Chapter 278: Chapter One Hundred Ninety-Four_2
If they behave like those people in Yangzhou, defying the law and disregarding the court, their fate will not be better than that of those people in Yangzhou, and it might even be more miserable than that of the noble families in Yangzhou.
The noble families and wealthy merchants in Yangzhou were all raided. More than half of their clan members were beheaded, and the remaining half were either exiled or imprisoned. Although the Emperor did not completely eliminate them, their chance to rise again is utterly impossible.
The noble families that once wielded immense power in Yangzhou have, over the past one or two months, become mere dust in history. At the very least, in the coming decades or even centuries, they are unlikely to return to their former glory, and perhaps they never will.
The fate of those noble families in Yangzhou serves as a warning to all noble families across the land, a cold and dangerous warning.
In the capital, the noble families are led by the Xie family, the Wang family, the Xun family, and the Yuan family. Needless to say, the Xie family has always been the leader among the noble families in the capital, and even in the entire North.
If one were to choose the most elite noble family from all the noble families in the land, it would be the Xie family, without any doubt.
Although the Xie family was severely weakened during the previous dynasty and long lost its former glory, as the saying goes, a starved camel is still bigger than a horse. And another saying goes, among the dwarfed, one stands tall; the Xie family is still stronger than other families, still the top-tier noble family.
The previous head of the Xie family, the Old Duke, was a very smart and perceptive person. After experiencing the turmoil of the previous dynasty, he knew that the Xie family could not recover its former glory in a short time. If the Xie family wanted to restore its past honor, it must fully support the Crown Prince and assist him in ascending the throne smoothly. This way, the Xie family would produce an Empress once again. Moreover, the Xie family might even produce an Emperor again.
Although the emperor does not bear the surname Xie, his blood carries half of the Xie family’s lineage. As long as this continues, the Xie family will surely return to its former glory.
In the previous dynasty, although the Xie family also had daughters entering the palace, they unfortunately did not produce an Empress. The emperors of the previous dynasty seemed very wary of the Xie family and were unwilling to let the Empress come from the Xie family. At that time, most of the Empresses came from families like the Wang family or the Xun family.
The Xie family’s daughters entered the palace as concubines but did not enjoy much favor. After finally giving birth to a Prince, they either lost in the struggle for the throne or died young from illness.
The princes and emperors of the previous dynasty had a common problem: they were short-lived.
After being born safely, most princes died in infancy. There were many reasons for their early death, the most common being illness or accident. The ones who survived to adulthood mostly died in their twenties or thirties from illness, and the vast majority died suddenly. Their sudden deaths were not due to poisoning but due to illness.
The fortunate princes who managed to ascend the throne as emperors didn’t last many years before also dying suddenly, leaving behind a young Empress and children.
Although supported by the Empress and her family, the Imperial Uncles weren’t easy to deal with. Many emperors in the previous dynasty had their throne snatched by their uncles, creating a chaotic situation.
The Imperial Uncles seized their nephews’ thrones, only to end up dying from illness shortly after becoming emperors. Before dying, they would pass the throne to their sons, who were either too young or immature to hold onto it, leading to the throne being seized by an uncle once again.
In the previous dynasty, occurrences of Imperial Uncles seizing their nephews’ thrones were common. In fact, it was also a contest between the noble families behind them. At one moment, the Wang family was in power; at another moment, it was the Xun family’s turn, then it was the Xie family’s turn.
At that time, the fights between the noble families were intense. The previous court was such a mess because of these families’ machinations.
The last Emperor of the previous dynasty, Emperor Xia Ling, was not the son of the former Emperor. At that time, the former Emperor had no sons. In fact, there had been several sons, but they all died. The royal relatives close to the former Emperor also had no sons, as their sons also died one after another.
The common people said it was God’s punishment, that God wanted to extinguish the Imperial Family. Emperor Xia Ling was the son of the former Emperor’s cousin, two generations apart.
Emperor Xia Ling was the longest-living and ruling Emperor of the previous dynasty. In his youth, he was ruthless and very clever, playing the noble families at his fingertips. Later, after securing his throne, he employed countless means to deal with the noble families.
He did not intentionally target the noble families, but they went too far, constantly trying to dictate to him. Most importantly, when Emperor Xia Ling ascended the throne, the national treasury was empty, yet the noble families were immensely wealthy.