So, here's the question: if the Way of Peace really did rebel, was the subsequent death of the emperor also real?
Could the emperor really die suddenly from illness?
Then the two princes fought for the throne?
Then came the chaos and misrule by the fat man?
Next, the feudal lords launched a campaign against Dong Zhuo.
Finally, will his own mischievous son seize power and command the princes, thus achieving great things?
Cao Song subconsciously shook his head. He couldn't think about it anymore; if he did, something really bad would happen! Now, Cao Song, like Cao Cao, absolutely hated that hermit from the lakes and seas!
If you're going to issue a warning, why drag my son into it? Holding the emperor hostage to command the feudal lords, wow, what a grand scheme, what a great achievement! But at this moment, Cao Song truly felt a sense of crisis!
There was no other way. Before the Taiping Dao rebellion, he could have claimed that the story was just malicious slander. And the imperial court wouldn't have taken it seriously!
But after the Taiping Rebellion, everything changed! Now, who would still simply treat this book as a joke?
Thinking about this, Cao Song felt a headache coming on. What should he do? However, when Cao Song inadvertently saw Yuan Feng opposite him, his mood subconsciously brightened up.
As the saying goes, when you feel miserable, if you encounter someone even more miserable, you'll subconsciously feel much better. This was exactly how Cao Song felt at that moment.
"Four generations of high-ranking officials"—no, that's just a saying from folk tales; the Han Dynasty had long since abolished the Three Dukes system. However, everyone knows who the folk tales are actually referring to!
Heh heh, the eldest son, the illegitimate son Yuan Shao, will become the leader of the warlord alliance, and at the same time, he wants to establish a separate emperor. Tsk tsk, I have to say, he's really got some nerve! (Historically, Yuan Shao once wanted Liu Yu to be emperor, but Liu Yu refused.)
The second son, Yuan Shu's legitimate son, was even more remarkable! He directly rebelled in Huainan! He even proclaimed himself Emperor Zhong. Hehehe, thinking of this, Cao Song felt a surge of joy.
Looking at Yuan Feng now, Cao Song felt that his mischievous son was much better; at least he hadn't rebelled, right? At least he was still one of the few lords who respected the emperor, wasn't he?
"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"
Amidst shouts of "Long live the Emperor!", Emperor Ling entered. In the Han Dynasty, living ten thousand years was not merely a distant dream, but an ideal with a certain probability of being realized!
However, the shouts of "Long live the Emperor!" brought Emperor Ling no joy whatsoever. He kept a copy of "The Story of Da'er's Ambition" tucked into his sleeve, a constant reminder to himself!
"Recently, I came across an interesting storybook by chance, called..."
"Your Majesty, please forgive me. This old minister is willing to offer all of my family's wealth to help the court conquer the Taiping Dao." Yuan Feng suddenly bowed and then said very seriously.
Seeing this, Cao Song's eyes darted around, and before Emperor Ling could speak, he followed suit, suddenly bowing and saying, "Your Majesty, this old minister is also willing to offer all his family property to destroy the Taiping rebels!"
This was actually a test, to see how Emperor Ling would react! After all, this was an era in which rulers chose their ministers, and ministers also chose their rulers.
This is an era of extraordinary power. Situations like the extermination of nine generations of a family in history, or emperors doing whatever they want, do not actually exist.
It was impossible for the emperors of the Han Dynasty to be as shameless as they were in history, killing ministers and feudal lords at will!
It's important to know that in this world, Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che, initially killed off the feudal lords at will, but the result was that all the feudal lords in the world rebelled and marched all the way to Hangu Pass. It was only after Empress Dowager Dou intervened and made peace that the matter was resolved.
From then on, the power of the feudal lords of the Han dynasty grew increasingly greater. Of course, very few actually rebelled.
Similarly, the ministers' power of choice has also increased. Even the emperor himself cannot kill a minister in a fit of anger! Nor can he execute nine generations of his family in a fit of rage!
Therefore, if Emperor Ling truly harbored resentment towards Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, and Cao Cao, he could simply retire with his family! This was the true thought of Yuan Feng and Cao Song!
Moreover, even if Emperor Ling really wanted all their assets, he could use various means to achieve it! How much money would constitute all their assets?
My family is poor, and we only have a few hundred thousand taels of silver in total. The rest has been distributed to others. What can the imperial court do?
Seeing this, Emperor Ling couldn't help but shake his head. Even if Yuan Shao and his men didn't have any intention of rebelling, they still had to be comforted at this time! Otherwise, wouldn't all the lords mentioned in the Biography of Yuan Shao be in a state of panic?
Therefore, Emperor Ling at this time must find a way to put everyone at ease forever, to truly put them at ease, instead of always feeling that the court wants to harm him!
"Why do you two ministers have to do this? The Great Han Dynasty never punishes people for their words. How can you make wild guesses based on something that has never happened? I'm making it clear here today that from now on, I will never implicate anyone because of this matter!"
"Of course, if anyone is worried, they can donate money to the imperial court! There's a term called 'negotiation of punishment', isn't there? Think about it and set a standard. Let the people donate voluntarily."
"Those who have donated money can use it to avoid the death penalty or receive a lighter sentence if they later encounter a capital crime. Of course, only those who purchase money for negligence are allowed to appear in the biography of Li Zhi."
"Your Majesty is wise, truly wise!"
"Yes, in this way, the hearts of the people will surely be won over. This old minister will take the lead in purchasing!"
"Yes, I also want to buy one for my grandson, Wenruo."
"Yes, I'll buy one too..."
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Chapter Twenty: Summoning Heroes and Masters from Across the Land...
The "negotiation of punishment silver" was a method of embezzlement created by the Qing Dynasty, which many bondservants called "my Great Qing." Since the introduction of the "negotiation of punishment silver," every official has been corrupt, and they have done so openly. After all, they have already paid the "negotiation of punishment silver," so why can't they be corrupt?
However, in this situation, it proved surprisingly effective. Combined with the previous promises, the sons of noble families would surely rush to donate money, allowing the court to not only obtain a large sum of silver but also put their minds at ease—a win-win situation.
Seeing that Cao Song and Yuan Feng were relieved, Emperor Ling also breathed a sigh of relief.
"In that case, everyone should make proper arrangements on how to resolve this Yellow Turban Rebellion as quickly as possible!"
"Your Majesty may issue an edict to summon heroes from all over the land..."
"We can spread the word about the Way of Peace more widely, so that those deeply rooted deities know about it. When the time comes, those who help us will be designated as official priests, and when we preach, we can obtain preferential treatment from local officials!"
"We can mobilize quickly. Even if the Yellow Turban Rebellion is quelled soon, it can still be used as a training exercise. After all, no one knows when the Celestial Qin will attack!"
"We can..."