My life is like walking on thin ice

Chapter 418: The decline of the foreign relatives is irreversible
"Nanpi Hou?"

"Dou Pengzu???"

Weiyang Palace, Changle Hall.

Liu Rong was surprised and felt disappointed when he learned that Empress Dowager Dou of the Eastern Palace was not furious because of his implicit criticism of Huang-Lao school of thought, but instead allowed the Marquis of Nanpi, a prominent relative of the emperor, to take part in the imperial examination, which would allow him to obtain an official position of 400 stones at most.

——The old queen mother gave Liu Rong enough face.

It can be said that, to the greatest extent possible, she stood in the position of "Empress Dowager Han" rather than the personal standpoint of "Dou Yifang", playing the role she should have played and taking the attitude she should have taken.

As for the fact that Dou Pengzu, Marquis of Nanpi, participated in this imperial examination, Liu Rong did not think too deeply about it.

——Dou Ying, Marquis of Weiqi, was the most outstanding of the second generation of nephews and nephews of the Dou family’s in-laws.
Dou Pengzu, Marquis of Nanpi, was the most outstanding direct descendant of the second generation of the Dou family.

To put it bluntly, although Dou Pengzu was only average, he was also a legitimate descendant of the second generation.

As for Dou Ying, although he was extremely talented, he was born into a side branch.

It is not difficult to understand from this that no matter how mediocre the emperor Dou Pengzu was, he was still the most outstanding one in the direct lineage of the Dou family.

Dou Ying, who was extremely talented, was an example of a genius who unexpectedly emerged from a side branch.

Dou Pengzu was an average-looking person, but he was the best work that his direct descendant had invested countless efforts in and carefully cultivated since childhood.

In other words, the imperial examination was no problem at all for Dou Pengzu.

To put it bluntly - if Dou Pengzu could not even pass the imperial examination for selecting officials at the highest level of 400 shi and the lowest level of 100 shi, then he would not be able to hold any important position in the court even with the bonus of being a relative of the emperor.

However, the fact is: as early as during the reign of the previous emperor, Dou Pengzu, Marquis of Nanpi, had already served as Fengchang Qing, one of the Nine Ministers.

If it were not for the fact that after the Wu-Chu Rebellion was quelled, Dou Ying, the original Prince's Household Director, was promoted to Prince's Tutor, and the position of Prince's Household Director was replaced by Dou Pengzu, who served concurrently, and then was abandoned by Liu Rong because of his stance and dismissed from his post, Dou Pengzu would at least be an unremarkable one of the Nine Ministers of the Han Dynasty today.

Let the nine ministers of the Han Dynasty take an imperial examination to select officials at the 400-shi level?

This is like asking a national athlete to participate in an infant crawling competition - just participating in such a competition is embarrassing enough.

that's the truth.

If Dou Pengzu had not had a "criminal record" and needed to return to Liu Rong's sight through such a self-deprecating show of loyalty, any other official who had served as one of the Nine Ministers of the Han Dynasty, or even an official of a rank of Qianshi or above, would not have lowered his status and fallen into depravity by participating in such an imperial examination.

Even with such a premise, Liu Rong still dared to conclude that Dou Pengzu was probably still deeply humiliated about this matter.

If there were not another political implication of "the emperor criticizing Huang-Lao school, and Huang-Lao school needed to bow symbolically", and if it were not for the fact that Empress Dowager Dou of the Eastern Palace personally pulled his ears, Dou Pengzu would not have been able to take the imperial examinations obediently - it would not have been impossible for him to hang himself at home because he "could not bear the humiliation".

In this regard, Liu Rong just wants to say: There is gain and loss.

Back then, Dou Pengzu, the Marquis of Nanpi, was eliminated from Liu Rong's talent pool because of his stance.
If Dou Pengzu wants to return to this talent pool, he has to do something to prove himself.

The best way to prove it is undoubtedly to start from the place where you fall: your stance.

Is it shameful for the former Nine Ministers and the former Prime Minister to take part in the imperial examination?

So shameful!
Among the new generation of Huang-Lao scholars, Ji An is the only "talent" besides him. Is it decent for him to take part in such a literary examination to select "pen-and-paper clerks"?

shameful!
But it is precisely because this is so shameful and disgraceful that it highlights how precious Dou Pengzu's action is.

——The imperial examination was a major policy that Liu Rong wanted to implement based on multiple considerations.

If he wanted to demonstrate his "unconditional loyalty to the emperor" in this matter, the best way would be to support the imperial examination in every possible way.

Among these, a relatively magical angle is that in the process of supporting the imperial examination system and expressing one's position, the greater the injustice suffered and the more shame one suffers, the more it demonstrates that one's support for the imperial examination system is strong enough and one's determination to express one's position is firm enough.

In Liu Rong's opinion, this was the main reason why Empress Dowager Dou forced Dou Pengzu to take the imperial examination by pulling his ear in the name of "giving an explanation to the emperor and the imperial examination for Huang-Lao school of thought."

