A thousand-year-old family that began with the Battle of Makino

Chapter 241 Political Fight
With Hong Gong being executed, the eunuchs and the eunuchs were frightened and did not dare to act recklessly, for fear that the next step would be to kill them on the head.

Although the Confucian faction had won a great victory, the act of forcing the emperor to go to the palace made the Han emperor very angry. Seeing that the courtiers were all united around Bai Du, they were afraid of being ignored.

Originally, the eunuchs, relatives, and Confucian ministers stood in a tripartite position. According to the Han emperor's expectation, the three parties should be hostile to each other, and he would be the mediator. In this way, he would not only be relaxed, but also ensure that he would not be ignored.

At the beginning of the Han Emperor's accession to the throne, the Confucian ministers had an advantage in the court and could suppress the eunuchs and relatives. Even though the Han Emperor respected Xiao Wangzhi again, he was still worried about the power of the Confucian ministers.

Therefore, the alliance between the eunuchs and their relatives was established with the tacit approval and even the encouragement of the Han Emperor. Later, the eunuchs continued to target Confucian ministers, also with the tacit approval of the Han Emperor. However, he did not expect that he would get away with it. His mentor died, and Confucianism Several of the minister's leaders were dismissed from their posts.

The power of the eunuchs suddenly overwhelmed the Confucian officials.

Just when the Han Emperor had a headache, he encountered Bai Du who used the theory of celestial phenomena to force Hong Gong to be killed.

According to the Han emperor's ideas, he could be dismissed from office or exiled, and it was best not to have any more bloodshed or sacrifices. However, the matter was not under his control. The ministers went against their own ideas and would not stop until Hong Gong died.

As soon as Hong Gong died, the eunuch party immediately fell into decline. The Confucian officials headed by Bai Du continued to attack in an attempt to sweep the eunuch's power out of the court.

So a memorial requesting to rectify officialdom and eliminate corruption came to the Han Emperor's case under the joint signature of several people from Baidu.

After carefully reading the memorial, it mentioned the importance of officialdom and the harm of corruption to the country. The Han Emperor believed that this was beneficial to the Han Dynasty, but he still asked everyone in the inner dynasty to give some suggestions.

"Your Majesty, I believe that it is urgent to rectify the administration of officials. As early as the time of Emperor Xuan, there were officials who accepted hundreds of thousands of bribes. This was just a small official in the Dasinong Mansion. He relied on his own power to embezzle the country's property, making The money collected by the state decreased, while the taxes paid by the people increased.

If left unchecked, the cost of the army will decrease, the strength of the army will decrease, and the people will be forced to have no way to go and will have to become refugees. If there are too many refugees, rebellion will definitely breed.

By then the army will not be strong enough to suppress the rebellion, and the disaster of the end of Qin will be just around the corner. I hope Your Majesty will think twice. "

Zhang Meng, a doctor in Taizhong, went out to list the final results of the corruption of officialdom to the Han Emperor.

Emperor Han nodded and was about to make up his mind. Zhongshu ordered Shi Xian to quietly come to Emperor Han and said respectfully:

"Your Majesty, don't just listen to his blunt words. This petition is signed by Taichang Bai Gong and others. If your Majesty looks carefully, you will definitely find that these are the brains of the Confucian officials.

The servants are suspicious. They want to use the excuse of rectifying the government to eliminate dissidents and expand their own influence. By then, the Confucian family will be the only one, and the entire court will be a party of Confucian officials. What position will your Majesty be placed in? Woolen cloth? "

This makes the eunuchs extremely anxious. They know very well that the weakness of themselves and others is greed for money. If the request to rectify the government and investigate corruption is approved, they will all be removed. After all, they are the only ones who shit. Only people know if there is shit in their butt.

"As Zhongshu Ling said, the rectification of officialdom should not be left to one department, but should be carried out jointly by multiple departments. Only in this way can we ensure that it will not be used by people with ulterior motives to attack dissidents. Now that they want to preside over this matter, their behavior is suspicious , His heart can be killed!"

The speaker was Gong Yu, the imperial censor and Guanglu official. He was the highest-ranking Confucian official who was attracted by Shi Xian. Gong Yu was poor since he was a child and had no background. In order to realize his inner strategy and complete his class transition, Gong Yu angrily Join the eunuch party.

