The ruler of the country was fang, called the lifelong Lianghou (Eastern Han Dynasty and Empress Xi): Deng Sui

The Guangwu Emperor Liu Xiu rebuilt the Han Dynasty and built the capital Luoyang, known historically as the Eastern Han Dynasty. The Eastern Han Dynasty enjoyed less than two hundred years, the Guangwu Emperor was known as Zhongxing, and the imperial lineage after him was Ming, Zhang, He, Yan, An, Shun, Chong, Qian, Huan, Ling, and Xiandi. The Eastern Han Dynasty and the empress Dowager Deng Sui not only enjoyed the prosperous fruits of the Eastern Han Dynasty, but also witnessed the process of the Eastern Han Dynasty's step-by-step decline.

Daughter heart

　　Empress Deng Sui of the Eastern Han Dynasty (81–121), a native of Xinye, Nanyang, Henan. Her grandfather, Deng Yu, was the founding father of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and he was employed in Chang'an with his fellow Guangwu Emperor Liu Xiu since childhood, and was a close friend. After the Green Forest and Chimei Uprising broke out, Deng Yu followed Liu Xiu to raise an army. Deng Yu was knighted from a meritorious warrior and later worshipped Taifu. The Tang family is very respected. Deng Sui's father, Deng Xunguan( Deng Xunguan, was a lieutenant of the Qiang Dynasty, and his name was important in the world. Her mother, Yin, was the niece of Empress Liu Xiu, emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Obviously, the Nanyang Deng clan was a prominent Hao clan in Mendi.

　　Since The birth of Deng Yu, the Tang family has been practicing filial piety and strict tutoring, the so-called "repairing the boudoir door and raising children and grandchildren can all be the law of the hereafter." Deng Xunyou inherited the door style and "was very strict in the boudoir door". In such a family environment, Deng Sui gradually developed the disposition of following the law and refraining from self-denial, and was deeply loved by his family from an early age, and his grandmother, Lady Taifu, regarded it as a pearl in her hand. When Deng Sui was 5 years old, her elderly grandmother personally cut her hair, and because her eyes were dizzy, she accidentally injured her forehead, and Deng Sui actually endured the pain. The family members on the side were very strange and asked her if she was in pain. Deng Sui said, "It's not that it's not painful, it's only because Mrs. Tai loves me and combs my hair for me at a great age, I really can't bear to hurt her old man's heart, so I have to endure not to say it." "The fact that a 5-year-old yellow-haired girl can say such considerate words shows how sensible she is.

　　Deng Sui received a strict and excellent education from an early age. When she was 6 years old, she was already able to recite history books, and at the age of 12, she was able to read the "Book of Poetry" and "Analects", and when her brothers read the scriptures and recited the scriptures, they often deliberately asked her some difficult questions, and she could answer them like a stream. Whenever this happened, she also asked a few questions conceitedly, and if the brothers did not know what to do, she would giggle triumphantly, looking very naughty. Because she was "determined to be in the classics and did not ask about the affairs of the family", her mother often teased her: "You don't learn female red, you don't learn needlework, but you concentrate on studying the scriptures, do you want to be a doctoral officer?" (According to the Han Dynasty system, a doctoral officer can be raised as soon as it is passed.) Because of his mother's reminder, Deng Sui obeyed his mother's instructions, practiced the skills of his daughter's family during the day, learned to be a female red, and recited the classics at night. When her family saw her so diligent, they called her "Zhusheng" (students studying Confucian classics). Her father was rarely kind to her brothers, but he looked at her differently. Whenever something happened, no matter how big or small it was, they consulted with her in detail. His father's weight and cultivation enabled Deng Sui to have the ability to manage the family affairs very early.

　　In the fourth year of the Han And Emperor Yongyuan (92), Deng Sui, who was nearly 13 years old, was selected in the han room's routine beauty pageant every August, and was originally going to enter the palace, but just in the winter, his father Deng Xun died of illness and failed to make the trip. Her father's death made her mournful and weeping day and night. During the three-year mourning period, Deng Sui strictly observed the funeral taboo in her diet and living, and it is said that she did not even eat a bite of pickles, so that her face was haggard, and her relatives almost did not dare to recognize each other when they saw it.

