My life is like walking on thin ice

Chapter 21 Working hard
"So, strictly speaking, the late emperor was able to inherit the great unification from Daidi, which was the result of King Liu Xiang of Qi's victory in 'killing all the Lu'."

"Today's feudal lords of Qi are because the late emperor, in order to dismember the huge Qi Kingdom, made all of Liu Xiang's sons and brothers vassals, dividing the Qi Kingdom into seven parts."

"The seven remaining kingdoms of Qi, Jiaodong, Jiaoxi, Jinan, Jibei, and Chengyang and Yingchuan are all ruled by Liu Xiang's brother, Liu Fei, the son of King Hui of Qi."

"As for the lineage of the late emperor, all seven kings..."

Thinking like this, Liu Rong's expression became more solemn, and his fingers clenched into fists involuntarily.

In later generations, Ban Gu said in the "Book of Han": The eight sons of the great ancestor were two emperors and six kings; the three Zhaos were innocent, and Huaili died; Yanling died out, and Qi mourned Techang.

The two emperors were Liu Ying, Emperor Xiaohui, and Liu Rong’s grandfather, Liu Heng, Emperor Xiaowen, Emperor Taizong;
Of the remaining six kings, three Zhao kings died unjustly at the hands of Empress Lu, Huainan Li Wang Liu Chang committed suicide, and Yan Ling Wang Liu Jian had no heirs;

As for the eldest son of Taizu Gao Emperor Liu Bang: Liu Fei, King of Qi Hui, Ban Gu used the word "Te Chang" to describe it...

"I don't think I need to tell you what grudges the seven kings of Qi have against Emperor Taizong. Your Majesty is also aware of it."

"As for the Huainan system, this is even more true..."

While he was thinking, Shen Tujia's deep and plaintive voice came into his ears, which pulled Liu Rong's mind back slightly.

After savoring Shen Tujia's words for a moment, Liu Rong's face, which was still barely calm at first, no longer looked calm at all.

"Father."

"After the late emperor ascended the throne, of the eight sons of Taizu, only the late emperor and Huainan Li Wang Liu Chang remained."

"The late emperor was friendly to his brothers and treated King Li kindly; King Li used his favor and coquettishness, which eventually led to his own destruction."

"But even so, the nursery rhyme is still sung in the streets of Chang'an: a foot of cloth can be sewed, a bucket of rice can be pounded, two brothers can't get along..."

·
"There are three kings in Huainan. After the late emperor heard this nursery rhyme, he was afraid that people in the world would think that King Li of Huainan was dead. It was because the late emperor was greedy for the territory of Huainan that he secretly persecuted his brothers and sisters, so he divided the country of Huainan into three and granted the title of King Li all over. Masters."

"I have heard that blood feuds in this world only serve to block people's wealth, kill their parents, take away their wives and children, and hinder their future."

"My Han family also governs the country with filial piety. Of the above four, I am afraid that 'killing parents' is the worst..."

Liu Rong's words were very clear.

——The seven kings of Qi lineage feel that our lineage has usurped the throne that belongs to them;
The three kings of the Huainan lineage will definitely regard our lineage, especially the late emperor, as the enemy who killed their father.

With such hatred, such a blood feud, even if the ten kings of the Qi and Huainan factions did not dare to take the initiative to raise troops, how could they resist their impulse and not get involved when King Wu Liu Bi came to seek help for a great cause?
Obviously, Emperor Qi was also aware of this problem;

In other words, I have realized it a long time ago, but have always been avoiding it.

At this moment, the problem was put on the table by Shen Tujia and Liu Rong, and Emperor Qi had no choice but to face it no matter how unwilling he was.

Only the remaining stubbornness made Emperor Qi mutter uncertainly: "The three kings of the Huainan clan probably don't dare..."

"The seven kings are not united in one heart..."

After hearing this, Liu Rong also felt that although his father was still speaking hard, he was already shaken in his heart;
After thinking for a moment secretly, Fang took a deep breath, stood up from his seat, and bowed deeply to the head of state.

"I remember when I was young, my son asked his father: During the reign of Emperor Taizu Gao, some princes with different surnames, such as Liang Wang Peng Yue, etc., clearly did not raise troops to rebel, but they were still executed by Emperor Taizu Gao. Why? ?”

"Father, do you still remember how you answered your son's questions at that time?"

As soon as these words came out, Emperor Qi's face tightened, his lips were pursed, and his face became frighteningly ugly.

"The emperor, the stability of the world must be the top priority."

"For people who may cause unrest in the world, you don't need to worry about whether this person has the idea of ​​causing trouble to the world. You only need to determine whether this person has the power to cause trouble to the world."

"——If you don't have the power to 'chaos the world', then even if you have this idea, you don't have to be too eager to eradicate it, you just need to pay a little attention;"

"But if he has this power, then no matter how loyal this person is, he can still kill him to avoid future troubles..."

