My life is like walking on thin ice

Chapter 336 Next step

Chang'an City, Weiyang Palace, Greenhouse Side Hall of Xuanshi Hall.

With the arrival of November, the first snow in Chang'an also quietly came at the beginning of the second year of Liu Rong's Xinyuan reign.

The magnificent palace was covered in silver, and the paths inside the palace and the eight streets and nine alleys outside the palace were all frozen when one breath

Even in just one year - at the beginning and end of the first year of Emperor Rong Xin's reign, when a war with the Huns was won, the cold still drove the people of Chang'an back home.

The same scene happened in almost every farmer's home in Chang'an.

——A family of old and young usually consists of an older male head of the family, with an old woman, a young girl, one or two daughters-in-law, and three or four children and grandchildren;

The family sat in the corner of the house, instinctively retracting their necks and reaching out for the only source of heat in the house: the indoor stove in the corner.

But on everyone’s faces, you can hardly see any trace of the suffering of the lower-class people.

Almost everyone will subconsciously surrender to the distant north with eyes full of longing.

Parents are looking forward to their sons returning home in glory and bringing honor to themselves, their ancestors, and future generations!
The wives and children were looking forward to their husbands and fathers returning safely and bringing home all kinds of trophies.

Brothers and sisters have long started bragging about how great their brothers are, and have become the coolest guys in the neighborhood.

Some matchmakers even braved the bitter winter to visit the families of those who already held minor official positions in the army, such as sergeant or squad leader, and discuss marriage with the parents of the potential candidate before he or she returned to the court.

——The cold enveloped the entire Chang'an city!

However, it failed to extinguish the enthusiasm caused by the victory of the war that filled the entire Chang'an.

Everyone is waiting.

Whether inside or outside the court, in the palace, on the streets, or even outside the city of Chang'an - everyone is waiting for the triumphant return of the royal army that has achieved a great victory!
Only Liu Rong was leaning leisurely on the newly made bamboo rocking chair in the greenhouse hall, checking the bamboo slips in his hands while pulling open his clothes with a bit of annoyance.

"Aoi-Five~"

"Aoi Five?"

"Go and turn down the heater in the hall."

While saying this, Liu Rong instinctively turned his head, waiting for the familiar burly figure to wipe the thin layer of sweat from his forehead.

Not long after, a piece of silk cloth really touched Liu Rong's forehead;

But it's not like what I remember...

Rude?

Feeling the unusual force of the silk cloth scratching his forehead, Liu Rong instinctively raised his head;
When he saw that it was Xia Que, one of the two idiots, he remembered that his personal eunuch Kui Wu had not returned from Bowang City yet.

"Well……"

"I don't know what that fool Kuiwu is busy with in Bowang City."

"The battle is over, why are you still staying in Bowang City?"

Although he said this, there was no sign of displeasure on Liu Rong's face.

He just stretched out his hand to take the silk handkerchief, wiped his forehead casually, then gently threw the bamboo slips in his hand on his legs, looked in the direction of the palace door, and let out a long sigh.

Before the war, in order to train his own direct lineage, Liu Rong sent almost all of his trusted confidants to the Hetao battlefield, where "great potential existed".

As for Kui Wu, Liu Rong's original thought was very simple: with that man's physique as strong as a calf, it would not be surprising if he chopped off a few heads and achieved military honors.

Although he was a monk, he was still his personal eunuch.
Letting him out to gain some experience, even if he has military merits, will only help this fool get the position of eunuch commander. For Liu Rong, it will be a hundred benefits with no harm.

——After all, no matter what, the eunuch commander is still a more serious official position than the two thousand stone official;
Although most of them were eunuchs, they had already escaped the category of "house slaves" and were real subjects.

In fact, looking at the entire Weiyang and Changle Palaces, there are only three palace maids and eunuchs who can call themselves "ministers" instead of "slaves".

The personal eunuch of the emperor, the head of the palace servants in Weiyang Palace: Weiyang Palace Eunuch Commander;

The eunuch in charge of the harem beside the queen, the head eunuch of Weiyang Palace, and the second in command of the palace maids: the Grand Chamberlain of the Pepper Room;
And, the old eunuch beside the Empress Dowager of the Eastern Palace, theoretically the head of the palace people in the two palaces, and in fact the top person in Changle Palace: the Chief of the Changle Palace's Carriages.

Just like the Empress Dowager can call herself "朕", but rarely calls herself "朕" in order not to irritate the Emperor: the theoretical privilege of being able to call oneself "臣" will basically not be used by the above three.