　　Almost at the same time as Deng Xun's death, a major event also occurred in the imperial court. In the fourth year of Yongyuan, the 14-year-old Han and Emperor Liu Zhaomou, together with the eunuch Zheng Zhong and others, exterminated the Dou clan, forced Empress Dou to hand over her power and began to pro-government. Originally, when Emperor Liu Zhao ascended the throne, he was only 10 years old and was ruled by Emperor Zhang's Empress Dou. Dou Hou's elder brother Dou Xian and other officials held prominent positions and held military and political power. Emperor He grew up and was dissatisfied with Dou's arbitrary authoritarianism. Emperor He was not Dou Hou's own child, and his birth mother Liang Guiren was forced to die by Dou Hou. After he learned the truth, he hated Dou even more. After the coup, Dou Xian's brothers were murdered, and Empress Dou died five years later. This kind of internal struggle in the court left a deep impression on Deng Sui, who was familiar with the history of the scriptures and lived in the upper circles, and also had a great impact on her future life in the palace.

　　Three years later, the routine beauty pageant selected Deng Sui, who had completed his mourning period. According to records, Deng Sui once dreamed that his hands touched the sky, and there seemed to be a stalactite-like thing in the swaying sky, so he looked up and sucked. The dreamer said to her: "When Tang Yao dreamed of climbing the sky, Shang Tang dreamed of him and the heavens looking up and licking. These are all precursors to the ancient Sage King, your dreams, auspicious. Coincidentally, Su Da, a xiangshi who was worshipped by everyone in Luoyang City, came to Deng Mansion again, and his family asked him to give Deng Sui a chance. Who knows, when Su Da saw Deng Sui, he was shocked to leave his seat and shouted: "Noble man's extreme!" Noble man's pole! After he took a closer look at it, he said, "The bone phase of the Thousand Golden Bones of your house is similar to that of Cheng Tang, and it is really similar to the ancient name King Junxian!" The family listened, and their hearts were happy, but they were not in shape. Her uncle Deng Xi could not contain the joy in his heart and said, "As the saying goes: Let a thousand people escape from death, and you can seal your descendants." His brother Deng Xun was responsible for rectifying the Shiusu River, sparing thousands of people from death in a year. If the way of heaven is trustworthy, my family will be blessed. I don't know who interjected: "When Taifu Gong (Deng Yu) once said, 'I lead a million people, and I have not tried to kill a single person in vain, and there will be people in his future generations.'" Isn't that what we're talking about today?"

　　In this way, Deng Sui came to the palace of Han He Emperor with rose-colored hope and other selected women.

Palace door resentment

　　As soon as Deng Sui entered the palace, he won the admiration of everyone with his stunning appearance. She has fine skin, full of hair, wide eyebrows, nose like a gall, a pair of phoenix eyes shining with a brilliant look, and a slightly pale cheek with a slight peach, revealing a bit of seductive charm. Standing there, dignified and beautiful, graceful in posture, fluttering is equivalent to Chang'e Xiafan.

　　At this time, the Han And Emperor were seventeen or eighteen years old, and the spring and autumn were flourishing, and the style was dissolved early. As soon as he saw Deng Sui, he was immediately overwhelmed by her beautiful appearance and was deeply pampered. In the eighth year of Yongyuan (96), Deng Sui was made a nobleman, lived in The Jiade Palace, and became the highest-ranking concubine below the empress. In this way, Deng Sui was hated by Empress Yin.

　　Empress Yin of Emperor He was the great-granddaughter of Yin Zhi, the brother of Emperor Guangwu's empress Dowager Yin Lihua. In terms of discussion, she and Deng Sui are cousins, and deng Sui is a generation lower. Empress Yin entered the palace in the fourth year of Yongyuan (92), because of her proficiency in calligraphy, cleverness, and was a relative of Empress Yin of the former emperor, she was very favored, and soon after she was made a nobleman, she was made empress. After Deng Sui entered the palace, the status of Empress Yin was threatened and challenged, and the so-called "love pet declined slightly, and there was resentment" in numbers. At this moment, Deng Sui was "respectful and careful, and his movements were lawful", and he was not arrogant. She was well aware of the subtleties of life in the palace, and she often humbled herself and comforted other concubines. Even in the palace, Deng Sui gave favors and never was arrogant. Therefore, up and down the palace, Deng Sui was quite praised.

