My life is like walking on thin ice

Chapter 534 Brainstorming?
According to the original historical timeline, this year, which is the fourth year of Emperor Rong's reign, should actually be the tenth year of Emperor Xiaojing's reign (the third year of Zhongyuan).

In that historical timeline, Sima Qian's records of the Han Dynasty's few years were nothing more than the following points.

—Abolish the position of Imperial Censor in the vassal states to fundamentally deprive the vassal kings of their power to appoint and review officials;

Two minor kings of the Xiongnu came to surrender, and both were granted the title of Marquis.
The emperor bestowed the title of Prince of Qinghe upon Liu Cheng, the thirteenth son of Emperor Xiaojing (Liu Qi).
Aside from these three major events that are worthy of being written about, the rest are nothing more than geographical and astronomical changes such as the comet appearing in the northwest in March, the earthquake in April, and the solar eclipse on the last day of the lunar month in September.

In that original historical timeline, a major event occurred in the later years of Emperor Xiaojing.

—In the last year of Emperor Jing's reign, the Xiongnu Chanyu Junchen led his army into the border!

Hundreds of thousands of Xiongnu and other barbarian tribes raided the border, leaving the border walls scarred and in imminent danger!
When Hu went south, he plundered as much as 40% of the population of the four prefectures of Yanmen, Beidi, Dai, and Shang!
Hu Xianfeng's elite cavalry decisively defeated Yanmen Pass, and his army marched straight towards Jingzhao!

Ganquan was burned down by Hu Xianfeng, and the smoke from the fire was clearly visible from only a hundred miles away from Chang'an.

This momentous event was referred to by later historians as the "hatred of humiliation."

Clearly, in Liu Rong's timeline, the Han people no longer had the possibility of being 'humiliated'.

However, when Liu Rong summoned veteran generals of the court to discuss the overall strategy of the Han-Xiongnu, he unexpectedly attracted two nephews of Empress Dowager Dou: Prime Minister Dou Ying, Marquis of Weiqi, and Grand Master of the Palace, Marquis of Nanpi, Dou Pengzu.

At a military conference, two relatives of the Dou family, who were related to the emperor, showed up uninvited—even though one of them was the prime minister, the head of all officials, and the other was also one of the nine ministers of the court, they still left the two relatives and the others completely baffled.

However, Liu Rong did not show any unusual reaction to this.

To understand why, we must mention the Dou family's history of rise to power, especially that of Empress Dowager Dou.

During the reign of Emperor Gaozu, a woman surnamed Dou from Guanjin County, Qinghe Prefecture, gave birth to a daughter named Dou Yifang.

Dou Yifang had an elder brother named Dou Jian, courtesy name Changjun; and a younger brother named Dou Guangguo, courtesy name Shaojun.

Having experienced the turmoil of the Qin Dynasty, Dou's father, not wanting to be affected by the chaos, took his wife, children, and elderly parents to live in seclusion in Guanjin County, where they lived a simple life of fishing, detached from worldly affairs.

Life went on uneventfully until Dou's father fell into the river and died while fishing. Dou, who had been barely making ends meet, suddenly lost the only pillar of her family.

Dou's mother was frail and often ill, so the heavy burden of the family fell on the shoulders of the eldest son, Dou Jian (Dou Changjun).

At that time, Dou Jian was young, and his family had an elderly mother who was bedridden, and younger brothers and sisters who were crying for food. Moreover, the Han dynasty had just been established, and the country was in ruins and needed to be rebuilt. It was extremely difficult to make a living.

Left with no other choice, Dou's mother tearfully made the decision to sell her youngest son, Dou Guangguo, who was temporarily unable to provide any help to the family, to a powerful local tycoon as a slave, which finally gave the fragile family a much-needed reprieve.

Sold into slavery by a powerful family, Dou Guangguo's childhood was far from bright. Not long after being sold, Dou Guangguo was taken by his master to the mines of Yiyang, where he became one of the most miserable miners.

In Guanjin County, the Dou family, who had managed to catch their breath thanks to the money Dou Guangguo had given them from selling themselves into servitude, still could not escape the tragic fate of living off their savings and becoming poorer and poorer.

The youngest son was sold, and the money from his sale was gone. Dou's wife had been ill for many years, so with no other choice, it was her daughter Dou Yifang's turn to be sold.

This was during the reign of Emperor Xiaohui.

Dou Yifang was very proud.

At least at that time, Dou Yifang would rather take a slim chance than submit to the powerful and wealthy, becoming a miserable person who was a slave, a dancer, and a breeding machine.

Therefore, Dou Yifang resolutely signed up for the imperial concubine selection and was fortunate enough to pass the selection process. She was sent to the palace as a daughter of a respectable family and became a maidservant to Empress Lü.

After Dou Yifang entered the palace, she left behind a sum of money. Dou Shi only had two mouths to feed, and Dou Jian only needed to take care of his sick mother, so the pressure of survival was greatly reduced.
A few years later, Dou Jian’s mother passed away. Now all alone, Dou Jian was unwilling to stay in Guanjin, his hometown of writing and a place of sorrow, so he went out to make his way in the world.

