I, the prince, only want to be deposed.

Chapter 498 The Two Dragons Do Not Meet

Listening to Liu Che's words, Zhao Qian couldn't help but admire Su Wen.

No wonder Su Wen served as the Imperial Secretary for so many years. The officials and generals around Liu Che were replaced one after another, and even few prime ministers had a good end, but Su Wen remained as unmoved as a mountain.

Look at the level at which he speaks.

It sounded like a reminder to himself, and there was no stance implied, but without making any noise, he gave His Majesty the answer he wanted. Even if something went wrong in the future, he would not have to bear any consequences.

After all, the answer was given by His Majesty himself. Su Wen said nothing, but it seemed as if he had said everything.

Look at yourself again.

Facing His Majesty's question, I was still stuck. I wanted to say a few words for Liu, but I didn't know what to say. It's really useless...

"From now on, we must study Su Gong's words and deeds carefully, which will benefit us for the rest of our lives."

Zhao Qian reminded himself secretly in his heart, and in order to make up for his previous slowness, he quickly added with a trembling voice:
"Your Majesty, the family members who returned with Your Highness this time are not just Han Ruzi and the Queen of Dayuezhi, but actually three people in total."

"Oh? He also took other women without telling me?"

Liu Che looked doubtful, but did not show any dissatisfaction.

Liu Ju was the crown prince of the Han Dynasty after all. What was wrong with him favoring one more woman when he went to the Western Regions, even if she was of a poor family?

Apart from him, the emperor of the Han Dynasty, is there anyone else with a better background than Liu Ju?

Furthermore, as the crown prince of the Han Dynasty, ensuring that he had many offspring was one of Liu Ju's responsibilities and also his filial piety.

But Zhao Qian bowed and said:

"To answer your Majesty's question, in fact, the third person is still in Han Ruzi's belly. Han Ruzi is now more than seven months pregnant..."

"..."

Liu Che frowned slightly when he heard this.

Although this was indeed something to be happy about, Liu Che did not like anyone showing off such cleverness in front of him, as it was tantamount to flattering someone and hitting the wrong horse.

Fortunately, Zhao Qian's father and Su Wen were old friends, so Zhao Qian could naturally be considered Su Wen's junior, otherwise he would not have reminded Zhao Qian just now and helped him out.

Seeing that Liu Che was already somewhat displeased, Su Wen secretly shook his head and sighed in his heart, and could only step forward and salute again:

"I congratulate your majesty. Your Highness the Crown Prince has many children. This is a blessing from heaven and the Han Dynasty."

"Moreover, Han Ruzi is pregnant for seven months. If she gives birth in ten months, it will coincide with the auspicious day for Your Majesty to hold the Fengshan Ceremony. This may be the will of heaven and earth. It is indeed a double happiness and a sign of good fortune!"

"I dare to speak out, Your Majesty, and I beg you to announce this matter to the world, so that all the people can share this auspicious omen!"

"!"

After hearing Su Wen's words, Liu Che's face suddenly turned red again.

After he said that, it seemed to be true!

The auspicious day of the Fengshan Ceremony was the day when he might ascend to heaven on a dragon, and at the same time, Prince Liu Ju added a new member to the Han Dynasty. If you think about it carefully, it seems that there may really be a certain connection!

"allow!"

Liu Che barely forgot his slight unhappiness and immediately waved his hand to Zhao Qian.

"Go to the Pepper Palace now and tell the Queen about Liu Ju's imminent return and this happy event, so that she can be happy and relieve her homesickness!"

"promise……"

Zhao Qian finally didn't dare to say anything more and quickly took the order and left.

He had just seen Liu Che's frown. Before he realized what he had said was wrong, he was already feeling uneasy and didn't even dare to breathe.

Fortunately, Su Wen came to the rescue and the matter was finally over.

So we came outside the temple.

While Zhao Qian was still warning himself that he did not have Su Wen's ability and must never speak nonsense in front of Liu Che in the future, he could not help but feel more awe for Su Wen.

Being Liu Che's attendant is really not easy. Su Wen's ability to adapt and understand the emperor's intentions is simply extraordinary...

He even had to doubt.

If Su Wen wanted to harm someone, he only needed to say a few simple words, or simply stand by and watch, to easily destroy that person!

In other words, he doesn't know what will happen in the future.

In history, Liu Ju had a lot to say about this matter, and Su Wen did play an important role in fueling the "Witchcraft Disaster".

After learning that Liu Ju had raised an army to kill Jiang Chong and burned to death a group of Hu wizards that Jiang Chong had kept in Shanglin Garden, Liu Che originally thought that Liu Ju was just scared by the witchcraft incident and hated Jiang Chong and his gang, so he was forced to do such a thing.

It was not until Su Wen escaped from Chang'an and returned to Ganquan Palace, and described to Emperor Liu Che all the atrocities of Liu Ju, that Emperor Liu Che finally believed that Liu Ju was plotting a rebellion, and ordered Prime Minister Liu Quti to lead an army to eliminate Liu Ju.

