I, the prince, only want to be deposed.

Chapter 522: Join the game and make things bigger

However, Liu Hong's words just now made Shi Qing look at him with admiration, but at the same time, he also felt a little worried.

Because as he knew, when a person understands this truth, even if he cannot achieve a high degree of centralization like Liu Che, he already has the wisdom to achieve relative centralization, and once he succeeds to the throne, he will definitely be able to sit firmly on the throne.

And on this basis, he also had the ability to kill someone with a borrowed knife. While maintaining the stability of the court, he could eliminate those powerful officials who tried to interfere with the imperial power and use him as a puppet.

Such an emperor may not be easier to serve than Liu Che, and may even be more dangerous.

and so……

Is this Liu Hong in front of him really as easy to manipulate as he had thought?
"Your Highness's concerns are indeed not without reason, but I wonder what Your Highness plans to do now?"

With such concern, Shi Qing asked tentatively.

"I have no idea either, so I asked the Prime Minister for advice."

Liu Hong frowned again, and the momentum that had just risen up disappeared without a trace.

"Prime Minister, at this point, we still don't know the condition of my father's body. Liu Ju will soon start to take charge of government affairs. I'm afraid the plan has been exposed. We have no way out."

"If we continue to lie dormant, we will be waiting to die."

"I am still young, I don't want to die. The Prime Minister has a big family and a lot of wealth. How can the eggs remain intact when the nest is overturned?"

"Therefore, whether for me, for the Prime Minister himself, or for those supporters below who support my ascension to the throne, please think of a solution, otherwise I'm afraid everything will be over."

"Then I will have to carry a thorn on my back and go to Bowang Garden to confess everything to Liu Ju, begging him to spare my life for the sake of our previous brotherhood. The Prime Minister will have to pray for the best for himself."

Having said that, Liu Hong bowed to Shi Qing with a very humble attitude, as if he was relying on Shi Qing for everything.

"Your Highness, please don't panic... don't panic..."

Shi Qing's worries eased a little after hearing this, but a bigger worry surged into his heart and his head began to buzz.

Although Liu Hong was very humble, he still felt like he was being threatened.

Even if Liu Hong may not have meant this, it is essentially a threat.

Just as Liu Hong said, if he went to Bowang Garden now to apologize, he would still have a great chance of surviving. After all, even Emperor Wu of Han did not kill the royal brothers, so if Liu Ju had any brains, he would definitely not do that.

At that time, Shi Qing would no longer have to rely on luck. The wisest choice would be to kill himself before the arrival of the Chief Justice.

As for the Shi family, they must be executed for participating in treason.

No one in the tribe who is taller than the wheel will survive, and those who have never made a wheel will be reduced to slavery even if the law grants them special mercy, and will never be able to turn over a new leaf.

So in comparison, Shi Qingcai is the one who has no way out and is the one who is most afraid of his plan being exposed.

He was in a difficult situation and had to stop Liu Hong from doing this. He had to do something even if it meant taking risks!
Fortunately, Liu Hong is still willing to listen to him and is so humble as to ask him for advice.

This shows that he was not wrong about Liu Hong!

As the saying goes, it is easy to change the country but difficult to change one's nature. Even if this prince is not as stupid as previously thought, he is still weak in character and still has no backbone when encountering problems. He can still be used for one's own purposes.

That being the case...

"Your Highness just said something that hit the nail on the head. This may be the key to breaking the impasse."

Shi Qing said with concentration.

"What?"

Liu Hong raised his head, a look of doubt appearing on his delicate face.

"Your Highness just asked me whether Liu Ju has any chance of winning or not."

Shi Qingdao,
"I can tell Your Highness that there is no doubt about this matter!"

"Although Liu Ju had thrived in the Western Regions before, his roots were mostly in the Western Regions. On the other hand, his previous misdeeds in Chang'an had already offended many powerful officials, and not many people wanted him to succeed the throne. Therefore, his return to Chang'an is like a fish on land. No matter how capable he is, he cannot display his abilities."

"Your Highness has lived in Chang'an for many years and has close personal relationships with powerful officials in the court and the public. The old ministers have also been constantly lobbying for Your Highness. Your Highness's foundation is naturally much deeper than his. It is not an exaggeration to say that he can get a hundred responses if he calls for help."

"Forgive me for saying something disrespectful."

"Before, His Majesty was in good health and in charge of the overall situation, Your Highness could not act rashly. But now that His Majesty's life and death are uncertain and there is no one in charge of the overall situation, Your Highness will have a greater chance of winning if he fights against Liu Jufang!"

