I, the prince, only want to be deposed.

Chapter 10 Three Strategies for River Management
Traveling with a staff of authority means acting on behalf of the emperor.

But this is not the point. The point is the identity of this middle-aged man - Du Zhou.

Don't be fooled by his mature and honest appearance. As far as Liu Ju knows, this man is by no means a good person. He was a famous cruel official during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, and was known in history as "a cruel person with a ruthless heart."

What does “deep and piercing inside” mean? It means that it appears to be broad and gentle on the outside, but deep and sharp on the inside.

It can be said that among the cruel officials that Emperor Liu Che had employed, Du Zhou was the most outstanding one, except Zhang Tang.

This person was particularly good at guessing Liu Che's intentions, and was extremely strict in his abilities.

Anyone who fell into his hands, no matter if you were a county magistrate or an official above the rank of Nine Ministers, as long as you were someone Liu Che ordered to be arrested, the proportion of those who committed suicide in prison because they could not bear the humiliation was frighteningly high.

Now Liu Che ordered himself to go to Dongjun to control the flood.

He also gave Du Zhou a staff and ordered him to escort the troops along the way and report the progress of flood control in real time.

How could Liu Ju not understand Liu Che's meaning? This was clearly like putting a blindfold and shackles on his side, and it was also a difficult nail to deal with...

The problem is that Liu Ju still hasn't figured it out until now.

Why would Liu Che agree to let him go to control the flood? Could it be that he took the rebellious words in the memorial as a provocation?

"Please wait here for a moment, Mr. Du."

Confused, Liu Ju returned the greeting to Du Zhou and said to Su Wen, "Minister Su, may I have a word with you?"

"That's...ok."

Su Wen hesitated for a moment, but finally agreed.

In this way, the two of them walked one after the other to an empty pavilion.

Liu Ju didn't care whether Su Wen was a double-faced fence-sitter or not, and asked directly: "Minister Su, what is going on? Why did the emperor suddenly order me to control the flood?"

"Your Highness has really stumped me with your question. To be honest, I want to know what your Highness wrote in your memorial."

Su Wen gave a wry smile and spread his hands helplessly.

"how do I say this?"

"It is hard for me to say, but I only know that Your Majesty finally had some free time today and reviewed the two memorials Your Highness submitted."

Su Wen said, "When he saw the first memorial, His Majesty was fine. He just frowned slightly and didn't react much."

"But when Your Majesty opened the second memorial, something immediately went wrong."

"Let me put it this way. I have followed Your Majesty for so many years, and I have never seen Your Majesty so angry. Just one word from you is enough to make this servant's heart break."

"After reading the second memorial, His Majesty suddenly threw the bamboo slips to the ground and shouted, 'If he wants to control the flood, I will let him do it.'"

"Then His Majesty issued this decree, and I came to convey it."

"..."

After hearing this, Liu Ju was certain that there was nothing wrong with the memorial.

The reason for this result was most likely that he misjudged Liu Che's thought process. Perhaps Liu Che really regarded those rebellious words as a provocation or provocation.

But he was easily provoked, so he happily "fulfilled" himself.

"Your Highness, what on earth did you write that you shouldn't have written? Why did you make His Majesty so angry?"

Seeing that Liu Ju remained silent, Su Wen asked tentatively out of some curiosity.

Liu Ju glanced at him and said faintly, "Minister Su, are you sure you want to listen?"

Su Wen couldn't help but shudder, and immediately said, "If Your Highness has nothing else, I will return to the palace to report first," and walked out quickly without looking back.

It looked like he was running away.

Looking at Su Wen's back, Liu Ju shook his head helplessly.

Got it.

Unexpectedly, after working for so long, this dilemma still came back to him. At this point, the "escort" had already arrived, and it was not up to him to go or not.

Now there is only one question left to consider:
How can I cure the flood and benefit the people in Liangchu without becoming a hero in flood control and even more so, bearing some blame?
I feel like this cruel official Du Zhou should be of some use...

……

An hour later.

Liu Ju had been "escorted" out of the city.

This time he only brought a dozen people from the Prince's Mansion with him:

Guo Zhen, the Prince's Horse Guard, was his most trusted eunuch.

The prince has ten servants who are his personal bodyguards.

There were also four prince's servants, who were also coachmen.

The only ones left were Du Zhou and the hundred Qimen warriors.

Although these people were arranged by Emperor Wu of Han to be Liu Ju's eyes and shackles, they also had to protect his safety. After all, he was the crown prince now, and no one could be held responsible if anything went wrong.

When the group arrived outside the city, another person joined the team.

This person was one of the two people Liu Ju recommended to Liu Che in his memorial - Ji Ren.

Ji Ren is currently a palace attendant of Guanglu Xun, and he happened to be at home on leave today, so he did not learn about this until the palace messenger came to deliver the message just now.

So he could only make hasty preparations and wait for Liu Ju and his party at the city gate.

There is not much record of Ji Ren in history books.

It only says that he took part in the flood control of the river four years later, and later became a minister.

However, his elder brother Ji An was a historical figure and the most famous minister of remonstration during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han.

Unfortunately, being an advisor to Emperor Wu of Han was not a wise choice, as a result, Ji An was rarely used in his life. He was also regarded by Emperor Wu of Han as foolish and straightforward, and his advice was considered as nonsense.

The reason why Ji Ren was able to participate in flood control four years later in history was actually related to his brother Ji An.

Because when the Yellow River just started to burst more than ten years ago, Ji An participated in the initial flood control efforts. Unfortunately, not long after, he was dissuaded by the then Prime Minister Tian Fen and a group of alchemists, and was eventually stopped by Emperor Wu Che, which is why the flood has continued to this day.

"Doctor Jiren, I greet His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

After Ji Ren arrived, the first thing he did was to greet Liu Ju.

"You are Jiren, no need to be polite, just get in the car and sit down."

Liu Ju looked up and down at the thin man and said with a smile.

Ji Ren was flattered and quickly declined: "This... I'm afraid it's inappropriate. I am a humble official, and riding in the same carriage with Your Highness may be an insult to Your Highness' status."

"It's okay. The journey is long and having someone to talk to can help pass the time. I also have something to ask you." Liu Ju insisted.

"Then I will respectfully obey your command."

Seeing this, Ji Ren had no choice but to agree. After being examined by Guo Zhen, he bent over and got into the carriage, sitting sideways in the seat below Liu Ju.

After he sat down, Liu Ju spoke again:
"Ji Ren, I would like to hear your opinion on how to deal with the floods in the big river."

He wanted to test Ji Ren first.

Then he would consider whether to tell him the three strategies for river control that he knew, support him to become a water control expert in the Western Han Dynasty, and give all the credit to him.

These three strategies for river control actually originated in the Western Han Dynasty, but it was only at the end of the Western Han Dynasty more than a hundred years later.

It was created by a water control expert named Jia Rang.

These three strategies are not simple and have had a profound impact on river management work for thousands of years in later generations.

(End of this chapter)