Chapter 294: The Kings and Princes of the World Come to Beijing
Changle Palace.
Countless palace maids and eunuchs were hurrying in and out of the palace. All of them were sweating profusely, and it was obvious that they were extremely anxious. The air pressure in the palace was also very low. In such a busy situation, one could hardly hear the loud footsteps, and even the breathing sounds were not clear. The air seemed stagnant.
The reason for this is that the Empress Zhang Yan of the Han Empire is giving birth today. The best midwives in the entire Chang'an City are here, and the descendants of the medical family are also waiting in the palace.
There are many descendants of medical practitioners in Zhaocheng.
Although the atmosphere in this era is very open, there are still differences between men and women.
Therefore, the Luo family has trained a group of female doctors who specialize in treating women since the Bang Zhou period.
The Luo family treats everything and everything based only on whether it is useful or not, so they do not discriminate against shamans, doctors, musicians, and craftsmen. On the contrary, they attach great importance to them. There are many women of the Luo family in the clan who study medicine.
Liu Ying was kneeling in the outer hall, his face was a little pale. He coughed slightly twice, his throat was a little dry, and he was unable to speak.
"Prime Minister, the Queen..."
Luo Xin said calmly: "Your Majesty, don't worry too much. The Queen is blessed by heaven. You are the son of heaven, and you have always been kind and loving. Wouldn't heaven bless you?"
"Wow!"
As a loud cry sounded, the palace, which had been extremely suppressed just now, was like a drop of oil falling into water, and it instantly boiled. Liu Ying jumped up directly, and the palace maid ran out of the palace with a smile on her face, saying happily: "Your Majesty, God bless you, mother and child are safe."
son!
Luo Xin narrowed his eyes slightly. The eldest son of the Han emperor would be the crown prince if nothing unexpected happened. Liu Ying's face was full of smiles, and he said loudly: "Okay, everyone in the palace will be rewarded 100 gold coins to celebrate my prince."
Lü Zhi's voice came from outside the palace, and she said with a smile: "I will grant you another hundred gold coins, and you will come out of Weiyang Palace to celebrate for my eldest grandson."
Everyone saluted, and Luo Xin narrowed his eyes slightly. The emperor had a legitimate eldest son, and it was time for the kings to come to Chang'an and report on what achievements they had made over the years.
The emperor had a legitimate eldest son, and with the royal family throwing money around, the entire city of Chang'an was instantly plunged into a joyful atmosphere.
Moreover, although Lu Zhi was the regent, Liu Ying still had power. He had done a lot over the years and his prestige in the hearts of the people in Chang'an was not low. Most people were really happy for him that he had a legitimate eldest son.
An imperial edict spread from Chang'an City to all directions, reaching various kingdoms and marquisates.
"The Queen Mother, acting on behalf of the King and Regent, decrees:
King Su said that the emperor should be in the center of the world, and the vassal states should guard the emperor at the four ends of the world, without changing from generation to generation. In this way, the mandate of heaven of the Zhou Dynasty and the wealth and honor of the princes can continue forever.
Later it turned out to be true. When the princes no longer protected the emperor, the Mandate of Heaven of the Zhou Dynasty ended, and the princes' wealth and honor were gone.
Isn’t this the most alarming thing?
The Emperor Gaozu divided the kingdoms into princes and marquises because he saw that the Zhou Dynasty granted fiefs with a Mandate of Heaven of a thousand years, while the Qin Dynasty only granted counties and prefectures for a dozen years. He took this as a warning and let clan members and meritorious officials guard various places.
Twenty years have passed since then, and the Mandate of Han has become increasingly stable, and the country has gradually recovered from its exhaustion. This is all due to the concerted efforts of all the ministers.
But now I begin to worry. People always say that it is easy to share adversity, but difficult to share wealth.
You are all brothers and subjects of Emperor Gao, who has bestowed upon you fiefs and titles. Naturally, you should be loyal to Emperor Gao because of his grace.
But this is so similar to the time of Bang Zhou. The first generation is always so close, but the later it goes, the more unfamiliar it becomes. I am getting older, and I don’t know when I will go to the underworld.
At that time, the emperor still needed your assistance, but how could he trust you if he was not familiar with you?
I am worried about this.
The emperor has given birth to his eldest son. This is a major event for the Liu clan. I think all the powerful vassals of the Liu clan should come to Chang'an to congratulate.
As for the princes of the world who have given birth to a legitimate son, I think you should all come to congratulate them, just like the princes pay homage to the emperor.
Of course, if you are too busy at school, then you don’t have to come. I am a reasonable person.
If a prince is willing to come to Chang'an to pay tribute, he does not need to prepare too exquisite tribute.
What the emperor and I want to hear most is how many people have been restored in the country, how much arable land there is, how much grain can be produced, and how much tax can be collected.
Aren’t these money, grain, and cloth that can provide the people with plenty of food and clothing far more valuable than rare treasures?”
…
This edict aroused a huge reaction. It was the first time that the court officially required all the kings and princes in the world to come to Chang'an. Although the edict said that they could not come, anyone who really believed it would be damned.
The princes were all hesitant about leaving their own territories, especially when facing the regent Queen Mother Lu Zhi. To some extent, they were in opposition to each other.
