Control your ancestors and create an immortal family starting from the Eastern Han Dynasty

Chapter 15 Returning to Luoyang, Liu Zhuang Asks for Advice

The wheel of history always rolls forward and will not stop for anyone.

——Even the emperor could not stop it.

When the national mourning ends;
And from the moment the posthumous title was decided for Liu Xiu.

This emperor who once illuminated an era has completely disappeared from the world, and his era will eventually come to an end.

Luoyang.

It was the second year of Yongping.

After nearly twenty years, the descendants of the Gu family finally received the emperor's edict again and were about to step into the political center of the Han Dynasty again.

However, the current Gu family is naturally different from before, and the emperor's edict did not cause any waves.

It's different after all.

With the passing of Gu Xiao and Liu Xiu, the Gu family is no longer the one that everyone looks up to.

As time goes by, Gu Xiao's reputation will only get less and less.

With no one in the court, it is naturally impossible for the Gu family to maintain its reputation at its peak.

Of course, the most crucial thing is the attitude of Emperor Liu Zhuang.

Completely different from Liu Xiu's personality.

From the moment he ascended the throne, Liu Zhuang completely demonstrated his difference, which shocked all the officials of the Han Dynasty.

He actually restored the crown and robe system that had been abolished since the Qin Dynasty.

The crown, clothes, jade pendants and carriages all imitate ancient styles.

This etiquette recorded in ancient books even seemed a little unfamiliar to the ministers.

And that’s not all. Liu Zhuang then demonstrated strong political abilities.

He first appointed Deng Yu, the chief meritorious official of the day, as his Grand Tutor.

He also appointed Liu Cang, a member of the imperial clan, as General of the Cavalry.

After settling the meritorious officials and royal family members, large-scale personnel deployment was immediately initiated.

After all, he has been the crown prince of the Eastern Palace for more than ten years.

Moreover, Liu Zhuang was intelligent since childhood. Since he was young, Liu Xiu would often ask for his opinions on state affairs, and later he even directly participated in military affairs.

He already had his own team and knew everything about the Han Dynasty court.

The saying "a new emperor appoints his own ministers" is vividly demonstrated in the Yongping Dynasty.

But through this series of personnel adjustments, the ministers keenly sensed the underlying nature of Liu Zhuang's governance.

——He is suppressing his in-laws!
This alone was enough to make the ministers no longer take the Gu family seriously.

Although the Gu family is different from traditional in-laws.

But as long as the emperor has this attitude, the Gu family is doomed to never rise to power again in the new dynasty.

Because Gu Kang’s wife is Liu Liliu!
Although he is my brother-in-law, he is also a relative by marriage!
In fact, Gu Yi naturally knew all of this.

Regarding Emperor Liu Zhuang.

Although he is not often mentioned in modern society, Gu Yi is still clear about his character.

Let’s not talk about its achievements, let’s just talk about its greatest characteristics.

Beware of in-laws!

Throughout his life, Emperor Ming never used any of his relatives.

But Liu Xiu said this in public, and he could not possibly offend the emperor.

Good fortune and misfortune depend on each other
Once Gu gained the "favor" of Emperor Liu Xiu, she was destined to bear the subsequent consequences.

Moreover, in Gu Yi's opinion, marrying a princess is far better than marrying the women in his family into the royal family.

Since it cannot be avoided, minimize the risk.

Although this move may cause Gu to not be reused in Liuzhuang.

But as long as there are no accidents, even if Gu cannot be reused, it can be guaranteed that Gu's lower limit will not be too low.

After all, the Gu family's foundation is too shallow, and if it loses power one day, it may fall directly to the bottom.

This can also be considered a guarantee.

Moreover, Gu Yi did not think that Liu Zhuang would definitely suppress the Gu family.

——The Gu family today is different from ordinary in-laws.

The Gu family started from scratch.

Liu Xiu once used the Gu family to suppress the group of meritorious officials, forcing them to honestly hand over the power in their hands.

Moreover, the Gu family's current population and foundation are simply not enough to compare with the contemporary big families.

