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

Chapter 137 Wang Mang Resigns
"You're right. This is indeed a way to break the deadlock. Although the stakes are high, the rewards are even greater."

Wang Feng was silent for a long time and agreed to this method. At present, this was the only way to preserve the family to the greatest extent. Otherwise, it would be difficult to win in a fight with the Xu, Ding and Fu families.

It is no longer the era of my brother Wang Feng. The emperor no longer trusts the Wang family and is even extremely suspicious of them! This undoubtedly greatly increases the difficulty.

Legal principles have always been important. If Wang Mang follows his path, he can use his status as a relative to govern the country and use the emperor to control the princes. The Xu family and the Wang family are out of the question.

"So what should we do? Jujun, you are the head of the family, and your uncle will not take advantage of his seniority. I will listen to you and do what you say."

Wang Feng looked at his nephew with great approval. Sure enough, the successor carefully selected by his elder brother was not that simple! Everything he had done before had a bigger purpose.

There has never been anyone who relied on Confucianism to come to power. Xu Ye could barely be considered one of them, but at that time he was the leader of both Confucianism and Legalism.

Unprecedented, the most powerful Imperial Academy Commander. I remember that when Emperor Kang appointed the crown prince, he also had to go through the Imperial Academy procedure. After all, it comes to morality. The monarch must first have outstanding character.

Although it is just a process, equivalent to the European church giving Charlemagne a title and gilding it, the crown prince is actually still controlled by the emperor.

How could it be handed over to someone else when it concerns the foundation of the country? If one day, the emperor cannot even decide on the crown prince himself, then it can only be said that the country is about to end.

The emperor was also a puppet emperor. The Imperial Academy could not become the European Senate because of the different political environment it faced.

Europe used the feudal system, where power was relatively dispersed, and this form was needed to control the country. However, the Han Dynasty was different. The county system had been fully implemented. From Ying Zheng to Liu Che, several generations had truly achieved great unification, and the emperor became a dictator.

This is also necessary. History has proved that centralization is a general trend, so the Imperial Academy can only act as a mascot. With their support, it will be easier to rule the country. After all, they have a large number of talents in governing the country and have currently replaced the aristocratic families to monopolize education.

But even if the Imperial College did not support it, it would be useless. How many soldiers do you have? You dare to go against the imperial court. The Roman Catholic Church in Europe actually had its own Crusaders.

So strictly speaking, Taixue represents the status of the aristocratic families in the Eastern Han Dynasty. It is best to support them, but if they don’t, they can make do.

The main reason why Li Nianzhao was able to force Emperor Li to abdicate was because the military leader Wang Feng maintained a neutral attitude and did not want to get involved, and Xu Bo, who controlled an imperial guard, also did not want to get involved.

That's why he was able to force the emperor to abdicate successfully. If both sides had ignored the impact on their reputation and sent troops to suppress the rebellion, Li Nianzhao would have been powerless.

"Wait and see. When the time is right, I will resign and you can take the opportunity to retire."

Wang Mang said slowly that it was not yet a critical moment and the emperor must not become suspicious. Otherwise, if Liu Xin made a will and designated an adult crown prince, then he would be doomed.

There must be no time to appoint a crown prince, and the Empress Dowager must be in charge of the situation, then there will be an opportunity to take advantage of.

Although Liu Xin was in poor health, he was unwilling to admit it. He was unwilling to admit the fact that he would die young, so he kept dragging it on, even though Xu Hua had repeatedly advised him against it.

.........

The situation afterwards was as bad as expected. Xu Hua continued to impeach Wang's followers in the court, and Ding Ming joined in, resulting in people being dismissed from office one after another.

The Wang family's political influence also continued to decline.

Changle Palace, the sleeping palace of Empress Dowager Fu

On this day, Fu Xi, who was promoted to the position of Right General, and Ding Ming, the Grand Marshal and General of Cavalry, were summoned here.

Following the palace maid into the hall, the two high officials bowed:
"I have met the Queen Mother."

Empress Dowager Fu, who was quite old and had crow's feet on her face, waved her hand and said, "No need to be so polite, both of you."

Ding Ming did not continue to be polite, but got straight to the point: "May I ask what important matter the Queen Mother wants to discuss with me? It seems that Your Majesty is not aware of it."

He found that the guards on duty had obviously not received any orders and were only brought in after the change of shift.

Although he was the Grand Marshal, he still could not enter the palace at will. Since the middle of Emperor Xuan's reign, only the emperor could have a penis in the palace, and other eunuchs had to undergo castration!
The word "eunuch" has not yet officially appeared, but people occasionally call him that. It is estimated that it will take a few decades for it to become completely popular and become a general term for eunuchs.

"Of course there is something, but this matter has nothing to do with the country. It concerns your future, your life and death."