With this, the Dou family of Guanjin County, Qinghe Prefecture, was completely disbanded.

Time passed slowly, and the eldest son, Dou Changjun, was busy running around. He was the only one who was fed and the whole family was not hungry.
Empress Dowager Lü bestowed Dou Yifang upon Liu Heng, the Prince of Dai, who then went to the capital of Dai, Jinyang.

The third son, Dou Guangguo, began to endure hardships in the mines of Yiyang from a very young age.

It wasn't until Dou Guangguo was twenty years old that the fate of these three siblings took a major turn.

When Dou Guangguo was twenty years old, a mudslide occurred at the Yiyang mine where he worked, burying the entire shack where the miners rested under the rubble and mud.

Hundreds of miners died tragically, but Dou Guangguo, being young and weak, was pushed to the edge of the shack by his "seniors" when fighting for a bunk, and thus managed to survive.

After such an incident, the families of the hundreds of innocent victims cried out in despair, demanding an explanation from the mine owner.

The mine owner who bought Dou Guangguo and took him to Yiyang to mine eventually chose to leave Yiyang, a place rife with trouble, and went to Chang'an to avoid the storm.

It's right under the emperor's feet!
Even if some desperate criminals wanted to avenge their dead fathers or brothers, they would still have to be more cautious when they came to the emperor's doorstep.

Furthermore, the mine owners in Yiyang have been digging for "money" for decades and are already extremely wealthy.

Having gone through such hardships, the mine owner had gained some profound insights and decided to spend the rest of his life in the most prosperous city in the world, enjoying the fruits of his labor in the first half of his life.

Dou Guangguo, the only surviving miner slave, then followed the mine owner to Chang'an.

Perhaps feeling fortunate to have survived such a calamity, Dou Guangguo, upon arriving in Chang'an, immediately sought out a renowned diviner to consult on his future fortune.
Unexpectedly, the divination revealed a turn for the better, indicating that Dou Guangguo would not only no longer be in danger, but would also transform into a member of the imperial family and be granted the title of marquis within a few days.

Dou Guangguo, of course, did not believe this divination statement at all;

Just a few days later, when Dou Guangguo learned that the current empress's surname was Dou and that she was from Guanjin County, Qinghe Prefecture, he was completely stunned...

It turns out that after being given to Liu Heng, the Prince of Dai, by Empress Lü, Dou Yifang not only received the utmost favor from Liu Heng, the Prince of Dai, but also gave birth to two sons and one daughter for him.
In the year Empress Lü passed away, the Han dynasty underwent a dramatic change that almost changed the world. Liu Heng, the former poor king and Prince Gong, was transformed into the emperor in an instant!

Whether by coincidence or not, just around the time that Liu Heng, the Prince of Dai, entered Chang'an to inherit the throne, Queen Lü, the Queen of Dai, and her four legitimate sons all died in Jinyang, the capital of Dai, for unknown reasons.

Thus, in the second year after he arrived in Chang'an and ascended the throne, which was the first year of Emperor Taizong Xiaowen's reign, Emperor Heng issued an edict: the late Queen of Dai had passed away, and her lineage had also ended; the eldest son of the emperor, Liu Qiying, was precocious and exceptionally talented, and could succeed to the ancestral temple.

Prince Qi's birth mother, Lady Dou, was gentle, kind, and virtuous, a model for the nation...

Thus, the siblings, who had been separated in their childhood and lived in different places, were reunited in Chang'an by fate—meeting in astonishment with completely opposite identities, one from heaven and the other from hell.

After becoming empress, Dou Yifang felt disoriented by the sudden change in her status;

It just so happened that the Lü Clan Rebellion had only recently been quelled, and countless people took advantage of the still turbulent situation to claim kinship with the Prince of Dai's family. So when Dou Guangguo mustered the courage to appear outside Weiyang Palace and declare that he was the Empress's younger brother, the guards outside the palace gates not only failed to take him seriously but also scoffed at his claim.

During that period, countless influential people, after inquiring about Empress Dou's background, came forward and claimed to be her elder brother Dou Jian and younger brother Dou Guangguo.

After encountering that group of persistent swindlers, Empress Dou's initial surprise turned to disappointment, and then to unease...
In the end, even Empress Dou was in despair.

So when news came from outside the palace gates that a man named Dou Guangguo, who was only in his early twenties but looked to be in his forties or fifties and whose body was covered in black, was looking for her, Empress Dou could only let out a long sigh of helplessness.

"Just because they know I have a younger brother, does that mean they all want to be my younger brother...?"

As she murmured this, Empress Dou shook her head in despair and gestured for the eunuch to send a message outside the palace gate.

—What is the proof?
Empress Dou said this to countless people during those few days, but she never received a satisfactory answer.

This time, however, fate was going to play a serious game with Empress Dou.

"Please tell the Empress: When I was a child, I climbed a tree with the Empress to pick mulberry leaves, and I accidentally fell."

