WIBTA If I Changed the Emperor?

I am Dong Zhuo (male, mid-40s), Excellency of Works of the Han dynasty. I have fought over a hundred battles for the dynasty, obtaining a great reputation in the north-west frontier as a warrior and a military leader. However, the dynasty is in trouble thanks to decades of misrule, including by our late Emperor Ling, with corruption at court and good men avoiding service or, if they be from lands like mine, neglected by the court. Heavens' disfavour and the court’s problems have led to people rising in revolt. Our armies are in poor shape, and we have recently been losing their grip in the north.

I was recently summoned by the late General-in-Chief He Jin to help combat the eunuchs but was ordered not to enter. He Jin was assassinated and chaos ensued as opponents of the eunuchs led soldiers to attack the palace. I was only aware of any trouble a few nights in when I saw the flames from the palace reaching the skies, so I arrived on the 25th.

I went with the senior ministers to welcome the returning Emperor, forced to flee with his younger brother from the capital, but I was met with rebuke for not withdrawing. While I firmly put them in their place, pointing to the mess they had made, it shows what hostility such men have towards a man of the frontier like me.

Over the coming days, despite my meagre manpower and no court position, the soldiers of the Northern Army at the capital, now without leaders, chose me. There was the newly appointed Bearer of the Golden Mace Ding Yuan, another military man in charge of security, but his men decided to serve me instead. With such support and the Excellency of Works having to resign due to heaven’s displeasure, I took office and became a power at court.

I have plans to restore the Han to its glory days; it needs to learn the tough lessons one picks up on the frontier and the strength of a military man. I seek the talent of the great men to serve at court and the provinces: no more virtue signaling by refusing to serve. I will let such men know the power of the court, now that it has an iron fist that is not to be denied. My soldiers have been providing security and making their presence known at the capital while I have implemented highly strict rules even if this has meant a few, entirely necessary deaths. I have been restrained in the favors shown to my loyal followers and seek to honour the great men of the past, as a moral example.

However, there is a problem. The Dowager Empress He, sister of He Jin, is a woman of poor quality, unfilially harassing to death the mother of her husband Emperor Ling (and my distant kinswoman) shortly after his death. She and her family sided with the eunuchs, and their bodies are not worth a proper burial. I wish to remove her from office and send her away for her crimes.

Furthermore, her son, the Son of Heaven, whose character and fitness for office are so key in this time of crises, is of poor quality. When he returned from his flight from the palace, I could not get a word out of him he was so addled and scared, bursting into tears. He does not show the proper mourning for his father, who I heard did not favor him, he is lazy, frivolous, has shown poor choice of friends. He is a disgrace to his ancestors and with the Han in such a bad state, we can not afford for him to remain as Emperor.

His younger brother, however, the Prince of Chenliu, would be a wonderful Emperor. Untouched by the Dowager He’s negative influence, he was able to explain clearly the events he had gone through when he had fled with his brother. He has mourned his father properly, his virtue is abundant and reflected in his august features, he is an intelligent being, the kind of figure suited to be the Son of Heaven.

Such changes have precedent in the history of our great dynasty. I have tried to explain the suitability of one brother over the younger and explained the sense of urgency I feel in making the change. Despite this, I have been twice met with some quite heated exchanges about the appropriateness of making such a change. Though I have held my temper towards such leaders and restrained my authority, it has created discord between those two men and me. As they have left the capital and with preparations for the change coming tomorrow, I thought I should ask:

WIBTA for changing Emperors?