Thousand-year-old family: its rise began with Shang Yang’s reforms

Chapter 430 A man named Yang Jian wanted to rebel

The king's uncle, the grand marshal?
What are these two people doing here at this time?
Chen Zhi took a breath, looked at Chen Zhan beside him and said, "Go and invite them both to the front yard. I'll be there in a moment."

As he spoke, he coughed lightly a few times.

Seeing Chen Zhi's expression, Chen Zhan had no choice but to stand up.

forecourt
Yang Jian and Su Wei, who had been waiting here for a long time, looked anxious: "We don't know how the Prime Minister is doing."

Su Wei's voice was a little solemn: "I have heard from the palace attendants that your Majesty's mood has been unstable in the past few days, and it seems that he is in a state of great grief and anxiety."

"A few days ago, His Majesty asked the imperial physician to come and check on the Prime Minister's health."

He was slightly silent.

Then he sighed and said, "Brother Wenda, what do you think we should do?"

Yang Jian just remained silent.

A moment later, the sound of footsteps was heard in the front yard, followed by a young man with a handsome face, a calm and peaceful expression, and a scholarly air.

But from his footsteps and gait when walking, it can be seen that this person is definitely a martial artist.

"Thank you for waiting for so long."

After Chen Zhan came in, he had a smile on his face. He exchanged greetings with Yang Jian: "My father is changing his clothes. He said that no matter what, since you two came together, he must meet you."

"Even if your body is in this condition, you must stand up and get up from the bed."

He looked at Yang Jian and Su Wei, saying little. He seemed polite, but his words made both of them feel a little uneasy.

Ask the Prime Minister to change his clothes and meet them? And he said he had just crawled out of bed?
Who in the world has this qualification?
Even the emperor probably doesn't have the qualifications.

Yang Jian smiled politely, with a little bit of discomfort on his face.

He looked at Chen Zhan and said, "Your Highness's words frightened the two of us. If the Prime Minister is still seriously ill, we should leave now. If we disturb the Prime Minister's health, it will be our fault."

Chen Zhan didn't say anything, but just invited Yang Jian and Su Wei to have tea.

His look was far away.

He could see the chaos in Dayu from the current situation there, and he could also tell what the person sitting in the front hall was thinking.

At this time, his father was ill, and the two of them came together, seemingly to check on their father's health, but in fact they were thinking about their future plans.

after all
Chen Zhan himself is also very clear about it.

If his father died of illness, the entire Dayu would be in chaos.

The situation in the court of Dayu is extremely chaotic today.

He looked at this seemingly benevolent "uncle of the king" and thought he looked a bit like Wang Mang, who usurped the Han Dynasty.

"Cough-cough-"

A series of coughs were heard, and Chen Zhi slowly walked in from outside the courtyard with a slight smile on his brow.

His whole body was stained with the smell of medicine that could not be removed.

After a brief greeting between the three, they got down to business - yes, when these two came, they had a mission, which was to inquire about the current imperial examination.

"Prime Minister."

Yang Jian's voice was filled with helplessness: "We have tried our best, but His Majesty is unwilling to give in. There are only about fifty places for the Jianwu Ceremony and the various policies in this year's imperial examination."

"Your Majesty has decreed in red ink that there must be 120 people in each of the categories of actors and immortals."

"And the many noble families and the noble families in the Imperial Academy also need some places, so we can only squeeze out about fifty or so."

Chen Zhi looked at the roster in his hand and sighed softly.

The seeds of this huge disaster had been planted since Emperor Chengwu carried out his reckless reforms.

After Emperor Chengwu's reforms, many aristocratic families asked if they could be given some of the places. So Emperor Chengwu established the "Imperial Academy", which was specifically for recruiting the children of the powerful and wealthy, and they had to be given some of the places in the imperial examinations.

Fortunately, these places cannot be resold or given away, and can only be used by the children of a certain family. This also reduces the value of these places to a certain extent.

This has become a routine since Emperor Tianwu ascended the throne. Many things cannot be done the way the emperor wants. There is a huge chain of interests behind it.

It was decided that a portion of the students from the Imperial College would be able to directly take the imperial examinations.

At the beginning, there were two or three places, and later it increased to ten, twenty, and thirty.

