My life is like walking on thin ice

Chapter 92 A bad start
Queen Mother Dou fell ill.

But Liang Wang Liu Wu did not stay in Chang'an for a little longer because of this.

I just cried and said "The child is unfilial" and then embarked on the long journey back to Liangdu: Suiyang.

Almost at the same time - Liang Wang Liu Wuguang set off from Chang'an, Empress Dowager Dou, who was seriously ill and lying on the bed, miraculously stood up again.

But it was not because of the previous malingering;

But after just over a year, the Han family was once again in mourning.

——In the tenth month of winter in the second year of Emperor Qi Xinyuan’s reign, Empress Dowager Bo died of cold and died in the Yangxin Hall of Changle Palace.

As the concubine of Taizu Gao Emperor Liu Bang, Empress Dowager Bo died and should have been posthumously honored as Empress Gao.

But with Empress Dowager Lu, a decent "high empress" in front, Empress Dowager Bo was eventually honored as Empress Dowager Xiaowen.

It was also because the 'High Empresses' Lu Pheasant had been buried together in the Changling Mausoleum of Taizu Liu Bang, and Empress Dowager Bo was not buried in the Changling Mausoleum as usual. Instead, she built a separate mausoleum near Xiaowen Ba Mausoleum.

Because the mausoleum is located on the south side of Baling, it is called: Nanling.

The Empress Dowager passed away. Even though she was ill, Empress Dowager Dou had to hold herself up and mourn her mother-in-law.

The year before last, when Emperor Taizong Xiaowen passed away, Emperor Qi did not dare to make a grand event because of the late emperor's last instructions of "not being buried in a grand burial."

This time, Emperor Qiye made up for all the debt he owed to his late father to his grandmother.

——On the basis of the "burial with the emperor's rites" that should have been done, many more burial objects were added, and the funeral standards were improved a lot, which left enough dignity for the Empress Dowager Xiaowenbo.

After the funeral, the attention of public opinion naturally fell on the grand-niece of Empress Dowager Xiaowen Bo: the current Empress Bo.

Just when public opinion was surprisingly unanimous that the countdown to Empress Bo's move out of Jiaofang Palace had officially begun, scandals involving the Kanto clan princes began to break out one after another in the court.

Some people drink and have fun during the national mourning period;
There is a clearly marked price, and the official title is for sale.

There were even some scandals that were even more unspeakable, all of which were exposed by Chao Cuo, the internal historian who had been silent for a long time.

When the news came out, public opinion was in an uproar and Chang'an was shaken!

But everyone also knows: the imperial court's reduction of vassals has officially begun.

Chao Cuo's "Policy to Cut Down the Domain" was finally officially unveiled at the court meeting in the first month of the spring of the second year of Emperor Qi Xinyuan...

·
·
·
"Chao Cuo, the minister of internal history, bowed his head and paid homage a hundred times."

"In the seventh year of the reign of Emperor Taizong Xiaowen, King Liu Sui of Zhao entertained guests during the national mourning period, gathered people to have fun, drank wine and ate meat;
Beginning in the second year of Houyuan after Emperor Taizong Xiaowen, King Liu Ang of Jiaoxi repeatedly sold his officials and titles, privately giving them to each other, and clearly marking the price;
In the seventh year of Emperor Taizong Xiaowen's reign, King Liu Wu of Chu committed adultery during the national mourning period! "

In the second year of the new year of the Emperor's reign, the first lunar month of spring comes.

The main hall of the Proclamation Chamber of Weiyang Palace was already packed to the brim with officials, courtiers, nobles and nobles of the Han family.

In the center of the hall, the internal historian Chao Cuo held his head high and held an open scroll of bamboo slips in both hands, describing the crimes of the Guandong princes word by word.

On the side of the hall, the courtiers and nobles who were seated separately all had strange expressions of secrecy on their faces, bowing their heads in silence.

There is a saying in later generations that says, to solve big problems, hold small meetings, and to solve small problems, hold big meetings;

To solve important problems, meetings are not needed.

The same principle applies to the Han family, which was more than two thousand years earlier than later generations.

