Establishing a thousand-year family from the nobles of the Western Han Dynasty

Chapter 102: Wang Si is seriously ill, land annexation

Xu Ning fell silent for a moment before he saluted and replied, "Your Majesty, I am already fifty-six years old this year. It seems that I will not live for many more years. I am afraid that I will not be able to take on the important task you have entrusted to me."

"For the sake of the continued prosperity of our Han Dynasty, I suggest that Your Majesty hand it over to someone else."

In fact, Xu Ning also had concerns. He was not young anymore, and there was a lack of young people. Xu Bo and others were only mediocre people, and they might not be able to cope with the upcoming power change.

He would definitely fight for the entrustment of the orphan to someone else, but he wanted something more. It would be best if the younger generation of the family could also have a chance to assist in the government, so as to prevent problems before they occur.

Liu Shi frowned, subconsciously thinking that it was a refusal. After all, his father had already abandoned him once before, so it was understandable that he was worried. No one could say for sure what the prince was like.

If it happens again, it will be a disaster for the Xu family. They cannot bear such tragic consequences.

So he thought for a moment and said, "Don't worry, General. The prince is very close to Xu's son. In the future, he can only trust you, General."

"I rarely ask for help from others, but today is my first time. The new prime minister in the future will also have the surname Xu."

Liu Shi had already lowered his posture very low. As an emperor, this was his most sincere promise, and he could not guarantee the position of general.

But the Prime Minister is still unable to issue a will.

Now that Xu Bo has stepped down as prime minister for many years, he still holds the position of Minister of Rites, and he still has great power in the court. It would be great if he could make further progress.

Xu Ning shook his head flattered, "I didn't mean to threaten you, but I have no choice. If Your Majesty trusts my Xu family, you can find other members of the clan."

He also made a clear plan for the future of his family, which was to temporarily avoid the limelight and try not to give up the position of general.

It is really tiring for a minister to not let the emperor become alert. Although the prince does not have the skill of Emperor Xuan, he can still injure Xu.

The dispute between Confucianism and Legalism back then was a combination of the right time, right place and right people. But the political situation is very different now. The Legalist Party has declined and retreated to the local areas, and its influence at the central government is quite limited.

In other words, there was an imbalance of power, which turned into a struggle between eunuchs and Confucian officials, which was a continuation of the dispute between Confucianism and Legalism.

The eunuchs represent the legalist party to a certain extent, and have currently suppressed the Confucian officials, so the situation is not evenly matched.

Even if Wang Si had all the means to achieve his goals, he could not turn the situation around. When he died, the Confucian officials would be completely defeated.

Now Confucianism has no minister to take the lead. The only one with some hope is Xiao Wangzhi, but unfortunately the grass on his grave is several meters high.

At present, the ones who have hope of competing with the eunuchs are actually the relatives by marriage. The Wang family, to which Wang Zhengjun belongs, actually has some connection with Wang Si, so they have been well taken care of before.

According to the prince's personality, he will definitely support his relatives by marriage after he ascends the throne and will not allow the eunuchs to dominate.

"General, what you said makes sense." Liu Shi nodded slightly. It was enough for him to know what the other party wanted. Supporting some descendants of the Xu family was what he wanted to do.

However, he originally did not want Xu Bo to assist in the administration. Since Xu Ning asked for it, it was not impossible for him to join.

As long as Xu Ning could be persuaded, only then would he feel at ease. Otherwise, how could the prince compete with all the ministers in the court?

After getting a positive reply, Xu Ning was finally satisfied. This way, it would be another prosperous generation. He didn't want anything more. He just wanted the position of prime minister, which meant the qualification of being independent from the various parties in the court.

If you take action yourself, something bad will happen sooner or later. Moderation is the way for your family to survive!
Of course, if it involves the bottom line, he will not be soft-hearted, such as the actions of Wang Si and others who challenged the imperial power.

Helping Liu Baohan is the most suitable path for them. Helping others to rebel is too risky. It is better to play it safe than to take risks.

Given the long-standing relationship between the two families, the Liu family would never kill them all. For example, Emperor Xuan did not have the intention to kill them, but he suppressed them too much. He did not expect the impact would be so great.

.........

In the first year of Yuanjia, Wang Si, who had served as the left prime minister for nearly thirty years, became seriously ill and could no longer handle state affairs, so he stayed in bed and rested.

Once this great scholar got into trouble, it caused a chain reaction. The Confucian officials, who were already in a panic, became completely panicked and began to frantically look for famous doctors to treat him.

Joining the party is inseparable from Wang Si! This is the only support to counter the eunuch group. If Wang Xiang dies, there is only one thing waiting for the Confucian Party, that is, disintegration and decline!