　　After Deng Sui undertook the yin, he trembled at night, cautiously, cautiously, but he was afraid that a little negligence would be caught by the yin queen and cause a great disaster. At every banquet in the palace, the concubines and nobles of the six palaces competed to decorate, with thick makeup, lustrous and bright clothes, but Deng Sui wore plain makeup alone and lightly swept her eyebrows. If the clothing on the body is occasionally the same color as the queen, change it immediately so as not to cause suspicion after the yin. On weekdays, whenever she and the Empress Yin visited the emperor together, Deng Sui always stood aside and did not dare to sit down. If he encountered a person who was walking with the Yin Queen, Deng Sui would bow down and stand in courtesy, let the Yin Queen start first, and never go hand in hand with the Yin Empress to show his humility. In front of the emperor, whenever he encountered an inquiry, Deng Sui always patrolled again and again, never saying a word before the queen of yin opened his mouth. After a long time, Emperor He also saw the end, understood that Deng Sui was laborious to the Empress Yin, and was humble everywhere, and could not help but say with deep emotion: "The labor of cultivating virtue is probably like Deng Sui!" Deng Sui's humility won the admiration of Emperor He, and he visited Deng Sui more and more frequently. In this way, The Empress Yin was treated coldly and alienated, and the jealousy in her heart became more and more intense, so that she was also unusual to Emperor He. Whenever Emperor He came to the Changqiu Palace where she lived, Empress Yin would say that she was ill and did not make love to the emperor. At this time, she and Deng Sui were childless, and several princes born to the harem also died tragically. The wise Deng Sui, worried that the emperor's heirs were not widespread, often sighed and repeatedly elected talents to enter the imperial palace, hoping to give birth to a dragon breed for the emperor in order to win the favor of the emperor. Over time, Emperor He felt that Deng Sui was more humane than Empress Yin, and he was thinking about the Han Room at every turn, so he looked at her extraordinarily high.

　　Once, Deng Sui fell ill, and in order to show his favor, Emperor He specially ordered Deng Sui's mother and brother to enter the palace to take care of the soup medicine, without limiting the number of days. According to the palace prohibition system of the Han Dynasty, this is indeed a special grace. Deng Sui understood in her heart, but politely refused, and she said to the emperor: "The palace is forbidden to be the most important, and it is the residence of the Son of Heaven." If the concubine is introspective for a long time, it violates the holy system and does not conform to the law of etiquette. Although this is a special favor of the emperor, in this way, His Majesty has the ridicule of his relatives and the private family, and the concubines are slandered. The loss of up and down is not worth the loss, and I really don't want to get to this point. His Majesty did not abandon the ugly nature of the concubines, and the concubines wept under the Nine Springs even if they died. Hearing this, Emperor He couldn't help but say to Deng Sui in an appreciative tone: "Others think that it is glorious to be able to make their families enter the palace many times, but you read the etiquette, but you think that you are worried and deeply depressed, which is really remarkable!"

　　Empress Yin saw that Deng Suide's fame was growing, and her reputation was growing, and she was ashamed and angry. Seeing that people were not in good shape, she wanted to use the Witch Demon Law to curse and frame Deng Sui. Coincidentally, in the summer of the thirteenth year of Yongyuan (101), he was critically ill. Empress Yin believed that once the emperor fell, Deng Sui was like a duckweed in the water, and there was no longer any trust, and it was as easy as a palm to get rid of it. She once said viciously in private: "Wait until the day I get out, I will not let the surname Deng taste my strength, and see if I don't cut her off all over the door." "Deng Sui is very popular in the palace, so someone secretly relayed this remark to her, hoping that she would be defensive." Deng Sui listened and was surprised. She knew very well that the emperor was critically ill and his life was like gossamer, but in addition to the empress, the six palaces were not summoned by the emperor to join the service to please an, in case the emperor had a three long and two short, and there was no heir, Empress Yin imitated the precedent of Empress Zhang Emperor Dou and poisoned herself, it was not impossible. At that time, even if he has the ability to reach the heavens, he will not be able to escape the doom. Thinking of this, she couldn't help but cry like rain, and she said to the people around her: "I treat the queen with all my heart, not only can I not get blessings, but it is really a sin from heaven to me." Although the women's Taoist family had no righteousness to die, when King Wu of Zhou fell ill, the Duke of Zhou asked him to die in his place; King Chu Zhao was ill, and Yue Ji begged him to be safe with death. He is a model for all the worlds. Now that the Emperor is seriously ill, I should also imitate the sages and martyrs and beg the Emperor for Peace with my death. Although I die today, I can report to the Emperor Long En, and I can solve the clan disaster, and I will not let the Yin Empress wantonly poison the will, so that I will suffer from the 'human nature' of Qi Ji at that time. "Deng Sui made up his mind, so he drank the medicine and died." Zhao Yu, a palace man, saw the situation and hurriedly dissuaded him, and in a hurry to make a living, he lied to Deng Sui: "An emissary has just come to say that the emperor's illness has been cured." Deng Sui believed that it was true, so he turned from worry to joy and gave up the idea of committing suicide.

　　It was really a coincidence, the next day, and the emperor was indeed sick and recovered. When Emperor He learned of Deng Sui's persecution to seek death, he couldn't help but feel pity for Xiang Xiang and cherish Jade, and he was even more pampered with her.

