Great Han Empire

Chapter 251 The situation changes suddenly
Xiang Kai, a native of Pingyuan County in Qingzhou, is a well-known alchemist in the world. He has also studied the "Taiping Jing".

Where did the "Taiping Jing" come from, and who wrote it, there is nothing to test in history.This book adopts the views of Laozi and Zhuangzi on the cosmology, and it tells believers to use magic and religious creeds to govern the country, rather than laws and morals. In addition to governing the country, the "Taiping Jing" can also nourish the body and mind of an individual, so that he can achieve immortality.

Many of these spells and beliefs do not come from Taoism, but from Wuxing School, Immortal School and Mohist School.Mohism is a guild-style folk school composed of craftsmen in the pre-Qin period. Mohist disciples believed that God was a great god with will, who would respond to everyone's good and evil behaviors, so they evolved moral cultivation into religious precepts.This school organized its members in a way similar to the current underworld from the very beginning, so they disappeared in the former Qin Dynasty.According to the laws of the Great Qin, the Great Qin State does not allow secret associations, and offenders will kill the nine clans. However, with their physical and chemical attainments, the believers of the Mohist School have suddenly become proficient in making utensils and refining pills, claiming that they can use Immortal alchemists, they survived tenaciously according to their own organizational methods, and this special organizational method of Mohism gradually evolved into the social structure of a religious state in the minds of all believers.

Xiangkai and Taiping Taoist advocate Jiaojiao are friends. Although one is an alchemist who believes in Mohism, and the other is a Taoist priest who believes in Huangdi and Laozi, both of them study the "Taiping Jing" and believe that religion is not just the destination of people's hearts. , should be an ideal home. Only by using various forces to establish a religious country on the land of the Han Dynasty, can the common people in this world be happy and safe, have absolute equality and noble morality, and achieve a classless society. , an ideal state of no government, no law, no exploitation, no natural disasters, and no disease.

In the early years, the believers of Taiping Dao had great confidence in the Great Han Dynasty, and they pinned their hopes of realizing a religious country on the emperor of the Great Han Dynasty.

When Emperor Xiaocheng of the former Han Dynasty was in a state of depression, a man named Gan Zhongke in Qidi, Yique, presented a book called "Bao Yuan Taiping Jing", saying that although the great man is at the end of the world, the sky will never abandon it. The big man sent a god named "Chi Jingzi" down to earth to help the big man accept the destiny again.However, the Han Dynasty's theory of establishing a country is Confucianism, which hates theists the most. Under the suggestion of Liu Xiang, the great Confucian of the dynasty, Gan Zhongke was imprisoned to death on the charge of "fake ghosts and gods to deceive the public".

After a few years, Emperor Xiaoai came to the throne, and the state affairs became more and more unbearable. The emperor was ill for a long time. At this time, Gan Zhongke's disciple Xia Lianghe and his minister Li Xun once again persuaded the emperor with the way of peace. This time the emperor believed them and ordered The name was changed to Emperor Chen Sheng Liu Taiping, hoping to gain a new life.Li Xun and others even began to reorganize government agencies in the way of Taiping Taoism. However, due to the fierce opposition of Confucian scholars and because the emperor's illness did not improve, several Taiping Taoists were killed again.

When this dynasty was filial to the emperor, Gong Chongyique, a Taiping Taoist who was in Qidi, presented a secret book called "Taiping Qingling Book", and claimed that this book was obtained by his teacher Yu Ji on the Quyang Spring. The sacred book, bound in red and white silk, and written in green and vermilion, has a total of 170 volumes, all of which are about spells that can enable the emperor to govern the country immediately.The gentry bureaucrats read it, thought it was a classic of demons and delusions, and sealed it in Dongguan (that is, the National Library).

Zhang Jiao summed up the experience of the predecessors of the Taipingdao, and believed that in order to realize the ideal society in the book, the society must be transformed by force. and violence to rebuild a new country.Xiangkai inherited the tradition of his ancestors. He believed that to realize this ideal, he must rely on the strength of the Han monarch and ministers to carry out peaceful and conservative reforms from top to bottom.The two had great differences on how to realize this lofty ideal.

