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

Chapter 125 Wang Mang's Plan

Few people within the Wang family can understand what Wang Mang is doing now.

Although he was valued by Liu Xin and still served as the Shizhong, a close minister, and his status did not decline at all, he did not focus his energy on the power struggle in the court, and was very slack in official promotion and winning over officials.

You know, Chunyu Changke, who was competing with him for the position of family leader, had been working hard. He was recommended and became the Weiwei, who was in charge of the palace guards. He was ranked among the Nine Ministers and had actual military power. Even in a political family like the Wang family, he was considered a top figure.

However, Wang Mang did not put in the effort here. Instead, he focused on doing his essential work. He did not like corruption and worked diligently, which gave the court officials the impression that he was quite reliable.

He took care of his elderly mother at home and spent all his wealth to help the poor people. He had a very good reputation. You should know that Wang Gen, the Great Sima, was cursed by the people.

His reputation couldn't be any worse, especially because he had embezzled tens of millions of dollars when he was the Minister of Agriculture in his early years, which led to the Imperial Academy being lukewarm towards him.

Wang Mang was completely different from the extravagant and factional atmosphere within the Wang family. He was praised as "a saint who is in the mud but remains spotless" and was the only person who was not excluded by the doctors of the Imperial Academy.

A year ago, he moved the great Confucian scholar Zheng Liangrong with his sincere attitude and became his third disciple. This also helped to raise his status within the Imperial College.

A month ago, he was given the title of Guanglu Dafu, not because of his family's influence, but because of the recommendation of a doctor of the Imperial Academy!
Zheng Liangrong was the last disciple of Chen Nian, who had died unjustly before. He was highly respected, had written a large number of classics, and had a very high prestige. Even Li Nianzhao had to give him some face, so his recommendation was of great importance.

The appointment and dismissal of doctors within the Imperial College was also based on recommendations.

There were only eight Imperial College doctors who had the right to nominate, and Zheng Liangrong happened to be one of them. He thought highly of Wang Mang and gave him his recommendation quota. As a result, Wang Mang became a candidate doctor of the Imperial College, and his reputation changed dramatically.

To truly become a doctor of the Imperial College and have the power to approve documents, one needs the approval of six other doctors. This is not difficult, but the most difficult and most important point! The approval of the Chief Doctor and the Imperial College Order!

Mainly because he is the chief doctor, Xu Bo has allowed the problem to be solved internally for many years. As long as Li Nianzhao approves it, he will not refuse.

What's more, Xu Bo has been bedridden for many years and has not even taken care of the government affairs, let alone here.

Therefore, the person who needed to be won over the most was Li Nianzhao. Zheng Liangrong put in a lot of effort, and Wang Mang's reputation, knowledge and official position were also sufficient.

But Li Nianzhao might still be prejudiced against the Wang family, or Xu Bo might have warned him about something, so he just kept passing the buck, putting it off from today to tomorrow, and from tomorrow to the day after tomorrow, without refusing openly.

This made the great scholar very anxious. He finally had a disciple whom he recognized, who was capable and had high moral character, but in the end, he was still short of this step.

Wang Mang himself copied Li Nianzhao's works three thousand times by hand to demonstrate his sincerity.

It would be really unacceptable if we don’t approve it.

"Yes, it's that kid. He is too impatient. I didn't say I wouldn't approve it, but he keeps doing this." Zheng Liangrong cursed a few times with a smile, so that the other party was embarrassed to say anything.

Li Nianzhao still had a smile on his face and nodded: "It should be approved indeed. This kid is good enough in terms of character, ability, or internal recommendation."

"But I am not the only one who has the final say in the Imperial Academy. According to the procedure, Brother Xu needs to approve it first, and then hand it over to me. But now it is obviously an overstepping of authority, which is not appropriate in terms of both emotion and reason."

Zheng Liangrong's expression froze. He knew that this guy was deliberately delaying time again. Xu Bo had been staying indoors for the past few years, concentrating on recuperating.

It's really not appropriate to go to him just for this matter. What's more, the Xu family and the Wang family are political enemies, and everyone in the world knows it. Although Wang Mang is obviously different from his own people, it is inevitable that he will be viewed with tinted glasses and deliberately found fault with him.

In the past, the Imperial College Master Xu Bo always approved all the applications, so they had no concerns in this regard. However, if a clear rejection was expressed, there would be nothing they could do.

Rules are rules. These were the rules set by Xu Zhou, the first Imperial College Master, and have been strictly followed for hundreds of years. Not to mention whether one has the ability to convince other doctors, it is not possible to change the convention just for Wang Mang.

