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

Chapter 314: Marrying Your Daughter
When the news from the northern border reached Chang'an City, countless people were excited, and some even had tears in their eyes.

This battle was a great victory.

They had never heard such exciting words.

Capture the Chanyu alive.

This is even more frightening.

Who accomplished such a great feat?
It is no exaggeration to call such an achievement a "great feat". After all, even in the Qin Dynasty, Wu'an Jun Chen Zhan had not been able to achieve such an achievement. Although he drove the Huns to the vicinity of Langjuxu Mountain for the first time in the history of the world and laid the foundation for eternal great achievements, that was just the foundation.

Now, Chen Qulu and Huo Qubing, the two who captured the Chanyu alive, are standing on this peak again.

Everyone was looking forward to the return of these three heroes, and as the rumors spread, the people of Chang'an City gradually learned the specific details of this war, and these details were spread by the embroidered robe messengers ordered by the emperor himself.

Part of the reason for doing this is to let everyone in the world know that he was the one who discovered these heroes, so that there would be relevant information about him under the names of these three people in history books.

Of course, there is another reason.

Weiyang Palace
Liu Che looked at the memorial in his hand with a hint of amusement on his face. There was a deep color in the depths of his eyes, and that deep color was like the darkest night, which was terrifying.

"Look, look, Marquis Jiang knows how to advance and retreat, and this is what he wrote in the memorial."

He shook his head, sighed and said, "Marquis Jiang has made great contributions to the Han Dynasty over the years. I cannot help but think of our old friendship. I will agree to it."

"only--"

Liu Che said with a half-smile, "For the time being, no one is qualified to take up the position of Grand Commandant. Let Marquis Jiang continue to take up the position. As for his concern about not having the energy to handle the tedious government affairs, it is also very simple."

After a brief thought, Liu Che said, "Let's set up three positions: 'Military Commandant', 'Military Sima', and 'Grand Sima' to supplement the original role of the Grand Commandant."

The Central Government Officer stood aside, not daring to say a word.

This was a struggle between the emperor and the general, and also between the emperor and the noble families. What could a slave like him say or dare to say? He could only remain silent at this time.

Liu Che stretched and asked, "As for the position of Grand Commandant?"

He touched his chin and said, "I really care about Marquis Jiang's achievements and feel that no one else can take this position except Marquis Jiang, so I set this position as a position without real power but with a noble status."

"From now on, this will be the custom and cannot be changed."

The Central Government Commander said softly, "Yes."

Liu Che waved his hand and said, "Okay, go talk to Marquis Jiang and ask him to submit another memorial."

After the Central Government Commander left obediently, Liu Che turned back with a brisk pace to the Pepper Room, where the Queen Wei Zifu lived.

At this time, Wei Zifu was handling affairs in the hall. She naturally heard about what her brother and nephew had done, but what she did better than those other "people" was that she was able to hide her inner excitement and excitement very well, suppress her desire to be elated, and thus become more calm.

This is something many people cannot do, but Wei Zifu did it.

The maid beside her was holding a little child in her arms. He was the emperor's eldest son, named "Liu Ju". If Liu Che's previous promise was fulfilled, when Wei Zifu became the queen, this child would be the emperor's legitimate eldest son.

He is also the best candidate for the future "Crown Prince".

When Liu Che walked into the hall, he saw such a warm scene: his wife was gently sewing clothes, his eldest son was sleeping soundly in the arms of a maid, and good news was constantly spreading in the hall. Everything seemed so beautiful.

Liu Che's heart was moved. He walked to the maid, took the child down, and said with a smile: "Zi Fu, I once said this in the presence of Teacher Yu before Wei Qing went to war."

His eyes were looking at Wei Zifu, his voice was very soft and gentle, but his demeanor was extremely dignified and serious.

What Liu Che said was even more shocking.

He whispered, "I have said that as long as Wei Qing can win this time, and as long as you can give birth to my eldest son, then the position of Queen will be yours, and the position of Crown Prince will be for our child."

Liu Che's voice became more and more firm.

A person’s first child is always the most special, because most of the time, a father has the most emotions for his eldest son, which includes his peak tension, anxiety and all the imperfections of being a father for the first time.

Many emperors throughout history were like this.

The eldest son of Emperor Qin Shihuang, Fusu; the eldest son of Emperor Liu Che, Liu Ju; the eldest son of Cao Cao, Cao Ang; the eldest son of Emperor Li Shimin, Li Chengqian; the eldest son of Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Biao; and so on.

