I, the prince, only want to be deposed.

Chapter 504: The Mystery of Fengshan
This unique fireworks show indeed caused quite a stir in Chang'an.

In the next few days, almost everyone in Chang'an was discussing this matter and regarded it as a curious story.

But that's all, no one has realized the seriousness of the problem.

Even Emperor Liu Che was the same, he only regarded fireworks as a kind of strange and ingenious technique for entertainment and viewing, and did not think of them as weapons at all.

As for military uses, he only thought of the possibility of replacing the "sky lanterns" to transmit military signals. He did not take it too seriously, let alone dig deeper into the matter.

This is actually understandable.

After all, with the emergence of any new thing, people need a long time to study and adapt, before they can gradually master and apply it in the process of use and play a real role.

The fireworks show presented by Liu Ju was just an introduction or a prelude.

The purpose is to let people know that he has this thing. As for its real function and power, they will be revealed when necessary. The decision to use it or not is entirely up to him.

Since then.

Liu Ju spent a comfortable and pleasant month in Chang'an.

Liu Che and he were a loving father and a filial son. Han Ling successfully gave birth to a baby boy. This was naturally a happy event for Liu Ju, and it was a double happiness for Liu Che who was about to hold the Fengshan ceremony.

So Liu Che ordered people to confer rewards and issued an edict to celebrate throughout the country. He was busy and had a lot of fun.

Of course, not nothing happened in the court during this period.

For many people, the biggest thing is naturally the previous rumors about "two dragons not meeting each other".

The effect of Liu Ju's "killing with a borrowed knife" was extremely obvious. With Wei Kang's intelligence support and Du Zhou's strict law enforcement, many people had been arrested and imprisoned.

Most of these people were those who had impeached, criticized and framed Liu Ju, as well as those who took advantage of Liu Ju's misfortune after he was deposed. Among them were some virtuous and talented scholars and Confucian scholars from the Imperial Academy who still had some reputation, as well as some extraordinary officials and prominent families serving in the court.

The boomerang from that year has been circling around for several years and now it’s hitting them back in the face.

No one knew better than Liu Ju whether the spread of the rumor of "Two Dragons Never Meet" had anything to do with them, and Wei Kang and Du Zhou certainly could not find any relevant evidence.

But this is no longer important.

Because of the imperial prison during Emperor Liu Che's reign, few people could escape unscathed after entering it.

This is also an effective deterrent.

This is enough to make all those who still harbor ill intentions towards Liu Ju feel fearful, and before taking any action they always have to carefully consider whether they can afford the price of impeaching, interrogating and framing Liu Ju.

No need to doubt.

After this incident, Liu Ju not only had the unparalleled military merit of expelling the Huns and expanding the territory, but also had the support of Liu Che in eliminating dissidents. Now his position as the crown prince is definitely much more stable than when Wei Qing was alive.

Before this, Wei Qing was undoubtedly Liu Ju's biggest supporter.

And now, Liu Ju himself is the unshakable pillar!
However, as the date of the Fengshan Ceremony approached, a detail in the etiquette process sent by Liu Che immediately aroused Liu Ju's vigilance.
——Huo Xian!
Huo Qubing died young, and Huo Shan was the only bloodline he left.

Historically, when Emperor Liu Che held the Fengshan Ceremony, there was only one person who was fortunate enough to accompany him to climb Mount Tai to report his achievements to heaven, and that was Huo Shan.

Just after the Fengshan Ceremony ended and Emperor Liu Che was continuing his eastern tour, Huo Shan, who was only ten years old, suddenly died.

There is no record in history books about why Huo Shan died, whether it was due to illness or an accident. It only vaguely mentions that after Huo Shan's death, because he had no offspring, the lineage of Guanjun Hou was completely extinct.

This time, Liu Che planned to take two people to Mount Tai to report his achievement to heaven.

One is Huo Xian, and the other is naturally Liu Ju.

You really can't blame Liu Ju for previously neglecting his nephew Huo Shan.

It was all because Huo Guang protected him too well. Not to mention Huo Shan, even in the eyes of outsiders, Huo Guang had already completely cut ties with the Wei family and had no contact with them on a daily basis, let alone Huo Shan, a junior who was even more distant from Huo Guang.

But even so, Liu Ju knew that Huo Xian was now seventeen years old.

And with the help of his uncle Huo Guang, he is in good health and enjoys eating. He is also married, but he has no children yet.

This is the crux of the matter.

If Huo Xian had any hidden illness, according to historical records, he should have died suddenly at the age of ten.

Just like Liu Hong, if Liu Ju had not intervened, he would have certainly died early due to a minor appendicitis.

