I, the prince, only want to be deposed.

Chapter 535 I really envy my three sisters-in-law...

The next day, Liu Che issued three edicts in succession.

The content of the first edict was enough to shock Guo Zhen for many years, so much so that when he repeated the content of the edict to Liu Che, his mouth kept clicking as if he was lame:

"Your Highness, Your Highness, His Majesty stated in the edict that the court has caught the assassin who assassinated you yesterday..."

"In three days... the assassin and his clansmen will be taken to the East Market and beheaded... The assassin's identity... is a member of Jiang Chong's clan who was stabbed to death by Your Highness in the street a few years ago. They are seeking revenge to assassinate Your Highness..."

Although this so-called "assassination" was planned by Liu Ju, it was he who carried it out.

Therefore, no one knew better than him how wronged Jiang Chong's people were, and no one was more puzzled than him as to how this matter got involved with Jiang Chong's people.

Liu Ju just nodded after hearing this, and didn't seem surprised at all:
"As expected of my father, he is willing to do me a favor... Please continue."

Such matters should indeed come to a quick conclusion, even if it means just randomly picking out some people to convict, the highlight is the speed and ruthlessness.

Only in this way can the court's thundering measures be demonstrated and have sufficient deterrent effect on both the government and the public.

Otherwise, if the assassin is never caught, the royal dignity will become a joke and it will also encourage the mentality of taking chances of some people with ulterior motives.

However, Liu Ju had not expected that Liu Che would choose to target Jiang Chong's clansmen.

Jiang Chong’s clansmen certainly had not imagined that disaster would come from the sky without any warning while they were sitting at home.

Are they wronged?
Of course it was unfair. They had done nothing wrong, yet their entire family had to endure the death penalty.

However, it seems that they are not completely wronged. If Liu Ju had not stabbed Jiang Chong to death in the street and the history of Witchcraft and Poisoning had repeated itself, they would still not have escaped the fate of being exterminated.

It’s all Jiang Chong’s fault for having offended Liu Ju before and for having killed Liu Ju’s Zhanshi Ji Ping.

This is their cause and effect. Liu Che did this to do Liu Ju a favor and took the opportunity to completely eradicate Liu Ju's enemies and prevent future troubles.

"..."

Guo Zhen still didn't quite understand after hearing this, but he didn't dare to continue commenting on the matter, so he could only continue:

"In the second edict, His Majesty withdrew the two national policies that Your Highness had promoted a few days ago."

"The imperial examination system that Your Highness has been pushing for will be changed to a national policy where the imperial examination system is promoted, while still retaining the system of selecting meritorious officials based on their sons and wealth, with the three systems running in parallel."

"Change the national policy of measuring the land that Your Highness has strongly promoted to not apply it to the nobles of the imperial court, but to promote it first among the prominent families, officials, and merchants in various places."

"And these two national policies will only be piloted in the capital and the three auxiliary areas for the time being, in order to fully listen to the opinions of the people and fully understand the pros and cons of these two national policies before making a decision."

Liu Juzhen was not surprised at all about the content of this edict.

What Liu Che was best at was playing the role of the bad guy. Liu Ju had already paved the way for him. He knew exactly how to discount these two national policies and how to proceed step by step, even without discussing it with the court officials.

Even more often than not, these inner court officials were his scapegoats and were merely following his orders.

Otherwise, where did Sang Hongyang get the reputation of "competing with the people for profit"?

What really caught Liu Ju's attention was the "pilot system" that Liu Che had come up with this time.

Piloting the policy first in the capital and the three prefectures, where the court has the best control and is most familiar with the situation, will naturally make the promotion of the national policy more effective. Then, combined with publicity through rural tours, this two-pronged approach will quickly enable the people who cannot understand the national policy for the time being to have a clearer understanding of the two national policies. After all, it is these people who will truly benefit.

Even if the people do not care about national policies, it is impossible for them not to care about what they have gained in the process of promoting these two national policies.

In this way, as long as it is promoted effectively, it will eventually have a radiating effect on the economy and areas outside the three auxiliary areas. When the promotion scope is expanded at that time, it will naturally be supported by the people, and will subtly differentiate the relationship between the people and the local powerful families.

It can be said that although Liu Che’s “pilot system” is nothing new in later generations, in this era, it undoubtedly set a precedent that can be used as a reference for future generations.

"Go on, what did the third edict say?"

Liu Ju still nodded calmly and continued to ask.

"This third edict..."

Guo Zhen hesitated for a moment, avoiding Liu Ju's eyes, and said hesitantly,
"In the imperial edict, His Majesty reprimanded Your Highness for being stubborn and self-willed... The reason for this is that you are still young and inexperienced, so His Majesty was ordered to return to the Western Regions on a certain day to continue your training. You are not allowed to enter Yumen Pass without His Majesty's order..."