The same was true of Liu Che at this time.

He looked at Wei Zifu and said, "When Wei Qing returns, it will be time for you to be crowned as queen and the decree for you to be crowned as crown prince."

Liu Che's voice was gentle: "I will find the best teacher for him, and I will also find the best helper for him."

He teased Liu Ju in his arms, and without consulting Wei Zifu or even Chen, he made a marriage contract: "I will find a teacher for him, and let my prince marry Chen."

"The daughter of the Chen family should be the Crown Princess of my eldest son, and also the Empress of the Han Dynasty in the future!"

Wei Zifu lowered her head and listened obediently to Liu Che's words. In fact, Liu Che did this not only for the good of his son Liu Ju, but also because he really wanted to pull Chen completely onto Liu's chariot.

He always felt that King Xiao of Qin did not do enough.

What's the point of just marrying my daughter to Chen? What's the point of Chen having Ying's blood flowing in her body?

When people are at the most critical moment, they always care about their own interests!

If the child of Chen's daughter became the emperor, if the blood of Liu was mixed with that of Chen, and if the blood of the two families of Liu and Chen became the emperor in the future. When the Liu family was in crisis, could Chen really sit idly by, or just send someone to help as it did at the end of the Qin Dynasty?
emperor!

He is from the Liu family and also from the Chen family!

This was the most profound conspiracy played by Emperor Liu Che.

Will Chen accept the challenge?

Liu Che didn't know, but he knew that Chen would not fight back desperately against the arranged marriage.

First, this is not a bad thing for Chen, although it is not a good thing either.

Second, Liu Che understood Chen, and Chen would not disobey the imperial edict unless her bottom line was touched.

Therefore, Liu Che was almost 100% sure that Chen would accept him, but he was not sure whether Chen would send a real legitimate daughter, such as the granddaughter of Chen Qiu, the current ruler, or a woman who was still a legitimate daughter but not so important. In Liu Che's mind, the best choice was of course Chen Ming, the eldest son of Chen Qiu, the current ruler and the next head of the Chen family, Chen Wushi, the eldest daughter of Chen Ming, the second was Chen Pi's granddaughter Chen Lin, and then other women of the Chen family who were of the right age.

Chen Ming and Chen Lin are not much older than Liu Ju, the former is three years younger and the latter is five years younger.

As for these two who are older than his son?

What's wrong with being bigger?
Liu Ju can explain very confidently that when you grow up, you will know how to love others! When you grow up, you will know how to take care of others!
As for Liu Ju, does he have any objections?
Liu Che could only say haha, he was sure that his son would not have any objection to this.

Everyone wants to get help from the Chen family.

Didn't he, his father, and even his great-grandfather try every possible means to catch Chen? Now that a woman from the Chen family was given to him for free, what objection could he have?
The smile on Liu Che's mouth became more obvious.

For him, there was another reason for making Chen's daughter-in-law besides making the relationship between Liu and Chen closer.

He wanted to use the Chen family to further undermine the other aristocratic families of the Han Dynasty.

This sounds like a humorous "joke". After all, the Chen family is the head of the Han Dynasty's aristocratic families. Using the Chen family to undermine the other aristocratic families is like drinking poison to quench thirst.

But Liu Che was not a fool.

Only he himself knows his purpose. To some extent, the Chen family is not an "aristocratic family" because the fundamental purpose of its existence is different from that of an "aristocratic family". Its essence is more like a "collective".

The third year of Yuanshou
With the arrival of spring, the time of revival of all things is approaching.

The soldiers and generals at the border also began to slowly return to Chang'an City after the ice and snow melted. These people were the glory of the Han Dynasty.

Before Wei Qing, Chen Qulu and Huo Qubing returned, the emperor had already prepared gifts for them.

Wei Qing was appointed as "Grand Marshal" and "Grand General", and was promoted from Marquis of Changping to "Duke of Changping". Chen Qulu was appointed as "Military Sima" and "General", and was promoted from "Marquis of Lin'an" to "Duke of Lin'an". Huo Qubing was appointed as "Military Commandant" and "General". The title of Marquis of Guanjun remained unchanged, but like the Marquis of Changping, he was given an additional "fiefdom". This fiefdom was also the same as that of the Duke of Changping, in that he only enjoyed food but not "real estate".