"I was too young and too weak at the time, and the fall broke my leg. I had to stay at home and rest for more than a month..."

When the palace guards brought the news to the Jiaofang Palace, Empress Dou finally cheered up a little.

That did indeed happen.

However, Empress Dou could not determine the identity of the person from this single incident, whether he was her long-lost brother Dou Guangguo.

The reason is simple: the southern part of Qinghe County, especially the area within a hundred miles centered on Guanjin County, is a famous mulberry producing area.

Even if the person who came was not Dou Guangguo, as long as they found out that the Empress's hometown was Guanjin County in Qinghe Prefecture, they could combine it with Guanjin County's reputation for "producing mulberries" and fabricate such a lie.

How many boys born in Qinghe County have never climbed a mulberry tree to pick mulberries?
How many people haven't fallen from trees and ended up lying in bed for ten days or half a month?

Unable to make up her mind, Empress Dou finally decided to meet this 'Dou Guangguo'.

Whether this person is real or fake, make a judgment only after you have met them.

"At what age were we separated?"

"I don't remember the Empress's age."

"—I vaguely recall the patriarch saying: I was born into slavery at the age of five, and shortly afterward, the Empress selected women to enter the palace..."

Upon hearing this, Empress Dou was completely flustered.

The world only knows that Empress Dou of the current dynasty had an older brother named Dou Jian, whose courtesy name was Changjun, and a younger brother named Dou Guangguo, whose courtesy name was Shaojun.

Even that was the only information revealed when Empress Dou asked someone to look for it.

Empress Dou was certain that when she asked someone to find her brothers and nephews, she had not revealed their ages.

Even if she hadn't become empress, Dou Yifang's age would probably still be a little-known secret.

—Dou Yifang remembered very clearly: her younger brother was sold to a powerful family when he was five years old, and soon after he was taken to Yiyang, supposedly to work in the mines;
Before her younger brother left, Dou Yifang, who had just decided to participate in the talent show, also had a final farewell...

"What else can prove your identity?"

Upon hearing the Empress's question, Dou Guangguo answered without hesitation: "I vaguely remember that back then, the Empress was going to the county government to register for the imperial concubine selection, and I was about to be taken to Yiyang."

"Thus, the people and the Empress parted ways at the post station of Guanjin Fifteen Mile Pavilion, promising to meet again in the future."

Before her departure, the common people washed the Empress's hair with warm water.

"When the Empress saw that the people were starving and freezing, she personally begged for food at the post stations."

The Empress said: "Our next meeting may be in the netherworld, a final farewell. At least my younger brother must have a good meal..."

After saying these words, Dou Guangguo was already sobbing uncontrollably;

Upon hearing these words, Empress Dou could no longer contain her emotions. Without hesitation, she rushed forward and embraced her long-lost brother. The two siblings wept bitterly in each other's arms.

Upon hearing that the Empress had reunited with her younger brother, Emperor Heng was deeply moved and dispatched an imperial censor to Qinghe County to inquire about the whereabouts of his brother-in-law, Dou Changjun.

Clearly, compared to the concubine Dou Yifang of the Prince of Dai who had previously "asked someone to help," the power that Emperor Heng could mobilize was undoubtedly on a completely different level.

Not long after, the three Dou brothers and sisters reunited in Chang'an. Emperor Heng was unusually generous, bestowing upon them land, houses, and a large sum of money, allowing them to settle in Chang'an.

Upon learning of this, Empress Dowager Bo felt deeply sorry for her daughter-in-law's background and issued an imperial edict posthumously conferring the title of Marquis of Ancheng on Empress Dou's father and the title of Lady of Ancheng on her mother.

Although the Marquis of Ancheng did not pass the title to the brothers Dou Jian and Dou Guangguo, he still established the Dou family cemetery in Qinghe County and granted them a fief of two hundred households.

These two hundred households are the guardians of the Dou family cemetery; the rent and tax revenue is the source of the Dou family cemetery's expenses.

The above is the entire process of the reunion of Empress Dou of Emperor Taizong, Empress Dowager Dou of Emperor Xiaojing, the current Empress Dowager Dou, with Marquis Dou Jian of Nanpi and Marquis Dou Guangguo of Zhangwu.

The reflection that this old story brings to Liu Rong is that Empress Dowager Dou was a person who valued old feelings and family ties very much.

Although he was somewhat harsh on the emperor of the Liu family... cough cough, he was incredibly kind to his own brothers, nephews, and younger generations.

As for the recent military conference, Dou Ying and Dou Pengzu arrived uninvited, which clearly indicates that the Empress Dowager was behind it.

To put it bluntly, their purpose was to prevent the Dou family from being isolated by the core decision-making level of the Han court, and to prevent their nephews and nieces from having "no one to play with."

To put it more nicely, it could be embellished as: offering advice and strategies to Liu Rong, or even giving Liu Rong ideas from the perspective of Empress Dowager Dou's grand political vision.

(End of this chapter)