I, the prince, only want to be deposed.

Chapter 528 The world can be in chaos, but Liu Ju must die!
"This……"

Huo Guang, Sang Hongyang, Gongsun He and others looked at each other in bewilderment when they heard this.

As Liu Che's inner court ministers, they knew more about the inside story of the court than others and considered more deeply than others. How could they not understand how much impact the national policy proposed by Liu Ju would have?

His target was not only those who opposed his succession to the throne, but also all the beneficiaries of the system of appointment, selection based on wealth and recommendation, that is, all the princes, ministers, nobles, prominent families, powerful people and local officials inside and outside the court.

Even these inner court officials were also targeted.

At this moment, a sentence emerged in their hearts at the same time:
"Why did your highness rebel?"

During the reign of Emperor Xiaojing, the policy of reducing the power of the feudal lords was implemented, and the Rebellion of the Seven States was triggered just ten days after the decree was issued.

In the end, Emperor Xiaojing had to behead Chao Cuo, the imperial censor who proposed this plan, in order to quell the rebellion. However, this move not only failed to work, but the princes still had to raise troops. They thought that Emperor Xiaojing was weak and became more and more aggressive. In the end, Emperor Xiaojing had to issue an edict to suppress the rebellion, and it took three months to quell the rebellion.

It should be noted that the scope of the "Plan to Reduce the Powers of the Feudatories" originally only included the four kings: the King of Zhao, the King of Jiaoxi, the King of Chu and the King of Wu, but it had already caused such unrest.

The scope of Liu Ju's move was so wide that it was tantamount to opening an indiscriminate attack on the Han Dynasty. Both loyal ministers and treacherous people would be greatly affected, making the Liu family of the Han Dynasty stand in opposition to all the ruling classes. Once unrest was caused, it would certainly be far beyond the reach of the Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms. If one was not careful, the dynasty would be over!
How is this different from rebelling against the Han people? !

Thinking about this, Huo Guang, Sang Hongyang, Gongsun He and others became anxious, wondering whether they should stand up and express their objections in public.

After all, this was Liu Ju's first time in charge of government affairs. If even these people openly opposed the national policy proposed by Liu Ju, it would be a slap in the face of Liu Ju in public, making the entire court a laughing stock. It would definitely have a huge negative impact on Liu Ju's reputation and even directly affect his future succession to the throne.

In this case, even if Liu Che really died recently as rumored, Liu Ju would be able to successfully succeed to the throne, but he would probably not be able to keep his seat firmly.

However, if no objections are raised, once this national policy is announced in the form of an imperial edict, the Han Dynasty will most likely face the greatest turmoil since its founding.

At that time, it would probably not be a question of whether Liu Ju could succeed to the throne or sit firmly on the throne.

But it is a question of whether the Han Dynasty can continue!

Indeed, they also knew that if Liu Ju's national policy could be successfully implemented, it would break the monopoly of the current ruling class and provide the common people with an important upward channel. While easing social contradictions, it would also allow the Liu family of the Han Dynasty to obtain fresh blood to check and balance the existing ruling class, which would be of great benefit to the Han Dynasty in the long run.

In fact, Liu Che had done the same before. He supported and employed cruel officials and issued many decrees in order to check and restrict the current ruling class.

But in this process, Liu Che always maintained a sense of proportion.

He never launched such indiscriminate map artillery against them like Liu Ju did, but always divided them first and then divided and ruled them, and he always wore white gloves to clear himself of all blame and only played the role of a referee.

The most famous white gloves among them are Zhufu Yan and Zhang Tang.

These two people, one was responsible for the Enfeoffment Order, and the other was responsible for the relocation of Maoling and the new decree, so neither of them had a good end.

Even Sang Hongyang has been burdened with a bad reputation for "competing with the people for profit" for many years, and it is still unknown what his fate will be in the future.

But this time, Liu Ju had to take action personally. Even if he dragged Taichang Qing Han Qianqiu along, he was bound to get himself dirty... This was definitely not a wise approach!

Just when Huo Guang, Sang Hongyang, Gongsun He and others were anxious and hesitant.

"I object!"

A counselor stepped forward first, came to the front of the hall, bowed and said,

"Your Highness is still the Crown Prince. Although you are in charge of government affairs, you are not in charge of government affairs. If you change the system established by Your Majesty, you will be suspected of being unfilial and it will be difficult for the world to be convinced!"