When Liu Shi learned about this, he felt very complicated emotions, a mixture of joy and pity. He had very complicated feelings towards this great scholar whom he had personally supported.

On the one hand, he formed cliques and factions to compete with the imperial power, and on the other hand, he also shouldered the final responsibility of governing the country. The reason why the eunuchs did not completely disrupt the world was actually due to the persistence of this great scholar.

What he wanted was a heir who was "friends but not partisans" and could rule the country with peace of mind. Unfortunately, this did not go as he wished. This person's ambition was very big, and it was not for power.

He hoped to make the world a better place, and even solve the current situation where landlords monopolized land in one fell swoop. He introduced a series of measures to curb mergers, but unfortunately they had no effect at all.

Now that we have entered the late period of the dynasty, large-scale land annexation is almost the trend. Unless the central authority is restored to the level of Wu Kangxuan, it will be of no use at all.

Killing the chicken to scare the monkey no longer works, and the execution of local edicts even has to rely on this group of powerful forces.

Liu Shi looked at Shi Xian beside him with a complicated expression: "Prepare the horses and go to the Prime Minister's Mansion. I want to see him in person."

"Yes, sir." Shi Xian agreed.

As the chief of the eunuchs, Shi Xian was of course ecstatic. Without a royal heir, the Confucian Party would be in disarray and he could manipulate them at will. By then, it would be just a matter of time before he would have power over the government and the country!
Even if the bird is dead and the bow is hidden, it would not be done to a person like him who is not fully developed.

A quarter of an hour later, the emperor's carriage arrived at the Prime Minister's Mansion.

At this time, the place was crowded with people, and countless Confucian scholars came here to visit with tears in their eyes.

Wang Si holds a very high position in the Imperial Academy and has now completely surpassed Li Ke in the past. He is an important figure in the history of Confucianism, second only to Xu Gong, Confucius and others.

When Liu Shi walked into the room, the first thing he saw was Prime Minister Wang Si lying on the couch, dying.

He went over to greet the performance very eagerly, and his "Oscar" level acting skills were fully displayed. With tears in his eyes, he seemed like he was about to burst into tears.

No matter how hard you try to appear on the surface, it doesn't matter what you think in your heart, and no one cares.

“Your Majesty…” Upon seeing this, Wang Si was about to get up, but due to the ravages of the disease, he was unable to do so and was weak and powerless.

"Prince Wang is seriously ill. There is no need to stand up and perform the ceremony. Just take good care of yourself."

Liu Shi said with concern that it was indeed too much to ask such a seriously ill person to get up and salute, as the Han people did not attach that much importance to hierarchy.

It's just a ritual, it doesn't matter.

"Ahem..." Hearing this, Wang Sicai lay back tremblingly, his old face slightly raised, full of apology: "Please forgive me for my rudeness, time is not forgiving."

"Even a saint of the time like the Holy Master cannot escape, let alone an old minister."

A hint of self-mockery flashed across his lips. When he was a child, he had made a great ambition to be the "Second Saint Master". He studied hard for it, abandoned all selfishness, and worked for the country and the people. What was the result? He was forced into this state by a group of eunuchs. At the age of death, he still had not achieved anything. It was simply a complete failure!

Now it seems that what he said before was just bragging. Xu Gong's abilities and achievements are so strong that it is despairing. I am afraid that no one will surpass him in the future.

In fact, in this society where Imperial College is everything, the words of Xu Gong, Xu Zhou and others are like imperial decrees, which can hardly be disobeyed. Even Confucius cannot be compared with these two people, at least for now.

When the dispute between Confucianism and Legalism reached its climax, Li Ke and Zhao Zhuang were thinking of splitting from the Imperial College and leaving. However, they were sternly stopped by a Confucian scholar, who quoted Xu Zhou's view that "Confucianism and Legalism are one family, the Imperial College has always been one."

This Confucian scholar became famous because of this, and later became the greatest Confucian scholar of the time. Yes, his name was Wang Si!
Liu Shi sat down on the edge of the couch and sighed deeply. He was deeply touched by this. As an emperor on earth, he almost controlled everything in the world forever.

He has money, fame, power, women... he has everything. The only thing that can defeat him is time, just like Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che back then.

No matter how great his achievements were, they could not keep him alive for a few more years, and he eventually turned into a pile of dry bones.

There are too many things in the world that are not as we wish, and there are too many regrets.

Wang Si propped himself up and said in a pleading tone: "Your Majesty, I may not live for a few more days, but I have a great regret in my heart, and I am unwilling to take it into the coffin like this. I wonder if Your Majesty can listen to me."

Liu Shi already knew what he was going to say, but he still responded, "Of course you can. I'm all ears."

