Chapter 39 Chapter 39 Dusk

In the era of Empress Dowager Lu's authoritarian power, just having a friendly relationship with the Lu family cannot become a talisman.Zhao Wang Liuyou is the best example.You is Liu Bang's sixth son, of course not born to Empress Lu.He was named the King of Huaiyang at first, but was changed to the King of Zhao in the era of Empress Dowager Lu.He married a woman from the Lu clan as his wife. But Liu You doesn't love his wife.It was a proud and jealous woman.He didn't even want to look at his wife, so he doted on another woman.His wife, Lu Shi, was so angry that she slandered Empress Dowager Lu.

—— Zhao Wang Liu You said that once the Empress Dowager Lu died, he would kill all the Lu clan. She falsely accused her husband of this. Empress Dowager Lu was furious and immediately ordered King Zhao to go to Beijing. After King Zhao came to Chang'an, Empress Dowager Lu imprisoned him in King Zhao's mansion in the imperial capital, and ordered the imperial guards to surround the mansion heavily, and no one was allowed to supply food.Although Zhao Wang's retainers deliberately sent in food secretly, they were afraid of being severely punished if they were found out.The siege of the mansion is getting tighter and tighter, and it is impossible to even try to get close.

King Zhao in the mansion had to starve to death. Before he died, he composed a song, the last stanza of which reads: If the king starves to death, who will pity him? Lu's reason is desperate, and he asks the heavens to take revenge! On the twelfth day after Zhao Wang died, there was a solar eclipse, and the day was still dark. Empress Dowager Lu had a sneer on one cheek, and said, "This solar eclipse is because of me..." In that era, changes in the sky and the earth were all regarded as God's admonitions to politicians.Empress Dowager Lu knew that her behavior was not quite right.

After the death of King Zhao, Liu Hui, the fifth son of Liu Bang, the brother of King Zhao who died, King Liang, was established as King Zhao.The new King of Liang was handed over by Lu Chan. Empress Dowager Lu betrothed the daughter of Lu Chan, the new Liang king, to Liu Hui, the new Zhao king. Liu Hui was unhappy about this. Lu Chan's daughter is not beautiful, which is tolerable. What he really can't bear is that this wife relies on her natal family's power to show off her might.Not only that, he even thought that the real mission of this forced married woman was to monitor his words and deeds.

"This woman is only a wife in name, and is no different from a jailer in reality!" Liu Hui then ignored such a wife and devoted himself to doting on another woman.It's not that he didn't know the case of his younger brother Liu You, the former king of Zhao, but he used the following thoughts to motivate himself: "Why do I have to bow to the women of the Lu family! I am the prince of the great ancestor Liu Bang!" The woman he favored was worried about trouble, so he persuaded: "If you anger the Queen Mother, you may end up in the same fate as the previous King Zhao. It's better to be careful."

"You don't have to worry. The reason why you ended up like that is because you obediently went to Chang'an after being called. No matter what the Queen Mother orders, I won't go to Beijing!" Liu Hui reassured her so much. His wife's jealousy is much stronger than that of the previous Zhao Wang, Liu You's wife.She actually poisoned the woman her husband Liu Hui loved. After lamenting, Liu Hui made a mourning song and asked the palace musicians to sing it, and finally committed suicide.This came just six months after his younger brother, Friends, died of starvation.

It was Lu Lu who was established as the new king of Zhao. Three months later, Liu Jian, Liu Bangzhi's last son, King Yan, died.Although Liu Jian had a son, the Empress Dowager Lu sent someone to kill him, and then made Lu Tong the new King of Yan. When the great ancestor Liu Bang died, all the kings from all over the country were members of the Liu clan except Changsha King Wu Chen. ——In the future, if someone other than the Liu family establishes himself as king, they must work together to destroy them. Liu Bang even said this to his retainers. The kings of the Lu family who were not the Liu family were born one after another, but the kings of the Liu family were destroyed one by one.

Although he is not the king of the Lu family, Zhang Yan, the son of Princess Lu Yuan, the daughter of the Empress Dowager Lu, was established as the King of Lu, and the son of the younger sister of the Empress Dowager Lu was established as the King of Langya.Therefore, not only the central government, but even most of the localities belong to the Lu family. Why did the retainers who received Liu Bang's order that "people other than the Liu family must work together to destroy them when they establish themselves as kings" silently ignore the succession of kings of the Lu family?

