I'm really not King Jing of Zhongshan

Chapter 448 The Brothers Gather Again

After several years, Emperor Xiaojing's sons and kings finally gathered again in Chang'an under Liu Sheng's call.

Moreover, it is different from the previous situation where "the kings alternately enter the pilgrimage": this time, Liu Sheng summoned all his brothers and sisters to Beijing at one time.

At first glance, this may not be a big deal: it is too troublesome to come one by one, so Liu Sheng doesn't have to greet each other when we come together?
But in fact, just because Liu Sheng was able to call together his brothers and sisters at once caused a lot of public opinion inside and outside the court.

--Security Question.

Since the Han Dynasty, the Chang'an court center and the local clan princes have always had a complicated relationship of being inseparable on the surface and facing each other secretly.

For the court, the clan princes are free labor for guarding the border areas and governing the local area, and on the other hand, they are hidden dangers that threaten the dynasty;
For the clan and princes, the same principle is actually true: on the one hand, the court is the "boss" and "superior department", and on the other hand, it is a threat that may attack oneself at any time.

Knowing the complex relationship between the central government of the Chang'an court and the clan and princes of the Kanto, no one will find it strange to hear this story that has happened countless times in the Kanto in the past few decades.

One day, a certain clan prince welcomed the envoy sent by the emperor in his palace;
The envoy chattered for a while, but in the final analysis it was one sentence: The emperor wanted the king to go to court.

At this time, the clan princes on the throne would lower their heads with a smile and deliberately look away from the envoy for a moment.

After the people around him stepped forward to arrange the envoys of the Son of Heaven, the clan and princes would ask with a smile: Dare to ask the angels, besides the widow, who other clan uncles have been summoned by His Majesty?

Oh ~
There is only one widow...

Then I would like to ask: After knowing that I am the only one who has been summoned by the Son of Heaven, will this clan prince go to Chang'an for an audience?

The answer is: yes.

It's just that before departure, this clan prince will try his best to write a letter to every other clan prince, and send the letter before he sets off.

The general content of the letter is: Brothers and uncles~
The widow has been summoned by His Majesty, and now I am going to Chang'an to face the saint~
Your Majesty said that he only summoned the widow to enter the court alone, but never summoned brothers and uncles;
If the real situation is not the case, you uncles must be on the safe side and act carefully...
The reason for this is also very simple: to avoid large-scale gatherings of the kings in Chang'an, in case they are caught by the Chang'an court;
For this kind of tacit understanding among the kings, the Chang'an court is also happy to see it succeed-the center of the court also wants to prevent the kings from gathering in Chang'an on a large scale to prevent turmoil.

What turmoil?
——Taizu Gao Emperor System: The princes and kings are not allowed to leave the fief without the emperor's edict, and those who violate it will be punished as treason!
Under the restriction of this Liu Han ancestral system, it is actually impossible to achieve too effective communication among the clan princes and kings of the Han family.

Gathering in Chang'an is undoubtedly an excellent opportunity.

Such an 'opportunity' was obviously not what Chang'an Chaotang wanted to see.

That is to say, in the past, when the princes and kings entered the court, they would maintain a tacit understanding among each other that "everyone staggers the time of entering the court, don't get together to enter the court", and the Chang'an court would also acquiesce in this situation. And so happy.

But this time, Emperor Xiaojing's sons were uncharacteristically—they no longer cared about the tacit understanding of the past hundred years, and gathered together in Chang'an. The political meaning revealed by it is not intriguing.

First of all, as far as the Chang'an court is concerned, it is no longer taboo for the princes and kings to gather in Chang'an, and even get a rare opportunity to "conspire against the law", which means that the Chang'an court is not so worried about the power of the clan and princes to a certain extent. become an unstable factor.

Of course, this also depends on Emperor Taizong Xiaowen and Emperor Xian Xiaojing's father and son, through more than 20 years of management, plus a smooth quelling of the Wu-Chu Rebellion, and a series of policies to reduce the vassal after the rebellion was quelled.

Secondly, for the clan princes, they no longer have to worry about being "one pot" because they gathered in Chang'an. As subtle as the emperor.

At least the brothers and sisters of the emperor are not worried that they will be stabbed in the back by the emperor's brother/brother.

This also shows from the side: Emperor Taizong Xiaowen and Emperor Xian Xiaojing completed the strategy of reducing the feudal vassals in succession, not only reassuring the Chang'an court for the clan princes, but also reassuring the clan princes whose interests had been violated.

