Emperor Liu Zhao of the Han Dynasty, the fourth emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty, was the great-grandson of Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu and Empress Yin Lihua. Coincidentally, Liu Zhao's first empress, also surnamed Yin, was the great-granddaughter of Yin Lihua's brother Yin Zhi.
However, this little yin queen did not have the good ability of Yin Lihua, not only was the empress's position robbed by a nobleman, but also the entire yin family was harmed.
And the woman who defeated this Xiaoyin Empress was not an ordinary person, she was the granddaughter of Deng Yu, the founding hero of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Deng Sui.
<h1>01</h1>
The name of this Little Yin Empress is unknown, and her father is the grandson of Yin Lihua's half-brother Yin Zhi, Yin Gang. Yin Gang's father was not the eldest son of Yin Zhi, so he was not eligible to inherit Yin Zhi's title.
At that time, among the concubines of Emperor Liu Zhuang of Hanming, there was also a yin nobleman, who was the mother of Liu Chang, the King of Liang. This Yin nobleman was also very favored by Liu Zhuang, and for this reason, Liu Chang, the king of Liang, received many more titles than other princes.
The mother yin nobles are favored, Chang You is loved, and the land is leased more than the kingdoms. Su Zongli, the will of the former emperor, rewarded grace and grace.
- Book of the Later Han Dynasty, Vol. 50, Biography of the Eight Kings of Xiaoming
However, this Yin nobleman should not be the daughter of Yin Lihua's brother's family, or may just be a side branch of the family. At that time, As empress dowager, Yin Lihua considered that if the empresses of the two dynasties were from the Yin family, it would inevitably cause dissatisfaction from other forces in the dynasty, so when Liu Zhuang was empress, Empress Yin personally designated Ma Gui, the daughter of Ma Yuan, the founding general of the Eastern Han Dynasty, as empress.
The empress dowager said: "Ma Guiren Deguan harem, that is, its people also." "She was made empress.
- Book of the Later Han Dynasty, Volume 10, Empress Chronicle
In the generation of Han he emperor, the Yin family sent their daughter to the palace in order to restore the glory of the original Guangwu Emperor period.
In the fourth year of Yongyuan (92), Empress Xiaoyin was elected to the harem, and because of her relationship with Yin Lihua, she was directly made a nobleman. Regarding the age of Empress Xiaoyin entering the palace, it is not recorded in the Book of later Han and the Chronicle of empresses, but according to the regulations at that time, the age of the palace daughters was "above the age of thirteen years, twenty years old", and The Han and Emperor Liu Zhao, himself, were only 14 years old at that time. Therefore, when Empress Xiaoyin entered the palace, she should be 13 years old.
The Book of the Later Han Dynasty does not describe the appearance of this Xiaoyin Empress, only saying that she was "less intelligent and good at calligraphy."
History books generally do not deliberately depict the appearance of the empresses of the Middle Palace, even if they look like the country, they will be deliberately ignored by the historians, because, in the eyes of those literati, women should pay attention to "women's morality", and those who look too outstanding are generally "red faces and bad water". Moreover, the emperor who judges people by their appearance is generally a faint prince.
However, the Eastern Han Dynasty was an exception. In the Book of the Later Han Dynasty, the Empress Chronicle does not shy away from saying that liu Xiu, the Guangwu Emperor, liked Yin Lihua because she was beautiful.
In the beginning, Guangwu shi Shinno, smelled the beauty, and the heart was happy.
With Liu Xiu as an example, his descendants, the standard of establishing an empress, is also based on appearance, and it is not so important to have a son or not. For example:
Empress Ma of Liu Zhuang, the Emperor of the Han Dynasty, although known for her virtues, the Book of Later Han also praised her without hesitation: "Seven feet and two inches in length, square mouth, haircut"
Empress Dou of the Han Zhang Emperor Liu Ju was also known for her "talent color". Even Empress Ma, who was also a woman, saw her and thought she looked too beautiful.
