Chapter 468: The National Dynasty Ends Together, No Change to Hereditary Succession
Changle Palace.
In the side hall, there was only a flickering oil lamp. The room was dark. Liu Bingyi was half leaning on the mat, half of the light shining on his face, half bright and half dark. There was a glass of wine in front of him. "Prime Minister, you are blaming me in your heart."
Wei Ping, who was sitting at the table with his head bowed, was startled and immediately bent down and said tremblingly: "Your Majesty, I dare not."
Liu Bingyi drank the wine in one gulp and said, "You are the leader of the heroes who helped to win the Jingnan Campaign, but I am jealous of you. I was born in Guandong and received favors from the people there. I have brought trouble to Guandong, but you do not blame me. This is not right."
Wei Ping was completely speechless. He had even thought about committing suicide after leaving the palace, but he heard the emperor asking as if he was chatting casually: "What is the personality of your eldest son? I heard some bad rumors."
Wei Ping said in a trembling voice: "My eldest son has a rather hot temper and acts impulsively. He has made many mistakes and caused Your Majesty a lot of trouble. I will definitely discipline him strictly."
Liu Bingyi sighed slightly when he heard this and said, "You, the princes who pacified the rebellion, are all loyal ministers rarely seen in a lifetime. If it weren't for you, the Han Dynasty might have ended with Emperor Li.
Since I ascended the throne, there have been villains who have used slanderous words to confuse me, saying that the heroes of the Jingnan Rebellion have great power in the court and the country, and that the world only knows about the heroes of the Jingnan Rebellion, but not the emperor. I have never paid any attention to them, and I have killed those who said too much. "
Wei Ping had always known that someone had slandered the emperor, but this was the first time he heard the emperor say that he had dealt with those people. He bowed deeply again and said, "Your Majesty, your grace is great. I cannot repay you even if I die."
Liu Bingyi continued, "It is my wish to let loyal ministers enjoy their old age and let their descendants continue their legacy. There will be no problem with your generation, but what about the future generations?
You are the prime minister now, so your son has become arrogant. You are the leader of the heroes of the Jingnan Campaign, so your son does not even care about the royal relatives. This is the root of the disaster, and it is not what I want to see.
The Wei family was promoted by Emperor Xiaowu and existed for only a few decades, without experiencing a major decline.
Look at the Yuancong heroes. There were hundreds of them when Emperor Gao founded the country, but only dozens of them remain today. Does this mean that the Han Dynasty was unwilling to share wealth and honor with them?
It was because his descendants were too useless. Not only did they have no achievements, but they also kept doing the wrong things.
I appreciate your contributions and your kindness to the descendants of Wei, but after you pass away, I really don’t know how long I can tolerate your son.
The fathers made great contributions, but their descendants squandered the money and eventually lost the family fortune. Aren't such cases uncommon?
It is better to return to Guandong and live in a marquisate where I cannot see you and do not want to care about you. This is how you get the wealth and honor of three generations."
Wei Ping was deeply moved by these words.
Liu Bingyi said again: "I am the Son of Heaven. It is easy for me to give wealth and honor to the noble families, but I cannot give wealth and honor to myself.
I have been thinking about this. The emperor is the son of heaven who carries the mandate of heaven. If the emperor has no prestige, how can he suppress the four poles of heaven and earth? How can he rule the subjects of the world?
Am I the emperor who has received the Mandate of Heaven, or am I the emperor who is supported by the princes?
I have thought about it for a long time. I must be the Son of Heaven who has received the Mandate of Heaven. Otherwise, the scattered hearts of the people in this world cannot be gathered together. Instead, I should be above the princes.
Those traitors are framing you, but what they said is very true, that is, people in the world no longer take the emperor seriously! "
Such heart-piercing words!
Wei Ping kowtowed directly and said tremblingly: "Your Majesty, we treat you with respect and have absolutely no intention of rebelling."
Liu Bingyi said calmly: "I know, otherwise why would I tell you these things from my heart?
