Great Han Empire

Chapter 226
Luoyang, Beigong, the central institution and political center of the Han Dynasty.

Guang Luxun and Liu Yu were ordered to meet him.

Recently, a major incident happened in Beijing. The former Taiwei Zhang Yan was accused by the Zhongchang Attendant Zhao Zhong of abusing his power and corrupting the law.The emperor was furious, and ordered the Zhonghuangmen (the Zhonghuangmen is a guard army composed of eunuchs, usually guarding the palace gates, if the emperor goes out of the palace, he will ride on the left and right, and ride in a car.) to arrest Zhang Yan and take him to Beisi Prison trial.Zhang Yan is from Hanoi, and his father Zhang Xin also served as a Taiwei when the first emperor.His family is a famous family in Hanoi.He replaced Taiwei Deng Sheng as Taiwei last May, and was dismissed in February this year because of the unfavorable suppression of the Xiliang rebellion.

Zhongchang servant Zhao Zhong reported and exposed Zhang Yan, purely because he wanted to flatter the emperor.Some time ago, he persuaded the emperor to severely punish Xiliang's rebellion, which resulted in the failure of the court's appeasement and the rebellion.Because of this incident, the emperor injured Zhao Zhong in the court in a fit of anger, and ordered him to think behind closed doors.The Zhongchang servant Zhang Gong accompanied the emperor, and he heard the emperor complain several times that the Pinglu Zhonglang general Li Hong, who was in Xiliang and presided over the suppression of corruption, was soft-hearted.The Zhongchang servant Zhang Gong told Zhao Zhong, Zhang Rang and others the news.Zhao Zhong happened to have evidence of Zhang Yan accepting bribes several times in his hand. In order to calm the emperor's anger towards him, he immediately reported it.As a result, the emperor sent someone to arrest Zhang Yan, reward Zhao Zhong, and let him return to the palace to continue serving.

Zhang Yan's family and friends ran around, hoping to redeem Zhang Yan as soon as possible so that the old man would not suffer in prison.Ever since the inmates in Beisi Prison ransomed one after another and left, Beisi Prison has returned to its former indifference and terror.Zhang Yan's younger brother knew that Guang Luxun Liu Yu was very favored by the emperor recently and could help to speak up, so he repeatedly came to the door with heavy gifts and begged Liu Yu to intercede for Zhang Yan in front of the emperor, so that he could be released from Beisi Prison as soon as possible. Redeem it back.Liu Yu took advantage of others, so of course he had to contribute.

The emperor is playing the piano.The sound of the piano is sad and desolate, which makes people feel sad.

When Liu Yu first came to Beijing to meet the emperor, the emperor once entertained him in the palace, and the conversation was very pleasant.Liu Yu has a vicissitudes of life, is knowledgeable, loyal, and has always had a good reputation. Among the clan bureaucrats, his talent and popularity are the best.This is probably one of the wishes of the emperor who likes to get close to him.

Liu Yu stood outside the main hall, listening to the sad piano sound silently, with compassion in his heart.

Today's son likes Fu and Guqin.These two hobbies of the Son of Heaven are exactly the same as those of the late Emperor.Although there is no father-son relationship between the two, they are surprisingly similar in hobbies and talents.

Liu Yu stayed in Shangshutai for more than half a year, and often met and talked with the emperor, and his view of the emperor gradually changed.

The intelligence of the Son of Heaven is definitely above that of ordinary people.His comprehension of rhetoric and qin rhyme definitely comes from his innate endowment.However, Liu Yu can't see calmness and dignity in the emperor's Fu and the sound of the piano, they always reveal too much flashy and shallow.The emperor pays too much attention to appearance, and he always immerses his energy in the skills of Fu and qin rhyme.Liu Yu knew that this was because the emperor was young, lived in the palace for a long time, lived a luxurious life, and did not have much experience and understanding of life's joys, sorrows, sorrows, and joys.On the other hand, he believed that the Son of Heaven lacked a good teacher, one who was loyal and upright.Because there is no such teacher to teach the emperor the way of sages and sages, such as investigating things, extending knowledge, self-cultivation, regulating the family, governing the country, and calming the world, the emperor lacks the cultivation of personality.

