My life is like walking on thin ice

Chapter 94: Doesn’t this mess with people’s mentality?
At first hearing what Liu Rong said, Emperor Qi waved his hands indifferently and didn't take it seriously.

——Close relatives?
Except for Zhang Hui, the old teacher who was famous in most of Guandong, not to mention Chao Cuo's wife, children and children - anyone who had any relatives or friends would have been taken to Chang'an by the emperor.

Is it possible that the King of Wu, Liu Bi, could really send someone to Chang'an to seize Chao Cuo's family in the imperial city of Chang'an under the nose of Emperor Qi?
If Liu Bi really did it, Zi Qi would no longer be busy cutting down the vassal clan that day - he could just clean his neck with numbness, wait for Zen to abdicate, and then be sent to see the late emperor.

As for the famous Legalist Zhang Hui, not to mention whether Liu Bi could catch him or not, even if he could, Liu Bi would not dare to do so.

Legalism has declined, but it’s not like there are no people left!
Even now, in the imperial court, there are already scholars from the Legalist family, such as Chao Cuo, the internal historian, Zhang Ou, the court lieutenant, and Zhao Yu, the court lieutenant supervisor, who have come to prominence and are serving as ministers for two thousand shi;

In addition to these 'heads', there are countless people spread across various local counties and counties, striving in the direction of their predecessors.

Get a glimpse of the whole leopard.

A school of thought can push the top talents to the level of Jiuqing - especially if there are more than one, it can already explain a lot of problems.

Even if he ignored the public opinion, he, the King of Wu, Liu Bi, still had to think about whether those officials from the Legalist state of Wu who had arrested the giants and sages of other schools would stab their own king at a critical moment.

Thinking of this, Emperor Qi only instinctively thought: Chao Cuo was so uncharacteristically not because of the safety of the people around him.

But just as he was about to say the words, he said something out of nowhere: "In the past few years, Chao Cuo's father has been trying hard to dissuade her."

"But it's been several years..."

"Didn't I see Chao Cuo ever waver at all because of his father's dissuasion?"

What seemed like a self-question and answer only made Liu Rong shake his head in increasing confusion, as if he was really puzzled by Chao Cuo's unusual behavior.

However, Emperor Qi thought about it again and again, and glanced at Liu Rong without any trace. Seeing that Liu Rong was frowning and thinking hard, he nodded slightly towards the side of the palace.

After a dark shadow left, Emperor Qicai sorted out his thoughts and his complexion gradually returned to normal.

"Can you get anything out of today's court ceremony?"

——This is the reason why Liu Rong was summoned alone by Emperor Qi after the court ceremony.

Originally, during the Shuo Wang Dynasty today, Liu Rong was watching and listening to gain insights;
After reading and listening, I have to report my learning results to Emperor Qi.

Liu Rong was obviously prepared for this. As soon as Emperor Qi asked the question, Liu Rong simply collected his thoughts and then spoke calmly.

"Today's Shuowang Dynasty should have centered on the Policy of Cutting Down the Vassals. Chao Cuo would present the evidence of the crimes of the kings in sequence, and the father would then take advantage of the situation to seize the feudal lords' lands."

"Judging from the reactions of the officials, both the court and the public have been prepared for this - especially in the past few days, the evidence of the crimes of the kings has been circulated in the public. The court and the public must have smelled my father's plan."

"It's just that something like Chao Cuo went wrong. The three kings of Zhao, Chu, and Jiaoxi have all been deprived of their fiefdoms due to their crimes, but King Wu Liu Bi may be spared."

"This unexpected change may cause people inside and outside the court to hesitate about my father's motives for promoting the "Fans Reduction Policy", or even make random guesses about my father's intentions, leading to a lack of unity."

"After today, if we find another opportunity to seize Liu Bi's territory, my father will have to make new plans."

"This will prevent the court's preparations for the rebellion of the kings from being started openly and openly earlier. Instead, it will still be the same as in the past years, and can only be carried out secretly..."

After telling all the manuscripts, Liu Rong paused for a moment, then rearranged his thoughts and organized his language.

When Emperor Qi nodded calmly with his normal expression, Fang continued: "As for Yuan Ang standing up today and openly contradicting the father, it is not what the father thinks."

"——After all, Yuan Ang is also an old minister."

"Even if he were the Prime Minister of Wu King Liu Bi, he would not accept bribes from Liu Bi, and it would be impossible for him to stand up for the old thief Liu Bi in the court."

"The greater possibility is that Yuan An noticed something unusual about Chao Cuo - especially that what Chao Cuo did today will definitely anger his father."

