Father Han Gaozu

Chapter 863
When Xia Houzao woke up, the sun was already shining brightly.

But Xia Houzao didn't care, anyway, he is now in a state of leisure without an official.

His national lieutenant in Xiting Kingdom was replaced by Li Guang.

At present, Zhidu and Li Guanglai are assisting Liu Qi in governing the Xiting Kingdom, and Xia Houzao originally thought that the national lieutenant had been taken away, so he had to make up for it with a temple lieutenant, but the present lieutenant seems to be alive and well , Xia Houzao felt that he might not be able to wait for this position.

After sending Zhao Wan to the north and bringing him back last time, Xia Houzao had nothing to do.

Now it is the filial piety period again, he just stays at home all day, not out of the door, either to practice martial arts, or to read some books, in fact Xia Houzao doesn't hate reading, he even has a bit of literary talent, it's just that he can't turn his head around, he Unlike Liu Chang who doesn't work hard, he simply doesn't know how to do it.

After Xia Houzao got up, he ate something first, and then started exercising in the mansion.

The spear left by my father was constantly being brandished in his hand, making bursts of piercing sounds, and even left afterimages. Everyone in the mansion watched this scene quietly, including Xia Houzao's wife, who Holding the bowl and cloth in his hand, he waited patiently aside.

Xiahouzao's wife is a good match chosen by General Xiahouying himself. She is simple and docile, and has a very good relationship with Xiahouzao.

Xia Houzao only had such a wife and did not take concubines. Even when he was out fighting, Xiahouzao would never forget to write a letter to his wife.

His wife is probably the person who admires Xia Houzao the most in the whole world. In the eyes of his wife, Xia Houzao is omnipotent, a person who is both civil and military, and unparalleled in the world.

And Xia Houzao was also extremely honest, even when he went to play with Liu Chang and others at the Wuding Building, he would not take a second look at those beauties, it was even more impossible to get close.

Xia Houzao played with the spear for a long time, sweating profusely, his clothes stuck together, and he was out of breath.

When he stopped, the madam hurried forward and helped him wipe his eyes and sweat off, and then brought him water to drink, which Xia Houzao drank in one gulp.

"Good man"

Madam smiled lightly and asked, "What do you want to eat today?"

Xiahou Zao didn't care, "I'll eat whatever you want."

The two were talking, when someone knocked on the door suddenly, the housekeeper stepped forward to open the door, and soon, someone appeared in front of Xia Houzao.

Seeing the person coming, Xia Houzao was quite surprised, "Why are you here? I don't have much money here."

Lu Lu sneered, "I'm not going to borrow money from you, Your Majesty wants to see you, come back with me."

Xia Houzao was even more puzzled, "Your Majesty summoned me? It's just such a small matter, and you, the eunuch leader, need to come out in person?"

"I'm on the way. I'm not an eunuch!! Naigong's youngest son has gone to the county school to rob prison!!"

"The county school still teaches this??"

Xia Houzao widened his eyes, shook his head and said, "Fortunately, I didn't let my son go to the county school."

He threw the spear to the old steward, who caught it quickly with sharp eyesight and quick hands, and Xia Houzao said helplessly: "Madam, it seems that you can only eat it by yourself today. Your Majesty is looking for me, it must be on him." Eat there."

Madam nodded and said: "My beloved, go quickly, don't make His Majesty wait for your beloved for a long time. He is a national talent, and the state affairs should be the most important thing."

With a straight face, Lu Lu watched them show their affection in front of him again.

Soon, the two got into the car, and Xia Houzao was still very interested in Lu Lu's words, "Why does the county school teach prison robbery?"

"I don't know, maybe it's to cultivate talents who are more compatible with today's big men."

"Isn't this a violation of the law? I think Lu Jia is really confused. I should be allowed to take the position of Minister of Rites. Your Majesty called me this time to make me Minister of Rites, right?"

"No."

"Do you want me to be the third prince?"

"Hehe. Make you the eunuch leader."

"How can I take your place?"

"I won't grab it, one left and one right, just right!"