——It is true that it is shameful and disgraceful;

But it is also true that he regained the emperor's trust and respect, and at least was relatively close to him instead of being distant and rejecting him.

Just like the declining Huang-Lao school of thought~
With the former Empress Dowager Dou being promoted to Grand Empress Dowager Dou, and the deaths of Nanpi Marquis Dou Changjun and Zhangwu Marquis Dou Guangguo, the Dou family of foreign relatives had actually embarked on a downward slope from prosperity to decline.

When Empress Dowager Dou passes away, all the wealth and glory of the Dou family's in-laws will be dependent on Weiqi Hou Dou Ying alone.

It is possible that by then, the Dou family will replace Dou Ying's branch with the main line. It is unknown.

As for Dou Ying, after his death, the Dou family's in-laws would probably fade out of the core of Han's power decision-making - and even fade out of the stage of history - just like today, with only Bo Rongnu, Marquis of Chen, acting as a front for the family.

Empress Dowager Dou was of course clear in her mind: this process could not be reversed;
Unless you want to learn from Lu, and go all out to make a gamble of "if you succeed, you will sit on the throne, if you fail, your bloodline will be cut off".

Otherwise, Empress Dowager Dou would have to accept the reality that the Dou family would rise and fall, gradually decline, and eventually "degenerate" into an ordinary aristocratic family.

During this process, the only thing Empress Dowager Dou could do was to slow down the process as much as possible.

It is like the core principle followed in later generations when treating certain advanced cancers that have not yet been conquered - cure is impossible.

But as long as the treatment is active, it is actually possible to extend the patient's life slightly.

As for how long it can be extended, it depends on the patient's mentality, treatment conditions, and a certain degree of luck.

The same principle actually applies to the future Dou family and the current Empress Dowager Dou.

——Lu tried to throw everything at the stake, but it didn’t work.

To prepare for a rainy day, Bo also tried it.

To this day, the deposed Queen Bo still lives alone in the Gui Palace, has never been favored by the late emperor, and will have to lose her virginity to be buried with the late emperor in Yangling Mausoleum if nothing unexpected happens. This proves that this path is also a dead end.

With these two failure cases in front of her, Empress Dowager Dou had no choice but to accept the reality: the decline of the Dou family was inevitable and even the gods could not save it.

Instead of worrying about it and having a headache, it is better to do your best, leave the rest to fate, and delay the process of decline.

Especially while I - while 'Grand Empress Dowager Dou' is still around, I should plant more good seeds for the Dou family so that more good results will grow in the future.

It was just that her past life experiences had taught Empress Dowager Dou a lot.

Empress Dowager Dou had served Empress Dowager Lu;

I have seen the Emperor Taizu Gao, who was on his deathbed, and the Emperor Xiaohui, who was young and frivolous;

In Jinyang, the capital of Dai, she served as a concubine of Emperor Taizong Xiaowen, who was then the King of Dai.

Since the Han Dynasty, Empress Dowager Dou has seen and come into contact with the most vicious, profound and people who can help people quickly learn the "human nature lesson".

These experiences taught Empress Dowager Dou that human relationships are unreliable.

No matter it is adding icing on the cake or providing timely assistance, it is unreliable in the royal family who only cares about interests and not emotions.

——Take Empress Dowager Lu for example, didn’t she ever show favor to the people inside and outside the court, as well as to the nobles and relatives of meritorious officials?
How is the result?

As soon as Empress Dowager Lu passed away and the Lü clan was defeated, it was hard to find even one person in the world who could say a good word about her.

Let’s talk about the Empress Dowager.

During the reign of Emperor Taizong Xiaowen, was it considered a favor to marry the then crown prince, who later became Emperor Xiaojing, to help the unstable emperor secure his position as crown prince?

Not to mention Emperor Xiaojing - even Empress Dowager Dou herself recognized this favor!
But in the end, the old Empress Dowager Bo died before she could see the day when the late emperor visited Empress Bo and gave birth to a child, thus continuing the prosperity and wealth of the Bo family. Such a big favor was not repaid in the end. Did the late emperor feel guilty?

Does Empress Dowager Dou feel guilty?
Of course, they all feel guilty.

However, even though I feel guilty, this is a matter concerning the ancestral temple and the country. Even if I feel guilty and reluctant, I still have to let others down and fail to repay that great favor.

This was the case with the Bo family back then, and the Dou family will most likely be in the same situation in the future.

——As long as she was willing to lose face and take risks, Empress Dowager Dou could easily force Princess Tangyi Chen Ajiao, or even a girl from the Dou family, to Liu Rong, and even enthrone her as Liu Rong's queen!

But what's the use?
She was just another Queen Bo who was trapped in Gui Palace and depressed all her life.

Empress Dowager Dou could also treat the court and the people well, and show kindness and justice to the nobles, officials, and ministers;
But what is the use?
When the day comes when the Dou family "has sinned against God and there is no hope for salvation," those who have received favors from the old empress dowager will not only not think about repaying the favor, but will work even harder to build graves over the Dou family in order to distance themselves from them.

