Cao Dejiang nodded: "He was not friendly with the aristocratic family when he was alive, and he has always disliked that the aristocratic family is too powerful and overwhelms the imperial power."
He paused and looked at Fu Laiqing. Although his features were childish, he was no longer an ignorant young man. Moreover, since he had become an official, he would know some things sooner or later.
Cao Dejiang hesitated for a moment before continuing: "And there are some irreconcilable conflicts between Rong Qian'an and the family."
Fu Laiqing was confused: "Contradiction?"
Cao Dejiang raised his eyes and looked at him: "How much do you know about the cruel prince back then?"
"Not much. Grandma wouldn't let me ask, and few outsiders who knew about it mentioned it."
"Then do you know how Prince Ru was convicted?"
"I heard it was a conspiracy?" Fu Laiqing said hesitantly.
Upon hearing this, Cao Dejiang glanced at him: "Have you ever seen any prince who is firmly seated in the East Palace and has all the hearts of the people, but who needs to rely on rebellion to get to the top?"
Fu Laiqing was stunned for a moment, and when he realized what he meant, he couldn't help but widen his eyes: "My uncle meant that Prince Ru was..."
"I did not say anything."
Before Fu Laiqing could say the word "unjustly accused", Cao Dejiang suddenly interrupted him. Seeing that Fu Laiqing's face was full of astonishment and he could not hide his surprise, he spoke slowly in a low voice.
"Prince Ru was extremely powerful when he was in power, and he had already seen the shortcomings of the court. He proposed that aristocratic families monopolizing the power of the court would destroy the foundation of the court, and the court's reliance on the recommendation system to select officials would only make the family more prosperous and overwhelm the imperial power. And it’s difficult to let really capable people come forward.”
"Prince Ru wanted to reform the system and introduce the recommendation system from the imperial court to the imperial examination, so that all the poor people and ambitious people in the world could have a path to promotion. However, this harmed the interests of most people in the family and the imperial court, and everyone was People resisted, and at that time Taifu Rong was the only one in the DPRK who approved of him."
This was the first time Fu Laiqing heard about this. He knew only a little about what happened back then, and neither Madam Fu nor Cao Dejiang had always kept secrets about Prince Ru, and no one wanted to mention it more.
Now seeing Cao Dejiang take the initiative to bring it up, he quickly sat up straight.
"What happened next?"
"Of course it didn't work out later."
Cao Dejiang's eyes darkened, and his voice also became low:
"The aristocratic family is intertwined, and the courtiers from the family are all over the court, and their influence is all over the body. This move by Prince Brutal is undoubtedly an attempt to cut off their roots and damage the interests of all the aristocratic families."
"At that time, when the restructuring was just proposed, Prince Ru was attacked by all the major families, and the courtiers whose interests had been harmed all resisted. Not only did they join forces to deal with Prince Ru and his family, but they also made trouble in various matters."
"The prince's courtiers have suffered heavy losses in a short period of time, and the late emperor's attitude on this matter was unclear and he has been unwilling to express his position. Some people who originally followed Prince Ru were unable to withstand the pressure and retreated one after another. The power of the Eastern Palace was greatly reduced, and Prince Ru was in the court. The Central Government was having a difficult time, and at that time, no one was optimistic about the prince, except Rong Qianan, who had never been involved in court disputes, and had always stood behind him to support the restructuring and run around on his behalf."
Cao Dejiang's eyes were full of complexity when he thought of those events back then.
In fact, many people supported that change. Many civil servants, including him, secretly contributed. They were not willing to let aristocratic families monopolize the court, and they also hoped that there would be more capable fresh blood in the court. They secretly helped Prince Ru carried out reforms, coupled with Rong Qian's position in the literary world, and the foundation accumulated by the elders of the three dynasties.
For a period of time, the situation in the East Palace, which was originally struggling, has actually improved, and Prince Li also began to implement restructuring despite pressure from all parties.
However, God's will played a trick on people, and the East Palace, which should not have made the most mistakes, actually revealed a huge problem. The first examination selection caused a big mess. Not only did favoritism and malpractice occur in the supposedly strict examination room, People also died.
