I, the prince, only want to be deposed.

Chapter 208 Sima Qian also became a rebellious son?

"It seems that I haven't started a war in several years and haven't attacked the Xiongnu in the north for a long time. Some people think that my sword is not sharp..."

After hearing Sima Tan's words, Liu Che's morale suddenly increased, his eyes instantly became stern, and he swept across the civil and military officials in the hall.

"..."

Upon seeing this, all the officials lowered their heads even more and no one dared to make a sound.

They naturally knew that Liu Che was not targeting any one of them, but the terrifying aura emanating from Liu Che forced them to bow to the evil forces.

Talk about it.

Since the end of the Battle of Mobei and the sudden death of Huo Qubing, Liu Che had indeed not attacked the Huns in the north for several years.

But how can we start the war if we haven’t started it yet?

Has Your Majesty forgotten the great victory over Western Qiang not long ago?

When thinking of this, all the officials couldn't help but look at Liu Ju who was sitting on the special seat. Isn't this prince who personally led the expedition against the Western Qiang still sitting here? Your Majesty wouldn't be so forgetful, right?
But then again, it seems that conquering the Qiang people and conquering the Xiongnu are really not the same thing.

Although Liu Che conquered the Qiang people with a total of 100,000 elite troops, most of them were infantrymen. In addition, the battle was a one-sided victory, so the losses were not that great.

But the conquest of the Huns was different.

The Huns were mainly composed of cavalry and were extremely mobile, so the Han army had to use cavalry to attack them.

In addition, the desert in the north is vast and sparsely populated, and the journey is extremely long. Whenever the elite cavalry of the Han army went on an expedition, each person needed to be equipped with two or three horses to use in rotation.

Horses are much more valuable than humans, and they must eat well, otherwise they will have difficulty maintaining their physical strength to charge and chase. They often need extremely long supply lines, so the number of infantrymen who transport food and grass must be two or three times that of cavalry to maintain supplies. Therefore, every battle, whether it is won or not, is a huge burden for the Han Dynasty...

So, Your Majesty, could it be that you didn't feel any pain when you conquered the Qiang people, or that you were just using a sledgehammer to crack a nut and didn't feel any pressure, so you didn't take it seriously at all?
Yes, if Your Majesty really attached importance to the war against Western Qiang, why would he be willing to send the Crown Prince to lead the army in person?

Besides, apart from the Western Qiang War, he had indeed not initiated any war against other countries in the past seven years...

However, only Liu Ju knew that before the Western Qiang War, there would actually be several wars of varying sizes between the Nanyue Kingdom and the Minyue Kingdom, and even in the area of ​​Qianwei County and Dian Kingdom. It was just that his muddle-headed operation accidentally led to a situation where all nations came to pay tribute, thus avoiding these wars and losses...

Just as I was thinking about it.

Liu Che has already begun to issue orders:
"Pass on my order to open the armory, order all troops to be on high alert, and all county commanders to recruit soldiers for training..."

It is obvious that Liu Che had believed Sima Tan's words and was preparing to recruit troops in advance to deal with the impending "war disaster".

But this matter really cannot be blamed on Liu Che or Sima Tan.

The great affairs of the country lie in sacrifice and military affairs.

This is what we believe in this era.

Sima Tan was only stating the records left by his ancestors, and Liu Che was only taking precautions. He couldn't wait until the "war disaster" occurred before taking any action, right?

The most important thing is that Liu Che now has horses in his hands and money in his pocket.

After these years of recuperation, the horses lost by the Han Dynasty in the war against the Xiongnu have been mostly recovered.

The "national policy" implemented in southern Xinjiang, which even Liu Che felt was despicable, had filled the hole of rewards after the great victory in Western Qiang. And recently Liu Ju had carried out such a state-run salt and iron reform, and confiscated a large amount of money, land and mansions from those salt and iron merchants, so that the national treasury was full and there was no worry.

Therefore, even if he launched another Han-Xiongnu war now, Liu Che would have the confidence.

However, Liu Ju knew better than anyone that there would be no "war disaster" this year.

Although Liu Che's move was not wrong, it was just a waste of time and money.

It costs money for each army to be on high alert, and it costs money for each county commander to recruit soldiers and train them. The people who have already experienced a severe drought will be forcibly conscripted, and their burden will be even heavier.

then.

"Father!"

Before Liu Che could finish his order, Liu Ju stood up and interrupted him, turned around and bowed, saying,

"I think this phenomenon is not a military disaster, but a natural disaster. If Father treats this as a military disaster, it will turn into a military disaster."

here we go again……

Upon seeing this, all the officials in the hall lowered their heads consciously.

It’s not that Liu Ju couldn’t express different opinions in the court, but you should at least wait until His Majesty has finished speaking before raising objections. Isn’t that a bit impolite?
Liu Che frowned when he heard this, seeming a little displeased.

However, he did not comment on Liu Ju's words immediately. Instead, he looked at Sima Tan, the Grand Historian who had previously proposed this sign.

Sima Tan was also a proud person at heart, and he couldn't stand others questioning his expertise. His face flushed and he stepped forward to argue:

"Your Highness, what I just said is all from the Book of the Emperor of Zhou, and there is absolutely no falsehood. If Your Highness does not believe me, I can bring ancient books to your Highness to prove that such disasters are indeed a sign of another war in the world!"

