LJ Empress Lu Twine

Empress Lu LJ [[Start game->Introduction]] [[Bibliography->Bibliography]]

[Bibliography] The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, and Gloria Lotha. "Gaohou." Encyclopaedia Britannica Online. Last modified October 19, 2015. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Gaohou. Ess, Hans Van. "Praise and Slander: The Evocation of Empress Lu in the Shiji and the Hanshu." Nan Nu Men, Women & Gender in Early & Imperial China (2006): 221-54. https://web.p.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=5&sid=7296a6c1-bc97-4b3b-b879-4096356ee67d%40redis. Hansley, Keith. "The Cold-Blooded Revenge of Empress Dowager Lu against Her Rival, Lady Qi." The Historian's Hut. Last modified October 4, 2018. Accessed January 23, 2022. https://thehistorianshut.com/2018/10/04/the-cold-blooded-revenge-of-empress-dowager-lu-against-her-rival-lady-qi/. Jacks, Lauralee. "Empress Lu Zhi of Han -- China's First Reigning Empress." History of Royal Women. Last modified September 30, 2017. Accessed January 23, 2022. https://www.historyofroyalwomen.com/the-royal-women/empress-lu-zhi-han-chinas-first-reigning-empress/. Mark, Joshua J. "Han Dynasty." World History Encyclopedia. Last modified July 3, 2020. Accessed January 23, 2022. https://www.worldhistory.org/Han_Dynasty/. Northrup, Mary. "To the Peak of Power." Calliope, October 1998, 12-14. https://web.p.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?vid=7&sid=7296a6c1-bc97-4b3b-b879-4096356ee67d%40redis&bdata=JmF1dGh0eXBlPWNvb2tpZSxjdXN0dWlkJmN1c3RpZD1pbmZvaGlvJnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#AN=512713143&db=brb. Qian, Sima. "The Basic Annals of Empress Lu." In Records of the Grand Historian of China, 267-84. Vol. 1. N.p.: Columbia University Press, 1961. [[Home->Home]]

You are born in the Han Dynasty, roughly c. 200 BCE. Values of the Zhou Dynasty are being restored, including encouraging literacy and the study of history; many important inventions are being developed as well, including the calendar and paper. Women do not possess any real power, however; most are uneducated, unable to own property, and raised to be obedient and subservient. You are born "Lu Zhi," in the Shanfu county. Early on in your childhood, however, your family moves to the Pei County so that Lu Gong, your father, can escape a personal enemy. You have two older brothers, who are both military generals. Your father chooses a commoner man for you and offers him your hand in marriage. Your new husband, Gaozu, rebels against the Qin Dynasty, fighting for the Chinese throne against his enemy, Xiang Yu, for four years. In 203 BCE, Gaozu wins the feud, taking the throne as the first Han Emperor in 202 BCE. After ruling for a few years, your husband passes away on April 25, 195 BCE. You had one son with the Late Emperor Gaozu, Hui Di, who is fifteen years old. Lady Qi, Gaozu's favorite concubine, however, had a son with the emperor and is trying to put //him// on the throne. You crave political power, but how far are you willing to go to achieve it? Do whatever it takes. [[Brutally kill Lady Qi and her son.->PigSty]] Try your best to get your son onto the throne, [[but do not go so far as to murder anyone. ->LadyQiAlive]] Resign to letting Lady Qi's son, [[Liu Ruyi, take the throne. ->NoPower]]

