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

Chapter 336 That man shows up!

In the first year of Yongyuan, King An assisted the young emperor to ascend the throne and then took control of the government.

But the powerful minister of the Chen family would always be of that character. He would never really "control" the government. For example, he would mostly discuss state affairs with the young emperor, and it was a real discussion.

He would analyze the matter from various angles to the little emperor, and then explain why this matter had to be done this way.

At the beginning, the emperor was very dissatisfied with the head of the Chen family. He listened to the instigation of some eunuchs in the palace and felt that Chen would definitely seize the power that originally belonged to him, and then completely turn Liu Han into "Chen Han".

For the young emperor, many things might be false if said once, and might also be false if said twice.

But what they say every day already has credibility in their minds.

But as time went by, the young emperor finally understood who was loyal and who was treacherous - of course, the methods used by the head of the Chen family were a little cruel.

He allowed some "loyal ministers" to do what they wanted and stayed at home sick at critical moments.

Then watch the development of the court.

Because Chen's sick leave was a routine, anyone who had read a little bit of books would know that during the reign of the fourth emperor of the previous dynasty, Chen's people took leave because of the absurdity of state affairs and the stupidity of the fourth emperor. After that, before the new emperor, Emperor Wulie of Qin, took over the government, Chen did not interfere in state affairs again.

Nor did he do anything about those treacherous villains.

Some of the world's noble families also went to Guandu. They tested the thoughts of the head of the Chen family and realized that he was indeed disappointed.

In this situation, unless the emperor could "establish himself", they would never care about the emperor's affairs again.

After some people in the court learned of this situation, they became even more outrageous.

The young emperor could gain power from the hands of the head of the Chen family, not because the young emperor had any majesty, nor because the emperor's intelligence and wisdom could surpass that of the Chen family.

It is because the head of the Chen family is willing to gradually return the power in his hands to the emperor.

This is the truth of the matter.

During the two and a half years, namely the first, second and third years of Yongyuan, the young emperor was clearly aware of this matter.

Those treacherous flatterers who used to flatter and coax him no longer supported him because he had lost his effectiveness, and he, the emperor, lived even worse than some high-ranking eunuchs.

Weiyang Palace
The emperor, who was no longer too young, sat there, staring at the bright moon above his head in a daze.

After two years, he finally figured out who was loyal and who was treacherous.

But what can we do even if we can tell the difference?
The teacher who would always help him and teach him the truth has left him.

He was trapped in this deep palace, unable to go out to look for his teacher, and his teacher would no longer pay attention to this place because of disappointment.

A tear slid down her cheek and fell into the hall of Weiyang Palace.

The green bricks and tiles here have seen countless such situations.

He turned back to the Weiyang Palace and continued to be in a trance. At this time, he had not noticed a figure quietly appearing beside him.

Before his death, the late emperor left behind a group of people that no one could command, called the "Embroidered Robe Messengers."

In the first year of the Yongyuan reign, the young emperor handed over the command of the Embroidered Robe Envoy to the "loyal minister" he trusted. Of course, after the head of the Chen family left, this loyal minister immediately defected to the truly treacherous and powerful minister.

So the emperor even lost his command over the Embroidered Robe Envoy.

This is why the young emperor is so frustrated now.

What ordinary people, including the young emperor, don't know is that there are two groups of embroidered robe envoys. One group is the one that is on the surface and visible to everyone. Although their loyalty can be trusted, just like human hearts will always shift, they will also obey the "commander".

And the other group is hidden among this group of embroidered robe messengers.

Each of the leaders of this group was selected from orphans adopted by the royal family. They can also be said to be the so-called "death warriors", real death warriors.

This group of people would always obey the orders of the emperor alone - except for one order, which was to ask them to listen to others.

This group of people will only be loyal to the emperor, which does not even include the next emperor.

They will only be handed over to the next emperor after the previous emperor dies.

The reason for doing so may even include preventing the crown prince from becoming too powerful and seizing power.

"His Majesty."

A figure knelt on the ground and raised his head: "Why don't we ask Prime Minister Chen to come back?!"

"With Prime Minister Chen here, we will surely be able to wipe out the treacherous villains!"

The young emperor looked up at the man, tears streaking his face. "Will the teacher be willing to come back?"

He also hesitated a little: "Even if the teacher is willing to come back, now the court and the army no longer obey my orders, can the teacher eliminate the treacherous people?"

The young emperor wiped away his tears and said, "Even if I die, I don't want to implicate my teacher!"

The envoy raised his head, looked at the young emperor, and said solemnly: "Your Majesty, don't worry. You don't understand the power of the Chen family, but I do."

"You know Prime Minister Chen better than I do."

