Liu Cong (died 31 August 318), courtesy name Xuanming, nickname Zai, also known by his posthumous name as the Emperor Zhaowu of Han (Zhao), was an emperor of the Xiongnu-led Chinese Han-Zhao dynasty. During his reign, the Han-Zhao brought about… Liu Cong (died 31 August 318), courtesy name Xuanming, nickname Zai, also known by his posthumous name as the Emperor Zhaowu of Han (Zhao), was an emperor of the Xiongnu-led Chinese Han-Zhao dynasty. During his reign, the Han-Zhao brought about the fall of the Western Jin dynasty, leading to its re-establishment in the south as the Eastern Jin dynasty at Jiankang in 318. His forces conquered the ancient Chinese capitals of Luoyang and Chang'an. He also captured Emperor Huai of Jin and Emperor Min of Jin, who he both had executed after forcing them to act as cupbearers.
Liu Cong's reign was filled with contradictions. He was a ruler who was considered intelligent and capable of logical reasoning, and during his father Liu Yuan's reign, he was a capable general. On the other hand, as his reign progressed, he became increasingly cruel, unstable, extravagant, and unable to listen to proper advice. Faced with opposition from his own ministers, he greatly empowered his eunuchs and consort kin, leading to political instability which ended in a bloody purge of the Han court. Meanwhile, the Han expanded from a small state occupying modern southern Shanxi to encompassing nearly all of modern Shanxi, Shaanxi, eastern Gansu, and significant portions of Shandong, Hebei, and Henan–although the eastern half of the empire was under the control of the warlord Shi Le, who Liu Cong had little to no power to restrain. After his death, his successor and family members in the capital were slaughtered by a consort kin, Jin Zhun, and not long after, the empire was split into two between his cousin, Liu Yao in the west and Shi Le in the east.
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