The royal palace is supposed to be a symbol of supremacy, representing supreme power and dignity. However, in the Eastern Han Dynasty, there was such an emperor who turned this sacred place into a nest of indulgent pleasures. He is Liu Hong, the emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty, known as Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty.
As the king of a country, Liu Hong is simply mediocre to the extreme. During his reign, he indulged in pleasures, was extremely lascivious, and did all kinds of ridiculous things. According to historical records, Liu Hong built nearly 1,000 houses in the West Garden of the Imperial Palace for those princes and ministers who had a good relationship with him to eat, drink and have fun. And those poor palace maids were forced to become prostitutes accompanying customers, and the whole palace became a big brothel.
Liu Hong also has a perverted fetish, that is, he likes to "fight in the field". He ordered all women to wear open crotch pants so that he could enjoy himself at any time. Can you imagine that picture? In all corners of the palace, the ladies wore open crotch pants and were chased and frolicked by those drunken dignitaries.
Some women are reluctant, but they can only be slaughtered. What's even more ridiculous is that once a palace maid accidentally fell into the water, and her soaked clothes outlined her figure, which made Liu Hong look overjoyed. He immediately ordered that all women in the palace should no longer be allowed to wear clothes, and that they should "see each other frankly." As a result, the palace was full of naked palace maids, and it became a naked swimming pool.
In order to support this erosive life, Liu Hong embarked on the road of no return to selling his official position. At the instigation of the eunuchs, he openly sold his official position, and various official positions were clearly priced. If you want to be an official, you must pay the money first; If you want to be promoted, you have to pay first. Liu Hong even stipulated that all officials must pay the equivalent of 25 years of silver before taking office.
In other words, not only do officials have nothing to take, but they have to pay out of their own pockets. This move completely turned the officialdom of the Eastern Han Dynasty into a pot of troubled water. It is said that Cao Song, the father of Cao Cao, a famous general of the Three Kingdoms, spent a lot of money to buy the official position of a first-class lieutenant.
Liu Hong's mediocrity largely stems from his trust and dependence on eunuchs. In his eyes, the most favored eunuchs Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong are like his parents. And these eunuchs did everything they could to curry favor with Liu Hong. Once, Liu Hong went out for a private visit to Weifu and saw a donkey cart on the road and felt very fresh.
When a little eunuch learned about it, he immediately ran outside the palace and selected four wild donkeys to give to Liu Hong. From then on, Liu Hong became obsessed with donkey carts and often drove on a rampage in the palace himself. Seeing that the emperor was having fun, those dignitaries and nobles also followed suit, and the whole palace was full of wild donkey chariots running wildly, and the value of donkeys skyrocketed for a while.
What's even more outrageous is that in order to curry favor with Liu Hong, the eunuchs actually made a farce above the court. They dressed a dog in the form of a civil official, put on an official hat, put on court clothes, and mixed it with the courtiers. Liu Hong saw a dog mixed in with the Manchu Dynasty's civil and military affairs, not only was he angry, but he clapped his hands and applauded. Although the officials were angry in their hearts, they didn't dare to say anything.
It is conceivable what kind of governance the country will be made by such a foolish emperor. Under Liu Hong's debauchery and tyranny, the people complained. Finally, the famous Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out. Although the uprising was eventually put down, the rule of the Eastern Han Dynasty was shattered. And Liu Hong himself was also hollowed out by this extravagant life, and finally died young at the age of 33.
Looking back on history, Liu Hong is by no means an exception. The entire Eastern Han Dynasty can be said to be a period of faint monarchs. Of the 14 emperors, 11 were reduced to puppets, either indulged in wine or misbehaved.
Sima Guang commented in "Zizhi Tongjian": "The rebellion of the Eastern Han Dynasty was due to the fact that the monarch was not the king, the minister was not the minister, the father was not the father, and the son was not the son. "The fall of imperial power, the dictatorship of foreign relatives, political turmoil, and social chaos eventually led to the demise of the Eastern Han Dynasty.
The lessons of history are sobering. The rise and fall of a country is closely related to the actions of its rulers. If the incumbent does not put the people first, does not work diligently and loves the people, and only knows how to enjoy himself, he will eventually lead to the collapse of the regime. Taking history as a mirror, we should be all the more vigilant.
As the saying goes, "history is the best textbook." The history of the absurdity of Emperor Liu Hong of the Han Dynasty provides a profound negative teaching material for later rulers. If those who hold great power do not think of the people and the country, and only blindly pursue personal pleasures, it will only lead to the decay of the country and the collapse of the regime.