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

Chapter 343: The Eyes of a Young Person
Weiyang Palace
The emperor looked at Zhang Rang, the attendant beside him, very nervously and asked, "Do you think King An will come?"

Zhang Rang stood respectfully in front of the emperor, not nervous at all. He said, "Since your majesty has issued an edict and stated the severity of the situation, King An will naturally come."

"You must know that almost all the heads of the Chen family are dignified "gentlemen."

"In the past, King An did not come because he was afraid that the court would be overshadowed by the power of the Chen family again, but now the emperor has told King An everything."

Although Zhang Rang's voice was sharp, it unexpectedly had a calming effect.

"Even if His Royal Highness King An didn't come for you, he would have come for the Han Empire and the people of this world."

Only after saying this did Liu Hong finally feel relieved.

He looked helplessly at the dark night and the crescent moon hanging in the sky, looking exhausted. "The government is already in such a state, can King An really save the situation?"

Liu Hong propped up his head and said, "The world has changed a long time ago. The Chen family may no longer be the original Chen family."

Zhang Rang just stood behind Liu Hong, massaging his shoulders and comforting him softly, "Your Majesty, as long as your Majesty and King An are still together, this world will not change. The Chen family is still the Chen family, and your Majesty is still your Majesty."

"Whether it's the Yuan family, the general, or even the kings who intend to split the Han Dynasty, as long as King An arrives in Chang'an City, they will all be killed."

He gently soothed Liu Hong's emotions and massaged him slowly, but after a moment, Liu Hong began to feel a little tired.

Zhang Rang served loyally until Liu Hong fell into a deep sleep before leaving quickly and quietly.

Office of the Attendant

Since the reign of Emperor Xiaoheng, in addition to the Minister of the Central Palace, the palace had additional Eunuchs. The position of Eunuchs almost covered that of the Minister of the Central Palace. When the current emperor ascended the throne, the number of Eunuchs suddenly increased to nine.

Today, the Ten Eunuchs are in power. Even if the Central Palace Order is nominally the highest institution in the inner court, it is useless because the Central Palace Order must obey the Ten Eunuchs.

Zhang Rang threw his cloak on the ground, frowned, looked at his old friends and said, "Why did we ask His Majesty to call back Chen Chengji? If he comes, I'm afraid he will attack us first."

Zhao Zhong on the side sneered and said nothing else. He just said one sentence, which immediately changed Zhang Rang's expression: "He Jin is trying to conspire with Yuan to kill us!"

Zhang Rang's expression suddenly changed: "How could this be?"

Zhao Zhong shook his head: "It's just a means of profit."

"The Yuan family is now very powerful in the court, and with He Jin as their backer, if the two of them conspire together, it will be something that you and I cannot withstand."

"The only solution now is to involve Chen as well."

"Those saints and living bodhisattvas all care about the people. There's nothing wrong in letting them overturn the chessboard. At least you and I can save our lives."

Zhang Rang looked gloomy: "Have they contacted Dong Zhuo?"

Zhao Zhong nodded: "Otherwise I wouldn't be in this situation."

"Dong Zhuo is a disciple of the Yuan family. After entering the capital, the first thing he will do is to cooperate with the Yuan family and join forces with the general to kill you and me directly."

"By then, it will be too late to ask Chen to spare his life."

Zhang Rang's expression changed several times, and finally he sat there helplessly. Although the stove in the room continued to emit hot steam, all ten people in the room were shivering.

"Has King An's reply arrived?"

Guo Sheng raised his head: "They have arrived. They said they would bring their son to Chang'an."

Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong looked at each other and said, "Let's see who is faster in killing you and me, or who is faster in entering Chang'an."

In a corner, a corner where no one paid attention, Xia Hun said softly: "But, how can you think that King An will keep you and me alive and let us continue to act tyrannically?"

Zhang Rang chuckled: "What Chen needs is an attitude."

"If we kill you and the others at this time, the government will definitely be in chaos. As long as you and I show our willingness to bring out a few people to replace our crimes and promise to return what we have obtained over the years, King An should consider the overall situation."

Zhao Zhong turned around and asked: "Do you really want to take it out?"

He was a little reluctant to give up.

