My life is like walking on thin ice

Chapter 402: Grandmother, what do you mean?

"If my grandson remembers correctly, when my grandmother entered the palace to serve Empress Dowager Lu, Emperor Taizu Gao had already passed away in his imperial carriage?"

Half an hour later.

Changle Palace, Changxin Palace.

The confused Empress Dowager Li had been invited back to the bedroom to rest with the tacit agreement of Empress Dowager Dou and Liu Rong, the grandfather and grandson.

Only the grandfather and grandson were left, sitting together on the imperial couch.

The old empress held the cane with both hands, her forehead lightly resting on the cane, her eyes as unfocused as ever.

Liu Rong rested his knee with one hand, held the tea bowl with the other, and took a sip.

It seemed like a casual question, but it caused the old empress dowager to let out a long sigh, and then she fell into long memories.

"In the second year of Emperor Taizu Gao, a girl was born to Dou from Guanjin County, Qinghe Prefecture, and she was named Yifang."

"Dou Yifang, the second daughter of the Dou family, has an older brother and a younger brother."

"——Eldest brother Dou Jian, courtesy name Changjun;"

"My younger brother, Dou Guangguo, has been a young master since I was young..."

In a dreamlike tone and from an extremely strange third-person perspective, the old queen began to recall her 'origin'.

"But at the age of 18, I looked like an old woman - my hair and eyebrows were all gone."

"Before he was ten, he had become a bald, eyebrowless weirdo."

"——My parents and the elders in my clan all regarded me as an unlucky person. They even despised me and kept a distance from me."

“On the seventh day of every seventh month, the tribesmen and brothers would go out to watch the stars – they said they wanted to see the Weaver Girl;”

"The only person who is bald and eyebrowless is me. To this day, I still don't know whether the 'weaver girl' they are talking about is actually a weaving girl..."

Whenever she talked about this past event, Empress Dowager Dou would inevitably fall into sadness.

On the contrary, today - this time when the atmosphere was the heaviest, the old empress seemed to have gained complete enlightenment, and her whole body exuded a sense of pure relief.

So much so that in his conversation, he often used the strange pronoun "that Dou Yifang" instead of "I" to narrate the matter.

"Dou's father was originally an official of Qin. He hid in Qinghe to avoid the war. He lived in poverty and enjoyed fishing."

"When Yifang was eleven, her father fell into the river and drowned while fishing."

"Due to Dou's father's funeral, most of the Dou family's land was sold off, leaving Yifang and her three children and Dou's mother alone without any means to continue."

"——In order to ensure the continuity of the ancestors' blood sacrifices and incense, Dou's mother reluctantly made her two sons, Changjun and Shaojun, slaves. No one knows where they went."

"That is Nv Yifang, who failed the selection and entered the palace to serve Concubine Ji..."

Having said this, the old queen paused for a long time.

After half an incense stick of time had passed, the old empress dowager finally woke up as if from a dream and focused her mind back on the present.

"The twelfth year of Emperor Taizu Gao."

"——I entered the palace as a girl from a good family in the twelfth year of Emperor Taizu Gao."

"At that time, Emperor Gao had passed away, his body was still warm, and Emperor Xiaohui had not yet come of age."

"Empress Dowager Lü promoted Emperor Xiaohui to enrich the harem, and Dou Yifang was born in a good family and entered the palace. She was loved by Empress Dowager Lü and served as a servant."

...

"When he was only a few years old, Empress Dowager Lu wanted to help Emperor Xiaohui and Empress Zhang have a legitimate son, so she released all the palace ladies and gave gifts to the princes."

"At that time, the State of Zhao was not far from Qinghe—not far from my hometown."

"But he had no pearls, jade, gold or stone to bribe with, so the eunuch held a grudge against him and gave it to the then Prince of Dai, who later became Emperor Taizong Xiaowen."

"Thinking back, when I learned that I was going to Dai State instead of Zhao State which was closer to my hometown, I was really distressed."

"In the end, I didn't dare to offend Empress Dowager Lu or disobey her order, so I had to obey her orders and went to the capital of Jinyang..."

After the old empress dowager's recollection, even Liu Rong, who originally had something important to say, couldn't help but be a little distracted.

There are some stories that, even if you have heard them countless times, you will still want to listen to every step and twist of the story when it is told by an old man who has experienced it personally.

At this moment, Liu Rong was in such a state.

It’s a pity that the “story” of Empress Dowager Dou ends here.

And those eyes, which were clearly almost blind but yet filled with an inexplicable cold light, were reminding Liu Rong: I have answered the emperor's question.

And the answer was very detailed.

Next, even if the emperor farts, it's better to fart louder...

After listening to the story, Liu Rong was about to get down to business.

However, Liu Rong's overall appearance extended to a point that the old empress dowager had never expected.