——Logically speaking, a 'congress' like the Shuowang Dynasty, which gathered hundreds of distinguished officials from the Han family, dozens of relatives, and all officials from Chang'an with a rank of thousands of stones or more, was an occasion for talking nonsense.

You say a word to the kings Yao and Shun, and I say a word to the three kings and five emperors.
Everyone once again praised the emperor for seeing thousands of miles away and benefiting the common people. The people of the world lived and worked in peace and contentment. They did not close their homes at night and did not pick up things on the road. They all shouted "Happily Ever After" together.

Over the years, the Shuowang Dynasty of the Han family has followed a set of well-established procedures.

But today, the situation is obviously different.

"Policy to Cut Down the Domain" once again appeared in the Han family's court rituals.

And this time, Chao Cuo not only came up with the strategy of "Cutting down the feudal vassal", but also brought along the evidence of "why the vassal kings of Guandong should be eliminated".

What this means, no one has a clue...

"King Zhao, King Chu, King Jiaoxi..."

"Hey;"

"Is this Chao Cuo, who is as famous as Jia Yi and claims to be a 'national scholar'?"

"With such a big battle to cut down the vassal vassal, King Wu Liu Bi's name is so shocking that he doesn't even dare to mention it..."

The emergence of the "Cutting the Vassal Policy" is the first abnormality in today's Synozygotic Dynasty;
Chao Chao used all his firepower to impeach the clan princes of Guandong, which was the second point.

The third point is that in today's court meeting, the emperor's eldest son Liu Rong also attended the meeting in the name of 'auditing'.

According to the rules, Liu Rong, who has not yet been established as the prince, is not qualified to appear in such an occasion as Shuo Wangchao.

But after Prime Minister Shen Tujia repeatedly rejected Emperor Qi's invitation, only to receive Emperor Qi's increasingly tough 'invitation' in return, he finally pushed the emperor's eldest son out.

He also said in a flattering way: I am getting older and my legs and feet are inconvenient, so the eldest son of the emperor can attend the meeting on my behalf...

With such a perfunctory attitude, even Prince Hou was unwilling to send him, and instead asked the prince to attend the meeting on his behalf, which undoubtedly further confirmed the rumors in the market that "the emperors of the Chang'an court are at odds with each other".

But at this moment, Liu Rong, the eldest son of the emperor, who was sitting quietly at the edge of the palace, was quite disappointed with his first meeting with Chao Cuo, the internal historian.

"If it were Jia Yi, I'm afraid he wouldn't even mention the other princes, but would directly hold on to King Wu Liu Bi."

"It won't be because of the reduction of vassal status, or the reason of 'guilty should be punished' - simply saying 'if you haven't been to Chang'an for a long time, you seem to be disobedient', it is enough for the court to give precise guidance and capture the thieves first. king."

"Compared to Jia Yi, Jia Changsha, and Chao Cuo, they are really inferior..."

Liu Rong made this comment secretly, but his face showed a standard attitude of a melon-eater, without revealing any personal position at all.

——When I attended the Shuowang Dynasty today, it was said that Liu Rong attended on behalf of Prime Minister Shen Tujia, but in fact, it was a reward from Emperor Qi.

It's just that this reward is not to allow Liu Rong to do something, or to allow Emperor Qi to need Liu Rong to do something more;
Instead, it simply gave Liu Rong an opportunity to observe the court proceedings and increase his knowledge.

Knowing this in his heart, Liu Rong also sat in the corner, watching everything that happened in the palace, but he also made up his mind not to say a word.

Liu Rong, the eldest son of the emperor, cannot interfere in what happened today.

Even the prince and crown prince would hardly have much say in such important matters concerning the ancestral temple and the country...

"The king of Zhao, Liu Sui, drank and had fun during the national mourning period, and acted dissolutely. He was disrespectful and disrespectful to the Queen Mother!"

"When it comes to the system, we should eliminate the country!"

"Nian Zai is the first offender to King Zhao and he is the only heir to King Zhao You. He will be given a lighter sentence."

"Cut down the Hejian County and allow them to perform meritorious deeds to see the consequences."

After Chao Cuo exposed the crimes of the above-mentioned three clan princes, Emperor Qiye ended up uncharacteristically. What did the princes think? 'I didn't want to say anything in such a situation, so I started to judge directly.

