The Eastern Han Dynasty was one of the most rampant periods in Chinese history, and its characteristics were quite obvious, that is, the eunuchs gradually increased their power in the struggle between the emperor and his relatives, and then controlled the government.

So when did the eunuchs appear? There is no hurry, this chapter is mainly about eunuchs.

The dictatorship of eunuchs in the Eastern Han Dynasty began during the reign of Emperor He of the Han Dynasty, who ascended the throne at the age of ten. So who is Emperor Han He?

Emperor Liu Zhao of the Han Dynasty, the fourth emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty, he was the fourth son of Emperor Liu Wei of the Han Dynasty, his biological mother was Liang Guiren, and the Empress Dou raised Liu Zhao as her stepson.

In 88 AD, Liu Wei, the 31-year-old Emperor of Han Zhang, died of a sudden illness, and the crown prince Liu Zhao was only 10 years old at this time.

The biological mother is Liang Guiren. Liu Zhao was the fourth son of Emperor Zhang of the Han Dynasty, and above him there were three elder brothers, Liu Yan (kàng), King of Pingchun, and Liu Qing, King of Qinghe, and four younger brothers: Liu Shou, King of Jibei, Liu Kai, King of Hejian, Liu Shu, King of Chengyang, and Liu Wansui, King of Guangzong.

Due to Empress Dou's trouble, Emperor Zhang of the Han Dynasty abolished the crown prince Liu Qing, forced Liu Qing's biological mother Song Guiren to death, and renamed Liu Zhao as the crown prince. At that time, Liu Qing was 5 years old and Liu Zhao was only 4 years old. Changes and crises can make people mature quickly, Liu Zhao seems to understand the significance of the change in political status, and knows how to help the needy, so he is extremely close to and loves Liu Qing. This may be due to Liu Zhao's kind nature. But as emperor, Liu Zhao, who was only 10 years old, apparently could not know how to manage state affairs, so the power had to be put in the hands of the empress dowager, who raised him and was closest to him.

In the Eastern Han Dynasty, from Emperor He, every emperor ascended the throne as a child. During the period when the infant emperor was in power, the dictatorship and struggle between relatives and eunuchs were inevitable, political disputes and social turmoil [harmony] chaos would occur at any time, and the Eastern Han Dynasty regime entered a historical stage of eternal peace.

Okay, after introducing Xiao Zhao, let's talk about eunuchs.

Since Xiaozhao, the youngest Emperor Yan had just turned 100 days old when he ascended the throne, and Emperor Huan was older when he ascended the throne, but he was only fifteen years old. Whenever the little emperor came to power, because he was young and ignorant, the state affairs were often in the hands of the queen mother, and the queen mother often relied on her relatives for power, resulting in a situation of dictatorship of her relatives. When the emperor grows up, he naturally wants to take power in person, and this will inevitably form a conflict of interest with his relatives. In the struggle between the emperor and his relatives, the emperor was lonely because he was young and deep in the palace, and he could rely on the eunuchs who got along day and night, and once the eunuchs helped the emperor to gain power, they would be proud of their achievements, and then dictate power. The period when the eunuch power of the Eastern Han Dynasty was more rampant was after Emperor Huan of the Han Dynasty eliminated his relatives Liang Ji group. From this until the fall of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the eunuchs ruled arbitrarily, excluded dissidents, and created party incidents again and again, which not only corrupted the government, but also deepened the political darkness.

Then if there are eunuchs, there are relatives, and we are talking about relatives.

Liang Ji was a famous relative in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. His two younger sisters have been successively established as empresses, and Emperor Chong, Emperor Qian, and Emperor Huan were also established as emperors by Liang Jice. Liang Ji controlled the government and covered the sky with one hand, and his arrogance was beyond words, and the emperor became a puppet without power. After Emperor Huan of Han ascended the throne, as he grew older, he tried his best to get rid of his embarrassing situation, and made a bloody alliance with five eunuchs such as Tang Heng, Shan Chao, and Xu Huang, determined to get rid of Liang Ji. Tang Heng, Shan Chao and other five people, with the support of the emperor, after careful planning, mobilized more than 1,000 Yulin troops to surround Liang Ji's residence with lightning speed. Liang Ji and his wife committed suicide in fear of crime, and most of his family members and party members were killed. Shan Chao, Tang Heng, Xu Huang, Gu Ying and other five people were made marquis in one day because of their meritorious service in killing Liang Ji, and the food and euphemism ranged from 20,000 to 13,000 households.

Do you want to ask who the five candidates are, of course not Zhuge Liang.

