I am not a deposed emperor of Han Dynasty

Chapter 517 Which family is the most arrogant? It must be the old Liu family of Peixian County!

Finally, the melodious ringing of the Chen hour bell echoed through the palace, and the courtiers walked up to the palace in a dignified manner.

Six cabinet bachelors, a dozen chiefs of the Nine Secretaries and Second Houses, chiefs of various important offices, chiefs of the third assistant, a group of assistant officials and admonishment officials... filed in.

There has been no major court meeting in the front hall for half a year, but there was no confusion among the courtiers. They remembered their positions clearly and went their own way.

Liu He saw injuries on the faces and heads of some of them, and immediately knew their "composition". He thought they were the troublemakers in Beique Square yesterday.

There were only a dozen courtiers, large and small, involved.

Anle started too lightly.

After all the courtiers have stood in their seats, it is time for the emperor and his ministers to pay tribute.

After a period of mechanical and cold "greetings" and "calming", the court meeting finally began.

In the past, courtiers would first submit their petitions, then the prime minister or general would lead the discussion, and finally the emperor would make the decision.

But today's situation is naturally different. The courtiers don't know why the emperor wants to hold a major court meeting, so they don't know where to start.

On the other hand, Liu He also wanted the courtiers to stand and "reflect" for a moment, so he deliberately did not speak immediately.

For a moment, the spacious and open front hall fell into a brief silence.

It was not until some courtiers became restless and began to look around secretly that Liu He finally got to the main topic of the day.

"Some time ago, I caught a cold and was ill for a long time. I have been unable to engage in political affairs..."

"Thanks to the sincerity of all the gentlemen, the government of this country will not be stagnant, and I can rest in peace and recover from my illness."

When Liu He said this, the ministers quickly greeted the Emperor Sheng'an in unison, as if they had rehearsed it.

Of course, this cannot have been rehearsed in advance, but courtiers are well aware of the etiquette of court memorials - there are unspoken rules for when and what to say.

At this time, Zhang Anshi and others relaxed a little. At least the emperor seemed calm and did not ask anyone to punish him.

However, before Zhang Anshi and the others finished communicating their feelings with their eyes, the emperor continued to speak, but his words were somewhat ambiguous.

"While I was ill, I also heard that there were some troubles in the three counties of Henan and Chang'an City, which caused people to panic and rumors spread..."

"That's why we have to hold this big court meeting today to set the record straight!"

"I will be happy if I hold on to the gold!"

Liu He suddenly called An Le's name loudly, and the latter quickly stood up from the couch, took three or two steps forward, and knelt in front of the emperor.

"Your Majesty, I am waiting for your holy will in peace and happiness!"

"Are you taking charge of what happened in Beique Square yesterday?" Liu He asked coldly.

"Reporting to your majesty, this matter is a matter that should be dealt with by the king, and the ministers should handle it according to the adult system." Anle answered simply without any flattery.

"Being beaten with a stick in front of the cabinet's bachelors and the three auxiliary wealthy families is also treated according to the adult system?" Liu He asked again.

"The prince broke the law and was as guilty as the common people. The ministers did handle the matter according to Han law and never exceeded the rules!" Anle replied again.

These two rounds of dialogue made Zhang Anshi and others feel a little more comfortable. It was a good sign that the emperor only wanted to ask about sin and happiness.

Even if Anle is just kneeling on the ground now, Zhang Anshi and the others feel nothing but a bad breath.

He is the leader of the court. Even if the emperor feels that he is disobedient, he still has to give words of advice.

However, they also felt that there was something strange. Anle, who usually flattered the emperor, suddenly became hardened today.

"You answered neither humble nor arrogantly." Liu He sneered.

"Your Majesty, you are so complimentary. I am just dealing with the minor officials impartially." Anle was so bold that he chatted and laughed with the emperor.

"It's reasonable but unreasonable. Don't forget that there are old men like Mr. Wei Ge among them. They can obviously adapt to changes, but they almost lead to civil unrest..."

"You really disappoint me..."

The emperor scolded Anle with a cold face, but the more Zhang Anshi and others listened, the more they felt that something was wrong.

It seemed that he was reprimanding An Le for not doing things properly, but the words seemed to imply that the person kneeling to remonstrate was indeed guilty.

"I will punish you with a year's salary, and then I will punish you by copying the Hadith from beginning to end. If you fail to copy it this year, you will be dismissed from office next year and will never be hired!"

As soon as the emperor issued this order, Zhang Anshi and other courtiers suddenly realized!

The emperor's punishment is equivalent to no punishment: the duel between the monarch and his minister just now was just a double act!

A year's salary and food is better than nothing, and it is not difficult to copy the Hadith Sutra in seven or eight months.

Lifting it high and putting it down gently, the emperor's attitude couldn't be more obvious.

The expressions of the courtiers who participated in the kneeling remonstrance at Beique Square suddenly turned gloomy. Their faces seemed to be filled with a layer of corpse energy that had lasted for many years, and they had no business.

