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

Chapter 145 Pulling
The governor of Jingyang handed over three states? It was a good plan. They originally wanted to weaken Xu Zhong's control over the local area, but didn't it make things worse?
Now, General Zhennan Zhu Chun is already close to the Xu family, and basically obeys their orders, as if he is clinging to a big thick leg.

When Han Xiao of Dunhuang started a rebellion, he was very clear about mobilizing troops. He drew out the most elite 3,000 Danyang soldiers and sent his own confidants to lead them, showing his sincerity.

Although they were eventually wiped out by Xu Yuan's Northwest Army and Xu Min's Youzhou County before they even fought.

So once there is a change in the world, Zhu Chun will definitely surrender immediately, without a doubt.

After Wang Mang came to power, he kept trying to show his good will to him. How could a person of this level be absolutely loyal? He would be the top figure in any camp as long as he had soldiers under his command! Why would he hang himself on a crooked tree?

It’s a pity that the current Chang’an Central Government cannot come up with any decent chips. Zhu Chun is very similar to Xu Zhong. Although he is eager to make further progress, he does not want to move.

He was a local emperor in Huainan, so why did he come to Chang'an to suffer this? He went from being the top leader to being out of the top ten. It was not worth it, unless he could give Jiaozhou or Jingzhou to him.

Zhu Chun would be happy to defect.

Unfortunately, Jingzhou and Jiaozhou are both in the hands of the Xu family.

The Governor of Jiaozhou was the Prefect of Jiangxia in his early years. After being transferred to another place, he still obeyed the orders of the General of Chariots and Cavalry's Office and held the position of Jijiu.

It is difficult to win them over. What if the Governor-General of Jingyang is given the power to control the three states? He will have his own troops and be powerful! By then, the General of the Cavalry will be the next Governor-General of the Town.

He became as difficult to deal with as Xu Yuan and was hard to counter.

"I'm afraid this is inappropriate, Xu Situ. There is indeed a precedent for the regent to stay in the local area. Local rebellion is an emergency. Your Majesty and the Queen Mother will probably be able to accept it."

"But it's not appropriate for me to be the military governor of three states again. Besides, how can I have enough experience to handle government affairs after fighting on the front lines for many years?"

"In my opinion, it is better to send a loyal and capable minister to Jingzhou to assist in the administration. Then Xu Huqi can rest assured to submit memorials to the capital. As for the trivial matters in the local area, they can be handed over to this capable minister. I believe that the efficiency can be improved."

Wang Mang also countered the move. Since you don't want to leave, I will send someone to share your power. Besides, you want to put down the rebellion, so just hand over the local administrative power.

As for the matter of supervising the military and political affairs of the three states, he certainly could not agree. Is this any different from what Zhao Tuo did in Nanyue back then? No, it was even more terrifying. Back then, Zhao Tuo only had Lingnan.

He guessed that Xu Hua didn't expect the court to agree, because anyone with a little bit of brains would not do such a self-destructive thing. Xu Yuan was already difficult enough, so could he create another one who was even more powerful?

Therefore, he mainly wanted to take the opportunity to force the court to make concessions and allow Xu Zhong to stay in Jingzhou, while at the same time not losing his power as regent.

It's a bit like having both.

Xu Hua shook his head: "Sima Wang is wrong. In the past, the Grand Marshal and General of the Cavalry Xu Nan once managed state affairs remotely in Jiaozhou. In other words, there is a precedent for this."

"The country has not been thrown into chaos because of this. Letting Xu Zhongfen control the military and political affairs of the South is obviously the best solution."

"I hope the Queen Mother will consider this carefully."

He still wanted to hold on a little longer. If he could really win the South, the power of the Xu family would undoubtedly expand again!

In this way, no matter what Wang Mang did, he could not shake the foundation of the Liu family. Although being heavy on the inside and light on the outside is a way to cause chaos, if Xu Zhong's ambition expands and he also wants to conquer the Central Plains, it will undoubtedly be a catastrophe.

Just as the destruction caused by the Jingnan Campaign far exceeded that of the Xuanwu Gate Incident, the trauma of civil war to a country will always be greater than that of a coup!
If Xu Zhong wanted to rebel, then Xu Yuan, the military governor of Yongliang, would also raise troops to respond. The rebels from Nanyang and Longxi would rise up in the Central Plains, and it would be difficult to resist them with the current military strength in Chang'an.

Why is Xu Hua not worried? It's not that he absolutely believes in his brother. People can change. Besides, power is the most terrible drug! Few people can keep their original intentions.

