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

Chapter 371 The truth back then

The effect of Chen's rain-praying talisman is to gradually radiate to the entire land of Kyushu, but it will gradually weaken.

This is also why both Chen and Zhang Jue had to wait until the drought was at its worst when using rain-praying talismans, because they had to find the place where the drought was most severe and alleviate the drought in that place to the greatest extent.

And because the head of the Chen family possesses the "Qilin Jade", they can sense whether the rain-praying talisman has been used.

Chen Zhulou shook his head slightly and sighed, then walked to the back.

There was a hint of fatigue in his eyes, and his figure looked even more desolate.

He had already known that Zhang Jue wanted to revolt and had tried to stop him, but Zhang Jue did not listen to his advice.

The Han people today are indeed too corrupt.

In the Guanfeng Pavilion
A breeze blows gently, and everything is developing quietly.

Chen Zhulou was sitting in the Guanfeng Pavilion. In front of him sat a middle-aged man in a black robe, with a hint of silence on his face.

"Xuan De, what is the matter with you coming to Guandu this time?"

Liu Bei raised his head, his eyes showing a vicissitudes of life.

He was silent for a long time before he spoke: "I want to know why you didn't use the "edict" that your ancestors left for the Chen family. If the Chen family had used that edict, the situation today would probably not have developed into this state."

edict?

Chen Zhulou understood what Liu Bei was talking about after just a little thought.

He raised his head, looked at Liu Bei and said softly: "Xuan De, do you think that edict will have any effect under the current circumstances?"

"Or, after using this edict that day, will the late emperor listen to Chen's advice?"

Chen Zhulou's voice was faint, but it was full of questions to Liu Bei.

"You also know the late emperor's temperament. If this edict is brought out, then the Chen family will really have no way out and will become the enemy of the Liu family."

Chen Zhulou's eyes were blocked by the falling shadows, and there was regret in his voice.

Just when Liu Bei thought he would not say anything, Chen Zhulou finally raised his head.

"In fact, Chen no longer has that imperial edict."

In Liu Bei's surprised and even confused eyes, Chen Zhulou slowly opened his mouth and told a piece of history that almost no one knew.

"When Emperor Wen left this edict, his intention was actually to let Chen use this edict to preserve the Han Dynasty and see if he could save the Han Dynasty from collapse at the most critical moment."

"Emperor Wen even left behind a series of ancestral teachings to prove the practicality of this edict."

"My father once took this imperial edict to the Weiyang Palace to look for Emperor Ling."

"At that time, my father and I still had a glimmer of hope for the Han Dynasty. Even though the Han Dynasty was already corrupt, if Emperor Ling could follow this edict, listen to Chen's and my father's advice, and then let my father take full charge of the reform, then even if the Han Dynasty could not continue for another hundred years, it would not have fallen to this point."

He raised his head, as if recalling his father who had told him all this.

"My father told me about this matter before he died. He said that Emperor Ling not only did not obey the edict, but also said that the edict was fake. However, because of King An and Chen, he did not pursue the matter."

"After that, the 'change of the aristocratic family' occurred."

Chen Zhulou's mouth was slightly mocking: "Xuan De, after all these years, you have never thought about why Emperor Ling suddenly cooperated so closely with the aristocratic families, even condoned the development of the aristocratic families, and wanted to use them to launch a coup and force the Chen family to return to Guandu City?"

Liu Bei came back to his senses from his shock, his face full of confusion and sudden enlightenment.

"I see."

The change in the aristocratic families happened too suddenly. The Yuan, Yang, and even Wang families united together and intended to force the Chen family to return to Guandu City. The beliefs they held were too great, and the emperor who condoned these things was too foolish.

Liu Bei always thought that it was just a stress reaction in a hurry because the emperor felt that his power was threatened.

Now it seems that his "power" was indeed threatened, but it was not the kind of "threat" he thought, nor was it the "stress response" he thought, but rather a premeditated event.

Liu Bei thought a lot from this incident. He thought about why the late emperor no longer trusted the Chen family, and even why the late emperor still wanted to unite with the aristocratic families to get rid of Cao Cao. He even resorted to the method of "burning the piano and boiling the crane" to make himself faint.

