Chinese New Year

Chapter 632 Past and Present
The team heading from Bianliang to Luoyang was very large.

Since May, the Silver Spear Left Camp, which had been resting for half a year, set out from its base in Xiangcheng County, headed north, and arrived in Kaifeng County in late May.

The Xuchang hereditary soldiers gathered 5,000 men and marched north.

Five thousand able-bodied men were conscripted from the three counties of Chenliu, Jiyin and Jiyang.

With the addition of three thousand Hu light cavalry, the total force was about 20,000, divided into three armies: front, middle and rear, and marched towards Luoyang in a mighty manner.

Shao Xun told Yu Wenjun that it was just the two of them going to Luoyang this time. This was true and not true.

Wang Jingfeng had already returned to Luoyang with his children under the escort of the vanguard army.

Wang Yan stopped working and went straight home. Looking at his grandson sleeping soundly on the couch, he was filled with joy.

Wang Jingfeng yawned and said, "Grandpa, I looked carefully when he was born, and there was no auspicious cloud above his head."

After hearing this, Wang Yan couldn't hold it anymore.

Mrs. Guo smiled, pushed her daughter aside, and went out to prepare food.

"You are the wife of the Shao family now, why are you still so lazy?" Old Wang gave his daughter a dissatisfied look.

"What Madam? She's not even as good as Lady of the Country." Wang Jingfeng said weakly, "Liu Ye has the title of Madam of Shangdang State. Isn't that much better than the dry title of Madam?"

Wang Yan was amused and said, "The title of Madam given to Liu Shi is a fake title of Liu Han, what does it count for?"

Since the Han and Wei dynasties, the wives of high-ranking officials have been called Madam. Concubines are also often called Madam, or "Mou Ji".

There was no systematic system of inner and outer ladies in the Western Jin Dynasty.

Generally speaking, only princesses would be given titles based on specific counties, that is, Princess So-and-so would have fiefs, manors, farmhands, and retainers.

The empress's stepmother, biological mother, grandmother, etc. may be canonized as Xiangjun. The wives of important court officials or royal family members who have made great contributions may also be canonized as Xiangjun, but it is rare - Concubine Pei did not have the title of Xiangjun.

The system of inner and outer ladies of the imperial court truly matured during the Tang Dynasty.

"Grandpa, I rarely go home, and you just don't treat me like this..." Wang Jingfeng said with tears in his eyes, dissatisfied.

Wang Yan didn't buy it.

This daughter is like a goddess outside, admired by many younger generations, but at home - Old Wang held his forehead and sighed repeatedly.

"Mr. Chen's eldest son and second son are growing older. How are their academic performances?" Wang Yan hesitated for a moment and still asked.

"It doesn't seem to be that good." Wang Jingfeng said, "I heard that several of the rulers were broken."

Wang Yan looked delighted.

"Grandpa, please stop worrying." Wang Jingfeng came to the bedside, looked at his chubby son, smiled gently, and said, "When my son grows up, it will be enough for him to live a leisurely life. Isn't it better to read books or go hunting in his spare time?"

Wang Yan was speechless for a moment.

The eldest daughter was the legal wife of Duke Lu, so why did she become a widow in the end?

"Why is Huifeng so worried?" Wang Yan asked again.

"She may like Langjun even more than I do, hehe." Wang Jingfeng said with a bright smile.

Wang Yan was shocked and asked, "How do you know?"

Lao Wang actually had some guesses, but when these words were spoken by his eldest daughter, they always felt a little unreal to him.

"She secretly looked at my husband." Wang Jingfeng yawned again and said, "She is usually listless and restless, but when my husband comes to discuss matters with her, she becomes energetic and sometimes even blushes."

"Since you know this--" Wang Yan was speechless.

"She just can't save face." Wang Jingfeng said indifferently.

This time, Wang Yan was the one who was worried.

Seeing that he couldn't get anything out of his heartless eldest daughter, Wang Yan looked at his grandson again and went out.

