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

Chapter 362: The Imperial Edict (Part )

The moment he walked out of the Weiyang Palace, Liu Bei raised his head and looked at the crescent moon hanging high in the sky, his eyes revealing fatigue, confusion and determination.

The emperor is beyond salvation.

Both he and the emperor himself knew this.

The emperor's "three days to think about it" was just an excuse. The emperor knew that he would never believe it, and he also knew that the emperor knew that he would never believe it.

But the emperor still said such words.

what is the reason?
Very simple.

The emperor no longer cares about what his uncle thinks.

Thinking of this, and thinking about what the Han Dynasty might encounter in the next few days, Liu Bei felt a sudden pain in his heart, and he staggered and almost fell to the ground.

The moonlight was long and long, shining on his shadow.

Liu Bei covered his heart with his hands, a mouthful of blood almost flowed out of his throat, and a rusty taste filled his mouth.

He began to feel suffocation in his chest, and only after the blood spurted out did Liu Bei suddenly feel dizzy and then fell to the ground.

After Liu Bei fainted, several messengers in embroidered clothes immediately appeared beside him, lifted Liu Bei up and took him to a palace, where they temporarily placed him.

Weiyang Palace
Liu Bian played with the things in his hands, with a usual indifferent look on his face: "How is the emperor's uncle?"

Standing in the hall, the embroidered envoy who had just returned had a respectful look on his face: "Your Majesty, the emperor's uncle has fainted due to excessive anger and rage. In my opinion, it will take three days for him to wake up."

Liu Bian nodded, stood up and sighed softly.

"My uncle has been working hard for the country day and night. It's time for him to take a rest. At dawn tomorrow, I will have someone send my uncle back to his residence. I will also have the imperial physician go to his residence to take care of him day and night. My uncle is the pillar of our Han nation, and there must be no problems with him!"

He stood there, with a hint of cruelty in his whole body.

"In addition, you should immediately go to the residences of Dong Cheng, Fu Wan, Yang Xiu, Wang Que and others and ask them to enter the palace immediately."

"Be careful about this matter and don't let others know."

The envoy in embroidered clothes nodded immediately and left.

Liu Bian was the only one left in the huge palace. He walked to the incense burner, sighed, extinguished the burning incense stick, and then sighed softly.

"Uncle, uncle, I didn't want to do this, but why did you force me to do this?"

No one would pay attention to a little maid, and no one would pay attention to a little incense burner.

When Liu Bei was giving Liu Bian a series of advice just now, Liu Bian just gave a look and a maid came over with an incense burner. The incense in the burner did not contain any toxins and would not have any side effects.

But when this "fragrance" is combined with some other spice, it creates a colorless, odorless, and undetectable palace poison.

"Cooking Crane".

The effect of burning crane is also very simple. It will not kill people, nor will it threaten people's health.

He would only stir up the "fire" in a person's heart and then cause the person to fall into a short coma.

Three days later, the person will wake up again and his body will be fully recovered.

Liu Bian's expression was changing. He turned his head and looked at something on his desk. He sighed and said, "Father, when you poisoned my uncle, did you think of what would happen today?"

Yes, the "burning piano" poison in Liu Bei's body was planted silently in Liu Bei by Liu Hong when he was on the verge of death.

Liu Bian closed his eyes.

He needs to race against time.

Yang Xiu stood in front of the palace gate, with his sleeves rolled up, waiting for his allies to arrive.

Although Wang Yun, Yang Biao, Yuan Feng and others forced the emperor to abdicate, they were not imprisoned on charges of treason in the end. The emperor also showed leniency and only executed the main culprits, while the rest of the clan members continued to stay in the court.

It is for this reason that the Hongnong Yang family, Runan Yuan family and Wang family did not disappear, but just hid for a short time.

In fact, their secret power is still strong, but not as strong as before, so the other two families divided up the power of the family and others.

It's just that the people of the Yang and Yuan families are also aware of this, so they are very cautious when they are in the court.

After Yang Biao died, his son Yang Xiu continued to serve in the court, but he was only temporarily appointed as "Yilang" and did not hold any other official position.

