Luoyang, Beigong, the central organization and political center of the Han Dynasty.

Guangluxun Liu Yu was ordered to meet with the emperor.

Recently, a major incident happened in the capital. The former Grand Marshal Zhang Yan was accused of abuse of power and corruption by the Central General Zhao Zhong accused him of abuse of power. The emperor was furious and ordered the Zhonghuangmen (the Central Marshal is a guard army composed of eunuchs. He usually guards the palace gate. If the emperor leaves the palace, he will ride on the left and right and ride on a carriage.) to arrest Zhang Yan and interrogate him in Beisi Prison. Zhang Yan is from Hanoi, and his father Zhang Xin also served as the Grand Marshal when he was the late emperor. His family was a prominent family in Hanoi. He replaced the Grand Marshal Deng Sheng as the Grand Marshal, and was dismissed in February this year because of the unfavorable rebellion in Xiliang.

The Central Constable Zhao Zhong reported and exposed Zhang Yan, purely to flatter the emperor. A few days ago, he advised the emperor to severely punish the rebellion of Xiliang, which led to the rebellion of the court's failure to recruit and rebellion. Because of this, the emperor injured Zhao Zhong in the court in anger and ordered him to think of his mistakes behind closed doors. The Central Constable Zhang Gong followed the emperor to the emperor. He heard that the emperor complained that Li Hong, the General General of Pinglu who was in charge of corruption in Xiliang several times, was ruthless, and he still had no handle on corruption among prominent figures. The Central Constable Zhang Gong told Zhao Zhong, Zhang Rang and others the news. Zhao Zhong had evidence of Zhang Yan taking bribes several times. In order to calm the emperor's anger, he immediately submitted a memorial to expose it. As a result, the Emperor sent someone to arrest Zhang Yan, reward Zhao Zhong, and asked him to return to the palace to continue to serve.

Zhang Yan's family and friends ran around, hoping to redeem Zhang Yan as soon as possible so as not to suffer in prison. Since the prisoners in Beisi Prison redeemed one after another, Beisi Prison has returned to their previous cold and terrifying ones. Zhang Yan's consul knew that Guangluxun Liu Yu was very favored by the emperor recently and could help him speak, so he came to the door with great gifts repeatedly, begging Liu Yu to plead for Zhang Yan in front of the emperor and redeem the person from Beisi Prison as soon as possible. Liu Yu took advantage of others, so of course he had to do his best.

The emperor is playing the piano. The sound of the piano is sad and desolate, which makes people feel sad.

When Liu Yu first came to Beijing to meet the emperor, the emperor had entertained him in the palace and had a happy conversation. Liu Yu was vicissitudes of life, knowledgeable, loyal and famous, and has always had a good reputation. Among the clan bureaucrats, his talents and popularity were the best. This was probably one of the emperor's willingness to get close to him.

Liu Yu stood outside the hall, listening silently to the sad sound of the piano, feeling sorry for him.

Today, the son likes verses and qin playing. These two hobbies of the emperor are exactly the same as those of the last emperor. Although the two are not father-son relationships, they have surprisingly similar hobbies and talents.

Liu Yu stayed at the Shangshu Desk for more than half a year and often met and talked with the emperor, but his views on the emperor gradually changed.

The emperor's intelligence is definitely above ordinary people. His understanding of rhetoric and zither rhyme definitely comes from his innate talents. However, Liu Yu could not see calmness and solemnity in the emperor's verses and zither sounds. They always reveal too much glitz and simplicity. The emperor pays too much attention to appearance, and he always immerses his energy in the skills of verses and zither rhymes. Liu Yu knew that on the one hand, this was because the emperor was young, lived in the palace for a long time, lived in a luxurious life, and did not have much experience or understanding of the joys, anger, sorrows and happiness of life. On the other hand, he believed that the emperor lacked a good teacher, a loyal and upright teacher. Because there was no such teacher to teach the emperor the way of sages to investigate things, to attain knowledge, cultivate oneself, manage the family, govern the country, and pacify the world, so the emperor lacked the cultivation of personality.

