I'm really not King Jing of Zhongshan

Chapter 268 My son, please think twice!
In Simamen, Wei Wan and Zhidu ended a not-so-pleasant conversation.

According to the temperament of the two of them, as well as their usual habits of dealing with things, this is most likely the only time for the two of them, and at the same time, it is also the last private communication.

As for the conversation between the two, the emperor Qi, Liu Sheng and his son who stayed in the Xuanshi Hall naturally knew nothing about it.

Or it should be said: even if they know, it is difficult for the attention of the father and son to be transferred to the conversation between the two.

——At this moment, all of Tian Ziqi's attention is focused on the crown prince he supported: Prince Sheng!

As for Liu Sheng, the moment Wei Wan and Zhi Du left, they took a deep breath...
"Hidden relatives~"

"Hidden relatives..."

After Wei Wan and Zhi Du left, only the Son of Heaven Qi, Liu Sheng and his son were left in the huge Hall of Proclamation.

Even the eunuch Ling Chuntuo, who had always been inseparable from Emperor Qi, walked outside the gate of the palace with great interest and acted as a guard.

That is to say, during this long trajectory, the emperor Qi murmured twice, and finally pulled the scattered thoughts of the father and son back to the Xuanshi Palace in front of him...

"Hidden relatives, from "The Analects of Confucius";"

"The Analects of Confucius was collected and compiled by his disciples and grandchildren after Confucius died."

"——If I remember correctly, "The Analects of Confucius" is mainly based on the quotations of Confucius, supplemented by the story narration of Confucius' experience and evaluation."

"In other words, "The Analects of Confucius" can also be called 'Confucian Quotations', or 'the source of Confucianism'..."

On the imperial couch, the emperor's face was as sinking as water, with a gloomy expression;
He said this in a cold tone, only to see the corner of Tianzi Qi's eyes slightly narrowed, and he looked carefully at Liu Sheng's slightly disturbed face for a moment.

Then, he locked his stern gaze on Liu Sheng's eyes.

"His Royal Highness, do you want to explain?"

"—Could it be that after me, my Han family is going to produce a Confucian emperor?"

"After the story of Taizu Gao's 'Gaoyang drunkard', my Han family, is there going to be a Confucian emperor?!"

Originally, there was a bit of joking and sarcasm in the tone, but unexpectedly, in just two sentences, Tianzi Qi's tone was already filled with undisguised anger!
It is the calm demeanor of "Mount Tai collapsed in front of him without changing his color", which is also twisted together in this one;
It seemed that Liu Sheng hadn't said a word right, and this unexplained outrage was about to swallow Liu Sheng in one gulp.

Question: For the emperor of the Han family, or the crown prince, that is, the "quasi-emperor", what is the most serious accusation?
Answer: Good Confucianism.

The origin of this answer, of course, cannot be explained by a "Gaoyang alcoholic", but a very complicated problem.

Luckily, Liu Sheng knows the complexity of this problem...

"Father is honored."

The first time Tianzi Qi showed his angry face, Liu Sheng hurriedly opened his mouth and won a chance for himself to speak.

It was at this very moment that Liu Shengqiang 'snatched' the opportunity, allowing Liu Sheng to put all his true thoughts in front of Tianzi Qi.

And Tian Ziqi's previous worries gradually dissipated between heaven and earth following Liu Sheng's statement.

"For the worry of the father, the minister also feels the same."

"——Confucianism, since the ancestor Confucius, has always regarded the landlord as the 'people';"

"According to Confucianism's advocacy, the government should not interfere in local affairs, but should hand over the power to govern the local area to the local 'good gentry', that is, the hands of local tyrants."

"Such advocacy has resulted in Confucianism not being valued by any monarch since its ancestor Confucius."

"Even Confucius himself spent half his life traveling around the world;"

"Although it is beautifully called: traveling around the world, in fact, it is actually seeking officials everywhere, but it has never been recognized and reused."

Simply make an opening statement, using "Confucianism has never been reused" to implicitly express the intention of "I will not reuse Confucianism", Liu Sheng stopped talking;
Taking advantage of the effort to take a breath, I secretly looked at the change in Tian Ziqi's expression, and then continued: "The Confucian advocacy of 'delegating power to the localities' is actually to hand over the power of the monarch to the local powerful landlords;"

"But my Han family, since Emperor Taizu Gao established the country, has always regarded local tyrants as a thorn in the side and a thorn in the flesh."

