I, the prince, only want to be deposed.

Chapter 249: If I stroke you, how will you respond?
After a long time.

"..."

Liu Che looked at Liu Ju with a hint of disdain in his eyes and said,
"This strategy is not what a benevolent monarch would do. Since you, a rebellious son, know that your heart is filthy, you should read more books of saints and sages in the future to purify your heart and avoid going astray. Do you understand?"

When Liu Ju heard this, he thought that Liu Che was stubborn and would repeat the mistakes of history just to save face, so he immediately stepped forward to persuade him:
"Father, I believe that when countries interact with each other, their own interests should be the top priority. A benevolent monarch is also for the people of their own country. Some small countries are afraid of power but not virtue. If Father is burdened by the reputation of a benevolent monarch..."

"Wouldn't I know?"

Liu Che had already interrupted him with a glare.

"It is true that I am a benevolent and holy emperor, but don't I still have a prince with a dirty heart? I can't even manage my own son, so isn't it reasonable that there are a few ministers with dirty hearts in the court?"

"Eh?"

Liu Ju was stunned.

"Take my words to heart, and you will avoid getting into trouble in the future!"

Liu Che glanced at him, and his tone softened a lot.

"I'll take note of this for now. I'll make a decision after discussing it with the inner court. Is there anything else?"

Liu Ju then realized that Liu Che was taking the opportunity to educate him and teach him how to be a king... or to pass the buck.

However, Liu Ju felt that this matter still depended on identity.

Liu Che was the supreme emperor, so he could naturally pass the blame on to others at will. After passing the blame on others, he was able to protect the person who took the blame for him with just a word.

But Liu Ju was not able to do so.

Although he is now the regent prince, his words do not count for many things.

Take the recent incident of Yi Shuo for example, he put in so much effort to barely keep her. If he had passed the buck like Liu Che did before, who knows how many people would have been killed. So there are some things that he has to take on personally even if he doesn't want to.

of course.

Liu Che's ability to say such words at this moment made Liu Ju feel a hint of genuine fatherly love from his adoptive father, which was indeed a rare thing.

As far as I can remember, this is the first time that the father and son have been so harmonious since they traveled through time.

Thinking of this, Liu Ju took off the wooden box he was carrying, presented it to Liu Che with both hands, bowed and said:
"Father, I am here today to pay my respects to you and to recommend a talent I recently discovered."

“What kind of talent?”

Liu Che took the wooden box, opened it and saw that it was filled with bamboo slips.

After what happened to Gongsun Jingsheng and Zhao Guo, he was convinced that Liu Ju had inherited his ability to judge people, so he was quite interested in Liu Ju's recommendation.

"He is a self-taught intelligence talent. Father only needs to look at these bamboo slips to know how useful this person can be."

Liu Ju deliberately kept it a secret and introduced it to Liu Che.

Liu Che had already opened the scroll on top, and then he looked surprised:

"Wei Kang?"

"Exactly this person."

"Could it be the Wei Kang I know? The good-for-nothing eldest son of Wei Qing?"

Liu Che specifically confirmed it.

Wei Kang also left a deep impression on him at the time. If it were not for giving face to Wei Qing, Wei Kang would have dared to openly disobey the imperial edict. It would definitely not be as simple as just abolishing the title of Marquis. He would have been severely punished.

Since then, the label of "useless" has been firmly attached to Wei Kang.

And it was not just Liu Che and Wei Qing who thought so. Some princes and nobles who knew about this also used Wei Kang as a negative example to educate and warn their own children, and prohibited their children from having any contact with Wei Kang.

"Your Majesty, you may not know that a few days ago, my uncle couldn't stand my cousin doing nothing, so he sent him to Bowang Garden and asked me to arrange some things for him to do."

Liu Ju nodded and said,

"At first, I didn't know what strengths this cousin had, until my father arranged a marriage for me. I just casually asked him to find out about the daughter of Marquis Long Yi. He showed extraordinary ability to investigate people and things. After that, he couldn't stop and now he has become a gossip-monger in Chang'an."

"I know that such a talent can be of great use, and your Majesty is a wise ruler who knows how to use people. Therefore, in order not to bury this cousin's talent, I have no choice but to come and recommend him to your Majesty."

He tried his best to explain the whole cause and effect as clearly as possible, in order to prevent Liu Che from having wild thoughts about the matter and finally tying it to Wei Qing, thus causing unnecessary misunderstandings.

In his opinion, this was the most effective way to prevent Liu Che and Wei Qing from falling into a chain of suspicion.

"Um……"

Liu Che has already begun to read the contents.

He was soon attracted by the secret code written by Jiandu Zhongwei Kang himself and the intelligence network he built.