You have decided that you will do whatever it takes to put your son onto the throne. Before announcing your husband's death, you make sure that your family members are set to be in positions of power. As you place your son, a fifteen-year-old Hui Di, on the throne, you also nominate four men from your family to be rulers of local kingdoms, and you put other male relatives in important government positions. You also put many of your female family members in marriages with important imperial ministers. You, however, are not satisfied with that a threat to your son's reign still exists. You do not feel you can do anything that could put you at risk of losing your political chain of power. You torture Lady Qi, cutting off pieces of her body and sending her to live in a pigsty. You also murder her son, Liu Ruyi. Your son, the now-Emperor Hui, sees the grotesque scene and is thoroughly traumatized. Your son's reign has begun. Many political situations are extremely complicated, and you are not sure if your son is best suited to handle them. For example, the King of Zhao is a weak link in the kingdom, and it would be extremely easy to kill him off and replace him with a relative of yours. During a banquet, your son also offends you by putting the King of Qi, instead of you, at the place of honor. It would not be difficult to slip poison into his cup to reassert your power. Your son is on the throne, but you can either sit back and let things happen as they may, or you can make calculated political moves by killing the King of Zhao and the King of Qi. Is keeping yourself as the "puppeteer" behind Emperor Hui worth killing the two men for the good you know you can do for the nation? Keep yourself in control, [[killing where you must.->KilledTwoFigures]] [[Trust your son.->TrustHui]] There is no need to violently intervene.

You have decided that it is necessary you try to get your family in political power, but not insofar as to perform immoral acts, such as murder. You announce your husband's death immediately, as is customary. You place your son, Hui Di, who is fifteen, on the throne, and you also nominate four men from your family to be rulers of local kingdoms and put other male relatives in important government positions. You also put many of your female family members in marriages with important imperial ministers. Lady Qi, though, is trying very hard to put her son on the throne. You did not get rid of her, and she is very adamant about Liu Ruyi taking the position as Emperor, even though he is not a rightful heir. Of course, you would rather keep as many members of your family in military power as possible, with as few other families represented, but Lady Qi is relentless. Though the Emperor position is traditionally for one, you could compromise with Lady Qi and have the two boys share the throne. You could also relegate Liu Ruyi to a lower position of power, such as King of a large province. The current King of Zhao, for instance, is young, and it would be exceptionally easy to replace him with Liu Ruyi, making Liu the new king of the easern-China province. At this point, you have no other choice but to compromise; the only question is how you are going to do it. Give Hui Di and Liu Ruyi [[positions as co-Emperors of China.->Co-Emperors]] [[Make Liu Ruyi the King of Zhao.->RuyiKingZhao]]

You have decided to put up no fight at all in the struggle for political power over China. Your son is neither the emperor, nor a political figure of any capacity, and the members of you family are not in any important government positions. Lady Qi quickly seizes the opportunity to get Liu Ruyi on the throne as emperor. You sit back quietly and let her do as she pleases. Lady Qi, however, still feels threatened by you; after all, you were the Late Emperor's favorite wife, and your son is the rightful heir to the throne. You have kept living in the palace, and you always see Lady Qi lurking around, a suspicious and conniving look on her face. It becomes apparent that she is plotting to murder you, most likely through poison in an unassuming glass of wine. One viable choice would be to sit down and have a conversation with Lady Qi. She is in power now, and you could let her know that you respect her and are not interested in advancing yourself or your family politically. It is quite clear that your son is the one concerning Lady Qi; he does not have the spine or head to rise to power on his own, but you are utterly powerless without him, as you are merely a widowed woman. Consequently, you could send your son, Hui Di, out of the palace, making your family no longer pose a threat. You still have distant connections with people from your hometown, Shanfu County, who would be willing to take him in. [[Have a conversation with Lady Qi.->TalkWithLadyQi]] Essentially, tell her you have no intent to ever go against her power. [Send Hui Di to live the rest of his life with [[family friends in Shanfu County.->HuiDiToShanfu]]

