I, Liu Bian, Sanxing Han Dynasty

Chapter 18 Father and Son Conversation

Emperor Ling seemed to have no intention of letting Liu Bian answer, and continued: "When the new emperor ascends the throne, I will appoint the old minister as the Taifu, who will also record the secretarial affairs and assist the emperor in contacting government affairs. When the old minister dies, there will no longer be a Taifu. These days, you are often in Yutang Palace, and you should know the power and responsibilities of the Taifu who records the affairs of the Shangshu. When I came to the throne, I took Chen Fan as the Taifu, which is what I should do. The Taifu Chen Fan is in charge of political affairs, and the general Dou Wu is in charge of military affairs."

This has been the practice since the Eastern Han Dynasty. When the emperor dies, he will leave a Taifu who is above the three princes to his successor. This Taifu has two requirements: first, he must be a famous and capable minister, and second, he must be old enough. In this way, the Taifu can use his reputation to help the emperor establish his authority; he can use his experience to help the emperor handle the government affairs of the Shangshutai.

At the same time, because the Taifu was old enough, he would not be able to serve for many years. After the Taifu passed away, the power naturally returned to the emperor.

In theory, this system is very conducive to the transition of imperial power and the good death of powerful officials.

"Chen Fan and Dou Wu are each considered by the scholars to be virtuous gentlemen with noble virtues. However, I have only been on the throne for eight months when I learned that the two of them had discussed together to kill the eunuch."

Having said this, Emperor Ling sneered twice: "Most of the eunuchs are in the palace, so how can we kill them? It's just an excuse for mutiny!"

"The two of them work together to take charge of the country's military and political affairs. The Queen Mother is behind the curtain, and there are scholars outside who are running around advocating. Where do they put me? Even so, the two of them are still not satisfied... hum."

Liu Bian understood Emperor Ling's thoughts. The ministers at home and abroad were all aligned with Chen Fan and Dou Wu. The Queen Mother Dou in the palace was Dou Wu's eldest daughter. In the palace, the only people the Emperor Ling could rely on at that time were eunuchs.

If you put yourself in his shoes, you can easily feel the difficult situation of Emperor Ling.

It was probably under this situation that Emperor Ling said, "Zhang Rang is my father and Zhao Zhong is my mother."

To the Emperor Ling at that time, there was no difference between Chen Fan and Dou Wu's intention to kill the eunuch and their intention to kill him.

Therefore, when Cao Jie and Wang Fu approached Emperor Ling for help, Emperor Ling used his own name to give Cao Jie control of the Shangshu Desk, thereby issuing an edict and taking advantage of the end of the campaign to lead his troops back to Luoyang. Kill Dou Wu and Chen Fan.

This was the trigger for the second party-related disaster from the perspective of Emperor Ling.

Liu Bian could tell that even now, in Emperor Ling's heart, Dou Wu and Chen Fan were still those who intended to rebel.

What Dou Wu and Chen Fan failed was exactly what the current general He Jin wanted to do.

After understanding the true thoughts of Emperor Ling, Liu Bian could only praise He Jin, "The general is so brave!"

It's just that Emperor Ling didn't ask. Liu Bian couldn't bring up He Jin, otherwise he would be asking for trouble.

Emperor Ling asked: "What would Bian'er do if he changed places?"

Liu Bian was unsure whether he should follow Emperor Ling's words and was torn. Emperor Ling didn't urge him, he just walked slowly in the palace.

After thinking for a long time, Liu Bian finally gave his slightly naive answer: "Always try to bridge the two sides. When it is irreversible, use thunderous means."

Emperor Ling smiled and said, "I'm afraid it will be too late by then!"

Liu Bian responded: "My father is right. It is said that the Duke of Zhou is afraid of the day of rumors. Wang Mang is humble and has not usurped the time. How can we distinguish between loyalty and treachery before the matter is settled?"

Emperor Ling praised: "Bian'er's words are also pertinent!"

Liu Bian smiled awkwardly and continued: "I once asked Master Liang in Dongguan, is it true that since the founding of the Han Dynasty, foreign ministers and eunuchs have been at odds with each other? Master Liang told me about Yang Zhen's death."

