Thousand-year-old family: its rise began with Shang Yang’s reforms

Chapter 311 How to Teach Liu Che a Lesson

The eunuch who came to report from the audience also had an excited look on his face. He said in an excited voice: "Yes, Your Majesty, Mr. Chen Pi is back!"

He took out a memorial from his sleeve and raised it above his head respectfully: "This is a memorial written by Mr. Chen. It records all the "terrain" and "geomancy map" that we experienced during our trip to the Western Regions."

This undoubtedly gave Liu Che a huge surprise.

What surprised Liu Che even more was what the eunuch said next. The eunuch continued, "Your Majesty, Mr. Chen also wrote in his memorial that he obtained a lot of spices and seeds of fresh crops in the Western Regions this time. These things are not available in the Han Dynasty."

"The most important of these are probably two things, one called 'cotton' and the other called 'sugar cane'."

"Mr. Chen said they are all very important things."

Liu Che had no doubt about this. Chen Pi was an old minister from his father's time and was also a member of the Chen family.

People from the Chen family never lie.

He exhaled and said softly, "Change my clothes for me. I want to receive Mr. Chen with the most solemn etiquette!"

At this moment, Liu Che had made his decision.

It no longer mattered whether the things Chen Pi brought were good or bad, because the most important thing was already in his hands, the geomancy map of the Western Regions!
The Han people now have little contact with the Western Regions and know very little about them. They only know that some precious spices were brought from the Western Regions, which are not only extremely valuable but also rare.

Apart from the Western Regions, it has never been seen anywhere else.

But if someone thinks that the most precious thing in the Western Regions is the spices, then they are absolutely wrong. The most precious thing in the Western Regions is not the spices, not the new and exotic crops that the Han people have never had, and not even the horses from that place.

What is it?
It is the Western Region itself.

Liu Che had a smile on his face and was very excited. If he could control the Western Regions, his evaluation in history books would probably surpass that of his father and great-father.

This is also a great honor for him.

Since ancient times, which emperor did not love to be recorded in history?

After bathing and changing clothes, Chen Pi, who was waiting quietly in the Weiyang Palace, was in a very normal mood.

For Chen Pi, meeting the emperor in the Weiyang Palace was just like meeting his brother at home, nothing big.

This is the confidence that Chen gave him, and it is also the confidence that he gave himself.

But in a moment, Liu Che hurried into the hall. He looked at Chen Pi in the hall, and just when Chen Pi was about to salute, he said, "No need to be so polite, no need to be so polite."

He asked directly and straightforwardly: "Sir, you have traveled all the way back from the Western Regions. It must be very hard."

"Not only did they open up trade routes to the Western Regions, but they also brought back countless rare seeds."

He never mentioned anything about the "feng shui map".

Liu Che's voice was filled with emotion: "Such merits are worthy of being made a marquis!"

He did not wait for Chen Pi to refute, and directly looked at the Central Government Officer beside him and said: "Pass on my decree, confer the title of "Marquis of Pichen" on Mr. Chen, and appoint him as "Minister of the Honglu Temple", and he will be in charge of the affairs of the Wanchao foreign states in the future."

After saying all this and the Central Government official left, Liu Che turned around and looked at Chen Pi, with a dark light flashing in the depths of his eyes.

"What do you think, sir?"

Chen Pi smiled in silence. He understood what Liu Che meant and also understood why Liu Che never mentioned anything about the geomancy map. This kind of thing should not be made public when the Han Dynasty did not have a "countermeasure".

He immediately thanked her, "Thank you very much, Your Majesty, for your reward."

His expression was indifferent: "It's just that I don't like this officialdom, this Honglu Temple Minister..."

Before Chen Pi finished speaking, Liu Che held Chen Pi's hands and said, "Sir, the Honglu Temple, which is managed by the Honglu Temple Minister, is responsible for dealing with the affairs of all nations. Now that you have set foot in hundreds of countries in the Western Regions, you know all about them. Who else can take on the position of Honglu Temple Minister except you?"

There were even tears in his eyes: "Sir, you don't want to be an official. Is it because you despise me for not being as wise as my father?"

At this point, Chen Pi didn't know what reason he should use to refuse. He just sighed and said, "Your Majesty has said so much. I have nothing to say. I will do my best for Your Majesty."

