I'm really not King Jing of Zhongshan

"Cousin Dou Ying~"

"If you only talk about talent and qualifications, if the emperor insists on paying homage to the prime minister, it is actually not necessary?"

"—Whether it's literary talent or martial arts, or qualifications, martial arts, Wei Qihou, there is nothing lacking."

"Even if compared to Zhang Wuhou and Wei Qihou who almost succeeded Beiping Hou as prime ministers, they still have the advantage of 'Wu Xun'."

"So, not letting Wei Qihou be prime minister is actually not because of lack of talent and qualifications..."

After arriving at the Shanglin Palace, in the afternoon of the same day, the father and son Qi, Liu Sheng, who had already changed into ordinary clothes, appeared near the field not far outside the palace.

Walking on the field path with hands behind his back, feeling the sweltering heat of midsummer, the emperor's face was only relieved for a while.

Liu Sheng's gentle voice came from the ear, which made Tian Ziqi put on a faint smile on the corner of his mouth.

With a smile and a slight nod, he turned around with a smile and turned his expectant eyes to Liu Sheng beside him again.

Sensing the anticipation in Tian Ziqi's eyes, Liu Sheng also smiled, and then continued: "There is actually no incomprehensible reason for the emperor's grandmother to want Wei Qihou to be prime minister."

"——as the speaker of Dou's relatives, seeking positions and rights in court for Dou's relatives is something that the emperor's grandmother will definitely do."

"This is not only for the emperor's grandmother to consolidate her own power, but also for the purpose of consolidating the status of the father."

"After all, compared with courtiers with foreign surnames, relatives from the mother's clan are still more worthy of the trust of the father."

"So it's not just the prime minister—the position of minister in the court, no matter which position is vacant, the emperor's grandmother Dou will definitely make an attempt to see if the children of the Dou family can take up key positions in the court."

"Empress Dowager Lu in the time of Emperor Xiaohui was like this, Empress Dowager Bo was like this in the time of the first emperor, and the same is true of the current emperor's grandmother and future mother..."

Liu Sheng's confident tone of voice only provoked Tianzi Qi to nod with a smile, and there was a rare relaxed and carefree look on his brows.

——In the recent period, there are really too many things that make Tianzi Qi feel bad...

It's rare that I have time to go out of Chang'an, come to Shanglin Garden to take a breath, and hear Liu Sheng's point of view so directly to the point, I feel a burst of relief in my heart.

Smiling and nodding again, he turned his eyes away from Liu Sheng, put his hands behind his back, looked down at the road under his feet, and said softly: "En;"

"Go on."

I saw Liu Sheng lowered his head with a smile, pondered for a while, and then continued: "When Emperor Taizu Gao passed away, Emperor Xiaohui was young;"

"In order to help Emperor Xiaohui consolidate his power, Empress Dowager Lu used Lu Chan, Lu Tai, Lu Lu and other Lu family nephews as key positions inside and outside the court."

"Although after the death of Empress Dowager Lu, Lu Chan and Lu Lu almost overturned the ancestral temple and the community, but when Emperor Xiaohui succeeded to the throne at a young age, he still stabilized Emperor Xiaohui's position and power. "

···
"When it came to the first emperor, Chen Ping, Zhou Bo and other powerful officials who welcomed the first emperor controlled the government. The first emperor wanted to take power, but he couldn't do it because of these two people."

"At this time, it was also the late Empress Dowager Bo who stepped forward and appointed Bo Zhao as the chariot general, taking over the military power for the late emperor."

"Although later, Bo Zhao got carried away and became more domineering, but when the late emperor first came to Chang'an, Bo Zhao, a relative of his mother's family, also helped the late emperor consolidate his authority."

···
"Then when the first emperor died and the father inherited the throne, the situation is a little different."

"—Father succeeded to the throne at the age of 31, and he is already young; he has been a prince for more than 20 years, and he is already full-fledged;"

"So, father doesn't need to rely on the strength of his mother's relatives to consolidate his own power, and he doesn't use too much of Dou's relatives."

"During the rebellion between Wu and Chu, Wei Qihou was chosen as the general because of the importance of Xingyang-Aocang, which made it difficult for the father to trust outsiders;"

"As for Wei Qihou being the crown prince and Taifu and Nanpihou being the minister, it is purely out of consideration to appease the Dou family and the emperor's grandmother."