As time goes by, Liu Yu discovered that the emperor was the same in politics. The emperor often understood the twists and turns and risks in political affairs. When reading the memorials of ministers, he could often feel the difficulties of the world and make a more pertinent evaluation of things. But strangely, he lacked decisiveness. He often repeatedly solicited opinions from the officials (no eunuchs of various positions). He had a blind emotional trust in the views of the officials, and he added this trust to the officials.

The power was obtained, and the officials were allowed to participate in political affairs and gave them great authority. In recent years, with rebellions and natural disasters, the Han Dynasty was already shaking and struggling. In this difficult situation, the officials became more powerful and arrogant, arrogant and violent, which made the heavens angry and people resentful, and the whole country was sad. The young emperor was alert and began to try to make his own decisions. However, because of the above two reasons, the emperor's rule made Liu Yu feel even more afraid, disappointed and worried.

The sound of the piano gradually slowed down.

=

The emperor was in a low mood and looked melancholy.

He sat behind the piano stand and waved to Liu Yu to get up.

"Five years ago today, the little prince was born, but his mother was killed by someone. My dear, do you think this murderer should be punished?" The emperor looked down at Qin and asked in a low voice.

Liu Yu was startled and suddenly became nervous. He didn't dare to say anything, let alone reply.

The emperor raised his head, looked at him coldly, and stood up.

"Are you unwilling to say it or not?"

Liu Yu was shocked, his hair was standing upside down on his body, and he knelt on the ground with a thud.

In the third year of Guanghe, the emperor was twenty-four years old. In December of that year, Guiren He in the harem gave birth to a son. At that time, the emperor was the only bloodline of the emperor. The emperor was very happy and immediately appointed Guiren He as the queen. A year later, the beautiful Wang in the harem gave birth to another son for the emperor. The emperor held the newborn baby in his hand, and no matter how he looked, he looked like himself, with a small head and a cerebral, extremely cute. The emperor immediately named the little prince "Xie" according to this intention.

This was originally a good thing to add icing on the cake, but the struggle in the palace was too cruel and bloody, and the joyful event became a funeral in the blink of an eye. Queen He was arrogant and suspicious by nature and could not tolerate such hidden disasters. With the help of Zhang Rang and other middle-level officials, she quickly killed Meiren Wang. When the emperor came to see the mother, Meiren Wang was already a cold body. The emperor burst out with the greatest anger in his life. He shouted and wanted to depose the queen and kill her nine clans, but he could not withstand the bitter pleas of the middle-level officials. In addition, he was really afraid of the future brothers fighting for imperial power in the future, so after he was angry for a while, he gave up the idea of ​​deposing the queen. However, he no longer came to Queen He. He felt that this woman was too terrible, a ghost covered in blood with his hands.

The emperor was afraid that Liu Xie would kill the queen on an excuse, so he hurriedly carried the new prince to his mother, Empress Dowager Dong to support him. Empress Dowager Dong and Empress He were like mother-in-law and daughter-in-law in the folk, and were also enemies and often quarreled. The empress dowager was worried that his grandson would harm the cruel woman, so he cared about the miserable child with great care. The emperor was also afraid that the child would not be raised, so he gave him a nickname "Dong Hou" according to his mother's surname.

Beauty Wang was born in a family, with a talented and intelligent nature, proficient in piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, and likes the emperor. The two have always had a good relationship. Beauty Wang is gone, and the emperor misses him day and night, and his heart is as sad as if he is sad. In order to express his grief, he worked hard to write a long and sentimental "Fu of Pursuing Virtue". After seeing this, Empress He was very angry and felt that she was not as good as a dead person in the mind of the emperor. In anger, she threw the emperor's big strokes into the brazier, burning the bamboo slips to the crackling sound and turned into ashes.

Love the house and Wu, the emperor's spoiled Liu Xie to an incredible level, and even his mother thought that he had done too much. However, the mother and son had a common idea, which was to abolish the legitimate and establish the illegitimate. The emperor planned to pass the throne to his favorite son after a hundred years rather than the son born to the cruel woman. Once this idea was born, it immediately spread like an aphrodisiac, making him full of trembling and trembling.

