It is extremely cold at high places. At this moment, I am standing at the top of Lingyuan City. The cold wind blows by. My mind becomes clearer and my thoughts become longer.
...
In my understanding, in fact, His Majesty's seeds for eradicating the clan were planted fourteen years ago, but it was only twelve years ago that he formally made the decision to eradicate the clan and took action.
I still remember that in AD 327, that is, fourteen years ago, Yan Chengxun, the eldest son of the Yan family in Yunzhong County, Muzhou, came to Chang'an, Gyeonggi Province. This boy had five horses and a spear. He was not afraid of anything. He teased a good woman on the street in Chang'an because he thought he was embarrassed. In anger, he took seven of his family members to a private house, burned them at the stake, and roasted them alive on charcoal, causing a massacre that shocked Chang'an.
His Majesty Long Yan was furious and ordered Yan Chengxun to be cut into pieces with five horses within three days to punish him. I forwarded the edict approved by His Majesty to the Yushi Mansion. Unexpectedly, the words "cut into pieces with five horses" in the edict on the second day were changed to 'Departed for thirty miles', I am shocked, sad and angry!
As far as I know, so far, His Majesty has not found out who the bastard was who revised the edict on that day!
I still remember that the Xuanshi Hall of Weiyang Palace was completely silent that day. I stood in the center of the Xuanshi Hall and spoke eloquently, filled with righteous indignation. His Majesty sat slumped in front of the steps. After listening to my long speech, he smiled helplessly at me and said softly, " My dear, a few years ago, I didn’t have much thought. I just wanted to sit on this dragon throne and display my grand ambitions. Like the kings of all generations, I could expand the territory of our country and become a wise king who will be remembered for generations. But, alas, You and I didn’t expect that the emperor would do this for me, right?”
As soon as I said these words, I felt extremely sad in my heart. I hated that I wanted to help the world, but I didn't have the talent to lead the people. The traitor deceived the king and ignored him, but the king had no choice but to sit back and wait for death.
This, this is dereliction of duty as a minister!
I half-knelt down in front of the steps and looked at the regular attendant who was arranged by some wealthy family to eavesdrop. I whispered, "Your Majesty, Tian Dan used the power of two cities to restore the homeland of Qi. The late emperor used a corner of the territory to restore our great Han Dynasty. Rivers and mountains. The country and the people were in poverty a hundred years ago and have survived. Now that the storm has just begun, your majesty must not lose heart!"
His Majesty said distressedly, "What do you think, my dear? The family has the kindness to rebuild the empire. Is it possible to kill him and leave his corpse everywhere, making me a treacherous person?"
His Majesty looked at me, shook his head helplessly, and walked away.
"The world has no kindness to the country! Your Majesty." I hurriedly grabbed His Majesty and said anxiously, "Why don't you let me think about it? Let me think about it!"
"Third watch tomorrow night, make an appointment here."
His Majesty said a few words calmly, turned around and walked away with his sleeves drawn.
I was both surprised and happy. It was at this moment that a true man served his country and eradicated cancer. That night, I was tossing and turning, so I stayed up all night, sorting out what I had thought and thought over the past year, writing furiously, and gathering it into a volume.
To this day, I still regret my decision in this volume. When I was young and frivolous, I always thought that I could conquer the crowd and be powerful, so I was arrogant and didn't know how to accumulate more knowledge. Without systematic planning, he casually decided on family and country policies for His Majesty, which is really against the principles of a minister. Looking back now, if in those years, radicals like us had not been beside His Majesty, advocating "quickly" In terms of a quick victory, His Majesty would not be so radical. Perhaps, there would not be the subsequent situation of two sons with multiple direct descendants and a passive situation.
There was a storm outside the curtain, and the moonlight was thick in the room. On the night of the meeting, I asked my second brother, who is already the captain of Longxiang, to disguise myself as a guard of Longxiang and meet His Majesty in the west room of the Xuanshi Palace. We, the monarch and his ministers, extinguished the candles and talked.
