The banners were fluttering in the square outside the Beigong, and the flagpoles were tied not with military flags but with ribbons.
The solemn music came from Yongle Palace, which made people's hearts flutter.
The three princes, nine ministers, and many ministers in the court gathered here.
On the occasion of the Empress Dowager's birthday, a banquet was held in honor of all the officials. There were plates of delicacies on the floor, singing, dancing and drinking, which was very enjoyable.
"Grand Tutor Yuan Wei, I have given you ten carriages of silk and satin, a pair of Ruyi jades, a pot of coral and green trees, a pair of tortoiseshell bracelets, and an emerald ring. I wish the Empress Dowager a long life and endless longevity."
"Captain Dong Zhuo, I present you with ten rubies from the Western Regions, ten sapphires from the Western Regions, a bouquet of golden sandalwood spice from the Western Regions, a bouquet of the finest musk from the Western Regions, and a pod of the finest ambergris from the Western Regions! I wish the Empress Dowager a long life and a healthy life.
.”
...
"Liu Bei, the herdsman of Qingzhou, has sent thousands of jars of fine wine, hundreds of treasures, ten pounds of gold, and a pearl from the East China Sea. I wish the Empress Dowager a long life, good fortune, and a prosperous life."
"Liu Yan, the herdsman of Yizhou, presented a birthday gift of 100 pieces of Shu brocade and a cart of gold and silver..."
Empress Dowager Dong was sitting high on her Majesty's throne. On her left and right were Liu Xie, who was wearing the Emperor's crown uniform, and Liu Bian, who was wearing the costumes of princes and kings.
As the salute officer sang the congratulations loudly, the smile on the face of Empress Dowager Dong on the stage became even stronger. Although her face was full of wrinkles, it was as bright as a blooming chrysanthemum.
Many people know that Emperor Xiaokang of the Han Dynasty, also known as Liu Hong, the Ling Emperor of the Han Dynasty in history, was famous for his greed.
When searching for the most money-greedy emperor on a certain search engine software, Liu Hong ranked first.
But little did they know that Liu Hong's character was due to the words and deeds of his mother, Empress Dowager Dong, which led to his greed for money and enjoyment.
Including He Jin's original plan to depose Empress Dowager Dong, the biggest crime was that Empress Dowager Dong forced various prefectures and counties to make local officials donate treasures.
"Empress Xiaoren sent her old servant Xia Yun, Yongle's Tai servant Feng Xu and others to the prefectures and counties of Jiaotong, and Gu Jie's treasures and goods were sent to the Western Province."
This is greed written in history books.
So when I heard the praise officer singing the congratulatory gifts from the officials, the joy in my heart had already jumped out of my face.
Is there any better sound in the world than boxes of money entering your pocket?
Yuan Wei turned to Dong Zhuo and said: "Prince Taiwei Fuqi, the gift is indeed precious. I am afraid that these precious Western Region gems and spices alone are worth millions of dollars."
Dong Zhuo smiled slightly and said: "After all, it is not as good as the Taifu IV and the Three Dukes, and the accumulation of information. The gifts I have are some local specialties that Liangzhou got from the Western Regions. Compared with the Taifu, who is rich and has the financial resources of the country, it is still inferior.
Far away."
"hehe."
Yuan Wei smiled calmly and stopped talking to Dong Zhuo.
Four Generations and Three Dukes does not mean that there are three Three Dukes in the fourth generation, but refers to a family in which each generation of the four generations has a person who holds the position of Three Dukes.
In terms of background, the Yuan family from Runan is better than the Yang family from Hongnong.
Because the Yang family of Hongnong was promoted to the fourth generation and the third generation only this year. Before, it was only the third generation and the third generation. Starting from Yang Zhen, it was followed by Yang Bing, Yang Ci, and two months ago, when Yang Biao became Sikong, it was considered the fourth generation.
Some people may say that the Hongnong Yang family is a descendant of Chiquanhou Yang Xi, and there was also a prime minister Yang Chang in the Western Han Dynasty. If Yang Xi and Yang Chang are included, the Hongnong Yang family's background is compared to that of the middle Eastern Han Dynasty.
