Chapter 823 Monarch and Minister
Not all imperialists agreed with the little emperor's risky behavior.
At least Zhao Wen's elder brother, Zhao Qian, disagreed.
Regarding the court meeting on the 5th, he, like everyone in the government and the public, knew that this was definitely not Dong Zhuo's whim. He originally wanted to give advice to the young emperor, but the emperor did not summon him.
The plan failed, but Zhao Qian had always been concerned about the turmoil of being crowned king. He did not expect that it would end with Dong Min falling to the emperor.
But Zhao Qian was not at ease, neither with the little emperor himself nor with Dong Zhuo.
He knew the luckless nature of the little emperor, and although Dong Zhuo was seriously ill, he was still invincible. Who dared to underestimate him?
Therefore, after he went to court, he did not ask his disciples to take him back to his home. Instead, he drove straight to his brother Zhao Wen's mansion.
He knew that the little emperor's next move would definitely be known from this younger brother.
At his brother's mansion, he waited until dusk before seeing Zhao Wen return briskly.
The man was stunned for a moment when he saw his brother appearing in the mansion, but he quickly concealed his expression and started talking to his brother about other things.
But Zhao Qian had no intention of chatting. He was really worried that the little emperor would get hot and do something irreversible.
The emperor was too young and too anxious to do things. He didn't really think that Dong Zhuo was sick enough to be bullied, right?
Not to mention, there were also conflicts between the imperial court and several states and localities. Niu Fu of Liangzhou and Li Jue of Yizhou were both Dong Zhuo's confidants.
The governors in these places are all powerful, and they have already made great achievements in the process of suppressing the rebellion. If they really want to deal with Dong Zhuo, this will have consequences for the whole body, and it will affect the safety of the country!
Therefore, Zhao Qian got straight to the point and asked:
"I know that His Majesty has a good idea, and I can't help but that some of our veterans are conservative, but you, Zhao Wen, were also deeply favored by the late Emperor. Don't you know how powerful this is?"
Zhao Qian called his brother by his first name, which showed the anger and slight panic in his heart.
Zhao Wen's face became serious, he was silent for a while, and finally replied:
"Brother, let me ask, Dong Zhuo can abide by the distinction between people and ministers, but after Dong Zhuo's death, can his son-in-law, nephew or infant son abide by it? And when the time comes, the powerful King of Qin will be in charge of Si and Liang. If you want to be the emperor, can your majesty stop you?”
Originally, Zhao Qian was still trying to persuade his younger brother, but now that Zhao Wen asked him, he fell silent.
In fact, in the current situation, the emperor no longer tolerates the Dong family. Besides Dong Zhuo, who in the Dong family can restrain themselves from taking a step forward?
Even speaking privately, Dong Zhuo may have paved the way for future generations. He actually fulfilled the righteousness of the Han Dynasty and finally let his nephew or son be a bad guy. If he doesn't become emperor in the future, wouldn't it be the Dong family that has the final say?
From this perspective, His Majesty should indeed have made plans in advance.
So Zhao Qian's tone relaxed a bit and asked:
"What does Your Majesty plan to do?"
But this time Zhao Wen remained silent and ignored his brother's words.
Seeing Zhao Wen's appearance, Zhao Qian was furious and scolded:
"Why, you have to doubt me too?"
Seeing that his brother was really angry, Zhao Wen smiled helplessly and said:
"Brother, don't you still know that if secrets are revealed, something unexpected will happen? Brother, you'd better not get involved in this matter. Even if something unexpected happens, it will be a disaster for my family and has nothing to do with my brother."< br>
Zhao Qian choked, then laughed angrily. He said "ok" three times and was about to walk away.
When he reached the threshold, Zhao Qian suddenly turned around and said to Zhao Wen:
"Back then, the Yang family united with a group of people to eradicate the eunuchs. What was the final result? But now, compared with Dong Zhuo, what are those eunuchs? The more you try to persuade Your Majesty, the more anxious you are, the more mistakes you make."
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After saying that, Zhao Qian crossed the threshold and never looked back.
Over there, only Zhao Wen looked bitter.
Brother, brother, what can I do?
Your Majesty is in the deep palace, and many things can only be handled by me. If I can handle it, I can also check for your Majesty's omissions and fill in the gaps. If I don't handle it, will I rely on Dong Cheng and those people?
In fact, Zhao Wen's true intention was that he certainly didn't want His Majesty to attack Dong Zhuo so quickly. It was too aggressive.
Now that the Han Dynasty was riddled with holes, it could not withstand any more troubles. How did the Kanto court in the east collapse? Wasn't there several internal chaos?
But His Majesty is young, and there are many things that cannot be tolerated by the elderly. If he is instigated by ministers who can only talk on paper but have no practical experience, the Han Dynasty will be even more dangerous.
