I have lived forever since the end of Qin Dynasty

Chapter 420 A new era is coming

It’s cold in the twelfth lunar month.

The biting wind blew close to the ground, as cold as a knife.

There were very few pedestrians on the road, and one or two would pass by in a hurry after a long time, all wrapped up in rice dumplings.

Faced with such a situation, the door of the imperial censor's house naturally would not stand outside, but huddled alone in the hut, dozing off again and again.

He didn't mean to fish.

Having been a disciple for so long, he knows clearly when there are so many visitors and when there are so few.

First of all, today is not the Lord’s holiday.

Then there will definitely be no guests coming.

Secondly, today is not the Lord’s holiday.

No colleagues come to the palace on official business, and all government affairs that need to be handled will be discussed in the palace.

Finally, today is not the Lord’s holiday.

Those who want to ask the Lord to do something will not bother them at such a time.

Generally speaking, when the master is busy, we have leisure time. When the master takes a rest, I have to keep my eyes open.

Of course, when Menzi was about to take a nap, he was awakened once and saw his master rushing back. Not long after, several of his personal servants rushed out, probably to deliver a message for him.

According to common sense, the Lord would not come back at this time on weekdays, so it was really too early.

However, throughout the year, there are bound to be a few surprises.

If the government affairs are handled early and there are no new work arrangements, no one will blame the Lord when he returns to the house.

Seeing that nothing major happened, he started to doze off again.

The sleepiness had only been brewing for about half an hour. Menzi was about to squint when he heard the sound of a carriage coming from outside the door.

Then, there was a knock on the heavy wooden door.

"Here we come." He responded somewhat reluctantly.

Anyone who is disturbed from drowsiness will inevitably feel a little unhappy.

Of course, as a disciple, he has full professional qualities.

The existence of gatekeepers has been around for a long time. There are records of gatekeepers in "Zuo Zhuan". At that time, they were the official positions in the country dedicated to guarding the emperor and guarding the palace gates. However, later, gatekeepers were also set up in the homes of middle-class nobles and even wealthy businessmen. Special door.

As a profession with a long history, the relevant codes are very complete.

First of all, don't pry about any visitors, especially those who come in the evening and night.

The more secrets you know, the higher the chance of being silenced.

Secondly, respect every visitor and never speak rudely or make things difficult for the other person.

You must know that no matter how humble the visitor's attitude is, it is only for their master. To the disciples, they are powerful people who cannot be offended.

If the tone is too aggressive and makes the other party unhappy, they can find hundreds of ways to make themselves miserable.

Again, it’s…

He stopped thinking.

Having already reached the solid wood door, the doorman stretched out his hand to push up the door bolt with dark and light textures, and then pulled the door open.

The cold wind passed through the crack in the door and blew in my face.

And he subconsciously looked at the carriage parked in front of the house.

For the Menzi group, carriages are far easier to recognize than visitors.

After all, there are countless people who come to visit the house. If you want to remember all the faces, you will probably have a super memory.

If a disciple had such ability, he would have memorized scriptures, studied classics, and taken the doctorate examination long ago.

On the contrary, there are only a few hundred households in Chang'an City that can use carriages, and there are even fewer people who have contact with Zhao Wan.

Therefore, as a disciple, if you remember the general decorations and markings of each carriage, you can basically know the identity of the other party.

If you are a stranger to your visitor and can’t recall it at all, don’t be nervous.

After all, the guests who can use the carriage are all people with status. After they announce their names, they can just run a few more steps and go in to inform them.

Looking at the carriage parked in front of the house, he shrank his eyes.

This model, this color scheme.

I am quite familiar with it.

Isn't it the Weixin Hou's car?

Looking back, Menzi suddenly discovered that the person standing in front of him was the Weixin Hou himself.

As one of the frequent visitors to the house, he must be very familiar with it. In addition, the Lord is currently in the house, so he can be introduced to the living room and stay there without any special notification.

Menzi hurriedly saluted and said, "I have met the Weixin Marquis."

"No need to be polite." Chen Luo waved his hand with a heavy look on his face, "I'm here to visit your master, is he in the house at the moment?"

"My master has just returned half an hour ago." The disciple replied respectfully, "Marquis Weixin, it's cold outside. Please go sit in the front hall first, and I'll report it right away."

"Trouble." Chen Luo nodded.

The two ended their conversation.

After Chen Luo entered the house, the doorman put the bolt on the door again, and then walked quickly towards the backyard.

