(Emperor Shun of Han, Liu Bao)
In the first year of Jiankang, in 144 AD, Liu Bao, the Emperor of Hanshun, died.
This emperor was a Ming emperor who once exterminated foreign forces and returned the politics of the Eastern Han Dynasty to the hands of the Son of Heaven.
However, this emperor was also a dimwitted monarch, and over-appointed eunuchs, resulting in himself being suspended by eunuchs and becoming a puppet emperor with no real power.
Eunuchs are a very special group of historical products in the era of China's feudal imperial system.
They often came from miserable backgrounds, and their life experiences had their own misfortunes, and they had no choice but to join the eunuch camp.
These eunuch friends were often crippled and crippled, the scholars looked down on them, there was no place for them in the harem, and all they could rely on in the deep palace was the emperor himself.
But in the han shun emperor's dynasty, the situation was very different.
Eunuchs do not have to rely on the emperor, but the emperor must rely on eunuchs at all times.
We know that Emperor Shun's throne came through an armed coup, and before that, he was just a powerless and powerless deposed prince in the eastern capital of Luoyang.
And it was with the help of the eunuch friends that Liu Bao was able to ascend to the throne of the Ninth Five-Year Emperor.
The so-called draught does not forget to dig wells, became the emperor, of course, to thank these eunuchs who support themselves.
To treat meritorious people, it is nothing more than sending money and gifts, and adding officials to the knighthood.
But Comrade Liu Bao's thanks seem to be a bit excessive.
In order to curry favor with the eunuchs, the emperor almost surrendered his power.
The era of monopoly of power by foreign relatives is over, and the era of eunuch dictatorship has arrived.
There seems to have always been such a strange circle in the political arena of the Eastern Han Dynasty, that is, anyone can have power, but only the emperor cannot have it.
Now that the emperor was dead, the eunuch power soon collapsed.
The reason is also very simple, the so-called one heavenly son and one courtier, then the same way, a dynasty heavenly son is also a eunuch.
The emperor and the eunuch were a very special pair of beings in the political forces.
They are interdependent, gaining and losing.
And now, the Han Shun Emperor is dead, and the eunuchs who once fell to power because of the emperor's praise and sealing have stepped down in two days.
(Eunuchs of the Eastern Han Dynasty)
The eunuch stepped down, so who came to power?
Or a familiar recipe, a familiar taste.
The new political force was the empress of Emperor Shun of Han, a relative of the Liang clan behind her.
Of course, Empress Liang had been smoothly promoted to empress dowager at this time, becoming the new empress dowager of the Eastern Han Dynasty.
The title is to be changed.
As soon as Emperor Shun died, Crown Prince Liu Bing, the heir of the emperor before his death, ascended the throne. (Emperor Chong of Han)
Liu Bing ascended the throne at the age of one, and his resume was very simple, and there was only one record of this little emperor in the Book of Later Han: Chong Yu did not know.
The meaning of this sentence is that the emperor was very small, and he died within two days after ascending the throne, so the historians did not know much about the emperor, so they could not write down, and they did not know how to record it.
Since you don't know how to record it, you can't record it carelessly, and since you can't record it carelessly, it is enough to remember this sentence honestly.
Here, let us praise the professionalism of the Eastern Han Dynasty historians.
The first year of Yongxi, 145 AD.
The little emperor Liu Bing finished beating the soy sauce and died.
(Emperor Chong of Han, Liu Bing)
The emperor died in a hurry, but Empress Liang had already prepared.
The eastern Han empresses were very experienced in the matter of selecting heirs.
Too old to be, too young, too smart, too healthy.
Anyway, in a word, to pick an obedient, easy to control.
Empress Dowager Liang picked and chose Liu Hong, the son of Liu Hong, the Prince of Filial Piety of Bohai, and the grandson of Liu Zhao, the Emperor of HanZhang, Liu Jiao. (i.e. Emperor Of Han)
At the age of eight, he became the tenth emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty.
(Emperor Liu of the Han Dynasty)
At the age of eight, there is no doubt that it is a young age, so naturally, Empress Liang raised the curtain, engaged in the curtain to listen to the government, and made the dynasty weigh.
But the empress dowager was a woman who was the first emperor after all, and she could not always show her face, and if she wanted to control the entire Eastern Han Dynasty, the court must also have people from the old Liang family.
Who is this person?
Empress Liang's older brother, the general Liang Ji.
Liang Ji (梁冀), also spelled Bozhuo , a native of Jingchuan, Gansu , successively served as a Waiter of the Yellow Gate , a waiter , a general of the Tiger Ben Zhonglang , a lieutenant of the Yue Cavalry School , and a jinwu of the Imperial Guard , all of whom were less important idle officials and petty officials.
Liang Ji this person, Iris shoulder jackal eyes, meaning that his two shoulders stand up like the wings of an eagle, and his eyes are like jackals, tigers and leopards, and when he looks at people, his eyebrows are upside down, which is very frightening.
We have to admire those ancient historian friends, such a meticulous record of appearance, it can be said that they are very dedicated.
(Liang Ji)
Through the records of historian friends, it is not difficult for us to draw a conclusion:
Comrade Liang Ji is not a good person at first glance.
Of course, judging a person's good or bad by his appearance alone is superficial, and we must also understand Liang Ji's personality.
So what is Comrade Liang Ji's daily routine?
Quite simply, that is:
Archery, chess, mahjong, kicking, gambling, visiting the Green House. Such a clumsy disciple who was mixed up in the official field of the Eastern Han Dynasty, because of the family's gain of power, rose up and transformed into a big figure who was leaning towards the opposition.
