A thousand-year-old family that began with the Battle of Makino

Chapter 167 New Emperor, Old Scores

Emperor Gaozu has passed away. In addition to the counties and counties directly under the Han court, there are also Wang Changsha, Wang Wuchen and others with different surnames, including Bai Gong and Bai Qing who were deposed as kings. The rest are all kings with the surname Liu.

Emperor Gaozu had eight sons, all of whom were named kings. The eldest son Liu Fei was the half-brother of the Han Emperor and was named King of Qi; the second son Liu Ying was the Han Emperor who ascended the throne and was born to Lu Fei; the third son Liu Ruyi, Born to Mrs. Qi, he was named King of Zhao;
The fourth son Liu Heng, born to Mrs. Bo, was named the acting king; the fifth son Liu Hui, the sixth son Liu You, the seventh son Liu Chang, and the eighth son Liu Jian were all born to Ji's concubine and were named King Liang, King Huaiyang, and King Huainan respectively. King, King Yan.

In addition, Gaozu's younger brother Liu Jiao was named King of Chu; his elder brother Liu Zhong was Liu Bi, the son of King Liu Zhong who was scared away by the Huns, and was named King of Wu.

This is still the year of Emperor Gaozu, the twelfth year of Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty

June
Because the new emperor is still young and has not yet reached the age of governance, the current affairs of the court are in the hands of Empress Lu. At this time, two months had passed since Queen Lu took power, and she began her own revenge.

Empress Lu resented Mrs. Qi and her son Zhao Wang Liu Ruyi the most, so she ordered Mrs. Qi to be imprisoned in Yongxiang, her hair was shaved, an iron ring was tied around her neck, she was put on a prisoner's red clothes, and she was made to grind rice and do hard labor. He also issued an order to summon King Zhao and wanted to kill him.

The envoys traveled back and forth between Chang'an and Xiangguo many times, but were blocked by Zhao Prime Minister Zhou Chang.

Zhou Chang said to the Han envoy: "The late Emperor entrusted King Zhao to me. Now King Zhao is young. I heard privately that the Queen Mother resented Madam Qi and wanted to recruit King Zhao to kill him as well. I dare not send King Zhao away." Besides, King Zhao is also ill and cannot obey the edict."

When Empress Lu heard about it, she was very angry and ordered Zhou Chang to come back.

Helpless, Zhou Chang had no choice but to obey the order and come to Chang'an. Later, Empress Lu sent someone to summon King Zhao again. Without Zhou Chang's obstruction, King Zhao had to embark on the road to Chang'an.

When King Zhao was still on the road, the Han Emperor already knew about this. He knew very well the consequences of Queen Lu's anger. Since he had suffered from war and separation, he valued family ties the most, so he went to Ba Shang to greet King Zhao in person. , and went into the palace with him, sitting, lying, and eating together.

Queen Lu always wanted to find an opportunity to kill him, but she couldn't find one.

The first year of Emperor Han
At this time, Emperor Han had been protecting King Zhao like this for more than half a year, and knew that continuing like this was not an option.

One day, Bai Jun, who had been appointed as the chief minister of the Prime Minister's Office, entered the palace to explain the classics to the Han emperor.

Emperor Han took the opportunity to tell him his depression and asked him if there was anything he could do.
Bai Jun said: "Your Majesty, all of this is the result of Mrs. Qi's own actions. Back then, the late emperor did not want to change your majesty's position as crown prince. It was Mrs. Qi's constant instigation that made the late emperor change his mind.

From this, one can imagine the Queen Mother's hatred for his mother and son. Another thing is that this is His Majesty's family matter, and it is really not easy for me to interfere! "

Emperor Han said with a downcast face: "It is true that all this is Mrs. Qi's fault, but King Zhao is not at fault! Why should King Zhao be implicated?"

