Established a millennium family since King Wu defeated Zhou

Chapter 956 The undercurrent of the world
Xue Rengui led eight thousand Luoyang forbidden troops to Guanzhong, and then mobilized troops and generals from all the Zhechong mansions in Guanzhong. It was quite similar to the style of the Han court's forbidden troops in the past, who went out all the way to recruit good families in six counties.

When Xue Rengui went to war, many of Luo's children followed him, especially the second son who had not inherited the title. Many of them went with Xue Rengui.

The prime ministers have been paying attention to the war in Qinghai, and the logistics manager has arrived in Chang'an to guard the rear and provide food and grass for Xue Rengui.

Palaces are still being built in Luoyang City. Since the capital was moved to the Divine Capital during the Tiansheng Period, Li Zhi and Wu Zhao have been building various palaces and temples.

Li Zhi's health became worse and worse. After appointing Xue Rengui as the general manager of the Qinghai Road March, he once again fell into a state of inability to pay attention due to a headache, and even exaggerated to the point that he did not go to court three times in a row.

Faced with this situation, Li Zhi had to completely delegate the government affairs to Wu Zhao and let her handle all internal and external affairs. Then he summoned Luo Junzhuo into the inner hall. At this time, only a few people could enter. In his inner palace, Luo Junzhuo was one of them. For Li Zhi, Luo Junzhuo was different from other Luo family members after all.

Looking at the glitz all over the palace, Luo Junzhuo was filled with emotion. Today's emperor and the late emperor were really different. During the late emperor's time, this place could not be said to be elegant, but at least it was not luxurious. However, today's emperor and the queen both advocate glitz. .

Looking at the emperor lying on the sickbed, his face is withered and yellow. It seems to anyone that he has already run out of oil and his life is not long. But if you understand the situation a little bit, you will know that the emperor's appearance has been exhausted for a long time. For many years, no one knew how long the emperor could live.

Luo Junzhuo put away his thoughts and came to the bedside, beckoning the maids to come down. The maids bowed before retreating. Luo Junzhuo said warmly: "Your Majesty, I am here."

Li Zhi slowly opened his eyes. In front of him was a blur of light and land, which made him feel a little uncomfortable. It was this severe symptom that made him have to give up his power to Wu Zhao in recent years. If he was healthy, he would really There is no chance of the two saints Wu Zhao coming to court.

"Zi Yang, you and I have known each other for a long time, I can't remember."

According to family records, the choice of destiny is accompanied by the dynasty. All destiny starts from the first generation of kings. In other words, the person who got the destiny of the Han Dynasty was Han Gao Emperor Liu Bang, and the subsequent king, Han Xiaohui Emperor Emperor Xiaowen of the Han Dynasty inherited the destiny of the Han Dynasty from Emperor Gao of the Han Dynasty, rather than receiving the order himself. Can your Majesty understand this? "

The same was true for the late emperor, but King Su only gave this special favor to a few people. "

For example, he trusts Luo Xuanyun more than he trusts Luo Xuanling, who is a direct descendant of the late emperor. He is more distant from Luo Junzhuo, a direct descendant of Li Zhi. This is all human nature.

There is no one in this world who will not change, especially kings, not to mention people like Li Zhi who are plagued by illness. No matter how ambitious a person is, after decades without seeing the future at all, When you are in pain, it is basically impossible to ask for anything else, and you should calm down your restless heart.

This is especially true for a more emotional person like Wu Zhao. Because of Luo Junwei's existence and to Su Wang, she has natural trust in Luo, but this trust is also different.

In this world, no one dares to say that he can treat everyone fairly. If he does not have double standards, he is not a human being, but a saint.

'The silent darkness was split by thunder, and the golden light was dazzling, just like the creation gods splitting the light and darkness and separating the heaven and the earth. The whole world was filled with bright colors, vivid and vivid in front of thousands of people. '

Li Zhi suddenly realized what was going on and was extremely shocked. He had never expected this to happen. "What about Emperor Xiaowu of Han?"

Princess Taiping is exactly like Wu Zhao, in good health. After all, Wu Zhao is a strong woman who can survive for so many years and then give birth to children one after another. During her pregnancy, she can fight in the palace, handle government affairs at the same time, and still have time and energy to study. Even among men, it is rare to have Wu Zhao's physical and mental qualities.

Li Zhi's mentality now is much better than when he forced Changsun Wuji a few years ago. After all, everyone who can oppose him has been completely defeated by him.

