Chapter 1 Who are they? Xuan and Xi 4. Cut the King
From the third year of Dihuang in the Xinmang Dynasty, when Liu Yan led his clansmen and guests to revolt in Nanyang, to the thirteenth year of Jianwu today, Liu Xiu has grown from a young man of 27 to a middle-aged man of 42. Fifteen years of conquest, suppression of rebellions, and recovery, how much youth has been wasted, how much blood has been shed, and how many lives have been buried in the endless wars, to bring about the situation of unification of the world today?
Looking back to the time when he just became emperor more than ten years ago, he was displaced and his future was in danger. No one could guarantee that Liu Xiu, as the Han Emperor, would be able to stand out among the many overlords, finally win the crown, survive the chaotic times, and create a foundation for all ages.
When conquering the world and pacifying the four directions, in fact, I didn’t think about so many things. I eliminated others in order to preserve myself. At that time, my thoughts were very simple. As long as I could survive, it was enough.
Last winter, Wu Han finally defeated Cheng Jia Huang Gongsun Shu and recovered Shu. Since then, except for Lu Fang, who also founded a country and called himself the Han Emperor, who continued to stay in the border areas with the Xiongnu, the country's territory has been basically recovered and the chaotic times have finally ended.
After the foreign invasion was eliminated, Liu Xiu began to truly shoulder the responsibility of managing a country. After he gave up the idea of quelling the rebellion, what he would do next was not only a matter of concern to me, but also a matter of particular concern to all the officials in the court.
He was definitely not a hedonistic monarch, not when the country was in trouble, not when he was starting a business, and not even after he had taken over the whole country. Some people who were good at flattery presented him with good horses and precious swords, but he gave them away. The harem has not shown any signs of expansion until now. From the queen down, it is still divided into four levels. Except for Guo Shengtong and I who enjoy the meager salary that is not enough to reward the servants, Xu Yanzhi and my son Liu Ying can only seek food and clothing in the harem.
But I have no shortage of food and drink, and I never lack money. Although the official salary is only so little, Liu Xiu gives me a lot of money privately. In addition to supporting my children, I will set aside a little extra money every month for Chen Min to send to Yanzhi and her son. I am not too generous, and this is not because I am stingy, but because my annual salary is so little. If I give more, I am afraid that not only will I not get any good results, but I will also cause unnecessary trouble.
Whether Guo Shengtong's Changqiu Palace was short of money was not a problem for others. Liu Xiu treated her well by directly giving her family money and silk. Her younger brother Guo Kuang was respectful and humble, and had a good reputation in Luoyang. He had many guests. With such a prominent family background, why would she worry about not having money?
Liu Xiu was frugal with his own money and lived frugally in everything, but he was never stingy in rewarding his ministers and soldiers.
"Your Excellency." When Chen Min entered the palace, there were water stains on her shoulders and her hair was stained with moisture. She casually stroked the water droplets on the ends of her hair, her eyebrows slanted, but she inadvertently revealed a hint of anxiety.
I understood and dismissed everyone. She walked over quickly and leaned forward. The cool water vapor on her clothes immediately hit me. "Your Majesty has issued an edict that the five people, Liu Xing, the King of Changsha, Liu De, the King of Zhending, Liu Shao, the King of Hejian, and Liu Mao, the King of Zhongshan, will be demoted to marquis. They will be renamed Marquis of Linxiang, Marquis of Zhending, Marquis of Lecheng, and Marquis of Shanfu respectively."
My brows raised and my heart began to beat fast.
Chen Min glanced at me and continued, "Also, change King Zhao Liu Liang to Duke Zhao, King Taiyuan Liu Zhang to Duke Qi, King Lu Liu Xing to Duke Lu..."
This time I was really shocked. It was not surprising that Liu Xiu demoted the original Liu clan members to marquis and deprived them of their thrones. However, Liu Liang was his uncle, and Liu Zhang and Liu Xing were his nephews. These direct clan members were also deprived of their thrones. His actions were even more cruel than I expected.
