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

Chapter 403 People are doing it

Chen Zexi was indeed very confused and puzzled about this matter. After he took over the Chen family from Chen Zhulou, he did listen to Chen Zhulou's talk about the "mission" of the Chen family's head lineage.

I also learned about Chen’s “miracle”.

To be honest, the other descendants of the Chen family also had some understanding of what Chen Zhulou said. It was for this reason that the descendants of the Chen family looked so "relaxed".

After all, how could a family that has been passed down for more than 500 years not have a few naughty children?
How is it possible that they are all children who are dedicated to serving the people?

How is it possible that they are all elders who can restrain their own offspring and stop them from misbehaving?

Is it true that there is not a single descendant who conforms to human nature?
That is impossible.

If such a family really exists, then it goes against human nature.

The reason why the descendants of the Chen family have lived like this for five hundred years is because they have all vaguely heard of the "magic" of the "Chen family" and the existence of the "Peach Blossom Spring".

They don't know the specific name and function of "Taohuayuan", they refer to it as "ancestral land".

"Death is not Chen's destiny."

This sentence is no secret among the Chen family's descendants, but they also clearly know another thing: not all descendants can enter the Peach Blossom Spring.

So, who can enter the Peach Blossom Spring and live forever? Who can live happily and happily like a god?

Everyone thought of "ancestral teachings" and "family rules".

This is why, for the past five hundred years, all the descendants of the Chen family have followed the family rules and ancestral teachings, and none of them have grown up astray. This is why, for the past five hundred years, there has not been any descendant of the Chen family who did not restrain himself, but instead disciplined them strictly.

Of course, even under the temptation of such "benefits", some people would do things secretly, but they were all exposed by others and then dealt with by Chen's "law enforcement".

So after Chen Zexi took over the Chen family, he did not have much reaction when he received the dream from his ancestor. Instead, he believed more firmly and firmly in the existence of the "Peach Blossom Spring" in his heart.

He also gradually came to understand the existence of the "Enlightenment Dragon Field" and the "Cause and Effect Talisman" that only the head of the family could know.

Chen Zexi sat under the peach tree, stroking his chin with a curious look on his face.

"Could it be that our ancestors also disliked the Sima family?"

After much thought, Chen Zexi could only think of this one reason. Only this reason could have made his ancestor appear in his dream and make him agree to Chen Ying's request and then bring Cao Mao to the Chen Ancestral Hall.

Changan
After the last Northern Expedition ended because of Liu Chan, Zhuge Liang began to look for reasons in himself and the court. After all, in his opinion, there was no big problem with Liu Chan.

Even though Liu Chan is a little soft-hearted and mediocre, he is still there, isn't he?

He respects himself and is able to listen to advice. At most, he is just a little playful. As long as he finds the right person to assist him, although such a person may not be able to become a founding monarch, he will have no problem being a king who maintains the status quo.

Prime Minister's Mansion
Zhuge Liang looked at the letter in his hand, frowned, and had a serious look on his face.

This letter was written by someone he could not imagine, and the things written in it were also something he had never expected. How could these two words come out of that person's mouth?

This is really strange.

After pondering for a long time, Zhuge Liang finally made a decision. He sat under the candlelight, writing something silently.

He wrote this memorial with pauses, as if he had poured all his effort into it.

When the book was finished, Zhuge Liang sat there, somewhat dazed.

The memorial was closed, and three words were clearly written on it.

"The Imperial Examination"

Zhuge Liang closed his eyes, and all he could think of was the time when he was tilling the land in Nanyang. After hearing about Liu Bei's story, he chose to go north to Chang'an. Liu Bei did not look down on him just because he was a commoner. Instead, he entrusted him with important tasks and requested an imperial edict to appoint him as "clerk in the Prime Minister's Office", which was definitely a position of high power.

After a member of the Chen family took up the position of an internal clerk in the Prime Minister's Office, the emperor upgraded the salary of this position to "two thousand stones". Moreover, although it was called an internal clerk in the Prime Minister's Office, in fact, when the Prime Minister was not in charge of affairs, the internal clerk in the Prime Minister's Office was a "small prime minister".

Now, how many years have passed?
Zhuge Liang was a little confused. He couldn't figure it out anymore.

"Nothing is permanent."

He stood up and walked out of the courtyard. The moonlight shone on him, and everything seemed so normal.

