I, the prince, only want to be deposed.

Chapter 512: The Han people are so cunning
Fortunately, An Yu's reaction was not slow. He hesitated for a moment, then immediately bowed to Liu Ju:

"Your Highness, your words are very important. Your Highness wants to ask you a question. I am flattered and will be waiting for you at any time."

"Then it's settled."

Liu Ju nodded with a smile.

Shi Qing, who was standing by, immediately reminded them and interrupted their conversation:

"Your Highness, the auspicious time has arrived. His Majesty will soon come to meet with the ministers and envoys. It would be better to discuss this matter in private after the meeting..."

"What the Prime Minister said is absolutely true."

Liu Ju nodded slightly, then turned his gaze away from An Yu.

"..."

An Yu felt the pressure on his body suddenly lifted. He breathed a sigh of relief and lowered his eyes to think about what Liu Ju meant by what he had just said.

After meeting the "Donglai God", the person these wizards and alchemists least wanted to contact was Liu Ju.

Because in that incident, Liu Ju had proved one thing to everyone:

No one in this world knows how to play tricks better than him!

If you act mysterious in front of him, you will most likely be showing off your skills and end up shooting yourself in the foot.

Therefore, Liu Ju's so-called "consultation" was like raising a sword in the minds of these wizards and alchemists, accompanied by great crisis and hostility.

It would be a lie to say I wasn't panicking...

Seeing this scene, Li Xiushan and other Qi local scholars on the side were secretly delighted and even a little surprised.

Through Li Xiushan's communication, some Qi local scholars already knew that Liu Ju stood on the side of the Qi local scholars. They originally thought that Liu Ju was going to let them charge, and were wondering whether they should wait and see, in case they were eventually used as pawns and ended up as abandoned pawns.

Unexpectedly, Liu Ju didn't even say hello and started to lead the charge.

As a result, their concerns were naturally reduced a lot, and they were already thinking about how to follow Liu Ju and lend him a helping hand...

This was exactly one of Liu Ju's three goals.

The second purpose is to give An Yu some psychological pressure.

No matter how strong the psychological quality of a person who has done dirty things is, once he faces pressure, he will inevitably feel guilty and will make some preparations to hide his dirty deeds, which will naturally make it easier for him to reveal his true colors in the process.

As for the third purpose, it depends on whether Liu Che still has the wisdom of his youth. Even if not, it can trigger his PTSD and make him think...

Did anyone think that he would cause trouble at this court meeting?

No way?
What a joke! You have to know that this is the Fengshan Ceremony that Liu Che has been looking forward to all his life. There are so many civil and military ministers and envoys from various countries present. Anyone who wants to cause trouble at this court meeting will destroy the most important place in Liu Che's life.

Not to mention the consequences of doing so, Liu Ju knew one thing better. Although he and Liu Che were seemingly in harmony on some issues, they were ultimately father and son, the leader and successor of the Liu family of the Han Dynasty. More often than not, they would prosper together and suffer together.

There is a saying that goes, don’t air your dirty laundry in public.

How could he let these outsiders laugh at him so easily, bring shame to the Liu family of the Han Dynasty in front of the envoys from various countries, and even indirectly affect the authority of the Han Dynasty in the hearts of the envoys from various countries?

Therefore, even if there is something to do, it can only be done after the Fengshan Ceremony.

"Cough cough!"

Seeing that Liu Ju only exchanged two sentences of greeting and then fell silent, Liu Che finally put his heart at ease. He cleared his throat and strode out of the back hall.

Then the attendants followed him out one after another.

The usher held the imperial letter on a jade disc and read it aloud, praising Liu Che and announcing the success of the Fengshan ceremony to the world.

During this process, Liu Che's gaze swept across the ministers and envoys in the hall, and quietly lingered on Liu Ju for a second longer.

He wanted to find out what Liu Ju was thinking.

However, Liu Ju kept his head down all the time. When he occasionally looked up and met Liu Che's eyes, his eyes were full of obedience and harmonious smile, and nothing could be seen.

Unfortunately, this still could not make Liu Che completely at ease.

He couldn't help but think of Su Wen's report just now, and his heart was slightly moved as he felt uneasy:

"Did this rebellious son know something, that's why he spoke to An Yu like this?"

"But Su Wen has just discovered that Huo Xian has a problem with his diet, and the news should not have spread yet. After all, even the palace maid's sudden death was banned by me to avoid any comments on this Fengshan ceremony. This rebellious son should not know about it..."

