Chapter 5 Kangzong Chapter 8 The Key Government of the Marquis Mansion
As the palace people inside and outside the Chui Gong Hall lowered their eyebrows and bowed their waists, and respectfully sent her off, Empress Dowager Murong walked out quickly, her steps hurried, and her walking was windy, showing no trace of her usual motherly demeanor.
Just by looking at the aura on her face, you can tell that the Queen Mother is furious, and the reason for her anger is obviously directed at the Emperor Liu Wenpeng.
The cause is not complicated at all. In view of the fact that Wang Xuanzhen left Shanyang to control the imperial envoy, the dispute over the post of governor has been lingering for a long time and has not yet been resolved. The various factions in the court are competing for power, and the conflict has become more intense. Recently, it has reached the point of attacking and slandering each other.
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Seeing that people's hearts were in chaos and the government was unstable, Empress Dowager Murong was "distressed" by this. So she felt inspired and could no longer live in the Ciming Palace, so she came to find the emperor and recommend him a suitable candidate for the imperial envoy.
And this suitable candidate is Murong Dechen, the commander of Sichuan Province, who returned to Beijing to report on his duties. The Murong clan, which was once extremely prominent and continued to enjoy prosperity, has been suppressed in the past year, at least at the central level of the imperial court.
The "Gong Move Case" was both the beginning and the climax of this suppression. The clan, represented by King Liu Ai of Lu, and the auxiliary ministers represented by Shangshu Ling Zhang Qixian, united with their most basic request to prevent Empress Dowager Murong from interfering in politics for no reason.
At the same time, there were a group of distinguished officials who held considerable say in the Han Empire. They either felt repulsed and disturbed by Empress Dowager Murong's crude interference in politics, or they simply did not want to see Murong alone in the imperial family.
Although he spoke little, he secretly supported the suppression of the Murong family with practical actions.
Of course, this kind of restriction has its limit, unless the person sitting on the throne is not Liu Wenpeng, who is half of the Murong family. Therefore, although the Murong family was suppressed to death in the center of the empire, nationwide and in the empire
Inside and outside the military and political affairs, Murong's children, relatives, old subordinates, and disciples were still everywhere.
You must know that Murong Yanzhao, the first Duke of Wei, alone had more than ten children. Even if not all of them have Murong Defeng's knowledge and talents, after so many years, there are still many living people who have been appointed to the Taoist and state level in various places.
Among them are some with real power and important positions.
The most obvious aspect of the suppression of the Murong family is that the contemporary Duke of Wei Murong Weizhen (the direct grandson of Murong Yanzhao and the eldest son of the second-generation Duke of Wei Murong Deye) was excluded from the imperial court and served as the prefect of Fengxiang.
Empress Dowager Murong deeply hated this status quo and situation. However, after a year of setbacks and lessons, Empress Dowager Murong was not as impatient as she was in the first year of Pingkang, and had a little more stability.
This stability is reflected in the demands of Empress Dowager Murong on the affairs of the court. She has been reduced from the sole power of the Murong family to a seat in the political hall. Murong Defeng's previous position was filled by Murong Dechen, a blood brother.
Of course, Empress Dowager Murong also saw the changes in the court situation, and the trend of the emperor still being in charge. Based on the power struggle and various tensions in the Han Dynasty in the early third year of Pingkang, as long as mother and son work together and the emperor issues an edict, it is a high probability that it can be done.
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However, what was most unexpected to Empress Dowager Murong was that her plan first came to nothing with Emperor Liu Wenpeng.
To sum up, Liu Wenpeng refused the Queen Mother's request and even sold her his grievances, saying that the power in the court was still in the hands of the emperor's uncle, Xianggong Zhang and others.
Such a "good" situation.
He also reassured the Empress Dowager, saying that he also admired and trusted Murong Dechen, his uncle, and would definitely use him again when he took charge.