All the early efforts were in vain, and the prince's situation became even worse...
Cao Dejiang sighed softly and said: "After the incident at the imperial examination, the restructuring was forced to be suspended. It is even more impossible for the aristocratic family to miss such a good opportunity and impeach the prince for favoritism through the restructuring."
"The power that the family had built up for many years almost exploded in one fell swoop. Not only was the court in chaos, but also chaos broke out in various places. There were signs of shaking the foundation of the Wei Dynasty. Seeing that the situation could not be suppressed, the late emperor had no choice but to issue an edict to rebuke the prince for his radical behavior. , grounded him, and reduced the power of the Eastern Palace to calm the family. But who would have thought that the violent prince would suddenly contract hysteria and madness during his confinement..."
The once most wise future emperor became a madman, acting violently and suddenly becoming insane. Later, the violent prince conspired to rebel and burn down the forbidden palace.
Hundreds of people in the East Palace were killed in a sea of fire overnight, and all those related to Prince Ru were eliminated.
Rivers of blood flowed in the capital. Countless people had their homes confiscated and their families exterminated. Innocent and guilty, everyone involved had their homes confiscated and exterminated regardless of the reason. For more than a full month, the heads of the execution ground in the capital were not severed, and the suburbs were in chaos. The corpses in the burial mound were piled up on the slopes, and the entire capital was filled with suffocating blood.
During that time, everyone in the capital was in danger, and no one in the court dared to touch Prince Ru. Although Rong Qianan was not convicted, he was involved in trouble because he had been too close to Prince Ru.
Perhaps he was aware of the crisis, or he knew that he would lose his life sooner or later if he continued to stay in the court. After the incident with Prince Ru, Rong Qianan took the initiative to tell his old age and stopped interfering in the affairs of the court.
The family may not have thought of taking action against him, but he was a veteran of the three dynasties of Rongqian'an and taught countless disciples.
When he took the initiative to retreat, they did not dare to touch him, and they could not touch him.
It's just that Rong Qian'an was old after all, and he still suffered from old illnesses because of the turmoil. Later, he was even more affected by the death of Mrs. Rong and the second son of the Song family. He lingered on the bed and died of illness not long after.
When Fu Laiqing heard this, his heart skipped a beat. Not only was he shocked by the bloody past, but he also had some vague thoughts in his mind: "Uncle, did Grand Master Rong really die of illness back then?"
Cao Dejiang glanced at him: "That's what the people from the Imperial Medical Office said."
As for the truth, who knows.
He had wanted to go and investigate, and he had doubts about what happened to the cruel prince back then, but all the clues about that matter had been completely cut off, and he almost hurt himself after just a little touch, and at that time, it was time. The key to purging the court after the new emperor ascends the throne.
Emperor An relied on his family to ascend to the throne, and it was also because Prince Ru was convicted that he had a chance to aspire to the throne. During that time, both the emperor and the people in the family were extremely taboo about Prince Ru's affairs, and the family's power was at its peak.
It was not easy for him to protect himself under the pressure of the aristocratic family. Even if he really had doubts, no matter how many doubts he had, he would not dare to risk the lives of everyone in the Cao family.
Cao Dejiang looked at Fu Laiqing who was thoughtful: "I'm telling you this to let you know the family's methods."
"Imperial power has never been something they feared, but Xiao Yanneng, as a servant, got to this point under their noses, forcing Lu Chongyuan to take risks and let people do it in the suburbs of Beijing, but the careful arrangement still made Xiao Yan If you are tired of running away, he is not a simple person."
His expression was very solemn and his words were warning.
"Xiao Yan's methods and tactics are definitely not ordinary. From what I've seen, his words and deeds don't look like someone from a lowly family. It's normal for you to be curious about him after entering the court, but don't try to find out his details easily, and don't Go and provoke him, so as not to cause trouble to you and the Fu family."
"There are also these past events from the past. You have heard about them and know them well. No matter what you are thinking now, don't reveal anything when you are outside, and don't inquire about what happened back then. Otherwise, the Fu family will be the next Duke of Song Dynasty. Understand ?"