"—After all, for the emperor, it is not necessary to use the relatives of the mother's family to control the court;"

"Besides Wei Qihou and Nanpihou, there are no other choices for the people in the court who can serve as the crown prince, Taifu, and Fengchang..."

Hearing the end, the gratifying smile on the brows of Tianzi Qi finally reached his eyes.

He put his hand on Liu Sheng's shoulder naturally, and continued to walk forward, taking the conversation along the way.

"Yes~"

"—The relatives of the mother's family, no matter whether they are necessary or not, they must be used."

"If it's necessary, it's to help yourself; if it's not necessary, it's to appease the mother clan."

"of course;"

"Use it for what you want, and don't use it indiscriminately."

"No matter how you say it, you have to put the relatives of the mother's family in a position that is almost competent and controllable."

···
"For example, Lu Chan and Lu Lu during the Empress Dowager Lu's time, and Bo Zhao during the late Emperor's time, not to mention—only in terms of the ability to command soldiers, these three people have nothing to fault."

"Even today's Dou Ying and Dou Pengzu are outstanding among Dou's nephews."

"—In terms of talent, whether it is the general during the Wu-Chu Rebellion, the previous prince and Taifu, or the prime minister that the Queen Mother mentioned yesterday, Dou Ying, they are all barely competent."

"As for Nanpi Hou Dou Pengzu, although he doesn't have any great talent, he is still a Fengchang."

···
"If it's not about Rong, Dou Ying, the crown prince, is actually very suitable."

"—On learning, Dou Ying can teach you;"

"In addition to the family background of Dou's relatives, let Dou Ying be the crown prince and tutor, which will further strengthen the bond between you and Dou's family, and will help consolidate your position as the heir apparent."

"It's a pity, Dou Ying's awkward temper..."

"Hi······"

With a long sigh of melancholy, Tianzi Qi stopped for a while and withdrew his hand from Liu Sheng's shoulder;

Putting his hands behind his back again, he looked into the distance and let out a long sigh leisurely.

"Dou Ying..."

"If it wasn't for his relatives—not for my mother's relatives, I would never tolerate him."

"As for making Dou Ying the prime minister..."

"No, no;"

"It's not yet time."

···
"——It's not time~"

"Hey!"

"If Dou's family is allowed to be the prime minister now, it will be troublesome when your son succeeds..."

"The prime minister, Dou Ying, depends on your tolerance."

"If you can tolerate it, let him be the prime minister for a few years after you succeed;"

"But I will never let a person who is dissatisfied with the crown prince, who may be unfavorable to the crown prince, be my prime minister."

"Even if this person is my mother's relative..."

The inexplicably gloomy words moved Liu Sheng for a while.

He lowered his head with mixed emotions, but finally couldn't hold back his impulse, and looked sideways at Tianzi Qi with a little gratitude;

Feeling Liu Sheng's grateful eyes looking at him, Tianzi Qi suddenly laughed and shook his head to himself.

"I, it's not for you."

"It's for the crown prince of my Han family."

"Whoever becomes the crown prince, I will do the same."

Hearing this, Liu Sheng's expression of gratitude did not diminish at all, he just raised his head with a smile: "Kerchen is now the heir apparent of my family;"

"So, the emperor rejected the emperor's grandmother's proposal for the sake of his son?"

But Tianzi Qi Hanxiao shook his head again, raised his hand slightly, and pointed to the familiar figures between the father and son in the field;
He took the lead and walked along the ridge towards the old tree. While walking, he did not forget to say calmly: "Under the world, there are tens of millions of common people and common people, all of whom are my people."

"—Only you are not."

"Only you are my crown prince..."

···
"You can regard me as your father, or you can regard me as your king."

"But I will never treat you as my own son."

"—There are tens of millions of people in the world, anyone can be my son, except you."

"Only you, only my crown prince..."

···
"It is also for this reason that my mother did not insist too much; I just said 'Wei Qihou can't do it', and my mother did not mention this matter again."

"Because the queen mother also knows: my Han family cannot have a prime minister who doesn't want to see the crown prince."

"—Mother, I regard you as my grandson, but I also haven't forgotten that you are the crown prince of my Han family."

"And you, always keep this in mind..."

"Keep in mind your own identity, and the responsibilities and missions on your shoulders..."

