72Chapter 72 Emperor Wu ascends the throne, a new era
No one expected that Emperor Jing's death would be so ordinary.
On an ordinary day, at an ordinary moment, I just lay on the bed simply, easily and casually.
The ministers thought that Emperor Jing would behave like he did before, and stand up when they least expected it, and then say: I have struggled to the death once again, and survived the brink of death once again!
Sadly, not this time.
Emperor Jing was lying on the bed, looking at the ministers around him with a hint of smile in his eyes.
He knows it clearly in his heart.
The first time he "died", he was not really dying, but he pretended to be fishing. He wanted to test many ministers, as well as Liu Rong, Liu Zhi, and even Zhou Yafu.
No one knew that he actually had the intention to kill Zhou Yafu at that time - after all, Zhou Yafu and Chen Qing represented the forces of Marquis Tiao and Marquis Guandu respectively.
These two people hold military power...that's no small matter.
And the most crucial thing is that, from a fundamental fact point of view, neither of these two people belongs to the category of "insiders" - even though the Chen family has always been loyal to the Han Dynasty and the Liu family.
Emperor Jing was worried.
So he tried "dying", but he didn't expect that Chen Yun was really seriously ill at the time and died without even giving him time to react. This made him dare not play any "fishing" tricks anymore, and he could only seize the time to "come back to life."
Chen Xi knew this.
As for the second time...that time he was really on the verge of death, but was pulled back from the brink of death by Li Ji with a call of "old dog" and "Empress Lu".
He can die, but the Han Dynasty must never be in chaos!
And until now, the breath that was renewed a few years ago has finally been exhausted.
Emperor Jing looked at the crowd and sighed slightly, then in just a few words he arranged everything about his after death - at this time, Liu Che was about to be crowned, and it was only a few months away.
This was a good thing for an emperor, so Emperor Jing was not too worried.
He looked at Chen Xi, and the expression in his eyes changed many times. Finally, he slowly retracted the "temptation" in his heart. He knew that if he tried to test Chen Xi at this time, Chen Xi would not have any other reaction. After all, Chen Xi was already used to it.
But...getting used to it doesn't mean Chen won't feel unhappy.
So what he has to do is to exchange it with "sincerity".
He immediately looked at Chen Xi and said, "Mr. Chen, after I am gone, the Han Dynasty will be handed over to you for care."
There was a hint of entrustment in his eyes. This was the first time that the emperor of the Liu family did not test Chen before his death. It was also the first time that the emperor of the Liu family entrusted the country to Chen so calmly.
Chen Xi stepped forward slowly. He looked into Emperor Jing's eyes, understood what was in his mind, and said immediately, "Your Majesty, I will definitely live up to your trust!"
Emperor Jing looked into Chen Xi's eyes and saw determination and solemnity in his eyes, which made him feel relieved.
He raised his head, looked at the curtains on his bed, and smiled slowly.
This is the last thing Emperor Jing left in this world.
"Bang—"
"Bang—"
"Bang—"
The bell rang for 9981 times in a row. This is the "maximum number" and it is the number of times it can be rung only when the emperor dies. He represented the fourth emperor of the Han Dynasty... and passed away.
... ...
In the 24th year of Emperor Jing's reign, Emperor Jing died.
In accordance with the emperor's decree, Crown Prince Liu Che ascended the throne and became the fifth emperor of the Han Dynasty.
This young emperor, who had not even been crowned yet, stepped hesitantly onto the noisy stage of the Han Dynasty and became the master of this stage.
.... .....
Guandu Marquis Mansion
Life is so fleeting, flowers bloom and fade.
Chen Xi sat in the pavilion, looking at the waves in the distance, with a hint of sigh in his brow.
He understood that when Liu Che stepped onto the historical stage, the Han Dynasty would truly reach its most prosperous period - this prosperity was not what was called a "golden age" in the past sense.
In the traditional concept of history, the term "prosperous times" has two meanings.
First, the country is strong and the country is in a peaceful and prosperous era. The lives of the people are very stable and prosperous, and their spiritual world is also very rich.
Second, expand territory, conquer the barbarians, and make the country's reputation recognized by the whole world. No one dares to question the country's strength and all its opponents are eliminated.
Among them, the former actually focuses more on "civil governance" while the latter focuses more on "military achievements".
This is a difference in emphasis, but it is undeniable that a true "golden age" is one that combines the two, and there are very few in history who can do this.
Even the prosperous Han Wu era under Liu Che and the prosperous Zhenguan era under Li Shimin had some regrets.
The prosperous era of Emperor Wu of Han under Emperor Liu Che lacked some of the peace and prosperity, while the prosperous era of Emperor Zhenguan under Emperor Li Shimin lacked some of the passion and enthusiasm of all nations coming to pay tribute - even though the prosperous era of Zhenguan did have the "military merit" of the Tang Dynasty's conquest of the Turks.
Chen Xi looked at the rippling lake water in the distance, with a hint of sigh in his eyes.
During the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, the Chen family needed to be more careful, because as long as they could survive the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, the Chen family would have truly stabilized their foundation. In the following years and decades, or even until the end of the Western Han Dynasty, they would not need any development, but only need to move forward steadily.
This is the biggest test.
It is also...the test that is most likely to fail.
Of course, for Chen Xi now, he is actually not too nervous. After all, in the early days of Emperor Wu of Han, it was not so difficult to survive in the Han Dynasty.
In the early period, Liu Che mainly focused on expanding territory and launching attacks on the Huns.
Although Liu Che was energetic and ambitious during this period, he was actually not difficult to deal with.
What's really hard to deal with...is decades later.
The old Liu Che was the most difficult to deal with. He was a real Old Deng... and he was an extremely confident, powerful, ambitious, and cunning Old Deng.
"Oh--"
Chen Xi smiled slowly.
.... .....
In the first year of Emperor Wu's reign, the young emperor did not begin his "rule" very quickly after ascending the throne. He behaved very humbly, even a little too humbly.
He said that he was a junior, and that Marquis Guandu and Marquis Tiao in the court were his elders, and he only needed to humbly listen to their opinions.
It seems that he has no ambition at all.
Zhou Yafu and Chen Xi were both calm and didn't buy it.
but....
I can't help but think that some people really fall for this.
A man jumped out.
This was the first enemy of Emperor Wu of Han during the Han Dynasty, and also...the first person to die.