Of course, no matter how much you persuade them, you still have to persuade them.
After all, the current boss has spoken.
More importantly...the matter of turning Concubine Qi into a human pig was not just a matter of the harem, nor was it just a matter of the former boss's wife wanting to abuse the former boss's concubine.
This is a big deal.
If we look through the records in history books, we can find one very obvious thing.
That is: When did the world-famous Empress Dowager Lu gradually extend her tentacles hidden in the harem and begin to interfere in state affairs?
The answer is also very simple.
In the past, Chen Cheng also didn't understand why Lu Zhi abused Concubine Qi so much.
He also thought that the answer on the Internet was more reliable - that is: Lu Zhi hated the woman and her son who almost took away her child's throne, so Lu Zhi wanted to treat this woman in the most cruel way.
She will be turned into a human pig and made to suffer the most painful thing in the world.
He even used to think that this was the truth of the matter - after all, when Lu Zhi faced the fact that Liu Bang was very fond of Concubine Qi, she did not react much.
Some people even think that it is normal for an emperor to have three palaces and six courtyards.
Both historical books and later experts said in their analysis that the event that really prompted Lu Zhi to change was when Qi Ji instigated Liu Bang to replace the crown prince.
It was at this time that Lu Zhi realized that if she continued to indulge herself like this, then Concubine Qi would definitely take away her position as queen, her son's throne, and everything she had.
From then on, Lu Zhi became angry and began to hate Concubine Qi, and finally chose to torture her in this way.
Later, it was said that Lu Zhi did it for the sake of her own son, because Liu Ying could not establish himself, so she began to interfere in state affairs, and finally trusted Lu's people and wanted to fight against the group of meritorious officials.
That's great.
There is even a caption saying: Women are weak by nature, but strong when they become mothers.
After that, Chen Cheng, after repeatedly reading through the historical records and carefully examining the truth hidden beneath the "Spring and Autumn" style, had a new doubt: Did Lü Zhi really love her son that much? Did her love eventually turn into hatred?
Was she really so innocent? Was she so embarrassed because her son couldn't establish himself, and finally "forced" to take control of the government?
Chen Cheng's answer was no.
Lu Zhi was not so innocent, nor was she so forced.
The truth hidden beneath the Spring and Autumn style of writing is that Lu Zhi had coveted imperial power from the very beginning and she wanted to control power.
Whether it was Lu or Liu Ying, they were just tools she used to covet imperial power.
In Chen Cheng's opinion, the time when Lu Zhi truly began to covet imperial power was when she first became a prisoner of Xiang Yu.
During those countless nights, Lu Zhi, who was worried about her life all the time, may have understood something from the dark sky. She understood that power is the most important thing.
It cannot be abandoned.
So, when Liu Bang found her, she seemed to have completely forgotten what Liu Bang had done and continued to be a good wife and mother.
Therefore, when Liu Bang favored Concubine Qi, Concubine Bo, and even other concubines, she looked indifferent - because no matter how much Liu Bang favored them, they were just "ladies", and only she was the queen.
Such ambition may not be huge - the position of a queen is enough to satisfy her.
This is not to say that Lu Zhi was narrow-minded, but because when the Han Dynasty was first established, no one knew what the functions of the queen were, so the queen was given power close to that of the emperor.
This made her almost content.
But gradually, Lu Zhi discovered that something was wrong.
A single thought from the emperor could shake her son's foundation, and a single thought could make her no longer the queen.
So, she understood that the queen's power came from the emperor.
So, since she had no way of becoming emperor, she began to plan for her son, wanting him to become emperor.
When her son became emperor, she began a new round of temptations.
The act of "turning Concubine Qi into a human pig" was a "test" made by Lu Zhi.
This is actually easy to understand.
Was turning Concubine Qi into a human pig simply killing her husband's concubine?
This would be the case if Concubine Qi was a concubine of an ordinary family and her husband was also an ordinary commoner.
But Lu Zhi killed more than just her husband's concubine.
Because her husband's concubine was the "Madam" of the Han Dynasty, and her husband was the "Emperor" of the Han Dynasty.
To make an analogy, it is similar to the first echelon under the emperor of the previous dynasty.
The emperor is the only one.
It would be similar to...the prime minister, one of the Three Dukes, tortured and killed one of the Nine Ministers without the emperor's order, and then turned him into a human pig in broad daylight.
This was a test for the previous dynasty and the emperor.
Lu Zhi was testing the emperor's tolerance for her, and also testing the previous dynasty's tolerance for her.
It's a little trick, but it works.
In the original history, it is not known whether no one noticed the test conducted by Lu Zhi, or the meritorious officials and the emperor did not care, so Lu Zhi began to... extend her tentacles of power.
Chen Cheng looked through history books and came to this conclusion.
As long as you read those history books, you can see the truth hidden under the Spring and Autumn style of writing, and you can see that it was at this time that Lu Zhi truly extended the tentacles of power.
After turning Concubine Qi into a human pig, Lu Zhi discovered the tolerance of the previous dynasty towards her, and realized that they might not understand that the queen's functions should be limited to the harem, so she tried to test it again.
The second temptation was even more extreme.
She ordered the poisoning of King Zhao Liu Ruyi.
Moreover, he openly poisoned King Zhao Liu Ruyi.
And this time...Lü Zhi's temptation still did not receive a response from the previous dynasty.
