52Chapter 52: Prince Liang enters the capital, the Queen Mother seizes power
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Chao Cuo's voice was grand, and he articulated his thoughts word by word, completely disregarding the opinions of the many other ministers present and the thoughts in the hearts of the many local vassal kings.
He was like a lone brave.
And in fact, in his and Emperor Jing's hearts, perhaps he was such a lone brave.
He said what everyone else dared not say, and he did what everyone else dared not do.
Wasn't that a lone brave?
Chen Yun, Chen Xi, and others beside him all lowered their heads and remained silent, as if they hadn't heard Chao Cuo's bold speech. Both father and son closed their eyes, resting, each more adept at cultivating their character than the other.
The other ministers around them cursed inwardly when they saw the father and son's appearance.
Chen Yun was old and could cultivate his character; it was understandable that he could act as if he were old and experienced, after all, having gone through many things made one mature—but what was wrong with Chen Xi?
Shouldn't he be full of youthful vigor?
Why did he also look like an old man on the verge of death?
The imperial court was in a mess.
Those who opposed, those who supported, and those who both supported and opposed—everyone seemed on the verge of fighting.
Emperor Jing sat at the very front with a slight smile in his eyes; he remained calm and composed.
But in the next moment, the smile on his face slightly faded.
He found that two fish in his pond weren't biting—Chen Xi and Chen Yun, the father and son, were sitting there with their eyes closed, almost falling asleep!
He immediately cleared his throat with a light cough.
Upon hearing the emperor's voice, the many ministers temporarily stopped their arguments and looked towards the emperor sitting there.
Emperor Jing, however, only looked at Chen Yun and his son, with a solemn and humble expression on his face, after all, his The Late Emperor had said before his death that the Chen clan should oversee the state and assist in governance.
"Guandu Marquis, what is your opinion on this matter?"
When Emperor Jing's gaze fell on him, Chen Yun slowly opened his eyes, and after hearing Emperor Jing's words, he slowly stood up, his expression equally humble.
"Your Majesty, in this old subject's humble opinion, isn't it a bit too ostentatious to drastically reduce the power of the vassal states at this time?"
He expressed his opinion tactfully.
It had only been a few years since the central court's power was rectified. At this time, to so ostentatiously reduce the power of the vassal states, were they not truly afraid of the kings revolting?
Or was the emperor trying to make something of this rebellion?
The great ship of the Chen clan could not capsize in a ditch.
Emperor Jing had not yet spoken, but Chao Cuo, very boldly, began to speak. He immediately said, "Prime Minister, you are mistaken. Is my proposal to reduce the power of the vassal states not precisely for the Qian Shou of the world? Throughout history, the Son of Heaven has exercised a tyrannical hand; this is the fundamental principle."
"If the vassal kings are still subjects of the Han, they should consciously offer up their cities. How can they oppose Your Majesty?"
"Therefore, openly reducing the power of the vassal states is the correct course of action!"
Chen Yun listened to Chao Cuo's words, merely glanced at him indifferently, and then sat back down in his seat, directly ignoring him and resuming his meditation.
You asked for my opinion, I gave it, but you didn't listen.
If you don't listen, then don't. What does it matter to me?
Chen Yun closed his eyes, giving no face to Chao Cuo at all—if it were the emperor, he would give some face, or if it were the descendants of founding heroes, his juniors, he might also give some face.
How many officials in the entire court could make him give face?
That useless Zhou Shengzhi? Or Chen Ping, that foolish son?
As for the descendants of the Xiao, Han, and Zhang families?
The descendants of these three families had long since honestly become second-tier aristocratic families in the Han, and at this moment, they weren't getting involved in this matter at all.
Chao Cuo was humiliated but dared not say anything.
So he could only continue to say to Emperor Jing, "Your Majesty! I believe that a tyrannical approach should be taken, and the policy of reducing the power of the vassal states should be implemented!"
Many ministers echoed his sentiment.
Emperor Jing feigned a slight hesitation and then directly agreed.
He also thought that it was merely reducing the power of the vassal states; would the kings dare to do anything?
Emperor Jing had such a feeling, actually, because Emperor Wen of Han, his The Late Emperor, had carried out too many measures to reduce the power of the vassal states, but those vassal kings had made no moves, instead, they had submitted memorials weeping and complaining that their actions had hurt the emperor's heart, thereby begging for forgiveness.
He had seen the reduction of vassal power as too easy and effortless, too light, so he believed that the emperor's reduction of vassal power was always so easy.
But he would not consider another matter—he was not his father, nor did he have his father's ruthless methods.
At this moment, Chen Xi opened his eyes and proposed his measure of "reclaiming the right to mint coins."
Emperor Jing did not doubt much and directly agreed.
He believed that Chen Xi's action merely represented the Chen clan's "bowing down"—hadn't Chen Yun opposed the reduction of vassal power earlier? But now that the policy of reducing vassal power was set, wasn't the Chen clan still trying to find ways to support it?
A hint of satisfaction emerged in Emperor Jing's heart.
His father had never been able to make the Chen clan bow down in his entire life, but he had managed to make the Chen clan bow down right after taking office. What a great achievement that was!
So he agreed decisively.
Not only did he agree, but he also took the opportunity to exact a revenge at this time.
That is: punishing Deng Tong from back then.
And the reason for punishing Deng Tong was simple—Emperor Wen had decentralized the right to mint coins because of this fellow. Although the right to mint coins given to Deng Tong was ultimately stopped, the right given to the kings was not!
All of this was because of Deng Tong, all Deng Tong's fault!
After all, Emperor Wen was a benevolent and wise monarch! How could such a monarch make mistakes? If he made mistakes, it must have been because he was misled by treacherous subordinates.
Like Deng Tong, this treacherous flatterer.
Of course, this contained a little bit of Emperor Jing's selfishness—back then, Deng Tong had sucked pus from his father's carbuncle, which made him have to do the same.
When had he ever suffered such hardship!
It was all Deng Tong's fault!
Thus, a small person was inadvertently dealt with.
Hadn't The Late Emperor prepared to give Deng Tong the right to mint coins and a mine? Emperor Jing's ruling was to tie Deng Tong in that mine and let him starve to death while looking at that pile of copper ore!
No one noticed the emperor's small actions, because after the policy of reducing the power of the vassal states was spread, the world began to experience some turmoil.
The kings were stirring.
But... what was even more distressing was that the Empress Dowager summoned the emperor and spoke many things, and also expressed that the emperor should summon Prince of Liang to the capital. At this time, the emperor did not know how to refuse.
On one hand, it was because of filial piety, and on the other hand, because the rebelling kings were all from the south, and Prince of Liang was in the middle of the court and the kings, serving as a natural barrier.
So... Prince of Liang entered the capital under these circumstances.
....
Outside Chang'an City
Prince of Liang looked at the towering city wall, a hint of emotion in his brows.
"This King... has returned after all!"