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

Chapter 365 The troubled times are coming

After sending someone to invite Chen Zhulou, Liu Bian turned his head and looked at Liu Bei beside him, with a bit of bitterness on his face: "Uncle, you and Chen are fine, but who is Cao Cao?"

He looked into Liu Bei's eyes and said, "Cao Cao is the descendant of a eunuch. His grandfather was once one of the Ten Attendants."

"This kind of villain escaped the punishment of King An by taking a small way in the past, and now he is the Grand Commandant in the court and wants to control me. Isn't this a kind of irony to my father?"

"Not all people from aristocratic families are power-hungry people."

In order to convince Liu Bei, Liu Bian even preferred to tell the truth about the "Rebellion of the Aristocratic Family".

This was news that almost no one knew except King An and several major families. "I think the emperor's uncle should have some guesses about what happened in the family changes back then."

He looked at Liu Bei's shocked eyes, sighed softly and continued: "In fact, your guess is correct."

"The changes in the aristocratic families in the past were not actually what the major aristocratic families wanted."

Before he could finish his words, there were footsteps outside the hall and a figure walked in slowly, with a sword at his waist and a white crown on his head. His expression was solemn and cold, with a hint of indifference.

The person who came was Chen Zhulou.

He just said calmly: "What do you want to do?"

Chen Zhulou walked into the hall. At this moment, he did not have the hidden edge that he had in the past and in the past few years. Instead, he was full of sharpness.

There was a dull look in his eyes.

"Your Majesty, what do you want to say?"

Chen Zhulou asked in a tone of extreme surprise, but strangely "affirmative", "Didn't those great families attempt to start a coup and thus threaten the safety of Your Majesty, and therefore were killed by Chen and his people?"

He looked at Liu Bian with a cold look in his eyes.

"Does Your Majesty think there are other possibilities?"

Chen Zhulou stepped forward and said, "Could it be that the late emperor wanted to kill Chen? So Your Majesty thinks Chen is a traitor?"

He smiled faintly, but that smile did not reach his eyes. Instead, it was a very peaceful and superior nonchalant look.

Chen Zhulou took out the seal of the Kingdom of An and the seal bestowed upon Chen by Emperor Gao from his waist, then walked to Liu Bian and said softly, "If this is the case, Chen will naturally wait for his death."

"This is the seal bestowed by the Emperor Gao, and the seal of King An."

"Will it be returned to Your Majesty today?"

Liu Bian stood there. He had never seen Chen Zhulou like this before.

After Chen Zhulou followed King An to Chang'an City, except for the first few days when he was aggressive, he has been keeping a low profile ever since. In front of outsiders, he has always shown the image of a harmless and elegant young man.

With his Adam's apple rolling, Liu Bian stood there in a daze. He was actually frightened by Chen Zhulou's aura.

He didn't know what to say, and at this moment he didn't even dare to say a word.

The emperor who dared to issue an imperial edict and say that everything Chen had was given by Liu seemed to have disappeared in these two objects and in Chen Zhulou's words.

"Ugh--"

At the critical moment, Liu Bei stepped forward. After all, he couldn't bear to see his nephew like this.

No matter what Liu Bian was like, he was still the emperor of Liu Han at this time.

If we allow him to continue staying here like this, I'm afraid the Liu family will lose all their face tonight.

He walked forward, bent down, picked up the seal and the seal of King An bestowed by Emperor Gao from the table one by one, and then walked in front of Chen Zhulou, his expression gloomy and with a bit of helpless fatigue.

"Why is Donglin doing this?"

"Your Majesty, or even the late emperor, would not have such thoughts. They never did in the past, and they certainly won't have such thoughts now."

"Don't get me wrong."

Chen Zhulou did not take the gift. He just glanced at Liu Bian indifferently, and then his eyes fell on Liu Bei: "So, what does your Majesty mean by what you just said?"

"Did I hear wrongly?"

Liu Bei's thoughts turned around, and he finally said, "Your Majesty just wanted to say that the change of the aristocratic families in the past was not that they wanted to kill the late emperor, but that they wanted to establish a new emperor, who is now the emperor."

"They believe that the late emperor turned back and listened to the advice of the Han loyalists to take back the power given to the aristocratic families, which hindered the development of the aristocratic families. So they are preparing to force the late emperor to appoint the crown prince as the new monarch. The new monarch is young and they may be able to control him."

