I, the prince, only want to be deposed.

Chapter 299 Open the door! Free trade!
After a long silence.

Although Gongsun Qing's pupils were still trembling, his expression gradually showed a hint of determination and resistance. He leaned forward and said:
"Your Highness, please forgive me. I cannot do this. Your Highness, please find someone else."

"This is your only chance to turn things around in this life. Are you going to give up so easily?"

Liu Ju couldn't help feeling a little surprised and confused.

In his opinion, Gongsun Qing was a profit-seeking, audacious rumormonger who had no reason or position to refuse, and he should not have reacted in this way.

Moreover, this matter should not be too difficult for him, after all, it is his professional field.

After all, no matter how incompetent he was, he had participated in the formulation of the Taichu Calendar in history, and Liu Ju also allowed him to recruit helpers.

"This servant...can't do it!"

Gongsun Qing obviously hesitated for a moment, but finally said in a firm tone,

"I can do anything for Your Highness, except this one thing. I would rather be a slave for the rest of my life. If Your Highness wants to kill me for this, I will never regret it and I am willing to wait for my death!"

"I want to hear why you made this decision."

Liu Ju said with interest.

"Although I am a liar, I was blinded by interests and status and had the audacity to deceive the emperor, but my courage is limited. I would rather die than become a sinner who harms the country and the nation!"

Gongsun Qing straightened his back, showing a righteous attitude at this moment, ready to die, and said generously,
"Your Highness may not like what I am going to say next, but I have to say it."

"Although this scripture that Your Highness ordered me to compile may seem to consolidate the status of Your Majesty and Your Highness, it will be a great harm to the country and the people in the long run. By then, the country may no longer have the power to resist foreign enemies, and the subjects may no longer have the integrity of national justice. Everyone will be complacent, each family will protect their own benefits, and everyone will be content with the status quo."

"If a country is weak and its people are weak, it will collapse without a fight when foreign enemies come. How can it be a country, how can it be a family?"

"Even if I have the guts to deceive the emperor, I definitely don't have the guts to destroy the Han nation."

"Your Highness asked me to do this, why not just kill me? But even if Your Highness wants to kill me, I will advise you before I die that you must not implement this method in the Han Dynasty. Otherwise, not only will Your Highness become an eternal sinner of the Han nation, but the people of the Han Dynasty will never be able to stand up straight again like I am now!"

"Your Highness, I beg you to... think twice!"

This time, Gongsun Qing did not kneel down after he finished speaking. Instead, he opened his eyes wide and looked directly into Liu Ju's eyes. His eyes were full of sincerity and earnestness, as if he wanted to impress Liu Ju with such a look.

When he said this, he had already made up his mind to die.

Because he knew that he had just heard things he shouldn't have heard and said things he shouldn't have said. If Liu Ju refused to accept his advice, he would definitely silence him to prevent him from having the opportunity to spread words that would be detrimental to him.

But how could he know.

After hearing these words, Liu Ju was even more surprised, and couldn't help but look at the slanderer and alchemist in front of him with a new respect.

"I can't believe you're such a patriot."

Liu Ju grinned and looked Gongsun Qing up and down.
"However, when did I say that the contents of this scripture would be promoted in the Han Dynasty? If that were the case, wouldn't it be much easier for me to become an immortal in Donglai?"

"What do you mean, Your Highness?"

Gongsun Qing was startled, with a look of doubt on his face.

"This scripture was compiled for an enemy country. The people of this country fear power and do not cherish virtue. Not only are they difficult to educate, but they also have a tradition of subjugating their superiors. They are also located far overseas and rely on natural defenses. One day, they will become a disaster for our Han Dynasty."

Liu Ju smiled and said,

"For our Han Dynasty, shouldn't we make such an enemy country lose its ability to resist foreign enemies in advance, make its subjects lose their national integrity, and eliminate this disaster for our Han Dynasty in advance?"

"Your Highness, are you serious?"

Gongsun Qing couldn't help but confirm it again.

Liu Ju still smiled:

"You are a liar, and I am not. What good will it do me to lie to you?"

"If that's the case, then... Your Highness, I take back what I just said. Is it too late to regret it now?"

Gongsun Qing asked again quickly.

"That's too late."

Liu Ju shook his head. Seeing Gongsun Qing was about to cry but had no tears, he smiled and said,

"I suddenly feel that you can shoulder a heavier burden and do more things for me."

"But the words 'rumourmonger' on your face are really indecent. I will design a beautiful totem for you later, and then find someone who knows how to tattoo to cover it up. This way it will be easier for you to preach."

"As for the alchemists I have ordered you to gather in Qi this time, you can tell them that as long as they do what I have asked them to do, they can also get permission to cover up the tattoos like you did."

"Preaching?"

Gongsun Qing was stunned again.

Taoism had not yet officially emerged in this era. It had to wait until the Eastern Han Dynasty before its prototype appeared and then it took shape at the end of the Han Dynasty. Therefore, there is no such saying.

"There is no rush for this matter. First, finish the task I will tell you now."

Liu Ju did not explain, but waved his hand and asked Gongsun Qing to leave.

We have to admit that Gongsun Qing was quite capable. He saw through the essence and harm of this system at a glance, showing considerable political foresight and foresight. As for whether this system would be immediately seen through by the "knowledgeable people" in Japan when it came to Japan,

Liu Ju was not too worried about this.