"So, Yuan An added more fire at the right time, wanting to see if his father's anger could burn Chao Cuo to death directly."

At the end of the sentence, Liu Rong nodded again and seemed to be talking to himself: "The hatred between these two people is really puzzling."

"But no matter why this hatred arises or where it comes from, it is obvious that Chao and Yuan have reached a point where they will never stop fighting..."

Listening to Liu Rong calmly and calmly expressing what he had "seen and heard" at Shuowang Chaoshang today, Emperor Qi was listening and thinking at the same time.

Today, Emperor Qi rarely became angry, and even for a moment, he completely lost his mind.

Emperor Qi knew: This is very dangerous.

The Lord shall not raise armies out of anger, nor shall he cause war out of anger!
As the heir carefully trained by Emperor Taizong Xiaowen, and as a qualified emperor in his prime, Emperor Qi knew very well: As an emperor, he must remain calm at all times.

Especially when making major decisions, you must try not to be influenced by emotions as much as possible. Instead, you should make a calm judgment and make the most cost-effective choice.

Today, Emperor Qi was almost blinded by anger and made a wrong decision.

But after all, he is a mature emperor with full wings and sophisticated skills, and he has been honed in the position of prince for more than 20 years.

Even if he was angry, Emperor Qi still instinctively controlled the situation within an acceptable range...

"Chao Cuo is my sword that cuts down the vassal."

"Yuan An is Chao Cuo's sheath."

"——Without Chao Cuo's sword, I would be like today, watching a plate of roasted meat in front of me, but there is no knife to cut the meat;"

"But without Yuan Ang's scabbard and Chao Cuo's sword—this extremely sharp sword, it is very likely to hurt someone who shouldn't be hurt..."

"Even, it may not hurt me..."

After this conversation with Liu Rong, Emperor Qi had completely calmed down.

And the 'Calm Emperor Qi' can be regarded as another conceptual god in Chinese history after the 'Long-lived First Emperor'.

When being swayed by emotions, Emperor Qi might be the bastard prince who picked up the chessboard and smashed his cousin to death at the slightest disagreement;
But in a calm state, Han Jing Emperor Liu Qi would be the qualified emperor who jointly created the Wenjing rule with his father and set a textbook-level example for future generations of emperors with mediocre talents.

"The reason why Yuan An was demoted to Bai Shen was because he was above the imperial court and openly opposed the reduction of vassal status."

"——Cutting down the vassal vassal is a major policy I personally made for the court."

"Until the rebellion is put down, I will never allow any opposition to the reduction of the vassalage to appear in the court."

Suppressing his anger and all the emotions that might affect his decision-making, Emperor Qi returned to his usual state of mind, which seemed to have no emotion at all and was as cold as a machine.

After briefly explaining why he wanted to deal with Yuan An, he added casually: "As for confiscating the family property, it can be regarded as a warning to him."

"As soon as I confiscated it, the Queen Mother will reward you again."

"——It can be regarded as a pretense of 'killing' the chicken Yuan An, so as to shock the monkeys watching inside and outside the court."

"In case Chao Cuo retreats today, I finally get the "Fan-Cutting Policy" on the table, and then be pushed back by those cowardly people again..."

The words that seemed to be a reminder and self-defense only caused Liu Rong to nod repeatedly and show an expression of "I see". It was measured but very appropriate, and it did not attract the attention of Emperor Qi at all.

Seeing that Emperor Qi was thinking again, Fang asked in a casual tone like a casual chat: "How is your mother's side?"

"It's been quiet a lot these days?"

Liu Rong didn't expect that Emperor Qi would ask about Li Ji today.

When asked, he was stunned for a moment, then naturally squeezed out a faint smile that seemed to be bitter, and nodded to the emperor Qi Wei.

"So many things happened inside and outside the government, and my son and ministers were in trouble many times. I must have made some progress."

"My dear minister, after all, we still have a heavy responsibility and a long way to go..."

These two short sentences made Emperor Qi feel the same.

He took a long breath, then lightly beat his thigh with some emotion, and did not forget to say: "As soon as the imperial grandmother left, the last stone on the queen mother's head was gone."

"Now that Liu Bi is about to raise his troops, the queen mother can still take care of the overall situation."

"But after the chaos between Wu and Chu, when King Liang entered Chang'an again..."

"Ugh……"

With a long sigh, Emperor Qi Bian also drooped his face, seeming to be more distressed than Liu Rongdu.

——That's true.

No matter what happens to Liu Rong, he doesn't have to worry too much about his mother Li Ji for the time being. The transformation plan has also begun to bear fruit, and the future is promising.

