Chapter 279: Lü Zhi became regent and was granted the title of marquis and appointed as prime minister
The next day.
An imperial decree was issued from the palace, "I have never heard of anyone being able to live in peace without repaying a favor.
I have never heard of a monarch who lacks virtue and morality but is able to save his country.
I have never heard of a country prospering without the help of talented people.
I have never heard of anyone being betrayed after appointing a confidant.
Prince Xin has saved my and the Emperor's lives, so I should reward him with gold, silver and beautiful jade.
He is a man of talent. I should grant him a high position and noble title, and give him the palace guards and Chang'an guards. Let him wear armor, hold a sword, and stand beside the emperor as a wing guard. This way, I think everything will be safe."
A large group of palace maids and eunuchs walked out of the Weiyang Palace. Such a grand occasion, especially this imperial edict, attracted the attention of all the powerful and wealthy people in Chang'an City.
Allowing Luo Xin to enter the palace with armor and a sword showed what trust he had. Luo Yi was Liu Bang's most trusted minister, but he did not receive such treatment.
Only Zhao Gong, the god on earth, could have such an honor, but apart from envy, he didn't know what to say.
Moreover, Luo Xin should have been granted a title of nobility back then. However, because of his overly close relationship with Empress Lü, all his credit was swallowed up. He also left Chang'an for so many years. Now that the new emperor has ascended the throne, he has suddenly become prominent. This is natural.
Luo Xin sat quietly in the mansion, ignoring the people coming and going in front of him, and just reading the book in his hand seriously.
On the day of court, Luo Xin put on armor, held a sharp sword in his hand, and walked towards the palace. Along the way, the dignitaries looked at the burly warriors around Luo Xin, and they all felt a chill in their hearts.
Luo Xin is not a newly emerged upstart, but a strong man with huge support. In the city of Chang'an, there are not many people he can care about.
As Luo Xin stood beside Liu Ying with a sword in his hand, everyone immediately felt the trust that Luo Xin now had from the royal family.
To a certain extent, this means putting your entire life and property in Luo Xin's hands.
Zhang Liang, Xiao He and others have realized that this is just a court meeting convened by the Queen Mother to celebrate Luo Xin's appearance, and it is not to discuss any state affairs at all.
So they all watched with their eyes and noses, listened with their ears, and acted like clay sculptures without saying a word. Luo Xin, on the other hand, looked at the group of founding marquises and the envoys from various kingdoms in the hall.
Lu Zhi found that the ministers had no objection to her replacing Liu Ying to preside over the court meetings, which made her feel relieved. After the court was dismissed, Luo Xin followed Lu Zhi directly to the Weiyang Palace.
Lü Zhi and Luo Xin sat down, poured wine for the two men, and said with joy: "Sir, as you expected, the ministers have no objection."
Luo Xin's face did not completely relax, "E'ou, we can't let our guard down now. The ministers probably think you want to rule the country from behind the scenes, and they don't know that you want to be the regent.
In the history of the Zhou Dynasty, it was extremely rare for a queen mother to be a true regent. The first one was Queen Mother Qi Jiang during the reign of our ancestor Duke Wen.
Luo Xin said with a smile: "If it was during the Bang Zhou period, even if you were the Queen Mother, you could only be called Qi Jiang, unlike now where you can still keep your name."
There is a difference between ruling from behind the scenes and being a regency. For a strong person, the difference in power may not be that big, but in fact they are completely different.
Ji Zhao was the regent at that time, and even the imperial edict began with "Zhao, acting as regent on behalf of the king." The edict was not issued in the name of King Kang, but in the name of Ji Zhao.
From then on, the word regency had a different meaning.
How much power does the regent have?
It is basically equivalent to the emperor. When the regent exists, the effectiveness of the emperor's edict is no greater than that of the regent, and the emperor is not qualified to actively abolish the regent.
This is why Duke Wen of Luo insisted on getting the title of regent. From then on, all imperial edicts were preceded by "Regent Council on Behalf of the King", and the power was completely in his hands.
Even if there were people who were dissatisfied with him, they could not speak out. Even if they tried to alienate the relationship between the emperor and Duke Luo Wen, it would be useless, because if the emperor wanted to abolish the regent, the regent could even say, "Why did your majesty rebel?"
When Lü Zhi heard this, a chill suddenly appeared in her eyes. Luo Xin thought of what he had said to his elder brother before, and said softly, "It's not that far yet. E'ou, prepare to confer a title of nobility on me, in the name of the regent queen dowager."
If Luo Xin is conferred the title of Marquis in the name of regent, the number of people who oppose it will certainly decrease greatly. Since there is no objection to this matter, then there will naturally be no objection to the regent matter.
With Lu Zhi's current level of political struggle, she was naturally able to understand the mystery, and said softly: "Who else can be the prime minister except you?"
The title of Prime Minister is relatively outdated. The system of left and right prime ministers divided the power of the prime minister. Now Lu Zhi wants to restore this system and let Luo Xin take the position.
The two discussed the rewards further. Lu Zhi had a little secret in mind that she didn't reveal, and wanted to give Luo Xin a surprise.
From the death of Liu Bang to the return of Luo Xin to Chang'an City, there had been undercurrents. In the Zhou Dynasty, there was a saying that a new emperor means new ministers.
These words are mainly used to describe that after the new emperor comes to the throne, his relatives will occupy important official positions within the royal capital. Of course, there is a second half to this sentence, and Ji Jiang has been a court official for generations.
