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

Chapter 354 Silent Observer

Weiyang Palace
Liu Hong's expression was as gloomy as water, as if he wanted to tear everything to pieces.

The guards and palace maids around didn't dare to say a word.

What happened in the previous dynasty had already spread to the harem, and this news always spreads quickly.

Empress He walked hurriedly into the Weiyang Palace. The moment she saw the emperor, she immediately knelt on the ground with a look of pain and fatigue on her face.

"Your Majesty, I was totally unaware of what my brother had done."

"Your Majesty, please forgive me."

Yes.

What made Liu Hong most angry today was not Chen Chengji’s counterattack, but the fact that He Jin and Chen Chengji joined forces.

A great general, a king of An and a prime minister.

If the two of them join forces, he will definitely be sidelined.

But this was not the time to be angry. Liu Hong swallowed his anger and walked to Empress He. He sighed, supported her hand and said, "I know."

"The general may have no choice but to do this. I just don't know what he is thinking."

Queen He immediately spoke up, "Your Majesty, I have sent a letter to my brother, asking him to come to the palace tomorrow to reminisce about the past. Then..."

Liu Hong smiled and nodded: "Okay."

He said with a hint of meaning: "You two brothers and sisters haven't seen each other for a while, so you should have a good reminiscing."

"I won't bother you any more."

The autumn of the fourth year of Guanghe passed quickly, and when the heavy snow fell on the ground, the year was almost over.

It is almost easy to find out what the Ten Eunuchs did. After all, when they were at the peak of their power, these ten people looked down on everyone and even dared to be called "Father Zhang and Mother Zhao" by the emperor.

The fourth year of Guanghe, winter, November.

Liu Xuande, the Prefect of the Guards and concurrently the Minister of the Secretariat, found out the crimes of the Ten Attendants and submitted the matter in a letter to the emperor.

The emperor was furious when he heard this, and ordered the Ten Eunuchs and their followers to be executed. The leader of the bandits, the Ten Eunuchs, had his entire clan exterminated to kill them all and leave no future trouble.

It was also in the twelfth month of that year that Prime Minister Chen Chengji began his reforms.

Because this year was the Xinyou Year, this reform is also called the "Xinyou Reform."

The content of the Xinyou Reform was actually very simple. It restored some of the policies of the early Han Dynasty, and began to rectify the administration of officials, rectify land annexation and many other things.

This reform, which was not really a political reform, has many records in history books.

Among them, the Book of Han, Chronicle of Emperor Xiaoling, called this reform an "act against the will of heaven", saying that the emergence of this reform forced the Han Dynasty, which was on the verge of collapse, to survive for another thirty years.

"The continuation of the Han Dynasty was the result of the Xinyou Emperor's achievement. Without this change, the Han Dynasty would have perished at the hands of Emperor Ling." - "Book of Han: Chronicle of Emperor Xiaoling"

The reform began at the end of the fourth year of Guanghe, and from this reform onwards, the situation in the court became more complicated.

The aristocratic families headed by the Yuan and Yang families were unwilling to give up their power and interests because these were promised to them by the emperor.

But for the sake of the people, they had to hand it over.

So they began to compete with the Chen family in various ways. All the aristocratic families in the world combined formed a huge behemoth, and even the Chen family had to treat it with caution.

Thus, a long tug of war began.

In the fifth year of Guanghe, the country began to recuperate and restore some foundations and confidence, and the people's lives became better.

Many scholars came to Chang'an City. These people who cared about the Han Dynasty wanted to fight for it to the last moment.

They want the Han to continue to exist.

With such turmoil within the imperial court, the border areas were naturally even more turbulent.

The conflict between Youzhou Mu Liu Yu and Gongsun Zan became increasingly obvious, almost to the point where it could no longer be suppressed. In order to appease Gongsun Zan and Liu Yu, the imperial court chose to impose eighty lashes on both of them.

It is true that the current imperial court is somewhat powerless, and this is still the case even with Chen Chengji as prime minister.

In other words, it is precisely because of Chen Chengji's existence that this huge state machine can continue to operate.

But it only barely works.

Lu Bu, who never stopped along the way, finally arrived at Hanzhong County from Bingzhou in the summer of the fifth year of Guanghe. However, when he arrived in Hanzhong County, he discovered a problem.

