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

Chapter 355 New Emperor
Liu Hong, who was sitting on the bed, barely raised his head and looked at Liu Bei who was walking towards him, with a slight smile on his lips.

He has rarely been so cheerful in recent years.

Pointing to the place in front of him, he sighed and said, "Sit down."

What followed was a series of coughs. The emperor's health was not on the verge of death, but it was almost there.

"I called you here today because I am running out of time."

"The imperial physician said that it will be in the next few days."

Liu Hong waved his hand to stop Liu Bei who was about to speak. His eyes seemed to be looking at somewhere far away. His pupils were a little dilated, as if they could not focus.

He stood up, and the eunuch beside him hurried forward to support him.

"King An has done many things very well over the years, even better than I have done. The world no longer knows about my existence, but only knows about King An's existence."

Liu Bei wanted to say something, but at this moment, he looked at Liu Hong's expression and didn't know what to say.

He is a benevolent man, but he is also a descendant of the Liu family.

This is also the reason why the emperor wanted to win over Liu Bei, because Liu Bei was different from Chen Chengji and Chen Zhulou.

Liu Bei's silence obviously satisfied the emperor. Liu Hong just continued, "In fact, I don't mind this. Anyway, I had thought of this day when Dong Zhuo and others completely suppressed the Ten Attendants a few years ago."

“But I’m scared.”

There were traces of tears on Liu Hong's brow, and he couldn't help sobbing: "I want to tell myself with all my strength, to convince myself that Chen will never intend to rebel, but I can't do it!"

"The reputation of the Chen family is as clear and trustworthy as the mighty rivers flowing eastward, but I am a vicious villain, and my mind is as narrow as everyone imagines."

The emperor continued to express his inner grief and darkness, while Liu Bei lowered his head even further.

He didn't know what to say or what he could say, and in the end he could only sigh deeply.

Liu Hong may have heard the helplessness in Liu Bei's sigh, but he just smiled and said, "My heart wants to believe Chen, but there is a voice in my mind that keeps asking me, this great power, this supreme position, can anyone really give it up?"

"I don't believe it."

"So, in the past few years, I have secretly supported you, the Yuan family, and the Yang family, and even gave them more power than those who were crowned kings, allowing them to expand unlimitedly."

Liu Hong's expression was a little gloomy: "But, even so, I, the Yuan family, the Liu family, the Yang family, and you, the combined strength of all of us cannot even shake the Chen family."

There was a sad look on his face: "Is it funny?"

"The Liu family is the master of the world, but even with all the power they have, they can't shake the Chen family."

"At this moment, I suddenly looked back and discovered another problem."

"Although the Liu family controls the power of the world, their inheritance time is not as long as the Chen family. The Zhao family and the Qin family have been inherited for the same time as the Chen family, but the power they control is not as good as the Chen family."

"The Chen family has been passed down for more than 500 years, and their tentacles have long since spread throughout the world."

Liu Bei simply frowned and said, "But your majesty, Chen has no intention of establishing himself as king."

He couldn't help but say: "If the Chen family had such thoughts, let alone why they helped Emperor Gaozu to establish the Han Dynasty, even when Wang Mang usurped the throne, the Chen family had enough righteousness to overthrow Wang Mang and establish a dynasty."

"Throughout history, the Chen family had countless opportunities, but they didn't do it."

"Why don't you want to believe it?"

Liu Hong just remained silent.

Yes, why wouldn't he want to believe it?
He himself doesn't know.

So, he shook his head silently and changed the subject again: "Let's not talk about this."

"I called you here to tell you something."

Liu Hong stared at Liu Bei and said, "I want you to swear an oath to assist the young emperor and never betray him."

"If there is any betrayal, I and all the ancestors of the Liu family will die with regret!"

Liu Bei looked confused and helpless, but he swore such a vicious oath in a flash.

Because that's what he was planning to do.

"Liu Bei, I swear today in the Weiyang Palace that if your Majesty dies, I will assist the young emperor to ascend the throne and rule the country, and I will never betray him. If I betray you, I will be pierced through the heart by thousands of arrows, and then the Liu ancestor and your Majesty will not rest in peace in their graves!"

He knew what Liu Hong wanted to say, and also knew why Liu Hong did not let him swear an oath in his own name. He was just using the friendship between the Liu family and Liu Hong over the years to bet that Liu Bei was definitely not a treacherous person!
Liu Bei stood there and added his own fate to the story.

