During the reign of Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang, Empress Lu was the most powerful woman, helping her husband rule the country and gaining prestige among his courtiers. She also plotted to consolidate Liu Ying's position as Crown Prince, helping her son to ascend the throne smoothly when the Emperor passed away.
However, it was also the tyranny and brutality of Empress Lu - later Empress Dowager Lu - that caused Liu Ying's life to fall into tragedy. He was the Emperor but had no real power, even his Empress was decided by Empress Dowager Lu.
According to Sima Qian's "Historical Records", the only empress of Emperor Hui of Han, Liu Ying, was Lady Zhang, from Waihuang County, Dang Prefecture (now Minquan, Shangqiu, China). Her father was Zhang Ao, but it is unknown who her mother was.
However, according to the book "Han Shu: Ngoai Thich Truyen", Truong Thi was the daughter of King Trieu Truong Ngao and Princess Lu Nguyen - who was also Liu Doanh's biological sister.
"Historical Records" does not clearly record Zhang's real name, but Sima Qian's "Historical Records" and several other historical books record her maiden name as Zhang Yan. In terms of seniority, she was the granddaughter of Han Gaozu and Empress Dowager Lu, and called Emperor Hui of Han Liu Ying her maternal uncle.
However, to prevent power from falling into the hands of outsiders, in 192 BC, Empress Dowager Lu forced Emperor Hui of Han to marry her niece. At that time, Empress Zhang was only 10 years old.
At the time of marriage, Empress Zhang was still young, so she and Emperor Hui of Han did not share the same bed, and she also did not give birth to a successor.
Not long after, a certain lady-in-waiting of Emperor Hui of Han became pregnant. Empress Dowager Lu then falsely announced that Empress Zhang also had a happy pregnancy.
On the day the Prince was born, the Queen Mother had someone kill a certain lady, brought her newborn grandson to Empress Zhang, and pretended that the Empress had given birth. That was Prince Liu Gong, who was later appointed Crown Prince.
At that time, Emperor Hui of Han knew the truth, hated the cruel Empress Dowager but could do nothing, and became even more depressed. Coupled with the Pig Man incident, the Emperor fell seriously ill and passed away at the age of 22. Crown Prince Liu Gong succeeded to the throne, and was called Emperor Qian Shao of Han in history.
Empress Dowager Lu did not accept the title of Grand Empress Dowager but remained Empress Dowager Lu. Therefore, Empress Zhang was not honored as Empress Dowager at this time, but was called by the posthumous name of Emperor Hui of Han, that is Empress Xiaohui.
In 184 BC, Liu Gong had grown up and learned that Empress Zhang was not his biological mother and that Lady Mo had been murdered. He felt resentment and wanted to find a way to take revenge. However, before Liu Gong could take action, Empress Dowager Lu discovered him and imprisoned him in Yongxiang Palace, then sought to depose him.
Empress Dowager Lu enthroned another son of Emperor Hui, Prince Liu Yi of Changshan, as Emperor Shao of Han. Liu Gong was secretly murdered, and Empress Dowager Lu continued to hold power over the court. During this time, history books did not record much about Empress Zhang.
In 180 BC, Empress Dowager Lu died. The ministers Chen Ping and Zhou Bo staged a coup to overthrow the Lu family, restored the throne to the Liu family, and enthroned Han Gaozu's second son Liu Heng, who became Emperor Wen of Han.
When the Lu family was being hunted down, Empress Zhang was fortunately not targeted, partly because Emperor Wen of Han considered her as his niece. However, she was also sent to the Northern Palace - a place far away from the royal family.
Empress Zhang lived there alone for about 17 years, until the end of her life. In 163 BC, Empress Zhang passed away, at the age of about 40. The court did not hold a large-scale funeral, but quietly buried her coffin with Emperor Hui of Han at Anling, but did not build a tomb.
Source: https://laodong.vn/van-hoa-giai-tri/hoang-hau-nha-han-lay-cau-ruot-nam-10-tuoi-ca-doi-co-quanh-1368036.ldo
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