After Liu Ying came to power, the group of founding heroes who had originally stood on Liu Ying's side suddenly turned from allies with the same stance into political enemies fighting for power, commonly known as factional struggle.
The ones who currently hold the absolute advantage are naturally Lu Ze's in-laws, who are sitting firmly on the Diaoyutai. With Liu Ying around, they can enjoy prosperity for at least a few decades.
But it is different for others. The Three Dukes and Nine Ministers, as well as the positions of real power in the military, are all the focus of their competition. This is human nature. Even if they know that they will die in the end, they will still continue to do it.
Even if the Luo family faced these people, they would have to give in eventually before Ji Zhao became a god. After all, the family foundation was limited and people's selfish desires were unlimited. It was impossible for them to just activate the God of Four Seasons' thunder and kill anyone they saw.
An edict that shocked the entire Han Dynasty was issued from the palace.
"Regent Queen Mother System:
Those without merit cannot be granted the title of Marquis. This is an unchangeable iron rule. It is a great mistake not to grant a title of Marquis even though one has merit. I do not want this to happen. For the greatest merit is saving the emperor, I grant you the title of Marquis of Luoxin and Dong'e, with a fief of 5,000 households."
Although the number of households in the fiefdom is high, there are still several marquises with ten thousand households above it. Although everyone knows that this is not the peak of Luo Xin, it is not shocking enough.
What was really shocking was the word "regent" mentioned before by the Empress Dowager. Last time, it was issued in the name of Liu Ying, but this time the decree was issued directly in the name of the Empress Dowager.
What does this mean?
No one thought that Lu Zhi wanted to usurp the throne. What they thought more was that Lu Zhi seemed not satisfied with being a transitional figure.
She had things to do, and with the addition of Luo Xin, the regent queen mother and a minister, the sense of déjà vu of Luo Wengong was too strong.
Moreover, Luo Xin’s fiefdom was Dong’a County.
That was Lu's hometown. Before fleeing to Pei County, Lu Zhi lived there. Now she actually granted her hometown to Luoxin!
Zhang Liang, Xiao He and others who had the ability to oppose remained silent, and even the Liu kings did not say anything. This was not something particularly difficult to accept.
At least Liu Ying was still the emperor, and Lu Zhi had no other sons.
The kings were still secretly thinking of asking Lu Zhi to go a little too far.
In this strange atmosphere, Luo Xin's ennoblement was actually successfully approved.
Luo Xin, who was successfully conferred the title of Marquis, was not happy. "E'ou, no one's opposition is not necessarily a good thing. It only proves that some people have buried their dissatisfaction in their hearts. Next, we must properly handle the complicated relationships in the world and not affect the plan of recuperation."
It was another court meeting, and the moods of all the ministers had become somewhat different. Liu Bang had been fighting outside in these years, and although Luo Yi and Xiao He were the ones who governed the world, the Queen Lu Zhi also made an indelible contribution.
However, Liu Bang is the backbone of the people after all. Now Lu Zhi has made it clear that she will dominate the world, and everyone's mood is really complicated.
Lu Zhi put on the most complicated and gorgeous robe, and the court officials entered one after another.
"Long live the Regent Queen Mother, and may you live in peace!"
"May all be well, my Lords!"
The ministers praised Lu Zhi and slowly accepted that a new era had really arrived. As for Liu Bang, he probably praised her in his heart.
“Marquis Dong’e, you have great talent and are a noble marquis. Your current position is not worthy of your talent and character.
Your elder brother, Marquis Ying, also served as prime minister, and you possess talents that are no less than Marquis Ying’s.
If His Majesty has your assistance, he will surely be able to create a rule of three generations.
What do you think, Your Majesty?"
As he said this, he turned to look at Liu Ying, who said quickly, "Mother, you are right. The Marquis of Dong'e has been kind to me, and his talents and character are both excellent. Apart from the position of Prime Minister, I cannot find any other position that matches the Marquis of Dong'e."
Liu Ying was not a competitive person, and Luo Xin loved him very much. He taught him how to be an emperor and was very kind to him, so he had a kind of admiration for Luo Xin.
After Luo Yi, Luo Xin also became the prime minister. The Han Dynasty had only been in existence for thirteen years, and the Luo family had two prime ministers!
This scene reminded the officials of the records in the classics of various schools of thought that the Luo family had once been in the Zhou Dynasty, with three generations serving as dukes and in charge of state affairs three times!
Since the end of the Qin Dynasty, the Luo family had performed so many miraculous things that the officials were almost beginning to regard the Luo family as a family of alchemists.
This was the first time that the ministers felt the terrifying power of the Luo family as a political family!
Dynasties change, but the Luo family remains forever respected!
————
Xiaohui was weak, and Empress Lü took power, which pleased the ministers. Xin said, "The Empress Dowager has great merits and virtues, please be the regent."
Empress Lü asked, "What do you think?"
Empress Lü was known for her virtue, and all the ministers respected her and praised her with pleasure. They all bowed their heads and said, "The Empress Dowager and the late Emperor ruled the world together, so this is what should happen."
Empress Lü became regent and issued an edict saying, "Xin has made great contributions and should be granted the title of Marquis of Che, with a salary of 5,000 households and the title of Lord of Dong'e."
Dong'e was the hometown of the Lu clan's ancestral temple. People at that time envied it. Xin also shed tears for it, saying, "If the emperor trusts me so much, what else can I ask for?" - "Records of the Grand Historian: The Biography of the Marquis of Dong'e"
(End of this chapter)
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