My life is like walking on thin ice

Chapter 96: Chao Chao is wrong, Qing Jun is on his side!
After watching his cousin Dou Ying leave, Liu Rong was alone again, sitting quietly on the recliner in the small courtyard and meditating for a long time.

——Liu Rong likes his small courtyard very much and enjoys this kind of solitude.

Compared with most palaces that only have palace rooms and no outer courtyards, this small courtyard can always bring peace of mind to Liu Rong, and can also alleviate the suffocation caused by the oppressive atmosphere of the deep palace.

But at this moment, Liu Rong was not thinking about or absorbing what his cousin Dou Ying had just said;

Instead, he was still looking in the direction where Dou Ying left, with an intriguing and strange smile hanging on the corner of his mouth.

"Chao Cuo is planning for the future of Legalism."

"Cousin, aren't you planning the future of Confucianism..."

···
"With just a few empty words, you want to take advantage of the emperor's eldest son?"

"Do the Confucians really regard me as just another Emperor Xiaohui?"

Thinking like this secretly, Liu Rong finally narrowed his eyes happily, relaxed his body and mind, and enjoyed this rare moment of solitude.

Of course Liu Rong knew what conquest was and what it meant to 'promote the virtuous and upright'.

It is no exaggeration to say: In today's Han Dynasty, even a useless person - even an inhuman thing, as long as he is conquered by a horse, he will be regarded as half a national scholar!

This is because since the beginning of the Han Dynasty, in more than fifty years, the number of famous people conquered by the Han family did not exceed five fingers.

The only people who were not rejected and successfully recruited into official positions were Jia Yi and Chao Cuo!
——During the reign of Emperor Taizu Gao, among the seventy doctors appointed by the First Emperor, four still survived and lived in seclusion in Shangshan together. They were known to the world as: Shangshan Four Hao.

Taizu Liu Bang sent people to visit with heavy gifts and arranged chariots and horses to welcome him. Zong Zhou went through the entire process of recruiting celebrities, but only in exchange for these four Dr. Qin, they went to Chang'an to meet Liu Bang.

Rather than saying that these four people are really, as they said, "old and foolish and unable to help His Majesty," it is better to say that they just rejected Liu Bang's conquest and were afraid that Liu Bang would not look good, so they came to Chang'an to meet the Holy Spirit. Just had some fun.

So what are the backgrounds of these four people, and they actually dared to refuse the conquest of the founding king?

Just one thing needs to be mentioned to explain everything.

In Liu Bang's later years, seeing how the prince Liu Ying disliked him, Yi Chu's desire to change the throne to Zhao Wang Liu Ruyi became more and more intense, causing panic among people both inside and outside the court.

Even the empress Lu Fei was inevitably panicked.

In the end, Empress Lu mobilized all the connections and power she could use, and was finally able to invite these four Qin doctors, known as the "Shangshan Four Hao" among the people in the world, to Chang'an through the channels of Liu Hou Zhang Liang, and stayed with the crown prince Liu Ying. Stayed for a while.

Once, four old men followed the prince Liu Ying and appeared in front of Liu Bang.

As a result, Liu Bang looked at his "incompetent" son Liu Ying with admiration and stopped mentioning Yi Chu.

It is true that as the founding king of the country, Liu Bang considered whether the crown prince needed to be established separately. It was absolutely impossible for four old men from the previous dynasty to follow the prince and hang out in front of him and play a decisive role.

But even so, it still has to be said: the attitude of these four old men towards the prince Liu Ying also played a decisive influence in Liu Bang's decision-making process to abandon Yi Chu and establish another one.

And these four people, Shangshan Sihao, were the only cases in the reign of Emperor Taizu Gao that they were conquered by the Chang'an court.

No matter before or after this, Taizu Liu Bang never conquered anyone.

Until the reign of the late Emperor, the second and third conquests of the Han family bore the fruits of Chao Cuo and Jia Yi respectively.

After the fourth conquest, he was also a capable man.

——The world-famous Japanese master: Lord Sima Ji!

It's a pity that this master of divination and astronomer who is proficient in "The Book of Changes" is more interested in wandering around the world and observing the celestial phenomena from different angles. At the same time, he hates the flies and dogs above the court.

First, more than ten years ago, he declined the late emperor's conquest, and last year, he declined the emperor's conquest.

In this regard, both the late emperor, who was "unparalleled in benevolence and justice", and the current emperor, Qi, who was "magnanimous", could only spit on his face.

Not only did he not get angry, but he sent someone to send him a gift to express his respect and repeatedly emphasized, "It doesn't matter. We will work together again if we have the opportunity next time."

This is the Han family's "recruitment of celebrities" to promote the virtuous and upright people;

——Since the beginning of the Han Dynasty, in more than fifty years, there have been only five conquests, and the number of conquests has been only seven!

