Why Liu Zhuang Inherited the Eastern Han Throne Smoothly

In Emperor Guangwu's later years, succession became the key test of whether Eastern Han power could pass peacefully.

The Guangwu Restoration depended on capable ministers, but it also depended on arranging the succession. In Liu Xiu's later years, the most important step was not on the battlefield. It took place between the inner palace and the crown prince's residence.

Yin Lihua Returned to Luoyang

Liu Xiu had two empresses in his life: Guo Shengtong and Yin Lihua.

Yin Lihua came from a prominent family in Nanyang. Tradition linked her ancestry to Guan Zhong, the famous minister of Qi in the Spring and Autumn period. When Liu Xiu was young, he saw her beauty and left behind the famous line that if one married, one should marry Yin Lihua.

After the battle of Kunyang, Liu Xiu's reputation rose sharply, but his elder brother Liu Yan was killed by Liu Xuan, the Gengshi Emperor. Liu Xiu returned to Wancheng to apologize. His position was dangerous, yet during this period he married Yin Lihua. She was nineteen. Not long after the wedding, Liu Xiu was ordered north to Hebei with an imperial staff.

He could only send Yin Lihua back to her family in Xinye while he faced the chaos of Hebei.

The Hebei situation soon became desperate. Wang Lang proclaimed himself emperor. Liu Xiu had few troops and moved from place to place under pressure. To win the support of Liu Yang, the King of Zhending, Liu Xiu married Liu Yang's niece Guo Shengtong.

Guo Shengtong's background was also powerful. Her maternal grandfather was Liu Pu, King Gong of Zhending, tying her to the imperial clan and powerful local networks. More importantly, the marriage directly helped Liu Xiu gain support among Hebei strongmen.

Liu Yang had more than one hundred thousand troops and was the strongest of the Hebei kings. Without his support, Liu Xiu's attack on Wang Lang would have been much harder. From the beginning, Guo Shengtong's marriage carried heavy political weight.

In Jianwu year one, Liu Xiu became emperor. By then Guo Shengtong had accompanied him through Hebei and given birth to his eldest son, Liu Jiang. For the new Eastern Han, this was not only the birth of a prince. It signaled that the regime had an heir.

That same year, Liu Xiu made Luoyang his capital and sent for Yin Lihua. Guo Shengtong and Yin Lihua finally met in Luoyang.

One was the first wife Liu Xiu had loved since youth. The other had accompanied him in Hebei, brought political support, and given birth to his eldest son. The palace ranks had to be settled sooner or later.

Guo Shengtong Became Empress First

When Eastern Han was first founded, it had an emperor but not yet an empress. Liu Xiu first made both Guo Shengtong and Yin Lihua honored consorts and did not immediately choose.

Emotionally, he wanted Yin Lihua as empress. The histories say Yin Lihua was generous and kind, and Liu Xiu wished to honor her with the highest rank.

But Yin Lihua firmly refused. She knew Guo Shengtong had a son, and she knew the Hebei generals and Zhending forces stood behind Guo. Hebei was the place from which Liu Xiu's imperial fortunes had risen, and many founding generals had followed him there. If he passed over Guo Shengtong and made Yin Lihua empress, many people might not accept it.

So in Jianwu year two, Guo Shengtong was made empress, and her eldest son Liu Jiang was made crown prince. Yin Lihua remained an honored consort.

After the ranks were settled, Liu Xiu continued fighting for years. By Jianwu year six, the east was largely pacified. Guo and Yin had both borne more sons. The palace situation was no longer only about two women. It touched the future of the crown prince and all the imperial sons.

Liu Zhuang Showed His Edge

Liu Jiang, later renamed Liu Qiang, was the eldest son and born of the empress. By rank, his position was the most secure.

But Liu Xiu increasingly favored Yin Lihua's son Liu Yang, later renamed Liu Zhuang, the future Emperor Ming. He was intelligent from youth and could read the Spring and Autumn Annals by the age of ten. Liu Xiu early saw him as an unusually able child.

Around Jianwu year fifteen, Liu Xiu ordered a nationwide verification of cultivated fields and household registration. Local officials often lied. Some used land measurement to harass the people. Others protected powerful families and harmed commoners.

Once, a document from Chenliu Commandery included a strange note: Yingchuan and Hongnong may be asked; Henan and Nanyang may not be asked.

Liu Xiu saw it and did not understand. He questioned the Chenliu official, who stammered that the note had been picked up outside. Liu Xiu was furious and believed it was obvious concealment.

At the time, twelve-year-old Liu Yang was behind the curtain. He spoke up and explained that local officials were comparing the results of land measurement in different commanderies. Yingchuan and Hongnong could be used as references, but Henan and Nanyang could not.