On the contrary, it was Emperor Qi who tried his best to deceive Liang Wang Liu Wu into selling blood and kidneys in the upcoming Wu-Chu Rebellion. In the end, he had to worry about the follow-up finishing matters.

At least so far, the frequency of Emperor Qi's headaches for his mother, Queen Mother Dou, is much higher than the frequency of Liu Rong's headaches for his mother, Li Ji.

But as a son and grandson, Liu Rong had no intention of saying much on this topic, so he just let the emperor's father complain and listened quietly.

They just sat there with their own thoughts for a while, which made Liu Rong a little confused, mistakenly thinking that the emperor's father had forgotten that he was still there, and a figure finally walked outside the palace. ——The eunuch ordered Chuntuo;

The head of the eunuchs and maids in Weiyang Palace.

He stepped forward with a normal expression and whispered in Emperor Qi's ear for a while. Emperor Qi's originally calm face was immediately filled with a hint of silence.

After sitting blankly for a long time, Emperor Qiye finally felt the curious look from Liu Rong beside him, and then he sighed again with a complex expression.

"Last night, Chao Cuo's father had a dispute with Chao Cuo."

"After repeatedly trying to dissuade me, but being sternly rejected by Chao Cuo..."

"Father Chao, he hung himself from the rafters and died..."

Rao had already had a premonition, but when he heard the exact news from the emperor's mouth, Liu Rong couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.

We can't blame Liu Rong for his lack of determination. It's really the ancients - especially the Han family's habit of swallowing gold nuggets, drinking poisonous wine, and even wiping their necks to commit suicide, which makes it difficult for Liu Rong to fully understand.

Take Chao's father as an example: his son entered the court and became an official, and his official position reached the rank of the head of the Jiuqing Internal History Department. After that, he became the Yaxiang Yushi Dafu;

On the other hand, Father Chao, even if he had some wealth, was still just a rich man from Guandong.

No matter how much he loves salt and can cross bridges, he can't see the situation more clearly than the son of Guan Nei Shi, right?

The result was good: after someone whispered a few words in his ear, the old rich man traveled thousands of miles to come to Chang'an - surprisingly, he arrived in Chang'an earlier than the army sent by the emperor to pick up Chao Cuo's wife and child!
As soon as I came to Chang'an, I cried to my son all day long: Oh~
Can't cut down the feudal clan~
You can't offend these princes and vassals~
You can't get involved in the affairs of the old Liu family~
···
It has been howling like this from the year before last to this year, for more than a year;

Seeing that his son was still disobedient, he simply hanged himself to death without saying a word. At the end, he left a sentence: I, the Chao family, are going to die anyway, why don't I take the first step to avoid being attacked by Wu King Liu Bi's soldiers? …

Isn’t this just messing with people’s mentality? Isn’t it...

If it were placed in other dynasties, this would be nothing.

On the left and right, Chao Cuo paid tribute to his father, turned his grief into strength, regarded Wu Wang Liu Bi as his father-killing enemy, and promoted the policy of reducing the vassal state more resolutely;
But this is the Han family.

The Han family governs the country with filial piety and values ​​filial piety more than life.

When Chao's father died like this - or even just 'forced to death' by his son, Chao Cuo thought that even if an unfilial hat was placed on his head, Chao Cuo died on the spot socially!
Even if he was thick-skinned, Chao Cuo could always be vague about it - he could just prevaricate it by saying, "Liu Bi scared my father to death." After the Wu-Chu rebellion was quelled, there would be great scholars who would argue for Chao Cuo. .

Maybe Chao Cuo will become the protagonist of the allusion of "Loyalty and filial piety cannot have both"!

But it's a pity: Chao Cuo's face is not thick.

To be precise, Chao Cuo was very arrogant.

As arrogant as Jia Yi and Jia Changsha were, in the eyes of Chao Cuo and Chao Neishi, they were just losers who "failed to have the last laugh."

"How could there be such a coincidence?"

While thinking, Liu Rong subconsciously blurted out the doubts in his heart.

Then, he looked up at the emperor's father very naturally: "Today, during the Shuo Wang Dynasty, the emperor wanted to cut down the feudal vassal. Father Chao happened to hang himself from the rafters last night, and he didn't even give Chao Cuo any time to react."

"My father has just passed away - especially when he was forced to die by his son. It is not easy for Chao Cuo to not only cut down the vassal, but also to be able to enter the palace and look at the court with a normal expression?"

As a time traveler, Liu Rong's advantage in 'foresight' is unmatched by people of this era.

