I, the prince, only want to be deposed.

Chapter 278 We Just Studyed the Techniques for One Night
It was near noon the next day.

Liu Ju just came out of the room with a neck full of strawberries.

My birthday was last night, I turned 18 years old, and it’s a period of rapid growth.

It is true that the saying "women are like wolves at the age of thirty" is not just a saying. Thinking back to the beauty of last night, he felt that he was just a cabbage being eaten by a pig, and a weak and helpless one at that.

Before this, Liu Ju had never thought that he would be so powerless in front of a woman.

But if it was Yishuo...

It seems normal that he cannot resist, as most people would not be able to contend with that kind of strength.

"Your Highness..."

Guo Zhen had been waiting outside for a long time. When he saw Liu Ju, he immediately came over. Then, when he saw Liu Ju's neck full of strawberries, he paused and forgot what he was going to say.

As a husband of one wife and one concubine, and the father of a son and two daughters, how could Guo Zhen not understand what was going on?
He just felt it was a little sudden.

Before this, Yi Shuo had traveled with Liu Ju. Although they always rode in the same carriage and shared the same tent when camping in the wild, as Liu Ju's close attendant, Guo Zhen was very clear about how pure their relationship was between a man and a woman.

At the same time, he could also see that Yi Shuo seemed to have some subtle feelings for Liu Ju...

Therefore, he was a member of both Han Ling's party and Yi Shuo's party.

This is not contradictory at all. After all, the Han Dynasty practiced monogamy and polygamy. It was normal for a man to marry multiple women, not to mention that Liu Ju was the crown prince.

Nothing more.

This incident happened rather suddenly. They killed someone during the day and created another one at night. If you didn't know, you would think that this was a sacrifice they made for the sake of the population balance of the Han Dynasty.

And this Yishuo is really...

Even if he couldn't help himself, he should have taken Liu Ju's identity into consideration. If outsiders saw his neck full of strawberries, it would have some impact on his image as the crown prince.

So, when I meet my adopted daughter from now on... should I call her Yi Ruzi or Yi Liangdi?
There are only three levels of women for the prince: Ruzi, Liangdi, and Crown Princess.

Except for the selection of the Crown Princess, which had to be approved by the Emperor, the selection of the Duke of Ru and the Concubine depended entirely on Liu Ju's mood and preferences.

"Why are you staring at me?"

Noticing Guo Zhen's gaze, Liu Ju emphasized without blushing,
"I, it's me. I personally taught Yishuo the art of medicine for the whole night. She had just fallen asleep and I told the people below not to disturb her."

"promise."

Guo Zhen bowed in response.

"How is Gongsun Jingsheng doing?"

Liu Ju didn't care whether Guo Zhen believed it or not, and continued speaking.

"I was just about to report."

Guo Zhen finally remembered what he wanted to say and quickly replied,

"Marquis Hu Zhen sent someone to report early in the morning that many imprisoned officials and Confucian scholars were vying to beg to see His Highness. Many people also asked Marquis Hu Zhen for stationery and begged him to help deliver the documents."

This is already impatient to start biting and exposing...

As expected, this person must feel pressure before he can take action.

"Let him kill two people in front of those people first. The first one is Wang Congguan from Hejian who advised me to be tolerant in the guest hall of the county government yesterday. The second one is Beitang Cheng, the head of the Beitang family."

Liu Ju nodded and said thoughtfully,
"Tell Gongsun Jingsheng again that I won't see any of these people."

"For those who ask for stationery and submit documents, let them play the good cop, take the benefits when they should, and embezzle when they should. I don't need to teach them how to do it. Just let them be more restrained."

"This...No."

Guo Zhen didn't quite understand what Liu Ju was saying. Gongsun Jingsheng didn't look like the kind of person who would enrich himself, so why didn't he just teach him but also asked him to restrain himself?

He naturally didn't know that Gongsun Jingsheng had asked Liu Ju to arrange a job for him as a grain and fodder provider before the expedition to Western Qiang.

It is even more impossible for him to know that Gongsun Jingsheng embezzled military funds in history, and finally betrayed his father and himself as the crown prince...

"Where's Wei Kang?"

Liu Ju asked again.

Guo Zhen replied:

"Master Wei Chang took some people out early in the morning, saying that he was on a business trip under the secret order of His Highness."

"understood."

It seems that Wei Kang's injury is indeed not serious, so let him do it.

Once he has established an intelligence network in Hejian State, and combined with the information provided by these officials through mutual accusations, he can ensure that innocent people will not be killed indiscriminately, and will be able to find out the truth of the "Lady Gouyi" scam as soon as possible.

Although he said in front of those people that the truth of the scam was no longer important, he still wanted to get to the bottom of it and satisfy his curiosity.

"By the way, where is Hejian County Magistrate Wei Chen now?"

"He is currently recuperating in a wing room in the backyard of the county government office. I have sent a few people to take care of him and keep a close watch on him."

Guo Zhen bowed.

"Take me to see him first."

"Yes... Your Highness, please wait a moment. I have a silk scarf of good quality that is very suitable for your temperament."

……

Backyard wing.

"Greetings, Your Highness...hiss!" Upon seeing Liu Ju, Wei Chen, the governor of Hejian County who was lying on the couch, hurriedly stood up and saluted. This movement naturally involved his wound, and he grimaced in pain. Even the silk cloth wrapped around his shoulders oozed blood.

"Lie down."