The two bickered all the way, and soon came to the palace. Xia Houzao jumped out of the carriage and looked at the palace in front of him. He hadn't been here for a while since his father passed away.

When the two arrived in Houde Hall, Liu Chang was listening to a storyteller.

Seeing Xia Houzao, Liu Chang quickly waved his hand and asked someone to sit beside him.

Today, the storyteller brought a brand new story about Qing Ji.

Liu Chang was very happy to hear it, but he was not satisfied with the ending.

After the man finished speaking, Liu Chang rewarded him and let him leave.

Now, there were only three of them left in the hall.

"What is your Majesty looking for me for?"

"I want to seal you an official."

Hearing this sentence, Xia Houzao's eyes lit up. It's good to be an official. He hurriedly asked, "Do you want me to be Minister of Rites?"

"It's almost the same. I want you to go to a place to be the country's prime minister."

Xia Houzao was overjoyed, "Prime Minister??"

Xia Houzao got up quickly, and was about to thank the emperor for his kindness, but Liu Chang stopped him, "Don't be in a hurry to bow down, I haven't decided on this matter yet, I just want you to try it."

Xia Houzao couldn't sit still any longer, he patted his chest, and said solemnly: "Your Majesty just leave it to me to handle it, don't worry!"

"I will definitely be able to manage the place well, and I will never disappoint His Majesty. I will definitely... By the way, where is it?"

"Funan Kingdom."

"where is that??"

"South of South Vietnam."

"Oh Funan Kingdom, I will definitely manage this place well for His Majesty. Your Majesty does not need to hesitate. When will I take office?"

Seeing Xiahou Zao's impatient appearance, Liu Chang didn't blame him, let him sit down next to him, and said seriously: "Zao. Everyone has their own specialties. Governing the country is not what you are good at. I Letting you go to Funan Kingdom is mainly to let you do what you can do."

"I can do many things! I don't know what His Majesty wants me to do?"

"Go be friends with the locals, go hunting, and earn some military merits."

Xia Houzao's eyes lit up, whether it was making friends, hunting, or making military achievements, he was the best at it.

"Is there such a good thing??"

"The local people are divided into many tribes, and the relationship with each other is extremely bad. They often fight. You are asked to make friends with them, but they are not allowed to fight each other. There are also many local beasts, maybe even more than people. This is serious. It hinders the development of the local area. The South Vietnamese people dare not go there easily. Pedestrians are often attacked. You are asked to hunt to remove these obstacles. In addition, it is military exploits. There are a lot of bandits here, and the folk customs are evil. Gather here, and even dare to attack the county seat. Let you earn military merits to eliminate those bandits."

Listening to Liu Chang's explanation, Xia Houzao clapped his hands suddenly, "I've done this!"

Lu Lu stood aside, shaking his head again.

His Majesty has really become more and more worrying recently. First, let his daughter be the king, which is fine, but now he wants to make Xia Houzao his prime minister. However, the three princes agreed, so he has nothing to say, just Thinking about it, I find it ridiculous. Letting Xia Houzao be the prime minister simply lowered the standard of the prime minister. Can anyone be prime minister these days? ?

Liu Chang ordered other things again, such as the unique local customs, the situation of water thieves and thieves, and those wild animals.

"You can't just kill these beasts blindly. You may not know that there is something called ecological balance. If you kill all the beasts that eat meat, the local cultivated land and forests will suffer great damage."

"In addition, you can be friends with those tribes, but don't be too tolerant to them. If they don't listen to you and act recklessly, you don't have to wait for my order, do you understand?"

Xia Houzao nodded, "I understand, just send the disobedient ones to hunt and kill ferocious beasts."

Liu Dachang laughed, pointed at Xia Houzao, and said to Lu Lu beside him, "Look, this is the most suitable person to be a prime minister!"

The two discussed other arrangements.

When Xia Houzao left here triumphantly, Lu Lu still seemed a little unacceptable.

Xiahou Zao actually became Duke Xiahou, the Prime Minister of a country.

