Father Han Gaozu

Chapter 886 Tiger Father Tiger Son
Dunhuang County, Yangguan.

Dunhuang County originally belonged to the Hexi Kingdom. Later, due to the friction between the three kingdoms, the temple separated Dunhuang and established a county as a buffer zone for the three kingdoms in the northwest, which was directly managed by the temple.

Now it is not ordinary people who are serving as the governor of Dunhuang.

The governor of Dunhuang was called Lu Tong, a young man with a light beard. He was able to become the governor of this key area entirely because of his talent and had nothing to do with him being a relative of Empress Lu.

This Lu Tong has a rather violent temper. He is the son of Lu Tai who was deposed for committing a crime. He is the eldest grandson of Lu Ze in name. After Lu Tai was deprived of his title because of a crime, he should have been inherited by Lu Chan. Lu Ze's title, but because Lu Chan already has his own title, he cannot inherit Lu Ze's title.

But Empress Lu couldn't bear to let her elder brother's title be cut off, so she found some moral people in the clan and asked them to adopt Lu Tong who was still young at that time, and asked them to teach Lu Tong seriously so that he could inherit his elder brother's title. knighthood.

Lu Tong was the first to emerge among the three generations of the Lu family. He graduated from Taixue with excellent grades, and successively served as Luoyang County Captain, Handan Commander, Guangling County Prime Minister, etc. After the establishment of Dunhuang County in the temple, Liu Chang made him a sheriff in Dunhuang.

One reason is that Lu Tong's ability is not bad. He is a student of the law, and he is from the same school as Chao Cuo. Strictly speaking, he is Chao Cuo's junior and has some abilities. The other point is his identity. Fools, you have to find someone who can make them afraid, but who in the court can make them afraid?Of course it is the Empress Dowager, Lu Tong lost his father when he was young, and most importantly, this guy looks exactly like his elder father, he looks very much like Lu Ze, so he is deeply loved by Empress Lu.

Let him watch here, those fools would not dare to provoke him easily, if he sued to Queen Lu's side, they would have to pay for nothing.

At this moment, the three kings of the Northwest gathered at Yangguan again.

Because Yangguan was at the core of the Three Kingdoms, it became the place where the three kings came to discuss important matters. Usually, Lu Tong supervised them to prevent them from suddenly fighting.

In the pavilion, the three kings knelt and sat in three directions, and Lu Tong sat opposite them.

Lu Tong frowned, his appearance was quite bluffing.

"Today, we're here again to discuss business routes. There's just one thing, no abuse, let alone hands. Otherwise, I can take people on the spot and hand them over to Chang'an to deal with. This is what the Queen Mother wrote to me personally."

At the beginning, Lu Tong mentioned the title of Empress Dowager, which is still very useful, and the three unruly guys in front of him immediately lowered their heads.

Liu Qi, Liu Xiang, Liu Ang, the three of them may not be afraid of the emperor, because Liu Chang is very kind to them, even if they really committed a crime, it is just a beating, but the queen mother is different, once the queen mother gets angry, It is unambiguous to say that they are dismissed, they are beheaded, and they are not ambiguous at all. Not to mention that they are the descendants of the Queen Mother, even if they are her blood relatives and nephews, they will still be disposed of by her if they commit crimes. One point, everyone is very clear in their hearts, so they can't ignore Lu Tong's words.

Liu Ang was the first to speak: "Don't worry, we are all brothers, how could we do anything because of this?"

"Last time, the king of Beiting was the most ruthless, even I got punched by you."

Lu Tong said angrily.

Liu Ang is an iron man, he is tall and strong, and when he started to be ruthless, the three of them could not beat him together. He was the first to strike last time, and the rest of them were miserable, even Lu Tong was beaten by him. fist.