As time went by, Liu Yu discovered that the emperor was the same politically.The emperor is often able to understand the twists and turns and risks in political affairs. When reading the memorials of the imperial ministers, he can often feel the difficulties of the world and make a more pertinent evaluation of things.But the strange thing is that he lacks decisiveness. He often repeatedly consults the opinions of middle officials (not referring to eunuchs with various positions), and has a kind of blind emotional trust in the opinions of middle officials. Added power, let middle officials participate in political affairs and gave them a lot of power.In the past few years, with the repeated rebellions and natural disasters, the Han Dynasty was already on the verge of collapse and struggling to move forward. Under such difficult circumstances, the middle officials became more powerful and arbitrarily powerful, arrogant and violent, making the sky angry and people resentful, and the whole country mourned.The young emperor became alert, and he began to try to make up his own mind.However, because of the above two reasons, Liu Yu was even more frightened, disappointed, and worried by the emperor's personal administration.

The sound of the piano gradually stopped.

=

The emperor's mood was very low and his expression was melancholy.

He sat behind the piano platform and waved Liu Yu to get up.

"Five years ago today, the little prince was born, but his mother was murdered to death. Aiqing, do you think this murderer should be sentenced to death?" The emperor asked in a low voice, looking down at the zither.

Liu Yu was taken aback, and suddenly became nervous. He didn't dare to make a sound, let alone reply.

The emperor raised his head, gave him a cold look, and stood up.

"Is Aiqing unwilling to say or can't say it?"

Liu Yu was horrified, his hair stood on end all over his body, and he knelt down on the ground with a plop.

In the third year of Guanghe, the emperor was 24 years old.In December of this year, He Guiren in the harem gave birth to a son. At that time, this was the only blood of the emperor. The emperor was very happy and immediately made He Guiren the queen.After a year, the beauty Wang in the harem gave birth to another son for the emperor.The Son of Heaven held the newborn baby in his arms, no matter how he looked at it, he felt like himself, small-headed and extremely cute.The emperor then named the little prince "Xie" according to his intention.

This was originally a good thing for the icing on the cake, but the struggle in the palace was too cruel and bloody, and the happy event turned into a funeral in a blink of an eye.Empress He was arrogant and suspicious by nature, and could not tolerate this hidden disaster. With the help of Zhang Rang and other middle officials, she quickly killed Wang Meiren.When the emperor came to see the mother, Wang Meiren was already a cold corpse.The emperor broke out the greatest anger in his life. He yelled to abolish the queen and kill her nine clans, but he couldn't stand the pleadings of the middle officials. In addition, he was really afraid that his brothers would fight against each other in the future and staged a fight The tragedy in the palace of the imperial power, so after he was angry for a while, he gave up the idea of ​​abolishing the empress, but he never met Empress He again. He thought this woman was terrible, a ghost with blood on her hands.
The emperor was afraid that Liu Xie would also be killed by the queen, so he hurriedly carried the new prince to his mother, Queen Mother Dong, to raise him.Empress Dowager Dong and Empress He are just like the folk mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, they are also a pair of enemies, often quarreling and fighting.The queen mother was worried that her grandson would be killed by that cruel woman, so she cared for this poor child very carefully.The emperor was also afraid that the child would not grow up, so he named him "Dong Hou" according to his mother's surname.

Wang Meiren was born in a powerful family, talented and intelligent, proficient in all kinds of piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, and has the same interests as the emperor, and the relationship between the two has always been good.Wang Meiren is gone, and the emperor misses him day and night, and his heart aches like a twist.In order to mourn, he painstakingly wrote a long and sentimental "Chasing Virtue".Empress He was very angry when she saw it, and felt that she was not as good as a dead person in the eyes of the emperor. In anger, she threw the emperor's big handwriting into the brazier, and the bamboo slips crackled and turned into ashes.

Aiwujiwu, the emperor doted on Liu Xie to an incredible degree, even his mother felt that he had gone too far.However, their mother and son have a common idea, that is to abolish the father and establish the concubine.The emperor intends to pass the throne to his favorite son instead of the son born to that cruel woman after a hundred years.Once this idea was born, it immediately spread throughout the emperor's body like an aphrodisiac, filling him with trembling and passion.He dared not tell anyone.Who can he trust now?As long as his idea is leaked a little bit, Liu Xie will die immediately.He is very sad. Although he is the son of heaven and holds the power of life and death for all people in the world, he can't protect his son, nor can he protect the woman he likes. He can't even punish a murderer who killed his woman.He wants to take it all back, and he wants to do whatever he wants.Because he is the Son of Heaven.