Zhuge Liang.

The sixth eastern expedition.

Is coming soon.

Dayu
The struggles among the Three Kingdoms seemed to have forgotten the vast empire entrenched in the west and south. While internal strife and war were taking place between the Han and Wei dynasties, the country of Dayu was peaceful and prosperous.

Most people have forgotten what war is like. They have enjoyed peace for too long.

Zhang Jue's original intention in establishing the Taiping Dao was to hope that the world would be peaceful and stable again. Even though there is peace not in all of China now, at least in the territory of Dayu, peace has arrived as promised.

Qinzheng Hall
Zhang Cheng looked old, with a hint of helplessness on his face.

He looked at the information about the various changes in the Wei State brought by the "Taoist soldier" in his hand, with a hint of depth in his eyes.

"Sima Yi."

Zhang Cheng closed his eyes: "Sima Yi held power alone and outlasted three emperors of the Wei Kingdom."

"Now he is ready to take the supreme position, and Cao Mao does not have much power to interfere with the Sima family. It seems that no one can stop this from happening."

He looked dimly in the direction of the Prime Minister's Mansion.

Is "Sima Yi" only in Wei? I don't think so.

Master Zu Tianshi has existed since his father founded Dayu, and now he can hardly hold on. When he saw Master Zu Tianshi a few days ago, he was in better health than himself.

Will Zu Tianshi be the next Sima Yi?
Zhang Cheng clenched and unclenched his hands, back and forth.

He couldn't calm down.

Prime Minister's Mansion

It seemed as if Zu Tianshi didn't notice the worry of "Chen Linan" in front of him. He just continued to look at the memorial in his hand with a calm expression on his face.

But Chen Linan couldn't bear it any longer.

"Aren't you afraid? Aren't you afraid that the emperor will doubt you just like he doubted Sima Yi?"

Chen Linan's eyes were filled with worry. He said cautiously, "How about you resign?"

Chen Zhulou finally put down the book in his hand in the face of Chen Linan's worried look. He just smiled faintly and said, "Why worry so much?"

"The emperor is not the emperor of Cao Wei, and I am not Sima Yi."

"And if the emperor really doubts me like the emperor of Cao Wei doubted Sima Yi, then it is indeed time for me to resign and return home."

He smiled and pointed outside the courtyard: "Believe it or not, in half an hour, our emperor will come to me and ask me directly if I want to be emperor like Sima Yi."

what?
Chen Linan looked at Chen Zhulou in confusion.

A direct question?
Is it so straightforward?

Probably not?
If this question came from the emperor's mouth, then there would be no room for maneuver.

From then on, such an idea would take root in the emperor's heart and would never disappear.

"Aren't you afraid that it's irreversible?"

Zu Tianshi just smiled and said nothing. He lowered his head and looked at the book in his hand.

Three quarters of an hour later.

A servant came over in a hurry, followed by an old man. The old man had an amazing aura, as if he had been in a high position for a long time.

It was Zhang Cheng, the Emperor of Dayu!

"The Prime Minister has found a comfortable place here. I am so pitiful that I can only stay in the Qinzheng Palace day after day and am almost suffocating to death."

After Zu Tianshi and the other two greeted each other, Chen Linan silently glanced at Chen Zhulou.

It turns out he really guessed it right!
After some greetings, Master Zu looked at Zhang Cheng with a smile and said, "Your Majesty rarely leaves the palace. What is the matter with you today?"

He was somewhat puzzled and bewildered.

It was as if he had no idea why Zhang Cheng came.

Zhang Cheng glanced at Zu Tianshi with a half-smile. He didn't believe that this old man really didn't know why he came here. Now he pretended to be ignorant. He was really an old fox.

But what?
Zhang Cheng smiled. Although he was an old fox who had become cunning, he was still an old fox worthy of trust.

He looked directly at Master Zu Tianshi and asked seriously, "Is the Prime Minister like Sima Yi, plotting to usurp the throne?"

Zhang Cheng's eyes were fixed on Zu Tianshi's cheek, and his voice was enunciated word by word.

And Master Zu Tianshi also looked into Zhang Cheng's eyes: "I absolutely do not have such intention."

He said calmly: "The Chen family never claimed to be emperor. This is the ancestral precept passed down by the ancestors of the Chen family. Chen Zhulou will naturally follow it."

