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

Chapter 114 Forced to Abdicate

Liu Ao believed the slander and ordered the death of Chen Nian, who was deeply loved by the people and had many students all over the world. This aroused public anger, among which the forces in the Imperial Academy were the most radical.

The chief doctor of the Confucian Academy led 1,800 Confucian scholars to take to the streets, with blood smeared on their faces, wearing blue shirts, and marching passionately. The marchers started from the Fu'ang Gate and went straight to the gate of the imperial palace without any obstruction.

They had only one goal, which was to force the emperor to abdicate and enthrone Crown Prince Liu Xin to the throne, thus realizing the Confucian scholars' dream of reform.

The reason for the existence of Taixue was to train talents for the Han Dynasty, but as time went on, Confucian scholars continued to interpret and extend the teachings of the sage master Xu Gong, and took it as their mission to save the world.

When the Huns attacked the pass, five hundred radical Confucian scholars from Shangdang County picked up their swords, climbed on their horses, and defeated more than two thousand Hun cavalrymen. They were extremely brave and powerful.

After Chen Nian's tragic death, the Confucian scholars chose to purge the court by forcing the emperor to abdicate!
It can be said that today's Confucianists are even more rigid than Legalists. They will take up arms and fight if they disagree with someone. In essence, there is no fence-sitter. Only if your political views are the same as theirs, then Confucian scholars will be their most staunch supporters.

Confucianism was also the basic foundation for Wang Mang's usurpation of the Han Dynasty.

Jinghou Mansion.

Xu Bo, with graying temples, should have been reviewing government documents as usual, but at this moment he stared at the bamboo slips in his hands for a long time and couldn't calm down.

His expression was complicated, his hands were shaking, and I didn't know what he was thinking.

"Alas... Chen Nian, Chen Nian, why are you doing this? His Majesty wants you to die, but do you deserve to die?"

Xu Bo put down the bamboo slips, his eyes were dazed. He didn’t understand why the situation had turned out like this. Where had the once prosperous Liu family gone?

Although he had not experienced the glorious Kangxi and Xuande eras, he had heard from his uncle Xu Ning more than once that the administration was clean and honest in that era, and the grain in the central and local government treasuries was almost rotten. There had been no disasters for decades, and every household had surplus food.

I'm afraid it is second only to the reign of Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing.

But what about now? Although Shi Xian had amassed a lot of wealth during the reign of Emperor Yuan, that was all he did. He could also see that Emperor Yuan was working hard to maintain the authority of the Liu family.

He lacks ability, but his spirit is commendable. He is a mediocre king, but he cannot be considered a tyrant.

Your Majesty was a typical example of being incompetent and not knowing how to work hard. When faced with setbacks, he became lazy and indulged in pleasure. He doted on the sisters Zhao Feiyan and Zhao Hede, and built large-scale projects, ignoring the famine in Guanzhong and Henan.

Sometimes Xu Bo would wonder if it would be a different emperor if Han Dynasty would not be like this. He also wondered if his uncle would regret it if he were still alive today.

Xu Bo put down the last public security policy left by Chen Nian, closed his eyes, which gradually became moist, and a tear quietly slid down.

Of course he would be sad about the death of his subordinates, allies, and old friends of many years. He is the only knowledgeable person in the Han Dynasty.

Without his efforts, the situation would probably be even worse. When it comes to governing the country, Xu Bo feels inferior to him, as this man has inherited the true skills of Wang Si.

Sometimes he missed Wang Si quite a bit. This great scholar was only fighting for power. He never sought personal gain nor did he condone his subordinates in doing so. On the contrary, he made integrity an essential quality for officials and indulged in crazy involution.

Because he had no intention of controlling the government, Emperor Yuan's measures were so effective. In fact, it was not just because of Shi Xian's superb skills.

"The imperial edict from His Majesty Prime Minister Xu has arrived." A servant waiting outside the door said respectfully.

Xu Bo came out of his sadness, wiped the tears from his cheeks quietly, and said lightly: "Bring up the imperial edict."

He does not need to stand up to listen to the order. This is a privilege. Wang Feng also has this power. Xu Bo is not comparable to Chen Nian in terms of political power or influence in the Imperial Academy.

The heads of the Xu family in Henan have always had a very high status in the Imperial College, which was also due to the influence of Xu Gong in the past. The only great Confucian scholars who could be compared with them were only a few people such as Wang Si and Li Ke in the past hundred years.

As he always controlled the Imperial College, he was naturally invincible.

"The traitors in the Confucian Academy are rebelling, intending to rebel against the emperor. This is truly treasonous and against the will of heaven. The general is ill, local government orders are not being implemented, the country is in danger, and I am about to die. I hope that Prime Minister Xu will speak out as soon as possible to save the Han Dynasty."