Liu Ju nodded to Guo Zhen, signaling him to push it back, and then said,

"You definitely can't be the county governor, but considering that you have only been in office in Hejian for half a year and have not yet fully mastered the situation here, and that you pretended to take a knife for me yesterday, you have set a good example, so the crime of exterminating your entire clan can be spared."

"Thank you, Your Highness!"

Wei Chen suddenly looked frightened and quickly stood up to express his gratitude.

After what happened yesterday, he no longer dared to look down on Liu Ju. Now, hearing Liu Ju say "fake" to his face, he was almost scared to death.

Although these words were said very straightforwardly, the cunningness revealed by them was frightening...

This was obviously a warning to him. There was no need to think about the credit for saving the emperor. The reason why he could lie here and recuperate instead of being locked up with those officials was simply because it would set an example for the people of the world and would be beneficial to the prince.

So, how should he set an example next to be more beneficial to the prince?

"..."

This time Guo Zhen did not help him again.

Liu Ju's words "you pretended to take a knife for me" immediately made Guo Zhen start to re-evaluate Wei Chen.

At that time, he was busy dealing with the assassin and didn't really notice what Wei Chen did. When he heard the scream, the man had already been stabbed on the shoulder.

If Wei Chen was really "fake", he would have to thank the emperor in a proper manner, not to mention causing the wound to bleed a little, even if it hurt him to death.

No, it's atonement!
The next moment, Wei Chen endured the severe pain and took out a thumb-sized object from his arms and handed it to Liu Ju with both hands:
"Your Highness, this is the tiger seal of the governor of Hejian State. I neglected my duty and almost made a big mistake. I am no longer qualified to command the troops of a county. I will now hand over the tiger seal to Your Highness!"

The tiger talisman consists of two halves.

The left half was in the hands of various military generals and local governors, while the right half remained in the capital Chang'an.

When the Han court or local areas needed to mobilize troops, envoys would be sent to combine the two halves of the talisman. When the text on the two halves could be completely combined, they had to be used together with the imperial seal or the edict. Only then could the relevant generals and prefects send out troops. Both were indispensable, otherwise it would be tantamount to treason and the entire clan would be killed.

However, there is another situation, which is to send troops according to festival rules.

"Jie" means "jie staff". Usually, envoys who act directly in accordance with the emperor's orders will carry the jie staff bestowed by the emperor himself.

Liu Ju brought the staff with him on this tour. Now, with the tiger talisman that Captain Chen voluntarily handed over, he has absolute power to mobilize the Hejian army.

From then on, the entire Hejian State was completely under the control of Liu Ju.

Even if the situation gets out of hand, there is no need to worry about any more trouble. The only question is whether Liu Che will feel uncomfortable after learning about this matter...

But hackers don't need to care about this kind of thing.

Besides, the tiger talisman was handed over by Wei Chen voluntarily, and Liu Ju didn't ask for it actively, so what does it have to do with him?
Liu Ju smiled slightly and put the tiger talisman into his pocket:
"Since Governor Wei has voluntarily handed over the tiger talisman, I will keep it for my father first."

"As it should be, it is most appropriate for Your Highness to keep the Tiger Talisman for me now. Although I have committed an unforgivable crime, I am still a subject of the Han Dynasty until my death. There is no reason for me not to voluntarily hand over the Tiger Talisman!"

Wei Chen bowed again and deliberately added the word "active". Although he did not emphasize it, he still highlighted this point.

"Okay, take a rest first."

Liu Ju nodded slightly, turned and left the room.

"..."

Looking at his receding back, Wei Chen stood up with difficulty, his forehead and temples already wet with sweat.

On the one hand, it was because of the unbearable pain, and on the other hand, it was because of the fear in my heart

At this moment he believed it completely.

Liu Ju will definitely not make a big noise but do little this time. As he said before, "No one in Hejian State, from the prefecture to the county, from the King of Hejian to the officials, from the nobles to the prominent families, can stay out of it..."

How can such a prince not be feared?
……

Three days later.

Hejian County City, Junzi Pavilion.

"Mr. Guan, what should we do?"

A 70-year-old man was pacing with a sad face, and turned to an octogenarian who was resting on a couch.
"Even the king has been imprisoned by the crown prince until now. Officials are beheaded in public and their property is confiscated every day. As the prime minister of Hejian State, I am afraid that Lord Guan will not be able to escape unscathed."

The 70-year-old man who was speaking was named Wang Ding, also a famous Confucian scholar in the Confucian circle and the Minister of History of Hejian.

The octogenarian leaning on the couch was none other than Guan Changqing, a great Confucian scholar who was more influential than Dong Zhongshu in the Confucian circle, the prime minister of Hejian State, and a doctor of both "The Book of Songs" and "Zuo Zhuan".

The two men also have one thing in common, that is, they have been officials of the King of Hejian since the great-grandfather Liu De of the current King of Hejian Liu Shou was alive. They have assisted four kings so far and have a very broad mass base and reputation in the Hejian State.

"Don't worry, you are seventy-three and I am eighty-one."

Guan Changqing glanced at Wang Ding and made a hoarse sound like a leak.
"According to Han law, at this age, even if you and I are found guilty of treason, it is not something that a prince alone can handle. We must petition the emperor to convict us. Even the emperor must consider the legal implications. After all, you and I..."

While talking.

"Report!"

A servant ran in in a panic and reported loudly:
"Lord Guan! Lord Wang! The prince suddenly led his men to force their way in, and we dared not stop him!"

"The prince is here, so you should treat him with courtesy. Why are you so flustered?"

Guan Changqing glanced at the attendant and said without changing his expression.

(End of this chapter)