In the end, only two people accepted the conquest and successfully entered the court.

One of them is Jia Yi, Jia Changsha, who is well-known to later generations and left behind countless famous strategies and masterpieces including "On the Passage of Qin";

The other one was Chao Cuo, the internal history of the dynasty.

It is no exaggeration to say that in this era, the word "Zhengpi" is almost equivalent to putting the word "Guoshi" on a person's head as an official certification label.

But before, Liu Rong didn't understand Chao Cuo's temperament, so he gave his cousin Dou Ying the opportunity to preach to him, mix it with his personal work, and subtly promote his own theory: Confucianism.

"Xiao Shi in history was probably led astray in this way?"

"Besides, the Confucian art of washing people's brains is not serious."

"——It's a masterpiece."

"If I hadn't been on guard a long time ago, I would have almost been killed..."

Thinking like this, Liu Rong just smiled and shook his head slightly, and the corners of his eyes that were originally narrowed finally slowly closed.

No one knew what the eldest son of the emperor was thinking at this moment.

No one knows what Emperor Qi did to Chao Cuo.

People only know that on the first day of the first lunar month of spring, after being uncharacteristically vague on the matter of "cutting the feudal vassal" during the first lunar month, Chao Cuo returned with full health only fifteen days later.

——In the Shuo Wang Dynasty at the beginning of the second month of spring, Chao Cuo opened all his firepower, pointing his gun directly at Wu King Liu Bi!
Why not go to Chang'an and have ulterior motives?
What about hiding armor and raising dead soldiers?
Or even bribe the courtiers and relatives with huge sums of money, and spy on the imperial capital of Chang'an...

Chao Cuo pinned all the crimes that could put people to death, and easily kill a household registration book, on the head of King Wu Liu Bi!

Chao Cuo was biting madly, and Emperor Qi Zi did not miss such a good opportunity - he opened his mouth to seize the Yuzhang and Kuaiji counties of Wu State!
At this time, even the Chang'an court, which had been prepared for the Emperor Qi's plan to reduce the vassal state, especially the Wu Kingdom, was really shocked.

Two counties!
King Zhao and King Chu, one drank alcohol during the national mourning, and the other committed adultery during the national mourning, but each was only deprived of a county!
And the entire Wu State was only the territory of Yuzhang, Kuaiji, and Guangling counties, a total of fifty-three cities!

When the emperor opened his mouth, he took away the two counties of Yuzhang and Kuaiji. Not only did he directly take away two-thirds of Wu's land, he also took away the lifeblood of Wu: Kuaiji County, where the mining and coin-making industries were located!

Just leave Guangling County for Liu Bi. Can this still be called the 'Wu Kingdom'?
It would be better to just change the name to Guangling Kingdom, or even change it to Jiangdu Kingdom like in the original history...

After a brief period of consternation, everyone inside and outside the court understood instantly: Emperor Qi had no hope of Wu King Liu Bi obeying the imperial edict.

Rather than saying that this edict is a notification to King Wu Liu Bi that your two counties of Kuaiji and Yuzhang have been taken away, it is better to say that this is a letter of war from the emperor to King Wu Liu Bi.

--come!
——Raise the troops! !
——Conspiracy! ! !

——Rebellion! ! ! !
Realizing this, the courtiers and officials who had originally planned to pinch their noses and reluctantly accept the Emperor's "Cutting the Fess Policy" to force Liu Bi, the King of Wu, to rebel, suddenly became excited.

The emperor's move was too rough and too hasty;
Not only will it exceed the expectations of King Wu Liu Bi, but it will also greatly exceed the expectations of the Chang'an court.

If such an edict is really sent to the Kingdom of Wu, then the King of Wu and Liu Bi will not be the only ones who are caught off guard...

In March, no less than ten of the most important ministers in the court, who were more than two thousand stones in size, entered the palace one after another and advised Emperor Qi to be a little patient and not to be so impatient before making preparations;
In April, among the people admonishing Emperor Qi, the figure of Jiuqing began to appear: Tingwei Zhang Ou.

But towards this confidant of Qian Di who had been with him since the prince's womb, Emperor Qi's attitude once again expressed his unswerving stance.

——Tingwei Zhang Ou, whose virtue is not worthy of his position, who lives in Tingwei but cannot redress his grievances, who is on death row but dare not behead him, shall be dismissed immediately!
In May, Tao Qing, the imperial censor, requested to enter the palace for an audience, but Emperor Qi directly refused to receive him!
In June, Empress Dowager Dou of the East Palace sent someone to ask...

It was not until Qiu July that the matter was finally settled under the arbitrary power of Emperor Qi and the acquiescence of Empress Dowager Dou of the East Palace.

