In September of the first year of Jianning, the general Dou Wu was killed in a failed struggle against eunuchs. In the first month of the second year of Jianning, Emperor Ling of Han sent Zhongchang to welcome his mother Dong Shi from Hejian Kingdom to Luoyang, Kyoto, and summoned Dong Shi's brother Dong Zhong and nephew Dong Zhong to Luoyang. On the third day of March of the same year, Emperor Hanling honored his mother Dong Shi as Empress Xiaoren and lived in the Nangong Jiade Hall, which was called Yongle Palace (Dong Shi was called Empress Yongle because he lived in Yongle Palace), and appointed Dong Yu as The Golden Wu and Dong Zhong as the General of the Five Senses.
It can be said that Empress Dong, the mother of Liu Hong, the Emperor of Hanling, appeared in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms relatively early. In the second episode of the novel (Zhang Yide's angry whip to supervise the post, He Guo's uncle plotted against the eunuchs), Mr. Luo Guanzhong has already explained the identity of Empress Dong for us, the original text is as follows:
"Empress Dowager Dong was the mother of Emperor Ling, and the wife of Liu Cang, the Marquis of Xieduting. At the beginning, Emperor Huan was childless, and the son of the Marquis of Yingli Xieting was Emperor Ling. Emperor Ling joined the throne and welcomed his adoptive mother in the palace and honored her as empress. ”
After the death of the Han Ling Emperor, the general He Jin began to control the government. The young emperor who had just ascended the throne was He Jin's nephew, and because of this origin, He Jin's sister Empress He was promoted to empress. However, because Empress He's power was increasing, she gradually invaded another harem, Empress Dong.
As for Empress He, who was gradually becoming a threat, Empress Dong said:
"Sister He Jin, at the beginning I lifted her up. Today, his children are the emperor's throne, and his internal and external subjects are his confidants. Authoritarian too heavy, what will I do? ”
There are four words in this sentence that are quite critical, and that is "how will I be".
This subtle sentence reveals the situation of Empress Dong and also hints at the future outcome of Empress Dong.
The tilt of power occurred not only in the former court, but also in the harem. Empress Dong, because of her hidden worries about her future situation, decided to act first. Therefore, "The next day, the dynasty was established, Empress Dong surrendered her will, and crowned the crown prince xie as the king of Chen Liu, Dong Zhong as the general of the Hussars, and Zhang Rang and others to prepare the government of the dynasty." ”
Originally, Empress He did not intend to meet with Empress Dong in general, and the reason why Empress Dong caused the disaster of killing herself was entirely self-inflicted. After understanding Empress Dong's small actions, Empress He set up a banquet in the harem, hoping to turn a fight with Empress Dong into a jade warrior, who knows, Empress Dong not only did not listen to advice, but also humiliated Empress He.
Because of Empress Dong's recklessness, Empress He summoned her brother He Jin into the palace that night after the banquet, and the two conspired together to overthrow Empress Dong. The reason why the empress dowager can hold power is that the biggest reliance is on foreign relatives. Under He Jin's arrangement, a forbidden army surrounded the residence of his foreign relative Dong Zhong. Dong Zhong knew that he could not escape this fate, and in the end, he killed himself at home.
Uncle Guo's life cried out, Empress Dong lost the support of her foreign relatives, and her situation naturally became precarious. In June of the same year, He Jin sent someone to send a cup of poisoned wine to Empress Dong and killed Empress Dong in Hejian.
From this historical incident, we can see that the reason why Empress Dong suffered the scourge of murder was entirely because of her lack of self-awareness. She still thought that with her position as the lord of the harem, she could fully compete with Empress He. As everyone knows, at this time, Empress Dong is no longer the woman with great power in the past.
If Emperor Han Ling was still alive and well, with the status of Empress Dowager Dong, he could continue to do whatever he wanted without any scruples. However, at this time, the Han Ling Emperor had died, and the military state of the dynasty was also run by the great general He Jin. Empress Dong, who could not recognize the reality, thus buried the future of herself and the Dong family.
In fact, we can learn a lot of truths from Empress Dong.
The most common mistake that people make is to be short-sighted, to see only the current interests, and not to look at the problem in the long run. Moreover, let you all accept that people who are inferior to yours will one day show their might in front of you.
Empress Dong was the mother of Emperor Ling of Han, and when this woman gained power, at least under the sky of the harem, she wanted to be windy and rainy, and if she did not give Empress He (Empress He at that time) good fruit to eat, I was afraid that Empress He would be in difficulty. However, the situation is not what it used to be, and Empress He has not only become the lord of the harem on a par with Empress Dong, but her brother has also become the most powerful bureaucrat in the DPRK.
However, what really put Empress Dong to death was not entirely her short-sightedness, but an inflated sentence:
"Ru Du died the king of beauty, set his heart jealous. Now relying on Ruzi as a king, and Brother Ru He Jin's momentum, he dares to speak indiscriminately! I ride on the head of Brother Ru, like a back palm ear! ”
In this woman's view, she is still the "number one" in the harem, and even if the foreign court is like He Jin in the sky, it is only an easy task to kill him. Therefore, she gave a warning in front of Empress He without shame. As everyone knows, this warning has turned her relationship with Empress He into a fire and water. Even if the enemy she faces is not Empress He, then most of her opponents will choose to strike first.
It can be seen from this that the key to the power struggle lies in strength, and without hard power, all bluff is futile.
If a strong attack is carried out, then the result must be that the mantis arm is used as a car to hit the stone with an egg. Moreover, no matter when or where, you cannot be emotional and threaten your enemies. If you hit the grass and startle the snake, it will make the enemy try everything to fight you to the death. A woman like Empress Dong, who lacks both long-term vision and self-knowledge, can only be a beam-jumping clown in the political arena.
Resources:
[Book of the Later Han Dynasty, Vol. 10, Empress Chronicle, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Romance of the Three Kingdoms]