——As the saying goes: A man is not guilty, but a man is guilty.

When the 'Huaibi' was taken away, the first reaction of the husband may be anger;
But with the passage of time, Piff will gradually discover that after losing "Huaibi", he doesn't seem to have to bear such a huge mental pressure anymore.

Furthermore, the credibility of today's Zisheng has been verified again through this gathering of Emperor Xiaojing's sons.

The fact that the kings dared to gather in Chang'an, of course, meant that today's Zisheng's credibility had reached the level that the kings were convinced.

And this is another amazing sight inside and outside the hall, and even in the eyes of the people in the world.

The emperor of the old Liu family actually started to keep his word...

·
The King of Linjiang arrived in Chang'an;
King Hejian arrived in Chang'an;
King Lu arrived in Chang'an;

King Jiangdu arrived in Chang'an;
The King of Changsha arrived in Chang'an;
Zhao Wang arrived in Chang'an;

King Jiaoxi arrived in Chang'an;
King Jiaodong arrives in Chang'an...

In less than ten days, among the sons of Emperor Xian Xiaojing, the clan princes and current brothers who were able to enter the court, all arrived in Chang'an one after another.

After arriving in Chang'an, these princes and princes were also very sensible: after worshiping at the ancestor temple as usual, they honestly retreated to their respective palaces and quietly waited for Liu Sheng's reception.

After being separated from his brothers for many years, Liu Sheng felt some genuine affection in it, so he boldly set up a dinner party in Weiyang Palace.

It's just that this Weiyang dinner, afterward, made at least three clan princes who attended the meeting feel: Back then, the Hongmen Banquet attended by Emperor Taizu Gao was probably nothing more than that.

——At that time, Emperor Taizu Gao was invited by Overlord Xiang Yu to attend the extremely dangerous Hongmen Banquet, and almost lost his life at the banquet;

But at the Weiyang dinner on this day, the things that the kings threw at the banquet seemed to be more precious and precious than life...

"Big brother!"

Weiyang Palace, Xuanshi Palace.

Even before dusk, Liu Sheng was already waiting in Xuanshi Hall;

When the elder brother Liu Rong's figure "slowly rose" from the long steps outside the hall, Liu Sheng couldn't hold back his excitement, and hurriedly stood up from the imperial couch.

——Stand up and return to stand up, but Liu Sheng didn't completely forget his identity, so he didn't go to greet him personally;
But to Liu Sheng's attitude, Liu Rong lowered his head rather indifferently, walked into the hall unhurriedly, and bowed his hands to Liu Sheng sternly.

"Wang Chenrong of Linjiang, see Your Majesty."

"I hope that my emperor will last forever and live happily ever after..."

As if he didn't hear Liu Sheng's friendly call, he saluted in a proper manner, and waited for Liu Sheng to say "Excuse me" naturally, then Liu Rong slowly straightened his bowed upper body;
It was only at this time that Liu Sheng finally saw clearly: the face of the eldest brother Liu Rong has been covered with a layer of beard...
"Brother;"

"--His Majesty."

A soft call, followed by relative silence.

From Liu Sheng's point of view, Liu Rong is really getting old too fast...

If Liu Sheng remembers correctly, Liu Rong, the eldest son of the first emperor, should only be six or seven years older than Liu Sheng, who was the ninth son of the emperor;
Just a few months after Liu Sheng became pro-government, Liu Rong was only 27 or [-] years old.

But at this moment, Linjiang King Liu Rong, who walked into Weiyang Palace Xuanshi Hall and stood under the imperial steps, looked like a middle-aged man who had been baptized by the years and was physically and mentally exhausted.

Especially under that layer of shallow beard, that cheek full of endless exhaustion, so that a natural chatterbox like Liu Sheng didn't know what to say for a while...

"Brother..."

"Thin?"

"——in the past, being pampered and pampered, I only knew how to eat, drink and enjoy myself;"

"——Being a clan vassal and shouldering the burden of the clan society, it is inevitable that I will lose weight..."

The dialogue between the guest rooms without losing the sense of distance made both brothers feel a little uncomfortable;
But this discomfort did not originate from Liu Rong's words.

——Zongshe is synonymous with ancestral temple and shrine.

But what is slightly different from the stereotypes of later generations is that ancestral temple and Sheji do not always refer to Jiangshan and Tianxia, ​​nor are they exclusive terms used by the emperor.

At least in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods hundreds of years ago, as well as in the Han Dynasty today, every king of a country was qualified to refer to the "Zongshe" and to have his own ancestral temple and shrine.

