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

Chapter 140 Wang Mang Returns
In August of the third year of Yuanshou, just two months after Liu Xin changed the two-prefecture system to the three-minister system, he was gearing up to make a big move to change the precarious situation of the Han Dynasty.

But who could have known that the emperor would suddenly fall ill in his bedroom, a blood vessel in his brain ruptured, and he died suddenly.

According to modern medicine, it should be cerebral hemorrhage!

Such a sudden and serious illness is difficult to cure even in the medical environment of later generations, let alone in ancient times. Moreover, it was not discovered in the first time, and no one knew when he would die.

In fact, Liu Xin lived one year longer than the original timeline, probably because the pressure was reduced.

This bad news directly interrupted all of Xu Hua's plans! He had just persuaded important officials such as Ding Ming and Dong Xian to jointly draft a memorial to force the emperor to make Prince Guangyang the crown prince.

As a result, he died suddenly before the memorial could be submitted, which was exactly what Wang Mang wanted.

Because the Han Dynasty did not have a crown prince, and the emperor had previously supported Ding Ming, Dong Xian, Kong Guang and others to check and balance the court. Xu Hua was simply unable to act arbitrarily and control the situation, and the court would fall into chaos!
Who is qualified to clean up the mess at this time? The Empress Dowager, at this time, Wang Zhengjun took back the jade seal as the great-grandmother of the late emperor, and it was legitimate to preside over the situation! No one could say anything, after all, who the new emperor was was the emperor's family affair.

The ministers only have the right to make suggestions.

In order to fight against all the civil and military officials in the court, Wang Zhengjun had no choice but to support Wang Mang, who had resigned early.

At this point, the situation has reached the point that no one wants to see the most. The Wang family, which was just suppressed by the joint efforts for a few years, will rise again! And this time it will be more powerful than before!

During the Wang Feng period, Emperor Li was already an adult and could only take power with the emperor's authorization.

But what about now? Wang Mang would certainly not support the popular candidate Guangyang Qu as emperor, but would find a younger royal family member, so that he would be legitimate as the Grand Marshal to assist in the administration!
There have been examples of external relatives assisting in government affairs in the past. On the contrary, this was the custom of the Han Dynasty.

Therefore, even if Xu Hua disagreed, he couldn't say anything.

"Situ, something terrible has happened. Something terrible has happened!"

At Jinghou Mansion, a trusted son of the Xu family ran into Xu Hua's room in a hurry, without even knocking on the door, breathing heavily.

"Speak slowly, the sky isn't going to fall, why rush?" Xu Hua drank his tea leisurely, not realizing the disaster at all.

From his perspective, everything was under control, because the memorials to be submitted had already been prepared, and with so many important ministers making a joint memorial, even if His Majesty was reluctant, he had no choice but to do so.

After all, the crown prince is not the emperor's family affair. It concerns the stability of the world and cannot be taken lightly.

By the time the crown prince is determined, I will be able to assist him and complete a smooth transfer of power, so that His Majesty's years of efforts will not be wasted because of my death.

It can be said that everything is going well.

"Huff...Huff... Situ, something bad has happened. Your Majesty, Your Majesty has passed away!"

"What!?"

Xu Hua could no longer keep his composure. He threw the cup to the ground, stood up, grabbed the man's shoulders, and demanded, "What did you say? Say it again!"

The huge shock made him almost unable to believe it.

"His Majesty has passed away! Just a week ago, His Majesty suddenly died in Changle Palace. The incident happened so suddenly that the imperial physician didn't even have a chance to treat him!" The Xu clan member almost knelt on the ground.

He also knew how serious the emperor's death was. The current Han Dynasty could no longer accommodate a young monarch!
Prince Guangyang has been trained by the Xu family over the years. He has excellent character and ability, and stood out after careful selection.

"His Majesty has passed away... How is this possible? This is impossible!"

Xu Hua let go of him with a dazed look on his face, his surprise evident in his words.

The sky has fallen, the sky has collapsed. At this moment, Xu Hua's mind is blank and he doesn't know what to do. His Majesty died suddenly without any instructions for his funeral. This is the worst case scenario!
Because this means that the person who can preside over the event will be the Empress Dowager, who is on the opposite side of the family.

"No... The emperor passed away, but I didn't get any news at all."

Xu Hua calmed down and realized this very crucial issue. His Majesty had died suddenly a week ago, but he, the Grand Tutor of the current dynasty, knew nothing about it.

Not only that, Kong Guang, Ding Ming and even the emperor's favorite Dong Xian were kept in the dark! Something was wrong, and the eunuchs and palace maids would definitely report this major event to the queen first.