Mo Min's solemn words finally made Liu Sheng quietly suppress the smile on his face, and nodded thoughtfully.

The relaxed smile that still existed between the eyebrows just now was replaced by a burst of solemnity in the blink of an eye.

With a heavy heart, he followed Tianzi Qi to the familiar old tree. Not surprisingly, the father and son saw those old farmers again.

Seeing that his father was looking for a place under the root of the tree just like last time, he sat down on his buttocks, Liu Sheng could only put his thoughts aside temporarily, and bowed his hands to those old men.

"Yo!"

"This is the prince, right?"

Before Liu Sheng opened his mouth to pay his respects, the old men began to comment on Liu Sheng with your words and my words;
As for this situation, Tianzi Qi is obviously happy to hear and see...
"That year, I said that His Majesty would definitely have this son!"

"—Extremely, extremely!"

"——look at those eyebrows, they look more and more like His Majesty!"

The conversation of several old friends came from the ear, but it only caused Tian Ziqi to straighten up with a smile on his face, took a deep breath, and leaned his upper body to one side without any scruples, and put his elbows on the ground nonchalantly.

Following the gazes of several people, he also looked at Liu Sheng. Although there was a touch of comfort visible to the naked eye on his face, there was a bit of "self-effacing" on his lips.

"Hi~"

"The older ones are worthless, and I really have no choice;"

"Just set up this bastard, and treat him like a dwarf."

"—Teach slowly~"

"The others are really hard to see..."

Following Tianzi Qi's words of pretending to be helpless, the gazes of several old men have already scrutinized Liu Sheng up and down.

Hearing Tian Ziqi's phrase "Pull the dwarf out of the dwarf", several old people laughed even more;
After watching Liu Sheng sit down beside Tianzi Qi, he laughed and looked at Tianzi Qi who was already lying on the ground.

"Your Majesty, you don't have to say that, do you?"

"I heard that the matter of stabilizing food was handled by the prince?"

The old farmer's words made Tianzi Qi smile for a while, and raised the corners of his eyebrows quite proudly;
He proudly raised his head, and asked without answering, "How?"

"After the beginning of spring, can we all eat cheap food?"

After being asked by Tian Ziqi, several old farmers began to talk about this matter with you and me.

After all, it’s actually just one sentence: In the spring of this year, the price of grain in Guanzhong has not risen at all!
Compared with previous years, the price of grain in Guanzhong this year is at most less than ten dollars per stone;
Considering that last year, due to the rebellion between Wu and Chu in Guanzhong, there was a large area of ​​crop failure. This increase is obviously completely within the acceptable range.

In addition, there are several sons and grandchildren in the families of these old people who made martial arts during the Wu-Chu Rebellion last year and received many rewards. Such a rise in food prices is no problem.

For such a situation, Tianzi Qi obviously had expected it long ago, and the reason why he asked this question was because he wanted to hear the phrase 'the price of food has not risen, everything is fine' from the mouths of these old guys.

Hearing what he wanted to hear as he wished, Tianzi Qi was even more happy for a while, and simply moved his body directly, and sat down with his back against the tree root.

And not far from Tianzi Qi, listening to a few old men talking about food, Liu Sheng's heart moved a little, and he raised his head with a smile.

"This year's food prices are barely stable."

"In the future, the imperial court intends to have a permanent governor of Su Su. After the autumn harvest, he will buy grain from farmers in Guanzhong, and then sell the grain after the beginning of spring."

"—The buying and selling prices are all par, and the price difference will not exceed ten yuan per stone."

"What do you old people think, can food prices be stabilized for a long time by doing so?"

Asking with a smile, Liu Sheng did not forget to put on an attitude of "all ears" and quietly waited for the replies from the old men.

Hearing Liu Sheng's question, the old men looked at each other for a while, and fell into a moment of thought.

For Liu Sheng, the old men were not "never met";
——A few years ago, Tianzi Qi took Liu Sheng to Shanglinyuan to visit these old friends.

Although at that time, Liu Sheng was only a 'Master Sheng', but that meeting alone left a very good first impression of Liu Sheng in the hearts of several old people.

Now, Liu Sheng has become the prince, and even at the beginning of this year, he presided over the stabilization of grain in Guanzhong.

