A country has nine states, one state has eighty-nine counties, and one county has eighty-nine counties. The states, counties, and counties are each subordinate to one level. If a county magistrate dies, if the state pastor is willing, he does not even need to submit a memorial to Chang'an, the capital.
However, the two secret memoranda were still delivered by fast horses and placed on the desk of Emperor Liu Yan. One came from Changshui Guards scattered in Huaxing County, and the other came from Huaxing County Sheriff Yingzhi.
Han calendar year 341 AD, October 15th, Chang'an City, Weiyang Palace, Xuanshi Palace, Ganquanju.
Liu Yan, who had finished handling the important affairs of the government, had undressed in plain robes, and was drinking tea with Prime Minister Lu Zheng, who was also in casual clothes.
For some reason, Liu Yan, who is 47 years old this year, suddenly had more gray hair in a year, and he became a little anxious. Maybe he felt that he was getting older and he became more diligent. .
On weekdays, although Liu Yan was pitiful that he was born in vain, he wanted to use this short life to fulfill his wish, win fame during and after his death, and leave a large and peaceful territory for his heirs.
If possible, he would also like to fulfill a childhood dream of his: to lead a million-strong army to hunt the northern frontier with Fu Yi, the monarch of the Qin Dynasty, in his lifetime.
Last night, two secret memorials arrived at the same time, almost at the same time, both telling the story of the fall of the Liu family in Lingyuan. After reading it, Liu Yan was so happy that he couldn't sleep all night long.
Counting this year, Liu Yan has been in power for sixteen years. Due to the constraints of local noble families, most of the central government orders were not issued smoothly. Local powerful people "occupied" the mountain as king. They were inextricably linked to each other, and deception of the emperor was not uncommon.
Twelve years ago, the aristocratic clan wreaked havoc in the capital, forcibly killing their favorite concubine and their youngest son, and forcing Liu Yan to appoint a crown prince. From then on, Liu Yan made up his mind to eradicate the aristocratic clan. In recent years, Liu Yan has been committed to dividing, disintegrating, and To suppress the aristocratic clans, now most of the officials in Chang'an, capital of the capital, are acting for themselves.
But it has never happened in more than ten years to completely wipe out a local big family with a century-old heritage. The destruction of the Liu family in Lingyuan is an unprecedented first time in the process of reducing family members in the entire empire. This is a pioneering milestone. This is called How could he not be ecstatic!
After retiring from the court today, the excited Emperor Liu Yan immediately invited his teacher, Prime Minister Lu Zheng, to the Xuanshi Hall to drink tea and reminisce about the past, which was actually to share this hard-won joy.
"I just realized that the painting pen in my hand can take away the power of creation. Haha, teacher, Liu Quansheng, the 'head of the three heroes of Quzhou', is really incredible. In just five or six years, he actually wiped out a century-old clan without a trace. It’s incredible, it’s incredible!” At this moment, Liu Yan was like a child who got his favorite toy.
Lu Zheng had flowing white hair and was quite a fairy. After listening to what Liu Yan said, the old man pursed his lips and smiled and said, "There are countless talented people in the world, but pure ministers like Liu Quansheng and Xie An are phoenix-haired water chestnuts." Twelve years ago, the family rebelled in the capital. Liu Quansheng, as an important member of the second prince's party, was already an outcast of the Tian family. However, he did not choose to fight to the death that night. Instead, he chose to protect himself wisely and sneaked back to Lingyuan City. Lingyuan City, he must have been extremely disappointed with His Majesty's cowardice at that time!"
There are probably not five people in the world who can say such unobtrusive words to today's emperor.
After Lu Zheng finished speaking, he squinted at Liu Yan and saw that he showed no sullen expression, so he continued, "I thought, Liu Quansheng originally planned to live his whole life in Lingyuan City. But when Your Majesty found him, He still chose to help His Majesty and fulfill His Majesty. This kind of heart and magnanimity are beyond the reach of ordinary people!"