Liu Hong finally raised his spirits after hearing this, but he asked hesitantly:
"The prime minister means..."

"Since Your Highness still has the advantage, why not strike first?"

Shi Qing stretched out his hand and made a killing gesture, then spoke through gritted teeth in a low voice.

"No, no, although I have the intention to seize the throne, I have never intended to kill Liu Ju. After all, he is my beloved relative, brother, and brother!"

Liu Hong was startled again, his face turned pale, and his head shook like a rattle.

"Your Highness!"

Shi Qing became more and more certain that Liu Hong was the emperor that he and more than half of the powerful officials hoped to help, but he was also very disappointed and advised,

"Your Highness, do you know about the former deposed Crown Prince Liu Rong?"

"After Liu Rong was deposed, he willingly became the King of Linjiang and did not dare to have the slightest intention of robbing the throne. He still could not survive. Your Highness's intention of robbing the throne has now been exposed, and you and Liu Ju have long been incompatible. If you fail this time, Liu Ju will not let you go either. How can Your Highness be so soft-hearted!"

"Minister Bu, say something too!"

While speaking, Shi Qing looked at Bu Shi standing beside him and winked at him.

"Your Highness, the Prime Minister is absolutely right. At this point, being merciful to Liu Ju would be cruel to you, Your Highness, and to us, the subjects who swore to follow you till death."

Bu Shi understood and tried to persuade him earnestly.

"Please think twice, Your Highness. When dealing with important matters, you must not hesitate or act on emotion!"

"But……"

Liu Hong hesitated for a while, and finally sighed and said,
"What is the Prime Minister going to do?"

"Pre-emptive strike!"

Shi Qing's eyes turned cold and he said in a low voice,

"Take advantage of the fact that Your Majesty is in poor health and mobilize public opinion to throw dirty water on Liu Ju, spreading the news that he secretly used witchcraft to curse Your Majesty, and control Your Majesty to hand over the government affairs to him in advance!"

"Then I will arrange for a few wizards who are good at witchcraft, and have Your Highness lead the soldiers to capture these wizards and order them to publicly admit that they colluded with Liu Ju in private, thus confirming Liu Ju's bad reputation!" "In this way, Liu Ju is a disloyal and unfilial person. How can he still be qualified to succeed the throne?"

"Then I will lead the powerful officials and virtuous scholars who support Your Highness to publicly denounce Liu Ju, and then instruct many Confucian scholars of the Imperial College to sit in protest outside the Public Transport Office, so as to quickly expand the influence of this matter."

"Even if Liu Ju is sitting in the imperial court, he will be speechless!"

"Your Highness, all you need to do is to trap him in Bowang Garden and arrange for him to commit suicide out of fear of crime as soon as possible."

"As for Your Majesty, if Your Majesty dies from now on, this old minister will lead all the officials to put the imperial robe on Your Highness. The court and the people will support it. Your Highness can then issue an imperial decree to ascend the throne and announce it to the world."

"Even if your majesty had not passed away, Liu Ju would have committed suicide out of fear of his crime."

"Your Highness was originally the second son. After Liu Ju's death, Your Highness became the legitimate son. In addition, Your Highness just broke Liu Ju's conspiracy. Even His Majesty's recovery this time may be due to Your Highness's removal of the witchcraft curse. Such merits will ensure that Your Highness will obtain the position of Crown Prince, and it will be a natural thing for you to succeed to the throne in the future."

If Liu Che had not suddenly fallen seriously ill and gone to Ganquan Palace, causing a brief vacuum in the emperor's power, Shi Qing would never have dared to do this, because with Liu Che's wisdom, he could see through the situation in an instant, and with Liu Che's means, he could turn the situation around in the blink of an eye.

In other words, even if Shi Qing dared to do it.

The powerful officials below may not dare to follow.

Because Liu Che had been in power for many years, his strong tactics had already caused these people to develop PTSD. As soon as they thought about openly opposing Liu Che, their livers began to tremble, and most people would immediately back down.

"Prime Minister...what are our chances of success if we do this?"

Liu Hong was still a little unconfident and asked hesitantly.

"Ten percent!"

Shi Qing said firmly,

"Your Highness, now is a matter of life and death. This matter can only succeed, not fail. Your Highness must not hesitate, and I, an old minister, must also go all out!"

"In this case... this matter will all depend on the Prime Minister."

Liu Hong finally nodded.

"There is no time to lose. I will make the arrangements right away. Please remember that there is no way out. There is a bottomless abyss behind you. If you fall, you will be crushed to pieces!"

Shi Qing emphasized it again at last, then bowed to Liu Hong and walked out quickly.

