I, Liu Bian, the hero

Chapter 69

Eunuchs are minions. If you cut off your minions, you will be trapped in a cage.

When the stupid king in front of him expressed his opinion with a serious face, Liu Bian realized that this stupid king was not stupid, on the contrary, he had a very thorough understanding of the relationship between the monarch and his subjects.

The relationship between monarchs and ministers has always been a zero-sum relationship. A strong monarch controls his subjects, while a weak monarch is controlled by powerful ministers.

May I ask, are there any examples of harmony between the monarch and his subjects?
Yes, but very rarely, every case is a good story.

This point, Liu Bian is clear, after all, he has learned this point from thousands of years of history, but Lingdi can say this opinion, which really surprised him.

He suddenly felt that Emperor Ling might, might... really be underestimated.

Seeing that Liu Bian hesitated to speak, with a surprised expression on his face, Emperor Linghui misunderstood and asked with a smile, "Don't you understand?"

Only then did Liu Bian come to his senses, shook his head and said, "No, I understand."

"Oh?" Emperor Ling seemed a little surprised.

Seeing this, Liu Bian explained: "Father means that the eunuch can be regarded as an extension of the emperor, and can be driven like an arm to do something that the emperor does not have enough energy for. It is both wings and minions; if there is no eunuch, Once the scholars in the court united against the emperor, the emperor was unable to support himself alone, and ordered that he might not be able to leave the harem, which is the so-called being trapped in a cage."

Emperor Ling nodded appreciatively: "My son is really smart."

Immediately he asked again: "Then, what do you think of the eradication of eunuchs that the general and the scholars said today?"

At this time Liu Bian had already guessed that Lingdi's attitude was actually the same as his, but he couldn't help but have some doubts about Lingdi's sudden mention of General He Jin.

Could it be that this faint lord regards He Jin as Liang Ji, Dou Wu and others?
After realizing this, two completely different thoughts suddenly appeared in Liu Bian's heart: to intercede for He Jin, or to secretly push the flames and persuade Lingdi to take He Jin off?
It's not that he has any prejudice against He Jin, on the contrary, He Jin is still pretty good to him, and he is actually saving He Jin by making He Jin up.

The question is how will Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu and others around He Jin view this matter?Will they instigate He Jin for this, and then make a risky move that has never appeared in history?
"It's better not to make extra troubles." 』

Thinking of this, Liu Bian pretended to be dignified and said: "In Yi Erchen's opinion, uncle may not necessarily want to be Liang Ji, but is tired of his reputation..."

Emperor Ling showed some surprise on his face: "I just asked you what you think about the eradication of eunuchs that the general said... Forget it, since you mentioned this..."

He looked at the son in front of him hesitantly, as if he wanted to talk to him about this matter but he had some concerns, he hesitated for a while before asking: "Is this how my son sees it?"

"Yes."

Liu Bian nodded, and stuffed some private goods calmly: "As far as I know, the general mentioned many times that he wanted to eradicate eunuchs, but he was instigated by scholars, such as the former imperial servant Zheng Tai and Sili Captain Yuan Shao and so on..."

"Zheng Tai, Yuan Shao..." Lingdi murmured, his eyes were deep and dark.

After a long while, he asked Liu Bian, "My son seems to have a lot of prejudice against scholars in the court?"

Hearing this was probing, Liu Bian opened his eyes wide and said, "I don't know who is slandering my ministers in front of the emperor? The ministers have always respected the loyal ministers in the court, such as Master Lu, and Taiwei Cao Song, Taizhong doctor Yang Biao, servant Ma Rizun..."

Emperor Ling had a strange expression when he heard that, because the people Liu Bian mentioned were all relatively close to the latter. As for Sikong Yuan Wei and Situ Cui Lie, Liu Bian didn't mention any of them.

Even Cai Yong, Cai Yan's father, and Liu Bian didn't mention it.

"Just these few people?" Lingdi asked in amazement and amused.