　　With the passage of time, the Yin Empress secretly spread the news of witchcraft to the emperor's ears. This kind of witchcraft was very popular in the Han Dynasty, and the imperial court strictly prohibited it, and many people died because of this trick. In the summer of the fourteenth year of Yongyuan (102), Emperor He ordered a case to be filed to interrogate Empress Yin and her maternal grandmother Deng Zhu for conspiring with her witchcraft. Soon, Empress Yin was deposed and moved to tong palace, where she eventually died in fear.

　　When Empress Yin offended, Deng Sui had come forward to intercede for her, and although the emperor did not approve of it, he was touched by her magnanimous approach that did not care about previous suspicions. Deng Sui's reputation was even greater in the government and the public, inside and outside the palace. Deng Sui never became complacent about the praise he made, but repeatedly claimed that he was ill and said that his illness was very serious, so as to minimize unnecessary socializing. Her "deep autism" is to deliberately avoid scenes that praise her.

　　In the winter of the fourteenth year of Yongyuan, the courtiers said: Changqiu Palace (empress) is vacant, and a virtuous person should be elected to fill the position. Emperor He chose Deng Sui without hesitation. He said, "How can the dignity of the empress, who is the same as the emperor, inherit the temple of the emperor and the mother of the world, despise it?" I thought that Deng Guiren's harem of virtue and crown, the sage called the world, was the most appropriate. Deng Sui heard this and hurriedly resigned. Although she pushed back and forth, the agreement had already been decided. On the winter solstice of that year, Deng Sui was made empress.

　　No sooner had the empress's ceremony passed, and Emperor He received a stamp written by Deng Sui himself. Deng Sui sincerely stated in the table that she was "morally thin", which was really not enough to be the choice of "Xiao Jun", and once again showed her humble and courteous character.

　　After experiencing this harem grudge and entering the Changqiu Palace, Deng Sui became more and more politically mature.

Mother of the world

　　After Deng Sui ascended to the empress's throne, he was still humble and easy, never arrogant and arrogant, and his life was frugal and frugal, and he never indulged in the slightest. Deng Sui ordered all the rare things that were paid tribute to the various counties and states to be banned, and only some paper and ink were allowed at the end of the year. Emperor He wanted to reward The Tang family as usual, but Deng Sui repeatedly resigned each time, politely refusing. During the peace with the emperor, Deng Sui's brother Deng Xiao only achieved the rank of General of the Tiger Ben Zhonglang.

　　In the first year of Yuan Xing (105), the 27-year-old Hedi fell ill and died. The eldest son, Liu Sheng, the Prince of Pingyuan, although the eldest of the princes, suffered from Du Du disease. Dozens of other princes died prematurely, only the youngest son, Liu Long, was outside the foster palace, only 100 days old, still in his infancy. In this way, the heavy responsibility of supporting the overall situation of the imperial court had to be shouldered by Deng Sui, who was only 25 years old. She first decided on the imperial heir and welcomed Liu Long, who was historically known as Emperor Yan. She claimed to be the empress dowager, called herself "Yuan", and held actual power.

　　After Deng Sui came to the throne, he issued successive edicts and granted amnesty to the world. She issued an edict pardoning those imprisoned for their crimes since Jianwu (Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiunian), and even the deposed empresses Ma and Dou Erjia of the former Ming Emperor and Emperor Zhang were also pardoned as commoners. Deng Sui also advocated dehua, and dismissed all the officials who did not conform to the ceremony in the name of ghosts and gods, obscenity, and unblessness. She also advocated frugality and reduced the imperial clothing in the palace. Those who are not recommended for the temple shall not use rice and sorghum meat; the daily diet shall be only one meat dish in the morning and evening, and shall not be extravagant. With this rule alone, the palace saves tens of millions of dollars a year. She also reduced the contribution of the various counties by more than half. In the event of natural disasters in prefectures and counties, all land rents will be reduced or waived. The eagle dogs used for entertainment in the Shanglin Garden were all sold, and the nine sabers specially provided by shu and Guanghan counties were also ordered to stop paying tribute. A variety of extravagant decorations were also abolished in the Kyoshi Palace, and the splendid embroidery, ice, silk, silk, gold and silver, pearl jade, rhinoceros, tortoiseshell, carving and other ornamental objects of the Imperial Palace, Shangfang, weaving room and other institutions were forbidden and could not be done again. The rice noodles and firewood stored in the Palace Annex are also omitted. As for the maids in the palace, Deng Sui personally inspected them and returned five or six hundred people at a time. These measures formulated by Deng Sui made the palace form a frugal atmosphere, and she also won the love of the people. Eastern Han "five baht" copper coins.