The emperor walked slowly to Liu Yu's side, stretched out his foot and kicked him on the shoulder, and said, "It's okay for Aiqing, I forgive you for your innocence."

Liu Yu almost despaired.After finally becoming an official of Jiuqing, he will be beheaded before he is satisfied.Can you say that.Say yes, if the queen and the general find out, they won't be able to gain a foothold in Luo* in the future.Say no, offend the emperor immediately, let alone fool around.

"This is His Majesty's family matter, I really have no way to talk about it." Liu Yu shot a false shot, intending to get away with it.

The Son of Heaven snorted, stretched out his leg and kicked him again, and said, "Forget it, get up."

"I came to ask you about Xiliang." The emperor pointed to the mountain of soap pouches (bags used to hold memorials) on the case table and said, "There are more and more memorials to impeach Li Zhonglang. Neither. Do you know why?"

Liu Yu hurriedly bowed and said, "Your Majesty guarantees with his life. Li Zhonglang is indeed loyal to His Majesty and to me, and has no second thoughts. Your Majesty trusts Li Zhonglang. Your Majesty does not doubt the employment of people, and does not doubt them. Your Majesty is wise."

The emperor waved his hand casually and said, "Do you know why I trust Li Zhonglang?"

Liu Yu didn't dare to talk nonsense, and bowed down to be taught.

"For so many years, Li Zhonglang was the only one who gave me money and didn't ask for anything." The emperor exclaimed, "It's a very simple reason."

He asked Liu Yudao again: "Does Ai Qing know how much money Li Zhonglang earned for me this time Xiliang's anti-corruption campaign?"

Liu Yu shook his head.He also wanted to know.

"160 billion yuan." The emperor opened his small eyes and said angrily, "For so many years, they almost stole my big man's tax for three years, these shameless people."

Liu Yu said in surprise: "It's astonishing. If I am a big man, if the weather goes well, I can only earn 60 billion yuan in taxes in the best year. Your Majesty can't copy so much in just a few months..."

"What's so strange about this." The emperor interrupted him and said angrily, "I haven't caught a big guy yet. If a big guy like Zhang Yan catches dozens of him, I can at least make another 100 billion yuan. You Think about it, when the first emperor led a group of middle officials to hunt down the great general Liang Ji, and confiscated more than 30 billion yuan in his family's property, from this, we can imagine how rich the ministers are now."

Liu Yu shuddered, and cold sweat broke out involuntarily.

"Li Zhonglang is not a loyal minister, so who is a loyal minister? Huh..." The emperor sneered and said, "Impeachment? Ha...impeachment? I haven't seen anyone volunteering to go to Xiliang to suppress the rebellion. Are they impeaching? Okay. I plan to promote Li Zhonglang to General Protector of the Qiang, to oversee Xiliang's military administration, what do you think?"

The emperor's protection of Li Hong is obvious, who is so generous now, desperately giving money to the emperor?If you say something that doesn't please you at this time, it's purely self-inflicted.What's more, Liu Yu didn't want to raise any objections at all. In his heart, he always regarded Li Hong as his protégé and old official, as one of his own, so Liu Yu said without hesitation: "Your Majesty is wise. Given the current situation in Liangzhou, There is indeed no point in appointing a new governor. Li Zhonglang has made great achievements in fighting corruption in Xiliang, and he should be rewarded."

The emperor stared at Liu Yu seriously, making his hair stand on end.

It's not that he doesn't understand the mind of the emperor, but the mind of the emperor is really shocking. There have been many such things in history. That time, it was not a bloody killing, and blood flowed like a river.Liu Yu didn't dare to think about it.No matter in terms of the country or the life of the clan, this kind of thing cannot be sticky.As long as it is stuck, whether it is a loser or a winner, how many of them are not decapitated in the end, and the nine clans are exterminated?Abolishing the concubine and establishing the concubine itself violates the laws of the Han Dynasty and cannot be tolerated between heaven and earth. That is a big treason.This kind of thing is never allowed even in ordinary powerful families, and those who have different ideas will be punished by the family law, let alone in the royal family and emperor's family.Liu Yu felt that the emperor in front of him was not only joking about the life of the little prince Liu Xie, but also his mother, Queen Mother Dong and Queen Mother Dong's family, and even the country of Han.The emperor dared to do such a thing.

