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

Chapter 150 Acting on behalf of the Emperor, Yongliang plots rebellion
After the death of the previous emperor, the selection of the emperor became particularly important. Although the Liu family's power had fallen into the hands of others and was divided up by the Wang and Xu families, they were still the monarchy after all. The remnants of a hundred years were still there, and the Xu family also strongly supported the Liu family.

Wang Mang wanted to usurp the throne, but the timing was not yet ripe and he had to wait a little longer, so he planned to take a further step in the transition.

The excessive official position is Taizai, the official position of Zhou Gongdan in the past.

At that time, King Cheng of Zhou was young and the government was controlled by Duke Zhou. His power was no different from that of a real king, so this official position was perfect for him.

"I beg the Queen Mother to welcome Liu Ying, the son of Marquis Guangqi, as the Crown Prince!"

All the ministers returned together and forced the Empress Dowager to act according to their wishes.

"Ying is still a child, it's not appropriate." Wang Zhengjun's voice was rarely impatient. Liu Ying was only two years old! He was still a baby. How could he be made emperor?

This guy doesn't even pretend. If it weren't for the restrictions of the Xu family's local faction, he would have usurped the throne long ago!
In fact, the time was ripe for Wang Mang to usurp power. Both the common people and Confucian scholars believed that he was a saint. He held all the power in the court, and the imperial guards were firmly in the hands of Wang Shun.

If the local forces had not grown stronger, Xu Hua would not have had the strength to fight at all!

"The Queen Mother can order the Prime Minister to temporarily replace the Crown Prince in governing the country, just like the report that An Han Gong Mang was the Prime Minister."

Kong Guang actively supported him.

"What do you mean? Master Kong has gone too far." Wang Zhengjun frowned, she understood what he meant!

Basically, it meant not allowing Liu Ying to ascend the throne, and allowing him to continue to be the crown prince in the Eastern Palace, while the imperial power was controlled by Wang Mang.

Is there any difference between this and the emperor?

He is called the Prime Minister, but in fact he is the emperor.

"I don't think it's excessive. It's God's will that the Prime Minister temporarily exercises the imperial power for the Grand Prime Minister, and all the subjects agree with it."

Wang Shun also agreed.

"I second the proposal!"

All the ministers answered that it was already a bit like forcing the emperor to abdicate. What could they do if they disagreed with this attitude?
"What does Xu Taibao think?" Wang Zhengjun did not look at Wang Mang's erratic expression, but asked about Xu Hua's attitude.

If there is anyone in the court who can stop it, it is only the Xu family, a century-old family! Their local foundation is enough to support a rebellion! They hold real military power.

"The Queen Mother is the final word. I dare not say more." Xu Hua threw the question back lightly. He had already made up his mind.

It was too difficult to defeat Wang Mang and support Liu's revival from the court, and the Han Dynasty was already in trouble. Since Emperor Yuan, almost every generation of monarchs were incompetent and mediocre! Finally, a slightly capable monarch was welcomed, but he was extremely short-lived!

How can this be justified? If so, why not just create a new Han dynasty, as long as it is the descendant of Emperor Gao?

And this opportunity has already arrived. After Wang Mang usurped the throne, the Xu family would immediately raise the banner of serving the king in Nanyang, and unite with the Zhenjun Military Governor's Office in Yongliang and the Zhennan General's Office in Youzhou. The three parties would jointly send troops to retake Guanzhong!
Even if they fail to seize it, they can still establish a new dynasty based on the existing foundation and select an emperor with sufficient capabilities.

Therefore, Xu Hua did not intend to confront Wang Mang head-on, but let this guy gradually become more powerful and eventually choose to usurp the throne.

He had no choice but to usurp the throne. Although his rebellious intentions were obvious, it would not have had any effect in the end.

"Well, forget it, forget it. We will welcome Prime Minister Wang Mang as Grand Prime Minister and let him temporarily live in Weiyang Palace and act on behalf of the emperor, just like the story of Duke Zhou. Grand Tutor Xu Hua will be the Prime Minister and assist the Grand Prime Minister in handling state affairs."

Wang Zhengjun had no choice but to make concessions, but she did not become a fake emperor. Instead, she became a prime minister and was among the ministers.

At the same time, Xu Hua was also brought along and made prime minister, hoping that he could play a balancing role, although it was no longer obvious.

There is basically no threatening force in this court!

The next day, the late emperor was officially buried, and his ministers posthumously named him Emperor Ping. This time it was not a beautiful posthumous title, but a plain posthumous title, which contained a bit of compassion.

To be honest, Emperor Ping was a very miserable child. He was favored by Wang Mang at the age of nine. He left his hometown and came to the palace to be emperor. Although he enjoyed the worship of all the ministers, he was undoubtedly under great pressure in his heart.

And he was only a teenager! Everyone knows why he suddenly fell ill and died.

Of course, the most miserable emperor was the following one, Liu Ying, also known as Ruzi Ying! He was welcomed back to the palace at the age of two and locked up in the palace, neither talking to people nor reading.