Xiangkai's chance finally came.Since Emperor Xiaohuan had no heirs, he heard that Xiangkai's spells were superb, so he summoned him into the palace to ask for some panacea.Xiangkai tried his best to help, and the emperor liked him very much.Xiangkai immediately mentioned the "Taiping Jing" to the emperor, and advised the emperor to use the "Taiping Jing" to govern the country.He was still looking for something to intercede for a few party friends.As a result, he was not only rejected, but also sentenced to prison.

After Xiangkai was rescued from the prison by his disciples, he did not change his infatuation, and still ran around, using his reputation to accumulate a lot of strength, intending to look for opportunities to reform the big man again.Not long after, Zhang Jiao led the Taiping Taoist disciples to rise up and fight vigorously for more than half a year. In the end, they were completely defeated and ended disastrously.Xiang Kai saw that the two methods of realizing his ideal had failed, and after learning from the pain, he decided to start anew and try to figure out a better strategy.

At the beginning of October, he gazed at the sky and stared at the stars, predicting that the treacherous eunuchs in the imperial court were exhausted, and their fall was imminent. No matter whether they were Zhongchang servants or Xiaohuangmen, they would all be exterminated and killed.He immediately sent someone to inform his disciples Xu Liang and Wu Dang, and asked them to tell the general He Jin that if he wanted to punish the traitor, it would be the best time for the Qing emperor to side him.

At the end of November, Xu Liang and Wu Dang rushed to Pingyuan County in person.

Xiangkai is over 60 years old, tall and thin, with white hair and a childlike face, hale and hearty, and quite immortal.

"The general is too cautious, he looks forward and backward, and has no courage." Xiang Kai stroked his long gray beard and sighed, "A few years ago, I sent you to be his retainers. He was very straightforward, not only took you in, He still treats you as honored guests, but he has been unwilling to have further contact with us, lest he be found out and become a witness. This time, because the butcher's knife has reached his neck, there is no other way, so he sent you to the plain The county came to me, seeing your sneaky looks, do you seem to be begging me for help?"

Xu Liang is in his 30s, with a broad forehead and a kind complexion.He said with a smile: "Master, the power struggle in the court is very fierce, and the general can't help himself. In recent years, Dazhitang's income has doubled, which is the result of the special care of the general. One point, the master should be very clear."

"I know that the sect has prospered in the past few years, thanks to the care of the general, and you also have credit for it." Xiang Kai laughed.

"Master, this is what we should do." Wu Tang said, "What do you want to explain to the general?" Wu Tang is short in stature, with a round face and short beard. The fairy bone of the alchemist.

Xiang Kai pondered for a while, then slowly said: "Go back and tell the general, after the matter is completed, please make sure he fulfills today's promise. The imperial court will govern with Huang Laoxue, govern the country with the "Taiping Jing", and follow the example of Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing of the previous dynasty. , implement the strategy of quiet and inaction, and rule the country according to the law, adopt the method of governing by doing nothing, quiet and law-abiding, light corvee and low tax, and rest with the people to rebuild the Han Dynasty."

Xu Liang and Wu Dang nodded repeatedly.

Xiang Kai looked at the two of them, and then continued with an extremely serious expression: "In order to accomplish this, I will use all my strength, but our strength is far behind Luoyang's Northern Army. Zhang Jiao’s hundreds of thousands of Yellow Turbans have all failed, not to mention us, so I ask the general to ask Mr. Xi Da to raise his troops according to the agreed time, so as to contain the Luoyang Northern Army and give us enough time.”

"Master, please rest assured that this matter is related to the fate of the country, and the general will never be negligent." Xu Liang said.

Xiang Kai nodded slightly, paused for a moment, pointed to the two of them and said: "You leave Pingyuan County immediately, and we will no longer contact you in the future."

=

After the death of Mu Guodian in Jizhou, the main force of the Yellow Turban Army in Jizhou was defeated by Feng Yi and Li Hong, the prefects of Julu County, in the Battle of Yingtao, and the remnants fled to Taihang Mountain.Seeing that the Yellow Turban Rebellion in Jizhou had been quelled, the imperial court immediately decided to revoke the post of Jizhou Mu and reset Jizhou Governor.

