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

Chapter 136 The Wang Family Voluntarily Withdrew
"Alas... there is nothing we can do about it. Although I, the Patriarch, cannot accept a fraud who steals reputation from the world to occupy a high position, I also understand what it means to consider the overall situation. Sometimes principles and reality cannot be achieved at the same time."

Xu Zhen sighed. He still couldn't accept this kind of thing, but he had to endure it. It was actually quite difficult for him.

Xu Zhen has always been known for his fairness and integrity, even a little too honest, otherwise he would not have fallen from the position of Taichang, the head of the Nine Ministers.

Liu Xin's intention was actually to use this person to supervise all officials. After all, such fairness would be beneficial for the emperor as a judge.

Taizhong Daifu has always been an important position, usually held by the emperor's confidants. Xu Hua had held this position for a period of time before, and had accumulated considerable reputation, preparing for his future promotion to one of the Nine Ministers.

After that, Chang'an was hit by a bloody storm. Since Wang Gen died of illness, a large number of Wang's followers defected because in their view, the newly promoted Grand Marshal Wang Mang was simply unable to lead everyone to stabilize their vested interests.

So it is better to surrender quickly. Even if you have to vomit out everything you have eaten, it is better than losing your life.

Saving your life is better than anything else.

Wang Mang was relatively indifferent to the situation and did not rush to resist. On the contrary, he was even more tolerant of those who defected. No one knew what he was planning.

Liu Xin's male favorite, General Wei Dong Xian, was also successfully promoted to Grand Marshal and had great power in the court. He had previously used Chunyu Chang's bribery to force former general Wang Li to death.

That's right, after Chunyu Chang returned to his fiefdom, he was not willing to leave the court. He put aside his past grudges with Wang Li, with whom he had always been at odds, and handed over all the wealth he had plundered over the years, hoping that this old rival could persuade the emperor to pardon him.

Now that the Wang family is losing ground, they just need such a person, after getting the approval of the head of the family, Wang Mang.

Wang Li accepted all the property and, as agreed, submitted a memorial to the emperor begging him to pardon Chunyu Chang.

Today, the imperial power has been strengthened unprecedentedly. During the Wang Feng period, there was no need for so much trouble. Even Emperor Li Liu Ao had to give in!
However, with a series of political operations by Liu Xin, a balance was once again formed in the court. The Wang family could no longer dominate the country, and could not even hold 100% of the core military power of the imperial guards in their hands.

Liu Xin did not give face to the Wang family, even though he liked Chunyu Chang more, and severely reprimanded Wang Li who pleaded for him.

They even denounced him as the modern-day "Lü Chan" who attempted to form a clique for personal gain.

Immediately, Xu Zhen, the doctor of the Imperial Secretariat, was ordered to conduct a thorough investigation, and Wang Li's bribery soon came to light.

The emperor was furious and ordered Wang Ling to be thrown into prison and torn into pieces by five horses. This old minister who had served two dynasties and was once a famous official in the capital, fell into obscurity.

I have to say, it's quite sad. He has lived through the heyday of his brother Wang Feng. He was so arrogant and domineering that no one dared to provoke him. He expanded his power and amassed wealth. With his brother's protection, who dared to cause trouble for him?
But now he ended up like this because of greed for money, or it can be said that Liu Xin had already intended to kill him, and taking bribes was just an excuse.

Even if you don't take bribes, you can still find other things.

Wang Li had already sought death by openly trying to stop Dong Xian. When Xu Zhen was investigating, this newly promoted General Wei also provided a lot of help, and it was he who sent people to search for property.

The forces in the court were roughly divided into four factions. In addition to the old Xu and Wang families, there were also new foreign relatives' forces headed by General Ding Ming, and close ministers' forces headed by Dong Xian.

Among them, Ding Ming and Dong Xian were both secretly dependent on the Xu family and jointly fought against the Wang family.

Victory was imminent. Even Wang Li was forced to death, let alone others.

But what is strange is that Wang Mang, the person involved, did not react at all. He continued to concentrate on studying the affairs of the Imperial College, worked diligently and frugally, and handled government affairs very efficiently.

He successfully gained the favor of Li Nianzhao, who failed in the competition for the Imperial Academy, and was designated as the next chief doctor of Confucianism!
It can be said that everything was going according to Wang Mang's plan, except for the death of Liu Xin, who was in poor health.

"Jiushun, this situation is very unfavorable to us! Wang Li... has been killed. This is like the lips and the teeth are in danger! Our future will not be easy either."

"In the palace," Wang Feng said anxiously, "ever since his brother died of illness, the family began to decline gradually. Even with the strong support of the Empress Dowager Wang Zhengjun, it would be of no use, after all, the current Majesty is already an adult."

