I, the prince, only want to be deposed.

Chapter 213: How did the rebellious iron triangle form?

"Ahem! Ahem!"

Zhao Zhou accidentally got a stitch in the side when he heard this and started coughing violently uncontrollably.

Liu Ju was also a little surprised. He first turned around and looked at Zhao Zhou in surprise, who was coughing so hard that he couldn't speak. Then he looked at Wei Kang again:

"Cousin, have you been helping me investigate this matter recently?"

Ever since Han Ling's incident, Liu Ju never asked Wei Kang for help again, nor did he mention the matter of looking for Zhao Guo to him.

However, Liu Ju also knew that Wei Kang could not have been unaware of this.

After all, Zhao Zhou and Min Cao officials have been sending people to Bowang Garden every day recently, and what they are doing is no secret at all.

He just didn't quite understand why this cousin who was always dedicated to lying down and playing dumb suddenly became so hardworking. Let's forget about the matter with Han Ling before, but why was he so proactive even in this matter that he had never mentioned?
"Promoting agriculture is a major event that benefits the country and the people. How can I stand idly by? I will lend a helping hand to Your Highness."

Wei Kang smiled as a matter of course, and his smile was full of energy, as if the Wei Kang who just wanted to sleep until he woke up naturally and had no energy for anything was not him anymore.

"..."

Upon hearing this, Liu Ju looked up and down at Wei Kang, who made him feel a little strange, and for a moment he didn't know what to say.

at the same time.

Zhao Zhou finally recovered his breath and quickly bowed to Liu Ju and explained:

"Your Highness, please forgive me. I do have a son named Zhao Guo in my family, but I can guarantee with my integrity that this son is definitely not the agricultural talent that Your Highness is looking for. That's why I didn't bring him here for Your Highness to examine. I didn't deliberately hide it."

"Uncle Zhao, don't be so confident."

Without waiting for Liu Ju to respond, Wei Kang took over the conversation.

"What do you mean by that?"

Zhao Zhou frowned slightly, feeling dissatisfied with Wei Kang's attitude and tone.

However, out of consideration for Wei Qing's sake, he did not show it in person.

Moreover, he knew in his heart that Wei Kang was also an unfilial and rebellious son who made Wei Qing worry. All the ministers in the court had heard about how this kid was stripped of his title a few years ago.

Thinking of this, Zhao Zhou became less likely to argue with Wei Kang, and even felt a lot more comfortable.

After all, compared with Wei Kang, his own Zhao Guo at least knows when to advance and retreat, and would never dare to do anything to disobey the order... This kid is the eldest son, Wei Qing is really unfortunate for his family.

"Uncle Zhao may not know this, but I have been secretly observing Zhao Guo recently. He may think differently from Uncle Zhao."

Wei Kang smiled mysteriously and raised his eyebrows.
"Uncle Zhao thought he didn't read the Five Classics of Confucianism, but he didn't know that he didn't dislike reading. He just read agricultural books that Uncle Zhao looked down upon, such as Shennong, Ye Lao, and Zai Shi."

"Uncle Zhao only thought that he didn't learn the six arts, but he didn't know that he was not unlearned. He just learned the agricultural seasons and the ways of water conservancy and fields, which Uncle Zhao thought were not the ways to govern the country."

"Uncle Zhao only thought that he was idle, but he didn't know where he went after leaving the Prime Minister's Mansion. He also didn't know why he had rough hands and feet and dark skin at such a young age, even though his family was well-off and he had no worries about food and drink."

"Anyway, there are still many things that Uncle Zhao doesn't know."

"Zhao Guo may not be as useless as Uncle Zhao thinks. I would rather regard him as someone like Chen Xiang and Chen Xin."

"?"

After hearing what Wei Kang said, Liu Ju's expression inevitably changed.

Could this Zhao Guo be the Zhao Guo he is looking for?

But if Zhao Guo’s father was the prime minister Zhao Zhou of the time, why is there no record of him in history books? This family background must be very powerful, so powerful that even history books cannot ignore it, okay?
Is it because there was a problem in the relationship between this father and son, or was there some change in the Zhao family that was inconvenient to be recorded in the history books?
Oh, right!

Something bad is indeed about to happen to the Zhao family.

This incident was a major event that Liu Che had done in history—stealing the title by bribing gold!
In the Zhujin Seizure of Titles Contest, a total of 106 dukes were stripped of their titles because the amount or quality of the gold they contributed was insufficient. Zhao Zhou, as the prime minister, was also imprisoned by Emperor Wu of Han for knowing the truth and not reporting it. He committed suicide soon after.

There is no record of Zhao Zhou's descendants in historical books.

Just as the records about Zhao Guo do not mention the situation of his parents and ancestors.

Zhao Zhou committed suicide and his clan was not exterminated, so he should not have been without offspring.

Since Zhao Guo was able to write letters to offer advice to Emperor Liu Che in his later years, he was certainly not illiterate like ordinary farmers, nor should he have no family background.

There seem to be only two reasons why this happens:
Either all of Zhao Zhou's descendants were useless, and the family fell into decline, while Zhao Guo was indeed a peasant who was promoted by Liu Che without any particular rules;

Or maybe something unknown happened in the meantime.

"Chen Xiang and Chen Xin, who gave up being scholars to become farmers?"

Zhao Zhou was able to be the prime minister, so he must have knowledge far beyond that of ordinary people. He immediately understood what Wei Kang meant and flew into a rage.
"Nonsense! The emperor abolished all schools of thought and praised the Six Classics, and this rebellious son dared to go against the will of heaven. He is so audacious and presumptuous that I will break his legs and make him unable to leave the house again!"