Li Zhi recalled the conversation between the couple when they chatted by chance, and whispered to Luo Junzhuo with a hint of solemnity: "The Queen of Heaven and I did say that when we were talking and laughing before, my cousin is now the Duke of Jincheng, but This is not the end. In the future, she wants to give her cousin a title of Duke, and it is an old title from a great country in the Spring and Autumn Period. She wants to pass on the title of her cousin. It is probably also a kind of commemoration for Luo. , If possible, you can agree to the Queen’s request.”

You are my cousin. We grew up together. Among our relatives, there is basically no one who can compare with you. You are also married to my favorite sister. We are a real family, better than my brothers. And be close.

Luo Junzhuo nodded silently at first, and then whispered: "Is this considered an explanation from His Majesty to his ministers?"

As for the position of Emperor, I have been thinking about a question. Can I abdicate the position of Emperor while I am still alive?

"Ziyang, you're here."

Li Zhi summoned Luo Junzhuo just to have some explanation under the current situation where his body is unsustainable, so this matter can naturally be regarded as an explanation.

But for outsiders, the distinction is very clear. Even Li Shimin is not immune to the common customs. Luo Juncheng, Luo Junzhuo, and Luo Junwei are all the biological children of Luo Xuanye and Li Xiuning, so he naturally It's better for these three people, after all, these are close nephews.

Before entering the palace, Luo Junzhuo could roughly guess what Li Zhi wanted to say to him. To be honest, Luo Junzhuo was somewhat relieved to be able to become this person at this time.

Luo Junzhuo pondered: "Your Majesty was born in the second year of Zhenguan, and I was born in the third year of Zhenguan. It is indeed a long time now. After all, even children can get married."

Ziyang, do you know why I didn't establish another prince? "

Luo Junzhuo rubbed his head and said: "The Queen once vaguely mentioned to the minister and several brothers that she wanted to inherit a son in the eldest sister's name. I estimate that the Queen wants to marry the eldest sister, but the eldest sister has no children, or maybe one of them Is there any secret that I don’t know about?”

Li Zhi heard the words and put away the gossip, "I summoned you this time, but I actually don't know what to say. I just read the history books. There are always some kings who suddenly collapsed because they did not explain their funeral arrangements in the end." Death will eventually lead to big problems in the country.

I once heard that there were kings in ancient times who wanted to take care of themselves, but in the end they looked around and couldn't find anyone who could take care of them. Now at least I'm not at this point.

Now it sounds like Li Zhi has his own ideas. Luo Junzhuo said nothing, quietly waiting for the emperor's explanation, "The power of the Queen of Heaven has been no different from mine since the Tiansheng Year. If I don't speak, , then everything she said seemed to be as correct as a king.

When Luo Junzhuo heard this, his expression became a little serious, "Your Majesty, the civilization and spiritual world of Zhuxia have been completely different from the previous ones since the Zhou Dynasty. The birth of King Su changed everything.

Li Zhi frowned slowly when he heard this, as if he had thought of something. When Luo Junzhuo looked at Li Zhi's expression, he knew that there was something really going on here, and the Queen was really planning something.

Luo Junzhuo nodded and said: "Emperor Xiaowu of the Han Dynasty can be said to have inherited the destiny of the Han Dynasty, but even if he did not have the destiny of the Han Dynasty, he himself had the destiny, which was given by King Su.

This is the difference between the Luo family and people other than the Luo family. The Luo family has the stigmata. Even if they don't see each other for a lifetime, even if they don't see each other for hundreds of years, there won't be any strangeness. This is a kind of ghost. Spiritual connection in the underworld.

Speaking of entrusting you, this is really ridiculous. I don’t even know who to entrust to you.

I once heard that there has been no sight of the sky since the Zhou Dynasty, but is it true? "

This matter should have been handed over to Duke Yong, but Duke Yong is not young anymore. He was an old man during the late emperor's time, and he was also a fierce general. I am afraid that his body has suffered a lot in these years. , I can only trust you, Ziyang.

As for the future of the Tang Dynasty, with the Queen here and all of you ministers, I shouldn’t be too worried, but things like the Queen make me more and more puzzled. Sometimes I can’t figure out what she wants. What to do, this makes me feel very uneasy.

Can there be two people in this world who are ordered by heaven?

Luo Junzhuo's meaning is very obvious. The destiny of the Tang Dynasty logically started from the great ancestor Li Yuan, but in fact, even without Li Yuan, Li Shimin could still get the destiny. Li Zhi didn't feel much about it. In the Tang Dynasty, This is not something that cannot be said. When most people of the Tang Dynasty mention it, they basically think of me, Emperor Taizong Wen. Li Yuan is a very marginalized figure.