The eunuch read out the contents of the imperial edict, which roughly meant asking for help. The marching Confucian scholars were about to reach the palace, and neither the northern or southern imperial guards nor the security forces along the way dared to stop them.

This kind of thing will really be infamous for thousands of years, so all officials know that if you offend the Imperial College, you will definitely suffer the consequences. The part of the Confucian Academy that is responsible for approving the documents is still the central officials.

Then no one would dare to intervene.

"Your Majesty wants me to stop the Confucian scholars from marching. You really think highly of me." Xu Bo smiled, and people couldn't figure out whether he was being sarcastic or sighing.

"Wang Feng is afraid of being recorded in history books, but am I not afraid? When those people get angry, no one can stop them unless their parents or their ancestor Xu Gong is here."

He shook his head silently. The eunuch who read the imperial edict was a little surprised for a moment. You know, Prime Minister Xu had to clean up the emperor's mess for so many years.

Originally, the parade was about to begin when Liu Ao strangled his own son to death, but was stopped by Xu Bo, who used his status as the Imperial Academy Master.

Everyone thought that he would continue to take action, and the Confucian Academy was also afraid of this, so they tried to speed up the pace, but they didn't expect that he would refuse!

The Xu family has always been a loyal ally of the royal family.

"Then...So what Prime Minister Xu means is that he can't help?" the eunuch asked bravely. He had to go back without an explanation.

Xu Bo glanced at him and thought of the same question, so he patiently said, "I can't persuade you. I really have limited ability. Besides, I'm old and have caught a cold recently. I really can't move."

It's a cold again... Did all of you high-ranking officials catch a cold on the same day?

The corners of the young eunuch's mouth twitched. He had been to many places in the past few days, and each time he went to the same place with the same excuse: catching a cold, and not even changing his clothes.

"Yes, I will convey it truthfully." He nodded and prepared to leave.

"Wait." Xu Bo stopped him.

"Do you have any other instructions?" The eunuch's tone was somewhat expectant. It seemed that Prime Minister Xu finally softened his heart.

Sure enough, the Xu family will always be the Xu family.

"Tell His Majesty that if he still wants to retain some dignity, then he should abdicate and let the throne be given to the Crown Prince. Maybe it will sound better in the history books, and he can have a good ending."

"Don't let him be driven off the throne and become a laughing stock for all eternity. After all, he is a descendant of Emperor Gao, and the Han Dynasty cannot afford to lose him."

Xu Bo's tone was somewhat heartless, he didn't plan to continue protecting this Majesty, he had to pay for the sins he had committed!

He should have thought of this the moment he ordered Chen Nian's death, in other words, the moment he doted on the Zhao sisters and started to throw away everything.

Now the Han Dynasty is in turmoil. What the world needs is a heroic ruler like Emperor Xuan and Emperor Kang, rather than a mediocre one. Incompetence is the original sin. Since you are in this position, you must take some risks.

Being pulled down by Confucian scholars is the first risk. This kind of situation will still occur in later generations because the Imperial College system has been fundamentally preserved.

Perhaps the right to approve red documents would be abolished in some dynasties, but its actual influence on public opinion would never change, because the rulers found that the Imperial College system had more advantages than disadvantages, and they would desperately protect it until they were completely disappointed with a regime.

Now the Confucian scholars have not lost hope in the Han Dynasty. They believe that everything is due to Liu Ao's inaction. As long as the new emperor Liu Xin succeeds to the throne, everything can be overturned. Unfortunately, they are still too idealistic. Given the current situation of the Han Dynasty, it is difficult to change from top to bottom. The simplest and crudest way is to directly overturn the table and change the land structure.

In other words, a change of dynasty, a thorough change of dynasty, must be decided by the fighting among the princes, not by a coup d'état, otherwise nothing can be changed.

"Yes, yes, I understand." The eunuch swallowed his saliva. It was the first time he saw Prime Minister Xu be so heartless.

In the past, Xu Bo was known for his easygoing nature and he was always smiling about everything, even when he was strife with Wang Feng in the court. It seemed as if he was not troubled by anything, and he had inherited his grandfather Xu Ye's true skills.

But this time he seemed really angry, very, very angry! To the point of saying such outrageous words.

"Your Majesty... please take care of yourself. This situation is at least 40% due to you. I hope you can get through this difficult time and things will change a little bit."

Xu Bo watched the eunuch's departing back, muttering to himself.

This situation is not unsolvable. The Confucian scholars do not want to rebel. In their minds, rebellion is absolutely unacceptable.

The original intention of being so radical was to get an explanation for Chen Nian. If he personally went outside the palace to greet the parade troops, made a confession of guilt in front of many doctors, sincerely repented, and promised to make corresponding changes.