Liu Bian thought for a while and said: "There is also Yang Xu, the prefect of Nanyang. Although he is a party member, he is a true loyal minister. He is called 'Prefect Xuanyu'..."

He told Emperor Ling about Yang Xu's deeds, and Emperor Ling was greatly amazed. He never imagined that there would be officials in this world who were willing to guard the poor like Lu Zhi.

Later, Liu Bian mentioned Liu Yu, governor of Youzhou, but still did not mention Yuan Kui, Cui Lie and others. Emperor Ling understood, and looked at his son with a little more appreciation.

Afterwards, the father and son chatted for a while, maybe because they felt that the atmosphere of the chat was not bad, Liu Bian couldn't hold back his curiosity, so he asked Emperor Ling: "Father, there is something that I don't understand, don't you know?" Can the royal father solve the confusion?"

Emperor Ling nodded: "You say."

Seeing this, Liu Bian cupped his hands, and immediately asked cautiously: "Father, the emperor sells his official title...does he have some hidden secrets?"

Hearing this, Emperor Ling's face showed a bit of embarrassment, and he sighed for a long time: "Does my son think it's not good to sell an official?"

"It's not very good..." Liu Bian nodded, wondering if Emperor Ling would turn his back on him.

However, Emperor Ling didn't turn his back on him, he just looked at the lake full of water and talked about the past: "I also know that this matter is wrong, but...my son is not yet in charge of the family, and I don't know how to support the family in the palace....I remember your grandmother at that time I wanted to build a garden, but most of the scholars in the imperial court opposed it, so people around your grandmother gave me private advice and imitated Emperor Huan..."

It was obvious that he didn't want to say more, so he spoke very briefly and vaguely, but Liu Bian roughly understood it, because Emperor Ling could not use the money from the treasury to build a garden, so he followed the example of Emperor Huan and sold officials and nobles, and later sold officials and nobles. Into the national treasury, but as Xiyuan money.

I don't know if it was because of the unhappiness in his mind when he thought of what happened back then, Lingdi sneered and revealed his heart: "...whoever resists fiercely, I will send the person who bought the official to his hometown to be the county magistrate and the county guard. Impeach? Impeach again How? Dismiss one person and send another!"

"..."

Liu Bian was stunned, staring dumbfoundedly at Lingdi who had unintentionally let out such cruel words, feeling faintly as if he had heard something extraordinary.

At this time, Emperor Ling also realized that he had slipped his words, turned his head to look at Liu Bian, coughed unnaturally, and changed the topic: "I thought of an unpleasant incident in the past, and I have feelings in my heart, so don't worry about it."

"I'm afraid it's more than one..."

Liu Bian muttered to himself, but ended the topic wisely following Lingdi's wishes.

Afterwards, he tentatively asked Emperor Ling about the naked tour hall in Xiyuan, which caused Emperor Ling to stop the conversation in embarrassment: "...it's getting late, and I'm feeling a little tired, so I'm going to leave today. Let's talk about this first."

Liu Bian made it clear in his heart: There are rumors about those absurd things about Emperor Ling, some of them came from scholars' attack, some came from Emperor Ling's counterattack against scholars in the court, and the rest are really absurd things done by this foolish emperor .

"My son sent my father back to the palace."

Liu Bian held back a smile and cupped his hands.

Emperor Ling didn't know if he noticed the weird expression of the suppressed smile on Liu Bian's face, nodded awkwardly, said nothing more, and returned to Yutang Hall after being escorted by Liu Bian, Zhang Rang and others.

After a while, Liu Bian bid farewell to Emperor Ling and took Zhao Chun out of Yutang Hall.

The moment he walked down the steps in front of the hall, he stopped and looked back at the hall.

It is undeniable that he has gained a lot today, at least satisfying the curiosity in his heart, enabling him to understand why Emperor Ling did those absurd things, and at the same time making him understand that Emperor Ling was a foolish king in history, but people are not stupid. On the contrary, there are some things that the faint king can see very clearly.