The Empress Dowager had limited power to interfere in government affairs, and the Fu family of Liu Xin's own mother, Empress Dowager Fu, was the new favorite in the court. Empress Dowager Fu's brother was promoted to the rank of Rear General and had great power.

He is a relative of the Ding family and a member of the side of General Ding Ming. In order to jointly fight against the old relatives of the Ding family, the Ding and Fu families banded together for warmth and briefly became political allies.

The Xu family has been standing for hundreds of years and it would be difficult to shake it in a short period of time, not to mention that Xu Bo had recommended Ding Ming.

There are only so many positions in the court, and the pie is so big. If the Xu family gets half and the Wang family gets the other half, where will the benefits be for them? So we must get rid of one family first, and then talk about the others after we have some initial power.

As the saying goes, there are no eternal enemies, only eternal interests. Xu Bo is already dead. Strictly speaking, Ding Ming and the Xu family only have a relationship of close relationship, which is neither heavy nor light.

If their interests conflict with each other later, they will become enemies! It is inevitable. The power of the Han Dynasty is now intertwined, and the emperor can no longer tolerate one dominant family. He will definitely use his power to support the Fu and Ding families.

The reason why Xu Hua was able to suppress Wang Mang firmly was actually because he relied on Liu Xin's support. If it was Emperor Li Liu Ao, he would not be able to do it, because this person stood on the side of the Wang family, had countless followers in the court, held military power, and had the trust of the emperor and the support of the Empress Dowager. It was really hard to know how he could lose. Not only did Wang Feng himself have superb means, but he also had the right time, place and people.

However, a new emperor appoints his own ministers. After the new emperor ascended the throne, he always suppressed the powerful ministers of the previous dynasty. With the change of several generations of family heads, his power was gradually weakened. After Wang Mang, the "newcomer" with a weak foundation, came to power, the situation declined to the extreme.

Moreover, when Wang Gen just inherited the position of Grand Marshal, the first thing he did was to win over the ministers in the court and suppress and eliminate those who disobeyed.

He secured his position through bloody means.

However, Wang Mang did not do these. Instead, he went against his norm and recruited talented people and appointed people based on their merits. He did not expel loyal and good people or promote treacherous people. He fully fulfilled his responsibilities as the Grand Marshal!
Surprisingly, he received unanimous praise from the common people, powerful people and Confucian scholars, who called him the reincarnation of Marquis Jing. The Wang family's reputation and recognition skyrocketed, but the price was that they began to show weakness in the court.

This time the emperor joined forces with Dong Xian and Xu Hua to kill Wang Li, the core figure of the Wang family, and the entire Wang family was helpless.

In fact, Wang Mang did not want to save his uncle because his reputation was too bad. He had done almost everything, including forming cliques for personal gain, embezzling the national treasury, and accepting bribes. If he were in the eyes of ordinary people, he would be the kind of person that everyone who passed by would spit on. Although he was an important figure in the court, he was also one of the culprits who ruined the family's reputation.

Although Wang Feng was a powerful official who held great power in the court, he was not actually that extravagant. On the contrary, he was well-received among the Confucian scholars. The five core figures of the Wang family, namely the Five Marquises, were the ones who were really disliked by everyone.

Wang Gen, Wang Shang and Wang Liping were all known for their extravagance and arrogance, and they indulged in wine and meat. But after Wang Gen became the Grand Marshal, he became a little more restrained, at least he would not show his enjoyment in public, and his image to the outside world was still good.

The higher one's position, the more benefits one can experience from fame! After all, what do people want most after they have money and power? Fame.

Which minister or king does not desire to be recorded in history and praised and admired by the people and students of later generations? The most obvious example in this regard is Emperor Wen and Emperor Kang.

One was praised as the teacher of all emperors, and the other was respected as the leader of the revival.

From then on, Liu Ju was as famous as Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu. He was perfect, with impeccable character and ability. His kindness to the Xu family has always been a model for monarchs and ministers, and he was one of the monarchs that all ministers most desired to see.

"Uncle, please be patient. This is not a big problem. Everything is under control."

Wang Mang drank tea with a gentle smile on his face, showing no sense of urgency at all, as if the predicament his family had encountered before was not worth mentioning at all.

In fact, this is true. He had never expected to become a powerful official when Liu Xin was in power. The moment when the ruler and the ministers were suspicious was the fertile ground for his development!
The current emperor certainly won't live for many years. This is something that everyone can see. After Emperor Xuan, emperors generally had short lives, as if the Liu family's luck had run out and no capable ruler has ever appeared.

