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

Chapter 116: Wang Gen is appointed as the general, Liu Ao dies
These three people are also the three most important people in the Han Dynasty!
Wang Zhengjun and Wang Feng were the leaders of the Wang family's in-laws' forces. One held the central military power and controlled the government, and the other was Emperor Yuan's wife. She should have been the Empress Dowager. The Han Dynasty ruled the world with loyalty and filial piety, and she symbolized filial piety!
Unless there is a change of dynasty, Wang Zhengjun's voice will never be clear. In addition, with the power of the Wang family behind her, her status is definitely higher than imagined. For example, Zhang Fang, who had an affair with Liu Ao, was ordered to be exiled by Wang Zhengjun. He is no less powerful than Dou Yifang in the past.

Not to mention the Xu family, a long-established family with great achievements. Their influence spread all over the place, and they also enjoyed the highest reputation in the entire Han Dynasty!

This is the value of the Saint Master's family. As long as Xu Gong is still sought after by the Imperial College, the status of the Xu family will not be too low, and it may even be higher than that of the Kong family!

Xu Gong is equivalent to the teacher of all the students in the world. Confucius is very jealous of the ancient sages, but his place is far inferior to Xu's.

After the emperor abdicated, Wang Feng acted decisively and sent his nephew, Wang Mang, who was the Shizhong, to welcome him.

"I pay my respects to the Crown Prince and ask him to go to the Weiyang Palace and ascend the throne. The country cannot be without a ruler for a day."

Wang Mang said this very humbly. I'm afraid no one would have thought that such a loyal and honest person would actually usurp the throne.

You really can't judge a person by his appearance.

Liu Xin also had a good impression of this humble minister. After all, he would be his close minister in the future, so he nodded and said, "I understand. Lead the way."

The elite royal guards wearing armor and holding spears are leading the way. The momentum of the crown prince's ascension to the throne must not be bad.

Soon, the team arrived at the Weiyang Palace. At this time, the central imperial guards had taken over, and countless armored soldiers stood there, representing the supreme imperial power.

The prince looked at the long stairs and took a deep breath. The supreme power in the world would finally be in his hands. This was the chair that countless people had clamored to sit on!
"I will definitely change the current situation, take back power from the Wang family, rebuild the country, and restore the prosperity of the Kang and Xuan eras!"

He was determined in his heart and knew very well his enemies and allies.

The Wang family relatives who controlled the government were of course the primary target of the confrontation, and the Xu family was his most loyal helper! In the past two hundred years, no Liu family member would doubt his loyalty.

In times of crisis, you can definitely use it with confidence.

"Your Majesty, long live the Emperor!"

Liu Xin officially ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor, changing the era name to Jianping. Because the previous emperor was not yet dead, the worship of the emperor could be temporarily omitted and he only needed to go to the Jinjie Gaozu Temple.

Empress Dowager Wang Zhengjun sat behind the curtain, watching everything in front of her with her cloudy eyes. Her own son was forced to abdicate, so she must be in a bad mood.

At the forefront of the court officials were Wang Feng and Xu Bo.

Wang Feng's health was very poor. He had difficulty even standing up and needed to sit in a sedan chair all the time. He would die at most in a year.

Xu Bo looked much better than him. He was supported by servants, with his head held high, looking very stubborn.

"Please take a seat, everyone. I have just ascended the throne, and I will need your support in the future." Liu Xin had a smile on his face, and he was far from realizing how hot this dragon robe was.

His hand was still stroking the imperial seal, immersed in the joy of being the emperor.

After that, Liu Xin issued an edict of amnesty for the whole country, and also routinely promoted a number of officials and demoted a number of officials. This was almost a routine, and it was considered a combination of kindness and severity.

It was originally intended to intimidate the ministers, but now it has become a means to exclude dissidents. Wang's party reported Xu's party, and Xu's party reported Wang's party. However, the emperor still had selfish motives and only touched a few unimportant official positions of the Xu family.

On the contrary, the Wang family, Grand Marshal Wang Jia was dismissed from his post, but it had no impact at all. The most core general positions were still under their control, and the core of the imperial guards was still the Wang family.

"Your Majesty, I would like to recommend someone to serve as the vacant Minister of Agriculture. I hope Your Majesty will agree."

After promoting those unimportant people, it’s time to move on to the highlight, which is the person who will inherit the power of the two families!

There is no doubt that the Xu family's eldest son Xu Hua and the second son Xu Zhong are still far away in Nanyang, so they naturally cannot come to the central government. Now their roots are in the local area, that is, the Nanyang and Runan areas.

It is absolutely necessary to appoint trustworthy talents. Jizhou is the territory of Qinghe Xu, but it is well known that the two Xus have always been of one mind even when the external conditions are severe.