Liu Bi, the king of Wu, was in rebellion and cut off the two counties of Kuaiji and Yuzhang!
The edict sets off today and is sent to Guangling, the capital of Wu!

When the dust settled and it was a foregone conclusion, the Chang'an court had no choice but to quickly accept this established fact and began to quickly make preparations to deal with the rebellion.

It was not until a month later that the envoy team, which gathered the attention of the whole world, finally arrived at Guangling City.

On this day, the sky above Guangling City was cloudless.

On this day, there was total silence in Guangling City...

·
·
·
"Capture the two counties of Kuaiji and Yuzhang?"

In the second year of Emperor Qi Xinyuan's reign, it was autumn and August.

Guangling, the capital of Wu, outside the west gate.

The king of Wu and his ministers had been waiting outside the city gate early to welcome the emperor's envoys from Chang'an.

King Wu Liu Bi, who was already over 60 years old, stood tremblingly in front of the crowd, leaning on the dove staff personally gifted by Emperor Taizong Xiaowen.

After receiving the emperor's edict from the young envoy, with only a brief glance, King Wu Liu Bi raised his head and cast his penetrating gaze on the young envoy in front of him, who was already stumbling a bit when he spoke.

"Is this really the edict of the Emperor of Chang'an, and not just a random scribbling like a child like you?"

After asking the question seriously, Liu Bi did not forget to raise the emperor's edict in his hand forward, as if it was really difficult to judge the authenticity of this edict.

Seeing Liu Bi's behavior, the young envoy panicked again and even swallowed hard!
He stared into the depths of Liu Bi's eyes with fear, and clenched the three-fold yak in his hand tightly, which symbolized the supreme authority.

Feeling more at ease, he opened his mouth and said, "King Wu, there is no need to say more!"

"Just pause, pause, bow your head, and sincerely obey and obey the edict..."

Obviously, the emperor's envoy, who looked to be in his early twenties, also knew that this mission was extremely dangerous. Only the word 'angel' and the confidence that the knot in his hand gave him finally supported the young man and reluctantly said what he should say.

But it’s limited to these few sentences…

"The Emperor of Chang'an, do you really want to humiliate me like this..."

···
"The emperor of Chang'an really doesn't care about family ties?!"

First there was a lonely murmur, and then there was a sudden cry;
The envoy in front of him trembled with fright. The old, desolate, and even kind face of King Wu Liu Bi finally caught the envoy's eyes again with his sharp eyes like an eagle.

Gulu!

The young envoy swallowed another mouthful of saliva, and the sides of his cheeks were already wet with sweat;

Under the attention of everyone, King Wu Liu Bi lowered his head again and looked at the emperor's edict in his hand.

After standing there for a long time, he finally sneered suddenly, raised both heads of the edict in his hand to his mouth, and woke up a lot of runny nose...

"Pfft~~~~!"

"Uh-huh~"

···
"I'm old~"

"The wind has only been blowing for a while, and I can't stand anymore..."

After speaking lightly, Liu Bi turned away calmly, not forgetting to wipe his nose with the emperor's edict again, and then threw it to the bodyguard beside him.

"Thank you."

"Don't underestimate this 'Edict of the Emperor'."

There was a hint of sarcasm in the tone, which only made the guard feel confused for a moment, but all the courtiers and generals of the Wu Kingdom burst into laughter.

Seeing the emperor's imperial edict stained with unknown liquid, Wu Wang Liu Bi threw it to the bodyguard beside him like a rag, the young envoy's teeth trembled violently, but he didn't know whether it was fear or anger.

However, Liu Bi paid no attention to the delegation. He only turned sideways, glanced at the raised yak with the corner of his eyes, and waved to the general beside him.

"Take the envoy and destroy the festival."

"——Today, at the top of Guangling City."

"I want to sacrifice the flag and set off!"

The generals agreed with a bang, and the envoy team was captured in the blink of an eye.

Half an hour later, the figure of Wu King Liu Bi finally appeared at the top of Guangling City.

Also appearing together were the envoys of the Emperor who had their entire upper bodies tied up with hemp ropes and were kneeling and bowing their heads...

"The envoy sent by the Emperor of Chang'an said: I am a cruel and unjust person!"

The hoarse shouts made the already silent west wall area of ​​Guangling City even quieter, so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

Under the city wall, the people raised their heads high, their eyes stung by the sunlight, and they did not forget to raise their hands to cover their brows.

The soldiers forced themselves to adjust their heavy breathing, trying to suppress the violent rise and fall of their chests as much as possible.

On top of the city tower, King Wu Liu Bi's tone became increasingly sarcastic.

"Idiot, cruel?"

