About Cao Cao's reincarnation as the emperor's uncle

Chapter 5 Knocking on the North Palace at Night for Peace

Liu Fang originally speculated based on his past life memories:
In the first year of Zhongping, that is, ten years from now, there will be the incident of Tang Zhou from Jinan informing on others.

At that time, the Taiping Dao conspiracy was leaked.

Ma Yuanyi, also known as "Liu Fang", the actual manipulator behind the scenes, was torn to pieces by a chariot.

Feng Xian and Xu Feng, who were important internal supporters, met with accidents one after another.

The three Zhang Jiao brothers were forced into a hasty uprising.

Although there was no record of these three people in "Liu Fang's" memory, he only knew that they had not yet been recruited under his command at this time.

Unexpectedly...

In the secret letter just now, it actually said:

Suddenly a scholar named Zhang Jiao appeared in the Julu area.

This person was good at using talismans, spells and other magical arts to cure illnesses and save lives, and he called himself "the Great and Good Teacher".

He even raised the banner of Taiping Dao and gathered many followers that "Liu Fang" had secretly developed before.

What is even more alarming is that within a short period of time, this person spread his followers throughout the eight states of Qing, Xu, You, Ji, Jing, Yang, Yan and Yu.

He actually turned the Taiping Dao, which had been lurking in the dark, into the largest sect in the Han Dynasty in broad daylight.

Liu Fang clenched his cold hands tightly, his knuckles turning white.

If this horn is not sent by me...

Apart from the aristocratic families, the only ones who can have such power to change the situation are the royal family.

He originally wanted to stay hidden in the dark with his current identity and take his time.

It is only necessary to change the fate of "Ma Yuanyi" in the previous life, and the rest will follow the old track, and respond to all changes with the same attitude.

Zhang Jiao, who suddenly appeared out of nowhere, was like a huge rock thrown into a calm lake, shattering his original plan.

The Zibo cart moved slowly through the streets of Luoyang, its wheels rolling over the bluestone slabs, making a dull sound.

He opened the curtains and looked at the waning moon in the sky.

The bright light shines on the pale face, making the eyes look dark.

The night wind was so strong and biting that it brought with it waves of chills.

Liu Fang suddenly felt that this seemingly familiar world was rushing towards a direction that was unfamiliar to him.

It was more than 20 years later that he truly stood at the center of the storm and ordered the emperor to command the disobedient.

Ten years later, he was promoted to Prime Minister and was called Cao Gong.

It was more than forty years ago that he became the King of Wei.

At the beginning of Emperor Ling's reign, when the world was not yet in turmoil, he was still brave and lonely under the protection of his family.

At that time, let alone the center of power, he was not even allowed to step into the threshold of the imperial palace.

To me, who was just an adult at that time, these so-called political schemes were like looking at flowers through the fog.

If his father Cao Song had not suffered the disaster in Xuzhou, he might have been able to learn some of the secrets of the imperial court from him.

But now I can only remember a few major events, I didn’t expect there were so many twists and turns.

If it was a plan by the Yuan and Yang families, it would be fine. It would just bring the secret struggle to the surface, and each family would rely on their own methods.

If it came from the royal family… His fingertips rubbed it involuntarily, and a bitter taste rose in his throat.

Hopefully, it wouldn't be that.

……

The emperor's palace is divided into two palaces, north and south.

Nangong.

One is the key person in the outer court, and the enthronement ceremony and court meetings with ministers are all included in this group.

Secondly, the Central Court was also located in this palace, which was the hub of government affairs and also the residence of the Queen.

Beigong.

One is to lock up the nine secrets in the inner court, and to be able to hold the ceremony of worshipping the three dukes.

Secondly, the forbidden areas of Ye Ting Yong Xiang, and even the emperor’s bedroom, are all hidden within the deep courtyards with red walls.

……

The sound of horses stepping on the bluestone slabs suddenly turned muffled, and the carriage had already entered the North Palace Forbidden City through the corner gate.