The Ten Eunuchs all came from poor families and entered the palace because they could not afford to eat. Otherwise, who would be willing to eat this meal?
It is precisely because of this that they are so greedy. How could they be willing to give back the money they have obtained?
Zhang Rang just nodded: "If you don't want to die, just take some out and then say that this is all."

A spark is like a ray of light in the dark night, illuminating the gloom between heaven and earth.

In the Weiyang Palace, after Zhang Rang left, Liu Hong, who had fallen asleep, slowly opened his eyes. His eyes were full of calculations.

The late emperor did not like him back then, and even though he had to pass the throne to him in the end, he still asked the empress dowager to restrain him because she also did not like him.

Afterwards, he relied on Yuan, He Jin and others to eliminate the power of the empress dowager. But later, Yuan, He Jin and others became powerful, so he relied on the Ten Attendants again and tacitly allowed them to sell official positions and sell a large number of official positions in the court in order to check and balance Yuan and He Jin.

Now, the Ten Eunuchs, Yuan, He Jin and others have all become his biggest concerns.

Liu Hong couldn't help but think that he really had no ability to govern the country, nor did he have the ability to be a king. Before the death of the late emperor, he said that he would definitely lead the Han Dynasty into the abyss. Now he felt that it was like a prophecy.

"I hope Chen won't let me down."

Liu Hong closed his eyes.

In Chang'an City, Yuan's Mansion

Yuan Feng's old eyes were a little cloudy. He looked at Yuan Ji on his right and asked in a low voice, "What news has come from the palace?"

Yuan Ji said softly, "Father, someone in the palace has sent me news that His Majesty and the Ten Eunuchs have secretly summoned King An to come to the capital."

"King An is probably about to arrive now."

King An?
Yuan Feng's eyes suddenly burst into some incredible light: "King An?"

"Did Zhang Ran drive them crazy????"

"What good will it bring to them if King An comes to Beijing?"

Yuan Ji shook his head and smiled bitterly: "I'm afraid he thinks that after King An enters the capital, he will consider the overall situation and spare their lives."

Yuan Feng sneered: "These old dogs have been in power for decades, but they don't even know what kind of personality King An has."

He shook his head and waved his hands: "Tell our people to put all matters on hold and wait for King An to enter the capital."

He stood up and walked slowly towards the backyard with his hands behind his back.

"Now that King An is here, everything becomes interesting."

The stars in the world are like chess pieces, and pairs of big hands are trying to use the world as a chessboard, making the chess pieces crisscross.

The chess game has been set, and the fate of the world is on the line at this moment.

Peach Blossom Spring
Chen Ye watched the mundane scene intently. The chess pieces and layout that needed to be placed had been set up many years ago. No matter what history had in store, he only had this one chance to fight.

More than a hundred years ago, in the duel between Liu Xiu and Wang Mang, only one person made a move, but now.
It is the perfect time to let destiny completely flow in another direction.

One blow is fatal, and then fate is no longer able to control the mundane world!

After three thousand years of chaos, the vast trend has arrived today.

Guandu City was not very far from Chang'an, so after deciding to leave, Chen Chengji and others did not set off in a hurry. After everything was ready, they took a carriage and took some of Chen's soldiers with them, just like the kings traveling.

The heads of the Chen family in all generations would bring their own soldiers when traveling. Although these soldiers were called soldiers, they were actually similar to the armies of the kings, or even more elite than them.

After all, that was the method used to train the Iron Eagle Guards back then. Leaders of the Iron Eagle Guards of all generations would accept disciples and teach them training methods. In addition, Chen's unique training method was passed down from generation to generation.

Things are different now than they were back then.

Under the progress of the Han Dynasty, Chen had to reduce the number of Iron Eagle Guards in order to avoid the emperor's vigilance.

Of course, this is just normal times.

If a war really broke out, or if there was an external disturbance that was enough to threaten the people of the world, the Chen family would be able to quickly gather a large number of soldiers, gather them together, and defend the world.

Yes, to protect the world, not to protect the Han Dynasty or the emperor.

Keep going.

Wherever Chen's carriage went, there were always many offerings.

Some of the officials along the way were Chen's disciples, while others were wild officials who simply wanted to cling to Chen's power.

Since ancient times, no matter when, it has been extremely difficult to be an official without someone behind you.

Factional affairs have never ceased, and all struggles are ultimately political struggles.

Faced with these "bribes", Chen Chengji's attitude was very simple and he accepted them all.

