Chapter 3: Risking Death and Surviving 1. Zhao Xi
After Ouyang Xu, the second powerful person who was dragged into the story was Liu Long, a member of the imperial clan. In the first year of Gengshi, Liu Xiu went north with the imperial seal, and Liu Long resolutely abandoned his official position and went to Shequan to seek refuge. His wife and children were all settled in Luoyang at that time. Two years later, Liu Long followed Feng Yi to attack Luoyang and resisted Zhu Yu and Li Yi. However, Li Yi killed all of his wife and children.
To be fair, Liu Long 's contributions and sacrifices to the Han Dynasty cannot be ignored or erased. He is a representative of meritorious officials. In the 13th year of Jianwu, he was given an additional fief and was granted the title of Marquis of Jingling. As Emperor Jianwu, Liu Xiu was willing to abandon this pawn for the sake of the country and the people. As the mother of Duke Donghai, Concubine Yin, I had to come forward to protect him.
At that time, in early December, Empress Guo Shengtong was about to give birth to a legitimate daughter. I took this opportunity to instruct Zhu Hu and other old ministers to petition for mercy. In the end, more than ten people were executed for false land measurement, fraud and corruption. Only Liu Long, in the name of a meritorious official, was lucky enough to keep his life and was demoted to a commoner.
On December 27, the 15th year of Jianwu, Dai She, Marquis of Guannei, was appointed as the Grand Tutor after Ouyang Xu. In the same year, Gai Yan, Marquis of Anping, died.
In September of the 16th year of Jianwu, Henan Yin Zhang Ji and more than ten other county governors were accused of fraud in measuring land, arrested and imprisoned, and all executed.
In order to effectively implement the land measurement order, Liu Xiu used unprecedented tough measures, with clear targets, starting with Ouyang Xu, one of the three most powerful officials, then Liu Long, a representative of the royal family, and finally the governor of a modern province and the mayor of the capital city of Henan. Politicians of all levels were included, and for a time, the Emperor Jianwu's fierce and resolute measures frightened all the officials inside and outside the court.
Liu Xiu adopted such harsh laws and executed a number of the most typical representatives of officials. Although it was beneficial to the monarchy, it could not solve the fundamental problem of land measurement, but instead aggravated the contradictions. People in various counties and states could not stand the exploitation caused by land measurement and rose up in rebellion. In addition to the powerless people, some small and medium-sized wealthy landlords also rebelled to resist the central government's land measurement order. Qingzhou, Xuzhou, Youzhou, and Jizhou were particularly serious.
The pressure on Liu Xiu's shoulders was unprecedentedly huge. On the one hand, he had to implement land measurement and crack down on corrupt officials, and on the other hand, he had to send troops to various counties and kingdoms to suppress rebels and rioters.
Although I hid in the inner palace and rarely went out, I knew everything that happened inside and outside the palace. Liu Xiu was actually always worried about killing so many officials. He was not a cruel person. Although he was in a position like a king, severe punishment was an unavoidable means.
Sometimes he would sigh and look sad in front of me. I judged that the whole court could be said to be incorruptible and had no conflicts of interest with the land transfer. There was no other suitable candidate except Ma Yuan to stay out of the matter. So I asked Ma Yuan to take the opportunity to persuade him, but it seemed to have little effect. Liu Xiu aged rapidly in just half a year.
On the sixth day of the twelfth lunar month, Liu Xiu, who had just turned 45, had white hair and looked like an old man except for his eternal innocence when he smiled.
Thin, gaunt, pale, haggard...
I felt so sorry for him that I couldn't sleep all night long. I could only look at the ever-burning palace lanterns and shed tears again and again, hating myself for not being able to help him.
What did he do wrong? To have the burden of a country so cruelly placed on his skinny shoulders! If Liu Yan had not raised an army in Nanyang, would he not have to bear all this? Would he have been able to happily farm in the countryside?
As a farmer, his responsibility was just to feed his family; but now that he has become an emperor, his responsibility is to feed the whole world! This responsibility is too heavy, too heavy...
The snow was falling, and the new year was coming. The joy of New Year's Day could not melt the ice of severe cold. In the first month of the 17th year of Jianwu, God gave Liu Xiu the first cruel New Year's gift - Zhao Gong Liu Liang died of illness!
Liu Xiu lost his father at the age of nine, and was sent to Xiao County by his mother to be raised by his uncle Liu Liang. It can be said that Liu Liang was his first mentor. Liu Liang meant more to him than just an uncle and nephew. In Liu Xiu's heart, Liu Liang was better than his father.
Now, in such a difficult time, Liu Liang passed away, and Liu Xiu was once again hit by the loss of a loved one. Liu Xiu personally experienced everything from Liu Liang's illness, dying, death to the final funeral.