Passionate. He dares not say to anyone. Who can he trust now? As long as his thought is leaked, Liu Xie will die immediately. He is very sad. Although he is the emperor and holds the power of life and death for all people in the world, he cannot protect his son or the woman he likes. He cannot even punish a murderer who killed his woman. If he wants to take back all this, he must do whatever he wants. Because he is the emperor.

The emperor slowly walked to Liu Yu, stretched out his foot and kicked him on the shoulder, and said, "Your dear, it's okay to say it, I forgive you for not guilty."

Liu Yu almost despaired. He finally got involved in being the official position of the Nine Ministers, but he was about to be beheaded before he could even get satisfied. Can you say this? If the queen and the general know, they will not be able to gain a foothold in Luo Ben in the future. If they say no, they will offend the emperor immediately, let alone be distracted.

"This is Your Majesty's family matter, I really have no way to start." Liu Yu shot with a faint shot, intending to get away with it.

The emperor snorted, stretched out his legs and kicked him again, and said, "Forget it, get up."

"I came to you because I wanted to ask about Xiliang." The emperor pointed to the soap bags piled up on the desk (the bag used for memorials). "There are more and more memorials impeaching Li Zhonglang, and I don't even look at it now. Do you know why?"

Liu Yu hurriedly bowed and said, "I guarantee that Li Zhonglang is indeed loyal to Your Majesty and to my great man, and he has no different intentions. Your Majesty trusts Li Zhonglang. Your Majesty does not doubt people, but you do not doubt people, and your Majesty is wise."

The emperor waved his hand casually and said, "Do you know why I trust Li Zhonglang?"

Liu Yu did not dare to speak nonsense and bowed to wait for the advice.

"After so many years, Li Zhonglang was the only one who gave me money, he did not make any requests." The emperor exclaimed, "It's a very simple reason."

He asked Liu Yu again: "Do you know how much money did Li Zhonglang earn for me this time in Xiliang?"

Liu Yu shook his head. He also wanted to know.

"One hundred and six billion yuan." The emperor opened his small eyes wide and said angrily, "For so many years, they have almost stole the taxes of my great man for three years, these shameless people."

Liu Yu said in surprise: "It's amazing. If my man is in good weather, the best year will be 6 billion yuan in taxes. His Majesty actually didn't copy so much in just a few months..."

"What's so strange about this?" the emperor interrupted him and said angrily, "I haven't caught a big guy yet. If a big guy like Zhang Yan arrests dozens of him, I can at least make another 10 billion yuan. Think about it, the late emperor led a group of senior officials to capture and kill the general Liang Ji and seize his property for more than 3 billion yuan. From this, I want to see how rich the ministers in the court are now."

Liu Yu trembled and cold sweat came out involuntarily.

"Li Zhonglang is not a loyal minister, who is a loyal minister? Hum..." The emperor sneered, "Impulse? Ha... Impulse? I haven't seen anyone who volunteered to go to Xiliang to quell the rebellion. They impeached? OK. I plan to promote Li Zhonglang to the General of the Qiang Zhonglang to supervise the military and political affairs of Xiliang. What do you think?"

The emperor's protection for Li Hong was obvious. Who is so generous now and is trying to give money to the emperor? At this time, the unpleasant words are purely self-indulgent. Moreover, Liu Yu didn't want to raise any objections at all. In his heart, he always regarded Li Hong as his disciple and an old official, and was his own person. So Liu Yu said without hesitation: "Your Majesty is wise. With the current situation in Liangzhou, it is indeed meaningless to appoint a new governor. Li Zhonglang is suppressing corruption in Xiliang and has made great contributions. He should be rewarded and rewarded."

The emperor stared at Liu Yu seriously, which made him a little creepy.

It was not that he did not understand the emperor's thoughts, but the emperor's thoughts were really shocking. There were too many such things in history. That time, it was not a bloody storm and blood flowing. Liu Yu dared not think about it. Whether it was the country or the family's life, such things could not be stuck. As long as it was stuck, whether it was the loser or the winner, how many people were not in the same place, and the nine tribes were killed? The deposed legitimate and illegitimate are in violation of the laws of the Han Dynasty.

