Han Shizu

Chapter 2179: Peninsula History: Weird
In the past few years, the political situation of Annan has always maintained the structure of "one court and one palace", the court is the king's court, and the palace is the princess's palace.

This is a contradictory and balanced situation. On the one hand, Liu Jidan could not really be sidelined, after all, he had been the legitimate King of Annan for more than 20 years. At the same time, neither the royal party nor the political alliance with Liu Ying as the core would allow another Liu E to appear. Letting Liu Ying interfere in politics was already a great compromise.
On the other hand, Liu Jidan loved and relied on his sister Liu Ying, but also felt a little afraid of her. Although he had an instinctive resistance and disgust towards interference in the royal power, it was difficult for him to turn this disgust into concrete action.

Thus, this political structure, which can be regarded as the most bizarre of feudal states, emerged, with contradictions and oppositions, but also stability and reliability. Of course, it was only because of Annan’s special historical background and the equally bizarre relationship between Liu Jidan and Liu Ying, the brother and sister, that it could be maintained for a long time.

Over the years, the two men and even the two factions gradually developed a balanced relationship. Of course, this was accompanied by endless political struggles, and the political situation in Annan was also extremely complicated.

After the news of Emperor Shizong's death reached Jiaozhi, Liu Ying was shocked and decided to go north in person, but was dissuaded by his trusted ministers. They thought that this move was too risky. Of course, the danger was not in the empire, but in Jiaozhi. You know, during the 20 years when Empress Dowager Liu E was regent in Annan, she never relaxed her control over the Annan court and never left Jiaozhi, just to prevent the disaster from within.

Of course, Liu Ying also had her considerations when making the decision to go to Beijing in person to attend the funeral. She intended to gain fame and fortune and gain political capital through the trip north. If she could seek support from the imperial court, her position in Annan would be even more secure.

As a vassal state directly bordering the empire, and also the only kingdom that was divided by Daozhi, the Annan court was actually more influenced by the empire than other vassal states, and had deeper ties with it.
Although he was stubborn, the persuasion of his confidants still worked. After careful consideration, before going north, Liu Ying specifically found his brother Liu Jidan and had a heart-to-heart talk with him, which could also be seen as a warning.

The conversation between Liu Ying and Liu Jidan was accurately recorded and later cited by Annan historians as a "strange story". Liu Ying mainly expressed three things to Liu Jidan:
First, she went north as a special envoy to Annan to offer sacrifices and bury the late emperor. This was a matter of great importance to the relationship between the suzerain and the vassal, and it was a serious matter with great impact, and no mistakes could be made.

Second, she was going there to work for the interests of the Annan royal family and the Jiaozhi court, and she was sincere in her public spirit. She hoped that her brother would understand and support her, and not let anyone interfere.
Thirdly, she knew that after she left, there would be treacherous people with ulterior motives who would not bear the loneliness and would sow discord. The prince was easily deceived and his heart was unstable. If he was finally deceived by others and made a decision that would hurt his own people and please his enemies, she only needed to send someone to notify him, and she would take the initiative to wander around the world and would never appear again to cause trouble for the prince.

Liu Ying showed her strong and aggressive character, but she really shocked Liu Jidan. Faced with her sister's sincere and even passionate confession, Liu Jidan was deeply moved and made promises, allowing Wang Mei to go north without worry.

The reason why this exchange between Liu Jidan and Liu Ying is considered a "strange story" is that the brother and sister made their promises with all their heart and emotion, but in the end, neither of them kept their promises.
Three months after Liu Ying went north, the "royal party" in the Annan court still could not sit still, and a political counterattack broke out against Liu Jidan's will. This time, they also found an important leader, the 17-year-old Crown Prince Liu Weijing.

Taking advantage of Princess Anping's absence, the Wang Party launched a crackdown on the Princess Party in the name of Liu Weijing. One by one, the ministers of the Princess Party were demoted, imprisoned, or even killed. Even the "Second Prince Consort" Zhao Congzhi was driven to Anping County and imprisoned.
During this process, Liu Jidan, the King of Annan, was in a difficult position. After all, it was his crown prince and the ministers who supported him who were mobilizing the movement, and he could not go against the will of the people. At the same time, he also believed that for the King's sister Liu Ying, staying in the capital might be a good destination.