"Your Majesty, you once told me, remember to remind you that Xiahou Zao must never be used as the Prime Minister of the country"

"Well, the situation in each place is different, so we have to adapt to local conditions. Xiahouzao, if you put him in the Central Plains as the prime minister, it will definitely not work, but for this place, except for me, no one is better than Xiahouzao. It fits."

At this moment, Liu Jing was happily staying with her two elder brothers.

"I'm going to be king too!"

Regarding this news, Liu Ci and Liu Liang had different attitudes.

Liu Ci happily hugged his younger sister and turned her around several times. He was very happy with what happened to his younger sister. After putting Liu Yan down, he said loudly, "From now on, I will be the Lord of the North, and you will be the Lord of the North." Lord of the South, when the time comes, the two of us will attack from the north to the south."

Liu Jie laughed loudly, "If the eldest brother hears what you say, he will definitely break your leg."

Liu Ci also stopped joking, but said seriously: "But I am really happy. Anyway, you have me as an elder brother. No matter what happens in the future, you can tell me that my ten million cavalry is not jealous. Yes, if someone dares to bully you, I will immediately lead the cavalry to go south from Xia Kingdom."

Liu Liang pursed his lips, and couldn't help but said: "When your cavalry from Xia Kingdom come to Funan Kingdom, even the horses will be old and dead."

The two places are indeed extremely far away, but Liu Ci didn't care, "You can go by water!"

"This is a happy event, my sister will become the world's first female vassal king!"

Liu Liang was not as happy as Liu Ci. He looked at his sister with worry in his eyes. He knew very well how difficult it was to be a vassal king. Now the times are different, and the vassal kings don’t have to govern the country themselves, but the problem Yes, the princes and kings are the symbols of a country. If the country is governed well, then there is no need to say much, but if something goes wrong, the princes and kings have always been responsible. He is not willing to let his sister bear such a heavy responsibility.

What if something happened to her in Funan Country?

Liu Jing probably saw her brother's worry, and she said seriously: "Third brother, don't worry, I have been studying the art of war very seriously these days, besides, I am quite skilled in martial arts, so I won't be People bully me, even if I am young, but there is Nanyue Kingdom beside me, Father Ape said he would go to the country with me, with him by his side, what else should I worry about?"

Liu Liang didn't persuade anything, just shook his head, "I hope so."

Liu Ci said seriously: "This is a good thing. As an elder brother, I must give you a gift. How about it, Wei Wenjun and Zheng Qi, you choose one, and I will send someone to tie it up and send it to Funan Kingdom go!"

Liu Jie rolled his eyes at him, "I'm not leaving the country right now."

Liu Liang looked helpless, "You two."

They are in Liu Liang's mansion at the moment, there are three brothers and sisters, only Liu Liang has a mansion, there are people coming and going here on weekdays, it is quieter today.

Just as Liu Jie was talking about his future governance plan, someone suddenly broke into the mansion.

The person who came was Liu Liang's friend, Sima Tan.

Sima Tan walked in hastily, and was about to speak when he noticed the two people beside Liu Liang, and he hurriedly bowed to see them.

Liu Liang quickly helped him up, and introduced them with a smile: "This is my friend, Sima Tan, the son of Sima Gong."

Liu Ci's eyes lit up, and he took another deep look at his elder brother, and said, "No wonder you came out first, it's not bad, if you become friends with this person, you will definitely gain a good reputation in the future, they have been writing history for generations."

Liu Liang said seriously: "Don't talk nonsense!"

Sima Tan was not surprised, he and Liu Ci knew each other, and the two had even had conflicts, so he naturally knew what kind of person Liu Ci was.

Sima Tan didn't care about Liu Ci at this moment, and hurriedly said, "My lord, something serious has happened. There's another fight in the academy!"

"Huh? Huang Lao and Confucianism?"

"No, it was fighting within Confucianism"

Sima Tan hastily explained what happened. It turned out that the previous Confucian debate on filial piety had completely broken the false unity within Confucianism. It turned out that there was Fuqiubo, and although Confucianism was at odds, it could barely be regarded as a concerted effort, and it was unanimous to the outside world. , but at this moment, Shen Pei couldn't suppress them anymore, because each party had its own interpretation and understanding of filial piety, which led to the direct deepening of internal conflicts, and it was no longer hidden. Extremely fierce debates broke out between different schools of thought, and finally led to a big Hit the hand.