You have decided to work as a puppeteer behind the kingdom and murder the people who are in your empire's way, your way! You kill the young King of Zhao, who was alone in his room while the emperor went hunting, putting Liu You, the King of Huaiyang, into the position. When Emperor Hui puts the King of Qi, his eldest brother, at the place of honor to which you are entitled, you decide that it is best to poison his goblet. Your son, who is not aware of your plots, picks up the glass to make a toast; you knock the cup over, to stop him from being poisoned by your hand. The King of Qi catches onto your plans and leaves the banquet while pretending to be drunk. He speaks with the internal secretary of Qi and, at his suggestion, donates one province, Chengyang, to serve as a bathing city for your daughter and satisfy you. A little while into your son's reign, and on September 26, 188 BCE, Emperor Hui passes away, perhaps from addictions acquired while trying to numb the horror of Lady Qi's murder. While you are upset and mourn your loss, you, reportedly, shed no tears. Immediately following his death, Hui's empress, who had not birthed a son, takes another woman's baby and kills the mother, passing the baby as her own and making him the new heir apparent. As this new heir starts to grow older, he begins hearing rumors about his birth mother, and he swears that he will make trouble. You are concerned that, if the new emperor makes a big scene, there could be a major revolt. You could kill him, which would likely let the empire evade a revolt and give you the opportunity to start acting and governing as an empress. You could also take this boy's side, talking with him and helping him plot to kill his wayward mother. This could, if the revolt goes well, let you puppeteer him in a similar manner to how you controlled your son while he ruled. [[Kill the emperor.->HistoricalEnd]] It is not worth the risk of a revolt starting. [[Talk to the emperor.->RevoltEnd]] Assist him in killing his mother and starting a revolt.

You have decided to trust your son, Emperor Hui, with the full power of the throne. He is, after all, the heir apparent, and it is not your business to tell him what to do. The King of Zhao keeps ruling, and the King of Qi becomes a close ally to your son. Overall, your son has ruled well so far. He has kept the nation out of war and conflicts, and the country has thrived financially. Everything is going well for the kingdom. One day, your son comes to you asking for your advice. He tells you that he is ready for romantic pursuits. He describes his dilemma to you: he desires to marry a commoner woman whom he loves very much, but he is scared to violate the tradition of an emperor having multiple noble wives. You could tell him to maintain the tradition, solidifying his power and not breaking any "rules" and risking tension. On the other hand, you could advise your son to follow his heart. He already has a lot of power, and he should do what makes him the happiest. [[Tell your son to marry a noble woman->PowerfulMarriageEnd]] who can further solidify his power as Emperor. [[Tell your son to follow his heart->LovingMarriageEnd]] and marry the commoner he loves.

You have decided to put Hui Di and Liu Ruyi on the throne as co-emperors of the Han Dynasty. It is not the ideal solo power position you imagined, but it elevates your family's power nonetheless. The emperors work together well, making good decisions for the nation and forming a genuine friendship. Despite its two rulers, the country remains very united. After the incumbent royal chancellor dies suddenly, Emperor Hui decides that it is pertinent to promote the King of Qi, a close relative of his, to the position. Emperor Liu does not like this idea. He feels that not only is the King of Qi unqualified, but having such a direct relative of Hui in high power would unfairly skew the political alignment. Emperor Hui seeks your advice on the matter. He really wants the King in this position, as he feels he would do an exceptional job. However, it could lead to tension with Emperor Liu, or even a divide of the country. Do you tell your son to trust his instincts or not risk making Liu angry? [[Tell him to insist that the King of Qi become the royal chancellor.->QiKingRoyalChancellorEnd]] After all, he should go with the decisions he thinks are best and not cave to others. [[Tell him to concede to not having his top pick of royal chancellors->RoyalChancellorCompromiseEnd]]; there are other qualified candidates, and it is important that he collaborate with his co-emperor.

You have decided to instate Liu Ruyi as the new King of Zhao. You quietly advise the young current King of Zhao to step down, and he, being quite young and impressionable, obliges without question. You appoint Liu Ruyi to be the new King of the large province. Things go well for a while, with Liu Ruyi reporting to Emperor Hui and following his orders. A few years pass, however, and Liu Ruyi is starting to get restless and not following through on Hui's instructions. There starts to be talk over the empire that Ruyi may be planning a revolt. Your son has heard these rumors too, and he comes to you seeking advice on what to do about it. He expresses his concern that he does not want to get into a bloody war that could be bad for the kingdom, but he also does not want to lose such an economically helpful province, not to mention how powerless it would make his ruling look. Do you tell your son to do what he can to hang onto the Zhao province or to grant the region its freedom? It is essential to keep hold of the province; [[urge your son to do what he can to keep it, even if it means going to war.->WarWithZhaoEnd]] It is not worth fighting; [[advise your son to let the province go.->ZhaoGoneEnd]]

