Controlling mountains and rivers since the Warring States Period

Chapter 484 Before Wang Mang Usurped Power

The first year of the Yuan Shi era of the Han Dynasty.

Liu Kan, who officially became emperor and ushered in his own era, still failed to find his mother from the Zhongshan Kingdom.

Wang Mang disregarded all his opinions and, under the pretext of so-called rites and laws, exercised the power at his disposal.

He ordered the exhumation of Empress Dowager Fu's tomb in the Yuan Emperor's mausoleum, reburied the old woman who still had remnants of her body, and removed her honorific title, calling her "Mother of the Prince of Dingtao".

after that,

He then ordered the exhumation of Emperor Ai's mother's tomb and bestowed upon this woman, who had never been able to reclaim her child from her mother-in-law, the same treatment Empress Dowager Fu received.

At first, Wang Zhengjun did not think there was a problem.

But when Wang Mang launched a near-extermination campaign against the Fu and Ding families,
She seemed to realize what was happening and asked Wang Mang, "Why did it come to this?"

Wang Mang then said, "This is all for my aunt!"

“Fu and Ding have been so disrespectful to my aunt and me, Wang. If we don’t punish them, how can we show my aunt’s authority?”

is it?

right?

Wang Zhengjun, with her limited intelligence, was unable to discern the true meaning behind her nephew's words.

She couldn't help but say to those around her, "I really don't understand why the Giant King harbors such strong aversion and hatred towards these unnecessary people."

After the Fu family's reputation soured and became corrupt, she, the person directly involved, stopped paying attention to this former rival.

Little did they know that Wang Mang would not let the matter rest.

"It must be out of respect for you," said someone close to Wang Zhengjun. "I've heard that the Marquis of Xindu is kind and filial, and often treats his uncles as his fathers."

“It is normal to continue to worship you as a mother now.”

So Wang Zhengjun felt relieved.

She no longer has her own children.
The person closest to her by blood was indeed her nephew, Wang Mang.

If she doesn't depend on him, who else can she depend on?

"...How is the Qu family doing lately?"

Wang Zhengjun suddenly remembered that Wang Mang had a biological mother who was still alive, so she casually asked her about it.

The lady-in-waiting beside her said, "I heard that she is still at home chanting Buddhist scriptures and praying for you and the Marquis of Xindu day and night."

"She's thoughtful."

Wang Zhengjun waved her hand with satisfaction, "Since she is so sincere, I cannot leave without giving her a reward."

"Let's bestow upon her the title of Meritorious Lady."

……

When the imperial decree was issued to Wang Mang's residence, Lady Qu, who had not appeared for a long time, was helped out of the dark and old scripture hall by her son and received the special imperial seal.

Thinking of the title she had received, tears streamed down her aged eyes, and then she said to her son:
"This title was earned through my hard work."

"This is the imperial court acknowledging my contributions as a mother!"

"My son, are you happy today?"

Wang Mang, being filial, also prostrated himself on the ground and kowtowed, tears streaming down his face, saying, "How could your son not be happy?"

Madam Qu nodded, clasped the small seal in her hands, held it to her heart, and murmured, "That's good, that's good..."

And on the other side,
After congratulating his grandmother and father on receiving the favor, Wang Yu secretly ran away to find his mother.

He looked at Madam Wang with some admiration and said to her, "In the future, I will also ask for such a title and reward for my mother."

Wang did not speak, but simply smiled and glanced at her eldest son.

After witnessing her second son being whipped to death by her husband, Wang hadn't laughed so easily in a long time.

Looking at his mother's much older face, Wang Yu couldn't help but think of the young emperor Liu Kan—

This nine-year-old emperor,
Without her mother by her side,
Unlike myself, I can no longer feel my mother's love and tenderness.
In the imperial court,
In front of all the officials, he had to endure his father's tough policies without even a chance to speak.
What an irony!

Wang Yu cannot be described as a good person.
Actually,
Under the influence of the extravagant and arrogant family traditions of the Wang family of Yuancheng,
Even with a "sage" father like Wang Mang,
Wang Yu also inevitably has some bad habits and does some bad things.

But he was indeed a good son.

in this aspect,

Wang Yu could even empathize with young children and feel their longing for their mother's embrace.

then,

He secretly conceived an idea and consulted his teacher:
"I want to persuade Father to allow the Wei family to come to Chang'an and reunite with the Emperor... Is this possible?"

His teacher was very similar to Wang Yu, and naturally supported his ideas.

However, after discussing it, the master and disciple felt that since Wang Mang had taken over the throne, he had become increasingly stubborn and would not easily grant other people's requests.

Moreover, if the emperor's mother came to Chang'an and ruled from behind the curtain, wouldn't his power be threatened?
So Wang Yu could only rack his brains and think of a solution.

