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

Chapter 155: The First Year of Shengding, Ennobling the Ministers

After Xu Zhen killed the Lü clan, he deposed the ineffective Later Shao Emperor and did not choose the more popular Prince of Zhao Liu Ruyi. Instead, he unexpectedly supported Prince of Dai Liu Heng as emperor.

This was undoubtedly quite surprising, because at that time neither the ministers nor the people understood the Grand Tutor's intention.

King Dai Liu Heng has always been an unknown and obscure figure. He was indeed wise in the Dai Kingdom, but he did not play a decisive role and was insignificant compared to Liu Ruyi's advantages.

As time went by, people all over the world were increasingly impressed by the sharp vision of the Grand Tutor.

The King of Dai was not a nobody, but an emperor who was famous in history! Continuing the policy of recuperation and inaction of Emperor Gao, Emperor Hui and Empress Lü, the national strength of the Han Dynasty rose rapidly.

Liu Heng also became a template for monarchs and was revered by later ministers. "The first Wen Emperor among the Three Dynasties" and "The Teacher of All Emperors" are all evaluations of him.

The famous Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, was a die-hard fan of Liu Heng.

Therefore, the banner that Xu Hua raised was Emperor Wen of Jinggong, and he promoted King Guangyang Liu Xiang as the contemporary King Dai Liu Heng.

Although his character was very different from Liu Heng's, his role was also significant. At least the public rejection of him was reduced a lot.

In fact, not many people believed that the ambitious King Guangyang could solve the country's problems.

This publicity has undoubtedly played a great role, but isn't Liu Heng still not favored by people?
After "declining", Xu Min did not give up, but bowed again, clasped his fists and said: "Your Majesty's virtue is obvious to all the world, and your virtue is also well known to the ministers."

"Now our Han Dynasty is in turmoil. Outside, the Xiongnu and Wuhuan people are harassing our borders. Inside, the treacherous minister Wang Mang is abusing his power and wreaking havoc on land annexation. Only the king can clear up the world and restore order!"

"For the sake of the people of the world, for the Liu family's kingdom, and for the enthusiasm of the ministers, I beg the king to promote me to the position of Crown Prince! So that I can take charge of the overall situation!"

The ministers behind him also shouted in unison:

"Please take over the throne of the crown prince and save the people of the world!"

"Please take over the throne of the crown prince and save the people of the world!"

For a moment, a loud sound resounded through the sky.

Liu Xiang continued to decline, saying, "I cannot take on this important task!"

A similar process was then repeated two more times.

King Guangyang then said with a look of helplessness: "Since you all admire me so much, if I refuse, it will inevitably chill the hearts of the ministers."

"It just so happens that we need someone to take charge of the situation in order to fight against the bandit Wang Mang. This person should not be me. I don't have the ability to take charge of everything."

"But the situation is urgent and it is difficult to find another more suitable prince with the surname Liu. I will temporarily become the crown prince. When I find a more suitable candidate, I will replace him."

Seeing that the king had finally "let go", Xu Min quickly took the lead and shouted, "Your Highness, I pay my respects to the Crown Prince!"

After saying that, he slowly knelt on the ground.

"See His Highness the Crown Prince!"

"See His Highness the Crown Prince!"

Other ministers in the rear also knelt on the ground and shouted "Long live the emperor". In fact, they were also ecstatic in their hearts.

Not much worse than Liu Xiang, the person involved.

Because this means they won the bet! From now on, they are no longer just local officials. If their master makes a further step, they can also rise with the tide! In the future, the position of the Nine Ministers will no longer be a luxury!
Liu Xiang offered sacrifices to the temple of Emperor Gaozu, and along with his ancestors, he formally inherited the throne of crown prince in Guangyang County, Youzhou, and a new dynasty was established!

The country's name remained Han, the era name was changed to Shengding, and a general amnesty was issued.

However, there is no emperor yet, because even the ministers have not been gathered and the country has not been established, so the coronation ceremony naturally cannot be prepared.

Now that the new Han Dynasty has just been established, the emperor’s ascension to the throne must not be done rashly. It must be celebrated in a grand manner, preferably to the point where the whole world knows about it, so that Wang Mang, who is far away in Chang’an, will be frightened!

We can’t let the world think that we are just a makeshift team.

Shengding means to restore the Han Dynasty to its former glory, but this road is still long.

A preliminary small court had been established in the Guangyang Palace. Due to limited conditions, no new palace was built, but the preliminary decree was first promulgated in Guangyang.

Later, he will go to Qinghe and live in a temporary palace.

"Prince, now that the new dynasty has just been established, I think we should first appoint the main meritorious officials to stabilize the hearts of the subjects so that everyone can unite and fight against the treacherous minister Wang Mang."

Xu Min clasped his fists and said, since the emperor has not been established yet, the prince should establish a country first and take control of the country's army.