=

The emperor looked at Liu Yu with complicated emotions.

He understands the heart of being a courtier.Although prosperity and wealth are very attractive, life is more important.With the same words, he tested Yang Ci, Zhao Zhong, Huang Fusong, and even Jian Shuo, a little yellow family whom he trusted very much recently, but no one answered him.Everyone talked about him from left to right, looking ignorant and ignorant.Only the old Taiwei Yang Ci, the emperor's teacher, before he died, gave a memorial, he said a lot in a vague way, but the meaning was obvious, and advised His Majesty to give up this idea.

But the emperor didn't think so.The death of Wang Meiren woke up this mediocre and muddle-headed person.He didn't really care about Wang Meiren's death, but he realized that he was not the emperor at all, and he didn't have the right to do whatever he wanted. He was just an idiot called "Long Live".

He was 25 years old that year.He began to re-examine and think about the rights in his hands, and finally he came to the conclusion that he had no rights, and his rights were taken away by the eunuchs, relatives and officials around him.

This dynasty has lasted for more than 200 years since Emperor Guangwu. Among the fourteen emperors, nine were under the age of 15, and the youngest was Emperor Shang, who became emperor when he was only a hundred days old.After the young emperor came to the throne, he was unable to manage the affairs of the court himself, and his mother was usually in charge of the court.The queen mothers have limited abilities and can't trust others, so they have to use their own family members to handle political affairs.The young queen mothers let their fathers and brothers serve as ministers and ministers to control the military and political power, and gradually formed a situation of foreign relatives' dictatorship.

Starting from the fourth emperor Hedi (Liu Zhao) of this dynasty, eunuchs gradually changed from simply serving the emperor to conveying the emperor's edicts and mastering documents because they were often close to the emperor, and their power gradually increased.When the young emperors became adults, they had to be in charge and hold great power. They could only rely on the closest eunuchs to initiate a coup d'état in the palace, destroy the power of their relatives, and seize power, thus forming a situation of eunuch dictatorship.When the emperor died, his mother, queen and father and brother elected the young crown prince as emperor, and the relatives seized power from the eunuchs again, so the situation of the relatives' dictatorship appeared again.When the young emperor grew up, he relied on eunuchs to attack his relatives.As a result, there was a turbulent situation in which foreign relatives and eunuchs alternated in power and usurped each other's power.

Because many emperors after Emperor Xiaohe died at an early age, for example, Emperor Shang only reigned for nine months, Emperor Shao only eight months, Emperor Chong only five months, Emperor Zhi only seven months, and Emperor Abandoned only five months , which intensifies the struggle between foreign relatives and eunuchs.Regardless of whether it is foreign relatives or eunuchs, the emperor is a puppet, and can only be manipulated by one of these two forces, but no matter how these two forces manipulate Chao Gang, another force that will never collapse in the Great Han is always going on. Tenacious and unswervingly pushing the big man forward, this is the powerful family.

The clan absolutely rejected eunuchs.The reason for rejecting eunuchs is very simple. In the eyes of the powerful and aristocratic families, eunuchs do not possess personality, but are just slaves in the world who hold brooms and serve lamps.Between the monarch and his ministers, there is righteousness to speak of. The real ministers should be the ministers of the society, not the private ministers of the emperor. Therefore, the king should not be rude to his ministers, and the ministers can also go to the king, but this is not necessary for eunuchs.

The bureaucrats of the family also rejected the relatives, but the relatives were all from powerful families, which made them inextricably linked.At a certain time, the family bureaucrats often joined hands with their relatives to deal with the eunuchs in the palace.

However, there is one thing that bureaucrats from aristocratic families never understand.When the eunuchs first intervened in the government, they did not wholeheartedly want to make things difficult for the family bureaucrats.