　　Deng Sui's insight and prestige have also been fully reflected in some specific small things. It is said that when Emperor He had just died, someone took advantage of the chaos in the palace to hide a large bead. Deng Sui thought that if torture was used, it might be beaten into a confession, affecting the innocent. Therefore, she gathered the relevant personnel together, carefully examined the words and colors, and scanned the crowd with the method of attacking the heart. The pearl collector was weak-hearted, and even more forced by Deng Sui's prestige, he took the initiative to admit it at that time and prostrated his head to plead guilty. Soon, Ji Cheng, the emperor's favorite minister at the time, was accused of witchcraft. After Ji Cheng was taken to the court for torture, he confessed and the case was pending. Deng Sui felt that things were suspicious, Ji Cheng was around the emperor, treating him with grace, there was no evil word on weekdays, the first emperor was ancient, how could Ji Cheng perform this spell? It may seem unreasonable, and there must be a reason for it. Therefore, Deng Sui personally reviewed it. Sure enough, Ji Cheng was wronged by the emperors. Deng Sui presided over justice for Jicheng, and everyone was impressed by it, and all praised Deng Sui's saints.

　　Emperor Han, who was established by Deng Sui, took the throne less than a year ago and died prematurely. Deng Sui also agreed with his brother Deng Xiao to establish Liu Hu (劉祜), the brother of Emperor He and the son of Liu Zhuang the Prince of Qinghe. In this way, the 13-year-old Liu Hu became the emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty, for the Han An Emperor. Deng Sui once again came to the court as empress dowager to listen to the government. She felt that the country was suffering great sorrows (and the death of Emperor He and Emperor Huan), and the people must have been very distressed by the heavy workload of labor, so she specially ordered the scale of the project and other labor to build the Kang Mausoleum of Emperor Yan, which was "reduced in everything and very different from one.".

　　Since Deng Sui was in power twice, Deng Sui began to be used heavily, and Deng Sui's brothers often lived in confinement. In the first year of Emperor Yanping's reign (106), Deng Qi served as a cheqi general and Yi Tongsansi. The setup of yi tong san si began with Deng Xiao.

　　The rise of Deng's foreign relatives was an inevitable product of the politics of the Eastern Han Dynasty. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, whenever the empress dowager knew about the affairs of the country, she would invite foreign relatives to participate in the preparation of the opportunity and entrust her with heavy responsibilities. After all, for the empress dowager, the relatives of the mother's family are completely trustworthy. According to the Book of the Later Han Dynasty and the Empress Benji, throughout the Eastern Han Dynasty, "the imperial rule was repeatedly extinguished, the power was vested in the female lord, the four emperors (An, Qian, Huan, and Ling), the six empresses of the dynasty (Emperor Zhang, Emperor Deng, Emperor Yan, Shun, Emperor Liang, Huan, and Ling), had no choice but to make arrangements, entrust their fathers and brothers, greedy children to govern for a long time, and Ming Xian to monopolize his authority." However, during the period of Deng Sui's reign, he was able to learn from the experience of history and restrain foreign relatives. In the first year of Emperor An's reign (107), she specially issued an edict to Lieutenant Colonel Si Li, Yin of Henan, and Taishou of Nanyang: "Every time you look at the foreign relatives and guests of the previous generation, under the guise of authority, arbitrarily and illegally, blame the laxity of law enforcement, and cannot be punished according to law." Although the general Deng Xiao and others have the ambition to respect and obey, but their families are vast and there are many in-laws, it is inevitable that some people will be treacherous and unscrupulous, and many will violate the constitutional prohibitions; Ru and others should strictly check and edict, handle affairs according to law, and do not tolerate each other and protect them. "It should be known that since the establishment of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, lieutenant Colonel Si Li has been responsible for the security around the Beijing Division, especially for picketing the lawbreakers in the near counties of the Beijing Division; Henan Yin is in charge of the affairs of the Eastern Han Dynasty because the official is in Luoyang; Nanyang County is the starting place of the Guangwu Emperor Liu Xiu, and at the same time the hometown of Empress Dowager Deng Sui, which is full of the right house of Emperor Qiangzong. Deng Sui specially instructed lieutenant colonels, Yin of Henan, and Taishou of Nanyang to strictly enforce the law and punish treachery, and the deep meaning of this was very obvious. In fact, Deng Sui never issued a leniency loan for those who violated the law by his relatives and clans. Under the strict requirements of Deng Sui, Deng Xiao and others were also humble and law-abiding. Deng Feng, deng Feng's son, who was serving as a servant, once wrote a letter to Shangshu Lang Zhang Gong recommending that Lang Zhongma rong take up a post in the TaiGe, which involved entrustment; on another occasion, Ren Shang, a general of Zhonglang who had given Deng Feng several good horses, was taken to the Court Wei Yamen for trial for stealing and withholding military food. Deng Feng was afraid that the matter of dema would be implicated, so he turned himself in to Deng Xiao. Upon hearing this, Deng Sui, fearing that Empress Dowager Deng Sui would surrender her sins, did not hesitate to shave his wife and son Deng Feng into bald heads and lead them to apologize to Deng Sui.

