Chapter 267 The World Must Be Really Unified
Here, Luoling received instructions from Ji Zhao and began to prepare for affairs in the Western Regions. Liu Bang summoned a group of old brothers in Luoyang. As long as Liu Bang did not mention such sensitive matters as changing the crown prince, these people would be Liu Bang's die-hard supporters.
As night fell, the Luoyang Palace was brightly lit. Countless palace servants were walking around, while a group of meritorious officials were chatting in the hall.
The most eye-catching person is of course Han Xin, not because he holds a high position of power, but on the contrary, he is now unemployed at home.
Liu Bang appointed him as Taiwei, but he refused, saying that he had fought in wars all his life and just wanted to enjoy himself. So he just held the title of a general, which clearly showed that he did not want to get involved in politics.
But no one would ignore him. After Xiang Yu's death, he is now the best in the world in terms of military affairs.
Others are afraid of being unemployed because they may be replaced, but Han Xin is not afraid. When something happens that cannot be handled, he will be quickly reinstated and go to the battlefield.
Fan Kuai came forward and said with a smile: "General, how are you? Marquis Anyang, how are you? My son was one month old a while ago and I sent you two a message. It's a pity that you were not in good health and could not come.
The sage said, "It is not the behavior of a gentleman to accept a valuable gift without expressing gratitude."
Luo Cai chuckled and said, "Marquis Wuyang is too polite. I was not in good health and could not go. These small gifts are my apology. Your wife is of noble status and you are a rare hero. You are truly a match made in heaven. I wish you and your wife will be together forever."
"Ying Hou is here!"
Following the palace maid's hello, Luo Cai hurried out, and saw Luo Yi walking in. She said coquettishly, "Brother actually came back from Guanzhong, and didn't even mention a word in the letter. It really makes me worried."
Luo Yi smiled and said, "Your Majesty's letter came too quickly. I didn't have time to react before I hurried back from Guanzhong and went straight into the palace. It was my brother's fault. I will definitely apologize to Ah Cai later."
Luo Cai approached and whispered, "Brother, what is His Majesty going to do? It doesn't look like a simple banquet for the ministers. There haven't been any festivals or happy events recently."
As soon as Luo Yi came back, he entered the palace. Liu Bang naturally told him a lot of things. Now facing Luo Cai's question, he also whispered: "It is indeed a big deal, but it doesn't affect us. You were right to let Zimu resign the throne. You really deserve to be a talented woman of the Luo family."
Luo Cai was shocked. She certainly understood what Luo Yi meant. Liu Bang was going to take action against the king of a different surname. Luo Cai asked in disbelief, "Although this is bound to happen sooner or later, my elder brother said that there shouldn't be a kingdom with such a large territory in the Central Plains.
But is Your Majesty so impatient?
The world has not forgotten the treachery and murder of Xiang Yu.
He is going to take action against the king of another surname now. Doesn't he care about his reputation after his death?"
Luo had done research on this a long time ago and came to the conclusion that there was no need to enfeoff kings in Zhao, Wei, Han, Qi and the northern part of Chu. The benefits of the central dynasty's rule over these lands were greater than the expenses, so Luo supported the management of these lands by the royal court.
Luo Yi smiled bitterly and said, “Your Majesty never cares about your reputation.
He has brought to the fullest extent the spirit of those who achieve great things not to be bothered by details.
Moreover, Your Majesty knows your brother's character very well, so he never makes any political promises in the name of King Su and Luoshui.
He did this, and I don’t know what to say.”
There is no need to say much about the name of Su Wang. Only those who swear sincerely will use the name of Su Wang. Anyone with even a little bit of evil in his heart would not dare to use the name of Su Wang.
There is no need to say much about Luo River. Ji Zhao was granted a fiefdom to the east of a tributary of Luo River, so he established the State of Luo and took Luo as his surname.
The waters of Yi and Luo gave birth to the sacred city of Luoyang. The marquises of Luo and the overlords of the world in successive generations swore by the Luo River in the presence of the Luo family, saying that it was already a sacred river.
If Liu Bang and Xiang Yu had sworn by the Luo River that day, even if Luo Ling did not witness it, Liu Bang might have temporarily let Xiang Yu go because he was unsure of Luo Ling's attitude, and then find another reason to deal with Xiang Yu later.
Luo Cai had always disliked Liu Bang, and upon hearing this, he became even more angry and said, "Brother, I don't care what your Majesty does.
But you are his close minister, and his bad reputation will definitely affect you.
Although the historians are all our own people, they will write impartially when the time comes.
But people’s hearts are complicated, and there are so many villains in the world, and they will eventually affect you.”
"Your Majesty has arrived!"
The sudden voice interrupted everyone's conversation, and Luo Cai and Luo Yi took their seats respectively.
Liu Bang and Lu Zhi arrived together. Lu Zhi was wearing a full set of palace clothes, but Liu Bang was dressed very casually with a relaxed smile on his face.
Many people felt relieved, thinking that this was probably a banquet in which His Majesty bestowed a favor on his subjects.
Sure enough, Liu Bang did not talk about any political topics. Instead, he talked about the past and recalled the ups and downs along the way with his ministers.
Everyone was drinking and having fun in the hall. Musicians were replaced one after another. Palace maids danced gracefully in the hall with their sleeves filled with fragrance. It was truly a prosperous scene of great prosperity.
