In the fifth year of Zhongping (188), the health of Emperor Liu Hong of the Han Dynasty began to deteriorate, which directly led to the issue of heirs being put on the stage. At that time, they were eligible to inherit Liu Wei, the eldest prince born to Empress He, and Liu Xie, the second prince raised by Empress Dowager Dong.

In fact, Emperor Ling had more than two sons in history, but in the early days, his sons had died one after another, and many died young, so after Empress He gave birth to her son Liu Bi, Emperor Ling himself did not dare to raise him, but sent him to the Taoist Shi Ziyi's house to raise, so Liu Bi was also called "Shi Hou", and Liu Xie was also called "Dong Hou" because he was raised by the Empress Dowager Dong.

The relatives and scholar groups represented by He Jin, Yuan Shao and others all supported Liu Wei, the eldest son of the elder son, and the Dong family, the eunuch group, and even Emperor Yu Ling were all inclined to Liu Xie. Later, the ministers repeatedly asked Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty to establish the crown prince, but due to the instigation of his mother, Empress Dowager Dong, Emperor Ling thought that Liu Wei was frivolous and lacked prestige, so he was ready to establish Liu Xie, but he did not dare to abolish the elder and the young, and seemed hesitant.

But Emperor Han Ling was still inclined to Liu Xie in his heart, so he still did a lot for Liu Xie. Especially after the Yellow Turban Uprising, Emperor Ling was also quite stimulated, and his attention to military aspects began to increase.

After the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the power of his cousin He developed rapidly, He Jin was a general, controlling political and military power, and He Jin was Liu Wei's uncle, so in order to help Liu Xie suppress Liu Wei, Emperor Ling began to set up the eighth lieutenant of Xiyuan, and appointed Xiaohuangmen Jian Shuo as the captain of the army, unified command of Xiyuan, and his military power was even above that of the general He Jin.

During the period of struggle for the throne, one of the biggest enemies faced by He Jin, Yuan Shao and others was the eunuch Jian Shuo, who was also a staunch Liu Xiefaction and was very jealous of the general He Jin.

Jian Shuo is physically strong, and proficient in military affairs, so he is very trusted by Emperor Ling, after he controls the military power, he regards He Jin and others as a thorn in the flesh, and tries every means to support Liu Xie, except for the general He Jin.

Jian Shuo first relied on the trust of Emperor Ling, and persuaded Emperor Ling to send He Jin to the west to conquer Han Sui and others, intending to transfer He Jin out of Luoyang first, separate He Jin and Liu Bian, and then deal with Liu Bian, who temporarily lost foreign aid, and He Jin and Yuan Shao saw through Jian Shuo's plan, although Emperor Ling was finally moved by Jian Shuo and others, and issued an order to ask He Jin to go west, but He Jin conspired with Yuan Shao and others again, and took a procrastination decision, He Jin then asked to send Yuan Shao to Xuzhou and Yanzhou to mobilize troops, and wait until Yuan Shao came back to carry out the westward expedition, Just dragged this thing over.

But Jian Shuo did not give up, before the death of Emperor Ling, he entrusted Liu Xie to him, after the death of Emperor Ling, Jian Shuo was in the palace, so he immediately took a second action, preparing to kill He when he entered the palace, and then support Liu Xie as the emperor, but his Sima Pan Yin gave He Jin a hint, which led to the failure of this plan again, under the huge external pressure of He Jin and others, Liu Wei successfully ascended the throne, Jian Shuo's conspiracy was crushed, and He Jin's faction was able to control the power of the imperial court, when the imperial court took Yuan Shao's uncle Yuan Kui as the prince, He Jin and the general He Jin jointly presided over the affairs of Shangshu.

After Liu argued that the emperor, Jian Shuo had not given up, and he was still dying. Jian Shuo wrote a letter to the other Zhongchang attendants, describing the danger of He Jin and others, hoping to get their support and deal with He Jin together, but Guo Sheng consulted with Zhao Zhong and others, betrayed Jian Shuo, He Jin put him to death, and controlled his troops in his own hands.

After Jian Shuo's death, Liu Xie's main supporters were mainly left with his cousin Dong, but soon Empress Dowager Dong's nephew, Hussar General Dong Chong, was also surrounded and killed by He Jin, and Empress Dowager Dong finally died inexplicably, and He's relatives almost achieved a complete victory.

In the battle for the throne at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, although the eunuch group headed by the "Ten Standing Servants" was inclined to Liu Xie between Liu Wei and Liu Xie, this did not mean that the eunuchs were completely on Liu Xie's side, and on the whole, the He family relatives group was also biased towards neutrality, and was not as completely on the opposite side as the party members.

The eunuchs themselves are also standard villains, riding on the wall, grass on the wall, falling with the wind, able to bend and stretch, and die-hard people like Jian Shuo are only a few people.

The eunuch group itself was betting on the Dong family and the He family at the beginning, when Queen He poisoned Wang Meiren, Emperor Ling was furious and almost deposed Queen He into the cold palace, so he relied on the intercession of the servants to stay, and the daughter-in-law of the eunuch Zhang Rang was also He Jin's sister, but later He Jin's power developed too fast, threatening the interests of the eunuchs, so the eunuchs began to favor the Dong family in the later period.

But after Liu argued that he was emperor, the ten permanent servants quickly recognized the situation, and they decisively betrayed Jian Shuo to He Jin, and then sat back and watched He Jin get rid of the Dong family in order to appease He Jin's anger.

In fact, after Emperor Ling died of illness and Liu Wei came to power, the eunuchs lost their biggest backer, and they began to succumb to He Jin, no longer endlessly pursuing power and money, but turned to avoid the limelight, hoping to protect themselves under the wing of He.

At that time, in addition to He Jin, other family members of the He family had a good impression of the eunuchs, especially He Jin's sister Empress Dowager He and younger brother He Miao.

It's a pity that the efforts of Yuan Shao and other scholars did not make the eunuchs get their wish, Yuan Shao stayed by He Jin's side for four or five years, and had already become He Jin's henchmen, under the subtle influence of him and He Hao, Xu You, Zheng Tai and others, He Jin's position has been biased towards the party and the scholars, and he is full of disgust for the eunuchs, especially Jian Shuo's behavior makes He Jin afraid, and they are fast, and the eunuchs have no place to hug He Jin's thighs.

But this does not mean that the eunuchs have no choice, the ten permanent attendants have adopted a roundabout strategy, and if they can't win over He Jin, they will win over the Empress Dowager He, and they will win over He Miao, because the Empress Dowager He is in the palace and stays with the eunuchs every day, so they easily believe them, He Miao and his brother He Jin are also not of the same mind, and gradually stand on the side of the eunuchs.

After the death of Emperor Ling, the He family was in power, but the entire He group was gradually divided, He Jin was co-opted by the party and scholars, and the Empress Dowager He and others were co-opted by the eunuchs, and an infighting was inevitable, and at that time Yuan Shao was basically He Jin's mastermind, he had been waiting for more than ten years in order to hit the eunuchs, and he would not let go of this opportunity no matter what, Yuan Shao was also fully prepared for this, ready to let the eunuchs have no place to turn over.

But people are not as good as heaven, and Yuan Shao did not usher in the ending he expected.