"Wait!"

"Is this rebellious son trying to remind me of something in this way?"

"He once witnessed the birthday ceremony between me and Huo Xian on the top of Mount Tai. Although I did not let him get close, this rebellious son has always been very smart and has been to the Kingdom of Nanyue. He may have seen such a ceremony. Even if he saw it from a distance, he could have guessed it."

"If that's the case, this rebellious son has really grown a lot."

"So……"

"Could it be that there is something wrong with the birthday etiquette that An Yu told me about?"

……

The so-called court congratulations are nothing but a long and boring flattery competition.

Liu Che first let the envoys brag about themselves, then the crown prince Liu Ju boasted from the perspective of his son, then the ministers sent representatives to add to the praise, then the envoys from various countries continued to praise from different angles, until Liu Che was praised to the point of being in ecstasy and felt that it was a loss to the heaven that he could not ascend to heaven.

A strong nation is like a strong person.

Before you become strong, there are obstacles everywhere, but after you become strong, there are basically no "bad guys" around you.

After two hours of hard work, the flattery competition finally came to an end.

Under Sang Hongyang's manipulation, Liu Che also took advantage of the opportunity to recoup part of the capital for the Fengshan ceremony.

In fact, the trick he used was not new. It was nothing more than the "Qingmao Strategy" that Guan Zhong had used before. If the princes and ministers wanted to watch the Fengshan Ceremony, they had to bring a bundle of thatch, a specialty of Chu, with three ridges running straight through to the roots, as a mat for sacrifice.

Naturally, Sang Hongyang had brought the green grass a long time ago and blocked the news. He only announced it when he arrived at the foot of Mount Tai. In order to show their loyalty, the princes and ministers had to buy it, so the originally worthless green grass was instantly sold at a sky-high price, making these princes and ministers bleed heavily.

If nothing unexpected happens, this money will naturally be used in the Jianzhang Palace project, which has already been designed and is waiting for investment to start construction. After all, the construction of the Jianzhang Palace started immediately after the Fengshan Ceremony, so the financial pressure on Liu Che is not small.

The princes and ministers felt that their IQs had been rubbed to the ground.

After all, they were familiar with the "Qingmao Strategy". Even if Sang Hongyang changed the strategy slightly and came up with a variant like the "Tongjian Strategy" or the "Xianlu Strategy", it was still considered that he had put some thought into it.

Isn't it a bit insulting to use the "Qingmao Mou" in its original form?
However, they had no idea that this was Liu Che's conspiracy.

First of all, the "Qingmaomou" was something that happened when the Zhou emperor was offering sacrifices to the gods at Mount Tai. Liu Che used it during the Fengshan ceremony, and in his opinion it had certain legitimacy and rationality.

Secondly, this is also a kind of court PUA.

Although I am rubbing your IQ, you still have to accept my rubbing. Anyway, it is not the first time that I rub you. You should develop such a good habit.

Don’t you know what “Zhou Jin Duo Jue” means?
Follow me and you will prosper, but go against me and you will perish. Question me, understand me, and obey me.

This is the correct habit. Otherwise, how can I know your loyalty to me and how can I distinguish who is a loyal minister and who is a treacherous minister?
Naturally, Sang Hongyang bore the stigma of "competing with the people for profit".

After all, Liu Che's PUA had already taken effect, and there were not many people in the court and the public who dared to openly scold him and oppose him... In fact, Liu Che always kept a sense of proportion, pretending to be confused when he should, and more often he played the role of a referee, maintaining a delicate political balance.

When the celebration was over, Liu Che returned to the back hall to rest.

He was still pondering the previous question in his mind, feeling a little hesitant.

He was wondering whether he should summon Liu Ju immediately and ask him in person why Liu Ju suddenly talked to An Yu and what his intention was.

But after much thought, Liu Che decided to wait.

Because there is another matter that needs to be dealt with urgently.

That was the inexplicable death of a palace maid.

All signs indicate that the palace maid was probably just unlucky and unintentionally blocked the disaster for Huo Shan. This disaster was not a natural disaster but more like a man-made disaster.

This is definitely not a trivial matter.

Huo Xian was one of his closest people, and someone dared to kill him right under his nose, especially during the Fengshan Ceremony. This was probably not just a simple murder.

Besides, he still didn't know whether he had borrowed Huo Xian's life span...

"Someone, go and call Su Wen over!"

