Thousand-year-old family: its rise began with Shang Yang’s reforms

Chapter 291 Struggle

Chen Qiu looked back at Chen Pi helplessly: "What kind of hard fight can there be? I don't want to get involved in the fighting between the three of them."

"Just be a mute tomorrow."

“Can’t hear, can’t see, can’t speak.”

Chen Pi chuckled. In fact, he saw it more clearly than Chen Qiu: "Brother, can you really escape if you don't want to participate? Why did the emperor come today? Why did uncle Tuo come today? Mr. Chao Why did you come today?”

"The three of us came here to tell you."

"You can't refuse, you can't not speak up, you have to stand up."

"This is their exhortation and their warning."

There was bitterness on Chen Qiu's face. In fact, when Chen Bi passed away a few years ago and he did not take over all Chen's connections in time, it was already predicted what would happen today.

Is the dispute between Chen Tuo and Chao Cuo really just a simple dispute over political opinions?

Actually not.

The dispute between them is the "Chen orthodoxy".

In fact, both of them are considered Chen orthodox, and neither of them is Chen orthodox.

It is said that they are all orthodox of the Chen family because one of them is a disciple and successor of the Chen family, and the other is a serious disciple of the Chen family.

It is said that none of them are orthodox of the Chen family because the head of the Chen family in this generation is "Chen Qiu", the eldest son of the Chen family and the direct bloodline of the Chen family. This is the orthodox Chen family.

The emperor thought so too.

That's why the emperor kept urging Chen Tuo to order Chen Qiu and Chen Pi to enter Chang'an City, and that's why Chen Qiu's mother also forced these two people to come to Chang'an City.

It is precisely because the orthodox descendants of the Chen family do not fight that it leads to disputes among Chen family members.

The emperor could not tolerate such a fight, because such a fight had affected the stability of the court.

In the past six years, Chao Cuo, the censor, and Chen Tuo, the prime minister, have been fighting endlessly. Zhou Yafu, the lieutenant, is too low-qualified to compare with these two people, so he can only watch. Watch.

There were really not many people in the court who could compare with these two in terms of status, seniority, and qualifications, so the Chen family, which had been solidified into one, began to divide.

This differentiation was a good thing for the emperor at the beginning, so the emperor did not stop their fight at the beginning. Only the two of them fought, and only the Chen family split, so that the emperor's rights could be expanded, and he could Can become a true emperor.

However, when this battle gradually became fierce, the emperor began to be dissatisfied.

Because this has affected the normal operation of the court, Chao Cuo and Chen Tuo began to have selfish motives because of their different political views and competition for orthodoxy. Some policies that were obviously beneficial to the country and the people were rejected because they were proposed by the other party. strongly oppose.

The fight between the two of them was no longer an ordinary fight.

The two of them have long been unable to extricate themselves from this huge quagmire.

Chao Cuo and Chen Tuo need another person to appear. It is best that this person can suppress these two people and rescue them from the quagmire of war.

The emperor looked and searched, and finally found only one, or two, suitable candidates.

That is "Chen Qiu" and "Chen Pi".

Why?

Because these two people are true direct descendants of the Chen family, so what if Chen Tuo is of higher seniority? If he doesn't belong to the line of direct descendants, then it's useless.

Chen Qiu sighed again and said: "Brother, do you think Uncle Tuo and Mr. Chao want us to come to Chang'an City this time? What is their reaction to us entering Chang'an City?"

Chen Pi yawned. His brain has been very useful since he was a child, but he has never liked to use it in government affairs.

In order to make his "brother" the mainstay as soon as possible and help him realize his wish, he has already started thinking: "It's actually very simple. The attitudes of Uncle Tuo and Mr. Chao have been made clear just now."

"Mr. Chao wants us to enter Chang'an City because he is not only dissatisfied with Uncle Tuo's "identity", but also with Uncle Tuo's political views."

"He feels that we are young and can be fooled more easily than Uncle Tuo. As young people, we are very angry and have a strong inner fire. With a little stimulation, we may be on the same front as him."

Chen Pi raised his eyebrows and said, "Believe it or not, there will definitely be envoys from the kings at the court tomorrow."

