The return of Zhao Wang and Liu Fang's family to the capital was just a microcosm of the activities of the Han Dynasty's clan, nobles and ministers outside the capital in the winter of the seventeenth year of Kaibao. There were not many private connections, but there were coincidentally too many feudal officials who were in charge of the local area. , rushing back to Beijing before the spring of the eighteenth year of Kaibao, like a stream of positive streams, jumping for joy, returning to the ancestral home of the capital.
The purpose, of course, is to celebrate Emperor Liu's birthday. This kind of situation is not uncommon even in the Han Dynasty. After all, the empire's territory is too huge, and it is very difficult to gather ministers from all over the world.
The last time such a phenomenon occurred was the celebration of Emperor Liu's thirtieth year since he ascended the throne, and the time before that was the celebration of Mount Tai.
In view of this situation and in response to this trend, a folk nursery rhyme also appeared, saying: The emperor is busy during his birthday, and the princes are suffering from running around. What do the people want? They can only hope for the coming of auspicious snow.
This nursery rhyme appeared very suddenly, but it spread like wildfire. It was widely circulated in the capital and spread from the capital to the surrounding areas.
Since ancient times, the emergence of nursery rhymes and prophecies has often been accompanied by a certain political connotation, or it has revealed the current social situation and the suffering of the people, and often has a certain warning meaning.
In the past long years, there have been many nursery rhymes among the Han people, but most of them were voices praising virtues, promoting virtues, and spreading "positive energy." Like this one, they contained sarcasm, satire, and pointed directly at Emperor Liu This is the first time that I have celebrated my birthday extravagantly.
It is unknown where this nursery rhyme came from or who composed it. However, the Han Dynasty court still had some reactions, even some nervousness. Anyone with a little political sense can detect the "power" of this nursery rhyme, and The risks behind it.
The most violent reaction was from a censor named Wang Yucheng. He directly attached a memorial to this nursery rhyme to admonish Emperor Liu and state the matter directly. He hoped that Emperor Liu could restrain himself during the Jiaqing Festival next year. , don’t make a fuss and make things extravagant and wasteful.
Since he was born in a farming family, Wang Yucheng knew a lot about farming and was more concerned about the sufferings of the people. In the memorial, he also suggested that Emperor Liu should focus more on benevolence to the people and not neglect the national economy and people's livelihood because of the Jiaqing Festival that is celebrated every year.
Although Wang Yucheng had tried his best to pay attention to the choice of words and sentences, the thoughts he expressed were direct. From another perspective, it can be said that he was criticizing Emperor Liu.
Although Wang Yucheng was only twenty-six years old, he was already well-known among the Han scholars. He was especially praised for his literary talent. He was also a genius who could write articles at the age of nine. Moreover, he was awarded the Jinshi at the age of twenty-two. It's a matter of youth and pride.
When he passed the imperial examination, he was also received by Emperor Liu. At the Qionglin banquet, he wrote a poem "My Zhi" to express his feelings and express his political ambitions. At that time, he left a deep impression on Emperor Liu and received his appreciation and encouragement.
In his official career in recent years, Wang Yucheng has also unswervingly fulfilled his ambition and stayed true to his original intention. He is truly a man who speaks out loud and dares to give advice. Those who are not pleasing to the eye can often be turned into a memorial of outstanding literary talent and sincerity.
Probably because he knew that the court needed such people, such people who could speak out, dare to give advice, and be strong-willed, so he also created an atmosphere where the channels of speech were smooth. Regarding Wang Yuchen, no matter how fierce his words were or how offensive his words were, Emperor Liu's attitude was still kind and tolerant. Whether he listened or not was another matter.
But this time, after receiving Wang Yuchen's remonstrance, Emperor Liu could no longer laugh it off as before. In front of Zhao Pu and other ministers, he directly rebuked Wang Yuchen, saying that Wang Yuchen was bold and regarded his tolerance as indulgence, and he became more and more ignorant. Be restrained and speak recklessly.
A little censor, who thought he was loyal and concerned about the country and the people, actually dared to accuse the king's father and speak rudely. That kind of angry attitude is still rare in Emperor Liu.
However, the anger returned to anger, and it was just a verbal outburst. Of course, if Emperor Liu hadn't understood that Wang Yucheng was a straight-tempered person, he might have put him in jail. Of course, it was to maintain his previous personality.
Even so, Emperor Liu ordered Wang Yucheng to go home, reflect behind closed doors, and write his poems...
However, Wang Yucheng's advice obviously still stimulated Emperor Liu, at least it made him no longer feel at ease and satisfied, and he felt as uncomfortable as eating a fly.
In Emperor Liu's view, the princes, dignitaries, bureaucrats, and generals who came to the court to congratulate him on his birthday not only showed the loyalty and filial piety of the courtiers towards him, but also served as an opportunity for him to comfort and receive advice.