"——The mausoleum system that has been used since Emperor Taizu Gao to the present is to forcefully move the local tyrants who cannot be ruled by two thousand stones into Guanzhong in the name of 'guarding the spirit of the emperor', and suppress them with the power of the emperor."

"And when a man reaches the age of the first husband, the regulations that separate the households are also for the purpose of dismembering the local powerful and big clans, so as to prevent the powerful landlords from competing for profits with the people."

"Not to mention the national policy of strengthening the base and weakening the end, it has always been the goal of my Han family court and the previous emperors."

"Everything here is enough to show that the advocacy of Confucianism is contrary to the national policy of our Han family."

"As the saying goes: different ways, don't conspire with each other."

"The theory of my Han family and Confucius is undeniably 'different ways'..."

Confidently declaring his attitude towards Confucianism, but seeing that Tian Ziqi was still unmoved, Liu Sheng began to count the "criminal evidence" of Confucianism in detail.

All the "original sins" of trying to restore the Zhou rituals and the Zhou system—especially the Ida system—were all analyzed by Liu Sheng without any dead ends, and all of them were placed in front of Tianzi Qi.

Even having mentioned these principled mistakes, Liu Sheng will naturally not forget the other "little things".

What, burning books and burying scholars~
Goyang alcoholic~
After Xiang Yu Wujiang slayed himself, put Xiang Yu in hemp and filial piety~
Taizu Liu Bang sent people to Ludi to ask the Confucian scholars in Ludi for Zhou Rites in order to formulate the etiquette system of the Han Dynasty, but was neglected by the Ludi Confucian scholars, all of which were mentioned by Liu Sheng.

But Tian Ziqi's final reaction made Liu Sheng astonished. He immediately stopped criticizing Confucianism and began to think about himself.

——Tianziqi's attention is somewhat beyond Liu Sheng's expectations...
"What kind of virtue is Confucianism, you don't need you bastard to tell me!"

"I just want to ask you one question: Just now, why did you mention 'Kindlings hide each other' in front of Wei Wan and Zhi Du?"

"Don't you know that these four characters are one of the points of view that Confucianism is proud of!"

"——If I don't issue the banning order, within two hours at most, the news of 'the crown prince advocates concealment between relatives' will spread throughout Chang'an!"

"Don't you know what this means and what kind of trouble it will bring to you bastard!!!"

The more he said, the more angry Tianzi Qi felt;

At the end, he even got angry and waved at Liu Sheng irritably.

"come over!"

"Before my face, explain this matter clearly!"

"——Which traitor is it, who bewitched the crown prince of my Han family, and bewitched your bastard mind!"

"How dare you run for the art of corrupt Confucianism in front of me?!"

"It's against you!!!"

···
Regarding Liu Sheng's performance today, Tianzi Qi was undoubtedly extremely angry.

So that when Liu Sheng obediently walked forward and knelt down beside the imperial couch, Emperor Qi still did not forget to get up angrily;
Walking forward, bowing his head and looking down at Liu Sheng in front of him, his eyes widened again;

Even under the chin, the somewhat white beard could not help but tremble slightly!

Seeing Tian Ziqi's posture like this, Liu Sheng could only obediently raise his head.

After thinking about it for a while, he followed Tianzi Qi's intention and took up the conversation.

"My son, you are not running for the corrupt Confucianism;"

"The phrase 'relatives conceal each other' is not because the ministers recognized and agreed with Confucius."

"But besides doing this, Erchen, there is really no other way..."

The somewhat helpless words annoyed Tianzi Qi again, with a posture of blowing his beard and staring, making it clear that he wanted to get to the bottom of it.

With Tian Ziqi's firm attitude, Liu Sheng thought about it again and again, but finally he could only lower his head, and presented a letter that was obviously written only a few days ago - a piece of clothing, to Tian Ziqi in front of him.

After Tianzi Qi took it in a fit of anger, and glanced roughly at the 'letter' again, Liu Sheng carefully spoke again, explaining what he did today.

"This incident has made my son very distressed."

"—Brother was convicted and entered the court, and was imprisoned in the Lieutenant's Mansion, where no one can see him."