In addition to this, the emperor also stated that he could grant marriage to Chen Qulu and Huo Qubing. As long as they had a woman they liked, they could just state it directly. The emperor would then grant them marriage, and the Honglu Temple would directly organize the wedding, and all matters would be handled according to the specifications of the "Emperor's Grand Wedding."

As for Wei Qing
The emperor did not ask for his opinion, but directly granted the marriage.

"Princess Pingyang" will marry Wei Qing.

And this news was not the most shocking thing. The most shocking thing was that the emperor personally came to the Prince An’s Palace and asked Chen Qiu and Chen Wushi for their opinions. On the second day, he announced that he would promote Lady Wei Zifu to the position of "Queen".

The "eldest son of the emperor" Liu Ju was made the "Crown Prince".

It's not over yet.

After Liu Che's series of actions, both the upstarts in the court and the common people in Chang'an City understood that there would definitely be a bigger move after these actions of the emperor.

as predicted.

After Liu Ju, a one-year-old child, became the crown prince, he also had a crown princess.

The emperor decreed that Chen had a daughter named "Chen Ming", who was the eldest granddaughter of King An and the eldest daughter of "Chen Wushi", the next head of the Chen family and the current crown prince of King An.

The imperial edict said: Chen Minghui is beautiful, skilled, gentle, honest, and has outstanding character and appearance. She is suitable for marrying a family and should be engaged to the prince as a child.

In this way, two children, who were still in their infancy, were married and tied together.

No one knew what the two people were thinking because they were too young, but the emperor was certainly excited.

After Liu Che tied the Chen and Liu families together, he became even bolder.

After the emperor completed these actions, Marquis Jiang submitted a memorial, stating that his body could no longer support him and that he could no longer serve as the Grand Marshal and be in charge of the country's military power. He asked the emperor to consider his hard work over the years and allow him to retire.

The emperor tried to keep him again and again, but in the end he failed.

When Marquis Jiang insisted on retiring and wrote a letter to the emperor for the third time, the emperor cried loudly in the Weiyang Palace and suspended court for three days to reject Marquis Jiang's request to retire.

When an official entered the palace to meet the emperor, he saw the emperor holding a memorial written by Marquis Jiang in his hand and shedding tears, his eyes were dull and he seemed to have lost his spirit.

As this rumor spread more and more widely, Marquis of Jiang Zhou Yafu finally entered the palace.

Half a day later, Zhou Yafu left the palace in a leisurely manner.

At the morning court on the second day, the emperor cried in public, saying that he and the Han Dynasty could not do without Marquis Jiang. Marquis Jiang was also grateful for the kindness of the two emperors Wen and Jing, so he decided not to retire.

However, due to health reasons, he was unable to undertake military duties.

The emperor also felt that no one except Marquis Jiang could take on this position, so he decided to let Marquis Jiang continue to serve as the Grand Marshal, and leave military affairs to the three people of "Military Commandant", "Military Sima" and "Grand Sima" to decide.

There is no distinction between the three of them in terms of priority, but they are all the highest commanders of military affairs in the world.

If the three cannot make a decision on military affairs, or if one of them feels that the decision is not right, they can report it to the emperor, who will make the final decision.

then.

The "Taiwei", which had been in control of actual power since the Qin Dynasty, had completely become a "nominal position" at this moment, just like the "Taishi", which was a nominal position.

Among the three highest officials, the position of prime minister was reduced by one, and the "Central Government Commander", also known as the "Internal Prime Minister", was set up to divide the power.

Everyone thought that the next person to have his power reduced would be the Grand Censor, and the important position of Grand Marshal would be left for the end, because the person sitting on this position was Marquis Jiang, the head of the aristocratic family except the Chen family.

But no one expected that the second passive official was actually the "Taiwei".

What's more, it was even more ruthless than moving the prime minister. It went straight to the point of turning the "Grand Marshal" into a powerless nominal position.

How did the aristocratic family headed by Zhou Yafu seize military power?
From the hands of Wei Qing who had just made great achievements? From the hands of Huo Qubing? Or from Chen?
No one dares.

Because touching Wei Qing is equivalent to touching the queen, which is equivalent to touching the next emperor, and which is equivalent to touching Chen.

why?
Because military merit has closely linked these three or two together.

Indivisible and cannot be divided.

This is the emperor's mind.

(End of this chapter)