When Liu Yan heard this, he laughed loudly and said loudly, "Teacher, Liu Quansheng is not a person who retreats when he is frustrated. Back then, I sent someone to find him to pacify the Liu family of my family. Why wasn't he waiting for me? Presumably, Liu Quansheng was here. When we returned to Lingyuan, we had already started to eradicate the Liu family. Otherwise, how could a century-old family be completely overthrown in just six years?"
Prime Minister Lu Zheng laughed loudly, "Liu Quansheng is your confidant. If you know that he understands him, it must be your Majesty!"
Liu Yan drank all the tea in the cup, gently tapped Dongfang Chunsheng's wrist, lowered his eyebrows and asked, "Teacher, don't go back tonight! Master and disciple, you and I, have a drink again, okay?" "
Lu Zheng had watched Liu Yan grow up since he was a child. The two of them were also masters and apprentices, and father and son. When it came to drinking, Lu Zheng was quite calm. When Liu Yan was sitting across from him and beaming with joy, Lu Zheng was just shouting. Chang Shengmei looked at the emperor who grew up next to him with a look of doting. Of course, it was just doting. Lu Zheng clearly understood: the one he walked with Liu Yan was the single-plank bridge and Hangu Pass. In the face of numerous dangers, favor, emotion, and morality must all be left behind. They must remain rational at all times, use a clear mind to analyze the situation and formulate strategies, so as to eradicate all the noble families in the world like spring breeze.
Faced with Liu Yan's kind invitation, Lu Zheng neither agreed nor refused. Instead, he stretched out his other hand covered with age spots, gently patted Liu Yan's hand on his wrist, and smiled gently. , "Your Majesty, I have three questions. If your Majesty can answer them, I will get drunk with you tonight! How about it?"
After nearly 40 years of teacher-student friendship, the two of them have already had a good rapport. Seeing this, Liu Yan knew that Lu Zheng was going to offend Yan Zhijian again. He pouted like a child and sat back down opposite Lu Zheng, "Teacher, what do you have to ask?" "
Lu Zheng chuckled and took a sip of tea. Seeing that it was too hot to drink, he put down the tea cup and asked gently, "First question, why was Your Majesty determined to contain the family back then?"
After hearing this question, Liu Yan laughed loudly and said, "Oh, my teacher, if you want to have a good time with your disciple, just say so. You don't have to ask such a simple question, right? Hahaha!"
Afterwards, Liu Yan said as if he was reciting a formula, "The natural reason to curb the family is that it has too much power. At the central level, laws cannot be promulgated and orders cannot be passed down; at the local level, the family colludes with each other and causes harm. If the family is allowed to do so, If we grow bigger, in a few years, our Han Empire will probably be the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Period again."
Lu Zheng laughed, "Wrong, totally wrong."
Liu Yan was stunned for a moment, with a puzzled look on his face, "Please ask the teacher to answer your questions."
Lu Zheng said, "Weakening the family is an act to consolidate the foundation and rejuvenate the country, and to take precautions before getting sick. Forty-six years ago, the Great Qin invaded the country, and the late emperor personally conquered the country and expanded millions of miles of land to the north. These millions of miles of land were used by the nomadic people in the north. The ancestral land where the nation thrives, and this includes the place where the Qin State worships its ancestors, Langjuxu Mountain. We occupied their ancestral land and drove them to live in the wilderness of the far north. The people of Qin hated us Han I hate it so much that I can't help but feel itchy. In the past few years, the great Qin Dynasty in the north has been united, its national power is booming, and its soldiers and horses are strong. Presumably, the second Qin-Han War is about to come. By then, if we can't pacify the clans and destroy the empire, If you twist it into a fist, I'm afraid you won't be able to deal with the mountain to the north that will come over you at any time!"