The vermilion lacquer shone coldly in the twilight, and the curtains of the bumpy carriage outlined the silhouette of the eaves of the Forbidden City.

When the night clock struck twelve, Liu Fang stepped onto the bluestone slabs of the corridor.

Before leaving, I have given instructions to each of my four subordinates. What happens next depends entirely on my trip to Beigong tonight.

The gilded palace lanterns flickered under the eaves, winding into a red galaxy in the dark night.

This is a secret passage in the palace. Ordinary nobles are not allowed to set foot in it. Only the royal family can enter.

"Yuan Yi arrived just in time."

The candlelight flickered in the hall. Liu Hong was leaning against the imperial couch, with a noble young man standing beside him.

The emperor was wearing a dark-colored regular dress without a sash, and his bright yellow inner garment was faintly visible. On the desk was a half-unfolded map, with the counties of Jizhou and Yanzhou circled with red ink.

He tapped lightly on the nine-branch bronze lampstand with his fingers, and the candlelight suddenly became brighter, illuminating the white silk on the imperial desk.

There were seven large characters written in cinnabar on it: "The Great List of the Taiping Dao," and a glaring Yellow Turban symbol painted on the corners.

As soon as Liu Fang entered the hall, he was about to kowtow, but Liu Hong raised his hand to stop him.
"Why should we be so polite to each other, brothers?"

The green smoke from the golden toad incense burner curled up, mixed with the dampness of the night dew outside the hall, making the atmosphere as condensed as iron.

In his previous life, he had not had much contact with Liu Hong, and had never seen the young emperor so closely.

When he was the commander of the army, he had contact with Liu Hong, but it was mostly through Jian Shuo's communication, and he rarely saw the emperor in person.

As far as he can remember, since childhood, he and Liu Hong would either play in the market or protect each other in the palace, and their friendship was deep.

However, he was not the former loyal emperor's brother, but Cao Mengde, who had gone through forty years of swords and shadows and finally ascended the throne of King of Wei.

The overlap of his past memories and his present identity made him dare not take the current situation lightly.

Liu Fang lowered his eyes, pretending not to notice the map on the table, and bowed solemnly, saying:

"Your Majesty, I received a secret letter last night, and there may be changes in the Taiping Dao's affairs."

After saying this, his eyes casually swept over the young man standing there.

Liu Hong clapped his hands and smiled, his wide sleeves brushing across the incense burner, and amidst the lingering incense, he raised his voice and said:

"Yuan Yi is speaking frankly. This is the son of Liu Li, the King of Hejian. He is a descendant of our clan and a member of our family."

Upon hearing this, the young man stepped forward, dragged his head to the ground, and bowed deeply:
"Kang, meet your uncle."

Liu Fang frowned slightly, with suspicion in his heart, but he still reported seriously:
"Zhang Jiao, a Taoist priest from Julu, gathered followers under the name of the Taiping Dao. Within a few months, eight states, including Qing, Xu, You, and Ji, responded to his call. His influence cannot be underestimated..."

"This kind of change may be secretly planned by the aristocratic family."

Liu Hong seemed to have anticipated this and raised his hand, saying:
"Don't worry, Yuan Yi. Zhang Jiao will send an envoy to see you soon. I have already made all the arrangements for this matter."

Liu Fang showed a calm expression, but his heart was surging like waves. He tried again:
"Your Majesty, this is a matter of great importance to the nation. That Zhang Jiao..."

Before he finished speaking, Liu Hong was already leaning lazily on the table, saying:

"Zhang Jiao is a man who can be trusted."

It seemed that Liu Hong did not want to explain too much, he just turned around and called out:
"Zhoutang, tell your uncle about the old days in Hejian. My brother and I often recall the memories of our childhood home, and they are still vivid in our minds."

Liu Kang bowed in response and stood under the Panlong Pillar to tell the story.

From cooling off with iced yogurt at the Hejian Palace to enjoying the fun of hunting on the banks of the Hutuo River.