The prosperous Yuan family is much stronger.
But in fact, the background of "Four Generations and Three Dukes" refers to a continuous situation without skipping generations.
You can't just say that your surname is Li and your ancestor is Li Shimin, and you can tell others that you are from the emperor's family, right?
Moreover, the fourth generation of the Yuan family not only had four Sangongs, but also five.
Yuan An, Yuan Chang, Yuan Tang, Yuan Feng, Yuan Wei.
There is one more person than the Yang family.
Therefore, at that time, the Yuan family's power and reputation actually surpassed that of the Yang family.
This is also why Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu raised their arms and called out after fleeing Luoyang, and the crowd responded.
Therefore, the congratulatory gifts given to the Empress Dowager by the Yuan family cannot be simple money and common things, but are rare treasures that cannot be bought with a lot of money.
Don’t look at jade, coral tree, tortoiseshell bracelets, and jade rings everywhere in modern times.
But in the Han Dynasty, it was unusually valuable.
Ban Gu once wrote in "Ode to the Western Capital": "The emeralds are full of fire, the flowing light contains the brilliance, the thorns are hanging, and the night light is there. So the Xuanzang buckles are built, the jade steps are Tongting, the rims are colorful, and the linmin is bright.
Green flowers, corals and green trees were born in Zhou A."
These things are depicted as top treasures in the royal court, which shows how precious these things are.
Dong Zhuo knew that Yuan Wei's smile just now seemed to be a humble smile, but in fact, he was showing off the Yuan family's heritage.
In Yuan Wei's eyes, he is just a nouveau riche after all.
Ruby, sapphire, the top spices in the Western Regions cost hundreds of thousands of dollars each, and only wealthy families can afford them.
But in the eyes of the Yuan family, they are still just vulgar things that can be bought with money.
And which of the things the Yuan family gave me was not a treasure worth a thousand pieces of money? Which one was not a one-in-a-million item that could not be measured by money?
This behavior was, on the one hand, a mockery of Dong Zhuo's overestimation of his own abilities, and on the other hand, it was also a show of contempt for this disobedient protégé and former official.
Without the support of their Yuan family, you, Dong Zhuo, are just a dog.
Once it has no use value, it will be a matter of time before it is driven out of the court like a lost dog. However, the Yuan family can be relied upon by the royal family for thousands of generations.
Seeing Yuan Wei's plain smile, which seemed to be silently mocking him, Dong Zhuo secretly clenched his fists.
He knew that through the recent changes in the court, Yuan Wei, an old fox, had already guessed the change in the Empress Dowager's attitude towards him.
The current situation is both a show off and a demonstration.
Listening to the laughter of the old thief complimenting the Empress Dowager, Dong Zhuo maintained a modest fake smile while his heart was filled with anger.
One day, I will kill every one of the Yuan family and hang your old thief's head on the city gate!
"Queen Mother, He requested to enter the palace."
A little Huangmen reported to Wang Jun. Wang Jun came to the Queen Mother Dong and whispered: "I want to kowtow to the Queen Mother, toast and apologize, and pray for the Queen Mother's forgiveness."
This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading! "Oh?"
Empress Dowager Dong sneered: "He has always had a strong temperament, but there is still a day when he will surrender to me?"
Wang Jun smiled and said, "Maybe she figured it out and realized her mistake."
"snort."
Empress Dowager Dong sneered: "He was almost murdered by her at first, and I felt unhappy when I saw her face. If it weren't for the sake of her child and my grandson, I would have given her as a gift."
Even if you die, you still have the face to apologize on my birthday?"
"Then I asked someone to reject He's request."
Wang Jun originally wanted to persuade him, but he felt that the purpose of doing so seemed too obvious, so he answered normally.
Dong Zhuo below heard this situation and couldn't help showing a disappointed expression.
really.
Plans cannot keep up with changes.
Li Ru and Yan Zhong formulated several strategies.