Now that the Wang family is facing this great enemy, it is naturally impossible for them to fight among themselves first! Qinghe prefect Xu Min is also constantly providing blood transfusions to Henan Xu in the central government, providing people, money, and food, and actively responding to almost everything.

"Who?" Liu Xin had a smile on his face.

"My ancestor Xu Gong once said that one should not avoid relatives when selecting talents. My eldest son Xu Hua can be the Minister of Agriculture. I believe he will live up to your majesty's expectations and do a good job."

"Hua Ersuo was in charge of the disaster relief in Guanzhong before, and the late emperor praised him highly."

"Well... since Prime Minister Xu has said so, I can't refuse. But it would be a waste of talent for such a person to be only the Minister of Agriculture. So, he can be the Left Prime Minister, which is just vacant."

Liu Xin had always been inclined towards the Xu family, so he decided to burn his bridges and hand over all the power to the Xu family!

Even so, it still cannot shake the Wang family's power in the central government. Military power is the most powerful power among all powers. As long as the Wang family holds on to this thing, they will never have to be afraid.

The general back then was Xu Ning, and that was also the most prosperous period for the Xu family since Xu Ye and Xu Nan. He held great power, and neither the Confucian party nor the eunuch party dared to offend him easily.

They are all trying hard to win over and avoid each other.

"I thank Your Majesty on behalf of my son." Xu Bo was delighted.

That’s great. His Majesty can see the situation clearly. He does not intend to allow the Wang family’s power to continue to expand. He plans to support others to check and balance it.

In fact, although the Wang family held all the power, they were not qualified to usurp the throne. At most, they could be a powerful official. Sooner or later, they would decline. At that time, the main reason for the demise of the Han Dynasty would probably be the peasant uprising.

At the same time, the sacredness of the Han Dynasty would be greatly reduced and would be far from reaching the level of later generations.

The one who really had the capital to usurp the throne was Wang Mang! He had something that none of the so-called Wang family members, including Wang Feng himself, had, and that was a reputation that was unrivaled!

He later gained the support of great scholars in the Imperial Academy and Confucian scholars all over the world, and all major classes acquiesced in the change of dynasty.

From ministers and nobles to landlords and common people, everyone believed that Wang Mang was the savior of the world! He could change this precarious situation, which was the reform that Confucian scholars longed for!
They hope to save the country in this way.

It’s a pity that Wang Mang was the same as Liu Xin, or even worse, which caused the emotions of Confucian scholars and the people to change from support to disappointment and even anger.

He reversed history and restored the well-field system, which is the famous retro reform. This system that was out of touch with the times immediately turned the whole world into a mess.

The common people were living in poverty, the landlords' land wealth was violently seized by the court, the fiefs of meritorious officials were reduced, and the hopes of Confucian scholars were shattered.

This led to Wang Mang being completely abandoned by all classes in the world. He was not supported by the literati, loved by the common people, and supported by the landlords. Fierce peasant uprisings broke out, and everyone began to miss the rule of the Liu family.

The reign of Emperors Wen and Jing and the prosperous era of Kangxi and Xuande once again entered people's hearts through word of mouth, and the Liu family only then became truly sacred.

Later, Liu Xiu wiped out Tiansheng and established the Eastern Han Dynasty, which lasted another two hundred years. During the four hundred years of the Han Dynasty, the Liu family's legitimacy was deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. It was even used more than two thousand years later, when there was still a government in Sichuan under the banner of the Han Dynasty.

Strictly speaking, Wang Mang's betrayal by his friends and relatives is very important. Without comparison, there is no harm. If it weren't for this worse contrast, Liu would not have been remembered for a hundred years. "Your Majesty, I have something to tell you." Wang Feng on the sedan chair also spoke. At this time, he was seriously ill and spoke weakly.

"General, please speak quickly and take care of yourself. The Han Dynasty cannot do without you, and neither can I." Liu Xin's face revealed a happy expression intentionally or unintentionally.

He was happier than anyone else that Wang Feng was seriously ill. After all, this was a good opportunity to regain power! Wang Gen's ability was far inferior to his brother's.

This is a great opportunity to take back the government that has been in power for many years. If successful, perhaps the Han Dynasty can prosper again.

Unfortunately, he never expected that after sending away Wang Feng, an even more difficult Wang Mang came, whose strong personal prestige made up for the last shortcoming.

That's the lack of fame.

"I am old now and no longer have the extra energy to handle state affairs, so I plan to give the title of Grand Marshal and General to someone else." Wang Feng coughed a few more times.

My health is getting worse and worse, so I have to decide on an heir first.

Wang Gen was his best choice. After all, he was already the Grand Marshal and had enough power base so that he would not be defeated by the emperor so quickly.

Moreover, he has already prepared a way out. The younger generation named Wang Mang is undoubtedly very capable.