What was the reaction of Prime Minister Chen Ping and Grand Marshal Zhou Bo at that time?
The answer is: "Drinking fine wine every day and playing with women"
What was the reaction of the royal family?
The answer is: King Liu Fei of Qi, the eldest son of a concubine, presented the "Yang County" in his fiefdom to Princess Lu Yuan, the daughter of Lu Zhi, and "treated her with the rites of a mother" and called her "the Queen Mother".
Please note: "Princess Lu Yuan" was respectfully called the Queen Mother, and she was regarded as one's own mother, rather than Lu Zhi as one's own mother.
In other words, he called his half-sister "Mom".
What a humiliation this is!
But Liu Fei did just that.
In this test, Lu Zhi got the conclusion she wanted.
That is: Although I have discovered the difference between the powers of the emperor and the empress, and discovered that the empress's power may be overturned with just one word from the emperor, but...others have not discovered it!
Or maybe other people don't think so!
They still think that their powers are the same as the emperor's!
Fear yourself as much as you fear Emperor Gao!
After reaching this conclusion, what was Lü Zhi's reaction? She began to enfeoff many of the Lü clan members as kings, dividing up the power of the government.
Why do this?
The answer is even simpler!
It wasn't as the history books said that she wanted to use this to fight against the group of meritorious officials and consolidate Liu Ying's rule - her purpose was very simple! Before the royal family members realized the truth, before the group of meritorious officials realized the truth, she wanted to divide power and consolidate her own position by enfeoffing the Lü clan!
What truth?
The truth about the Queen not being equal to the Emperor!
She wants to take advantage of this vacuum in imperial power and divide the imperial power into her own hands!
This is Lu Zhi's real purpose, this is Lu Zhi's original purpose of turning Concubine Qi into a human pig, and this is the truth behind the Lü clan's chaotic politics!
It is ridiculous to describe Lu Zhi as a "kind mother who was ruthless but strong-willed". These so-called historians have an almost absurd perception that Lu Zhi was an ordinary mother and an ordinary woman.
But the fact is...
Just like Liu Bang was a red dragon that flew out from a mountain nest, Lu Zhi was also a black phoenix that flew out from a grass nest!
They are truly a well-matched couple of "political creatures".
Power is their "food".
After a long sigh, Chen Cheng looked at Liu Ying and said, "I obey your command."
His eyes were sharp as he looked at Liu Ying and said, "But Your Majesty, I also hope you can understand one thing."
Chen Cheng's voice was rather serious, but Liu Ying did not feel afraid, not only because Liu Bang had already told him about it before he realized that his health was not good, but also because he knew that Chen Cheng would not hurt him.
"You are the master of the Han Dynasty, you are the emperor of the Han Dynasty!"
"The Queen Mother is just the Queen Mother after all!"
"She can manage the affairs of the harem, but she cannot interfere with the former dynasty, let alone your decisions!"
"You are the Emperor of the Han Dynasty! You don't have to compromise with anyone, even if that person is your mother!"
Chen Cheng looked Liu Ying straight in the eye and said, "If you continue to be so submissive, how can you take care of the people of this world?"
Liu Ying listened to Chen Cheng's words with some complicated feelings in his heart, but he finally said slowly: "I..."
Before he could finish, Chen Cheng waved his hand and said, "Your Majesty! Now that you have ascended the throne, you should call yourself 'I'!"
Liu Ying sighed, "I know what the Marquis of Guandu means. I will do my best!"
Only then did Chen Cheng nod and head towards Changle Palace where the Queen Mother lived.
At this time, the empress dowager should have moved out of Changle Palace, which belonged to the "queen". After all, Changle and Weiyang Palaces were for the empress and the emperor respectively. What did they have to do with you, the empress dowager whose husband had died?
However, the emperor had no queen at the time, and he did not speak. The ministers were also in a period of chaos, so naturally no one spoke up about this matter.
.... ....
Changle Palace
Lu Zhi was still unaware of the current situation, and she didn't know that Chen Cheng, with a sword, was coming towards her with murderous intent. She was still thinking about what the outcome of her test would be.
If there is no response, then she will really start to take action.
At this time, Lu Zhi was still afraid of the reaction from the previous dynasty and the emperor, so she did not turn Concubine Qi into a human pig.
"Her Majesty the Queen Mother, Her Majesty the Queen Mother—"
A hurried sound of footsteps was heard, and then a maid appeared. The maid's face was filled with fear. She looked at Lu Zhi and said, "My queen, the Marquis of Guandu has entered the palace with a sword!"
"It's heading towards Changle Palace right now!"
Marquis of Guandu?
Lu Zhi's eyelids twitched. Whatever you fear will come true...
She exhaled deeply, looked at the maid, and said, "Why are you panicking? Marquis Guandu saved the emperor without asking for reward. His loyalty is evident to all. He also swore an oath to the late emperor never to betray him. The late emperor's body is still warm. How could Marquis Guandu do anything to harm me?"
These words were spoken to the people around her, to herself, and even more so to... Marquis Guandu who had already arrived at the palace gate!
Lu Zhi was asking blatantly.
The late emperor's body is still warm, is Marquis Guandu planning a rebellion?
Chen Cheng, who had already reached the palace gate, stopped with a slightly sarcastic smile on his face.
"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to the Queen Mother."
He straightened up, looked at the panic in the palace and said, "I, your Majesty, have ordered you to come and ask the Queen Mother a few questions!"