"As long as the message is delivered, Prime Minister Chen will certainly lead his troops to help you eliminate the treacherous villains!"

His last words touched the young emperor: "You have the blood of Empress Xiaoci in you! How could Prime Minister Chen really not care about you?"

Blood connection is always the most crucial factor. The young emperor nodded, bit his fingertips and bleed, waved his hand and wrote a call for help on the cloth, and then walked to the envoy in embroidered clothes with an earnest voice.

"I'll leave everything to you!"

The embroidered robed messenger raised his head, his expression solemn: "Ding, I will live up to your majesty's trust!"

The third year of Yongyuan, summer.

A year that will be recorded in history books.

This year, something happened that shocked the whole world. Even after a hundred years had passed, and even if the Chen family had fallen silent a thousand times during these hundred years, no one dared to provoke the Chen family.

It is known in history as the "Yongyuan Rebellion".

This is what is recorded in the Book of Han.

"In the summer of the third year of Yongyuan, in June, Chen received the imperial edict and raised an army, claiming to clear the emperor's court. On June 15, he raised his army at Guandu, and all the cities along the way opened their gates to welcome him. On the 23rd, he arrived in Chang'an."

"At that time, Prime Minister Li Jun controlled the government and issued a false edict claiming that Chen was a traitor and wanted to assassinate the king in order to persuade other countries to save the king."

“No one in the world will follow.”

"When the troops reach the foot of the city tower, the soldiers of Chang'an will open the gates to welcome them."

"King An rode his horse forward with his sword drawn to the Weiyang Palace, personally saved the emperor from danger, and beheaded the treacherous officials in Weiyang. He was a hero of the time and a great man of the country."

"From the time we started the rebellion to the time we put it down, it took a total of eight days, and the country was at peace."

"The whole world is shocked."

"At that time, the national treasury was empty, so King An issued an edict to all the kings. The edict contained only two words: borrow grain. All the kings dared not disobey, and within a month, the national treasury was full."

"The emperor conferred the title of 'King of Zhen' on King An and bestowed upon him the nine gifts."

"Those who enjoy the Nine Gifts do not need to be named when they are praised or worshipped, do not need to rush when entering the court, and go into the palace with swords and shoes."

"At that time, a king was as precious as a word, especially the hegemon of the Spring and Autumn Period. The emperor said that he wanted to change the title of King An to "King of Jin", the second hegemon, and grant him 20 counties such as Guandu and Shangdang, which is almost half of the territory of the Han Dynasty." "King An declined, saying: There is no king in the Chen family, so Your Majesty should not mention it again."

"At that time, a favored minister reported to the emperor: King An may have serious intentions."

"In the fourth year of Yongyuan, the emperor bestowed the Nine Gifts again, and wanted to change the title of King An to "King of Qin", the highest among all the overlords. The kingdom south of the Yangtze River was already half of the Han Dynasty."

"King An declined the offer and said: The Chen family has never been granted the Nine Gifts or titled a king or given a kingdom. Your Majesty, please do not mention it again."

"Another favored minister reported to the emperor: Perhaps the ancestors of King An did not receive a posthumous title."

"In June of the fifth year of Yongyuan, the emperor posthumously bestowed the Nine Gifts on Anguo Great Saint Han Wu Wang, [Taishang Daluo Tiande Dao Zhenjun], and allowed him to be worshipped without being named, to enter the court without bowing, to wear a sword and shoes in the palace, and posthumously named him "King of Qin."

"In July, the emperor bestowed the Nine Gifts on King An, allowing him to bow without his name, enter the court without kneeling, and wear a sword and shoes when entering the palace. He also wanted to change his title to King of Qin, the greatest of all the overlords, and grant him the territory south of the Yangtze River and connecting to Guandu City. His fiefdom was greater than that of the Han Dynasty, the greatest in the world."

"King An refused, saying: 'The Chen family has no ambition to dominate, and the promises of the common people are all vain. They are the people of one heart, and they have lived up to the grace of heaven.'

"Three times of asking and three times of resigning."

"At that time, everyone was favorable to us. This was a precedent, and we must accept it if it is given again."

"So, in July of the sixth year of Yongyuan, the emperor conferred titles again, conferring upon Chen Linwu's father the title of King of Qin, granting him the nine gifts and honors; later, he conferred upon King An the nine gifts, and continued to confer titles as before."

"King An was furious and shouted in front of the Weiyang Palace: If you have nothing to do, please intervene in government affairs and don't do useless things."

"After that, she invited dozens of scholars to the emperor." - "Han Shu·Xiaojing Huangdi Shilu"

August, the sixth year of Yongyuan.

