Hanhou

Empress Dowager Dou was buried in Baling, and the kings of the Liu family who went to Chang'an for the funeral set off to return home one after another.A few people stayed behind for some reason, among them was Liu Fei, king of Jiangdu, who asked the prefecture to promote filial piety, and Liu Fa, king of Changsha, who asked the imperial court to emigrate the people to Baiyue.

Liu Rong, who has no title but was summoned to Beijing as the eldest son of Emperor Jing and the eldest grandson of Emperor Wen, was also detained by Liu Che. After the daily court meeting, he would be announced to Weiyang Palace to speak.

The two brothers haven't seen each other for several years, and there is no gap between them, but they have become closer.

Liu Che is very interested in land reclamation, animal husbandry, and commerce in border counties. In the past few years, Liu Rong has opened up wasteland in Yanmen County, raised cattle and sheep, and has contacts with many caravans. Liu Che can answer all his questions. And it was more detailed and richer than the other party's expected answer.

"There are Yunzhong and Yanmen caravans traveling in the Western Regions, killing hundreds of bandits, and even beheading a small country's national teacher?"

When Liu Rong talked about the encounters of the westward caravan, especially the various difficulties encountered on the way, Liu Che couldn't help but listened fascinated, put down the lacquer cup, and let the tea soup become cold.

"Returning to Your Majesty, there are many dangers and obstacles on the trade roads, and what I said is only one out of ten."

After several days of getting along, Liu Rong became more and more relaxed.

Seeing that Liu Che was interested, he simply told all he knew, which aroused the emperor's amazement again and again.

The eunuch was guarding in front of the hall, and when he heard the laughter coming from the room, he couldn't help but relax the corners of his mouth, and waved his hand to the palace servants, signaling to deliver new tea and cakes to the hall, so be careful, don't disturb the brothers from the heavenly family.

"Take it easy."

"promise."

The palace man carried the wooden tray and walked into the hall,

The slender feet wrapped in silk socks stepped on the ground without making any sound.Occasionally, the hem of a sleeve brushed against the hem of the skirt, and it was quickly suppressed. Until the tea soup was replaced, and the crispy and soft pastries were put on the table, Liu Che never paid any attention.

Besides pastries, the palace servants also opened the food box and brought out two bowls of soup cakes.

Cut the noodle bread into wide strips, serve with broth, spread a few slices of palm-sized broiled meat, scoop half a spoonful of sunflower, and sprinkle some scallions, steaming hot and fragrant.

Since ascending the throne, Liu Che has been busy with government affairs every day, and when he is growing up, he often has to add a few snacks to his regular meals.In the past, there were steamed cakes and hot soup, but now there are more varieties, soup cakes, steamed buns, rice cakes, etc. are presented in different ways, which makes Liu Che very addicted to eating.

During these days in Chang'an, Liu Rong often accompanied Liu Che to eat meals. Although the meal was delicious, he still missed the soup cakes and steamed buns made by Yunmei himself.

Thinking of his wife who was far away in the border county, Liu Rong paused slightly while holding the chopsticks, unavoidably a little distracted.

This time she was summoned to Chang'an, but Yunmei was unable to accompany her because she was pregnant.Liu Rong took several loyal servants, Qitong, and his eldest daughter Liu Jun and eldest son Liu Xi to Chang'an for the funeral.

Liu Jun is favored by Liu Rong, but she has not cultivated an arrogant and indulgent temperament. Instead, she is like Yunmei who is considerate.Because of her beautiful face and gentle temperament, she was loved by Liu whoring and Chen Jiao as soon as they met. She was called into the palace by Chen Jiao for several days in a row, and the rewards were sent like flowing water.

This kind of grace made many Lord Weng who followed his father and brother into Chang'an look sideways.

Liu Xi is only four years old, but he looks like a little adult, he likes to be quiet and doesn't like to move, he concentrates on learning words every day, and holds the pen extremely steadily, even better than children a few years older than him.

When Liu Che saw Liu Xi, he curiously asked Liu Rong if he was the same when he was young.

In this regard, Liu Rong also felt helpless.

The daughter was well-raised and liked, and it was not pleasing to him to see the little boy who moved forward.The son seemed to be devoting himself to learning. According to Zhao Jia's words, the appearance of being immersed in the ocean of knowledge was completely unexpected to him as a father.

However, with his current status, it is a blessing rather than a disaster for his children to be so temperamental.

