Chapter 104 Emperor Ling of Han

A few days later.

Today, each dynasty has formed a new practice. Although it is not yet perfect, the prototype has appeared.

That is, every time the sky curtain appears, various affairs can be handled in an orderly manner, including various affairs that already existed in the current dynasty, as well as new affairs that were arranged after each previous sky curtain descended; and, when handling various affairs, the things that were realized in this sky curtain could also be arranged.

For this purpose, many dynasties set up a new team to handle the affairs, or moved the original team in to handle it.

These teams also became the most core and powerful circles in each dynasty.

……

The sky slowly unfolded, accompanied by rhythmic music, and row after row of golden embossed words gathered together like scattered petals.

【Ding Dong——Welcome to watch the historical live broadcast】

[Our protagonist in this issue is Emperor Ling of Han! ]

Han Dynasty, Yuanshou Year
Outside the palace, "Virtue is called spiritual. Chaos without loss is called spiritual." Liu Che was furious. This is not a good posthumous title. Other dynasties had emperors who made achievements, but the Han Dynasty was like this?
Even Emperor Taizong of Song, the emperor whom Liu Che looked down upon, was better than this.

[Emperor Ling of Han can be said to be a rare gem among emperors. As one of the most incompetent rulers in the entire history of China, what did he do to be regarded as one of the main culprits that led to the demise of the Eastern Han Dynasty?
Luo Guanzhong, the author of the classic novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, commented: "The cause of the chaos can be traced back to the reigns of Emperors Huan and Ling."

Zhuge Liang also wrote in his "The Memorial to the Emperor on Leaving the Capital" with true feelings: "To be close to virtuous ministers and to stay away from villains is the reason why the First Han Dynasty prospered; to be close to villains and to stay away from virtuous ministers is the reason why the Later Han Dynasty declined. When the First Emperor was alive, he always sighed and hated Huan and Ling whenever he discussed this with me."

Even Dong Zhuo, the "great villain" of the Eastern Han Dynasty, had a similar view: "The ruler of the world should be wise and virtuous. Every time I think of Emperor Ling, I feel angry and poisoned!"

This eccentric Emperor Ling of Han, his father was just a small Marquis of Jie Du Ting, so it was not his turn to inherit the throne.

But who can blame the fact that things are so coincidental, Emperor Huan of Han, Liu Zhi, died without an heir to the throne. It doesn't matter if the emperor dies without an heir, because emperors come and go, but the aristocratic family remains.

Therefore, they could only choose someone from the clan to inherit the throne. After the discussion between Empress Dowager Dou and General Dou Wu, Liu Hong was so lucky to be chosen. It was simply a throne sent from heaven!
But is the pie in the sky so delicious? How could such a big piece of gold be given to him for free? It must be poisonous.

It can be said that Emperor Ling of Han was elected by the joint efforts of his external relatives. Naturally, those ministers and clansmen who elected him were promoted to higher positions and enjoyed great power.

What do these noble families hate the most? Of course, it is the eunuchs who cause chaos in the officialdom.

The eunuchs' autocracy was actually a major political disorder in the Eastern Han Dynasty.

As early as the reign of Emperor Huan of the Han Dynasty, the first Party Prison Disaster occurred. What was the Party Prison Disaster? To put it simply, it was a party struggle between the literati, nobles, and eunuchs.

During the first Party and Faction Persecution, eunuchs abused their power and imprisoned many scholars on the charge of being "party members". Most officials were dismissed and tortured in prison.

In fact, most of those arrested at that time were famous people in the world, recognized as "virtuous people" by the people. Even virtuous people were arrested and executed, let alone those officials who had no reputation?
This naturally caused dissatisfaction among the court, so during the reign of Emperor Ling of Han, the aristocratic families regained power. They immediately re-employed the officials who had been dismissed before and pointed their swords at the eunuchs.

Most people in the society also believe that if virtuous people can return to the court, the world will soon usher in a peaceful and prosperous era. 】

Han Dynasty.

Whenever Tianmu mentioned eunuchs, Emperor Wu of Han frowned. How could this emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty be so stupid that he could allow eunuchs to control the government?

Emperor Wu of Han, who had always been troubled by the vassal states, found it unbelievable. What could those eunuchs accomplish?
He was even able to harm so many Han Dynasty officials. The emperor in power at that time was simply stupid!
As an emperor, he was unable to hold power in his own hands, and even easily believed in slander and harmed the ministers who served the country. This cannot be described by the word "stupid".

Qin Dynasty.

"Emperors come and go, but aristocratic families remain forever." Ying Zheng silently said this in his heart, followed by a cold sneer.