The three of them had a very pleasant conversation, sometimes clapping and laughing, sometimes sighing.

The hall was filled with the scent of sandalwood, and it didn't seem like the Nine-Layered Forbidden Land, but rather like brothers from an ordinary aristocratic family chatting about their daily lives.

It seemed as if all the twists and turns in the court were thrown into the sky.

As the conversation and laughter grew more lively at the table, Liu Fang's fingertips holding the cup trembled slightly.

The look of Liu Kang talking in front of him always reminded him of a vague figure.

But... I couldn't grasp that fleeting thought no matter how hard I tried.

Suddenly, Liu Hong knocked on the jade table, and the clinking sound broke the laughter in the hall:
"Yuan Yi, please clear the clutter off the table for me."

He turned around and gave Liu Kang a few instructions. After Liu Fang had put away the things related to Taiping Dao, the eunuchs and palace maids filed in.

When the tea was ready, Liu Hong suddenly put his arm around Liu Fang's shoulders, his eyes full of smiles:

"Just as Zhou Tang is coming to the court, please help me decide which fiefdom should be granted to him."

Liu Kang hurriedly left his seat and kowtowed, his dark robes spreading out like a black lotus:

"Your Majesty's grace, I am deeply unworthy of it... Before leaving, my father repeatedly urged me to keep everything simple and to be grateful for God's grace no matter where I go."

"Don't listen to Brother Wang's sour Confucian rhetoric!"

Liu Hong knocked his fingers hard on the table, causing the candlelight in the bronze lamp to flicker.

"My lineage is dwindling, and my closest relatives can only be counted on one hand. Now that I have come to Luoyang, how can I treat you poorly?" After saying this, he suddenly turned his head, a smile flashing in his eyes:
"Yuan Yi, what do you think of the State of Jinan?"

The teacup nearly slipped from Liu Fang's hand, and he didn't even notice the scalding hot tea dripping onto his clothes.

The three words "Jinan Country" pierced his ears like thunder, and memories of his past life surged back like a tide.

"But it's inappropriate?"

Liu Hong saw that he looked strange, raised his hand and rubbed his eyebrows:

"I've been thinking for half a day and I'm tired. Yuan Yi, can you give me some advice on my behalf?"

Liu Fang suppressed the turmoil in his heart, straightened his hat and bowed again, but his voice still trembled slightly:
"Your Majesty's wise and sagely decisions are made! Jinan, with its vast fertile fields and its vibrant commercial hub, is truly a heaven-sent city."

"It's just that... I've been traveling for days and my mind was wandering for a moment. I hope Your Majesty will forgive me."

Liu Hong sighed and stepped forward to support him:
"With my personality, when will I learn to cherish myself?"

The warm palm pressed against the back of his cold hand.

"I would rather my brother slack off in everything than I can stay healthy."

Those phoenix eyes contained a genuine worry that made Liu Fang confused.

Is this Liu Hong, who is holding my hand and asking about my well-being, the unpredictable emperor, or the brother who slept on the same bed as me in childhood?
……

Just now, when he mentioned the State of Jinan, he finally remembered Liu Kang.

King Liu Kang of Jinan can be said to be a very familiar stranger.

In his previous life, he met Liu Kang when he was the prime minister of Jinan.

However, Liu Kang seemed to have no desire for power and rarely appeared in public.

Jinan State was a fertile land in Qingzhou, where powerful people abounded and the government was in disarray.

Only with his tacit approval could he act decisively and drastically.

Recalling Liu Kang's life, he lived in the palace all year round and was not aware of external affairs. When he died suddenly, the case was hastily concluded with only the two words "died of illness".

What is even more strange is that his descendants were robbed and killed by the remnants of the Yellow Turban Rebellion ten years after it was quelled, and his entire family was wiped out.

……

Liu Kang was chatting and laughing at the table, while Liu Fang was smiling and observing secretly.

Since talking about Taiping Dao, Liu Kang kept his eyes half-closed, and occasionally his gaze would move, always meeting Liu Hong's vaguely.