Bai Jun explained: "Because King Zhao was the beneficiary of that political turmoil, and now His Majesty has ascended to the throne. Just imagine, if Mrs. Qi succeeded, King Zhao became the prince and ascended to the throne, and His Majesty's mother and son What to do? Will Madam Qi let go of His Majesty and the Queen Mother who can threaten her son's throne?
I wonder if your majesty can understand the Queen Mother's good intentions and the pressure she is under? I also know that Your Majesty is generous and merciful and does not want to see others suffer.

But your Majesty must know that you are now the lord of the Han Dynasty and the father and brother of the people in the world. The safety of the world depends on your majesty alone. In two years, your majesty will be in charge. Moreover, your majesty should also understand that political struggles are more cruel than military struggles. , there is no room for error! "

Emperor Han was still a little reluctant and said: "I know it too, but King Zhao is my brother after all, and I am still his elder brother. If I can't protect him, can I still protect the people of the world?"

Bai Jun had no choice but to say: "The Queen Mother did all this for Your Majesty. If Your Majesty really wants to keep King Zhao, in my opinion, it is better to go to the Queen Mother's palace and have an honest conversation with the Queen Mother. Otherwise, how will the Queen Mother know what Your Majesty is thinking?" Woolen cloth?"

Emperor Han knew that what Bai Jun said was right, but due to his filial piety to Empress Lu, Emperor Han had never disobeyed Empress Lu. Now it was really difficult for him to give advice to Empress Lu. Seeing the troubled expression of Emperor Han.

Bai Jun encouraged: "Your Majesty is already seventeen this year, and he will be in charge in three years. As the head of a country, your Majesty should not be indecisive. Your Majesty has also read "Bai's Spring and Autumn Annals". You also know that Duke Wei What’s the reason for Wei Wan’s disaster?”

Emperor Han thought that Wei Wan's excessive attachment to his family had led to his own death and that his country had fallen into the tyranny of Zhouxu, so he made up his mind to speak out against Empress Lu.

The next day, the Queen Mother's palace
The Queen Mother was dealing with the political affairs presented to her when the Han Emperor came in quietly.

Seeing that Empress Lu was still dealing with government affairs, she waited quietly.

After about an hour, the accumulated government affairs were finally settled. Just as Empress Lu wanted to stretch her muscles, she saw the Han Emperor sitting next to him.

When Empress Lu saw it was the Han Emperor, she immediately felt exhausted. She smiled and said, "When did the emperor come?"

Emperor Han looked up and saw that Empress Lu had finished handling the government affairs. He stood up and came to Empress Lu and said, "Mother, the child has just arrived. I was afraid of disturbing the queen, so I didn't say anything."

Who is Queen Lu? She knew at a glance that Emperor Han was lying, but she did not expose it. Knowing that this was the kindness of her children, she smiled and said: "The emperor doesn't study in his room, how about coming to my place?" Emperor Han immediately came to Lu Behind her back, he squeezed her shoulders and said: "Mother has worked hard. These are the children's tasks, but it makes the mother tired. It is really the child's fault!"

Empress Lu patted the Han Emperor's hand on her shoulder and said with a smile: "The emperor has not yet reached the throne, so I will handle it. Your task now is to study hard and accumulate enough knowledge so that when you take office, Only then can I leave them to you with confidence.”

Emperor Han laughed and did not answer, but silently squeezed Empress Lu's shoulders.

As soon as Queen Lu saw it, she knew that the matter was not that simple, so she asked: "Come on! What do you want from me? Otherwise, would you be so attentive to help me?"

Emperor Han said embarrassedly: "The child is naughty. In the past, he only cared about himself and forgot about the mother's hard work. In the future, the child will definitely change!"

Empress Lu rolled her eyes and said to Emperor Han: "You boy, do you really think that I don't know what you think? After all, if it makes sense, why can't I not listen?"

Emperor Han immediately moved to Queen Lu, looked at Queen Lu, and said firmly: "Please, Queen Mother, please let Ruyi go!"