Think back to the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, what was the synonym for destroying the country?
Overthrow the temple.

The subversion of the ancestral temple here does not refer to the overthrow of the rule of the Zhou Dynasty, but the destruction of the ancestral hall of a certain family of princes and the breaking of the inheritance of a certain family of princes.

If this is not the case—if "overturning the ancestral temple" means that the Zhou Dynasty has been overthrown, then in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States period of more than 400 years, the Ji Zhou Dynasty has been overthrown many times.

What really made the two brothers feel alienated was actually this weird atmosphere.

Especially when the figure of Hejian King Liu De also appeared in the Xuanshi Hall a moment later, this weird atmosphere only made Liu Sheng feel more and more awkward.

"Hejian Wang Chende, see Your Majesty."

"I hope that my emperor will last forever and live happily ever after..."

···
"His Majesty······"

"It seems to be a little thinner?"

"--Uh?"

"--oh oh······"

"——Being the emperor, it is inevitable to worry about government affairs, and not to care about the law of meals..."

Responding to the concern of the second brother Liu De with a strange face, Liu Sheng was too embarrassed to keep his eyes on the eldest brother Liu Rong for even a moment.

Because at this moment, Liu Sheng thought of a certain advertising line from later generations.

all thin~
It's better to be thin...
"The rest of Lu Wang's ministers, see Your Majesty."

"Jiangdu Wang Chenfei, see Your Majesty!"

"Jiaoxi Wang Chenduan, see Your Majesty..."

A gentle and elegant voice, a mid-air voice, and a slightly feminine three voices, finally dispelled Liu Sheng's embarrassment;
Seeing a few older brothers who have played together since childhood—especially seeing the face of the fifth brother Liu Fei full of joy, Liu Sheng's face finally showed a sincere smile.

"Fourth brother, fifth brother, starling."

For these three elder brothers who used to live next door and loved him since childhood, Liu Sheng instinctively got closer.

Even Liu Duan, the starling who has always been famous for being "unseen", Liu Sheng will also love the house and Wu because of his siblings with the fourth brother Liu Yu and the fifth brother Liu Fei.

For Liu Sheng's obvious preference for warmth, the three of them seemed very natural.

Liu Yu nodded with a gentle smile, then walked to the side of the hall, found a place beside Liu Rong and Liu De and sat down, and then politely chatted with the two brothers—mainly with the elder brother Liu Rong Let's chat.

Liu Fei, on the other hand, winked at Liu Sheng overjoyed, as if to say: Come and play with me later!You must come and play with me! ! !
Liu Sheng can only say: This fifth brother really has never changed.

Young Master Fei is like this to Young Master Sheng, King Jiangdu is like this to Crown Prince Sheng, and Liu Fei is doing the same to Tianzi Sheng today.

I don't know if it's because of a change in temperament, or because of Liu Sheng's identity, he dared not come - Liu Duan's appearance was actually somewhat beyond Liu Sheng's expectations.

After all, in the past, this eighth son didn't even give face to Emperor Liu Qi, or even Emperor Taizong Xiaowen Liu Heng!

But on occasions where 'if you don't go, you may die', you can hardly see the figure of His Royal Highness the Eighth Prince.

And today's dinner party is obviously not such a life-and-death occasion, but Liu Duan still came.

Liu Sheng really didn't know whether he should say: Is this the starling giving me face, or should I think that Liu Duan has really changed his gender.

Compared with the eldest brother Liu Rong who became a little old man and the second brother Liu De who became more and more like a "reclusive scholar", the changes in the last three brothers of Liu Sheng are undoubtedly much less.

——Liu Yu still has the gentle temperament of a good brother, but because of the style of culture and education in Ludi, he has a little more bookish air;

On the contrary, the cynicism of hunting around the garden in previous years has disappeared from His Royal Highness King Lu.

Liu Fei still has the style of a small Zhang Yide, his exaggerated muscle curves have been fully grown, his arms are big, his waist is round, his back is strong, he looks like a strongman!

Just throwing it into the army directly, without any other factors to add points-this body alone is enough for Liu Fei to be a vanguard general!
But such a strong body, the owner has such a silly smile at the moment.

As for the eighth brother Liu Duan, it can only be said that he is still the starling that Liu Sheng knew.

His eyes were slightly dull, his complexion was as white as a woman's, and his temperament was rather gloomy.

It’s just that compared to the past, there seem to be some more uncomfortable things, and occasionally make people forget this uncomfortable cover up...
(End of this chapter)