"Xiang Wei, the cabinet scholar, handled the affairs of the three counties in compliance with my order. Although his actions were a bit harsh and excessive, he did not fail to be loyal and conscientious."

"Therefore the merits and demerits equal the merits, and there is no reward or punishment!"

This time it was even more excessive, and there was no punishment at all. He almost fully recognized what Xiang Wei had done, which made Zhang Anshi even more depressed.

Then, they saw the emperor suddenly stand up from the imperial couch, silently taking a few steps forward, his face becoming more and more gloomy.

This gave them a very bad feeling - today's court meeting might not go as they imagined!

"Today is May 27th, nearly half a year has passed since the Yuan Dynasty was changed, and half a year has passed since I implemented the New Deal."

"Whether Anle or Prime Minister Wei, although their behavior is open to question, they are all dedicated to the implementation of the New Deal."

"However, there are also daring people who are secretly colluding and making insinuations, hoping to shake the foundation of the Han Dynasty by criticizing the New Deal."

"This is something I will never allow to happen!"

"A few months ago, I once said in this front hall that anyone who dares to obstruct the New Deal will be punished as treason!"

"You must have seen the Han army in Chang'an City. They came to quell the rebellion."

When Liu He said this, he deliberately paused for a moment to let the courtiers slowly understand the fear in it.

This move indeed worked, and the expressions of Zhang Anshi and others changed from angry and depressed to frightened and stunned - the emperor did not want to be kind and powerful at the same time, but wanted to pursue and fight!

"Since I have said it before, it doesn't count as being punished without teaching. Those who obstruct the New Deal should be severely punished!"

"Of the three Lu Jiayi tribes, males over the age of fifteen are given the title of owl; males under the age of fifteen, as well as women and children, migrate to Jiaozhi County."

"The rioters who attacked Prime Minister Wei's house are all sentenced to five punishments, and they are the leaders."

"The people behind the scenes are from the Yi tribe. Men over the age of fifteen are called Xiaoshou; men under the age of fifteen, as well as women and children, migrate to Shu."

"In addition, the cabinet immediately drafted an edict to move millions of households from various counties in Guandong to Pingling County according to the system established by Prime Minister Wei!"

For these people, the emperor did not lift them up high and put them down gently, but struck them hard with thunder, leaving no room or way to survive.

With just a few words from the emperor, more than a dozen aristocratic families died, and millions of families in the world were far away from their homeland.

Zhang Anshi and others suddenly felt dizzy, and the long-standing inherent thoughts in their hearts made them want to stand up and admonish. This time, before they could stand up to remonstrate with the emperor, the emperor took the initiative to find them.

"Cabinet Scholar Liu De!" This was the first time Liu He called Liu De so formally. In the past, he had always called him uncle.

"Weak minister Liu De, I await your Majesty's edict!" Liu De stood up with a pale face.

"Do you think my handling was appropriate?" the emperor asked indifferently, as if there was something in his words.

"Your Majesty..." Liu De bowed to the ground, feeling angry and resentful, but he didn't dare to say anything.

"Huh? You think I'm a tyrant and you don't want to remonstrate with me?" The emperor smiled contemptuously.

"Your Majesty uses ruthless officials to suppress loyal ministers, and weak ministers have nothing to say!" Liu De hesitated and struggled for a long time, and finally threw out this sentence desperately.

As soon as this statement came out, the whole palace was naturally in an uproar.

If you ask about the largest aristocratic family in the world of Han Dynasty, the Liu family would of course be the first.

If you ask the emperor of the Han Dynasty which family is the most arrogant, of course the Liu family will be the first.

This Liu is Liu Bang's Liu, Liu Heng's Liu, Liu Che's Liu...

Not only because the Liu family is the largest in the world, but also because no emperor of the Liu family is easy to mess with.

Starting from Liu Bang, passing through Liu Heng, and then all the way to Liu Che, except for the short-lived Emperor Xiaohui and Emperor Xiaozhao, each one was more ruthless than the other.

Even among those princes, kings or clan members who did not become emperors, there were many ruthless people.

For example, Liu Chang, King Li of Huainan, who died on hunger strike, and Liu Xu, who was able to fight against the bear.

This Liu De was not the descendant of Emperor Taizu Gao, but the descendant of Liu Jiao, King of Chu Yuan.

Liu Bang is the eldest son of Liu Taigong, and Liu Jiao is the fourth son of Liu Taigong and Liu Bang's half-brother.

Since the founding of the Han Dynasty, this lineage has basically monopolized the position of Zongzheng and has a very high status among the lineage.

Since he has Taigong Liu's bloodline, of course he has inherited that ruthless ability.

Therefore, the line of King Liu Jiao of Chu also produced many fierce men.

The most powerful one is Liu Jiao's direct grandson - Liu Wu, the third king of Chu in the Han Dynasty.

And this Liu Wu participated in the Seven Kingdoms Rebellion: If he dared to rebel and cause rebellion, he was certainly a ruthless person.

