I, the prince, only want to be deposed.

Chapter 517 The Second Secret Letter

"His Majesty said that it is precisely because of the deep friendship between His Highness and the King of Qi that this matter must be handled by His Highness."

Su Wen was not surprised by Liu Ju's question. Instead, he said meaningfully,
"His Majesty also said that His Majesty has now seen His Highness's ability in both civil and military affairs. If he can handle this matter properly, there will be no obstacles to his succession to the throne in the future."

"There will be no more obstacles to ascending the throne..."

Su Wen's words made Liu Ju fall into silence.

Based on this sentence alone, he had reason to suspect that Liu Che already knew what he had done to An Yu, and might even have guessed what he was thinking.

And Liu Che asked Su Wen to convey these words to him.

This was to give him some motivation, which was equivalent to actively "adding money" so that he would handle the matter according to Liu Che's wishes...

"Minister Su, what exactly does my father mean by this? Could you please explain it to me?"

Liu Ju already had an idea in his mind, but he still asked deliberately.

"Your Highness, this is a royal affair. I cannot interfere, let alone speculate on the emperor's intentions."

Su Wen bowed his head and avoided the question with vague words, but at the end he still gave Liu Ju a perfect hint.

"Your Highness, what do you think His Majesty means? That's probably what His Majesty means."

This old fox is the smartest of the smart.

To smart people, his words seem to say nothing, but they have said everything.

It was impossible for Liu Ju to not understand what was said, so he finally put away the slightest bit of luck in his heart, returned the greeting and said:

"Thank you, Minister Su. Please tell my father that I will not let him down."

"In that case, I will go to the palace to report first."

Su Wen returned the greeting again, lowered his head and slowly retreated. At Liu Ju's command of "Guo Zhen, see Minister Su off," he left Bowang Garden with several attendants.

When they arrived outside the gate of Bowang Garden and were about to get on the carriage.

He finally turned around and took a look at the plaque on the gate, fixating on the three powerful and vigorous gold-plated characters.

Finally, the descendants of the royal family cannot avoid this fate, right?

If Your Majesty had not recalled Liu Hong, had not conferred the title of General Tianlu on him, had not given him the same mansion, and if the plaque on the mansion had not had the three characters "Zhumuyuan" in the same font as "Bowangyuan", would this day never have come?

After all, when Liu Hong was in Qi, he did not show any ambition.

Compared with the third prince, Prince of Yan Liu Dan, and the fourth prince, Prince of Guangling Liu Xu, he has always been the most low-key, obedient, and well-educated prince.

Looking back on a few years ago, Liu Ju risked his life by defying Liu Che's will and even taking the blame for killing his brother, and risked using "surgery" to save the terminally ill Liu Hong. Now it feels ironic...

If Liu Ju had not saved Liu Hong, and Liu Hong had died, would this day never have come?

At the same time, Su Wen also knew that Liu Che's decision was correct.

If Liu Ju wanted to succeed to the throne smoothly and secure his position after succession, he could not leave behind a younger brother who was full of ambition and would do anything to get the throne.

As for what to do, that depends on Liu Ju's methods.

In the edict Liu Che gave him, he used the word "properly", which also gave him some hints.

Although Emperor Jingdi once used a chessboard to smash his cousin to death, when he put down the "Rebellion of the Seven Kings", he showed mercy to many of the Liu family princes and eventually gave them the opportunity to commit suicide.

The same is true of the current emperor. Although many princes with the surname Liu were stripped of their titles and many were convicted, they all committed suicide out of fear of punishment.

This is Liu Che's "appropriateness" and also the kindness of a benevolent monarch.

However, Su Wen felt that this was not a problem at all.

Anyone can see that Liu Ju is no longer the same person he used to be, just as Liu Che said that he has seen Liu Ju's abilities in both civil and military affairs... As long as Liu Ju is determined, he will be able to handle this matter flawlessly, perhaps even better than what Liu Che said.

There is only one question now, and that is whether Liu Ju can make up his mind.

It is easy to change the country but difficult to change one’s nature.

Liu Ju is a very sentimental person at heart, so he tends to act on emotion and make some ill-considered or even disadvantageous decisions.

As Liu Che's closest attendant, he naturally knew more of the truth than other ministers.

Liu Ju once personally killed many historians of the State of Lu just because of the unjust death of Shi Wanjun, which eventually brought him into trouble and earned him the nickname "The Evil Prince" among the people.