Empress Dowager Fu said meaningfully that she had already regarded her cousin Fu Ximo as her own, so she used the term "you".

"My future? The Empress Dowager is joking." Ding Ming smiled. The emperor was already an adult, so the Empress Dowager was not allowed to interfere in politics. As long as she could please the emperor, why would she be afraid of not being promoted?

Not everyone is Empress Dowager Lu. Even the Grand Tutor Xu Zhen had to retreat! With power over the government and the country, the Lu family became the only powerful family.

"I'm not joking, Wang Mang. Is this person related to you?"

Empress Dowager Fu said with a smile, and Ding Ming's expression changed immediately. His only political enemy now was Wang Mang.

As long as he overthrows this person, he will be the second most important person in the court! Second only to Jing Hou Xu Hua. Once he defeats this person, he will be the next Wang Feng! The Ding family is the next Wang family!
After decades of prosperity, if the tone is good, it may be possible to replicate the prosperity of the Xu family.

Although it is difficult, times have changed. The Xu family cannot reach this position relying solely on Xu Zhen. His contribution is not even the greatest. Xu Gong's influence on the family is actually the greatest and most thorough.

His series of actions made the Xu family the most powerful family in one fell swoop, and it had an extraordinary status in the court, completing a magnificent leap forward.

With the help of Xu Ye and Xu Nan at the back, the Xu family was able to keep doing sit-ups.

"What does this mean, Queen Mother?"

"If I can make Wang Mang resign, you will be the most powerful relative by marriage." Empress Dowager Fu said shockingly.

Ding Ming found it a little unbelievable. Even Xu Hua couldn't get rid of the dying Wang Mang. How could you, a mere queen dowager in the harem, do it?
Don’t you know that behind him is the Empress Dowager Wang Zhengjun? You are just the mother of Prince Gong. Your legal lineage is one level lower than yours. You are stronger than Zhao Feiyan, but that’s all.

"You don't believe it? We can wait and see." Empress Dowager Fu's tone was quite confident, mainly because she had already convinced Empress Dowager Wang to persuade Wang Mang to resign.

This way it is a sure thing.

"May I ask what the Queen Mother wants?" Ding Ming suppressed his surprised expression and said in a deep voice.

Everything has a price. The Empress Dowager Fu has no relationship with him and is even his competitor. How could she be so kind as to help him get rid of his political enemies? It's too unrealistic.

As for the authenticity, he no longer had any doubts. Was it necessary for the grandmother of the current emperor to lie to him? There was no benefit.

"Whatever you think I want, that's it." Empress Dowager Fu stared at him with her cloudy eyes.

"...I understand." Ding Ming suddenly realized that he just wanted to emulate Queen Dowager Xuan and Queen Dowager Lu and make a career in the court.

It's not impossible. His backer is his sister, the emperor's mother, and Empress Dowager Fu is the emperor's grandmother. There is still some interest connection between the two.

What's more, what this empress dowager most hopes for is actually to become the grand empress dowager!

That's right, Empress Dowager Fu wanted to be the Grand Empress Dowager, the same position as Wang Zhengjun! Many court officials disagreed. Shi Dan, who had briefly served as Grand Marshal, was dismissed by Liu Xin because of his opposition.

"If this day ever comes, I would like to honor you as the Grand Empress Dowager."

Ding Ming expressed his own opinion and helped her to clarify that although this was in line with Liu Xin's opinion, it must have enough power to do it, otherwise it would still end in vain because there were too many opponents. The Wang family was the number one opposition force before. After all, the political capital of the Wang family was Wang Zhengjun.

"... Ding Piqi will just watch."

"Wait a minute, Queen Mother, this is against the rules. It's very against the rules."

The cousin of Empress Dowager Fu couldn't stand it anymore. Fu Xi was different from Ding Ming and others. He was quite upright and actually opposed his cousin becoming the Grand Empress Dowager.

Because this is not in accordance with etiquette. She was the empress dowager because she was the emperor's mother, but why was she the grand empress dowager? She was not the mother of Emperor Li Liu Ao.

Although this emperor's reputation was not very good, he was still the emperor after all and he deserved all the respect. Isn't this just giving the late emperor a mother for no reason? It is neither moral nor logical.

What's more, everyone knows why Empress Dowager Fu is so persistent. She just wants to emulate Empress Dowager Lu. She also knows that her grandson is in poor health.

After the emperor dies, she will replace Wang Zhengjun as regent by virtue of her status as the Empress Dowager. Wouldn't that make her the next Lu Zhi?

Although she didn't consider whether she could live to that time.

Empress Dowager Fu frowned, quite displeased: "Zhiyou, what do you mean by this? Think clearly about your own identity."

Zhiyou is Fu Xi's pen name.