When he entered the palace, the maps and silks on the table were all related to the Taiping plan, but Liu Hong did not avoid Liu Kang.

When discussing matters in front of the emperor just now, Liu Hong was very secretive about the matter of Zhang Jue and still did not avoid Liu Kang.

Thinking of this, Liu Fang felt a rusty taste in his throat and a chill ran up his spine to the back of his neck.

Since Liu Hong had secretly taken control of the Taiping Dao, as the emperor it was inconvenient for him to show up, and the eunuchs were also greatly constrained, the only ones who could act on his behalf were the royal family and the princes.

So this Liu Kang must have some connection with Zhang Jiao...

Especially, Liu Kang, whose courtesy name was Zhoutang, King of Jinan.

Zhoutang......

Zhou, Tang...

Tang and Zhou?

……

The candlelight suddenly flickered. Liu Fang lowered his head and picked up the teacup, but saw a cold light in his eyes.

Zhang Jiao's disciple, Tang Zhou from Jinan, reported the matter, which led to Ma Yuanyi being torn to pieces by chariots, and Feng Yan and Xu Feng being executed.

Is this really a counterattack by the aristocratic families after they discovered the clues?
If you think about it carefully, all the key figures in the brothers' plan.

Liu Hong sat in the palace and maneuvered between the court and the public.

Liu Fang traveled around, planning a great peace plan.

Xu Feng was proficient in military strategy and was lurking in wait to seize military power.

Feng Yan was wise and resourceful, and he gathered secret strategies.

Jian Shuo was perseverant and ruthless, and wanted to become the top official.

Xu Shao stirred up trouble and controlled public opinion among the scholars.

Except for Liu Hong, the emperor who was in the highest position in the heaven, the other four all served Liu Fang as their master and were willing to serve him like dogs and horses.

If he follows the path of his previous life, "Liu Fang" will sooner or later meet the three brothers of the Zhang family of Julu.

With his wisdom and the power of his subordinates, it would be easy for him to subdue Zhang Jiao, Zhang Bao and Zhang Liang.

So, let’s look at what happened after Tang Zhou reported the incident:
First, although Jian Shuo was unknown, he held real power and was enough to compete with many of the eunuchs.

Both Feng Yan and Xu Feng have become the eunuchs, one in charge of confidential matters, the other controlling the palace's military power, secretly holding their lives in their hands.

Thirdly, the Xu family of Runan has three dukes in three generations, and there is a constant stream of people in the family who have been made dukes and appointed as prime ministers. They can be said to be a family of nobles for generations, and are indeed a prominent family.

Although Xu Shao was not a direct descendant of the Xu family of Runan, he became famous throughout the world for his Yuedanping and was praised as the leader of Qingyi, even better than the direct descendants.

His words of praise and criticism can make a poor scholar rise to prominence, or bring disgrace to a noble.

In this way, Liu Fang not only controlled important positions in the government and the opinions of scholars, but also held the military power of the tiger seal.

He also controls the thirty-six groups of Taiping Dao disciples, with hundreds of thousands of followers spread across the nine provinces.

With such power, it can even be said that Liu Hong's life and death depend on his thoughts.

If he were in the emperor's place, Liu Fang asked himself, if he were in the emperor's place, even if it was his own brother...

Can we really rest assured? Or which emperor can tolerate such a powerful minister?
……

The hall was filled with the aroma of tea. Liu Fang's smile was as gentle as before, but the knuckles holding the teacup had turned white.

The sudden change in the situation after Ma Yuanyi was torn to pieces in the city was naturally understandable.

Feng Chan and Xu Feng were implicated, and Xu Shao fled south.

Only Jian Shuo seemed to be enjoying increasing favor from the emperor.

But his own position was still a small eunuch, and even if he was appointed as a captain of the upper army, the eight captains of Xiyuan all had strong backgrounds.

In name, Jian Shuo was the so-called "Marshal", and even He Jin was under his command.