Of course, Liu Ang was also punished accordingly. He was removed from six counties, which were directly managed by the temple, and they were all rich counties. Common people, this makes Liu Ang heartbroken. The queen mother is dedicated to treating such reckless people. After the queen mother did this, Liu Ang became a lot more honest. She always speaks cautiously, and she can no longer see the original arrogant appearance up.

Liu Xiang said with a smile: "This guy doesn't dare to do anything now. If he does it again, this prince and king should become a county magistrate."

Liu Ang's face froze, but he couldn't refute.

Liu Qi said helplessly: "Actually, we don't need to quarrel at all. We are all beneficiaries of the business route. It will not be a good thing for our three countries to continue to quarrel like this."

"If you think that I, Xiting Kingdom, have benefited too much, I can back down. We must work together. When we left Chang'an, do you all remember what Father Zhong said to us?"

Liu Ang recalled, and said uncertainly: "Father Zhong's last sentence seems to be. Get out?"

Liu Xiang cleared his throat, "Father Zhong said he entrusted us with the affairs of the Northwest, and let us work together to manage it together."

Liu Ang immediately clapped his hands, "Yes, yes, that's what I said!"

Looking at the three brothers in front of him, Lu Tong had an unbelievable expression on his face. He couldn't believe that there were such three guys sitting in the northwest of Dahan. He took a deep breath and interrupted their memories, "Several kings , let’s continue to talk about this cooperation, this trade to go to the poison, it is best for the three of you to be able to draw up, and then proceed, so that the benefits will be maximized.”

The three of them returned to the topic again, and naturally Liu Qi was the first to speak.

"We should unify the price and stop competing."

"Fart!! It's all because of you!!"

Liu Ang said angrily: "Last time we sold silk to drug dealers, and you have been keeping down the price, making it impossible to sell silk from both our countries. Only your family sells the happiest, and your transportation cost is the lowest, so Dare to lower the price, what about us? Our three countries should have the same interests, but you actually started to lower the price and engage in price wars against us in order to sell more things. Is this something that brothers can do? No matter what, You sell them cheaper than us, you want to monopolize the body poison market by yourself?? Can you bear it?!"

"The silk I pull can only be sold at your price in the end. Do you know how high our transportation costs are?!"

The more Liu Ang talked, the more excited he became, and he almost went up to shake his fist.

Lu Tong looked at Liu Qi thoughtfully. In fact, from this matter alone, Liu Qi was very unkind. He only had his own Xiting Kingdom in his mind, and he did not consider the interests of the two brothers at all. From the perspective of Xiting Kingdom, he is a very, very qualified king. The growing strength of Xiting Kingdom is inseparable from him, but from other aspects, this person Quite selfish, fickle, and cold-blooded, brotherhood is not as good as tangible benefits in his eyes.

No wonder the emperor never asked Liu Qilai to lead the Three Kingdoms in the Northwest. If he were to be in charge alone, he would definitely increase his strength by squeezing the other two countries.

At this moment, Lu Tong was already very afraid of Liu Qi in his heart.

However, Liu Qi acted very aggrieved, "It's all the thoughts of the merchants, so what does it have to do with me? It's all the leading merchant's own opinion. Didn't I execute him already? What else should I do? "

"Hehe, how dare a merchant make such a decision?? Kill when you run out??"

"All right."

Liu Xiang called them to stop. As the oldest of the three brothers, Liu Xiang has always been unwilling to quarrel, and has always been a peacemaker. Can't live.

Liu Xiang took a deep look at Liu Qi, and then said: "Since Qi said that those merchants made their own claims, it is their fault. We grew up together, and we are close brothers. We should not be affected by this matter." mutual affection."

None of the three spoke any more.

Lu Tong said: "The temple also means this. You shouldn't compete with each other. The market is so big, why bother to deceive your own people?"

"Unify the price in advance, discuss all the issues, and then go to Shendu. Don't let the previous problems happen again."

Several princes and kings looked at each other, and then agreed to the request.