After hearing Liu Bei's barely reasonable answer, Chen Zhulou turned around and looked at Liu Bian: "Oh? Is that so, Your Majesty?"

Liu Bian had come to his senses after being reminded by Liu Bei, but he was still afraid: "Of course."

"The prince has misunderstood."

Chen Zhulou just looked at Liu Bian with a half-smile and said nothing.

Liu Bei tried to smooth things over and asked, "Donglin, it's so late, what's the matter with you coming to the palace?"

Chen Zhulou withdrew his gaze from Liu Bian and looked at Liu Bei with a somewhat sad look in his eyes. He said softly, "I am here to tell your majesty and uncle something."

"My father passed away in the Prince An's Palace an hour ago."

He slowly closed his eyes. Although there were tears in his eyes, he couldn't let them fall at this time.

King An died???
This news came like thunder in an instant, shocking Liu Bei and Liu Bian. Their expressions changed drastically at the same time, and their faces were filled with disbelief.

Liu Bian even screamed, and shouted in an almost hysterical voice: "Impossible! This is impossible!"

"Wasn't King An in good health a few days ago? Why did he suddenly pass away today?"

"This is impossible!"

Chen Zhulou ignored the frantic Liu Bian and said calmly, "Within three months, I hope I can properly take care of my father's funeral."

"I hope that there will be no trouble in Chang'an City, or even in the whole world."

"otherwise--"

He looked at Liu Bei, as if he was looking through him at Liu Bian: "Otherwise, no one can withstand Chen's wrath."

"After three months, no matter how you want to make trouble, it will be none of my business."

"I will carry my father's body back to Guandu City."

"From now on, the Chen family of Guandu will once again seal off the city and not get involved in the disputes in the world."

Before people could recover from the previous shocking news, another even more shocking news had already come out of Chen Zhulou's mouth.

Return to Guandu City?

The Chen family of Guandu closed the city again and did not participate in the disputes in the world?
Liu Bian was immediately surprised. Isn’t this the most beautiful scenario he had imagined?

The thief Cao was killed, and the Chen family returned to Guandu and never held power again.

As long as he concentrates on dealing with his uncle after the death of Cao, he can become the true master of the world!
Liu Bei heard the deeper meaning in Chen Zhulou's words. He even guessed Chen Zhulou's plan, so there was pain in his eyes.

He looked at Chen Zhulou and said, "Donglin, are you really going to go this far?"

"Is the situation irreversible?"

Chen Zhulou closed his eyes and said calmly, "Uncle Liu, what else do you want to save?"

"Isn't the current situation enough?"

"How long have we been discussing that matter? Don't you think that the current situation is not enough?"

Liu Bian did not understand Chen Zhulou's deep meaning. He just thought that Chen Zhulou was going back to Guandu City. So when he heard Liu Bei trying to keep Chen Zhulou, he immediately said hypocritically: "Uncle, it's not a big deal for the prince to go back to Guandu City."

"The Han Dynasty ruled the country with filial piety. Now that King An has passed away, it is only right for the Crown Prince to return to Guandu City to mourn for King An."

"How can we stop the prince in this matter?"

Liu Bei, who was already very angry, heard Liu Bian's words again and felt even more disappointed. With red eyes, he turned back to look at Liu Bian angrily and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty!"

"The Chen family is the pillar of the Han Dynasty. Shouldn't you try to keep them if they leave now?" His voice was filled with suppressed anger and sounded very urgent.

Liu Bian smiled awkwardly, but turned his head away, pretending not to notice the pleading in Liu Bei's eyes.

Chen Zhulou wanted to leave and close the city. This should be a good thing for him. Why should he keep him? Why should he keep him?

In the Weiyang Palace, a little night breeze blew into the hall, blowing the corners of the three people's clothes.

Chen Zhulou just chuckled, then turned and left, leaving the sound of his faint smile in the Weiyang Palace.

"Remember, three months."

"In three months, I will leave Chang'an City. Within three months, if anyone dares to disturb my father's spirit in heaven, no matter who it is, I will make him pay a sufficient price."

"Use his blood to sacrifice to my father!"

Before the last word was uttered, Chen Zhulou's figure had already disappeared in the hall.

In the distance, only the bright moon and fresh breeze illuminate the hall.

Liu Bei stood there in a daze, with pain in his eyes. He turned around, looked at Liu Bian and said softly: "Your Majesty, you have read countless history books and checked the history books. Don't you think what happened today is very familiar?"

look familiar?