After drinking for an unknown amount of time, Liu Bang suddenly let out a long sigh, and Luo Yi realized that it was his turn.
So he asked loudly: "Your Majesty, you are the ruler of the world, the emperor of all Han people, is there anything in this world that you cannot do?
Why are you sighing? All the officials in this palace can help you with your worries."
The sound of stringed instruments gradually stopped, and all the ministers in the hall looked over.
Liu Bang sighed and said, "Looking at the dynasties of the Xia Dynasty, none of them could survive, but the length of time they lasted was completely different.
"Hero, your ancestors King Wu and King Su established the glorious Zhou Dynasty, which lasted for a thousand years and far surpassed the previous dynasties, not to mention the Qin Dynasty. Why is this so?"
The ministers were all confused and didn't understand what Liu Bang wanted to say. Luo Yi said, "The concubines are united in protecting the royal family and saving the country from disaster, so they have a thousand years of destiny."
Liu Bang looked around the hall and said loudly, "Yes.
The Zhou royal family had faced the crisis of extinction many times, but eventually managed to get through it safely.
This is because the princes of the Ji clan such as Luo State and Jin State supported the Zhou royal family.
The Zhou royal family once fell into decline, and even the princes stopped paying tribute to it. However, Duke Huan of Qi respected the king and expelled the barbarians, thus making the Zhou royal family noble again.
During the second decline, Duke Wen of Jin once again supported the royal family and made them prominent again.
When these princes of the Ji clan perished and Luo State was no longer able to provide protection, the Mandate of Heaven of the Zhou royal family came to an end.
The world is peaceful now, but will it always be peaceful?
Will there be people who are dissatisfied with me, or who want to rebel against me after a hundred years?"
I see!
The ministers immediately understood what Liu Bang wanted to do. He wanted to confer titles on Liu's relatives to ensure the stability of Liu's regime.
This is an era of hereditary rule, and relying on clan relatives and in-laws is what every king will do.
Liu Bang's behavior was perfectly normal.
But the problem is that the emperor only has so much land under his direct jurisdiction, so why would he do this?
Especially since Guanzhong is of great importance, it is impossible to divide it.
Then the only two territories left were Zhao and Chu. At first, they wanted to make Han Xin the King of Zhao, but he refused. After Xiang Yu's death, the throne of Chu also became vacant.
These two thrones are very crucial. Both Zhao and Chu are powerful countries. Although Liu Bang cannot control these two places now, once they are divided up, it will be like spilled water and it will be difficult to get them back.
The throne will definitely not be given to the crown prince, so it will be given to other princes.
hiss!
The ministers felt a chill on their backs. Could it be that Liu Bang was thinking of changing the crown prince? Wasn't making him a king a legitimate way to build up his power?
Everyone secretly watched Lu Zhi's expression, but they didn't expect that Lu Zhi said nothing and still sat quietly, which made the ministers a little confused.
In fact, Lu Zhi also believed that Liu Bang was killing two birds with one stone by eliminating the kings of different surnames to build up power for Liu Ruyi and thereby suppress the power of the Lu family.
But Lu Zhi's level is extremely high now. She doesn't think Liu Bang can do it at all. From top to bottom, they are either my people or people who support the eldest son.
Although Liu Ying was just a child, he was as mature as Liu Bang.
Unless he doesn't want this world anymore.
Lu Zhi had seen through Liu Bang and knew that all her favor was false. As long as Liu Bang found out that changing the crown prince would not be worth the cost to the Han Dynasty, he would stop immediately.
Eliminating the kings of different surnames was also what Lu Zhi wanted to do, so she allowed Liu Bang to do what he did.
At this moment, the attendant suddenly hurried in and whispered something in Liu Bang's ear. Everyone who was paying attention to Liu Bang saw that the expression on Liu Bang's face gradually became cold.
"hateful!"
Liu Bang suddenly shouted angrily and even threw the wine glass in his hand out. Everyone in the hall was shocked, and then they heard Liu Bang angrily said: "The King of Yan is worried that I will settle accounts with him because of his surrender to Xiang Yu before, so he actually plotted a rebellion. He is really a wolf of Zhongshan who does not know gratitude."
The King of Yan was forced to surrender by Han Xin's powerful situation, but after he came to his senses, he found that Yan could withstand Han Xin's attack. However, it was too late, so he led his army to follow Han Xin to attack Chu. Later, Liu Bang recognized this reality and re-enfeoffed Yan to him.
As soon as Liu Bang finished speaking, the people in the hall were immediately excited. Another rebellion. Xiang Yu had experienced this in the past. Is the Han Dynasty going to go through this now?
You haven't even started to enjoy the fiefdom you just obtained, but you want to overthrow the Han Dynasty?
No matter whether you are really rebelling or not, just suppress it first, this is the unanimous mentality of all the ministers.
————
After the establishment of the Han Empire, according to China's political tradition, the emperor of the empire tried to keep power firmly in the hands of his own family, so he inevitably went to war with those kings who were actually independent. The empire's senior nobles, most of the marquises, strongly supported the emperor's war plan. In front of these battle-hardened generals, the kings were quickly defeated. This war had a huge historical impact, that is, the kings outside the royal family became political outliers. ——"Global History: Ancient China"
I have compiled many stories of famous generals from historical books and arranged them for the second son of the Luo family. It should be possible to see that Liu Bang's era is not long.
(End of this chapter)
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