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

Chapter 108: Five Marquises in One Day, Wang's Dictatorship
Xu Min pondered for a moment, then nodded: "I understand, I will leave for Qinghe to take up my post later."

"Go ahead. Remember, if you really fail, be honest. Things are far from over. We are different from the Wang family. We have a solid foundation. As long as we don't lose our power in Qinghe, we can still make a comeback!"

Although Xu Ming had made up his mind, he still wanted to leave a way out for himself. After all, the hundreds of years of hard work of the Xu family could not be ruined by him.

The influence of the Henan main vein in the court is still enormous. As long as Xu Bo remains one of the Three Dukes, they still have a chance to make a comeback!
At present, the only family in the Han Dynasty that can be called an aristocratic family is the Xu family, which has almost monopolized power both in the court and in other places!
The powerful forces in Qinghe are more or less related to them. The two Xu have always been the leaders of powerful forces, and their resources and influence are extremely terrifying. Even if they withdraw from Chang'an, they still have considerable power in the local area.

Therefore, as long as we retreat to Qinghe, these guys will not dare to kill us all, and Henan will become even stronger. The title of Jinghou is representative and key.

Emperor Wu once issued an imperial decree that the fief of Marquis Jing would never be reduced or revoked, and his descendants rarely disobeyed it.

It can be said that this title is no longer a title, but a symbol, symbolizing many forces such as the Imperial Academy and meritorious officials. Once it is moved, a chain reaction will occur.

The court usually retains at least the position of Nine Ministers to give some face to ancestors such as Xu Zhen and Xu Gong.

The foundation is far beyond the reach of the branches, which is why Xu Zhen has always been willing to simply protect the Liu family. They are already deeply bound to the Han Dynasty.

As long as the Han Dynasty survives, the family will always have a place, the family's influence in the central government will continue, and Xu Zhen will not be judged as a failure.

This was the experience he had summed up in the previous eight generations. It was difficult to have real protection if one broke away from the Han Dynasty, but it was different if one continued to support and continue the Han Dynasty. Although it would be destroyed later, the Xu family had already done their utmost.

By then, future monarchs would have more trust in him. Xu Zhen also chose a very good time to establish himself, which was the period when the Mongols rose. It was a legitimate time for him to ascend the throne.

He is not afraid of his image collapsing and being criticized by the world. He really kills two birds with one stone.

After a while, the emperor's edict came down, appointing Xu Min as the prefect of Qinghe and asking him to take up the post immediately.

This time Wang Feng did not stop them, because he couldn't stop them at all. Qinghe... or even Jizhou had always belonged to the Xu family. What was the point of him stopping them?

The only thing they can do is to make it more legitimate.

By the way, the governor of Jizhou also had the surname Xu and was the youngest son of Xu Nan. Most of the officials such as the prefect, county magistrate, and county magistrate were also disciples of the Xu family.

The force is extremely terrifying.

The second most powerful family in the Han Dynasty is not just a boast.

Three days after Xu Min left the capital, Wang Feng appointed Xu Bo's second son as the governor of Jingzhou and the general of Zhennan, and he set off half a month later.

This is a gesture of goodwill, telling Henan Xu that he does not want to fight to the death.

Xu Bo did not refuse these benefits and accepted them all. On the other side, Xu Ming was also constantly countering the power of the Wang family. The two families were busy with their own things and did not interfere with each other.

In the third year of Heping, King Feng Ye was falsely accused of corruption and transferred to the Secretariat for handling. The whole world was shocked for a time. It was obvious why this highly respected relative was suddenly imprisoned.

It seems that the Wang family is still taking action.

By now the power of the Wang family's in-laws had become terrifyingly strong. In the second year of Heping, Liu Ao appointed several of Wang Feng's brothers as marquises: Wang Tan as Marquis of Ping'a, Wang Shang as Marquis of Chengdu, Wang Li as Marquis of Hongyang, Wang Gen as Marquis of Quyang, and Wang Fengshi as Marquis of Gaoping. The whole world sighed, and this is the famous "five marquises in one day".

After this incident, the power of the foreign relatives increased greatly, and the situation of Wang's dictatorship was immediately formed.

Although the five marquises were not united and their subordinates and retainers attacked each other, they followed the lead of their eldest brother Wang Feng and were still unable to check the Wang family's expanding power.

On the other hand, Xu Ming's situation was not going well. He had lost his position as the Chief Censor and was replaced by Liu Aoqian as the General of the Front, leaving him with very little real power.

The family's power gradually concentrated in local areas and border areas. Anyone with a discerning eye knew that the defeat of the Xu family and the Wang family's monopoly of power were almost inevitable.

No matter who comes, it will be useless. Unless Gaozu is possessed, he cannot be suppressed at all.