It is a traitor to not tolerate between heaven and earth. Such things are never allowed in ordinary families. Those with dissatisfaction will be punished by family law, let alone in the royal family. Liu Yu felt that the emperor in front of him was not only joking about the life of the little prince Liu Xie, but also joking about his mother, Empress Dowager Dong and the family of Empress Dowager Dong, and the country of the Han Dynasty. The emperor actually dared to do such things.

=

The emperor looked at Liu Yu and felt very complicated.

He understood the heart of being a minister. Although wealth and honor are very attractive, life is more important. He tried Yang Ci with the same words, asked Zhao Zhong, Huangfu Song, and even asked Jian Shuo, the little Huangmen whom he favored for in recent times, but no one answered him. Everyone looked at him, looking ignorant. Only the old Grand Marshal Yang Ci, the emperor's teacher. Before he died, he submitted a memorial and said a lot of vaguely, but the meaning was very obvious, and he advised His Majesty to dispel this idea.

But the emperor didn't think so. The death of Meiren Wang woke up this mediocre and indifferent person. He didn't care much about Meiren Wang's death, but found that he was not the emperor at all and had no right to do whatever he wanted. He was just an idiot who was called "Long Live" by others.

That year he was twenty-five years old. He began to reexamine and think about the rights in his hands. Finally, he concluded that he had no rights and his rights were taken away by the eunuchs, relatives and ministers around him.

Since Emperor Guangwu, this dynasty lasted for more than two hundred years. Among the fourteen emperors, nine of them ascended the throne under the age of fifteen, and the youngest was Emperor Shang, who became emperor only 100 days after he was born. After the young emperor ascended the throne, he could not personally manage the government affairs, and his mother usually took charge of the court. The empress dowagers had limited abilities and could not believe others, so they had to use their families to deal with political affairs. The young empress dowagers let their fathers and brothers serve as assistant ministers, and controlled the military and political power, gradually forming a situation of autocracy with relatives.

From the fourth emperor and emperor (Liu Zhao) of this dynasty, eunuchs often approached the emperor and gradually increased their power from serving the emperor simply to conveying the emperor's edicts and mastering documents. When the young emperor became an adult, they had to take charge of power and held great power. They could only rely on the closest eunuchs around them to launch a palace coup, destroy the power of the foreign relatives, and seize the power, thus forming a situation of eunuchs. When the emperor died, his mother and queen and his father and brother chose the young crown prince to be the emperor, and the foreign relatives seized great power from the eunuchs, and then there was a situation of tyranny of foreign relatives. When the young emperor grew up, he relied on the eunuchs to attack the foreign relatives. As a result, there was a turbulent situation where the foreign relatives and eunuchs were interchangeably governed and usurped power to each other.

Since many emperors after Emperor Xiaohe died early, Ru Shang's reign was only nine months, Shao Emperor only eight months, Qi Emperor only five months, Qi Emperor only seven months, and deposed Emperor only five months, this made the struggle between the foreign relatives and eunuchs even more intense. Whether it was the foreign relatives or the eunuchs' autocracy, the emperor was a puppet and could only be at the mercy of one of these two forces. However, no matter how these two forces manipulate the court, the other force that never collapsed in the Han Dynasty was always stubborn and unswervingly pushing the Han Dynasty forward. This is the aristocratic family.

The aristocratic clans absolutely exclude eunuchs. The reason for rejecting eunuchs is very simple. In the eyes of aristocratic clans, eunuchs do not have personality, but are just slaves holding brooms and cups in the sky. There is a great righteousness between the king and the minister. The true minister should be the ministers of the country, not the emperor's private ministers. Therefore, the king should not be rude to his ministers, and the ministers can also give in to the king, but there is no need to be such a thing to the eunuchs.

Aristocratic bureaucrats also excluded foreign relatives, but their origins are all aristocratic families, which has caused them to have a close connection. At a certain time, aristocratic bureaucrats often join forces with foreign relatives to deal with eunuchs in the palace.

However, there is one thing that bureaucrats from aristocratic families that they will never understand. When eunuchs first intervened in the government, they did not devote themselves to being incompetent with aristocratic bureaucrats.