Chen Qiu turned his head: "You mean, the envoys from the kings were arranged by Mr. Chao?"

Chen Pi shook his head: "No, it's definitely not the case, but Mr. Chao's people must have said something around the kings, which made these people dare to behave in a very "angry" manner in the court. They did this on purpose, Just to anger you and me.”

Chen Qiu frowned: "Mr. Chao has colluded with the kings?"

Chen Pi shook his head: "Definitely not."

"Mr. Chao wants to cut down the feudal vassal. He is the kind of person who can't stand it for a day. He wants to resolutely drive out all the kings, and in a short period of time."

Chen Qiu sighed: "But this is impossible."

"The troubles of the kings have been buried as early as the period of Emperor Gao. No one in future generations can change this matter."

"Unless we recreate the world."

Chen Pi was silent and then said: "So, this is the reason why my father and eldest father were lamenting back then, isn't it?"

Chen Qiu sneered slightly: "This is the method of establishing a country in the Han Dynasty, and it is also the disease of the Han Dynasty. There is no way for you and me to cure this stubborn disease, but we can delay it."

He looked at Chen Pi: "Brother, which one do you think is right, Mr. Chao or Uncle Tuo?"

Chen Pi didn't speak, just remained silent. After a while, he sighed at Chen Qiu's insistence: "Actually, I think Mr. Chao's insistence is right. The chaos among the kings is getting worse as it drags on, even if After arriving, we have a way to sweep away the kings, but there is no other way."

"Afterwards, according to the methods left by my father, even when the Han Dynasty ends, the feudal country cannot be completely eliminated."

"Because the previous feudal states are gradually getting smaller, but new ones will definitely appear."

"While the first huge feudal kingdom has not completely disappeared, the new setting sun has already eaten away at his corpse and emerged."

"The emperor will never cease, and the feudal kingdom will never cease."

"The two have been entangled since the founding of the Han Dynasty and cannot be separated."

Chen Qiu said: "So, do you think Mr. Chao's method is more suitable?"

Chen Pi shook his head again: "No, I think father's method is more suitable."

Chen Qiu raised his eyebrows: "Why?"

"Didn't you just say that according to father's method, the feudal country can never be cut off?" Chen Pi just sneered: "Even according to Mr. Chao's method, the feudal country can never be cut off."

"Because the emperor will always have a son!"

"And there will never be only one son!"

"There will always be only one emperor. If the emperor gives this position to his eldest son, what will happen to the other children?"

"Even if our Majesty is cruel and doesn't care about the lives of other children, as long as there is an emperor in the future who cares about his children, the feudal system will spread again."

Chen Pi said coldly: "The reason for this is the eldest son inheritance system!"

"It's because after the Xia Dynasty, all emperors, kings, and emperors regarded the world as their own private property!"

"So they feel that the world belongs to them!"

"It's like dividing a piece of pie. It's natural to want to share the pie with your own people."

Chen Qiu was silent on the side. He knew that his brother's political views were different from everyone else now, even different from Chen's. He was too radical and too forward, so in most cases, he remained silent. , and does not intend to represent Chen.

"Ugh--"

Chen Qiu sighed: "That's all, let's go see the situation tomorrow. If it's like what my brother said, what can I do?"

"Actually, after coming to Chang'an City, you and I have no choice, right?"

Chen Pi remained silent and just walked towards his yard, with a slightly depressed look on his face.

When he got back into the room and blew out the candles, Chen Picai sighed, silently praising his performance today.

Yes.

Performance.

The two brothers Chen Pi and Chen Qiu did not dare to speak their true words in this mansion. Of course - most of what Chen Pi said just now came from his inner thoughts. He just pretended not to know about the "Embroidered Clothes Messenger" People are just listening.

Emperor Jing summoned the two brothers to Chang'an City. How could he let Chen Pi go and let him do what he said he wanted to do?
What he really wants to do is to let Chen Pi and Chen Qiu take back the power belonging to the Chen family's main line, and the two brothers will fight again. This time he will limit the fight between the two people within certain limits in advance.

