Jinting Han people

Chapter 99: The Three Yangs in Power (4k)

On the morning of the Jiazi day of May in the first year of Taixi, the sun was shining brightly and the sky was cloudless.

The heavy rain that had fallen the previous night had turned the dust of the earth into a quagmire, and the air was filled with a fishy smell. However, this did not affect the flow of people on the streets. After all, in Luoyang, where every inch of land is valuable, prosperity would not be stagnated by such a small matter. Therefore, the hawkers, the shouts of the wine shops, and the artisans performing their art all appeared on the streets of Luoyang as scheduled, no different from the peaceful world of the past.

Because the brief period of martial law has ended.

At this time, Liu Xian was having breakfast with his family.

What we had at home today was soup noodles, which is the prototype of noodles in later generations. The soup was made with chicken broth, with some shredded chicken and dried fish as topping, and a dish of pickles. It is considered a very good meal these days.

However, several elders in the family, such as Fei Xiu and Liu Yao, all looked worried and seemed unable to eat.

Seeing Liu Xian finishing his meal and preparing his appearance, Liu Yao asked, "Biji, has the government been stable lately?"

Since he turned fifty, Liu Yao was assigned a position as a Zhonglang official and no longer had to attend court, so he was not as well-informed about the news of the court as before.

Liu Xian replied as he fastened his belt, "Why, did Second Uncle hear any rumors?"

"I heard that the King of Runan left the city at noon the day before yesterday."

"That's what happened."

"I also heard that before the King of Runan fled, he cried out in front of the palace gates, saying that he felt guilty towards His Majesty... oh, should I say the late Emperor? He said that he felt ashamed of the late Emperor's kindness. Despite trying his best, he couldn't see the late Emperor for the last time. Even though he was entrusted by the late Emperor, he couldn't personally handle the late Emperor's funeral..."

"In the end, he said that all this was a conspiracy by Taifu Yang, and that the King of Runan was persecuted by him. In the end, in order to protect himself, he had no choice but to leave the capital."

"Second uncle, that's a rumor you've passed around so many times." Liu Xian bent down again and put on his shoes, laughing as he did so. "If the King of Runan had said that directly, he'd probably have been caught by the Grand Tutor right on the spot!"

"Even if he has the intention, he wouldn't dare to say so!"

"The Prince of Runan said he was ill and couldn't see the late emperor one last time, and he felt guilty. Now, he has to follow the late emperor's will and take up his post in Xuchang, feeling even more uneasy. He can't enter the palace without a decree. So, before he leaves, he asked everyone to bear witness so that he can pay homage to the late emperor."

Liu Yao said, "The meaning is pretty much the same. Otherwise, why would he go to the palace gate and offer sacrifices in public, making it known to everyone? He just wanted to force the Grand Tutor to not dare to take action against him."

"Two regents are always incompatible." Liu Xian finished dressing, stood up and replied, "The Grand Tutor certainly didn't take action against him, and a war disaster was averted!"

"Anyway, it has nothing to do with our family. Why should Second Uncle be worried?"

Madam Fei Xiu said solemnly, "Biji, your second uncle isn't worried about our family, he's worried about you. You're staying at Prince Guangling's mansion, so you won't be affected, right?"

Liu Xian shrugged and replied with a smile, "It's just an impact. In two months, Prince Guangling will be crowned Crown Prince, and I will be promoted to Crown Prince's Attendant."

"Mother, uncle, don't worry. I know what I can and cannot get involved in."

This sentence successfully soothed the parents' worries. In their eyes, Liu Xian had nothing to worry about since he was a child. To get to where he is today, the help provided by Anle Mansion was very small. In the end, they chose to believe Liu Xian's words and believed that he could handle everything on his own.

Only Anle Gong Liu Xun, who had remained silent until then, showed dissatisfaction. He knocked on the table and said, "If you encounter any problems, you must tell your family. Don't hide it."

How could he possibly tell his family about some things? Many things fail because of a lack of confidentiality. So Liu Xian nodded and said "yes" a few times, but still had no intention of sharing everything with his family, so he hurried out the door.

This time when he went out, Liu Xian did have another plan.

He did not go directly to the Guangling Palace as usual, nor did he ride the very conspicuous horse with feathers. Instead, he changed to a very ordinary gray-backed horse and rode around in the streets and alleys.

After walking for about quarter of an hour and confirming that no one was following him, Liu Xian quietly came to a mansion. The mansion was located in a downtown area and looked inconspicuous, but the door was ajar. Liu Xian pushed the door open and naturally restored it to its original state, then went straight to the lobby in the courtyard.

