How Huo Guang Held Emperor Zhao's Court Together

In the last episode, Emperor Wu died after entrusting the child Liu Fuling and the future of the dynasty to Huo Guang and a small circle of regents.

Once the eight-year-old Emperor Zhao took the throne, real power rested above all with Huo Guang.

Huo Guang First Proved Himself by Handling Immediate Disorder

Soon after the accession, a night panic broke out in the palace. Eunuchs and palace women cried that strange beings had appeared, and confusion spread through the halls.

Huo Guang moved at once. He ordered the imperial seal secured. The official in charge refused to hand it over casually, saying he would rather die with it than surrender it improperly. Huo Guang did not punish him for this stubbornness. The next day, once the panic had passed, he rewarded him.

That response told the court something important: Huo Guang valued steadiness and duty more than theatrical obedience.

The Prince of Yan Still Had Not Abandoned His Ambition

News of Emperor Wu's death went out to the kingdoms, and Liu Dan of Yan reacted not with proper grief but with suspicion and complaint. He had always imagined the throne should have come to him.

Emperor Zhao's government gave him money and additional households as formal favor. He answered that he did not need such gifts; what he ought to have received was the throne itself.

He began plotting again.

One Conspiracy Was Broken Before It Could Rise

Liu Dan linked himself to other royal figures and spread rumor that Emperor Zhao was not truly Emperor Wu's son. The hope was to delegitimize the young ruler and open the road toward a replacement.

But the plot was exposed early. Officials such as the Qingzhou inspector Jun Buyi acted quickly. Some conspirators were destroyed, though the court stopped short of annihilating Liu Dan immediately.

The danger remained.

Once Jin Midi Died, the Balance Among the Regents Shifted

Jin Midi, one of the most reliable of Emperor Wu's chosen assistants, died early in the new reign.

That left Huo Guang and Shangguan Jie as the principal surviving figures from the original regency group, with Sang Hongyang also influential. Huo Guang now stood even more plainly above the others.

He knew this could be dangerous. Men warned him with old examples that a regent who shut out both imperial kinsmen and other great men might someday bring disaster upon himself.

So he tried, at least outwardly, to broaden the appearance of participation.

Family Ties Then Deepened the Coming Conflict

Huo Guang and Shangguan Jie were originally close and even linked by marriage. Huo Guang's daughter had married Shangguan Jie's son Shangguan An and produced a little girl.

That child would become the center of a new political push. Shangguan An wanted her placed in the palace as empress for the young Emperor Zhao, which would anchor the Shangguan family at the center of power.

Huo Guang thought the child too young and resisted.

A Princess and a Lover Helped Force the Marriage

Emperor Zhao's elder sister, Princess Eyi, had a favorite man named Ding Wairen. Shangguan An used this connection. If the girl became empress, he argued, the Shangguan side would have more weight at court and could in turn help with Ding Wairen's advancement.

Princess Eyi helped. The child entered the palace and was made empress. Shangguan An was raised and ennobled. His confidence swelled accordingly.

Ding Wairen Became the Immediate Breaking Point

Now Princess Eyi, Ding Wairen, and the Shangguan side wanted more: titles and office for Ding Wairen.

Huo Guang blocked it. Ding had no military merit and no qualifying achievements. Huo Guang would not allow him into the sort of position that granted easy palace access.

From this point, the old alliance was finished. Princess Eyi resented Huo Guang. Shangguan Jie and Shangguan An did too.

Huo Guang's Enemies Gradually Gathered into One Camp

The resentful now included not only the Shangguan family and Princess Eyi, but also Liu Dan of Yan and Sang Hongyang, who had his own disappointments.

Money, promises, and a shared desire to remove Huo Guang pulled them together. Their public language was predictable: they would "purge the ruler's side" by removing the overmighty regent.

Their First Major Move Failed Because the Young Emperor Saw Through It

Liu Dan sent a memorial accusing Huo Guang of preparing rebellion through troop inspection, road restrictions, and suspicious acts tied to figures like Su Wu, the long-returned envoy from Xiongnu captivity.

The conspirators hoped to present this when Huo Guang was absent, condemn him, and then push Emperor Zhao aside in favor of Liu Dan.

But Emperor Zhao proved sharper than they expected.

When Huo Guang waited outside the hall with the old image of the Duke of Zhou and the young king displayed, the emperor called for him, listened, and then declared plainly that Liu Dan's accusations were false. He noted that the alleged troop movements had happened only days earlier and that a distant king could not know them so quickly unless people at court were leaking information.

The point was devastating.

Once Open Accusation Failed, the Conspirators Turned to Assassination

Unable to win directly, Shangguan Jie, Shangguan An, and Princess Eyi plotted to lure Huo Guang to a banquet and kill him there. Liu Dan waited to move once the signal came from Chang'an.

Yet even within the conspiracy, distrust was thick. Some saw clearly that if the plot succeeded, the participants might well betray one another before any prince reached the throne.

In fact, Shangguan An even imagined eliminating Liu Dan after success and eventually raising his own father instead.

The Plot Was Exposed and Destroyed

Before the coup could be launched, information reached Huo Guang and Emperor Zhao.

They struck first. Shangguan Jie, Shangguan An, and Sang Hongyang were arrested and exterminated along with their families. Princess Eyi killed herself. Liu Dan, seeing the capital already lost to him, soon followed by suicide.

This crisis is remembered as the upheaval of Yan and Gai, often shortened in later telling to the conspiracy of the Shangguan and Yan faction.

After This, Huo Guang Stood Alone

Jin Midi was dead. Shangguan Jie was dead. Liu Dan was dead. Emperor Zhao's government was now effectively in Huo Guang's hands alone.

But peace did not follow for long.

The next great challenge came when Emperor Zhao himself fell ill and died young, forcing Huo Guang not only to govern, but once again to choose an emperor.