Empress Lu's face suddenly turned pale, and she snorted coldly: "Who is talking nonsense in front of you again?"

When Emperor Han saw that Empress Lu's aura had opened up, he was a little scared, but when he thought about what Bai Jun said, he couldn't learn from the Wei Dynasty, so he stammered: "The mother mistakenly blamed others. There was no one else to tease the child, it was the child. My own opinion!"

Seeing that Emperor Han had the courage to express his opinion in front of her, Empress Lu felt a little relieved, but she still said with a cold face: "Who told you that I want to kill King Zhao?"

Emperor Han said: "Since the Queen Mother did not kill King Zhao, why did she summon him to Chang'an and still not let him go? The child knows that because of Madam Qi, the Queen Mother hates them mother and son, but after all, it is all Mrs. Qi It’s just one person’s fault, why should I implicate King Zhao?”

"Since you know the reason, you should know that I am doing this for your own good. If Qi Ji and her son do not die, your throne will always be threatened. Besides, when your father was here, Qi Ji often relied on your father's favor. , bullied our mother and son, have you forgotten?"

Emperor Han grabbed Empress Lu's hand and said: "Haier knows how much grievance and pressure the mother has endured for the baby, but Zhao Ruyi is the baby's brother after all. The baby is the elder brother, but he can't even protect his brother, and everyone in the world can't protect him." How will you treat the child, will you say the child is cowardly?"

Queen Lu looked at Emperor Han and knew her child's character, so she didn't say much and said: "I understand, don't worry! I will not attack King Zhao again."

Emperor Han said happily: "Thank you, Queen Mother!"

When Emperor Han left, Empress Lu said coldly: "Go and find out who went to see the emperor alone today and yesterday!"

"Here!" A figure replied respectfully in the darkness.

After a while, Empress Lu knew why the Han Emperor dared to give her advice, "Bai Jun, okay!" Empress Lu looked at the name on the bamboo stick.

"Here comes Shi Baijun, the director of Prime Minister Xuan's office!"

Bai Jun, who was assisting Xiao He in handling political affairs in the Prime Minister's Mansion, received an order to go to see Empress Lu.

He knew that this matter was not over yet, but who made them choose the current Emperor of Han in the first place? Bai Jun went to report to Xiao He, and with Xiao He sighing in his eyes, he left the Prime Minister's Mansion and headed to Weiyang Palace.

"Bai Jun, you are so brave. You dare to interfere in the Ai family's family affairs. Why, do you, the Bai family, want to seize power?" Empress Lu shouted loudly at Bai Jun, who was standing with his hands down.

"The Queen Mother clearly knows that I just followed His Majesty's orders and came up with some small ideas for him."

"Little idea? The Ai family thinks that you are the one who instigated the emperor to interfere with the Ai family. You just think that the emperor is still young and easy to fool. Who do you think you are? You dare to point fingers at the Ai family, huh?"

Bai Jun had no choice but to bow and said: "Your Majesty is the Queen Mother's biological child, and has always been raised by the Queen Mother herself. The Queen Mother should know that Your Majesty is not a mediocre master who just listens to people's opinions. The incident caused his character to be somewhat cowardly, which suppressed His Majesty’s original talents.”

When Empress Lu heard Bai Jun praise her child, her anger subsided a little. She snorted coldly and returned to her seat. She wanted to see what this young master who was taught by Bai, a great family in the world, had any insights. .

"Then what do you think we should do? The Aijia can tell you that Qi Ji must die. The Aijia of Zhao can spare her life, but they must not let him threaten the emperor's position. The Aijia asked you Bai to come out in the first place, just to Help the emperor, but I didn’t expect that the late emperor passed away so early, so that the emperor became emperor before he even had the crown.”

Bai Jun had no choice but to respectfully tell Empress Lu his thoughts and help Empress Lu analyze the current situation and what to do.

(End of this chapter)