The emperor, who was imprisoned in the palace by the bureaucrats of the family with various systems and etiquette, from time to time wanted to extend his ears, eyes, hands and feet to a wider world outside the palace. Control and manipulate the government.However, the emperor can neither regain the rights occupied by his relatives, but also is imprisoned by the rules and regulations of the family bureaucrats, what should we do?How does he survive?The emperor could only rely on the eunuchs to obtain his lost rights.If the Son of Heaven didn't rely heavily on the helpless people around him, even if he stood upright, he would look around at a loss, and he would really become the humble and lonely person he talked about all day long.In addition, there is another important reason why the emperor relies heavily on eunuchs, and that is the personal relationship between the emperor and the eunuchs.The master and the slave have lived together day and night for more than ten years, or even decades. Even if the relationship between them is not the most sincere, it cannot be replaced by the noble but cold morality of the monarch and his ministers.

Six years ago, when the eunuchs tried their best to instigate the emperor to appoint He Guiren as queen, the eunuchs had a purpose.Because the last thing they want is to appoint a woman from a powerful family as a queen, lest there will be another powerful general like Liang Yi and Dou Wu, posing a threat to their survival.

Empress He is from Nanyang, with a humble background, and her family has been butchers for generations.When Empress He entered the palace, she also relied on the help of eunuchs.A maid of honor must come from a good family, but the He family is cheap and has no qualifications.Zhongchang Shi Guo Sheng was a fellow villager of Empress He, and presided over the selection of concubines that year, which was called "calculating people" in this dynasty.After accepting a heavy bribe from the He family, he brought the beauty of the He family into the palace.Soon, she entered the Yeting Palace relying on her own beauty.In the palace, Empress He also has a more solid backer, that is Zhongchang Shi Zhang Rang, because Empress He's younger sister married Zhang Changshi's adopted son.
However, the eunuchs overlooked one thing, that is, Empress He also has a half-brother named He Jin.He sells meat with a butcher's knife every day, but he keeps praying in his heart that his sister will be favored.After his father's death, He Jin bribed the eunuchs on his own initiative and sent his younger sister to the palace of the great man, intending to make a name for himself.The sky paid off, and his sister was finally favored and named a nobleman.He Jin immediately threw away the butcher knife, turned around and became a relative of the emperor.He was first worshiped as a doctor, then moved to Huben Zhonglang general, and then served as Yingchuan prefect.On the day the queen canonized, He Jin was summoned to Beijing to worship as servant, general master, Henan Yin.It may be because of his humble background that the eunuchs didn't take the opportunity to kill him like they did with Empress Dowager Dong's elder brother Dong Chong, but the eunuchs forgot that his humbleness is different from other humbleness: he is a butcher.

Now, He Jin's power is being suppressed by the eunuchs and family bureaucrats. Although he is in charge of the Northern Army, he has not threatened the eunuchs and the family. Therefore, the three forces are in a delicate balance, restricting each other and using each other, vaguely forming a tripod. Among them, eunuchs are the most powerful.Their balance of power directly caused the power of the emperor to fall aside. Even if the emperor wanted to take some power back, he had nowhere to say it.

The emperor knew it in his heart, but he dared not speak out.He remembered that when General Dou Wu and Grand Tutor Chen Fan tried to kill eunuchs, the situation was very good.At that time, the general controlled the Fifth Battalion of the Northern Army, the Habayashi Army, the Huben Army, and even the Huangmen Commander who commanded the Zhonghuangmen was from Dou Wu. Everyone thought it was safe.However, the eunuchs such as Cao Jie, Huang Menling, Wang Fu and other eunuchs turned up and down overnight. Instead, they hunted and killed the Taifu Chen Fan and the general Dou Wu, uprooting the two factions. Even the Queen Mother Dou was forced to surrender. Yinxi was thrown into the cold palace.Empress Dowager Dou said something very warning to the world at that time, people who flatter are not loyal.But who are the loyal courtiers?
The Son of Heaven also faced the same problem.When he wanted to abolish the queen and kill the queen, although the middle officials knelt on the ground and tried to persuade him, but to put it bluntly, it was a threat.It became stiff, and the eunuch was forced to a dead end. In the end, maybe the emperor died for no reason.The emperor has lived in the palace for a long time, so he naturally knows the trick.As long as he doesn't push a certain force to a dead end, it doesn't matter how he eats and drinks, how absurd things he does, even beating, cursing, and killing people.

