Tales from the Han Dynasty, Volume 2

Volume 2 of The Stories of the Han Dynasty follows Liu Bang as he finally ascends the throne. But winning an empire is hard, and holding on to one is harder. To secure his rule, Liu Bang turned his blade against the “three great strategists” who had helped him defeat Xiang Yu: Han Xin, Xiao He, and Zhang Liang. Poor Han Xin became the first scapegoat sacrificed to stabilize the Han Empire, followed by Peng Yue, Ying Bu, and others. Yet it was not Liu Bang who carried out the killings, but his wife, Empress Lu.

After Liu Bang's death, Empress Lu's first act was to turn his beloved concubine Qi into a “human swine.” The horror she inflicted was no less appalling than the deeds of any cruel emperor. But Emperor Hui was weak and could only watch as Empress Lu built an unassailable Lu clan regime. After her death, Chen Ping and Zhou Bo sounded the call to eradicate the Lus. With the downfall of the clan's leading figures, Lu Chan and Lu Lu, the Lu family's reign came to an end.

With the Lus overthrown, the throne ultimately and unexpectedly passed to the kindhearted and benevolent Liu Heng. He and his son Liu Qi ushered in China's first era of peace and prosperity, known as the Rule of Wen and Jing...