　　In Deng Sui's view, the strict restraint of foreign relatives is precisely to ensure that they can last forever. She had always kept in mind the lesson of the dou clan's foreign relatives when Emperor Zhang was cursed, and took it as a warning. In the history of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Tang clan can almost be called the most noble foreign relative, and the history says that "there are twenty-nine princes, two princes, thirteen people below the great general, fourteen people in the middle two thousand stones, twenty-two people in the school, forty-eight people in the state pastor and county guard, and the rest of the attendants, generals, doctors, langs, and gurus are innumerable." It is precisely because Deng Sui pays attention to the "inspection of the clan", the members of the clan can also be somewhat restrained, known as "closed door quiet residence". In fact, this is exactly where Deng Sui's cleverness lies. She relies heavily on foreign relatives and has little power to side by the wayside to prevent being held hostage. In order to select people of insight and stabilize her rule, Deng Sui also issued many edicts to elect Xianliang. His brother Deng Qi and others understood The deep meaning of Deng Sui, and in order to show their loyalty to the royal family, they also recommended the famous scholars he Xi, Li Guo, tao dun, etc. to be listed in the imperial court, and at the same time, Yang Zhen, Zhu Pet, Chen Chan, and so on were placed in the shogunate. Like Deng Sui, Deng Xiao advocated frugality and did not abuse power for personal gain, and also won a good reputation.

　　During the more than ten years that Deng Sui was in charge of the Dynasty, floods, droughts, and locust plagues continued to occur, and the surrounding ethnic minorities continued to invade, and "thieves" swarmed in various places. Natural and man-made disasters were undoubtedly a severe test for Deng Sui. In the face of challenges, Deng Sui, with her wisdom and talent, has taken effective measures to brainstorm and deal with everything in a targeted and orderly manner. Whenever she heard that some people were starving, she stayed up all night, and personally reduced her diet, and also assigned officials to patrol the four directions to help the people from disasters, persuade farmers to sang, and comfort the people of the world. Under her diligence, the eastern Han Dynasty's social economy was still able to recover under severe natural disasters, and history called "the world has been restored to peace, and the years are still prosperous." With regard to the rebellions of the ethnic groups in various border areas, she adopted the advice of Yu Xue and others, turned from defending to attacking, first quelling the Xiqiang rebellion, and then turning to pacification, gradually quelling the border disturbances in various places and maintaining the relative stability of the border.

　　In the summer of the second year of the Yongchu Dynasty (108), the Beijing Division suffered a major drought. Deng Sui personally went to Luoyang Temple to review the prisoners and examine the unjust imprisonment. There was a death row prisoner who had not actually killed anyone, but he had confessed because of torture, and when he saw the empress dowager Deng Sui personally coming, he originally wanted to take the opportunity to present his grievances. When he was about to be taken down, he raised his head and stared at Deng Sui tightly, as if he had something to say. When Deng Sui became aware of this, he ordered the prisoner to be taken back for interrogation, and as a result, the prisoner was indeed wronged. Deng Sui then acquitted him and imprisoned Luoyang Ling, who presided over the case. After Deng Sui finished handling the case, the scorching sky was suddenly covered with dark clouds, and on the way back to the palace, the long-drought Jingshi had to descend ganlin. Later, whenever there was a major drought, Deng Sui personally went to Luoyang Temple to review prisoners, try unjustly imprisoned prisoners, and straighten out the judiciary, which played a positive role in the stability of social order.

　　Although he faced a heavy military and political system every day, Deng Sui attached great importance to the study of scripture and history and indoctrinated the world. As early as the beginning of entering the palace, she studied scriptures with the erudite Cao Everyone (that is, Ban Zhao, the sister of Ban Gu, the author of the Book of Han), and also studied astronomy, arithmetic, etc., and now she is taking the lead in reading, setting an example for the palace, so that the palace has formed a reading atmosphere. She also often asked Cao for advice and political affairs.

