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

Chapter 158 Fight
Changan.

The news that Liu Xiang officially proclaimed himself emperor in Wancheng, Nanyang, soon spread to Guanzhong. After all, the two sides were now at loggerheads with each other, and there could not be two tigers in one mountain. At least for now, everyone was using the legal system of the Han Dynasty.

Xu Hua did not recognize Wang Mang's fake emperor and prime minister, and Wang Mang also did not recognize Xu Hua's prime minister. Of course, he did not deny the title of King Jing.

The influence of sages such as Xu Zhen and Xu Gong is still there, and they are still holy kings admired by everyone. No one dares to shake this foundation easily.

Confucians also respect the Xu family and will not waver even if major figures such as Xu Hua and Xu Zhong take the lead in "rebellion."

His character was even more solid. Everyone knew that Wang Mang wanted to usurp the Han Dynasty. Since he was a fake emperor, no one would be naive enough to believe that he was a loyal minister to the Han Dynasty.

Therefore, Xu Hua’s rebellion is understandable, because he wanted to support the Han Dynasty. If he had just given in, his evaluation would have been lowered.

If they did not rebel and stayed in Chang'an, they would be fighting to the death with Wang Mang's forces, and they would not be able to hold out for long. Xu's forces were all in the local areas. If they did not rebel, they would be just a decoration. If the army was left unused, wouldn't it be a pure machine for making shit?

One thing that was surprising was that it happened too suddenly, with almost no signs. Not only Chang'an, but even local people like Xu Zhong and Xu Min failed to react.

It was Xu Yuan who took the lead in putting pressure on Guanzhong, which bought precious time for the large army.

But it was a close call and they gathered nearly 500,000 people in a short period of time. In terms of paper strength alone, the two sides are actually about the same.

However, the Imperial Guards were far less elite than the battle-hardened Northwest Army and Youzhou Army.

In the solemn court, the ministers stood nervously on both sides and did not sit down, while Wang Mang sat on the main seat in the front with a solemn look on his face. The Empress Dowager Wang Zhengjun appeared behind the curtain.

The whole atmosphere was quite depressing, making it hard to breathe.

Snapped!
"Traitor, traitor, Xu Hua is truly a traitor! Not only did he launch a rebellion, but he also established the so-called Shengding regime in Wancheng? He is truly a disgrace to his Xu family ancestors!"

"Then we'll see if he has the nerve to meet the late emperors and sages!"

Wang Mang was extremely angry and started cursing without caring about his image. The ministers looked at each other and no one dared to make a sound.

This was the first time they had seen the Prime Minister... His Majesty had been so angry before, but usually, no matter how big or small the matter was, his expression was quite kind and calm. He was not angry when he was initially excluded from the court, including the Xu Yuan Rebellion. He remained calm even when Mount Tai collapsed in front of him.

There is not much difference between the fake emperor and the real emperor in terms of status. The only difference is that the emperor calls himself "朕" and the fake emperor calls himself "喻".

As for paying respects to the Empress Dowager, that is nothing, the emperor also needs to do so.

"Your Majesty, calm down. Your Majesty, calm down. Liu Xiang and Xu Hua are traitors who are tyrannical and cruel! Sooner or later, they will be punished by God!"

Wang Yi stepped out to comfort His Majesty, saying that as a close minister, he even knew how anxious His Majesty had been these days.

He couldn't eat, couldn't sleep well, and was always worried. The front line suffered repeated defeats, and the opponent's new court was beginning to take shape.

If this continues, it will be hard to say who is orthodox and who is a traitor.

In fact, any discerning person could see that one of them sat on the throne and served as regent on behalf of the emperor, while the other was just a prime minister, and the power nominally belonged to Emperor Liu Xiang.

It is obvious who the usurper is.

But in fact, many people who were loyal to Wang Mang did not care. They were eager for the saint in their hearts to ascend the throne and believed that the new emperor could make the world a new place.

In fact, the Liu family had already lost the support of the people. If it were not for the Xu family taking the lead, there would probably not have been a large-scale uprising.

"My dear brother, you are right. These usurpers will not have a good end!"

Wang Mang said viciously: "Xu Hua is a man with evil intentions. What on earth does he want to do by supporting a puppet? He just wants to usurp the throne and establish himself as the emperor. He is simply a scum of the Xu family!"

During this campaign of criticism, he also cursed himself to pieces.

The thief cries "Catch the thief"... Some ministers immediately thought of these words. Which of the things you mentioned have they not done? I don't know whether Xu Hua wants to usurp the throne, but Your Majesty, you must have this idea.

So shameless!
But no one dared to speak out, knowing that His Majesty was wise, and then they all stepped on Xu Hua and accused him of being a traitor to the country.