The emperors of later generations are so weak and incompetent, and even the power is controlled by those aristocratic families. What is the need for the position of emperor? Just hand it over! Let someone capable take the position.

Moreover, according to the factional struggle described by Tianmu, it is likely that the previous emperor, Emperor Huan of Han, was already incompetent and unable to control the court, and began to listen to the slander of villains.

As for the emperor who succeeded to the throne later, if he did not have iron-blooded means and strong military support, he could only be at the mercy of others.

Which dynasty is this Han Dynasty? Can it still be described as a strong Han Dynasty by Tianmu? Is it as strong as the Qin Dynasty?
No wonder later dynasties have been developing the imperial examination system. The imperial examination system can select children from poor families, and it is also a means of fighting against the aristocratic families.

It seems that the promotion of the imperial examination system is imperative.

[Those people pointed their blades at the eunuchs, but they miscalculated again because their memorials were stolen and the plan was leaked ahead of time.

The eunuchs' power is already spread throughout the imperial palace. Can you hide your movements from them?
The long swords were pressed to their faces, and the eunuchs were extremely panicked. So they swore an oath of blood to form an alliance at night and launched a coup. This was the second Party Persecution in history, known in history as the "September 1911 Coup."

The eunuchs forged imperial edicts, and most officials were killed. Dou Wu, Chen Fan and others were exterminated, and Empress Dowager Dou was placed under house arrest in the Nan Palace.

They even slandered the party members to the young emperor, falsely accusing them of "plotting to destroy the country". Emperor Ling believed it and launched a massive purge to track down the party of scholars.

Hundreds of officials were imprisoned and executed, and those who died, were exiled or banned, numbering as many as six or seven hundred.

The brutality of this Party-Faction Dispute can be said to have far exceeded that of the period of Emperor Huan of Han. Not only those officials and people were implicated, but even their brothers, sisters, and disciples were implicated. They were all pulled out with mud and dismissed one by one.

Most officials were either killed or exiled. Who would work hard for the country? Who would help the emperor govern the country? Of course, it would be the eunuchs.

In fact, during the second Factions and Factions Dispute, the young Emperor Ling of Han really could not do anything. After all, the throne was a golden nugget that was thrown at him suddenly, and it was a good thing that he was not knocked unconscious.

He didn't even know what "party members" were. He just heard that those people were going to endanger the country, so he naturally ordered them to be dealt with.

At that time, Emperor Ling of Han had no foundation and was still young. It was a pity that he was deceived by his own wet nurse and eunuchs. Those experiences were indeed lamentable, but in the next 20 years, he still used eunuchs and pushed the eunuchs' power to the peak, which was a bit unreasonable.

He succeeded to the throne in his teens and sat on this position for so many years, so he should have some understanding of his own, right?
But he would kill anyone who said that eunuchs were bad. Cao Luan, the governor of Yongchang, wrote a letter to appeal for the grievances of the party members. At this time, Emperor Ling of Han had reached the age of twenty and had his own judgment on right and wrong, but he still issued an edict to behead Cao Luan.

He felt that killing one was not enough, so he began to order the capture of "party members" in Zhaozhou County and played a game of elimination.

Later, Emperor Ling of Han even broke the rules for the eunuchs and established twelve eunuchs. What were the eunuchs used for? Since Emperor An of Han, these eunuchs could even convey imperial edicts and be in charge of documents. They had enormous power and covered the sky with one hand.

This position was originally used to assist the emperor in consolidating power, but during this period it became an important means of controlling the emperor's power. What could be better than an emperor who was weak and incompetent but very obedient?

What is most infuriating is that Wang Fu, a eunuch favored by Emperor Ling of Han, not only served as the Chief Eunuch and the Imperial Palace Commander, but was also given the title of Marquis of Guanjun!

This is Champion Marquis! What an honorable title! It makes one's blood boil. Just hearing this name makes one feel as if one sees the unruly 17-year-old boy riding a horse from the battlefield with a spear in hand.

What is Guanjunhou? This is a title of marquis that appeared in the Western Han Dynasty, which means "the most meritorious service in the whole army"! In the sixth year of Yuanshuo, that is, during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che established this title specifically for Huo Qubing!

General Huo Qubing fought against the Huns and expanded my country's northwestern territory without ever being defeated. He was awarded the title of Marquis of Champion for his outstanding military achievements and bravery.

He is the champion marquis of the Han Dynasty and a dazzling god of war in Chinese history!

However, during the reign of Emperor Ling of Han, this honor was given to a eunuch!
This doesn’t mean that eunuchs cannot have any titles. After all, everyone is equal, and eunuchs are also human beings. Of course, they have the right to obtain their own glory.