At the same time, Liu Bei also understood why "King An" came to Chang'an City.

There is a trace of all this.

At that time, King An still had a glimmer of hope for the Han Dynasty and the emperor, so he came to Chang'an City with Chen's last expectation for Liu, and then showed Emperor Ling the edict that was said to be left to Chen by Emperor Xiaowen.

However, Emperor Ling not only did not follow this edict, but in desperation he slandered Chen's edict as a fake and forged one.

King An was disappointed, but for the sake of the people of the world he had no choice but to stay in Chang'an and carry out reforms.

Although Emperor Lingdi seemed to have forgotten about this matter, he actually never forgot it. He began to contact the aristocratic families in secret and indulged their development in order to win over the Yuan, Yang, and Wang families.

Afterwards, Emperor Lingdi united the three major aristocratic families to carry out the "Aristocratic Family Change".

They knew that the Chen family was too powerful, and they did not even intend to use this "family change" to attack the Chen family. They just hoped that the Chen family could return to Guandu City and never get involved in worldly affairs again.

This is the emperor's will.

Later, after the failure of the Aristocratic Family Rebellion, Emperor Lingdi tried his best to preserve the foundations of the Yuan, Yang and Wang families, and then let these three major clans lie dormant, while he secretly "boiled the crane" for Liu Bei.

Before his death, he entrusted everything to his son and informed him of the imperial edict in the hands of the late emperor Chen.

Whether it is Liu Hong or Liu Bian, although they are stupid, they are also smart. They have a keener intuition in politics. They understand that as long as Chen makes this edict public, no matter what they say, everyone will believe Chen.

Because the Liu family had ancestral teachings, because there were records in history books, and because the Chen family had never used this edict.

Because no matter how it is verified, Chen really had this edict.

So, as long as Chen had never used this edict before, whether it was true or false, it must be true.

That's why Liu Bian was so hostile to the Chen family from the very beginning.

Everything went smoothly.

Liu Bei saw the truth of the matter from the endless smoke and waves, and his eyes were filled with confusion.

"So, this is the truth?"

Chen Zhulou nodded slightly, took a sip of tea and said, "Yes, this is the truth of everything that has happened over the years."

There was a hint of guilt in his eyes: "I know Xuande wants me to save the Han Dynasty, but it's too late."

"The Chen family has now begun to lie dormant."

"This is a huge family. Even if no one in the world thinks that the Chen family is a member of the "aristocratic family", the Chen family is still a huge aristocratic family."

"Although many of the children in the family are willing to sacrifice their lives for the Han people, the vast majority of them want to live a quiet life."

Chen Zhulou's voice was filled with a hint of lamentation: "Xuan De, it's too late."

Liu Bei looked into Chen Zhulou's eyes with a determined look on his face.

"Dongli, it's not too late."

He said word by word: "Now, the emperor is young, and all the political and military power is in my hands. I have brought up the emperor since he was young, and he trusts me very much." "Before the late emperor passed away, he never told the emperor these things."

"As long as you come back, Donglin, you will be the regent of the Han Dynasty."

"As long as you come back, Donglin, you will be the de facto emperor of the Han Dynasty!"

"At that time, all the twenty-three counties controlled by the Han Dynasty will obey your orders. You can make any changes you want!"

Liu Bei took a step forward and held Chen Zhulou's hands: "Brother Donglin."

"Please save the big man from the water and fire!"

Chen Zhulou lowered his eyes, looked at Liu Bei and said, "It's too late."

"At this moment, the big man is powerless to save the situation."

"I know that everyone says that whoever controls the Chen family will control the world. Even you, Xuande, and Mengde who is far away in Langya all think that as long as I can come forward, the Han Dynasty can still be reunited and reconciled."

"You believe that Chen has the power to change fate and save the Han Dynasty."

"But Chen is just an ordinary person, how can he have such power?"

"If Xuande had come to me earlier, a month ago, half a month ago, or even five days ago, and said these words, I could have tried to save the Han Dynasty, but it's too late now."

"too late."

He pointed to the heavy rain in the distance and said, "Xuan De, look at this heavy rain."

"The heavy rain fell in torrents, as if to wash away all the filth in this world."