The world today is completely different from the pre-Han period.

Almost all of those who accompanied Liu Bang in conquering the world were old brothers from the same hometown, most of whom were commoners or the lowest-level officials.

But what about the Han people today?
Almost every member of the group of heroes came from a prominent family, and each of them had his own political stance.

Only the Gu family is different.

This is a huge plus for an emperor with Liu Zhuang's personality.

And the outcome was just as Gu Yi expected.

Liu Zhuang really summoned Gu.

A convoy stretching for dozens of meters was moving slowly on the official road.

What was loaded on the cart was not any valuables, but Gu's latest improved curved plow.

Over the years, Gu Kang has never given up on improving agricultural tools.

And because he is very knowledgeable about farming.

After several improvements made by him, the curved plow has now completely surpassed the current long straight plow in practicality.

This is what Liu Zhuang ordered Gu Kang to bring.

Moreover, Gu Kang also wanted to take this opportunity to find out the future direction of the emperor's governance.

This is very important to him.

Although he has always been in Julu, he has been paying attention to the situation in the court over the years. The series of measures taken by Liu Zhuang after he ascended the throne are enough to illustrate the difference in his personality from Liu Xiu.

Whether it is civil governance or military governance.

As a person with a political attribute of 90 points.

Gu Kang will not miss any opportunity.

Everyone in the world can see that the emperor does not like his relatives by marriage.

How could he not see it?

Gu Kang knew very well that this might be the only chance for the Gu family in this dynasty.

If they fail to seize the opportunity, even if they don't fall into a trough, the Gu family's reputation will decline rapidly.

The Gu family now lacks foundation in the eyes of people all over the world.

If one really wants to lay the foundation for eternal glory, one must have generations of talented people stepping forward one after another, until the name of the Gu family is completely regarded as common sense in the hearts of the people, and then it can be considered a preliminary success.

It is precisely because of this.

Gu Kang only brought Gu Sheng with him on this trip.

Ever since Gu Xiao passed away, he has been carrying the entire Gu family and is very clear about the talents of his two younger brothers and sisters.

It's okay to maintain the status quo, but not good enough to achieve great things.

There is no longer any merit left for them in the world today, and they can only reach the highest point through their own efforts.

Only elite troops can restore the reputation of the Gu family in the world.

This is the goal of Gu Kang’s trip!
Keep going.

Faced with the fact that they were about to re-enter Luoyang, the two brothers' reactions were completely different.

Gu Kang remained so calm from beginning to end.

It's hard to tell from his face what he's thinking.

He has always been very calm and composed, and he remains calm no matter what happens.

As for Gu Sheng, his personality was similar to that of most contemporary military generals. The closer he got to Luoyang, the more excited he became.

He has been holding it in for too long!!!

Without military generals, one will lose the desire to achieve great things.

Gu Sheng is the same!

He has always admired those famous generals in ancient times, and longed to be able to achieve great things like them one day and contribute to the eternal foundation of the Gu family.

The two brothers rode their horses in front.

Seeing that Gu Kang had a stern face, Gu Sheng couldn't help but persuade him, "Brother, don't worry."

"With our talents, how could we not be valued by His Majesty?"

Although Gu Sheng's political level is higher than Gu Xiao's.

But compared to Gu Kang, he pales in comparison.

Gu Kang has been thinking about what to do if the Gu family fails to gain the emperor's favor on this trip.

The gradual reduction of fiefdoms is inevitable.

The title of Marquis of Champion may not be kept.

If they focus on education, with the Gu family's current foundation, if more outstanding people emerge in the future, they may rise again.

But all this is fraught with uncertainty.

Gu Kang is a pragmatist and he wants to consider everything for the whole family.

Even if this plan is doomed to fail, it won't affect the entire family too much. But this is bound to be a problem that can't be solved in the short term.

At least, before meeting the emperor Liu Zhuang, the Gu family's future was full of uncertainty.
Luoyang.

When the two brothers Gu Kang and Gu Sheng stepped into this magnificent city again, their expressions were somewhat complicated.