He was also beaten to death because of the Prince's Secretary, and stabbed to death Jiang Chong, the embroidered official appointed by Emperor Liu Che himself, in the street, which shocked the court and the country, making Emperor Liu Che extremely disappointed in him and eventually losing his position as the Crown Prince.

Su Wen can cite many similar examples.

In fact, when facing these things, if Liu Ju could be less emotional and calm down to use the rules and strategies of officialdom, he could also achieve the same goal without having to bear any consequences. It would not be difficult to achieve multiple goals at once in these things...

At the same time, Su Wen also knew it clearly.

Just from that operation, it can be seen that Liu Ju's friendship with Liu Hong surpassed that of ordinary brothers.

Therefore, how Liu Ju will deal with this matter this time, whether he will be swayed by emotions and make some unwise decisions, remains an unknown.

……

After seeing Su Wen off, Liu Ju was thinking about another question:
——【Who wrote this secret letter? 】

The secret letter not only mentioned that Liu Hong instructed Prime Minister Bu Shi to collude with An Yu and plan this longevity-borrowing ceremony based on Nanyue witchcraft, hoping to make Liu Che think that his life was extended by 20 years, thereby arousing his concerns about Liu Ju's achievements in the Western Regions surpassing his father's.

At the same time, it also revealed that Liu Hong had been secretly communicating with court ministers, provincial governors, and even various princes in recent years.

These things started after Liu Ju was deposed as crown prince.

After Liu Ju was deposed as the crown prince, people inside and outside the court immediately began to speculate on who would be the next person most likely to be made crown prince by Emperor Wu of Han.

Initially many people thought that these were the two most promising candidates.

One is Liu Hong, who had the same specifications as the "Bowang Garden" and was favored by Emperor Wu of Han since childhood and was allowed to live in Chang'an.

The other one is the youngest prince, Liu Bo from the Li family.

Although Liu Bo's biological mother, Madam Li, had died of illness several years ago, it did not overshadow the Li family's prosperity in recent years. Li Yannian and Li Guangli were both captains with annual salaries equivalent to those of the Nine Ministers. Li Guangli was also to some extent Liu Che's mouthpiece and was fully responsible for the rural tours.

Even Li Ji, the least capable of the Li family, became an usher in the palace and became one of Emperor Liu Che's close attendants.

However, the world does not know that the fate of the Li family has already changed because of the appearance of Liu Ju. Otherwise, Li Yannian would have been implicated in Li Ji's misdeeds in the palace several years ago, leading to the death of the two brothers.

By this time, Li Guangli had already begun to lead troops, and he traveled back and forth to the Western Regions with his troops. He often returned empty-handed, killing the lives of Han men in vain, and ultimately he himself did not have a good end.

And this life.

Except for Li Qing'er who suddenly died of illness in the third year after giving birth to Liu Bo, as recorded in history books, the three Li brothers were all safe and sound.

This was entirely due to the shock that Liu Ju brought to Li Guangli and Li Ji.

These two guys had no ambition at all just because Li gave birth to a prince for Liu Che. One of them honestly became a promising host and screenwriter, while the other understood how easy and insignificant it was for someone like him to "accidentally drown while going out to sea". After returning from the Korean Peninsula, he kept a low profile and did not dare to overstep the mark in the palace.

Then, just as people inside and outside the court were speculating who would become the crown prince between Liu Hong and Liu Bo, and which side they should take.

An edict from Emperor Liu Che pointed out a clear way forward for them.

Liu Che was a man of his word and he fulfilled the promise Liu Ju had made when he went to the Korean Peninsula. On the day Liu Bo was just three years old, he made him the King of Changyi and ordered him to go to his fiefdom immediately to take up his throne.

In this way, the person with the greatest hope of becoming the crown prince was naturally Liu Hong.

As a result, Liu Hong's Zhumuyuan immediately became crowded with visitors. Prime Minister Bu Shi came to the door every day to persuade countless dignitaries and prominent families to leave. Even he personally received a lot of private gifts.

The purpose of giving gifts was naturally to hope that Bu Shi would help introduce him to Liu Hong, so that he could stand on Liu Hong's side before the regime change and make a contribution to his success.

Sometimes, corruption is just a matter of thought.

Bu Shi's ideas gradually changed, and he began to persuade Liu Hong to accept these good intentions, otherwise these good intentions might turn into malicious intentions.

