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

Chapter 302: Idiot! You did something that I dared not do!

Even in history, this year is enough to leave many marks.

People in later generations are very curious about this year.

The events known in history as the three unsolved cases of Jingyuan all occurred in this year.

The biggest unsolved case: Why did Li Ji and the Crown Prince lose Liu Rong’s favor overnight?
This was later explained through the handwritten notes in the Chen family and the original "Records of the Grand Historian" left in the Chen family by Sima Qian, the Grand Historian during the reign of Emperor Wu.

Because of Li Ji’s call of “old dog”.

Therefore, later generations called Liu Rong the most wronged prince in history.

Li Ji was called "the model of a woman who betrayed her son" by later generations. Even in the following dynasties, when the empress dowager or the mother of a prince was about to do something, their sons would ask, "Do you want to be Li Ji of the Han Dynasty?"

Just this one sentence can instantly make people regain their sanity.

Who is Han Li Ji?
A woman can leave a significant mark in the history, and a mark that will be infamous for eternity. This destructive power is enough to make mothers in future generations warn themselves at all times.

Who would want to leave such a reputation in history, and be scolded by people many years after their death?
No one wants to.

The second biggest unsolved case is whether the eldest prince Liu Rong is dead or not.

The answer to this question in later generations became more complicated.

Even if the Yishui Rong family took out their own family tree and the relics left by their ancestor "Rong Liu" - the eldest son of the emperor Liu Rong, they could not prove that this was really true.

As we all know, at some point in time some people set a bad precedent.

As long as a family has some power, they like to find a famous ancestor for themselves.

This proves that your success is destined by heaven.

The Chinese have believed in "destiny" since ancient times.

The third unsolved case is a simple guess - that is: Was the departure of the imperial tutor and right prime minister Chen Tuo voluntary, or was he forced by the then Emperor Xiaojing?
On this point, Chen, Liu, and people all over the world have different opinions.

As we all know, after the fall of the Han Dynasty, the relationship between the Liu and Chen families became somewhat "ambiguous" or "distant".

Unlike the Zhao family of Shangdang and the Qin family of Longxi, the Chen family played a great role in the fall of the Liu family of the Han Dynasty.
The answer given by Chen is very simple: there is some forced element, but most of it is voluntary.

They provided the notes of Ning Yao Sanren, also known as Chen Tuo. These notes were written when Chen Tuo was traveling around the world, and they also wrote why he left Kyoto this time.

It was because of a bet.

A bet with the emperor.

The bet was lost, so Chen Tuo left Chang'an as agreed with the emperor.

The answer given by Liu was: Chen Tuo did it completely voluntarily.

According to Liu's descendants, Chen Tuo was tired of court affairs and was forced into a corner by Chen Qiu, the real head of the Chen family at that time.

Within two years of arriving in Chang'an City, Chen Qiu relied on his status as the "head of the family" and the orthodox identity to gather all the Chen family's students and former officials under his command, and then forced Chen Tuo to leave.

Although the then emperor Liu Qi tried to retain Chen Tuo many times, he was still helpless and had to let Chen Tuo leave due to Chen Qiu's dominance.

The views of other people in the world were even more extreme. They inferred from several poems written by Chen Tuo later that Chen Tuo was completely betrayed by Liu Qi. They felt that Chen Tuo's power was too great and that the Chen family's power was too great.

He thought that it was because Liu Qi wanted to establish the later "Zhongshu Cheng" and set up the Zhongshu Fu Ling who was called "Nei Xiang", so he forced his teacher away without any scruples.

Such voices dominated the historical circles of later generations.

Coincidentally, within a year after leaving Chang'an City, Chen Tuo created a large number of poems and essays under the name "Ning Yao San Ren", three or four of which were even famous works handed down from generation to generation and included in middle school textbooks in later generations.

Among them, there is a sentence in "Cixu Fu" that serves as evidence for this voice.

"Looking at the long moon and sighing, I get the infinite; I stray into the web of dust and make mistakes, bidding farewell to the empty years in long joy; you once crossed over and became my minister, and I sigh that my years are completely wasted."

Later, some people interpreted it as a symbol of Liu Qi's betrayal to Chen Tuo, especially the sentence "You once Yue Fu my minister", using the word "Yue Fu" as a homophone, which seems to mean "Yue Fu", but actually means "Yue Fu", which means unfaithful and ungrateful.

But no matter how many unsolved cases there were this year, this year has finally passed.