The reasons can be listed as follows: First, the heroes of troubled times who fought across the battlefield in the past, after becoming famous, began to feel unwilling to lose the position they had so hard to obtain.The army of the Han Empire is already under the control of the Lu family.To overthrow the Lu clan, one must fight against the army.But the old hero is no longer willing to take this risk. Second, Empress Dowager Lu is old.The old woman's remaining years are numbered.Lu's tyranny is entirely due to the existence of this old woman who can do whatever she wants.It's better to wait for her to talk about it a hundred years later!There is no need to force it for the time being...Prime Minister Chen Ping and Taiwei Zhou Bo both have this idea.

It was originally decided by Chen Ping and Zhou Bo to establish the Lu family as the kings of all regions.They were also the ones who handed over the general power to the Lu family. The tough guy Wangling questioned Chen Ping and Zhou Bo angrily about this, and they replied: "You are a man of outspokenness, which we admire from the bottom of our hearts. But the Han Empire and the descendants of the Liu family cannot be stabilized by speaking outright. We did It's something you can't do." As mentioned earlier, it was Zhang Biqiang who was only fifteen years old who encouraged Chen Ping to use the Lu family.Chen Ping, an experienced prime minister, actually listened to the opinions of a fifteen-year-old boy. This account in "Historical Records" must have its background.Zhang Biqiang is the son of Zhang Liang, a resourceful man.

