Chapter 290 Is it okay for me to arrange the emperor’s marriage?
Luo Xin knew that he could no longer stay in Lingnan. Although it was thousands of miles away, messengers from Chang'an City came in waves.
He also missed Chang'an a little.
…
Chang'an City.
In the past two years, everything has been running as planned. The Han court has adhered to the attitude of not interfering if possible, and has tried its best to reduce corvee labor and allow self-cultivating farmers to resume production. At the same time, it has kept an eye on the powerful people in Shandong, especially those who have failed in the struggle, with Qi being the worst.
The nobles who were massacred by Lu Cheng were all large clans. Lu Cheng decided to go all out and forced these people with knives to migrate to Guanzhong to guard the tomb of the previous emperor.
Lu Zhi and Lu Cheng cooperated very well. Waves of powerful people from Qi came to Guanzhong, where they were unfamiliar with the place, and were then exploited by the group of meritorious officials.
The people of Luo were also migrating to Guanzhong. As the State of Luo declined, these people scattered to the surrounding counties. Now Lu Zhi was actively recruiting people from Guanzhong and asked all the passing counties to cooperate with this matter. The Luo family was also promoting this matter, and many people from Luo went to Guanzhong with their families.
Given the Han court's current capacity, this migration might even last for ten years, but the continuous influx of population into Guanzhong enriched the overdrawn Guanzhong.
These people integrated with the Qin people, and the Han court finally had its own base and real foundation, no longer the superficial concept it had before.
Luo Xin returned to Chang'an City very quietly, basically without notifying anyone, and only some of his closest people knew about his return.
"My Lord, shall we go back to the palace directly?"
"Well, go back and change your clothes, wash up and go to the palace to see the Queen Mother."
…
In the Weiyang Palace.
Lü Zhi, Liu Ying and Liu Le sat upright, but were obviously a little restless and anxious, until their attendant brought Luo Xin in, and then they suddenly became excited.
Lü Zhi said happily: "Dong'e Hou, you are finally back."
Liu Le also said happily: "Brother."
Luo Xin bowed and said, "Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager Regent, the Emperor, may your Majesty live in peace, and may your Highness, the Princess, live in peace."
When Lü Zhi saw him, she immediately said, "Lu Yuan, you go down first. The Marquis of Dong'e has state affairs to report."
Lu Yuan was a little unhappy when he heard this, but he was still ready to get up and leave.
Luo Xin looked at Liu Le, who had completely transformed into a graceful lady, and then at Liu Ying, who was gradually approaching adulthood, and said in a loud voice: "Queen Dowager, it has been a long time since the eldest princess came of age. It is time to choose a husband for her, and it is time for His Majesty to select a concubine."
Liu Le and Liu Ying didn't expect that the first thing Luo Xin would do after returning would be this. Of course, Lu Zhi had thought about these things, but she is still hesitant.
Liu Ying didn't care. He had known for a long time that his mother would definitely arrange a marriage for him.
But Liu Le's reaction was huge. She almost instantly burst into tears and said pitifully, "Mother, brother, Ah Le doesn't want to get married."
Lu Zhi felt a headache when she heard this. How could she not see her daughter's little thoughts? She could only sigh and said, "In that case, let's not talk about your marriage for now.
The emperor's marriage, however, really needs to be put on the agenda as soon as possible. The emperor has no legitimate son, which is a big problem."
Liu Le cheered.
Luo Xin looked at Liu Ying and said, "Your Majesty, over the years, the late emperor and the empress dowager have held banquets in the palace, and many noble ladies have come here. Is there any you like?"
Liu Ying's eyes lit up.
Lü Zhi said angrily, "Dong'e Hou, the emperor is the father and the queen is the mother of the country. When choosing a queen, of course we have to choose someone with good moral character and who can help the emperor. Can we just let the emperor do what he wants?"
The light that had just lit up in Liu Ying's eyes went out again.
Seeing this, Luo Xin gave Liu Ying a look and said, "Queen Mother, although what you said makes sense, it is too biased. Of course, the Queen needs to have good moral character, but appearance and talent are both indispensable. The key is that Your Majesty must like her.
If Your Majesty doesn't like her and doesn't touch her, and the Queen cannot give birth to a legitimate prince, the world will not be stable. Moreover, Your Majesty is a benevolent monarch. Wouldn't Your Majesty feel guilty if the Queen complains and mourns in the harem?
I think this is not beneficial to Your Majesty.
On the premise of ensuring that she has excellent moral character and outstanding appearance, you still have to choose someone that your majesty likes. After all, this is a lifelong partner, so you have to be extremely careful."
Seeing that Luo Xin insisted and what he said made sense, Lü Zhi could only say helplessly: "Even so, the candidate still needs to be approved by me. This is a matter of great importance to the country.
First, let the Marquis of Dong'e select a group of people, and then I will select from them."
Liu Ying's eyes lit up completely and he looked at Luo Xin's tall figure with gratitude. It was really not easy for him to live under the wings of such a strong mother like Lu Zhi.
Fortunately, Luo Xin was able to protect him and often persuaded Lu Zhi, otherwise Liu Ying would probably have had mental problems.