But compared to feudal emperors like Tianzi Qi, Liu Rong, the eldest son of the emperor, was still somewhat immature in other aspects.

"Maybe there is this reason, but it is definitely not just because of this."

"——If you are feeling sad because of your father's death, or are worried about being stigmatized as 'forcing your father to death', since Chao Cuo did not mention Liu Bi, he will not mention King Zhao or King Chu either."

"If no one mentions it - not even the "Cutting Fan Policy", it can be understood as: Chao Cuo can't help himself in mourning;"

"Even though we mentioned the "Cutting the Vassal Policy" and the three kings of Zhao, Chu, and Jiaoxi, we only missed the most critical King of Wu, Liu Bi..."

"Um……"

Thinking of this, Emperor Qiye finally got up from the imperial couch and raised his head towards the palace door with a gloomy expression.

"Get out of here first."

"I want to investigate this matter carefully."

When the emperor gave the order, Liu Rong naturally stood up respectfully, resigned and left.

At the same time that Liu Rong walked out of the palace door, Zhou Ren's slightly embarrassed figure emerged from the curtains on the side of the palace, with a thin layer of sweat on his forehead.

"Tell me in detail."

The Emperor got straight to the point, Zhou Ren didn't leave much ink, and he didn't even bother to take a few more breaths.

"Dehou Liu Guang!"

"It's Liu Guang, the brother of King Wu Liu Bi, who bribed the servants of Chao Mansion yesterday and said to Chao Cuo's father: The King of Wu has strong soldiers and horses, and he has millions of troops!
"Originally, I was worried about my lack of righteousness. When I heard that the court was going to cut down the feudal vassals, the King of Wu immediately held a palace banquet and invited Wu's generals and ministers to join in the fun!"

"After learning that King Wu Liu Bi is now, I just waited for Chao Cuo to write the "Cutting the Vassal Policy" to seize the land of Wu and provide the King of Wu with a ready-made plan to raise troops. Father Chao immediately approached Chao Cuo."

"——Chao's father said that the king of Wu's righteousness in raising his troops will be: to punish Chao's mistakes and to clear his side."

"Chao Cuo ignored him, so Chao's father was so disheartened that he hanged himself from a beam."

Quickly telling all the information he had just discovered, Zhou Ren took advantage of his breath and took a deep breath, finally recovering from the hypoxia.

Only a moment later, he continued without any further delay: "This morning, Chao Cuo learned that his father had died hanging from a beam, and he immediately vomited blood and collapsed on the bed;"

"After reading the suicide note left by Chao Cuo's father, Chao Cuo sat there without saying a word for half an hour."

"Then he ordered the people of the palace not to announce the funeral secretly; he immediately entered the palace and watched the court ceremony with Shuo..."

As Zhou Ren told what happened at Chao Cuo's house word by word, Emperor Qi's gloomy eyebrows finally began to relax a little.

After Zhou Ren finished speaking, he took out a piece of cloth with densely written small characters from his arms - thinking it was the corner of an inner garment or something like that. Emperor Qi glanced at it briefly and looked deeply outside the palace door.

"Execute Chao's fault, Qing Jun's side..."

"Execute Chao Cuo..."

"Qingjun side......"

Constantly repeating these six words, Emperor Qi's hand also gently kneaded the piece of cloth that was already stained with sweat.

After a long moment, Fang smiled strangely and threw the square piece of cloth into the incense burner beside him.

"Send all the news about Wu King Liu Bi to Chao Cuo."

"Let Chao Cuo know: What Liu Bi lacked was never the banner of righteousness that Chao Cuo handed over to the old thief with a piece of paper titled "Cutting the Fandom Policy"!"

"——Let Chao Cuo stop worrying about cutting down King Wu's vassal, which will put me and the Han family in danger!"

The sonorous and powerful words made Zhou Ren's expression change.

After thinking again and again, he finally said carefully: "Your Majesty..."

"Those who do not have the identity of the Embroidered Clothes Messenger, but have seen the Embroidered Clothes Secret Records..."

"——I know."

Before Zhou Ren could say the word 'death', Emperor Qi spoke coldly.

With his head held high and his chest held high, he stood between the imperial couch and the imperial desk with his hands behind his hands, looking deeply outside the palace door.

"I know."

···
"Go."

"Just do as I say."

　Second update today.

　　I've been too sleepless these past two days, so I'll have dinner and then try my best to write another chapter to pay off the debt;

　　But if I really can’t code it, please allow me to take a nap and then code again when I wake up.

　　If the water flows slowly, if the body is exhausted again and asks for sick leave or something, it will be even worse than the gain.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)