　　In the fourth year of Yongchu (110), Deng Sui's mother was seriously ill, and she personally served the illness. When her mother died, she was sad and devastated, and she was very sad. Deng Sui originally planned to let him stay and continue to govern, but Cao persuaded her that letting Deng Xiao return home to guard the funeral would not only be in the name of filial piety, but also win the reputation of humility. Deng Sui heeded the advice and ordered Deng To return to his hometown and live on the side of his mother's grave to guard the funeral.

　　During the day, Deng Sui went to the court to listen to the government and handle state affairs, and at night he recited the history of the scriptures and worked tirelessly. Later, she found that there were many errors between the books, fearing the obedience of the canon, and specially selected more than fifty people, including liu zhen and dr. Liangshi, to study the Five Classics and Zhushi in Dongguan, and appointed the eunuch Cai Lundian to take charge of their affairs. This Cai Lun was greatly credited with the advancement of papermaking, because he was favored by Deng Sui and was once named the Marquis of Longting, so there is a saying of "Cai Hou Paper". When the books were finalized, Deng Sui also ordered the palace's close subjects to teach the reading of the scriptures at the Dongguan Temple, and the palace people practiced chanting day and night, day and night. Deng Sui also attached great importance to the education of future generations. In the sixth year of the first year of the Yuan Dynasty (119), she founded an official school to teach scriptures, and specially ordered more than 40 children over the age of 5 years old to recruit the younger brothers of emperor Jibei and Hejian, as well as more than 30 of Deng's close relatives and grandchildren. Sometimes, she also went to the audition in person. Regarding this practice, she once said to her cousins Yin DengBao of Henan and Deng Kang, a lieutenant of the Yue Riding School: "The reason why I have attracted the masses and set up officials to study is actually because at present I inherit the shortcomings of the previous generation, the customs are shallow, the ingenuity is breeding, and the five classics are in decline." If we do not strengthen the guidance, it will make the customs thinner and weaker, and the people's hearts will be difficult to teach, especially the noble relatives' food and food families, who are full of food all day long, have no intentions, do not know the right and wrong of good and evil, and often invite disasters and failures. Therefore, he educated his descendants with wende, so that they knew that they had restraints and did not violate the laws of the land. I hope you see what I mean. ”

　　In the fifth year of the first century (118), Liu Yi, the Marquis of Pingwang, wrote to Emperor An, believing that he should give Deng Suili a note according to the imperial system: "The empress dowager has the posture of the great sage, the virtue of the body, the qi trace Yu concubine (Empress E, Nüying), Bi Zhiren (Queen Wen's mother), Ji (Wu Wang's mother), filial piety and kindness, allowing gong to save, eliminating the source of extravagance, and preventing the signs of inhibition of desire." The right position is inward, flowing all over the world. ...... The mighty karma can be heard but not reached; the swinging honor can be recited but not named. Examination of ancient concubines and virtuous mothers, there is no one like the empress dowager's merits. According to the old han family's classics, a discipline should be established for it, so that the merits of the empress dowager will continue to be in the world. Since there was such a motion above the imperial court, Emperor An certainly did not want to refuse. This incident reflected that Deng Sui's power and position were already very stable.

　　During this period, Deng Sui made full use of the power in his hands to create a big stage for himself to display his talents. Some ministers suggested that Emperor An had grown up and that the empress dowager should return to the emperor. Deng Sui basically killed these people by the light and heavy, and Langzhong Dugan was once sent by Deng Sui to put them in a large pocket, kill them outside the palace, and then throw them outside the city. Who knew that Dugan's life should not be extinguished, and he slowly woke up. When Deng Sui sent someone to conduct an autopsy, he had to pretend to be dead, so that maggots were born in his eyes for three days. Dugan escaped death and later became a bartender, and did not dare to appear until after Deng Sui's death. When her cousin Deng Kang saw that she had been in power for a long time, he was also afraid and gently advised her to follow everyone's advice and return to Emperor An. After being rejected by Deng Sui, Deng Kang prevaricated that he was ill and no longer went to the court. Deng Sui sent a maid in the palace to inquire about the truth, this maid had earlier been Deng Kang's family slave, and after seeing Deng Kang, she was arrogant and rude, and was reprimanded by Deng Kang. After she returned to the palace, she reported to Deng Sui that Deng Kang was pretending to be ill, and that he was rude to the empress dowager. Deng Sui dismissed Deng Kang from his post and removed him from his clan membership. At this point, Deng Sui still firmly held the power of the government. It seems that the magic of power is equally effective for her.

Wronged behind

　　As early as the autumn of the third year of The First Year of Emperor An (109), Deng Sui once suffered from a serious illness. At that time, the people around her prayed to heaven for her, and wished to die on behalf of the empress. When Deng Sui heard this, he was very unhappy and ordered the court to order that the following should only pray for blessings and not make ominous remarks. Soon, her body recovered.

