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Hello and welcome to the history of China.

Hello and welcome to the history of China.

Episode 34, Live Fast. Die young.

Last episode, we went over the reins of Emperor's Ming and Jiang in what was to be the last golden age of the Han Dynasty.

Today, as we transition from the first to the second century,

CE, we'll watch a veritable parade of young curiously death-prone emperors allow their empire to slip once again into decline.

But on the other hand, we'll also get to see invented one of the most far-reaching and transformative informational technologies ever, so we've

got that going for us, which is nice.

We left off last week with the surprising death of Emperor Jiang at only 31 years old in year 88.

In the following year, the campaign to finally crush the last remnant of the hostile

Shionnu tribes under the victorious command of General Dau-Sien.

But I had left out two key details.

First is that while Emperor Jong was only 31, he will be one of the oldest emperors for a long while in the Han Dynasty.

And second was why Doshian had been sent to the front lines in the first place. He was one of Empress Dowager Does,

brothers after all, and you surely remember that she had

manipulated the imperial court to make her own clan the

preeminent power in the capital.

But Dauchen had really, really messed up, to the point where even his own sister wanted

him dead.

You see, in late 88, he had organized the assassination of one of the Empress Dowager's favorite

Marquise, Leo Chang, and then attempted to blame the murder on Leo's brother.

...