A total of 360 students were admitted in the imperial examinations of the country, which met the number of stars in the celestial sphere. After deducting the 240 places required by the emperor, there were still 120 places. Now, only 50 places can be given to the Jianwu examination, which means that the Imperial College takes up 70 places.

This shouldn't be the case.

After Chen Zhi pondered for a moment, he took charge and said, "Reduce the number of places in the Imperial College by half. If any student in the Imperial College has any objections, ask them to come to the Zhenguo Palace to find me."

After getting the solution, Su Wei and Yang Jian finally breathed a sigh of relief.

In fact, they also wanted to do so, but they couldn't, or dared not to do it - what kind of people were the students in the Imperial College? They were either children of wealthy families or children of the powerful.

Even Yang Jian himself, who was the "Minister of the Secretariat" and the "Uncle of the King", did not dare to offend the people inside easily.

"In that case, we will follow King Zheng's wishes."

King Zheng personally marked off half of the quota, who dared to object? No one in the world dared to object.

I dare not express my opinions, and can only mutter a few words in my heart.

After Yang Jian and Su Wei left, Chen Zhi picked up the teacup on the table in front of him and said with some emotion: "Alas, Wenda and Zhuangmu are also people who want to do practical things, but they lack a certain kind of heart."

"Without this mentality, they will not be able to succeed in what they want to do in the end."

Chen Zhan didn't say anything else. He just helped Chen Zhi clean up the table while whispering, "Father, why are you worrying about this? What did the imperial physician and Bian Que say? They told you to worry less and work less every day."

"This kingdom belongs to his Zhang family, not to our Chen family. Why should we worry about him?"

He sneered, with a hint of sarcasm on his face.

"Your Majesty has been hiding in that palace, listening to operas or searching for immortals all day long. I don't know what immortals he has found over the years."

Chen Zhi shook his head: "The sufferings His Majesty suffered in his childhood will indeed make his heart close."

"And the suffering has brought his body to the point of collapse. Even if he becomes the emperor, he cannot increase his lifespan."

"Nowadays, seeking immortality is probably just a wish to live a few more years."

He said silently: "Besides, what I am worried about is not the Zhang family's world, but the people in this world."

Chen Zhi's voice was filled with some confusion and worry. He said softly, "There are so many sufferings in the world. Nowadays, there are only a bunch of flatterers in the court. They only think about flattering the superiors and bullying the subordinates all day long. There are not many good people."

"What those Chen disciples did was not enough."

"There are so many sufferings and worries in this world. How can I put down this burden and truly stop worrying?"

Listening to Chen Zhi's sad words, Chen Zhan sighed deeply: "Father has already taken so much care of Dayu's country, so let's relax for a few days now."

"Father, you should prioritize. If you pass away at this moment, guess what, will His Majesty become even more obsessed with seeking immortals, or will he turn back from his ways? Will the people of this world live a better life, or a worse one?"

Chen Zhan squatted in front of Chen Zhi and held his hands.

"When you are alive, the people of the world have a hope." "When you are gone, not only the light of the emperor's heart is gone, but also the only hope in the hearts of the people of this world is gone."

He lowered his head and said, "You know, I will never serve as an official in the court."

"Even if I were to serve as an official in the imperial court, I would not interfere in this country."

"I will be a silent walker, watching the people coming and going in this world."

Chen Zhi stroked Chen Zhan's head, and his sorrow became even greater.

He understood his son's thoughts and the myriad of thoughts involved.

The present-day Dayu is like the country at the end of the old Han Dynasty. The most regrettable thing is that His Majesty today does not even have an heir, let alone an outstanding heir like that one who could be Guangwu.

This is also the reason why Zhang Annian is obsessed with seeking immortality.

It has been ten years since the current emperor ascended the throne. During these ten years, the emperor has favored countless concubines. Except for a few who are pregnant, there has been no movement from the rest.

And when princes were born, their bodies became very fragile.

Only a few could live to the age of three, and only one could live to the age of five, and that child died of illness two years ago.

From that time until now, there has been no movement in the emperor's harem.

Last year, Chen Zhi invited Bian Que to the palace to look after the emperor. Before leaving the palace, Bian Que told Chen Zhi about the emperor's health in Zhushen Tower.

