In 206 BC, Liu Bang, the ancestor of Han Gao, established the Han Dynasty in the Central Plains. The Western and Eastern Han dynasties lasted for nearly 400 years, and perished in 220 AD. The last emperor was emperor Xian of Han. His life full of troubles, and the influence of his wife Cao Jie through Zen Rang on future generations....
He took the throne at the age of 9 and began a long life as a puppet
In 189 AD, the 34-year-old Eastern Han Ling Emperor died. Power struggles between foreign relatives and eunuchs in the imperial court continued, and the Hao clans joined in. Dong Zhuo was in control of the government at this time. Dong Zhuo made Liu Xie, then 9 years old, the emperor. The 29th emperor of the Han Dynasty, Emperor Xian of Han, was born.
Dong Zhuo supported the young emperor to visit the capital, but was soon attacked by his subordinate Lü Bu, who was also expelled from the capital by Dong Zhuo's remnants. During this period, the young emperor Liu Xie could only watch the rapidly changing power struggle. The capital was deserted, and there was no food to eat. People commented: "The emperor does not know where to go, and the Han Dynasty is over." There were even people like Yuan Shu who called themselves emperors.
At the end of the road to survival, he was protected by Cao Cao
In 196 AD, the savior of Emperor Xian of Han appeared. It was Cao Cao. Cao Cao sent reinforcements to greet Emperor Xian and his party, and put them at Xu (許昌, in modern Xuchang, Henan). The place where the emperor was located was the capital, so Xu was called Xu Du. Cao Cao treated Liu Xie respectfully, and Liu Xie was also very grateful to Cao Cao, and the relationship between the two was very good.
But those in power are unequal. Cao Cao used the power of the "emperor" to come to the world and blackmail the Son of Heaven to order the princes, while Liu Xie's old courtiers resented Cao Cao's arrogance and tried to get rid of him. As Liu Xie grew up, he began to develop a sense of self, and the gap between him and Cao Cao became deeper and deeper.
Liu Xie couldn't help but say. "If you have an opinion on it, assist it; if you don't agree, let me abdicate." Cao Cao heard this, his face was livid, and he hurried out of the room. However, as Cao Cao's power expanded and his power increased, Liu Xie's voice became weaker and weaker. Cao Cao executed Liu Xie's concubine for treason, and then made him marry his daughter Cao Jie, becoming the emperor's father-in-law and sitting on the throne of "King of Wei". Finally, under the Han Dynasty, the "Kingdom of Cao" was born.
In January of the 25th year of Jian'an (220), Cao Cao died at the age of 66, but the rule of the Cao family did not waver in the slightest. After Cao Pi succeeded to the throne as King of Wei, he forced Liu Xiechan to give way in August. The so-called Zen concession is to give up the throne. Liu Xie was forty years old. It is the so-called year of confusion, but the reality is very cruel. Although it was actually a usurpation, Liu Xie had no real power, and he could only obey. After Cao Pi resigned twice, he staged a performance of accepting "Zen Concessions" and finally ascended to the throne.
At this time, it was the empress (Cao Cao's daughter) Cao Jie who showed resistance. Her brother Cao Pi sent an emissary, but Cao Jie held the Imperial Seal (the Emperor's Seal) and cursed the emissary. This went on for a few days, and Cao Jie finally handed over the Chuanguo Seal (Book of later Han). Perhaps Cao Jie also developed feelings in the process of living with Emperor Xian for a long time. Or maybe he was angry because his brother had done something "usurped" that his father Cao Cao hadn't done.
What did Liu Xie himself think? He didn't seem to care about the throne anymore and didn't leave any words about it.
Emperor Xian was killed by Cao Pi?
In this way, the Han Dynasty collapsed, and the "State of Wei" composed of the Cao family arose. Rumors spread that the emperor had been killed by Cao Pi, and at this time, Liu Bei proclaimed himself emperor in 221 and established the "Shu Han" (ShuShu Xian's Biography). Soon, Sun Quan, based in Yangzhou, declared himself emperor and established the state of Wu. The era of the Three Kingdoms of Wei, Shu and Wu arrived. There is a theory that the reason why Cao Cao did not take the throne of Liu Xie during his lifetime was because he anticipated this situation.
Then again, where is the source of the news that the emperor was killed by Cao Pi? Some people say that this is Liu Bei's expedient measure to ascend to the throne of God, but what if it is really a rumor released by Liu Xie himself?
In short, Liu Xie stepped down from the emperor's throne. Because of his "offering" to the throne, he was called "Emperor Xian" by later generations. After his abdication, he was allowed to use the first-person title "朕", which only the emperor could use, and moved with his wife Cao Jie to Shanyang County (present-day Shaanxi Province), where he spent his old age. He died in 234 at the age of 54, coincidentally coinciding with the death of Zhuge Liang, who fought to revive the Han Dynasty and died on the battlefield. Even at the age of 54.
Time passed to the 5th century, and in the Yongjia Rebellion, all the descendants of Emperor Xiandi were killed. However, some of their descendants survived and fled to various places.