It's just a matter of one thought.

At the critical moment, the role played by Su Wen, a close attendant deeply trusted by Emperor Liu Che, should not be underestimated.

But judging from the current situation.

Although Su Wen did not explicitly stand on Liu Ju's side, or rather, he always stood firmly on Liu Che's side, his words did not mean to harm Liu Ju at all. If one had to think about it carefully, one could even see that he was leaning towards Liu Ju...

At the same time, Zhao Qian didn't know either.

In fact, Su Wen is now in a dilemma.

Different from history.

Historically, he and Liu Ju have always been mortal enemies, and whenever he finds the right opportunity, he will speak ill of Liu Ju in front of Liu Che.

The root of this relationship is the Wei and Huo families behind Liu Ju.

There is a saying that goes "A tree that stands out in the forest will be destroyed by the wind."

Wei Qing and Huo Qubing were so talented that many people in the court could not tolerate two such marquises, and naturally these people did not want Liu Ju to succeed to the throne.

After all, power and status in the court are also a zero-sum game.

If Liu Ju, two powerful marquises, were allowed to succeed to the throne, they would definitely occupy more power and status. As a result, the power and status of others would inevitably be affected and weakened.

This is also true for close attendants like Su Wen.

If it were other princes, they might still have the opportunity to make meritorious contributions and gain a firm foothold for themselves and their families in the court.

But if it were Liu Ju, he would not need any support from outsiders at all. Even if Wei Qing and Huo Qubing were no longer alive, the political legacy and old subordinates they left him were already quite terrifying.

In this way, they, the close attendants of the emperor of the previous dynasty.

He had no choice but to pick up the bucket and run to Maoling to guard the tomb for Liu Che. From then on, he was away from the center of power and soon became a marginalized person who was ignored by everyone.

Therefore, for people other than the Wei and Huo families, preventing Liu Ju from succeeding to the throne was in their common interest.

But now.

Ever since Liu Ju had spoken to him from the bottom of his heart in private, Su Wen became completely scared and dared not to be Liu Ju's enemy anymore. He even started to act like "Su Liu".

What happened later made him understand even more clearly. Although Liu Ju usually behaved like a simple-minded young man, he actually possessed great wisdom that ordinary people could not reach.

Just like the previous events of destroying dikes and flooding fields, pacifying the Nanyue Kingdom, waiting for the gods in Donglai, reforming the state-run salt and iron industries, conquering the Korean Peninsula... and so on.

Others may not know the inside story, but Su Wen is well aware of what an important role Liu Ju played in it and what a huge and powerful change he brought to the Han Dynasty.

Most importantly, he witnessed Liu Che's reactions to these events almost entirely.

Therefore, he was extremely sure that Liu Ju had subtly mastered the ability to manipulate Liu Che's emotions. He could make him cry if he wanted to, laugh if he wanted to, or be angry if he wanted to.

But Liu Ju knew how to strike a balance.

In destroying the dikes and flooding the fields, he seemed to be extremely disrespectful, but he turned Dayu's ancient river channel into Liu Che's "resonance between heaven and man".

When he was pacifying the Kingdom of Nanyue, he seemed to be disgusting Liu Che, but in fact he let Liu Che truly indulge in the feeling of "all nations coming to pay tribute".

And all those other things.

Although Liu Ju had always behaved in a perverse, disobedient, disrespectful and unfilial manner, Liu Che had smashed countless tables and chairs for this, and had thought of deposing Liu Ju countless times out of anger, but he never did so. He always held Liu Ju high and then put him down gently.

Why is this?

Isn't it because through Liu Ju's corrections, disobedience, disrespect and unfilial behavior, no matter what the process was, the final result was that Liu Che's imperial power and reputation were not only not affected, but were constantly strengthened, so that what he finally felt in his heart was actually a great filial piety that moved heaven and earth?
Otherwise, how could a man like Liu Che tolerate such a rebellious son?

Therefore, Su Wen had long been certain that Liu Ju was a wise man who appeared foolish. He was a man of great wisdom from beginning to end. His previous behaviors of being pretentious, disobedient, disrespectful, and unfilial were just means for him to avoid "overshadowing his father"!

Until Liu Ju went to the Western Regions.

Su Wen became more and more certain that Liu Ju was the person he was thinking of!
With earth-shaking news of victory after victory, and the ever-changing situation of the Xiongnu and the Western Regions, how could it have been achieved within a few years if it were not for a person with great wisdom?

Let’s just say that Liu Ju went to the Western Regions for several years.

The Han Dynasty has not even shown its weakness in front of other countries until now. Even Wei Qing and Huo Qubing could not even dream of this, right?

the most important is.

After Liu Ju arrived in the Western Regions, he suddenly seemed to have changed his personality and was no longer the rebellious son that made Liu Che grit his teeth.

Except that he has not returned to Beijing to report for a long time.

Liu Ju obeyed almost all of Liu Che's imperial edicts. If Liu Che told him to go east, he would obediently go east. If Liu Che told him to beat a dog, he would definitely beat the dog, and at most catch a few chickens.

