Diqin Designer

Chapter 262: Deep love between old swords
"Liu He was not as young as Liu Fuling when he succeeded to the throne. He was already eighteen or nineteen years old when Huo Guang welcomed him to the throne."

Following Li Nian's words, the idea that Huo Guang welcomed Liu He as the emperor because he was young and easy to control was dispelled in Ying Zheng and the other two people's minds, but it was followed by a deeper curiosity:
What on earth did Huo Guang want to do? Could he be a loyal minister? He monopolized government affairs, had followers all over the country, and was capable of deposing and enthroning emperors... a loyal minister?
Li Nian didn't know what the three were thinking, so he continued, "However, Liu He was in office for only 27 days, less than a month, before he was deposed by Huo Guang for various absurd behaviors. It is said that he did more than a thousand absurd things in those 27 days."

After hearing this, Ying Zheng, Meng Tian and the other two exclaimed in their hearts that Liu He was truly a talent. Being emperor for less than a month was already unusual enough, but being able to do more than a thousand ridiculous things within twenty-seven days was even more unusual among the alternatives.

It is probably an exaggeration to say that more than a thousand ridiculous things were done in twenty-seven days, but even if it was only a few hundred or dozens of them, it would be incredible.

"After Liu He was deposed, the Han Dynasty was without an emperor again. Huo Guang decided to welcome a new emperor once again. This time, the one Huo Guang welcomed was a young man named 'Liu Bingyi'!"

"Liu Bingyi was his original name. After he ascended the throne, he changed his name to 'Liu Xun'. He was the tenth emperor of the Western Han Dynasty and the fourth emperor of the Western Han Dynasty to have a temple name!"

Although the claim that the Han Dynasty had seven consecutive wise emperors is not true, the temple name of the Han Dynasty is extremely valuable. It is only given to emperors with extraordinary achievements, and other emperors are not allowed to have any of it.

Moreover, Li Nian has said that only four emperors of the Western Han Dynasty had temple names. Liu Xun was able to get the last temple name of the Western Han Dynasty, so he must have been an emperor with outstanding achievements.

This suddenly aroused the interest of Ying Zheng, Meng Tian and Meng Yi!
"Liu Xun is the grandson of Emperor Wu's crown prince, and the great-grandson of Emperor Wu..."

After listening to Li Nian's story about Liu Xun's life, Meng Tian asked curiously, "Does the Emperor Wu's crown prince have any descendants?"

Li Nian said: "When Emperor Wu's crown prince started his rebellion, Liu Xun was still an infant and was not implicated. He was only imprisoned. Fortunately, he was helped by Bingji, the chief judge of the imperial court, and was able to escape disaster many times."

Ying Zheng said at this time: "The crown prince of Emperor Wu lost his throne due to the witchcraft disaster and could not become emperor. However, after several decades, the throne of the Han Dynasty still fell into the hands of the grandson of the crown prince of Emperor Wu. It can be said that fate is unpredictable and current affairs are unpredictable. If Emperor Wu knew about this after his death, he would definitely be surprised!"

Indeed, after many twists and turns, the throne of the Han Dynasty returned to the lineage of Emperor Wu's prince. It was as if history had played a joke on Emperor Wu and his prince.

"In fact, Emperor Wu almost wanted to kill his great-grandson. At that time, there was a man with good luck around Emperor Wu who told him that there was the aura of the emperor in the prison in Chang'an. Emperor Wu then sent messengers to kill the prisoners in the prison. It was Bingji who stopped the messenger and saved Liu Xun from being killed."

"But this incident also let Emperor Wu know that he still had a great-grandson alive, so he left a will, ordering Liu Xun to be adopted in the palace, and ordered the chief of the imperial clan to enter him into the royal family tree. Without this decree, Liu Xun would not have had the opportunity to be welcomed as emperor by Huo Guang."

"Liu Xun was welcomed by Huo Guang because Bingji advised Huo Guang to know that Emperor Wu's crown prince still had descendants alive."

Upon hearing this, Ying Zheng commented: "Bingji is truly a loyal man. Without him, Han would have lost a wise ruler."

