Chapter 6: The End of Eternity 6. Jingdan
In the 26th year of Jianwu, Hefei Marquis Jianhan died.
On May 11, the 27th year of Jianwu, Liu Xiu issued an edict to change the names of the Three Dukes. The word "Da" was removed from the titles of Grand Tutor and Grand Chancellor, and the Grand Marshal was changed to Grand Commandant.
In the same year, the Northern Xiongnu Chanyu Punu sent envoys to Wuwei County to request a marriage alliance. At the court meeting, Crown Prince Liu Zhuang rejected all objections, saying that the Southern Xiongnu Chanyu had just surrendered and the Northern Xiongnu were afraid of being attacked by China, so they were seeking a soft alliance. However, if the Northern Xiongnu's offer of reconciliation was accepted, the Southern Xiongnu might become suspicious, which would backfire and be counterproductive.
Liu Xiu agreed with Liu Zhuang's opinion and ordered the governor of Wuwei County not to receive the envoys from the Northern Xiongnu. Seeing this, Langling Marquis Zang Gong and Yangxu Marquis Ma Wu took the opportunity to write a letter to the emperor, requesting him to send troops to attack the Xiongnu. They believed that the Xiongnu were divided and no longer what they used to be. Sending troops at this time would be a good opportunity to create a great achievement that would be remembered for generations and be recorded in history, comparable to Wei and Huo. As an emperor, if Liu Xiu took this opportunity to destroy the Xiongnu in one fell swoop, his merits would surpass those of Emperor Wu of Han.
Liu Xiu believed that the Han people reclaimed wasteland on the border only to defend against the enemy. If he rashly launched a war and consumed half of the country's resources to do something that might not be accomplished, it would only be a waste of military power. Rather than seeking a good reputation in the future, it is better to be a benevolent monarch in the present and let the people recuperate.
Liu Xiu's firm statement made those generals who hoped to achieve something from this no longer mention attacking the Huns.
In this year, Liu Xiu's uncle Fan Hong passed away and was posthumously named Gonghou. Liu Xiu made Zhao Xi important and asked him how to make the Han Dynasty stable and long-lasting. Zhao Xi suggested that the princes who were given the title of king should be sent to their respective fiefdoms as soon as possible.
The purpose of keeping the princes in Beijing after they became adults was to monitor their movements nearby. However, Liu Qiang, Liu Fu, Liu Ying, and even Liu Kang and Liu Yan, who had moved out of the palace earlier, lived together in the North Palace. As time went by, more and more people came and went in the North Palace. These princes, who had their own rich fiefs, had nothing to do on weekdays. In addition to dog fighting and bird walking, they also loved to adopt guests.
They were all princes who were idle at home, enjoying their fiefs, and the best use of their extra money was to keep retainers. In ancient times, Lü Buwei had 3,000 retainers, and today, the five kings lived in the North Palace, and the total number of retainers was more than 3,000.
Among the five kings, Liu Fu, the king of Pei, was the most popular. He was reserved and strict, abided by the law, treated people with respect, and spent all his wealth to recruit talents as his retainers. He also liked classics, and often explained the Jing family's "Book of Changes", "Book of Filial Piety", "Analects of Confucius" and prophecies with his retainers. In the past, Lü Buwei and his retainers wrote the book "Lüshi Chunqiu" to gain reputation and spread it throughout the world. Liu Fu also wrote a book called "Five Classics Theory", which was generally called "General Theory of King Pei" by people at that time.
There have always been spies planted in the Beigong residence of the Five Kings. I know everything that Liu Fu does. As soon as "A General Discussion on the King of Pei" was published, it was circulated and praised among the powerful and wealthy, and everyone praised Liu Fu as a wise king.
I know nothing about ancient theories. The completed volume of "General Theory of the King of Pei" was presented to me by my subordinates after being copied. I have never read a single word. For me, what is written in "General Theory of the King of Pei" is not important, just like "Lüshi Chunqiu" for Lü Buwei. The real purpose is not just to pass on his thoughts and enlightenment to future generations.
All Lu Buwei wanted was the world's praise for his "one word is worth a thousand gold" promise, and all Liu Fu wanted was the reputation of being a wise king.
"I want to just let it go, muddle along, out of sight, out of mind, but there are people who don't want to be left in peace!" There have always been such dramas of princes fighting for the throne in every dynasty. If Guo Shengtong is willing to do her duty, I don't want to go too far and will naturally allow her to live out her days in peace and enjoy her family's old age.
"It shows that human hearts are always unsatisfactory..." I sighed deeply.
At the end of that year, the palace welcomed the La Day Nuo drama as usual. The entire South Palace was bustling with activity. The emperor, the empress, their ten princes, five princesses, and their grandchildren gathered together to enjoy the family happiness. It was also on this night that the Shaofu, under the order of the empress, moved Queen Mother Guo from the residence of Prince Pei to a palace in a remote corner of the North Palace.
At the same time, Liu Xiu issued an edict ordering King of Lu Liu Xing and Liu Zhang's eldest son King of Qi Liu Shi to return to their respective fiefdoms.
In the first month of the following year, Liu Xiu changed Liu Xing's title to King of Beihai and merged the fief of Lu into the fief of King of Donghai Liu Qiang, and was particularly kind to Liu Qiang.