Emperor Yuan, Emperor Li and the current Liu Xin are actually not wise rulers.

Liu Xin's ability was actually only second to that of Emperor Yuan. His checks and balances skills were actually very poor, and his path to power was very difficult. If it were Emperor Kang or Emperor Xuan, there wouldn't have been so much trouble at all.

When Emperor Liu Che came to power, he immediately dealt with the power of his foreign relatives. The current emperor would not support a traitor, and the person he chose was a male favorite.

This person is not as useful as a eunuch. His identity is too sensitive and he is not accepted by the world. He is naturally an isolated minister who can only rely on the emperor and cannot even attract supporters.

Of course, this is also the effect he wants. As time goes by, looking back at the past and present, Liu Xin has no more trust in relatives of the emperor or eunuchs, thinking that these people are more or less likely to cause chaos in the country. Wasn't Zhao Gao of the Qin Dynasty also a treacherous minister? This is not acceptable! The Han Dynasty could not withstand the turmoil.

We must quickly centralize power! After careful selection, Liu Xin found that the male companion seemed to be pretty good, so he decided to give it a try first, since he wouldn't lose anything anyway.

The final effect was actually quite good. Without Dong Xian's help, the emperor would not have been able to get rid of Wang Li, the former general, so easily.

Wang Like has always had the ambition to be promoted to the position of Grand Marshal, and the reason why he and Chunyu Chang are at odds with each other is because of this. Therefore, if he wants to minimize the impact as much as possible, he certainly cannot do it himself.

You must know how to ask for help from others!
Wang Feng was a little confused. He was sure that his nephew was pretending to be calm. After all, he had just come to power and had made such a mess of things, so he must be panicking.

In order to maintain the dignity of the head of the family, you cannot panic first.

"Alright, Lord Ju, this is urgent, let's make a decision quickly! Don't wait until the situation is completely irreversible."

"Uncle, my nephew said that everything is under control. I never wanted to defeat Xu Hua and Ding Ming who are in full swing at this time. It is too unwise. The military strategy says that we should avoid the enemy's sharp edge and wait for the opportunity. I think it makes sense."

Wang Feng didn't understand: "Ju Jun, what do you mean? Politics is not a game of house, it's a life-and-death struggle! It's either you or me, we have to race against time. Once we miss the opportunity, everything will be over."

"You are probably past the age of fantasizing."

He was a little confused about the situation. Wang Mang had never acted like this before. His political tactics were quite sophisticated and he liked to win people over with virtue. He had few enemies, so he gained support.

But the current appearance is completely different from the previous image.

Moreover, this kid obviously did a very good job at the Imperial College. He made full use of Wang Li's death and was recognized by the great scholars headed by Li Nianzhao. They began to acknowledge that the Wang family had made changes.

Now that she's the designated heir, can't this ability deal with a mere male favorite who relied on his looks and servility to get to the top?
As for taking advantage of Wang Li’s death, Wang Feng expressed his understanding. The person is already dead, so it would be better to make use of his remaining energy.

"No, no, our Wang family is in a different situation now. Why was it a life-and-death struggle before? Because there were too many stains and the way we seized power was too bloody, so we had to win!"

"It's different now. Have I ever made any mistakes since I became the Grand Marshal? Whenever I do something, I am always conscientious and have no mistakes. How can Your Majesty kill us so easily?"

"Besides, Uncle Li is not a pushover. You should now understand my nephew's intention of "not doing his job properly."

Wang Mang showed a meaningful expression, looking fearless and not panicking at all.

"This... but there are risks too. This is the result of decades of hard work by your uncles and aunts. You can't just throw it away." Although Wang Feng thought it made sense, he still couldn't bear to do so.

After so many years of planning, we can’t just give up so hastily.

"You are wrong again. It's not giving up. In your opinion, what has enabled our Wang family to climb to its current position?"

Wang Mang answered himself: "Planning and hard work are secondary. The most important point is that our Wang family is a foreign relative! With the support of my aunt, we will never be truly defeated."

"As long as my aunt lives, those people, whether it's Xu Hua in Chang'an or Xu Zhong in Nanyang, will have to be a little cautious."

"With Uncle Li's pressure, if we withdraw voluntarily, His Majesty will be fine. After all, there is almost no threat anymore."

"Besides, you know the emperor's health. If I say something that will cost you your life, your emperor won't live for many years. Who will hold the imperial seal when the emperor dies? It goes without saying."

"The only people my aunt can use are her own family members."

Wang Mang treated Wang Feng as his confidant, so he was not very secretive about his plans and told him almost everything except some sensitive things.

Wang Feng is a typical familistic person who only does things that are beneficial to his family.

(End of this chapter)