Emperor Suzong first heard that Hou (Empress Dou) had talent, and counted the number of messages to Zhu Jifu. And see, Ya thought it was beautiful, and Empress Ma was also different, because she entered the court, it was seen in the Zhangde Hall of the North Palace.
Empress Xiaoyin can be made empress by Han he and the emperor, and should also be a beautiful person with outstanding appearance. Perhaps it was only because she was later abolished that there is no language praising her in the history books.
In the first few years after entering the palace, Empress Xiaoyin also received the special favor of Emperor Hanhe, and in February of the eighth year of Yongyuan (96), Emperor Hanhe made her empress. Also in this year, Deng Sui was also made a nobleman, second only to the empress in rank.
Deng Sui and the Yin family are actually related. Deng Sui's mother was the daughter of Yin Lihua's cousin. Deng Sui's father, Deng Xun, was Deng Yu's sixth son. Therefore, Deng Sui's origin was not worse than that of Empress Xiaoyin, but there was no blood relationship between Empress Xiaoyin and Yin Lihua.
Deng Sui could have entered the palace early, but in the winter of the fourth year of Yongyuan (92), Deng Sui's father Deng Xun died, and Deng Sui, as a daughter, had to keep filial piety for 3 years, so he delayed entering the palace.
In the seventh year of Yongyuan (95), Deng Sui, who had completed his mourning period, was re-elected to the palace, and this year Deng Sui was 15 years old.
Deng Sui has inherited the gene of the Yin family's outstanding appearance, she is tall and beautiful, and as soon as she enters the palace, she has caused a sensation.
Seven feet and two inches long, the posture is beautiful, absolutely different from the crowd, and the left and right are shocked.
How could such a great beauty not be loved by Han and the Emperor? In the eighth year of Yongyuan (96), Deng Sui was made a nobleman, second only to Empress Xiaoyin.
To say that Deng Sui did not want to be an empress is definitely false. However, she was only a collateral of the Yin family, and she entered the palace later than the Xiaoyin Empress, so it was impossible to immediately replace the Xiaoyin Empress at that time. However, Deng Sui completely absorbed the successful experience of Yin Lihua at that time: it didn't matter who became the empress first, and who was the empress in the end was the most important.
The harem of the Eastern Han Dynasty, although it is very important to look beautiful, but from the beginning of Yin Lihua's generation, colored and virtuous, is the perfect empress candidate. Even Empress Dou, the fierce-hearted Emperor Dou of Hanzhang, took the trouble to establish a good reputation in the palace before she sat on the empress's throne.
Now that the color already existed, Deng Sui had to set up the sign of "having morality."
<h1>02</h1>
Since Deng Sui entered the palace, he had already divided a lot of Han and Emperor's favor from Empress Xiaoyin. Empress XiaoYin had long hated Deng Sui to death.
Since entering the palace after HeXi Deng, his love and pet have declined slightly, and there are several hateful.
However, even so, Deng Sui always showed great respect for Empress Xiaoyin's wife.
For example
When Deng Sui served Empress Xiaoyin, he was not only respectful, but also had a trembling appearance, as if he was afraid that if he did something wrong, he would be punished by Empress Xiaoyin;
If the color of the clothes Deng Sui wears on one day is in contrast with the clothes of Xiao Yinhou, Deng Sui will immediately change them;
When they entered the meeting together, Deng Sui let Empress Xiaoyin sit, and he himself stood on the side, not daring to stand up straight, but deliberately hunched his back, looking very humble;
Whenever Han and Emperor spoke to them, Deng Sui always waited until Empress Xiaoyin had finished speaking before she spoke.
In doing so, deng Sui certainly had elements of expressing virtue, but in the eyes of Emperor Han and Emperor, his favorite concubine, in front of the empress, was almost humbled to the dust, in addition to feeling pity, it was inevitable to wonder: Was it true that when I was not there, the empress was very mean to Deng Guiren? Otherwise, how could Deng Guiren treat the queen like a mouse seeing a cat?