I don’t know whether Bu Shi’s advice worked or Liu Hong also had new ideas.

Liu Hong began to keep retainers, and also started to contact these court ministers and provincial governors in private, and secretly contacted some princes and local tycoons.

But after a few years.

What no one expected was that because Liu Ju had made many outstanding achievements in the affairs of the Western Regions and the Huns, he was reinstated as the crown prince by Emperor Wu of Han, and had the support of the Han border defense troops and the countries in the Western Regions. At this time, his power and status had undoubtedly expanded many times more than before he was deposed.

This was undoubtedly a heavy blow to Liu Hong, and also to those who were already tied to Liu Hong, making everyone uneasy.

After all, this concerns their core interests.

Although Liu Ju's biggest backer, General Wei Qing, had died of illness, Liu Ju's influence and reputation were no less than Wei Qing's, and even stronger than his.

However, how could Liu Hong, who had already developed ambitions, be willing to give up everything he had now?
Even if he was willing to give up, the people tied to the chariot with him and the inertia of the chariot, which was originally speeding, would push him to keep moving forward.

So in the end, Liu Hong led and planned this cheating ceremony of borrowing the emperor's life...

This is the main secret expressed in this secret letter.

However, only Liu Hong and Bu Shi were mentioned explicitly, and none of the people who had secret dealings with them were named.

"So, someone learned that the plan for the longevity ceremony had failed, and reported us on the spot?"

"However, this person knows the plan for the longevity ceremony and knows so many private matters. He must have a very close relationship with Liu Hong and should be a core figure."

Liu Ju pondered secretly.

"Speaking of which, Liu Hong has been living in Zhumu Garden for these years, and everything he did was done under the nose of Liu Che. It is impossible for Liu Che not to notice it."

"This should be the reason why Liu Che believed the contents of the secret letter without even checking it, and ordered me to deal with it properly the next day. In fact, everything was under Liu Che's control from beginning to end. Even if he was deceived, it was only the longevity ceremony that deceived him."

"only……"

"Has Liu Hong really changed completely to the point where he would do anything to fight for the throne?"

Liu Ju still had doubts in his heart.

If other people were mentioned in this secret letter, the credibility of the content would be even higher.

After all, just this birthday-borrowing ceremony was not something that Liu Hong, Bu Shi and An Yu could accomplish. Even with Liu Hong's current power, he might not be able to make the two chefs who were responsible for Liu Che's food willingly commit suicide.

And various signs have also shown that there are people who have played a role in promoting and coordinating this.

Moreover, this person or these people must have a high status and position. After all, not everyone can follow Liu Che to participate in the Fengshan ceremony, and not everyone can enter and leave Liu Che's palace...

Also.

Liu Ju always remembered one thing, that it was he who asked Liu Hong to try his best to fight for the position of crown prince.

Although the younger brother was still young and immature at that time, he also worked very hard on this matter. He was always obedient and even did not hesitate to be instructed by Liu Ju to repeatedly deceive the emperor...

With these in mind.

Liu Ju's eyes unconsciously appeared again the delicate yet slightly childish face of Liu Hong.

Speaking of which, Liu Hong is now over 20 years old and must have matured a lot mentally, right?

This time when Liu Ju returned to Chang'an from the Western Regions, he had not met Liu Hong yet, and Liu Hong did not take the initiative to visit him to welcome him, as if he had become much more estranged from him.

But thinking back to the time when he was deposed as the crown prince and was about to leave Chang'an for the Western Regions.

Liu Hong also did not come to see him or see him off, and he didn't even leave a message... If Liu Hong really had any change, it should have happened at that time.

But Liu Ju would never believe that Liu Hong had changed by then.

He suspected that Liu Hong was also playing a game of chess, and that he had already set up the chessboard and calculated every move that followed...

Just as I was thinking about it.

"Report! Your Highness!"

Guo Zhen's voice suddenly came from outside the door.

"Come in."

Liu Ju regained his composure and agreed.

"Just now, a mysterious person threw a stone wrapped in silk into the wall of Bowang Garden. Zhongdun immediately rushed out of the garden to catch him, but the person was nowhere to be found, so he had no choice but to hand over the silk."

Guo Zhen walked into the hall quickly, holding something in his hands.
"There are words on this silk, it seems to be a letter, but there is no signature..."

(End of this chapter)