Chapter 314 Drink from the Golden Cup
Noon.
A group of palace servants walked into the hall carrying lunch. Luo Xin's meal was very simple, while Liu Heng's was very rich. Liu Heng was no longer surprised by this scene.
On the one hand, Luo Xin had not practiced martial arts for many years and his appetite had decreased a lot. On the other hand, he was setting a subtle example for Liu Heng. Adults have a huge influence on children.
During the meal, Luo Xin opened the letter that Luo Yi specially sent him.
After a quick glance, a flash of anger crossed his brows. He never expected that Liu Hou Mansion would do such a thing.
He glanced at Liu Heng, then quietly placed the memorial on the table without saying a word, as if nothing had happened.
After all, the Liuhou Mansion is the emperor's in-laws. With the death of Lu Zhi and Liu Ying, the Lu family has become a thing of the past, and the Zhang family is now the number one in-law.
As long as the Queen Mother was not deposed, it would be impossible to move the Marquis's Mansion too far in broad daylight.
As for deposing the empress dowager, even regent Luo Xin could not do it, after all, the regent was taking over the power of the emperor.
The regent was in charge of the emperor's affairs, but he ended up beheading the emperor's own mother. This is a joke! The Han Dynasty, which ruled the world with filial piety, is about to become a laughing stock.
We also have to consider Liu Heng's mental health. He lost his father at a young age, and Queen Mother Zhang Yan was the person closest to him. If Zhang was involved in a scandal, it would definitely have an impact on Liu Heng.
Liu Heng naturally didn't know what was happening. In the afternoon, he was going to study classics with the learned people, mainly based on Huang-Lao and Confucianism, mixed with the theories of Qi Legalism. It was mainly about self-cultivation, and now was not the time for him to learn how to govern the country.
No matter how righteous and upright a saintly king is in governing a country, he will inevitably have to use some sinister means.
Being exposed to these methods too early will have a great impact on a person's character. Luo Xin hopes that Liu Heng can become a king who is upright and has thunder-like methods, rather than a king who specializes in conspiracies and intrigues but is indifferent to the people.
Thinking of this, Luo Xin turned his head and looked in the direction of Weiyang Palace.
I guess the letter from Liuhou Mansion has been delivered to the Empress Dowager's palace. So what will the Empress Dowager do?
There was a stern look in his eyes.
If the Queen Mother really protected Zhang, then Zhang would not be able to survive.
…
Liuhou Mansion.
Zhang Buyi was pacing anxiously in the mansion. He really never expected, "How could I be so unlucky to meet such a stubborn Confucian scholar.
He keeps talking about the teachings of sages, but doesn't make any compromises. It's ridiculous. Can the teachings of sages be compared with those of me, Zhang?
How could an easy-going elder like Yinghou recommend such a Confucian scholar to be an official?"
The relationship between Zhang Liang and Luo Yi was pretty good. Of course, the top group of founding heroes also had a good relationship with Luo Yi. After all, Luo Yi was Liu Bang's deputy at the time.
The housekeeper of the Marquis's Mansion hurried in from outside, and Zhang Buyi hurriedly greeted him and asked, "Has the Queen Mother's order come down?"
The housekeeper said in a hurry: "Master, the Queen Mother has not sent out an order. This is a letter sent by the Queen Mother. You have to open it yourself."
Zhang Buyi's expression froze for a moment, and he quickly took the letter and began to read.
"Father, burn this after reading it.
My daughter has received your letter and is shocked and very disappointed.
The Liuhou Mansion is extremely powerful. Empress Gao, Emperor Xiaohui, and Your Majesty have all successively conferred titles on Zhang. She has been in the Han Dynasty for many times. Apart from the Luo and Lu families, is there anyone who has received the emperor's favor more than Zhang?
My daughter really couldn't believe it. She never imagined that the government would actually try to seize the land of its subjects. I have heard stories in books about snakes trying to swallow elephants, which satirize the greed of human nature, but I never imagined that human nature could be so greedy.
My daughter felt ashamed in confinement.
It is absolutely forbidden to issue an order directly from the Forbidden City.
You must tell us the whole cause and effect, especially whether anyone was killed. This is the most crucial thing and you must not hide anything.
You asked your daughter to issue an edict in the palace. You are really thinking too simply. Is this the world of the Zhang family?
In the past, the Lu family was so majestic, but as soon as Empress Gao passed away, they immediately humbled themselves and kept a low profile. Look at Chang'an City now. The Lu family only left one or two people to contact the royal family, and the main branch all returned to Shandong. This is wisdom.
The Regent Prime Minister has great power over the world. Even if his daughter can save the family, will the Regent Prime Minister let it go?
The Prime Minister is extremely powerful and will not tolerate any ingratitude from his eyes. If the Liuhou Mansion becomes a thorn in the Prime Minister's side, is there anyone who can keep the family rich and prosperous?
You really shouldn't have done such a thing. May God bless you and please don't let anything really happen. Otherwise you will be ashamed of the ancestors of the Zhang family.
If there are no casualties among the people, return the seized land as soon as possible, and bring gifts of gold, silver, pearls and jade, so that the family can withdraw the lawsuit. Only after doing all this can the daughter have some face in front of the regent prime minister and speak for the family.
The sooner the better. "
After reading the letter, Zhang Buzhi's face turned pale and black. He didn't expect that the empress dowager not only did not issue an edict, but also directly criticized him. However, the information revealed in the letter did make Zhang Buzhi feel frightened.
