One day, Cao Cao received a letter
written by the Guan Yunchang he longed for above all else.
Overjoyed, he unfolded the paper.
The letter contained just one line:
[My niece's talent far surpasses that of your Cao brat.]
Cao Cao was so furious he drew his sword and overturned the desk.
One day, at the training grounds,
Zhao Yun was teaching Liu Jiao archery, guiding her hand with his own.
Liu Jiao narrowed her eyes and loosed an arrow. It struck the bull's-eye.
Zhao Yun praised her: "This shot of yours, young lady, has the flair of Lu Fengxian."
One day, beneath the city walls,
Zhang Fei said, "Good niece, your third uncle wants you to taunt the enemy today. Start by cursing their ancestors!"
Liu Jiao replied, "Yes, Third Uncle!"
With that, Liu Jiao vaulted onto her horse, raised her sword, and cursed the ancestors of the enemy commander guarding the city for three days and three nights.
One day, Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang were discussing affairs of state.
Liu Bei asked, "Chancellor, between A Dou and Yinglin, which one can we entrust the future to?"
Liang replied, "The princess takes after Your Majesty. The prince takes after... Liu Jiyu."
Liu Bei clapped his hands and laughed. "Excellent!"
One day, at court,
Minister Qiao Zhou said, "A woman ruling the court is no blessing for the state."
The new emperor smiled and replied, "Back then, when you, Lord Qiao, urged Liu Jiyu to surrender, why didn't you say, 'Men bring ruin to the country'?"
After court, Liu Jiao had Fei Yi write an essay for Qiao Zhou. So ashamed was Qiao Zhou that he covered his face and left.
One day, at Zhuge Liang's postwar lesson,
Zhuge Liang said, "If Jiang Boyue doesn't serve us, he'll surely become a threat to Han."
Liu Jiao agreed.
The next day, Liu Jiao appointed Jiang Wei Attendant Gentleman of the Yellow Gate, keeping him by her side.
Formal blurb:
Emperor Zhaowu's personal name was Jiao, and his courtesy name was Yinglin. She was the daughter of the late Emperor Bei, and her mother was Empress Gan. Gifted beyond her years from childhood, she impressed the late emperor, who changed her name from Jiao to Jiao, meaning 'pride of heaven.' She studied under Marquis Zhongwu, Liang. When grown, she mastered strategy and excelled at riding and archery. The late emperor once told his ministers, 'This daughter is like me.'
In the third year of Zhangwu, the late emperor died at Yong'an, leaving the throne to the emperor and ordering Chancellor Zhuge Liang to assist her. The emperor was then sixteen. She devoted herself to governing, diligent from dawn to dusk, and trained at the drill grounds each morning, winning the admiration of all the soldiers.
In the sixth year of Jianxing, the emperor personally led a campaign in Longyou. Using Jiang Wei's strategy, she defeated Cao Zhen at Jieting and pacified Liangzhou. All under heaven marveled.
In the first year of Xiyan, she captured Chang'an, sacrificed at the High Temple, announced her imperial title to Heaven, and changed the era name to Yongyao.
In the fifth year of Yongyao, she captured Luoyang. Cao Fang surrendered with his hands bound. The emperor entered the Taiji Hall and turned to her ministers. "I do not love war. It is simply that Han and its enemies cannot coexist!" She then took the seal of Wei and enfeoffed Cao Fang as Marquis Huaiyi.
In the twenty-fifth year of Yongyao, all under heaven was pacified. The Xianbei and the southern tribes alike sent envoys to court. The emperor ordered Jiang Wei to subdue those who would not submit and expand the realm by ten thousand li.
In the thirty-third year of Yongyao, Grand General Wei died of illness. The emperor was overcome with grief and canceled court for three days.
In the thirty-fifth year of Yongyao, the emperor fell ill in bed and summoned Crown Prince Yun and Marquis Wuxiang Zhuge Zhan to entrust them with her final wishes. That night, she died at Weiyang Palace at the age of sixty-six. Her will ordered a simple burial, with only her everyday clothes in the coffin.
She was posthumously titled Emperor Zhaowu, given the temple name Mingzong, and buried at Changling.
--Excerpt from Records of the Han: Annals of Emperor Zhaowu, by Chen Shou of Han
Theme: Run through hardship and rise again through setbacks.