Whether Deng Sui was intentional or unintentional, he successfully exploited the human psyche: first take the time to implant the concept of "she Deng Sui is very respectful to the empress, but the empress is very arrogant" into the minds of the people around her, and when the time is ripe and Deng Sui attacks Empress Xiaoyin, everyone will agree that Deng Sui must be the one who is bullied.
Deng Sui also coaxed the others in the palace from time to time. She was not only very polite to the other concubines, but also very kind to the ordinary staff in the palace, and often looked after them.
Receiving the same line, often below himself, although the palace people are subordinate, they are all borrowed.
More importantly, Deng Sui did not have the favor of the emperor and the emperor, she knew the truth that "it is better to enjoy alone than to be happy", and deliberately pretended to be ill appropriately, so that Han and the emperor could go to other women to spend the night.
In order to let Han and Emperor have more sons, Deng Sui also took the initiative to offer beauty to Han and Emperor.
Deng Sui was so generous, not only Han He Himself, but also other concubines and palace ladies in the palace all sided with Deng Sui, and they hoped that Deng Sui could become an empress, so that their lives would be better.
This is a bit like the thoughts of the flowers in "Dream of the Red Chamber": anyway, she wants to be a concubine for Jia Baoyu, and from her standpoint, she definitely hopes that Xue Baochao will become Jia Baoyu's big wife, rather than Lin Daiyu, who often makes trouble with small characters, to be Bao's second grandmother.
But in fact, the Little Yin Empress was not a person with a vicious heart. There is no record in the history books of her mistreating her concubines and murdering her concubines. The so-called love of jealousy is only aimed at Deng Sui, but the speed of the tongue is fast, and there is no substantive action.
Many sons of Emperor Han and Emperor gave birth, but more than 10 sons died prematurely, and only the eldest son Liu Sheng survived, and 4 daughters survived. However, these sons died early and should have nothing to do with Empress Xiaoyin.
Han Hedi's own body was not very good, and he died of illness at the age of 27. This sickly physique may also cause the baby boys to be born with their own inadequacies.
Later, Emperor Han and Emperor also worried that someone in the palace would murder his heirs, so his youngest son, Liu Long, was secretly raised into the people after he was born. In December of the first year of Yuan Xing (105), Liu Long, who was only born more than 100 days ago, was carried into the palace by Deng Sui to inherit the throne. This son had no one to harm him, but by August of the following year, Liu Long still died prematurely.
The eldest son, the king of the plains, has a disease, and the princes have died, and there are dozens of them before and after, and the descendants are secretly raised in the human world.
Although Liu Sheng, the eldest son of Emperor He of Han, grew up peacefully, his physical condition was not very good. And how bad Liu Sheng's body is, no one knows. After the death of Emperor Han he, Deng Sui mostly took the excuse that Liu Sheng was "ill" and wanted Liu Long, who was still an infant, to inherit the throne, so that she, the young empress dowager, could control the government.
<h1>03</h1>
The heavenly net that Deng Sui had previously laid in the harem had played a very good role in the matter of Empress Xiaoyin's deposing.
In the Book of Later Han and the Chronicle of Empresses, it is recorded that Emperor Han and Emperor He once fell ill and became very seriously ill, and Empress Xiaoyin "secretly said": "If I become the empress dowager, I will definitely let the Deng Sui family leave no one." ”
The emperor tasted that the bed was very ill, and the queen of yin secretly said, "I am proud, and I will not let the Tang clan have a relic."
Since they were all "secret words", how did Deng Sui know about it? It should be that Deng Sui had bought the people around Empress Xiaoyin before and passed on the news for her.
Deng Sui did not rush to file a complaint for this, but performed a big drama of "suicide attempt" with the palace women around him.