Chen Zexi, the prefect of Hanzhong County, has resigned and returned to his hometown.

This ambitious general stood in front of the city wall of Hanzhong County with a confused look on his face.

What should we do and what can we do?

He was leading the old horse behind him, floating down like a leaf abandoned in the desert.

But fortunately, Chen Zexi is a good person.

Before he resigned, he found the next way out for the minor official recommended by his old friend, and it was a very good way out.

Chen Zexi wrote a letter and left a business card.

The letter was written to his uncle, Chen Chengji, who was far away in Chang'an City, while the visiting card was a business card from the An Kingdom's palace.

Standing in front of the county magistrate's mansion, the servant left behind by Chen Zexi had a broad smile on his face, and whispered to this rough man who had come from afar to explain the deep meaning of it.

"Sir, he said that he resigned because he saw the incompetence of the court. He had already resigned before Governor Zhang recommended you, but the court did not send anyone to take over at that time."

"He couldn't harm your future, so he left this business card and this letter."

"The master said that if you are confident, then you can take this name and letter to Chang'an to meet his uncle. If your talent can impress King An, you will naturally have a future."

"And if you don't have this confidence, then King An's name card is enough for you to find a way out in this world."

"At worst, you can stay in Hanzhong County. I can introduce you to the current governor of Hanzhong County, and you can serve under him."

After the attendant finished speaking, he looked up at Lu Bu and said, "Brother, what do you want to do?"

Lu Bu gripped the reins tightly in his hands, with a myriad of thoughts in his mind.

How to choose? Is there any need to say?

He smiled and bowed slightly: "Thank you Mr. Chen for your kindness. Fengxian is going to Chang'an."

There was an endless amount of confidence on Lu Bu's face.

"Fengxian is still very confident in his abilities and is willing to go to Chang'an to give it a try!"

Youzhou, Zhuo County

There are constant conflicts on the border, so people are constantly making military achievements and getting promoted. Now, the most famous people in the entire Zhuo County are two people.

Both of them have been promoted to captains, but neither of them is convinced by the other.

One was named Zhang Fei, with the courtesy name Yide, and the other was named Guan Yu, with the courtesy name Yunchang.

However, what the superiors didn't know was that the two had fallen in love with each other during a battle and had become sworn brothers.

Zhang Fei sat in the room, drinking wine from a big bowl.

A face as white as coal showed a relieved look: "Brother, these days are indeed happy, but I always feel that they are tasteless."

He wiped the wine from the corner of his mouth and said, "I just heard that General Gongsun and Governor Liu seem to be in big trouble."

"What should you and I do?" Guan Yu held a scroll in his hand and sighed, "One of these two is the highest official in Youzhou, and the other is an unruly general. You and I are just floating duckweed to them."

There was a rare look of confusion in his eyes.

"If Youzhou is in turmoil, the whole world will be in turmoil."

Zhang Fei smiled and continued to eat meat: "The troubled times have come, so what's the difference between the life we ​​live now and the troubled times?"

He sneered, "If it weren't for King An's appointment as prime minister last year, and the beginning of the revolution, you and I would have had a hard time making ends meet, and the people of Youzhou would have had to eat grass by then!"

"Now I can have a bite to eat."

"But I heard that the old emperor seems to be dying!"

"It doesn't matter whether the emperor is dead or not, but there are rumors that King An's health is not very good."

"If the new emperor ascends the throne, will King An be suspected by the new emperor as he was in the past?"

Zhang Fei sighed.

Many stories describe Zhang Fei as a brainless and reckless man, but if you think about it, you will know that such a general who could become one of the Five Tiger Generals would definitely not be a reckless man.

Do you really think that ancient generals were brainless and only knew how to use force?

That's not the general.

For a general to lead an army, it is not enough to be brave. He has to deploy the troops and make strategic plans. These warriors are definitely not much inferior to those scholars.

Guan Yu also fell silent.

It was already the seventh year of Guanghe, and the world was gradually getting better because of King An's reforms, and the people could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

But what happened in the court spread further and further.

Everyone is worried about it.

Finally, he just sighed: "I hope nothing happens."

Chang'an City

Dong Zhuo looked at Jia Xu in front of him leisurely and said, "Wenhe, I am lucky to have you all these years. If not for you, I don't know how many pitfalls I would have fallen into."

