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

Chapter 159 Wang Mang proclaims himself emperor, Nanyang Liu Xiu
In December of the fifth year of his reign, Wang Mang officially broke off relations with Empress Dowager Wang Zhengjun, who was still the heir to the Liu family's imperial power, and wantonly spread all kinds of auspicious signs in the land under his control.

They also forged a prophecy that Wang Mang would replace the Han Dynasty. In addition, the common people were quite superstitious, and the court's policy of distributing wealth and land was quite effective. Therefore, there was no resistance from the people, and they instead strongly supported it.

The Guanzhong area was originally the core of the Wang family's power, so its reputation was very high.

Apart from the Wandu court issuing a notice of condemnation, there was basically no decent resistance.

At this time, Wang Mang had accumulated enough capital to ascend the throne. Now everything was ready, except for the imperial seal!

But the Empress Dowager was still quite troublesome. At least it gave the fake emperor a headache. After all, she was not only the Empress Dowager of the current dynasty, but also his aunt!
She has helped him a lot. She is like a mother to him, not a mother. If I force her, it will not sound good if it is told to others.

Wang Mang cared a lot about his reputation, but there was nothing he could do. He had already made all the preparations to become emperor, and it would not be good if he gave up halfway at this time.

After all, he not only represents himself, but also has a huge rent-seeking group behind him. Moreover, the threat posed by Liu Xiang's court is growing. The banner of Han Dynasty's orthodoxy is not only not a help, but a burden!
So Wang Mang could no longer pretend, he had to establish his own dynasty.

"Your Majesty, the Queen Mother, still doesn't want to see us."

Zhen Feng walked in with a distressed look on his face. He had been ordered to go and ask the Queen Mother for the imperial seal, but the result was totally unexpected.

The old lady Wang Zhengjun refused to see them at all and directly scolded the traitors, making everyone embarrassed.

And there is no other way. Do we have to use force against the Queen Mother?
Although it is possible to have no imperial seal, it is not legitimate. After 200 years of development during the Han Dynasty, the imperial seal has become a symbol of legitimacy! The prosperous regime of Wandu seemed out of place because it did not have this thing.

In order to perfectly inherit the Han Dynasty's legal system, the imperial seal is a must!
"Alas... my aunt is too pedantic. I do want to replace the Han Dynasty, but this is also what the people want. The corrupt Han Dynasty is no longer able to benefit the people and the world."

"It is reasonable for me to replace this corrupt dynasty. King Wen and King Wu of Zhou were so virtuous that they lasted for 800 years. But in the end, they still could not escape the torrent of history."

"My aunt just doesn't understand. Emperor Gao and Emperor Wen were virtuous, but that doesn't mean the emperors of the Han Dynasty were of such high standards."

Wang Mang showed a look of compassion and his tone was filled with despair.

He had clearly promised that even if the dynasty changed, my aunt would still be the Empress Dowager, and this would not change, and their Wang family would prosper!

Your surname is Wang. Even if you care about your reputation, you shouldn't be so resolute. Just pretend. Future generations will not be so shameless as to blame the demise of the Han Dynasty on a woman.

"Your Majesty... I am unable to convince the Queen Mother due to my limited ability. I hope you will punish me!" Zhen Feng immediately expressed his attitude.

If you fail to do your job well, you fail to do your job well. There is no need to make excuses. What superiors hate to hear most is excuses. It is better to admit your mistake quickly so that you don't punish yourself.

After all, this is a bit too much to ask.

Sure enough, Wang Mang waved his hand and said, "You don't have to blame yourself. This is not your fault. My aunt is the Empress Dowager of the current dynasty, the person with the highest status."

"It's normal that you can't convince him."

After a pause, he sighed and said, "Well, there's no need to send people to Changxin Palace to persuade them. I will go there myself."

Only when Wang Zhengjun started to deal with the rogues, the ministers who had tried to persuade her in the past were helpless and could not even enter the palace, so there was no need to do these meaningless things.

Wang Mang planned to go there himself! As the de facto emperor of the dynasty, he was fully confident that he could get the imperial seal.

However, the relationship between the aunt and nephew will also reach a freezing point, and the two will not interfere with each other.

This would have a great impact on his image as a filial son, but he couldn't care less.

"Prepare the sedan chair. I want to go to Changxin Palace in person."

.........

In Changxin Palace.

The palace, which was already exceptionally quiet due to the Queen Mother's personality, became even colder. The eunuchs and palace maids serving her all tiptoed, not daring to make the slightest noise for fear of being noticed by the Queen Mother.

Ever since Wang Mang planned to let Ruzi Ying abdicate and asked for the imperial seal, Wang Zhengjun's temper has been particularly bad and irritable.