Liu Bei did not say anything but remained silent. After a moment, he spoke softly, "Brother Donglin, are you talking about the Yellow Turban Rebellion?"

At this time, he did not call the "Yellow Turban Rebellion" "Yellow Turban Bandits" because he understood who the Yellow Turban Army of the Yellow Turban Rebellion were. They were people who could not survive.

Chen Zhulou nodded and admitted directly: "Yes."

"It was because of the Yellow Turban Rebellion."

He turned around and looked at Liu Bei: "From the perspective of destiny, Zhang Jue sacrificed to the gods and used the Taiping Essential Technique and the Taiping Dao as a guide to cut off the fate of the Han Dynasty. Since then, the world has fallen into war and the nine provinces have been plunged into flames of war."

"The man's fate has come to an end. Unless there is real power from ghosts and gods, no one can save him."

"From a 'human' perspective, the soldiers of the Yellow Turban Rebellion were all ordinary 'people'. These people could no longer survive, so they vented all their anger and waved their fists."

“The Chen family will not stand against the people.”

"The Chen family will not be an accomplice to the evildoer."

Having said this, Liu Bei had nothing more to say.

Yes.

Whether from the perspective of destiny or from the perspective of "number of people", he was a step late.

If it had come earlier, perhaps after Chen came forward, Zhang Jue would have temporarily postponed the Yellow Turban Rebellion, and Chen's reforms came before the people erupted in anger, just like a downpour before the flames appeared.

The "angry" flames were extinguished by the rain, and there was still a chance to save everything.

but
It just happened to be so late.

Liu Bei closed his eyes in pain.

Why is it five days or a month late?

Because the emperor was seriously ill.

The emperor grew up in the deep palace, and became more and more naughty as he grew older. Some time ago, the emperor went to the palace to play by himself, and inadvertently ran to a palace that had long been abandoned.

That palace was the "cold palace" where a "concubine" of the previous emperor lived. When the emperor went there, although he was accompanied by guards, he was still frightened by the crazy appearance of that person.

After returning home, he developed a high fever.

Because of this serious illness, Liu Bei was forced to stay in Chang'an City, and his visit to Guandu City was postponed for half a month.

On the way to Guandu, they encountered another group of refugees.

In order to accommodate these refugees, Liu Bei had to stop at Youfufeng on the road to eliminate the possible dangers.

This was another ten days late.

Liu Bei shook his head slightly, putting all this behind him. He looked up at the sky, sighed softly and said, "Perhaps, the fate of the Han Dynasty has really come to an end."

He smiled and stopped advising Chen Zhulou on this matter. Instead, he talked about the talented person he had found a few days ago.

"Okay, let's not talk about these annoying things."

"Some time ago, three heroes came from Jingzhou in the south to seek refuge with us. One of them was as smart as Donglin."

Liu Bei said with some satisfaction: "The Han Dynasty is still the Liu family's Han Dynasty after all, and it is still the Han Dynasty of the people of the world."

"Even if the great man's fate is really over, what can we do about it?"

He blinked and said, "I feel that Chen has never believed in fate, and Bei has never believed in fate either."

"The so-called destiny is nothing but illusion."

Liu Bei raised the wine glass in his hand and said in a casual manner: "Since I am born in the Liu family, I must take it as my responsibility to support the Han Dynasty."

"Till death!"

"However, I have something I want to ask Donglin."

Chen Zhulou didn't hesitate at all: "What's the matter?"

Liu Bei seemed to have guessed something, and smiled and said, "In the future, if the Han Dynasty is really going to be destroyed, please give the Han Dynasty a dignified look and use that edict to order the Emperor Liu to abdicate."

"Then, please come to Donglin to protect the Liu family."

Chen Zhulou did not deny it, but raised the wine glass in his hand: "Zhulou will definitely live up to Xuande's trust!"

Green plums and a glass of wine, it seems like the old days.

The first year of Chengtai.

The world is in chaos.

Zhang Jiao of Julu led the Yellow Turban Army in an uprising, and the war quickly spread to all parts of Kyushu.

From then on, the situation of strife in the world really emerged.

This is what is called "the anger of the people".

(End of this chapter)