After all, blackening each other is a basic operation. At least you should ruin the enemy's reputation on your own turf.

The same was true for Wang Mang. After Xu Hua escaped, he immediately issued a manifesto of condemnation and ordered special writers to list the "Ten Crimes of Xu Hua" and criticize him severely. In this way, Tiangang labeled Xu Hua a traitor and a false minister.

They even spread the nursery rhyme "Nine out of ten officials are named Xu, the sky and the earth are full of Xu and fields" to discredit the Xu family as a whole.

Wang Mang might have felt that the insult was too shameless, so he criticized him as a corrupt official instead, as he would usurp the throne sooner or later. In the end, wouldn't it be a boomerang that would backfire on himself?

On the other hand, Xu Hua was not idle either. He also spread a large number of easy-to-understand folk songs, which basically scolded him for controlling the government and intending to usurp the throne.

The two sides have basically been arguing with each other.

"Your Majesty, the situation of our army in Yanzhou is not optimistic. I implore Your Majesty to take this matter seriously."

"We have already lost half of our territory, so we must do our best to fight for the rest!"

An armored general said that as warriors they were of course most concerned about the front line, and they were extremely helpless about the dilemma of repeated defeats.

The Hebei Army's combat effectiveness was too high, and they also had their most scarce cavalry! After one round of charging, the formation collapsed directly, and their combat experience was far inferior, so there was no way they could fight.

The imperial court was still unwilling to deploy its elite imperial guards to the front line, and instead continued to station them in the area near Liangzhou.

Before, Xu Yuan’s Northwestern Army really frightened him. The fighting power was so fierce that Wang Mang was much more wary of it than other armies.

There were 130,000 standing troops defending Xu Yuan, with another 80,000 to 90,000 on standby at all times, but only less than 70,000 were deployed to fight for Yanzhou and Yuzhou.

Xu Min's Hebei Army has hundreds of thousands of troops, most of which are elite troops, so it is normal for them to suppress the enemy.

Many generals felt that His Majesty was too vigilant towards Xu Yuan, which was a bit unnecessary.

The Northwest Army had just returned from a campaign and was currently enjoying their rewards. They had no intention of expanding further in the short term. They would have to wait until their enthusiasm grew and they wanted to buy a few more acres of land and marry a concubine before they would continue to attack Guanzhong.

What's more, if they let go, leaving behind 50,000 or 60,000 men would be enough to hold out until reinforcements arrive. If they are accompanied by a general who is good at defense, they probably won't even need reinforcements!
The imperial court should actively explore and recover lost territories.

Wang Mang really showed an embarrassment: "You also know the difficulties of the court. The grain reserves in the treasury have been decreasing day by day. It is not impossible to send troops to Yanzhou, but the finances are tight."

"We, the great Han soldiers, cannot go without food."

It's not that he doesn't want to make progress, but he is really short of money. The troops in Guanzhong who are guarding against Xu Yuan can meet their daily needs through military farms in their spare time, and their consumption is almost zero.

But it was different in Yanzhou. They were consuming food and grass almost all the time. With hundreds of thousands of mouths, they could eat a mountain in one day! Now Wang Mang's reforms and disaster relief were in progress, which required a large amount of money and food. Although there was a lot of food in stock, it couldn't withstand such consumption.

Yes, the imperial court is really taking action now, but it is a bit like drinking poison to quench thirst.

Basically, the court sells its own land, money and grain to distribute to the people. The powerful people dare not move at present. They still have the greatest power and the most abundant resources.

In this era, the imperial court needed a spokesperson among the people in order to promulgate its documents. Due to the scarcity of grassroots officials and the low efficiency of government dissemination, it either needed aristocrats, powerful people, or landlords.

In short, such a group of rentiers is needed, and people like Emperor Wu of Han are a minority after all.

This may achieve temporary results and solve the people's temporary problem of food and clothing, but it is still not a long-term solution. The taxes collected by the court and the land under its control are quite limited.

Moreover, the real long-standing problem of land annexation has not been resolved, and the land distributed by the court will be re-annexed before long.

It is still concentrated in the hands of a small group of people, only treating the symptoms but not the root cause.

Wang Mang also always had an ideal, which was to launch a thorough reform to fundamentally solve the problem of land annexation.

In other words, the once famous retro reforms dragged the Xin Dynasty regime into the abyss and directly led to the country's demise.

"I was not thoughtful enough."

The general retreated reluctantly, and for the first time he felt a little resentful towards the court's reform.

It is certainly a good thing for ordinary people. It is better to solve the problem temporarily than to starve to death. But as the saying goes, the butt determines the head. When you become a profit

There will definitely be complaints from those who have been harmed.