At last,
He suddenly remembered that his father had paid close attention to the folk beliefs about ghosts, gods, and witchcraft when he was in Xindu. He thought he could use this as a starting point to frighten his father with "ghosts and gods" so that he would have no choice but to reunite the emperor and his mother.

therefore,

Wang Yu sent someone to sneak to Wang Mang's bedroom door in the middle of the night with a bucket of dog blood, attempting to create a supernatural event of "dog blood splashing on the door" to shake his father's resolve.

However, Wang Mang was very cautious.

He never trusted anyone or anything, and he never let his guard down, even in his own bedroom.

As a result, the people Wang Yu sent were captured and confessed that the person behind it all was the eldest son.

Wang Mang was enraged.

Wang Yu knelt tremblingly before his father, his words slurred from fear, yet he still managed to say, "The bond between mother and child is something that the human heart naturally yearns for."

"Whether emperor or commoner, everyone hopes to be able to nestle in their mother's arms when they are helpless and in trouble."

"Since the father considers himself a saint and sage, why does he separate the mother from the child?"

Wang Mang whipped him directly, leaving a deep bloody welt on the eldest son's face.

Still not satisfied, he treated his own son with the same ruthlessness he showed to his enemies.

Wang Yu was in so much pain that he rolled on the ground and soon fainted.

Looking at his eldest son covered in blood, Wang Mang angrily ordered, "Lock this idiot in jail!"

The servants quickly stepped forward and carried Wang Yu away.

Subsequently,

Wang Mang took a few deep breaths, changed out of the robe stained with blood by Wang Yu, and then summoned his trusted confidants, saying to them with tears in his eyes, "Someone wants to harm me!"

"Because I helped His Majesty clean up the corruption in the court, someone maliciously instigated my son, causing my father and son to fall out and regard each other as enemies!"

"How can I then wholeheartedly assist the emperor?"

"I wish to petition the Empress Dowager to resign from my official post and retire into seclusion!"

His confidants listened to him and immediately began to comfort the old father who had been heartbroken by his son.

"Young master is pure of heart, it is indeed possible that he could be misled by others!"

"But the world depends on the Marquis of Xindu. At this time, we must not abandon His Majesty and the Han Dynasty for such trivial matters, in order to protect ourselves!"

more importantly,
Your lord has stopped improving.

How could these followers possibly make any progress?

They were too lazy to meddle in the Wang family's affairs, nor were they willing to delve into the truth behind Wang Mang's words.

But they were all hoping that Wang Mang, who had already seized power, would use his authority to promote his loyal subjects!

Therefore,
To prevent evil from continuing to erode...

To prevent the Han Dynasty from being destroyed by termites,

They firmly appealed to Wang Mang:
"Let's have a major purge!"

"How can a country be governed well when surrounded by those insects!"

Wang Mang declined several times, but was eventually persuaded by them.

Subsequently,

He then used the pretext that "someone was plotting against him" to launch a massive crackdown on his colleagues in the court.

Princess Jingwu, Prince Liu Li of Liang, Marquis Wang Li of Hongyang, Marquis Wang Ren of Ping'a, and many others were all imprisoned in the imperial prison, and hundreds were directly executed.

The "culprit" among them
Wang Mang's eldest son, Wang Yu, was even personally given a cup of poisoned wine by Wang Mang and died in a dark prison.

As for Wang Yu's pregnant wife, she was also ordered to be detained by Wang Mang, and was to be executed after she gave birth to a child of the Wang family.

The government and the public were shocked.

Wang Zhengjun wanted to say something, but when she saw Wang Mang's eyes glowing red, she shrank back.

She suddenly realized,
She couldn't see her nephew clearly at all. Only the distraught Wang Shi went to Wang Mang, crying and begging him to return her child.

"He was just trying to do a good deed, why are you treating him like this!"

"You killed one of my children, and that wasn't enough for you, you had to kill a second one!"

"Do you even have a heart?!"

After Wang Yu was arrested,
He then left the prayer hall. Wang, who had been pleading for him, cried herself hoarse upon learning of her eldest son's death.

Her hair was disheveled, and her clothes were not properly put on due to her struggle and distraction.

She only wanted to rush to Wang Mang and avenge her two dead children.

But she was stopped by someone.

Wang Mang, who was just a few steps away, became an enemy she could never touch or retaliate against.

So she could only stare blankly at the sky with her already blind eyes, searching for any trace of the child.

"You won't even let me collect the child's body..."

“You even threw them into the wild mountains where wild beasts roam!”

Seeing her in this mad state, Wang Mang said angrily:
"You stupid child, you actually have the idea of ​​murdering your father, and you dare to protest to me?"

Do you know,

How difficult it must have been for him to be a "saint"!

Do you know,

If others find out,
What kind of impact will it have if his son opposes the reunion of his mother and son in the Heavenly Family because he is "obstructing the reunion of his mother and son"?
His aura of "sage" must never be destroyed!