As the political center of the Han Dynasty today, the entire city of Luoyang has changed greatly compared to the past.

Gu Sheng is fine.

After all, he had come to announce the death of Gu Xiao when he passed away.

But for Gu Kang, it was completely different. Ever since he left Luoyang with Gu Xiao, he had only heard of Luoyang.

He had thought about the scene of returning to Luoyang more than once.

Now, it has actually come true.

As the memories of his childhood gradually emerged from his mind, even a person with such a calm personality could not help but be touched.

Regarding Gu's return this time, Liu Zhuang still gave enough face to the "Marquis of Champion".

Although not as good as Gu Xiao's original peak.

He also sent ceremonial officials to welcome him, and asked Gu Kang and Gu Sheng to go directly to the palace to meet him.

This is a great honor in this era.

Moreover, Liu Zhuang had obviously made preparations for this meeting by asking the ministers who were discussing matters in Nangong to withdraw, leaving only the daily guards.

And Gu Yi was not wrong.

The reason why Liu Zhuang summoned the Gu family this time was indeed because the Gu family was different from other big families.

But it doesn't stop there.

The biggest reason was that Liu Xiu had told him before his death that both of Gu's sons were talented and could be used.

This is Liu Xiu's ability to judge people as an emperor.

I have said this to Liu Zhuang more than once.

When Liu Zhuang first ascended the throne, he actually didn't care about this.

Because he was well aware of Wang Mang's chaotic politics, he was very wary of his empress dowager relatives.

But when he heard that Gu Kang often went deep into the fields and improved agricultural tools, which made the grain production in Julu County higher and higher, he decided to meet the current children of the Gu family.

This may be the greatest fun of the game.

The idle move that Gu Yi made in order to gain achievement points actually played a big role in breaking the deadlock for the Gu family.

Even he had not expected this.

Nangong.

Although he had already guessed it in his mind, Liu Zhuang was still stunned when he saw Gu Kang again.

Because I often go deep into the fields to test agricultural tools.

Compared to most Confucian scholars nowadays, Gu Kang's skin appears darker, and is surprisingly not much different from that of Gu Sheng, a martial artist who has been practicing martial arts for many years.

This was completely beyond Liu Zhuang's expectations.

For a moment, Liu Zhuang's eyes even softened a little.

Sure enough, a pragmatist like Gu Kang is in line with Liu Zhuang’s expectations of his subjects!

"My lord, pay homage to Your Majesty!"

Gu Kang was not distracted by Liu Zhuang's momentary surprise, but saluted seriously.

At this time, Gu Sheng completely put away his usual arrogance and stood silently behind Gu Kang and saluted.

"Ji Shi, Zhen Yu." Liu Zhuang addressed them affectionately by their given names. "Why do you two have to be so distant with me?"

"There are no outsiders here. The late emperor and Lord Xiao were never so polite in private."

"Hurry up and take a seat."

Hearing the emperor address him like that, Gu Sheng's tense expression immediately relaxed a little.

The emperor directly addressed his subjects by their courtesy names.

This has always been an act of closeness.

But Gu Kang remained calm. He saluted Liu Zhuang solemnly again before walking to his seat and sitting down.

Liu Zhuang kept looking at Gu Kang intently, and the expression on his face became increasingly complicated.

"I've heard that Jishi often cares about the difficulties of farmers."

"Now it seems that what he said is true."

he said with emotion.

Upon hearing this, before Gu Kang could speak, the relaxed Gu Sheng immediately smiled and said, "Of course. Your Majesty may not know that my brother's understanding of farming is no less than that of the farmers."

"The fields he has cultivated personally over the past few years have even produced better yields than those of experienced farmers."

"Oh? Is that really the case?" Liu Zhuang showed great interest and asked Gu Kang, "Do you have any unique and wise strategies to help the world?"

"I heard you've improved the plow, and it's far superior to the long straight-beam plow. Did you bring it with you?"

coming!

Gu Kang knew in his heart that this seemingly casual conversation was actually a hidden test of his abilities by the emperor.

It is very likely to directly determine the future status of the Gu family.