After Prince Li Xian was deposed, Wu Zhao was unwilling to establish another crown prince, believing that the remaining two were unqualified. What most people didn't expect was that Li Zhi did not insist on establishing a crown prince. If Li Zhi insisted, in fact, Wu Zhao cannot stop it.

Li Zhi and Wu Zhao have two daughters. The eldest daughter, Princess Anding, has been frail since she was a child, and more like Li Zhi, she has been in poor health since she was a child.

Speaking of children, Li Zhi said with a low smile, "The Queen seems to have always wanted to marry Taiping into the Luo family. There are only a few children who are the right age for Taiping, and one of them is your child. What do you think?" "

Even if she established a prince, she could depose him. Even if she established an emperor, couldn't he depose him?

This is by no means a lie. Until now, almost all etiquette systems and so on were established at that time. The supremacy of heaven was completely determined. Starting from the Han Dynasty, there was only one emperor in the world, and this was the supremacy. law.

Luo Junzhuo hadn't finished his words yet, "The Han Dynasty experienced so many kings. By the end of the Han Dynasty, the emperor at that time had already expected it in his heart, so he didn't dare to inherit the throne of the emperor at all. That's why Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty was appointed again.

This is another command.

What I accepted was not the throne of emperor, but the title of emperor that came from abdication. It was the title of emperor that I received. From here, the title of emperor of the Han Dynasty continued from generation to generation with the continuation of the dynasty, and was crowned on the heads of subsequent emperors until the Han Dynasty. The appearance of Lingdi, a single husband.

Everyone knows that the destiny of the Han Dynasty is coming to an end. After Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty, there are actually two emperors of the Han Dynasty. With the orthodoxy of the Han Dynasty, some righteous people said with emotion, "If the awe-inspiring people are still here, who is the Han Dynasty?" perished', but Han's destiny was gone.

Emperor Xuanlie of the Ji Han Dynasty was not appointed again until the Sui Dynasty unified the world. As I said this, does your majesty know what destiny is?
The destiny changes with the dynasty, but if your majesty really abdicates, the destiny will never come back to you, so your majesty must be cautious. "

After Luo Junzhuo's explanation, Li Zhi basically understood the truth. It is easier to pass on power, but it is not easy to pass on the sacred power. Normally, after Li Zhi's death, the new Emperor of the Tang Dynasty would only need to follow the normal procedures to get everything.

But if Li Zhi wanted to play tricks, it would not be that simple. Instead, the new Emperor of the Tang Dynasty would have to follow a set of approved procedures.

It would be really funny if Li Zhi abandoned his destiny in the process of inheriting the throne of emperor and his son was not recognized.

In other words, something so sacred as the throne of emperor cannot be easily desecrated by ordinary people, not even the emperor of the Tang Dynasty.

Li Zhi said with some emotion: "It seems that I have thought too much. This is indeed not a good idea. However, Hong'er and Xian'er are already impossible, and the remaining two are not worthy of me giving in. No need."

Luo Junzhuo was hesitant to speak. In fact, there was a way. The emperor's position could not be easily moved, but the emperor's position could actually be given away directly, but he thought about it and decided not to say that.

After all, no one had thought about it this way before, which shows that in the eyes of most people, the emperor and the emperor of the unified dynasty are still bound together.

In this case, there is no need for him to establish any new political conventions.

With his talent, he is still unable to confirm whether this political practice is good or bad, and whether it will have any major impact on the world.

Li Zhi didn't notice this scene. Seeing Luo Junzhuo, he stopped talking and said instead: "Ziyang, you have said a lot. Now it's time for me to say something. Where did I say just now?
Yes, when it comes to saying that even if I establish an emperor, I am afraid that the Queen Mother can also depose him. Even the queen mothers in ancient times have the power to depose and establish emperors, not to mention the Queen Mother who is just like a king.

If we were to establish a prince now, it would definitely be the third son Li Zhe. But with his character, I can only shake my head. He is really not like me or the Queen.

I have been thinking about a question. If the situation really reaches the point of deposing the emperor, why not make the situation stable from the beginning?
I don’t know what will happen to the Tang Dynasty in the future. I don’t know even the Queen of Heaven. I don’t know what she is hesitating about. She is not satisfied with either Li Zhe or Li Dan, but she cannot bring Xian’er back. In the end, I still have to choose one of these two sons.