Deng Sui cried to the people around him: "I have all respected the empress so much, the empress will also put me and my family to death, in order not to follow the old road of Lady Qi being made into a "human", it is better to go first to the emperor." "After saying that, Deng Sui will drink the medicine and commit suicide (may I ask, does the poison in the palace say that there is a poison?"). As a result, of course, he was stopped by the surrounding palace people (which is usually written in the script). The palace people also lied to her that the emperor's illness was already cured and there was no need for martyrdom. Deng Suicai did not commit suicide. As a result, the next day, Han Hedi's illness was really better.
That is, if he wanted to drink medicine, zhao Yu, a palace man, forbade it, because the false rumors were made, and the disease had been cured. After believing it, it is stopped. Tomorrow, Diguoliao.
This drama is so big, I believe that without Deng Sui opening his mouth, naturally some people will spread the cause and effect to Han he and the emperor.
Deng Sui This is really three eagles with one stone:
First, in disguise, he sued the Empress Xiaoyin;
Second, he showed Han and The Emperor his true love for him (they were all about to be martyred);
Third, let Han He Emperor think that it was her sincerity that was willing to be martyred, which touched the heavens, so that Han He Emperor quickly recovered from his illness.
It is worth noting that in his crying words, Deng Sui deliberately mentioned the fact that Lady Qi was made a "human" by Lü Hou.
Later, he said to the left and right, "I have done my best to serve the queen, but I have not been blessed, but I should be guilty of heaven." Although the woman had no righteousness to die, the Duke of Zhou asked for the order of the King of Wu, and Yue Ji swore that he would die, to repay the favor of the emperor, to relieve the scourge of the clan, and not to let the Yin clan have some people to ridicule (that is, to refer to ren Yan). ”
In the edict of the Guangwu Emperor Liu Xiu deposing Empress Guo Shengtong, he said that she "had the wind of Lü and Huo". Deng Sui deliberately said that Empress Xiaoyin would make her a "human being", was not it a hint that Han and the emperor should be deposed?
Empress Xiaoyin should not have said such a thing as "I want to kill Deng Sui's entire family", because Empress Xiaoyin's mother's family is surnamed Deng.
However, Han and the Emperor could not manage so much, and he had already begun to calculate what reason to abolish the queen.
Sure enough, in June of the fourteenth year of Yongyuan (102), it was reported that Empress Xiaoyin and her maternal grandmother Deng Zhu had performed witchcraft. Emperor Han and Emperor He immediately ordered empress Xiaoyin's maternal grandmother Deng Zhu, uncle Deng Feng and Deng Yi, as well as Empress Xiaoyin's younger brothers Yin Yi, Yin Fu, and Yin Chang, all of whom were arrested and interrogated. This kind of thing, whether it is true or not, is basically a capital offense.
Deng Feng, Deng Yi, and Yin Fu could not withstand severe torture and died in prison. Those in charge of interrogation were obviously ordered by the above to make Deng Feng and others bend into submission.
Empress Xiaoyin was soon deposed and sent to tonggong, and eventually died of worry (perhaps by death).
And that's not all. Empress Xiaoyin's father, Yin Gang, committed suicide; Empress Xiaoyin's younger brothers Yin Yi and Yin Chang and other Yin families, including Empress Xiaoyin's maternal grandparents, were moved to Bijing County, Ninan County (present-day Vietnam). Those who were related to XiaoYinhou's family were dismissed from office and beaten back to their original homes.
Father Tejin gang committed suicide. Yi, Chang, and Zhu's families migrated to South Bijing County, and the clan relatives and the inner Kundi were all exempted from official duties and returned to the fields.
Emperor Han and Emperor took advantage of the opportunity of this posthumous posthumous situation to give the entire Yin family, the most prominent foreign relatives of the Eastern Han Dynasty, to a pot.