He really couldn't imagine how Liu Ju would react after hearing the contents of this edict.

Wronged?

Unjust?

anger?
Perhaps there will be other thoughts that are difficult to express?
He also didn't understand what the current emperor was thinking... Was Liu Ju really as bad as he said in the edict? Didn't he have any idea at all?

If it was really so bad, how could the Huns migrate westwards?
How could the Western Region have the prosperous situation it has today?
He also ordered Liu Ju to return to the Western Regions and not to set foot into Yumen Pass without an imperial decree. Wasn't he afraid that Liu Ju would be forced into a corner and rebel directly in the Western Regions?

But Liu Ju nodded calmly and asked:
"Guo Zhen, if I'm not mistaken, this should be the second edict, and the edict that just changed the national policy is the third edict, right?"

Is this what Your Highness should focus on now? !
Upon hearing this, Guo Zhen almost couldn't help but pounce on Liu Ju, grabbing his collar and asking this question.

Is it possible that neither of these father and son is a normal person, and is incapable of considering issues with normal thinking?
But he didn't dare, and he also knew that he couldn't get close to Liu Ju who could use the big yellow crossbow, so he could only suppress his anger and answered honestly:

"Your Highness is right. I changed the order of the imperial edict without authorization. I was afraid that Your Highness..."

"I'll just say it."

Liu Ju laughed.

"It must be that I must be punished first to appease the emotions of those people below, and then issue an edict to promote national policies for better results. Just like when I want to negotiate with someone, I must first calm the other party down, and then talk about the business so that the other party can listen. It is such a simple truth that my father must not be unaware of it."

"But His Highness is clearly not like that..."

Guo Zhen finally took a deep breath and tried to speak up for Liu Ju.

"This is exactly the result I want, and it is also the tacit understanding between me and my father."

Liu Ju interrupted him and continued laughing,
"But there is one thing my father didn't mention. I'd better go to the palace and ask him. Tell someone to prepare a carriage to take me to the palace."

"promise……"

Guo Zhengang was about to agree.

But suddenly a report came from outside:
"Report—The Imperial Court Minister Su Wen requests an audience!"

……

Su Wen only delivered a handwritten letter from Liu Che and then left.

In the letter, Liu Che mentioned in a very tacit manner the issue that Liu Ju was most concerned about - his family.

He said that Liu Ju's journey was long and he didn't know when he would be able to return. In order to relieve Liu Ju's pain of missing his family, he allowed him to bring his family with him without any restrictions on the number of people or candidates.

This was tantamount to completely removing Liu Ju's shackles and releasing him to the Western Regions.

Throughout history, no minister leading troops outside the country has been able to obtain such a special privilege.

In this case, once Liu Ju arrived in the Western Regions, even if he did not become the emperor in the future, he would become a vassal king who was difficult to eliminate and was related to the lifeblood of the Han Dynasty. This was the guarantee that Liu Che gave to Liu Ju, which was more powerful than the will!

This is in line with Liu Ju's previous motto:

"Nothing that others promise you counts. Only things that you can decide for yourself count."

Liu Che handed over the power of decision to Liu Ju as compensation for his sacrifice.

This is also the tacit understanding between father and son.

Although Liu Che told Liu Ju to go back to the Western Regions yesterday, he did not mention the requirement in the imperial edict that Liu Ju was not allowed to set foot into Yumen Pass without the emperor's order.

This was obviously an extra red line that Liu Che added for Liu Ju after carefully considering the pros and cons after returning to the palace.

The reason is simple: Liu Che did not want to become the emperor emeritus.

He must know the fate of the first emperor emeritus in history:
King Wuling of Zhao was very famous during the Warring States Period. He was the one who invented the Hu clothing and horse riding and the Grand Palace of Xin, which made Zhao a powerful country that could compete with Qin and Chu.

However, when he was still young and strong, he suddenly had an idea and named himself the Lord Father, allowing his youngest son, King Huiwen of Zhao, to succeed to the throne ahead of time.

As King Huiwen of Zhao became more powerful, Lord Zhao suddenly had an idea and wanted to give land to his eldest son, Prince Zhang.

King Huiwen of Zhao joined forces with court ministers to launch a coup d'état, which not only killed Prince Zhang, but also besieged the Shaqiu Palace of King Zhao, evacuated all servants, and cut off water and food supplies. In the end, King Zhao could only rely on eating grass roots, tree bark, and even climbing trees to catch birds to fill his stomach. He persisted for three months but still could not escape the fate of being starved to death.