As he spoke, Zhao Zhou was obviously extremely angry. He didn't even say goodbye to Liu Ju and walked out with a menacing step.

"Prime Minister Zhao, wait a minute!"

Seeing this, Liu Ju immediately stopped him.

"Your Highness, please forgive me. This matter is of great importance and I cannot delay any longer!"

Zhao Zhou did not dare to offend Liu Ju, so he had to stop, bow and apologize, but still insisted on leaving.

"Prime Minister Zhao, please be patient. You know I have the Emperor's order."

Liu Ju smiled and said,

"If your son is really the one I'm looking for, then I will definitely protect him. Even if Prime Minister Zhao is his father, he has to get past me before he can break his legs." "But Your Highness..."

Zhao Zhou was still anxious and wanted to say something.

Although some words could not be said directly to the face of the crown prince Liu Ju, similar thoughts had already flashed through his mind:

"The traitor! The traitor! The traitor!"

"Liu Ju, Wei Kang, and now Zhao Guo, all three of them are rebellious sons who rebelled against Tiangang!"

"If you three rebellious sons get together, what good can come of it? Don't make a big hole in the sky, or no one will be able to stop it!"

"Let's look at the identities of these three people. They are the son of the emperor, the son of a great general, and the son of a prime minister... Oh my God, what sin did the Han Dynasty commit that led to the formation of this iron triangle of rebellious sons? Once we old guys pass away, will the Han Dynasty perish immediately?"

Liu Ju interrupted him at the right time and continued:
"Prime Minister Zhao, I have a different understanding of what you just said about my father 'abolishing all schools of thought and promoting the Six Classics.'"

"If I remember correctly, whether it was Dong Zhongshu who proposed it or my father who finally implemented it, it seemed to be the policy of 'promoting Confucius and suppressing other schools of thought'."

"The word '罢' and the word '抑' seem to be just one letter different, but in fact, there is a world of difference between them."

"But I don't know why, after only twenty years, the suppression of all schools of thought turned into the elimination of all schools of thought. It is hard to say whether this is a distortion of human nature or a decline in morality."

"Anyway, I insist that my father has absolutely no intention of completely denying other doctrines. He just wants to suppress the political ideas of various schools and establish a unified political consensus."

"If you don't believe me, think carefully about my father's way of selecting and employing people."

"Dong Zhongshu has always been a famous scholar in the country, right? Even my father's promotion of Confucius started with him. Why did my father always praise his ideas but never use him as a person? He even sent him out of town for many years and only recently brought him to me as a tutor without any power?"

"Look at the talents that my father has truly entrusted with important tasks, Zhang Tang, Zhao Yu, Zhang Qian, Huo Qubing, and my uncle Wei Qing. None of them believe in Confucianism, but they are all talents that my father selected after promoting Confucius."

"Doesn't this explain the problem?"

"My father believes in pragmatism, not Confucianism."

"Although he promoted Confucius in his national policy, he was not rigid in selecting talents. No matter if they believed in Confucianism or not, no matter which school of thought they belonged to, as long as they had real talent and knowledge, and as long as they could benefit the country and the people, they would be my father's favorite ministers."

"So in my opinion, there is nothing wrong with your son giving up being a scholar and taking up farming. It is you, Prime Minister Zhao, who are too narrow-minded..."

When it comes to this.

Liu Ju suddenly realized that Wei Kang next to him seemed to have stepped on the accelerator. For some reason, he kept rolling his eyes and making a fuss at him, looking even more impatient than Zhao Zhou.

at the same time.

"Snapped!"

Suddenly there was a crisp sound from behind.

Liu Ju finally reacted and turned to look behind him.

I saw a scroll of bamboo slips dropped on the ground two feet behind me.

Behind the bamboo slips stood a man with graying hair and a slightly hunched body.

And there was a distraught expression on this man’s face—Dong Zhongshu!

"Mr. Dong, when did you come?"

No matter how thick-skinned Liu Ju was, he still felt embarrassed at the moment and could only ask with a dry laugh.

"Just when... His Highness was talking about His Majesty's way of selecting and employing people..."

Dong Zhongshu's voice was hoarse and weak, and he silently bent down to pick up the bamboo slips on the ground.

Then he bowed and said, "I'll take my leave now," and turned around with a distraught expression on his face, dragging his legs that seemed to be filled with lead, and walked away step by step.

At this moment, his body became even more hunched, as if he had aged dozens of years in an instant, and his back was filled with an unspeakable sense of desolation.

"Cousin, why didn't you remind me?"

Liu Ju turned around helplessly and put the blame on Wei Kang.

"Your Highness, it's unfair. I've been reminding you for a long time, but you didn't see it!"

Wei Kang defended himself with a wronged look on his face, and then said,

"But I think what Your Highness said makes sense. Although Confucianism can educate the people and bring order to the world, whether it is fighting, enforcing laws, going on diplomatic missions, or promoting agriculture, we still need to rely on practical talents. How can we really eliminate all schools of thought?"

"..."

After hearing this, Zhao Zhou became even more determined to break Zhao Guo's legs.

Listen!

Come and listen!

What the hell are these two rebellious sons saying that is so treasonous and ridiculous that it would be a presumption against the emperor's will!
No, Zhao Guo’s legs must be broken so that he cannot leave the house.

This time it was not to stop him from being obsessed with the Nong family, but to stop him from getting involved with these two rebellious sons!
In the past, he was just a useless person who was not worthy of being on the stage, but at least he was harmless to people and animals.

If he hangs out with these two rebellious sons in the future, no one will dare to kill the emperor's clan, and the general can keep his family safe by relying on his merits.

What does the Zhao family rely on? Why should they worry about not being implicated and exterminated?

(End of this chapter)