In 132 AD, Emperor Shun of Han was eighteen years old and made the noble Liang his empress. Empress Liang's father, Liang Shang, became a general.

Emperor Shun of Han relied on eunuchs to become emperor, and of course reused eunuchs. After the death of Sun Cheng, the Marquis of Fuyang, Emperor Shun of Han was particularly gracious and let Sun Cheng's adopted son Shou inherit the title and fief. At the beginning, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty used eunuchs because the eunuchs had no daughters-in-law, and of course no children and grandchildren, so they would not threaten the imperial court like their relatives. Now Emperor Shun of the Han Dynasty has opened an example, the adopted son of a eunuch can inherit the title and fief, and can also get a reward, and the adopted son has as many as he wants. In this way, there are hundreds or even thousands of eunuchs in the palace, and they compete for power and profit, and there is no peace for a day.

After Sun Cheng, the eunuchs Cao Jie, Cao Teng, and Meng Ben were all favored by Emperor Shun of Han. Empress Liang's father Liang Shang, brothers Liang Ji, and Liang Budo also followed Cao Jie and Cao Teng. This formed a situation in which relatives and eunuchs joined forces to deal with the powerful of the scholars. Seeing the wind, the officials of the court turned their rudder and rushed to pay tribute to Cao Jie.

In 141 AD, the great general Liang Shang fell ill and died. Emperor Shun of Han asked Liang Ji to succeed his father as a general, and Liang Budo became Henan Yin.

Liang Ji is very different from his father. Don't look at him stammering, like a wooden man, in fact, he was a ruffian when he was young, eating, drinking, prostituting and gambling all kinds of evil. He has an ugly appearance, with jackal-like eyes, shrugging harrier-like shoulders, before he became a general, he served as Huangmen Shilang, Shizhong, Tiger Ben Zhonglang General, Yue Cai, Infantry Captain, Zhi Jinwu, Henan Yin. He is skilled in a set of officialdom. Although he stutters so hard that he can't speak, he is good at intrigue and calculation. For example, when he was Henan Yin, he was "violent and illegal". His father is a general, and his sister is a queen, who dares to break ground on Tai Sui's head and say that he is not good?

One day, Luoyang ordered Lu Fang to talk about Liang Ji in front of Liang Shang by chance, and he was a little dissatisfied with Liang Ji when he spoke. Liang Shang called his son to rebuke him for a few words, and Liang Ji sent someone to assassinate Lu Fang. He also blamed others for his crimes, and more than 100 people died. Liang Shang hid it from him, and Emperor Han Shun was also kept in the dark. Now that Liang Ji is a general, the officials in various places have sent him gifts and congratulations, and the emperor's cronies Cao Jie, Cao Teng, Meng Ben, etc. are all his minions, and he is even more lawless.

As the saying goes, "the upper beam is not right and the lower beam is crooked", the top secretly bribes, and the bottom is openly blackmailed, and the common people are forced to live, so they rise up to rebel, and the officials in the court can no longer sleep peacefully.

Zhou Ju, the counselor, wrote to Emperor Han Shun and said: "If you want to eliminate the thieves, you must first check the magistrate. Officials who love the people should be promoted, and corrupt officials should be investigated. So Emperor Shun of Han issued an edict to amnesty the world, and then sent eight ministers, including Zhou Ju, Du Qiao, and Zhang Gang, as envoys to various places to observe. Zhou Ju and Du Qiao all left. After Zhang Gang, a native of Wuyang, arrived at Luoyang Duting, the more he thought about it, the more he didn't like it, so he destroyed his car, buried the wheels in the ground, and didn't go. People asked him what was wrong? He said that the jackal is in charge, so why bother to ask the fox (fox, referring to the petty official who violates the law and discipline)? He wrote to impeach the generals Liang Ji and Henan Yin Liang Budoubt.

Zhang Gang stabbed the hornet's nest this time, and the entire Luoyang City was in an uproar. Emperor Shun of Han was pampering Empress Liang, and the children and relatives of the Liang family were all over the court. They said, "Zhang Gang, this kid, look at how many heads he has!" "Emperor Shun of Han knew that there were many people who were facing Zhang Gang, so he put his recital aside and did not convict him; But the general Liang Ji hated Zhang Gang so much, he had to find a way to kill him to get rid of his hatred.

