In Chinese history, some people have ascended to the throne by their own efforts, such as Liu Bang; some people have launched a coup d'état and seized the throne, such as Li Shimin; and there is another figure who actually became emperor by relying on his wife. However, this emperor was somewhat "ungrateful", and later he actually cut off his wife's mother's house, what was the matter?
This person was Liu Zhi, the Emperor huan of Han, the eleventh emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty! Emperor Huan of Han was a great-grandson of Emperor Zhang of Han, his grandfather was Liu Kai the Prince of Hejian and his father was Liu Yi the Marquis of Liwu. From the title, we can see that the Han Huan Emperor's line is not a concubine, and the blood relationship with the royal family is also somewhat estranged. According to common sense, the throne could not be turned on his head at all.
In addition, Liu Zhi's birth mother came from a humble background, but fortunately he was the eldest son, so he still inherited the title of Marquis of Liwu. In 146, Liu Zhi, who was already 15 years old, received a will from the empress dowager to send him to the capital Luoyang to complete the marriage. It turned out that when Empress Dowager Liang was acting as a matchmaker, she planned to ration her sister Xu to Liu Zhi, the Marquis of Liwu. Liu Zhi did not dare to be idle, so he came to the Xia Men Pavilion north of Luoyang City and prepared to marry the girl of the Liang family.
However, not long after, the great general of the dynasty actually came to greet Liu Zhi with hundreds of civil and military officials, not for him to marry, but to invite him to the palace to become emperor! Therefore, Liu Zhi became the emperor's throne in this way, "the day is the emperor's throne, when he is fifteen years old." It was not until July of the following year that Emperor Huan of Han married his fiancée Liang Shi and then made her empress.
Liu Zhi originally came to Luoyang to marry his wife, how did he become emperor? Things have to start from 145, when the two-year-old Han Chong Emperor fell ill and died, and the royal family was extinct. At that time, the presiding officer was the great general Liang Ji, and it was Liang Ji's sister Empress Liang who listened to the government. The Liang brothers and sisters discussed that they must establish a young lord so that they could continue to control the government, so they supported Liu Miao, who was only eight years old, as emperor.
Liu Yi was the grandson of Emperor Zhang of Han, and although he was younger than Liu Zhi, his status was much higher, and his father was Liu Hong, the King of Bohai. Although Emperor Han was supported by Liang Ji, he was deeply resentful of Liang Ji and was very dissatisfied. In the presence of Manchu Wenwu, Emperor Han accused Liang Ji of being a "general of the Pagis". Liang Ji held a grudge against this, once the little emperor grew up, he was bound to be unfavorable to himself, rather than being subject to others in the future, it was better to preempt it now.
Therefore, Liang Ji sent people to poison the emperor's diet and poison the Han Emperor to death. The question arises, who will inherit the throne? Liang Ji and Empress Dowager Liang certainly hoped to establish someone who could obey and be grateful to them. The imperial court officials proposed the establishment of Liu Garlic, the "elderly and virtuous" King of Qinghe, while the Liang brothers and sisters advocated the establishment of Liu Zhi the Marquis of Liwu. Just as the two sides were at a stalemate, the eunuch Cao Teng appeared, yes, Cao Cao's grandfather.
Cao Teng once met Liu Garlic, but "garlic is not a courtesy, and the eunuch is evil because of it." Cao Teng said to Liang Ji, "The King of Qinghe is strict, and if he is established, the general will soon suffer!" It is better to be a lily marquis, and the rich can be long-term. Liang Ji thought it was very reasonable, so at the next day's court meeting, the rhetoric was fierce, and the decision to make Liu Zhi emperor was made. Thus, Liu Zhi inherited the throne, but the government was still controlled by Empress Liang and Liang Ji's brothers and sisters.
According to the historical records, "there are seven marquises, three empresses, six nobles, two great generals, seven wives and female food lords, three princesses, and fifty-seven others of the remaining qing, generals, yin, and school." He reigned for more than twenty years, and was extremely prosperous, mighty inside and outside, with hundreds of officers looking sideways, not daring to disobey orders, and the Son of Heaven was respectful to himself and not allowed to be pro-himself."
Emperor Huan of Han worked as a puppet for thirteen years, and finally couldn't bear it, and with the help of the eunuch Shan Chao and others, he beheaded the Liang Ji family. At this time, Empress Liang of the Han Huan Emperor had long since passed away, and Liu Zhi was the emperor who relied on her, and now Emperor Huan actually deposed her title of empress and demoted her to a nobleman. Emperor Huan of Han eliminated his foreign relatives, but instead of cheering up, he indulged in pleasure, handed over the government to eunuchs, and pushed the Eastern Han Dynasty into the abyss.
Resources:
1. Book of the Later Han Dynasty; 2. Zizhi Tongjian