Han Shizu

Under the respectful greetings of the palace people inside and outside the Chui Gong Hall with low eyebrows and bows, Empress Dowager Murong walked out quickly, her steps were hurried, her walking was windy, and she showed no trace of her usual motherly demeanor.

Just by looking at the aura on her face, you can tell that the Queen Mother is furious, and the reason for her anger is obviously directed at the Emperor Liu Wenpeng.

The cause is not complicated at all. In view of the fact that Wang Xuanzhen left Shanyang to guard the capital, the dispute over the imperial envoy position has been postponed for a long time and has not yet been concluded. The various factions in North Korea and China are vying for power, and the conflict has become more intense. Recently, it has reached the point where they are criticizing and slandering each other.

Seeing that people's hearts were in chaos and the government was unstable, Empress Dowager Murong was "distressed" by this. So she felt inspired and could no longer live in Ciming Palace, so she came to the emperor to recommend a suitable candidate for the imperial envoy.

And this suitable candidate is Murong Dechen, the commander of Sichuan Province who returned to Beijing to report on his duties. The Murong clan, which was once extremely prominent and continued to enjoy prosperity, has been suppressed in the past year, at least at the central level of the imperial court.

The "Palace Transfer Case" was both the beginning and the climax of this suppression. The clan, represented by Lu Wang Liu Ai, and the ministers represented by Shangshu Ling Zhang Qixian, united with the most basic demand to prevent Empress Dowager Murong from interfering in politics for no reason.

At the same time, there were also a group of distinguished officials who had considerable say in the Han Empire. They were either repulsed and disturbed by Empress Dowager Murong's violent interference in politics, or they simply did not want to see Murong alone in the imperial family. Da, although he spoke little, secretly used practical actions to support the suppression of the Murong family.

Of course, there is a limit to this restriction, unless the person sitting on the throne is not Liu Wenpeng, who is half of the Murong family. Therefore, although the Murong clan was tightly suppressed in the center of the empire, there were still many Murong clan descendants, relatives, former subordinates, and disciples throughout the country, both inside and outside the imperial military and government.

You must know that Murong Yanzhao, the First Guard Duke alone, had more than ten children. Even if not all of them have Murong Defeng's knowledge and talents, after so many years, there are still many living people who are appointed at the Taoist and state level in various places. Among them are many important positions with real power.

The most obvious aspect of the suppression of the Murong family is that the contemporary Duke of Wei Murong Weizhen (the grandson of Murong Yanzhao and the eldest son of the second-generation Duke of Guard Murong Deye) was excluded from the imperial court and appointed prefect of Fengxiang.

Empress Dowager Murong deeply hated this status quo and situation. However, after a year of setbacks and lessons, Empress Dowager Murong was no longer as impatient as she was in the first year of Pingkang's reign, and was more steady.

This stability is reflected in the demands of Empress Dowager Murong on the court affairs. She has been reduced from the sole power of the Murong family to a seat in the political hall. Murong Defeng's previous position was filled by Murong Dechen, a blood brother.

Of course, Empress Dowager Murong also saw the changes in the court situation, and the trend of the emperor's pro-government was still the same. Based on the power struggle and various tensions in the Han Dynasty in the early third year of Pingkang, as long as mother and son work together and the emperor issues an edict, it is a high probability that it can be done. .

However, what Empress Dowager Murong did not expect the most was that her plan first came to nothing with Emperor Liu Wenpeng.

To sum up, Liu Wenpeng refused the Queen Mother's request and even sold her his grievances, saying that the power in the court was still in the hands of the emperor's uncle, Xianggong Zhang and others. Such is the "great" situation.

He also reassured the Queen Mother, saying that he also admired and trusted Murong Dechen, his uncle, and would definitely reuse him after he took charge of the government.

It is conceivable that the emperor's words could not convince the queen mother, and the mother and son even had a dispute in Chui Gong Hall. Facts have proved that the Queen Mother can exert much influence on the court, except for her relatives, mainly through the emperor, and when the emperor does not cooperate, she does not have much to do. After all, at least in the Pingkang era, the Han Empire did not meet the conditions for "prominent dynasty".

This time, Emperor Liu Wenpeng obviously completely annoyed Empress Dowager Murong. Apart from being angry, she was inevitably sad. She felt that Liu Wenpeng was too inconsiderate of her mother. She was only thinking about her son, but he did not share her thoughts.

After the Empress Dowager left, the atmosphere in Chui Gong Hall became even more depressing. All the waiters buried their heads deeply and did not dare to take a breath. Emperor Liu Wenpeng was still playing with the war chess on a map board, but obviously carelessly, and finally kicked the chess mark away. Ended by overturning the map board.

Obviously, rejecting the Queen Mother was also an unpleasant thing for the emperor. As for Liu Wenpeng's reason for rejecting the Queen Mother, it mainly starts from two points. First, after many disputes in the previous two years, Liu Wenpeng no longer trusts the Queen Mother's advice, and is even a little tired of her "torsing";

Secondly, Liu Wenpeng was dissatisfied with the fact that Zhu Fu was in charge of the country and suppressed his legitimate power as the emperor, and he also did not like having a mother-in-law above him who gave him advice and interfered with his decision-making.