It's a pity that since Liang Ji's misfortune, the Han royal family has continued to suffer civil strife and gradually lost its prestige. On the other hand, since Dou Wu and Chen Fan, there have been a group of people who praise and flaunt each other. Bajun, Bagu, Baji, and Bachu are the leaders and benchmarks of scholars in the world.

The influence is so wide that even Emperor Huan and Emperor Ling must be treated with caution.

What's more, these talkers are still proud of rejecting the court's conquest, and they all refuse to become officials on the grounds that the court is dark, saying that they have to wait for the court to be clear before they come out to serve as officials. You only want to pick the achievements of others, but you don't have the slightest awareness to sacrifice your life for righteousness and for the country?

"Humph."

Thinking of this, Liu Bian couldn't help but hum softly.

"Shihou?" Zhao Chun asked in surprise.

"It's nothing."

Liu Bian shook his head and returned to Chongde Hall.

About a quarter of an hour, Zhang Rang came in a hurry and invited Liu Bian outside the hall.

When Liu Bian asked about the reason, Zhang Rang explained with a bit of flattery, "It's like this. Just now, His Majesty finished talking with His Highness, and when he returned to Yutang Hall, His Majesty asked the old minister, how is Nanyang Governor Yang Xu?"

He looked at Liu Bian helplessly, and tentatively said: "...This makes the old minister a little curious, what did His Highness talk to His Majesty?"

"Did Mr. Zhang want to know about the private conversation between father and me?" Liu Bian's smile carried some deep meaning.

Zhang Rang was startled for no reason, and said again and again: "No, no, no, the old minister dared to spy on the conversation between His Highness and His Majesty in private. The old minister was just curious about why the prefect Yang was mentioned."

Liu Bian, who made a small warning, didn't beat too much, and said casually: "Don't worry, Mr. Zhang. Father always praised Mr. Zhang very much, but this time he didn't mention Mr. Zhang. Mr. Father just asked me what I think of you. For the opinions of the ministers, I praised a few people, such as Master Lu, Taiwei Yang Biao, Taizhong doctor Yang Biao, etc. During the period, I also mentioned Yang Xu... By the way, why did the emperor mention Yang Taishou? "

"I see."

Zhang Rang's doubts disappeared, and he said in a low voice: "Your Majesty seems to intend to transfer Yang Taishou to the capital to serve as Zhi Jinwu, so I asked the old minister, but the old minister didn't know what His Highness thought, so...Your Highness, you know, Yang Xu is a party member..."

"So what?"

Liu Bian sneered and said, "Mr. Zhang, the years have changed, and we have to change our views on some things. We have to find out who is the real hidden danger.... Are Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu party members?

Zhang Rang suddenly came to his senses: "Then... the old minister recommends the prefect Yang?"

"Well."

Liu Bian nodded, and then seemed to think of something, and said half-jokingly and half-seriously: "I heard that there are some unwritten rules in the court, officials pay 1000 million yuan to Xiyuan as a gift to worship Sangong, Jiuqing 500 million, and Yang Taishou But a clean and honest official probably doesn’t even have a hundred thousand of his property..."

Zhang Rang understood, and quickly said: "Since the prefect Yang is someone you value, how can we question it? Don't worry, Your Highness, if Sun Zhang sends someone to ask for bribes, the old minister will naturally arrange someone to stop the prefect Yang."

"Well."

Liu Bian nodded in satisfaction.

The next day, Emperor Ling summoned Yang Xu, the prefect of Nanyang, to go to Beijing to take up his post and worship him as Zhijinwu.

More than ten days later, Yang Xu, who received the edict, was surprised, but he still brought his wife to Luoyang.

At the same time, Liu Yan, the governor of Jizhou, was also called to Luoyang and changed to be the governor of Yizhou.

The post of Inspector of Jizhou was appointed by Wang Fen, one of the "eight chefs" after consultation between the court and the central government.

When Liu Bian saw this name, his heart moved slightly.

(End of this chapter)