With that said, Emperor Qi seemed to have received some revelation and fell into a brief period of contemplation.

That's right.

As an emperor, what Tianzi Qi needs to consider is not whether a certain person or king wants to rebel, or whether he dares to rebel, but whether this person has the ability to rebel;
If it goes the other way, how much turmoil will it cause, and how much investment will be needed to quell it.

As the saying goes: An ordinary man is not guilty, but he is guilty of having a jade;
When you have the ability to rebel, you have become a hidden danger to the dynasty's rule and an unstable factor to the stability of the world. However, if it is prerequisite for the king of Wu Liu Bi, plus the seven kings of the Qi family and the three kings of the Huainan family - these eleven princes to raise troops...

"So in the Prime Minister's opinion, the clan princes who will be forced to rebel by the "Fans Cutting Policy" include at least these eleven families?"

"If this is really the case, then no matter how adequate preparations are made, it may not be enough to ensure the safety of the ancestral temple and the country?"

Hearing that Emperor Qizhen had listened to his words, Shen Tujia was only slightly startled;
After a moment, he glanced at Liu Rong with gratitude.

Immediately, without delaying for a moment, he analyzed the possible consequences of the "Cutting the Vassal Policy" for Emperor Qi.

“The enmity between King Wu and His Majesty is beyond the scope of the Policy of Cutting Down the Fans;”

"No matter whether His Majesty implements the policy of reducing vassal vassalage, King Wu will definitely oppose it - this is a matter of course that does not need to be considered at all."

"After the King of Wu raises his troops, he will definitely head north to attack Jingchu."

"In other words: the day King Wu actually raised his army, it meant that Chu State had also fallen into the arms of the rebels."

"Because Wu King Liu Bi will never be in a hurry to raise his troops before he is sure that the Chu State will join him - or at least be coerced by him."

"——Therefore: this rebellion will definitely be led by Wu Chu!"

"As for the Qi system and the Huainan system, they are still second..."

After he had enough time to speak, Shen Tujia calmed down from the joy of "Your Majesty is finally willing to listen to me" and his tone became full of solemnity.

"The combined forces of Wu and Chu are converging, heading north to engage the Qi faction, and heading west to gather/coerce the kings of the Huainan faction along the way."

"When the rebels advance westward and reach the Liang Kingdom, the rebels that King Liang will face will probably be the main force of the Wu-Chu coalition forces, as well as the soldiers and horses of at least five kings from the Qi and Huainan factions, as well as the troops recruited along the way. The people in the army are strong.”

"In addition, Wu King Liu Bi has always had good relations with the Lingnan Three Yue - Nanyue, Dongyue, and Minyue. If an army is raised, the Three Yue will definitely send troops to help."

"Calculated in this way, this Wu-Chu rebellion should involve at least ten countries..."

Having said this, Shen Tujia frowned even more tightly and his tone became more solemn.

"This is just the main force of the rebels."

"In addition to the battle between the main force of the rebels and King Liang, His Majesty also has to consider the north."

"——It is impossible for King Wu Liu Bi not to be aware of the power of Chang'an, and it is even less possible for him to think arrogantly that the coalition of more than ten princes with their own agendas can overthrow our Han family's country."

"So, just like when the princes and ministers jointly killed the Lu, the King of Qi attracted the troops of the Lu - Wu King Liu Bi will also find ways to attract the troops of the court in other directions."

"The best choice is the Northern Barbarian Huns."

"And if Liu Bi wants to lure the northern barbarians into the pass, I'm afraid it's unknown what will happen to the Yan, Dai, and Zhao in the north..."

After expressing all his worries, Shen Tujia was stunned for a long time;

It was as if even if he heard it, Shen Tujia felt that he was being alarmist.

After all, the world is now peaceful and the people live and work in peace and contentment;

Since the late emperor came to the throne, except for the occasional intrusion by the Huns from the south, the people of the world have lived in peace for more than twenty years.

When someone suddenly hears someone saying that "all the princes and vassals in the world may rebel," anyone will think that this is unfounded worry.

But after repeatedly confirming that his inference was correct, Shen Tujia finally took a deep breath, stood up solemnly, and bowed to the emperor again.

"The main force of Wu and Chu, the vassals of the Qi and Huainan cliques, and the reinforcements of Mitsukoshi, your Majesty has probably already considered it;"

"But if the northern barbarians enter the pass, how to deal with it, and whether there will be changes in the three northern kingdoms of Yan, Dai, and Zhao, I'm afraid your majesty has not considered it."

"——Old minister, I don't just want to persuade your majesty to act proactively and respond passively, but I want your majesty to know what kind of situation our Han family is going to face."

"And when you really face such a situation, is Your Majesty fully prepared to deal with it..."

　Second update No. 5
　　
　
(End of this chapter)