After I sat upright, I went straight to the topic and followed His Majesty's words, saying, "Your Majesty does not need to be arrogant because of the great power of the family. Since ancient times, when dynasties changed and artifacts were moved, powerful ministers and relatives would always interfere in the government affairs. They were as powerful as the Emperors of Qin and Han Dynasty. Didn’t it take some time to get the dragon chair under your butt firmly?"
Your Majesty that night, for some reason, was always a little anxious. I remember that he didn't seem to even respond to me, so he asked me urgently, "My beloved, please don't comfort me. The fruits that the late Emperor and I sow will naturally come to an end with me." , Ai Qing, what good plan do you have?"
"Your Majesty is several years older than me. In my opinion, he is like an elder brother who knows me and understands me. At this moment, your Majesty is humiliated and my brother is suffering. How dare I stand by and watch."
Although these words came from the bottom of my heart, they also risked the disobedience of the world. I suddenly felt that I had made a mistake, so I quietly raised my head and looked at His Majesty. I found that he didn't care, so I dared to lower my head and continue speaking, "In order to calm down the family, I think about it." For a long time, today's families are worse than the kings of thirty years ago. I'm afraid they won't be able to fight head-on. It's better to use the strength of the family to fight against each other's mutual interests, divide them, and take advantage of the family's mutual interests. Opportunities are being used against each other, and every opportunity is exploited, first at the central level, then at the local level, and gradually the officials are replaced by people who are loyal to His Majesty and have no other ambitions. By the time those noble families react, it may be too late!"
After saying that, I looked at His Majesty through the dim light outside the window, and His Majesty also looked at me through the moonlight of the silver shuttle. His Majesty hesitated again and again, and finally gritted his teeth and said fiercely, "Wealth and honor are sought in danger, you and I, monarchs and ministers, that's it." manage!"
At that time, I was immersed in the joy of the success of my proposal. When I heard His Majesty made the decision, I lowered my head and smiled, and said a very reckless sentence, "The winner is the king and the loser is the bandit. I am willing to follow Your Majesty and travel together in the world." .”
At that time, I deeply believed that when the king and his ministers work together, they can cut through metal.
Each aristocratic family seems to have its own circle and "territory". The top aristocratic families are either organized into groups based on states or counties, or organized into gangs based on official positions, such as the Quzhou Clan led by the Jiang family, and the Liuzhou Alliance composed of the four major families of Gu, Lu, Zhang and Zhu. The Aizhou Party, formed by the four great lords of Gongke, Moqing, Gongke, Moqing, etc., may occupy prefectures and counties, dominate one area, or occupy high positions and control public affairs. They don't seem to know each other, but they have developed an incomparable tacit understanding. Each has its own territory. They are unrelated to each other and rarely conflict.
Your Majesty and I searched hard for a year and racked our brains before the ambitious head of the Gu family and the head of the Qing clan had a big quarrel over the food and baggage of the border army. Your Majesty, with the secret support of the Queen Mother Guo Ke, Taking chestnuts from the fire and getting a few central positions with a salary of a thousand stones, the hard work was not in vain.
After a year, I finally understood: I overestimated myself and underestimated the world. It turns out that I am not the only smart person in the world. Many people are not only smarter than you, but also more knowledgeable than you, more powerful than you, and have more than you. With strong insight, reaction and strength, they gathered together like gravel forming a sandbank. In their eyes, I was like an unruly little tree in the sandbank. As long as they wanted to destroy me, It's just a matter of blowing a breath.
Perhaps, I should not puncture this layer of window paper that no one dares to puncture, or I should just burn this layer of paper with fire.
Many wealthy people who sat on the mountain and watched the fight between tigers naturally saw many ways, and they began to be more restrained and tacitly understand each other. Your Majesty and I never found any chance again.
As my grandfather gradually withdrew from the political arena, his disciples and old officials began to look for other supporters. There were fewer and fewer people who could help me speak and do things for me. In addition, the family members began to join the group to keep warm. Your Majesty and I fell into even more passivity. situation.
During those days, it was true that the sky was not responding and the earth was not working.