At this point, Liu Xiu still hoped to use gentle means to make the princes restrain themselves. In my opinion, I don't agree with this. Appealing to gentle means was somewhat effective in the past few years. Now Guo Shengtong's sons are all grown up. Even though their mother is no longer instigating them behind the scenes, their obsessions over the years have already taken root in their hearts, and it is inevitable that they have expectations and delusions about the imperial power.
The five princes living in the North Palace are now desperately trying to build up their own power, recruit followers, and seek fame and reputation, overshadowing the Crown Prince. If they are allowed to continue like this, the consequences can be clearly foreseen.
"I just hope that the brothers can understand the virtue of filial piety and respect for their elders, and understand the good intentions of a father like me. I really don't want to see them fighting with each other!" Liu Xiu said this with a helpless look on his face. He is old, and the old man's thoughts value family harmony and happiness for children and grandchildren.
My original dissatisfaction finally disappeared in his helpless and dejected sigh: "I hope it will be as you wish, and your children and grandchildren will be filial and respectful to each other, and there will be no harm to their brothers and sisters!"
In that year, Zhu Ahou Chen Jun passed away. Half a year after Guo Shengtong moved to a corner, the dispute over guests never stopped. The five princes even started to compete for popularity and compete for talents. It is said that there was a virtuous man in the Imperial College in the capital who was proficient in the Five Classics, named Jing Dan. The five princes had sent people to invite him one after another. Jing Dan was noble by nature, and had some of the arrogance of Zhuang Guang in the past. Liu Qiang and others encountered many obstacles , but they did not give up. At first, they invited him because of his reputation, and later it became like a competition. They were all proud to invite Jing Dan as a guest in the hall.
Shanan told me that someone in the capital has set up a gambling party to see who will win Jing Dan's favor in the end. Seeing that the matter was getting more and more outrageous, Liu Xiu was angry, but he had no other choice but to scold him.
On the one hand, I had to comfort Liu Xiu and take care of his health, and on the other hand, I had to worry about these bastards who wanted the world to be in chaos. I was so tired that my head was swollen. Maybe it was because of my age. Recently, I have obviously reduced my sleep time. Every night, I have to wait for an hour to fall asleep by the pillow, but I wake up before dawn the next day. This cycle repeats over and over again, making my mental state not very good. The imperial physician prescribed a prescription for conditioning, and I need to take medicine every day, but I think Chinese medicine tastes bitter, so I take the medicine intermittently and without stability.
Fortunately, I have the obedient Su He by my side. This child is more intimate to me than Liu Li Liu and Liu Shou. Liu Shou is naughty and naughty, and anyone who sees her will have a headache. Although Liu Li Liu is gentle and lovely, she is not my biological child after all. Although I want to treat her well, every time I see her look more and more like her biological mother, I always feel uncomfortable. So in comparison, I still like Yin Su He, my niece, more.
In the blink of an eye, Su He had grown to be eighteen years old. Although she was a palace maid, no one regarded her as the emperor's woman, so since she reached the age of 15, many powerful people came to propose marriage to Yin Xing's widow Cao. Cao did not dare to make the decision at will, and it dragged on for three years.
That day Yin came to the palace to pay his respects, with an expression of joy that was hard to conceal between his brows. I asked him three or four times in a roundabout way before he finally let me know.
"Sister, you should know Jing Dan, right?"
The Jing Dan incident caused such a big stir that there were few people in the capital who didn't know him.
I nodded calmly, without showing any emotion, but Yin Jiu showed a look of smug delight on his face: "I lied to those five guys that I had a way to invite Jing Dan, and it only cost 10 million yuan, and those guys actually believed it..."
My eyes widened in surprise. It was hard to keep calm now. I asked hurriedly, "What are you doing? Someone told His Majesty that you were arrogant. If I hadn't stopped you, I don't know how His Majesty would have viewed you!"
Yin waved his hand nonchalantly, "Your Majesty, please see me however you want. I don't seek credit or fame, and I don't care how others slander me." He leaned over cheerfully and lowered his voice, "Sister, I heard that the guy in the North Palace is about to die. Is this true or false?"
I subconsciously retracted my hand. On the couch was a roll of medical records of the imperial physician sent by the imperial physician.
"Where did you hear those rumors? Don't be foolish enough to fall into someone's trap and be used as a pawn."
He frowned: "Isn't it true? That's a pity. I was so happy for nothing. Even if I had millions of dollars, it wouldn't make me as happy as this." He really didn't know how to hide anything in front of me. Even though he was over forty, he was still as naive as a child who had just started out.
"Don't worry about my sister's affairs, it's your own business..." At this point, I suddenly remembered something, so I asked casually, "Yin Feng is seventeen this year, right?"
"Eighteen."
I calculated in my mind and laughed: "Do you have a girl you like?"
Yin glared: "How should I know this? You have to ask his mother!"
I know these fathers are heartless. It's useless for me to ask: "Remember to ask Yin Feng when you go back. If he doesn't have someone he likes, don't rush to find him a wife after you build a temple and he comes of age."
Yin Jue was not a fool. After hearing what I said, he understood it in an instant, clapped his hands and laughed, "It's good for my aunt to decide on the marriage!"
After seeing Yin Jiu off, I sat there motionless in a daze, picked up the bamboo scroll and read it carefully again. It said nothing more than something about long-term worrying leading to illness, the patient was in a negative mood, and was averse to taking medicine.
He read the bamboo slips over and over again three or four times, his heart aching like a burning fire. After hesitating for a long time, he finally put down the bamboo slips and called out to the palace maid waiting outside the door: "Go and call Princess Yuyang!"
