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

Chapter 103 Emperor Yuan Dies

In the second year of Yuanyou, Wang Si, who was seriously ill and bedridden, passed away. He had already completed the handover of power and wanted Guanglu Dafu Chen Nian to inherit his position. The powerful recommended him to the position of prime minister.

This man was also a capable minister who was well versed in Confucianism. He was honest and upright, hated evil, and hated the dictatorship of Shi Xian.

But his political skills are lacking and he is not very good at fighting for power, but there is nothing he can do.

Shi Xian has the support of the emperor, so it would be useless if anyone other than Wang Si himself were to take over. So it would be better to choose someone who is not too fond of making trouble and has the ability to govern the country.

Who knows when Liu Shi will find his conscience? General Xu Ning also cares about the country. Since the Confucian officials have lost their threat, there is no need to kill them all. Otherwise, who will govern the country? Legal officials and Confucian officials are almost equally important.

He hoped that Liu Shi would wake up and make changes. He did not oppose the emperor's dictatorship, but supported it on the contrary, because only in this way could the Han court abandon everything and concentrate on serving the country.

What Wang Si longed for most was the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che. Emperor Wu of Han liked to oppress the powerful, which suppressed land annexation. All landlords behaved in a timid manner, fearing that they would be caught and have their property confiscated and their families exterminated.

Unfortunately, things went against his wishes. The emperor was no longer able to run the government and could only rely on eunuchs to implement high-pressure policies and kill people in order to maintain his rule.

And he doesn't care about people's livelihood!
This is the biggest flaw. The reason why Wang Si went against him was because of this. What was the point of him helping Liu Shi with all his strength? Would he be diligent in government affairs?

Not only is he greedy for pleasure, but he also has an incredibly strong desire for control and is not good at delegating power. He is undoubtedly a typical tyrant.

Wang Si’s choice is obvious. He will compete with the emperor for power, make him behave like a mascot, follow the story of Zhou Gong Xu Zhen, and preside over the government to save the country!

It's a pity that he seriously overestimated his abilities. He did not have the influence and qualifications that Xu Zhen had to monopolize power, so he could only fail in the purge of eunuchs.

In the end, Liu Shi still used Chen Nian and appointed him as the right prime minister to assist in the administration with all his strength. Perhaps those words touched him.

Which emperor didn't have the dream of becoming a famous emperor in history? Like his father Emperor Xuan, he was praised and sung by later generations.

.........

After the death of the old Prime Minister Wang Si, the Confucian Party completely lost its threat and gradually fell apart, and a large number of Confucian officials were liquidated by the eunuchs.

Confucian officials who had been saved from death, such as Chen Xian and Wang Meng, were imprisoned and executed on "false" charges. The power of Confucianism plummeted and the eunuchs came into complete power.

Originally, Shi Xian wanted to use Chen Nian as a threat to the world, but he was eventually protected by the neutral faction headed by Xu Ning. Although this eunuch had great power in the court, he did not dare to go against the general.

So they chose to give him some convenience and allow him to govern the central government.

The Imperial Censor Dong Xian was transferred to be the General of the Northern Expedition and was in charge of the affairs of the Western Regions. The position of Imperial Censor was thus vacant, and many ministers in the court were eyeing it covetously.

Among them, Grand Herald Feng Yewang had the greatest advantage, and many ministers recommended him to be the Imperial Censor.

This person is indeed very suitable. Not only is he a great sage in the Imperial Academy, but he is also the elder brother of the Concubine Zhaoyi in the harem. He is a typical relative by marriage and is the most suitable in terms of both ability and status.

Liu Shi did not like to use relatives by marriage. Rather than letting eunuchs ruin the country, he was more afraid of relatives by marriage usurping the throne and losing the country! He could clearly distinguish between weakness and a change of ownership.

Although Feng Yewang was a loyal and capable minister, he was still naturally averse to it, always feeling that using external relatives would cause trouble, so after frequent considerations, Liu Shi still planned to continue using Shi Xian and let him fight against the rebellious ministers for him.

Of course the eunuchs must be eliminated. Tools must be thrown away and replaced with new ones after they are used up. This is common sense, but not now. Shi Xian, Hou Yuan and others are still useful.

Liu Shi had already made a plan. He would continue to use Shi Xian until the crown prince came to the throne, and then the new emperor would get rid of him.

In this way, he could not only kill the chicken to scare the monkeys and quickly deter the ministers, but also use the lives of these eunuchs to win the hearts of the people. After all, everyone in the world hated Shi Xian to the core, and the emperor would not be criticized for killing the donkey after it has served its purpose if he touched him.

At that time, he would support a new knife to drive the eunuchs, ministers, or even relatives, which would be better than having nothing. Liu Shi deeply realized the importance of these false ministers.

They are all indispensable.

"Shi Xian, what do you think of King Feng Ye? Can he be qualified for the position of Imperial Censor? All the ministers have recommended him to me, and I am quite optimistic about him."