In May, Wang Fen from Pingyuan arrived at Gaoyi City, Changshan State, the governor of Jizhou, and took up the post of governor.Wang Fen was a well-known scholar in Pingyuan. He served successively as Yilang and admonishing doctor in Beijing. He was a disciple of Grand Tutor Chen Fan.Chen Fan, courtesy name Zhongju, was born in Pingyu, Runan. He was the incarnation of moral articles and the leader of scholar-bureaucrats in this dynasty.He and the general Dou Wu planned and launched the Beigong Incident. After the failure, he was raped and beaten to death in Beisi Prison. All his family members were punished. Only the eldest son Chen Yi, who was an official outside the country, fled.Not long after Wang Fen arrived in Jizhou, Chen Yi, who had been on the run, quietly rushed to Gaoyi and hid in Wang Fen's home to avoid disaster.

On this day, Xiangkai came to visit.When Wang Fen heard that the master was visiting, he hurried out to meet him.The two are old acquaintances. Wang Fen is devoted to the study of Huang Lao's studies. He believes that the "Taiping Jing" can govern the country. He has always been a loyal disciple of Taiping Taoism. Wenjing event.

"Yuanshan, our great cause is expected to be successful." Xiang Kai said with a smile, "Your and my long-cherished wish will soon become a reality."

Wang Fen is in her 40s, with a medium build, dark complexion, and a pair of resolute eyes on her slender face.He looked shocked, and asked in a low voice: "Did the master see any amazing celestial phenomena?"

"Yes, I watched the stars at night, and found that the traitors in the court are exhausted, and the sky of the Han Dynasty is about to change." Xiangkai said, "Yuanshan, is Boyan still here? His chance to revenge has come. "

"Bo Yan is still with me. Master, let's go to the study and talk in detail." Wang Fen warmly invited.

Chen Yi is a middle-aged man in his 40s, his temples are already gray, his face has many wrinkles, and there are a pair of melancholy and sad eyes on his thin face.More than ten years of fleeing life made him old and lonely. He was depressed and sat beside Xiangkai silently, listening to Xiangkai talking about his plan endlessly.

"After we hijacked the emperor by force, we immediately advocated the world, abolished the emperor, and established another Mingjun, so as to save my dying man." Xiang Kai gestured his hands excitedly, and whispered, "We have planned this plan for a long time. , but there has never been a chance to implement it, and now we have such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, how can we miss it?"

Wang Fen pondered for a long time and asked, "Master, are you sure that in March next year, the Son of Heaven will return to his hometown of Hejian Kingdom in Jizhou to worship his ancestors?"

Xiangkai stroked his beard and smiled, "Yuanshan, I guess you will receive the imperial edict soon."

Both Wang Fen and Chen Yi looked at Xiangkai with admiration, thinking that he has superb spells to do all these things.

Xiang Kai said again: "You are in charge of this matter from the beginning to the end, you have to be careful, and you must not make mistakes."

Wang Fen nodded again and again, and said with a smile, "Bo Yan and I immediately gathered a group of friends and carefully planned this matter. We guarantee that nothing will go wrong. When will Master go to see the King of Hefei?"

"I will go to Hefei immediately after the imperial decree from the capital is sent to Gaoyi, and the approximate departure time of the emperor is determined. The King of Hefei must be very happy to hear this news. I have lost my ambition." Xiang Kai sighed, "The king of Hefei has studied Huang Lao's study quite a lot, and believes in the ancestor's strategy of governing the country by keeping quiet and doing nothing, and resting with the people. Can I respect Huang Lao again, depose Confucianism, and respect All the prosperity and events of the Wenjing period depend on him."

Chen Yi hesitated for a moment, then said: "Master, if the First Prince stays in Luoyang, with the support of the Great General, he can ascend to the throne immediately, we..."

"Bo Yan, don't worry, this time we can not only punish the traitors, but also clean up the grievances of the Tai Tuo and General Dou. Your hard life is coming to an end." Xiang Kai shook his hand and smiled confidently. : "It's impossible for the eldest prince to stay in Luoyang with the general. How can the emperor rest assured? I have already arranged everything about Luoyang. Don't worry about it. Just concentrate on catching the emperor."