And Queen Ding was promoted by herself, so why didn't she contact her first time?
There was only one possibility, that was that Empress Dowager Wang Zhengjun got to know the news first and blocked the entire palace, so that even the current empress could not leak the news.

Xu Hua suddenly felt the situation was difficult, as it meant that Wang Zhengjun had already taken control of the inner court and had made plans, so she ordered people to spread the news.

"Sun Zheng, Sun Zheng, you are a rootless eunuch and you dare to sentence me. You have a good plan."

If you want to block the news, winning over the imperial palace servant is a crucial step! In other words, it is very likely that Sun Zheng has turned against the empress dowager.

In fact, it is normal. Anyone with a discerning eye knows that when the previous emperor passed away and the crown prince was not appointed, the person who has the right to appoint the crown prince is the queen mother! The Wang family will also return strongly, and the liquidation of the Xu and Ding families is almost inevitable.

So it is normal for Sun Zheng to betray in order to protect himself.

"Master...Master, something terrible has happened!"

Footsteps were heard and Xu Zhen trotted in. He was aware of the emperor's death, so he hurried over to discuss it with the head of the family.

Whenever an emperor passes away, there will undoubtedly be a huge change! Moreover, even the crown prince has not been determined yet.

A country cannot be without a ruler for a day. Since the Empress Dowager has released the news, it won't be long before she summons all the ministers to discuss the matter of establishing a new ruler in order to stabilize the country.

Although the ministers had no say in this matter, the empress dowager, holding the imperial seal, had absolute authority!
If it weren't for Ding Ming and others, Xu Hua would have monopolized power without fear of the empress dowager. But unfortunately, his power had been diluted, and he couldn't be as calm as his ancestor Xu Zhen did when facing the empress dowager Lu Zhi.

"Hey... sit down, I know about this." Xu Hua first sent the tribesman away, and then called him over.

Xu Zhen has become much more sophisticated over the years, and it seems that he had foreseen the situation his family would face. After some efforts, he once again sat on the throne of the head of the Nine Ministers and the Minister of Rites of the current dynasty.

In the entire Xu family, he is the fourth most important person, second only to the head of the family, Xu Hua, and the two provincial governors, Xu Zhong and Xu Yuan. Of course, if we don't talk about actual power but only status, Xu Zhen is above Xu Yuan.

But times have changed, and the local tyrants who hold military power are undoubtedly more influential.

"Master, what should we do? The Queen Mother will never let this go, and Wang Mang will return to the court."

Xu Zhen sat down with a worried look on his face. He didn't know what to do now. At the court meeting, Wang Zhengjun would definitely take the opportunity to depose Grand Secretary Ma Ming and support her own family to take over!
How can we oppose it then? The Queen Mother has certain powers to appoint and dismiss personnel.

Moreover, Wang Mang is no longer the same as before. After Li Nianzhao's death, he became the chief doctor of the Confucian Academy! He is highly respected and deeply supported by Confucian scholars and officials, so his return will have no obstacles!

"Let's take it one step at a time." Although Xu Hua was also very frightened, he did not show it and tried to stay calm.

He knew that Wang Mang had won the gamble and his plan was successful. Liu Xin died without leaving a crown prince. The Queen Mother Wang Zhengjun took power and announced that he would serve as the Grand Marshal to assist in the administration.

The Wang family rises again, unstoppable!
………Imperial University, a Confucian academy.

Wang Mang also received the news immediately afterwards, or to be precise, three days after Liu Xin's death. He could be said to be the second group of people to receive the news.

As for how he got it, of course it was through his aunt.

Wang Zhengjun knew that the time had come to support Wang Mang's re-emergence as the ruler! With the imperial seal in hand, when else would she do it?
So after dealing with everything, he informed Wang Mang of the news.

"Our chance has come. It seems that all these years of silent waiting have not been in vain."

Wang Mang showed a relieved expression. Ever since Xu Hua began to frequently write to him to suggest the establishment of a crown prince, he had felt a great sense of crisis! It was obvious that this guy had seen through his plot.

Want to cut off the firewood from under the cauldron! As long as the crown prince is established, there will be no more opportunities.

Wang Shun, Wang Mang's cousin and confidant, smiled and said, "Congratulations, brother. Many years of planning have finally become a reality. Now we just have to wait for the imperial edict to arrive."

Wang Shun's father was Wang Yin, Marquis of Anyang, who also held a considerable position in the family.

Moreover, Wang Shun was one of the few Wang family officials who was not implicated by Wang Mang's resignation. He served in the court and was deeply trusted by the late Emperor Liu Xin, who did not alienate him because of this.

In addition, Wang Mang's other cousin, Wang Yi, also served in the court.

"Don't be happy too soon, this is just the beginning." Wang Mang was not so happy, because returning to the court was just the beginning. The first person he had to face was his old rival Xu Hua.