As for Chen Luo, he walked to the front hall with ease and sat down. The servant beside him served him a cup of hot tea.

Not long after, Zhao Wan's figure appeared in his field of vision.

"Boyu, you came just in time. I was still worried that there was no one around me who could discuss matters." Zhao Wan showed surprise and hurriedly greeted her, "When my servant came back at first, he said that you were not at the house. I guess I was embarrassed. He was busy with his studies, but he didn't expect to come directly to my place now."

After hearing about the death of the Queen Mother in the palace, he was still in a state of confusion.

After leaving the palace and hurriedly returning to the house, he woke up a little and thought about sending his confidants to send the news to Chen Luo and Wang Zang.

After all, the official news of the death of the Queen Mother will probably have to wait until tomorrow.

And if you know the news in advance, you can make some preparations so that you will not be caught off guard in the morning.

Chen Luo pondered for a moment and looked serious, "Brother Zhao, are you sure the source of your news is reliable?"

The reason why I want to ask again and confirm is not because I don't trust Zhao Wan, but because this matter is of great importance.

If the death of the Queen Mother was an accident, then their current prevention and preparation will appear to have "ulterior motives."

I'm afraid some thoughtful people will make a fuss and report that they are cursing the Queen Mother.

"This matter is of great importance. If I am not sure, how dare I say nonsense." Zhao Wan smiled bitterly and said solemnly, "At that time, I was in Weiyang Palace, discussing with Your Majesty that Jiujiang County suffered from floods in spring and drought in summer, and the tax payment share was insufficient. things.

Unexpectedly, halfway through the conversation, an eunuch trotted over and said that Empress Dowager Dou passed away.

Don't say I didn't react, His Majesty was stunned.

By the time I left the palace, there was already a roar in Changle Palace.

Alas, the Queen Mother has rarely appeared in court in the past two years since she returned to power, but she has not been heard to be ill. It is so sudden. "

He told Chen Luo exactly what happened.

After comprehensive analysis, the death of the Queen Mother is probably not false news.

Chen Luo pursed his lips, lowered his voice, and asked again: "Aside from being stunned at Xiaohui, what else did your Majesty do?" He didn't have the opportunity to see the first scene, so he could only understand the situation through Zhao Wan's narration. Case.

Regarding the death of the Queen Mother, Liu Che's attitude was equally important.

"Huh? Let me think about it." Zhao Wan touched her chin, obviously not paying special attention to this.

That's normal.

You must know that most people were shocked when they suddenly heard the news of the death of the Queen Mother.

When I came back to my senses a little, I was also thinking about the impact on myself.

As for Liu Che's expression, I really don't pay much attention to it.

After a moment, he said slowly: "Well... His Majesty seemed shocked at first, and then gave a few instructions to the eunuch behind him. When I came to my senses, His Majesty was already preparing to rush to Changle Palace, looking very sad. Even when walking down the steps, he needs help from eunuchs."

The answer is quite crude.

However, this was not because Zhao Wan meant to deal with Chen Luo, but because he really couldn't recall much of the content, but he couldn't make it up.

So these pictures are already one of the few contents in his memory.

"It seems that the death of the Queen Mother has dealt a heavy blow to Your Majesty." Chen Luo narrowed his eyes.

Zhao Wan nodded in agreement and said with emotion, "No matter what, the Queen Mother is still His Majesty's grandmother. Before His Majesty could not take charge, it was she who single-handedly presided over the court and left the world safely in His Majesty's hands.

How is it possible to say that His Majesty has no respect, love and gratitude for her?
It's a pity that the Queen Mother passed away less than two years after His Majesty took charge, and I didn't have the chance to see Your Majesty personally establish the great cause. "

"Yes." Chen Luo agreed.

But he kept making calculations in his mind.

If the scene described by Zhao Wan is true, then does Liu Che have any traces of acting?

It goes without saying how stable Liu Che's mood is on weekdays.

I have never seen his mood fluctuate greatly.

This kind of emotional management ability is indeed an important ability for an emperor.

After all, if an emperor looks happy and allows his ministers to easily guess his preferences, he will undoubtedly be easily manipulated and lose his authority.

As for Zhao Wan's sigh just now, Chen Luo disagreed.

The most ruthless imperial family.

The grandparents and grandchildren of ordinary people are often "relatives across generations" and have a close relationship.

After all, in ordinary people's homes, the grandmother only has five or six grandchildren at most. When they were young, she would hold them and coax them to sleep. When they were young, she would watch them grow up. The bond of family affection was planted in every day.