Yesterday, Liu Ju demonstrated his understanding of imperial power tactics in front of Liu Che for the first time. Coupled with the extraordinary means he demonstrated in this incident, he has been recognized by Liu Che...

At the same time, he also gained Liu Che's concerns.

There is no doubt that both father and son only believe in what they can decide, rather than what others promise them.

Fortunately, Liu Ju's open-minded honesty and his willingness to play the villain in order to fulfill Liu Che's long-cherished wish won Liu Che's trust and dispelled most of his concerns.

But even so.

Liu Che still wanted to guard against him, so he asked him to go back to the Western Regions.

Because there is no room for two tigers in one mountain, if Liu Ju, who has grown to this point, stays in Chang'an, his power will inevitably be divided in the future.

After all, the aura of a king is like pregnancy, it cannot be hidden for a long time. Even if Liu Ju is very low-key, there will be people who will be influenced and consciously stand on his side.

As for the additional red line of "no one is allowed to set foot into Yumen Pass without imperial order".

It was also sending a clear signal to Liu Ju, a signal similar to "mind your own business", ensuring that the two would not be affected by external forces, that power would not overlap, and that conflicts at any level would not arise.

And he does.

It is based on the certainty that Liu Ju and he have sufficient tacit understanding and equal wisdom. Isn't this a kind of recognition, a kind of protection, and a kind of fatherly love and filial piety?
"Father..."

After putting away the secret letter, Liu Ju suddenly felt a little disappointed.

This kind of tacit understanding that goes beyond all words makes people feel extremely comfortable, but also inevitably sad.

Power is a poison. Perhaps if Liu Che was not the emperor and he was not the crown prince, but just an ordinary father and son, they would not have to rely on tacit understanding and wisdom to embody and maintain fatherly love and filial piety?

The saying "two dragons cannot meet" finally came true. This time it was not superstition...

……

When leaving Beijing, Liu Che still did not come to see him off.

Wei Zifu, who seldom left the palace, accompanied her grandchildren all the way to the gate of Bacheng, wiping away tears while holding her two grandchildren.

Liu Ju went to the palace to pay his respects a few days ago and deliberately asked Wei Zifu if she was willing to go to the Western Regions with him. Liu Che allowed him to take anyone with him, and of course did not restrict Wei Zifu.

then.

He was beaten by Wei Zifu, who chased him all the way from the Pepper Room to the Shiqu Pavilion.

This time she was beaten harder than last time. She was obviously an old lady in her fifties, but she still looked a little weak. She could even break the duster. It really shows that you can't judge a person by his appearance.

Liu Ju certainly knew that Wei Zifu would never go with him.

Not to mention that he and Liu Che were still father and son, even if the two of them broke up completely, with Wei Zifu's personality, she would definitely stay by Liu Che's side without hesitation, even if she had to die to show her integrity.

She is such a stubborn person, and she has done so in history...

Liu Hong also came.

He had been beaten a few days ago. He was called into the palace by Emperor Liu Che to be beaten. He broke the golden-handled rattan stick that was originally prepared for Liu Ju... But it might also be because the rattan stick was too old and had become dry and brittle, and could not withstand the beating.

However, since that day, Liu Hong's gloomy aura has become much less, and his delicate face looks much brighter when he smiles.

I don't know what Liu Che said to him, or how much he said to him...

"Brother, when you are not around, I will take good care of my father and mother for you."

Liu Hong looked at Liu Ju with his red phoenix eyes. He held his words in for a long time but could only utter these words.

"If you are really filial, you should hurry up and get married and have children. You are not allowed to get married before the age of 25. How can you think of such a thing?"

Liu Ju joked with a smile.

"That's also forced..."

Liu Hong's face turned red again, as if she had put on rouge, but she still looked at Liu Ju with burning eyes.

"Brother, before we leave, can you hug me like we did when we were little?"

"Still so hypocritical."

Liu Ju still teased him, but also opened his arms.

Liu Hong did not argue. He took a step forward and hugged Liu Ju, gently resting his head on Liu Ju's chest and closing his eyes like a cat, as if he was enjoying and remembering this feeling.

"..."

Just when Liu Ju gradually felt that the atmosphere was a little strange.

Liu Hong finally took the initiative to leave him, but he said something that made Liu Ju break into a cold sweat:
"I really envy my three sisters-in-law..."

"???"

Liu Ju's heart skipped a beat.

But a beautiful smile appeared on Liu Hong's delicate face:

"…I am able to experience the scenery of the Western Regions with my brother. I hope that one day I can go and see it too."

(End of this chapter)