At this moment, Liu Sheng asked the elders for their opinions on the matter of food, which not only made them feel closer to Liu Sheng, but also inexplicably gave birth to a sense of sacred mission in their hearts.

—— Liu Sheng's question is asking the people in Quanguan!

And several old men are about to represent the millions of households and millions of farmers in the entire Guanzhong, and give their views on the "Governing Su Duwei" to Prince Liu Sheng.

It is true that the replies of several old men may not be able to really change anything;
But even the slightest possibility gave rise to a sense of sacred mission in the hearts of several old men like 'this opportunity must not be wasted'.

Therefore, the elders were not in a hurry to answer;

Instead, he frowned and thought for a long time before the oldest one bowed his hands to Liu Sheng with a serious face.

"Since the prince asks, you old man, let's try to talk about it."

"--It is of course a good thing to set up a permanent commander of Su Duwei to buy food for the people after the autumn harvest and sell food to the people after the spring begins;"

"If we do this every year, then the price of grain in Guanzhong should never be driven up by grain merchants again."

"But then again: in the past, the grain business in Guanzhong was only done by merchants, and it's not unreasonable..."

Saying so, the old man did not forget to look at the other old friends beside him for a while;
After hearing the old man's words, Liu Sheng also turned his face serious, and stretched out his hand to the old man seriously, making a gesture of 'please'.

"Also ask the old man to speak freely."

Seeing the old man nodding his head thoughtfully, and pondering for a moment with "hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm" for a moment, he raised his head sadly.

"Since ancient times, what farmers fear most is this sentence;"

"——The low price of grain hurts farmers, and the high price of grain hurts farmers."

"The meaning of this sentence is: when the grain harvest is abundant, the price of grain will be very low, and farmers cannot sell it at a good price;"

"If the grain harvest fails, the price of grain will be high again. Although the price can be sold, it is very likely that the farmers themselves cannot afford the grain they grow."

"So, regardless of whether the grain harvest is good or not, farmers will always have a hard time."

"The bumper harvest is better—although the food cannot be sold at a high price, it is still affordable;"

"But if the harvest fails, the farmers will probably have to sell their fields, houses, and even their children if they want to survive..."

···
"The previous emperors of my Han family were very kind to the farmers. Whenever there was a situation of high food prices, they would open warehouses to sell cheap food, so as to stabilize the food prices and give the farmers a way to survive."

"What the crown prince said about governing Su Duwei is actually the truth."

"But among them, there is a problem that may force farmers to still sell their grain to merchants instead of selling it to Captain Zhi Su."

"—In the past, when merchants bought grain from farmers, they would make an agreement and sign a contract before the autumn harvest;"

"On the day of the autumn harvest, the merchants went straight back to the carts carrying grain and waited by the fields."

"As long as the government collects the agricultural tax, the remaining grain will be transported directly from the field by the merchant according to the previous agreement, and the grain payment will be settled on the spot."

"It is precisely because of this that the farmers accept that the merchants buy low and sell high, and sell the grain that the merchants bought at a low price after autumn, and sell it at a higher price to the farmers after the spring of the next year... "..."

···
"But what the crown prince said about governing Su Duwei, I'm afraid he wouldn't do that."

"Captain Zhi Su, I'm afraid the common people will send the grain from the fields to the government to sell."

"—This is very inconvenient for farmers."

···
"What's more, in the past, if the merchants bullied the farmers when they bought grain, the farmers could go to the government to sue;"

"Knowing that it is a dispute between farmers and businessmen, the government will often make decisions for the farmers."

"But if in the future, all the farmers' grain is sold to Captain Zhi Su, what should we do if there is a dispute?"

"—Does the farmer want to go to the government to sue Captain Zhisu?"

"—Knowing that it is a dispute between Captain Zhisu and the peasants, will the government decide for the peasants???"

"Thinking about it, it won't be like this..."

···
"The local government, let alone make decisions for the farmers;"

"I'm afraid even the government itself doesn't dare to provoke Captain Zhisu."

"When things like this happen many times, and the court has not paid attention to them for many years, Captain Na Zhisu bullies the farmers by buying grain, and I'm afraid it will become a 'long-standing' normal."

"At that time, the good government promoted by the prince to stabilize food prices may become a bad government that increases the burden on farmers."

"If it hurts the popularity of the crown prince and even His Majesty, it will be even more of a loss..."