But who is that Wang Fu?
How did Wang Fu become the champion monkey? It's actually quite funny.

In the first year of Xiping, Wang Fu and Bohai King Liu Kui had a grudge. This sinister villain was promoted to the position of Zhong Changshi and had absolute power in the imperial palace. Even if a prince offended him, he would be punished!
So he ran to Emperor Ling of Han, Liu Hong, and whispered in his ear. Regardless of whether there was anything to worry about or not, he would first accuse Liu Kui of treason, forcing Liu Kui to commit suicide.

Emperor Ling of Han thought that since all the people who plotted rebellion had been killed by Wang Fu, wouldn't that be a great achievement? So he waved his hand and conferred him the title of Marquis of Guanjun!
Therefore, this sinister eunuch obtained this extremely glorious title in a very ridiculous way. 】

Western Han Dynasty.

When Liu Che heard Huo Qubing's name, he pricked up his ears.

After hearing the explanation from Tianmu Champion Hou, his eyes shone brightly, and he excitedly held the sixteen-year-old boy behind him with his hands.

"He is the bravest among the three armies and has never been defeated! I knew that Qubing must be a rare general!"

Huo Qubing was a little confused when he was held. Wasn't Tianmu talking about Emperor Ling of Han just now? Why was he suddenly talking about himself?
The sixteen-year-old boy blushed. He had just joined the army not long ago and had no military achievements yet. He felt a little embarrassed when he was suddenly praised so highly.

However, the young man's eyes were exceptionally dark and bright, as if he saw himself riding a tall horse, shuttling across the battlefield, bravely killing the enemies.

Is this my future self? I am the bravest among all the troops and I have never been defeated!
"Marquis of Champion, haha, my Marquis of Champion!" Liu Che laughed wildly. He felt that he had never been so happy. The Han Dynasty could get such a good general, so why should it be afraid of the Huns?
When Qubing grows up, no, when he grows up next year, he will send the Han Dynasty's champion marquis to meet those Huns and make sure those guys never come back!
However, the ministers behind him looked at each other and wondered if their Majesty was crazy.
Liu Che was happy for a while and finally thought of that Wang Fu.

"Bah, Wang Fu, you are such a slave! This is the title of Champion Marquis that I established specifically for curing diseases, who the hell are you?
Have you achieved anything? When you are on the battlefield, can your two dog legs run well? "

"Your mother is a lowly servant! Bah, a thief, a bald slave..."

Behind Emperor Wu of Han, several ministers suddenly lowered their heads, looked at their toes and the stones on the ground, but they did not dare to look at their emperor.

Wei Qing also turned his back and pretended he heard nothing.

Huo Qubing, who knew nothing, looked at the emperor with dull eyes, wondering if the emperor had always been so "brave"?

Qin Dynasty.

Ying Zheng couldn't sit still any longer. Emperor Wu of Han almost cursed until his eyes turned red. He was so envious that his eyes turned red.

Such a talented general, who has won the most merits in the entire army and has never been defeated! How could such a powerful general not be from the Qin Dynasty?

General Meng Tian's eyes were filled with fighting spirit. If there was a chance, he really wanted to compete with the champion marquis who was the bravest of all the armies.

What a pity, this is a general from later times.

It's really a pity.

Tang Dynasty.

Li Shimin's eyes lit up immediately. He had naturally heard of the champion marquis who was the bravest among the three armies, and he admired Huo Qubing very much.

The most important thing is that he felt that he was actually somewhat similar to General Huo of the Western Han Dynasty. The title of Guanjun Hou was personally created by Emperor Wu of Han for this general.

And Ye Ye also specially set up an official position for him, "General of Tiance"!
It can be said that the power of these eunuchs reached its peak during the reign of Emperor Ling of Han. They also had a very important influence on the gradual decline of the Eastern Han Dynasty.

The twenty years during the reign of Emperor Ling of Han, Liu Hong, can be said to be the longest period of rule by eunuchs in the history of the Han Dynasty, and the variety of official positions was simply dazzling.

To what extent did the power of the eunuchs expand? Zhang Rang, a favorite of Emperor Ling of Han, was so powerful that there were so many people who came to curry favor with him that they could not even keep up.

Some people even tried to curry favor with Zhang Rang's servants because they couldn't curry favor with him. Guess what? He actually got an official position and became the governor of Liangzhou!

Others were not convinced. They thought it was ridiculous that you could become a governor by currying favor with a family slave.

In addition, Zhang Rang was known for his plunder, arrogance and greed, so those people went to the emperor to report him. Guess what happened?

(End of this chapter)