The imperial court held a meeting to discuss the case of Feng Yewang's bribery. After all, he was one of the Nine Ministers of the dynasty, the brother of the highly respected Zhaoyi, and a favorite of the former Emperor Yuan.

"Your Majesty, I think the bribery is a blatant slander! King Feng Ye's talent and virtue are obvious to all. How could he do such a shameful thing?"

"Besides, this case is too bizarre. Could it be that the general could execute one of the Nine Ministers with just one word? If that is true, then what is the surname of the people in the world? Is it Wang or Liu?"

Of course, the attitude of former general Xu Ming was very decisive, which was to confront Wang to the end, not to mention that this was a slander in the first place.

In the Han Dynasty, officials actually had no need to engage in corruption, as their own land was enough for them to squander.

Especially the Xu family in Henan, who are rich enough to rival a country and have accumulated billions of wealth. Their wealth is the most astonishing. Shi Xian had amassed wealth for decades but had never accumulated to such an extent.

Liu Ao was silent. The situation was no longer under his control. Did he really think he was willing to create a situation where five marquises were created in one day? He had no choice.

Wang Feng has so much power that he can even force him to make decisions.

"General Chen is wrong. The Minister has already prepared all the evidence for impeachment. The evidence is irrefutable and cannot be trusted. Even a saint can be possessed by evil spirits, let alone him."

"If we don't deal with it, where will the reputation of our Han Dynasty be? Where will the reputation of Your Majesty be?"

Wang Feng spoke righteously, as if he were a loyal minister.

This was indeed planned by him. His goal was to completely isolate Xu Ming and then take action when he was the only one left.

We cannot deal with the Xu family the same way we deal with other people. Frame-up is useless. There are countless great scholars and wise men in the Imperial Academy waiting to debate the scriptures. In the face of such turbulent public opinion, even the powerful general Sima cannot ignore it.

The best way is to gradually marginalize him and let him resign on his own. This way the impact can be minimized. Confucianism cares a lot about this kind of thing.

“Hehehe…” Xu Ming sneered and said calmly: “My ancestor, the Saint Master Xu Gong, once said that any official or noble who commits a crime cannot be hastily convicted unless it is treason or rebellion.”

"So that's inappropriate."

Wang Feng frowned and said in a deep voice: "When did the Holy Master say such a thing? Please don't make up such a thing!"

He had memorized all the Saint Master's scriptures by heart, but had never seen this sentence before. It was impossible for the Saint Master to say a sentence with such a high referential nature.

How shameless! They can even make up such words!
"My family has ancestral teachings. How can it be that our ancestors can't even leave a warning for future generations?"

Xu Ming used the most shameless method. After all, who could remember what Xu Gong said during his lifetime? On the contrary, the talk of his descendants was more credible.

The Imperial Academy recognized this statement, and Xu Ye had used this method to persuade Emperor Kang before.

Emperor Kang Liu Ju had no room for rebuttal and could only reflect on himself and make changes.

"You...you..." Wang Feng, a devout follower of Saint Master Xu Gong, could no longer hold it in. It was the first time in many years that he showed such an expression, which looked as ugly as if he had eaten shit.

He had no way of talking back!
Once the Imperial College approves this kind of words, there is nothing that can be done. In this era, Xu Gong's influence is very terrifying. Almost what he says is an oracle, it is the law! Even if you refute it, you can't completely reject it. At most, you can change part of it, otherwise you will be scolded by the students of the Imperial College.

If even being an official is not stable, then being an emperor is not safe either. This is another way to limit imperial power after the interaction between heaven and man.

"Well, since Old Marquis Jing has said so, we can let this matter go."

Liu Ao was secretly delighted. As expected, the only person who could deal with this guy Wang Feng was a dead person. For Confucianists, opposing Xu Gong was a taboo.

They have used this method many times before to make profits for themselves, so it is normal to be hit back now.

"Well, in this case, I agree to pardon King Feng Ye's death sentence." Wang Feng was really out of temper. What else could he do?

"Of course, the fact of the crime is there. Although the death penalty can be avoided, the punishment of life cannot be avoided. I request that he be demoted to the governor of Langya and go to the local area to atone for his sins."

Since we can't kill him, we can only settle for the next best thing. As long as we drive him out of Chang'an and prevent him from helping Xu Ming, it would be acceptable.

By then, this guy will be isolated and helpless, and will have to resign sooner or later. Without this stumbling block, it will be quite easy for him to take control of the government.

"I'll do as the general says." Liu Ao nodded silently. This was the best outcome.

Wang Fengrang's move is truly unprecedented.

"Your Majesty, now that this matter has been resolved, I have something else to mention." Xu Ming went on to say that he was going to fight to the death, otherwise he would definitely be ostracized in the future.