You have decided to talk with Lady Qi about her animosity towards you. You approach her and tell her that you do not pose a threat to her or her son's power, and that you have noticed her suspicious behavior around you. You explain that you truly are not interested in interfering with Emperor Liu's reign, and you hope that she can trust you. Lady Qi, though, is still apprehensive of Hui Di being around, and she offers you a choice: if you want to prove that you are truly loyal to her and not interested in power, you will kill your son. You are desperate to stay in Qi's good graces and not get killed, but are you so committed that you would be willing to kill Hui Di, your own son? If you go along with the plan, is there even any guarantee that Lady Qi will still not come after you? [[Poison and kill Hui Di.->KillHuiDiEnd]] Even though he is your son, you must do everything you can to get Lady Qi to like you. [[Tell Lady Qi that you are not willing to kill your son.->AngerLadyQiEnd]] Assure her that you are on her side, but are not okay with going that far.

You have decided to send your son, Hui Di, to live with a set of close family friends who reside in your hometown, Shanfu County. You are confident that, since your son is the only one who could ever actually have power, Lady Qi will be appeased by having him sent away. Lady Qi's behaviors do not change though, and soon she approaches you. She explains to you that she sees you have sent your son away, and she is no longer concerned, in her words, about a "rebellion." She goes on to say, however, that she, being a jealous woman, does not yet think you have truly learned your "place." She tells you that you can either work as her maid in the palace, or you can leave to Shanfu County. On one hand, you are a prideful woman, and would feel degraded working as Qi's personal maid. On the other hand, you do not want to leave the palace, and you also worry that your son will be unkind to you if you join him in Shanfu County, as you did send him away to live on his own. [[Become Lady Qi's maid.->Qi'sMaidEnd]] It is easiest just to go along with what she wants. [[Go to join your son in Shanfu County, your hometown.->InShanfuEnd]] It is not worth serving a horrible woman like Lady Qi.

You have decided to kill the new emperor. You lock him away in the Long Halls and quietly end his life while he is in confinement. You start issuing decrees just like an emperor, though some people, such as Wang Ling, the right chief counselor, say that these are violations of the laws in place. You are not deterred, and you easily garner support from people like Chen Ping, the chancellor of the left, and Zhou Bo, the marquis of Jiang, and you are able to remove Wang Ling from his position and make him the grand tutor of the emperor; Wang Ling soon returns home due to "illness." You work as, essentially, an emperor (without the title) for the rest of your life. You issue decrees and make decisions just as an emperor would. You do pretty well for the empire, and at least keep it out of any major war or conflict. You die of natural causes on August 18, 180 BCE, and nobles have the rest of your family executed. You, Empress Lu, have gone done in history, to be remembered for millennia as the extremely cruel, but exceptionally powerful, first female empress of China. [[Play again->Introduction]] [[Bibliography->Bibliography]]

You have decided to talk to the emperor. You discuss things with him, and you both come to a conclusion that his mother is completely in the wrong. You decide together that it is best to start a revolt both to simply spite his mother, but also to create a fresh framework of power for both of you. You and he publicly declare your separation from the current Han Dynasty. You make it very clear that you are not trying to start a war or a fight for power, but that you are trying to shift the ruling to be disconnected from the institution in which the new emperor's mother committed such horrible deeds to get him onto the throne. You get influential people on your side such as Chen Ping, the chancellor of the left, and Zhou Bo, the marquis of Jiang. With the help of these people, you and the new emperor are able to transfer the country into a new dynasty: The Lu Dynasty. There are a couple violent revolts from opposing forces, many led by Wang Ling, who had been the former right chief counselor. In one, Chen Ping dies, but the rest of you are not targeted directly. You help the new emperor reign, and you make Zhou Bo the Chief Royal Counselor. During your reign, you put many decrees and laws into place and, for the most part, stay away from wars, though there is a minor revolt in the Zhao Province, which you are able to easily suppress. In the end, you leave your mark by how you fought for power any way that you could. You were even able to earn yourself your own titular dynasty. [[Play again->Introduction]] [[Bibliography->Bibliography]]