It just so happened that an official document arrived from Guangling, saying that the Guangling thief Zhang Ying had tens of thousands of horses and horses to disturb Xuzhou and Yangzhou, kill the assassin Shi, and ask the imperial court to send troops to encircle and suppress it. Liang Ji instructed others to recommend Zhang Gang and let him go to Zhang Ying to die. The imperial court sent Zhang Gang to guard Guangling,

After Zhang Gang arrived in Guangling, he took more than a dozen entourages to see Zhang Ying, saying that he had come to punish corrupt officials and corrupt officials, not to embarrass the people. Zhang Ying was persuaded by Zhang Gang, and the two became friends and were willing to work together to eliminate harm for the people. Zhang Gang instructed Zhang Ying to select a group of leaders with strong ability to be hired, and the remaining more than 10,000 people volunteered to go home to farm. The magistrates no longer oppressed the common people, and the Guangling area settled down.

Zhang Gang made a great contribution to the governance of Guangling, and Emperor Shun of Han planned to seal him, but he had to give up because of Liang Ji's obstruction, and Emperor Shun of Han asked him to return to the dynasty. Zhang Ying and others jointly wrote a letter to keep him, and Emperor Han Shun asked him to stay there. A year later, Zhang Gang fell ill and died, and he was only thirty-six years old when he died. The common people flocked to the Taishou Mansion and cried non-stop. Zhang Ying and more than 500 of them were dressed in filial piety, and sent his coffin to Wuyang Hongxiang, and only went back after the burial.

Emperor Shun of Han also sighed when he heard the news, and worshiped Zhang Gang's son Zhang Xu as Langzhong. Emperor Shun of Han also fell ill and died this year. He was only thirty years old when he died, and the two-year-old prince ascended the throne, which was Emperor Han Chong, but Emperor Han Chong died again in less than half a year. After Emperor Shun of Han was destroyed, who would be the emperor? The minister proposed two people, one was Liu Garlic, the king of Qinghe, and the other was Liu Zhang, the king of Bohai, both of whom were great-grandsons of Emperor Zhang of the Han Dynasty. Liu Garlic is older, and Liu Zhang is only eight years old. After discussing with the Empress Dowager Liang, Liang Ji thought that the young and ignorant children were easy to deal with, so he appointed the eight-year-old Liu Zhang as the emperor, that is, the emperor of the Han Dynasty.

However, it is said that Ma Mian of Jiujiang led the peasant uprising in Dangtu, proclaimed himself emperor, and appointed his subordinate Xu Feng as the supreme general. They set up their own officials to rule over the local people. and Zhang Ying, who was previously subdued by Zhang Gang, raised troops in Guangling again. Empress Dowager Liang instructed Teng Fu, the commander of Jiujiang, to recruit soldiers, encourage soldiers with rewards, and suppress these uprisings. Ma Mian, Xu Feng and Zhang Ying all died in the resistance, and the southeast area was temporarily flattened.

Although Emperor Han is young, he is still quite accurate in looking at people, especially Liang Ji's arrogance. Once, he faced Liang Ji in front of hundreds of civil and military officials in the court and said: "You are really a domineering general!" Liang Ji was so angry when he heard it, but it was not good to attack in person. Thinking about it behind his back, this kid is so powerful at a young age, and when he grows up, he can pay it back, so he secretly puts the poison in the pancake and gives it to Emperor Qiandi to eat.

How did Emperor Qiandi know that the cake was poisonous, and he felt sick to his stomach after eating the cake. He asked the chamberlain to call the Taiwei Li Gu in. Li Gu saw that he was very uncomfortable and asked him what was going on. Emperor Qiandi said: "I just ate the cake, I just feel that my stomach is sad and my mouth is dry, and I want to drink some water." Liang Ji hurriedly said next to him: "No, you can't drink it, you will vomit after drinking water." Before Liang Ji's words were finished, the eight-year-old child had already fallen to the ground and died. It's a pity that the little emperor came to an end of his life because of one sentence.