For one thing, the imperial court never got close to the Huns, and put on a positive attitude towards the Huns. The emperor was determined to forge ahead, broad-minded, and a niece was loved by people, especially the empress and his wife, which would be beneficial and harmless in the future.

After all, he doesn't have a title, and even if he has a clan status, he still has money in his hands. It is not easy for Liu Jun to make everything go smoothly.One of the most difficult is Liu Jun's marriage.

With the love of the emperor and empress, and the support of Princess Guantao, Liu Jun's future life will never be bad.If the husband's family dares to be negligent, they will definitely trample to death without discussing it.

Liu Xi concentrates on studying knowledge and has no intention of thinking about other things, which is a good thing for the whole family.

Knowing the key point, instead of trying to change his son's temperament, Liu Rong contributed to the flames, so that when Liu Che saw Liu Xi and listened to a four-year-old boy talking seriously about Laozhuang, the corners of his mouth could not control his upturning, and he almost laughed out loud on the spot.

Liu Rong was distracted by himself, and the soup cake did not move for a long time.

Liu Che put down his chopsticks and took a handkerchief to wipe his hands. Seeing his appearance, he couldn't help shaking his head and laughing.Thinking of seeing Liu Rong when he was young, he was always gentle and courteous. Compared to now, he feels that the elder brother in front of him is more amiable.

In the early years, there always seemed to be a distance between each other, and it was difficult for blood brothers to get close.

"Brother."

Hearing Liu Che's voice, Liu Rong finally came back to his senses, and he didn't feel embarrassed. After eating the soup cakes in two or three bites, he put down his chopsticks, as if it wasn't him who was distracted before.

Liu Che drank half a cup of warm water, and did not ask Liu Rong about the affairs of the border county. Instead, he mentioned that Liu Fei, the king of Jiangdu, had ordered the county to be filial and honest.

Liu Rong has no title and is not in the court, so he shouldn't discuss the affairs of the court.It's just that Liu Che's attitude shows that what he wants to talk about is not only about the government, but also about Liu Fei himself, and he cannot be allowed to continue pretending to be confused.

"Your Majesty, this is not like the king of Jiangdu." Liu Rong said.

As the eldest brother, he has a certain understanding of all the younger brothers.Liu Fei is more knowledgeable about military matters, but in terms of politics, he would not have such unique insights at all.

"Brother also thinks so?" Liu Che looked solemn, and immediately took out several bamboo slips, all of which were presented by embroidered emissaries, which recorded in detail the information of the Jiangdu state officials and officials sent by the court.

Generally speaking, such bamboo slips should not be shown to others lightly.

But Liu Rong's current status and the fact that the two brothers had been together for many days made Liu Che change his mind.

Before her death, Empress Dowager Dou once said that she should not blindly treat the princes of the Liu clan, nor suppress them all. He needed someone he could trust and was willing to help wholeheartedly.

After thinking about it, Liu Rong is undoubtedly a very good candidate.

Mentioning the matter of King Jiangdu was a test for Liu Rong by Liu Che, and it was also the first step in planning for the future.

Fortunately, Liu Rong was frank and did not disappoint him.

"Your Majesty, do you want to select good people for appointment?" Liu Rong looked at the bamboo slips and somewhat guessed Liu Che's thoughts.

"If it is a national official, maybe it can be like this. However," Liu Che slid his fingers across the bamboo slips, and clicked on Dong Zhongshu's name, "The person who proposed this proposal is actually an iron official sent by Chang'an to Jiangdu Kingdom."

Dong Zhongshu borrowed Liu Fei's appearance in order to show his talent and gain the emperor's eyes, hoping to be transferred back to the capital and flex his muscles in the court.In the end, it was self-defeating, and the goodwill was not achieved, but the emperor was displeased, thinking that he was deeply scheming and wanted to have both sides.

The biggest mistake he made was to forget his identity.

"Isn't it ridiculous that the iron officials sent by the imperial court perform the duties of state officials?" Although Liu Che was smiling, the smile didn't reach his eyes.

The dragon has reverse scales, which cannot be touched lightly.

Unfortunately, Dong Zhongshu happened to poke it with his finger, and it was right in the middle.

The purpose of setting up iron officials and salt officials is to gradually take back the mines and salt fields, not for the sake of everyone.

The officials sent by Chang'an to the vassal states should naturally be in opposition to the Liu family kings.If not, Liu Che would not have decreed to add a troop of soldiers to his team.

Dong Zhongshu was kind, ignored the emperor's intention, and took the initiative to make friends with Liu Fei.