The emperor, who was imprisoned in the palace by the aristocratic bureaucrats with various systems and etiquettes, wanted to extend his ears, hands and feet into the wider world outside the palace. He wanted to do whatever he wanted, and he wanted to directly interfere in the government affairs controlled and manipulated by the bureaucrats. However, the emperor could not regain the rights occupied by his relatives, and was imprisoned by the rules and regulations of the aristocratic bureaucrats. What should he do? How can he survive? The emperor could only rely on the eunuchs to seek the rights he had lost.

If he did not rely on these crappy people around him, even if he stood up, he would be confused, which would become the humble and lonely person he would say all day long. In addition, the emperor relied on eunuchs, and that was another important reason for the emperor to rely on eunuchs, that is, the personal relationship between the emperor and the eunuchs. The master and slaves lived together for more than ten years, or even decades. Even if the relationship between them was not the most sincere, it could not be replaced by the noble but cold morality of the ruler and the ministers.

Six years ago, when the eunuchs tried their best to instigate the emperor to appoint He Guiren as the queen, the eunuchs had a purpose. Because they least wanted to appoint women from aristocratic families as queens, so as not to have another phenomenon of powerful generals like Liang Yi and Dou Wu, posing a threat to them in their survival.

Empress He is from Nanyang, with a lowly background. Her family has been butchers for generations. When Empress He entered the palace, she also relied on the help of eunuchs. The palace maids must come from a good family, but the He family is a lowly and have no qualifications. The Zhongchangshi Guo Sheng was a fellow villager of Empress He, and presided over the selection of concubines that he was called "counterman" in the dynasty. After accepting heavy bribes from the He family, he brought the beautiful woman from the He family into the palace. Soon, she leaned against her stick and entered the Yeting Palace. In the palace, Empress He had a more tough backstage, that is, Zhang Rang, the Zhongchangshi, who married Zhang Changshi's adopted son because of Empress He's sister.

However, the eunuchs ignored one thing, that is, Empress He also had a half-brother named He Jin. He was selling meat with a butcher knife every day, but he kept praying in his heart that his sister would be favored. After his father died, He Jin took his own initiative to bribe the eunuch and sent his sister to the palace of the Han Dynasty, intending to make a name for himself. The heaven pays off. His sister was finally favored and named as a noble person. He Jin immediately threw away the slaughter. He turned over and became a royal relative. He was first appointed as a doctor, then moved to the General of the Hu Ben, and then served as the prefect of Yingchuan. On the day the empress was enthroned, He Jin was summoned to Beijing and appointed as the Minister of the Secretariat, and was the general of the Henan Yin. Perhaps because his background was too humble, the eunuchs did not take the opportunity to kill him like Dong Chong, the brother of Queen Mother Dong, who treated Empress Dowager Dong, but the eunuchs forgot that his humbleness was different from other humbleness: he was a butcher.

Now, He Jin's power is suppressed by eunuchs and aristocratic bureaucrats. Although he is in charge of the Northern Army, he has not threatened the eunuchs and aristocratic families. Therefore, the three forces are in a delicate balance, restricting each other and using each other to vaguely form a tripod. Among them, the eunuchs are the most powerful. Their balance of power directly caused the emperor to lose power. Even if the emperor wants to seize some power, he has nowhere to quit.

The emperor knew it in his heart, but he dared not speak out. He remembered that when General Dou Wu and Grand Tutor Chen Fan planned to kill eunuchs, the situation was very good. The General controlled the Five Battalions of the Northern Army, the Yulin Army, the Huben Army, and even the Huangmen Order who commanded the Zhonghuangmen were all Dou Wu, and everyone thought it was foolproof. However, the eunuchs such as Zhongchangshi Cao Jie, Huangmen Order Wang Fu and other eunuchs turned over overnight, but instead hunted and killed Grand Tutor Chen Fan and General Dou Wu, uprooted the two factions of power. Even Empress Dowager Dou was forced to hand over the seal and injected into the cold palace. Empress Dowager Dou said a very warning word at that time, that those who flattered were not loyal. But who were loyal ministers?