Everyone started talking again, but this time, Liu Qi was quite tolerant, no longer chasing interests, and even proposed sacrificing the interests of his own country to make up for the original behavior of the merchants, which finally put Liu Ang and Liu Xiang in a good mood Quite a few, even Liu Ang felt that the original incident might really be done by merchants at this moment, and he even looked at Liu Qi with some guilt, and he said with a smirk: "I was too impatient before, and I was too impatient with you. If you moved your hand, don't blame it."

Liu Qi shook his head, said with a light smile, "It's okay, we grew up together since we were young, and we haven't fought for a long time, which is quite memorable."

Everyone laughed.

The atmosphere suddenly became harmonious.

But in Lu Tong's eyes, things were not like this. He only saw that Liu Qi, who had obtained enough benefits, coaxed the two brothers into a circle with just a few words, making them believe in him again. He looked at Liu Qi's eyes became even more fearful. The Empress Dowager must be informed of the matter here. This King Xiting is a bit scary. These two princes and kings are like childish children in front of him, and they have no resistance at all.

Everyone quickly negotiated a lot of cooperation, and Liu Qi didn't fight for anything. At this time, the brothers were more humble and gave each other benefits.

Now that the deal is settled, of course this wine must be eaten.

Several people ate wine together and had a great time.

Liu Qi said drunkenly: "It should have been like this a long time ago. We are all princes and kings of the Han Dynasty. How can we be so irritable because of a little thing? We need to understand each other and handle things calmly. When I came to the northwest At that time, Father Zhong once said to me that he admired my calmness the most, and liked my prudence."

Liu Qi was bragging, when suddenly a servant stepped forward, hesitant to speak.

Liu Qi simply let everyone talk while he got up and came to the servant, "Ren, what happened?"

Zhou Ren frowned, and hurriedly said: "The temple sent an envoy, saying that they want to call Zhi all back to Chang'an. There is a vacancy in the Ministry of Rites, and he should be in charge."

"what?!!"

When Liu Qi asked such a question, the whole atmosphere was broken, and everyone looked at him suspiciously.

Liu Qi's complexion was a bit ugly, but he still squeezed out a smile, and patted his forehead, "It's a pity, I'm here today, but my Prime Minister is going back to Chang'an, he assisted me so much. For a long time, I couldn't see him off."

Only then did everyone learn that Zhi was about to be recalled to Chang'an.

Looking at Liu Qi who fell silent, Lu Tong couldn't help but asked, "You're going to go back, you seem very dissatisfied?"

"Of course I'm dissatisfied. This Zhi is a capable minister. He is the one who takes care of the affairs of my Xiting Kingdom. Once he leaves like this, there will be no one available for me. General Xiahou has also left. Now Zhi has also left, and I don’t know who Zhongfu wants to send to help me. I can’t manage the entire Xiting Kingdom by myself. Zhongfu entrusted Xiting Kingdom to me to govern. I can’t let Zhongfu down. .”

Liu Qi did not hide his thoughts at all, and spoke truthfully.

Lu Tong squinted his eyes, and he couldn't see through the guy in front of him, he looked very cunning, but sometimes he was very sincere.

Liu Ang comforted: "Qi, don't worry, Zhi is gone, there will definitely be better people to assist you. I heard that there have been a lot of talents in the temple over the years, and there is always one of them. It suits you, besides, the situation here is not as bad as before, so what are you worried about?"

Liu Xiang also said seriously: "What you said is right. The officials assigned to me by the temple this year are all very good and talented. You don't have to worry at all!"

Liu Qi smiled and nodded helplessly.

"We are all Zhongfu's ministers, and we can't object to how Zhongfu wants to be mobilized. However, in the future, the three of us will have to govern the Northwest with our hearts. The original situation can't happen again. We must govern this land for Zhongfu. !!"

"Drink for Father Zhong!!"

The three stood up and raised the wine cups in their hands at the same time.

Changle Palace, inside the Shou Palace.

