He also extended Chinese control over the Tarim Basin and eradicated the Xiongnu influence there, through the conquests of his general Ban Chao.

Liu Yang was born in AD 28 to Emperor Guangwu and his first love, Consort Yin Lihua.

Emperor Guangwu was initially hesitant to depose of both the mother and son, but in 43, he resolved the situation by switching Princes Jiang's and Yang's positions.

As crown prince, Zhuang was often requested by Emperor Guangwu to render opinions in important matters.

Emperor Ming engaged in a variety of military and economic tactics to try to maintain peace with North Xiongnu and was largely successful.

In 66, in what would eventually evolve into one of the first imperial university in Chinese history, Emperor Ming built a Confucian school at the capital Luoyang, for the children of high officials and marquesses.

When he was informed, he confessed, and Emperor Ming initially spared him and permitted him to remain the Prince of Guanglin but stripped his political powers.

After he was discovered, Emperor Ming initially took no action, but in 67 forced Prince Jing to commit suicide.

In 70, Prince Ying of Chu—incidentally, the only son of Emperor Guangwu not born of either of his empresses but of Consort Xu—hired warlocks to create golden turtles and jade cranes, and carved characters calling for unusual blessings on them—a major taboo at the time.

Emperor Ming did not put him to death, but deposed him from his principality, exiled him, and made him a commoner (but with a small fief of 500 households).

A similar incident happened in 73, when Prince Yan of Huaiyang was informed to have hired warlocks to curse Emperor Ming.

Dou, as part of his campaign, sent his assistant Ban Chao to visit the Xiyu (modern Xinjiang and former Soviet central Asia) kingdom of Shanshan (on the eastern edge of the Taklamakan Desert.

However, they had been constantly rebuffed by Emperors Guangwu and Ming, who judged Han to be not sufficiently strong to engage in a Xiyu campaign.)

Emperor Ming promoted Ban and commissioned him to next visit Yutian ("Khotan"), then the strongest kingdom in southern Xiyu, which had a strong alliance with North Xiongnu.

Guangde (廣德), the King of Yutian, trusted his chief warlock, who demanded Ban's horse.

Cheshi submitted, and at Dou's suggestion, the office of the Protector General of Xiyu (都護) was reinstituted.

A North Xiongnu expedition in 75 to recapture Cheshi was repelled by Geng Gong (耿恭), one of the deputies of the protector general.

This was a major saving compared to the Western Han system of building a separate temple for each emperor.)