"Don't get excited, Grand Historian. It's not that I don't believe you."

Liu Ju did not refute, but just smiled and said,

"In fact, what you and I are talking about is the same thing. Let me analyze it for you."

After saying this, Liu Ju bowed to Liu Che again and said:
"Father, may I ask the relevant officials a question first?" "Yes."

Seeing that Liu Ju was much more sensible this time and did not overstep his boundaries, and thinking of Chen Ajiao's vicious curse, Liu Che looked at him more favorably and nodded slightly.

"Thank you, father."

Liu Ju immediately turned around and asked loudly to all the officials,

“Can anyone tell me if we just experienced a severe drought this year and how the grain harvests of farmers in various places are going?”

Then, the Minister of Agriculture Sang Hongyang and an agricultural supervisor stood up and bowed to Liu Ju and said:

"Your Highness, this year is indeed a year of severe drought in the Guanzhong region. Between April and September, there was only a small rain, and the rainfall in the Guandong counties was not sufficient either."

"Therefore, the grain harvest of farmers in the Guanzhong region, especially in the three auxiliary areas, is likely to be reduced by at least 70%."

"I'm afraid that the grain harvest in some places in Kanto will be reduced by half."

"This is it."

Liu Ju nodded and continued,
“There’s a severe drought, so the water supply has decreased.”

"As the saying goes, all living things have spirits. Frogs and toads live on water. Like humans, they will seek water sources in order to survive. If there is not enough water, they will fight with each other for it, which is why such a disaster occurs."

"This severe drought has also caused farmers' harvests to plummet, and many people are having trouble making ends meet."

"People also want to survive. If there is not enough food and they starve, they will inevitably bully the weak and fight each other. If they cannot survive, they will start a war."

“It seems to me that it’s the same principle.”

“That’s why I said this vision was not a military disaster, but a natural disaster, a drought.”

"If the emperor mobilizes troops and imposes corvée labor, it will not only waste a lot of unnecessary money, but will also further increase the burden on the people, which is why war disasters will occur."

"Why not use this money and manpower for disaster relief, agricultural development, and drought relief? Frogs and toads have sufficient water resources, so they don't have to fight for survival. The people can eat their fill, and they will be grateful for the emperor's great grace and praise him. They will naturally not take risks. How can there be any war in the world?"

"Besides."

"Father is a rare hero in a thousand years. The Xiongnu, the southern Xinjiang, and the Western Qiang are all suffering from war. Father only needs to move his fingers slightly to make the war disappear. Why mobilize so many troops?"

Perhaps because he was grateful for Liu Che's concession a few days ago, Liu Ju did not intend to take advantage of the "time travel blessing" loophole this time, which also allowed Liu Che to take a break and finally did not forget to give him some flattery.

Just finished speaking.

Before Liu Che could react, Sima Tan became anxious again, stiffening his neck and admonishing Liu Che:
"Your Majesty, I beg you to reconsider!"

"What Zhou Shu said are all ancient teachings that should not be neglected. Moreover, a few days ago, I observed the sky and saw a solar eclipse. I have also reported this to Your Majesty. This is also a sign of war. Your Majesty must not be careless and must take precautions as soon as possible."

"Otherwise, it might be a major event that shakes the country!"

And a solar eclipse?

Hearing this, Liu Ju was a little confused.

How come he has no idea what happened a few days ago? Is it because he spent too much time sleeping in Qiufangli during the day and accidentally missed it?
"..."

Upon hearing this, Liu Che fell silent and was making a decision in his heart.

Of course he knew about the solar eclipse, and after receiving the report, he had already kept it in mind.

Now there was another vision of frogs and toads fighting to the death. The two disasters appeared together, which immediately made him think that the problem was very serious, so he immediately ordered to take precautions in advance.

but.

What Liu Chuan said was not without reason, especially the sentence "My father is a rare hero in a thousand years, and he is the cause of all wars." It really makes sense... No!
This traitor!

I thought he suddenly changed his temper and started to know how to talk.

Now that I think about it carefully, this rebellious son is probably plotting against me again, using this sentence to flatter me and put me under a pedestal, right?
Just as I was thinking about it.

Suddenly another voice was heard in the hall.

"Your Majesty, I think what you said makes more sense!"

I saw a young man among the civil officials on the right side of the hall suddenly stand up, come to the center of the hall, stand beside Sima Tan, bow and say,

"Although what the Grand Historian said is an ancient saying from the Book of Zhou, solar eclipses have existed since ancient times. Even since the founding of the Han Dynasty, there have been several. If Your Majesty consults the history books, you will find that not every solar eclipse is followed by a war. In fact, in most cases, there was no war in the year when a solar eclipse occurred."

"Therefore, I think that the things recorded in the Zhou Dynasty books may not be completely trustworthy, and Your Majesty should not listen to the words of the Grand Historian."

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and immediately recognized the young man.

He turned out to be the son of Grand Historian Sima Tan and the recently promoted Imperial Counselor Sima Qian.

"Rebellious son?!"

Sima Tan knew who was speaking just by hearing the voice, but he was stunned for a long while before turning his head one by one, with an expression of disbelief on his face.

(End of this chapter)