There is indeed no one on earth who can supervise him, but what about in heaven? Xu Hua always believed that if someone in the family went astray, the ancestors would help clean up the mess! When Taiwei Xu Zhao turned the tide, his ancestor Xu Zhen must have helped him!

After all, King Zhao Liu Ruyi had hundreds of thousands of troops, while the Han army had only a few thousand. According to historical records, the soldiers suddenly became very brave, fighting one against a hundred and chasing the rebels away.

Before, it was incomprehensible and could only be attributed to Emperor Wen’s destiny, but now it seems that it was the ancestors who took action.

In fact, Xu Zhen was unable to interfere in worldly affairs, otherwise the Xu family would have been invincible long ago. He could not even influence his own family members. He could only send dreams or use props to help his descendants.

"Xu Situ, I know that the Xu family has been loyal for generations. There has been basically no traitor among the main characters. They have always fought for the Liu family until the last moment."

"But people's hearts are hard to predict. As our Han dynasty gradually declines, there's no guarantee that they'll develop some... inappropriate thoughts."

"Of course, Xu Zhongqi will definitely not do that, but who can say for sure that his subordinates will not push him to do it? How many people have been pushed into the grave by their own cronies? Some people have food, money, and land, and no one restricts them... It's really threatening."

Wang Zhengjun, who had been silent for a long time, finally spoke. This was also her original intention to fight against the Xu family. The Xu family's momentum was too strong and no one could resist it for many years!

This is obviously not a good thing, because it means that if they develop rebellious intentions, no one will stop them. In fact, it is difficult to figure out people, so compared to outsiders, Wang Zhengjun prefers to use her own people, at least she knows their background, right?

Although it was Wang Mang who usurped the throne later, no one has God's time. At this time, Grand Marshal Wang Mang was a loyal minister through and through! Who would believe that he would rebel?

The statement "Wang Mang was humble before he usurped the throne" is quite correct.

So she could only say it vaguely. To say openly that you would rebel would obviously be a bad idea and would undoubtedly discourage loyal ministers, not to mention that this was a minister entrusted with the care of the young emperor.

So at least we should be more tactful. We are all smart people and there is no need to make everything so clear.

Xu Hua glanced at her, was silent for a moment, and said, "The Queen Mother's brother has served in Jingzhou for many years. I believe he must have his own set of patterns for employing officials. Even if he is suppressing the rebellion in Changsha, it should not affect daily affairs."

"So there is no need to send anyone to help. This may even have a counterproductive effect. I think we should just let General Xu Zhong stay in Jingzhou for the time being." "Your concerns are not unreasonable."

In the end, Xu Hua gave in. This made it clear that the court would not allow someone to monopolize a place. Yongliang was in a special situation, and it needed money and food from Chang'an, so it could be independent.
If the three states of Jing, Yang and Jiao fell into the hands of a certain person, the Empress Dowager would probably not be able to sleep well, for fear that the other party would rebel.

Han Xiao from Dunhuang is already quite dangerous. If the South rebels again, the Han Dynasty will inevitably be shaken!
What's more, the Xu family also gained a lot of benefits. Although the promise of being in charge of all military and political affairs in the southern part of the Han Dynasty fell through, it was not a loss. At least he was promoted to General of Cavalry.

In fact, Xu Zhong's current post as Yangzhou Mu is just a nominal position. The person who is really in charge of Yangzhou is General Zhennan Zhu Chun. It was originally a real position, but the price is that he must return to the court to govern! Otherwise, he can only contact Jingzhou.

The situation was beyond Wang Mang's imagination. He originally wanted to lure Xu Zhong back to the court and then slowly infiltrate and undermine his power. However, the other party was not interested in this and wanted to have both.

Even if I stay in the local area, Jingyang will still be in charge of military and political affairs. How can such a good thing be possible?
Therefore, it is very good to maintain the status quo. With the three states of Jingzhou, Liangzhou and Youzhou in their hands, the Wang family forces in the court will have to think twice!

Wang Zhengjun did not intend to continue to fight for it, and agreed immediately: "Well... since Xu Situ has no objection, then let's leave it as it is."

Then, she looked at Wang Mang and said, "Your Excellency, you can now bring up the method of saving the world that you mentioned in your last memorial. I will consider it as appropriate."

Wang Mang then stepped out and said, "Your Majesty, I think we can employ a lot of Confucian scholars. People in the world are fed up with the complicated and harsh laws. What we need is good character to guide the people."

"Rather than strict legal restrictions, I think we should use more Confucian scholars."

In order to improve his own place, of course he had to attract more people to support him, and Wang Mang chose the Confucian scholars! He relied on these scholars throughout the court to enrich his influence.