Liang Ji was a little fluttery.
The empress dowager is her own sister, and the emperor is a small child, and everything is not decided by himself?
It was also true that the eunuchs' power was in a slump, and the scholars and masters were also weak in heart, and it was difficult to compete with Liang Ji.
Our comrade Liang Ji thus began his own road of unauthorized power.
When the emperor's family was the emperor's lord, he almost sat on the emperor's seat and gave orders.
Crack down on dissidents, fight against the same party, expropriate and extort, and pervert the law by taking bribes.
What you can think of as a traitorous and evil general can do, Liang Ji has done it all over again.
Don't the ministers dare to take care of any of them?
It is not true that in any era there are ministers who are silent and wise to protect themselves, but there will also be loyal ministers and good generals who speak out in righteousness and have no remorse.
Lieutenant Li Gu was such a loyal subject.
He often confronted Liang Ji, but he always fell behind, and the folds that were handed over to report and expose Liang Ji's crimes were pressed by the empress dowager, no way, the empress dowager and Liang Ji were a family, helping relatives did not help, Li Gu did not rudder.
(Empress Liang)
In the early dynasty, the officials knelt down in unison and shouted long live, but Liang Ji could stand between the courtiers, not worship or kneel, and go to the temple with a sword, and his arrogance was very arrogant.
The ministers performed a kneeling salute, and before the emperor could speak, Comrade Liang Ji began to point fingers.
Crazy?
It's crazy indeed.
In the era of feudal imperialism, heavenly power could not be offended, and there was only a short distance between the monarch and the courtiers in the palace, but the disparity in their identities was very huge.
In the past, courtiers had to be fully prepared, and in front of the Son of Heaven, any inadvertent action, such as sneezing, farting, or making some subtle noises, could lead to the disaster of killing.
Because as a courtier, in front of the emperor, you must not only be dignified and heavy, but also maintain absolute obedience, and anything that is not in the etiquette code may be regarded as unfaithful and filial piety.
And Liang Ji's behavior above the court shows that at that time, the authority of the Son of Heaven had fallen to a very unbearable point.
Although the little emperor Liu Wei was only eight years old, the eight-year-old child also had an IQ, self-esteem, and his own thinking and insights.
On weekdays, I saw no one in Liang Ji's eyes and regarded himself as nothing, so the little emperor pointed to Liang Ji and said this:
"This general also." - Book of the Later Han Dynasty
The little emperor said that Liang Ji was too arrogant, flying and stumbling, and thieves were not things.
This sentence may be unintentional, it may be intentional, or it may be just a fairy tale.
Historically, historians have analyzed this sentence a lot, believing that this sentence expresses the emperor's intention to kill thieves and his inability to return to heaven.
Liu Miao was only an eight-year-old child, and this remark from the court was nothing more than a child's overflowing indignation.
The little emperor Liu Wei said it easily, but the ministers at the bottom listened to it and sweated for the emperor.
(Eastern Han Dynasty)
After many years of eunuchs and foreign relatives taking turns in power, the courtiers of these emperors have long since become dumb and fearful, they are afraid, they are afraid, they dare not say anything, they dare not do anything.
However, the ministers understood that as soon as this statement came out, Liang Ji would definitely have some thoughts about the emperor, and Liang Ji's thoughts were likely to be the emperor's killing.
Our comrade Liang Ji usually has a very big temper, often beats and scolds the ministers in private, engages in political purges at every turn, and kills many people.
In the Middle Palace, Liu Yi dared to say this about himself, he had already smoked his mouth, but now it was the early dynasty, and the civil and military officials were watching from the bottom, and everyone was watching, the emperor was young, he didn't want face, and as a great general, he still had to keep a few faces.
Therefore, Liang Ji remained silent, and in the face of the emperor's reprimand, he did not say a word.
But after the retreat, a plan immediately took shape in Liang Ji's mind.
He planned to get rid of Liu Yi and establish a new jun.
There are two reasons, which are divided into private and public.
Of course, yu privately because the emperor openly humiliated himself above the court and made himself very faceless.
Yu Gong, on the other hand, was because Liang Ji was keenly aware that the Han Emperor Liu Yi was really an unusual child, and during the holidays, if he grew up, he would probably pose a threat to the rule of Liang's foreign relatives.
So how did Liang Ji plan to get rid of the little emperor?
For Liang Ji, who only covered the sky with his hands, it was easy.
He arranged for his cronies to poison the boiled cakes that Liu Miao used every day, and the emperor ate the poisonous cakes, and his abdominal pain was unbearable, so he hurriedly summoned the lieutenant Li Gu into the palace.
The eight-year-old emperor also seems to have foreseen his own end.
(Li Gu)
He summoned Lieutenant Li Gu and said the following sentence:
I had just eaten a cooked cake and my stomach hurt so much that if I drank water now, I might have survived.
Yes, he was an emperor, but he was only a child, and whoever he was, had no right to take his life.
Maybe at this point, with just a sip of water, he could survive.
But at that time, Liang Ji was also nearby, and on the grounds that drinking water would cause vomiting, he never fed Liu Miao water.
However, a long time later, Liu Miao was poisoned and died in the eastern capital Luoyang Imperial Palace.
The emperor is dead.
Just because of a blurted out rebuke.
And this sentence should have come out of the mouths of those ministers who knelt at the feet of Liang Ji, ate Han Lu in the world, and received the grace of the king.
A seven-foot man, a woman.
An eight-year-old boy Tianzi, at the cost of his life, issued a final cry.
This is the cry of a generation of emperors, and it is also the last roar of the entire Eastern Han Dynasty.