Liu Ao sat cautiously in the Weiyang Palace, secretly glanced at his teacher's cheek, and asked in a low voice: "Teacher, are you still angry?"

He quietly pushed the tea forward, very respectfully.

Chen Linwu watched this scene, and any anger in his heart disappeared. He pressed his forehead and said, "Your Majesty, I told you early on that the Chen family has no intention of becoming a king or founding a country."

"As for the Nine Gifts, Chen doesn't care about it."

"Why won't you listen?"

"I rejected you several times before, but you still insisted on asking me to resign three times. What on earth do you do?"

Liu Ao sat there, a small ball.

Because he was trapped in the deep palace during the crucial two or three years of his childhood, he now looks very thin.

He whispered, "Don't I want to give the teacher the best?"

Seeing Chen Linwu's helpless expression, he muttered something in a low voice, and then asked in a low voice when Chen Linwu's expression eased: "Then teacher, since you are not angry anymore, what about the ten teachers and the homework they assigned?"

Chen Linwu was so angry that he almost laughed. He looked at Liu Ao and sneered, "When your majesty leaves for war, you can stop doing this."

The words of Chen Linwu in the seventh year of Yongyuan seemed to still echo in Liu Ao's ears. Liu Ao stood up, looked at the government affairs in front of him and sighed: "Teacher——"

"I hope I haven't let you down all these years, right?"

He raised his eyes, with a look of fatigue and old age. It was already the thirty-first year of Yongyuan.

Chen Linwu passed away in the 27th year of Yongyuan. At that time, the emperor was almost emotionally collapsed and was seriously ill for ten days. Finally, it was Chen Linwu's son who brought the suicide note left by Chen Linwu that cheered the emperor up.

Four years have passed since then.

Liu Cheng, who walked in from outside the hall, sighed. He knew the sadness in his father's heart.

Emperor Xiaojing reigned for a total of thirty-eight years, making him one of the longest-reigning emperors of the Han Dynasty. However, unlike Liu Ao in history, Emperor Xiaojing Liu Ao fulfilled the promise he made to his teacher throughout his entire life and governed the Han Dynasty diligently throughout his life.

Under his governance, the Han Dynasty became more prosperous.

People called this period of governance the "Yongyuan Era of Prosperity". It was the best time for the people of the Han Dynasty. Even the reign of Emperor Wu was not as good as that of Emperor Yongyuan, because wars were launched during Emperor Wu's reign.

During the reign of Emperor Yongyuan, there had been no war for many years.

In the 38th year of Yongyuan, the emperor died of illness and passed the throne to Crown Prince Liu Cheng.

When Liu Cheng put on the yellow robe, he was already nearly thirty years old.
At the beginning of his reign, he appointed his own crown prince.

The following year, the emperor changed the era name to "Huanglong", which was the "first year of Huanglong". This year, in the long river of history, was "17 BC".

The Chen family was founded in 365 BC, and it has been 348 years since then.

During the Huanglong period, the emperor's governance was still good. Although he occasionally enjoyed himself, most of the time he was able to take care of government affairs and prevent the people from living in poverty.

During the Huanglong period, the emperor and Chen were in a situation where they did not disturb each other.

Although Chen's sons and daughters occasionally served as court officials, they would generally leave when they achieved a certain level of success.

But even so, no one in the world dared to look down on the Chen family.

Until the fourteenth year of Huanglong, everything changed.

The emperor pursued pleasure and extravagance without limit, and the king who had done well in the early stage seemed to have completely disappeared in the long river of time.

Occasionally, complaints against the emperor were heard among the people, but these complaints were few and did not amount to anything significant.

The emperor pretended not to see it.

In the fifteenth year of Huanglong, the emperor deposed the empress amid the angry opposition of his ministers.

After the queen was deposed, the voices supporting the prince gradually weakened.

The prince was only thirteen years old at this time.

The seventeenth year of Huanglong, it seems as if history wants everyone to remember this year.

The emperor deposed the crown prince and enthroned a new queen.

The new queen was named "Wang Mowan".

She has a younger brother.

Her surname is also Wang. On the night when her mother was pregnant with her younger brother, she dreamed of a white snake in the sky. When her younger brother was born, countless auspicious signs appeared in the sky.

Therefore, it was named "Mang".

His name is Wang Mang.

This year is the first year of the AD calendar, the beginning of the world, and the first year that Wang Mang entered politics.

The abandoned prince was depressed and frustrated, and could not live in the Eastern Palace, so the emperor renamed him "King of Hongnong" and his fief was near Guandu City.

The galloping horse carried the frustrated prince to his fiefdom.

This frustrated prince has a very nice name.

He is called

Liu Xiu.

(End of this chapter)