The spring of the sixteenth year of Jingyuan gradually arrived as everyone expected. In this year, Liu Che became the crown prince, and after becoming Chen Qiu's apprentice, he gradually grew older.

In other words, it was time for Liu Che to find a "Crown Princess".

Where should I find this candidate?

The smarter Liu Qi thought of "Chen". He was thinking about a problem: letting the princess become a member of the Chen family might not allow Chen to help the royal family wholeheartedly.

But what if the daughter of the Chen family became a member of the Liu family?
What if the daughter of the Chen family became the empress? What if the man with both the Chen and Liu bloodlines became the crown prince or even the next emperor?
At that time, will Chen still be able to stand from the perspective of a bystander as he is saying now?
Liu Qi began to plan for Chen for Liu, and began to plan for Chen Qiu's daughter for Liu Che.

Liu Che was very excited after hearing the news. He felt that if he could marry Chen's daughter, then there would be no problem with his throne and great achievements in the future!

He started to get excited.

However, another person in secret, like a poisonous snake, is also coveting this position.

Liu Pi.

Princess Guantao Liu Biao.

She wanted her daughter to become the queen, and as for Chen's daughter? She could allow Chen's daughter to be Liu Che's concubine because of Chen's hard work for Liu for so many years. What a great favor.

According to Liu Biao's stupid mind, she felt that she could allow Chen's daughter to be a concubine instead of having only her daughter in Liu Che's harem, and even allow Chen's daughter to give birth to a prince. This was already a great grace for her, and a great grace for the royal family!
Yes.

But after three generations, the Liu family had already forgotten one thing.

When the ancestor of the Liu family was just a peasant, the Chen family had already been ranked among the Three Dukes! They were already the most powerful in the world!

Is Liu's blood noble?
There is no such thing as noble blood in this world!
Who is more noble than who?

So, when the emperor sent someone to the Chen mansion to find Chen Qiu, the head of the Chen family, to discuss the marriage of his children, Liu Biao did a very stupid thing.

This stupid thing eventually caused Liu Pi to die, and Liu Che never forgot it until his death.

Even Empress Dowager Dou, who doted on her daughter the most, was speechless.

This is an event recorded in the Liu family genealogy. Because of this incident, the emperor of the time went to Guandu in person to apologize and make amends in front of the spirit tablet of Chen Ye, the "Great Saint Han King of An Guo".

What exactly did Liu Pi do?
This story begins at the end of the fifteenth year of Jingyuan.

When Liu Che was made the crown prince, Liu Biao became excited. She wanted her daughter to become the queen, and then after the next generation of emperor ascended the throne, she would continue to be able to be as "unbridled" as she was now.

She could even be more unscrupulous than she is now.

Because she felt that by then her identity would be the eldest princess + the emperor's mother-in-law + the queen's mother. With such an identity, would anyone be able to suppress her?
No one expected Liu Pi's stupidity.

She even really believed from the bottom of her heart that the Chen family was just a noble family that Liu family could play with at will.
The 13th day of the 12th month of the 15th year of Jingyuan
Liu Biao entered the palace and told Liu Che about this matter. Previously, Liu Che was able to protect Wang Zhi and his own safety under the double oppression of Liu Rong and Li Ji, mostly due to Liu Biao's contribution.

Because Liu Pi was very rude in front of Liu Che.

She asked Liu Che to fulfill his original promise and marry Chen Ajiao and make her the Crown Princess, that is, the future Queen.

At first, Liu Che thought this proposal was quite good, but on the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month, when facing Liu Biao's aggressive attitude, he just said that he would think about it, but in fact he had already agreed in his heart. On the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month, during the royal night banquet, the emperor told Liu Che his thoughts.

After getting drunk, the emperor was so talkative that he told Liu Che things that he had not yet actually done.

So, on the seventh day of the first lunar month in the sixteenth year of Jingyuan.

When Liu Biao came to Liu Che again to discuss marriage, Liu Che said that he had thought about it carefully and found that Chen Ajiao was not suitable to be his queen.

And because he had achieved success at a young age and had not suffered as in previous history, he was somewhat complacent at this time.

By marrying Chen's daughter, he would be tied to Chen for life. At that time, would he still need to be afraid of Guantao? Not to mention Guantao, he would not even be afraid of the blind old woman behind Guantao.

Do you really think Chen doesn't dare to bring a sword into the palace?
joke!

Although Liu Biao was angry at the time, he did not think much about it, at least on the 25th day of the first lunar month of the 16th year of Jingyuan.

She entered the palace.

