Welcome to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms podcast.

This is episode 136.

Last time, we had a rare year of peace after Zhuge Liang died.

None of the three kingdoms were at war. But while there

was peace on the frontiers, the Wei Emperor Cao Rui was fighting a war on the home front. He engaged

in lavish palace construction projects that drained his kingdom of men and wealth, and he executed

officials who dared to speak up against

it. Also, he was stirring up trouble in his harem. He was enamored with a concubine named

Lady Guo, causing him to neglect his empress, Empress Mao. When Empress Mao made a somewhat

snide remark about him touring the gardens with Lady Guo the

day before, Cao Rui became incensed because he had specifically ordered the palace attendants

that nobody was to mention a word of it to the Empress, and yet now it looked like somebody had snitched.

So, in a fit of anger, he had all his attendants put to death.

This shocked Empress Mao, and she quickly returned to her palace.

But by the time she got back, a decree from Cao Rui had arrived, ordering her to commit suicide,

which she did dutifully. Once that was done, Cao Rui had arrived ordering her to commit suicide, which she did dutifully.

Once that was done, Cao Rui named Lady Guo his new empress,

and nobody at court dared to say a word about this,

because they had all seen what happens to those who speak up against their lord.

And remember that Cao Rui's father, the previous emperor Cao Pi,

had done the exact same thing to Cao Rui's own mother, first neglecting her for another woman,

and then ordering her death when he got annoyed with her, like father like son, I guess.

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