His eyes and expression were all calm.

He also knew that Liu Hong had said so much before, but at this moment when he was dying, what he feared most was not Chen's betrayal! Not Chen's usurpation of power!
But it was his uncle, the emperor, who usurped power!
Because he is the one who is most qualified to usurp power, no matter in name or in any other way!
When the emperor summoned him and his name was entered into the Jade Butterfly, he was a real relative! And he was indeed a relative of the royal family.

In this way, the royal family might be willing to testify for him and allow him to ascend the throne because of his enticement!

After listening to Liu Bei's oath, Liu Hong instantly collapsed on the bed. He looked at Liu Bei with a smile, and the corners of his mouth finally showed some satisfaction and relief: "Xuan De, I am sorry for you."

"If you want to blame someone, blame me."

His eyes slowly closed, and then there was a hint of fatigue in his brows: "Send Prime Minister Chen and General Cao to the palace."

"I'm afraid I can't hold on for much longer."

In Weiyang Palace, half an hour later
Liu Hong, who was lying on the bed, was breathing in more than out. At this time, there were bursts of footsteps coming from outside the Weiyang Palace. Chen Chengji, Chen Zhulou, He Jin, Cao Cao, Lu Zhi, Dong Zhuo, Wang Yun, Yang Biao, Yuan Feng and others all came.

At this time, Crown Prince Liu Bian was standing beside the bed with a childish look on his face.

At this time, Crown Prince Liu Bian was only seven years old, and his younger brother Liu Xie was even younger. Empress He had passed away two years earlier, and there was no one in charge of the harem at this time.

Seeing everyone coming, Liu Hong forced himself to take a breath, sat up, and waved to Liu Bian with a pale face. He took his hand and said to everyone: "I am afraid that the time has come, so I specially call you to come."

"This is the next emperor of the Han Dynasty."

His voice was solemn and majestic, as if he was announcing something very important.

"From now on, Liu Bian is the crown prince!"

"When I die, the prince will immediately ascend the throne."

He glanced at everyone and said softly, "After my death, no grand ceremony is allowed, and the people are not allowed to wear mourning clothes. The Crown Prince will wait for the right time, and will only need to observe mourning for three days."

"After I leave, the King of Ling'an, the Grand Tutor, and the Prime Minister Chen Chengji will be the head of the regents, and the Prefect of the Guards Liu Bei, the General He Jin, the Grand Marshal Cao Cao, the Military Commander Chen Zhulou, the Minister of the Chancellery Lu Zhi, the Minister of the Court Wang Yun, the Grand Tutor Yang Biao, the Minister of Works Yuan Feng, and the Military Commander Dong Zhuo will be the regents."

Liu Hong looked at the crowd and said, "If everyone cannot reach a consensus, the opinions of Chen Chengji and Liu Bei will take precedence."

"If the two cannot reach a consensus."

At this point, everyone's eyes turned to Liu Hong. After a brief pause, Liu Hong looked at Liu Bei and the others and said, "I only hope that you two can consider our old friendship and put the young emperor first in everything."

He sighed, and finally said, "If we really can't reach a consensus, King An's opinion will take precedence."

When Liu Hong said this, he looked at Liu Bian again, held his hand, looked at Liu Bei and said, "Bian'er, remember this."

"After the death of my father, Xuande will be your uncle. No matter whether you are in power in the future or not, you must regard Xuande as your elder!"

"Seeing Xuande is like seeing your father!" "Do you understand?"

At this point, Liu Hong was already running out of strength, but he still held on with all his strength, and asked Liu Bian in an almost roaring voice.

"Remember it?"

When parents plan for their children, they plan far-reachingly.

The reason why Liu Hong could think of so many things at this time was because he was about to die and no longer cared about many things.

Liu Bian had tears in his eyes: "I will remember this."

Liu Hong asked in a stern voice: "If you have remembered, why don't you go and greet him?"

Liu Bian took a step forward crying, walked in front of Liu Bei, then knelt on the ground, with a sobbing voice: "Bian greets the emperor's uncle!"

When Liu Bian knelt down, Liu Bei also knelt down on the ground.

Liu Bian could perform this ceremony, but he absolutely could not accept it openly!

After all this was done, Liu Hong finally had time to look at Cao Cao and others standing by. He panted and said, "Meng De!"