It will be useless to resist by then.

A former general at least has the power to assist in government administration, but once he is given a nominal position in a small corner, he will have no say at all.

"speak."

"Your Majesty, this great general Wang Feng is not worthy of his title! He has not taken on the responsibility of governing the country at all! There are millions of refugees in Guanzhong, and peasant uprisings are extremely frequent. This predicament is all caused by Wang Feng."

"In order for the Han Dynasty to continue, I request that Wang Feng be transferred to the position of General of Chariots and Cavalry. The position of the general can be temporarily suspended, and the power can be divided and distributed to the prime minister and the general in turn."

"This way, Your Majesty can also understand who is the truly loyal minister."

Xu Ming planned to cut off the source of the trouble! But he made a mistake, which was to overestimate the power in the hands of the emperor!
It is not so easy to remove Wang Feng from his official position. If there really was a reason, he would have done it long ago. Why would he have to wait until now when he has become too powerful to be removed?

"Your Majesty, you must not do this!"

"Your Majesty, this situation is the result of the long-standing illness of our Han Dynasty. The general has made many efforts. If it weren't for the general, my Han Dynasty would have followed the same path as the tyrannical Qin Dynasty!"

"Yes, Your Majesty, if you depose the general at this critical moment, the people of the world will be disheartened!"

As expected, these words aroused fierce opposition from the ministers.

This was what Liu Ao was worried about. The Wang family had infiltrated the imperial court too deeply. From the nine ministers to the local governors and county magistrates, almost all of them were from the Wang family.

The five marquises were fighting each other, but Wang Feng was actually the leader.

Liu Ao closed his eyes. Why did he have to attend this court meeting? Wasn't his male favorite not good enough? He had to come to this meeting to get angry. He was completely isolated and helpless.

After Wang Feng's plot was made, almost all the ministers went against him. How could the court meeting continue?

The only ones who did not belong to Wang Feng were the neutral faction headed by Xu Bo, but unfortunately the neutral faction was low-key and would pretend not to hear anything unless it was something major that shook the foundation of the country.

Liu Ao is completely useless.

Alas... Is it possible that the Han Dynasty's hundreds of years of foundation will be destroyed in my own hands? I can't accept this...

Seeing the ministers' violent reactions, Xu Bo retreated in despair. Has the imperial power really fallen to this point?

The culprit, Wang Feng, smiled and said, "If Your Majesty really wants to do so, I can resign immediately if Your Majesty has a suitable replacement."

This is a bit threatening. No one except me is qualified for this position. You can see that the ministers will not agree.

"No, no, they are right. The general is the pillar of the country, and I am Xu Zifu. Why should I retreat?"

Liu Ao also immediately backed down. At this point, was there any room for him to refuse?

Xu Ming had his eyes closed, and no one knew what he was thinking about. His back looked quite lonely and desolate.

.........

This time Feng Yewang's life was saved, but at the same time he was expelled from the capital and demoted to the position of governor of Langya in Xuzhou.

This means he has almost no chance of returning to the court.

Xu Ming's actions also began to gradually slow down. It was not that he gave up, but that the power in his hands was getting less and less. Those people turned to Wang Feng or the Five Marquises in order to seek better development.

The last resisters gave up, and the Wang family's relatives successfully replaced the Xu family, dominating the court, and no one dared to challenge them.

Even the emperor had to make concessions.

Liu Ao also just gave up and took his beloved male favorite Zhang Fang out for eating, drinking and having fun, spending money lavishly, looking like a despotic ruler.

When Empress Dowager Wang Zhengjun learned about this, she was very angry. She then joined forces with Wang Feng, Wang Gen and others to exile Zhang Fang from the capital on the charge of "groundless" crimes. However, the emperor was still very reluctant to part with him and repeatedly summoned him back.

At the same time, in order to better exert his power and suppress Xu Bo, Wang Feng promoted the famous "Suihe Reform" by Xu, dispersing the powers of the three officials, which was actually to weaken the power of the prime minister and let the three officials have their own division of labor.

This had a great impact on Xu Bo. The areas he could manage became fewer and fewer, while the power of Wang's in-laws grew stronger and stronger.

In the first year of Yangshuo, former general Xu Ming resigned and returned to his hometown. The power of the Qinghe Xu family in Chang'an was unified and liquidated and they were demoted to local areas.

He also thought it through. His teammates were too useless, so he just left everything to time. With his brother Xu Bo supporting him, he didn't need to worry too much.

It is also a good choice to retreat to the local level and manage the grassroots well.

At the same time, the imperial court also issued an edict, ordering Xu Ming's third son to be the governor of Dongjun, which was intended to appease and warn Xu Ming to face reality.

(End of this chapter)