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

Having said that, only Liu Heng himself understood what he was thinking.

This group of nobles with military merit who followed Emperor Gao to conquer the world were capable and did not oppress the people. However, some of them were nepotistic and formed cliques.

In fact, these are all trivial matters and human nature, and Liu Heng would not treat them as saints.

But the problem was that the military nobles had always treated him like a child. Once Liu Heng wanted to interfere in the affairs of the court, these old ministers would show off their seniority and lecture him in the tone of elders.

It's okay once or twice, but if it goes on for a long time, no emperor can stand it.

Liu Heng looked gloomy and pretended to flip through the memorials casually.

He would not take action against the nobles with military merit. As Hong Zhu said, the nobles with military merit will always be the most staunch supporters of the Han Dynasty, and their wealth and glory are all pinned on the Han Dynasty.

But the necessary beating is certain.

Er Gouzi shook off the imperial guards outside the imperial study and angrily demanded an explanation from Liu Heng.

In Ergouzi's eyes, Liu Heng is still a child, and feelings are not as important as state affairs!
The roar of Ergouzi in the imperial study gradually decreased, and finally Ergouzi burst into hearty laughter from time to time.

The imperial guards guarding outside were completely confused.

After General Ergouzi left, Liu Heng's imperial edict soon arrived.

"General Gou Zi has worked hard and made great contributions. I hereby promote him to be the Marquis of Wuzhou and the King of Chu, and increase his fief by 5,000 households."

As soon as this decree was issued, it caused an uproar in the court.

Originally, some ministers felt sympathy for Ergouzi because his daughter was not elected as the queen.

Now I feel a little uneasy.

The General of Chariots and Cavalry was too arrogant! He was the legitimate son of Emperor Gao, the son of the Empress, and the most legitimate emperor of the Han Dynasty.

If it was because his legitimate daughter did not become the queen, he would submit a memorial to express his dissatisfaction and would not attend court due to illness.

Everyone can understand.

But Er Gouzi broke into the imperial study and forced the emperor to increase his fiefdom and promote him to king.

Are they trying to train Emperor Liu Heng as Liu Ying? Besides, there are no major wars in the Han Dynasty now, so why should Er Gouzi be crowned king?
For a while! Although Er Gouzi became the King of Chu and enjoyed unparalleled glory, the ministers who had been on good terms with him gradually drifted away.

Er Gouzi was completely unaware of this and thought that his colleagues' alienation was a manifestation of respect.

Liu Heng had a very accurate grasp of the public opinion in the court. He sat in the imperial study, looking like he was enjoying a good show.

It was actually Liu Heng who took the initiative to propose on that day to make Ergouzi the king to make up for the regret that Ergouzi's legitimate daughter did not become the queen.

It’s a pity that Ergouzi had been in the army for too long and was unable to understand Liu Heng’s shameless and sinister proposal, so he readily agreed.

In just a few months, Ergouzi, who was originally a county marquis and a meritorious official, rose to become a king and was eager to take the position of General Han Xin.

He arranged for his cronies to interfere in local military affairs, thus breaking the balance of power in the military.

Liu Heng gently flipped through the censor's impeachment and nodded slightly.

"It's time, let's do it!"

Hong Zhu brought the imperial edict and delivered it directly to the cabinet and the military council.

Er Gouzi was dismissed from all his posts, deprived of his fief of 3,000 households, but was allowed to retain the title of King of Chu for the time being and sent back to his fiefdom. As for his children, they were innocent and could remain in Kyoto for the time being.

At the military meeting, Er Gouzi was in high spirits and was aggressive towards Han Xin, wanting to interfere in the arrangements of the Xiliang Road county troops.

Han Xin frowned to hide his anger, but soon calmed down.

"Bang..." The door was kicked open.

Hundreds of imperial guards held the imperial edict, which clearly stated all the illegal and disorderly things that Ergouzi had done recently, and the tone was extremely harsh.

Er Gouzi was stunned. The soldiers of the military council glanced in Han Xin's direction to ask for his opinion.

Han Xin remained indifferent, and the soldiers immediately understood what was happening and remained motionless.