Liu De's grandfather was Liu Wu's uncle. He was pardoned by Emperor Xiaojing because he repeatedly warned the King of Chu not to rebel.

Liu De naturally did not dare to rebel like the King of Chu, but he dared to confront Huo Guang in the court before, and now he dared to scold the emperor as a coward in the court, which was certainly cruel enough.

However, he made one mistake. No matter how ruthless he was, how could he be more ruthless than today?

In fact, Liu He was secretly ridiculed by Liu Deming as a tyrant and a coward, and he did not feel angry.

Because strong people use victory to relieve their anger, instead of jumping into trouble.

"Reapt cruel officials? Attack Zhongliang?" Liu He sneered and said, "May I ask Mr. Liu Ge, who is Zhongliang?"

"The Lu family and his son, Han Buhai, the governor of Henan County, and the wise ministers who knelt down to remonstrate yesterday... who are not loyal ministers, and how did your majesty treat them!" Liu De said sharply again.

"After all, Mr. Liu Ge still thinks that my new policy of suppressing aristocratic families is a chaotic government, so he calls himself a loyal minister and wants to obstruct my new policy?" Liu He asked with a sneer.

"Your Majesty is wise, this matter is quite clear and reasonable!" Liu De refused to give in. Today he risked all his wealth and life.

"So, do you also think that aristocratic families are the foundation of the Han Dynasty?" Liu He asked.

"If a big family is not the foundation of the Han Dynasty, who else is the foundation of the Han Dynasty?" Liu De asked again.

"That's a good question! Just wait and I'll tell you who is the foundation of a great man!" Liu He said coldly.

Liu De had just finished saying the most ridiculous words, and the fear in his heart temporarily disappeared, so after the emperor finished speaking, he stood up immediately.

But Liu He no longer looked at Liu De. What he said sounded like the words of a loyal minister, but it was completely outdated.

Today's big men don't want nice words, but a correct stance.

If your stance is incorrect, no matter how great your merits are, no matter how much knowledge you have, and no matter how high your family background is, it will be of no use because you are just a treacherous official and traitor.

"Many people in the palace must have the same idea as Mr. Liu Ge. They think that if I attack a big family, I will destroy my own foundation."

"Mencius said: The people are the most important thing, the country is the second most important thing, and the king is the least important thing."

"There is a saying in Zuo Zhuan: When a country is about to prosper, listen to its people; when it is about to fall, listen to God."

"There is a legend in Guliang: The people are the foundation of the king."

"Confucius said: Go away from food. Since ancient times, there has been death, and people cannot stand without faith."

"This is the high opinion of the sages and great Confucians of the past dynasties. I deeply believe it. All the princes in the palace are well-educated people. They won't have different opinions, right?"

After Liu He finished speaking, he looked at the ministers in the palace provocatively, waiting for someone to come out to refute him.

Of course, no one dares to refute these words of saints.

"Mr. Wei Ge, who are these people? I want to hear your opinion!" Liu He turned to Wei Xian and asked.

"The Han Dynasty had a system of household registration for the people, so everyone in the household registration can be regarded as a citizen." Wei Xian knew clearly that the emperor wanted to make use of the topic, but he did not dare to misinterpret it.

"Wei Qing said it well. People who are registered as household members and who serve and pay taxes are naturally considered citizens, but..."

"But I think it is not complete enough. I think people who are not registered in the household registration can also be transferred to the household registration in the future, so using household registration as the standard is too narrow."

"In the past, when Wei Qing was a child, he was first a slave of the Zheng family, and then a riding slave in Princess Yangping's mansion. She was not a slave among the common people, but she made immortal contributions to the Han Dynasty."

"All the gentlemen in the hall, who dares to say that his contribution to the Han Dynasty is greater than that of Wei Qing?"

Although the Wei Qing clan has been exterminated, Wei Qing's name cannot be tarnished, so of course no one dares to deny the emperor's statement.

"So I believe that all the people in the world who are born on the royal soil are the king's people. Regardless of high or low, the king's people are all the foundation of the Han Dynasty."

"Who has any objection to my remarks?" Liu He once again looked at the courtiers in the palace provocatively and asked.

Gong Qing, a hundred officials, had already seen the emperor's ability in debating scriptures in Shiqu Pavilion. Even Kong Anguo was willing to be defeated. How could they dare to compete with the emperor?

"Aristocratic families are the people, ordinary people from poor families are the people, slaves and prisoners are also the people..."

"Since we are all citizens, to see if a person has the foundation of a Han Dynasty, we don't have to look at his origins, but rather what contributions he has made for today's Han Dynasty!"

"Everyone says that aristocratic families have contributed to the great Han Dynasty, so let me show you who has contributed to the great Han Dynasty!"

After Liu He said this, he stopped again, then looked at Fan Ke who was writing rapidly, and said slowly: "Summon old woman Zhang to the palace."

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(End of this chapter)