Emperor Ling was tired from walking and came to rest under a pavilion. He was a little surprised when he heard this. He didn't expect Liu Bian to take the initiative to ask people about Yang Zhen.

Before Yang Zhen, although there were struggles between foreign ministers and eunuchs, they still placed the content of the struggle within the framework of national politics and would never pursue physical elimination as easily as now. Yang Zhen during the reign of Emperor An was known as the "Yang Boqi of Confucius in Kansai". He was truly a pure man both as an official and as a person. Even if he couldn't bear to see his relatives and eunuchs misbehaving, he would only write to the emperor and request severe punishment. This is a person who is beneficial and harmless to the country in an absolute sense.

But just such a person was framed by the eunuch Fan Feng and others. Emperor An sent envoys to take back Yang Zhen's Taiwei seal and ribbon overnight and deported him back to his hometown.

Yang Zhen couldn't bear the humiliation and committed suicide by drinking poison in Jiyang Pavilion in the west of Luoyang City. He told his children to "use miscellaneous wood as a coffin, cut the cloth into the shape of the cover, do not return to the tomb, and do not set up a shrine." He was more than 70 years old. age.

Even so, the eunuch was still dissatisfied and ordered his officials to stop Yang Zhen's funeral and expose him beside the coffin path. At the same time, Yang Zhen's descendants were ordered to serve as corvees and postal services, and they were not allowed to attend mourning.

It was not until Emperor Shun succeeded to the throne the following year that Yang Zhen was overturned and buried elsewhere.

It is said that a few days before Yang Zhen's funeral, a big bird with a height of more than one foot flew to the funeral of Yang Zhen. It leaned down and screamed in sorrow, and shed tears on the wet ground. The birds did not fly away until they were buried.

The Qingliu Movement of the Eastern Han Dynasty was born from then on, and the undying hatred between Qingliu and the eunuchs was forged. At the same time, Yang Zhen's death also made a group of officials more inclined to protect themselves wisely and gradually distanced themselves from the emperor.

Emperor Ling actually knew a lot about this matter, and an interesting incident also happened.

He once asked Yang Zhen's great-grandson Yang Qi: "How do I compare with Emperor Huan?"

In Emperor Ling's heart, he must be much stronger than Emperor Huan.

Yang Qi's answer was very witty: "Your Majesty wants to compete with Emperor Huan, just like Yu Shun competed with Tang Yao."

There is quite a hidden meaning in Liu Bian's past life of using "crouching dragon and phoenix chicks" to praise people.

Liu Hong was naturally very dissatisfied with this answer, and he faintly threatened: "Qing's strong point (hard neck), you are worthy of being a descendant of Yang Zhen, and you will definitely attract big birds after your death."

……

Emperor Ling, who was sitting under the pavilion, asked Liu Bian again: "Since you have asked about Yang Zhen's past, what do you think of eunuchs? Do you want to shout about beatings and killings?"

Emperor Ling had been laying the groundwork for so long, and the answer he wanted was very clear.

Liu Bian glanced out of the corner of his eye and saw that Zhang Rang was far away at some point, avoiding his conversation with Emperor Ling.

He replied: "Eunuchs are minions and indispensable."

Emperor Ling nodded and was very satisfied with Liu Bian's answer. After chatting for a long time, he felt sleepy and asked Liu Bian to go back and rest.

Before leaving, Emperor Ling warned: "You have not been in the palace for many years, and it is reasonable that you are not familiar with your grandmother and my brother. I know that you have always been sensible. From now on, you can go to Yongle Palace to visit your grandmother every ten and a half months. , what kind of hatred can there be between ancestors and grandchildren? It's just a moment of anger. I'll take you there myself in two days!"

Liu Bian nodded in agreement.

Emperor Ling did not forget to add: "Next time, remember to be smarter. If your grandmother wants to get a bamboo stick, just run away. I will tell Sun Zhang and he will cooperate with you in private. No eunuch will dare to stop him." your."

(End of this chapter)