His face was full of relief.

Jia Xu just smiled and said, "General, why do you have to say such things to me?"

He looked into the distance: "What happened in these years is just a small matter. Now the emperor's health is getting worse and worse. A huge storm is about to come."

The seventh year of Guanghe, the end of the year.

The emperor, who had been ill for a long time, could not go to Mount Tai due to his health. He could only build an altar outside the city of Chang'an and force himself to go to the altar to offer sacrifices to the world.

It was this appearance that made people realize that the emperor's body had become like this.

Looks withered.

Liu Bei was standing in the audience and watching. The moment he saw the emperor, he thought of this adjective. It was the only adjective he could think of.

After sighing silently, his eyes filled with tears.

Without the Son of Heaven, there would be no him today.

The fate of history has long since changed. He is no longer the Liu Xuande who resigned from his post because of troubles caused by a small Duyou. He is now the Prefect of the Guards Liu Bei who is in charge of the Yulin Army!
Over the past three years, Cao Cao's official positions have continued to increase.

Now he has taken the position of an internal clerk in the Prime Minister's Office.

This position is actually equivalent to that of a deputy prime minister, but because he has a very powerful boss, Cao Cao does not have much power.

Fortunately, in addition to being an internal clerk in the Prime Minister's Office, he also held another position, the Director of the Taxation Bureau, one of the Thirty-Six Ministers.

This position is very important and can be ranked among the top three among the thirty-six ministers.

Chen Zhulou stood in the audience, watching all this silently.

Four years ago he was thirteen years old, and now he is seventeen years old. During these four years, he has watched the development of history in Chang'an City, watched his father carry out reforms, and watched the people of the world gradually breathe a sigh of relief.

He seemed to know what he wanted to do, what he could do, and what he needed to do.

Chen Zhulou is like a silent observer, watching the passage of time and the changes in the world.

He keeps the history in his mind.

At the beginning of the eighth year of Guanghe, the emperor issued an edict to change the reign title to "Chuping".

Therefore, the eighth year of Guanghe is also called the "first year of Chuping", because the emperor's health became worse during this year.

There were even several times when the imperial physician was helpless and could only watch the emperor's health deteriorate day by day. On one occasion, he even euphemistically said that the emperor was on the verge of death.

This is true.

But the emperor still managed to get through it with his strong willpower, which he didn't know where it came from.

The second year of Chuping, the beginning of the first month.

Outside Weiyang Palace
Liu Bei stood there with his hands folded in his sleeves. He is no longer the same person he was in previous years. He has become calmer, more reserved, and more trusted by the emperor.

He stood there waiting for the emperor's summons, while his mind drifted back to the past few years.

Starting from the fourth year of Guanghe, although time passed very quickly, his life did not change much. He drank and handled official business with Cao Cao and Chen Zhulou every day. The three of them had already become close friends.

In his spare time, this version of Liu Bei is more like a teenager of his age, but with less vicissitudes of life.

He, Cao Cao and Chen Zhulou had a reputation in Chang'an City and were called the "Three Heroes of Chang'an".

All three of them hold high positions, and none of them fear power—because they are power themselves.

In his spare time, Liu Bei even took on the position of Chang'an Duwei, in charge of Chang'an's public security and many soldiers.

The emperor's attendant hurried to Liu Bei's side, lowering his head and being very humble.

Ever since the incident of the Ten Eunuchs, these eunuchs no longer dared to act as rampant as they did in the past, especially when facing those who were in the limelight.

"Your Highness, His Majesty summons you to come in."

Liu Bei nodded slightly and stepped in.

In the sixth year of Guanghe, the emperor summoned him once, and the attendant called him "Liu Jinwu" and the emperor heard it.

The emperor was furious and calmly asked the attendant, "Is my brother not worthy of being called Your Highness?"

After that, without waiting for the attendant's reply, he had him dragged away.

The three Yi tribes.

After that, the eunuchs, the courtiers and those inside and outside the court all started addressing Liu Bei as "Your Highness".

Walking into the slightly dim Weiyang Palace, Liu Bei looked at the man sitting in the center of the candlestick. The man's robes were scattered and his hair was loose.

He stepped forward and called out.

"Your humble servant is ready to pay his respects to my brother, the Emperor."

"My royal brother Changle Wuji——"

(End of this chapter)