This is the culmination of his life's work; this is something he would protect with his life!

Even his offspring,

But once this line is crossed...

Wang Mang would show no mercy either!

Hearing him say this, Wang felt even more desolate and overwhelmed with grief.

After Wang Mang ordered her to be locked up in a courtyard, she attempted suicide out of despair.

Wang had no intention of continuing to live.

Every moment she exists in the world as "Wang Mang's wife"
For her, it was all an extreme form of torture.

But Wang Mang would never allow anything to happen to her.

Because he also needs to be a "loving husband".

then,

He helped Wang's two remaining sons find her.

The third son, Wang An, and the fourth son, Wang Lin, clutched their mother's sleeves, saying timidly:
Please consider our situation!

“If you really end your own life, Father will definitely blame us!”

After his eldest and second eldest brothers were killed by their biological father,

They simply did not believe they could receive preferential treatment from Wang Mang.

That's not a normal person.

He was like Emperor Cheng and Emperor Ai.
They don't care about their offspring.

"what!"

Hearing her son's plea, Wang broke down, clutching her hair and letting out a piercing scream.

She held the two children in her arms, her tears almost dried up.

She will not attempt suicide again.

But she could no longer live a good life.

After this,

Wang cried day and night, until her voice became hoarse.

Blind and mute, she locked herself in a dark room.

There are no more Buddhist scriptures to recite.

And no child named Wang Yu ever came to visit him again.

Of the four sons she bore for Wang Mang, only Wang Yu had the closest relationship with his mother and was the most devoted to filial piety.

The remaining brothers were Wang An and Wang Lin.
The former was weak and timid.
The latter, on the other hand, acted entirely like a member of the Wang family of Yuancheng.

They rarely visited their mother after confirming that she would obediently survive.

Compared to fulfilling filial duties to her mother and comforting Wang, who was becoming increasingly silent and losing her sense of the outside world,
They were even more worried that their closeness would displease their father.

Anyway, my mother is like this now.
She was only breathing for her son.

How could they not do their utmost to protect themselves?

After this huge uproar,

Wang Mang's power reached new heights.

Those who once thought Wang Mang was a sage and a gentleman who could be easily deceived suddenly realized something was amiss and turned around to curry favor with him.

After all, no matter how noble one's status is, can it be as noble as that of a prince or princess?
They dared not gamble on whether Wang Mang would continue his madness and find some excuse to implicate them.

quickly,

At the suggestion of some people, Wang Mang was promoted from Marquis of Xindu to "Duke of Anhan".

Empress Wang Zhengjun also issued an imperial edict stating that, apart from the matter of bestowing titles upon people, she and the emperor entrusted everything to Wang Mang.

As a result, Wang Mang began to act arbitrarily in the court.

He no longer only used etiquette to suppress himself, but also to suppress others.

Officials below, pandering to his tastes, launched a "retro" trend, striving to turn back eight hundred years and return to the Western Zhou Dynasty in one fell swoop.

Upon hearing this, Kong Guang's parched lips trembled as he grasped the messenger who had come from Chang'an to welcome him back to serve as Grand Tutor and inquired:
"Did the Giant King really do such a thing?"

"Has such a turmoil truly occurred in the imperial court?"

The envoy smiled and said, "Under the leadership of Duke Anhan, the Han Dynasty is thriving!"

"Please rest assured, Grand Tutor!"

"Now that you're back in Chang'an, there will definitely be no one who will be at odds with you!"

The disciple rose to a position second only to the emperor, a position of immense power.
Now, Teacher Kong Guang can retire in peace and prepare to enjoy the good reputation he has earned both before and after his death!

result,

Instead of being overjoyed, Kong Guang took a few steps back, looking terrified, and said:
"This is wrong..."

"This is wrong!"

His aged face revealed a despair of shattered illusions, and his emaciated body began to sway.

At last,
He lost the strength to stand, his vision went black, and he collapsed.

After waking up,

Many of Confucius's descendants gathered around him, weeping and praying that nothing bad would happen to the old man.

They were still hoping to use Kong Guang's connections to get in touch with An Han Gong!
Kong Guang stared blankly at the roof beam above his head, and suddenly remembered that many years ago, he had seen his elderly father off in this very room, under these very circumstances.

He burst into tears, his mind echoing with his father's deceitful murmurs.

"What will the future of the Han Dynasty look like?"

"..."

"Please tell Duke Anhan that I am too old to attend to state affairs and will not be returning to Chang'an."

After a long silence,
Kong Guang turned his head, his white hair spreading out with his movement.

With a sobbing voice, he told the messenger:
"Tell him to do a good job, just do a good job!"

at the same time,

On a remote plateau,

Suddenly, God jumped into the clear, icy river water—

"Ha ha!"

"Master Dao, I am done!"

(End of this chapter)