"Brother Li knows that Mr. Xu's situation is special after all, so he doesn't have the energy to care about such trivial matters."

"So we should make some concessions. We can't suspend the appointment of the doctorate just because Mr. Xu is seriously ill. This may make it difficult for the school to operate normally."

Generally speaking, there are eighteen doctors in the Confucian Academy who have the power to approve documents. The number may fluctuate, but at most there are twenty. Yes, the number of doctors can be more. Now there are more than six hundred people with the title of doctor in the entire Imperial Academy!

Because essentially this is still an honorary position, some people just know how to teach, but there are not many doctors who have the power to approve red papers.

After all, this is the core power of the Imperial Academy, and the main reason why it can maintain its transcendent status is due to this. Therefore, it certainly cannot be done carelessly, and only those who are inclined towards Confucianism can be granted this power.

What Wang Mang was competing for was the title of Doctor of the Right to Approve Red. If it was just this title, there would be no need to spend so much effort, and Li Nianzhao would not have to be so embarrassed. It was just a title, so what would it matter if it was given? There are hundreds of doctors alive now, one less and one more would not be too much.

However, doctors who had the power to approve documents, express opinions in the Imperial College, and influence the appointment and dismissal of officials were particularly precious. At most, there were only twenty of them, while there were more than three hundred ordinary doctors!

This is no joke. The reason why Emperor Kang gave the Imperial College such great power was not only to show goodwill to the Xu family, but more importantly to use the Imperial College to check and balance the local government! Many officials have the power to recommend filial and honest people, which may form parties and thus affect the imperial power.

Emperor Kangdi gave the final approval authority to the forty most prestigious doctors in the Imperial College at that time, with the aim of restricting officials.

In the end, the effect was actually quite good. Few people could go against the emperor. The reason why Wang Si was able to become a powerful official was that he was the chief doctor of the Confucian Academy and could not be restricted.

The Wang family was able to develop because of the emperor's support, which directly bypassed the Imperial College and granted them personnel rights. After Emperor Li's death, Liu Xin began to deprive them of this qualification for arbitrary appointment.

Therefore, the Wang family gradually declined, but still controlled the country and had absolute influence over the imperial guards.

Li Nianzhao sat back down, then sighed, "Rules are rules. Although I am now the chief doctor of the Confucian Academy, I still cannot make decisions on my own. I must get approval from the Imperial Academy."

"How about this, you go to Jinghou Mansion to find Brother Xu. If he agrees, everything will be fine. I definitely have no objection."

Zheng Liangrong didn't say anything when he saw this. It was obvious that there was no hope. He couldn't make the decision. In fact, the chief doctor had the ability to obtain other doctoral titles.

Maybe it was because of the status of the Wang family that they refused to agree. Xu Bo was the head of the Xu family and the Wang family's biggest political enemy in the court. How could he possibly agree?

It was complete nonsense. What's more, Xu Bo didn't see guests. Even Emperor Liu Xin had to try his luck. Although he was a prestigious doctor, no one dared to neglect him. But the problem was that the one being asked this time was the Imperial Academy Master! Actually, his immediate superior.

"In that case, let the kid wait a little longer. There is still plenty of time, and he can study again." Zheng Liangrong smiled. Strictly speaking, there is hope.

After Xu Bo died of illness, Li Nianzhao would have no reason to refuse. He would have to approve it. Now all he had to do was wait! Pave the way for his disciples. ………

After the banquet, the guests left one after another. Zheng Liangrong did not return to his own mansion first, but took a carriage, passed through the downtown area and came to a more remote alley.

The driver stopped and what came into view was a very small house. It was very simple and formed a sharp contrast with the prosperous Chang'an.

Zheng Liangrong was about to knock on the door, but found it was not locked, so he pushed it open and slowly stepped over the threshold.

A man in plain clothes stood respectfully in front with his head lowered.

"teacher."

His old face suddenly broke into a smile. He patted his disciple on the shoulder and wiped the sweat off his face: "You've been waiting for a long time, boy. Among all my disciples, you are my favorite."

This is Wang Mang’s residence.

Wang Mang was a frugal and humble person. He treated everyone with courtesy and his teacher like his own father. His etiquette and attitude were completely impeccable, which made him very popular.

Zheng Liangrong loves this new disciple more than ever before, and is even willing to sacrifice his reputation to help him pave the way.

This Imperial College Doctorate is the first step! If Wang Mang can take root in the Imperial College, it will be very helpful for the future struggle for power. Wang Gen is one of the few people in the family who can understand.