Li Nian nodded and said, "Indeed, Bingji took good care of Liu Xun. When Liu Xun was still in prison, Bingji personally found a wet nurse for him and used his own salary to improve Liu Xun's food and clothing. At that time, Liu Xun had no chance to inherit the throne." "Liu Xun grew up among the common people. Unlike Liu Fuling and Liu He who grew up in wealth and nobility, he knew the sufferings of the people. Therefore, he was welcomed by Huo Guang to be the emperor. After he rectified the administration of officials, abolished harsh laws, and stabilized people's livelihood, he made the Han Dynasty strong again."

"In the court, Liu Xun knew that he was still immature, so he kept a low profile and was very respectful to Huo Guang. The decisions of the court affairs were first reported to Huo Guang. There is even an idiom handed down, 'a thorn in the back', which says that Liu Xun and Huo Guang were sitting in the same carriage. Liu Xun was very afraid of Huo Guang, as if there was a thorn in his back."

The relationship between the monarch and his minister ended at this point. Next, Liu Xun and Huo Guang would probably become enemies and start fighting each other, with Liu Xun eventually winning.

However, Li Nian did not say so, but said: "Although Huo Guang is a powerful minister, he is not a treacherous minister, and he knows how to advance and retreat. It's a pity that his family and confidants don't know. Although Huo Guang did not plot treason, his power is no different from that of the emperor. Naturally, Huo Guang's family members are arrogant because of this."

"If they did other things, Liu Xun might be lenient with them because Huo Guang welcomed him, but they should never harm Liu Xun's queen!"

What Huo Guang's family did was not called touching the reverse scale. They directly pulled out Liu Xun's reverse scale. It would be strange if Liu Xun didn't hold them accountable later.

"Most wise emperors of the Han Dynasty had no romantic feelings, such as Emperor Gaozu of Han and Emperor Wu of Han. However, Emperor Xuan of Han, Liu Xun, was an exception. Not only did he have romantic feelings, but his sentiments were quite deep, leaving a very beautiful story in history."

"Liu Xun already had a wife when Huo Guang welcomed him to the throne. However, Huo Guang welcomed Liu Xun to the throne, and Huo Guang had many followers and great influence in the court. After Liu Xun became emperor, the ministers suggested that he marry Huo Guang's daughter Huo Chengjun and make Huo Chengjun his empress."

"Liu Xun wanted to make his first wife the heir apparent, who had married him at a young age and had been with him through thick and thin, his wife was the first choice, but he couldn't say it directly and offend Huo Guang, so he issued a 'bizarre' edict: he said that when he was an obscure official, he had a sword that he loved very much, and he missed it very much, so he asked the ministers if there was any way to help him find it back."

Meng Tian sighed, "It seems like he is looking for a sword, but in fact he is looking for a person. If he does this to a sword, how much more so to a person? Liu Xun used the name of looking for an old sword to express to the ministers that he would not abandon his first wife. He not only tactfully rejected the ministers' proposal to marry Huo Guang's daughter, but also saved face for Huo Guang and the ministers, and made Huo Guang and the ministers know his intention. It was really smart!"

Li Nian smiled and said, "This edict is also known as 'Old Sword, Deep Feelings', and is loved by many people in later generations. After this edict, Huo Guang and all the ministers knew Liu Xun's intention, and Liu Xun successfully made his first wife the queen."

"If it had been this, Liu Xun and Huo Guang, the emperor and his minister, might have had a happy ending and become a story that will be passed down through the ages. However, even after seeing that Liu Xun's first wife had become the queen, Huo Guang's family members did not give up, especially Huo Guang's wife, who very much wanted her daughter Huo Chengjun to become the queen."

Meng Tian heard this and said, "She must want her daughter to be the queen. If she gives birth to a child for Liu Xun, he can be the crown prince. If he successfully becomes the next emperor of Han, he can also protect the Huo family's wealth and prosperity."

Li Nian said: "That must be the case, so Huo Guang's wife bribed the female doctor Chunyu Yan to poison Liu Xun's first wife. After his first wife died, Liu Xun buried her in the South Garden of Duling, calling it 'South Garden's Love', and it is also known as 'Old Sword's Deep Love'."

(End of this chapter)