How Emperor Xuan Destroyed the Huo Clan

In the last episode, Empress Xu was poisoned and Huo Chengjun finally took the empress's place.

But the higher the Huo family rose, the harder it became for Emperor Xuan to ignore the pressure they left around his throne.

Huo Guang Died with Extraordinary Honors

In the second year of the Dijie era, Huo Guang fell gravely ill and died.

He had served through the reigns of Emperor Wu, Emperor Zhao, and Emperor Xuan, and had dominated the court for more than twenty years. Emperor Xuan's own accession had been his decision.

After his death, the court honored him almost like royalty. Emperor Xuan and the empress dowager visited his mourning hall. The court granted rich burial goods, assigned soldiers to build his tomb, and set aside households to care for his shrine.

The emperor also exempted Huo Guang's descendants from taxes and labor service and confirmed their hereditary titles.

Huo Guang was dead. The Huo family's privilege remained.

Emperor Xuan Began to Govern in Person

Once Huo Guang was gone, Emperor Xuan could finally handle government himself.

He did not attack the Huo family at once. He continued to favor them. Huo Shan, a grandson of Huo Qubing and a member of the clan, received a marquis title and supervised memorials. Huo sons, sons-in-law, and relatives still held posts in the palace and court.

But some officials saw the danger.

Imperial counselor Wei Xiang sent a confidential memorial. Since the late years of Emperor Wu, he argued, great affairs had often been decided by powerful ministers rather than the imperial house. Huo Guang was dead, but the Huo clan still filled high offices, lived extravagantly, and overstepped ritual limits.

Huo Xian built mansions and used carriages and objects close to imperial style. Huo Yu and Huo Shan expanded estates. Huo Yun skipped court on illness while roaming with guests. Their dependents and retainers also broke the law.

Wei Xiang urged the emperor to reduce their power before it produced disaster.

Emperor Xuan accepted the advice.

Memorials No Longer Passed Through Huo Hands

At the time, memorials often had copies reviewed by officials who managed submissions. If those officials objected, a memorial might never reach the emperor.

That gate sat partly in Huo hands.

Wei Xiang advised ending the practice and sending memorials directly to the throne. Emperor Xuan agreed.

Huo Shan still held office, but his control over information had been cut. The emperor was beginning to build roads around the clan.

The Crown Prince Made Huo Xian Panic

In the third year of the Dijie era, Emperor Xuan named Liu Shi, the son of the murdered Empress Xu, crown prince.

Huo Chengjun was empress, but she had no son. Once Liu Shi became heir, Xu's child stood above any future son Huo Chengjun might bear.

Huo Xian could not eat from anger. She entered the palace and told her daughter that if Liu Shi lived, Huo Chengjun's own child would never come first.

Mother and daughter considered poisoning the crown prince through palace gifts.

But the prince's food was always tasted by attendants and teachers before he ate. The chance never came. Rumors soon spread that Empress Xu had been poisoned by Huo Xian and that the Huo family now meant to kill the crown prince too.

Emperor Xuan Did Not Hand the Crown Prince to One Outside Family

Xu Guanghan, the crown prince's maternal grandfather, heard the rumors and asked that his own brother be allowed to guard the child.

Emperor Xuan thought this might make sense and consulted the prince's teachers. They warned that the heir belonged to the state. His teachers and attendants should be selected from worthy men, not only from the Xu family. Otherwise one outside clan might grow too strong.

Wei Xiang agreed.

So Emperor Xuan did not place the crown prince wholly under Xu family control. Instead, he relied more on Wei Xiang and allowed trusted Xu and Shi relatives to enter the palace more often.

The Huo family watched and grew increasingly afraid.

The Huo Clan Lost Power One Layer at a Time

Wei Xiang became chancellor and met the emperor often. Officials and commoners could now submit sealed memorials directly. Ministers could reach the throne without passing through Huo channels.

Several Huo sons-in-law and grandsons-in-law, once placed inside the palace guard, were transferred out to serve as commandery administrators. On paper these were promotions. In practice, they weakened Huo access to the palace.

The guard of the palace was entrusted to Zhang Anshi. He had ties to Huo Guang, but his brother Zhang He had once protected Liu Bingyi, and the Zhang family was moving closer to Emperor Xuan.

Huo Yu was made grand marshal, but without the proper seals, staff, or troops. He had the title without the substance.

When he stayed away from court claiming illness, an old subordinate warned him that the old age was gone. Huo Guang had once held life and death in his hands. Now the emperor governed personally, and the Xu and Shi families were the emperor's close kin. The Huo family could not behave as before.

Huo Yu returned to court, but resentment remained.

Empress Xu's Death Could No Longer Be Hidden

As the Huo clan lost ground, rumors about Empress Xu's murder spread more widely.

Eventually Emperor Xuan heard them too.

Huo Xian realized the truth could not be concealed and told Huo Yu, Huo Shan, and Huo Yun how Xu had been killed. They were terrified. If the emperor pursued the case, the clan faced extermination.

They began discussing rebellion.

One proposal was to use Empress Dowager Shangguan to summon chancellor Wei Xiang and Xu Guanghan, kill them, depose Emperor Xuan, and install another ruler.

The plan was reported. Emperor Xuan arrested the adviser but ordered the case not to expand further.

The Huo family did not feel safe. They believed the emperor was only waiting.

The Banquet Plot Collapsed Before It Began

After another investigation touched Huo relatives, Emperor Xuan removed Huo Yun and Huo Shan from palace office.

The clan panicked. They planned for Empress Dowager Shangguan to hold a banquet for imperial relatives and summon Wei Xiang and Xu Guanghan. Huo sons-in-law would kill them in the empress dowager's name, depose Emperor Xuan, and make Huo Yu emperor.

Before the plan could begin, new punishments arrived. Huo Yun was to be sent out as an administrator. Huo Shan faced charges in a private scandal. Huo Xian submitted a memorial offering property and horses to redeem him.

Then the conspiracy was exposed.

Huo Shan and Huo Yun killed themselves. Huo Xian and Huo Yu were arrested. Huo Yu was executed for rebellion, and Huo Xian and other clan members were beheaded in the marketplace. Thousands of households were implicated.

Empress Huo Chengjun was not killed, but she was deposed and moved into the cold palace. Years later, she too took her own life.

The Huo clan had fallen.

Moving the Firewood Before the Fire

When the Huo family was still powerful, a man named Xu Fu had warned the emperor to restrain them. Emperor Xuan had not acted then.

After the clan fell, those who exposed the plot were rewarded. Someone spoke up for Xu Fu and told a story.

A guest once saw a host's stove pipe standing straight beside stacked firewood. He advised bending the chimney and moving the wood away. The host ignored him. Later the house caught fire. After the neighbors saved it, the host rewarded the firefighters but forgot the man who had warned him.

Only then did the host understand.

Emperor Xuan remembered Xu Fu's earlier warning and rewarded him.

That story became the origin of the phrase qu tu xi xin, bending the chimney and moving the firewood before disaster comes.

The Huo family was gone. Emperor Xuan could finally govern outside Huo Guang's shadow.

In the next episode, he turns to the officials who could actually steady the realm.