Wang Jingfeng was looking at his son on the couch and fell asleep.

******
After arriving at the study, Wang Yan and Wang Xuan sat opposite each other.

"Is everything okay in the court?" Wang Yan asked.

"The emperor is not happy with the persecution of He Shi." Wang Xuan replied, "He wants to dismiss Ru'nan Internal History Fei Li because he is old and calls him a cruel official."

Fei Li was a native of Shu and was formerly the lieutenant of the Chengdu Palace. He was recruited by Lu Zhi and served as the Internal History of Runan several years ago.

It is not true that he was a cruel official, but it is true that he resolutely carried out orders. And because his family roots were in Sichuan, Fei Li lived only in Henan with his wife and children. Apart from Lu Zhi, he had no network of connections and no ties, so he was not ambiguous when he took action.

Previously, the Prince's Right Guard Cui Wei delivered a secret decree (the imperial edict) to the Emperor, which displeased Duke Chen. So Wang Yan led all the officials to depose the Prince on the grounds of "unfilial piety" and detained him in Jinyong City.

Later, it was learned that Cui Wei had gone to Dai County and then went to Jinyang from Yanmen. He appointed Liu Kun as the governor of Bingzhou and the commander of the military forces of Bingzhou, Youzhou and Jizhou. After asking for instructions, Wang Yan impeached Sima Quan for "improper conduct". As a result, Sima Quan and the deposed Crown Princess He were both killed in April.

Officials and generals of the Eastern Palace were also purged on a large scale, and many were demoted to slaves and sent to Guangcheng Lake to farm.

The He clan of Runan was also purged. Fei Li personally led his troops to capture and kill more than a hundred He clan members, and confiscated the land and property of their farmhands and tribes.

There is no doubt that this move greatly shocked the court and made the emperor furious.

Wang Yan played a key role in the dethronement of the crown prince, so he was inevitably gossiped about. Moreover, his daughter had given birth to a child for Lord Chen, which made him even more ridiculed for being shameless and clinging to the new nobility.

Even though Lao Wang was such a thick-skinned person, he was still a little unhappy when he heard the rumors behind his back. The reputation he had accumulated for most of his life was consumed a little too quickly in the past few years. Especially the matter of the crown prince and his wife being sentenced to death. If he didn't have a big face, wide network of contacts, and many old officials, there would definitely be a lot of people who would scold him, and the public opinion would definitely not be as calm as it is now.

In addition, after the He family was uprooted, many scholars were grief-stricken, but he comforted them one by one and finally the situation was barely stabilized.

After being busy for several months, I am really exhausted.

"Although Fei Jianxi is old, he is not stupid. Lord Chen also admires him very much, so he cannot be moved." Wang Yan said, "What else does the emperor want to do?"

"Today, the Imperial Court Assistant Minister Pei Yi mentioned something, saying that the Emperor wanted to make Prince Duan of Yuzhang the Crown Prince."

"What sin did King Kang of Qinghe commit..." Wang Yan was speechless.

After his death, King Qinghe Sima Xia was posthumously named "Kang". He had four sons.

The eldest son Sima Qin, the deposed crown prince who was brought into the palace by Yang Xianrong in order to inherit the throne, was killed by Sima Yue.

The second son, Sima Yuè, inherited the title King of Qinghe and remained in Luoyang.

The third son was the former crown prince Sima Quan, who was killed by Shao Xun.

The fourth son, Sima Duan, is now the Prince of Yuzhang.

The emperor wanted the fourth son of the late King of Qinghe to be the crown prince because he himself was unable to have any children.

If you think about it carefully, the Qinghe King's family has been really unlucky for eight generations.

Two sons entered the palace to be crown princes, but both died. Now they want the youngest son Sima Duan to continue to be the crown prince. Can he do it? Is it so easy to be the crown prince of the Jin Dynasty? In just two generations, three crown princes have died. Can the fourth survive?
"Let's put it off for now." Wang Yan said, "I don't think any royal family member is willing to rush to become the crown prince now."