Even if one treats Emperor Liu Rong well in the hope that Liu Rong would treat the Dou family as well as possible in the future, it is equally unrealistic.

——Whether to treat the Dou family well, whether for the current Emperor Rong or the former Emperor Xiaojing Liu Qi, is not determined by "whether or not they owed a favor to the Empress Dowager Dou".

If the country needs it, even if Empress Dowager Dou continues to do evil until her death, the emperor will still treat her well.
If the country does not need it, then even if Empress Dowager Dou condones it without limit and the emperor deserves to exterminate the Dou clan, he will still punish the Dou clan.

After much thought, the only way the old empress dowager was sure would be of some use and more or less influenced by her, and could help the Dou family gain more events was through people.

Keep more people.

In the court, keep a few more people with the surname Dou to protect the Dou family for a few more years.

As for whether these people can train younger Dou family members to enter the court in the future...

Thinking of this, Empress Dowager Dou finally understood the feelings that Emperor Taizu Gao had expressed when he talked to Empress Dowager Lu.

—By that time, I will have been dead for many years;

——Things at that time were not something we could foresee or control now…

“A maternal relative is a maternal relative;”

"Mr. Huang is Mr. Huang."

"Old Queen, are you trying to confuse the two - using Mr. Huang's influence to help the Dou family?"

"Ah;"

"Indeed……"

Realizing the hidden meaning behind the old queen mother's action, Liu Rong laughed and shook his head, and couldn't help but admire the old queen mother's political wisdom.

If it were someone else - anyone, using this trick of confusing concepts would not be able to fool Liu Rong's sharp eyes.

Huang Lao is Huang Lao;
The Dou family is the Dou family.

The fact that you, Dou Pengzu, came to take part in the imperial examination is clearly Huang-Lao school bowing to me!
Why should I give face to you, Dou, because of this matter - why should I bow my head to Huang-Lao philosophy?
Except for Empress Dowager Dou.

In the world today, only Empress Dowager Dou can get away with Liu Rong by confusing the concepts.

There is no other reason;

Empress Dowager Dou was not only the "Eastern Emperor" of the Han Dynasty, but also the grandmother of Liu Rong.

A grandmother of her old age is acting like a child, playing childish tricks. Does Liu Rong really want to expose her?
In fact, the old queen mother's humble attitude of "pretending to be childish" already had some flavor of begging Liu Rong.

——The Emperor’s grandson~
——I, your Royal Grandmother, have done this much~
——For the sake of a blind old woman like me...

Liu Rong is willing to give this face.

Not only that, or it should be said that it was not out of any respect for the elders, the younger generation, or the ethics of filial piety that he showed respect to his grandmother, Empress Dowager Dou.

But people all over the world will definitely hope that Liu Rong will do so.

Liu Rong needs to make the decision that is most beneficial to the Han Dynasty and the world;

What the people in the world hope for is naturally what Liu Rong hopes for...

"Nanpi Hou Dou Pengzu~"

"So I will always obey..."

...

"That's all~"

"Go and summon Nanpi Hou to the palace."

"——How can a noble man like Chehou and a relative of the emperor's wife take the imperial examination? How can it look like that?"

"If this gets out, wouldn't it mean that I can't tolerate relatives from the Eastern Palace?"

Having said this, Liu Rong nodded slightly and made the final decision.

"Let the Prime Minister summon the ministers to discuss this matter."

"After the year-end grand court ceremony, after the division of the internal history, the three divisions of Guanzhong resulted in Zuo Fengyi, You Fufeng, and Jingzhao Yin. I think the position of You Fufeng, Nanpi Hou is a good one."

...

"Also, summon Qinghe Governor Dou Rong to Chang'an to report on his duties."

"And a few days ago, Prime Minister Tao Hou Liu She again begged for his bones."

"Let Marquis Weiqi come to my house in person and persuade me to keep him here, so that the meritorious official won't feel disappointed."

"If you really can't persuade him to stay, then let Wei Qihou come to the palace to see me."

At this point, Liu Rong had addressed Empress Dowager Dou's concerns and offered the highest price he could.

It had been decided long ago that Dou Ying, Marquis of Weiqi, would be appointed prime minister, which was a natural consequence of the topic.

Dou Pengzu, Marquis of Nanpi
Liu Rong still didn't like this person very much, so Jiuqing had no choice but to give up.

Compared with You Fufeng, who was a 2,000-stone official, it was not an insult to Dou Pengzu's talent, who was "average in appearance".

As for Qinghe County, it is considered the base camp and basic base of Dou's relatives.

Even the county magistrate has been from the Dou family for three consecutive terms.

Summoning the governor of Qinghe, encouraging and comforting him was also a euphemism to express the intention that "Qinghe will still be under the control of the Dou family."

After such a series of combined attacks, even if Empress Dowager Dou was suffering from paranoia, she should be able to calm down.

As we all know, the Han custom;
Donggong Changle has settled down, and Xigong Weiyang is about to start working...

(End of this chapter)