The empire is so big that a normal journey from west to east would take several months to complete. The ministers are stationed in various places to guard the country. It is difficult to see them on weekdays. Even his son cannot be seen for several years. Once, let alone others.
Taking this opportunity is not only to wish him a birthday, but also an opportunity for important military and political officials at home and abroad to gather together to discuss national affairs. The imperial court needs to listen to the opinions from below, comprehensively analyze the situation, and adjust or change policies in a timely manner. The ministers below also need to clearly implement the imperial court's policies and guidelines to avoid any discrepancies in the process of uploading and distributing them.
Obviously, this is an extremely rare communication process, which is also beneficial to the governance of this huge empire. Due to limited traffic and information conditions, it is naturally impossible to do it frequently, but it is still worth doing to organize a state exchange meeting on his 50th birthday. It is meaningful and feasible.
However, that being said, Emperor Liu also used this reason to comfort himself, but Wang Yucheng's admonishment still buried a thorn in his heart, making him extremely unhappy.
The suspicious Emperor Liu could not help but wonder whether the officials and the people really had other opinions about him? Is what he is doing now still like the Holy Lord and the Mingjun?
I won't really become Li Longji, right? Emperor Liu had never thought of such an idea before, because he had always looked down upon Emperor Tang Ming, who brought a good empire to the edge of collapse, and went directly from its prosperity to its decline.
However, they say that they should learn from history, but in reality, they often do not know it. Although reflection is a good habit of Emperor Liu, it is easy to be immersed in the glory without realizing it...
There was never a shortage of people in the imperial court who could take advantage of the situation. The emperor felt unhappy, so naturally there were people below who took advantage of the situation. Within the imperial court, especially the Metropolitan Procuratorate, several censors, under the instructions of Lu Duoxun, impeached Wang Yucheng, saying that he was arrogant and conceited, had made mistakes with his nonsense, and offended the emperor's father, and demanded severe punishment.
However, it's time for flattery to hit the horse's hooves. Emperor Liu was particularly angry with these people. He needed to retaliate against a little Wang Yucheng? To clear his name for loyalty and integrity?
Therefore, those censors who talked about nothing on the surface were criticized, blamed, and demoted. In the words of Emperor Liu, although Wang Yucheng was upright and upright, he was very loyal. You censors and officials, if you do not remonstrate when it is time to do so, and do not correct what should be done, you will only add insult to injury and behave like a villain.
As a result, several censors were demoted from the court, and Lu Duoxun lost several close men. He also suffered a disaster, and was criticized by Emperor Liu for being lax and neglecting his duties.
At the same time, the Kaifeng Mansion and the Imperial City Department also went out in large numbers to rampage across the capital and began to "eliminate" those rumors and fallacies. Such momentum naturally caused a great uproar, and the capital fell silent for a while. Seeing this situation, almost all the scholars and people strictly restrained their children and stopped spreading nonsense. The "prisoner's camp" also became a threat to adults. One of the means for children.
The Imperial City Department also felt the pressure from Emperor Liu. One of their most important responsibilities was to monitor the public opinion in Tokyo. The nursery rhymes were spread all over the sky, but nothing was done.
Although Zhang Dejun was a little depressed, he could only work harder and wanted to make some achievements to appease the anger of the officials. Begin to investigate who is behind the scenes spreading rumors and demagogueing people.
As a result, despite the capabilities of the Imperial City Division, no "rebels" were found. Many storytellers from various restaurants and teahouses in Tokyo were brought back to the Imperial City Division for questioning, but no results were obtained.
At the end of the investigation, I found a stone by the Wuzhang River with the nursery rhyme engraved on it. Such a result is serious. Doesn't this mean that this storm is not man-made, but a "warning" from God?
Realizing the seriousness of the matter, Zhang Dejun strictly ordered the news to be blocked, and then hurried to see Emperor Liu to state the matter. After learning about the actions of the Imperial City Division in Kaifeng, Emperor Liu became even more angry and severely criticized Zhang Dejun. Wasn't this trying to bring trouble to him...
At the same time, Emperor Liu, who didn't care so much at first, became suspicious instead. The nursery rhymes were not scary, and the people were easy to fool, as long as the heat passed.
However, he did not believe that any stone tablet could naturally have such a nursery rhyme engraved on it. There must be evil spirits behind this pretense of deity.
Therefore, the instruction given to Zhang Dejun only had one word: check! Check it out!
The turmoil that occurred in the winter of the seventeenth year of Kaibao can only be regarded as an episode, a little haze. Although Emperor Liu was a little depressed and a little angry, he still had to celebrate the Jiaqing Festival next year, his fiftieth year. Birthdays should still be held with splendor and prosperity.