But it is a fact that people all over the world are divided. If people are not united, does the Prime Minister know what will happen?
Will split!
Division means chaos, bloody killings and death, and the victims will not just be one family or one surname.
Everything I have done since I ascended the throne has been for this one thing, and that is to strengthen the authority of the Emperor.
Do you understand? "
Wei Ping didn't understand, but Luo Sheng had said the same thing to him. After Liu Dan's rebellion and the Fengtian Jingnan Campaign, the prestige of the Han court central government was completely lost, the sacredness of the emperor suffered a huge blow, and even the Western Regions Protectorate, Liaodong Protectorate and Lingnan Protectorate were affected by the barbarians.
Hearing this, Wei Ping knew that the emperor was indeed hesitant about transporting grain to Guandong. He was worried about a disaster in Guanzhong and that the prestige of the court would suffer another severe blow.
If the change of ownership of Chang'an happens again, the destiny of the Han Dynasty will enter the countdown.
If Liu Bingyi had controlled the grain, Guanzhong would have been absolutely stable, and at most Guandong would have been disunited. Now that he had transported the grain to Guandong, he had put his throne in the hands of natural disasters, his ministers and the people.
What a difficult decision for a king!
That's why Wei Ping said that he was willing to risk his life because he was prepared to die in prison.
But the final result was much better than he had imagined. After all, Liu Bingyi was not a dictator like Liu Dan. If he had Liu Dan's character, he would definitely let the people of Guandong fend for themselves.
Wei Ping's resentment had mostly dissipated, and this time he bowed sincerely, "Your Majesty is kind-hearted, and I congratulate you on behalf of all the people in the world."
Yes.
Liu Bingyi was already very kind-hearted, and this was only possible in this world with a good moral bottom line. If it had been the Han Dynasty in the previous life, which had experienced a group of mean and ungrateful emperors, none of the heroes of the Jingnan Rebellion would have survived, just like the Five Dragon Kings of the Tang Dynasty, who were all killed.
Liu Bingyi said softly: "Prime Minister, please convey my thoughts to the princes and meritorious officials. Don't let the meritorious officials and the court become alienated. This is what I hope for."
Wei Ping kowtowed and left the hall. After leaving the hall, he felt cold sweat all over. Thinking about what was said in the hall, the worries in his heart gradually disappeared, just as Gongzi Sheng said.
"The emperor doesn't want to settle accounts with his meritorious officials, but since he's in that position, he's bound to do some things."
But as long as the emperor himself did not harbor any ill will towards the heroes of the Jingnan Campaign, Wei Ping had nothing to fear.
Liu Bingyi looked at Wei Ping's departing figure and whispered to himself, "The Grand Historian has written it down."
Sima Qian walked out from behind the pillar, holding a pen in one hand and a book in the other, and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, I will report to you without missing a single word."
Liu Bingyi asked: "When the Grand Historian is in charge of writing history, what is the standard for likes and dislikes and right and wrong?"
Sima Qian replied: "Let the king's likes and dislikes be his own, and let the Luogong Chunqiu - Zhengzhi be the standard. The subtle words and profound meanings, the praise and criticism of a word, the right and wrong, should be recorded and written down without any changes, and left for future generations."
Liu Bingyi asked again: "When will this glorious history be passed down?"
Sima Qian replied: "History emerges when people die."
Liu Bingyi nodded, indicating that he understood and did not ask any more questions.
…
Only a few days after the conversation between the emperor and his ministers, Wei Ping submitted a petition asking to retire. Liu Bingyi naturally could not agree directly as that would be too embarrassing for Wei Ping. So he issued an edict to retain him, and Wei Ping explained his reasons again. After two rounds of this, Liu Bingyi finally agreed to Wei Ping's petition.
The next day.
An imperial edict was issued: "In the fifteenth year of Emperor Li's Yuanzheng reign, the meritorious officials who pacified the rebellion revived the country and made great contributions to the country. Today, Guanzhong has gradually prospered, and refugees from Guandong have gradually returned home. The disasters caused by Emperor Li have gradually disappeared.