And Zhao Wang Liu Sui was just the beginning.

"Liu Ang, the king of Jiaoxi, openly sells officials and nobles, and even clearly marks the price like a Jiaren, and even hawks!"

"——It's really a disgrace to King Qi Mouhui!"

Speaking of this, Emperor Qi clenched his fists in hatred and punched the imperial case in front of him several times.

After a while, he took a deep breath with uncontrollable anger and said: "Because his guilt is still light, and he suddenly wakes up, and the country is small and narrow, six counties will be temporarily cut off to serve as a warning to others."

···
"And King Liu Wu of Chu..."

Speaking of the most important and most embarrassing one, even though Emperor Qi had already mastered the thick black art that was not inferior to that of his father and ancestors, he was so angry that he pinched his forehead.

In the end, he still had no shame to mention Liu Wu's scandal, so he angrily threw the bamboo slip with the evidence of Liu Wu's crime weakly in front of him.

"I thought of his ancestor, King Yuan of Chu, for cutting off his Donghai County."

"If you dare to do it again, I will throw that bastard into the East China Sea to feed the fish!"

"The King of Chu can afford to disgrace this person, but I can't afford to disgrace him!!!"

After deciding the verdict for the three princes and vassals brought up by Chao Cuo, Emperor Qi was already angry, with veins on his forehead bulging out, his face red and his neck thick, and his chest rising and falling violently with his heavy breathing.

Only that look, with a hint of expectation, cast towards the internal historian Chao Cuo who was still standing in the hall holding a bamboo slip in his hand...

"Father, you really trusted the wrong person."

Seeing the scene happening in the hall, Liu Rong only shook his head secretly, completely losing interest in Chao Cuo, a historical celebrity.

——No responsibility!
They are going to cut off vassal states, especially the most violent and rude way of seizing territories to force rebellion and then suppressing them with force;

The King of Wu, Liu Bi, whom Emperor Qi really wanted to deal with, has not yet been mentioned by Chao Cuo.

Only in that paper, "Policies for Cutting Down the Domain", was there a vague mention: There was a gap between the prince and the prince, and he pretended to be ill and refused to go to court, and he should be punished according to the ancient law. The late emperor couldn't bear it, so he gave him a few sticks, which is the most virtuous...

Take a look;

He also said that Liu Bi's "ancient method should be punished", and that the late emperor had "the most profound virtues".

Even when he accused Wu King Liu Bi of not going to Chang'an for many years due to illness, and violating the etiquette of a minister, he had to use the skill of flattering the late emperor to make such a remark in a roundabout way...

"If the Prime Minister is here, why would my father expect such an irresponsible person?"

While Liu Rong was complaining, in the center of the palace, Chao Cuo, the internal historian, was also experiencing a battle between heaven and man.

Of course Chao Cuo was prepared for the impeachment speech of King Wu Liu Bi.

——At this moment, the impeachment document listing the countless criminal evidence of King Wu and Liu Bi lay quietly in Chao Cuo's arms. Chao Cuo touched and touched him through his clothes, and scratched and scratched him, but he never saw the light of day again. '. Seeing Chao Cuo's appearance, Emperor Qi's brows immediately showed a hint of sullenness.

Compared to the "Brotherly Love" performance he performed in front of his younger brother Liu Wu a few months ago, Emperor Qi's acting skills today can be said to be extremely rough.

But it's not that the emperor's performance is not good, it's that the emperor doesn't want to and doesn't bother to perform it.

Today, the grudges between Zi Qi and King Wu Liu Bi have long been known to everyone in the world.

No matter how wonderful the emperor's performance is, he can't hide it from the elite individuals in the court.

He simply stopped acting, and put on the perfunctory attitude of "I am doing it for the ancestral temple and the country, not for personal grudges", and then brought the "Policy for Cutting Down the Domain" to Shuowang Dynasty.

He originally planned to go all out and use this as the beginning of reducing the vassal state, but unexpectedly, Chao Cuo missed the chain at the critical moment and actually delayed turning the gun to the core target of the "Category of reducing the vassal state": King Wu Liu Bi...

"If the Prime Minister is here..."

