I, the prince, only want to be deposed.

Chapter 518 [Witchcraft Disaster 2.0]

Liu Ju didn't say much. He took the silk, shook it open and examined it carefully.

After a while.

"Witchcraft..."

Liu Ju only felt that there was a heavy rut on his face left by the wheel of history.

The content of this secret letter is obviously even more explosive.

It turned out to be a letter of accusation that Liu Hong conspired with many ministers and princes to hold wizard rituals in private and bury cursed puppets on Liu Che's private road and in the ground of his home, hoping to curse Liu Che and Liu Ju to die early so that he would have the opportunity to succeed to the throne?
It was the same secret letter that Liu Che had ordered Su Wen to deliver just now.

This letter of complaint also did not provide specific information about the ministers and princes who were complicit in the conspiracy.

But even so, this letter of complaint is still of great significance.

Because Liu Ju knew very well that the witchcraft disaster in history was caused by a letter of accusation.

This letter of accusation came from a wanted knight-errant named Zhu Shi'an. After his arrest, he wrote a letter to Emperor Liu Che in prison, exposing Gongsun Jingsheng's affair with Princess Yangshi and his use of wizard rituals and witchcraft puppets to curse Emperor Liu Che.

The final result was that Prime Minister Gongsun He and Grand Coachman Gongsun Jingsheng both died in prison, and the Gongsun family was destroyed.

Also implicated were two princesses and Wei Qing's eldest son Wei Kang... Hundreds of people died, almost wiping out the core political power of the Wei family.

It was also after this that the witchcraft disaster officially began.

Soon after, people in the palace began to accuse others of using witchcraft to curse Liu Che, and hundreds of concubines, palace maids, and ministers implicated were executed.

As Liu Che became more suspicious, the scope of the witchcraft case continued to expand.

From the capital Chang'an, the three prefectures to the counties and states, officials and people falsely accused each other, and Emperor Liu Che believed what he heard. No one dared to write to the emperor to seek justice. In just a few months, tens of thousands of people died as a result...

Therefore, in Liu Ju's eyes, this secret letter was not just a letter of denunciation, but a key to open Pandora's box. Once it was taken out and used, it would most likely develop to an uncontrollable point.

"I just don't know whether this secret letter was sent only to me, or was it also sent to Liu Che at the same time... If it was sent to Liu Che, it seems that there is no need to send it to me, right?"

Liu Ju thought to himself.

Giving it to him is one thing, and giving it to Liu Che is another. The severity of the two is completely different, and even the real purpose is questionable.

However, this secret letter first ruled out Liu Ju's suspicion. After all, this time he and Liu Che became victims of the curse together. Therefore, it is not difficult to see that the target of the person who sent the letter was not him, but Liu Hong and those who were secretly in collusion with him.

As for the identity of the person who sent the letter, Liu Ju had no idea.

The only thing he could be sure of at the moment was.

If this matter develops normally, it will naturally be beneficial to him and Liu Che, especially to him.

Because from the information we know now, Liu Hong and those who are secretly in collusion with him are all political enemies who do not want him to ascend the throne smoothly in the future. If he can use this incident to eliminate all these enemies, then Liu Ju will no longer have any rivals in the court, and his succession to the throne will be as stable as a rock.

Therefore, the probability that the person who delivered the letter was one of our own is naturally higher.

But who could it be?
Wei Kang?

Wei Kang is now Liu Che's eyes and ears, and the intelligence network he controls also allows him to obtain some unknown secrets more easily than ordinary people.

And Wei Kang would definitely stand firmly on his side. His background had already determined that he would have no other choice but to advance and retreat together with Liu Ju, who represented the interests of the Wei family.

Gongsun Jingsheng?

After this cousin was made a marquis in a battle, he hasn't led troops to fight for a long time.

His father, Gongsun He, Liu Ju's uncle, was still the Grand Coachman and had not yet taken over as Prime Minister. Therefore, Gongsun Jingsheng did not take over and was promoted to the position of Grand Coachman. He only served as the Palace Attendant and concurrently the Commander of the Northern Army's Huben. He often went in and out of the palace and occasionally participated in the inner court meetings.

Liu Ju hadn't seen him for some time.

I wonder if this cousin has committed the same old mistake in history, daring to have an affair with Princess Yangshi and embezzling the Northern Army's military funds.

His situation was similar to Wei Kang's, and he could only advance and retreat together with Liu Ju.

And... Sima Qian, Li Guangli, Dongfang Yu...

