Joy of Life: I am a Han Dynasty succubus, and I rebel from the beginning

Chapter 355: Prime Minister Lin of the Han Dynasty is critically ill, and Emperor Gao returns to Beijing

Liu Hong was lying on the elegant dragon throne, but he felt somewhat uncomfortable.

No matter how rich the Northern Qi Dynasty was, it was not suitable for him.

Because this was not the capital that Liu Hong conquered personally, he had to shirk responsibility and make excuses for everything he did.

Pick up at random a memorial from an important official of the Northern Qi Dynasty, and you will find a lot of words written on it, all full of clichés.

It first describes how the Northern Qi Dynasty prospered under the leadership of Emperor Gao, Liu Hong, and then boasts about Liu Hong's civil and military achievements.

He then uses allusions to introduce his purpose, saying that he wants to get a promotion, a raise, and power, and finally he uses a bunch of flowery interjections.

If it were in the Han Kingdom, Liu Hong would have told this guy to pack up and leave long ago.

Can’t speak human language?
After farming for a few years, he became honest.

But it didn't work in Northern Qi. Liu Hong suppressed them with force, and the marriage with the Zhan family ultimately had sequelae.

He must establish an image of being diligent and wise in his administration, otherwise the officials below will see that Liu Hong is easy to fool and will exploit the people even more unscrupulously.

After reading the memorial for a while, Liu Hong couldn't help feeling his eyes become dry.

Si Lili gently put down a cup of warm tea, stood behind Liu Hong, and rubbed her temples.

"I will be leaving Northern Qi soon."

Zhan Doudou paused for a moment while processing the memorials, raised her beautiful eyes and looked at Liu Hong with some confusion.

Isn’t Northern Qi good?
Liu Hong closed his eyes, enjoying Si Lili's massage, and began to explain.

"A war to destroy a country must involve a battle of great masters. If I don't take action, I'm afraid Emperor Qing will assassinate all of my generals."

Zhan Doudou hesitated for a moment and spoke softly.

"Your Majesty, don't you have the help of the Temple Messenger? The Temple Messenger helped you become a Grand Master in the battle at Dadong Mountain. It was also the Temple Messenger who blocked the fatal injury for you during the assassination in Danzhou."

"Temple Messenger..."

Liu Hong was silent for a while and did not explain anything.

Everything in the world is changing. At first, Liu Hong was a minister under Emperor Qing and maintained good relations with various forces.

After opposing Emperor Qing, the Qin family, the Fan family and other aristocratic families began to become enemies of Liu Hong.

When the Han Kingdom is established and the industrialization system and new ideas are spread, the temple will see that it cannot be dissuaded and will begin to become an enemy of Liu Hong.

When one's power grows and one still wants to do things, one is bound to offend a large group of people, and gradually drift away.

If he still wants to continue to be with Guang Tongchen, he will probably be assimilated like Fan Xian and Emperor Qing.

"Forget it, let's not talk about this anymore."

Liu Hong waved his hand with a gloomy look.

"After destroying Qing, the world will be unified, and it will be time to move the fiefs of the vassal states to Northern Qi."

Zhan Doudou's expression changed.

Liu Hong was digging holes for Northern Qi. With so many fiefs of vassal states moved to Northern Qi, Northern Qi's aristocratic families basically lost a lot of land.

However, Zhan Doudou did not dissuade her, she is a smart person.

There would eventually be a war between the North and the South, and it was only natural for Emperor Gao to weaken the power of Northern Qi.

Liu Hong took a sip of tea and spoke softly.

"Yang Du, send your trusted Jinyiwei with enough supplies to the far north to find the legendary temple."

Yang Du, who was guarding outside the study, nodded quickly and couldn't wait to summon the Jinyiwei to announce the decree.

Zhan Doudou looked at Liu Hong deeply and said nothing.

At the beginning, Ku He tried every means to kill Sean because he was afraid that the news of the temple would leak out.

Unexpectedly, even though Sean died, Liu Hong still knew the exact location of the temple.

She and Zhan Doudou once again lost a bargaining chip to negotiate with Liu Hong.