Li Gu lay on the corpse of Emperor Qiandi and cried bitterly, and asked Empress Dowager Liang and Liang Ji to investigate the inner servants. If Zhang Gang was still alive, he must have said the same sentence again: "The jackal is in charge, why bother to ask the fox?" ”

However, it was said that Liu Zhi was only thirteen years old when Emperor Han Shun came out of the funeral, and he also came to the funeral. Empress Dowager Liang saw that he was handsome, and his eyes were black and white, and she wanted to give him her little sister. Because it was inconvenient to propose relatives during the funeral, she asked Liu Zhi to go back temporarily. After two years, Liu Zhi was already fifteen years old. The more Empress Dowager Liang looked at it, the more she liked it. I heard that Emperor Han was poisoned by eating bread. Empress Dowager Liang summed up, it is better to simply let her quasi-brother-in-law be the emperor, first, the child is only fifteen years old, it is still easy to control, and second, he is about to marry his sister, and in the future, his sister will be the queen, and the Liang family can continue to be autocratic.

The matter was settled, but the courtiers led by Taiwei Li Gu could not accept this choice, and they had another candidate, that is, Liu Garlic, the king of Qinghe, who was not only "old and virtuous", but also the elder brother of Emperor Qian, and the closest blood relationship. But Liang Ji and the ministers had an argument in the court, and in the end, no one persuaded each other, so they had to temporarily adjourn the meeting and go home.

When Liang Ji returned to the mansion and was thinking about how to deal with Li Gu's granite head, an important person came to visit. This person's surname is Cao Mingteng, he is a regular servant in the palace, and he was framed by Zhang Kui together with Liang Shang, and he can be regarded as the "friend of the Liang family". As soon as Liang Ji saw Cao Teng coming, he hurriedly asked Cao Teng who was suitable to be the emperor. Liang Ji's intention was to find out the attitude of the eunuch forces towards Lijun. Cao Teng said, "The king of Qinghe is upright and strict, once he is appointed emperor, the general will inevitably come to a catastrophe, it is better to support Liu Zhi, the marquis of Liwu, which can be precious for a long time." Liang Ji frowned and stammered: "The ministers don't, no, don't agree, I'm afraid no, no, it's not easy to do." Cao Teng said: "The military power is in the hands of the general, who dares to oppose your order." Liang Ji nodded and said, "Okay!" That's it. ”

The next day, Liang Ji convened the ministers to discuss the establishment of a new monarch. Liang Ji announced loudly: "Stand ...... Stand...... Liwu Hou! Hu Guang and Zhao Jie, who were originally opposed to Liu Zhi among the ministers, saw that Liang Ji was anxious, and they didn't dare to insist on their own opinions, so they hurriedly changed their words and agreed, "We all listen to the general!" The other ministers also said, "We all listen to the general!" Li Gu and Du Qiao still insisted, and Liang Ji shouted: "Retreat...... Retreat! ”

Subsequently, Liang Ji personally used a green cover car to connect Liu Zhi to Luoyang Nangong and claim the emperor. Liu Zhi was fifteen years old and was Emperor Huan of the Han Dynasty. Empress Dowager Liang came to court for him, and Liang Ji took power for him.

Because Li Gu has been against Liang Ji, Liang Ji framed Li Gu and Du Qiao for rebellion, and soon executed them all.

Emperor Huan of Han relied on the Liang family to become the emperor, so naturally everything listened to them. In August of the first year of Jianhe, Emperor Huan of Han married the sister of the Empress Dowager Liang as his daughter-in-law. One of the sisters is called Empress Dowager Liang and the other is called Empress Liang.

At this time, Liu Wen, a native of Ganling, and Liu Kun, a native of Nanjun, wanted to establish Liu Garlic as the emperor, and they said that Liu Garlic, the king of Qinghe, was the true son of heaven. They threatened Qinghe Minister Xie Song with knives and said, "We have the benefit of establishing the king of Qinghe as the Son of Heaven." If you don't agree, we'll be sorry. Xie Song blamed them for not rebelling, and they killed Xie Song. When Liu Garlic, the king of Qinghe, heard that someone was threatening Xie Song, he immediately killed Liu Wen and Liu Kun. He reported this matter to the imperial court, but Emperor Huan of Han listened to the eunuch's words that he killed people and destroyed his mouth, so he changed the title of Liu Lian, the king of Qinghe, to the marquis. The more Liu Garlic thought about it, the more angry he became, so he committed suicide by drinking poison.

Liang Ji won more rewards and greater power because of his meritorious support for Liu Zhi, and even the Empress Dowager Liang was powerless to restrain him.

In the first year of peace (150 years), the Empress Dowager Liang finally came to the end of her life, and when she was dying, she issued an edict to return to Emperor Huan, and hoped that Emperor Huan and Liang Ji could "do it for themselves".