The old man took a breath and said in a deep voice: "I remember that the first time I came into contact with Confucianism was through the folk school of the Imperial College."

"My family is very poor. Our land was taken over by the landlord, so we have to become a lowly tenant farmer. Every year, 60% of my parents' harvest has to be handed over to the government."

"But, they lived frugally and still sent their children to school. I have better talent and am the only one in the family who was chosen."

"It's strange to say that after I was a farmer, I was lucky enough to enter the Imperial College. What an honor it is. This was founded by the Saint Master Xu Gong."

"The more I came into contact with Confucianism, the more I believed that only reforms from the top could save the Han Dynasty, and I also set my ambition to become prime minister."

"Now it seems... I'm lucky, it actually worked."

Wang Siqing was so moved that he didn't even need to address himself as an old man. He was actually quite moved that he, a descendant of a poor peasant, could actually rise to the position of prime minister.

It's such a fantasy to tell others this.

"So your way of changing is to compete with me for power? Isn't that putting the cart before the horse?"

The more Liu Shi listened, the more unhappy he became. So you are leading the Confucian officials to fight for the people? It's nothing but selfishness, and yet you still say it in such a high-sounding way.

If you want to change, you should assist the king! What's this?

Wang Si did not rush to refute, but just smiled and said: "May I ask how Your Majesty wants to reform? Or does Your Majesty care about these things?"

After hearing this, Liu Shi was speechless for a moment and remained silent for a long time.

Wang Si continued, "Since even the king doesn't care, what's the point of trying harder as a minister? It will only add to your troubles and waste your time."

He was right. Liu Shi was not a wise ruler in the traditional sense. He didn't care about the people's livelihood at all. As long as the country still belonged to the Liu family and did not affect his eating, drinking and having fun, that was enough.

This idea is actually quite correct if applied to the Wenjing period. For a prosperous era, it is already very good not to make trouble.

But the problem is that it is already the late dynasty, and Emperor Xuan did not take action against the powerful, which led to their becoming extremely powerful.

Liu Shi’s inaction and laxity in state affairs were the biggest disaster.

Of course, these are nothing, the main thing is that Liu Shi doesn't like to give up power! He wants to take control of the government, but he doesn't handle it.

In order to change all this, Wang Si chose to take a risk and rely on the method of opposing the imperial power to gain the dominant power and change all this.

The dispute between Confucianism and Legalism was just a tool. Wang Si didn't care who won, as long as he got the power to preside over the government. His way of governing the country was also that of Legalism.

After all, when it comes to reform, the Legalists are the originators.

The final result was that he aroused the emperor's hostility, began to support eunuchs, and intentionally opposed Confucian officials, so that Wang Si was suppressed.

"Alas... I understand your thoughts, but being too extreme is not a good thing. A minister is a minister. You must have learned the Three Bonds and Five Constant Virtues."

Liu Shi was silent for a long time before he uttered these words: He was indeed in the wrong.

Wang Si was very capable in handling government affairs. He temporarily stopped the decline of the Han Dynasty and the treasury was full.

It was this ability that made Xu Ning always allow him to handle state affairs.

Unfortunately, the good times did not last long. After Shi Xian came to power, this situation disappeared. Local corrupt officials were rampant and the situation was completely out of control.

This is the biggest disadvantage of using eunuchs, they don’t know how to govern the country!

Wang Si showed a fearless look on his face, and said, "Mencius once said that the people are the most important, the country is second, and the emperor is the least important. Apart from the ministers, the people of the world should be the most important."

"The Holy Master once said that water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it!"

Liu Shi subconsciously wanted to get angry, but after thinking it over carefully, he gave up. What the other party said... was the truth.

Xu Gong's thoughts at that time were also highly praised by Emperor Jingdi and Emperor Wu.

"You are right, but I am not my father, nor am I Emperor Kang. What I care about is the Liu family."

He stood up silently, not planning to stay here any longer, as it would be a bit boring.

Wang Si got up and cried loudly, "Your Majesty, please punish the eunuchs! I am dead now, and we no longer need those eunuchs!"

"What our Han Dynasty needs are capable ministers who can govern the country! Loyal to the emperor... Haha, who wouldn't be loyal to the emperor? I have never had any treasonous thoughts!"

Liu Shi paused for a moment, but soon left quickly. His mood changed a little. Perhaps it was a mistake to reuse eunuchs.

He had no choice before, but it's time to change this time.

Wang Si was actually worthy of being called a capable minister, but unfortunately his stance was different. After all, he was not a wise ruler. If he had been born in the reign of Emperor Kang, he would have been a capable minister who would go down in history.

But here it is destined to be buried.

In fact, the Han Dynasty had many capable officials, but the difficulty lay in employing them.

(End of this chapter)