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

Chapter 21 Death of Xu Zhen

Daiguo.

The court envoys soon arrived at the palace. The bedroom of King Dai looked very simple, not even as magnificent as a marquis's mansion in Chang'an. It seemed that Liu Heng's simplicity was not an exaggeration.

"Please ask the King to come to the capital immediately and inherit the throne!"

After reading the edict, the messenger knelt on the ground. The person in front of him was the future emperor, and if he was unhappy, he would have ten heads left.

"Are you saying that Grand Tutor Xu wants me to be the emperor?" Liu Heng found it hard to believe. He clearly did nothing, and he was not very familiar with Xu Zhen in Chang'an. In fact, they had only met once on the day he returned to the court after pacifying Ying Bu.

Among the princes, King Zhao Liu Ruyi is obviously more suitable than him. Could this be a trap?

"Your Majesty, it is absolutely true! If you don't believe it, come to Beijing and you will know." The messenger said truthfully.

The doctor ordered Zhang Wu and others to think that they should not go, but should claim illness and wait and see what happens. Otherwise, if it is really a trap, they will be finished.

In the end, Lieutenant Song Chang overruled all opposition and strongly demanded to go to Beijing to succeed to the throne. After divination, Liu Heng chose to take the risk and go to Chang'an.

In order to prevent falling into a trap, he first sent his uncle Bo Zhao to Chang'an to explore the way, while he himself took every step carefully in the rear to ensure that there were no problems.

After a series of cautious operations, Liu Heng finally arrived at Wei Bridge where the ministers were, where he met Xu Zhen, Zhou Bo and others who came to greet him.

In order to reassure Liu Heng this time, Xu Zhen chose to go to the bridge in person to greet him. There was no need to act arrogant. One should not be too proud. If he is too arrogant, only destruction will await him.

"Your servant Xu Zhen pays homage to the King of Dai."

Xu Zhen knelt on one knee and saluted respectfully. Liu Heng was flattered by this attitude. He hurried over to help him up. He knew who was the ruler of the Han Dynasty now.

Moreover, this person is an old minister of four dynasties and a trusted minister of Emperor Gaodi and Emperor Huidi. Even if he really is the emperor, he must be treated with respect.

"Master Xu, please don't be like this. I haven't inherited the throne yet. It won't be too late to worship you when I become the emperor."

Xu Zhen stood up and said with a smile: "Even if Your Majesty has not ascended the throne, the proper etiquette must not be neglected. I will always be a Han minister and your most loyal supporter."

These words immediately won Liu Heng's favor. If the other party did not take him seriously, there was no need to be so respectful. It seemed that the fact that the Grand Tutor had gone against all odds and supported him was not a rumor.

"Your Majesty, this is the seal of the Emperor, please accept it." Zhou Bo knelt down and presented the seal. Liu Heng humbly declined it and said he would discuss it after arriving at the Dai residence.

Surrounded by his ministers, Liu Heng entered Chang'an City.

On the way, Liu Heng finally asked Xu Zhen about his doubts: "May I ask why the Grand Master chose me? Qi Wang Liu Xiang's maternal family is indeed powerful, but Zhao Wang Liu Ruyi has no maternal family, and has always been close to you. He is the best candidate for the throne. If he succeeds in ascending the throne, it will benefit everyone."

Xu Zhen glanced at him with his slightly cloudy eyes, a gentle smile appeared on the corners of his mouth, and he said softly: "From the moment I saw you, I concluded that the King of Dai was the prince who was most like Emperor Gao. Only you can lead our Han Dynasty to prosperity."

"Because of the late emperor's will, I saved the King of Zhao from Empress Dowager Lu, so the King of Zhao and I are closest. But this does not mean that he is qualified to be the emperor. The King of Zhao Liu Ruyi inherited the appearance and free and easy and heroic character of Emperor Gao, but he does not have an absolutely rational heart!"

"And the person who inherited this heart is you, King Dai, who has truly achieved the goal of ruling by doing nothing!"

"Reasonable..." Liu Heng was obviously frozen in place. He hid it so well that he didn't expect to be seen through.

After Xu Zhen finished speaking, he solemnly instructed: "I will do my best to help the King of Dai secure the throne, and in return, please treat the people of the world well."

Liu Heng was deeply touched, and he looked at Xu Zhen with even more respect, and said solemnly: "Don't worry, Grand Master Xu, I am not as capable as Emperor Gao and Emperor Hui, but I will do my best to govern the country!"

Hearing this, Xu Zhen said with satisfaction: "I hope the King of Dai will not forget his promise today."