"Ugh……"

By chance, the same idea as Liu Rong emerged in Emperor Qi's mind.

Just thinking about it, the situation in front of me had to be solved by Emperor Qi.

"Is there anything else going on?"

"Even if the princes and vassals are disrespectful to Chang'an and disobedient, report them all together."

"Don't look back and I will get angry over some distant relative and bring it to court again."

Emperor Qi seemed to be saying these words to everyone in the palace;

But Emperor Qi's urging eyes did not move away from his mentor: Chao Cuo for a moment.

Being stared at so directly by Emperor Qi, a few streaks of sweat suddenly gathered on the sides of Chao Cuo's cheeks, which were not dry at all.

Only in the end, the memorial, which was densely packed with accusations, was still not caught by Chao Cuo...

"no yet?"

"——The seventeen vassal and vassal families of our Han family, excluding the extinct Changsha Kingdom of the Wu family, there are still sixteen families left."

"Could it be that except for the three families of Zhao, Chu, and Jiaoxi, the other thirteen families are all loyal ministers of my Han family?!"

By this time, Emperor Qi's tone was obviously filled with anger directed at someone.

Even a fool can hear the words at this point: Emperor Qi, he wants someone to take the lead and mention the name "King Wu Liu Bi" for himself.

But at the two seats on the east and west sides of the hall, all the officials and nobles looked at me, and I looked at you, and finally they all cast their doubtful and expectant eyes on Chao Cuo, the internal historian, who was still standing in the center of the hall.

——Come on!
——What are you waiting for? !

——This policy of cutting down the feudal vassals is the proud work of Chao Chao’s internal history!

Ran and egg.

Chao Cuo still frowned and lowered his head, as if hesitating, but in fact he was timid, with no intention of speaking at all.

The imperial court agenda, which was originally promoted very smoothly, came to a complete standstill as Chao Cuo backed down.

Seeing the emperor's father, standing awkwardly in front of the imperial couch with half-serious anger, Liu Rong suddenly felt a little unbearable in his heart.

For a moment, Liu Rong even had the idea of ​​'if it doesn't work, then help the old man again'.

But in the end, Liu Rong calmed down and did not act like a show-off that was seriously beyond his capabilities.

"Princes who are related to the clan are not allowed to participate in or discuss government affairs if they are not old enough;"

"When the crown grows old, most of them will be crowned kings and vassal..."

With this in mind, Liu Rong finally lowered his head without saying a word and continued to act as a clay sculpture.

In the center of the hall, Chao Cuo's repeated hesitation and retreat finally gave Yuan Ang, his political enemy, a good opportunity to confront Chao Cuo head-on.

"His Majesty!"

"Your Majesty Yuan Ang has something to report!"

In the long silence, Yuan An's high-pitched, sonorous and penetrating singing voice suddenly sounded, which only attracted everyone in the hall to follow the sound and look sideways.

Even Emperor Qi, who was in front of the imperial couch, looked at Yuan An with a hint of surprise.

——After all, he is still an old minister!

It’s just reliable!
With thoughts like these, Emperor Qi simply gave up even the last cover-up, and no longer pretended to be angry, "These princes and vassals are really pissing me off."

He only looked at Yuan An calmly with some expectation. Although he didn't say a word, he was clearly urging Yuan An with his eyes: Speak out!

Tell me the king's title and name!
Yuan Ang did not disappoint Emperor Qi.

As soon as he opened his mouth, Yuan Ang revealed the name of the person that Emperor Qi had been waiting for, but Chao Cuo didn't dare to mention, and the government and the public were even more secretive about it.

But in the end, Yuan An also disappointed Emperor Qi.

Because after mentioning this name, every word out of Yuan Ang's mouth made Emperor Qina's anger due to Chao Cuo's retreat become more and more solid...

"King Wu Liu Bi has not been to Chang'an for a long time, and he no longer behaves like a minister!"

"But I boldly implore Your Majesty: Don't ever include Wu King Liu Bi among the clan princes to be punished in the "Cutting the Vassal Policy"!"

Under the fierce gaze of Emperor Qi, who seemed to want to choose someone to devour, Yuan An said this with a solemn expression, then turned sideways and looked around at the officials and courtiers in the palace.