"I'm not even willing to provide my eldest brother with the cloth and pen for writing letters..."

···
"This piece of cloth was torn from my eldest brother's coat;"

"The pen and ink were sent to the eldest brother through Wei Qihou's connections."

"As for what was written in the letter, my father should be able to understand at a glance: what exactly is the elder brother writing this letter..."

The rather helpless tone dissipated a little of the monstrous anger in Tianzi Qi's heart;

Lowering his head, he roughly glanced at the letter written by Liu Rong himself and entrusted Liu Sheng to forward it to Tianziqi. Tianziqi's face, which was full of anger just now, sank in an instant.

"Um······"

"Well······"

Seeing Tianzi Qi pretending to lower his head, looking back and forth at the letter, Liu Sheng finally had a look of helplessness on his brows.

Liu Sheng is very sure: Tian Ziqi has seen Liu Rong's intentions from this letter.

——The widow, you can die!
——But Zhidu must be buried with the widow! !
After realizing what Liu Rong wanted to achieve in this letter, instead of saying that Tianzi Qi was reviewing this letter repeatedly, it would be better to say: Tianzi Qi is thinking about it.

Consider what words to use to evaluate the letter in your hand.

But it is obvious: No matter how Tian Ziqi whitewashes, the truth cannot be covered up.

And Liu Sheng also has no intention of covering up the truth...
"Father said: a sentence of concealment from relatives is likely to make the son-in-law dragged down by the reputation of a 'good Confucian';"

"But why doesn't the father think about it: Compared with the reputation of 'good Confucianism', the minister is actually more afraid of the stigma of 'killing brothers'?"

"—Even if this is not the case, there are still many people in Chang'an who say that I snatched the eldest brother's position as the heir apparent."

"If elder brother just dies in the Lieutenant's Mansion and in Chang'an, but my son does nothing, how will my son live in peace in the future?"

···
"Father might say again: It's just a matter of being rescued, why do you insist on mentioning that one relative is hidden from each other, why do you have to be so unreasonable?"

"But why doesn't the father think about it: If you don't mention the word 'closed by relatives', if you don't be rude and unreasonable, what can you do?"

"-reasonable?"

"Brother, can the son-in-law explain the truth of this matter?"

"Is the truth of the Jiangling Taimiao the son-in-law's job?"

"What if this truth goes on and on, and finally comes to the father, son, what should I do?"

"Should I blame my father and my monarch in front of others?"

"Or should I personally point out that my father's actions this time are actually trying to impose a crime on my own blood, flesh and blood???"

A series of questions, even questioning, made Liu Sheng's face even more bitter;
Straightening up a little, he pointed to the letter in Tian Ziqi's hand, and then said again: "This letter is not written by elder brother in the womb of the crown prince in the past few days;"

"As early as that day, when the son went to the dungeon of the Lieutenant's Mansion, the elder brother had already handed this letter into the hands of the son."

"Brother told my son: After I die, I will give this letter to the emperor's grandmother."

"what does that mean?"

"—It means that if the minister hadn't picked up the elder brother and placed him in the Tai's uterus that day, my Han family might not have the King of Linjiang at this moment."

"The King of Linjiang is gone. With this letter, Lieutenant Zhidu will naturally be gone."

"Brother is gone, even if my son-in-law was not drowned by the spittle of hundreds of thousands of people in Chang'an, he was at least hiding in the womb of the crown prince, not daring to go out for three to five years..."

···
"Has Father considered all these things?"

"When the elder brother was imprisoned in the dungeon of the Lieutenant's Mansion, did the emperor think that his son would fall into a dilemma because of this?"

"——Now, the minister is taking the elder brother to the crown prince's uterus. People say: Although the crown prince's move is suspected of breaking the law, it is also in line with the ethics of loyalty and filial piety."

"Just now, when my son said the words 'closed to each other', at most people would say: Prince, maybe he is a Confucian prince."

"But if I don't do anything and just sit back and watch all this happen—and watch my brother die in the Lieutenant's Mansion, what will I face?"

"At that time, will my son-in-law continue to sit on the position of the crown prince under the public opinion of the world..."

Like a machine gun, a series of rhetorical questions did not make Tian Ziqi look away from the letter in his hand.

Staring at the letter in his hand, he thought absent-mindedly for a while, and Tianzi Qicai finally realized something belatedly.