Earlier ones include Guo Chang, Ji Ren, Li Xi, Xu Ziwei, Zhao Zhou...

and also……

Liu Ju thought of many people who had received his favor or might be convinced by him. Some of these people already held important positions in the court, while others had retired.

Although they may not have decided to bind themselves completely, they may send such a secret letter to inform each other when necessary.

It's anonymous anyway, so the risk of being exposed is not great.

On the contrary, if he succeeds to the throne successfully in the future, he might be able to claim credit for being a follower of the dragon by bringing up this matter again.

Also.

Since it is an anonymous letter, it is definitely because the author does not want to reveal his identity.

It is indeed much easier to send the anonymous letter to himself than to Liu Che.

After all, there were really few people who could throw a stone over the wall of Weiyang Palace, not to mention that there were guards constantly patrolling inside, outside and on the walls of Weiyang Palace. It was very likely that the person would be caught before he could even throw the stone, and he would probably have to bear an additional charge of at least disrespect.

This is also the reason why the anonymous letter that Liu Che received before was sent to Su Wen instead of directly to Liu Che.

The person who sent the letter only wanted to stir up this matter, rather than taking action himself...

Therefore, we cannot rule out the possibility that the person who delivered the letter was trying to kill someone with a borrowed knife, but it was more in Liu Ju's interest to go with the flow, even though he knew he was being used.

Thinking about this, Liu Ju looked up at Guo Zhen:
"Have you read the contents of this letter?"

"I have seen it."

Guo Zhen bowed and answered, otherwise how would he know that the letter was not signed.

"Where are the few middle shields who picked up the secret letter?"

Liu Ju asked again.

"I think... I also took a general look at it."

Guo Zhen replied.

"Warn them to keep their mouths shut. If anyone dares to spread rumors, don't blame me for disregarding our past friendship."

Liu Ju said seriously.

"promise."

When Guo Zhen agreed, a look of hesitation appeared on his face. He hesitated for a moment before making up his mind to persuade him.
"Your Highness, I have something to say but I don't know whether I should say it or not..."

"Since you asked this, even if you know in your heart that you shouldn't say it, why bother saying it?"

Liu Ju looked at him, grinned, and asked back, "But..."

Guo Zhen obviously still wanted to say something.

Liu Ju interrupted him with a smile and asked:

"Guo Zhen, who do you think will be the most anxious person after I receive this secret letter?"

"Is it... the King of Qi and those who are secretly colluding with him?"

Although Guo Zhen didn't know why Liu Ju asked this question, he still answered after thinking for a while.

"If it is a secret letter, how do they know that I have received it and know the contents of it?"

Liu Ju shook his head.

"The one who is most anxious should be the messenger. After delivering the secret letter, he will definitely hide in the dark to observe my reaction. If I take any action, the messenger will have achieved his goal and will naturally feel relieved. But if I remain unmoved, the messenger will definitely be most confused and anxious."

“Once people are doubtful and anxious, they will do further things to relieve their doubts and anxiety.”

"This way, I will have the opportunity to find out who did this, what his purpose is, and decide whether to proceed with this person's wishes."

"..."

Guo Zhen was startled when he heard this, and then he thought for a while before saying,
"Your Highness is right, but should we report this matter to His Majesty first? His Majesty will certainly support Your Highness, and Your Highness will be able to accomplish things with half the effort."

Liu Ju smiled and shook his head again:

"Once my father learns of this, he will definitely deal with it with lightning speed. By then, the Imperial Court, the Imperial Guards, and all the ministries will work together. My father may even appoint a cruel official as the Imperial Guard to take full charge of this matter. The situation will surely escalate rapidly, and the initiative will be completely out of my control."

"What I should do most now is to let this matter fall into my own rhythm instead of being led by others."

"Make sure I can start this matter at any time, and I can also stop it at any time, to prevent it from getting out of control and involving too many innocent people."

Just as he knew, the witchcraft disaster had developed to the point in its later period where the common people falsely accused each other of using witchcraft to harm people, and the scope had expanded from the capital Chang'an and the Sanfu areas to all the counties and kingdoms.

This is no longer a simple political struggle. If one is not careful, it will turn into a turmoil that will shake the country's destiny. After all, Liu Che is superstitious about witchcraft and will definitely take it very seriously.

In addition, Emperor Liu Che tolerated and relied heavily on cruel officials. Many of his subordinates, in order to win credit, no longer cared whether the evidence was solid or not. They even began to fabricate scenes of witchcraft, arbitrarily arrested innocent people, and forced them to confess by burning them with iron tongs.

Besides.