Liu Yan pondered for a moment, then nodded slightly, "What the teacher said makes sense. In recent years, the northern Qin State has harassed Muzhou, Bozhou, and Fengzhou in the north of our empire more and more, and the temptations have gone deeper and deeper. They This is testing the strength of our country and military. Once the Qin State has a small chance of victory, they will definitely raise their troops and go south. Therefore, when it comes to exterminating the clan, we must do it quickly and steadily."
Lu Zheng took a sip of tea and nodded, saying 'good'.
Then, Liu Yan laughed, raised his thick eyebrows, and said, "But, teacher, I have to answer half of this question correctly. If I answer all the next two questions correctly, you have to get drunk with me!" "
It seemed that Liu Yan was not in a generally comfortable mood today.
"Haha, it all depends on your Majesty." Lu Zheng laughed dryly, took a sip of tea, still looked at Liu Yan with a fatherly look, and smiled, "Second question, why did you choose this last resort in the first place?"
Liu Yan finally stopped smiling and sighed softly, "My father often said: if you win the crowd, you will gain the country; if you lose the crowd, you will lose the country. If the slaughter of the people of our empire is widespread and the corpses of the people of our empire are scattered everywhere, It really goes against the original intention of me and the teacher. Even if we pacify the world, we will lose the support of the people, and the gains will outweigh the losses."
"Your Majesty, this question is already a commonplace, but what I want today is not this answer!" Lu Zheng nodded gently to Liu Yan, "Perhaps there is another answer in your Majesty's heart, please don't If you have a grudge, it's okay to speak up. The old minister's ears always go out and in, and no third person will know."
"The answer in my heart?" Liu Yan lowered his head and picked up the tea cup, shaking it gently. The tea in the cup made a beautiful whirlpool, spinning around for about ten times. Liu Yan looked up at Lu Zheng.
Lu Zheng nodded slightly to Liu Yan.
Liu Yan grinned awkwardly and said with a smile, "Hey, the one who knows me is the teacher. Since the teacher has penetrated my mind, I won't hide it from the teacher! The reason why I chose the 'gradual cannibalization' strategy is also due to me Because of my selfishness, I don’t want to bear the reputation of being ungrateful, but I want to do this to eradicate this family. Haha! So..."
"You, you are so unscrupulous." Lu Zheng finally drank the cup of tea and said with a smile, "It is a good thing to choose the wrong policy. Simmering the soup slowly will benefit the country and the people. It is also a good thing to cherish the honor and honor. Only by proceeding with caution can you achieve steady progress.”
Liu Yan couldn't help but laugh, and then changed the subject elsewhere, "Teacher, what is the third question?"
Lu Zheng kept fiddling with the case with his fingertips. After a long time, he asked tentatively, "The third question, Your Majesty, what should the two brothers Liu Quansheng and Liu Ruisheng do after this incident?"
Liu Yan's expression finally became serious. He was elegant and elegant. After thinking again and again, he said seriously, "I plan to use Liu Ruisheng as bait to catch the big fish Jiang Feng. As for where Liu Quansheng will go, I originally wanted him to return to Gyeonggi, continue to assist me, but the teacher asked today, and I would like to hear the teacher’s opinion.”
"It would be a good idea to use Liu Ruisheng to test this thousand-year-old turtle of the Jiang family by pulling one trigger and moving the whole body." Lu Zheng drank and poured himself a glass of wine and said slowly, "And this Liu Quansheng, in my opinion, how to treat this son , there are two methods.”
Liu Yan stared at Lu Zheng and said, "Teacher, please give me some advice."
Lu Zheng said slowly, "If you put aside the past, Liu Quansheng has made great achievements, your majesty should indeed recall him and give him a new position. First, find a minister in the minister's office, and become a minister in a few years. If he can withstand the storm, It's not a bad idea to be ranked among the 'Five Dukes' in the future. But if His Majesty has other plans, this son should be dealt with separately."
Lu Zheng didn't say anything clearly, but Liu Yan already knew it.
What are your other plans? It was nothing more than the shocking secret that Liu Quansheng took with him when he fled from Gyeonggi Province.
