I, the prince, only want to be deposed.

Chapter 175 I will never say no in my life!
"???"

"!!!"

Sang Hongyang never expected that Liu Ju would play completely out of the ordinary.

He originally just wanted to refute Liu Ju so that Liu Ju would take back his words and follow Liu Che's wishes to avoid the situation from worsening, which would ultimately affect the policy of the state-run salt and iron industry.

If the state-run salt and iron industries were affected, then the equalization of transport, price stabilization and liquor sales that he had just designed would naturally not be implemented.

Is there any selfish motive in his action?

Of course he does, he also has his own ideals.

Born in Luoyang, he was influenced by the story of Su Qin pricking his thigh with a needle and wearing the seals of six countries since childhood. Although he came from a merchant family, he also had the lofty ambition of becoming a general, a prime minister, and being granted land and titles.

But he certainly wouldn't know that now.

Although Emperor Liu Che appointed him as the Imperial Censor and made him a regent when he passed away, he was not granted a title or appointed as a prime minister until he died in a political struggle. He did not even have a separate biography in history books. On the contrary, he bore the infamy for a long time after his death.

However, his economic thoughts and policies have been passed down and guided the Celestial Empire for more than two thousand years, and even to later generations they still have extremely important reference significance.

There are not many such people in the history of the Celestial Empire.

No matter how others evaluated him, Liu Ju believed that Sang Hongyang was a genius. The contributions he made to Liu Che were no less than those of Wei Qing and Huo Qubing. They could only be distinguished by their roles in front of and behind the scenes.

But that's all for later. What Sang Hongyang wants to know most now is what Liu Ju's brain is made of...

Where is the agreed rebuttal?

You just firmly denied the state-run salt and iron industry, why did you admit defeat just after I said a few words? Do you still have a definite position?

It would be fine to admit defeat, this was my goal in the first place.

But why are you starting to make random accusations?
What do you mean by “not naming names”? If you didn’t name names, then in your next sentence you directly mentioned the salt merchants and iron merchants. How can this be called not naming names?
Not only did you mention their names, but you also directly put a hat of "treason" on them. Do you have a grudge against all three of their tribes?
And what happened to our Minister of Agriculture?

Even if I refute you a few times, you don't have to label us all as accomplices in "treason", right?

Is this how you use the strategy of retreating in order to advance?
If you take a step back, do you have to drag all of us down with you?
"Your Majesty, please forgive me. I never meant that!"

"Since the implementation of the government-run salt and iron industry, I have always been conscientious and cautious. If I knew that the officials of the Salt and Iron Industry had ulterior motives, I would never dare to conceal it, let alone sleep peacefully. Please understand, Your Majesty!"

Just as Sang Hongyang was stunned and at a loss, Kong Jin and Dongguo Xianyang were already so frightened that they kept kowtowing to express their opinions, not daring to hesitate for the slightest.

After all, they are different from Sang Hongyang. One of them was originally an iron merchant, and the other was originally a salt merchant.

The "salt merchants and iron merchants" that Liu Ju referred to were very likely the two of them that Liu Che included in it, and they could not afford to bear such a charge.

"..."

Wei Qing was also caught off guard.

He really had no idea what Liu Ju was thinking now.

Not only him, but all the civil and military officials in the hall were also confused. They even suspected that Liu Ju had no ideas at all, which was why his words were so inconsistent.

It gives people a feeling of hitting the target with a hammer here and a stick there, as if the mouth and the brain each have different ideas, and the ideas can change at any time.

The most important thing is that speaking in the court is not as simple as just closing your mouth.

Judging from what Liu Ju said just now, the scope of his attack was very wide. He almost offended the Confucian scholars and virtuous scholars of the Imperial Academy, the salt and iron merchants of the world, and the Minister of Agriculture at the same time. It is no exaggeration to say that he made countless enemies!

Is this what a prince who has not yet ascended the throne should do?

Or you can ask your father. Although your father has such courage and ability, will he do so easily? Well, pretend we don’t say anything. He will, he really will. There is nothing in the world that he dare not do!
This……

Wei Qing and a group of officials suddenly realized a problem:
After all, the prince is Liu Che's son, and has the same blood as Liu Che flowing in his body...

But even so, you are only the crown prince now, and you need the support of all forces to ensure that these forces will not turn to other princes and shake your position as crown prince.

So is it really okay for you to make enemies everywhere?

When everyone was thinking this.

But Liu Ju turned back to face Liu Che, who was also a little confused at the moment, and bowed again and said:

"Father, I don't know what your temper is like."

"But if it were me, facing such a serious problem, I would never give the Minister of Agriculture a chance to investigate, lest they cover up for each other. At this time, the Minister of Justice should play his due role."

"What's more, at this point, the policy of state-run salt and iron has reached a point where it must be reformed."

“As the saying goes, if reform is not thorough, then there is no reform at all.”

"The chaos should be cut with a sharp knife. Although it may not be a permanent solution, it should be no problem to solve the problem of those who caused it..."

Having said this, Liu Ju paused for a moment, then changed his expression and showed a respectful smile:

"Father, the above are just some of my immature views on this matter."

"I am still young and don't know much about government affairs, so it's inevitable that I may speak inappropriately. However, since my father is personally testing me, how dare I hide anything? I can only say whatever comes to my mind."

"If there is anything I said that is not right, please enlighten me, Father. I will listen attentively."

Of course, steps still need to be given.

Although Liu Ju was not worried that Liu Che would depose him, he was worried that he might play too much and accidentally anger Liu Che and cause him harm.

After all, there was no way he could become a full-level human anymore, so he could only inherit the throne reluctantly.

