Liu Zhang frowned and slowly clenched his fists: "Isn't it true that since ancient times, when a dynasty was founded and a country was established, there would be an unreasonable and bloody killing?"
Liu Zhang had never believed in the idea that a cunning rabbit would die and a lackey would cook it, and a flying bird would hide its good bow. He felt that as long as it was under control, it could continue.
But now I think about it, so many dynasties in history, including a certain dynasty that cannot be mentioned, have been bloody. Are those wise founders inferior to me?
"Reducing titles is a policy that comprehensively weakens the interests of interest groups. How can such a major policy not shed a little blood?
Throughout the ages, any major measure must start with bloodshed, and the same goes for the reduction of titles.
If Your Majesty doesn't even have this awareness, then you might as well not implement any reduction in titles."
"Zhou Buji, you are too presumptuous." Huang Yueying looked at Zhou Buji coldly.
Zhou Busuo bowed and said: "Your Majesty, I forgive you, but Your Majesty has known before that if you want to implement the New Deal and offend the family, you will have to massacre and shed blood, including so many innocent people.
Now the reduction of titles is equivalent to the previous New Deal, and now those dissatisfied civil and military officials are equivalent to the aristocratic family. If we don't kill them, how can we clarify our ambitions?"
"Besides, this is not without reason. God has given your Majesty a reason. Although it is not very sufficient, as long as the person dies, who will care? As long as there is a reasonable reason, as long as there is a reason that can be announced to the world
That’s fine, isn’t it?
Isn't the reason for colluding with Huang Quan and trying to frame the eldest prince enough to kill them a thousand times?"
Of course Zhou Buyi knew that Huang Quan was the only one who framed Liu Xun, and he also knew that Liu Kang framed Liu Xun, but this was just a reason. Framing the prince was tantamount to treason, and it would not be an exaggeration to punish the nine tribes.
Zhou Buji knew what he should say, and after he had finished speaking, he stood quietly, waiting for Liu Zhang's reply.
It was so quiet in the room that you could hear a pin drop.
"Implicating so many people, they will be rehabilitated many years later. Those who carry out this order will probably not end well. Who dares to risk the disapproval of the world?"
Since ancient times, there has been an official rule: first, Zhongliang is framed, and then many years later he is rehabilitated, and the person who originally framed Zhongliang is captured and denounced.
But from beginning to end, nothing will happen to the ruler, only those who execute it will.
Zhou Buyi only expected that those generals would rebel, but the others did not rebel after all. If he killed them now, it would be a cunning rabbit that would die and the lackeys would be cooked. If they rebelled in the future, even if the person who executed them did not die, they would be ruined, and the possibility of surviving is extremely slim.
.
"Zhou Buji is willing." Zhou Buji said immediately. He added seriously: "Reform must start with bloodshed, and bloodshed starts with Zhou Buji."
…
After Zhou Buji exited, Liu Zhang and Huang Yueying were silent for a long time. Liu Zhang knew that from tonight on, Liu Zhang in future generations would be a cold-blooded king just like Liu Bang and Zhu Yuanzhang.
"Your Majesty, I said this time is your final test." Huang Yueying said.
Liu Zhang hugged Huang Yueying and once again went against his will. He didn't want to kill but still wanted to kill. But now, Liu Zhang felt much better.
Perhaps he has done this too much and has become numb, or perhaps he truly understands that the so-called king is meant to embark on such a path.
…
"Well, General Ma, we have been working hard for so many years, and we have walked through mountains of corpses and seas of blood. How many people have died around us? How many times have we almost died?
But now, the titles are decreasing? Although I, Wang Xiong, have never read a book, I still know that this damn thing is unprecedented and is the most ridiculous thing in the world.
Now I have been granted the title of Marquis, and one generation after another I will become an earl. Earl, what’s the difference between that and not having a title? I, Wang Xiong, finally bought some land and passed it on to my son, but most of it became leased land. It’s really ridiculous.
Government decree.
Not to mention the grandchildren and great-grandchildren. When the time comes, my Wang family will have nothing. Then my descendants will call me Wang Xiong a fool. Look at what you, Wang Xiong, have accomplished by working so hard. It’s really unreasonable."
"Yes, alas, Your Majesty must have listened to the villain's instigation this time. It's really... alas."
"In the past, I would have betrayed you long ago."
"Shh, don't say such nonsense."
Listening to the discussion of the generals below, Ma Chao sat alone and drank wine. Ma Chao was awarded a second-class royal title. The Ma family was not a traditional family and did not care about the land.
But the Ma family is a famous family, and it has been a famous family that has been standing in the world since Ma Yuan.
But starting from my own generation, kings have become dukes, and dukes have become marquis. The titles after marquis can basically be ignored. How can the Ma family gain a foothold by then?
How many families would be lower in status than abdicating the throne to an earl? It can be said that throughout the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Ma family could not be so isolated. It is simply a joke.
He, Ma Chao, was the most accomplished general of the Ma family since Ma Yuan. He originally thought that being awarded the title of General of the Five Tigers would establish a higher prestige than Ma Yuan.
Unexpectedly, the decline of the Ma family started from his own generation. How did Ma Chao accept this?
Not only Ma Chao, but also Ma Tie, Ma Dai and others were also unhappy.
Ma Chao never thought about betraying Liu Zhang, but now the gap is too big. Ma Chao feels that his brain is confused, and he can only keep drinking. The complaints of the generals around him become the background sound, and the complaints of these generals are also increasing little by little.
This deepened Ma Chao’s resentment.