After talking with Empress Dowager Dou, Liu Biao instantly understood why the prince's attitude towards him had changed, and why he was arrogant at first and respectful later. Was it because he was related to the Chen family?
A huge disaster began to brew.

In the sixteenth year of Jingyuan, it was the transition between spring and summer.

Guandu
Chen Rou was walking in the wild, looking at the lively spring scenery with an excited look on her face.

Her health is not good, so she can't go out often.

Today, she had begged for a long time to be able to go out for a spring outing, so she cherished this time very much.

"Xilulu——"

While Chen Rou was admiring the surrounding scenery, the sound of horse hooves suddenly came from the distance, followed by the sound of wheels rolling.

A very luxurious carriage stopped in front of Chen Rou. While Chen Rou was looking stunned, Liu Biao slowly walked out of the carriage with an arrogant look. He glanced at Chen Rou and then showed a look of disdain on his face.

"Are you Chen Rou?"

Chen Rou frowned. Her good upbringing allowed her to hold back her inner speechlessness and discomfort. The guards who were protecting Chen Rou had already found someone to quickly return to the Chen family before these armored soldiers surrounded the place.

In Guandu's territory, is there anyone who dares to touch Chen's people?
Facing Liu Pi's question, Chen Rou nodded slightly: "Yes, I am."

"May I ask you?"

Liu Piao looked Chen Rou up and down, and the look on his face became even more disdainful.

"You don't need to know who I am. You just need to know that with your looks, you dare to compete with my Ah Jiao for the position of queen?"

"It's simply overestimating one's abilities!"

She held her head high, ready to teach Chen Rou, or rather Chen Shi, a lesson.

So he waved his hand, and several tall palace maids stood up behind him.

"She scratched my face!"

"It will also help her remember it!"

"Not everything can be robbed. Chen is just a dog of my Liu family!"

The maid beside him was hesitant. If he offended Chen, he might not die now. But if he offended the princess, he would die now.
After all, they still hesitated and went forward.

In their hearts, they also feel that the royal family is supreme.

Because the last time Chen got angry was decades ago, people's memories tend to fade easily, and the old people who knew Chen's power had long since died.

Chen Rou was not nervous at all. She just sneered, "It turns out to be Princess Guantao."

She knew that she had guards by her side, and she also knew that before she was in danger, a guard would definitely go home and report the news. This place was not far from the Chen family's ancestral land, and they should be there soon.

Chen Rou just looked at Liu Biao and said, "Liu Biao, do you know what price you will pay for your remarks today?"

Liu Pi was even more disdainful: "I am the eldest princess! My mother is the queen mother! My brother is the emperor today!"

"My daughter is the future queen!"

"Who dares to touch me? Who can touch me?!"

Looking at the arrogant Liu Biao, Chen Rou pressed her forehead.

I've seen stupid things, but I've never seen anything this stupid.
At this moment, just as the palace maids were about to step forward to take action, there were sudden bursts of turbulent sounds coming from the ground!

"Rumble--"

The sound was deafening, like a dragon turning over in the earth!
Smoke and dust rose in the distance.

Along with the smoke and dust, nearly a thousand cavalrymen came, led by none other than the former prime minister of the Han Dynasty, now Ningyao Sanren - Chen Tuo!
Chen Tuo dismounted with a stern look on his face, and said nothing when he saw this situation.

He just waved his hand and said, "Bet them all."

"Into the dungeon."

"All the slaves here will be beaten to death."

"Send the head to Chang'an for our Majesty to see, and for all the nobles in the world to see."

"Ask your majesty, what does Liu want to do?"

At this moment, Chen Tuo was firing on all cylinders!

Just a few simple words, filled with domineering power!

Without asking a single question, or even knowing what had just happened, he directly imprisoned the princess! He also beat all the slaves and maids that accompanied the princess to death!
The whole world was shocked.

In the sixteenth year of Jingyuan, it was June in summer.

In the Queen Mother's Palace
After learning that Liu Biao had disappeared for more than a month without any news, Empress Dowager Dou was so anxious that tears were about to fall. She prepared to go to the emperor and ask him to find him.

At this time, Liu Qi walked in with a tired look on his face.

The letter sent by Chen Tuo was handed over to Empress Dowager Dou.

"Mother, look what your foolish daughter has done."

There was a sneer on his face.

"She's amazing! She did something that I wouldn't even dare to think about, let alone do."

"He asked someone to scratch Chen Qiu's legitimate daughter's face, publicly called Chen a dog of Liu, and said his daughter was the future queen."

"Mother, this is really your good daughter!"

(End of this chapter)