In just half a month, Liu Hong kept summoning officials of the Northern Qi rank and above to the palace.

No matter whether it is a government office with real power or a government office with little money.

Liu Hongdu talked to these people one by one, repeatedly reiterating his respect for the Northern Qi system, his adoption of the "one dynasty, two systems" approach, and his decision not to launch reforms in the Northern Qi.

The aristocratic families behind these officials finally felt relieved, feeling that squeezing out 300,000 troops was really a good deal.

At least the golden rice bowl and power were saved.

Just when everything was getting back on track in Northern Qi, Ji Xin, the main leader of the Han Min Party, traveled day and night and rushed to the capital of Northern Qi.

Liu Hong looked at Ji Xin, who had dark circles under his eyes, with a puzzled look in his eyes.

"Ji Xin! Why don't you arrange for various scholars to spread new ideas and infiltrate the army? Why did you come to Northern Qi?"

Ji Xin's face turned pale, and his lips trembled slightly.

"Your Majesty! The Prime Minister is dying."

The voice was like a bolt of thunder. Liu Hong lost his composure for the first time and stood up suddenly.

"Wasn't everything fine before I left? Minister Lin and Sang Wen worked together to stabilize the overall situation of the reform. Now, less than half a year later, how come Minister Lin is about to die?"

Liu Hong thought of a possibility that the Supervisory Council had sent someone to assassinate Lin Ruofu.

Ji Xin heard Liu Hong's question and spoke softly.

"Your Majesty, Prime Minister Lin is an old man who is almost 70 years old. He has experienced the pain of losing his son, and winter is coming soon."

The reason why he didn't take action this time was that Lin Ruofu really couldn't stand the passing of time.

Liu Hong stood there in a daze for a long time.

Then he spoke softly.

"Go back, it's time to go back. I want to see Lin Xiang off for the last time."

Ji Xin knelt on the ground, his heart filled with bitterness.

Emperor Gao was about to sort out the distribution of Northern Qi's forces. In a few months, he would be able to continuously place people in the Northern Qi to turn the iron barrel of Northern Qi into a sieve.

As a result, at this critical juncture, Lin Ruofu fell ill, and someone in Han had to take charge of the situation again.

Zhan Doudou nodded at Liu Hong, his voice full of confidence.

"Don't worry, Your Majesty! Northern Qi won't have any major problems. Once Your Majesty sends Emperor Liu Ying of Qi here, I will be able to do whatever I want."

Si Lili said nothing, but put a cloak on Liu Hong and told the eunuch to notify the Ministry of Rites to arrange the emperor's travel.

Although Prime Minister Lin is seriously ill, Liu Hong is now the founding emperor of the Han Dynasty, Emperor Gao.

The procession for travel must not be as simple as in the past.

Guards, ceremonial guards, notification of prefectures and counties to prepare for the reception, accompanying officials, and a large amount of manpower and material resources must be organized.

By the time everything was arranged, another half a month had passed. There were three thousand imperial palace guards, hundreds of accompanying officials, and several eunuchs and palace maids.

Prepared to help Liu Hong relieve his fatigue and boredom on the road.

Ji Xin had been urging the officials of the Ministry of Rites of the Northern Qi Dynasty to arrange the ceremonial procession as soon as possible.

Unexpectedly, the officials of the Ministry of Rites of the Northern Qi Dynasty refused outright and stubbornly followed the ancestral system.

The reason is quite sufficient. Every emperor in all dynasties was escorted by thousands of troops and accompanied by officials when he traveled.

If Emperor Gao had left in such a hurry, others would have thought that Northern Qi was going to perish and that he was preparing to escape!
The Northern Qi officials could not afford to lose face.

Sitting on the ceremonial dragon throne, Liu Hong looked at the depressed Ji Xin and smiled softly, but there was not much smile on his face.

"Don't be angry about this. The noble families have no worries about food and clothing, so they naturally attach great importance to etiquette."

"Your Majesty, can't you be like the King of Han? If you want to leave, you can leave. Just make sure everything is in order."

