I, the prince, only want to be deposed.

Chapter 174 I won’t name anyone
"Pfft!"

Before he finished speaking, the first person to kneel down was Prime Minister Zhao Zhou.

At this moment, Zhao Zhou's face was pale, his legs were shaking uncontrollably, and he fell to the ground, not daring to move. Even his breathing had stopped.

It’s over, I’m dead this time!

The prince knows how to add fuel to the fire!
Although he was opposed to the state-run salt and iron industry, otherwise he would not have brought the impeachment memorials from the Confucian scholars of the Imperial Academy and the virtuous and talented writers to the morning court to openly impeach Kong Jin, Dongguo Xianyang and Sang Hongyang.

But it was just the impeachment of these three people.

Even if he was given a hundred courages, he would not dare to openly point the finger at Liu Che or the salt and iron official camp led by Liu Che. That would be tantamount to seeking his own death.

That's why.

Just now, after Liu Che ordered Kong Jin and three others to examine themselves, he knew very well that this impeachment was just a "three cups of wine punishment" to avoid the main issue and had not played any substantial role at all, so he did not dare to say anything more.

but now.

Liu Ju used only two sentences to openly expose this matter that everyone knew was tacit.

Moreover, the words were so fierce and hurtful that they were simply meant to irritate Liu Che. Having said that, there was absolutely no way this matter could be resolved peacefully!
So who will bear the brunt of the emperor's wrath?
There is no need to say much about Liu Ju, but he is different from other ministers. He is the crown prince, the emperor's biological son.

It's not like they haven't openly disobeyed the emperor before.

During the last court meeting, he openly claimed that he was an accomplice of those Confucian scholars who opposed the Fengshan Ceremony, and raised objections together with those Confucian scholars. But in the end, the emperor didn't do anything to him, did he?
And who came after Liu Ju?
Wasn't it me who represented the Confucian scholars of the Imperial Academy and the virtuous and talented scholars to impeach the Prime Minister?
Before going to court today, Zhao Zhou had already set a limit for himself. This impeachment was just a brief one, highlighting the fact that dripping water can wear away a stone. Whether Liu Che pays attention or not, he will not mention it again and will never make a big fuss about it.

In this way, he could leave a good reputation in the hearts and mouths of the Confucian scholars and virtuous writers of the Imperial Academy as someone who dared to correct current ills and speak up for the people.

As for Liu Che, he was loyal to his duties and knew when to stop.

It will not be enough to cause dislike and bring disaster.

But after Liu Ju fanned the flames, he instantly became the culprit who started the bad thing!
Liu Che might not really do anything to his own son Liu Ju, but all the anger in his heart that he couldn't vent would definitely be directed at Liu Ju, the culprit, and even the Confucian scholars and virtuous writers of the Imperial Academy who signed the impeachment memorial would be implicated.

Is there any chance for him to survive?

There's no way you can survive at all!
"Pfft!"

"Pfft!"

"Pfft!"

Kong Jin, Dongguo Xianyang and Sang Hongyang also reacted and quickly knelt down on the ground.

How could the three of them feel good after Liu Chuan said such things?
It's not any better!
After all, the three of them knew very well that when Liu Che first established the policy of state-run salt and iron, his vision was not like this at all!
Liu Che did not intend to compete with the people for profit, but to compete with the merchants for profit.

Before that, the Han Dynasty court had always delegated iron smelting, mining, salt boiling and other mountain and swamp resources to private operation, which had formed a situation where "rich merchants smelted and sold salt, and their wealth might amount to millions of gold."

At that time, Emperor Liu Che had launched many large-scale expeditions against the Huns, resulting in huge military expenses and successive natural disasters, which led to an empty treasury and a fiscal deficit. As a result, he had to issue edicts many times hoping that these wealthy businessmen who had made their fortunes by relying on state resources would lend him some money to help the country out of its difficulties.

Yes.

At the beginning, Liu Che's idea was to issue "government bonds" to these wealthy businessmen and borrow some money from them to tide over the difficulties.

