Since the end of the Hedong crisis, Zhang Rang has become more and more aware that the relationship between the brothers He Jin and Miao and the eunuchs has become somewhat alienated.
It turns out that the brothers He Jin and He Miao paid great attention to maintaining their relationships with the eunuchs. They often traveled around and gave gifts, and they did not forget to show filial piety during the holidays.
However, after the Hedong crisis, the "filial piety" of the He brothers was a little less punctual, and even some of the eunuchs' requests were excused by He Jin with various excuses or even ignored.
Zhang Rang had a conversation with He Jin once, but they broke up on bad terms.
He Jin was unwilling to accept Zhang Rang's opinion, and Zhang Rang could not accept He Jin's confrontational attitude.
This clear sense of alienation made Zhang Rang and other eunuchs very uneasy.
He Jin, the military spokesperson of the eunuch group that they single-handedly supported and cultivated, should not become a real general with independent consciousness and individual power. This was not only unacceptable to the eunuchs, but also unacceptable to Emperor Liu Hong.
What's worse is that according to the information obtained by Dongyuan's spies, He Jin has been moving around frequently with Yuan's son Yuan Shao during this period, and has a heated relationship with Yuan Shao. Then some of Yuan Shao's friends were introduced into the big society.
Worked as a subordinate in the General's Mansion.
He Jin was originally entrusted with the military power of the Luoyang Northern Army because of the previous incident, and the Yuan family also controlled some military power in Luoyang City because of the military exploits of Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu. Now that He Jin and the Yuan family are close, they are fighting
It was so hot that Zhang Rang felt intensely uneasy.
It is very dangerous for the military forces around Luoyang and in Luoyang City to be controlled by others and not within their own scope of influence. This means that the foundation of their power has been shaken.
Zhang Rang told Liu Hong about this uneasiness, and Liu Hong also felt uneasy.
The reason why He Jin was able to become a general and hold military power was mainly because of his relatives and his lower family background, which made He Jin have characteristics that were easy for the imperial power to manipulate.
What Liu Hong needs, like Zhang Rang and other powerful officials, is an obedient tool rather than a self-aware general. The power associated with the position of general is very terrifying, but the person who needs to hold the position of general has the necessary qualifications.
Only with the ability and status to control this power can the power of the position of general be brought into full play.
The original He Jin did not have that ability and status at all.
But now, He Jin and Yuan are so close and their relationship seems to be very close. What are they going to do?
Does he want to seek higher status and power so that he can carry forward his power as a general?
Does he want to assert his power?
If this continues, Liu Hong doubts whether he can successfully control He's relatives.
Liu Hong frowned, feeling uneasy, and then asked Zhang Rang for advice.
"Grandpa, do you have any good ways to deal with it? If possible, how about depriving He Jin and the Yuan family of their military power? If you deprive them of their military power, you can naturally suppress their power, right?"
Zhang Rang looked embarrassed.
"Military power is a relatively serious matter. The military power of the He family and the Yuan family is not only due to the high price they paid to Xiyuan, but also because of their military exploits on the battlefield in Hedong, so it is not without foundation.
If there is no justifiable reason, the military power of the heroes will be reduced, which will easily lead to disputes between the government and the public, unrest among the people, opposition from the ministers, and widespread rumors. When the time comes, the benefits to Your Majesty may not outweigh the disadvantages."
"What should we do?"
Liu Hong thought for a moment and suddenly realized a more serious problem.
If He Jin goes beyond his control and even joins forces with the Yuan family to form an alliance, the impact will be far more than just military power, it will have a more important impact!
Crown Prince!
Liu Hong has not officially named the crown prince so far!
Liu Hong was young and had not many children, and most of his heirs died young. Only two are alive till now, the eldest son Liu Bian, fifteen years old, and the second son Liu Xie, seven years old.
According to common sense, the position of crown prince must belong to Liu Bian.
Liu Bian is the legitimate son of Liu Hong and Queen He. Regardless of his status or age, he meets the requirements for the position of crown prince.
