Controlling mountains and rivers since the Warring States Period

Chapter 299 End (Two in One)

When Emperor Liu Ying of Han Dynasty tried to adapt to his new identity and develop production,
He came into conflict with his mother, Empress Dowager Lu.

The conflict originated in the harem and then spread to the court.

Liu Ying felt distressed by this.

He summoned his elder brother Liu Xin and confided his inner troubles to him.

"Madam Qi was disrespectful to the Queen Mother. I have punished her, but the Queen Mother is still upset and wants to take this opportunity to implicate Prince Zhao."

When Liu Xin heard about this, he simply asked the emperor, "Hasn't Madam Qi already been sentenced to eternal imprisonment? How could she still offend the empress dowager?"

Madam Qi,
She was the concubine whom Emperor Gaodi loved very much during his lifetime.

Relying on the emperor's favor and the merit of giving birth to Prince of Zhao Liu Ruyi, she often provoked Empress Lu in the harem and even instigated Emperor Gaodi to abolish Liu Ying as the crown prince and replace him with Prince of Zhao.

Fortunately,

Through the efforts of Liu Ying and those around him, Emperor Gao gave up this idea. In the twelfth year of the Han Dynasty, he personally ordered King Zhao to leave the capital and go to his fiefdom, announcing to the world who his successor would be.

Concubine Qi, whose political thinking was similar to Han Xin's, was very dissatisfied with this.

Han Xin, who was still detained in Chang'an, believed that "a gentleman will die for his friend".
Lady Qi, who did not go to the fiefdom with her son, believed that "women dress up to please themselves."

Obviously I have already sacrificed my talent and youthful beauty,

Why can't the one who understands me and loves me return the same precious care and consideration?
If Han Xin felt that he should be king,

Madam Qi then felt that she should be the queen and her son should be the crown prince.

otherwise,

Why would she give herself to this old man Liu Bang?

To know,
She is younger and more beautiful than Lu Zhi!
But things are set and cannot be changed.

Besides, Liu Bang could think of feelings.
But Emperor Gaozu of Han could not do so.

At most, Liu Bang asked his son to take care of his stepmother:
"Just don't let her be killed by your mother!"

Therefore,
When Liu Ying noticed,

After the Han Dynasty changed emperors, Concubine Qi still kept the habits of Emperor Gao. When she contradicted Empress Dowager Lu, he would quickly arrest her and throw her into the Yongxiang, which was responsible for punishing palace criminals.

It's just that there is punishment on the surface.

In fact, Madam Qi had a comfortable residence in Yongxiang and even had several people to serve her.

She only needed to do some trivial work and put on a miserable look to show her pain in order to extinguish the anger that was aroused in Lu Hou's heart.

According to Liu Ying's idea,
In this way, he could not only vent his mother's anger, but also fulfill his promise to his father, protect his brother's biological mother, and be a qualified brother.

But who knows,

Even though Lady Qi lived in Yongxiang, she still refused to give up.

She composed a ballad, singing her sorrow towards Empress Lu, accusing this old woman, who was no longer beautiful and whose beauty was no longer loved by even her husband, of cruelly oppressing her.

He accused his son, who was a vassal in Zhao, of only enjoying wealth and glory, but leaving his mother in Chang'an to be tortured.

When Empress Lü heard this, she was naturally furious, and wanted to kill the stupid Concubine Qi and punish Liu Ruyi who was far away in Zhao State.

Liu Ying stopped her out of consideration for his father and brother, but in order to appease his mother, he withdrew the preferential treatment for Concubine Qi and made her a complete slave as a punishment.

But Empress Lu was still not satisfied.

She made new demands on her son:
If he wanted to calm himself down, he should promote the children of the Lu family to demonstrate Liu Ying's filial piety.

His uncle's family,

He also made contributions to the establishment of the Han Dynasty.

Now, as relatives of the emperor, they should also enjoy the treatment of kings and princes.

This,

This is what makes Liu Ying most upset.

With the assistance of Liu Xin,
Liu Ying knew that as a son, he should think more from his mother's perspective instead of being a complete macho man and thinking that women's jealousy and pickyness were due to their narrow-mindedness and were mistakes that should be reprimanded.

Therefore, Liu Ying would punish Concubine Qi without endangering her life.

However, arbitrarily harming princes and promoting the Lu family was indeed beyond the scope of "filial piety and righteousness" and challenged Liu Ying's rights as an emperor.

Liu Xin was also unhappy about this and said, "How could the Queen Mother make such an excessive request?"

"When the late emperor put down the rebellion of the princes, he killed a white horse as a sign of alliance and established the law that 'only the Liu family can be king'."

"As the wife of the late emperor and your mother, she said such words. It is really hurtful!"

Then, Liu Xin realized the emperor's intention and took the initiative to ask for a visit from Empress Lü.

Liu Ying granted his request.

Because some words,
As a son, it is not convenient for him to talk about it.

So Liu Xin came before Empress Lu.

He bowed to the most noble woman in the world and told her the purpose of his visit.

"I did say that!"