"I wonder what you think?"

Liu Shi put down the memorials and looked at Shi Xian who was standing beside him.

This is a bit like pretending to be ignorant while knowing the truth. Everyone knows that Shi Xian had thought about winning over the Feng family before, and he even specially recommended the brother of the palace Zhaoyi, the usurper Feng Qun, to be the Shizhong.

Liu Shi did not object and agreed to the procedure, but Feng Xun was a man of upright character. The first thing he did after becoming the emperor's close minister was to criticize Shi Xian's autocracy and report him for accepting bribes and forming cliques.

Of course Liu Shi didn't listen to these words. Shi Xian couldn't die yet, so he demoted this ignorant guy to a palace attendant.

No one in the court could see his intention? It was really sad.

Why did he use eunuchs? It was to check and balance the court officials.

Therefore, Shi Xian had a grudge against the Feng family. Given his vengeful character, it would be strange if he didn't care.

Therefore, he would definitely try every means to prevent Feng Yewang from becoming the Imperial Censor, and this was exactly what Liu Shi wanted. He could then put all the blame on Shi Xian, killing two birds with one stone.

"Your Majesty, King Feng Ye is a man of great talent and noble character. He is honest and upright in his service to the people. Among the nine ministers, no one is more suitable than him."

Shi Xian would definitely not speak to this "ungrateful" guy, and sure enough, he changed the subject:
"But, King Fengye is the brother of Wang Zhaoyi in the palace, and is closely related to Your Majesty. I am afraid that future generations will accuse Your Majesty of not using talented people and instead favoring your own relatives."

"Although it is said that one should promote the virtuous without avoiding relatives, the descendants will not think so much."

What a good move of first praising and then criticizing. There is nothing wrong with it. The only problem is that Shi Xian himself attracted more hatred.

Liu Shi nodded after getting a satisfactory answer and said calmly: "I really didn't see this level, so I will do as you say."

"Replace someone else as the Imperial Censor."

Shi Xian said: "Your Majesty is wise."

Sure enough, at the subsequent court meeting, Liu Shi also rejected the recommendation of the ministers for this reason, and instead appointed Xu Ning's second son Xu Ming as the Imperial Censor.

The left general Feng Fengshi's face darkened. He seemed not to have expected this. Glancing at Shi Xian in front of him who had a meaningful look in his eyes, he immediately understood what was going on.

It turned out that this treacherous minister was responsible!
It is said that Zhongshu Ling Shi Xian was a sarcastic and mean person who took favors lightly and vengeful seriously. He always took revenge for the slightest grudge. He kept the memorial from Chen Xian and others in mind for many years, and only brought it up again to settle accounts after Wang Si died of illness.

"Your Majesty, the Holy Master Xu Gong once said that one should promote the virtuous without avoiding power, and the Grand Herald Feng Yewang is a well-deserved virtuous minister. I hope Your Majesty will think twice!"

Right Prime Minister Chen Dao stepped out eagerly and said that he did not like forming cliques, and it was a pity for him to speak for them.

Although Feng Yewang was a member of the Legalist School, he was indeed a man of integrity and uprightness, and was an excellent candidate for the Imperial Censor. He chose to recommend him for the sake of the Han Dynasty. There were not many capable ministers like him. Liu Shi glanced at the ministers and saw that Chen Dao's fear had dropped to the freezing point. This man was indeed not good at party disputes and was a capable minister who could govern the country.

So his tone was a little gentler: "What Prime Minister Chen said does make sense, but if I use my relatives, the whole world will criticize me."

"Of course, King Feng Ye is indeed a talented person. I will pay close attention to him and make a decision later."

"But Your Majesty..." Chen Dao was about to speak when he was interrupted by a sharp voice.

"Your Majesty, didn't you hear clearly what Prime Minister Chen said? For a minister to disobey the king is truly treasonous!"

The person who spoke was the second-in-command of the eunuch group, Hou Yuan. He was supported by Shi Xian and was in charge of the Secretariat with him. He was known as the "Grand Attendant" and was so powerful that no one dared to offend him. More than one minister died at his hands.

Like Shi Xian, he is notorious.

"You..." Chen Dao rolled up his sleeves and was ready to duel with him, and the minister next to him hurriedly pulled him down.

This prime minister has a really bad temper. He would start fighting if he disagreed with someone. He really embodied the essence of Gongyang Confucianism and his favorite thing was dueling.

"It's settled. I have made up my mind." Liu Shi made the final conclusion, leaving no room for further questioning.

Sometimes these eunuchs are really useful and can be called gold medal mouthpieces. Everything he cannot say or do can be left to these people.

"The position of Imperial Censor will be handed over to General Xu Ming, and the position of Left Prime Minister has been vacant for many years. I have already decided that the position will be held by Minister of Rites Xu Bo."