Perhaps with his current abilities, he may not be able to take over the current mess, and some problems may not even be able to be solved at all.

Liu Che was able to bribe people to seize titles, promote the monopoly of liquor, mobilize the whole country to attack Dayuan, wipe out the bandits in Guandong, and maintain a firm control over the government despite repeated defeats with the Xiongnu...

That was because Liu Che had already established enough prestige and ability, and people from all walks of life were afraid of him, and had to keep their dissatisfaction to themselves.

If a new emperor like Liu Ju were suddenly replaced now.

The situation will change immediately, and even whether the imperial edict can be passed out of Chang'an will become a problem.

Take the current state-run salt and iron affairs as an example. With just one edict from Emperor Wu of Han, those salt and iron officials who were corrupt and engaged in corruption would be slaughtered in a bloodbath and the reform would be completed thoroughly.

If Liu Ju became the emperor now, could he do it? Liu Ju had a big question mark in his mind.

After all, even when Liu Che had just come to power.

They could only be forced to accept the control of the Grand Empress Dowager and the Queen Mother, indulge in secret travel and hunting, and bide their time...

and so.

Liu Ju didn't want to make Liu Che angry, at least not now.

He also planned to use Liu Che to solve these long-standing problems, let Liu Che clean up his own mess, and inherit a Han Dynasty that was unprecedentedly prosperous and had no internal or external troubles.

Then he could employ talents and loyal ministers like Huo Guang and Sang Hongyang who have been proven by history, and be a sage monarch who governs by doing nothing. It would be so comfortable.

Thinking of this, Liu Ju felt that he was invincible again.

People in later generations all said that Huo Qubing was Liu Che’s limited-time cheat, and Liu Che is no less his limited-time cheat now.

Although Huo Qubing is a famous general throughout history, Liu Che is an emperor throughout history.

Even if they are both SSR, Liu Che's SSR should be rarer...

"Well, this prince knows how to recycle themes..."

After hearing this, Wei Qing and a group of officials were stunned again.

In just two sentences he was back to the question of "testing and teaching", and used the excuse of "young age" to justify his disobedient words. He was really good at avoiding the important issues and was even more flexible than the emperor mentioned above?
"..."

Prime Minister Zhao Zhou, Minister of Agriculture Kong Jin, Dongguo Xianyang and Sang Hongyang felt even more suffocated.

In your mind, is this just a simple "teaching test"?
Do you know that this "examination" of yours may result in deaths, and the lives of a group of people?
Others’ “examination” will cost them their hands and rulers, but your “examination” will cost you your life!

Please, Your Majesty, please do me a favor and stop letting him assist in government affairs, and don’t test him anymore. If you keep testing him like this, we will all be finished sooner or later…

But then again, does this give Your Majesty a way out and room for maneuver in this matter?
at the same time.

"Provoke me?"

While Liu Che got the way out, his attention still remained on the sentence "Although I don't know what kind of temper your father has."

Your temper is inherited from me, don't you know?!

Thinking of what Liu Ju had just said, Liu Che became furious.

Fortunately, apart from the first two sentences, Liu Ju did not continue to be aggressive.

Instead, he quickly turned his guns and began to target the Minister of Agriculture and the salt and iron merchants. He did not deny the policy of state-run salt and iron industries, which gave him some breathing room. Now, not only has his anger subsided a lot, but he also feels a kind of inexplicable gloating and relief in his heart.

Sang Hongyang did a good job this time.

His rebuttal was just right, directing the rebellious son's hatred towards the Minister of Agriculture and the Salt and Iron Office.

Reward!

At the same time, Liu Che did not forget his original purpose.

"This rebellious son really has his own ideas. In this case, I just need to follow the trend. Perhaps I can use him to solve the problem of the salt and iron state-run enterprises..."

"Rebellious son, do you think you are in control of everything?"

"Haha, you are totally wrong. I have always been holding you in check!"

Liu Che glanced at Liu Ju, who was pretending to be submissive, and said coldly:
"You are still young, your ideas are far from mature, and your words are not appropriate. How can I trust you to hand over the Han Dynasty to you?"

"But I went through this the same way. I know my shortcomings and should gain more experience."

"I'll give you another chance."

"From now on, you will go to the Minister of Agriculture for training and assist Kong Jin, Dongguo Xianyang, and Sang Hongyang in dealing with the malpractices in the salt and iron industry."

"If you need the assistance of the court judge, please report it in a letter and I will arrange it!"

"..."

All the civil and military officials in the court looked at each other with suspicion when they heard this.

Why did it feel like the father and son were playing a double act in front of them?

Of course, there was no such performance form as "double act" in this era.

"..."

Kong Jin, Dongguo Xianyang and Sang Hongyang were even more heartbroken when they heard this.

They really wanted to refuse this matter. They really didn't know how to serve this fearless prince. If the time came, the Minister of Agriculture would definitely rebel.

The most important thing is, does Liu Ju have this ability?

Financial matters are no different from other matters in that one move often affects the entire body, and this is also true for the state-run salt and iron businesses.

If Liu Ju, an outsider, messes around and causes trouble, they will be the ones who will be held responsible. Who can they turn to for justice?

At this moment, they still didn't know that the "Tianlu Box" they called the national weapon was actually made by Liu Ju...

As a result, before they had time to refuse, and of course did not dare to refuse.

But Liu Ju bowed with a bitter face and said:

"Father, I know nothing about the country's finances. I am afraid that I have made a big mistake. I beg you to revoke your order."

"I don't know what your temper is like, but I have never said no in my life."

Liu Che finally found an opportunity to fight back, and immediately sneered:

"No!"

"If you don't go, I will order people to escort you there every day!"

(End of this chapter)