"During the reign of the late Emperor, I served as the Prime Minister of Wu King Liu Bi."

With that said, Yuan Ang also stopped his slowly turning body and cupped his hands towards the prince Zhan Shi Dou Yingyao.

"The same goes for Dou Zhan."

···
"Wu Wang Liu Bi's disloyalty to Chang'an was clearly revealed as early as the reign of the late emperor;"

"No one in the world knows that Liu Bi, the king of Wu, has already taken the opposite shape!"

"——Now that it has reached this point, why haven't Wu King Liu Bi rebelled against it all these years?"

"It has reached the point where 'no one in the world knows his rebellious intentions.' What are Wu King Liu Bi waiting for?"

After asking two questions in succession, Yuan An just happened to look around the palace, faced Emperor Qi in front of the imperial couch, and raised his hands again.

Taking a deep breath, Fang bowed solemnly.

"My lord, be brave and say a few disrespectful words."

"——The reason why Liu Bi has not rebelled so far is because he has to wait for the death of the late emperor."

"Only when the late emperor dies and the emperor of the Han family can no longer frame Liu Bi for injustice as a 'clan elder', will Liu Bi have the courage to raise his troops and cause rebellion."

"Secondly, Liu Bi is still waiting for a suitable opportunity and a reason at the right time."

Having said this, Yuan Ang still held his hands and only turned his head slightly to glance at Chao Cuo beside him.

"Chao Neishi used the policy of cutting down the feudal lords to slash at Liu Bi - or in other words, he wanted to, but did not dare to slash at Liu Bi. This was Liu Bi's best excuse."

···
"Your Majesty, imagine this: If the imperial court was to attack all the feudal lords in Guandong, and only ignore Liu Bi, the King of Wu, then even though Liu Bi would be saddened by the death of a rabbit and hurt his own kind, how could he be known to the world while raising his troops to plot rebellion? Are you convinced?"

"——If the court promotes the policy of reducing vassal status, all the vassal kings, including Dai Wang and even Liang Wang, will be deprived of their lands, but only half an inch of Wu Kingdom's land will be left untouched;"

"Then if Wu King Liu Bi wants to cause chaos, how many people can he follow..."

Chen Ken, who seemed to have painstakingly planned and spoke sincerely, said these words that would obviously make Emperor Qi unhappy. Yuan Ang knelt down worriedly and waited quietly for Emperor Qi's decision.

On the imperial couch, Emperor Qi only remained silent for a long time, then coldly waved his sleeves;

Without even giving the order to 'disband the court', he angrily left the main hall of the Xuanshi, hastily ending this lunar court that ended in an anticlimactic manner.

Without the order from Emperor Qi, all the officials and nobles in the palace looked at each other for a while, but no one dared to retreat without permission.

After half a stick of incense, the eunuch Ling Chuntuo returned to the main hall of the Xuanshi with a square meter of white silk cloth.

After glancing around the hall, he went straight to the center of the hall, still kneeling and prostrate in front of Yuan Ang, who was waiting for the emperor to make a decision.

"The middle-ranking official Yuan Ang accepted bribes from the King of Wu, worked for the King of Wu, deprived him of his salary and was not loyal to his affairs.

Writing: After completing his duties, he will be in vain and his family property will be confiscated. "

After spreading out the silk cloth and reading the emperor's decree, the eunuch Ling Chuntuo walked to Chao Cuo and Liu Rong one after another and whispered a few words to them respectively.

Afterwards, Chao Cuo and Liu Rong followed the eunuch Ling Chuntuo and walked towards the back hall under the attention of all the officials and nobles in the palace.

When the palace became silent again, all the officials and nobles finally got up from their seats;

Passing by the figure of Yuan An, who was kneeling on the ground and unwilling to get up, he shook his head and sighed with a complex expression, and walked towards the palace gate...

　Second update today.

　　Call ~
　　I've been very sleep deprived for the past two days, my head feels dizzy, and I don't dare to affect the quality, so I write very slowly.

　　Get a good night's sleep tonight, I will most likely wake up in the afternoon, and then start the daily two updates + one update to pay off the debt, a total of three updates and 15,000 words.

　　Happy dreams to all parents, please continue to subscribe and support.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)