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

Chapter 50: The Academy is overthrown, Empress Dowager Dou dies

Because this doctrine of respecting Confucianism and suppressing various schools of thought happened to be aimed at suppressing the Taoist school of Huang-Lao, Dou Yifang and related ministers were obstacles.

Of course, the others are fine and can be easily solved. The only difficulty is Empress Dowager Dou! I am afraid that we can only carry out the preparation stage before her death.

"Prime Minister Xu's idea is very much to my liking..." Liu Che pondered for a moment, and suddenly his eyes lit up. He was very excited and was about to promulgate it.

But at this time, Xu Chang, a vassal of Empress Dowager Dou, retorted: "The laws of our ancestors cannot be changed. Although what Prime Minister Xu said makes sense, it is just talk on paper. How can we be sure without practice?"

"It would be better for us to wait and see first, otherwise if problems arise after large-scale operations, it will be too late to regret."

Boom!
Liu Che angrily slapped the armrest and stood up suddenly: "Xu Chang, are you telling me what to do? Who is the Liu family or the Xu family in this world?"

Seeing that His Majesty was angry, Xu Chang immediately knelt on the ground and apologized: "Your Majesty, please calm down. I am also considering the country. After all, Prime Minister Xu has no experience in governing a country and cannot consider many practical issues, so...so I am more cautious."

Liu Che was still planning to get angry until he caught a glimpse of his mother Wang Zhi's eyes, and then he suppressed his anger: "In this case, let's discuss the new policy another day."

"Retreat from the court."

Seeing this, Xu Gong had no choice but to give up once again. It was not worth confronting Empress Dowager Dou head-on while she was still alive. She would not live for many more years anyway, and no one could stop her new policy.

"Your servants shall take their leave." Xu Chang was helpless. Although he knew that he would be liquidated sooner or later, he had to do so. Now he could only try not to make mistakes. Using the excuse that "the laws of our ancestors cannot be changed" to block the new policy could only be considered as pedantic, but he would not die for it.

"Lieutenant Tian, ​​please stay."

After the court was dismissed, Xu Gong called out to Tian Fen, who was one of the Nine Ministers at the time. Tian Fen was the younger brother of Queen Mother Wang Zhi and was originally the Chief Censor. However, he was implicated by Dou Ying and demoted to the position of the Minister of Imperial Guards.

"Prime Minister Xu, do you have anything to tell me?" Tian Fen bowed respectfully, his ugly face looking a little flattering.

"I heard that you are not only proficient in Confucianism, but also have some knowledge of law. Is that true?"

"I have dabbled in it a little, but my major is Confucianism." Tian Fen answered truthfully.

Xu Gong was very satisfied and nodded, saying, "Yes, this is the kind of person who is proficient in both Confucianism and Legalism that I need."

"I have an important task for you to do. If you do it well, I can recommend you to be the Grand Marshal, or even the Prime Minister. It will be natural for you to be famous throughout the ages."

Tian Fen suddenly became excited: "Please give the order, Prime Minister."

Xu Gong said calmly: "I will open a university in Chang'an to cultivate talents of Confucianism and Legalism and accumulate strength for the new policy."

"My nephew, Xu Zhou, the Minister of Rites, is the chief priest of the Imperial College. How about you be his deputy?"

"I am willing to share the Prime Minister's worries." Tian Fen was very decisive. Everyone knew that the new policy could not be stopped. In this case, if he got involved in it in advance, he could prepare for the future.

Anyway, I have offended the Empress Dowager before, so there is no need to worry so much.

Then, Xu Gong found many ministers who were proficient in Confucianism and Legalism. With the support of Xu's children, it was enough to start initial teaching. As long as talents began to be produced and invested in the new policies, Xu's influence would be even greater.

Become a true disciple and old official all over the world!

But before it is officially opened, it is necessary to consult with Emperor Liu Che, otherwise acting on one's own will inevitably be suspected of being disrespectful to one's superiors.

After Xu Gong left, he rode a chariot to the other party's bedroom. "Teacher, what do you want to teach me?" Liu Che put down the scripture in his hand.

Then, Xu Gong told the emperor about his founding of the Imperial College and Xu Zhou's appointment as the chief academic officer. As a subject, he could not hide things from the emperor, otherwise he would inevitably be suspected.

