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

Chapter 144 Emperor Ai of Han, the new emperor ascends the throne
So there is still a way after all. Rules are dead but people are alive. Xu Zhong staying in Jingzhou does not necessarily mean that he will be completely cut off from the government.

In this era, transportation is indeed backward and information cannot be disseminated in a timely manner, but the Xu family has spies! With this organization, they can make up for the shortcomings and stir up trouble in Nanyang.

By then, the resources that can be controlled will be further improved. The General of Chariots and Cavalry will not have the power to govern the country, but the Regent will have it!
Next, Xu Zhong will be able to touch things that he couldn’t touch before.

The situation could still be saved. As long as Wang Mang, the chief minister, was sidelined, he would still have no choice but to leave in disgrace, or be crushed to pieces in the political struggle!

"We have found the Liu Qin that you asked us to pay attention to, Mr. Xu."

The Left Military Advisor of the General of Chariots and Cavalry's Mansion took a sip of wine and looked at Xu Zhong.

"What's wrong?"

Xu Zhong also perked up. This person had been emphasized by his ancestor in his dream, and it seemed that he was not simple.

He had not had many contacts with his ancestor Xu Zhen, but he could keenly sense his steadiness and arrogance as if he had the whole world under his control. Anyone who could be noticed by such a figure must be extraordinary!
When Xu Zhong heard this at the time, he was still a little confused. He did know Liu Qin and he had some influence among the masters.

The son of Emperor Xiaoxuan Liu Xun and the younger brother of Emperor Yuan of Han Liu Shi. In the third year of Yuankang, he was granted the title of King of Huaiyang and went to a vassal state, where he was deeply loved by Emperor Xuan.

But this person has been dead for a long time. What is there to pay attention to about a dead person?
But after further speculation, he realized that this Liu Qin was not that Liu Qin, and the two were not the same person, so he just kept it in mind.

It was not until recently that people had time to send people to investigate. Since he was an official in the court, it would be easy to find out.

The man said slowly, "According to the information you gave us, there is one person who fits the description. He is from Caiyang, Nanyang, the eighth-generation grandson of Emperor Gao, and the fifth-generation grandson of Changsha Dingwang Liu Fa. However, he no longer holds a title and is an ordinary member of the royal family."

"He is indeed an official in the court, but he is only a county magistrate."

Xu Zhong was a little surprised after hearing this. He was just a small county magistrate. How could the ancestors take him so seriously? He actually took the initiative to bring it up.

No, it must not be that simple! I remember that Xiao He, the Prime Minister who assisted Emperor Gao in conquering the world, was not even a chief clerk in Pei County at that time. He was an ant that could be easily crushed to death and was not even worthy of being noticed.

But what was the result? Didn’t he still go down in history as famous as his ancestor Xu Zhen?

Or maybe there is something special about his offspring.

"Continue to send people to monitor... No, go negotiate with the governor of Chenliu and transfer Liu Qin to Nanjun. We must pay attention to him! We can promote him appropriately."

I'd like to see what's unusual about it.

Xu Zhong probably wouldn't see any clues. Liu Qin was just a county magistrate all his life with ordinary abilities. And the focus was his son Liu Xiu!

Unfortunately, Liu Xiu was very well behaved when he was young. Although he would study in the Imperial College in the future, there were still not many students in the Imperial College. It was not until the famous Battle of Kunyang that he really showed his talent!
And this will take at least a dozen years.

.........

At this time, the whole Chang'an was filled with a solemn atmosphere, because the young crown prince, King Zhongshan, had been welcomed back by Wang Shun and was now in Changle Palace, waiting for preparations to be completed and inherit the throne.

But before that, it was necessary to determine the posthumous title of the late emperor and hold a funeral.

For the time being, the Empress Dowager needed to take charge. After all, the emperor was not even ten years old, so how could he understand state affairs? This was also the reason why Wang Mang tried so hard to support him.

If he becomes the emperor, what will the Wang family do? With Xu Hua as a roadblock, what will become of the Grand Marshal? It won't be long before he can only resign and retire in disgrace, just like Liu Xin did when he was in power.

It was even a relatively good ending. After Xu Hua's experience of the resurgence of the dead, would he still let it go? He would definitely cut off the roots of the problem at that time.

Maybe the new emperor will be short-lived.

"Congratulations, brother, for being able to realize your ambitions. Our Han Dynasty will usher in prosperity and prosperity." Wang Shun, who had just been promoted to General Wei, congratulated him.

Dong Xian, the favorite minister of the previous emperor, was dealt with and liquidated immediately. As a result, the Empress Dowager Wang Zhengjun dismissed him from his post as General Wei on the grounds that he was too young to manage affairs, and the title of Grand Marshal was also revoked.

Dong Xian knew that the situation was hopeless and he also wanted to retain some dignity, so he did not submit any memorial to defend himself. After handing over the seal, he dismissed his wife and children, and said that his father and brothers had all resigned from their posts and returned to their fiefdoms.

Afterwards, he committed suicide at home, which was also a beg for the other party not to harm his family.