　　In the second year of Yongning (121), Deng Sui's physical condition became worse and worse, and he often coughed all night. In February, the condition became more serious. Deng Sui knew that he would soon die, but he still insisted on taking the imperial court to the front hall to meet with the servants and Shangshu, and went to the new palace that the crown prince Liu Bao had just repaired. After her return, she pardoned the world and issued an edict: "There is no virtue in the world, and the mother is in the world, but the sky is not beautiful, and the emperor will go early." At the time of Yanping (emperor's year number), there was no lord in the sea, and the national unification of the people's movement was in danger. Although he was helpless to come to the dynasty, he was diligent and diligent, did not dare to take pleasure in the dignity of the ten thousand multiplications, and always thought of not deceiving the heavens, not being worthy of the previous emperor, not living up to the people of Li, and not violating his wishes. Sincerity is in the jidu people, to an Liu clan. I thought that I felt that I was blessed in heaven and earth, but the loss of the two emperors died early, and the mother of the family was forever disobedient to the world, which was painful. Now it is a long time before it is in ruins and stagnant, and it has not been possible to serve the temple for a long time. Since reluctantly paying homage to the Original Tomb (Guangwu Emperor Liu Xiuling), he coughed day and night, often coughing up blood. Life and death are fate, helpless. The Secretary of State and the Hundred Officials may be able to be loyal and faithful to supplement the imperial court. Deng Sui announced his illness to his subjects and thought about the important affairs of the imperial court, indicating that the political situation of the Eastern Han court during this period was still in a very normal state.

　　In March of that year, 41-year-old Deng Suiyi fell ill. After Deng Sui's death, he was buried with Emperor He at Shunling and given the courtesy name Empress Xi. According to the ancient falun gong, "Meritorious Anren Yuexi" summarizes her life as a Han Dynasty.

　　Although Deng Sui was diligent in serving the country, Emperor An would naturally have the idea of pro-government after he became an adult, so Emperor An was bound to be dissatisfied with the status quo of his own ineffectuality and surrender to everything, thus generating resentment. Coupled with the fact that Emperor An's nursing mother, Wang Sheng, often manipulated right and wrong, saying bad things about Deng Sui, he was even more angry. As soon as Deng Sui died, the eunuchs Jiang Jing and Li Yan fabricated charges to frame Deng Wu, Deng Hong, and other foreign relatives for plotting to depose Emperor An and establish the King of Pingyuan. Emperor An then opened an attack on the Tang family, stripping the sons of the Tang clan of their titles and deposing them as Shuren. Some of the remote border counties were later forced to commit suicide under the threat of local officials. Because Emperor An failed to find evidence of his premeditated abrogation, Deng Xiao was dismissed from office and repatriated to his original hometown, and the family's capital and mansions were confiscated. Deng Xiao and his son Deng Feng knew that there was no way to seek revenge, and they died of hunger strike. Deng Xiao's cousin Yin Deng Bao of Henan, the General of Duliao, Marquis Deng Zun of Wuyang, and the general Deng Chang also committed suicide and died.

　　Even Cai Lun, Deng Sui's favorite eunuch, had framed Emperor An's grandmother Song Guiren because he had intervened in the harem dispute that year, and Emperor An, who had always been close to Wanji, had ordered him to go to the court to explain the problem. Cai Lun, who had lost his protective umbrella, feared that he would suffer humiliation after receiving the court, and was forced to commit suicide by taking poison under pressure.

　　Deng Sui's bones were not cold, and the Deng family and their cronies were unjustly imprisoned, and the whole world deplored them. The Great Sinong Zhu Pet thought that Deng Xiao was innocent and had been killed, so he used a car to carry his coffin, and the flesh went up to the court to complain about his grievances. Then, the crowd also called Deng Xiao wronged. Emperor An was helpless and buried him in the ancestral tomb of Luoyang's Northern Qiao Mountain. On the day of Deng Qi's burial, the secretary of state was hanging together, and he was sad. It was not until After Emperor Shun ascended the throne that Deng Xiao's reputation was restored.

　　Ancient historians commented: "Deng Hou insisted on the government in order to attract public slander, but fortunately it was not his own selfishness. She is diligent and diligent, self-improvement, and relieving worries and problems, but for the sake of national affairs. Although Deng Sui restrained his foreign relatives before his death, he was still not exempt from being cursed after his death. The ups and downs of the Deng family are precisely the manifestations of the prosperity and decline of the Eastern Han Dynasty.

　　Since then, eunuchs and foreign relatives of the Eastern Han Dynasty have risen to control the government of the dynasty, and gradually the fortunes of the country have declined.