Establishing a crown prince is a legitimate thing to do. There is no reason to stop it, either inside or outside the court, and it can only be delayed.

Fortunately, the royal family members are not stupid now, and no one wants to be the crown prince. If this matter is delayed until the end, there is a high probability that one person will be forced to be appointed. No matter how reluctant that unlucky guy is, he can only be the crown prince with a sad face.

"The enthronement ceremony is a major event." Wang Yan added, "I will check again tomorrow. There must be no mistakes. You are the Minister of Finance. Even if the court has no money, you must prepare the reward."

"Yes." Wang Xuan replied.

"If you do this well, I will be shameless and seek a good official position for you." Wang Yan stroked his beard and said, "Quanzhong is a kind man and will never be ungrateful."

At this point, Wang Yan stood up and said with emotion: "It's really not easy to watch him get to where he is today step by step."

Wang Xuan was also a little dazed.

Back then, Mr. Chen worked very hard to earn a place in the examination of filial piety and integrity and entered the official career. Who cared about him at that time?

Wang Xuan accidentally heard someone mention Shao Xun's name, but he didn't take it seriously. At that time, there were still many levels between Mr. Chen and the Wang family of Langya, and it was not worth their time to take a look.

But the world is changing so fast that it’s hard to keep up, or even to keep up with the times.

There is no point in regretting now. The Wang family worked hard and finally saw Mr. Chen's rapid progress. They barely got their share of the benefits.

What people fear most is being worthless.

The Wang family still has value now, and there is still a chance for everything.

******
June 316, , the tenth year of Yongjia in the Jin Dynasty, was a sunny day.

When the long dragon-like troops appeared on the eastern horizon, everyone knew that the military strategist who had wiped out Shi Le and seized Youzhou had arrived.

The news spread throughout Luoyang immediately.

All the officials and scholars in the city had complicated expressions.

For them, Youzhou was too far away and they were not very concerned. However, the bloody battle of Xin'an, which lasted until February this year, greatly improved their security situation - 15,000 imperial guardsmen shed their blood on the battlefield, and tens of thousands of Sizhou men and women died in the ditches, in exchange for long-term peace and stability in Luoyang.

Looking back on the events that happened over the years, the Battle of Zhamati eliminated the threat to Luoyang in the north, and the Battle of Xin'an filled the gap in the west. Lord Chen was very kind to them.

But——let’s not talk about it!

Is it useful for me to object?

When the dense sound of horse hooves resounded outside Dongyang Gate, the last trace of noise in Luoyang disappeared.

Under the setting sun in the evening, Duan Mobole stopped his horse. He first looked up at the towering walls of Luoyang, then turned his head to look at the great banner of Lord Chen, and sighed silently.

It seemed that everyone was more or less dissatisfied with Mr. Chen, but they were swept up in the general trend and did things for him reluctantly.

Before this year, he had never thought that one day he would bring his troops to Luoyang.

Such a magnificent city and such a glorious royal aura are nothing in front of Lord Chen.

What basis does he have for rebelling?

The Xianbei cavalry were patrolling outside the gates and were also attracted by this majestic city.

After seeing the world, the tribal leaders and chiefs who were once revered as gods seem to be just like that.

After nightfall, the 20,000-strong army set up camp outside the Dongyang Gate.

Shao Xun took Yu Wenjun's hand and got off the carriage. Looking at the city tower with dim lights under the night sky, he grabbed at the air as if crushing something.

"Twelve years ago, I followed Mi Zihui through this gate, sneaking around alone. Twelve years later, I walked out of this gate, holding my wife's hand, and surrounded by people." Shao Xun looked at Yu Wenjun and whispered, "Twelve years ago, I wanted to give my wife a set of empress's crown and robes."

Yu Wenjun recalled her childhood memories, looked at Shao Xun with bright eyes, and was stunned for a moment.

(End of this chapter)