But Huo Xian did not die suddenly at the age of ten. What happened?

If there is any difference between the current Huo Shan and the Huo Shan in history.

It must be because of Liu Ju that Liu Che's Fengshan ceremony was delayed a lot, so the event of Huo Shan accompanying Liu Che to climb Mount Tai to report his achievements to heaven was also delayed until now, right?

Could it be that in history, Huo Shan's sudden death at a young age was related to Emperor Liu Che's Fengshan Ceremony?

But what connection could this have?

Liu Ju first put aside factors that were beyond human control, such as natural disasters. Whether he believed in such things as supernatural powers or not, they were not something he could interfere with. Moreover, if it was really God's will, Huo Xian should have died suddenly at the age of ten. How could it change so easily?

So, could it be a man-made disaster?
If it was a man-made disaster...

This matter is worthy of Liu Ju's attention!
After all, this time, the two people who will climb Mount Tai with Liu Che are him and Huo Shan.

Huo Shan was able to die suddenly right after the Fengshan Ceremony. So even though he was a full-level human, he was not immortal, so he could also die suddenly like Huo Shan!
And judging from the relevant records in history books, Liu Che did not take any action that would shock the court in response to Huo Shan's sudden death.

It is not difficult to judge that in Liu Che's view, there should be no doubt about Huo Shan's sudden death, at least no problems were found.

Also.

According to historical records, Emperor Liu Che had high hopes for Huo Shan. He appointed him as Shizhong when he was very young, allowing him to enter and leave the palace freely. He also told the outside world more than once that he wanted to make him a general when he grew up to continue Huo Qubing's achievements.

Now that Liu Ju has completed the unfinished work of Huo Qubing, Liu Che still wants to take Huo Shan to participate in the most important part of the Fengshan Ceremony. This also shows Liu Che's importance and love for Huo Shan.

Therefore, if there were any doubts about Huo Shan's sudden death, Emperor Liu Che would certainly not let it go, and the history books would not just mention it in passing.

Therefore, if this was a man-made disaster, the means used must be extremely sophisticated, to the point where no one could detect it. Even Liu Ju must not take it lightly!
……

After such suspicion arose in his mind, Liu Ju immediately ordered people to invite Wei Kang over and asked him to retrieve the information of all the relevant personnel who assisted in the Fengshan Ceremony. Now, many of the people who initially assisted in the Fengshan Ceremony have passed away.

For example, Dong Zhongshu, the great scholar in the country, Sima Tan, the Grand Historian, and Ni Kuan, the Imperial Censor.

When Ni Kuan accompanied Liu Ju to the Korean Peninsula, he was the Left Internal History and the Senior Official. Soon after he returned, he was promoted to the Chief Censor, one of the Three Dukes.

The reason he was promoted to the position of Imperial Censor was naturally because someone vacated the position.

Before him, the Grand Censor had always been Liu Ju's Prince's Tutor Shi Qing, and the Prime Minister was Zhao Zhou.

Later, Liu Che staged a "Zhou Jin to Seize the Title" incident, and Zhao Zhou, as the prime minister, was accused of "knowing the truth and not reporting it." Although Zhao Zhou, who should have been executed as in history, followed Liu Ju to the Korean Peninsula to atone for his sins and was spared the death penalty after returning, he lost his position as prime minister.

At this time, Shi Qing was appointed as prime minister by Emperor Wu of Han, and Ni Kuan succeeded him as chief censor.

Liu Ju had no objection to this.

Although he knew that Shi Qing was a non-stick pan, the prime minister of Liu Che's dynasty was originally a decoration and a scapegoat. The one who could really make decisions was actually the inner court organized by Liu Che. Therefore, it didn't make much difference no matter who became the prime minister.

But the Prime Minister does not have to do nothing.

For example, in this Fengshan Ceremony, because a number of heavyweight professionals passed away one after another, the important task of presiding over and co-organizing the Fengshan Ceremony naturally fell on Prime Minister Shi Qing.

Fortunately, the Fengshan Ceremony had been planned long ago, and those professionals naturally left behind quite detailed information on the ritual procedures.

All Shi Qing had to do in this matter was to follow the rules.

Liu Ju did not find any problems in the intelligence information about Shi Qing provided by Wei Kang. He only knew that since Shi Qing became the prime minister, seven people from the Shi family had been recommended and became high-ranking officials at the two thousand stone level.

In fact, there was another person who had been involved with Liu Ju without his knowledge.

This man's name is Shi De, the second son of Shi Qing. He now serves as Taichang in the court. After Dong Zhongshu's death, he was recommended to take over the position of Prince's Tutor, which means he is the teacher that Liu Ju has not met yet.