"... In this way, transfer the 30,000-man army from Luoyang to support the front line and fight against the rebels. Zhen Si will allocate food and fodder without any mistakes!"

After a fierce psychological struggle, Wang Mang finally sent an army over.

What the general said makes sense. Now half of the imperial court has been incorporated into Liu Xiang's territory. In terms of land alone, it is already at a disadvantage. Yanzhou, Yuzhou and Xuzhou cannot be taken away again.

Otherwise, when the treasury runs out of money and food, there will be no hope at all.

The taxes from Guanzhong and Bashu alone might be enough to support military expenses, but if the relief grain was added, it would not be enough.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" The general was quite excited.

Grand Marshal Zhen Feng agreed and respectfully promised.

As the status of the lord rose, these confidants also held high positions.

"I wonder if the Queen Mother has anything to tell you?"

Later, when everyone thought that the court meeting was over, Wang Mang turned his head and looked at the Empress Dowager behind the pearl curtain, revealing a rare look of respect.

Although he acted on behalf of the emperor and had the same power as the emperor, he was essentially still a subject. When facing the Empress Dowager Wang Zhengjun, he had to call himself a subject. They had not yet reached the point of falling out.

This is the last dignity of the Liu family in Chang'an. Crown Prince Liu Ying is not even a puppet now. He is usually kept in the deep palace and no one is allowed to contact him.

He is five or six years old, but he can't even walk or talk. He has become a useless person!
Wang Zhengjun glanced at Wang Mang, who was full of respect, and snorted coldly, her tone devoid of any emotion: "Shouldn't the Emperor Wang also consider the issue of the Crown Prince taking over the throne? Now you are just a fake emperor, and the throne should be returned to the Liu family sooner or later."

"After all, this is what we agreed on long ago. I hope the king emperor will not break his promise and become the traitor who betrayed his ancestors in his own words!"

As Wang Mang continued to demand more and more power, he now called himself the fake emperor, imprisoned the Crown Prince Liu Ying, forced the Xu family to rebel, and monopolized the government. He was only one step away from replacing the Han Dynasty and establishing his own regime.

Before, Wang Zhengjun had been comforting herself, telling herself that powerful ministers were only temporary. Didn't Wang Feng and Wang Gen also fall? After Wang Mang died, the power would be returned to the Liu family.

Even if he imprisoned Liu Ying, it would not matter anyway, he was just a child. There were so many princes with the surname Liu, they could always support another one who was older and more prominent.

However, Xu Hua's rebellion sounded a wake-up call for her.

Wang Mang might not return power to the Liu family, he wanted to usurp the throne! He was already a fake emperor, and the Xu family had rebelled. Even if he didn't want to usurp the throne, there was nothing he could do.

After Emperor Liu came to power, he would certainly wipe out the Wang family.

In that case, there is no need to give him much face, that's why he is being sarcastic in public.

Although Wang Zhengjun's surname was Wang, in that era, a daughter who was married off was like spilled water, which was different from the later generations. Her heart was always with Liu.

Giving power to the Wang family was also to allow themselves to better control the government so that it would be easier to return it to the emperor in the future.

"This is natural. I am acting on behalf of the emperor because the crown prince is young and the traitor Xu Hua has started a rebellion and established a false emperor. The Han Dynasty urgently needs someone who can carry the banner."

"And this person will certainly be cursed, and if he is not careful, he will fall into the abyss. I am willing to be the bad guy and take this risk."

"As a Han official, I receive the emperor's salary, so I should share the emperor's worries."

Wang Mang said calmly that it was not the right time to usurp the throne, so he could not be too blatant.

At least on the surface, he was still a loyal minister to the Han Dynasty, rather than an ambitious and powerful official.

Queen Mother Wang Zhengjun still snorted coldly, "I hope so. I hope I won't see you coming to Changxin Palace to ask for my jade seal."

"Your Majesty, you are worrying too much. The sun and the moon can bear witness to my sincere feelings!"

Wang Mang said this with great righteousness, and those who didn't know would think that he was really being suspected.

The episode ended, and all the ministers withdrew from the Weiyang Palace. To be honest, the situation became more and more intense. After the Xu family established themselves as an independent family and supported Liu Xiang, they actually possessed power that surpassed the central court!
Maybe they should rethink how to stand in line.

Wang Mang returned to his bedroom, sat on the floor, poured himself a cup of hot tea, his face full of worry.

In fact, he was far from being as calm as he was at the court meeting.

Xu Min has already gained considerable advantage in Yanzhou. The governor of Dongjun suddenly defected and dealt a heavy blow to Wang Mang's army. Now he agreed to send more troops out of fear.

If Yanzhou is lost, the enemy can directly attack and threaten Luoyang. By then, will it be a long way to completely take over Sili?

(End of this chapter)