Then the Confucian scholars will most likely give up and enjoy this big pie.

Unfortunately, Liu Ao would not do such a shameful thing.

.........

Outside the palace.

The Confucian scholars, as dense as mountains and seas, marched forward in an organized manner, arranged in a very neat row, and divided into several teams, each led by their own teacher.

They carried no weapons and wore no armor. Among the more than 1,800 people, only the chief doctor Li Nianzhao wore soft armor.

They crossed most of Chang'an, and whenever they encountered Han troops blocking their way, they stood still without resistance, baring their chests, shouting slogans such as "Petition for the Country", and allowed themselves to be killed.

In the end, no one dared to stop them, and the corresponding officers chose to let them go. It was simply beyond their ability to stop them.

Even General Wang Feng cannot bear this responsibility, let alone others.

At the same time, the General's Mansion also issued an edict, requiring everyone not to stop them. If the Confucian scholars collectively encountered trouble, he, Wang Feng, would be the primary person responsible. After all, he was the general who controlled the army. Who else could he blame but him?

The pen of a writer is the sharpest chisel!

"Brother Li, this is the imperial palace."

The scholar pointed at the magnificent gate of the imperial palace and spoke slowly.

The Han Dynasty's imperial palace was quite simple at the beginning. The treasury was empty during the reign of Emperor Liu Bang, so it was just casually renovated. Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing were also very frugal and only renovated the Weiyang Palace. There were very few new palaces, which were almost negligible.

During the reign of Emperor Wu, the imperial palace underwent a renovation. Liu Che built a lot of buildings, which were no less expensive than those of previous emperors, and even better. However, the country was wealthy at that time, and with Xu Gong's support, it was not a big deal.

During the reign of Liu Ao, the palace was renovated again and civil engineering work was done, which cost a huge amount of money. So at that time, even the palace gate gave people the feeling of being blocked by one man and ten thousand men unable to open it.

The palace guards had also been withdrawn early, which meant that the only armed forces the emperor could use were some imperial guards and armed eunuchs.

To be honest, if these Confucian scholars were given weapons, they might not be able to win in a head-on fight.

The great scholars in the Confucian Academy are all proficient in the art of war, and Li Nianzhao is the master of it all. He followed Xu Ning in battles in his early years and has quite a lot of experience.

"Alas... what a foolish emperor! The people of the world are starving, but he still has spare money to repair the palace gates. This is the blood and sweat of the people."

Li Nianzhao felt a little shocked because the palace was obviously more magnificent than the last time he came.

In other words, Liu Ao spent a lot of money later.

"Hmph, it is better for such a tyrant to abdicate and let wise men take over as soon as possible. Even if I have to sacrifice my old bones and be infamous for eternity, I will still bring him down from his throne!" said a great scholar viciously.

Li Nianzhao turned around and said solemnly, "Everyone, what awaits us once we step through this door is endless sin and infamy, and even death is not impossible."

"But as disciples of the Holy Master, we must not retreat! We must not live in disgrace, otherwise how can we face him underground?"

"Should we tell him that the Han Dynasty is completely hopeless, the people can't even survive, corpses are everywhere, and the emperor is greedy for pleasure and squandering money?"

"Save the country!"

"Save the country!"

The Confucian scholars shouted in unison, their voices shaking the sky, as if even the earth was shaking.

Li Nianzhao took out the handwritten letter that Xu Bo had just sent back, "This is the news that Xu Xiang, the Imperial Academy Master, has brought back."

"He didn't tell us to stop like he did last time. He only said one sentence!"

"Don't let the emperor get hurt. The emperor also has dignity!"

This sentence has already made Xu Bo's meaning clear. I won't stop you from asking Emperor Liu Ao to abdicate, but he is the emperor of the Han Dynasty after all, the eldest son of Emperor Yuan, so he should at least retain some dignity.

You must not kill the king!

This is already a huge concession.

Everyone felt encouraged after hearing this, but unexpectedly even Prime Minister Xu couldn't stand it anymore.

"Enter the palace!" Li Nianzhao waved his hand.

More than a thousand Confucian scholars holding torches and shouting slogans entered the palace in a mighty manner.

The Royal Guards along the way did not block them, but made way for them.

By the time they arrived outside the gate of Weiyang Palace, Liu Ao, the emperor, had already taken off his majestic dragon robe, and was holding the imperial seal in his hand, his face as pale as death.

Faced with the surging public opinion, even if he was the emperor, he had no choice but to give in and choose to abdicate and become the emperor emeritus, which was more decent.

Behind him were two peerless concubines, Zhao Feiyan and Zhao Hede!

At this time, the expressions of the two were very subtle and a little depressed, but not as serious as Liu Ao's.

(End of this chapter)