What will happen in the future, I really want to know, but no matter what the future holds, the country of the Tang Dynasty must be stable. This is why I summoned you Ziyang. From now on, you must keep an eye on this for me. The Country and Country of the Tang Dynasty.

The Queen of Heaven sometimes has a crazy energy, you have to stop him for me, and I have always been worried about the vassal kings around me.

King Qin heard that he had crossed the Ural Mountains from the mountain pass and completely left the sight of the Central Plains. Even the Anxi Protectorate in the Western Regions had no news about him. Even the countries in Kangju had no news about them. .

With such a long distance, I have nothing to worry about. Needless to say about the Qi State, I have always been worried about Brother Yan. There will always be a battle between the Central Plains and the Yan State, in case the emperor who succeeds in the future is not capable enough. , For example, Li Zhe and Li Dan are both people with insufficient abilities. What should they do if something happens?

My health is not good, and my life may not be very long in the future. I don’t know when I will be able to control Bintian and go see the late Emperor. The Queen is several years older than me. Although she has always been in good health, she wanted to govern the country. With such a waste of energy, I probably won't live much longer than I do. With all of us gone, I'm not worried whether Li Zhe or Li Dan becomes emperor. "

Hearing this, Luo Junzhuo comforted him: "Your Majesty, don't worry. There are still many good ministers in the Tang Dynasty who can assist you. There are countless talented warriors and countless loyal ministers."

But Li Zhi shook his head and said: "If this is to deceive other people, forget it, but there is no need to say it to me. The most obvious characteristic of this incompetent monarch is that he does not recognize people well, employs people without careful consideration, and is easy to be believed. It is rumored that as long as there are these shortcomings, even if there are loyal ministers, capable ministers, and virtuous ministers in the hall, they will end up like Emperor Yang of Sui Dynasty. All loyal ministers, capable ministers, and virtuous ministers will be killed, and only the sycophantic ministers will be left. "

Li Zhi was quite sober. After all, he was the prince who had followed Li Shimin for several years. When educating him, he often used Emperor Sui Yang as an example. Although he didn't learn much, Li Zhi didn't like to listen to advice because he was in the government and the public. It is also recognized that the famous Zhenguan style has completely disappeared from Li Zhi.

But at least Li Zhi would not do anything to kill ministers indiscriminately, but Li Zhe, Li Zhi could not help but shake his head after thinking about it for a moment. Li Zhe is the kind of person who is nepotistic to an outrageous degree. It is true. People who will antagonize the outer court because of the words of the inner court.

If he had not been born into the royal family, someone of Li Zhe's level would not even be able to pass the imperial examination, and would have to live among the people all his life, praying not to be forced to death by subordinate officials.

……

Luo Junzhuo left Li Zhi's palace with a decree that had no effect. He said it had no effect because the decree had not been reviewed by Zhongshu's disciples. It only had the emperor's seal on it, but the secret decrees were like this. At special critical moments, this will can play a huge role, such as becoming Luo Junzhuo's sharp sword to stab his political opponents.

However, after Luo Junzhuo rolled up the imperial edict and put it in his sleeve, he sighed slightly. He hoped that he would never have the opportunity to take out the imperial edict.

After all, the news that the emperor's condition was getting worse could not be concealed. At first, only the prime ministers in the political hall knew about it. Later, when the emperor did not attend every court meeting, the news spread more and more widely, and it suddenly caused thousands of waves. .

The careerist realized almost instantly that this would be a new moment. The prosperity of the family may lie in this. After entering the autocratic era, the prosperity of the family depends on the favor of the royal family. Who can gain the trust of the royal family? Anyone can rise suddenly, even a high-ranking family.

Why did the wealthy families in the Southern Dynasty decline? It was not because they failed to take advantage of the new imperial power when the Southern Dynasty changed dynasties. In the end, the Southern Dynasty was defeated by the Northern Dynasty and missed the opportunity again. As a result, all the Jiangnan noble families became second-rate, except for the Xiao family. These few families have continued to be rich and noble in the past, but they are far inferior to their original glory.

It seems that Li Zhi's era is about to pass. Whose era will it be in the future? It seems to be the era of Queen of Heaven now, but everyone knows that Queen of Heaven is not young yet and there is no telling when she will die. And after all, she It is impossible for a woman to become the emperor herself, so there are only two candidates left to choose from, one is Li Zhe and the other is Li Dan.

Among them, more people chose Li Dan. After all, after Li Xian was deposed as crown prince, the emperor and the queen did not establish another crown prince. This was obviously dissatisfaction with Li Zhe, so now it seems that the possibility of Prince Li Dan is more Bigger.