The eunuchs and palace maids who often punished their subordinates could be beaten to death with sticks if they happened to get angry!

It can only be said that it is these little people who suffer.

Boom boom boom!
The sound of horse hooves hitting the ground appeared.

It was the carriage of the fake emperor Wang Mang! Hundreds of well-trained and well-equipped imperial guards led the way, and all the servants gave way.

As everyone knows, there is no need to pay compensation if the royal carriage kills someone.

In the sleeping hall.

The Queen Mother sat in the main seat with anger in her eyes. The surroundings were in a mess and it seemed that she had just lost her temper.

The eunuch walked in with light steps.

"Your Majesty the Queen Mother...Wang Dazai has arrived."

His forehead was covered with sweat. He dared not call him the fake emperor anymore, but the barely acceptable official title before, Taizai.

"This traitor! How dare you, a traitor and a traitor, come to see me? Throw him out and I won't see you again!"

The old lady screamed, and her anger, which had just subsided, rose again.

"Why is the Queen Mother so angry? Isn't it natural for a nephew to honor his aunt?"

At this moment, more than a dozen imperial guards rushed in. The guards and eunuchs did not dare to stop them. Didn’t they think their life was not long enough to go against the real emperor?

"Hmph, I don't have a nephew like you!" Wang Zhengjun also knew this truth. She did not make things difficult for those minions, but turned her attention to the real boss.

"Since I started my career, I have been conscientious and diligent in everything I do. I have handled government affairs very well, but at least I am competent. How can I not be qualified to see you?"

Wang Mang was not angry and looked at his aunt with a smile.

"Yes, you have done a good job as an official over the years. Both your reputation and achievements are quite obvious, and the people love you, but... you should never, ever do such a treasonous thing!"

Queen Mother Wang did not comment on these achievements. She admitted that her nephew was a capable official, and if he followed the procedures, he would be a famous official comparable to Huo Guang.

It's a pity that he chose to usurp the throne! That is treason.

Wang Zhengjun would never allow Liu's kingdom to be taken away by anyone, especially when that person was her relative!

It's really hard to accept. "...Aunt, you should have read history books. What was the surname of the people two hundred years ago? Ying. What was the surname five hundred years ago? Ji. Time has passed, thousands of years have passed in the blink of an eye, and countless dynasties have passed in between."

"Is there any form that can achieve immortality? If there was, then the Xia Dynasty would not have perished. King Yu was so wise and capable, but he still could not stop the rolling tide of history."

"Liu Han is destined to be buried underground and become history. Nanyang Liu Xiang is just barely surviving. If it weren't for the hundred-year-old Xu family, my nephew wouldn't even have encountered any setbacks! This is divine power, not human power."

"The world can have the surname Ji, the surname Ying, or the surname Liu, so why can't it have the surname Wang? My Wang family is also a big family, so why can't I sit on the throne!"

Wang Mang still had a smile on his face, but his tone became more and more excited. This was his ambition, to replace Liu Han and establish a more prosperous and longer-lasting dynasty!
The Wang family will also prosper, and he will initiate reforms as the new emperor to save the people of the world. Then, with his astonishing power, he will attack Wancheng in one fell swoop, kill Xu Hua, and unify the world!
And his long-cherished wish of changing the world's power will continue with the successive victories on the front line.

Wang Zhengjun was speechless for a moment, but soon realized that the other party was just making a sophistry! So she snorted coldly: "No matter how you quote classics and how you make sophistry, you still can't cover up the fact that you are trying to usurp the throne!"

"A great king should know how to be grateful. I am a king who lives on your salary. I cannot do such a thing! You have let me down, but I cannot let you down!"

As Emperor Wu of Han implemented policies such as the combination of Confucianism and Legalism and the Enfeoffment Order, and began to completely achieve great unification, the idea of ​​loyalty to the emperor became increasingly popular. Everyone believed that if they received a salary from the court, they must be loyal to the court!

Although these are essentially taxes for the common people, they are limited by the times and no one cares about them.

Wang Mang also shook his head. He knew that he and his aunt were destined to be different people. Their thoughts were so different that they would never be able to walk on the same path. The two of them could only be strangers.

"I don't want to say anything more. As the ancients said, people with different ideals cannot make plans together. I must take this imperial seal away today."

"Since our differences began, I haven't come to see you for a long time. Although it's very unfilial, there's nothing I can do about it."

"So you should be clear about my decision this time."

This time, Wang Mang didn't even bother to salute, he just looked at the other person calmly.