In order to show their absolute loyalty, even if they have reached these three positions and have the right to call themselves "ministers", no eunuch would dare to really call himself a "minister", or even regard himself as a subordinate.

After all, there is such a big negative example of the Qin traitor Zhao Gao. Whether it is to show their loyalty to the emperor and the queen mother or to avoid being criticized by other dynasties, the eunuch group will be very sensible and consider the overall situation in this matter.

However, as an emperor, although Liu Rong benefited greatly from the self-knowledge of "knowing his own weight" and "where the power came from", as long as there was a chance, Liu Rong would not hesitate to create opportunities for his subordinates, especially his direct descendants, to more smoothly take the positions arranged by Liu Rong for them.

After all, the Eunuch Order is not a transitional position arranged by Liu Rong for Kui Wu to train, but the ceiling that Kui Wu and even all eunuchs pursue throughout their lives.

Liu Rong doesn’t need Kui Wu to be very capable;

As long as Kui Wu can convince the people, sit firmly in the position of eunuch commander, help Liu Rong deal with the trivial affairs in the palace, and allow Liu Rong to concentrate on state affairs, Liu Rong will be satisfied.

Therefore, Liu Rong sent Kui Wu to the Hetao battlefield despite the opposition of his confidants, hoping that Kui Wu could achieve some military merits to help him secure his position as the Eunuch Commander.

However, the development of the situation was somewhat beyond Liu Rong's expectations...

"Tell that fool to go to war and chop off a few Xiongnu heads, but he just ignored it and didn't chop off a single head."

"The war is over, but you are more excited now. You said you want to monitor Bowang City for me?"

"What are you thinking..."

That’s right;

Kuiwu asked Liu Rong to let him stay in Bowang City.

As for the reason, it was just as Liu Rong complained at the moment: Kuiwu failed to achieve his goal on the battlefield—he didn’t even catch up with the vanguard, and he didn’t even have time to eat a hot bite of shit;

After the war, he inexplicably wanted to be Liu Rong's eyes and keep an eye on everything in Bowang City for Liu Rong...

In this regard, Liu Rong can only say: Some things may really be innate.

Especially the special group of eunuchs, they seemed to be able to naturally scratch the emperor's itch.

Even a simpleton like Kui Wu could instinctively guess what Liu Rong wanted to do most but was unable to do on his own initiative - without even waiting for Liu Rong to speak, he solved this problem for Liu Rong.

Therefore, although he was complaining about something like "What can that fool do in Bowang City?", secretly, Liu Rong almost couldn't help laughing out loud several times.

How can I say this?
In any other era, whether it is the Qin Dynasty in the past or the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties in the future;

No matter which dynasty it was, if the emperor wanted to send a trusted spy to keep an eye on a newly conquered piece of land, no one would think there was anything wrong with it.

After all, human nature cannot stand the test!

Supervision is not a sign of distrust of the emperor’s subjects, but rather a protection for them. Without supervision, you might still struggle with whether to take advantage of others, enrich yourself, or do something that harms others and benefits yourself.
But with supervision, unless you are born a corrupt official, you will most likely give up those inappropriate thoughts.

However, in the Han Dynasty - especially at this stage where Liu Rong is now, this matter is a bit too complicated.

It is almost known to everyone in later generations: Is human nature inherently good or evil? In the new era of later generations, it is actually an open proposition in which each person has his own reasons and no one can convince anyone else.

In addition to the theory of human nature being good or evil, later generations even had a third view - rather than saying that human nature is inherently good or evil, it is better to say that human nature is a blank sheet of paper.

If you draw good on it, it is good; if you draw evil on it, it is evil.

Liu Rong vaguely remembers that this statement also had a considerable number of supporters in later generations.

But in the era in which Liu Rong lived, this proposition did have a standard answer.

——Human nature is inherently good!
As for Mencius, the second sage who proposed that "human nature is evil", in this era it is undoubtedly a heresy and is not recognized by the mainstream public opinion and ideological circles at all.

Against this background - against the background of 'human nature is good', an extremely magical concept emerged in this era.

That is: no matter who you are, you are born kind;

An evil person must have been kind at first and then turned evil.

There are many factors that caused him to transform from good to evil.

The most special one is: he is kind, but you don’t believe he is kind;

Therefore, with the idea of ​​"I am kind, you say I am evil; I am evil, you still say I am evil - then I might as well just become evil", he turned from his initial innocent kindness into evil.