"Huai Chong, you are finally here. You are the only one missing."

The person who spoke was Meng Guan, the Palace Attendant. There were already four people sitting in the hall. Besides him, there were Li Zhao, Wang Cui, and another person with ordinary appearance. Liu Xian did not know him, but he had heard Meng Guan mention him before coming. He should be Dong Qiu, the younger brother of the current Huangmen Ling Dong Meng.

The Yellow Gate Commander Dong Meng is the confidant of the new empress Jia Nanfeng.

Liu Xian glanced at him, nodded to everyone, and said, "I was afraid of being followed, so I walked a few more laps."

"No need to be so careful." Meng Guan said with a smile, "I have eight secret sentries stationed nearby. If they find anything wrong, they will help you stop it."

"At this juncture, it's better to be cautious." Dong Qiu smiled and said, "Now that everyone is here, let's get down to business."

"When does His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu plan to enter the capital?"

Yes, it was a secret meeting, and it was a secret meeting about a coup.

Immediately after Sima Yan's death, the former Chu Palace's subordinates sprang into action, immediately seeking to ascertain the movements of all parties. Their original plan was to contact Sima Liang, King of Runan, under the name of Sima Wei. After securing the support of Crown Prince Sima Yi, they would directly invite Sima Wei back to the capital, where Sima Liang would lead a joint expedition against Yang Jun.

But what was unexpected was that when Meng Guan went to Sima Liang's house to negotiate as Sima Wei's representative, Sima Liang, as the commander of the imperial guards and the leader of the royal family, lacked the necessary courage.

After hearing Sima Wei's request, he actually rejected it passively, saying, "State affairs should not be lightly fought with weapons." He even advised Meng Guan, "Yang Jun is old and has committed perverse acts. If he continues for a few more years, he will eventually destroy himself. Don't do anything that is detrimental to the country."

The day before yesterday, Sima Liang, with the support of most of the imperial guards, escaped from Luoyang directly, which surprised everyone.

This directly led to the cancellation of the original coup plan. Without Sima Liang's leadership, did Sima Yi have to stand up and personally accuse Yang Jun of rebellion?
Not to mention that Sima Yi did not agree, even if he agreed, he had not yet obtained the position of crown prince, and he was only twelve years old. At such a young age, his appeal was still insufficient.

Just when everyone was confused, things unexpectedly took a turn for the better.

Just yesterday morning, Huangmen Ling Dong Meng took the initiative to contact Meng Guan, saying that he had something important to discuss with him and the location would be decided by Meng Guan.

Although it was not stated explicitly, the contact at this time was hinted at clearly enough. If it was not aimed at seizing power from Yang Jun, what else could it be?

So today's secret meeting took place.

Wang Cui said, "Your Highness is far away in Xiangyang. It takes almost three days for the news to reach you. I believe Your Highness has already learned of the emperor's death, but he has to rush back to report to the court. I'm afraid the imperial edict allowing you to attend the funeral is still on the way. It will take Your Highness at least five days to reach the capital." "How many days do you plan to stay in the capital?"

"It depends."

"Condition?"

Liu Xian took over and said, "Mr. Dong, the Queen asked Your Excellency to contact us, but nothing has been said yet. How can Your Highness possibly be prepared?"

Honestly, although Liu Xian had a basic understanding of Empress Jia's power after his teacher Chen Shou's reminder, he was still secretly surprised that Empress Jia dared to contact Sima Wei when the Prince of Runan didn't dare to confront Yang Jun and fled directly to the capital.

This shows that Empress Jia had considerable political ambitions, and at least had the desire to interfere in government affairs herself.

Liu Xian had long been a nemesis of Jia Mi. If Empress Jia gained power, Jia Mi would inevitably gain power as well. But now, as Sima Wei's spokesperson, he couldn't refuse to cooperate with the Jia family. After all, only by helping Sima Wei secure his position could Liu Xian rest easy.

To fight the enemy, you must first cooperate with the enemy. What a wonderful experience.

As expected, Dong Qiu didn't hide anything. He said, "The Queen's meaning is very simple. Yang Jun is a treacherous minister who abuses his power. He must be eliminated. To this end, the Queen is willing to cooperate with anyone."

Meng Guan frowned and said, "Are you willing to be with anyone?"

Dong Qiu nodded and said, "That's right. The Queen wants to cooperate with many people. She doesn't care who she cooperates with. As long as she can get rid of Yang Jun, she will cooperate."