"What the teacher has in mind is a good thing that will benefit the country and the people. Just go ahead and do it. I will definitely give you my full support." Liu Che did not hesitate at all, and his attitude towards the new policy was also very decisive.

Nowadays, it is difficult to simply govern by inaction, where the country does nothing and lets things take their own course. History has proven that either Confucianism or Legalism alone cannot achieve this. The correct answer is a combination of the two.

After obtaining the emperor's permission, Xu Gong immediately began to take care of the matter. He chose a location on the south side of Chang'an and established the Imperial Academy. Because it was located at the south east gate of Chang'an, it was also called Fu'ang Academy. It recruited students from outside and taught everyone. As long as one had talent and virtue, even children from poor families could enter to study. This also became the only place where ordinary people could become officials.

Xu Zhou was appointed as the chief academic officer of the Imperial College and was in charge of personally teaching the doctors, with Tian Fen as his deputy. The scale of the college gradually expanded.

At the same time, Xu Gong occasionally went in person to select officials and sent them to local areas to promote them vigorously in order to test the effectiveness of the new policies. Now there are three people who have become high-ranking officials such as county magistrates, and there are more than a dozen county magistrates, which is already a considerable scale.

Liu Che also went to the countryside in person to check out the places where the new policies were implemented. As expected, land annexation was curbed, the rule of law prevailed in the places, people did not pick up things on the roads, doors were not locked at night, and almost no one dared to commit crimes.

In addition, because Fasheng was well versed in Confucianism, he was not so ruthless and unrighteous in doing things. He did not evolve into a cruel official. He advocated replacing violence with reason. He could also show leniency in special circumstances, and was very popular among the people.

Later generations called this phenomenon "officials are very virtuous, and the people are not respectful of them."

[Your family founded the Fu'ang Academy and is deeply bound to it, influencing it for a thousand years. The influence of the Xu family has greatly increased. You have received a massive reward of destiny points, as well as an additional reward of a golden item, the Clan Stabilizing Tripod (God bless you, you are a family with destiny!): The minimum qualifications of the descendants of the family have been greatly improved, the probability of top talents appearing has been slightly increased, and they will almost never die in childhood.]

Xu Zhen raised her eyebrows slightly. It seemed that this school had a great influence and it actually produced golden props directly!

He hadn't expected it either, it seemed like a pleasant surprise.

As time passed, Empress Dowager Dou's health deteriorated day by day. Although she did not like the new policy, she did not know how to stop it. Since it was proven to work, she simply turned a blind eye.

On this day, she was seriously ill and bedridden, so she called Liu Che to the palace.

"Grandmother!" As soon as Liu Che entered the palace, he rushed over and burst into tears. Although she was in control of the government, she was his grandmother after all! How could there be no friendship?

Dou Yifang felt the same way. She actually cherished her family very much. She stroked her grandson's cheek and said, "Your Majesty, don't cry. How can you be a ruler like this?"

After hearing this, Liu Che slowly stopped crying.

"Grandmother, your time is running out. You have held the power of the country for so long, it is time to let go. From now on, you will rule the country yourself. I also agree with the new policy. Facts have proven that this method is indeed very good."

"Grandmother!" Liu Che was very moved.

"My dear grandson, don't cry." Dou Yifang's dim eyes also shed tears: "You are a sage king who is rare in the history. You must advise yourself well in the future. Xu Gong is a loyal and capable minister. You must listen to him."

"Yes, grandson will remember it." Liu Che nodded heavily.

Dou Yifang finally felt relieved upon seeing this. She loosened her hands that were covered with age spots and slowly closed her eyes. The Empress Dowager who had served three dynasties had passed away.

Liu Che will officially take power from today, and the peak of the Han Dynasty is about to arrive.

.........

"Han Xiang Xu Gong established the Imperial College, named Fu'ang, which was a groundbreaking feat. It taught everyone and was of great significance. Many high-ranking officials in the dynasties came from this university. Later generations appreciated his merits and placed his portrait at the top of the Confucian Temple to honor him and make him worshipped for eternity, on the same level as Confucius." - Zizhi Tongjian·Han Ji
(End of this chapter)