I, the prince, only want to be deposed.

Chapter 185 Uncle, don’t be impulsive. I am a cheater, but who are you?

"???"

Dong Zhongshu was stunned again when he heard this.

Shameless!

What a bummer!

He is now nearly seventy years old, and he claims that the salt he has eaten is saltier than the rice Liu Ju has walked on, and the people he has met are countless.

But this was the first time in his life that he had seen such a shameless person like Liu Ju who had no martial ethics, cheated and ambushed an old comrade like him, ridiculed others and did not allow them to talk back, and even used such despicable means to threaten others.

He really couldn't understand.

Liu Ju was born in the palace after all, and learned court etiquette since childhood. The teachers hired by the emperor for him were all world-famous scholars and doctors, and at the very least, they were descendants of famous families.

How did something like this end up being cultivated?

He was sure that even if the masters hired by the emperor were all hooligans carefully selected from the streets, and all their shortcomings were concentrated on Liu Ju alone, they would not be so bad!
But the situation is stronger than the people.

Seeing Liu Ju's serious words, Dong Zhongshu, who had already understood some of the superficial ways of officialdom, immediately chose to follow his heart and changed the subject:
"Your Highness, please forgive me. I have no intention of criticizing you."

"I am just worried about Your Highness. If things continue to develop to this point, it may affect Your Highness's position as Crown Prince. Do you want to continue to let it go without any explanation?"

"Don't worry, Mr. Dong. I have my own ideas for this matter."

Liu Ju also laughed again.

"Would you like to make a bet? I bet that if this matter continues to develop like this, there will definitely be a major turning point at a critical moment, and then the fog will be cleared and the sky will be bright."

"how do I say this?"

Dong Zhongshu asked curiously.

"It's a secret, hehe."

Liu Ju smiled mysteriously.

Let’s make noise, let’s make noise as crazy as possible!

I have my own "Time Travel Blessing" loophole to protect me. The more trouble you make, the more it will affect my position as the crown prince. The faster this loophole will be activated, and the faster you will die.

If you don't believe me, let's wait and see...

Just as I was thinking about it.

"So His Highness is here!"

Guo Zhen's panting voice came from outside the backyard door, and he ran over to report,
"Your Highness, the general just came to visit. I couldn't find you anywhere, so I have to ask you to wait in the guest hall. Your Highness, please go quickly."

……

Bowang Garden guest hall.

After dismissing all the officials and servants, Wei Qing's serious face finally showed a hint of worry:
"Zi'er, these unfavorable things have suddenly happened to you recently. Can you guess who did it?"

"Uncle, are you talking about the salt and iron merchants?"

Liu Ju asked back.

"No, if it were just the salt and iron merchants, I wouldn't be here today."

Wei Qing shook his head and said seriously,

"Those salt and iron merchants have existed for many years. Even if the salt and iron business was not restricted by the state before, if there was no one to support them behind the scenes, they would never be able to obtain those resources and minerals, and they would never be able to grow and develop."

"So what you are facing now is not just these salt and iron merchants, but an unimaginable interest group of officials and businessmen."

"Their power has long penetrated all industries related to the lifeblood of the country, whether inside or outside the court, and even in the military."

"Sometimes even how a war is fought, how long it will take, whether it can be won, and whether the enemy can be wiped out are all influenced by them."

"For the sake of profit, they collaborate with the enemy, sell out their country, and keep the enemy for their own benefit... In short, no matter what you can think of or what you can't think of, they are capable of doing anything despicable, and they will do anything to the extreme."

"Even your father had to be constrained by this group."

"Although your father has used extraordinary means to regain a lot of power and imposed many restrictions on this official and business interest group since he ascended the throne, this is far from enough."

"Do you know why your father knew that the problem of the state-run salt and iron industry was serious, but he did not take any action yet?"

“It’s not just that we haven’t found an effective way.”

"It's because this group is like the shadow of a country. It's not a specific person, nor a group of specific people. It's formed by an invisible and intangible force. If the old ones are killed, new ones will join in, and the cycle will never end."

“Even if the country perishes, it will not perish. It will become the shadow of the new country and continue to grow along with the country, like a maggot attached to the bone.”

“So no matter who it is, it is impossible to defeat it.”

"And what you are facing now is such a hopeless enemy. Even if you risk your life to cause some damage to it, it will still recover in a short time and even become stronger."

"But you have already lost everything you had because of this, and there is no way to get it back."

"Do you understand what I mean?"

This was the first time that Wei Qing discussed such a deep and profound issue with Liu Ju. Originally, he planned to wait until Liu Ju grew up a little before talking to him. After all, it was not easy for Liu Ju to understand at his current age.