The Queen Mother was afraid of the Regent Prime Minister.
In fact, Zhang Buzhi was also afraid of Luo Xin, or it could be said that over the years there was basically no powerful person who was not afraid of him.
The Prime Minister is indeed an extraordinary person. In Chang'an City, people have a reputation for the Prime Minister's kindness. However, only those who are truly in the top aristocratic circle know that the Prime Minister has a kind face but a black heart, and has too many ways to torture people.
In the past, they joined forces with Empress Gao to torment the Liu clan princes. Now they can easily deal with a mere Liu Marquisate. Even the Empress Dowager can't take care of it.
Thinking of this, Zhang Buyi instantly felt cold sweat on his back.
Judging from historical records, every member of the Luo family was a gentleman.
But how is it possible for a gentleman to win all the time for a thousand years, and eventually outlast everyone, leaving only the Luo family?
Is it just because of the blessing of the Su Wang? However, a miraculous person like Zhao Gong is unique in the thousands of years of Luo family history.
Thinking of this, Zhang Buyi immediately wrote a letter to Zhang Yan.
…
In a quiet room in Changle Palace, Luo Xin and Luo Yi sat opposite each other. On the table was a letter sent by Luo Yi. Here, the two brothers took off their disguises.
Luo Xin flipped through it casually and asked, "Third brother, you are friendly with these founding heroes, what do you think?"
The two brothers Luo Xin and Luo Yi can be considered extremes. Luo Yi is almost one of the most core figures among the founding heroes, while Luo Xin has nothing to do with them at all.
Luo Yi shook his head and said, "Those with the best relationship have passed away. I don't have much contact with the rest, such as Zhou Bo. But Zimu Acai has more contact with them. You don't have to worry about me. If someone really breaks the law, then act according to the law.
The kindness of a gentleman will be cut off after five generations.
It is inevitable that future generations will be unfilial and bring shame to their ancestors.
Do you want to deal with these founding heroes now?
In my opinion, it is not the right time yet. There are no new military nobles emerging yet, and there are no replacements.
But if we deal with Liu Hou alone, there will be no problem, just don't expand it."
Luo Yi finally said something to the founding heroes, fearing that innocent people would be affected because of Liu Hou's incident.
After all, he knew his younger brother very well. On the surface, he seemed to be a bright and upright person, but in fact, he was very ruthless. The nobles only knew that he was ruthless on the surface. If Luo Xin were really allowed to take action, he could purge all the disobedient founding heroes and send them all to Lingnan to open up wasteland.
Luo Xinyan nodded slowly, which meant he accepted Luo Yi's proposal.
…
The letters from Liuhou Mansion arrived very quickly. In this era, there were few rules and regulations, and this kind of internal and external communication was too common. Not to mention that Zhang Yan was the empress dowager, let alone just two letters, she could even bring in two people.
After opening the letter and seeing that there were no casualties among the people, Zhang Yan breathed a sigh of relief. That was good, as long as the worst result did not happen.
If it caused casualties among the people, the Liuhou Mansion would at least be stripped of its fiefdom. At worst, all its titles would be completely taken away, and the mansion would be demoted to a commoner. In serious cases, the mansion would even be forced to guard the city gates.
At that time, Zhang Yan had to issue the decree no matter how reluctant she was. She couldn't just watch her ancestors' foundation being lost like that.
Zhang Yan was very active and immediately ordered, "Prepare the sedan chair. I want to visit the Prime Minister at Changle Palace."
When Luo Xin heard that Zhang Yan was coming to visit, he tidied his clothes and went out to greet her. Although Zhang Yan was anxious, she calmed herself down and walked over slowly, not wanting to leave a bad impression on Luo Xin. When Luo Xin saw that Zhang Yan was dignified and still looked the same as before, he was satisfied.
"I pay my respects to the Queen Mother. May the Queen Mother be well and healthy."
Zhang Yan smiled and said, "I am well, the Prime Minister is well."
Luo Xin welcomed Zhang Yan in, and they both sat upright. Zhang Yan looked at Luo Xin opposite her. The prime minister was getting older, with deep wrinkles beginning to appear on his face and his eye sockets beginning to collapse. However, this did not damage the prime minister's majesty at all. Instead, it became even deeper and deeper, exposed in these eyes, as if she was naked. All the thoughts in her heart would be pierced out. Zhang Yan became more nervous and even a little uneasy.
Luo Xin sensed Zhang Yan's nervousness. He was very satisfied that Zhang Yan did not directly issue an order to interfere with the judicial affairs, so he asked in a gentle voice, "Queen Mother, are you here in Changle Palace to look for me for something important?"
Hearing that Luo Xin's tone was not very bad, Zhang Yan's heart was relieved a little. She knew that with Luo Xin's well-informedness, he must have known about this matter. In this case, it seems that things have not developed to the point where they cannot be reversed.
Zhang Yan opened her red lips and said helplessly, "Grand Prime Minister, it's a little hard to say. My clansmen have done something wrong and have been arrested by the authorities. Alas, I think I should tell the Prime Minister about this. After all, this is your Majesty's in-laws. It's really not decent to do this."
Luo Xin had no expression on his face, and sneered softly, "Queen Dowager, are you talking about the Liuhou Mansion seizing the people's land?"
Zhang Yan's body trembled, and her voice became dry, "Yes, Prime Minister."
Thanks to Zhulan Baicai for the reward!
(End of this chapter)
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