"Master, over there at Taihang Mountain..." Wang Fen was about to say something, but was stopped by Xiang Kai, "I will talk about Taihang Mountain when I come back."

In the afternoon, the imperial decree of the emperor was sent to the governor's mansion.The emperor will return to his hometown of Hejian country in Jizhou to worship the ancestors in the spring and February of next year. The emperor ordered Wang Fen to make preparations for related matters.

Xiangkai left Gaoyi that night and hurried south to Hefei.

Wang Fen immediately wrote to the Son of Heaven, saying that the Yellow Turban Army in Heishan at the southern foot of Taihang Mountain often haunted Jizhou, harassing counties and counties, and the territory was not safe. Go back to my hometown next year to clear the obstacles.He asked the Son of Heaven for a 2-strong county army system, and said that all the expenses of this army would be raised by Jizhou itself, without the court's money.

=

After Li Hong received the edict from the emperor, he hesitated even more. He hesitated between going and not going, and it was difficult to make up his mind.

At this time, the reorganization of the army has been completed, and the training of each part will start immediately.

The third imperial decree urging Li Hong to return to Beijing was sent to Daying.

The emperor promised Li Hong in the imperial decree that he would try to collect grain and fodder from Jizhou, Yanzhou, and Yuzhou next month to help Xiliang.The emperor also agreed to Li Hong's request for an army of [-], but he expressed concern about the future of the Qiang soldiers. He hoped that Li Hong would end Xiliang's rebellion as soon as possible and drive these Qiang soldiers back to their place of origin.

The emperor ordered Li Hong not to delay after receiving the order, but to return to Beijing immediately, and specifically allowed him to bring thirty rides and one hundred personal guards to accompany him. (Ti refers to the yellow color of silk Dan. Ti Qi is a senior soldier. Although there is no rank and salary level, he gets a salary of two hundred stones in the army, which is equivalent to a village chief.)
The generals of all the ministries rushed over upon hearing the news, and they almost all agreed not to allow Li Hong to go to Beijing, but Li Wei, the commander of the Zuojun, advised him to leave as soon as possible.Wen Chou became anxious, and scolded Li Wei for his ulterior motives and schemes. He suspected that he was a gangster.Li Wei was furious, so he drew his sword, cut off the case with one sword, and shouted wildly: "If you have a different intention, let it be like this."

Li Hong still decided to wait.He wrote back to the emperor, saying that the Qiang army had just been recruited and marched, and it would take a period of adaptation and observation to prevent accidents. He asked the emperor to delay him for a few more days.

=

In the court hall, Taiwei Zhang Wen reported the latest border war to the emperor.

At the beginning of this month, more than 2000 cavalry from the Tuoba tribe of Xianbei in the north attacked Bingzhou, and the Xianbei people in the center and the Karasuma people in Liaoxi and Youbeiping attacked the border with a small group of cavalry, burning, killing, and looting.

The emperor was very angry, and shouted loudly: "Which minister is willing to go north to the frontier and kill Manhu?"

There was silence in the lobby, no one answered.

The emperor cursed a few words bitterly, because of the distance, no minister heard what he was scolding.

"Your Majesty, Wang Fen, the governor of Jizhou, has written a letter for three consecutive days, requesting to recruit soldiers to suppress the thieves and eradicate hidden dangers for His Majesty's return to his hometown." General He Jinchu said: "The Chinese New Year is coming soon, Your Majesty, please make a decision early."

The emperor said unhappily: "There are 5 people in the Northern Army of Luoyang. The Northern Army did not go to Jizhou to suppress the thieves, but asked the governor of Jizhou to temporarily recruit soldiers to suppress the thieves. Isn't this superfluous? But since he pays for it himself, let him go." Let's play it."

Sikong and Xu Xiang came out immediately, praised Guang Luxun Liu Yu and Wei Wei Liu Ting for their outstanding performance in fighting corruption, and proposed to the emperor to promote two officials.The emperor considered that he would return to his hometown in two months, so he moved Liu Yu as Zongzheng to help Taichang Liu Yan and others deal with the specific matters of returning home.Liu Ting served as the prefect of Hanoi County, and helped Wang Fen destroy the Yellow Turban Ant Bandits.