Therefore, the identity of a doctor is a plus. Reputation happens to be the biggest shortcoming of the Wang family. Therefore, for long-term considerations, Wang Gen may designate Wang Mang as his successor.

"It's my duty." Wang Mang's expression was equally respectful as he helped his teacher into the guest hall.

"It's a bit shabby, please forgive me."

The guest hall was also not big. Zheng Liangrong waved his hand and found a place to sit down, while Wang Mang stood on his left and right but did not sit down as well.

"Alas... I still have no clue about that matter. You are a pragmatic kid. You copied it so many times in vain. Now it's all in vain."

Zheng Liangrong actually felt a little guilty because as a teacher he couldn't even help with this matter.

Wang Mang attached great importance to this matter. He did not focus all his energy on the court like Chunyu Chang, but took a different approach and cast his sights on the Imperial Academy! He hoped to open up a new path for the Wang family.

They thought that this was the route of the current Wang Feng, who would control the military power of the imperial guards, and then use this to gradually infiltrate his own power into the court, and finally rely on his strong voice to continuously expand the army, mainly relying on the deterrence of force.

This method is the simplest and most brutal, because military power is always the most powerful of all powers. Once you master it, you can do whatever you want, and anyone who dares to stop you will be killed.

But it is also the most unstable and risky. Since ancient times, those who rely on force to rule the world will not have a good end. After a few years or decades, they will be revolted by the same force and eventually their property will be confiscated and their clan will be exterminated.

If you use force, you will be retaliated by others! It is almost a dead end. For example, in the Qin Dynasty, Qin Shihuang conquered the six kingdoms with millions of Qin troops, and used this method to slaughter those who disobeyed.

It did deter the situation in the short term, but over time, rebels will continue to emerge, and like a wildfire that cannot be extinguished, it will spring up again with the spring breeze, and opposition forces of all sizes will continue to emerge one after another.

The uprising of Chen Sheng and Wu Guang did not end there, but even more powerful rebel forces such as Xiang Yu and Liu Bang emerged.

A few years later, Liu Bang took the lead in attacking Xianyang and the Qin Dynasty was destroyed. Xiang Yu killed the Qin royal family and even the Qin people in Guanzhong chose to betray him.

This is the side effect of the use of force. Where there is oppression there will be resistance. The only right way is to win people over with virtue. The Liu family was able to dominate the world for two hundred years not only because of the powerful Han army.

It is the achievements made over the years. Emperor Hui, Emperor Wen, Emperor Jing, Emperor Wu, Emperor Kang, and Emperor Xuan are all wise rulers! They are loved by the people of the world. Even though Emperor Yuan and Emperor Li were two incompetent rulers, the people of the world still did not lose hope.

It can be said that virtue is the most important thing.

Wang Mang was well aware of this, so he placed his focus on the Imperial Academy, hoping to gain some influence on Confucianism first and use his reputation to make the people and court officials obey him.

In fact, this approach is indeed effective. All the ministers who have come into contact with him are obedient. Everyone always respects people with noble character.

Wang Mang was only lost for a moment, as if he had thought of it a long time ago, and then he said calmly: "This is what I should do. It is a gift from my disciple to Lord Li. What's the trouble?"

"You don't have to insist on me. Mr. Li has his reasons for refusing. I understand."

Zheng Liangrong nodded with satisfaction.

Then he said, "It doesn't matter. In one or two months at the least, and three to five years at the most, you will be able to become a doctor of the Imperial College. The problem now is that you need the approval of the Imperial College."

"You know Mr. Xu's health condition. He has always been prejudiced against the Wang family. Even if he meets them, he may not agree. You might as well wait a little longer."

"I am willing to follow the teacher's arrangements." He was prepared. Prime Minister Xu's attitude towards him has always been not very good, and he felt that this was not a hatred for the whole family!

This is not disgust, but fear!

Wang Mang could feel that Xu Bo was afraid of him, as if he saw through him!
As for this Imperial College Doctor, this Imperial College Commander, there is no hope while he is still alive. In this case, he can just wait. He has plenty of time and can afford to wait.

And according to news from the family, Xu Bo's health is getting worse and worse.

Won't live more than a few months.

"That's good. I'll go first. You, too, can improve your living conditions appropriately. You don't have to be so frugal. After all, you are the Grand Master of the Han Dynasty." Zheng Liangrong stood up, feeling extremely distressed about his disciple's living conditions.

This was totally different from the living standard of a high-ranking official in the imperial court. It was too frugal, and made him feel a little ashamed.

"What's so shabby about this place?" Wang Mang quoted a sentence from the Analects of Confucius and laughed it off.

(End of this chapter)