Liu Shi made a decision quickly, and what was shocking was that he actually chose two sons of the Xu family! He promoted people from the same family to the three highest positions!
You know, if you add Grand Marshal Xu Ning, the power of the Xu family will be so terrifying that it will be feared! There are three officials at the level of the Three Dukes! Add in the other Xu ministers in the court, it is simply too powerful.

I'm afraid that now its power has completely surpassed that of Xu Nan and Xu Ye! At that time, the Xu family was not so powerful.

What is your majesty trying to do? Are you out of your mind?

All kinds of doubts arose in the minds of the ministers. They really couldn't imagine that even if His Majesty wanted to entrust his son to someone else, it wouldn't be like this.

Xu Ning, who was oblivious to what was happening outside, unconsciously shifted his gaze over here. He did not expect that His Majesty would give such a big bargaining chip.

Does he have any other plans?

Xu Ning thought so. There is no free benefit in the world. The bargaining chip promised before was only the position of left prime minister. Since it has been increased now, there must be other intentions.

But unfortunately Liu Shi didn't want to explain anything more, and waved his hand: "Complete the handover within three days, without any mistakes, and adjourn the court."

Although the ministers had doubts in their hearts, they still bowed their heads in thanks.

Afterwards, Xu Ning, relying on his status as a general, bypassed the guards and came to the emperor's bedroom. He had to get to the bottom of these things. Emperor Xuan's previous act of abandoning him really left him with a psychological trauma.

Although the current crown prince is not worthy of being compared with Emperor Xuan.

Liu Shi seemed to have known the reason for the other party's visit, and said calmly: "Before, I thought that the prince only needed to face Confucian officials, and at most a legal official, but recently I found that it is far from that simple."

Xu Ning thought about it and seemed to understand what the other party was referring to.

"The Queen Wang is in good health and will definitely outlive me. The Crown Prince is a person who likes his relatives outside the family, so this will definitely cause problems."

Liu Shi's face was filled with worry. What he disliked most were his relatives by marriage, as he believed that this group of people were too risky. The most that Confucian officials wanted was to control the political power.

The relatives of the emperor's wife would definitely usurp the throne! If it weren't for the Grand Tutor Xu Zhen who remained calm in the face of danger, the relatives of the emperor's wife would have usurped the throne!
Now that the imperial power is showing signs of weakness, there is a possibility that new relatives will rise. He must prepare for a rainy day and add a layer of insurance, a layer of insurance that can check and balance the prince!

As for whether Xu would usurp power, he didn't know and had no way of knowing, but at least he was much more reliable than the others.

After all, the Xu family has been loyal ministers for generations, so they will more or less consider the impact.

"So, Your Majesty wants us to... restrict the Crown Prince? This is too far-fetched."

Xu Ning understood, but he was naturally very repulsive, because this clearly meant a competition between the Xu family and the new foreign relatives!

It is a taboo to get involved personally. The reason why the Xu family was able to stand firm before was because of this. They never interfered in the disputes in the world. Once they got involved, they would never be able to get out.

"Yes, I want you to assist the prince." Liu Shi gave an affirmative answer. He gave Xu great power to counter the foreign relatives who might appear in the future.

It is better to have no external relatives with monopolistic power, but if there are, they will not be completely powerless to fight back.

The power of Wang's maternal relatives, that is, the relatives of Queen Wang Zhengjun, is already very strong, and there is a fear that it will become too powerful to be eliminated.

But not everyone has the same awareness as Xu did back then.

"But Your Majesty, I'm afraid I can't take on this responsibility." Xu Ning was extremely unwilling. What he wanted to do was to support others, whether eunuchs or Confucian officials, so that he wouldn't be the one to go.

"You are the only one I can trust, General."

Liu Shi still insisted. He stood up and took a jade pendant from the side: "This is a gift from my father. It is the precious jade that Emperor Gao carried with him in the past. I am giving it to you now."

"This..." Xu Ning fell silent upon seeing this. He remembered the instructions from his father and grandfather. They could not give up on the Han Dynasty!

This emotional card was quite useful. He wavered, took back the jade pendant, and said helplessly: "I will do my best and will certainly assist the prince."

Hearing this, Liu Shi finally smiled. He was happy but also a little sad. Since when did being conferred the title of one of the Three Dukes become a punishment?

The Liu family has not yet reached the end of their rope!
Maybe it will be soon. What Liu Shi is most worried about is the crown prince. The crown prince's ability is not bad, but his attitude is very bad. He is addicted to pleasure and there is no guarantee that he will not lose his power.

It would be fine if eunuchs were used, but they are relatives by marriage.

After that, the emperor began to deliberately promote Xu's children, exclude the eunuchs' power, and build momentum for the prince's future, which has been quite effective.

At the same time, Liu Shi's health became worse and worse, and he was bedridden for many years.

Fortunately, Xu Bo, Chen Nian and others were still there and did not affect the handling of state affairs, but all the ministers knew that His Majesty would not live long.

At the beginning of the second year of Jingning, Liu Shi died of illness in the Weiyang Palace.

(End of this chapter)