In the carriage.

Chen Zhulou's body swayed with the shaking of the carriage: "Father, you..."

There was a look of confusion in his eyes, and he was obviously bewildered and confused about Chen Chengji's acceptance of bribes.

Chen Chengji smiled, waved his hand and said, "Do you think that your father shouldn't accept these?"

Chen Zhulou nodded.

Chen Chengji smiled silently. Although his son was born intelligent, he was still too young and did not understand the ways of the world.

"Lou'er, do you know that there are actually many factions among Chen's disciples?"

Chen Zhulou frowned, thought about it carefully, and then shook his head: "I don't know."

Chen Chengji patiently explained the meaning of this to Chen Zhulou, including which parts of the Chen family's current power were included and their respective roles.

After Chen Zhulou heard this, his expression was solemn: "Father, what you mean is to put the right people in the right positions and let them play their roles, so that the government can be stable?"

He raised his head, his eyes confused: "But why can't we just accept people who are honest and serve the people?"

After asking this question, Chen Chengji paused.

He sat there with his hands a little stiff, and just smiled: "Lou'er, nothing in the world is black or white."

"Mostly it's a blurry grey."

"In order to achieve their goals, people always have to compromise."

Chen Zhulou looked even more puzzled. He said with a bit of youthful arrogance: "Do we always have to compromise?"

"But if we compromise too much, won't we just be on our knees?"

There was a clear and bright light in the young man's eyes. He was not blaming anyone, nor was he mocking anyone. He was just asking simply.

“If you compromise at the beginning of something, you will definitely want to compromise again later.”

"Because you will feel from the bottom of your heart that my compromise is not cowardice, but just for the sake of a more distant future."

He gave a very simple example: "During the reign of Emperor Xiaoheng, the Western Regions saw that the Han Dynasty seemed to be declining, so they invaded the territory of the Han Dynasty."

"At that time, the Han Dynasty was recuperating. If they had been able to hold back their anger, perhaps the Han Dynasty could have returned to its heyday twenty years earlier."

"But at that time, Emperor Xiaoheng did not tolerate it. Instead, he ordered the general to lead the troops to attack the small country directly and destroy it."

"After the First War, the Western Regions have not dared to move until now, even though the emperor has become like this."

"Because they know that if they move, they will die."

The young man's voice was clearer, and he asked calmly, "Then why did Father tolerate those people?"

"You must know that their existence is also to lie on the people and plunder their interests endlessly."

"If you give in one step, you will only give in more steps."

"One step of ninja, only step by step of ninja."

“So the end result of jade not competing with rubble for a moment is that jade will only turn into rubble.”

"If a wolf hides among dogs for too long, it will only transform into a dog, and will not become a sensation."

Chen Zhulou looked at Chen Chengji and asked a fatal question: "Or, father has already lost his perseverance and his heart in those fame and fortune circles. On the surface, he is still working for the country and the people, but in fact, he has become one with them?"

Chen Chengji did not answer.

Because he didn't know the answer to this question either.

He did what a head of the Chen family and a gentleman should do, and was willing to sacrifice himself for the people and no longer care about his own life, but he still had no way to answer this question.

If we only look at the results over the years, he did indulge those disciples.

He could have answered his son's question by talking about the so-called overall situation or general trend, but how should he answer the doubts of the people outside the carriage?
Chen Chengji closed his eyes.

Peach Blossom Spring
Chen Ye smacked his lips.

With his eyes, he could naturally see that Chen Chengji's so-called "talent value" was soaring wildly at this moment, and he seemed to be in a stage of "enlightenment".

He just waved his hand, and the light of the "Enlightenment Dragon Field" that enveloped the upper floor of the Zhushen Building shone on Chen Chengji.

After a moment, he looked at Chen Zhulou and said with emotion: "The eyes of young people are always clear."

Chen Ye looked at Chen Chengji and just sighed: "After being in the mortal world for a long time, things like this are bound to happen."

He narrowed his eyes and said, "I'm afraid this father and son will accomplish each other in this life."

Like the yin and yang poles.

The third year of Guanghe, late autumn.

A group of soldiers stopped outside the city of Chang'an. At this time, the prosperous city of Chang'an and the wealthy and powerful people there were unaware of it.

King An has arrived.

(End of this chapter)