He became a tool for Wang Mang to seize power, and later turned into a fool, who could do nothing and could not even take care of himself.

It is rare to see such a miserable emperor. As the son of a prince, he should have inherited the title and enjoyed wealth and glory.

It's a pity that good luck tricks people.

In March of the sixth year of Yuanshi, Wang Mang changed the reign title to Regent, issued a general amnesty, and officially assumed the position of Grand Chancellor, acting on behalf of the emperor. From then on, the empress dowager no longer ruled the country from behind the scenes, but retired to Changxin Palace, and all decisions had to be reported to her.

In fact, the one who had lost the real power and only had a respected position, and the person who sat in the main seat and manipulated the country became the Prime Minister Wang Mang!
Although he did not become a fake emperor, he was not much different from a fake emperor. Although Xu Hua was a prime minister, he could not act on behalf of the emperor like the other emperors.

In other words, Wang Mang was the emperor and Xu Hua was just the prime minister.

The affairs of state were also handled by Wang Shun, Wang Yi and others, and had little to do with him.

.........

In the mansion of Duke Jing, Xu Hua's eldest son Xu Yuan took the position of Taizhong Daifu in the fifth year of Yuanshi and was always by his father's side.

Now he also realized the seriousness of the situation. Wang Mang became the Prime Minister in one fell swoop, drove the Empress Dowager to Changxin Palace, sat on the throne himself, and acted on behalf of the emperor.

The only difference between him and being a real emperor is the process of abdication. It can be said that he is still concerned about the existence of the Xu family.

He wanted to wait until he had completely conquered the Henan area before engaging in war with the enemy.

A battle between King Xu and King Xu is inevitable. One wants to usurp power and establish himself as an independent ruler, while the other wants to protect Liu Anhan. There is a fundamental conflict of interest between the two.

Unlike others, he cannot be won over by guaranteeing their interests, just like those princes of the Liu family, by guaranteeing their status so that they will no longer resist.

The Xu family is different. Back then, Liu promised to share weal and woe with the country. They are a century-old family, and under the Liu family is the Xu family!
Is Wang Mang willing or able to give this with confidence?
There is no room for negotiation.

"Father, I think the time is ripe. Wang Mang is now the Prime Minister, acting as the emperor and imprisoning the Crown Prince Ying. How is this different from usurping the throne?"

"If we don't resist now, when will we resist? Once that guy is fully prepared, we won't have any advantage."

Xu Yuan should not wait any longer, he should strike first! Things have come to this point, why bother to save face? The Xu family raised an army to support the king, and no one could find fault with it.

We should take advantage of the enemy's unpreparedness, attack Chang'an, establish a new king, and build a new Han Dynasty!
Why keep waiting?

"No, now is not the right time." Xu Hua shook his head. He always considered a lot. He didn't have the courage to gamble. What if he failed? Wang Mang was now popular. It would be most useful to wait until this guy was too lazy to pretend before taking action.

In fact, Wang Mang's usurpation of the throne was really the result of the unanimous support of people all over the world. All people, including the princes with the surname Liu, collectively abandoned the Han Dynasty and happily welcomed the saint in their hearts.

They hoped that this saint could lead them to prosperity and reverse the country's decline.

The reason why Wang Mang was deserted by his friends and relatives was that his reforms failed, which led to the rise of rebellions. In addition, he was unlucky and met Liu Xiu, and was defeated by the rebel army in the Battle of Kunyang.

In fact, even if the Xu family raised an army, they would most likely not be able to defeat Wang Mang, because in the minds of most people, the Han Dynasty was synonymous with corruption and was beyond salvation, so it was better to welcome a new beginning. The Xu family, who wanted to protect this corrupt dynasty, was destined not to receive widespread support.

Except for the four states of Jingzhou, Liangzhou, Jizhou and Youzhou, which are the base camps, the others can be instigated to rebel.

Of course, Xu Hua, who has soldiers at his disposal, can also carry out reforms manually, using both soft and hard methods to confiscate the land of the powerful and then distribute it.

In fact, this is very difficult. Even Liu Xiu in the future did not achieve equal distribution of land. He only measured the land, that is, to re-check and measure the land across the country so that the powerful could no longer hide and increase tax revenue for the court.

Only a few people like Liu Bang were able to achieve equal distribution of land, and they were still benefiting from the dividends of the times.

"Father, you must stop being so indecisive! If you hesitate, you will lose! Only if you dare to move forward can you get more. You are really becoming more and more like my grandfather."

Xu Yuan said helplessly, his father was not like this before, always hesitant and timid. His father was strongly opposed to his grandfather's conservative way of doing things.

As a result, once he became the head of the family, things gradually became like this.

"You will experience this too." Xu Hua did not refute anything. He also knew that his personality had changed.

But this is inevitable. When you become the head of the family, you have to consider more things. Only the ancestor Xu Zhen can do whatever he wants. Everyone else is dragged down by the family.