"After a hundred years, I will leave everything to you!"

From beginning to end, Liu Hong did not say a word to Lu Zhi, Yuan Feng, Yang Biao and others, but these people understood his attitude very well.

After the emperor passed away and the young emperor ascended the throne, the situation in the court had fallen into the hands of Chen, Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and other aristocratic families.

The second year of Chuping.

The emperor died.

The young emperor ascended the throne.

In accordance with the late emperor's will, we appoint King Chen Chengji, the emperor's uncle Liu Bei, Grand Marshal Cao Cao and others as regents to jointly manage the government.

At this time, the situation in the world became even more turbulent.

Everyone knows that it is impossible for a young emperor to control the government, so the only ones who can control the government are these few powerful ministers.

But the situation in the world was not too turbulent for the time being, and no one took advantage of this opportunity to revolt.

Because King An of the Chen family is still in the court.

As long as King An is alive, this court will be peaceful and stable.

The world will be peaceful and stable for one day.

In the second year of Chuping, after the death of the previous emperor, it seemed that nothing had changed in the world.

The year passed quickly, and many people even felt that their lives were better after the emperor's death.

But people overlooked one problem.

King An Chen Chengji is already quite old.

An Wangfu
Chen Chengji, Yuan Feng, and Yang Biao sat together, drinking tea and chatting. Although they were still handling the affairs of the court, they actually did not show up in person very often.

After all, he is just an old man.

Yang Biao said cheerfully, "Brother Chen and Brother Yuan, I never thought that you and I would be able to sit together and drink tea again."

Yuan Feng sighed and shook his head: "Who said it wasn't?"

He smiled and teased Chen: "In fact, in the final analysis, Brother Chen is too strong, otherwise how could he not tolerate the two of us?"

The fishing rod in Chen Chengji's hand swayed slightly. He lifted the fishing rod up and then turned around and smiled: "I am strong?"

"If I am not strong, the people of this world will be divided up by people like you."

"If I am not strong, can the world still have such a peaceful and stable life now?"

There was sarcasm and disdain on his lips. Although the three of them were in a semi-retired state and could sit together to drink tea and fish, it did not mean that Chen Chengji would let these two old men distort the facts.

Yuan Feng curled his lips: "After all, we are just doing this for the power of our family."

"The Chen family doesn't have to worry about their inheritance. If they were the same as us, Brother Chen would also be scheming and calculating like the two of us."

Yang Biao acted as a peacemaker: "Alright, alright, we have handed over all the things in our hands to our children, why should we think about these things anymore?"

He looked at Chen Chengji with some concern: "I heard that Brother Chen seems to have some problems with his health?"

Chen Chengji put down the fishing rod in silence, paused for a moment and then nodded.

After a moment, he smiled and said, "Not bad."

"Brother Yang is well-informed."

He sighed slightly and said, "I have already seen the imperial physician, and Bian Que also came once."

"The two great folk doctors Zhang Zhongjing and Hua Tuo also saw it."

Yang Biao and Yuan Feng both asked with great concern: "What was the result?"

Chen Chengji just said: "It will probably be in winter."

"Mr. Zhang did say that it might be possible to hold out until the end of spring, but Hua Tuo said very confidently that it would be around the winter solstice."

"That's why I called you two here today."

He smiled and asked, "After I die, you two won't do anything, right?"

"After all, a delicate balance has been reached in the court now."

Yuan Feng and Yang Biao looked at each other, and saw a hint of ambition in each other's eyes, but when they looked at Chen Chengji, they smiled and said, "Of course not."

"What do you think of us, Brother Chen?"

Chen Chengji just smiled. He had already figured out something from the judgments of the two people just now.

But he didn't say much.

When it comes to pretending to be dead, the Chen family’s people are very skilled at it.

Chen Chengji's health was indeed not very good, and he could only live until the end of winter, but he did not say that it would be the end of this winter.

Zhang Zhongjing did say that it could probably last until spring, but he didn't say next spring.

A ruthless look flashed across Chen Chengji's eyes.

Hua Tuo asserted that he would not live past the winter solstice of next year, while Zhang Zhongjing speculated that he might live until the spring of the year after, but either way, his time was running out.

He will use thunderous force to make these people quiet down within a year!
This year is the time he spends with Chen Zhulou!

(End of this chapter)