On the contrary, he had no objections to Murong Dechen's uncle Liu Wenpeng. When he met with Murong Dechen before, he was very interested in his military career and asked him to carefully report the stories of his past wars.

In the imperial court, the response to some matters was very quick. For example, after the news spread that Empress Dowager Murong was interested in the position of the imperial envoy, the central government quickly appointed an important position.

First, Murong Dechen was appointed as the inspection envoy to Huguang. In the past two years, the frequency of barbarian rebellions in remote areas of the two lakes increased significantly. In the winter of the second year of Pingkang, barbarian riots occurred again in Li, Ding, Yuan and other prefectures. Invading prefectures and counties, the officials and the people could not bear the disturbance, so they sent Murong Dechen to suppress the bandits and quell the chaos and restore public order.

Of course, anyone with a discerning eye could see that this was a counterattack against the Queen Mother's proposal to appoint Murong Dechen as the imperial envoy.

At the same time, the "Ducha Envoy Struggle" that lasted for more than two months finally came to an end after being stimulated by Empress Dowager Murong. To the surprise of many people, the person who finally got the results was a person who had never participated in the fight: Luoyang The governor Xiang Minzhong.

Xiang Minzhong was a Jinshi in the 19th year of Kaibao. His ranking was not too high. He was ranked 17th in the Jinshi Department. During the Kaibao era, he was unknown and only worked step by step. Until the Yongxi era, during Emperor Taizong's first northern tour, Xiang Minzhong, who was the judge of Xinzhou at that time, went to Datianting. He was appreciated by Emperor Taizong for his diligence in political affairs and his maturity and prudentness.

The Yongxi era was an "era of diligence". Under the label of "diligence", it came into the emperor's sight. Xiang Minzhong naturally had a prosperous official career and rose to prominence. Basically, he climbed up one step at a time in three or four years. By the time In the fourteenth year of Yongxi's reign, he was transferred from the deputy envoy to the governor of the capital to the governor of Luoyang, and he was appointed by Taizong.

This time, the competition between the various factions in the DPRK failed, and in the end the position of the envoy fell on him. It was a stroke of luck. This was the result of a balanced compromise, which at least did not make the opponent proud. At the same time, a The relatively less powerful Du Cha En does not seem to be doing much harm to everyone.

At the same time, the governor should be appointed as soon as possible to avoid restlessness in Ciming Palace. However, if the Queen Mother insists on intervening in the affairs of the court, wouldn't she still find an opportunity? Without the Imperial Envoy, there are other important positions and powers. Unless the Queen Mother is placed under complete house arrest, that is ultimately unrealistic.

In the final analysis, it depends on the attitude of the emperor. However, based on Emperor Liu Wenpeng's recent behavior, especially three years after entering Pingkang, it is obviously difficult for the Han Dynasty court to truly calm down.

It's a normal thing to go through waves and then go up again.

The back garden of Guangyang Hou Mansion is filled with spring scenery and the scenery is endless.

Under the bright sunshine, Zhao Kuangyi, who is already seventy years old, stepped on the green grass and sat on a stone pier under a rockery. He hunched over his old waist and stared lovingly into the distance. There, his grandson Zhao Yuncheng was chatting with the Hou Mansion. Several martial artists he raised were sparring.

Beginning in the ninth year of Yongxi's reign, Emperor Taizong began to confer nobility or title on a group of civil and military officials who had made special contributions to the country in the past twenty years. Compared with Shizu who conferred meritorious services, Emperor Taizong was much more restrained, had very high requirements and standards, and had In many places, hereditary titles are not available. But even so, it greatly appeased the hearts of many meritorious officials. At least they saw the hope of "glorifying the ancestors" instead of just watching the titles and salaries being reduced from generation to generation with the passage of time and the inheritance of the family.

At that time, Guangyang Bo Zhao Kuangyi had been loyal to the royal family for forty years, worked hard and made great achievements, and was promoted to the first-class Marquis of Guangyang. There is a saying that no matter how little thoughts Zhao Kuangyi has, his abilities and skills are extremely outstanding, and his achievements to the people of the country during the governance period cannot be denied.

Therefore, after comprehensive consideration, Emperor Taizong granted him a special title. Zhao Kuangyi was also one of the ministers who received the most important titles and the best treatment during the Yongxi period. Within the Zhao family, Zhao Kuangyi's lineage can truly rival Rong Guogong's lineage. Although Zhao Dezhao inherited Zhao Kuangyin's mantle, in the past twenty years, the person in charge of the Zhao family was still Zhao Kuangyi, and his authority became more and more important.

Now, Zhao Kuangyi has been adopted for five or six years, and he is still the anchor of the Zhao family, especially after Concubine Zhao and her son were driven to Annan to live in the country.

Zhao Kuangyi, who was in his seventies, could no longer straighten his back, his beard and hair were as white as snow, and the top of his head was so sparse that it was even difficult to hold up his hat. However, his spirit was still strong, his eyes were still sharp, his thoughts were still clear, and he was still paying attention to the changes in the court situation.