As soon as the words fell, several officials stood up and loudly echoed:

"That's right. Your Majesty has been on the throne for more than thirty years, and has implemented the system of selecting filial and honest officials for more than twenty years. During this period, you have issued edicts three times to select virtuous and talented people. You have obtained countless talents, and have made outstanding achievements in both civil and military affairs. Your Highness has now completely overturned the system of appointing sons and selecting people with wealth, and even your Majesty's system of selecting filial and honest officials is going to be overturned. This will definitely cause a lot of criticism."

"I would like to ask Your Highness, on behalf of all the people in the world, whether Your Highness intends to use this to deny the achievements of Your Majesty and the many meritorious officials?"

The next moment, more officials stood up, and some even knelt in front of the hall and cried loudly as if they were mourning:
"I am afraid that this move will make Your Majesty sad and make the people of the world feel disappointed. I risk my life to beg Your Highness to reconsider!"

"Your Highness, please do not act on your own..."

"Your Highness, wake up!"

For a moment, the Xuanshi Hall was as noisy as a vegetable market. The sounds of persuasion and wailing mixed together, and the deafening sound seemed to be about to blow off the dome of the Xuanshi Hall.

"Ugh……"

Huo Guang, Sang Hongyang, Gongsun He and others felt a dull headache when they saw this scene.

They had expected such an outcome from a long time ago, and this was probably the best outcome...Now that Liu Ju had rescinded his decision, although it would inevitably cause some damage to his own reputation and would also expose his governance ideas in advance, making it more difficult for him to succeed to the throne in the future, at least it could be resolved without causing immediate turmoil in the Han Dynasty.

There was even a moment when several people felt shaken unconsciously in their hearts.

They were no longer sure whether Liu Ju was suitable to succeed the throne, or whether this was a good thing for the Han Dynasty.

Although Liu Ju's performance in the Western Regions was obvious to all, expanding territory was one thing, and defending the homeland was another. There was a huge difference between the two...

However, when they secretly glanced at Liu Ju.

But then he discovered that Liu Ju was not at all flustered or at a loss in the face of this situation. Instead, he glanced at everyone in the hall with a calm face, as if it had nothing to do with him.

When the silent and tearless wailing in the hall gradually subsided, Liu Ju looked at Zhang Gan, the Imperial Censor who was in charge of maintaining order in the court.
"Censor Zhang, are you just going to watch?"

"!"

Zhang Gan shuddered when he heard this, and immediately howled at the top of his lungs:

"Silence! This is an important place. How can you cry disrespectfully and criticize the national policy?"

"..."

All the sounds disappeared in an instant. At this time, Zhang Gan's words seemed to be more effective than the authority of Liu Ju, the crown prince in charge of government affairs, even though Liu Ju did not even open his mouth to stop them.

But Liu Ju didn't seem to care about these.

Seeing that the scene had finally calmed down, he also grinned:
"Zhang Yushi's words were too harsh. How could he have committed such a serious crime by crying in the Xuanshi Hall and criticizing the national policy?"

"..."

Everyone looked suspicious when they heard this. For a moment, they couldn't figure out what Liu Ju's position was and who he was speaking for. Then they heard Liu Ju continue to speak slowly:
"They are just... plotting rebellion and forcing the emperor to abdicate."

"???"

"!!!"

Everyone was horrified. Weeping in the Xuanshi Hall and criticizing the national policy were both considered "great disrespect". According to precedents, the punishments were usually relatively light, such as dismissal from office, demotion to commoner, or paying money to redeem the sin.

But treason and forcing the emperor to abdicate are extremely serious problems.

Although the Han Dynasty no longer had the cruel punishment of being torn apart by five horses, according to Han law, the lightest punishment for this crime was beheading, and this was only the punishment for the victim alone. The victim's parents, wife, brothers and sisters, regardless of age, would also be executed in public, which was commonly known as "extermination of three clans."

However, before they could react, Liu Ju took back the lining covered with words and read the words to the minister who had just stood up to "die for advice":

"Grand Master Wan Zhong, Grand Master Ji Ji, Grand Master Zhang Xu, Counselor Bian Ci, Imperial College Doctor Wang Jing, Sun Shutai..."

After reading more than a dozen names, Liu Ju finally stopped and glanced at the ministers below who were completely frozen in place, with a half-smile on their faces, even paler than Shi Qing, Zhang Gan, and Han Qianqiu before:

"I won't call out the names one by one. There are too many names here. If I read them all, I'm afraid this morning court session will be over."

"Those whose names were not mentioned should not take chances... no, don't feel regretful. I have remembered every one of you. I have all the evidence and I will not favor one over another."

"I don't mean anything else. The names I just read are actually all officials who firmly support me in abolishing the system of appointing sons, selecting officials based on wealth, and recommending officials to the imperial examination system."