Liu Xian was thoughtful. "So, the Queen's intention in calling us this time is to show His Highness whether he has the ability to eliminate Yang Jun?"

"That's what I mean." Dong Qiu smiled and high-fived. "Talking to smart people is straightforward."

The people in the hall looked at each other. Empress Jia's request seemed simple. She just wanted Sima Wei to show the strength he had built over the years.

But as the saying goes, only when you know yourself and your enemy can you win every battle. Exposing your own strength without others paying any price is risky and may cause your future plans to fall behind or even lead to total failure.

Liu Xian said, "It's only natural for the Queen to test others if she wants to cooperate. But Your Highness is a renowned and virtuous king, so the Queen can't just not express anything, right?"

"Of course." Dong Qiu nodded, took out a piece of yellow silk from his chest, and said to everyone, "This is the list of rewards that Yang Jun will soon announce. The Queen specially copied a copy for me and handed it to you."

"In two days, when Yang Jun will make his awards, you can compare them one by one to see if there are any mistakes or omissions on the list."

Li Zhao took the list and asked in confusion, "Reward? What reward? Hasn't anything major happened in the country recently?"

Dong Qiu chuckled and explained, "Yang Jun knows that his prestige isn't enough to convince the people, so he recently came up with an idea: to use rewards to win over the people and make the officials feel grateful to him."

"To be precise, even the officials in the court will be promoted by one rank, and the ministers who participated in the funeral for the late emperor will be promoted by two ranks."

"All officials above the rank of 2,000 shi will be granted the title of Guanzhong Marquis and exempted from tax for one year."

Upon hearing the news, Liu Xian and others were all shocked, and their first reaction was: Yang Jun is crazy!
Throughout history, has there ever been a case where a regent rewarded officials based on their merits shortly after the emperor's death? Did Yang Jun even neglect the basic dignity of a minister?

Moreover, the scale of the rewards is so large and involves so many people that the damage to the country's fiscal revenue is simply immeasurable, and the national treasury is likely to have a huge deficit.

Not to mention that if this becomes a common practice, and officials are promoted every time an emperor dies, will the people be expected to support thousands of dukes and marquises in the future?

If Liu Xian hadn't seen the list with his own eyes, and only heard Dong Qiu's words, he would never have believed that such a ridiculous decision could be made. But now that he had the list and saw Dong Qiu's confident words, he couldn't help but believe it.

Dong Qiu said, "This is the Queen's sincerity. As long as His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu can show his strength, the Queen will be the first to inform Yang Jun of any plans in the future."

"And when the time comes, the Queen can even ask His Majesty to issue a secret decree, allowing His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu to legitimately attack Yang Jun. How do you think?"

Having said that, everyone present was very excited. If they could really do as Empress Jia said, they would be able to directly receive arrangements from Yang Jun and also gain the righteousness of punishing Yang Jun. The success of the King of Chu would be a natural outcome. What was there to hesitate about?

Meng Guan said decisively: "Since the Queen is so concerned about the country, then we will definitely persuade Your Highness!"

After the others expressed their agreement, Liu Xian followed suit.

But in his heart, he felt a little uneasy: the weight that Empress Jia brought out seemed very important, but in fact, there was no risk at all.

Even if he was found out, it would only be a piece of yellow silk, and there would be no seal or evidence to point to him. But Sima Wei was different. If he failed, he would have no chance of rebuttal.

Even though there was no news about Yang Jun's reward, Empress Jia was able to reveal the secret to them so easily. This shows that in Yang Jun's eyes, Empress Jia was also his ally, and only a trustworthy ally could know such a secret.

But Empress Jia betrayed Yang Jun so easily.

Thinking of this, an alarm bell sounded in Liu Xian's heart: if he became an ally of Empress Jia, he would have to be on guard against one thing at all times.

After Dong Qiu left, the remaining four people gathered together to discuss, and Liu Xian immediately raised this doubt.

Meng Guan said, "What Huai Chong said is not without reason, but if you want to do something big, how can you avoid taking risks?"

Li Zhao also said: "We can no longer rely on the King of Runan. If we don't push the Crown Prince out, we have no choice but to cooperate with the Queen..."

Both of them were telling the truth, and Liu Xian also knew that Sima Wei would not give up halfway at this time.

Wang Cui said, "It all depends on your Highness's opinion. Let's report this matter first and see what your Highness decides."

"What we need to do now is to first consider, if His Highness agrees, what should we do to satisfy His Highness's public expectations."

"Even if the Queen doesn't participate in this matter, we still have to do it..."

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(End of this chapter)