The Queen Mother was very martial and gave them a lot of gold, silver and jewelry. She did not take back the titles and allowed the Dong family to retire.

After all, the goal has been achieved. The family, where one person's success brings prosperity to the whole family, has no foundation at all, so there is no need to get rid of it.

The person who succeeded Dong Xian was the relative of Wang Mang, Wang Shun, Wang Mang's cousin and the most trusted of his trusted associates. As his elder brother ascended to the throne, his status naturally rose as well.

Wang Mang smiled and said: "It's still a long way to go before I can realize my ambitions. At least I don't have the final say in the affairs of the court."

"Xu Situ is the leader of all the ministers. He has been in charge for many years. Even Ding Ming, who was supported by the late emperor, could not do anything. Do you think he was losing ground before? In fact, it was just for show."

"He understood the sensitivity of his position, so he took the initiative to give up power to Ding Ming to reassure the late emperor that if he really wanted to fight, no one would be his opponent."

After the fall of the Wang family, Liu Xin supported the Ding family, the Fu family and the favorite minister Dong Xian to fight against the Xu family together, so as to prevent one family from dominating the court.

The ideal model is a three-party check and balance system.

Xu Hua also cooperated very well.

"After all, Situ Xu is second to me. My brother is the Grand Marshal and the chief minister." The somewhat inflated Wang Shun began to disregard the Xu family.

How could he lose? The Empress Dowager was his aunt, holding the young emperor in her hands, and was also the number one assistant minister. With the support of the Confucian scholars of the Imperial Academy, it was easy for him to deal with a mere Si Tu.

Once we win over Grand Marshal Kong Guang, there will be absolutely no suspense and victory will be a foregone conclusion!
"You are too arrogant. Self-confidence is a good thing, but arrogance is a disaster." Wang Mang shook his head.

"What I fear most is not Xu Hua. If it is just a political confrontation, then it is nothing. I am confident enough to win. But sometimes chess players also have to pay attention to things outside the chessboard."

"Do you know how many troops the Liangzhou Military Governor's Office has? Over 100,000! It's easy to get from Longxi to Chang'an!"

This is why he has been trying to win Xu Hua over to the chess game. He is not afraid of party disputes, but he is afraid that the other party cannot afford to play! If he directly overturns the table and regrets his move, what can you do?

It’s hard to say about Jingxiang, Youyan, but Xiliang can be called an independent kingdom!

The 100,000 troops that Xu Yuan mobilized was a conservative estimate. In fact, he could also mobilize the troops of the countries in the Western Regions and the Qiang tribes. The total number was definitely no less than 150,000!

What a terrifying military force this is. If Youzhou and Jingzhou make another move, and the three sides attack together, what can they do to resist? They can only wait for death.

Unless he can mobilize all the resources in Guanzhong, Bashu, Yu, Xu and other places.

Otherwise, you won’t even be qualified to compete.

Wang Shun was silent for a moment. He knew the bravery of the Xiliang soldiers. After thinking for a while, he said, "Brother, there is no war in the northwest anymore. Can we... appropriately cut down on spending? The national treasury has to allocate tens of millions of dollars every year to provide for Xiliang. It's really unbearable."

"If the Northwest Military Commandery can be abolished and the imperial court can send an inspector to directly govern it, the money and grain saved will certainly be considerable." Anyway, the queen mother is now the regent, so can we try to solve this major problem? Xiliang's independence is indeed too high, and Jingzhou at least appoints officials in the name of the imperial court.

Instead of the General's Mansion.

"Alas...Have you forgotten the lesson of Emperor Wen's reduction of the feudal lords in the past? In the end, it forced the Zhao King Liu Ruyi to rebel. Hundreds of thousands of Zhao troops crossed the Yellow River, conquered Hangu Pass and went straight to Chang'an."

"Grand Commander Xu Zhao led his troops back to provide support. The Battle of Beiyi broke out, and the rebel king was killed and the civil strife was quelled with lightning speed."

"Who do you think has more ability than General Xu Zhao, you or me?"

"A rash move against the Zhenjun Military Governor's Office will only backfire and arouse Xu Yuan's vigilance. If this matter is to be done, centralization is essential, but the method must be planned slowly."

Wang Mang was not a fool. The Grand Commander Xu Yuan was hostile to him. If he had a head-on confrontation, he would be forcing the other party to rebel. He would have no choice but to rebel even if he didn't want to.

He had no doubt about the Xu family's determination to sacrifice themselves. Given Xu Yuan's character, he would definitely die in front of Xu Hua or Xu Zhong to build momentum for them, and then he would be able to replicate Xu Gong's momentum in the past!

"Let's not talk about this anymore. The crown prince's coronation ceremony is about to begin. Let's continue preparing."

"Only if we can help the crown prince ascend to the throne as soon as possible will we have the capital to fight against him legitimately. Remember, use calm to control movement and let the enemy become manic first."

Wang Mang patted his brother on the shoulder and left with steady steps, seeming confident.

There are a large number of Xu family disciples inside, and threats from local factions such as the Northwest Army, Jingzhou Army, and Youzhou Army outside, but he is not afraid at all.