Both Li Zhe and Li Dan's people began to use various means to say good things in front of Wu Zhao and give Li Zhe and Li Dan extra points.

Yes, this is a normal heirloom. Even Li Shimin only launched the Xuanwu Gate coup when all methods failed. Who in the right mind would directly think of launching a coup?

The only difference now in seizing the heir is that the person to please has changed from the emperor to the queen. After all, it is the queen who decides who can become the prince now.

Of course, there are also a group of former losers, as well as people who were rejected by Wu Zhao, who have united around some losers. For example, Li Xian is surrounded by such a group of people.

Didn't Li Xian think about returning to Chang'an deep in his heart, especially after his father's illness became more serious? Once he was recalled to Chang'an, he would most likely directly inherit the throne, so he was also trying his best. As for rebelling against him, it was natural He didn't dare. The Duke of Liao in the north was still staring at him.

Especially now, Li Xian has a deep fear of his mother from the bottom of his heart. Only those who have been opponents of Wu Zhao can understand the fear of facing Wu Zhao from an angle that you have no idea about. Suddenly a sword is stabbed. This sword will penetrate your throat and take away your life, but you can't even see the person holding the sword.

After Li Xian left Luoyang, the more he thought about it, the more frightened he became. He is still alive and sitting in the middle of Qi State. It is probably because his mother took care of the relationship between mother and son and saved his life.

Wu Zhao's sons were all trying to find ways to ascend to the throne. Wu Zhao knew it, but she was different from what everyone thought. Looking at these people, they all looked like clowns. She deliberately didn't speak. Let these people spend their energy here, giving a little sweetness from time to time, making people think that her attitude has changed. She is already quite familiar with this kind of thing.

But in fact, she has already made her own choice in her heart. In the current world, only Luo Su, Luo Junwei and herself know about it. Naturally, she will not leak the secret, and the remaining two people will definitely not leak the secret, so No one will know about it.

Wu Zhao didn't pay much attention to these sons and those who followed them, but there were indeed people in the Tang Dynasty that really made her afraid.

That was an entire aristocratic force that became increasingly powerful. As time went by, Wu Zhao discovered that these nobles from feudal countries actually had an identity.

Just like the gentry, these feudal nobles began to regard themselves as the nobles of the ancient Zhou Dynasty. This is quite scary. Once a group has a common consciousness, rules will gradually begin to regulate the group, and then it will become difficult to The existence of breaking.

For example, after thousands of years of development, the scholars have reached the present step by step. Even if all the scholars are killed, the new scholars will still be the same. At most, they will become more hidden, more powerful, and difficult to be caught. That's it, but essentially it won't change.

It is not particularly difficult for Wu Zhao to just deal with the high-ranking nobles. After all, these nobles do not have knives in their hands. As long as they continue to restrict these nobles in their official positions, and then cancel their privileges in a fair and consistent manner according to the law, It is not difficult to eradicate completely in the end.

But these feudal nobles are difficult to deal with. These people have knives in their hands. The simple nobles of small countries are not difficult to deal with, but if these people join forces with King Yan, it will not be easy to deal with.

When the late emperor placed King Li Ke of Yan in Mobei, he probably did not expect that it would have such a big impact on the situation of the Tang Dynasty. Almost all political decisions had to take Mobei into consideration. If a Li clan king stayed in Mobei, it would have great influence on the Central Plains. The influence greatly surpassed the Hu tribe in Mobei.

It is equivalent to a nomadic empire with a certain inherited legal system, and it will become the flag and slogan of some people within it.

Wu Zhao could only use softer methods to deal with the affairs of the country, and then slowly promote his plan.

----

The history after Zhenguan was so full of twists and turns, and the twists and turns during it have been vividly described by countless novelists. The vivid characters, as well as the complicated and strange current situation, have also been repeatedly portrayed in film and television works. Too many people will The perspective is limited to the endless changes in the situation, and it is believed that Datang experienced a serious retreat.

But in fact, during this historical process, the population of the Tang Dynasty still maintained rapid growth and had not yet reached its peak. The nominal sphere of influence and actual control area had maintained positive growth, and the empire's military strength had not yet reached its peak. Recession, endogenous expansion continues.

The fluctuations at the top of the empire were strange, and did not even affect the middle-level officials. For an empire with a population of tens of millions and tens of thousands of bureaucrats, inertia pushed it to ride the wind and waves. ——"The Rise and Fall of the Tang Empire"

(End of this chapter)