"So, although the Imperial Grandmother has never seen the Emperor Gaozu's face, she has heard a little about his way of governing."

After inexplicably stating the starting point of his argument, Liu Rong posed his own question.

"Everyone knows that Emperor Taizu Gao spent half his life in the military;"

"Since the anti-Qin army was raised in Fengpei, we have been either fighting against Qin or suppressing the disloyal princes."

"In order to raise enough military funds to fight against foreign princes during the difficult period when the Han treasury was empty and everything needed to be rebuilt, Emperor Taizu Gao had to resort to means like the three-zhu lead pod coins."

"——Why does the Empress Dowager think this is the case?"

"Why did Emperor Taizu Gao distrust future rulers so much - so distrustful of Emperor Xiaohui, preferring to fight to death on the battlefield rather than leaving even one or two foreign princes to future rulers to deal with?"

...

"Is it Emperor Taizu Gao, who is so conceited that he thinks that there will never be another wise ruler who can move the princes of different surnames in the future generations?"

"Is it Emperor Xiaohui who is so foolish and incompetent that he cannot even deal with one or two princes of different surnames, such as Liang Wang Peng Yue and Jiujiang Wang Ying Bu?"

"To put it another way, even if Emperor Xiaohui was really so weak and incompetent, and Emperor Taizu Gao really looked down on Emperor Xiaohui, didn't we still have Empress Dowager Lu?"

"Could it be that Empress Dowager Lu is unable to accomplish this task and eliminate all the foreign princes of the Han family?"

"Or maybe, Emperor Taizu Gao was too ambitious to leave even a little bit of his achievements to his descendants, and he insisted on taking all the credit for conquering the foreign princes?"

"If this is true, why did Emperor Taizu Gao take the lead in 'self-defilement', denying his own wisdom and might, and instead emphasizing the illusory divine right of kings?"

"How could such an ambitious person endure such an injustice?"

"How can someone who can endure such injustice be a person who seeks glory and success?"

Like a machine gun, a series of questions came out, and the old queen was a little confused.

It was just a moment of stunned silence that made the old queen blurt out subconsciously: "Of course not."

"The Emperor Taizu Gao is naturally a wise ruler."

"Every move and every word he made was based on considerations for the ancestral temple and the country."

"Therefore..."

"So..."

Halfway through her words, the old empress finally realized what Liu Rong was about to say.

But the conversation had already started, but the old lady took it up and dragged it along.

This time, Liu Rong couldn't stop.

"Grandmother knows it in her heart." "Grandson, I also know it in my heart."

"——Emperor Taizu Gao was neither ambitious nor indiscriminately contemptuous of future rulers."

"But Emperor Taizu Gao understood that the disadvantages of the princes of different surnames would increase with each day of delay."

"If it drags on long enough, even a wise and brave founding emperor like the Taizu Gao Emperor, who is 'the most meritorious emperor', may not be able to do anything about the foreign princes who dominate Guandong and gradually become stronger."

...

"So, Emperor Taizu Gao would rather risk his own old bones to completely eliminate the evils of the princes of different surnames for future generations."

"Even if this was done, Emperor Taizu Gao was the King of Han for five years and reigned for 957 years, but he hardly had a few days of peace;"

"Even after he lost his life in the campaign against Ying Bu, the Prince of Jiujiang, the Emperor Taizu Gao still did not hesitate."

"——My grandson has heard that parents who love their children will plan for them in the long run."

"Emperor Taizu Gao used every possible means, even resorting to extremes to destroy the princes of different surnames, but this was just a 'long-term plan' for the Han family - for the ancestors and future rulers including my grandson."

"Even ordinary people would have the idea of ​​suffering a little and saving money to buy a better future for their offspring;"

"What's more, he is the Taizu Gaohuangdi of my Han Dynasty. What's more, he is the county magistrate and the emperor of my Han Dynasty."

After saying these words, Liu Rong felt inexplicably proud even though he hadn't actually done it yet.

——In the last sentence, Liu Rong not only said "not to mention the Emperor Taizu Gao", but also added the three words "Son of Han Emperor".

Obviously, the old empress dowager heard Liu Rong's intention.

But after regaining her sanity, the old queen still focused on the hellish difficulty of the epic copy of Empress Dowager Lu.

"The beloved son of his parents has far-reaching plans."

"The emperor who loves his people will make plans to ensure their safety."

"--install."

"Nations may be strong or weak, sometimes strong and sometimes weak, but the one thing that never changes is peace."

"What the emperor wants is to strengthen the country."

“There are many ways to become a strong country.”

"But touching Empress Dowager Lu will cause unrest in the ancestral temple and in the country."

"Compared to this 'unrest', the emperor's so-called strengthening of the country - the so-called 'planning for future rulers', is nothing more than a flower in the mirror, a moon in the water."