In fact, since Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the political structure has been a continuation of the dispute between Confucianism and Legalism. In essence, the representatives were all nominated by Confucian scholars and Legalists, but with different emphases.

For example, the French have always placed their hopes on the Xu family, and this has never changed. They prosper together and suffer together.

The rewards given to them by the Xu family were also considerable. Most of the local officials had more or less a Legalist background, and the Confucianists’ bets had almost never been successful. In order to ensure that they were not completely eliminated, they always kept a trick up their sleeves.

The people supported by Confucianism before were actually Wang Feng and Wang Gen, but the top doctors in the Confucian Academy looked down on the Wang family.

Therefore, it has been a long time since Wang Si, when the Confucian scholars truly supported someone, at least the doctors at the top who had the power to approve documents never did so.

This time they finally found their target! That is the chief Confucian official of the time, the chief doctor Wang Mang!
"No, if we only increase the proportion of Confucian scholars without increasing the proportion of legalists, wouldn't that be a violation of the rules set by our ancestors?"

"The Han Dynasty has been using the policy of combining Confucianism and Legalism for hundreds of years. Its superiority has been perfectly demonstrated, and it has always maintained the stability of the country. If it is easily changed, it will undoubtedly cause chaos."

Before Wang Zhengjun could answer, Xu Hua was the first to jump out and express his opposition. He knew very well what Wang Mang meant.

They just want to take the opportunity to increase their own power. It seems that those old stubborn people have also taken action personally.

Xu Hua thought to himself that if Wang Mang had not received the collective support of the Confucian Academy, he would not have put so much effort into it. He remembered that the grassroots Confucian scholars also supported Wang Feng before.

But even when Wang Feng was in power, he did nothing to enhance the overall status of Confucianism. He only tried to win over a certain force or faction.

It's not this whole thing. Anyway, that kind of great scholar looks down on him and has a high opinion of himself, thinking that he has noble moral character and is completely different from corrupt officials. If that's the case, why bother trying to please them?
But now the situation is completely different. Confucianism has recognized Wang Mang, and Confucian scholars and officials also intend to get closer to Wang Mang, especially the great Confucian Kong Guang.

Although there has been no clear statement yet, people are moving closer to it intentionally or unintentionally.

"Alas... Has Situ Xu become so pedantic? The feudal system back then was also the law of our ancestors, but didn't Emperor Gao abolish it anyway? The reason is that the county system is superior to the feudal system!"

"So Emperor Gaodi made the right choice. We must also make a choice at this fork in the road. History will prove that Confucianism is the most suitable way to govern the Han Dynasty."

Wang Mang also refused to give in and began to refute it, not entirely for the purpose of winning over the Confucian scholars.

He truly believed that the Confucian system was superior and far more useful than the Legalist laws, and that the Qin Dynasty had proven that harsh laws were not applicable.

If the advice of abolishing all schools of thought and respecting Confucianism alone had been followed earlier, the Han Dynasty might not have ended up in such a situation. Therefore, it is necessary to try. As for whether it will succeed, we will have to wait and see.

"Haha...Sir Wang, you have to be steady and cautious when governing the country. If you gamble a little, the whole country will be overthrown! This is not like playing chess. If you make a mistake, you can start over or even regret it. There will be no next time! Once the country's fortune is lost, it will take ten or even a hundred years to recover."

"Aren't the mistakes of Emperor Xiaowu clear enough? He squandered the treasury, and it took two generations of Emperor Kang and Emperor Xuan to make up for it."

As a descendant of the Xu family with a good family background, Xu Hua certainly believes that the best thing for his ancestors is to be respectful, to follow the law on the outside and be a Confucianist on the inside. He even says that this is not good at all and has considerable flaws.

It is said that our ancestor Xu Gong's idea was to take the essence of hundreds of schools of thought, combine the strengths of all ideas, and create a new way of governing the country!
None of the various schools of thought are perfect, but they all have their own strengths, so it is best to take a little bit from each.

Unfortunately, due to practical limitations, we have to give up. The country does not have the energy and resources to cultivate so many talents, so we can only pick out the two best and most representative ones.

Wang Mang then shook his head: "Xu Situ's situation is different now, why don't you give it a try? If it really doesn't work, then it won't be too late to stop it in time."

"No, no, once the boulder starts rolling, it's not easy to stop! It has to be right from the beginning."

Xu Hua still refused to give in. This was not just a question of governing the country. Most of the officials on his side were Legalists. Their heads were determined by their butts. His position represented his stance!
Before, the Xu family was absolutely neutral, but now it is different. They have started to form their own camp.

I really don't know when I can get back to normal. It's too tiring and dangerous to fight in person. It's safer to hide behind the scenes.

(End of this chapter)