"That is to say, although some of you disagree with my national policy, there are also many who support me."

"I am not a stubborn person, and when discussing national policy, it is not the case that whoever cries the loudest is right, so let's vote by raising our hands and let the minority obey the majority."

"Prime Minister Shi, Censor Zhang, and Minister Han, what do you think?"

The dozen or so people whose names Liu Ju just mentioned were all ministers who openly took the lead in opposing this national policy. However, when they came to Liu Ju's mouth, they suddenly became ministers who firmly supported the national policy.

This made many ministers who were unaware of the inside story confused. Isn't this just telling lies with open eyes?

In addition, Liu Ju’s other words are also somewhat confusing.

First, their opposition was characterized as "treason and forcing the emperor to abdicate", and then there were remarks like "don't take chances" and "there are witnesses and evidence". It all sounded like it had some hidden meaning, and at least it had nothing to do with "firmly supporting the national policy", right?
"This……"

Huo Guang, Sang Hongyang, Gongsun He and others were all a little confused. They always felt that Liu Ju's words were inconsistent and he suspected that he had some mental problems.

But that's only for them.

These words were like revealing their cards to those ministers who had something to hide. Even one more word would seem redundant and would make them even more furious.

If you want to live, you must support the national policy.

If you don't want to live, that's treason and forcing the emperor to abdicate.

No wonder Liu Ju ordered people to close the door of Xuanshi Hall as soon as he entered. It turned out that he was waiting for them here!
But they just couldn't figure out how Liu Ju knew all these things. Although they might not be of the same mind, they had already formed a community of interests on this matter. How could he be exposed so easily?

Moreover, it is impossible for ordinary people to come up with such a detailed list... At this moment, they have completely understood why Shi Qing, Zhang Gan and Han Qianqiu reacted in that way after seeing the lining. It is likely that what is written on it is not the so-called national policy at all, but a list and evidence involving all of them.

At this moment, Liu Ju obviously did not intend to go to the extreme.

Instead, he gave them a chance to survive, allowing them to use their own lives to revolutionize their own lives in exchange for a chance to save themselves and their people.

At this moment, they didn't even know whether to praise Liu Ju for his kindness.

Or should we curse Liu Ju for being vicious...

But one thing is certain, if they continue to oppose Liu Ju, no matter whether Liu Ju can succeed to the throne in the future, they will probably not be able to walk out of the Xuanshi Hall alive.

There is a saying that goes, "As long as the mountains remain, there will be no shortage of firewood."

No matter what the considerations are, it would not be a wise move to confront Liu Ju head-on at this moment.

After all, this prince was a ruthless man who dared to stab Xiu Yizhizhi to death in the street. Even if their number occupied half of the court, the principle of "the law does not punish the majority" might not be able to restrain him.

As the saying goes, a real man can bend and stretch, so it’s better to go along with him and get through this hurdle first.

After the court meeting is over, even if this national policy becomes an imperial decree, whether it can be implemented will still depend on whether the middle-level and lower-level officials cooperate... By then, it will not be something that a crown prince like him who is not in charge of government affairs can easily influence.

And after this incident.

There will be more and more people opposing Liu Ju, and their power will grow further. It will be even less likely that Liu Ju will succeed to the throne smoothly, and this national policy will naturally be even less likely to be implemented.

In short, although Liu Ju's move seems wise, it is actually tantamount to digging his own grave and will only make his situation more passive.

This is why Liu Che's physical condition has not been made public yet, and many forces are intimidated by his majesty and dare not act rashly. Otherwise, it would be unknown whether Liu Ju would be able to govern the country smoothly this time.

But it should be soon.

Liu Che had already reached this age, and for the first time in history he had handed over part of his imperial power and kept his health condition strictly secret. All signs indicated that Liu Che had reached the end of his life.

Once Liu Che passes away and power is transferred, it will be time for them to let go!
The world can be in chaos, but Liu Ju must die!
"I think what Your Highness said is absolutely right."

What these people could figure out, Shi Qing, Zhang Gan and Han Qianqiu naturally understood even better, and they immediately bowed and agreed to Liu Ju.

"Without further delay, Han Taichang supports this matter and will be in charge of it from now on. Let Han Taichang organize a show of hands to vote."

Liu Ju nodded.

"promise."

Han Qianqiu bowed and responded, then turned around to face the ministers, first looking around at them with a meaningful look, and then shouted loudly:

"Officials who support abolishing the system of appointing sons, selecting officials based on wealth, and recommending officials to take the imperial examination system, please raise your hands!"

(End of this chapter)