“Chronicles of Emperor Cheng: An Era of Trials and Triumphs”

In August of the year Yimao, disaster struck at the Xiaojing Temple. In the eleventh month of winter, Queen Xu was deposed. Sixty men from Guanghan led by Zheng Gong attacked the official temple, seized prisoners, looted armories, and declared themselves mountain lords. In the spring of the fourth year, a decree was issued: “Several directives to the officials emphasize leniency and forbid harshness, yet the situation remains unchanged. Many suffer unjustly, farmers lose their livelihoods, causing widespread resentment and disturbances. Natural disasters such as droughts and floods afflict the east in particular, with Qing, You, and Ji regions suffering the most. I deeply lament this. None in office have shown compassion. Who will help me bear this burden? I have dispatched messengers to all counties. Those affected by disasters with fewer than thirty thousand are exempt from taxes. Those in arrears need not be collected. Refugees seeking entry into the passes are to be registered. Treat those in each county with fairness and strive to preserve their lives. Think as I do.” In autumn, Bohai and Qinghe suffered from flooding. In winter, Zheng Gong’s faction expanded its influence across four counties, with tens of thousands in tow. Zhao Hu, appointed as the Prefect of Guanghan, mobilized thirty thousand men from the county and Shu county to counter them. They captured and executed each other, absolving their sins. Within a month, peace was restored. Zhao Hu was promoted to Commandant of the Capital Guards and received a hundred jin of gold.

In the first year of Yongshi, in the spring of the first month, the Tai Palace Ling Room caught fire. In the summer of the fourth month, Zhao’s concubine Zhao’s father, Lin, was appointed as Chengyang Marquis. In May, her uncle, the Grand Chamberlain and Cavalry Commandant Wang Mang, was appointed as Xindu Marquis. In the summer of the sixth month, on the day of Bingyin, the Empress Zhao was crowned. A general amnesty was declared across the realm. In July of autumn, a decree was issued: “I hold fast to virtue, yet my plans remain unfulfilled. I have listened to the will of Wan Nian Yan Changling for three years. After five years of construction, the Zhongling and Sima Palaces’ inner gates remain unfinished. The realm is exhausted, the people weary. Alienation and resentment abound, yet the work remains unfinished. Even with the amnesty, it is unfit for the capital. Relocate Wan Nian to Dunhuang.” That year, the Grand Master of Records, Wang Jun, passed away.

In the third year, in the spring of the first month on the day of Yimao, there was a solar eclipse. A decree was issued: “The calamities persist, and I am deeply worried. It is only the people’s failure in their duties that brings such heavens. Tai Zhong Dafu Jia and others are to visit the elderly and inquire into the suffering of the people. Each of the Puzhi’s virtues is to be revealed. In autumn, a decree was issued: “I have been in control of the world for 25 years. My virtue cannot be sustained. The people are suffering. I have no successor. I seek to avoid disaster and disorder. King Dingtao’s son Xin is gracious to me and kind to me. May he continue the sequence of heaven and the sacrifice. He shall be made crown prince. Shan’s uncle, the Adviser, Feng Shen, was appointed as Yi Xianghou, increasing the number of households by 30,000 to comfort his thoughts. The princes and the princes of the princes, the young, the old, the old, and the high-aged cloth. Wang’s life is above the millions, a year.” In winter, a month’s journey to the feast.