Ji Xin was at a loss as to what to do. Looking at the slow-moving team, he felt extremely anxious.

God knows how long Lin Ruofu has left to live.

Liu Hong tapped lightly on the dragon throne with his fingers.

"I am the founding monarch of the Han Dynasty. My prestige can naturally overwhelm everything, but I am not the founding monarch of the Northern Qi Dynasty."

"If I want to do something, there will always be a large group of people trying to dissuade me, saying that the laws of our ancestors cannot be changed."

Ji Xin looked at this group of Northern Qi officials with disgust.

He said that the Emperor Gao was too merciful and did not carry out a bloodbath in the Northern Qi officialdom. Prime Minister Lin was almost dead, but these Northern Qi officials were still quite old-fashioned and acted according to rules and regulations.

It would still take a month and a half to travel from Shangjing to Kyoto, no matter how light the journey was and without any military obstruction.

At this time, Han Xin led an army of 200,000 and, with the help of the Shazhou navy, fought back and forth with the Kingdom of Qing.

The allied forces of the princes of Dongyi City, Yan State, and Jin State landed in the Jinling area in the south of the Yangtze River and seized Jinling.

The 300,000-strong army of Northern Qi had arrived long ago, and after resting for half a month, they were able to join the battle.

Everything happened almost exactly as Liu Hong estimated, exactly half a year.

Looking at the long-missed city of Kyoto, there were constant laughter and joy.

Liu Hong looked at the many caravans coming and going with a somewhat emotional look on his face.

Zhang Liang, the acting chief minister of the cabinet, led all the civil and military officials out of the city thirty miles to greet him and spoke sincerely.

"Your Majesty is welcome back to the capital!"

When Liu Hong saw Zhang Liang standing in the position of Prime Minister of the Cabinet, his expression froze.

However, he still greeted these old friends quite cordially, trying to dispel the strange feeling after not seeing them for a long time.

Then he spoke casually.

"How is the health of Mr. Huang Ming, the Minister of War, now?"

Zhang Liang bowed respectfully and spoke truthfully.

"Minister Huang also fell ill half a month ago. Many matters of the Ministry of War are temporarily in the hands of Guo Baokun."

Liu Hong paused for a moment, his expression complicated for the first time.

These capable ministers of the Qing Dynasty are now old! Perhaps it is time to consider a new round of official arrangements.

Thinking of this, Liu Hong couldn't help but look at Zhang Liang a few more times, then walked towards Kyoto.

All the officials under his command congratulated him, and Yu Ping, the Vice Minister of Personnel, was also very happy and bowed in greeting.

"Master Zhang, it seems that the King of Han did not reject the Queen's order, so I'll let you take over the position of Prime Minister of the Cabinet temporarily."

Zhang Liang looked at Yu Ping with a half-smile in his face, then sighed.

"That's right! I'm afraid Lord Yu will become the new Minister of Personnel. We are happy together."

Yu Ping's smile became even more intense. He quickly denied that he dared not.

Both of them understood that the Minister of Personnel has always been known as a heavenly official and holds great power over officials below the fifth rank.

The chief minister of the cabinet coordinates and manages the six ministries of the court and is only responsible to His Majesty.

If Zhang Liang had been in charge of the cabinet as a celestial official, he would probably have become the first powerful official in the Han Dynasty.

But no one knows what Liu Hong is thinking.

When Liu Hong returned to Kyoto, he did not rush back to the palace, but went directly to Prime Minister Lin's residence.

The Lin Mansion, which was originally bustling, now looked a bit dilapidated and depressed.

The servants who usually acted so high and mighty were now as wilted as eggplants hit by frost, without any trace of the majesty of a seventh-rank official in front of the prime minister.

Lin Wan'er was wearing plain clothes, her eyes slightly red, and she saluted Liu Hong.

"No need to be polite! Minister Lin is seriously ill, I came to visit him."

Liu Hong sighed, feeling a little dazed. Half a year ago, he and Lin Ruofu were still discussing the political reform in Shazhou City.

Unexpectedly, Lin Ruofu, who was originally in good health, could not hold on in less than half a year.