There were dozens of Liu Heng's grandsons in the palace. What's more, Liu Che was not Liu Qi's eldest son. He didn't stay in the palace for too long, and he wasn't raised by Empress Dowager Dou herself.

Therefore, when Zhao Wan infers the family ties of the royal family based on the situation in ordinary people's homes, there will definitely be deviations.

Switch to another angle and analyze Liu Che's own needs.

His desire for famous ministers and good generals far exceeds his expectation for family affection.

What's more, when Empress Dowager Dou was in charge of the government and exercising the power of the emperor, she and Liu Che stood on opposite sides many times due to different political opinions.

If the case of King Jiaoxi had not happened, she would have controlled the government as she did in history. It was not until her death that Liu Che had the chance to take charge. So if he wants to start his own reforms, I am afraid he will have to start from today.

Chen Luo believed that Liu Che could sense this with his wisdom.

Therefore, Queen Mother Dou was even regarded as Liu Che's "political enemy" to a certain extent.

Of course, after Empress Dowager Dou returned to power, she reduced her interference in the court. The relationship between their ancestors and grandchildren has eased a lot and is no longer as rigid as it was in history.

But it seems too drastic to say that it only took two years for the two of them to transform from "political enemies" to loving and filial grandparents.

This is illogical.

Chen Luo rubbed his chin.

After denying this situation, another possibility emerged in his mind.

That is, after Liu Che heard the news of Queen Mother Dou's death, he quickly started performing in front of everyone.

As for the reason why he did this, it is not difficult to analyze based on his own speculation.

The Han Dynasty established a country based on filial piety. Whether it was for the people or the emperor, filial piety was very important.

Empress Dowager Dou admired Huang Lao for governing the country, which was known to both the government and the public.

So Liu Che's indifference towards her death and his immediate change of national policy may have attracted a lot of criticism, and various rumors have also appeared among the people.

Terrible.

The wave of opposition was too great, and it was undoubtedly difficult for Liu Che to continue to reform.

Therefore, he cannot let others easily catch him.
Therefore, it is very necessary to stage such a scene in Weiyang Palace.

Zhao Wan happens to be around, and he can deepen the image Liu Che has established by spreading the word about what happened in the palace.

Thinking of this, Chen Luo couldn't help but take a deep breath.

This was an after-the-fact analysis for me, but Liu Che was acting on the spot.

It's really scary to be able to figure out so much content in one moment. This level of political sensitivity is terrifying.

"Now that Empress Dowager Dou has passed away, Your Majesty is indeed sad, but I think your Majesty will give top priority to state affairs. After being in charge for so many years, it is also time for Your Majesty to display his ambitions and show off his talents." After thinking about it, Chen Luo chose Zhao Wan's sentence. .

Whatever my previous guesses were, whether they were right or wrong, I could only keep them in my heart and couldn't tell anyone.

The idea was too bold.

It's okay to guess wrong, but it's just a conspiracy theory.

If he guessed it correctly and spread it to Liu Che's ears, I'm afraid he would be greatly frightened. This layer of window paper was not something he should pierce.

But what I just said was to remind the other party from other aspects.

It is not important that Your Majesty mourns and misses the Queen Mother.

What is important is His Majesty's performance thereafter. You must know that Your Majesty supports innovation. Now that Empress Dowager Dou has passed away, the original conservative forces are only left with a few chickens and dogs. It is time for you and me to stand out.

Zhao Wan was slightly stunned, savoring Chen Luo's words.

His political sensitivity is indeed not that high, but he has been in the officialdom for several years, so Chen Luo still understands his hints.

After a moment, Zhao Wan nodded lightly and said, "Thank you Boyu for reminding me."

Chen Luo smiled and said: "Sometimes, you really have to think too much."

The two belong to the same faction, both support change, and have a good personal relationship.

Now that we encounter the opportunities created by the times, we can't grasp all the benefits if we go it alone, so we don't hesitate to let fellow travelers take advantage of the opportunity. The power of the masses will always be stronger.

----

Empress Dowager Dou loved the words of Huangdi and Laozi, so the emperor and the princes and other Douzi had no choice but to read Huangdi and Laozi and respect their skills.

Empress Dowager Dou and Emperor Xiao Jing died at the age of six.

When the emperor heard about it in Weiyang, he was speechless and moved forward in battle.

When the people learned about it, they all praised his filial piety.

Not long after, the emperor abolished his government. ——"Historical Records: Family of Foreign Relatives"

(End of this chapter)