The emperor also faced the same problem. When he wanted to depose the queen and kill the queen, although the officials knelt on the ground and tried to advise, to put it bluntly, it was a threat. If the riots were forced to the dead, it might be that the emperor died in the end. The emperor had been living in the palace for a long time and naturally knew the trick. As long as he did not force a certain force to the dead, no matter how he ate or drank, he would do anything absurd, or even beat, scold, or kill.

This time, when Xiliang was greedy, the emperor took advantage of Li Hong's strength to suddenly take the initiative in the court. He severely attacked the three forces, quietly supported his clan, and cleverly left a way out for the three forces, and finally made a profit.

He suddenly realized that the control of power depends on strength, not just by saying a few words and stamping seals on the edict. He needs to have strength, a strong army, and a general who is loyal to him leads such an army. If he does this, wouldn’t he do whatever he wants? At that time, he will have money, and he will kill whoever he wants to kill. Whoever he wants to make Liu Xie the crown prince dares to say that it is a word of no word?

Now, generals who were able to lead troops to fight in the Han Dynasty, such as Huangfu Song, Zhu Jun, Lu Zhi, Dong Zhuo, etc., were all from gentry bureaucrats. Of course, he could not believe it, and he could not casually say such great things as abolishing legitimates and establishing gangsters. Not from a gentry, but only Li Hong, who was promoted entirely by military merits, was the barbarian of the northern border who was called the most cruel official in ancient and modern times by ministers in the court, and a slave to the Xianbei people.

The question is, how do you affirm that Li Hong is loyal to him? How do you affirm that Li Hong is loyal to him all the time?

He decided to send someone to see it, send different people to see it, and finally make a summary of it. If Li Hong is indeed worthy of his trust, then he would gamble, either by gamble on his own life or by his own country. If Li Hong is indeed a rash person and is not worthy of his trust, then there is no need for him to offend everyone in the court for him.

"I heard that Liu He, the eldest son of my dear, is quite superb in painting skills?" The emperor suddenly asked something that made Liu Yu confused.

"Your Majesty is still worthy of your attention." Liu Yu said modestly.

"Love, look, let Jian Shuo from the little Huangmen be a reward envoy, take the four men of the Consort Liu He, the Northern Army's Hou Liu Biao, and the General's Censor Yuan Shao to Xiliang to comfort the army. What do you think?"

When Liu Yu heard this, he was secretly worried for Li Hong. He whispered: "Your Majesty's proposal is very good. This can temporarily block everyone's mouths and let Your Majesty be quiet for a while."

"No matter what fault Li Zhonglang is, everything will be settled after the Western Xinjiang is pacified." The emperor said, "In addition, let Liu He draw a few pictures of Li Zhonglang and bring them back, and I want to see what he looks like."

Liu Yu agreed repeatedly, and then said, "Your Majesty, although Lord Zhang Yan and Zhang received a large amount of bribes, there is a reason for the matter. Lord Zhang worked hard for our great man and did a lot of things with great effort. Without any contribution, he still worked hard. Your Majesty..."

"Have his family paid for him to atone for his sins?"

"I've handed over, your Majesty."

"I wrote a book of pardon, and you go and ask someone."

The emperor said, "In addition, Zhang Wen, Yuan Pang, Dong Zhuo and others had just returned to Luoyang, and the rebels in Xiliang made trouble again. My dear, do you see, are these people rewarded? Or should they be held accountable?"

Liu Yu glanced at him and thought to himself: Isn’t it all your fault? He regretted what he promised and went back on his word. Now he has to hold others accountable.

"Your Majesty, only by strict rewards and punishments can people be inspiring. They have made great contributions to Xiliang for more than a year."

The emperor stood in front of the piano platform, silent.

Former Grand Marshal Zhang Yan was beaten to death in prison.

Guangluxun Liu Yu was furious and cursed the Huangmen Order who was in charge of Beisi Prison.

Zhang Yan was also a master of Confucianism. He often taught in the Imperial Academy and had many disciples. His death angered the Imperial Academy students. More than 300 Zhang Yan's disciples petitioned in the Beigong to demand severe punishment of the murderer. The emperor was rewarding the generals of the Western Expedition Army. He was furious when he heard this and ordered the Weiwei to lead the Southern Army guards to disperse the Imperial Academy students.
Chapter completed!