But in the end they all set off for Chang'an, and the whole world became busy in an instant. The huge kingdom's delegation was extremely wealthy, and the people of Chang'an were so shocked that they thought they were the country bumpkins.
Among them, the King of Chu and the King of Wu were the richest, followed by the King of Yue and the King of Huainan. They were all from the old territories of the State of Chu and suffered relatively less damage in the wars in the world. Only the King of Changsha was slightly worse off.
The King of Dai, the King of Yan, and the King of Liaodong were relatively shabby, but their soldiers were very strong. They were all frontier troops who had been fighting in the north for many years. They rode tall horses and looked very imposing.
The most powerful one is naturally the King of Zhao. Among the kings of Shandong, the King of Zhao has the greatest power and can control the military power of the King of Dai, the King of Yan and the King of Liaodong.
The person in this position must be the emperor's confidant. This is why Luo Yi did not allow Liu Bang to enthrone Liu Ruyi. If he really wanted to do that, Luo Yi would not protect Liu Ruyi.
Among them there was a very embarrassing king, that was the King of Jiaodong. According to Liu Bang's plan, he should have been the King of Qi.
But the legitimate descendant of the King of Qi was the Lu family. After Lu Cheng abdicated the throne of Qi, he was still the Duke of Qi. It was impossible for a Han man to have two titles of Qi, so he could only rule Qi in the name of the King of Jiaodong.
Moreover, Linzi, the most prosperous city in Qi, was not in his hands. Lu Cheng's sons also occupied large tracts of fertile land.
In addition to the princes, the marquises should not be underestimated either.
Although most of the founding heroes were in Chang'an City, there were still quite a few marquises in the local areas.
It was not just the fiefdoms granted by Liu Bang. Since Lu Zhi came to power, people like Luo Xin were granted the title of Marquis of Dong'a, as well as other relatives and old friends of the Lu family.
Most of the most prominent marquises of Qi were sons of Lu Cheng and relatives of the Lu family. They came to Chang'an in a grand manner.
It feels like they are no worse than the previous Liu clan kings, which fully demonstrates the current status of the Lu clan in the Han Dynasty.
This caused quite a stir in Chang'an City, and many people asked, "Who are these noble families? They are really distinguished, far superior to the previous Che Hou."
Someone who knows the matter said, "Of course he is noble, he is a relative of the Regent Queen Mother.
The Duke of Qi, who was the leader, was a prince of a different surname. Although he has lost his throne now, he is one of the only two dukes in the Han Dynasty, and he has more than a dozen sons, all of whom are marquises. His power is unimaginable."
Most of these young people were visiting Chang'an for the first time and were extremely curious about the magnificent Chang'an. These wealthy princes and nobles were spending lavishly and lavishly here.
The first thing Lu Cheng did after arriving in Chang'an was to take his sons to meet Luo Xin and Lu Zhi. He was also a little confused by Lu Zhi's sudden call for all the princes in the world.
After arriving in Chang'an, most of the princes basically kept in touch with each other. Although these people were close relatives, they had not seen each other for many years. After talking about their experiences, they actually felt that the reasons given by Lu Zhi were quite reasonable.
The princes of the Liu clan all requested to the palace to meet Liu Ying, the head of the Liu clan. This was the reason why Lu Zhi summoned everyone to come, and it was naturally impossible to stop them.
In Changle Palace, Liu Ying looked at these somewhat unfamiliar uncles and brothers and really didn't know what to say, but the Liu princes seemed very close to him.
They presented Liu Ying with the rare treasures they had brought from their fiefdoms, and said respectfully, "Your Majesty, we will be loyal to you. Your descendants will sit on the throne of the Han emperor forever, even if the sun and the moon collapse."
The indisputable legitimacy brought by the eldest son's succession to the throne cannot be compared with the succession of a prince or a minor clan.
At least the kings enfeoffed by Liu Bang were indeed one of the guarantees that Liu Ying could sit securely on the throne.
From the countless compliments, Liu Ying finally felt a little closer to these people and eliminated the strange barriers.
For the first time, Liu Ying felt the power of the emperor that Dong'a Hou had talked about, and finally understood what Dong'a Hou had said: in order to maintain the emperor's seat on the throne, clan members are always the most important link.
In the Weiyang Palace, Luo Xin and Lu Zhi were playing chess. Lu Zhi's eyes were a little obscure, and she asked softly: "My lord, do you think these Liu clan princes will be obedient?"
Luo Xin put down a chess piece and said calmly: "E'er, it's not a question of whether they listen or not, but they must listen, otherwise there will be war.
The kingdom is rich but bears little responsibility, while the court is poor but has to spend money everywhere. This is not how the world should be.
We have granted countless privileges to the group of meritorious officials. Is it so that they can abuse their power?
In order to support a war that is sure to win, the brave generals of the world are here with us, and this is our confidence.
A thousand years ago, King Su summoned the princes three times in Haojing City, each time for major events that would affect the world, and this time was no exception."
Upon hearing this, Lü Zhi relaxed her expression and nodded slowly, "It's time to gather all the princes and nobles to the Weiyang Palace."
At the command, a storm arose, and the most distinguished people in the world entered the Weiyang Palace.
(End of this chapter)
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