Liu Che then smiled and let go of Chen Pi's hand. The drooping corners of his mouth and the tears in his eyes suddenly stopped.

He poured a cup of tea for Chen Pi attentively, and then said with a smile: "Sir, when I went to the Western Regions this time, I didn't expect that the people accompanying me would be so talented and could draw geomancy maps."

"I just don't know this person's name. Can I meet him?"

Chen Pi raised his head, put down the teacup in his hand, and then sighed. He knew what Liu Che was thinking, and immediately said, "Your Majesty, the geomancy map was drawn by me. Except for me, no one else knows about this matter, and will not know about this matter."

"You can rest assured."

After hearing Chen Pi's words, Liu Che was stunned for a moment, and then said: "I see, I didn't know that you have such talent."

He smiled and said, "Since it was drawn by you, then there is no need for me to say anything. You must know the importance of this matter."

Chen Pi nodded: "That's why I said just now, Your Majesty can rest assured, except for me, no one else knows about this matter."

"There can be no mistakes in this matter."

Liu Che lowered his eyes and said, "Sir, please introduce to me what you brought back this time. What the eunuch said just now was confusing and I didn't really understand it."

When Chen Pi saw that Liu Che had changed the subject, he knew in his heart that the matter was really over.

He immediately began to introduce to Liu Che some of the more important things among them.

"Your Majesty, among the seeds I brought back this time, the seeds of spices are the most precious. I also discovered something. In the Western Regions, these spices worth thousands of gold seem to have other uses."

He had a smile on his face as he talked to Liu Che, as if he had no idea what Liu Che wanted to do just now.

"In some places in the Western Regions, the production of spices is very large. They no longer consider them to be very 'precious' things, so for them, spices are actually another kind of 'seasoning'."

seasoning?

An absurd look appeared on Liu Che's face.

In the Han Dynasty, spices that were worth thousands of gold were used to dye clothes and were symbols of nobility, but in some countries in the Western Regions they were actually considered seasonings?
This made the Han Emperor Liu Che feel ridiculous and a little angry at the same time.

Because spices are indeed worth a fortune in the Han Dynasty.

Why is it worth a thousand gold?
Because when the Western Regions presented this item as tribute, they said it was worth a fortune and its only function was as a "spice".

There was anger in his eyes but it didn't come out: "Chen Qing, continue."

Chen Pi briefly introduced to the emperor the roles of several commonly used "spices" in food, and also emphasized that these spices could be "grown in large quantities" in the Han Dynasty.

He looked at the emperor and said, "Moreover, the Western Regions will not only provide a batch of seeds, but also provide spices and spice seeds to our Han Dynasty at normal prices after the trade route is opened in the future." Chen Pi said with satisfaction, "Your Majesty, our Han Dynasty will never lack spices again in the future."

Liu Che was not happy because spices were the "evidence" that allowed him, as the emperor, to prove that he was more noble than others. Now that the Han Dynasty no longer lacked spices, it meant that this matter could no longer prove the nobility of his status as an emperor.

But this emotion was only fleeting.

He looked at Chen Pi and said, "Mr. Chen, according to what the eunuch said before, do you think the most important of these two things are?"

Liu Che asked curiously, "What are cotton and sugar cane?"

"Why do you think they are more important than spices?"

Chen Pi's voice remained unchanged: "Your Majesty, cotton is not a product of the Western Regions. It was brought to the Western Regions from the more distant "India". I discovered it by accident. It was recorded in the notes of my ancestors."

"This is a warm thing. The fruit of cotton is as soft as a flower, but if it is sewn into cloth or silk, it can keep you warm."

"Although silk can keep you warm, it is too precious. If cotton can be widely planted, it will be more suitable for the people of the world to use than silk and other materials."

Chen Pi knew that the widespread promotion of spices would make the emperor unhappy, so he chose something else.

"From now on, cotton can be promoted for use by the common people, while the more precious silk and satin can be ordered to be used only by the royal family, and the inferior silk can be used by some wealthy and noble people."

"In this way, we can also distinguish between Your Majesty, the rich and powerful, and the common people."