"Report, report to the general. Zhou Bujie suddenly came with a large number of troops. Cavalry with strong bows, crossbows and rockets have surrounded the mansion."
"What?" Ma Chao slammed the table and stood up, furious.
"Zhou Buyi has betrayed him. Doesn't he know that this is the general's residence?" Pang De, Ma Dai, Ma Xiu, Ma Tie and others stood up at the same time.
"It's so lively, so lively." Zhou Buji led his troops and walked in with a smile, and saluted Ma Chao, "Although General Ma's birthday is still two months away, Zhou Buji congratulated him in advance."
"Zhou Buji, I, Ma Chao, am celebrating my birthday in advance while all the generals are in Beijing. What does it have to do with you? What do you want to do with your troops here?"
Zhou Buji waved his hand, and a deputy general took out an imperial edict and read it aloud: "The emperor has issued an imperial decree that Ma Chao, Pang De, Wang Xiong, Ma Dai and others colluded with Huang Quan to frame the prince Liu Xun, and immediately detained those who resisted.
, Kill without mercy.”
"What? This is slander."
"When did we collude with Huang Quan?"
Ma Chao suppressed the voices of the generals and looked at Zhou Buyi coldly: "Huang Quan framed Liu Xun to pave the way for his nephew. What does it have to do with me?"
Although we still don’t know that Huang Quan framed Liu Xun, when Liu Xun was slandered by Yangshou, now only Xu Jing and others have been found out. However, Xu Jing and others had no intention of harming Liu Xun at all. They harmed Cao Chong.
The person who framed Liu Xun was not found, but Zhou Bujie said it was Huang Quan. Nine out of ten people believed him, because only Huang Quan had a motive.
Moreover, Huang Quan was the one who hired the foreman. At first, we didn’t know that he had found someone who was related to Captain Liu Xun of the Guards. Now that we know it, why don’t we know what kind of medicine Huang Quan sells in his gourd?
"I don't know about this. I'm just on an errand. If you have anything to say, just go to the censor's platform and say it. Take down the resisters and kill them on the spot. Resist on a large scale. Crossbows are fired outside at any time, no matter whether they are dead or injured.
.”
"yes."
A large number of soldiers poured into the lobby. All generals knew how powerful the Sichuan army's new crossbows were. Under such a dense and powerful crossbow, Wang Yue could not escape, let alone the people here.
"I'll go with you to the Yushitai, and then I'll see what charges you can give Ma Chao."
Ma Chao restrained himself, and all the generals were detained and escorted out of the compound. However, Zhou Buyi did not give the order to leave, and all the crossbows were still aimed at all the generals.
"Aren't you going to Yushitai? Why don't you go?"
"No need to leave." Zhou Buyi said coldly, waving his hand: "Kill them all on the spot."
In the horrified eyes of all the generals, countless crossbow arrows were shot out, covering the sky and the ground. The dark rain of arrows almost blocked the light, and they all shot towards hundreds of civil and military officials.
All these generals were tied up and had no power to resist. All of them, including Ma Chao, were nailed to the ground. Countless people stared with eyes open and refused to rest in silence.
Reform began with bloodshed, and Ma Chao's government office in Beijing staged the bloodiest scene.
The sun shone out the next day, and a killing without any justice ended.
…
More than a hundred civil servants were killed, and the news spread throughout the streets the next day. At the same time, Huang Quan was detained for framing Liu Xun, and countless civil servants were implicated and imprisoned.
Just like the Wuling Massacre, on New Year's Eve, all civil servants were beheaded.
Huang Quan framed Liu Xun for Liu Kang. Although Huang Yue was not guilty, according to ancient rules, she was not immune and deposed Huang Yue from her position as queen.
Hearing about the great changes in Beijing, all parties were shocked, the most violent was Jiangdong. Wei Yan was unwilling to write a letter requesting the implementation of the reduction of titles. Ma Chao and others died, and the rabbit died and the fox was sad.
Wei Yan clenched his sword tightly, looked at the desk in front of him, and finally made up his mind. He stuck the sword on the desk and the hilt trembled. Jiangdong's 100,000 troops rebelled and quickly swept across Jiangdong.
Liu Zhang sent his prince Liu Xun, with Zhou Buji and Cao Chong as military advisor, and Zhao Yun, Huang Zhong, Wu Tugu, Su Lan and Wang Shuang as generals to conquer Wei Yan.
With the cooperation of the Gan-Ning Navy and Jiaozhou Zhuge Liang, Wei Yan's army quickly collapsed.
On the evening of New Year's Eve, Liu Zhang came to Huang Yue's palace. Huang Yue sat alone in front of the attic and looked at the distant sky.
Liu Zhang stood behind Huang Yue. He knew that Huang Yue was very sad now, and he wanted to comfort Huang Yue, but he no longer knew how to express it.
If Huang Lan and other members of the Huang family were killed last time, he could still say "I'm sorry", but now, he is no longer qualified to say the word "sorry".
"Husband, do you still remember that evening on Elm Street in Chengdu? Unfortunately, there is no colorful clouds here." Huang Yue looked at the gray sky in the distance and said quietly.
Liu Zhang's thoughts seemed to be suddenly pulled back to ten years ago.
"Sir, Huang Yue is willing to accompany you forever. I can't stabilize the rear for you like a civil official, and I can't fight for you on the battlefield like a military general. Your Excellency fights all over the world, staining mountains and rivers with blood, and there will be times when you are tired, but I beg you to be tired.
When the time comes, Huang Yue can make you a bowl of soup and pour you a cup of tea. If so, Huang Yue will have no regrets in this life."