"Why are you taking me away?"

Er Gouzi roared and howled, but with the combined efforts of hundreds of imperial guards, he could not stir up any big waves. General Sifang, Fan Dadan, Huang Xuan, Moss and others looked uncertain, but in the end they did not say anything to persuade him.

The emperor's political tactics were so perfect that he first gave Ergouzi a title without any merit, which made the ministers jealous and dissatisfied, and also created the image of a weak emperor.

When Ergouzi became too proud and wanted to use his royal title to gain more power, he invisibly broke the balance of the military nobility, which was equivalent to Ergouzi leaving the alliance alone.

Liu Heng convened a grand court meeting because of Ergouzi's incident.

Looking at the group of ministers below, his tone was very emotional.

"You are all my uncles, and you are the heroes who helped Emperor Gao conquer the world. How I wish I could share my wealth and glory with you."

"But can a dynasty that is nepotistic and arbitrary last long? For the sake of the Han Dynasty's national destiny, I can only demote the General of Chariots and Cavalry and send him back to his own fiefdom."

Ergouzi's title as King of Chu was not abolished, his fief was only reduced by 3,000 households, and his children were still able to serve as officials in the capital.

He simply lost power in the court.

The emperor had done so much that the ministers had no choice but to smile bitterly. It was all because of Ergou's own actions.

Most people believed that the emperor simply couldn't stand Ergouzi's arrogance and domineering behavior, so he drove him back to his fiefdom.

Unexpectedly, this was just the beginning. Many of Ergouzi’s cronies were dismissed from the court, the army, and local counties.

The scholars that Liu Heng had summoned before took over the power vacancy left by Ergouzi in an orderly manner.

I thought the settlement was almost over, but unexpectedly, General Fan Dabing got into trouble again, and his relatives revealed that they had forced the sale of land.

The emperor was furious and ordered a purge throughout the Han Dynasty officialdom.

A large number of close associates and relatives of nobles with military merits were arrested and imprisoned.

With both witnesses and evidence, corruption is still a small matter.

If land was occupied, no matter how meritorious the nobles were, their plea would be useless; their property would be confiscated and they would be exiled to remote areas; their silver and grain would be collected for the state treasury and private treasury, and the land would be distributed among the victims.

For the scholars promoted by Liu Heng, this was a feast for the eyes. They did not even have time to engage in corruption and their promotion speed was as fast as riding a rocket.

Just when the military nobles were feeling insecure, some smart people were shocked to find that the emperor had secretly grasped most of the power among the middle and lower classes, and his power could no longer be shaken.

At the Zhang Mansion, Zhang Liang glanced at Liu Heng's investigation of the officialdom over the years and sighed softly.

"almost!"

Imperial preceptor Zhang Liang personally brought General Han Xin, Prime Minister Xiao He, and a large number of nobles with military merit to kneel outside the palace to plead for mercy.

When Liu Heng heard his teacher pleading outside the palace gate, he nodded slightly.

"That banging should be about enough."

During this purge, a large number of middle and lower-level powers were held by scholars from poor families and small and medium-sized landlords, while aristocrats with military merit still held high positions.

Although it was a major setback and his power was not as great as before, he was not sidelined.

The most important thing is that these unruly heroes bowed their heads.

Naturally, Liu Heng had to stop while he was ahead, so as not to displease Emperor Gao, who was traveling among the people.

The purge, which lasted for three years, came to an end.

At the age of 25, Liu Heng refocused on people's livelihood and used the mutual restraint between scholars from poor families and aristocrats with military merit to firmly grasp power in his hands.

Prince Liu Qi, born to the queen, was three years old that year.

Outside Kyoto, Er Gouzi stood on the carriage and looked out, looking depressed.

The emperor was afraid that Ergouzi would get too excited and rebel directly in his fiefdom, so he detained him for three years. Only after Ergouzi posed no threat did he allow him to return to his fiefdom.

Today, Er Gouzi has lost all his power due to his arrogance and domineering behavior, and he has also caused heavy losses to other nobles with military merits.

There is no hope of returning to Kyoto in this lifetime. (End of this chapter)