Not only the disciples, but also the main figures of the several major factions are starting to write articles and criticize each other at this moment, and the contradictions are extremely deep.

Sima Tan's brothers were all arrested by the county government.

Liu Ci was quite sympathetic, "That Zhangtang is not easy to provoke. Your brothers and sisters offended him, and I'm afraid it will be difficult to escape punishment. However, this is also a good thing. Confucianism is too capable of making troubles on weekdays, and always opposes temples. The decree, standing still and not daring to move forward, and now they are so scattered and fighting with each other, this shows that they have realized the gap between themselves and Huang Lao, and are ready to start self-innovation, um, this is a good thing."

Liu Liang was not as calm as Liu Ci. He anxiously asked the name of the person who was taken away, then left behind his brother and sister, and hurried away with Sima Tan.

Liu Jing looked at Liu Liang thoughtfully, then at Liu Ci, and asked, "Fourth brother, aren't you from a Confucian background? If there was a fight internally, someone in Gongyang must have been arrested, why did you go together?" "

Liu Ci cleared his throat, "Today, I will teach you how to be a wise prince, come, sit down and listen to the lecture!"

Liu Xi sat down obediently in front of his elder brother, and Liu Ci continued: "Actually, every prince has his own style of governance. Some people focus on not delaying the officials and not harming the people, such as King Liang. Some people, It is to constantly find those great sages and let them assist me, such as me. There are also people who choose to expand their reputation and let more literati follow them, such as the third brother, and others like the eldest brother. Yes, like the second brother who convinces people with reason.”

"When I govern the country, I don't go by fame. I go by the famous sages in the Gongyang School of Shangxian. Casting a wide net, constantly making yourself famous, is the only way to get talented people to join you. As for you, I don’t think these are suitable for you. In fact, you can learn from the second brother, or Yan Wang, and take the fierce route , Of course, just don’t learn from King Zhao.”

"King Zhao's style is not something that ordinary people can learn. If he becomes the Prime Minister of the country, he will lose ten years of life!"

"But I heard"

"Okay, don't open your mouth yet, I will teach you the first lesson of being a prince."

Liu Ci's face became very serious, "Don't underestimate it. This set of things was sorted out by me as a prince and king for many years. I created such a governance method, which is enough to pass on to future generations. Originally, I I want to pass it on to my son, but I don’t have a son now, and I don’t even have a wife, so I can only pass it on to you.”

Hearing what the fourth brother said was so grand, Liu Jing couldn't help being curious.

"What are you going to teach me?"

"First of all, what you have to learn is to complain."

"Ah?? Complain?"

"That's right, come and learn from me. From today onwards, your Funan Kingdom will be full of clothing and food. The people's lives are in dire straits, lacking everything."

"A wise prince should know how to seek benefits for his own country. How can he get benefits without complaining? The object of complaints can be anyone, someone close to you. Let them know that your country is not easy, so as to get their help"

Liu Jie was silent for a moment, before he asked: "It seems that this is not initiated by brother, but by father?"

"What do you know! This is what my father copied my idea when he was the king of Tang!"

"Listen honestly and don't interrupt me!"

Liu Ci narrated again, "Then, you just need to know how to intimidate. Speaking of which, the first thing you have to learn is to pretend to be strong and weak. This is very simple, but you also need to see the situation clearly. Use different words, be strong when you should be strong, and weak when you should be weak, so that others can't see your reality. In many cases, it can play a very important role."

"Fourth brother. However, when my father was the king of Tang, the eldest brother was not born, right?"

"It doesn't matter, no matter who copied who, anyway, the reason is the same. There is a lot of knowledge here. It is definitely not a simple pretend that you want to cooperate closely with your country. By the way, did Father say that your country is who?"

"I told you, it's Marquis Ruyin."

"Who???"

(End of this chapter)