The more Liu Che thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong. He even felt a little uneasy, and immediately shouted at the attendant standing by.

Just now, Su Wen did not accompany him to attend the court celebration, but was ordered to go and test Huo Xian's diet again and control all people related to this matter.

"promise!"

The attendant responded and was about to pass on the order when he heard someone outside calling "Your Majesty". Then he saw Su Wen walking quickly in from the side door with small steps and a serious expression.

Seeing Su Wen's condition, Liu Che immediately asked the other attendants in the hall to leave, and then asked:

"how?"

"Your Majesty, I tried three more dogs, and all three died suddenly."

Su Wen didn't have time to catch his breath before he knelt down and answered,

"Also, I led people to control all the cooks who prepared meals for Huo Xian and the palace maids who delivered meals. Two of the cooks immediately swallowed the poison hidden on their bodies upon seeing this. I ordered people to try their best to rescue them, but unfortunately they were not saved in the end. Both of them died just now. I was incompetent and failed to pry useful information out of them!"

"Commit suicide to silence yourself?"

Liu Che frowned when he heard this.

Anyone who is determined to commit suicide to silence others must have a force behind him that scares them more than death.

Moreover, the cook who prepared meals for Huo Shan this time was the same cook who prepared meals for Liu Che on weekdays. No matter who he was, the fact that he could infiltrate and even control Liu Che so much could not but make him feel chilly.

the most important is.

Once these two cooks who committed suicide by taking poison died, if the remaining people had nothing to do with the matter, the relevant clues would be completely cut off, and it would be difficult to investigate further.

Even for him, it is difficult to cook without rice!

After a brief pause, Liu Che's eyes flashed with ferocity again, and he shouted in a deep voice:

"Then torture the remaining people severely. Regardless of whether they were involved in this matter or not, we can always find out something about the abnormalities of these two chefs!"

"Also, check the backgrounds of these two cooks. They committed suicide by taking poison at the slightest sign of trouble. They must have been threatened and warned by someone behind the scenes. The only ones who can threaten these two people who are willing to die are their wives and families!"

"Arrest all the wives and family members of these two men. Don't let any of them go. Check their property and investigate thoroughly!"

"If anything happens, send someone to summon Liu Ju!"

"Let Liu Ju assist in this matter. His cleverness may come in handy in this matter!"

……

at the same time.

"Hasn't everything been arranged long ago? How could things turn out like this? Could it be that Li Xiushan, the local scholar, is causing trouble?"

An Yu, who had just returned to his room after attending the morning celebration, now had a frown on his face, with a look of confusion.

Although Liu Che blocked the news, An Yu still received secret information through unknown channels.

Moreover, he learned not only the news of the sudden death of the palace maids, but also the news that two cooks had committed suicide by taking poison during the court celebration.

"Then the local scholars in Ganqi may not have the ability and energy to do so."

The Nanyue servant beside him lowered his voice and shook his head.
"But the master does not need to worry. Now that the two cooks have committed suicide, His Majesty has completely cut off the clues even if he wants to investigate further. He will never implicate the master."

"I have to say that the Han people are really smart. They even took into account this unexpected event and made such a plan in advance... This also proves that the master has chosen the right person this time."

"It's just a pity for the master's plan."

"If Huo Xian can die in an unclear manner as planned, Your Majesty will think that he has really borrowed some life from him. However, Huo Xian's life span was not enough to begin with, which is why he died suddenly."

"In this way, not only will your Majesty not be able to blame the master, but he will also think that the master's witchcraft is effective and will rely on the master even more from then on."

"Now that things have developed to this point, such a clever plan is..."

"Shut up!"

An Yu stared at the servant brought from South Vietnam.

Even though this servant had served him for more than ten years, he knew too much and his words did not seem very reliable, especially his smug expression at this moment, which gave people a sense of unreliability and worry for no reason.

"Yes, yes, I am talking too much."

The servant just then realized that he had flattered the master too much and became too proud of himself, so he apologized hastily.

"Okay, go down first and watch your mouth."

An Yu waved his hand and said in a low voice.

"Yes, I just talk too much in front of my master. I won't dare to say a word after I leave."

The servant still expressed his attitude carefully and retreated in a hurry.

Looking at the servant's departing back, his eyes gradually turned cold.

The Han people are very smart and can get things done so flawlessly... so shouldn't he also follow suit? After all, the slightest mistake in this matter could lead to his irreparable destruction.

(End of this chapter)