In this way, Shi Qing had already been the Prince's Grand Tutor, and Shi De had become the Prince's Junior Tutor. To the outside world, it seemed as if the Shi family had already boarded Liu Ju's ship completely...

There are not many records about Shi De in history books.

The only thing worth mentioning is his role in the "Witchcraft Disaster":

——It was Shi De who suggested to Liu Ju that he raise an army to capture and kill Jiang Chong and those sorcerers and alchemists after Jiang Chong dug out the witchcraft doll from Liu Ju’s mansion, so as to avoid repeating the mistakes of Prince Fusu of Qin.

However, Liu Ju did not think there was anything wrong with Shi De's suggestion.

At that time, Liu Ju really had no way out. If he did not rise up in resistance, even if Jiang Chong and his men did not dare to really kill him, the prince, they would definitely control him first and ask Liu Che for instructions. By then, Liu Ju would not know how to explain the matter of the witchcraft doll and would not be able to prove his innocence. He would probably still not be able to keep his position as the prince, and would not have a good ending.

Therefore, whether based on Liu Ju's understanding of Shi Qing, or combined with the records in history books, as well as the intelligence information provided by Wei Kang now, Liu Ju did not find any problems with him.

As for the other officials who assisted in the Fengshan Ceremony, Liu Ju also conducted detailed examinations one by one based on the intelligence information provided by Wei Kang.

Again, no issues were found that deserved special attention.

Even the roles played by the wizards and alchemists kept by Liu Che in the Fengshan Ceremony were harmless, at least they were all understandable in this era, unlike Li Shaojun, Luan Da and Gongsun Qing who were so audacious and presumptuous before.

"So, am I being too sensitive?"

Although Liu Ju had some self-doubt, he still did not take it lightly.

He had made arrangements in advance and ordered Guo Zhen and others to focus on the safety of all rooms, including food, utensils, clothing, etc. during the Fengshan Ceremony.

It’s hard for others to say, but Guo Zhen, who has been with him through life and death many times, is definitely trustworthy.

……

The day of the Fengshan Ceremony is approaching day by day.

The counties and prefectures around Mount Tai had already started infrastructure construction in advance, and several palaces and halls had sprung up.

The highway from Chang'an to Mount Tai and then to Qi was also repaired and maintained to ensure that Liu Che's carriage could travel unimpeded.

Finally, two months before the auspicious day of the Fengshan Ceremony, Liu Che drove his six golden chariots out of the Golden Horse Gate of the Weiyang Palace, passed through the Ba Gate in the east of the city, and headed eastward under the protection of a large guard lineup composed of Qimen Cavalry and Jianzhang Cavalry.

Behind them followed a convoy consisting of Liu Ju and civil and military officials.

Finally came the convoys of envoys from various countries.

As for Chang'an and Weiyang Palace, they were temporarily under the charge of Empress Wei Zifu.

Historically, Liu Che often traveled around the country in his later years. To put it bluntly, he spent money on sacrifices everywhere. Every time he left the palace, he would hand over the court and palace affairs to Crown Prince Liu Ju and Queen Wei Zifu. They would decide small matters on their own, and would deal with big matters when he came back.

This time, Liu Che brought Liu Ju with him to the Fengshan ceremony, so naturally he could only leave all these matters to Wei Zifu alone.

On the way to Mount Tai, Liu Ju's worries did not diminish with the passage of time.

Unfortunately, he has not met Huo Xian until now.

When in Chang'an, in order to maintain the apparently completely separate relationship between the Huo and Wei families, Huo Guang firmly opposed Liu Ju's meeting with him and did not give Liu Ju any chance at all.

And now we have left Chang'an.

Huo Guang was also Liu Che's imperial carriage commander and was responsible for driving the car for Liu Che himself.

Huo Shan was brought by Liu Che, who allowed him to travel in the same carriage, so Liu Ju had no chance to come into contact with him.

In this way, this huge and spectacular convoy stopped and went along the way.

After one and a half months, we finally arrived at the foot of Mount Tai as planned.

At present, a large number of palaces and villas have been built at the foot of Mount Tai, and the people from several nearby counties have been subjected to corvee labor and gathered here to serve in this Fengshan ceremony.

However, with such a grand ceremony before him, Liu Che, who was always generous, did not treat these people who were subjected to corvee labor unfairly. Even the people from the counties and prefectures along the way were rewarded.

It was also here that Liu Ju finally met Huo Shan for the first time.

He came to pay his respects to Liu Che under the pretext of something. When Huo Guang got permission to open the curtain for Liu Che, Liu Ju saw a young man with a slightly childish face beside Liu Che.

(End of this chapter)