Since this secret letter mentioned that many ministers and princes were involved in the conspiracy with Liu Hong, even if there is no detailed list, some representative figures must be known.

Finding out the person who sent the letter can not only make the purpose of that person clearer, but also make things more efficient.

Although Liu Ju speculated that as long as he went with the flow, the messenger would continue to provide him with clues and give him some necessary guidance.

But he is the crown prince, the heir apparent of the Han Dynasty, and the future helmsman of the Han Dynasty!
In his opinion, the messenger who was trying to lead him by the nose was a greater threat than Liu Hong and his people, and his priority was to deal with him...

……

In the next few days, Liu Ju remained silent, as if nothing had happened.

There was no news from the Weiyang Palace and everything was calm.

As a result, while waiting, Liu Che waited for the person who delivered the letter, but Su Wen came instead.

"Your Highness, His Majesty ordered me to come here today to understand your progress. I wonder what your Highness's plans are now and what stage you have reached?"

After sending his attendants away, Su Wen did not waste any time and went straight to the point.

"I have no idea yet, and I don't have any plans."

Liu Ju said with a smile.

"This……"

Su Wen was slightly startled.
"Your Highness, please forgive me for speaking frankly. That secret letter has revealed many things. Your Highness only needs to arrest and interrogate the relevant people according to the contents of the secret letter, and you will definitely gain something. Even if the secret letter is fabricated by someone with ulterior motives, you can still clear the name of the King of Qi and give an explanation to His Majesty, right?"

"Is this what my father meant? If so, I will arrest Liu Hong and Bu Shi right now and torture them to extract a confession."

Liu Ju stood up and made a gesture to go out.

"Your Highness, wait!"

Su Wen quickly stopped him again and said with a wry smile,
"Your Majesty has no such intention. I just saw that Your Highness has not made any movement in the past few days, so I ordered this old servant to come and ask... What I said just now was just my own nonsense. Your Highness does not need to take it to heart."

These words made Liu Ju certain of one thing.

Indeed, he is the only one who has received this secret letter so far, and the person who sent the letter also hopes to push the matter forward through Liu Ju, and has not made any other records for the time being.

In this way, the biggest beneficiary in this matter is still Liu Ju.

Just like the Witchcraft and Poisoning Incident in history, Jiang Chong, who instigated the incident, was the biggest beneficiary. At least before Liu Ju became anxious and raised an army, Jiang Chong was the most powerful person in Chang'an City and even in the Sanfu area. Han Shuo, Marquis of Andao, Zhang Gan, the Censor, and Su Wen, the Yellow Gate Assistant Minister, were all under his jurisdiction and assisted in the investigation.

During that period of time, Jiang Chong had reached the point where he could do whatever he wanted.

From the private roads to the Weiyang Palace and Changle Palace, Jiang Chong could be said to have absolute control over everything. Not only the palaces of Liu Ju and Wei Zifu could be dug at will, but even Liu Che's dragon bed was damaged. It was easy for him to take the opportunity to eliminate dissidents.

If Liu Ju followed Jiang Chong's example, he would naturally be given the same privileges as the only person who was clearly cleared of suspicion in the secret letter. Even his status as the crown prince would expand his privileges even more.

and so……

For the time being, Liu Ju still couldn't see any bad intentions from the person who delivered the letter, and he couldn't even see the slightest selfishness in these things. No matter how he looked at it, it seemed that the other party was trying every way to help him.

Thinking this in his heart, Liu Ju stopped and said:
"In this case, please ask Minister Su to report back to my father. I have obtained some new clues. Please give me some more time. I will definitely give my father an explanation then."

He suspected that if he did not take action, Liu Che would probably take action himself.

Therefore, they could only use such words to temporarily stabilize Liu Che and then make plans for further action.

Also.

He felt that the person who delivered the letter should almost take the next step. After all, Liu Che was already a little anxious, and the person who delivered the letter would surely be even more anxious.

Shortly after Su Wen was sent away.

Guo Zhen walked in with a man dressed in servant clothes and with some scars on his face.

"Your Highness, this man claims to be the servant of King Liu Hong of Qi. He just came to the gate of Bowang Garden in a panic and begged to see Your Highness, saying that he had something important to tell you in person."

Guo Zhen gave a brief introduction.

"Please, Your Highness, save my life!"

The man immediately knelt on the ground with a plop.
"Because I know too many secrets, most of which are related to Your Highness, the King of Qi wants to kill me to silence me. I have escaped from Zhumu Garden with great effort. I am willing to tell you everything I know, and only ask Your Highness to save my life!"

(End of this chapter)