Unfortunately, these wealthy businessmen did not know how to appreciate their kindness. They all became misers, hiding their property and crying poor, and were simply stingy.

This completely angered Liu Che.

After all, iron smelting, mining, salt boiling and other resources from mountains and swamps cannot even be considered national assets, but royal assets, and are the property of the Shaofu rather than the Da Si Nong.

These wealthy businessmen were able to live a good life thanks to the grace of the royal family, and how dare they not help him out of his urgent need.

As a result, there came into being a series of policies targeting these merchants, such as the state-run salt and iron industry, the counting and reporting of silk taxes, the relocation of local tyrants to Maoling, etc.

It’s about both money and people!
However, the state-run salt and iron industry, which was originally aimed at merchants, came into the hands of these three people. After years of implementation, not only did it not deprive the merchants of their interests, but it instead became a harsh policy that competed with the people for profits.

They are naturally to blame...

Especially since Liu Ju is now adding fuel to the fire, and has added such a big fire.

I am afraid that Zhao Zhou and those Confucian scholars and virtuous writers of the Imperial Academy are not enough to put out the fire. The three of them will definitely be blamed and may end up with the same fate.

How does this teach them to be better?
"..."

Wei Qing's expression changed slightly when he heard this, and his heart began to pound.

I knew it would be like this!
Your Majesty, tell me, tell me, why did you recruit him? Do you expect him to spit out ivory from his dog's mouth?
But Wei Qing knew better that it would be best for him to say nothing and do nothing now.

Otherwise, it would increase Liu Ju's guilt and deepen Liu Che's anger, which would not benefit anyone.

"..."

Su Wen and other eunuchs and Qimen warriors did not kneel down with them, but just lowered their heads silently, not daring to show any expression.

This time is different from all previous situations.

If they kneeled down now, it would be very likely that Liu Che would interpret it with a completely different meaning, causing his anger to spill over onto them. The best way to deal with it was to pretend not to be there.

"..."

The other officials had similar thoughts. They all lowered their heads even more and pretended that they were not there, to show that they had nothing to do with the matter and had no position on it.

As for Liu Che.

"Humph……"

Liu Che's hands, which were sitting on the desk, had already been clenched into fists, but on the surface he still looked as calm as water, as if he was not greatly affected.

However, Su Wen, Wei Qing and others were very clear in their minds.

The more Liu Che looks like this, the more dangerous he is. He will not show any emotion to a dead person because there is no need. On the contrary, when he overturns the table, smashes the seat, and curses at you, it means that you can still be saved and he still has hope for you.

No one knew that what Wei Qing wanted to hear the most was Liu Che calling him a "rebellious son". Unfortunately, that didn't happen...

After a while.

"Keep talking!"

Finally, Liu Che's low and terrifying voice came from the top, only three short words.

All the officials in the hall were trembling with fear.

Usually, these three words do not mean that Liu Che accepted the advice, but that he gave the guilty minister a chance to leave a will to show the emperor's mercy.

"Your Majesty, I have something to say to Your Highness. Please grant me your permission!"

Before Liu Ju could speak, Sang Hongyang, who was kneeling in the hall, suddenly took over the conversation and asked loudly.

"?"

Liu Ju glanced at Sang Hongyang and thought to himself:
really!

Whenever this happens, there will definitely be someone who will be influenced by the mysterious power of "time travel blessings" and stab me in the back. This time it's Sang Hongyang again, right?

"Say!"

Liu Che still replied with only one word in a deep voice.

Sang Hongyang quickly kowtowed to express his gratitude, then turned towards Liu Ju and said with a folded hand:
"Your Highness, I disagree with your remarks!"

"I admit that because I and others used the wrong people and did not manage well, the government-run salt and iron policy had many drawbacks and had some impact on the people."

"But this is absolutely not Your Majesty competing with the people for profits, nor is it the original intention of the salt and iron government!"

"The purpose of the state-run salt and iron industry is to block the path of annexation by the powerful and wealthy, and to nationalize the profits of those merchants, rather than to increase the burden on the people. Only in this way can the national treasury be filled to fight against foreign enemies and to help the people in disasters. The original intention is to benefit the people and stabilize the price of salt and iron!"