At this time, the Liang family successively produced seven marquis, three queens (one posthumously crowned), six nobles, two generals, seven wives and female feudal monarchs, three concubines, and the number of qing, general, yin, and school was more. It is really the power of the government and the opposition, and the wealth is full.

In such an environment, Emperor Huan wanted to "do his own thing" and there were only two ways out: one was to "cooperate" with Liang Ji and be a good puppet of Liang Ji; The second is to eliminate Liang Ji and regain power.

Of course, Emperor Huan wanted to choose the second way out, but this road was too difficult to walk, and it was difficult to find even a helper. Although Emperor Huan was already "pro-government", Liang Ji used brutal means to attack political opponents and eliminate dissidents, and almost all of the people in the court were his people. Of course, Emperor Huan can also rely on a third-party political force - eunuchs.

However, Liang Ji also knew the importance of eunuchs, and he supported Liu Zhi as emperor only after unifying his thoughts with eunuchs. Therefore, even if many eunuchs and Liang Ji are not in the same party, they do not oppose Liang Ji, and some eunuchs also help Liang Ji monitor Emperor Huan's every move.

Originally, Emperor Huan had the intention of "doing it for himself", and he also spent a lot of money for this. Emperor Huan's courtesy to Liang Ji surpassed that of Xiao He; The breadth of the fief surpassed that of Deng Yu; The reward was greater than Huo Guang's. Officials appointed must go to see Liang Ji without having to meet Emperor Huan; However, Emperor Huan's daily life must be reported to Liang Ji.

Wanxian ordered Wu Shu to punish some lawless guests of Liang Ji according to the law. Liang Ji summoned him to his home to drink and eat food on the grounds that Wu Shu was promoted to the history of Jingzhou, and then poisoned the wine that Wu Shu drank; Wu Shu died of poison on the car home.

Langzhong Yuan Zhi was only nineteen years old, about a teenager, and even wrote a letter to Emperor Huan, suggesting that Liang Ji should retire, so as not to incur a catastrophe because of his "high merit". Yuan's starting point is good. But when Liang Ji found out, he immediately sent someone to arrest Yuan Zhu. Yuan Zhi was frightened, and while changing his name and surname to flee, he pretended to be sick and died, and buried his body with cattail. As a result, Liang Ji still found out the truth and beat Yuan to death after being caught.

The celebrity Hao Xu was also implicated because he was friends with Yuan Zhi. Hao Xu chose to flee at first, but later he couldn't escape the intelligence network that Liang Ji had laid down across the country, so he had no choice but to ask someone to carry the coffin to see Liang Ji, and committed suicide by taking poison in front of Liang Ji's mansion, in order to let Liang Ji spare his family.

In order to enjoy himself in a large number of buildings, Liang Ji built a lot of high-rise buildings, and circled dozens of miles as the garden of the Liang family. There are rivers and rockeries in the garden, and there are pavilions, platforms, buildings, and pavilions. That's not all, he opened up a huge garden in the west of Henan City, and there were dozens of miles of land one after another. Liang Ji likes the little white rabbit, and he ordered all localities to pay rabbits to be branded, and anyone who harms this rabbit will be guilty of death. A man from the Western Regions didn't know about this ban and accidentally killed a rabbit. More than a dozen people were implicated in this case.

He took the children of the good family as slaves, and these slaves and maids were called "self-sellers", meaning that they were all sold to the Liang family voluntarily. He also sent people to investigate the rich people's families, arrested the rich man and randomly charged him, told him to give money to atone for his crimes, and condemned him to death if he was not satisfied. There is a Fufeng man, Sun Fen, who is very rich. But he's an iron rooster with nothing to spare. Liang Ji gave him a horse and borrowed 50 million yuan from him, but Sun Fen was reluctant. Later, he was really forced to be unable to do it, so he gritted his teeth and gave him 30 million. Liang Ji saw that it was 20 million short, and he was very angry. He instructed the local government to arrest Sun Fen and his brothers, saying that their mother was a girl who escaped from the general's mansion, and she stole ten pearls and a thousand catties of purple gold, and they should be recovered. Sun Fen's brothers and sons refused to admit it, and as a result, they were beaten to death by the government and their family property was confiscated, with a total value of more than 170 million yuan. The government gave most of it to Liang Ji, which was regarded as returning his pearls and purple gold.