This person whose power is spread all over the center, must be brought down first before we can have the ability to change the world!
That’s right, Wang Mang was not a treacherous minister in the traditional sense. All he did was to save the country. Although the Xu family had always been honest, they were also powerful in nature.

There are limitations. For example, it is impossible to support Liu Xin's land limit order, and his goal is to restore the well-field system of the Former Qin Dynasty, that is, to take all the land back to the state and have it allocated uniformly by the court.

This was not actually a system that was ahead of its time. On the contrary, it was a typical retro reform. The well-field system was a system from the Zhou Dynasty that had long been eliminated and did not conform to the national conditions of the Han Dynasty. This was also the reason for its failure.

Although Wang Mang's reforms were unrealistic, they encountered obstacles everywhere, and the Confucian scholars who intended to change the world were willing to make it happen.

It was with the support of Confucianism that Wang Mang was able to gradually rise to power.

"That's right, brother." Wang Shun nodded. He certainly knew how difficult Xu Hua was. It was completely useless to defeat him in the central government alone. The Xu family's roots were in Jingxiang and Hebei.

If something unexpected happens in Chang'an, then the local area can immediately set up another court to confront it. Xu Zhong and others have great control over the local military and political affairs!

Liu Xin once thought about taking back power, but after some efforts he still failed, and the local governors still showed a trend of being too powerful to be removed.

"Huh... I'm actually most worried about Xu Zhong, not Xu Hua."

"If Jingzhou unites with Shangyangzhou, we can at least mobilize an armored army of 100,000 within half a month! Nanyang is only half a month away from Guanzhong."

“It’s still something to be concerned about.”

Wang Mang began to think in his mind that he must get rid of Xu Zhong, Xu Yuan and others in the local area, otherwise his reforms would never be implemented in the local area.

But, there is still a long way to go.

.........

In September of the third year of Yuanshou, which was the twelfth day after Liu Xin's death, Wang Zhengjun issued an imperial decree in the name of the Empress Dowager, summoning all officials with an official rank of more than 1,000 stones to come to the palace for discussions.

The purpose is to recommend a minister to be entrusted with the care of the young emperor and to determine the crown prince. After all, the normal operation of the country requires an emperor, even if he is just a mascot.

A large number of ministers, both big and small, walked slowly into the hall, feeling very nervous. Grand Tutor Xu Hua was still standing at the front on the left, and next to him was Grand Tutor Ma Ming, who had a pale face.

Perhaps Ding Ming also knew that the first thing the Queen Mother would do was to use him as the Sima to make room for her nephew Wang Mang.

Soon, the white-haired Queen Mother Wang Zhengjun, supported by her palace maids, slowly walked to the main seat, and all the ministers stood up and saluted.

"Please don't be polite, everyone."

Wang Zhengjun looked quite dignified, giving people a kind feeling, and her white hair was like silk.

"Thank you, Queen Mother."

"I'm sure everyone has already guessed the purpose of summoning you here. When His Majesty passed away, there was no heir apparent, not even a minister to entrust his son to."

"For the safety of our great Han, we must prepare for both of these."

Wang Zhengjun got straight to the point. She looked at Ding Ming and her voice flashed with anger: "Ding Ming, what crime should you be charged with?"

The other person's body trembled noticeably, and he leaned down and said, "Please tell me clearly, Queen Mother."

"You have no way of governing the country, and the people are full of resentment. You are no longer qualified to continue to be the Grand Marshal. The late emperor was concerned about his reputation, but I am not afraid."

Ding Ming also understood what he meant and said respectfully: "I know my crime, and I am too ashamed to face the people of the world. I am willing to give up the position of Grand Marshal and hope to hand it over to a more virtuous person. I hope he can atone for my sins."

Isn't this just resigning from office?

Although he was reluctant, he had no choice. When he was under someone's roof, he had to bow his head and save his life first.

"Hmm... he does have some conscience." Wang Zhengjun nodded when she saw that the other party was so sensible, and then said, "Who do you think can take over?"

Ding Ming understood again and followed her wishes and said, "I recommend Wang Mang, the chief doctor of the Imperial College, to take over the position of Grand Marshal!"

"I heard that Dr. Wang has recovered. It is the most appropriate thing for him to return to this position. This is also a good thing."

"But Jujun is a doctor of the Imperial College, how can he serve in the court?"

"Wang Si, the former prime minister of the Yuan Dynasty, was also a doctor of the Imperial College. Didn't he do very well in the end?"

Ding Ming continued.

"What do you think?" Wang Zhengjun looked at the people below.

"I have no objection. It is reasonable for Dr. Wang to be reinstated."

No one, including Xu Hua, objected openly because this was almost a threat.

(End of this chapter)