"Don't be sad, the old man is old, this is inevitable." Seeing his frown, I felt sad but dared not show it, so I could only force a smile and comfort him, "I heard that uncle had a last wish before his death?"
Liu Xiu's face darkened, and he sighed deeply: "The two grandsons of Li Zichun, a famous family in Huai County, killed someone. They were tracked down by Huai County Magistrate Zhao Xi, and the two committed suicide. Li Zichun was also arrested and imprisoned. I heard about this last year. Li Zichun made friends with royal relatives. At that time, there were no less than dozens of people in Luoyang who pleaded for him, but they were all blocked by Zhao Xi. Now my uncle is begging me to spare Li Zichun's life before his death. What do you think..."
Li Zichun's case happened in Huai County. Although I have heard of it, I don't know much about it. In the past two years, Liu Xiu has been very strict in the land survey. I know that he has been exhausted and I can't bear to see him in a dilemma between emotion and law. So I advised him: "The law must be followed, but the murderers are his two grandsons, not him. In my opinion, Li Zichun does not deserve the death penalty. At most, he will be held responsible for lax supervision. Li Zichun has been in prison for some time, so this crime is worth it."
"Lihua." He held me in his arms, and I sat on his lap. "I really want to be a good emperor..."
"You've done a great job. Don't be too tired, you should relax. Zhao Xi is a good person, he works very quickly, it's a waste of talent to keep such a talent trapped in a small Huai County as a county magistrate."
"Yeah." He lowered his head and put his ear against my bulging belly.
"There are many bandits in Pingyuan right now, so why not promote him to be the governor of Pingyuan County?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Liu Xiu started laughing, and the baby in my belly started kicking with excitement: "You, you..."
"What's wrong with me?" I was uncomfortable with the child kicking me, and I raised my voice unconsciously and frowned.
He raised his head and placed a kiss on my forehead: "If you were half as smart as you, I would save a lot of trouble."
"How are they not smart? It's just that they use their intelligence for other things." At this point, he couldn't help but be moved, and felt so sad that he almost cried, "Look at you, how tired you are?"
I bit my lip and turned my head away, not wanting him to see my sad expression of wanting to cry. But he held my cheek, straightened it, and looked me in the eye. As soon as my eyes touched his gray hair, the tears in my eyes fell without even blinking.
"You are about to give birth. Crying all the time is not good for your eyes. Stop crying..." He wiped my tears and looked at my face carefully. "Your eyes are red. You always toss and turn in bed at night. Is it because the baby is pressing on you?"
I grabbed his hand and pressed it against my face, tears streaming down my face even more. "You've been complaining of dizziness lately. Why don't you take care of your own body first? If you keep working so hard, what if you get exhausted?"
"Don't cry, don't cry... Pregnant women really love to cry." He kissed my eyelids, kissing away my tears, "You can't let me eat your tears like this all the time."
I couldn't help laughing, tears streaming down my face, and I reached out to hit him: "You are such a scoundrel. You are already so old, but you still have no shame."
I tried to stand up by supporting myself on his legs, but he held me with both arms and lifted me up from the mat.
"Hey, hey, be careful with your waist!" I grabbed his neck in panic.
He was holding me and I was a little shaky. I was heavy, and he had to use all his strength to lift me up from a kneeling position. His face became paler and paler, but fortunately he was still able to keep smiling: "Trust me, I'm here to protect you and your child!"
"I don't believe you!" I laughed and scolded with lingering fear, "You still think you are thirty years old..."
"Have I ever told a lie?"
I asked back, "Have you ever told the truth?"
He carried me to the bed, silent. After a while, when I had forgotten the incident, he whispered in my ear: "I have never lied to you, not even once..."
The voice was very light, like a feather gently gliding past. By the time I realized what the words were, he had already stood up and left, saying with a smile, "You go to sleep first, I will look at the prophecy for a while."
I opened my mouth to shout, but the sound was stuck in my throat and I couldn't utter a single syllable. He waved at me and considerately blew out the two palace lanterns, leaving only one in the corner, which emitted a faint glow.
Because we were used to dismissing the servants when we were together, the bedroom seemed extremely deserted after he left. I tossed and turned in bed for more than half an hour, but I still couldn't sleep, so I got out of bed, put on my clothes and went to the outer room to look for him.
"What's wrong?"
"I can't sleep." I said with a bitter face, leaning against the wall.
He glanced at me, finally heaved a sigh of relief, helplessly rolled up the bamboo slips and placed them on the corner of the desk: "Got it."
He stood up, propped up the desk, and blew out the candle on the desk. I smiled, waited for him to come over, and took his arm.