Facing this trusted nephew, Empress Lu nodded calmly, not caring about the other party's questioning tone.

After hearing this, Liu Xin immediately showed a sad look, wiped his tears in front of Lu Hou, and began to apologize inexplicably.

Empress Lü was confused by his crying, "Prince Liang, why are you crying?"

Liu Xin said, "I thought that I could ease the relationship between your majesty and you through hard work, and set an example for all mothers and children in the world. But when I heard you say this today, I realized that I took it for granted!"

Empress Lu quickly stopped him from blaming himself, "You've done well enough!"

"Without your teachings, how could the emperor have achieved what he has today?"

Lu Zhi knew her own character——

Although she appears gentle and virtuous, in reality, she is still jealous, angry and foolish.

She would be angry at her husband's betrayal.
He would get angry and scold his son because of his weakness and incompetence.
He would also be dissatisfied because the Liu family enjoyed the tributes from the whole world, while the Lu family, who also came from Fengyi, could only be granted the title of nobility.

Without Liu Xin's assistance,
She faced her husband's betrayal, her rival's provocation, and her child's alienation alone.

I'm afraid that Lu Zhi is almost going crazy now.

And now,
She became the Queen Mother peacefully.

Liu Ying, who has half of the Lu family's blood, is the emperor.
He followed the previous emperor's system of "rest and recuperation" and did not make major changes to the court and the country. He only tried his best to restore the people's strength. Therefore, there were not many conflicts between the court officials and the new emperor.

The king and his subjects got along harmoniously.

Therefore, Liu Ying's throne seemed very stable.

In this case, why can't the Lu family be given more preferential treatment?

People often say: "Mother is the most important uncle!"

Moreover, the strength of his uncle's family is beneficial to the young emperor's grasp of power to a certain extent.

Empress Lü felt that she was indeed considering Liu Ying.

But Liu Xin was still crying.

He said: "If I have done my duty well, why would you say such a thing today?"

"Your Majesty is already an adult, and is the Son of Heaven in charge of government. It is his authority to promote, punish, and hide. How can you arbitrarily interfere?"

"Besides, you care about the Lu family and want to promote them. Isn't this also planting hidden dangers for the Lu family in the future?"

Empress Lu frowned unhappily, "What do you mean by this?"

Liu Xin kowtowed to her and said, "Haven't you heard Chu Long's story about Queen Mother Zhao?"

"Spoiling your child will only hurt him in the end!"

"Emperor Gao has already established the system. The Lu family's achievements are not enough to be crowned kings. If they rely on their status as the emperor's uncle to steal such an honorable position, how can they have a long-term future?"

"When your Majesty's son succeeds to the throne, will you also enthrone his uncle's family as king?"

"In this case, why would the ministers need to devote themselves to state affairs? All they need to do is cling to the royal family and wait for their grandson to ascend the throne, and they will be able to obtain extraordinary wealth and honor!"

"This is something that hurts the country!"

Empress Lu angrily told him to get out.

Liu Xin didn't say much, just wiped his tears and left.

Later, Empress Lü summoned the emperor and asked him, "Are you using Liu Xin's mouth to express your dissatisfaction with my interference in government affairs?"

Liu Ying said nothing, just knelt in front of her.

Empress Lü stepped forward and patted his back, scolding him bitterly, "I am your mother, how could I hurt you!"

Liu Ying endured the beating from Empress Lü and said in tears, "How could I doubt my mother's feelings for me?"

"When we were detained by Xiang Yu, without our mother's protection, my sister and I would have died in prison long ago!"

He reached out and hugged Empress Lü, and said sadly, "Now that I have grown up, I only want to protect my mother. How can I bear to let my mother continue to worry about me?"

"The clothes that my mother secretly sewed for me and my sister when we were in Xiang Yu's army are still kept in my palace." "These days, because of the conflict between you and me, I often shed tears in front of those clothes. I just feel that I am an unfilial son who is not worthy of my mother's expectations!"

Hearing him tell stories of the past,
Many complicated emotions also surged in Empress Lu's heart.

In the end, the mother and son hugged each other and cried bitterly.

Wait until the next day,
Empress Lü no longer forced Liu Ying to promote anyone from the Lü family, and the relationship between mother and son returned to normal.

Liu Ying also issued an edict to reveal the whole story of Concubine Qi's incident, and he wept when talking about it in the court.

Seeing this, the ministers comforted the emperor and said that this was the punishment that Concubine Qi deserved. Even Liu Ruyi, who was in Zhao State, was implicated by his mother and reprimanded by the court.

There is such an ignorant mother.

If Liu Ruyi inherited her amazing wisdom, it would definitely have an impact on the Han Dynasty.

It is better to control the other person more while he is young and give him a warning from time to time to prevent him from doing stupid things when he grows up.

When Liu Bang in the underworld heard about this, he just laughed:
"This kid's talent isn't very outstanding, but as long as we can deal with his mother, there will be no problem governing the country!"

Empress Lü was talented and also loved children.

As a relative by marriage, the Lu family was neither strong nor weak, which made them just the right wedge for the emperor to insert into the court.