It is conceivable that the emperor's words could not convince the queen mother, and the mother and son even had a dispute in Chui Gong Hall. In fact, it proved that the queen mother could exert much influence on the court, except for her relatives, mainly through the emperor, and when the emperor was not
When it comes to cooperation, she doesn't have many options. In the final analysis, at least in the Pingkang era, the Han Empire did not have the conditions for "prominent imperial rule".
This time, Emperor Liu Wenpeng obviously completely annoyed Empress Dowager Murong. Apart from being angry, she was inevitably sad. She felt that Liu Wenpeng was too inconsiderate of her mother. She was only thinking about her son, but he did not share her heart.
After the Queen Mother left, the atmosphere in Chui Gong Hall became even more depressing. All the waiters had their heads buried deeply and did not dare to take a breath. Emperor Liu Wenpeng was still playing with the war chess on a map board, but obviously carelessly, and finally kicked the chess mark away.
It ends by overturning the map board.
Obviously, rejecting the Queen Mother is also an unpleasant thing for the emperor. As for Liu Wenpeng's reason for rejecting the Queen Mother, it mainly starts from two points. First, after many disputes in the previous two years, Liu Wenpeng no longer trusts the Queen Mother's advice.
Even a little tired of her "torturing";
Secondly, Liu Wenpeng was dissatisfied with the fact that Zhu Fu was in charge of the country and suppressed his legitimate power as the emperor, and he also did not like having a mother-in-law above him who gave him instructions and interfered with his decision-making.
On the contrary, he had no objections to Murong Dechen's uncle Liu Wenpeng. When he met with Murong Dechen before, he was very interested in his military career and asked him to carefully report the stories of his past wars.
In the imperial court, the response to some matters was very quick. For example, after the news spread that Empress Dowager Murong was interested in the position of the Imperial Envoy, the central government quickly appointed an important position.
First, Murong Dechen was appointed as the inspection envoy to Huguang. In the past two years, the frequency of barbarian rebellions in remote areas of the two lakes increased significantly. In the winter of the second year of Pingkang, barbarian riots occurred again in Li, Ding, Yuan and other prefectures.
Invading prefectures and counties, the officials and the people could not bear the disturbance, so they sent Murong Dechen to suppress the bandits and quell the chaos and restore public order.
Of course, anyone with a discerning eye can see that this was a counterattack against the Queen Mother's proposal to appoint Murong Dechen as the imperial envoy.
At the same time, the "Capital Supervisory Envoy Struggle" that lasted for more than two months finally came to an end after being stimulated by Empress Dowager Murong. To the surprise of many people, the person who finally got the results was a person who had never participated in the fight: Luoyang
Governor Xiang Minzhong.
Xiang Minzhong was a Jinshi in the 19th year of Kaibao. His ranking was not too high. He was ranked 17th in the Jinshi Department. During the Kaibao era, he was unknown and just worked step by step. It was not until the Yongxi era that Emperor Taizong made his first
During the Northern Inspection, Xiang Minzhong, who was the judge of Xinzhou at that time, went to Datianting. He was appreciated by Emperor Taizong for his diligence in political affairs and his maturity and prudentness.
The Yongxi era was an "era of diligence". Under the label of "diligence", it came into the emperor's sight. Xiang Minzhong naturally had a prosperous official career and rose to prominence. Basically, he climbed up one step at a time in three or four years. By the time
In the fourteenth year of Yongxi's reign, he was transferred from the post of Deputy Chief Envoy of the Gyeonggi Province to the Governor of Luoyang, and was appointed by Emperor Taizong.
This time, the competition between the various factions in the DPRK failed, and in the end the position of the envoy fell on him. It was a stroke of luck. This was the result of a balanced compromise, which at least did not make the opponent proud. At the same time, a
The relatively less powerful Governor does not seem to do much harm to everyone.