It must be mentioned that as one of the only two politicians in the core of the Han Dynasty's court who had seen Empress Dowager Lu with her own eyes and the only one who had close contact with her, Empress Dowager Dou's fear of her came from the depths of her soul.

This was not due to the old queen's weakness or cowardice;

But among the eight sons of Emperor Taizu Gaohuang Liu Bang, except the eldest son, King Daohui of Qi Liu Fei, the second son, Emperor Xiaohui of Qi Liu Ying, the fourth son, King Dai/Emperor Taizong Liu Heng, and the youngest son, King Huainan Liu Chang - the heads of the remaining four princes and founding princes were deeply engraved in the old empress dowager's soul.

And the human pig;

There were also those innocent people who died tragically in the palace and whose bodies were never found - even their deaths were like falling leaves, failing to stir up any waves.

Empress Dowager Dou was afraid of Empress Dowager Lu.

Fear of everything related to Empress Dowager Lu.

But the old queen is by no means an isolated case.

It is no exaggeration to say that Emperor Liu Rong, who dared to touch this taboo and did not seem to be afraid of this taboo, was the real "outlier" of this era.

However, Liu Rong has always known clearly what he wants.

At this moment, Liu Rong also knew what he had to do - he knew that the Han Dynasty and even China needed such a time-traveling emperor to make shocking and arbitrary decisions...

"Mencius said: Born in sorrow, die in comfort."

"It is said: If a country has no law at home and no rules for its people, and no enemies abroad and no external threats, it will always perish."

"The Sima Fa says: Although a country may be great, if it loves war, it will perish; although the world is at peace, if it forgets war, it will be in danger."

"——The Empress Dowager said: The importance of the ancestral temple and the country lies in the word 'peace'."

"But my grandson wants to say that the way and the key to being an emperor is nothing more than the word 'responsibility'."

...

“Someone has to do it~”

"Just like Emperor Taizu Gao, he had to eliminate all the princes of different surnames, and Emperor Taizong and Emperor Xiaojing had to recuperate and accumulate strength."

"——Each generation of emperors has its own mission."

"You have to do it anyway. You can't escape it..."

Having said this, Liu Rong finally put down the tea bowl in his hand, laughed and stood up;

He symbolically straightened his clothes and slowly raised his hands to the old empress dowager.

Although Liu Rong pretended to be relaxed on the surface, a deep seriousness suddenly surged in the depths of his eyes.

"During the reign of Emperor Taizu Gao, the evils of the princes of different surnames were the primary concern of the Han family."

"During the reign of Empress Dowager Lü, the treasury was empty and the government was weak. These were the most serious flaws of the Han Dynasty that could not be ignored."

"Emperor Taizong is in power, and our Han family must recuperate and accumulate strength;"

"With the enthronement of Emperor Xiaojing, the Han family has reached the point where we have to eliminate the minions of our clan princes - the time has come to make final preparations for the decisive battle against the Xiongnu!"

...

"Now, it's the grandchildren's turn."

“——The decisive battle between Han and Xiongnu was nothing more than a grand event;”

"Even if there is no grandson, any of my brothers, such as Jiaodong, can also accomplish it."

"But what my grandson really wants to do and should do this time is to eliminate all the accumulated abuses of the past years and correct the world's views and opinions!"

"Of course, my grandson can pretend that he knows nothing and prepare for the decisive battle against the Huns. Then, he can rule the world with his extraordinary martial arts and live a reckless life."

"——Just like back then, Emperor Taizu Gao could have completely ignored the princes of different surnames and indulged himself in the greatest pleasures of the world in Chang'an;"

"——Just like back then, Emperor Taizong Xiaowen could have easily sat back and let the borders rot, the Guandong region split, the court become corrupt, and the people suffer."

"Just like back then, my father, the late Emperor Xiaojing, didn't need to reduce the power of the vassal states and force them to rebel in order to punish Wu and Chu;"

"Instead, I can stay in Chang'an and stay with my grandmother, so as to avoid being deprived of my favor by Uncle Liang and losing my mother's family..."

Having said this, the old empress still understood that no matter what, she could not stop Liu Rong.

Unless the emperor is deposed;

But the Liu Rong of today is definitely not the young emperor Liu Gong of the past.

It's not even the 'Emperor's Glory' of last year or the year before...

"Grandmother, what do you mean?"

"——Let's do it together to repay the kindness of Emperor Taizong Xiaowen and become a virtuous empress of the Han Dynasty?"

"——To stop it and protect the safety of the Han family today, am I a mediocre person?"

"Or, sit back and watch, let your grandson get beaten to a pulp, then step out and 'kill the tyrant', killing two birds with one stone - getting rid of your grandson, this despised descendant, and getting rid of this hot potato of Empress Dowager Lu?"

"Grandmother, how do you want to choose???"

(End of this chapter)