...
Wherever there are people, there will naturally be disputes. Two years later, with a cry, the second prince was born. From then on, His Majesty had a new choice in the choice of heir to the country.
The biological mother of the second prince, Zhang Diewu, had a gentle temperament and never coveted power. However, the common man was not guilty and was guilty of harboring a treasure. The birth of the second prince made Zhang Diewu's family, the Zhang family of Longnan, Liuzhou, become ambitious. , they began to contact some middle-ranking families who were trying to achieve the "Gong of the Dragon" to become one of the top families. The water became a sea, and they began to madly suppress the prince's party, which was composed of most of the top families. The two parties started to fight. That's a joy to behold.
During those days, I would feel angry every day. These families openly used the removal of artifacts as an opportunity to seize power in the temple, abused their power, and fought openly and secretly. Could it be that their family wanted to be the Sima clan of Cao Wei? Do they want to be Sima Yi?
One day, my father wrote a secret letter to me, allowing me to take advantage of the situation, and asking me to find the right moment and join the side with a greater chance of winning.
I am angry and angry again. The Lingyuan Liu family is the home of two generations of emperors and six generations of loyalists. At this time when the royal power is overthrown, my father does not want to calm down the troubled times, but instead asks me to decide to take sides? Father is confused?
No, he is not confused!
It's just that I forgot that my Lingyuan Liu family is also the second largest family after Conglong's 28th family.
It was a cold night, my body was cold and my heart was chilling. I clutched the piece of paper, and a poisonous plan suddenly came to my mind.
I once again disguised myself and had a private meeting with His Majesty in the west wing, and said bluntly, "Your Majesty, why don't you make a fuss about this matter?"
His Majesty raised his eyebrows, and I lowered my head and listened.
After your Majesty heard my plan, he patted my shoulder gently. So, on behalf of the Lingyuan Liu family, I joined the second prince's party. Since your Majesty is unwilling to bear this ungrateful reputation, I will find another way for you. Bar.
The year I joined the Second Prince's Party, that is, AD 329, was a fruitful year for Your Majesty. Under my instigation, the families of the two camps fought more fiercely. After being bitten, some court ministers and frontier officials from both camps were pulled down. As for the replacement candidates arranged by His Majesty, as long as they are not from the other camp, both sides have no objections. His Majesty will naturally select the top candidates among the twelve ministers. Sinong, Shaofu and Tingwei were replaced by loyal and reliable people.
I am complacent. If this continues, in less than three years, ministers loyal to Your Majesty will be everywhere both inside and outside the court. At that time, His Majesty will have twelve internal guards in his hands, with power between his fingers. The local wealthy families will be nothing more than a group of rich locals who are guarding their deathbeds. They will fall down if they push them, or even if they don't push them.
However, good dreams do not last long, and good things do not last long. At the end of that year, disaster struck Xiao Qiang, and the First Prince's Party created the "Sky Demon Case". Most of the officials in the court who joined the Second Prince's Party were implicated and dismissed from their posts.
Of course, the families of the Second Prince's Party did not sit still and wait for death. They planned to sink everything, and thus, the Gyeonggi Rebellion occurred.
And as the family caused chaos in the capital, my plan failed again, and this time, the price of failure was too heavy!
That night, I did not choose to die to repay the emperor. Instead, I picked up my clothes and returned suddenly, leaving only my shadow on thousands of mountains.
On the way home with Yi'er in my arms, I heard that His Majesty asked Lu Zheng to come out of the mountain. I couldn't help covering my mouth and laughing. This is the great blessing of the country, the great blessing of the country, isn't it?
After seeing each other for several years, Lingyuan City is still the same Lingyuan City, with its mountains and rivers, and I miss it so much when I return to my hometown.
At that time, I was standing at the west gate, with all kinds of mixed flavors. The mountains had no worries, but my hair was white as snow, and the water had no worries, but it was wrinkled by the wind.
Kingship changes hands and dynasties change, but this country has never changed because of people.
People in the world have no intentions, but they take root because of their country!
