Harem at the end of the Han Dynasty: Empress Dong was poisoned, and Empress Song was killed by sorrow

Harem at the end of the Han Dynasty: Empress Dong was poisoned, and Empress Song was killed by sorrow

Dong Shi (東氏), a native of Hejian (present-day Hebei), was the wife of Liu Cang, the Marquis of Xieduting, and the biological mother of Liu Hong, the Emperor of Hanling.

Originally, Dong Shi was just an ordinary noblewoman and had no chance to enter the center of power. In the first year of Yongkang (167 AD), Emperor Huan of Han died, because he had no children under his knees, empress Dou and the general Dou Wu, in order to control the power, chose Liu Hong, who was a distant patriarch and still a child, as emperor, which was the later Emperor Hanling.

Although Emperor Hanling succeeded to the throne, in order to control him, Empress Dou greatly degraded Dong Shi, did not give her the title of Empress Dowager, only gave her the status of a Noble Lady of Shenyuan, and did not allow Dong Shi to enter the capital.

However, this situation was soon reversed. Soon after Emperor Hanling succeeded to the throne, he, with the support of the eunuch clique, eliminated Dou Wu. As soon as Dou Wu died, Empress Dowager Dou became an orphan and had to be at the mercy of emperor Han Ling.

The following year, Emperor Ling of Han sent Zhongchang to welcome Dong shi from his hometown of Hejian To the capital, and Dong's brother Dong Pet and nephew Dong Zhong were also recruited to serve in the dynasty. As soon as Dong Shi entered the capital, he was honored as Empress Xiaoren and lived in the Nangong Jiade Hall, and Dong Yu and Dong Chong were appointed as the generals of Jinwu and Zhonglang of the Five Senses.

In June of the first year of Xiping (172 AD), Empress Dou died. As soon as she died, Dong's last scruples ceased to exist and she began to directly interfere in the government.

Empress Dong came from a declining aristocratic family, and once she was rich, the first thing she wanted was money. In order to make money, she instructed the Han Ling Emperor to sell the official Lord, and she took bribes herself, earning a lot of money.

In the fourth year of Guanghe (181 AD), Wang Mei of the Han Ling Emperor gave birth to a crown prince Liu Xie, who later became emperor Xian of Han.

Emperor Hanling's empress Dowager He, out of jealousy, actually sent someone to poison Wang Meiren. The Han Ling Emperor was furious and wanted to depose her. However, Empress He hooked up with the eunuchs, who were adamantly opposed. At that time, the eunuchs held great power in the court, and the Han Ling Emperor was worried about the eunuchs, so he gave up. However, Liu Xie was handed over to Empress Dong to raise. Empress Dong and Empress He's Liang Zi thus formed a bond.

Empress Dowager Dong repeatedly suggested that Emperor Ling depose the crown prince Liu Xie and establish Liu Xie, whom he had raised, but before things could be settled, Emperor Ling died.

Liu Yan succeeded to the throne as Emperor Shao of Han. Empress He was promoted to empress dowager, and was regent of the Dynasty, and her brother He Jin served as a general.

Empress Dong also became empress dowager at this time, and the contradiction with Empress He was further magnified, and in the middle of the dynasty, Dong Zhong's nephew Dong Zhong was also incompatible with He Jin.

Two months after the death of Emperor Hanling, He Jin launched a general attack, sent troops to surround Dong Zhong's mansion, imprisoned him, and Dong Zhong committed suicide.

As soon as Dong Zhong died, Empress Dowager Dong lost foreign aid and immediately lost power in the palace, and was soon poisoned by Empress He. After Empress Dong's death, He Jin sent his coffin back to Hejian and buried it with Liu Cang at Shenling.

And Empress He did not arrogant for too long. Soon, Dong Zhuo, in the name of poisoning Empress Dowager Dong, led his troops into Luoyang, killed He Shimanmen, and Emperor Shao of Han was deposed and liu xie was made emperor. The Han Dynasty was also in chaos and eventually came to an end.

Song Shi, the first empress of the Eastern Han Ling Emperor Liu Hong, was the father of The Jin Wu Song Feng. In the first year of Yongkang (167 AD), the twelve-year-old Liu Hong was proclaimed emperor by Empress Dowager Dou as Emperor Ling of Han. In the third year of Jianning (170 AD), the Song clan was elected to the palace. The Song family is dignified and virtuous, beautiful and generous, and the harem and other women are not as dignified and stable as her, and they are named nobles just after entering the palace. A year later, she was crowned empress by Emperor Ling.

When Song became empress, she was not proud and self-satisfied, nor did she compete with other concubines for favors, and acted cautiously. In order to maintain their position, the empresses of the previous dynasties were more cruel to the harem and other concubines. Unlike the empresses of the previous dynasties, the Song clan has always been lenient and has never framed others.

However, the open gun was easy to hide, and the dark arrow was difficult to defend, and all the concubines coveted the position of Empress Song, so they joined forces to frame and slander Empress Song. At first, Emperor Ling did not believe much in the concubines, and his attitude toward Empress Song was the same as usual. But after listening to more gossip, Emperor HanLing gradually believed what the concubines said and alienated Empress Song. And Empress Song was a dignified and virtuous person, not like other concubines who would please the Ling Emperor, and it was reasonable to be snubbed by the Ling Emperor.

Zhongchang WangFu and Liu Wu (the younger brother of Emperor Huan of Han) had a festival and had always held a grudge, but they never had a chance to retaliate. And Liu Wu's princess was Empress Song's aunt, and Empress Song's relationship with her aunt had always been very good. Wang Fu had long wanted to take revenge, but had always hindered Empress Song's relationship with Liu Wu and did not dare to act rashly.

When Empress Song was snubbed by Emperor Ling, Wang Fu felt that the time had come to take revenge on Liu Wu, so he falsely accused Liu Wu of waiting for an opportunity to rebel in order to seize the emperor's throne. After Emperor Ling heard this, he believed it to be true, and Liu Wu was arrested and tortured in prison, and was forced to commit suicide in desperation, and his wife (Empress Song's aunt), son, and more than a hundred other people were killed.

Although Wang Fu got rid of Liu Wu, he was still not at ease, fearing that Empress Song would regain the emperor's favor and would avenge her aunt and Liu Wu. Wang Fu decided to strike first and get rid of Empress Song. Wang Fu joined forces with Cheng A, the Grand Master of Taizhong, and others to falsely accuse Empress Song of using witchcraft in the palace, cursing Emperor Ling for having no heirs and cursing other concubines for not dying well.

Witchcraft had always been a sensitive matter in the Han Dynasty, and emperor Ling of Han knew that the empress was cursing himself, and he was furious, and without even thinking about it, he deposed the empress dowager of the Song Dynasty and sent her to the cold palace.

Of course, Wang Fu did not have a good ending in the end. Yang Biao and Yang Qiu exposed his trapped crimes, and Wang Fu was beaten to death in prison and dismembered after his death.

Soon after Empress Song was beaten into the Cold Palace, she died of depression. Her father Song Feng and her brother were also implicated and murdered. The regular attendants and Xiao Huangmen who served in the palace all took pity on Empress Song for being innocently wronged, gathered some money and goods, and buried Empress Song, her father and brothers in the old Gaomen Pavilion.

Empress Song only served as empress for eight years in her lifetime, and when she was in the back seat, she was virtuous and generous, and never fought with people. As everyone knows, his own virtuousness and generosity have brought him the misfortune of killing himself. In the unpredictable harem, people who are too kind will always suffer losses.

(End of this article)