"Ah……"

"Ha ha……"

"——The Emperor of Chang'an is actually so comatose?"

"You actually said that I am cruel??"

The sarcastic words only caused the generals and courtiers of Wu State to breathe heavily. They did not feel that there was anything wrong with Liu Bi's words at all. Instead, they looked at Liu Bi with a hint of expectation.

Under the gaze of tens of thousands of people gathered on him, with unsatisfied, respectful and expectant gazes, Wu King Liu Bi finally threw his dove stick off the city wall;

The back, which had become increasingly stooped since the tragic death of the Crown Prince in Chang'an, slowly straightened up under the spotlight...

"I have followed Taizu Emperor Gao to quell the rebellion of King Tingbu of Huainan. Because of his contribution to quelling the rebellion, he was granted the title of King of Wu. It has been for forty years since then..."

"Forty years~"

"How many people in the whole world can live for forty years?"

···
"Back then, when I was twenty-two years old, I came to the land of Wu, which was full of swamps and thorns."

"The Prime Minister of the country told me: The three counties and fifty-three cities in Wudi have only more than 13,000 households and less than 70,000 people..."

"——Seventy thousand mouths~"

"It's not even enough for the emperor of Chang'an to dig out the mountains when he built the imperial mausoleum!!!"

There was a sudden roar, and the people under the city wall were frightened, but the generals on the city tower all had golden eyes!
Then they saw King Wu Liu Bi with his eyes wide open in anger, holding his fists on the wall. Almost every time he said a word, he would punch the wall uncontrollably.

"I have been the King of Wu for forty years, and I finally have what I have today."

"Since the sixth year of Emperor Taizu Gao's reign, there were more than 13,000 households with less than 70,000 people. Now, there are 53 cities in the three counties of Wu State with 470,000 households and more than 1.7 million people!! "

"I am a widower, are you cruel?"

"Idiot, where is the cruelty???"

As he spoke, Liu Bi looked around around him, full of grievances.

As expected, no one responded, so he continued: "It has been twenty-four years since the first year of Emperor Taizong Xiaowen's reign, when I had the right to mine mountains and cast copper and coins."

"In the past twenty-four years, how have my people ever paid a cent of money or a grain of rice to the government as a gift or tax?"

"——With the profit of mined copper and coined money, I have enabled my more than 1.7 million people in Wu to no longer have to pay a grain of rice in agricultural tax or a dollar in oral tax!"

"In the eyes of the Emperor of Chang'an, I turned out to be a 'cruel' king..."

"Ah?"

The sarcastic words only made the onlookers and generals look moved.

At the same time, I also felt inexplicably trembling with fear because of the ridiculous idea in my heart.

——The emperor of Chang'an, is he really worthy of allegiance...

"There is a traitorous minister beside the Emperor of Chang'an!"

"This traitorous minister is called Chao Cuo!!!"

Suddenly!
King Wu Liu Bi's suddenly high-pitched voice occupied less than half of the sky above Guangling City!
On top of the city tower, they saw King Wu Liu Bi changing his usual demeanor of being old but full of kindness;
He held his head high, his hands naturally open at his side, and let his guards put on the armor for him.

It wasn't until King Wu Liu Bi dressed up, took out a scarlet cloth, and slowly tied it on his forehead, that the people under the city wall finally slowly widened their eyes.

"too!"

"The Red Scarf Army of Emperor Taizu Gao?!"

In an instant, all the soldiers wearing armor, above the city tower and under the city wall, took out a strip of red cloth that they had prepared at some point and tied it in front of their foreheads.

Then, there was the loud cry of Wu King Liu Bi, accompanied by waves of sharp blades being unsheathed and war horses neighing, completely blowing the clarion call that the Wu-Chu Rebellion officially broke out.

"I am sixty-two years old, and I personally take charge!"

"The king's youngest son is fourteen years old, so he should lead the way!"

"——Pass on the King's Order!!"

"——In all the land of Jingwu and Baiyue, all men between fourteen and sixty-two years of age shall be called upon!!!"

···
"Go to Chang'an with me - punish Chao Cuo, Qing Jun is on your side!!!"

"Ask the Emperor of the Han Dynasty again, who is seriously ill, dizzy, and has been bewitched by treacherous ministers..."

As he spoke, Liu Bi slowly turned around and turned his back to the people inside the city wall who had begun to organize themselves. They came to the outside of the city wall and looked towards Chang'an from a distance.

"Ask Prince Qi about my clan relationship and blood relationship with the Liu family..."

"Whether it's serious or not! I don't care at all!!!!"

　Damn it, I wrote, deleted, and wrote, but nothing is right. I have only finished the busy work now...

　　Okay, okay, I managed to get pissed off.

　　There will be an update at midnight tonight to pay off the debt!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)