According to the report of the embroidered clothes envoy, during his tenure, Dong Zhongshu often visited Liu Fei to persuade Liu Fei, and even suggested several good strategies to him, which made him famous in Jiangdu, and even formed his own theory, with a very high reputation.In the past two years, many scholars have gone there especially to pay homage to Dong Zhongshu.

"This is too..." After reading through most of the bamboo slips, Liu Rong really didn't know what to say.

From Dong Zhongshu's ability to persuade Liu Fei to restrain his irritable temperament, and to win his trust with a strong official, it proves that this person is not simple.But a smart person did something stupid, and borrowed the name of King Jiangdu to show up. This is a hangover, and he doesn't know what he has done, right?

Of course, there is another possibility. Dong Zhongshu did not do this voluntarily, but Liu Fei cheated him.

If the answer is true, what Dong Zhongshu did not only failed to get Liu Fei's appreciation, but completely offended him to death.

"Your Majesty, regardless of this person's words and deeds for the time being, it is a good policy to be filial and honest." Leaving aside the reasons, Liu Rong bluntly said what he thought.

"That's true." Liu Che took a few more bamboo slips and said, "Tomorrow I will call the king of Jiangdu to play the right match, and my uncle will also come to listen to it. This good strategy should be rewarded, and the former king of Changsha will present the table, and Zhuyue will do his best Enclosed, the land in the south is vast and fertile, it might as well be assigned to King Jiangdu."

"Give the land?"

"Yes." Liu Che nodded and laughed, "The king of Changsha said in the letter that Baiyue is newly attached, and the people need to be relocated to consolidate the land. I think Jiangdu has a lot of people, so it's okay to move thousands of people to open fields in Baiyue. "

Liu Che's meaning couldn't be more clear. Whether Dong Zhongshu really took refuge in Jiangdu King or pretended to take refuge in him, he would not be reused by the court.

If it's the former, Liu Che has given him a favor if he doesn't kill him, how can he be transferred back to court.If it is the latter, Liu Fei is Liu Che's biological brother anyway, he can suppress him, but others want to step on Jin Shen and use him as a springboard, which must not be tolerated!

As the emperor, he wants double standards, and he has to hold back if he refuses to accept it!

In addition, regardless of whether Dong Zhongshu was cheated or not, it is a fact that he made friends with Liu Fei.With this stain, it is destined that Liu Che's favorability towards him will be zero, and there will be a downward trend.

Taking ten thousand steps back, he really found an opportunity to show his presence in front of the emperor. Liu Che, who has already broadened his horizons and dabbled in thick black studies, may not be interested.

When the three cardinal guides and five permanent rules came out, Empress Chen in the palace would not let him go first.

Although Empress Dowager Dou is gone, Chen Jiao was taught by her hand in hand. As long as her head is not confused, she can know the elegant meaning by listening to string songs. Before the signs appear, she can slap Dong Zhongshu to death.

As for King Jiangdu, making friends with iron officials sent by the imperial court and treating him generously, no matter what the purpose is, is equivalent to slapping Liu Che.

Liu Che remembered what Empress Dowager Dou said on her deathbed, she did not act recklessly, and she did not intend to do anything wrong. She slapped her back and gave Liu Fei the land in the south. , dug his corner, and pulled over the platform of Changsha King, completely able to block the mouths of Liu Fei himself and Liu's clan.

"Your Majesty is wise."

Liu Rong put down the bamboo slips and realized more and more clearly why Emperor Jing chose Liu Che.

A man who is an emperor can only be righteous if he is ruthless.

The Xiongnu is still alive, and the princes and kings hold the army. In this case, a soft heart may be a good person, but it cannot be a qualified emperor.

In the age of swordsmanship, kindness can only be embellished, and tyranny is the cornerstone of a dynasty.

In the city of Chang'an, Dong Zhongshu didn't know that he hadn't succeeded in his mission and was marked with a big cross by the emperor. He still had hope and hoped to be summoned by the palace.

On the grassland, the Han army received the order from Chang'an, escorted the captured Huns, and went south to return to the border county.

On the way, the team camped outside a dense forest.

Zhao Jia, Wei Yue and the others entered the tent without taking off their armor, with long knives at hand, as if they were waiting for something.

In the middle of the night, the camp was silent, and the Xiongnu, surrounded by fences, began to move.The pawns hiding in the dark quickly reported, Zhao Jiateng stood up, looked at Wei Yue, and a sneer appeared on the corner of his mouth.

"Order to each battalion, do it, regardless of life or death!"

"promise!"