General He Jin immediately went out of the class to play, and recommended Tiaohou Dongzhong as Weiwei and Shangshu Dinggong as Guangluxun.Dong Zhong is a relative of the emperor, and Ding Gong is from Peiguo. He was the emperor's confidant when he was in Shangshutai, so the emperor felt that he was very satisfied with the two candidates, so he agreed to play.

The ministers in the court once again quarreled over whether the expenses of the emperor returning home to worship his ancestors should go to the Da Si Nong or the Shao Fu.

=

General He Jin returned to the mansion, and when he heard that Wu Kuang, the military commander, and Cao Hefeng, the general's subordinate supervisor Cao Hefeng, had returned, they hurriedly summoned them.

"What did Mr. Xi Da say?" He Jin asked, "Did he agree?"

Wu Kuang nodded, but remained silent.He Feng glanced at He Jin timidly, and said in a low voice: "Xi Da and Bo Er said that since the General wants them to die, they don't have any complaints, but they hope that the General can give them more money. In addition, they are seriously short of weapons. Xi Da said that the general must provide him with weapons and equipment for at least 1 people."

He Jin smiled coldly and said, "Does Xi Da want to rebel?"

A few days later, Xu Liang and Wu Tang also returned to the General's Mansion.

"Govern the world with Huang-Lao's learning?" He Jin said with a smile, "Huang-Lao's learning has been abandoned for more than 200 years, and it will be difficult to pick it up again. In my opinion, Master Xiangkai is just an idiot. "

Xu Liang cupped his hands and said: "The general is on the mend. In the past 70 years since Gaozu to Emperor Hui, Emperor Wen, and Emperor Jing, the country has been rich and the people have enough food and clothing, creating a glorious prosperity. At that time, the granaries in urban and rural areas were full of grain. , the grain in the national granary was too much to pile up, so it had to be put outside the warehouse, allowing it to be moldy and damaged. There was excess money in government offices at all levels, and the money in the treasury of the capital had accumulated to tens of thousands. People at that time were very simple and self-respecting, they dared not break the law, everyone put righteousness first, few people did bad things, there were many places where people didn't pick up lost things on the road, and didn't close their doors at night."

"After the reunification of the country, the tax collection barriers in various places were cancelled, and the prohibition on the development of natural resources in mountains and rivers was also cancelled. Therefore, at that time, wealthy businessmen and businessmen flowed around the world, and there was no problem in the exchange of commodities. Everyone got what they wanted. Salt, iron smelting and other fields were fully opened, and it was stipulated that ordinary people could also operate freely. The imperial court even opened up to the common people in the field of currency issuance such as copper smelting and coinage, allowing the common people to engage in coinage business. As for the country getting rich in a very short period of time.”

"All of this is because the imperial court ruled the country with Huang Lao's learning at that time, and adopted the policy of being quiet and inactive, ignoring taxation, and governing the country according to law. In today's world, Confucianism is used to rule the world, and the country is governed by virtue. The result is frequent wars and endless disasters in the Han Dynasty. It is clear at a glance which of the two ways of governing the country is better. Is the general going to break his promise?"

He Jin thought for a long time, and said: "I promised Master Xiangkai that I would let him preach the scriptures in Dahanzhou County, instead of promising him to govern the country with Huang Lao's learning. Everything will be discussed after the master succeeds."

Xu Liang and Wu Dang secretly sighed, feeling a little disappointed.How did they know that Master Xiangkai was on his way to Hefei City at this time.

He Jin immediately urged Henan Yin Hemiao to return to Luoyang, the county seat of Henan, and he was not allowed to stay in Luoyang.He Miao didn't want to, so he spent every day in Luoyang eating, drinking, whoring and gambling with a bunch of cronies, and didn't return all night.He Jin was furious and beat He Miao.He Miao was angry and scared, so she hid in the mansion of Zhang Rang, the constant servant of her in-laws.Zhang Rang said, it's Chinese New Year, of course we have to stay in Luoyang to have fun, why go to Luoyang to guard an empty government office at this time?Your brother is unreasonable.He Miao said, he is not only unreasonable, he is ungrateful and wants to kill you.

Zhang Rang was taken aback, and a murderous look flashed in his eyes.

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(End of this chapter)