Although it is just an empty shell for the time being, the real power is in the hands of Xu Min, Xu Zhong and Xu Yuan, and Xu Hua has little opportunity and power.

The one who can maintain his status does not rely on a prime minister, but on the head of the Xu family!

It is also ironic.

"As it should be." Liu Xiang nodded. He had this idea a long time ago. It would be difficult to convince the people if the merits of following the emperor were not rewarded. Moreover, people should not forget their roots.

The other party can push him to the throne, and by the same token, he can also pull him down from the altar! Liu Shi can't do without the support of the Xu family.

"I will issue an imperial decree to honor Prime Minister Xu Hua as Prime Minister, who will be at the head of all the ministers. He will take my place in commanding the troops at the front and handling state affairs."

The first person to be rewarded is Xu Hua, the person who actually has the highest status in this country!
"My brother is far away in Wancheng. I would like to thank Your Majesty on his behalf."

Xu Min said.

"It should be..." Liu Xiang thought for a moment, and then said, "Respect the General Xu Min, the Southern Guardian, as the Grand Marshal and Governor of Jizhou, and supervise the military affairs of the four states of Ji, You, Bing and Qing, and be responsible for the war in Hebei."

"On the premise that Xu Yuan, the Grand Commander of the Northwest Army, retains his original position, he will be promoted to the position of Minister of Civil Affairs and take charge of the Northwest Army."

"General Xu Zhong is promoted to the rank of Grand General, assisting the Prime Minister in taking charge of the military affairs of the entire country. He is stationed in Wancheng and concurrently in charge of the three states of Jing, Yang, and Jiao."

"Zhu Chun was appointed as Taifu, and was given the title of Governor of Yangzhou... Dong Chong was appointed as Langzhongling..." Later, many subordinate officials were given titles.

Liu Xiang was given all the positions that should have been given to him, basically all the positions that these powerful people wanted, even more than expected.

In fact, he gave it but didn't, because these were the titles that these important officials already had. Zhu Chun was originally the governor of Yangzhou, but there was no difference between him and the King of Yangzhou, so he was given an additional position of Nine Ministers. Zhu Chun was keen on abolishing official positions.

Although Dong Chong was the governor of Bingzhou, he was unable to completely control Bingzhou. Therefore, Liu Xiang stripped Dong Chong of his local power and transferred him to his side.

There is a bit of selfishness involved here, wanting to build my own army.

As for the four important officials of the Xu family, there is no need to say much. They are the four most powerful people in the new Han Dynasty. The reward is to make them more legitimate.

"We thank you, Your Highness!"

The ministers who received rewards one after another hurriedly expressed their gratitude. They were very satisfied with the reward. They finally became Beijing officials from local officials and had the opportunity to make further progress!

This wave of rebellion made a lot of money.

"Your Highness, please move to Qinghe later to prepare for the coronation ceremony!"

Xu Min suppressed his excitement and started to take the next step.

Finally, finally, the family rose again in his hands! The Grand Marshal, one of the Three Dukes, the position his father had always dreamed of.

Finally got it. Although there is still a big gap between the twin family of Nanyang Xu family, among the four major officials, there is only one in our family, not to mention the grassroots officials.

But it's a good start isn't it?

"Um...Sir Xu, please help me."

Liu Xiang nodded slightly.

.........

January of the first year of Shengding, which was ten days later.

On the Chang'an front, the two sides had been in a stalemate for more than a month, and Xu Yuan's food and grass were consumed very quickly, but fortunately, the army's casualties were not heavy due to deliberate conservation.

The goal had been achieved. He had already received the news in advance that Liu Xiang was promoted to the crown prince with the support of Xu Min. Ten days was enough time for the news to reach the Yongliang front.

Xu Yuan's first reaction was of course happiness. After all, he had achieved his goal and held back the main force of the enemy. His second reaction was a promotion.

The Grand Tutor, one of the Three Dukes! When his elder brother Xu Hua was in office, his second brother was the general, and his status also rose. Moreover, the Grand Tutor had the power to open a government office and report the military exploits of his subordinates to the court.

"Grand Commander, do you mean that Prince Guangyang has become the crown prince?"

After the situation on the front line calmed down a little, Xu Yuan summoned all the main generals to his tent.

Everyone shared this happy news together and also told others about the rewards given by the court.

"Yes, General Zhennan... No, now it should be Grand Marshal Xu Min who supported His Royal Highness Prince Guangyang as the Crown Prince a few days ago. Calculating the time, the reality should have arrived in Qinghe to supervise the war against the Central Plains."

There was a long-lost smile on Xu Yuan's face. He hadn't been so happy for a long time since the front-line offensive was delayed by the enemy.

From now on, I am the Grand Tutor! Apart from my two elder brothers and the crown prince, who dares to disrespect me?
People in this era have a deep obsession with official positions. Although the actual power in their hands has not increased, they have been promoted.

"Congratulations to Da Situ for his promotion!"