In this way, it will not affect the stability of the world and the operation of the court, but it can also naturally take back part of the rights.

Since ancient times, kings have been ruthless.

The Chen family has experienced only two affectionate and righteous emperors over the years. One was the second emperor Fusu, and the other was the late emperor "Emperor Xiaowen".

Chen Qiu and Chen Pi, or the entire Chen family, were already used to the emperor turning his back on others and even laying a few traps secretly, so they did not feel sad or angry because of this.

Changle Palace

Liu Qi also sighed slightly after listening to the angry words of "Chen Pi" relayed by the messenger of embroidered clothes.

"Chen Pi, this boy, seems to really not want to enter the court and play with such trivial matters."

The embroidered messenger standing below didn't understand, but he lowered his head and listened.

Liu Qi stood up and walked back and forth. The candlelight in Changle Palace flickered with the wind brought by his footsteps, like the bright stars in the sky.

After a while, Liu Qi looked into the distance and sighed again: "That's all. If you don't want to, just don't want to. With Chen Qiu here, it's okay."

"The Chen family cannot be defeated, but it must not be too powerful."

The reason why the Chen family cannot fall is very simple, because the Chen family is too huge. Even if the emperor wants to bring down the Chen family, he must be careful, otherwise one of them will be killed first.

And such a huge Chen family can also check and balance the princes and kings.

The reason why it cannot be too powerful is simple.

Because the world’s surname is Liu!
Morning assembly
The court is still the same, but today's court seems to be different.

Because most of the Chen family's "disciples" did not quickly fall in line as usual, and these officials did not like Chao Cuo and Chen Tuo very much on weekdays, today the Chen family's true orthodoxy came, and they wanted to I'm on the side of orthodoxy.

The argument between Chao Cuo and Chen Tuo continued, but today there was a little surprise.

"Your Majesty—the envoy from King Wu has arrived."

Envoy of King Wu!

Chen Qiu turned his head slightly, glanced at Chao Cuo who was sitting firmly beside him, and sighed in his heart.

His younger brother really guessed it. Chao Cuo actually used some methods to let King Wu's envoy provoke them when they went to court today. In this way, the two young brothers might be angry and impulsive. Stand by his side.

Chen Qiu lowered his brows. In fact, he and Chao Cuo had a good relationship. When Chao Cuo was studying under his father's knees, he had traveled with him for a while.

Who knew it would turn out like this today?

Of course, things in the world are prone to change. Didn't he and Uncle Tuo grow up together back then? Uncle Tuo was not much older than him. The three of them have always been very close. But today, in order to fight for power, Uncle Tuo can also do it for them. Are they setting up a trap?

Most things in the world are like this and cannot go as expected.

After King Wu's envoy came to the palace, his face looked a little arrogant. Over the years, King Wu had become a nouveau riche because of his private "selling of salt." Salt has always been an indispensable thing for people.

Selling salt has always been a hugely profitable industry in ancient times. Even in many dynasties of later generations, salt has become the capital for many corrupt officials to make a fortune.

The envoy of King Wu expressed King Wu's respect to the emperor, but the wording in his words was full of disrespect. The emperor sat there with a very calm expression, and he just looked at the envoy quietly.

The two countries are at war, but they still don't kill the envoys.

What's more, what's going on now?

When the envoy retreated, the entire quiet court suddenly became noisy. Everyone was filled with indignation. They all expressed their dissatisfaction with the attitude of the King of Wu's envoy, and began to agree with Chao Cuo's "move to reduce the vassal status."

This was exactly what Chao Cuo wanted, and he felt a little complacent for a moment.

But Chen Tuo sat there, motionless. This was not because he didn't know anything, but because Chen Tuo was very confident. He knew that he was the prime minister, and without his consent, even the emperor could not really start "cutting down the feudal vassal".

This is the confidence that belongs to Prime Minister Chen.

After a long silence, Liu Qi spoke, but he was not asking anyone about Chao Cuo or Chen Tuozhong. Instead, he looked at Chen Qiu, and his tone was filled with deep exhaustion.

"What do Lord An Guo think of this?"

(End of this chapter)