You have decided to advise your son to marry a noble woman, for a powerful marriage, and keep many concubines. You set him up with the daughter of the current King of Huaiyang, and get him a slew of concubines, many of whom are of noble descent. Though you can tell Emperor Hui is not as happy as he could be, he continues performing his duties and does well. Though the King of Huaiyang has always been slightly rebellious, you are able to form a closer bond with him and his province, making your son's reign even more powerful. You die of old age, and Hui keeps ruling, keeping everything in check but not doing anything spectacular during his tenure. You are remembered for your torturing and murder of Lady Qi and her son, but you are more or less regarded as just another figure involved in ruling Ancient China during the Han Dynasty. [[Play again->Introduction]] [[Bibliography->Bibliography]]

You have decided to advise your son to marry the woman that he loves. Even though she is a commoner, Hui brings a beautiful woman named Wang Zao, from the Huaiyang province, to the palace. She is very kind to you and a good partner for your son. Since Emperor Hui has already earned respect from his citizens, the fact that his wife is not noble does not detract from his power. Being with someone he loves invigorates your son to create new decrees and make the kingdom better. He reshapes the idea of royal marriage, showing that it can be for love and not just a political ploy or a rigid expectation. You die of old age, and Hui continues ruling well after your death. There is a slight incident, though, where the King of Huaiyang starts a revolt because he is angry the emperor not only did not marry his daughter, but picked a commoner from his own province. Though there are some minor battles between the Huaiyang province and the empire, Emperor Hui is able to suppress the violence, keep the province in the empire, and replace the King. You, Empress Lu, are remembered for both your torturing of Qi and her son, but also for how you led your son to reshape the marriage traditions of Ancient China. [[Play again->Introduction]] [[Bibliography->Bibliography]]

You have decided to advise your son to make the King of Qi the new royal chancellor. You know that your son is making a good choice, and the King of Qi gladly accepts. This, however, deeply upsets Emperor Liu. He starts getting extremely angry over any small thing, and he often flips out at both you and your son. He feels that his thoughts and advice do not matter, spiraling into a life where he has an outburst about not feeling valued almost every day. You try to tell Liu that this was simply the best choice, as the King of Qi has been performing his job as royal chancellor well so far. Emperor Liu, though, constantly getting into more and more of a heightened state, eventually takes his own life. You die of old age, and your son does well ruling as the sole emperor, though Lady Qi gives him some trouble because of how her son met his end. Emperor Hui sends Lady Qi off to a remote province and tries to forget that Liu ever existed. You are remembered as just another figure in Han Dynasty politics and royalty, but are generally considered a good moral person by both people of your time and by historians millennia later. [[Play again->Introduction]] [[Bibliography->Bibliography]]

You have decided to advise your son not to put the King of Qi in the position of royal chancellor. You work with both Emperor Hui and Emperor Liu to find a man of whom both approve, and you settle on the King of Huaiyang. The two continue to rule well together, and the alliance with the Huaiyang province is also helpful in confirming their power. The two keep the country out of war, and redefine what the "emperor" position can be. Lady Qi is very satisfied with the joint power dynamic, feeling her son is fully valued as an equal of Hui's. You die of old age, and the two emperors go on ruling long after your passing. They stay close friends, and there is never an issue with tension between the two; they work exceptionally well together to write decrees and make decisions. You are remembered as a morally good historical figure, and you are known for putting the two boys onto the throne together, setting the new precedent that there can, in fact, be two emperors of China. [[Play again->Introduction]] [[Bibliography->Bibliography]]

You have advised your son to do whatever he must to keep the Zhao province, even if it means going to war. Hui communicates these sentiments to Liu Ruyi, who assembles an army together from the Zhao province and attacks the capital. Your son gets an army from the empire together, which easily puts down the few troops that Liu gathered for his revolt. Emperor Hui takes both Liu and Lady Qi as prisoners of war, and has them executed. Though this does make your son's reign look strong, it puts a bad mark on his tenure. You die of old age, and your son keeps ruling, taking a wife and having many children to secure your family's reign. You are remembered as a smart and thoughtful Han Dynasty figure, and your line of family stayed in power for a long time. [[Play again->Introduction]] [[Bibliography->Bibliography]]