Liu Heng lowered his head and was kneeling in front of Empress Lu. There was no change in his expression, but he seemed very calm.

"You have raised a good son. This ability is much better than yours, and even brothers can be entrapped. This Xiting Kingdom is becoming more and more powerful."

Empress Lu spoke softly, her words were very gentle, but they were so scary.

Her eyes were staring at Liu Heng in front of her, not hiding her anger at all. Wang Chulong beside her was a little scared, and he kept blinking at Liu Heng, hoping that this person could hurry up and beg for mercy, and don't make things difficult for herself. .

Liu Heng raised his head and looked at the queen mother seriously, but he didn't have any intention of backing down, "Mother, this Zhuzi is just a little eager, not the kind of person who murdered his brother. He was sealed in Xiting Kingdom, where the Aunt knows the situation best. He doesn't even have a palace. He wants to live in a small courtyard. The whole country can't afford [-] soldiers. There are even chickens and ducks in the palace. There is only one servant by his side. Talented people, the outside is full of tribes that are enemies of the big man, and the inside is full of disobedient small countries, in a mess, it can be said that it is the weakest and poorest place in the whole big man."

"But since he started to govern Xiting Kingdom, the situation of Xiting Kingdom has changed three times a day. Today's Xiting Kingdom has more than 2 soldiers, more than 5000 armored soldiers, thousands of cavalry, and more than 80 domestic soldiers. There are more than 40 cities, several grand passes, countless domestic factories, flat roads, many county schools, medical officials, developed trade, fertile land, and good livestock. You know, he had only 3 people at the beginning What a lot of people! Everyone in the temple only saw Qi’s shortcomings, saying that he is a ruthless person, a money-seeking person, and even said that my son is a villain.”

"But if these people are put in my son's place, what can they do?"

"My son seems to be older than anyone at this age. Why has he ever complained about others? Even if I were to govern the Xiting Kingdom, I'm afraid I would not be able to help but resort to various means, because governing this place is really difficult. It's not easy, it's really difficult, it's different from Beiting Kingdom and Hexi Kingdom. He was not qualified to be a king before, but he won the current throne just now after receiving His Majesty's love. He dare not neglect for a day. All day long, I just think about how to govern Xiting Kingdom for His Majesty."

"Aunt, under such circumstances, anyone will develop a character that values ​​profit, because if he doesn't value profit, I'm afraid Xiting Kingdom will perish in his hands long ago."

"But I believe that my child is not a person who will murder his own brother. He is not fake, and he probably has fickleness, but he is a person who misses old love very much. Back then, his wife offended him many times, but because of the past, he Feelings, he has not reported to the temple for a long time. He was a little eager to do things in the past, but after I reminded him, he was very good to the people, and he no longer governed the local area with cruel laws, and often helped the poor in the local area. embrace him."

"Amma, please enlighten me."

Liu Heng saluted Empress Lu again.

Empress Lu was a little confused at the moment. She thought that Liu Heng would rush to say that she was not strict in discipline and take the initiative to plead guilty when she said that. Excuse me and protect my son. This surprised Empress Lu very much. This is not like Liu Heng's usual behavior.

Empress Lu asked suspiciously: "You have always been fair and never favored anyone. Why do you speak for your son today?"

Liu Heng said respectfully: "Mother, when I face outsiders, I naturally want to do things fairly. This is to gain the approval of others and do things better. But you are my mother. Before my biological mother passed away, I have talked about you many times, and I was not allowed to call her grandma, and said that my grandma has always been in Chang'an. In front of you, I don't need to hide these thoughts, and dare to speak my truth. Qi has always regarded you as the closest person, and will report to you first when encountering anything. If you must punish him, please mother punish us father and son together!"

Empress Lu opened her mouth several times, but found that she didn't know what to say.

"Forget it, forget it, anyway, discipline yourself well! Don't let this happen again!"

"Thank you mum!!"

(End of this chapter)