At the same time, appointing the governor as soon as possible will avoid unrest in the Ciming Palace. However, if the Queen Mother insists on meddling in the affairs of the court, and there are thousands of affairs in the court, won't she still find an opportunity? Without the governor, there are other
The position and power are important, unless the Queen Mother is placed under complete house arrest, but that is ultimately unrealistic.
In the final analysis, it depends on the attitude of the emperor. However, based on Emperor Liu Wenpeng's recent behavior, especially three years after entering Pingkang, it is obvious that it is difficult for the Han Dynasty court to truly calm down.
It's normal for things to go up and down one after another.
The back garden of the Marquis Mansion in Guangyang is filled with spring colors and the scenery is endless.
Under the bright sunshine, the seventy-year-old Zhao Kuangyi stepped on the green grass and sat on a stone pier under a rockery. He hunched over his old waist and stared lovingly into the distance. There, his grandson Zhao Yuncheng was chatting with the Hou Mansion.
Several martial artists he raised were sparring.
Beginning in the ninth year of Yongxi's reign, Emperor Taizong began to award titles to a group of civil and military officials who had made extraordinary contributions to the country in the past twenty years. Compared with the great meritorious officials granted by Shizu, Emperor Taizong was much more restrained, had very high requirements and standards, and had
In many places, hereditary titles are not available.
But even so, it greatly appeased the hearts of many meritorious officials. At least they saw the hope of "glorifying the ancestors" instead of just watching the titles and salaries being reduced from generation to generation as the years passed and the family passed on.
At that time, Zhao Kuangyi, the uncle of Guangyang, was promoted to the first-class Marquis of Guangyang because of his loyalty to the royal family for forty years, hard work and great achievements. There is a saying, regardless of how little Zhao Kuangyi had, his abilities and skills.
They are all extremely outstanding, and their contributions to the country and the people during the governance period cannot be denied.
Therefore, after comprehensive consideration, Emperor Taizong granted him a special title. Zhao Kuangyi was also one of the ministers who were bestowed the most honors and received the best treatment during the Yongxi period. Within the Zhao family, Zhao Kuangyi's lineage could thus truly compete with each other.
Although Zhao Dezhao inherited the mantle of Zhao Kuangyin, in the lineage of Rong Guogong, in the past twenty years, the person in charge of the Zhao family was still Zhao Kuangyi, and his authority became more and more important.
Now, Zhao Kuangyi has been adopted for five or six years, and he is still the anchor of the Zhao family, especially after Concubine Zhao and her son were driven to Annan to return home.
Zhao Kuangyi, who was in his seventies, could no longer straighten his back, his beard and hair were as white as snow, and the top of his head was so sparse that it was difficult to hold up his hat. However, his spirit was still strong, his eyes were still sharp, his thinking was still clear, and he was still paying attention to the changes in the court situation.
After a lifetime of ups and downs in the officialdom, he has already developed a dependence on power. Even if he can no longer control Fang Qiu from the heights of the temple, it does not prevent him from giving advice and discussing politics in the prince's mansion. This has even become his later years.
Zhao Kuangyi’s “spiritual food”.
At this time, Zhao Dechong, the eldest son who had already reached the rank of Shaoqing of Dali, stood respectfully aside and informed Zhao Kuangyi of some recent developments in the DPRK.
"Lu Mengzheng resigned?" Zhao Kuangyi was a little surprised.
Zhao Dechong nodded and said: "Just the day before yesterday, the speech list was sent to the Ministry of Personnel and forwarded to the Political Affairs Hall. Your Majesty has approved the speech!"
Hearing this, Zhao Kuangyi said with emotion: "Today is different from the past. He was demoted twenty years ago and he was able to make a comeback. Now, God doesn't have another twenty years for him.
If the late emperor had been in power, let alone a magistrate of Taiping Prefecture, or even a magistrate of a county, he would still be able to persevere and seek recovery. Now, haha
However, it is a right choice to seek repatriation. Maybe you can live a few more years and see the changes in the Han Empire."