After this episode, Liu Ying and Liu Le left the Weiyang Palace. After there were no outsiders, Lü Zhi said helplessly: "My lord, this matter of the queen is of great importance. It concerns the country and the people. If we let the emperor do what he wants, wouldn't it be irresponsible?"
Luo Xin sat upright and said, "E'ou, you are the emperor's mother, but you don't understand him as well as I do.
There are countless leaves on a tree, but no two are the same; there are countless people in the world, but no one can be fully mastered.
Human hearts are extremely complex and unpredictable.
The emperor is a gentle man on the outside but strong on the inside. He may not dare to directly oppose your arrangements, but he will oppose them in action.
And he will not change his behavior because of fear. This is the strong side of him.
You are not only the empress dowager, but also his mother. Don't go to this step with the emperor. He is still a child. I am very worried about the relationship between you and your son.
Don't worry, I will definitely choose a queen for the emperor who can not only meet your requirements but also please the emperor. Some things just require guidance, and it is not good to force things.
He is so young and you have no other sons."
Luo Xin stood between the mother and son to persuade Lu Zhi, and he had already convinced her until he said the last two sentences lightly.
Lu Zhi's expression was stern, there were so many implications contained in this.
The relationship between the regent and the monarch is very complicated. If one is not careful, even mother and son may have countless conflicts, and the mother's family may even be purged in the end.
Lu Zhi nodded slowly and said, "Sir, you are right. I was indeed a little anxious before. I only wanted to use the emperor's marriage to adjust the current situation in the world, but I ignored the emperor's own ideas and wanted to correct them."
Seeing that Lü Zhi had taken his advice, Luo Xin smiled and said, "E'ou, I can say that I have gained a lot from this trip to Lingnan. It is a precious land, but it will take at least hundreds of years to develop it to the level of the Central Plains.
The barbarians there have adapted to the environment after living there for a long time and are able to undertake large-scale labor. After that, the advanced technology and culture of the Central Plains will be spread to Lingnan. This is the top priority besides recuperation.
However, the population of Lingnan is still insufficient. The barbarians rioted a few days ago, and I suffered a lot of casualties when I was suppressing the riot, so I need to migrate people to Lingnan."
Lü Zhi frowned upon hearing this and said, "According to the current statistics of the number of households in the country, not only in Guanzhong, but also in all countries, the number of households is insufficient.
There aren't enough people in the Central Plains, so how can we move them to Lingnan?"
Luo Xin's eyes gleamed, and he said softly: "E'ou, naturally no one would be willing to go for normal migration, Lingnan can only be used as a place of exile now.
As for how to exile them, that is up to us. In such a huge country with a population of tens of millions, there will always be people who break the law.
Moreover, there must be many powerful nobles who have violated the law. Just by moving all of them there, we can build small cities.”
Lü Zhi suddenly realized and said, "You mean to follow the old practice of kings of different surnames?"
Luo Xin nodded and smiled, "That's right. This time I went to Lingnan and met the descendants of the former King of Huainan and King of Yan. They are living a good life. They have swords, armor, and skills. They can even enslave the barbarians around them. In a few years, some of them should be able to accumulate merits and return."
The descendants of King Huainan and King Yan were truly pioneers. Compared with those who went with a large number of soldiers, they had only a few thousand people, including women and children. They could be said to have blazed a trail through the mountains and forests with great difficulty.
Lu Zhi thought for a while and said, "Should we do this now?
The founding heroes are now beginning to marry each other, and I cannot order a ban, but the connections are so complicated that it is difficult to deal with, so I want to use the emperor's marriage to do this."
Liu Bang was really generous when he was distributing fiefs, often granting thousands of households, but it is a bit difficult to deal with now.
Luo Xin pondered and said, "Of course, the emperor's marriage will be used, but among the meritorious officials, those with the highest prestige and the greatest power are basically old, and Xiao He and others are probably only in the next one or two years.
Only one person is in the prime of his life! "
Great General Han Xin!
He was the first to establish the Han Dynasty and was praised as the most meritorious official. Most importantly, he was incredibly young. He was an outlier among the group of meritorious officials. Those who did not make as much merit as him were in high positions, but he was the only one who had been unemployed at home.
But no one would ignore him, and he never stopped receiving various favors and rewards from the palace during the four seasons. Just like when the Huns invaded before, he jumped up from being unemployed at home.
Everyone knows that Han Xin is the sharpest weapon in the world and the bottom line of the royal family. If he is not used now, they are worried that there will be no more titles to be given to him.
Lü Zhi pondered and said, "Sir, please go to their house for me. I will call the noble ladies of Chang'an City into the palace and take a good look at their personalities. As for the emperor, I will trouble you to guide him well."
Luo Xin smiled softly and said, "E'er, don't worry."
…
Dong'e returned from Lingnan and met Empress Dowager Lü, Xiaohui, and Lu Yuan. At that time, the emperor was getting stronger, so he advised Empress Lü, saying, "The emperor is strong and has no heir. This is a disaster for the country. I ask you to marry him to a good woman."
Empress Lü ordered Dong'e to take charge. Dong'e worked very hard and visited Changle three times a day. Xiaohui said to his attendants, "Dong'e is sincere and loves me wholeheartedly. It is really difficult to repay him." - "Records of the Grand Historian: Annals of Empress Dowager Lü"
(End of this chapter)
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