Sure enough, with his extraordinary ability and the help of Shi Xian and others, he was quickly promoted from an admonishing doctor to Taizhong doctor, Guanglu doctor, Changxin Shaofu, and Yushi doctor.

Obviously he understood the importance of rectifying officialdom, but for his own future, he had to help.

"In that case, let's do this. This time the rectification of the officialdom will be led by Taichang Baigong Baidu. The imperial censor Gongyu, Dai Prime Minister Kuang Heng, Changxin Shaofu Wulu Chongzong, Guangluxun Chen Du, Zongzheng Liu Xiang As deputy. I must find those giant rats."

"Here!"

Although Gong Yu, Kuang Heng, and Wulu Chongzong all favored Shi Xian's side, after all, Baidu was the main one this time, with Chen Du and Liu Xiang assisting. In addition, he and others acted as if no one was around when they accepted bribes. , the evidence is very easy to obtain.

So Shi Xian and others were still a little anxious.

So a conspiracy began.

Just as Bai Du and others were preparing to show off their skills, a report letter was sent to Bai Du's case. It was reported that Chang Shi Ping Enhou Xu Jia had accepted large bribes and embezzled military expenses.

"Mr. Bai, Xu Jia is the father of the Crown Princess and belongs to the maternal relatives. This time we finally got the initiative and rashly offend the maternal relatives. Isn't it bad? Should we not investigate first?"

An official suggested.

"No, now that the report letter comes, if we don't investigate, those eunuchs will definitely be caught. If we only investigate those who are members of the eunuchs' party, then our reputation for attacking dissidents will be confirmed."

"But if Xu Jia is investigated, he may be framed for attacking dissidents."

So the officials all turned their attention to Bai Du, hoping that he could come up with an idea.

Bai Du thought for a moment and said: "Investigate, not only an investigation, but also a major investigation. As long as the crime is found out, it means that we are not at fault. After all, we are here to investigate corruption and bribery. As long as we succeed this time, we will be able to do more in the future." If you go and check those eunuchs, they will appear to be worthy of their name."

"Is it possible that this report letter is slander?" Some officials put forward such a view.

"Impossible, absolutely impossible. As a relative, how could Xu Jia not accept bribes? I have never seen a relative who did not accept bribes." Another official obviously looked down on those relatives who relied on their women to become prominent.

Bai Du also said: "No matter what, we must take action."

Subsequently, led by Yushi Zhongcheng Baike, the chariots and cavalry sent by Zhijinwu surrounded Ping'enhou Mansion in a mighty manner.

"What are you going to do? This is Ping'enhou Mansion, the residence of Zhongchang Shi Gong Xu, and I'm not afraid of losing my head." Bai Ke said expressionlessly: "On the emperor's order, I received a report and investigated Ping'enhou Xu Jia's bribery case. , someone came and took everyone in the house into custody and asked them one by one."

The soldiers filed in and quickly took everyone in the Ping'enhou Mansion into custody.

A few hours later.

"Zhongcheng, something is wrong." A clerk hurriedly came to Bai Ke's side.

"what happened?"

"Ping'enhou's mansion is pitifully clean. Less than one hundred thousand copper coins were found during the search. When I asked the servants in the mansion, they all said that Ping'enhou's life was simple and the household was very poor."

"What? How is it possible?" Bai Ke was also a little confused. Is Xu Jia really an alternative among the relatives?

Bai Ke guessed it right, the Xu family is an unusual one among the relatives.

The Xu family's earliest success was with Emperor Xuan's wife Xu Pingjun. When Emperor Xuan first came to the throne, Xu Pingjun was well aware of Emperor Xuan's predicament, so he repeatedly asked the Xu family to be careful in their words and deeds and not to cause trouble to Emperor Xuan.

Although the Xu family belongs to a small clan and has lived in the market for a long time, they are brothers and sisters who are very familiar with the way of survival.

By the time Emperor Xuan took power, Xu Pingjun had been poisoned by Huo Xian for many years. Without the support of the palace, even with Emperor Xuan's care, the Xu family still adhered to Xu Pingjun's words, and the children in the family did not dare to violate the law at all.