Yuan Ji walked out of the shadow slowly, his face was rather pale.

In the years after Yuan Feng's death, the Yuan family has not had an easy time. Everyone, human or ghost, wants to divide up the power that the Yuan family once had. It is already very difficult for him to hold on to this foundation.

He coughed twice and whispered to the person beside him: "The emperor summoned us overnight and told the waiter to inform us not to make a big fuss but to be cautious. Dezu, do you know what happened?"

Yang Xiu stood there, his expression was unusually gloomy: "It is said that the Crown Prince of An Kingdom returned to the capital tonight, and someone saw the Crown Prince of An Kingdom, Uncle Liu, and General Cao drinking in a courtyard somewhere in the capital. After that, the uncle entered the palace and has not left since."

He turned around and looked at Yuan Ji and said, "I'm afraid that today the same old story will happen again."

The old days?

Yuan Ji was shocked, but his expression did not change at all.

Yang Xiu sighed, "Since ancient times, winners have always been kings and losers have always been bandits. I believe that no one in this world knows what happened back then better than you and me. But your father and I failed, so our Yang and Yuan families have become what they are today."

"Now the emperor wants to do the same thing again. How should you and I decide?"

Yuan Ji fell into deep thought.

He didn't dare to speak, and couldn't speak, but he had to speak because of what happened back then, the Yuan and Yang families had been dragged into this dispute. They could only continue to charge forward without the possibility of retreating.

Yuan Ji closed his eyes and his voice became vague.

"Back then, my father and Uncle Yang received the emperor's blood edict in the hope of launching a coup and supporting the Han Dynasty, but they failed in the end."

"So my father and Uncle Yang became traitors."

"So the Yang and Yuan families can only retreat into the darkness."

"The late emperor tried his best, but he could only preserve some of the bloodlines of the Yuan and Yang families. Although you and I still have official positions, we have fallen to positions without rank or real power."

"Now, the same thing happens again."

"What can I do, and what should I do?"

"All of this is just a decision that was made long ago. You and I are just floating in the water, following the direction of the great rivers and lakes."

"We are like floating duckweed, where is the chance for you and I to make a decision?"

"Besides helping the present, is there any other choice?"

Yang Xiu stood there, his face full of sarcasm, his whole body filled with desolation and loneliness: "Yes, ever since father and his men stepped into this quagmire, you and I have no choice, no way out."

“It’s all about moving forward.”

"Until the day when the Yang and Yuan families are completely destroyed."

He looked back at the lights of the myriad houses, and then said softly, "Let's go into the palace."

Having said that, he walked directly to the palace. Yuan Ji also smiled bitterly.

He had a premonition that something he didn't want to see would happen in Chang'an City tonight, and the elegance of the Hongnong Yang family and the Runan Yuan family might really be completely lost in this endless night.

But there was nothing he could do.

It's really all about the winners and the losers.

Just like back then.

董府
Dong Cheng hurried out of the door. In order to ensure that he would not be discovered, he did not even dare to get on the carriage at the door, but walked hurriedly towards the distance.

The servants behind him were also in a hurry.

What they didn't notice was that there were three other people standing in front of another Dong Mansion not far away.

The three men were yawning, with tired looks on their faces.

The leader had a face full of flesh and did not look like a good guy. The whole person standing there looked like a mountain of flesh.

He was wearing armor and looked ready for battle.

Next to this man, a middle-aged man dressed in black and holding a goose feather fan in his hand was smiling slightly, but that smile looked malicious, like the sinister smile of a fox in the dark night.

The fox appears to have captured its prey.

Behind the two men, another man who looked honest and simple was also standing there, but his eyes were filled with true simplicity and simpleness.

"General, Wenhe, what are we doing in the middle of the night?"

Niu Fu scratched his head, a look of confusion on his face.

Jia Xu just smiled faintly, and then said softly: "General, look, isn't the opportunity here?"

Dong Zhuo looked sad. He stroked his armor and sighed softly: "In fact, I would rather this opportunity not come."

"In the past, I have already killed my mentor with my own hands. Do I have to kill my mentor's eldest son with my own hands today?"