At this moment, sitting alone on the soft couch, several maids were massaging Zhao Wen's knees.
I have been discussing with His Majesty in the palace for a long time, and I have been sitting on my knees. My knees are sore in the south.
The maid gently rubbed her knees, and Zhao Wen's mind was spinning rapidly. He was wondering whether Dong Cheng was reliable.
Logically speaking, Dong Cheng is the father of your majesty. As long as Dong Zhuo is defeated, he will definitely have benefits. Although the benefits are not as big as Fu Wan's, after all, he and your majesty are one.
But in terms of ability, Zhao Wen was a little worried. Dong Cheng didn't have any successful record. In other words, when the late emperor was here, he served as a lieutenant general for a period of time.
But His Majesty trusted him and regarded him as a pillar like Wei and Huo.
Therefore, although Zhao Wen felt that this candidate was not suitable, he still did not persuade him to say anything. After all, knowing what to do is the wisdom of an official.
Just thinking about it, Zhao Wen fell asleep on the soft couch unconsciously, and then he had a dream.
In the dream, the entire city of Chang'an was ablaze, and there were shouts of killing everywhere. Zhao Wen wanted to scream but couldn't.
Until a flash of light flashed, Zhao Wen suddenly woke up.
When he woke up, his entire back was wet with sweat. When he saw that the maids were still kneeling to serve, he thought for a while, called a disciple and said to him:
"Go to General Jianwei's Mansion and take my greeting card to invite the General to visit the Mansion."
General Jianwei is Dong Chengye.
After receiving the order, the servants went out from the back door and went straight to Dong's Mansion.
……
At this time, Li Ru and others who had gone down to court gathered at the Prime Minister's Mansion. All the officials in the mansion were there, but Dong Zhuo was nowhere to be seen.
It turned out that Dong Zhuo had just taken medicine and fell asleep, and no one dared to disturb Dong Zhuo at this time.
So Li Ru took it upon himself to gather everyone together and start discussing the affairs of the dynasty today.
The first one to speak was the impatient Dong Huang. Seeing that his uncle was not here, he couldn't help it anymore:
"What happened to my uncle today? How to dismantle his own station? Doesn't he know that this is a major event for my Dong family?"
Li Ru's face didn't look good either.
Originally, in his rhythm, it was already time to decide on the final process of crowning the king. How could he postpone it until later to repel the Taishan Army?
What made him even more wary was what Dong Min said about "chasing the title." He didn't believe that Dong Min didn't understand the difference? Could it be that he thought he was going to make a wedding dress for his nephew, so he changed his mind temporarily?
As a person promoted by Dong Zhuo, Li Ru's interests are closely related to Dong Zhuo's.
Emotionally, Dong Zhuo treated him so kindly and it was right to protect his son from inheriting the Dong family business. And from a profit perspective, Dong Zhuo's son is younger and needs Li Ru more.
Therefore, he fully agreed with Dong Zhuo's arrangement, which was to use Dong Min as a front and then transfer power to the young king when Dong Zhuo's son came of age.
But now Dong Min seems to have other thoughts. If he can't be the frontman, who else can?
As he spoke, Li Ru couldn't help but cast his eyes on Dong Huang. Dong Huang seemed to have noticed something, and tried his best to smile and looked at Li Ru, as if to tell him that he was doing his part.
But how could Li Ru support Dong Huang? This man is just a hungry wolf, even Dong Zhuo can't stand the way he kills people, let alone him?
Moreover, Li Ru knew how to look at people, and he knew that once this wolf cub came to power, he and a bunch of old people might suffer backlash.
Just thinking so in his heart, he still responded to Dong Huang with a smile on his face.
Since Dong Huang can't do it, can Niu Fu do it?
Like himself, this man was Dong Zhuo's son-in-law, and they usually had a good relationship. Moreover, Niu Fu has always been a general in the army. He has many soldiers and generals, and can suppress the situation.
But this man is still in Liangzhou, not to mention that he is far away. Even if he sends someone to call him back to Beijing, if he is discovered by the wolf cubs nearby, he will definitely be unable to eat and carry him around.
Thinking of this, Li Ru suddenly had an idea.
Hey, isn’t there a ready-made one?
Niu Fu is the son-in-law of Prime Minister Dong, and so is I, Li Ru. Although he did not lead the army, which of the generals in the army did not get along well with him?
Niu Fu can do it, but there’s no reason why he can’t?
This thought grew like weeds in Li Ru's heart, so much so that Dong Huang called him several times, but he didn't hear him.
The last time Dong Huang got angry and smashed the snacks on the table into Li Ru's face before calling him back.
Li Ru touched the red mark on his cheek and looked at the snacks on the ground, his eyes narrowed unconsciously.
Dong Huang didn't seem to care about his rudeness, but was excited about an idea he just said.
