Removal From The Throne
Just 27 days into the new emperor's reign, Huo and the other officials took action. They summoned a meeting of high level officials and announced the plan to depose the emperor, forcing those other officials to go along at the pain of death. They then, in group, went to Empress Dowager Shangguan's palace to report to her Prince He's offenses. She agreed with their plan, and immediately ordered that Prince He's Changyi subordinates be immediately barred from the palace, and those subordinates (some 200) were then arrested by Zhang. She then summoned Prince He, who still did not know what was going to happen. He only knew something was wrong when he saw Empress Dowager Shangguan seated on her throne and wearing a formal dress made of jewels, and the officials lined up next to her.
Huo and the top officials then offered their articles of impeachment against Prince He, and these articles were read out loud to the empress dowager. Empress Dowager Shangguan verbally rebuked Prince He. The articles of impeachment listed these as the main offenses (a total of 1127 misconducts) that Prince He committed during his 27-day reign as an emperor:
- Refusal to abstain from meat and sex during the period of mourning
- Failure to keep the imperial safe secure
- Improperly promoting and rewarding his Changyi subordinates during the period of mourning
- Engaging in feasts and games during the period of mourning
- Offering sacrifices to his father during the period of mourning for his uncle
Empress Dowager Shangguan approved the articles of impeachment and ordered Prince He deposed. He was then transported under heavy guard back to the Changyi mission. Both Prince He and Huo offered personal apologies to each other.
Read more about this topic: Prince He Of Changyi
Famous quotes containing the words removal and/or throne:
“Many a reformer perishes in his removal of rubbish,—and that makes the offensiveness of the class. They are partial; they are not equal to the work they pretend. They lose their way; in the assault on the kingdom of darkness, they expend all their energy on some accidental evil, and lose their sanity and power of benefit.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“She comes! She comes! The sable throne behold
Of Night primaeval, and of Chaos old!”
—Alexander Pope (1688–1744)