But Liu Hong didn't like Liu Bian.
The reasons are naturally that Liu Bian is not smart enough, has a weak character, etc., but the more important reason is that Liu Hong no longer likes Queen He.
Empress He, who relied on her superior figure, appearance and skills to defeat Empress Song, would eventually lose her beauty due to old age. The most indispensable thing in the harem was women. In addition, Liu Hong liked to collect beauties from all over the world, so Empress He would eventually become the queen.
An unbearable day.
As the years passed, Liu Hong's feelings for Queen He became weaker and weaker, but this alone could not completely defeat Queen He. She was still the queen after all.
What really brought about a break between Queen He and Liu Hong was her poisoning of Miss Wang.
After that incident, Liu Hong almost wanted to be deposed. If the eunuchs had not tried their best to help him and pointed out that the status of the He family was very consistent with Liu Hong's requirements for his relatives, once he was deposed, it would be difficult to find such suitable relatives.
This statement met Liu Hong's major needs, so Liu Hong hesitated for a while and rejected the idea of abolishing the post.
But because of his dissatisfaction and disgust with Queen He, Liu Hong was even less likely to like Liu Bian, and Liu Xie did behave innocently, smart and cute, and pleased Liu Hong in every aspect.
On this basis, Empress He would always make insinuations about establishing the crown prince every time she saw Liu Hong, which made Liu Hong more and more depressed and disgusted with that hateful-looking woman, and she was reluctant to establish Liu Bian as the crown prince.
For the crown prince.
But to say that Liu Hong planned to abolish the elders and establish younger ones is not the case.
Abolition of elders and establishment of younger ones is a major matter. As a representative figure of a small sect entering into a large sect, Liu Hong is very concerned about the four words "justifiable".
Liu Bian is the son of the empress, the legitimate legitimate son, and the eldest son of all Liu Hong's current sons. He has already occupied the title of "eldest son."
If the eldest son is deposed and the concubine Liu Xie is established as the crown prince, it will inevitably cause huge turmoil in the government and the public, and will trigger a violent wave of opposition. Liu Hong can still understand this, and he believes that he can control the situation well.
At the beginning, Liu Hong faced a situation where He's relative could not do much even if he became a general.
Their family backgrounds were too low and they had no political foundation to backfire on the royal family. Therefore, Liu Hong was not worried about how He's relatives could influence the government.
They are just tool people.
It's just that Queen He's poisoning of Beauty Wang really disgusted Liu Hong and made him hate her. Liu Hong just didn't want to see Queen He being proud because his son became the crown prince.
He just wanted to delay this matter without making a decision until the last moment of his life, in order to torture Queen He repeatedly to punish her for her cruelty back then, and to vent her anger on poor Beauty Wang.
Liu Hong's plan was successful. Empress He was indeed tortured very hard because of this incident. She had often felt worried over the years. She never could be relaxed and happy one day, and she was always frowning and unhappy.
Liu Hong's heart was filled with the pleasure of revenge.
But as time passed, as He Jin held the position of general for longer and longer, he gradually made some achievements, accumulated some fame, and gained some power. Gradually, he became less well-behaved, easy to handle, and even a little bit demanding.
Out of control.
Liu Hong began to feel something was wrong.
Now listening to Zhang Rang's report, Liu Hong can easily come to the conclusion——
The fact that He Jin was so close to the Yuan family may be inseparable from his plans for the crown prince's position.
They were dissatisfied with the status quo, so they placed their hopes on the next emperor.
The cunning He family and the cunning Yuan family must be preparing for Liu Bian to obtain the throne of prince.
Once Liu Bian is made crown prince and emperor, given the current status of Queen He and He Jin, they will almost certainly be able to become powerful relatives. There is no need to doubt whether Liu Bian's weak temperament can control the He family.
He must not be able to do it.
He will definitely become a puppet in the hands of Queen He and He Jin. He cannot be called a real emperor at all. The old Liu family's foundation may become a plaything in the hands of the He brothers and sisters!