After entering the Dai residence, the ministers and Liu Heng began to discuss. After resigning the throne five times to the west and south, he formally agreed to inherit the throne. On an auspicious day half a month later, Liu Heng officially ascended the throne and moved into the Weiyang Palace to become the fifth emperor of the Han Dynasty. He was the famous teacher of all emperors, Emperor Wen of Han!

In order to help the emperor secure the throne, Xu Zhen fulfilled his promise, gave up the military power of the palace guards, and helped the emperor's confidants such as Song Chang and Zhang Wu become generals of the guards and imperial physicians, and control the military power of the capital.

After Liu Heng ascended the throne, he was very diligent in state affairs. He was almost always dealing with state affairs and doing everything personally. He was also frugal and only had three dishes for each meal.

Zhou Bo thought he had made great contributions in supporting the emperor. In addition, Xu Zhen did not often attend court due to health reasons, so he became more arrogant and often did not take the previous emperor seriously. In response, Emperor Wen just respectfully watched him leave.

Later, with the help of Xu Zhen, Liu Heng completely took control of the government. Zhou Bo was also frightened by the reminders of his subordinates, so he resigned from the post of right prime minister.

.........

The third year of Emperor Wen's reign.

The princes of the world gathered solemnly in Chang'an to celebrate the 60th birthday of Grand Tutor Xu Zhen. Emperor Wen respected this veteran minister who had served for four dynasties very much and often went to his mansion to visit him in person, both before he came to power and after he came to power. Therefore, he attached great importance to this birthday celebration.

All the princes were specially invited to congratulate together, and they were very considerate and prepared a large number of rare treasures as gifts.

Three months ago, when the Donghu invaded massively, King Liu Xingju of Jibei rebelled. Xu Zhen led his troops alone and put down the rebellion in just one month. Although this move intimidated the princes, it also made his health worse and worse. He might not live for many more years.

Of course, all the officials in the court were happy to see this. The huge pressure on their heads was finally gone. Because of the Grand Tutor, the left and right prime ministers were almost in name only, and the power of the government was always in the hands of Emperor Wen and Xu Zhen.

In the Weiyang Palace, Liu Heng spent a huge amount of money this time, using all the money that he usually didn't want to spend on this, and ordered that the event must be held at all costs.

Emperor Wen personally stood up to toast Xu Zhen, his face showing great emotion: "Over the years, Grand Tutor Xu has assisted five generations of emperors in the Liu family. His contributions are truly great. I have no way to repay you, so I can only work harder."

Xu Zhen also smiled, stood up and pushed the other person down: "Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven. How can a monarch toast his subjects in this world? Everything I have was given by the emperors of the past, such as Emperor Gao, Emperor Hui, and Your Majesty. It is my duty to assist the Liu family."

Liu Heng was even more moved, because due to his cautious character he thought Xu Zhen had other intentions, but over the years, the other party really had the best interests of the Han Dynasty in mind and did not even want to fill all the rewards into the national treasury.

I just don't know why I have a special liking for beautiful women at my age.

"Your Majesty seems to have truly taken control of the government and no longer needs the help of old ministers. The Liu Xingju rebels have also been pacified."

"I am tired, and I want to resign and retire to have a good rest."

Seeing that Liu Heng was in a good mood, Xu Zhen quickly resigned to Liu Heng. It was not for any other reason, but according to the system, he would die soon.

"This..." Liu Heng was very reluctant, but looking at Xu Zhen's old face, he couldn't bear to refuse.

Yes, it has been so many years. It has been thirty years since he started following Emperor Gaozu. It is time for him to return to his fiefdom to enjoy his retirement. It would be too selfish if I were to stop him.

"I agree. According to convention, I should return to my fiefdom, but I really can't bear to leave. Please let the Grand Master live in Chang'an."

Liu Heng could never have imagined that today would be the last time he and Xu Zhen would see each other, and tomorrow all he would get would be a cold corpse.

The banquet continued until the next day. Xu Zhen returned to the marquis's mansion alone and sat at the place where he used to fish, quietly waiting for death.

On June 4, the third year of Emperor Wen's reign, Xu Zhen, Marquis of Jing, who assisted the Five Han emperors, died at the age of sixty.

.........

"Marquis Jing was loyal and brave, and assisted the emperor for five generations. When he was buried, Emperor Wen hugged the coffin and cried, setting an example for monarchs and ministers since ancient times." Han Shu, Chapter 4 of Emperor Wen
(End of this chapter)