Chen Zhulou smiled faintly at this time: "If I have this intention, then my fate will be the same as Sima Yi's!"

Is his fate the same as Sima Yi's?
What was Sima Yi's fate?

Even with Zhang Cheng's wisdom, he was stunned for a moment: "What happened to Sima Yi?"

He immediately reacted: "Is Chen going to intervene in this matter?"

Chen Zhulou just smiled and said, "Your Majesty, you can just look after this matter."

“People are doing it.”

He didn't say the second half of the sentence, but Zhang Cheng already understood what he meant.

The two looked at each other, and Zhang Cheng no longer had any worries or doubts about Zu Tianshi in his heart. Instead, he had an expression of "watching the show".

He understood very clearly that a big drama was about to begin with the whole country as its stage and Sima Yi and Cao Mao as its protagonists, and he was just a passer-by and a spectator in this drama.

Zhang Cheng raised his eyebrows: "Then I will wait and see a good show."

He stood up, stretched, and looked somewhat relaxed.

"I say, teacher, how do you keep your body healthy?"

Zhang Cheng's face showed helplessness, curiosity, and even a barely detectable "envy". After all, Master Zu Tianshi was older than him, but now he was about to die of old age, while Master Zu Tianshi was still alive and well.

And Zu Tianshi's answer was very straightforward, he did not hide anything.

"Destiny."

These two words made Zhang Cheng completely helpless.

What a destiny.

However, he also understood very well that a person's life span was indeed determined by fate, and he had no way of changing it.

In that case, just bear with it.

The thirty-third year of the Zhengtong period, late summer.

Just after finishing his farming work, the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty, Zhuge Liang, wrote a letter to the emperor, requesting an eastern expedition.

Emperor Liu Chan had no objection to this. He personally sent Zhuge Liang out of the city of Chang'an and earnestly instructed Zhuge Liang to take care of his health and never get sick, otherwise the Han Dynasty would be without a pillar.

He also sent an imperial physician to follow Zhuge Liang and keep an eye on him at all times.

Zhuge Liang did not refuse, he knew that this was Liu Chan's concern for him.

Watching Zhuge Liang's back gradually disappearing, the sadness in Liu Chan's eyes gradually faded away with the passage of time, and was replaced by happiness.

Why happy?
Because during the time that Zhuge Liang was there, he was in charge of everything and kept a strict control over him.

He doesn't have time to have fun.

You know, those government affairs are really troublesome to deal with.

After returning to the palace and taking another look at the "The Memorial to the Emperor on Leaving the Capital", Liu Chan finally made up his mind and summoned the "Embroidered Robe Messenger" to have them drag the attendant Huang Hao away and kill him directly.

"Forget it, let's just listen to my father."

People are doing it.

Langya
Sima Yi was sitting in the court, looking very old, and in front of him was the even older Chen Ying.

With the presence of these two people, the court of Wei was filled with a dull atmosphere, but this dull atmosphere precisely meant peace and stability.

Everyone knew that once one of the two people sitting in the front died, the remaining one would immediately stir up a storm, which would be enough to sweep up the entire Wei Dynasty.

"General, Zhuge Liang has started a war again, and now you are the only one in the court who can resist Zhuge Liang."

"Please come out of the mountain."

Sima Yi stood up, his eyes were extremely cloudy, as if he could not see clearly.

"Your Majesty, I am too old to go on the expedition. I beg Your Majesty to have mercy on me."

People are doing it.

Autumn of the 33rd year of Zhengtong.

Langya
Prime Minister's Mansion

Chen Ying lay on the bed, screening everything in his mind. Finally, he sighed with relief. He had finally finished all the things.

Even if he died, when that incident happened, the "backup plan" he prepared and the "surprise" prepared for Sima Yi would appear, and he could finally leave with peace of mind.

In the autumn of the thirty-third year, Chen Ying, the prime minister of the Wei Dynasty, died of illness in the prime minister's residence.

Same year, same month.

The emperor issued an edict, appointing General Sima Yi as "Prime Minister" and giving him overall power inside and outside the court.

And he appointed Sima Yi as "Grand Marshal".

Sima Zhao was appointed as the military Sima, Sima Shi was appointed as the military commander, and Sima Liang was appointed as the clerk in the prime minister's office.

Sima Yi led the troops to resist Zhuge Liang's Eastern Expedition.

People are doing it.

(End of this chapter)