In fact, Jian Shuo's former power in the palace had long been divided up by the Ten Attendants, and he was just a discarded pawn used by Liu Hong to check and balance the power of his foreign relatives.

When Liu Hong was seriously ill, it would be more accurate to say that Empress Dowager Dong entrusted Liu Xie to Jian Shuo rather than Liu Hong entrusting his son to Jian Shuo.

First, Liu Xie was raised by Empress Dowager Dong.

Secondly, when Liu Fang was young, Jian Shuo was always by her side, accompanying Empress Dowager Dong and winning her great favor.

……

At that moment, Liu Kang mentioned the embarrassing situation of the royal family, and he and Liu Hong looked at each other and laughed.

Liu Fang pretended to agree and also clapped his hands and laughed, the sound of his knuckles cracking mixed in with the waves of laughter.

Where the candlelight flickers.

The tragic scene of Ma Yuanyi being torn apart by a chariot, the hideous smile of Tang Zhou as he betrayed others, and the gentle smile of Liu Hong in front of him overlapped strangely, as if in a nightmare.

Liu Fang's expression remained unchanged. He took a deep breath and stared at the swaying shadow of the teacup on the table.

Now that he is the younger brother of the emperor, although he has the ambition to support the Han Dynasty, he can no longer follow his original path.

My fingertips stroked the icy edge of the teacup, and an owl under the eaves cried out in surprise.

The dusk was as dark as ink, swallowing up Beigong Chiwen completely.

Note:

①Liu Li

Book of the Later Han:
"He died in the tenth year of his reign, and his son, An Wang Li, succeeded him. Li died in the twenty-eighth year of his reign, and his son, Hui, succeeded him."

②Liu Hong

Book of the Later Han:
"Jie Duting Marquis Shu was enfeoffed as the Prince of Hejian. After Shu's death, his son Chang succeeded him. After Chang's death, his son Hong succeeded him and was established as Emperor Ling by General Dou Wu."

③The relationship between the two

Liu Li's lineage:
Emperor Zhang of Han, Liu Zhuang → Prince Xiao of Hejian, Liu Kai → Prince Hui of Hejian, Liu Zheng → Prince Zhen of Hejian, Liu Jian → Prince An of Hejian, Liu Li

Liu Hong's lineage:
Emperor Zhang of Han, Liu Zhuang → Prince Xiao of Hejian, Liu Kai → Marquis of Jieduting, Liu Shu → Marquis of Jieduting, Liu Chang → Emperor Ling of Han, Liu Hong
According to the Han Dynasty clan system, two people with the same grandfather can be called "cousins" (cousins), and those with the same great-grandfather can be called "clan brothers" (brothers).

⑤Liu Kang

"Book of the Later Han": "In the third year of Xiping… Li Zikang, Prince of Hejian, was enfeoffed as Prince of Jinan and was entrusted with the worship of Emperor Xiaoren."

⑥Xu Shao fled south

"Book of the Later Han: Biography of Xu Shao" records: "...He took refuge in the south of the Yangtze River. Yuan Shu treated him with great respect and treated him as a guest..."

"The Biography of Xu Jing in the Records of the Three Kingdoms" states: "... Shao and Jing both had high reputations... Therefore, the people of Runan had the custom of 'Monthly Review'. When Dong Zhuo was in power, Shao took refuge with Tao Qian, the governor of Xuzhou, and treated him with great courtesy..."

⑦ Empress Dowager Dong adopted Liu Xie
"The Records of the Empresses" in the Book of the Later Han states: "...When Xie was born, the empress poisoned her beauty... Empress Dowager Dong raised Xie herself and gave him the name Marquis Dong."

"The Chronicle of Emperor Xiaoxian in the Book of the Later Han": "...The Emperor's mother, Concubine Wang, was murdered by Empress He..."

Liu Xie was the second son of Emperor Ling of Han. After his mother, Concubine Wang, was poisoned by Empress He, he was adopted by his grandmother, Empress Dowager Dong.
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(End of this chapter)