Zhao Dechong listened silently to his old father's comments, and just ignored some of the insinuations and taboo content. In the past two years, while chatting with Zhao Kuangyi, Zhao Dechong had mastered the magical skill of "closing the ears" and could not control it.
The old man commented, but he could control his own ears.
"Wang Yuchen died of illness, has His Majesty not expressed anything yet?" Zhao Kuangyi asked.
Wang Yucheng, the former prince and tutor and cabinet scholar, died of illness on the twenty-eighth day of the first lunar month of the third year of Pingkang. As a generation of famous ministers, loyal ministers, direct ministers, and a pioneer in the reform of poetry and prose, Wang Yucheng was full of praise for his extremely high moral integrity and literary standards.
He is praised by the world, after all, this is a character that even Emperor Shizu loves and hates.
However, for such a veteran of three dynasties, his posthumous affairs were somewhat miserable. Even those political opponents did not respect or fear Wang Yuchen, but it was the emperor Liu Wenpeng who seemed a little indifferent.
Not to mention the courtesies such as abolishing the imperial court and posthumous titles, let alone paying personal condolences. He didn't even send people to express condolences or pretend to care, as if he didn't know about it.
And the reason is just because Wang Yucheng was very strict with him when he was in the East Palace. The ruler given by Taizong was really harsh. How obedient and respectful he was at the beginning, now he is indifferent to him.
There is no doubt that the emperor's behavior is unpopular, at least it violates the moral principles of respecting teachers and teaching. There is a lot of criticism inside and outside the court. Of course, for the emperor, it can also be beautified as a "little evil"
, "a small loss of people's hearts", however, even if the emperor's dignity is like this, how many times can it be worn out?
In fact, there are many! The system of the Han Empire and the wealth accumulated by Shizu and Taizong are so strong that they can withstand the willfulness of a less wise emperor in a short period of time.
After hearing this, Zhao Kuangyi also commented: "Wang Yucheng's loyalty is known to both the government and the public. Such a famous third-generation loyal man, even if he has a grudge, he should always be given basic decency and respect. Today, he still looks young.
"It's full"
Zhao Dechong was standing by and just nodded silently to show his agreement. In fact, he also knew that Zhao Kuangyi had already accepted what he said.
"I still remember that Wang Yucheng also impeached me back then, which is really annoying. This copper pea is just gone, and the world will lose a ray of righteousness and some fun! Thinking about it, I feel a pity!"
Zhao Kuangyi had a lot of emotions today. After thinking about it, he said: "On the day of the funeral, you can send it off on my behalf!"
"Yes!" Zhao Dechong responded.
Finally, Zhao Kuangyi looked away from his grandson Zhao Yuncheng, who was sweating profusely from training, and looked up at his eldest son, whose official position was steadily rising and his demeanor became more and more calm, and asked: "What other 'interesting things' are there?"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Dechong hesitated a little and said, "There is something that I don't find interesting, but I think I should tell my father!"
"Then let's talk about it!" Zhao Kuangyi raised his skinny hand, obviously showing some interest.
Zhao Dechong said: "Yesterday, February 2, His Majesty led all the ministers to hoe in the countryside. He talked about the story of the late emperor's hard work in farming and encouraging farmers. He asked all the ministers accompanying him, young and old, to work in the fields.
Zhang Shangshu was forced to plow the land himself, till he fainted from exhaustion, and your Majesty did not give up until he fainted."
"Is this happening?" Zhao Kuangyi couldn't help but pause after hearing his story. After a while, he couldn't help but laugh: "Zhang Qixian is also nearly seventy years old, how can he endure such hardship?
It is true that the late emperor valued his land and worked hard with his own hands, but he was always considerate of his senior ministers. It seems that our Majesty is becoming more and more intolerable to Yongxi's ministers, and he actually came up with such methods to torment the senior ministers.
Spring is warm and flowers are blooming, and the court is becoming more and more lively."