History of Three Kingdoms 1

The Beginning of The Chaos

June ,25 AD,Liu Xiu(Emperor Guangwu of Han) was declared emperor in Jizhou,the Han Dynasty was rebuilt,The capital was soon moved to Luoyang,Because the capital was located in the east of Chang’an,the former capital of Han dynasty(Western Han Dynasty),it was later known as the Eastern Han Dynasty

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Until 36 AD,after 12 years of hard war,Liu Xiu finally calmed down the China,reunify a divided China.

Liu Xiu ,Probably the most underrated founding emperor in history,he not only has the ability to heroically break the enemy,Moreover he can cultivate people's livelihood and strive for good governance.

He soon put the Eastern Han Empire on track,he is really a first-class all-round talent among the emperors of China.

February ,57 AD,Liu Xiu, the Emperor Guangwu of Han ,who reigned for 32 years,died. He was 62 years old.

Liu Xiu was very lucky,but what Liu Xiu never expected was the luck for future generations,It seems that it was also exhausted by Liu Xiu,The Eastern Han Dynasty seemed to be cursed after Liu Xiu's death.

His fourth son ascended the throne,It is Liu Zhuang（刘庄）,the Emperor Ming of Han（57-75AD汉明帝）,Liu Zhuang reigned for 18 years,He was diligent in the political office,and did something good for his people,He was 48 years old at the time of his death.

After Liu Zhuang's death,his fifth son ascended the throne,It is Liu Da（刘炟）,Emperor Zhang of Han（76-88AD汉章帝）,Liu Da is honest and Filial piety,quite benevolent,he ruled with his father Liu Zhuang,It is collectively known as “the Governance during the Ming Zhang Reign”（明章之治）.

Liu Da reigned for 13 years,he died early at the age of 33,after Liu Da's death,his fourth son ascended the throne,It was Liu Zhao（刘肇）, Emperor He of Han（89-105AD汉和帝）.

Liu Zhao was only 10 years old when he ascended the throne,but he was exceptionally intelligent and thoughtful,when he was 14 years old,he designed to wipe out the consort kin in very soon He regained imperial power then he chose meritocracy to make the government relaxed,review the recitals late every night never absurd,during this period, the national power of the Eastern Han Dynasty reached its peak,it was called “Prosperity of Yongyuan（his Reign name）”（永元之隆） in the history .

However Liu Zhao died suddenly in 105 AD,after his death,his son Liu Long（刘隆） ascended the throne,at this time Liu Long was just 100 days from birth,Liu Long died at the age of two,It is the Emperor Shang of Han（106-107AD汉殇帝）,Liu Long thus became one of the Chinese emperors,Minimum age of accession,and the emperor with the shortest lifespan.

After Liu Long's death,Liu Hu（刘祜）,one Grandson of, Liu Da, the Emperor Zhang of Han, ascended the throne,He became the sixth emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty,it was called Emperor An of Han（106-125AD汉安帝）

This year,Liu Hu just turned 13 years old,For most of Liu Hu's reign,He had not got the opportunity to be pro-government

Liu Hu was only 32 years old when he died ,Liu Hu had only one son ,Liu Bao（刘保）,However after Liu Hu's death,Empress Dowager Yan Ji wanted to control the country,she did not let Liu Bao take the throne deliberately,but choosed another grandson of Liu Da ,Liu Yi（刘懿） ,to be the emperor

But Liu Yi was very short-lived,he died of illness after only about 200 days after being the emperor,At this time,Liu Bao staged a coup with the help of eunuchs,Drove away Empress Dowager Yan Ji,Successfully ascended the throne,who is called Emperor Shun of Han（126-144AD汉顺帝）

Liu Bao has a weak personality,Governing mainly relied on eunuchs,He died at the age of 30

His son Liu Bing（刘炳） ascended the throne,It was Emperor Chong of Han（145-146AD汉冲帝）,But a few months later,Liu Bing fell ill and died,He was only 3 years old

After Liu Bing's death,under the support of Liang Ji（梁冀）,a powerful minister of the consort kin,one Great-great-grandson of Emperor Zhang of Han,Liu Zuan（刘缵）,ascended the throne,who is called Emperor Zhi of Han（146-147AD汉质帝‌）.

Liu Zuan was only 8 years old when he succeeded to the throne,but he was gifted and intelligent precocious in mind,Liang Ji feared that he would be uncontrollable as he grew older,therefore after poisoning Liu zuan to death, he made Liu Zhi（刘志） to be the emperor.

Liu Zhi was another great-grandson of Liu Da,after Liu Zhi's succession,he same relied on the power of eunuchs,eradicated Liang Ji and other powerful minister of the consort kin,therefore, during Liu Zhi's reign ,eunuchs ravaged the imperial government and corruption

Liu Zhi himself was absurd and unrestrained,At the age of 36,he die,he is called Emperor Huan of Han（147-167AD汉桓帝）,since he had no sons,He had to be established as another Great-great-grandson of Liu Da,It is Liu hong(刘宏), the Emperor Ling of Han（168-189AD汉灵帝）

During the reign of the Emperor Ling,he was content with pleasure and ignored political affairs,He tried to make Ms He（何氏） to be the empress.He Jin（何进）,the eldest brother of the empress ,was also named as the General-in-Chief.

At this point,it is not difficult to find out the Eastern Han Dynasty ,In fact,a vicious circle has entered

The emperor was short-lived,and the little emperor ascended the throne only by the empress dowager,The Empress Dowager took over power,definitely reuse her brothers and nephews,This forms the strength of the force of the consort kin

After the little emperor was erected by the consort kin,as the little emperor grow up,If he want to be pro-government,he can only rely on the people closest to him,That is the eunuch

With the expansion of the power of eunuchs, it would also have an impact on the power of the emperor. If the emperor wanted to truly grasp the power, he had to rely on his ministers, cultivate his own power among the bureaucrats, and build up his own prestige, in order to suppress the eunuchs and other factions of power, and to realise the power of freedom.

But most of the emperors of the Eastern Han Dynasty were short-lived,they often died before that day comes,So another little emperor ascended the throne,The new Empress Dowager came to the dynasty,The new consort kin has grown again

And so on and so forth,Finally led the Eastern Han Dynasty into the abyss,184 AD,The Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out,In the process of suppressing the uprising,The power of the warlords began to rise rapidly

Five years later,in April 189 AD,The 33-year-old Emperor Ling of Han passed away. So the eunuch forces and the consort kin forces,the ministers forces and warlord forces,Together opposites or alliances,Intrigue or fights,the curtain of the chaotic era of the late Han Dynasty was slowly opened.