Jinting Han people

Chapter 1: Prologue - Wei and Jin Dynasties
The collapse of the Han Dynasty was not just the collapse of a dynasty.

As the first truly unified dynasty in China, the existence of the Han Empire rewrote the scholars' imagination of reality at that time.

When Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang, first established the Han Empire, no one, including ambitious figures in the opposition, meritorious officials in the court, and even Emperor Gaozu himself, knew how long the empire would last. Perhaps it would vanish a hundred years after his death, or perhaps it would vanish the following year. Who knew? All people knew was that this empire probably wouldn't last forever. After all, the last empire that claimed to have been passed down from the First Emperor to eternity had already perished in its second generation.

What a strange country this was! Institutionally, the Han dynasty combined the Qin dynasty's reformed prefectures and counties with the Shang and Zhou dynasties' feudal system, yet the emperor governed his subjects with the Huang-Lao philosophy. Culturally, the Han dynasty was steeped in the romantic and fantastical sorcery of the Chu region, while also retaining the chivalrous spirit of the Youyan and Three Jin states. Confucian scholars were often found, loyal and devoted, and willing to die for their country.

From every angle, these elements were incompatible, and the Han Dynasty should have been difficult to maintain, but it survived and maintained this delicate balance through four generations of emperors.

When power was handed over to Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che, the onlookers gradually realized: the empire was not in a delicate balance, but in an ignorant childhood. Its contradictions came from its immaturity, and its diversity also meant that it had infinite possibilities. Now, the empire's childhood is about to end, because the brewing passion can no longer be suppressed, the vigorous vitality is about to break through the barriers, and the great history is gushing out, vowing to turn infinite possibilities into a reality.

So the heroes rose up, the empire defeated the Xiongnu in the north, pacified the Yue people in the south, conquered Korea in the east, opened up Longyou in the west, and protected hundreds of states. After the reign of Zhao and Xuan, the empire finally wrote a unprecedented glorious chapter in the history of the Han Dynasty.

Although the Han Dynasty experienced the setbacks of Wang Mang's usurpation, Emperor Guangwu revived the Han Dynasty, and Emperors Ming and Zhang worked hard to govern the country. Finally, under Emperor He of Han, the prosperous era of the Yongyuan period was restored. Unknowingly, the Han Empire had already existed for three hundred years.

Over the past three hundred years, the empire had transformed considerably. The feudal system existed in name only, and the twenty ranks of military nobility devised by Shang Yang had been completely altered, replaced by a system of recommendation. The selection of the most virtuous and honest officials and scholars by the prefecture governors often disappointed. The martial spirit was fading, and the values of loyalty and filial piety had become ossified and hypocritical. Coupled with constant natural and man-made disasters, some gradually realized that the empire was old, and even the greatest of history must eventually come to an end.

But it was not until the death of Emperor Ling of Han that most people realized this.

That day, the Ten Eunuchs beheaded General He Jin. The Inspector of the Imperial Capital, Yuan Shao, then orchestrated a massacre. Meanwhile, Yuan Shu set fire to the Nine Dragon Gate of the Nangong Palace. The flames soared into the sky, even blazing the moon that night. Cao Cao, Dong Zhuo, Wang Yun, Lu Zhi, Liu Bei, and others witnessed the spectacular conflagration in Luoyang. This blaze destroyed the emperor's authority and posed a question to all. What would you do next?

Faced with this cruel truth, some people chose to usurp power and cause chaos, some chose to sacrifice their lives for the country, some chose to live in seclusion, some chose to set up their own factions, and some chose to save the empire once again.

Perhaps it was because the history of the Han Dynasty was too glorious, or perhaps it was because most people were confused about the future, the empire experienced a brief revival in the hands of two prime ministers.

The first prime minister was named Cao Cao. Whether it was sincere or false, in history Cao Cao did welcome the emperor to Xudu, and with the help of the emperor's righteousness, he reintegrated the north in a pool of blood and piles of corpses.

But then, two questions were put before Cao Cao. The first question was political: could the Han Dynasty system continue to be used?

The second question concerns his personal destiny. Could he accept being liquidated like Huo Guang and becoming a footnote in the history of the Han Dynasty?
To the first question, Cao Cao’s answer was that it cannot be used.

As for the second question, Cao Cao’s answer was that he did not want to be liquidated.

So Cao Cao betrayed his early ideals and became a traitor to the Han Dynasty like Wang Mang.

Cao Cao founded the Wei Dynasty, making Yecheng his capital. He instituted systems such as the Four Military Governorates, the Appointment of Sons by Scholars, and the Nine-Rank System. Could these institutions truly resolve the problems facing the Han Dynasty? Cao Cao didn't know. Before his death, he consoled himself with the words, "If Heaven's Mandate rests with me, I shall be King Wen of Zhou." This was his hope that his descendants would surpass his own wisdom and establish another great dynasty that would last for another eight hundred years.