Listening to Chen Pi's words, Liu Che's eyes flashed with a hint of amusement. He looked at Chen Pi with a smile and said, "Sir, sir, in your heart, the people of the world are more important."

Chen Pi raised his head and looked directly into Liu Che's eyes.

He knew in his heart that he could not retreat at all at this moment, so he looked into Liu Che's eyes without losing the upper hand, and his voice was softer but more powerful.

Chen Pi replied calmly: "Yes."

Not only that, he went further and said: "Not only in my heart, but in the hearts of all the children of the Chen family, the importance of the people of the world will always be the most important, they surpass everything."

Liu Che's expression became colder. He looked at Chen Pi and asked, "More important than Chen himself?"

Chen Pi replied, "Yes."

Liu Che asked again: "For the sake of the people of the world, can Chen break some of his own rules?"

Chen Pi knew which rule Liu Che was asking about. He looked at Liu Che with a smile and said, "There are no rules that cannot be broken. But even if Chen is not the king, there are other ways to make the people of the world live a peaceful and stable life."

"It's not a conflict."

Liu Che stared at Chen Pi and said, "What if one day Chen must become king in order to bring peace to the people of the world?"

Chen Pi calmly replied: "That day will never come."

Liu Che said coldly: "What if the emperor of the Liu family is tyrannical? What will the Chen family do?"

Chen Pi's voice remained calm, but the words he spoke were earth-shattering.

"Then, Chen will make the same choice as at the end of the Qin Dynasty."

Same choice!

The two looked at each other, as if there was infinite power, and countless sparks and thunders burst out between them!
Suddenly, Liu Che let out a long breath.

He looked at Chen Pi and suddenly asked, "What about me?"

"How do I compare with the common people?"

This time, Chen Pi did not hesitate at all, and without any qualifiers, he said directly: "It is not as good as the people of Guizhou."

He looked at Liu Che: "However, as long as it does not affect the survival of the people, Chen will take into account your majesty's feelings, so it will not be shown."

Chen Pi said bluntly: "But in the future, I hope Your Majesty will not ask this kind of question again, otherwise I will think there is something wrong with Your Majesty's brain."

Chen Pi was very angry at this time because he discovered a huge problem.

Although Liu Che had the potential to be a great ruler and an emperor of all ages, he subconsciously put the people of Guizhou in opposition to himself.

"I hope Your Majesty understands that Your Majesty needs the common people more than I do. Even if Your Majesty feels that you are the Son of Heaven, the Emperor, nobler than the common people, nobler than all the common people in the world put together, Your Majesty should not say it, should not ask it!"

"Mencius said, the ruler is the boat and the people are the water."

"Why was the Qin State able to sweep across the six kingdoms? Why did the Ying family lose the position of emperor in just 30 years?"

“How did Emperor Gao rise to power?”

"Only two words, the people's will!"

"If your majesty forgets these two words, you don't need to worry about what will happen to the Chen family. The first thing you should worry about is whether there will be a second Chen Sheng and Wu Guang in the world!"

Chen Pi's words fell on Liu Che's head like thunder.

Liu Che was neither a fool nor a stupid person.

In the original history, Liu Che also did not take the people of Guizhou seriously. He had a fundamental difference from his father and grandfather.

At that time, it was "Empress Dowager Dou" who dealt a heavy blow to Liu Che, allowing him to react and subsequently "evolve".

Empress Dowager Dou took back Liu Che's tiger talisman and jade seal, and even had the idea of ​​deposing the emperor.

Liu Che, who thought he had everything under control, was completely stunned by this series of blows. Then he restrained all his arrogance and wantonness and became an obedient grandson. After that, he hid and endured, relying on Chen Ajiao and Liu Biao to keep his throne.

After that.
This happened after Liu Che completely grasped power.

And now, the one who dealt this heavy blow to Liu Che was "Chen Pi", or in other words, "Chen Family".

It was obvious that Chen's rebuke frightened Liu Che more than Empress Dowager Dou's rebuke.

Because Liu Che knew that Empress Dowager Dou had no other good choice except himself.

Although Empress Dowager Dou restricted his power, she would eventually return the power to Liu.

But what about Chen?

Will Chen "replace" because of these?

(End of this chapter)