This view may seem a bit sophistry, and it is indeed somewhat far-fetched;

But in this era, it is recognized to a considerable extent by mainstream public opinion.

——As a father, if you don’t trust that your son is kind, then your son will really become evil. This is caused by your distrust of your son!
——As a friend, if you don’t believe that your friend is kind, then he will turn into a bad person. This is caused by your lack of trust in your friends!
Naturally, as an emperor, if you do not trust your subjects to be loyal and incorruptible, then when they really become corrupt officials or even traitors, you cannot blame them for "failing to honor your majesty".

It is under this logic that the emperors of this era would take all the responsibility on themselves when anything bad happened in the world.

——The princes rebelled because I was immoral~
——The bandits are rampant, it is because I am not virtuous enough~
And so on.

In fact, there have been similar situations in every dynasty, more or less.

But the situation in the Han Dynasty is particularly serious now.

The reason for this is that the Han Dynasty still retains a very strong legacy of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.

What is the Warring States legacy?

He wrongly blamed others, and in order to show how sorry he was, he drew his sword and committed suicide after a disagreement!

After receiving a favor from others, he did not help them when they needed him to repay him, so he drew his sword and committed suicide without saying a word!

And: When insulted by others, in order to prove his innocence, he died to clear his mind and used his own blood to wash away the shame of himself and even the clan.

In a sense, it is a bit like the Bushido spirit of the later Japanese pirates.

In the Han Dynasty today, this kind of situation mostly happens when the emperor does not trust a certain minister, or humiliates a certain minister, and the minister "cannot bear the humiliation", so he swallows gold and commits suicide at home, leaving the emperor alone in the wind, his reputation immediately tarnished...

To later generations, it seems incomprehensible and magical.
But in today's Han Dynasty, which values ​​reputation and honor more than life, believes that shaving one's head or carving a word on one's face is more serious than beheading, and would rather die than be despised by others, this is very easy to understand.

Before, Liu Rong had not really felt the negative impact of this special cultural background on himself.

But after the Hetao-Mayi Campaign, Liu Rong seemed to have an epiphany.

——Now that Hetao is in hand, Liu Rong should send people to Hetao, whether out of suspicion of the emperor or for the purpose of supervision and maintaining stability.

At the very least, he had to take the Emperor's Festival and represent himself in Hetao to stabilize the morale of the army and the people.

But if Liu Rong really did this, I am afraid that when the news reaches Bowang City, Han Tuidang and Luan Bu, the two old friends, will "not be able to bear the humiliation" and "commit suicide to preserve their integrity" immediately.

Then Liu Rong would be in trouble.

Fortunately, the incident with Kuiwu allowed Liu Rong to achieve his goal, but at the same time he was extremely "helpless" and said: Oh~
I really didn't want to send eyeliner~
It's really just that Aoi-san is such a fool, I can't do anything about him~
Look at this, look at this fool, he even said something like 'A general is not always able to obey orders from the king when he is away from the court'!

I won't bother with this fool anyway;

When he comes back, I will punish him severely by not allowing him to eat meat for three days!

Well, for that fool Aoi-san, not eating meat for three days is almost like a half-death sentence...

I feel I shouldn't bother with such a fool.

how?

Which of you wants to bother with such a mentally ill idiot?
perfect!

The supervision issue has been resolved. The next step is actually the bamboo slips in Liu Rong's hand that were sent back from Bowang City and are now picked up by Liu Rong again.

"Western Region~"

"It's still too early..."

···
"The thirty-six states in the Western Regions, minus the Xiongnu's mortal enemy Dayuezhi, the base of the Ferghana horses Dayuan, and the Parthian Empire, Daxia, and Daqin;"

"Even small countries like Kucha cannot be solved overnight."

"——There are nomadic countries, agricultural countries, and even purely commercial countries;"

"——Some believe in Buddhism, some believe in Zoroastrianism, and some believe in Xiongnu Shamanism."

"It's difficult~"

"No matter what, we have to wait until we conquer Hexi before we can talk about the Western Regions."

"The next step is Hexi."

···
"Well……"

"Wait a few more years;"

"No matter what, I must let my Marquis of Changping see blood and open his eyes;"

"——I took over the battle of Hetao;"

"Even if we can't let the Gemini command the Hexi Battle, we should at least let Wei Qing go there and experience the atmosphere of the battlefield..."

(End of this chapter)