"Ah······"

"Instead of preaching to me..."

Said calmly, then turned the letter in his hand upside down, Tianzi Qi laughed abruptly;
Then he turned around and walked slowly back to the imperial couch;

He lowered his head, raised his head, and held the letter above the candlelight, allowing the book written on the hem of his clothes to be swallowed by the candlelight little by little.

After most of the letter was burned, he threw it into the censer at the side, and the emperor Shi Shiran finally sat back on the imperial couch.

You Ran let out a long sigh, and said without raising her head, "You shouldn't meddle in this matter."

"From Rong to Chang'an, to Linjiang Wang's death, you shouldn't step out of the womb..."

···
"Don't you know why I did this and for whom?"

"I don't know what kind of threat an elder brother who once had the chance to become the crown prince will pose to you in the future?"

"In addition to this, I originally wanted to take advantage of this incident to deter the clan princes a little, so as to clear away the resistance to cutting down and weakening the vassal."

"——In the end, it is to clear the way for Jia Yi's 'son of the princes who Tweeted', and never let the trouble of the clan and vassal kings come to an end."

"But now, all my plans have been disrupted by you bastard."

"You, have you ever considered these?"

Sensing Tian Ziqi's obviously warmer tone, Liu Sheng secretly heaved a sigh of relief;

But only a moment later, Liu Sheng sullenly again, slightly arched his hands towards Emperor Qi.

"These things have been considered by my son."

"I know my father wants to clear the way for my son;"

"I also know that the father wants to use this to deter the clan princes."

"But when the teacher was still alive, he once told my son a truth."

"——When many things come together and it is difficult to choose, the most sensible way is to think about which thing is more important as soon as possible."

···
"Take this incident as an example: what the father wants is to deter the clan and princes, and at the same time stabilize the position of his sons and ministers;"

"But what I have to consider is the life and death of my eldest brother, which is related to my reputation."

"—It is indeed very important to deter clan princes, but there are other ways;"

"——Stable storage position is indeed something that the minister needs to consider, but it is not an imminent thing."

"And the stigma of 'brother killing' is too heavy for today's ministers..."

···
"Back then, the first emperor had already ruled the world, but he was frightened by the saying 'one foot of cloth can still be sewn', so that he made all the sons of King Li of Huainan king;"

"Even so, the matter of King Li of Huainan still greatly damaged the prestige of the late emperor."

"——At that time, the first emperor ruled the world, and the Wei Ya was in the sea; but now, the son-in-law is just a weak prince and prince."

"—Back then, the first emperor suffered a lot of infamy because of his younger brother's death; while King Linjiang was the eldest brother of my son."

"Considering these, it is very difficult for Erchen not to make up his mind to bring eldest brother back from the lieutenant's mansion to the crown prince's womb."

"Because the eldest brother is alive, the son can continue to sit on the throne;"

"But if the eldest brother dies, the son-in-law, the crown prince, will no longer have any dignity and prestige..."

Said with a solemn face, in the end, Liu Sheng finally bent down, changed from kneeling to kneeling, and kowtowed to the emperor Qi again.

But Liu Sheng's next words made Tianzi Qi fall into a long period of thought...
"Secretism between relatives is indeed the content recorded in "The Analects", but this does not mean that people who agree with 'concealment between relatives' like Confucianism."

"—Besides, my son, I don't really agree with the viewpoint of 'relative concealment'."

···
"The advantages and disadvantages of Confucianism, Legalism, Mohism, and Huang-Lao schools, the father and emperor had taught his sons and ministers earlier."

"——Do not specialize in one skill, do not selfishly hate one study, adapt measures to local conditions and current conditions, and take what you need."

"These words, I have kept them in my heart so far, and I dare not forget half a word."

"Father, you don't have to worry about your sons and ministers. He is a rotten Confucian who only knows how to shake his head and think about it, but when things happen, he can only say 'a gentleman dies and the crown is inevitable'."

"It's just big brother's business..."

···
"Brother's matter, son, please think twice."

"No matter what, elder brother shouldn't be allowed to die in Chang'an because of this trumped-up crime."

"—I implore the emperor, have mercy on my son;"

"My son, the crown prince, really can't stand such a big shock..."

"Father, please think twice..."

(End of this chapter)