"I always remember my identity as a minister of the Han Dynasty! I remember the admonitions of Grand Master Xu Zhen and Saint Master Xu Gong!"

"I won't support this matter. Sister, just take care of yourself." Fu Xi didn't say much. After saying this, he turned away.

He would not go along with the treacherous officials! Such a thing could never be done.

Ding Ming looked at his departing back with a playful expression on his face.

"The Queen Mother's family situation is quite complicated, and General Fu is too upright. But it's okay, it may be able to save lives in many cases."

Empress Dowager Fu forced a smile and said, "It's okay, it's okay, it's just a small matter."

She never expected that this cousin whom she had supported would do such a thing and turn against her. Wasn't he afraid of being dismissed from office?
How can I gain a foothold in the court if I lose my status as a relative of the emperor?

"I will take my leave first. Perhaps sometimes a minister should be more trustworthy."

Ding Ming actually welcomed this. In this way, Empress Dowager Fu would become his own political resource. After all, since his own family members were not capable, he could only rely on his relatives.

It does not affect their cooperation.

Half a month later.

Empress Dowager Wang Zhengjun summoned her nephew Wang Mang.

According to the previous weighing of the pros and cons, she persuaded Wang Mang to withdraw from the court disputes and temporarily step back. Without the emperor's support, he would definitely not be able to hold on to the position of Grand Marshal.

After Emperor Li's reform, the Grand Marshal became the most complicated official position in the entire Han Dynasty. First, he was separated from the additional title and became an independent official position, replacing the Grand Marshal and becoming one of the real Three Dukes. He was ranked first among the Three Dukes and the number one regent. Legally, he was officially above the prime minister.

The essence of this was that Emperor Li wanted to limit the power of the prime minister, so he promoted Wang Feng, and it was ultimately very effective.

But on the other hand, the Grand Marshal was too powerful. After only a period of independence, Liu Ao began to realize that his imperial power was beginning to be constrained.

Therefore, restrictions were immediately made, that is, the position of Grand Marshal was not permanent, but usually existed as an additional title, placed in front of the important generals, and several positions were set up to supervise each other.

Although it was of no use, there had only been one Grand Marshal, Wang Feng, and Wang Gen maintained his independence after he inherited the position.

However, things were different from the beginning when Wang Mang started, and this position was restricted.

At present, there is still only Wang Mang who holds the title of Grand Marshal, but there are two generals with the title of Grand Marshal, namely, General Dong Xian of the Guards and General Ding Ming of the Cavalry. In fact, they are equivalent to deputies and share the power.

After being advised by his aunt, Wang Mang was very straightforward. He agreed after a little hesitation and promised to immediately submit his resignation request at the court meeting.

He returned to his own house to concentrate on being filial to his mother and brother and sister-in-law, and no longer cared about state affairs.

Wang Zhengjun was quite satisfied with this. She had not yet realized that her nephew had the ambition to usurp the throne, so she still favored her family.

I'm afraid that the Wang family will be greedy for temporary power and miss out on important things, which will lead to them being hunted down and killed by the three families of Xu, Ding and Fu, and they will have no chance of making a comeback. As long as they are alive, there is hope.

Moreover, once the Wang family disappears, the Xu family and the Ding family will definitely start fighting among themselves. As I said before, the cake is only so big, if you eat it, I will have nothing to eat.

You have to fight to the end, otherwise your share will be gradually squeezed, and you will eventually have to put down your plate and leave the table in shame.

.........

Weiyang Palace.

The five-day court meeting began as scheduled. All the ministers poured into the meeting hall, bowed to the emperor and sat down.

In the Han Dynasty, the status of the scholar-officials was still very high, and they were not the emperor's domestic slaves.

The status of ministers has been gradually lowered, from sitting to meeting, to standing, and then from standing to kneeling.

It became lower and lower, with fewer and fewer restrictions on the emperor's affairs, and the degree of centralization became higher and higher.

"Do you guys have anything to say?"

Liu Xin looked relaxed. He was very happy these days because he had made revolutionary progress in taking back power.

The Wang family has gradually withdrawn from the core layer, and the only one who has some say is Wang Mang. Wang Feng just retired last month and gave up his position. Faced with the lessons learned from the past, Wang Li chose to give in.

Now, most of the important officials are supported by himself, and the right to speak in the court has returned.

It is no longer a place that can only be used.

"Your Majesty, I have something to say."

Wang Mang stood up and stepped out of the line.

He didn't leave it to the end because he planned to get rid of it sooner rather than later. Now there was nothing to be nostalgic about, and letting go this time did not mean he couldn't pick it up again.

"Please speak, Sima Wang." Liu Xin said jokingly. He still liked the Wang family's unruly look.

"I want to resign."

(End of this chapter)