It's still the same old thing.

In that coup d'état, which was called forcing the emperor to abdicate but was actually instigated by the emperor, Dong Zhuo led his troops to kill Yuan Feng, Yang Biao and others. It was precisely for this reason that when the emperor Liu Hong was appointing ministers to assist the country, he had to take the factor of Dong Zhuo into consideration.

The person is gone, so Liu Hong wants to make full use of Yuan Feng’s surplus value.

He used "Minister of State Affairs" and "Yuan Feng's legitimate son" as two bargaining chips, trying to pull Dong Zhuo to his own camp, or to his son's camp.

The chess game that was played before King An came to the capital in the past is still going on.

He didn't finish.

At that time, Emperor Liu Hong died of illness, and gave all the embroidered robe envoys and other forces to his son. The chess pieces he played back then are still there today.

On the chessboard of that year, the emperor was against the Chen family, or in other words, the emperor was against all the opposing forces. He made all kinds of arrangements, but in the end he lost to the many "reformists" headed by King An.

Jia Xu just smiled faintly: "General, this is not something we can decide. We just go with the flow."

He turned around and said, "Now, the emperor controls the Jinwu Guards, Yulin Army, Embroidered Uniform Envoys, and the troops in the hands of General He. Perhaps the emperor has already believed that he will definitely win."

Jia Xu had a half-smile on his face, and said calmly: "But until the end, who knows what the outcome of this matter will be?"

Dong Zhuo nodded, looked at Niu Fu and said, "Let's go."

"Tonight is destined to be a sleepless night."

"Let's go meet His Royal Highness King An first."

Cao Mansion
Cao Cao touched his chest and felt an inexplicable panic.

He frowned slightly, looking at the shadow reflected in the candlelight, and felt that the flickering flames seemed to be exactly the same as the situation during the Yang-Yuan Incident.
Cao Cao stood up subconsciously and muttered to himself: "Could it be that the old things will happen again?"

He felt a little powerless.

"Someone, go to the Emperor's uncle's residence and see if he has returned from the palace."

Weiyang Palace
He Jin, Yuan Ji, Yang Xiu, Wang Que, Dong Cheng and others stood in the main hall. They looked at Liu Bian who was sitting there, with a solemn look on their faces.

Because they knew that something big might happen tonight.

"His Majesty."

He Jin stepped forward first and asked in a low voice: "But what happened?"

Liu Bian did not mince words and simply raised his chin, asking the Central Government Officer beside him to tell him everything that had happened during Liu Bei's visit.

After the Central Government Order had finished speaking, Liu Bian smiled and said, "Everyone, do you think I should listen to my uncle and be an obedient emperor in the future?"

He Jin, Yang Xiu and others remained silent.

The emperor’s meaning is very simple.

Ask them about their attitude, or is this a silent threat.

He is the Son of Heaven, so as long as he is an obedient emperor in the future, he will still be the supreme Son of Heaven. After all, as long as he no longer interferes with those people saving the country, according to Chen's character, if Cao Cao or Liu Bei really want to usurp the country in the future, the first person to jump out and kill people will be Chen.

But what about them?

What about these people?

Will they have a good ending?
No.

Therefore, even though Yuan Ji, Yang Xiu and others knew that it would be a good thing for the world and the people for the emperor to be an obedient emperor, they still did not want the emperor to do so.

The reason is simple.

Because their interests are inherently different from those of the people of the world.

He Jin said directly: "Your Majesty, why do you have to test us at this time?"

He raised his head, his eyes grim: "Your Majesty, just tell us what you want us to do!"

Liu Bian held his chin, looked at He Jin, and asked lightly: "Even if I want the general to lead troops to surround the Anguo Palace, would the general be willing?"

He Jin said without hesitation: "As long as it is your Majesty's order, I will obey it."

He looked directly into Liu Bian's eyes and emphasized the words "Your Majesty's order".

The meaning is very simple.

If you want us to work for you, fine.

But
You have to give us a guarantee.

Liu Bian looked at him for a long time, then suddenly laughed out loud: "Hahahahahahahahaha, good!"

(End of this chapter)