The Liu clan members can compete and check each other with the meritorious officials from Peifeng to prevent any one side from becoming too powerful and affecting the throne of the Liu family.

"As long as the imperial court is not in trouble and the people live and work in peace... in a few decades, the country of Yanhan will be able to usher in a prosperous situation!"

Thinking of this,

Liu Bang couldn't help but laughed out loud again.

Unfortunately, his happiness did not last long.
Xiang Yu, who had finally managed to poke his head out of the small dark room and escaped from the hell of copying books, met him, and in response, he breathed out in the street and chased after Liu Bang.

"Liu Ji!"

"How dare you appear in front of me!"

"Accept your fate!"

Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang, then ran away quickly, fearing that he would be caught up by the evil spirit.

In Tubo's magnificent palace,

He Bo yawned and his eyes could hardly open.

He said to Ximen Bao with a strong sense of sleepiness, "I should sleep for a while."

After so many years,

The Yellow River finally opened its arms to He Bo, revealing a gentle and pitiful attitude.

He Bo took over most of the mountains and rivers on both sides of her.

He used the steep and rugged mountains to bind the rushing Yellow River in his arms.
He used the winding tributaries on both sides of the river to control the surging flow of the main trunk of the Yellow River.

The unruly and turbulent Yellow River was forced into a corner by He Bo and its status declined rapidly.

From the Mother River,

Become He Bo's river.

He Bo, on the other hand, quietly stayed at the Sanjiangyuan, pulling the Yellow River into his body bit by bit like a ball of wool.

at the moment,

There is only a tiny bit of tail left with no income.

And at this moment when it was about to end, He Bo also had a special reaction.

A great sense of satisfaction suddenly emerged in his body:
It's like a gap that has been empty for too long, and is finally filled with something, making up for the defect and making it perfect and flawless.

Such a floating feeling,

He Bo inevitably became quiet, and he felt the urge to sleep soundly.

he knows,
This reaction was most likely caused by the fact that he was about to take over a big river like the Yellow River.

For this,

There is no need for He Bo to resist.

He simply pulled himself together, summoned his men, and entrusted the affairs to them.

Ximen Bao said, "Is this any different from before?"

before,

He Bo would sit in the great hall of the underworld, or lie down and sleep in other places in the world of the living.

The ghost officials are handling various affairs.

right now,

He Bo still has to go to bed,

They still have to deal with business.

"Hmm...it seems like there's no difference!"

He Bo reflected on his experiences as a leader, and then he said shamelessly, "Do it seriously, this is the blessing bestowed upon you by the gods and ghosts!"

Ximen Bao curled his lips and snorted.

So He Bo tried to save his reputation, "At that time, I can have a clear view of everything going on in Yin and Yang, and be in control at all times."

"If you had any problems, would I not have helped you in time?"

"But now, I don't know how many years I will sleep like this!"

Sitting on the soft seat, He Bo leaned against the table in front of him and managed to mumble out these words.

His head is a little bit,
I can barely keep my eyes open.

See here,

Ximen Bao did not argue with this willful ghost anymore.

He led the ghost officials to retreat and then closed the door of the hall.

As the door closed,

The ghosts and gods in the temple fell into a deep sleep.
Ximen Bao could also feel it.

The power in his body, which came from the gift of ghosts and gods, suddenly began to move.

original,

That power felt to Ximen Bao like a spring of water.

Although small,

But it has its own source, which is sufficient to support the continuous flow of water.

But now, the spring is disconnected from its source.

You can still use it.
But we have to consider the problem of water depletion.

Fortunately,

He Bo had anticipated this and paid out all the "arrears" of those years in one go, and also paid out excess bonuses and interest.

This ensured that even if the ghost officials lost their income later, their treasury would still be full, and the stored water would be enough to support them for many years.

"We must manage the affairs of yin and yang for the ghosts and gods. We must not slack off!"

Ximen Bao looked around and said to his colleagues as the prime minister of the underworld, "As long as we wait for the ghosts to wake up, everything will be fine!"

"promise!"

The ghost officials all bowed and responded to his words.

Above the underworld,
The "black sun" that shines upon the underworld and can be seen in any city is still hanging high in the sky.

But it is different from the cold and desolate feeling given to the dead ghosts in the past.
Today's "sunshine" seems a little strange.

"It seems a little warm."

“It feels like basking in the sun when I was alive!”

Some of the dead with keen senses looked at the "sun" for a while and then told their friends about their feelings.

His friend didn't take his words seriously and just slammed the table.

"Don't even try to change the subject!"

"Tell me quickly, did you steal the offerings that my descendants sent to me last time?"

The damn devil exclaimed, "What do you mean by stealing food?"

"Your tombstone has been eroded by wind and rain, and the words can no longer be seen. As a result, your descendants have gone to the wrong grave. Is this my fault?"

Sacrifice is a thing.
It belongs to whoever it is placed on the grave!
Moreover, the descendants have even forgotten the burial place of their ancestors. Can they still blame the neighboring grave for being too similar?

"You should be scolding those unfilial sons in your dreams, why are you looking for me?"

(End of this chapter)