When the enemy comes, we will fight him with our soldiers; when the water comes, we will block it with earth; these are just minor problems.

.........

The posthumous title of the late emperor was also decided after discussion among the ministers.

There are roughly two voices, Emperor Zhao of Han and Emperor Ai of Han. One is a beautiful posthumous title, which is of the praise type, and the other is neither an evil posthumous title like Emperor Li, nor a fair posthumous title like Emperor Ping. It has a very special meaning, similar to King Dao, which makes people feel sorry.

After a heated discussion, the final conclusion was that Emperor Xiaoai was the winner, because the more intense emotion in the hearts of the ministers was actually regret.

What a genius the late emperor was! With a series of operations, he cleaned up the mess left by Emperor Li Liu Ao, and the power of the world returned to the Liu family. He also dared to reform and try, and appointed talented people. Although it was still difficult to make obvious achievements due to his limited ability, it was also very good.

It's a pity that he died at the age of 23, without any warning! How can we not feel pity?

Therefore, the posthumous title of Emperor Ai is very suitable, and it is easier to remember than all the beautiful posthumous titles.

In August of the third year of Yuanshou, Emperor Ai of Han, Liu Xin, was officially buried in Yiling. The crown prince went to pay homage, and then opened the temple of his great ancestor to offer sacrifices. Afterwards, he inherited the throne and ascended the throne to be emperor.

He changed the reign title to the first year of Yuanshi, issued a general amnesty, and appointed Grand Marshal Wang Mang as the chief regent, Grand Tutor Xu Hua as the second regent, Grand Chancellor Kong Guang and General of Chariots and Cavalry Xu Zhong as the second regents.

At the same time, Xu Zhong was promoted to General of Cavalry, Governor of Jingzhou and Yangzhou, and was in charge of all military and political affairs in the southern part of the Han Dynasty. He returned to Chang'an to govern the country and built the General of Cavalry's Mansion, which was next to the Jinghou Mansion.

It was actually very simple to make such a big fuss. It was simply to make Xu Zhong leave Nanyang. In order to reassure him, they specially added the post of Governor of Jingzhou and Governor of Yangzhou, just to tell him that even if you leave, you are still the "king" of these two places.

Of course, it was just a deception. Once Xu Zhong left his old nest, Wang Mang would gradually replace the prefects of the Xu family in Jingzhou, and then use huge benefits to win over the governor of Yangzhou and the General Zhennan Zhu Chun, and slowly sideline him.

In order to realize the plan of taking back the power of Jingzhou.

Unfortunately, I still underestimated Xu Zhong's ability. It was just like throwing a meat bun at a dog, and there was no return.

Weiyang Palace.

The young emperor Liu Jizi sat nervously in the main seat, watching his ministers below saluting and shouting "Long live the emperor!" For a moment, he could not even say the words that the eunuchs had taught him many times.

He was just a child. As the King of Zhongshan, he had always been carefree. How could he possibly react when he suddenly became the emperor?

"Your Majesty, you should say excuse me."

Wang Zhengjun behind the pearl curtain reminded carefully, her voice kind, as if she were a real grandmother.

The little emperor also mustered up his courage and said tremblingly, "No…no need to be polite."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." The ministers thanked him and took their seats.

"If you have something to report, please do so. If not, please dismiss the court." came the eunuch's sharp voice.

"Your Majesty, I have something to report."

Xu Hua stepped out, he had already received a reply from Xu Zhong.

"It's Xu Situ. I also have something to ask, why didn't Xu Huqi show up?"

Wang Zhengjun said first, she was always looking around for Xu Zhong! He was given such a great benefit, and he was also a general of the cavalry and a governor of the state, so he couldn't fail! Otherwise, the gain would be more than the loss.

But it’s not a big problem. So what if I find excuses to delay?

"That's exactly what I was going to say." Xu Hua lowered his head. "My brother just sent me a letter saying that a group of pirates numbering several thousand people appeared in Changsha again. They have hundreds of ships and are causing trouble. The officers and soldiers are simply unable to resist them."

"He has followed the example of his ancestors and temporarily stayed in Changsha to quell the rebellion. After all, the safety of my Han people is the most important thing."

Wang Mang next to him couldn't help but frown.

"Could it be that Situ Xu is trying to deceive me again? I remember that all the pirates in the Jingyang area have been dealt with long ago." Wang Zhengjun certainly didn't believe such a lie.

"It's absolutely true. The Queen Mother can send someone to investigate." Xu Hua said.

This is your territory! Who knows whether it is the Jingzhou army or pirates?

Behind the pearl curtain, the Empress Dowager had an ugly expression on her face, because she had no way to confirm it. It was even difficult for her to refuse, because there was a precedent for the regent to stay temporarily in the place!

What excuse could he give? Could he abandon the 300,000 people in Changsha?

Of course you can abandon 300,000 people, but you can't say it.

"...Well, if that's the case, let Xu Huqi stay in Changsha temporarily, but it will be difficult to convey this order."

Xu Hua replied: "We can let him take charge of the three states of Jing, Yang and Jiao temporarily, so as to relieve the country's worries."

(End of this chapter)