Fortunately, there are two mistresses in the East Palace now.
Empress Dowager Bo came out in time to smooth things over and said: "Today is a family banquet. Queen Mother, Emperor, why do you have to talk about those annoying political affairs? The Emperor will punish himself with a drink and apologize to Queen Mother..."
When Liu Che first ascended the throne, Empress Dowager Bo actually only held the title of Queen Mother, and almost all affairs of the East Palace were in the hands of Empress Dowager Dou.
Empress Dowager Bo can only be regarded as a clay statue.
But times have changed, and Liu Che's authority has gradually become more stable.
Power involuntarily slipped from the hands of Queen Mother Dou to Queen Mother Bo.
There is no fool in the East Palace. Who doesn't know that Empress Dowager Dou is old and decrepit while Empress Bo is in her prime of life. Moreover, the Empress Dowager passed away not long ago, and Bo has extensive connections in the court.
Fortunately, Mr. Bo has always been very peaceful and likes to fight for power and gain, and he doesn't like to make trouble.
Therefore, the East Palace can maintain peace.
When Liu Che heard this, he immediately followed the donkey down the slope and said respectfully to Queen Mother Dou: "What the Queen Mother said is absolutely true, it is me, Meng Lang. I hope the Queen Mother will not take offense..."
Empress Dowager Dou was just asking casually. After hearing this, she walked down the steps and said with a smile: "Sit down, the emperor. The Ai family just asked casually..."
Liu Che then smiled slightly, knelt down and bowed again, and then sat down.
only……
Liu Che understood that after today, cracks had appeared in Liu Dou's ruling alliance, which once seemed unbreakable and strong.
reason?
Liu Che no longer needed support from Empress Dowager Dou to consolidate his throne, and he no longer feared that the East Palace could shake his position.
The Empress Dowager of the East Palace, who once had all the power in the government and the public, and was almost able to take control of the government, is now afraid that even a lieutenant in the Northern and Southern armies can no longer control her.
Especially after June this year, Liu Che replaced almost all the garrison in Chang'an City under the pretext of rotation.
From then on, Liu Che held the gun barrel of the Han family firmly.
Spring River Plumbing Duck Prophet.
If Mr. Dou didn't feel anything, he wouldn't believe it if he beat Liu Che to death.
Even if we are not afraid to speculate with the greatest malice, it is very likely that the Dou family is behind this great alliance.
Wherever there are people, there are rivers and lakes. Where there are rivers and lakes, there are contradictions.
Historically, the cooperation and confrontation between Weiyang Palace and Changle Palace has been a constant theme.
but……
Liu Che glanced at the aristocratic buddies of the Dou family.
Do these idiots think that they will always maintain the status and wealth they have today?
…………………………
After the family dinner, Liu Che stayed in Changle Palace and chatted with the two queen mothers Dou Bo.
While chatting, Empress Dowager Dou suddenly said: "Emperor, since the death of the late emperor, the kings of Chu and Zhao have been undecided for a long time. Many scholars and people are hesitant. There are also many material discussions in the world. It's just that the Ai family is not in good health and has a lot of energy."
It’s better than before... how about... let’s leave this matter to the emperor to decide?”
For a moment, the scene froze.
Liu Che raised his head and looked at the calm-looking Queen Mother Dou, with countless thoughts running through his mind.
After Liu Che ascended the throne, Liu Che made a deal with Empress Dowager Dou in order to seal Liu Huan in Jiangdu and at the same time enable Jiangdu to retain most of the shipbuilding and smelting industries of the former Wu Dynasty.
He handed over the selection of King Chu and King Zhao to Queen Mother Dou in exchange for Queen Mother Dou agreeing that Liu Yan should be King of Jiangdu and supporting most of Liu Che's decisions.
In the past two years, Chu State and Zhao State have aroused the covetousness of countless people.
Fortunately for the King of Chu, the main competitors are all descendants of King Chu Yuan, mainly the two sons of King Chu Yuan, the brothers Pinglu Marquis Liu Li and Hong Marquis Liu Fu.
After all, no one can erase the contributions of King Chu Yuan and his son, and the people in the Chu Kingdom will not accept other kings except the blood of King Chu Yuan.
But the problem of Zhao State is troublesome.
Zhao, this huge feudal state known as Qi, Chu and Wu in the history of the Han Dynasty, even though it has been divided and weakened several times, its jurisdiction is compared to the huge vassal state "south of Changshan, between the rivers, and east of Taihang" at the beginning of the founding of the Han Dynasty.
The country has shrunk by at least three times.
Today, the State of Zhao still nominally owns four major counties: Handan, Wei County, Qinghe County and Julu County.
Handan is even more famous as a majestic city in the world and a top-notch gold-selling cave.
Although, if he were to be granted the title of King of Zhao again, Liu Che would definitely separate the two counties of Julu and Qinghe from the territory of Zhao State (in fact, after Liu Sui entered Chang'an, the two counties of Julu and Qinghe had become de facto independent.
Even so, Liu Che's brothers still broke their heads for the sake of the position of King Zhao.
Liu Rong, Liu Sheng, Liu Duan, Liu Fei, Liu Yu, and even Liu Yan all coveted the title of King Zhao and wished they could wear the crown of King Zhao on their heads.
In the past two years, Liu Che had heard about it, in order to get the title of King Zhao.
Inside and outside the palace, Liu Che's brothers used all kinds of tricks.
Bribery, bribery, kneeling, crying, almost all the available methods were used by my dear brothers without any moral integrity.
However, since Liu Che had agreed to hand over the decision-making power of King Zhao and King Chu to Queen Mother Dou, Liu Che did not pay much attention to the competition between these brothers.
Anyway, King Zhao is a trap, and Handan City is a trap within a trap.
Feng shui has always been bad. Starting from Zhang Ao, all kinds of moths have emerged in endlessly. Except for Liu Lan, Liu Che doesn't care who goes where he wants.
Therefore, Empress Dowager Dou's sudden words did not make Liu Che feel carried away. Instead, he immediately became alert.
Liu Che almost subconsciously thought: Empress Dowager Dou was testing him.
Obviously, if he foolishly agreed, then Donggong might really have to break up with him.
Don't look at it now that Liu Che is in great power and seems to be invincible.
But under the Han Dynasty’s special two-palace quasi-dualist imperial system, if the East Palace showed its determination to show off to the emperor, the emperor would also suffer a big loss!
Didn’t you see, didn’t Xiaozhu’s mother play Xiaozhu to the point of ecstasy after Empress Dowager Dou’s death?
So much so that in history, in his later years, Xiaozhu felt deeply that he could not let his son suffer another loss, so he killed Liu Fuling's biological mother, Mrs. Gou Yi.
Therefore, Liu Che immediately smiled and said: "Grandma Huang is joking. I am still young. You still have to make the decision on such important matters..." As he said this, Liu Che walked over to Empress Dowager Dou and knelt down.
He came down and gently beat her on the shoulder, as filial as before: "Besides, our Han family governs the world with filial piety. The survival of the princes should be decided by the imperial grandmother!"
When Queen Mother Dou heard this, she burst into laughter.
Obviously, Liu Che's answer made her very satisfied.
What she fears most is being ignored and losing her power.
For Queen Mother Dou, this was simply a nightmare! (To be continued.)