Nowadays, although the Xu family is the mother clan of the Crown Princess, she is still a Crown Princess after all, not a queen, so she does not have the domineering behavior of ordinary relatives.

"Presumptuous! The Xu family has been cautious in their words and deeds for so many years, but the investigation of corruption and bribery is actually on their heads. What do they want to do?"

The Emperor of the Han Dynasty was angry that Bai Du and others searched Ping'enhou's mansion but failed to find any violation of regulations.

"Your Majesty, calm down!"

Xu Pingjun was the biological mother of the Han Emperor and was poisoned, so the Han Emperor had special feelings for the Xu family. In addition, the Xu family kept a low profile and did not want other relatives to get into trouble based on their relationship with the Han Emperor.

Therefore, the Han Emperor even felt a little guilty for the Xu family. Otherwise, the Xu family would not have two princes in one clan, and even personally married the Xu family's daughter for the prince.

Now looking at the Xu clan members kneeling in front of him and crying, Emperor Han only felt that he was an irresponsible wanderer.

Shi Xian spoke at the right time: "Your Majesty, why not put all the relevant people in jail and arrest them! This way, we can also give an explanation to the Xu family."

"Your Majesty, no, Taichang is a Duke. Emperor Gaozu himself said that the Bai family will live together with the country. Moreover, the Bai family has too much power in the world. If Duke Bai is imprisoned rashly, I am afraid the sky will collapse. What Shi Xian said is sending the big man to his doom. Please kill him, Your Majesty."

Zhang Meng, who had been promoted to Doctor Guanglu, spoke up.

Zhang Meng's words made the Han Emperor suddenly wake up. Yes, this Bai Du was not an ordinary minister. He could take whatever he wanted.

Seeing that there was no hope of killing, Shi Xian added: "Bai Du is very old now. According to the past, he should have resigned from his official position and returned to his country to retire, but he did not. This shows how greedy he is for power. Before, he took The ministers are forcing Your Majesty to form cliques for personal gain.

Besides, Baidu is still unclear with the local counties. Your Majesty, please think about it, what exactly does he want to do? "

Emperor Han was shocked by what Shi Xian said and felt a chill in his back.

"Your Majesty, please do not listen to Shi Xian's nonsense. The Bai family is a prestigious family for thousands of years, and its reputation is more important than Mount Tai. How can it be treason and rebellion? It is trying to sow discord between Your Majesty and the Bai family, with the intention of throwing the Han Dynasty into chaos."

"Fart, you know people but don't know their hearts. Can you guarantee that the Bai family has no intention of treason?"

"Your Majesty, I dare to use this head to guarantee that the Bai family has no intention of rebellion."

"How much is your head worth, Your Majesty? People's minds have changed!"

"Okay, shut up and let me think about it."

Emperor Han scolded the two of them for their quarrel.

After closing his eyes and thinking, the Emperor of the Han Dynasty opened his eyes and issued an edict: "From now on, we will stop rectifying the administration of officials and investigate corruption and bribery. The matter of rectifying the administration of officials will be handed over to Prime Minister Kuang Heng, and the matter of rectifying the administration of officials will be handed over to the imperial censor Gong Yu.

In addition, during the period of Emperor Wen, there had been an explicit order requiring local princes not to stay in the capital for a long time. As the monarch of Bai Duke, how could Bai Gong relax the governance of Bai Kingdom because of the Chang'an incident and order him to seal the country quickly and not stay? .

In addition, Zhongchang Shi Ping Enhou had made meritorious service to the country and was an honest man. He was promoted to General of Chariots and Cavalry. Shi Gao, the former General of Chariots and Cavalry, was appointed as the Grand Sima General. "

In this way, Bai Du was repatriated and Bai Ke did not grow up. Because of the Ping Enhou case, many important officials supported by the Bai family were dismissed from their posts. The power of the Bai family in Chang'an fell into a low ebb.

However, the eunuch faction did not get much benefit from it. Although the rectification of officialdom and the investigation of corruption were stopped, many members in high positions and important positions were taken away by Bai Du and others before they were stopped.

Both the eunuchs and the Confucian officials suffered, and the relatives became the biggest winners.

(End of this chapter)