Due to the emperor's miserable childhood and years of taking elixirs, the toxins accumulated in his body had reached a certain point.

It is difficult for him to have children.

Even if a child is born, he will definitely become weak and sickly due to the toxins in the emperor's body.

This is something the emperor did himself, and no one can change it.

Two years have passed since the death of the emperor's eldest child. During these two years, there has been no movement in the harem. The emperor gradually no longer wanted to go to the harem, but instead indulged in seeking immortality in the alchemy room.

No one knows what kind of immortal he wants to pray for.

What kind of truth he wanted to ask about was also unknown to anyone.

The only thing that is certain is that the emperor did not believe in Taoism or Buddhism.

He just liked to stay in the palace all day long, seeking immortality and asking for the way.

Thinking of this, Chen Zhi's expression became even sadder.

He didn't understand where Dayu's future lay.

Is troubled times coming soon?

Although it is not surprising, it does not mean that Chen Zhi is willing to accept it.

He still wants to try hard to change the current situation.

Thinking of this, countless strength seemed to surge out of Chen Zhi's body. He stood up and looked at Chen Zhan beside him: "Go prepare the carriage, I want to go to the palace to meet His Majesty."

Prince's Mansion

After Yang Jian returned to the mansion, he sat in the room with a puzzled look on his face. The room was lit with a piece of agarwood that was worth a fortune and was rare to find.

"lady--"

There was a soft sound outside the door, and then the door was opened.

A puff of smoke rushed out from it, filling the entire room with green smoke. It looked like the room was on fire. Yang Jian just sat on a chair in the room, sitting there quietly without saying a word.

Looks like a silent stone statue.

Dugu Jialuo walked in calmly, then opened all the windows in the room, then picked up the fan and fanned it little by little.

She sat next to Yang Jian and whispered, "Husband, what happened?"

"What could possibly worry you so much?"

Dugu Jialuo was born into the Dugu clan, which was considered a prominent family in the Dayu Dynasty.

During the reign of Emperor Tianwu, Dugu's ancestor had made great contributions to Dayu. He led his soldiers to destroy a country in the Western Regions and was later promoted to the rank of Taiwei.

And today the Dugu family is still prosperous.

Dugu Jialuo's father, Dugu Xin, served as the chief of the imperial court of Dayu and was one of the five most powerful prime ministers.

At the same time, Dugu Xin also served as the "General" of the national dynasty.

A rare talent who is both civil and military.

Yang Jian couldn't see his face clearly in the smoke. He just said, "I'm afraid the prime minister's health has been in good shape for the past few months."

"It may even be this month."

Dugu Jialuo paused and said, "Then my husband should be happy."

There was a hint of smile on her brows: "If the Prime Minister dies of illness, given the prince's personality, I'm afraid that even if he becomes the Prime Minister, he won't care too much about state affairs."

"He will definitely be promoted from his current position, and one of the two positions, the Minister of the Central Secretariat and the Internal Clerk of the Prime Minister's Office, will be vacant."

"The Crown Prince's concurrent post will probably be that the Prime Minister will also serve as the Minister of the Central Secretariat, and the position of the Internal Clerk in the Prime Minister's Office will be vacant."

"The position of the clerk in the Prime Minister's Office can be said to be the second among the five prime ministers. Then your husband can be promoted."

"And you can choose a suitable person to take your husband's current position."

"In this way, isn't it getting closer and closer to my husband's thoughts?"

Yang Jian sighed.

"Yes, I am getting closer and closer to my goal."

He stretched out his hand and waved it confusedly in the smoke, as if he was possessed by a demon.

“That supreme position——”

“Who wouldn’t want to do that?”

After saying this, Yang Jian fell silent again.

"wait."

Chen Zhi sat in the main hall, looking at the familiar decoration.

There was a sound of footsteps in the distance, and a young man wearing a black and gold Tai Chi Yin-Yang Thousand Character Robe walked over, his face handsome but with a sharp look.

It doesn't look like one can practice Taoism with peace of mind.

"Father, you are here."

Zhang Annian walked to Chen Zhi and helped him up. In his heart, the late emperor was not his father, but this man was his father.

"Is there something important?"

(End of this chapter)