Luoyang

While excavating a sewer at a construction site in the west of the city, some unusual items were suddenly unearthed, prompting the local cultural relics bureau to urgently dispatch an archaeological team to conduct a rescue excavation.

A handsome young man of about twenty years old was carefully digging behind his mentor, holding a small shovel.

This person, named Liu Hong, is a freshman who has been fascinated by history and culture since childhood. Coupled with his affluent family background and lack of financial pressure, he chose his favorite major.

Because Liu Hong's family had a close relationship with his mentor, Liu Hong was able to come along and learn from him.

Although Liu Hong's technique was not very professional, he was exceptionally meticulous and attentive.

Just as they were clearing the rammed earth, the small shovel that had been shoveling into the soil suddenly stopped, as if it had hit a hard object.

Liu Hong's face lit up with joy: "Teacher, I think I've dug something up!"

"Oh? Let me see!"

Upon hearing this, the mentor immediately turned around and began cleaning it himself.

Before long, a black stone tablet with inscriptions appeared before everyone's eyes.

"Great, great, Xiao Hong, you've found something good!"

Looking at the stone tablet in front of him, the mentor couldn't help but get excited. You know, stone tablets or bamboo slips with inscriptions in tombs are of great archaeological value.

Upon hearing this, Liu Hong couldn't help but show excitement, completely forgetting the key points of archaeological care, and actually reached out to clean the fill soil attached to the stone tablet.

Just as Liu Hong was cleaning, he accidentally bumped into the sharp corner. Perhaps it was the angle, or for some other reason, the special glove on Liu Hong's hand was instantly torn as soon as his palm brushed against the corner. With a sharp pain in his palm, a stream of blood flowed out and stained the stone tablet.

"Xiao Hong, are you alright?"

Upon discovering Liu Hong's injury, the teacher asked with concern.

Liu Hong smiled and said, "Teacher, I'm fine. It's just a small cut. It'll be fine after a bandage."

After Liu Hong finished bandaging the wound, several experts gathered around and began to study the inscription on the stone tablet.

"Judging from the calligraphy and the date recorded on the stone tablet, the tomb should be from the Han Dynasty."

"Huh? This mentions the Xiping Stone Classics? Could this be the tomb of Emperor Ling of Han?"

"What? Emperor Ling of Han?"

Liu Hong, standing to the side, was somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected to discover an imperial tomb on his first outing, and he was immediately filled with excitement.

The teacher smiled and said, "It's just a possibility, but Emperor Ling of Han in history was also named Liu Hong, the same name as you. What a coincidence!"

"Yes, that's true!"

Liu Hong nodded, but felt a little strange inside.

Just as the two were talking, the stone tablet suddenly emitted a faint red light that shot into Liu Hong's body, and Liu Hong immediately fainted.

"Xiao Hong, what's wrong? Xiao Hong..."

But no matter how the teacher called out, Liu Hong, who was lying on the ground, did not respond and his breathing gradually stopped.

167 AD.

Deyang Palace.

"His Majesty has passed away!"

Then a cry came from inside the hall.

Liu Zhi, the tenth emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty, passed away.

Empress Dou Miao, the eunuch, and Dou Wu, who were waiting in the side hall, all changed their expressions.

No one felt any sadness or grief; instead, they began to ponder what would happen after the emperor's death.

With the emperor's death, a new ruler must be established. However, the late emperor only had one princess and no sons. At present, the only option is to find a close relative of Emperor Xiaohuan to inherit the throne.

But who should we choose? And what kind of person should we choose?

The court officials and the scholar-official families who had long suffered from the oppression of the empress's relatives and eunuchs naturally wanted to choose a wise and capable person to eliminate the empress's relatives and eunuchs, so that they would have the opportunity to rise to power, assist the emperor, and leave their names in history.

Dou Wu, the newly appointed maternal relative, was also a man with ideals and ambitions. He did not want to follow the old path of Liang Ji and thus bear the infamy for all eternity. That is why he kept trying to win over representatives of scholars such as Chen Fan and Li Ying to fight against the eunuchs.

Therefore, Dou Wu considered more factors, including not only wisdom and ability, but also the foundation of the new emperor's successor.

For eunuchs, the primary targets were naturally the young, as only in this way could they rely on them.

For the court officials, the hope was to select an emperor who was close to the scholars.

Although everyone had different thoughts, their considerations were basically the same: those without a foundation but with a reputation.

Jizhou, Hejian.

Just after the beginning of the year, winter was still cold, and heavy snow began to fall from the gloomy sky that had been overcast for many days.

Inside the somewhat dilapidated residence of the Marquis of Jieduting, a young man walked out of his room and into the courtyard.

"Twelve years have passed, and we can finally begin."

The boy looked up at the falling snowflakes and murmured to himself.

"Young master, it's getting windy, you'd better go back inside quickly!"

An old servant standing not far behind Liu Hong looked at the young man with concern.

"The wind rises and the clouds disperse! Farewell to the old, welcome the new! The old days give way to a new sky!"

Liu Hong sighed softly, looking calmly at the ground that had turned white.

"Young master...?"

Hearing Liu Hong's inexplicable whispers, the old servant showed a puzzled expression.

"It's nothing. The New Year is just a few days away. I was just feeling sentimental."

Liu Hong simply smiled and didn't explain further. The old servant didn't understand the implication behind Liu Hong's words, but Liu Hong knew that after the New Year, he and the Han Dynasty would usher in a new era.

The era of Emperor Ling of Han was a very regrettable one.

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