But his expression remained calm as he bowed to Liu Zhuang and said, "Your Majesty, I have brought the curved plow with me and it is now outside the palace."

"Bring it here quickly." Liu Zhuang was still very interested in this and quickly gave the order.

During this time, Gu Kang also talked about his reforms in farming.

"Your Majesty, since I was young, I have followed my father into the fields and observed farming, so I do know a thing or two about farming."

"The foundation of farming is the fields."

"Now, the people of all parts of our Han Dynasty are well aware of the importance of fertile land."

"The methods used are also different, such as manure fields, wood ash, oil residue, etc., each with its own advantages."

"Based on this, I have made some improvements, such as adding river mud and pond mud to it, which will make it more effective."

Gu Kang has profound attainments in agriculture.

Although he has not yet fully understood all the experience left by Gu Yi, his level is far beyond his contemporaries.

Simply put, this is an experience that requires generations of people to slowly explore and gain.

But, Gu Kang arrived early!
Just as Gu Kang was saying this, the curved plow was brought in.

Gu Kang did not stop. He used the curved plow to explain to Liu Zhuang in detail its subtleties, such as how to save physical energy and its advantages compared with today's long straight plow.

Liu Zhuang was completely attracted by Gu Kang's story.

Perhaps influenced by Liu Xiu, he also cared deeply about the affairs of the people.

Now I see Gu Kang talking about major issues concerning people's livelihood.

How could he not be serious?

Gu Kang's calm and resolute character meant that he would not be stage-frightened and would explain everything clearly.

The more Liu Zhuang listened, the more complicated his expression became.

Although the Gu family is not as strong as it was at its peak.

But the fact that a man of Gu Kang's status knew so much about farming was enough to show his difference.

He remained silent until Gu Kang finished speaking. Liu Zhuang could not help but sigh and said, "If it were not for the late emperor, I would have lost a great talent for governing the world."

“It’s clear from this.”

"I am far inferior to the late emperor"

His expression was full of emotion.

Faced with the emperor's humble words, even Gu Sheng didn't know how to respond for a moment.

But Liu Zhuang didn't care. His expression returned to normal in an instant. He looked at Gu Kang seriously and asked again, "Ji Shi, let me ask you again."

"Given the current situation of our Han Dynasty."

“How should we govern the world?”

After confirming that Gu Kang is indeed talented, we must determine his upper limit!

Obviously, this is what Liu Zhuang meant.

Hearing this, Gu Kang's expression did not change, but he did not answer Liu Zhuang directly. Instead, he bowed to Liu Zhuang again and then spoke:
"I would like to ask how Your Majesty wishes to rule the world."

Gu Kang is a man with a very flexible moral bottom line. The only thing he insists on is probably to keep the Gu family great.

Ascertaining the emperor's thoughts before giving an answer showed his confidence.

Liu Zhuang was very surprised by Gu Kang's answer. He was silent for a moment, then his eyes became increasingly sharp and he said in a particularly sonorous voice:
"I will complete the great cause of the late emperor's Zhongyuan period!"

The great cause of Zhongyuan Festival was the grand ambition expressed by Liu Xiu after Fengshan.
- Restore the national strength of the period of Emperor Xiaowen of the Former Han Dynasty;

He pacified the Western Regions and subdued the Xiongnu;
Leave a lasting legacy for the Han Dynasty!
Gu Kang instantly understood Liu Zhuang's thoughts, and his expression finally changed.

When a capable minister meets an incompetent ruler, his relationship always ends in regret.

Gu Kang has been worried about this matter.

If you want to accomplish great things, you cannot meet a mediocre leader.

After Liu Zhuang said this, the heavy weight that had been hanging in Gu Kang's heart finally fell away.
------

"In the third month of the second year of the Yongping reign, the emperor summoned Gu to the throne and asked Kang for advice.

Kang responded calmly, his words were sharp and well-organized.

When the emperor heard this, he was amazed and wondered, and he and Kang had a long conversation until dusk.

——"Book of the Later Han Dynasty. Chronicle of Emperor Xiaoming"

(End of this chapter)