Therefore, while strictly ordering that the princess's family should not be harmed, Liu Jidan also sent an envoy to the north with a handwritten letter to Liu Ying. In the letter, Liu Jidan explained what happened in Jiaozhi in a helpless and even aggrieved tone, and shamefully said that the princess's family, servants and property could be sent back to the Han Dynasty and asked Liu Ying for his opinion.

In the Han Dynasty, Liu Ying did not receive the letter, because she had received the news of the drastic changes in Jiaozhi early, and she almost did not think twice and went south to return to the country, and returned at high speed. Relying on years of management, Liu Ying had no problem returning to Jiaozhi. The interception arrangements set up by Crown Prince Liu Weijing at the border and ports did not work at all.

As soon as the princess came back, those miserable princess followers immediately found their backbone, quickly gathered around, and cried. More importantly, they still hoped that the princess would lead them to take back the power and fame that were taken away by Guo, which was also what Liu Ying wanted to do.

This also led to a fierce power struggle in the Jiaozhi court, which can even be seen as a palace upheaval. The fierceness lies in that this is the second time since Empress Dowager Liu E that the army has been mobilized, and the palace upheaval is because the crown prince Liu Weijing was finally deposed and imprisoned.

When Liu Ying returned to Jiaozhi, the crown prince Liu Weijing, who also had a psychological trauma towards his aunt, could not sit still and gathered his followers to attack without asking for permission. This completely angered Liu Ying, and she used a trump card she had always hidden, Zheng Quan, the deputy commander of the Jiaozhi cavalry and infantry army.
As a result, Annan Prince Liu Weijing was defeated and captured by Zheng Quan's army for "gathering people to rebel and plot against the emperor". When Liu Ying led Liu Weijing, who was tied with ropes, into the palace to meet Liu Jidan, the first thing he saw was his brother's surprised and wonderful expression.

Faced with Princess Anping crying on the spot, Liu Jidan felt embarrassed and ashamed, so he cursed Liu Weijing as a "rebellious son" and announced on the spot that he would depose his status as crown prince and ordered him to be confined in his mansion.

Of course, the Crown Prince of Annan was also canonized through the Golden Book of the Imperial Court, and there was still a petition procedure to be completed, but this matter was a foregone conclusion.

The crown prince was deposed, and the outcome of the coup in Annan in the first year of the Zhengtong era was obvious. A "restoration of order" was launched immediately afterwards, and the main followers of the crown prince Liu Weijing were all demoted and killed, and many ministers of the royal party were also held accountable.

However, not all members of the princess's party were able to return to their original positions. At the same time, General Zheng Quan, who had made great contributions to Liu Ying, was not able to stay in his original position, but was sent to Huanzhou to lead troops in order to occupy the southwest and guard against the two state marquises of Wen and Wan.

There is nothing that can be done about it. Once the trump card is revealed, it is no longer a trump card.

It can be said that this was essentially a fierce struggle between the royal party and the princess party, and both sides suffered losses. Taking advantage of this gap, the powerful people outside the two factions took the opportunity to reap a lot of benefits and gradually gained more voice and influence.

And after such a struggle, the relationship between brother and sister Liu Jidan and Liu Ying quickly recovered and returned to their past "harmonious" way of getting along in a way that was astonishing.

It was as if to declare that no matter how the two parties fought to the death, their relationship as brother and sister would never change.
To mention some more gossip, Liu Ying's trip to the capital was very fruitful. Not only did he get a lot of benefits from the new emperor Liu Weizhen, such as craftsmen, books, monks, educational talents, etc., he also showed off his charm as an Annan woman and a royal princess, making many literati and scholars in the imperial capital fall at her feet. Many people even came to see her just to catch a glimpse of her. Liu Ying did indeed have a few male favorites.

Moreover, before returning to the south, he also persuaded a great poet: Liu Yong. Liu Sanbian still had a hard time as an official in the Han Empire, but his talent in poetry and lyrics was still brilliant. Although he did not accomplish much for the country, he wrote a large number of popular lyrics and songs for the court and the market, and was given the title of "Ci Scholar" by Emperor Shizong.

But even such a famous poet of the time was persuaded by Liu Ying and voluntarily resigned from his official position and was willing to follow her to Annan. After the coup in Jiaozhi was quelled and everything returned to normal, Liu Yong was appointed as the Minister of Rites of Annan.

Compared with his official position, what people talked about more was the unusual close relationship between Liu Yong and Princess Anping Liu Ying. You should know that Liu Yong was 20 years older than Liu Ying. It is said that Liu Yong won the favor of the princess with his two poems "Rainy Bells".
(End of this chapter)