"Therefore, I think your Highness is wrong."

"The government-run salt and iron business cannot be confused with increasing taxes on the people. The nature is completely different. Now that a situation has been formed where they compete with the people for profits, that is the responsibility of the officials of the Salt and Iron Office and the Minister of Agriculture."

"If there is any infamy, it should be borne by the Minister of Agriculture and the officials of the Salt and Iron Office."

"So the policy of government-run salt and iron is not all harmful and no beneficial as Your Highness said. In fact, it is a national policy that benefits the country and the people. It is a great wisdom."

"Just as the sword in the hands of the Han army was a sharp weapon to defend the country and kill the enemy, but in the hands of the wandering knights in the market, it became a murderous weapon to disrupt the law with force."

"Can Your Highness say that there are good and bad swords?"

"The evil is done by people, not by swords, and certainly not by the salt and iron official camps. Your Highness, please understand!"

"..."

After hearing these words, Liu Ju became more and more certain that Sang Hongyang was affected by a mysterious force and was using various methods to save himself.

Because as long as Sang Hongyang could refute himself, he would be helping Liu Che to regain his face.

By then, Liu Che's anger would have been mostly eliminated. Even if he wanted to find someone to take action, considering his status as the crown prince, he would not be the first to bear the brunt of the punishment, at least not too severely.

Now that things have come to this, it’s enough.

Liu Ju was quite satisfied with the result of this experiment. Next time he encountered a real political enemy or was in a real crisis, he already knew how to deal with it:
If anyone dares to target me, I will disobey Liu Che, and then I will be invincible!
As for the salt and iron official business...

In fact, not only did he not oppose it, he also fully supported it.

Such a national weapon must naturally be firmly in the hands of the court and must never be handed over to those profit-seeking businessmen. If these businessmen really form a large-scale monopoly, it will be a real harm to the country and the people. The specific harm has already been manifested in the capitalist countries controlled by the chaebol capital in later generations.

As Sang Hongyang said, the bad things are done by people, not by the salt and iron government.

Therefore, Liu Ju definitely did not want to overthrow the state-run salt and iron industry. He just wanted to promote the reform of the state-run salt and iron industry so that this national weapon could play its due role.

Naturally, he would not do anything that would damage national interests.

After all, he is now the crown prince of the Han Dynasty, and he is the crown prince of the Han Dynasty who is as stable as Mount Tai as long as he makes good use of the loophole of "time travel blessings". From now on, the Han Dynasty will eventually be his kingdom.

Moreover, there are some things that Liu Che could accomplish, but he might not be able to accomplish.

then.

"Now that Prime Minister Sang Nong has said this, I understand."

Liu Ju nodded slightly.

"Since the original intention of the government-run salt and iron industry was not to compete with the people for profits, but to compete with the merchants for profits, the result has now turned into a situation of competing with the people for profits. What does this mean?"

"This shows that you were not ruthless enough when you competed with these salt and iron merchants for profits. You deserve the infamy you bear."

"Besides, I think that those who have great benefits are suspicious."

"No matter what the Confucian scholars of the Imperial Academy and the virtuous and virtuous scholars say, once the salt and iron industry is no longer state-run, they will definitely not be the ones who benefit the most. Therefore, they are probably just mouthpieces that are being used, bribed, or deceived."

"As for who is behind them, I won't name them."

"I just suddenly felt like I was on edge. You said that these salt and iron merchants not only serve as important officials in various salt and iron government offices, but also have the power to mobilize those Confucian scholars and virtuous writers from the Imperial Academy to comment on national policies, manipulate public opinion, and even try to influence national policies and take the opportunity to discredit my father's reputation. What exactly do they want to do?"

"No, no, I don't even dare to think about it."

"But I really admire your Great Minister of Agriculture. As the immediate superiors of these bad guys, you can still sleep at night in the face of such a serious problem. You are really brave enough."

"I admire you so much. Please accept my greeting!"

(End of this chapter)