After a lifetime of ups and downs in the officialdom, he has already formed a dependence on power. Even if he can no longer control and scold Fang Qiu from the heights of the temple, it does not prevent him from giving guidance and discussing politics in the prince's mansion. This has even become his later years. Zhao Kuangyi’s “spiritual food”.

At this time, Zhao Dechong, the eldest son who had already reached the rank of Shaoqing of Dali, stood respectfully aside and informed Zhao Kuangyi of some recent developments in the DPRK.

"Lu Mengzheng resigned?" Zhao Kuangyi was a little surprised.

Zhao Dechong nodded and said: "Just the day before yesterday, the speech list was sent to the Ministry of Personnel and forwarded to the Political Affairs Hall. Your Majesty has approved the speech!"

Hearing this, Zhao Kuangyi said with emotion: "Today is different from the past. He was demoted twenty years ago and he was able to make a comeback. Now, God doesn't have another twenty years for him.

If the late emperor had been in power, let alone a magistrate of Taiping Prefecture, or even a magistrate of a county, he could still persevere and seek recovery. Now, haha.

However, it is a right choice to seek repatriation. Maybe you can live a few more years and see the changes in the Han Empire."

Zhao Dechong listened silently to his old father's comments, and did not listen to some of the sarcastic and taboo content. In the past two years, while chatting with Zhao Kuangyi, Zhao Dechong had mastered the magical skill of "closing his ears". He couldn't control his father's comments, but he could control his own ears.

"Wang Yuchen died of illness, has His Majesty not expressed anything yet?" Zhao Kuangyi asked.

Wang Yucheng, the former Crown Prince and Grand Scholar of the Cabinet, died of illness on the 28th day of the first lunar month of the third year of Pingkang. As a famous, loyal, and direct minister, as well as a pioneer in the reform of poetry and literature, Wang Yucheng was full of praise for his extremely high moral integrity and literary standards. He is praised by the world, after all, this is a character that even Emperor Shizu loves and hates.

However, for such a veteran of three dynasties, his posthumous affairs were somewhat miserable. Even those political opponents had respect and fear for Wang Yuchen, but it was the emperor Liu Wenpeng who seemed a little indifferent.

Not to mention the courtesies such as abolishing the imperial court and posthumous titles, let alone paying personal condolences. There was not even a gesture of sending people to express condolences or pretending to be concerned, as if they didn't know what was going on.

And the reason is just because Wang Yucheng was very strict with him when he was in the East Palace. The ruler given by Taizong was really harsh. How obedient and respectful he was at the beginning, now he is indifferent to him.

There is no doubt that the emperor's behavior is unpopular, at least it violates the moral principles of respecting teachers and teaching. There is a lot of criticism inside and outside the court. Of course, for the emperor, it can also be beautified as a "small evil" and "a small loss of people's hearts". However, even if the emperor's dignity is like this, how many times can it be worn down?

In fact, a lot! The system of the Han Empire and the wealth accumulated by Shizu and Taizong were so strong that they could withstand the willfulness of a less wise emperor in a short period of time.

After hearing this, Zhao Kuangyi also commented: "Wang Yucheng's loyalty is known to both the government and the public. Such a famous third-generation loyal man, even if he has a grudge, he should always be given basic decency and respect. Today, he still looks young. It’s full.”

Zhao Dechong was standing by and just nodded silently to show his agreement. In fact, he also knew that Zhao Kuangyi had already accepted what he said.

"I still remember that Wang Yucheng also impeached me back then. It's really annoying. This copper pea is just gone, and the world will lose a ray of righteousness and a lot of fun! Thinking about it, I feel a pity!" Zhao Kuangyi had a lot of emotions today. After thinking about it, he ordered: "On the day of the funeral, you can send it off on my behalf!"

"Yes!" Zhao Dechong responded.

Finally, Zhao Kuangyi looked away from his grandson Zhao Yuncheng, who was sweating profusely from training, and looked up at his eldest son, whose official position was steadily rising and his demeanor became more and more calm, and asked: "What other 'interesting things' are there?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Dechong hesitated a little and said, "There is something that I don't find interesting, but I think I should tell my father!"

"Then let's talk about it!" Zhao Kuangyi raised his skinny hand, obviously also interested.

Zhao Dechong said: "Yesterday, February 2, His Majesty led all the ministers to hoe in the suburbs. He talked about the story of the late emperor's hard work in farming and encouraged farmers, and asked all the ministers accompanying him, young and old, to work in the fields.

Zhang Shangshu was forced to plow the land himself with a hoe, until he fainted from exhaustion, and His Majesty did not stop until he fainted."

"Is this happening?" Zhao Kuangyi couldn't help but pause after hearing his story. After a while, he couldn't help but laugh: "Zhang Qixian is also nearly seventy years old, how can he endure such hardship?

It is true that the late emperor valued his land and worked hard with his own hands, but he was always considerate of his senior ministers. It seems that our Majesty is becoming more and more intolerable to Yong Xi's ministers, and he actually came up with such methods to torment the old ministers.

Spring is coming, and the flowers are blooming, and the court is becoming more and more lively."