In the years that followed, the "Five Marquises" were cronyistic, and most of their relatives were promoted, but they also relied on their power to exclude dissidents and do whatever they wanted. For example, Xu Huang's nephew fell in love with the Li woman, and after being refused, he led officials to break into the Li family, snatched the female drama and shot her. Huang Fu, the prime minister of the East China Sea, was dealt with in accordance with the law, but was criminally responsible by Emperor Huan. The "five marquis" became increasingly powerful and arrogant, which in turn posed a threat to the imperial power. Emperor Huan of the Han Dynasty took advantage of the crime of Gu Ming's brother to suppress it painfully, and issued an edict to demote Gu Ying as the marquis of the capital, Shan Chao, Tang Heng and others were also implicated and degraded one after another, and the dictatorship of the five marquis came to an end.

As the so-called emperor takes turns to do these five, it doesn't last long, and this eunuch who is not new is here again.

After the "Five Marquis" lost power, Hou Lan, Su Kang, Guan Ba and others became a new round of hot eunuchs. Like the five marquis, they controlled the government, exploited the people, and cronyism. The relatives of the eunuchs and their henchmen occupied all levels of official positions from the central to the local, and most of the Tai students and local Confucian scholars were blocked from progressing, and the government became darker and darker. Han Su is innocent [harmony] is as turbid as mud, and Gao Diliang will be as timid as a chicken. "As a result, the imperial court has no talents.

After the death of Emperor Huan of the Han Dynasty, Empress Dowager Dou and her father Dou Wu Yingli Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty ascended the throne. At that time, Emperor Ling was only 13 years old, and the Empress Dowager Dou was in charge of the dynasty, and the general Dou Wu and the Taifu Chen Fan supported him. Both Dou Wu and Chen Fan hated the eunuchs' dictatorship, so they plotted to eradicate the eunuchs. With the support of Empress Dowager Dou, they killed the eunuchs Guan Ba and Su Kang, who were in power in the court. Dou Wu also planned to get rid of the eunuch Cao Jie and others, but the eunuchs knew about it because of the lack of secrets. Seeing that the situation was not good, Cao Jie and others hurriedly led people into the palace to kidnap Emperor Ling of Han and Empress Dowager Dou, and falsely passed on the holy decree and sent troops to arrest Dou Wu. Dou Wu hurriedly avoided the barracks. The eunuchs Cao Jie, Wang Fu and others gathered more than 1,000 soldiers and horses to besiege Dou Wu, and finally killed Dou Wu, his relatives and guests, and the Empress Dowager Dou was imprisoned. After Chen Fan learned the news that Cao Jie and other eunuchs had captured and killed Dou Wu, regardless of his old age and infirmity, he summoned more than 80 subordinate officials and students to rush into Chengming Gate with knives, and was encountering Wang Fu, the eunuch who was arresting and killing Dou Wu and returning to the palace. Chen Fan was killed because he was outnumbered.

After Dou Wu and Chen Fan were killed, the eunuchs rewarded themselves and promoted them to the rank of knight, completely controlling the government of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Emperor Ling was young and ignorant at the beginning of his reign, and he was a eunuch. When he became an adult, he indulged in pleasure and wealth, and the eunuchs did what he liked, and the chaos and corruption of the government can be imagined. The mother of the eunuch Hou Lan and her family did all kinds of evil in their hometown SD, and SD celebrity Zhang Jian wrote a letter of impeachment. The angry Hou Lan instructed the scoundrel Zhu and falsely accused Zhang Jian of forming a party with 24 people from the same county in an attempt to rebel. The unknown Emperor Ling issued an edict to hunt down Zhang Jian and others. On the way to escape, Zhang Jian was taken in by many people, and then successfully escaped. The eunuchs took advantage of this to arrest Zhang Jian's party members on a large scale, and all those who helped Zhang Jian escape were included in the ranks of the party members, and many people were implicated.

Subsequently, the rule of the Eastern Han Dynasty under the control of eunuchs became even darker. The courtiers wrote to accuse the eunuchs of plotting misdeeds, and the mediocre Emperor Ling of Han did not know what "misdeeds" were. There are 12 people such as Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong who are always on the side of Emperor Ling, and most of them are called "ten permanent attendants". They read the courtiers' chapters and controlled the government, but Emperor Ling was willing to be subject to the eunuchs, and openly despised him: "Zhang Changshou (Zhang Rang) is my father, and Zhao Changshi (Zhao Zhong) is my mother." The emperor and the eunuchs worked together to exploit the common people and sell their official positions, and the government became increasingly corrupt, which eventually led to the Yellow Turban Rebellion in the late Eastern Han Dynasty.

Was the Yellow Turban Rebellion really inactive? In the next chapter, we will talk about the Yellow Turban Uprising.