I saw him shouting:
"Since Liu Xie is not even willing to give him the title of King of Qin, why don't we take the bird's seat directly? Help the Prime Minister up directly? I have said long ago that this Heavenly Family is inhabited by virtuous people, and the Prime Minister is the one with great virtues. ”
Dong Huang didn’t know that after listening to Dong Huang’s words, everyone’s common thought was:
"The prime minister is missing a great virtue when he has a nephew like you."
But they didn't say anything, they just made Dong Huang excited.
Seeing no one responded, Dong Huang pointed to Dong Yue beside him and said:
"Tell me, am I right?"
Dong Yue is not a member of the Dong family, but he is also a talented general in the army. He recently moved to the imperial court as the ninth minister, and his thinking is much more comprehensive than when he was a soldier.
He was very careful with Dong Huang. He cleared his throat, straightened his posture, and explained with great solemnity:
"It is already a big deal to dethrone the emperor, let alone replace the Han Dynasty. And now that the prime minister cannot govern, we cannot be independent in many things and have to rely on the collective efforts to maintain it. If the governors and governors of various places obey, then this matter can still be tried Try it, but if the ministers don’t agree, I’m afraid we won’t be able to do it.”
Dong Yue then further explained that this matter had to be discussed with Li Jue and Niu Fu, the two most important governors in Kansai.
If they don't agree, there could be trouble. So let's communicate privately with the two governors first and see what everyone wants before it's too late to do anything.
Dong Yue's words were very mature, but Dong Huang cursed him:
"Li Jue and Niu Fu are just retainers of my Dong family. Without my Dong family, how can they become governors? Do you want my Dong family to listen to their opinions? Have you, Dong Yue, understood the situation clearly?"
Dong Yue was so frightened that he remained silent.
But he knew that despite Dong Huang's loud clamor, few people present actually supported him. In the end, it still depended on what Li Ru and others wanted.
Sure enough, Li Ru and others paid no attention to Dong Huang. They all closed their eyes to rest and wait for Dong Zhuo to wake up before discussing.
Dong Huang couldn't stand the atmosphere here, and ran out after staying for a while, not knowing what he was doing.
As soon as Dong Huang left, everyone in the room started talking.
Among them, Tian Jing, the chief registrar of the Prime Minister's Office, directly reprimanded Dong Huang for his treachery just now, putting the Dong family into a position of disloyalty and unrighteousness.
The person said this:
"The distinction between monarch and ministers should be respected, and the defense of barbarians and Xia must be strict. The reason why someone reported to the prime minister is here, so the person who reported to the public is also here!"
Yes, this is what Tian Jing and others mean. The reason why they surround Dong Zhuo is because of his slogan of making the Han family great again.
And now, if we listen to that boy Dong Huang, wouldn't they become rebellious officials and traitors? When what they do today is recorded by historians, what kind of historical image will it be?
Tian Jing was scolding here, and He Yong from Dongcaobu over there also disagreed.
When Li Ru tried to say one more thing, if he didn't replace the Han Dynasty, would it be okay to abolish the little emperor? After all, seeing the little emperor has become an obstacle.
But with this sentence, He Yong also started to criticize him, and he scolded:
"The righteousness of the monarch and his ministers will always be there, and the order of the world will always be there. If the throne of the emperor can be easily shaken, there will be many people in the world who will covet the artifact, and then the country will be in turmoil."
He Yong also gave several examples:
"Today we can dethrone the emperor, but what if Li Jue of Yizhou and Niu Fu of Liangzhou welcome the emperor? Don't forget, we are surrounded by the tiger, wolf and Taishan troops."
In the end, he even thought about everyone:
"Since ancient times, how many of the ministers who participated in the abolition of the establishment had a good ending? Even Huo Degao, Xiyi, was not immune to being liquidated. What's more, we don't even have their virtues, yet we dare to talk about the abolition of the establishment?"< br>
These three words left Li Ru speechless, and finally he asked helplessly:
"What does the public mean?"
Several people at the scene discussed it and decided that it would be better to repel the Taishan Army for the time being. After all, in the face of a formidable enemy, it is still necessary to share the same hatred.
And this time the Taishan Army violated the customs, it was not entirely a bad thing. As long as it was done properly, it might be an opportunity for the Prime Minister to become the king.
One thing they all agree on is that the Dong family should have the surname Wang to give the Dong family a sufficient sense of security, so that they can lead the big man through the crisis.
As for why it is to make the Dong family feel safe instead of making the emperor feel safe?
The reason is simple, whether Liu Xiecheng admits it or not. That is, the Han Dynasty can do without you Liu Xie, but it cannot do without the Liangzhou warriors of the Dong clan.
This is reality.
Therefore, Li Ru and others discussed how to write something about how to catch the Taishan army in prison.
And over there, the waiter from the Prime Minister's Mansion finally walked in quickly.
He told everyone that the prime minister was awake.