This made Emperor Liu Che, who had been cautious about him before, no longer have any reservations in recent years and simply let him do it.

There is a saying that goes, "It is easy to change the country but difficult to change one's nature."

There is such a huge gap between Liu Ju before and after he went to the Western Regions. Doesn't this mean that all the foolish things he did before were just an act, and the current Liu Ju is the real Liu Ju?

Think of this.

Su Wen's severed finger, which had long since healed, suddenly felt inexplicably tingling again, with a faint burning sensation.

Such a Liu Ju made him feel uneasy.

Looking at Liu Che's feet that were shaking unconsciously again, Su Wen secretly felt that Liu Che's scheming and means were probably slightly inferior to those of Liu Ju.

At the same time, he felt fortunate.

Fortunately, he was no longer Liu Ju's enemy, at least not a mortal enemy.

And this little finger was broken because of Liu Ju. Even if Liu Ju does not regard this as a merit of following the emperor in the future, this broken finger can also be regarded as a medal, right?

In his current opinion, there is probably no one who can stop Liu Ju from succeeding to the throne.

Unless...Liu Che went insane.

……

More than two months later, it was cloudy and there was no rain.

After a journey of more than 10,000 miles, the huge convoy returning to Beijing finally arrived in Chang'an.

This procession extended from Dayuezhi to Luntai City, passing through Loulan Kingdom, Yumen Pass, and the four counties of Hexi and entered the Sili Department, and slowly walked all the way to Chang'an, truly demonstrating the power of the Han Dynasty among various countries and regions.

It also allowed Liu Ju to experience what it means to return home in glory.

But one month before Liu Ju arrived in Chang'an, a rumor spread rapidly throughout Chang'an like a virus and was spreading to all counties and countries.

This rumor is called "Two Dragons Never Meet".

This means that the real dragon and the latent dragon should not meet each other, as the dragon energies counteract each other. The real dragon is strong and the latent dragon is weak, so the latent dragon will naturally be afraid. In the mildest case, its mind will be shaken and its behavior will become abnormal, in the worst case, it will become weak and sick and die.

The real dragon naturally refers to the emperor Liu Che.

Qianlong refers to the crown prince Liu Ju.

This was adapted by Liu Ju based on the superstition of Zhu Houzhao, the Jiajing Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and he secretly sent people back to Chang'an to spread it in advance.

Zhu Houcong believed in "Two dragons cannot meet", which means "If two dragons meet, one of them will die", and there is no distinction between the severity of the crime. Liu Ju made such an adaptation naturally to suit the actual situation between himself and Liu Che.

Speaking of which, Liu Che and Zhu Houcong do have many things in common.

For example, both of them had some luck in their succession to the throne. They were only in their teens when they ascended the throne. After ascending the throne, they were both constrained for a period of time. They both relied on extraordinary political strategies and means to monopolize power. They worked hard to reform the current malpractices and rectify the officialdom and could be regarded as wise leaders. However, they were also obsessed with seeking immortality and seeking gods and ghosts. At the same time, they both oppressed and corrupted the government in their middle and late periods.

In addition, the two are very similar in terms of offspring.

Liu Che worked hard for many years and only had his first prince, Liu Ju, when he was 28 years old.

Zhu Houcong was 26 years old before he finally had his first prince.

However, the difference is that in history, Liu Che had a total of six sons in his life. Except for the second prince Liu Hong, the rest of the princes did not die young.

Zhu Houcong was more miserable. He had eight sons in his lifetime.

Zhu Houcong didn't even have time to be happy about the eldest prince he had finally gotten, as he died at just two months old.

The second, third and fourth sons did not die young, but the fifth to eighth sons did not even live to see a full month.

Zhu Houcong naturally cherished his three remaining sons.

He particularly liked the second son, Zhu Zaigang, and named him the crown prince when he was three years old. However, who would have thought that Zhu Zaigang suddenly fell seriously ill and died on the second day after his coming-of-age ceremony.

From then on, Zhu Houcong, who was already superstitious, firmly believed in the saying that "two dragons cannot meet" and resolutely refused to meet his two remaining sons.

Liu Ju certainly knew that Zhu Houcong believed that "two dragons cannot meet" not only out of superstition.

It is also closely related to his tragic personal experience, and may even be a direct causal relationship.

Liu Che did not have such an unforgettable experience, so he might not believe it as firmly as Zhu Houcong did.

However, this did not prevent Liu Ju from planting this grass in Liu Che's heart before he returned, or it could be said that he had paved the way for Liu Che in advance.

If he can achieve his goal in the most gentle way, by using some conspiracy or acting out a play, why should he go to such lengths and do the difficult instead of the easy?
the most important is.

Although he had prepared himself mentally for the worst, he still didn't want to force Liu Che into a corner, even if there was only a slight possibility. He had to at least leave him a way out.

This is actually the same principle as "When surrounding an army, there must be a gap."

(End of this chapter)