It would be best if He could be used to poison Empress Dowager Dong at the banquet.
Because Empress Dowager Dong didn't drink much, others didn't have the guts to offer her a drink.
So even if Guo Sheng was responsible for the drinks at the banquet, there was no chance of poisoning.
Only when He was toasting and Guo Sheng went to pour the wine, could he put the poison into Empress Dowager Dong's cup.
It's a pity that Empress Dowager Dong hated He so much that she didn't give He a chance at all.
Now it seems that the first plan has failed.
Fortunately, there is a second plan.
If you can solve the problem without using force, then that's the best. If it doesn't work, you can only make a last resort plan.
That is to sacrifice the He family and then appear as a loyal minister of the deposed emperor.
This strategy is a last resort, because firstly, the world is unconvinced, and secondly, the chance of success of launching another palace coup is low, so it is a last resort.
I hope the second strategy will succeed.
Dong Zhuo thought of the top spices from the Western Regions that he had worked so hard to obtain, and his eyes showed determination.
However, at this moment, someone expressed an opinion.
Sikong Yang Biao in the audience was also sitting not far from the Queen Mother's seat.
Yang Biao, Huang Wan and others were among the few upright factions in the court.
They originally opposed the abolition and sympathized with the He family and Liu Bian's mother and son. When he heard Empress Dowager Dong's cruelty, Yang Biao couldn't help but said: "Empress Dowager, I have something to say."
"What's the matter?"
Empress Dowager Dong glanced at him in surprise.
Yang Biao said seriously: "I feel that Queen Mother He's prayer to enter the palace today should not be as simple as congratulating the Queen Mother on her birthday. Thinking about it, she is also planning to take advantage of the Queen Mother's happiness today to pray for the Queen Mother's forgiveness so that she can be with Hongnong.
The kings gather together. The mother and son are separated. If there is a tragedy in the world, and the Holy Dynasty governs the world with filial piety, it would be inappropriate for the Queen Mother He and King Hongnong to live apart for a long time, and it may arouse the criticism of the world."
Hearing Yang Biao's words, Liu Bian's nose became sore and tears fell from his eyes. He knelt in front of Empress Dowager Dong and said, "Grandma, please let me see my mother."
The He family was driven to Yong'an Palace, but Liu Bian did not move there with him.
No matter how stupid Empress Dowager Dong was, she knew she couldn't let Liu Bian live outside the palace.
What's more, Liu Xie is her grandson, and Liu Bian is also her grandson.
In the power struggle between the elders, the child is innocent, and she does not hate Ujiwu to the point of hating her own grandson.
Seeing Liu Bian crying, Empress Dowager Dong finally relented and waved her hand: "That's all, although your mother has done many evil things, you are innocent, so let He enter the palace. But there is no need to toast, I saw her Just bother, let her stay in Zhangde Palace tonight, meet Bian'er, and then send her out of the palace tomorrow."
"Thank you grandma."
Liu Bian cried with joy, wiped his tears and got up from the ground.
Everyone was in different moods at the moment.
Yuan Wei didn't care, this was the family background of the royal family and had nothing to do with him.
The first thing the Yuan family needs to do now is to use their current power to consolidate their reputation and spread their Yuan family's influence to both the government and the public.
Yang Biao felt much better. At first, he was against the Queen Mother's abolition of the Emperor and the Queen. Unfortunately, the situation was unstoppable and he didn't even say a word. This made him, Huang Wan and a few other upright people feel guilty. Now He's mother and son can finally Doing something can be a comfort.
Dong Zhuo, on the other hand, was unspeakably unbelievable. He didn't expect that the second plan would be successful so easily. Although it was just the first step, it could be regarded as something lost and something gained. At least it was better than expected. many.
Next, it depends on whether He can seize this opportunity.
Dong Zhuo raised the wine glass in his hand and drank it all in one gulp.
When he put down the wine glass, Senran's eyes had already become kind, and he looked at the ministers with a smile.
future.
I have to stand on the stage, look down at them, and let them know who is the king!