The generals were also very discerning and expressed their congratulations.

After all, my elder brother has become a high-ranking official at the level of one of the Three Dukes, so I will be able to make progress in the future, right? Moreover, with the imperial court in my hands, I don’t have to worry about my merits not being realized.

"Congratulations, not only me, but you all have also received the crown prince's reward. His Royal Highness will never treat meritorious officials unfairly."

"That is beyond doubt."

Then, Xu Yuan took out the prince's edict and read out the appointments of generals at all levels of the Northwest Army one by one.

All the generals showed delighted expressions one by one. It was obvious that Liu Xiang had taken care of even the grassroots generals like them, which was basically better than they had expected.

This really wins my favor. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is definitely not an ordinary person!
"Thank you, Prince... I am willing to die for the Han Dynasty!"

"I am willing to die for the Han people!"

Led by one person, the other generals also shouted.

Isn't this what people join the military for these days? Ordinary soldiers want to make a living, while elite soldiers and generals want to get promoted, get rich, and get married.

Now Liu Xiang has achieved all of his goals for them and has also promised to allocate more money and food to the Northwest Army. However, the situation is not stable now and they cannot be transported here.

With the large granary in Hebei supplying food and fodder, the Northwest Army should no longer be short of food and clothing.

Although I still need to rely on others.

"Well...very good, good awareness." Xu Yuan nodded with satisfaction.

"Continue to do what we planned before and pin down the enemy's main force here! Don't be complacent. As long as you make military achievements, money and promotion will not be a problem!"

Although Xu Yuan and the other four have almost reached the point where there is nothing more to be done.

The Three Dukes were the pinnacle of the Han Dynasty. The positions of Prime Minister and Grand Chancellor created by Wang Mang and the position of Prime Minister Xu Hua were just special cases. According to the rules, they should not exist.

The so-called Zaizhi was meant to correspond to Wang Mang's Taizai. After Xu Hua died, the position of Zaizhi was no longer established.

In order to compete with each other, the Xu and Wang families came up with all kinds of tricks. The previous ones were Taifu, Taibao, Shao Shi, and Shaofu, and now they are Zaiheng, Taizai, and Zaizhi. In short, they just do whatever is as grand and impressive as possible.

.........

Chang'an, Imperial Palace.

As the Northwest Army's offensive gradually eased, Wang Mang finally got a chance to catch his breath. He no longer had to put all his energy on the front line and could understand what was happening outside the battlefield.

The first thing was that King Guangyang Liu Xiang was supported as the crown prince, Hebei was completely taken over by Xu Min, and the governor of Yangzhou Zhu Chun issued a manifesto to attack Mang, officially breaking away from the Chang'an court and respecting the crown prince Shengding in Qinghe as the orthodox.

Bad news came one after another.

Wang Mang was very angry and, in a rare move, he kept smashing things in his bedroom to vent his anger.

"This Liu Xiang... traitor! Traitor! I shouldn't have kept him. I regret not listening to Wang Shun's advice. It really led to disaster."

Wang Shun originally advised him to find an opportunity to kill Liu Xiang, but he did not adopt the idea in order to protect his reputation.

In the end, this guy really rebelled.

"Brother...I request to see you."

Wang Shun stood at the door, hesitated for a moment, and said tentatively.

In front of the Grand Chancellor, court officials actually began to call themselves subjects, acting on behalf of the Emperor, and their status was second only to that of the Grand Empress Dowager.

"...Come in." Wang Mang calmed down his anger and invited his cousin in.

Light footsteps sounded.

Wang Shun looked at the mess around him and couldn't help but comfort him, "Brother, calm down. These traitors are only temporarily powerful. They will be defeated sooner or later."

"God always favors the righteous."

In fact, it is normal to be angry. The situation can be said to be one-sided. Although the Northwest Army's southward advance was blocked, their main force was also controlled here. They were good at self-preservation but not aggressive enough.

Half of the country has been lost. Jingzhou, Yangzhou, Liangzhou, Jizhou, Youzhou, Bingzhou, and one county of Qingzhou have all fallen into Xu Hua's hands.

The only places where the imperial court can still issue orders are Sili, Yizhou, Yanzhou, Xuzhou, Yuzhou and most of Qingzhou. The power of Xu Hua's rebels has surpassed the official power!
What the hell is this? There is absolutely no way.

Since the rebellion in Liang Province, Wang Mang has not had a good night's sleep. He kneels in the ancestral temple all day long, holding Ruzi Ying and praying, hoping that God and his ancestors will stand on his side.

"Alas... Although the rebels are brave, I cannot retreat!"

Wang Mang perked up. He realized that he was not without any advantages. Although the Shengding regime controlled a vast territory, it had gradually entered a situation of warlord separatism.

The various prefects, governors, and generals held military power, and the Xu family's own foundation was limited to those three states, plus at most half of Jizhou.

The rest are mostly alliance situations.

(End of this chapter)