Liu Xiu asked why.

Liu Yang answered that Henan contained the capital and many officials close to the emperor, while Nanyang was the emperor's home region and had many imperial relatives. Their lands and houses often exceeded normal limits, so local officials did not dare use those two commanderies as standards.

When Liu Xiu questioned the Chenliu official again, it was exactly as Liu Yang had said.

A few years later, rebels stirred in Henan and held a strong city that Han troops could not take. Ministers suggested rewards for capturing the rebel leader. Liu Yang advised instead that many people in the rebel force had been coerced. If the city were surrounded too tightly, they could not escape and would fight to the death. Better to surround three sides and leave one open so those who wanted to flee could leave. Once the crowd scattered, the leader would be isolated.

Liu Xiu followed the plan, and the rebellion was quickly pacified. He liked this son even more.

Empress Guo Lost Favor

Empress Guo's position grew worse.

Her great outside support, Liu Yang of Zhending, had once been suspected of rebellion and was later removed by Liu Xiu. After losing that backing, Guo should have become more cautious. But as Liu Xiu's affection declined, she became resentful and often quarreled with him.

Yin Lihua, by contrast, was respectful, frugal, and restrained. She did not love pleasures and became more favored.

In Jianwu year nine, rebellions and banditry broke out around Yingchuan and Hedong. Yin Lihua's mother and one younger brother were killed in the chaos. Liu Xiu was deeply grieved and issued an edict comforting her.

In that edict, Liu Xiu said that after marrying into the Yin family, he had been separated from her by campaigns. The honored consort had the virtue of an empress and should originally have been made empress, but she firmly refused, which was why she remained in consort rank.

For Yin Lihua, this was consolation. For Empress Guo, it was piercing. It told the world that Guo Shengtong's empress position had originally been yielded by Yin Lihua.

Guo became even more unhappy and quarreled more often with Liu Xiu. Liu Xiu finally decided to change the empress.

Deposing the Empress Did Not Immediately Depose the Crown Prince

In Jianwu year seventeen, Liu Xiu issued an edict deposing Empress Guo and making Yin Lihua empress.

The edict said Guo held resentment and could not care for the other sons. Inside the palace, she was like a hawk. Liu Xiu feared that after his death, Yin Lihua and her sons would be treated unjustly.

He was thinking of more than current quarrels. The Western Han story of Empress Lu and Consort Qi warned later emperors that resentment left inside the palace could become revenge under a new ruler.

Once the empress was deposed, the crown prince's position became awkward. In an imperial household, the mother is honored by the son, but the son is also honored by the mother. If Guo Shengtong was no longer empress, it was difficult for Liu Qiang to remain crown prince forever.

But ministers worried that if Liu Xiu deposed the empress and immediately deposed the crown prince, the realm would think the succession unstable. Someone advised that matters between husband and wife were hard even for fathers and sons to discuss, much less ministers. The emperor should be cautious and not cause public debate over the heir.

Liu Xiu understood this concern and did not depose Liu Qiang at once.

Liu Qiang himself, however, felt deeply uneasy. His mother had been deposed, and every day he sat in the crown prince's place felt like standing in a crack. Some advised him that it would be better to resign voluntarily than leave the emperor, his mother, and himself in difficulty.

Liu Qiang followed the advice and submitted a request to yield his position. Liu Xiu first refused. Liu Qiang, joined by ministers, asked again and again. Liu Xiu finally made the King of Donghai, Liu Yang, crown prince and renamed him Liu Zhuang.

The former crown prince Liu Qiang became King of Donghai.

A Gentle Change of Heir

In ancient courts, deposing an empress and changing a crown prince often came with blood and terror. Liu Xiu handled this case relatively gently.

Guo Shengtong was not imprisoned until death. Liu Xiu made another of her sons King of Zhongshan and changed Guo's title to Queen Dowager of Zhongshan, giving her a place to live with dignity after leaving the empress position.

The Guo family was not purged. Many members received marquis titles. Guo Shengtong's younger brother Guo Kuang received repeated gifts, and people in the capital even called his house a "gold cave."

Liu Xiu knew that Guo Shengtong had accompanied him through Hebei and borne him several sons. The empress position had to change, but the Guo family could not be forced into desperation.

The crown prince transition also landed smoothly. Liu Qiang withdrew as King of Donghai, and Liu Zhuang entered the eastern palace as heir. Eastern Han's most important succession change settled without open massacre.

Yin Lihua finally became empress. But would her family, like so many later relatives of empresses, use that position to move into the center of power? Next, the Yin relatives come into view.