Although this intelligence network is now limited by Wei Kang's energy and financial resources and can only be regarded as a prototype, even Liu Che has to admit that the way of dividing blocks and single-line communication is indeed refreshing. Liu Ju's calling him "Chang'an's gossip" is not nonsense, he really has this ability! It is precisely because Liu Ju explained the ins and outs of the matter very clearly and took the initiative to provide him with all the information. Otherwise, he really has to think about it. As Wei Kang's father, what exactly does Wei Qing want to do in Chang'an City, beside his bed?
But now, Liu Che didn't think about it at all.

After reading the bamboo slips carefully.

Liu Che put the bamboo slips back into the wooden box, and closed the lid of the box, pressing his hand on it, and said solemnly:

"I never thought that Wei Qing, as a father, would not know the value of a thing, and let you, a rebellious son, pick up such a genius."

"This Wei Kang is indeed very useful. He can be very effective if used in the right place. This time you recommended him to me. I finally saw a little bit of filial piety in you. It is worth my high hopes for you."

Liu Ju bowed slightly and said modestly:
"Look at what your father said. I am a filial son."

"Bah, go back and find a bronze mirror to piss on and look at yourself carefully. How dare you say such things?"

Liu Che immediately laughed and scolded, but then shook his head and said seriously,
"But then again, obedience is the way of a concubine. If you are truly a filial and obedient son, you may not be able to please me... But rebellious son, remember, I am not encouraging you by telling you these words from my heart!"

"My son, please save it."

Liu Ju felt that Liu Che was encouraging him, and it was a tsundere encouragement.

At the same time, he couldn't help feeling a little emotional.

This should be the first time in such a long time that Liu Che has spoken so many words to him calmly and openly, right?
This father emperor is becoming more and more different from his inherent perception in his heart. Even though he is constantly doing evil things, things are developing step by step in the direction of a truly loving father and filial son.

This also made the gap in Liu Ju's heart smaller and smaller.

For a long time before, because of the existence of the "blessing of time travel", Liu Ju treated the people around him, especially his cheap father Liu Che, as emotionless tools, just like NPCs in a game.

But the longer time went on, the more he found that he was gradually integrating with them, adapting to his own identity, and adapting to this world...

"What I am most curious about now is, if I make Wei Kang important, what will be the reaction of Wei Qing, the father who always treats him as a rebellious son?"

But Liu Che suddenly smiled with a look of evil humor and started muttering to himself.

……

Looking at Liu Ju's back as he left the Xuanshi Hall.

The corners of Liu Che's mouth gradually raised a cunning arc, and even looked a little childish:

"Rebellious son, how will you respond when I stroke you with kindness?"

"From your behavior just now, you must be grateful, feel guilty, and have decided to change your ways, right?"

"Haha, you can't beat me. I've already found your weak spot..."

……

Not long after Liu Ju returned to Bowang Garden, Liu Che summoned Wei Kang into the palace.

Not long after, Wei Qing, Gongsun He, Sang Hongyang and others were summoned into the palace one after another.

This is Liu Che's inner court team, composed of officials promoted and trained by him. It is the real decision-making center of the Han Dynasty, equivalent to the cabinet or military affairs office in some later dynasties.

As for the outer court, it was a government agency headed by Prime Minister Zhao Zhou. To put it bluntly, it was a group of scapegoats and tools for Liu Che.

"..."

After everyone in the inner court understood the strategy for the situation on the peninsula and "wartime command", they all fell silent. They were also thinking.

After all, such a dirty strategy and the concept of "wartime command" were also ahead of their time for them.

After a long time.

"I think this is a brilliant plan. The person who proposed it deserves to be enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple!"

The first person to speak was Sang Hongyang, a pure hawk and a staunch supporter of the idea of ​​great unification.
"I have considered it and I can say that as long as this policy is implemented, the entire peninsula will immediately become your Majesty's possession. This is such a good policy that can be achieved without bloodshed and with very little loss. I can only admire it."

Wei Qing also pondered and said:
"I also agree with this plan, but the person who will handle this matter still needs to think carefully. There should also be some restrictions on the weapons and supplies we provide to Chen Country, especially the crossbows and crossbow carts of the Han Dynasty. Even if we provide them, the arsenal must be under the full control of our generals, and they cannot be manufactured in Chen Country to prevent Chen Country from stealing our knowledge."

"I second the motion..."

Several people quickly reached a consensus.

At the same time, everyone was wondering who made this plan, but Liu Che didn't say it, and they didn't ask.

"In that case, you guys go down and discuss it again, and work out a more detailed strategy as soon as possible and present it to me."

Liu Che nodded slightly, then looked at Wei Qing with a look of indifference but intention,
"Recently, many young talents have emerged, including Gongsun He's son Gongsun Jingsheng, Sima Tan's son Sima Qian, and Zhao Zhou's son Zhao Guo. They are all pillars of society, and I am overwhelmed by them all."

"This is also a good omen for our Han Dynasty, indicating that our Han Dynasty has successors. On the contrary, the son of me and Wei Qing is the least capable..."

(End of this chapter)