"Alas... I can't bear to leave you, General, but if you insist, there is nothing I can do. After all, health is the most important thing."

"General, you have worked hard for Liu Han all your life, and you deserve to take a good rest. I approve."

Liu Xin said a few polite words and pretended to be very reluctant, but in fact he wanted Wang Feng to die more than anyone else.

Even so, he still could not take back power. The Wang family was too powerful and it was difficult to eradicate it in a short period of time. He himself was a short-lived person, and the existence of Wang Mang made it even more difficult.

All we can say is that Liu was destined to have this disaster, and then be reborn from the ashes.

"But the position of Grand General is an important one after all. I cannot ruin state affairs because of myself, so I recommend Grand Marshal and General of Chariots and Cavalry Wang Gen to be promoted to Grand General."

"Only in this way can our Han Dynasty function normally. Your Majesty has just ascended the throne, and it is time to use people."

This was something Liu Xin had expected. The Wang family had been operating in the court for many years and had a huge and deep-rooted influence. However, every one of these forces was linked to the general.

So they can't let go no matter what, otherwise what awaits them is death and destruction of their country! Is there any way out for those relatives who once held great power in the government?

This is destined to be a road of no return.

"Approved. I will promote Grand Coachman Xu Hua to the Left Prime Minister, and Grand Marshal and General of the Cavalry Wang Gen to the position of Grand General. They will take over the Secretariat and replace Grand General Wang Feng with full authority. Together, they will assist me in handling state affairs."

"that's it."

Liu Xin reluctantly returned the power to the Wang family. Now there was no other way. He hadn't even firmly sat on the throne, so how could he shake the power of the foreign relatives that had been entrenched for many years?

You know, Liu is not the only one. If the Wang family is pushed to the limit, they can appoint a new king! Especially with the existence of the Empress Dowager Wang Zhengjun.

With filial piety in hand, even the Xu family cannot interfere. In the Han Dynasty, filial piety is always successful. After all, the emperor is the head of the world, and the empress dowager is the head of the emperor.

Everything has its drawbacks, and this is no exception.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

.........

The situation soon stabilized again after the new emperor ascended the throne. The main force was still the struggle between the Wang Party and the Xu Party. The elders of the two families were almost dying of illness and had no energy to fight each other.

This important responsibility naturally fell on the younger generation. Wang Gen was Wang Feng's younger brother, and was no less experienced or powerful than him.

Xu Hua was not so good. He inherited all of his father's power and status, but he did not inherit the most important reputation! Perhaps with the help of the emperor, he could still cope with it.

Xu Bo still has three younger brothers who are still alive, but none of them are in the central government. One is the prefect of Xia Pi, one is the governor of Jizhou, and one is the prefect of Runan and concurrently the general of Zhenjun.

All of them are local dignitaries and the foundation of the Xu family. Their power in the local area has always intimidated the Wang family.

At the same time, Liu Ao was honored as the Supreme Emperor and moved to another palace. Although he was forced to abdicate, he was an emperor after all, and he had to maintain a certain dignity no matter what.

Liu Xin attached great importance to this. This time, the Confucianists' forcing the emperor to abdicate had already made the Liu family lose face, and the pitiful dignity of the retired emperor must be maintained.

Zhao Feiyan was honored as the Empress Dowager for her contribution to the enthronement of the emperor, and Zhao Hede was honored as the Imperial Concubine, and they still lived with the retired emperor.

She lost nothing, but instead was greatly promoted to a higher generation and gained the status of Empress Dowager. When Grand Empress Dowager Wang Zhengjun died of illness, she could officially exercise power!

"Cough cough..." Liu Ao coughed painfully several times. Looking at the blood stains on the handkerchief, he found it hard to accept for a moment.

"How is this possible? Can't I live to be a hundred years old? No... It's impossible!"

He called the imperial physician in panic, but this was the beginning of another despair.

After the imperial physician examined the emperor, he said that he had contracted a serious illness and would not live for more than a few months.

Such a huge contrast made him so angry that he fainted. When he woke up again, he was lying on the couch.

The life span issue was not resolved, and he lost his throne and got a bad reputation! Is there anything worse than this?

Liu Ao now regretted very much that he had listened to the slander of the villain and killed his loyal minister Chen Nian!

Unfortunately, regret is of no use.

"I dare not, and I am unwilling..."

He lay on the legs of Queen Mother Zhao Feiyan and slowly closed his eyes.

"Your Majesty..." She was extremely sad
The Zhao sisters still had feelings for Liu Ao. After all, they had been husband and wife for many years. Even if they could not die together, they would not be without any feelings at all.

Just like that, in the first year of Jianping, Emperor Retired Emperor Liu Ao died of illness in Changle Palace, which was two months after Mars dimmed, and the curse came true completely.

(End of this chapter)