You have decided to advise your son to just let the Zhao province go. Hui does so, and Liu Ruyi quickly separates the Zhao province from the rest of the country. Liu sees how feeble your son's reign is, and decides to try to take over the whole empire for himself. He kills you, knowing that Hui might not be as strong without your strong advice. Your son kills Lady Qi for revenge. The war has started. Liu is able to overtake a lot of territory, but Hui also holds on to much of the land. The Two States War goes on for over 50 years, with the Liu state and the Hui state continuously fighting. Eventually though, Liu Ruyi is killed by a Hui soldier, and your son regains control of the whole empire, ruling for only four more years before he dies of natural causes. You are remembered as a good advisor, but mainly regarded as the casualty that triggered the Two States War. [[Play again->Introduction]] [[Bibliography->Bibliography]]

You have decided to murder your son, Hui Di. You slip some poison into a goblet of his at a dinner. He dies quickly, and you hope that Lady Qi will see your total loyalty to her power. Unfortunately, Lady Qi took advantage of you. At the dinner, she tells everyone that you killed your son in cold blood, and she has you taken into a separate wing of the palace. She comes to talk to you, saying how she played you from the beginning, and now she got rid of both you and Hui Di, without having to kill anyone herself; you killed your son, and she will have you killed for that horrid act. Now she has unblocked, unthreatened power, and she still is able to look morally righteous. You are killed by a palace guard, at the order of Lady Qi, and you are remembered as a horrible woman who killed her son out of sheer evil. There are, though, many who speculate you were probably not in a good state of mind; millennia later, historians are able to piece together the archeological discovery of Lady Qi's diary from the time, and see that you were actually played by Qi. [[Play again->Introduction]] [[Bibliography->Bibliography]]

You have decided to tell Lady Qi that you would never go so far as to murder your own son. You get heated as you describe how horrible that act would be. Lady Qi is absolutely flabbergasted that you would dare not only denounce her orders, but also raise your voice at her. The two of you start intensely arguing, and you get into a violent fight. Lady Qi grabs a large vase and hits it over your head, which causes you to bleed out and die. Emperor Liu walks in on the scene and asks his mother what is going on. She shares the full truth with him, confessing that she asked you to kill her son and, when you refused, killed you. Liu is hurt and extremely upset that his own mother could act so horrendously, and he has her executed for her murderous crimes. Emperor Liu goes on to be a great ruler, and keeps the country out of conflict for his time in power. His descendants go on to be good rulers as well. You are remembered as just another figure in Han Dynasty politics, who died at the hands of a power-hungry woman. [[Play again->Introduction]] [[Bibliography->Bibliography]]

You have decided to agree to work as Lady Qi's maid. While she does have you do the kinds of jobs you expected, such as dressing her and serving her food, she also makes you her wine tester, drinking from all her cups before her to insure she is not poisoned. Only a few weeks after you agree to work for her, Lady Qi purposefully poisons her own cup herself, and, while you see her do it, you do not have a choice but to drink the wine. You die quickly, and no one can figure out who the killer was. Lady Qi feigns being terrified of the person who "tried to kill her," and gets easy sympathy from everyone in the palace. You are remembered for a long time as merely a sad casualty from the attempted poison of Lady Qi. Historians millennia later, however, do discover Lady Qi's diary and find out that she was your killer. [[Play again->Introduction]] [[Bibliography->Bibliography]]

You have decided to join your son living in Shanfu County. You contact your family friends with whom Hui is staying, and they happily oblige to let you stay with them. Though you miss the palace lifestyle, you have a great time coming back to your roots. Hui is not mad at you at all, as he understands the difficult position that you were in, and that you were also protecting him from Lady Qi. The two of you live out lovely, peaceful lives, and you even take up dressmaking as both a recreational pastime, and something that brings in money. You and Hui are able to move out of your family friends' house, and you spend the rest of your days with your son taking care of you. Before you pass away, Hui falls in love with a beautiful villager, and you get to see the two marry before you die of old age. You are barely remembered or acknowledged by history, but you were able to live a, mostly, calm and enjoyable life. [[Play again->Introduction]] [[Bibliography->Bibliography]]