Zhang Liang has become a reclusive person. He fasted five grains and claimed to become a fairy. After Liu Bang died, he never appeared on the political stage.Chen Ping probably sought advice from his father Zhang Liang through this young man, right? ——The chaotic world is finally unified.This is the time to prioritize the preservation of the precious peace.Empress Dowager Lu is cruel, mean, and suspicious by nature. If she makes her disturbed, I don't know what will happen.So the priority now is to reassure her.Anyway, it is impossible for her to live for another few decades.Temporarily hand over all military power and political power to the Lu family!In this way, she should not do anything earth-shattering. Zhang Liang must have expressed this opinion to Chen Ping through his son. Empress Dowager Lu's actions and crimes can indeed be clearly seen.She not only killed Ruyi, starved Liu You to death, but also forced Liu Hui to commit suicide.She caused her husband's three sons born to other women to die one after another, and it was even rumored that the death of the last son Liu Jian was the result of her own planning.Even so, there are many of Liu Bang's sons who survived. This is probably due to the fact that the Empress Dowager Lu felt more at ease after she took control of the military and political power!If she was in a state of anxiety, all those who inherited Liu Bang's blood should be killed. ——What should the Queen Mother do after her death? When Chen Ping asked, the boy replied: ——Let me answer this question tomorrow! The reason why the boy answered in this way was to go home and ask his father Zhang Liang for advice.The next day, the boy gave such a simple and concise answer: —Military power must be regained.Taiwei Zhou Bo should be responsible for this matter. But the boy didn't tell Chen Ping what his father muttered afterwards. ——It doesn’t matter whether the master of the world is the Liu family or the Lu family, as long as the people can live and work in peace and contentment. In a word, it's time to wait for everything to work out.In other words, the turning point must wait until the death of the Empress Dowager Lu. Everyone is looking forward to returning to the West as soon as possible. Apart from Queen Mother Lu, there is probably no other person like this in the world, right? In March of the eighth year, Empress Dowager Lu performed the "exorcism" ceremony. "Qi Qu" means fasting, bathing, praying to God, and getting rid of bad luck.When holding this ceremony, a bow made of mahogany and arrows of thorns must be used.According to legend, peach trees have the power to exorcise evil spirits, and peach trees are planted at the entrance or around some villages for this purpose. "楓禊" (washing by the water to get rid of bad luck) is also a kind of "楓消". Exorcism is customarily held on "Shangsi Day in March" (the first Si day in March).Since the Wei Dynasty in the third century, this day has been changed to March 3rd regardless of whether it is Siri or not. The Dragon Boat Festival was originally the first noon day in May, so it was called the Dragon Boat Festival, but later it was fixed on May 5th, and the situation is the same. In the first ten days of March in the old calendar, the climate warms up suddenly, so it is suitable for auspiciousness.It is customary for the Han royal family to hold auspicious rituals on the banks of the Bashui River near Chang'an. Since the Empress Dowager Lu was already old, this day's exorcism made her feel unwell.She had a slight fever on the way home. On the way home, people seemed to see a monster like a gray dog ​​jumping into the armpit of Empress Dowager Lu suddenly.However, when you look carefully, the monster has disappeared. In that era, whenever a change occurred, a fortune-teller was needed for divination. "This is the work of the late King Zhao Ruyi," said the divination master. In China, yellow is considered the most noble color and the center color of all colors.The four colors surrounding yellow are the basic colors, representing the direction on the one hand and its guardian animal on the other.The classification is as follows: The green is the east, the season is spring, and the god is the green dragon. (This is where the word "youth" comes from) The red is south, the season is summer, and the god is Suzaku. White is the west, the season is autumn, and the god is the white tiger. Black (Xuan) is the north, the season is winter, and the god is Xuanwu (tortoise). Dogs come in white, black, or yellow, but blue dogs (pale dogs) are almost never seen. Du Fu, a poet of later generations, once used "canggou" to describe the clouds moving in the sky, referring to the artistic conception as "unfathomable and strange things".Such a wonderful gray dog ​​jumping into the armpit is naturally an ominous omen. Hearing what the fortune-teller said, Empress Dowager Lu nodded slightly.Because that's what actually happened. "If this is Ruyi's trouble, it must be his mother's trouble together. It must be unusual for this pair of mother and son to make trouble together?" Empress Dowager Lu murmured. She once killed Ruyi with poison, and turned her into a "human pig" in extremely cruel ways to her mother, Mrs. Qi.When the ghosts of these two people unite to cause trouble, what other method can we get rid of?Thinking of this, Empress Dowager Lu could only sigh. "Historical Records" records: Empress Gao (Empress Lu) was ill and injured. It turned out that the armpit where Canggou jumped into began to feel uncomfortable.Perhaps it is what is called breast cancer today? Empress Lu fell ill in March, and the Han River flooded in April, losing more than ten thousand families.Natural disasters were considered a manifestation of providence at the time.The flooding of the Han River is by no means a good omen. "It's all because of me." This was the case during the solar eclipse, and the Empress Dowager Lu also said the same thing on the sick bed when the Han River flooded. Desperate—she knew that best herself. "If you want to trouble me, just come!" She even prayed like this on the sick bed. She prayed that all the souls killed by her would take her as the object of resentment, so as not to bring disaster to the Lu family. ——As the head of the clan, she had such thoughts. "I hope I can live another ten years..." Empress Dowager Lu often said this sentence in a rambling manner. If she lives another ten years, she is sure that the Lu family will rule the world.Up to now, due to her unremitting efforts, the strength of the Lu family has indeed developed significantly.But there are still quite a few ministers and generals promoted by the Liu family. "The situation is probably evenly divided, right?" she thought. Evenly divided is an estimate that includes her strength.If she died, the ratio would of course be greatly tilted to the other side.Thinking of this made her restless. This ratio must be strengthened while he is still alive. Empress Dowager Lu called Lu Chan, the general of the Northern Army, and Lu Lu, the leader of the Southern Army, to the side of the sick bed. "The two of you are the two pillars of the Lu family. The pillars must be absolutely solid. The retainers promoted by the Liu family are extremely dissatisfied with the status quo. Moreover, the emperor is still young, so the safety of the Lu family depends on you two! You must take good care of yourself. Only by mastering the army can the Lu clan be safe and peaceful. This point must not be forgotten!" After she finished speaking, she murmured again: "I hope I can live another ten years..." Maybe it's the loss of eyesight. She often said, "It's so dark, so dark! Why is it so dark around here?" To this, the maids who waited on the sickbed were used to reply even during the day: "That's because it's dusk." Before she died, the Empress Dowager Lu called Lu Lu and Lu Chan to her pillow to tell her about the funeral: "My funeral does not need to be grand. It would be a disaster if the palace was occupied by dissatisfied people while the Lu family was busy with the funeral. .Remember! The army must be absolutely in control...After I die, an amnesty order will be issued...Lu Chan will be the prime minister...Lu Lu has a daughter...make her the queen..."