Lin Wan'er's eyes became redder and she kept crossing her hands, feeling a little helpless.

After Lin Ruofu's death, Lin Wan'er only had the eldest princess as her mother.

Liu Hong originally wanted to reach out and pat Lin Wan'er on the shoulder and say a few words of comfort, but after thinking for a while, he withdrew his hand.

Walking towards Lin Ruofu's room, the smell of herbs became stronger and stronger.

"Cough cough cough..."

Lin Ruofu's face was as pale as gold paper, his breath was weak, and he lay on the bed, motionless, with extremely unstable breathing.

Hearing the door of the room open, Lin Ruofu turned around with difficulty and saw Liu Hong pushing the door open.

He was just about to sit up and kneel down to pay his respects.

Liu Hong pressed Lin Ruofu down and spoke softly.

"Minister Lin, just take a good rest. You'll be fine as long as you survive this winter."

Lin Ruofu smiled bitterly and touched his hair. His white hair had no luster at all and he couldn't help but sigh.

"Your Majesty, I'm afraid I won't survive this winter."

As soon as these words were spoken, Lin Wan'er, who had just come over, quickly turned her back and wiped her tears.

Liu Hong carefully checked Lin Ruofu's expression and did not say anything to comfort him.

Lin Ruofu's health was indeed failing. He was already old and in poor health.

Both of his sons died, leaving him almost without a family line, and then he worked hard for the Han Kingdom for another half a year.

With Lin Ruofu's physique as a scholar, he simply couldn't endure it.

Liu Hong looked at Lin Ruofu silently, unable to think of any words of comfort.

I can only quietly express my thoughts.

"Prime Minister Lin, I originally wanted to set a good example for our relationship as king and subject. After you retire, I will give you countless honors."

"I didn't expect that plans couldn't keep up with changes."

Lin Ruofu smiled with difficulty. He believed in Liu Hong, the kind-hearted king.

But no matter how great the honor is, what meaning does it have to an old man who is about to die?

Lin Ruofu stretched out his cold hand and grabbed Liu Hong tightly, his eyes full of pleading.

"King of Han, what worries me most right now is the reform of the Han Kingdom."

Liu Hong patted Lin Ruofu's hands and signaled with his eyes that Lin Ruofu should not worry.

Lin Ruofu slowly loosened his grip and coughed a few times.

"Your Majesty, you did not implement reforms in Northern Qi, and I support this."

"Leave a way for the aristocratic families in the south to survive! Transfer the hidden dangers of the Han Kingdom to the Northern Qi, so that the reform can continue to be maintained."

“It won’t happen that after our generation, the content of the reform will be changed beyond recognition.”

Liu Hong nodded. This was something he thought of later, so he named Liu Ying the Emperor of Qi.

Muttering softly.

"Did Confucius execute Shao Zhengmao?"

The Han Dynasty's reforms and the reformists' crackdown and oppression on the aristocratic families are very similar to the story of Confucius executing Shao Zhengmao.

After Confucius had been in power in Lu for seven days, he executed Shao Zhengmao, who was as famous as himself, and then burst into tears.

Because before his death, Shao Zhengmao said that his disciples would study Confucianism, regard Confucius as their master, and completely distort Confucius's ideas.

Confucius watched helplessly as his Confucianism eventually became Shao Zhengmao's Confucianism.

"What……"

Lin Ruofu didn't hear clearly, but looking at Liu Hong's expression, he roughly understood what he meant.

The Han State cannot oppress the aristocratic families too much, and at least give them a way out.

Otherwise, this group of cunning aristocratic families would probably break up into small groups and, under the banner of the reformists, attempt to restore the feudal dynasty.

Liu Hong would never look down on the aristocratic families. Those people were much more cunning than the officials who climbed up the ladder through normal abilities.

After this group of people are labeled as coming from a poor family, they will be promoted very quickly.

Lin Ruofu was worried about this, so he kept cooling down the reform.

In order to prevent the noble families from suffering humiliation, they had to find ways to be labeled as poor and return to the Han court.

(End of this chapter)