What's more, how desperate would you feel if you knew such a thing too early?
As a result, Liu Ju suddenly became serious and nodded towards Wei Qing's eyes:
"Uncle, I know everything you said..."

Three hundred years of national destiny...

The military-industrial complex...

These words are not new to later generations. Not to mention people who have some knowledge of history and current affairs, even elementary school students who often watch short videos can say them.

The essence of the military-industrial complex is what Wei Qing calls the official-business interest group.

The so-called three hundred years of national destiny is not so much a description of the development law of a political regime as it is a description of the development law of landlords in feudal society and capital in capitalist society.

Whether it is the landlords or the capital, there is only one goal, that is, monopoly.

The end of monopoly is always destruction, and it will destroy its host, the country, along with it.

"Now that you know this, let's stop here and don't take things to the extreme."

Wei Qing looked at Liu Ju doubtfully, not sure if Liu Ju really understood what he was saying, so he just tried to persuade him.

"At the moment, these people are doing these things just to warn you to quit while you are ahead."

"If you can handle things properly, these things that are not good for you will disappear quietly. If you can properly check and balance them in the future, they may even help you at some point."

"If you continue to insist on your own way, they will be able to drag you down completely and fight you to the point of both sides suffering losses."

"They were defeated, but the defeat was only temporary and partial, and it was far from damaging the fundamentals."

"And if you lose, you'll have nothing."

Liu Ju was not shaken by what he said, and asked a seemingly irrelevant question:
"Uncle, have you ever farmed?"

"Why do you ask this?"

Wei Qing was stunned for a moment.

Liu Ju then asked:

"The weeds in the fields grow back every year, and even come back to life after just a few months of weeding. Would anyone stop weeding because of this?"

"..."

Wei Qing fell into silence, looking at Liu Ju with his pupils trembling slightly.

After a long time.

He then slowly said:

"If the person mowing the lawn is bound to get hurt, your mother and I both hope that it is not you who is doing it."

"Uncle, I understand. I know my limits."

Liu Ju developed an even stronger sense of historical mission in his heart. Perhaps both the "time-travel blessing" loophole and the "maximum-level human" itself were created for this purpose.

"Can you tell me what you are going to do next?"

Wei Qing asked again.

Liu Ju's answer was concise and direct:
"weeding."

Wei Qing was furious:
"Why is this happening? Do you know..."

"Uncle, because I love this land deeply."

Liu Ju interrupted Wei Qing, his eyes sparkling with a gleam of light, completely different from his usual cynical self.

He knew that his current appearance was very much like the diode often mentioned on the Internet in later generations.

He also knows that the world is not black and white, but a colorful gray.

He also knew that in the vortex of power, the way to survive was to blend in with the world.

But he just wanted to do it.

But while saying this, he silently added another sentence in his mind that did not conflict with the other sentence: "Because I'm a cheater..."

"..."

Wei Qing fell silent again, his eyes more complex and profound than ever before.

Liu Ju had no idea what outrageous words Wei Qing was going to say after saying “Do you know?”

He had a grudge against Liu Che.

He believed that Liu Che was using Liu Ju this time, treating him as a pawn to check and balance, or even to strike against the interest groups of officials and businessmen, or even as a bargaining chip to be sacrificed or exchanged.

Let’s take the example of “weeding” that Liu Ju just mentioned.

Then Liu Che was the one weeding, and Liu Ju was just the hoe in Liu Che's hand, facing the hard rocks hidden under the fields and weeds.

But now he discovered it.

Liu Ju not only understood the words he had just said, but also understood the words he had not said.

Liu Ju is both a hoe and a weeder!
This hoe was not held in Liu Che's hands, but in Liu Ju's own hands, and he swung it according to his own will.

Therefore, what Liu Ju deeply loved was not the Han Dynasty, nor his father.

It’s “this land”.

This is not blind loyalty, not foolish filial piety, nor naivety, but something more glaring...

At this moment, even Wei Qing, who had experienced countless wars, could not help but be moved. He looked at Liu Ju intently, feeling the weight of these words.

at last.

"No matter what the outcome is, you won't regret it?"

Wei Qing swallowed all the words he wanted to say before, and for the first time in his life he no longer treated Liu Ju as a child who had not yet grown up, and asked in a very serious tone.

"Don't worry, uncle. I have a plan in mind."

Liu Ju felt that the atmosphere was a bit depressing and Wei Qing was a bit weird, so he tried to ease the atmosphere with a smile.

Wei Qing slapped him hard on the shoulder:
"Good boy, if that's the case, your uncle will risk his life to fight alongside you this time. Together, we can turn those insects upside down!"

"Don't worry???"

Liu Ju was shocked when he heard this.

Uncle, don’t be impulsive. I am a cheater, what are you?
(End of this chapter)