This time Xiliang suppressed corruption, the emperor used Li Hong's strength to suddenly control the initiative in the court. He severely attacked the three parties, quietly supported his clan, and cleverly gave the three parties The power left a way to survive, and finally made money for themselves.

He suddenly understood that the control of power depends on strength, not simply saying a few words and stamping a seal on the imperial edict.He must have strength, a strong army, and a general who is loyal to himself to lead such an army.If you do this yourself, can't you do whatever you want?At that time, if you want money, you will have money, and you can kill whoever you want. If you want Liu Xie to be the prince, who dares to say no?

Now, the generals of the big man who can lead troops to fight, such as Huangfusong, Zhu Jun, Lu Zhi, Dong Zhuo, etc., are all from gentry bureaucrats. Of course, he can't believe it, let alone say such a big thing as abolishing his wife and establishing his concubine.Li Hong was the only one who was not born in a scholarly family and was promoted entirely by military merit, the northern Xinjiang barbarian who was called the most cruel official in ancient and modern times by the ministers of the court and the central government, and the slave of the Xianbei people.

The question is, how can I be sure that Li Hong is loyal to me?How can you be sure that Li Hong has always been loyal to him?
He decided to send people to have a look, send different people to have a look, and finally make his own judgment and summary.If Li Hong was indeed worthy of his trust, then he would take a gamble, either his life or his country.If Li Hong is indeed a reckless person who is not worthy of his trust, then he has no need to offend everyone in the court because of him.

"I heard that Aiqing's eldest son, Yilang Liu He, is quite skilled in painting?" The emperor suddenly asked something that made Liu Yu puzzled.

"Back to Your Majesty, it's still visible." Liu Yu said modestly.

"Aiqing, look, let the little Huangmen Jianshuo be the envoy to reward the army, and take Yilang Liu He, Beijun Zhongwei Liu Biao, and the general Yushi Yuan Shao to Xiliang to comfort the army. What do you think?"

Hearing this, Liu Yu was secretly worried for Li Hong, and said in a low voice, "Your Majesty's proposal is very good. This way, you can temporarily silence everyone and let Your Majesty be quiet for a while."

"Regardless of Li Zhonglang's faults, we will wait until Xijiang is pacified." The emperor said, "Also, ask Liu He to draw a few portraits of Li Zhonglang and bring them back. I want to see what he looks like."

Liu Yu repeatedly agreed, and then said: "Your Majesty, although Master Zhang Yan took a large amount of bribes, there is a reason for the incident after all. Master Zhang has worked hard for me, and has done a lot of things without complaint. There is still hard work without credit, Your Majesty..."

"Did his family pay for his sins?"

"It has been handed over, Your Majesty."

"I'll write a letter of amnesty, and you can go pick someone up later."

The Son of Heaven said: "In addition, Zhang Wen, Yuan Peng, and Dong Zhuo have just returned to Luoyang, and the rebels in Xiliang made trouble again. Aiqing, look, are these people rewarded? Or should they be held accountable?"

Liu Yu glanced at him and thought, "It's not all your fault. You backed out on what you promised, and you backed out. Now you have to hold someone else accountable."

"Your Majesty, strict rewards and punishments can inspire people's hearts. They have fought in Xiliang for more than a year, and they have made great contributions."

The Son of Heaven stood in front of the piano stage, silent.

Former Taiwei Zhang Yan was beaten to death in prison.

Guang Luxun and Liu Yu were furious and scolded Huangmen Ling who was in charge of Beisi Prison.

Zhang Yan is also a master of Confucian classics, often teaching in Taixue, and has many disciples.His death angered all the students of the Taixue, and more than 300 disciples of Zhang Yan petitioned in Beigong, demanding that the murderer be severely punished.The emperor was rewarding the generals of the Western Expedition Army, and he was furious when he heard the words, and ordered Wei Wei to lead the Southern Army guards to disperse the students of Taixue.

At the same time, Jian Shuo of Xiaohuangmen, Liu He of Yilang, Liu Biao, a Marquis of the Northern Army, and Yuan Shao, a servant of the imperial censor, rushed out of the west of the city with a convoy of consolation troops.

(End of this chapter)