Now the Prime Minister is leaving me. I look around and find that all the heroes of the past are no longer by my side. This must be because my virtue is not enough, and the rewards I give are too little.
The Emperor Gao bestowed grace upon Yuan Cong and his merits, which led to the present situation.
Now, I want to announce to the world that the fiefdoms of the princes who participated in the Jingnan Rebellion will be able to continue for one more generation, and the records of the county governors who participated in the Jingnan Rebellion will be excellent. The best among them will be granted the titles of Guannei Hou and Lie Hou, and the sons of the loyal and heroic officials of the county and county officials will be selected as scholars.
I swear to increase the fiefs of the marquisates by 500 to 1,000 households.
Even if the towering mountains disappear, even if the mighty rivers dry up, let your country and dynasty last until the end, let your descendants continue to inherit, and your fiefdom will not be abolished. "
Liu Bingyi was a man who either didn't do anything or did it to the end. Once he decided not to hold accountable the heroes of the Jingnan Rebellion, he had to eliminate their vigilance.
This was an unprecedented lavish spending of money, especially the increase in fiefdoms was really outrageous, almost 200,000 households were to be sealed off.
Using power to exchange for wealth is the same as giving up military power over a glass of wine.
The effect was very significant. The gloomy atmosphere that had previously permeated the city had basically dissipated, and among the meritorious officials who remained in Chang'an City, the previous mentality of "the rabbit's death and the fox's grief" had largely disappeared.
Not to mention that there was also the emperor’s oath accompanying it!
The last time such an oath was made was when the Han Dynasty was founded, when Emperor Gao and Yuan Cong's heroes jointly made it. Now the emperor has made the oath again.
This decree was issued throughout the country and reached the areas west of the Yellow River, calming the people's hearts.
The news reached Guandong, and then spread to various states and counties. Most of the marquises who had returned to Guandong early finally put their minds at ease. The Jingnan Campaign was considered to be completely over with the current emperor.
Lü Chan, who had been staying in Jimo, finished reading the letter with a smile. He raised the kettle in his hand and watered the flowers and plants, saying softly, "Grow more luxuriantly, and I'll use you to write letters next month."
Luo Sheng stayed in Chang'an for a long time, but tacitly did not meet Liu Bingyi. They were not from the same era.
"Emperor Gao's oath was carried out by five generations of emperors as regents. His hundred years of grace have led to the present result. Do you have a group of such descendants to fulfill your oath?"
Luo Sheng sighed slightly.
Seeing that the matter was completely over, he decided to return to Zhaocheng. When he was about to leave Chang'an, Liu Bingyi and the Queen Mother looked at it from afar on the city wall.
Liu Bingyi whispered with an inexplicable meaning: "Mother, what are we doing here?"
The Queen Mother narrowed her eyes slightly, "You have done very well this time. The Luo family is coming back. Emperor, you must be prepared. Whether you can become the fourth emperor to get the temple name depends on your efforts."
Upon hearing this, Liu Bingyi looked at his mother in surprise, his face full of questions.
————
When Yuan Cong was awarded the title by other meritorious officials, Emperor Gaozu swore: "Let the Yellow River be like a belt and Mount Tai like a fierce sword. Let the country be forever peaceful and the Miao people be loved."
When the Jingnan Campaign came, Emperor Xiaoxuan said, "The dukes and barons of the Zhou dynasty have existed for more than a thousand years through three dynasties, and their names are still recorded in history. I swear: 'Let the mountains have no edges, the rivers dry up, and the country and the dynasty come to an end together, without interruption of hereditary rule.'"
The emperor had always wanted to strengthen its roots, but after more than a hundred years, some of its branches and leaves had withered, while others had grown luxuriantly and towered like a canopy. This was all due to his own merits and demerits. - "Records of the Grand Historian: Chronological Table of Meritorious Officials Since the Rise of the Han Dynasty"
(End of this chapter)
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