"call--"

After Shi Qing left, Liu Hong let out a long breath, and his chest, which had been held tightly, straightened up.

"Prime Minister, it has not been easy for my father these years. The more I understand this treacherous villain, the stronger my respect for my father becomes, and the more I feel that what I am doing now is of great significance."

"In my heart, Your Highness actually has it even harder."

Bu Shi sighed and shook his head helplessly.

"My life was given to me by my elder brother. Every day since then has been a gift from my elder brother. Even if I give him my life now, I still cannot repay him."

Liu Hong turned around and looked at Bu Shi, with a nice smile on his delicate face.

"I'm sorry to have implicated you, and possibly many innocent people as well. I'm afraid I won't be able to repay you in this life. If there is an afterlife, I will slowly repay you."

"As the saying goes, a gentleman will die for his friend. Your Highness has treated me and everyone in Zhumuyuan very well. Now I am just repaying your kindness with them. Why should Your Highness blame yourself?"

Bu Shi bowed down, and tears welled up in his old eyes uncontrollably.

In fact, whether Liu Ju came back from the Western Regions to participate in the Fengshan Ceremony or not, this "Witchcraft Disaster" would have happened anyway.

The original plan was not actually like this, and it has changed several times since then.

At first, when Liu Ju was deposed as the crown prince, those powerful ministers began to victoriously pay homage to Liu Hong and curry his favor. Liu Hong, who had originally been indifferent to these people, changed his attitude and decided to collude with them and use them to compete for the position of crown prince.

There was even a time when Liu Hong, knowing that Liu Ju was in danger in the Western Regions, even thought of killing his father and usurping the throne. He tried to usurp the throne, recall Liu Ju, and then abdicate and let others take over his throne with the infamy of killing his father.

Fortunately, the news of the great victory that came back soon stopped him and prevented him from making a big mistake.

In the following years, Liu Hong continued to win over these powerful officials and deliberately showed weakness in front of them, appearing to be indecisive and easily compromised in exchange for their reassurance and support.

Later, as Liu Ju repeatedly made outstanding achievements in the Western Regions, Emperor Wu of Han directly reinstated Liu Ju as the crown prince without consulting the court.

When Liu Hong heard the news, he was overjoyed, but soon he couldn't laugh anymore.

Because while he was overjoyed, those powerful ministers who had supported him refused to settle down. They wanted Liu Ju to succeed to the throne in the future more than anyone else, and still pushed Liu Hong to compete with Liu Ju for the position of crown prince.

Liu Hong's previous lack of independent thinking and his tendency to compromise gave them the courage to influence him.

To this end, they also formulated many sinister plans, all with only one goal, to destroy Liu Ju and help Liu Hong succeed to the throne in the future.

How could Liu Hong not understand?

These people did not care about the future of the Han Dynasty. They just wanted an "obedient" emperor who would ensure that their interests were not harmed and open the door to their interests.

Compared with themselves, Liu Ju certainly could not be the right candidate in their minds.

After all, Liu Ju didn't even listen to Liu Che, so how could he easily listen to them and be controlled by them?
At the same time, Liu Hong also understood.

The future emperor could be him, or any other prince like him who shows no opinion and is easily compromised in order to win over these people. Even if he draws a clear line with them, these people can find someone else, and they are still a threat and hidden danger that cannot be ignored.

So Liu Hong took advantage of the situation and participated in planning this ceremony of borrowing longevity hidden in the Fengshan ceremony.

His original idea was that after the success of the longevity ceremony and Huo Shan's sudden death, he would set off a "witchcraft disaster" in Chang'an and cause Emperor Liu Che to personally deal with it. When he was found to be the one responsible, he would reveal the truth about the longevity ceremony and implicate all the powerful officials related to him.

In short, he just wanted to get involved and try to make things as big as possible.

Because he had discovered before that Liu Che actually knew a lot about many people and many things in the court and the country, but for the sake of political stability, he always turned a blind eye to these people and things, and even seemed to condone them.

And deceive the king!
Murdering the descendants of meritorious officials!

Witchcraft cursed Liu Che with the intention of treason!
All these charges combined should have forced Liu Che to stop turning a deaf ear and continue to put the overall situation first, right?

The original plan went very smoothly.

However, when Liu Ju, who had been defending the Western Regions, suddenly came back to participate in the Fengshan Ceremony, almost everything went wrong... Even Liu Che suddenly fell seriously ill at the critical moment and went to Ganquan Palace to recuperate.

Liu Ju was even more puzzled. He had clearly ordered someone to send the answers to the exam papers, but Liu Ju remained indifferent. No one knew what he was thinking...

(End of this chapter)