It was during the time of Emperor Liu Zhuang of Hanming, that is, in the second year of Yongping (59), when Yin Lihua's nephew Yin Feng killed Princess Liyi, Emperor Han Ming only ordered the killing of Yin Feng and let his uncle Yin Commit Suicide with his aunt, even if it was over, and did not involve the rest of the Yin family.
Princess Fengshang Liyi. The princess is jealous, and Feng is also anxious. In the second year of Yongping, he killed the Lord, was cursed, and his parents sat down, and all committed suicide and the country was removed. The emperor did not punish his uncle for the sake of his uncle.
——" The Book of the Later Han Dynasty, Vol. 32, Fan Hong's Biography of Yin Zhilie"
The Deng family was also implicated because they were related to the Yin family. Deng Sui's cousin Deng Qian originally inherited the title of "Marquis of Gaomi" from their grandfather Deng Yu, but because Deng Qian was a cousin of Empress Xiaoyin's uncle Deng Feng, he was stripped of his title. However, in the first year of Yuan Xing (105), Emperor Han and Emperor Deng Qian revived it.
In the fourteenth year of Yongyuan, the Yin Empress Wu incident occurred, qian congfeng after the uncle was cursed, Qian cong sat, the country was removed.
- The Book of the Later Han Dynasty, Vol. XVI, Biography of Deng Koulie
If it was Deng Sui who framed Empress Xiaoyin for witchcraft, it would inevitably be a little too risky. The Yin family and the Deng family, after all, are in-laws who break bones and tendons. The WitchCraft Incident was a major crime, and if Han and the Emperor wanted to use this matter to suppress foreign relatives, it would involve not only the Yin family, but the entire Deng family might be unlucky. Didn't Deng Sui's cousin be stripped of his knighthood for this?
This witchcraft incident seems to have been led by Han and the Emperor. He probably hadn't thought of deposing the Little Yin Empress before. Husband and wife for so many years, a few pounds after the small yin, is it not clear whether Han and the emperor are still unclear. However, his adoptive mother Empress Dou and the Dou family were estimated to have left a psychological shadow on Emperor Han and Emperor. Emperor Han and Emperor he also worried that if Empress Xiaoyin became the empress dowager, the Yin family would not do anything to abuse the power of foreign relatives.
Although Deng Sui's family background is also very strong, for many years, Deng Sui has always been polite and low-key, and it is really impossible to find any mistakes, saying that she is a "model of women's morality", it is not an exaggeration. Therefore, Emperor Han and Emperor believed that even if Deng Sui became the empress dowager, he would be as virtuous as Empress Ma and would not condone foreign relatives to interfere in politics.
Weighing the pros and cons, they had to sacrifice the Little Yin Queen.
In the imperial family, where there is nothing to love or not to love, in front of the imperial power, in front of the ancestral inheritance, sacrificing an empress, sacrificing a small yin family, what is the big deal.
In October of the same year that Empress Xiaoyin was deposed, the nobleman Deng Sui was made empress. This year Deng Sui was 21 years old. It took her 7 years to finally sit on the throne of the Queen.
<h1>Conclusion</h1>
Whether Empress Xiaoyin hated Deng Sui to the bone, whether she was in the whole witch, no one knows, history is written by the victors. It can only be said that the little yin queen's luck is not good.
One report after another. Because Deng Sui had always refused to return power to Liu Hu, the already adult Emperor of Han' Reign, after her death, The Deng family was liquidated by Emperor Han'an. Deng Sui's brother Deng Xiao and his son Deng Feng were forced to go on hunger strike and died; Other close relatives of Deng Sui were either forced to commit suicide or relocated to remote counties. Only Deng Sui's nephew Deng Guangde's brothers were allowed to stay in Jingshi because of their in-law relationship with Emperor An's Empress Yan's family.
In ancient times, when a large family sent its daughter into the palace, it was also a double-edged sword: good luck can bring glory to the family; bad luck can only kill the family faster.
(Note: This article is original by [Headline @ Love SlimMing Fish], plagiarism is prohibited, and violators will be investigated!) ）