Liu Bian was a little stunned.

He had already prepared himself for Liu Bei to get furious and argue with him, but he didn't expect Liu Bei to ask such questions so calmly.

"look familiar?"

"What does the emperor's uncle mean?"

Liu Bei put the things in his hand on the table and walked slowly out of the hall.

He was reading aloud a passage from "Book of Qin: Annals of Four Emperors".

"In the first year of the fourth emperor's reign, the emperor favored Zhao Gao and allowed him to violate Qin laws without correction."

"At that time, the fourth emperor was in a coma, close to villains and distant from wise ministers. People all over the world sighed and said: With such a ruler, the world will fall."

"The fourth emperor was furious and ordered an investigation."

"No result."

"The first year of the Fourth Emperor, summer."

"At that time, the prime minister of Qin entered the palace with a sword in hand and killed the treacherous Zhao thief in anger. He then gave up his prime minister seal and title and returned to Guandu. Later, Guandu was sealed off."

“This is the cause of the chaos in the world.”

"From then on, the world was in chaos."

"Chen Sheng, Wu Guang and others rose up in rebellion, and all six kingdoms rebelled."

Liu Bei walked to the entrance of the hall with a half-smile on his face: "If you think that the Book of Qin was written by Shang Yang's descendants and is not fair, then do you still remember the passage in the Book of Han?"

"Or in other words, Your Majesty, have you read the Book of Han?"

He said softly: "The Emperor Gaozu was born in poverty, entered the Xianyang Academy, and later became a minister of Qin."

"At that time, the whole country was in chaos. Emperor Gaozu had the ambition to be king, but he was burdened by worldly matters."

"So I went to Guandu."

"After returning, he became the Duke of Pei."

“This is the beginning of the Han Dynasty.”

"In the fifteenth year of Emperor Gaozu's reign, the Han Dynasty was established and the era name was changed to Cheng Qin."

Liu Bei looked at Liu Bian, his eyes full of disappointment.

"Your Majesty, isn't the Han Dynasty today just like the Qin Dynasty back then?"

"Aren't you today just like the fourth emperor back then?"

"So."

"Who is the Great Ancestor?"

"Who is the Overlord?"

After saying this, Liu Bei walked into the night without looking back.

He wanted to take this opportunity to try again.

Let’s try to see if we can persuade Chen Zhulou to come back.

This is his and the Han's only chance.

Taiwei Mansion

Cao Cao sat there with a hint of shock and confusion in his eyes, but it quickly turned into excitement.

He looked back at the three young men sitting there.

One of them held the wine, one held the chess pieces, and the other had a gentle scholarly smile on his face.

It was Guo Jia, Xun Yu and Xi Zhicai who introduced them.

"Is this a blessing or a curse for me?"

Guo Jia raised his head and drank the wine in his cup in one gulp: "Of course this is a blessing for Cao Gong!"

Xun Yu looked at the carefree Guo Jia, shook his head and smiled faintly, but he also gave an affirmative answer: "Feng Xiao is right, this is indeed a blessing for Cao Gong."

"King An passed away."

"This is the final blow from God to the great man."

"According to what Cao Gong said before, Chen, or the previous prince, still had some expectations for Liu and was not completely disappointed. But now, after this incident, Chen is only disappointed in Liu and the Han Dynasty."

"The prince may return to Guandu."

"How similar is this to the end of the Qin Dynasty?"

Cao Cao also had a smile in his eyes. He whispered, "Besides, King An has passed away. The emperor will definitely not dare to take action in the near future."

"Otherwise, it would be a real slap in the face of the Chen family."

"Chen will definitely not let this go."

"Xuan De should have been awakened by the emperor by now. Seeing the current situation, I am afraid he is disappointed with the emperor."

"Perhaps, I should go find Xuande?"

Xun Yu shook his head, put the chess piece on the chessboard, and said softly: "If I am not mistaken, the prince must have entered the palace and then left the palace again."

"The uncle should have gone to Prince An's palace."

"It's unlikely that Lord Cao will find anything when he goes to the palace now. It would be better for him to go directly to the Prince An's Palace."

Dong Zhuo's Residence
Jia Xu had a somewhat sad look on his face. He looked up at the sky and sighed, "A star has fallen. It was the star that supported the emperor. I'm afraid King An has passed away."

He looked at Dong Zhuo standing beside him: "General."

"Things have changed."

"Trouble is coming."

(End of this chapter)