"How many members of the royal family and those who have been granted titles of nobility in exile countries are there this time?"
"One hundred and thirty-seven people, except for Zhang Chun, the Marquis of Fuping, who was not a member of the royal family, and retained his title of Marquis of Wushi because of his meritorious service, all other princes with the surname Liu who were not members of the royal family were stripped of their titles of Marquis, and the royal family's direct descendants were changed from kings to dukes, and the clan members were demoted from kings to titles. However, the fief of the Marquis of Wushi was only half of the original Fuping County..."
Boom—there was a loud thunder outside the palace, and the dazzling lightning broke through the dark sky and struck the three eaves of Changqiu Palace opposite. There was a cracking sound, and the thunder exploded on the edge of the goblet. I only felt a flash of white light in front of my eyes, which dazzled my eyes and my heart skipped a beat.
Chen Min supported me in time. I broke free of her hand with lingering fear and walked slowly out of the palace. Through the heavy rain, the palace servants in Changqiu Palace opposite were running around in all directions due to the thunder. The shadows of people were overlapping, and the sound of rain covered their screams of fear.
I grabbed the railing, leaned my head out, and the rain immediately blew on my cheeks.
"My dear, please be careful." Chen Min warned behind him.
I turned around and smiled at her: "It has been a long time since it rained this hard."
She didn't know how to respond, her eyes flickered, she lowered her head and stood aside.
The first thing to do after ending the large-scale war and recovering the Han Dynasty's territory was such a grand event. The whole court waited quietly for the result, and the emperor's first great gift, smart people should be able to see some clues from it.
"Chen Min, is there any news from Jun Ling?"
"Minister Yin didn't say anything else, he only mentioned the Marquis of Gushi."
"Li Tong?"
Li Tong repeatedly submitted petitions last year, citing poor health as an excuse, and eventually resigned from the position of Grand Marshal. Although he was a royal relative, he withdrew from the position of the Three Dukes at the critical moment when the domestic war was settled, and his desire to avoid it was obvious. Li Tong was a man of foresight, and was considered the first old minister to withdraw from the position of the Three Dukes among . Although he has now retired from the position of the Three Dukes, Liu Xiu still gave him the status of "special advancement" to report to the court.
Now that the emperor has focused his attention on governing the country in order to regain control of the country, the dispersed power must be taken back bit by bit.
When the birds are gone, the good bows are put away. This is a contest, a contest between the emperor and his subjects, a struggle for rights between the emperor and the nobles. This fight has no smoke, no swords, no spears, but the cruelty is far less than that of a battlefield.
The emperor wants an absolute monarchy, so naturally the court officials and the nobles will not compromise easily. Who should advance and who should retreat?
First of all, how should the meritorious officials be placed? According to Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang's approach, it was simply a slaughter of the dead, and the person who acted as the executioner was Empress Gao Lu Zhi.
"Yin Lihua, you have the style of Empress Lu!"
Unexpectedly, a cold voice suddenly came to my mind.
I couldn't help but shiver.
When that wolf-like evil man described me as similar to Lü Zhi, I was disdainful and even angry at being insulted . But after all the things I experienced, as my children grew up, I turned over the history books and reread the Records of Empress Gao, and suddenly I felt sad but couldn't cry. If I were in her shoes, I might not be as ruthless as Lü Zhi, but facing a rival who tried her best to kill her children, Concubine Qi, even the weakest mother would fight back.
I didn’t understand back then, why Lu Zhi was so cruel, but now as a mother, I suddenly understand her hatred, her love, her helplessness…
Good people are bullied by others, but heaven will not bully them! Liu Xiu is not Liu Bang, so I may never become Lu Zhi. Because, if the sky falls, my husband will hold it up for me first. If there is bloodshed, he will draw the sword for me, so I don't have to do it myself out of helplessness. He will protect our children firmly and will not let anyone easily touch them or bully them.
But... for Yang'er, for King Yi, and for my children, if there really comes a day when I have to do so, I will not hesitate at all, just like Lu Zhi who was eager to protect her children back then.