Even if he has to use force, he will take the imperial seal and ascend the throne to become emperor!
"You...you! Oh, forget it, forget it..." The Queen Mother was about to say something, but swallowed the words back. It seemed that her nephew would not give up until he achieved his goal.

She seemed to collapse completely. She turned around, walked to a vase, picked it up and smashed it. Inside was a brocade box.

"Don't you want this jade? Well, I'll give it to you!" Wang Zhengjun opened the box, held the crystal clear pure white jade seal inside, and angrily threw it under the steps.

Bang!

The jade seal made of the He Shi Bi fell to the ground several times. Wang Mang ran over in panic to pick it up. If it was broken, it would be a great loss.

The imperial seal was broken.

But fortunately only a corner of it was broken, which is barely acceptable. I can just use something else to fill it up later. Anyway, this thing essentially serves a representative purpose, so it doesn't really matter whether it is damaged or not.

After suppressing his panic and anger, Wang Mang regained his initial respect and bowed, saying, "Thank you, Queen Mother, for your understanding. It won't be long before you realize that what I'm doing is truly beneficial to the world."

"And you will always be the Grand Empress Dowager, and you will always be my aunt. I will always serve you as I would my mother, so you don't have to worry."

Wang Zhengjun, who had just handed over the imperial seal, was still speechless and showed no anger or joy at her nephew's goodwill.

He just said calmly: "Go down, go down..."

"My nephew is leaving."

Wang Mang bowed solemnly in the end. It was unknown how long it would take for them to meet again, and his aunt would never see him again.

.........

On the first day of January in the sixth year of his reign, Wang Mang, who had received the imperial seal from the Empress Dowager Wang Zhengjun, formally held a ceremony of abdication, accepted the abdication of Ruzi Ying, ascended the throne as emperor, offered sacrifices at the temple of Emperor Gaozu, and wore the royal crown.

He then changed the country's name to Xin, changed the year name to the first year of the founding of the country, issued a general amnesty, and accepted visits from his ministers.

Now Wang Mang was fifty-nine years old and had ascended the throne of the supreme ruler of the country! He had created for the first time another way to ascend the throne besides local riots and aristocratic revolutions.

The Liu Han orthodoxy was soon destroyed, and its legacy was completely inherited by Liu Xiang, the Emperor Shengding of Nanyang.

When the new dynasty was first established, the soldiers on the front line became more and more courageous and shed their blood for the saintly emperor in your heart. Half a month later, they seized Dongjun of Yanzhou and Yingchuan of Yuzhou from the Han Dynasty, and the morale of the army was greatly boosted.

Everything seemed to be moving in the direction Wang Mang hoped for.

Both politically and militarily.

Nanyang.

A banquet was being held in a house of neither too large nor too small. At the front, a middle-aged man with a smile on his face was putting a crown on the young man in front of him. This was the last step of the ceremony.

The guest of honor then read out the congratulatory speech.

The middle-aged man smiled and said to the resolute younger generation in front of him: "Xiu'er, from today on, you are an adult man who has reached the age of coming of age. According to the rules, it is the father who should give his son a character."

"But your father is no longer alive, so I, your uncle, will be the one to give you a courtesy name."

The young man's eyes immediately filled with tears, and he knelt on the ground with a plop. "My nephew lost his father when he was very young, and he was left alone. You have been raising me since I was a child. In my heart, my uncle is no different from my real father!"

"Okay, okay..." The middle-aged man was also very moved and planned to give his nephew a nice courtesy name.

After thinking for a moment, he looked at the other person again: "You are the third child in the family. Your uncle hopes that you can enter Wandu and become His Majesty's right-hand man, so that we can restore the Liu family's kingdom as soon as possible... Then let's name you Uncle Wen."

"Thank you uncle for the calligraphy!"

The young man said immediately.

"Uncle Wen, remember this: you must be a loyal minister to the Han Dynasty in the future! You must not collude with the traitor Wang Mang, otherwise, your uncle will chop off your head with his own hands!"

The middle-aged man's tone suddenly became serious and full of warning.

"Yes, nephew will remember it." He nodded. This man was handsome, but had a gentle temperament and did not look like a very ambitious person.

"Hmm..." The middle-aged man was quite satisfied. "My uncle has already established a relationship. You can go to the Imperial College in Wandu in a few days. Learn some skills and serve the Emperor of the Han Dynasty in the future."

"You are also aware of the current situation. The traitor Wang Mang has already usurped the throne! Wait another two years, and your uncle will organize the local militia to go to the front lines of Yanzhou and Yuzhou to support Grand Marshal Xu Min."

Liu Xiu, who had just completed his coming-of-age ceremony, responded solemnly.

(End of this chapter)