Unfortunately, twenty-nine years after Cao Cao's death, Grand Tutor Sima Yi and his sons Sima Shi and Sima Zhao launched the Gaopingling Incident in Luoyang, killing the entire clan of their political rival Cao Shuang and seizing supreme power in the Wei Kingdom. This incident was remarkably similar to the Yuan brothers' arson attack on Luoyang fifty years earlier! The only difference was that this time, there was no Dong Zhuo to show up, and few loyal ministers willing to die for their country.

The scholars who had once catered to Cao Cao's replacement of the Han Dynasty now naturally catered to the Sima clan, and even some of them were relatives of the Cao Wei royal family. After the Han Dynasty's sacred authority was abolished, Cao Wei itself failed to establish a similarly great narrative, but instead further eroded it.

More and more people are beginning to wonder: why is the Son of Heaven the Son of Heaven? In the past, there was only one Han Empire. But will there really be another such empire in the future?
The second prime minister was named Zhuge Liang. Initially, he was a farmer taking refuge in Longzhong, unwilling to pay attention to worldly affairs. However, whether moved by Liu Bei's sincere visit to his thatched cottage, or driven by hatred for Cao Cao's usurpation of the Han Dynasty, Zhuge Liang eventually emerged from seclusion and secured a foothold for the empire in Yizhou.

He also faced two problems, but his answer was completely different from Cao Cao's. Facing the first question, Zhuge Liang knew that the Han Dynasty system was outdated, but he believed that Cao Wei's system was even more corrupt.

When faced with the second question, his answer was an unequivocal yes.

As a saint who will be remembered by history, Zhuge Liang was full of love for the Han Dynasty. In the following years, he burned himself and used all his talents, love, hatred, and hard work to prolong the life of the Han Dynasty.

Although he only occupied a corner of the southwest and suffered repeated setbacks, his character is destined to shine through the ages and his persistence is destined to be glorious for thousands of years.

Even though he did not succeed in reviving the Han Dynasty in the end, this spirit of devoting all his efforts to the cause until his death had already made Sima Yi pale in comparison in the battle, and also left a lingering aftertaste at the end of the empire.

After Zhuge Liang's death at Wuzhangyuan, Jiang Wan, Fei Yi, Jiang Wei, and others carried on his legacy. These insignificant individuals persevered in their struggle against the fate of the empire, hoping to gain even a fraction of a second in this race against time.

Sima Yi watched the choices of the two people grimly. To him, the past was not worth lamenting, nor was it worth reminiscing about. He knew that everything would be destroyed in the future, but he still had to hold on to this dangling power.

Cao Cao's suspicion had long since driven Sima Yi to cruelty, making him forget the bright side of the Han Empire and instead relish the bloody struggle for power, winning from one victory to another, using any means necessary to achieve victory. But at what cost?
When Sima Zhao faced the corpse of Gaogui Xianggong, he vaguely understood something and then burst into tears in the street.

Many people say Sima Zhao's tears were hypocritical, but that wasn't the case. Any politician could sense a cruelty in them, a cruelty that had begun with the fire set by Yuan Shu. This fire was still burning, equally consuming everyone, and all systems and morals were becoming the fuel for it.

If the emperor could die on the streets of Luoyang, who could stay out of it?

So Sima Zhao decided to attack Shu, regardless of the consequences. He wanted to use the last rays of the Han Empire to save this disaster that was about to get out of control.

But no one expected that Zhong Hui's siege of Jiange and Deng Ai's sneak crossing of Yinping would become footnotes to Jiang Wei's story. After his earth-shaking death, the Shu Han Dynasty finally came to an end.

Fortunately, Shu Han eventually fell. Sima Zhao, leveraging his success in conquering Shu, was promoted to the King of Jin, and his son, Sima Yan, later succeeded Wei. While the Mandate of Heaven for the Jin Dynasty nominally came from the abdication of the Wei Emperor, many scholars privately maintained that while the Jin Dynasty accepted the Wei abdication, it was in reality the heir to the Han throne. Since Sima Yan ascended to the throne, he has lavishly praised Zhuge Liang, hoping to win back the hearts of the people and restore the nation's dignity.

Shu Han was destroyed, and Eastern Wu was frightened. It seemed that a new unified empire was about to be born.

Just like the birth of the Han Dynasty, this empire was filled with all sorts of strange people and systems: there were twenty ranks of military nobility, as well as the Nine-Rank Zhongzheng; there were both hereditary soldiers and recruited troops; there were both three thousand death-defying soldiers and filial and honest Confucian scholars...

But it was also very different from the Han Empire: people saw no love or hope. Young or old, no one had faith to trust and entrust their lives to. They could only hold a sword in one hand and Wushisan in the other to relieve their disappointment and anger.

The Han Dynasty collapsed, but it was not just the Han Dynasty that collapsed.

The great era ended, but disaster had yet to strike. The ruins of the Han Empire lay scattered across the devastated land. People wandered through it, listening to heroic tales while perplexedly choosing their own fate. Perhaps it was all over, or perhaps it wasn't, but there was an old saying from the Han Dynasty: Even from ashes can revive.

In the corners of the ruins, there are still sparks waiting to accumulate.

　I have manuscripts for the new book, and I guarantee that the daily update will be no less than 4,000 words. I hope everyone will vote, read more, and support it. Thank you.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)