress He for power.
Third, the situation is different.
Empress Dong relied on eunuchs to support Liu Xie. Empress He united with her courtiers to support Liu Fei. Now, when Liu Wei became emperor and achieved orthodox status, he could justify his words and command the world. Empress Dong was the grandmother of Emperor Shao of Han rather than her mother, and she did not have the conditions for the title system of the dynasty. However, Empress Dong listened to the eunuch's advice and wanted to listen to the government and manipulate the Han Shao Emperor, thus increasing the hatred of the officials of the imperial court. In this way, He Jin's proposal that Empress Dowager Dong was originally a concubine and should not live in the palace for a long time was unanimously approved in the court without suspense.
He Jin and others used the edict of the little emperor to say that Empress Dong had two major crimes: first, sending eunuchs to communicate with local officials of prefectures and counties privately, which violated the ancestral system; second, Yongle Palace sold officials and ran away from officials, collected money, and said that she was originally a lady of the Tinghou, who came here with the side of the emperor's son, and now that her son is dead, who is still qualified to stay in the capital division. Without saying a word, he threw her out of the Yongle Palace.
Empress Dowager Dong failed to recognize the unfavorable situation and listened to the eunuch's ulterior motives, and eventually ended up being killed. Under the rule of Confucianism, Empress Dong single-handedly wanted to go against the heavens, and the end was really regrettable.