He was somewhat confident about the rebellion, because he still had the jade pendant left by his ancestors! That magical object that could call the wind and rain!
With the help of this thing, the army will be invincible. Xu Min defeated the foreign tribes on the border and made them flee in panic because of the help of this thing. His military ability was far inferior to Xu Yuan's.

The people of Youzhou even believed that the Han Dynasty was blessed by God, otherwise how could such a coincidence happen?

Therefore, the recognition of the Han Dynasty was particularly high. The people of this era were terribly superstitious. Although other dynasties were also superstitious, the Han Dynasty was even worse.

Wang Mang was able to usurp the throne by taking advantage of this fact and fabricating auspicious signs that he was being chosen by heaven.

"I understand. Don't worry, father." Xu Yuan didn't think that he would become so timid.

Isn't being the head of a family a matter of daring to fight and fight? Although his father disagreed, he couldn't just sit there and wait for death. He had to prepare early.

"Well... your father believes in you." Xu Hua encouraged him, and then said, "Go and tell your uncles that the training and mobilization of troops must be kept secret and must not be discovered by outsiders!"

"There are bandits in Jingxiang, and Qiang people, Xiongnu and Wuhuan in Yongliang and Youyan. It shouldn't be difficult to find some plausible reasons."

He was not a coward. The other party was so rampant, why should he endure it? No one in the Xu family had ever been so cowardly, but if he wanted to do something, he had to be absolutely sure!

Xu Hua actually had a deeper plan. Xu Yuan, Xu Yuan and others meant to take advantage of the other side's failure to react and quickly attack Chang'an, wipe out the treacherous ministers, establish a new king and recuperate.

But this is only a temporary solution, not a permanent one! Although it can get rid of a powerful and treacherous minister, this dynasty is already rotten to the core. From top to bottom, from inside to outside, it does not need a strong monarch, unless there are several more rulers like Emperor Kang and Emperor Xuan who can revive the dynasty.

Otherwise, it will not be of much help, it will just be a cycle and the next Wang Mang will appear.

As the ancients said, there is no creation without destruction, and only after destruction can creation be established! Flowers will bloom more gorgeously after withering. What Xu Hua wants to do is to divide and rule with Wang Mang.

On the premise of ensuring external stability, not interfering in internal affairs is like raising a Gu, raising a monarch who can revive the Han Dynasty!

He believed that Emperor Gao's genes were linked to seven generations of wise rulers! There was no one like him before, and there would probably be no one like him after.

Although it might lead to national rebellion, Xu Hua was confident that the person who would eventually emerge victorious would be named Liu.

After all, the military power is in his hands. He doesn't care because it is the emperor's family affair. They are all descendants of Emperor Gao. Whoever is capable, who wins the hearts of the people, and who has the greatest power will become the emperor.

The powerful figures in the Xu family, such as Xu Zhong and Xu Yuan, were very happy to hand over the military power. In fact, they were not greedy for power and thought that it was unimportant. Aren't the three dukes and nine ministers better than these governors and generals?
This is where Xu Zhen came into play. The descendants of the Xu family are inherently less ambitious than ordinary people. They like money and pleasure, but they don't have much regard for powerful officials or even the emperor.

"Yes father, I will be there right away."

.........

In the second year of his reign as regent, Wang Mang was 52 years old in the year 7 AD. He vaguely sensed small movements in Yongliang, Jingxiang and other places, and was extremely frightened.

Then he sent envoys to thirteen states to test whether the other side's rebellion was serious.
And then react.

These envoys were quite arrogant after arriving at the place. Although they did not dare to make decisions about people like Xu Zhong, Xu Yuan and Zhu Chun, they were also quite rampant.

This caused dissatisfaction among many members of the Xu family.

Among them, Xu Yuan was the worst. Xu Zhong could endure it for the sake of the overall situation, but he couldn't stand it. As the Grand Commander in Yongliang, he almost monopolized the power. When had he ever suffered such a great humiliation?

This is especially true for the staff and generals around him.

"The treacherous minister, the Grand Commander, is too arrogant. We haven't even bothered him yet, but he's here first!"

A burly general said viciously.

"Yeah, if you ask me, we can only rebel against him! I have 100,000 strong soldiers in Xiliang, and Xu Huqi in Jingzhou will definitely respond actively and drive that guy off his horse in one fell swoop!"

Someone suggested.

This idea is very much in line with the thoughts of the general public, as they are radicals by nature.

"Be quiet, it still depends on what the Grand Commander wants."

Chen Xiang, the chief secretary of the Military Governor's Office and the governor of Longxi, stopped everyone and gave the right to choose to his own commander-in-chief.

Xu Yuan has also been thinking about it. His brothers did tell him not to take any action and to be patient.

But the enemy is right on top of us! How can we endure this?

"You son of a bitch, you're rebelling! I'll take responsibility if anything goes wrong!"

(End of this chapter)