First of all, Japan is still in a backward tribal slavery period, and it does not even have its own writing system. Naturally, its culture is basically blank, and it is easy to be invaded by foreign cultures and beliefs. Even if there are some "knowledgeable people", their number is bound to be very few.
Secondly, to maintain and implement a system, the first thing to rely on is definitely military force. The Han Dynasty is full of martial virtues and has an absolute advantage over the current Japanese country.

Again, the use of both kindness and severity, using carrot in one hand and stick in the other, is never out of date. Now the Han people have plenty of carrots that the Japanese are eager to get. They can win over many Japanese by just taking out an insignificant carrot.

In this era, the great powers are the Han people themselves.

"Boom boom boom!"

"Open the door! Free trade!"

……

Although Wei Man's Joseon delegation arrived in Chang'an, they also sent their own crown prince as a hostage.

But Liu Che still insisted on sending troops to attack. Simply surrendering would not work, and the weapons of Wei Man Joseon must be completely disarmed.

Because in his opinion, only in this way can Liu Ju be guaranteed absolute safety when traveling to the Korean Peninsula.

Otherwise, if Liu Ju passed through Wiman Joseon and Wei Youqu went back on his word and detained Liu Ju, wouldn't it mean that the Han Dynasty and Wiman Joseon were sending their crown princes to each other as hostages? This risk must be completely eliminated.

After Liu Ju learned the news, he went to the palace again.

When entering the Qingliang Palace.

There were two other people in the hall who were being asked questions by Emperor Liu Che.

One of them was Sang Hongyang. Liu Ju had never seen the other one. He could only tell that he was a man in his fifties, not tall, but with a strong face.

"I have met His Highness."

When Sang Hongyang and the man saw Liu Ju, they bowed and saluted.

"No need to be polite, Your Excellency is..."

After Liu Ju returned the greeting, he saluted Liu Che and asked about the other party's identity.

The man lowered his eyebrows and replied:
"In reply to your Highness, I, Shehe, will soon return to Korea as an envoy of the Han Dynasty with the Wei Man Joseon delegation to negotiate with its king, Wei Youqu."

After learning this man's identity, Liu Ju already understood what Liu Che's plan was.

The fuse of the Han Dynasty's war to conquer Korea in history was a man named She He.

After he arrived in Wei Man Joseon, his original intention was to persuade Wei Youqu to change his attitude towards the Han Dynasty. However, Wei Youqu neither agreed to go to Chang'an for an audience nor accepted Liu Che's edict.

She He was worried that he would return empty-handed and be blamed by Emperor Wu of Han, so on his way back, he killed the Korean Bi Wangchang who was escorting him out of the country, and reported the situation to Emperor Wu of Han. As expected, Emperor Wu of Han did not hold him responsible for his return empty-handed, and instead appointed him as the commander of the eastern part of Liaodong County, which bordered Wei Man's Korea.

Later, Wei Youqu held a grudge against She He and sent troops to raid Liaodong and killed She He.

So Liu Che immediately used this as an excuse to recruit 50,000 death row prisoners, and ordered General Yang Pu of the Tower Ship to take the sea route and General Xun Zhu of the Left to take the land route to jointly attack Wei Man Joseon.

This should have been a war that could be won easily, but after a series of child's play operations by these two generals, it took a year to finally capture Wanggeomseong, the capital of Wiman Joseon, and destroy Wiman Joseon, establishing the Four Han Commanderies on the Korean Peninsula.

After this battle, Yang Pu and Xun Zhu also paid the price for their frivolous operations in this battle.

Xun Zhui was executed and was not allowed to pay money to redeem his sin. Yang Pu was also sentenced to death, but after paying a large sum of redemption money, he was demoted to a commoner. There is no further record of him in history books after this.

and so……

Is Liu Che planning to use the same old trick again?

After all, the Han Dynasty was a country of etiquette, and as the "great philanthropists of Han," starting a war often required a just or high-sounding reason.

Historically, after Liu Che killed Wiman Joseon's deputy king Chang in Shehe, he also made him a frontier official in the area bordering Joseon, which was intended to intensify the conflict. This was Liu Che's human-shaped declaration of war to Wiman Joseon.

I just don't know how Liu Che plans to create an excuse now that Wei Man Joseon has already lowered its stance so much that the crown prince has been sent as a hostage?
Liu Ju entered the palace this time in the hope of making some slight changes to history.

At the very least, we must ensure that this war is no longer as trifling as it was in history. Not only will there be losses of soldiers and generals, but even if Wei Man Joseon is destroyed, it will still be a loss of face for the Han Dynasty.

"Nice to meet you."

After greeting She He, Liu Ju did not ask any more questions, but only bowed slightly to Liu Che.

"Father, I heard that you wanted to send an envoy to Wei Man Joseon to negotiate with Wei Youqu. I had some immature ideas and came here to explain them to you."

"Since it is an immature idea, there is no need to talk about it. I have already made up my mind."

Liu Che glanced at him and seemed to have no interest in discussing the matter with this "stupid son".

"..."

Liu Ju was stunned for a moment, then said,

"Father, I am just being modest when I say that I am not very mature. Actually, my idea is quite mature."

(End of this chapter)