I, the prince, only want to be deposed.

Chapter 536: Final Chapter, Rebellious Son, Come Home with Me!
Time flies, the sun and the moon fly by.

In the blink of an eye, thirteen years have passed and the current reign title has just been changed to "Hou Yuan".

Over the years, the Han Dynasty has undergone tremendous changes.

The imperial examination system proposed by Liu Ju has now been successfully promoted throughout the country. More county schools have been built in various places, and even some pavilions have their own schools.

Although the literacy rate of the Han people is still not high, there is still some distance to go before it reaches 20%.

But with Emperor Liu Che's strong push, especially after setting up several examples of commoners entering the court through imperial examinations and rising rapidly, the enrollment rate of seven-year-old children has now reached 30%.

At the same time, there was a channel for upward mobility that broke the monopoly of aristocratic families.

It has made central power more centralized, eased social conflicts to a certain extent, made the political situation more stable, curbed corruption, and created a culture of valuing learning.

Liu Ju certainly knew that the imperial examination had its advantages and disadvantages and must be viewed from a dialectical perspective.

However, this drawback has not been solved even in later generations. Many selection matters can only be handled through an examination system similar to the imperial examination. In this era, the imperial examination system is the best choice and there is no alternative.

And he has done everything he should do.

The Imperial College reform that Dong Zhongshu had previously guided was intended to pave the way for optimizing the imperial examination system.

At least now the courses taught in the Imperial College and various county schools are no longer limited to Confucianism and the Five Classics, but also include some other subjects with greater scientific value.

The imperial examination designed by Emperor Liu Che did not only examine the Five Classics of Confucianism...

Road must be taken step by step, and meal must be eaten bite by bite.

At least this was a good start. Liu Ju believed that it could at least extend the Han Dynasty's national fortune for another 50 years. Even if the Han Dynasty perished one day, it would have set an example for future generations of the Celestial Empire.

In addition to the imperial examination system, there was also the land measurement system proposed by Liu Ju.

This national policy was also promoted throughout the country, completing a land redistribution.

Liu Che had the experience of "reporting and calculating the silk" before, so he was very adept at implementing this national policy. Therefore, there was basically no social unrest in this process, and the reform in most areas was completed in just three years.

Liu Che and Sang Hongyang even unexpectedly designed a system called "tiered land tax."

The previous preferential treatment of kings and princes being tax-free for reclaiming land was gradually cancelled, and the more land one owned, the higher the tax rate one had to pay, in order to curb the endless land annexation of those people.

When Liu Ju heard about this system, he almost thought that Liu Che and Sang Hongyang were also time travelers.

And in the process of promoting the "land measurement system".

People like Shi Qing, Zhang Gan and Han Qianqiu also played a big role.

Just as Liu Ju expected, in order to express their loyalty and avoid being liquidated, they not only set an example in promoting the imperial examination system and the land measurement system, but also became pioneers who were more ruthless than the cruel officials, and were more ruthless than Liu Che in taking action against the opposition... Although there may have been an intention to silence them, it did play a very positive role.

At the same time, there was another thing that effectively eased the social conflicts brought about by the reform.

As Liu Ju completely opened up the Western Regions and foreign trade entered a period of rapid development, the economic and industrial structure of the Han Dynasty was also changing rapidly.

Farming was no longer the only way to survive, and the handicraft industry of the Han people also entered a period of rapid development.

Silk fabrics, ceramics, bamboo weaving, woodworking, and so on, a series of Han-specific handicrafts began to be sold to the Western Regions.

The benefits involved were so unimaginable that handicraft factories in the Han Dynasty sprang up like mushrooms after a rain in the past decade or so, vying for a share of the pie baked by Liu Ju.

Dahan has already shown signs of transformation towards capitalization.

Under such circumstances, people's obsession with land is naturally no longer so strong, and the social contradictions caused by the "land measurement system" are naturally no longer so sharp. In any case, it is smoother than imagined.

At the same time, due to the continuous infusion of large amounts of Han silver coins, it also had a profound impact on the countries in the Western Regions. Even under Liu Ju's operation, he began to gradually extend his hands to important assets related to the people's livelihood of various countries.

For example, salt, iron, food and so on.

During this process, Liu Che still insisted on "promoting agriculture and suppressing commerce", although during the past ten years, the Han Dynasty continued to suffer from disasters as in history, with a major disaster every two or three years.

However, Liu Ju's foreign strategy effectively alleviated the impact of these disasters.

During the years of disaster, the Han Dynasty's handicrafts and silver coins continued to be exported, and grain from the Western Regions was continuously transported to the Han Dynasty... Liu Ju could not change the natural disasters, but he could transfer grain from the west to the east.

And in recent years, the cultural output of the Han Dynasty has also entered a period of rapid development...

In order to trade with the Han Dynasty and communicate with Han envoys, at least half of the people in the Western Regions along the way, from the top to the bottom, learned Chinese and wore Hanfu, and their girls most hoped to marry Han men!

Also.

Today, the Parthian Empire has been completely divided into more than ten countries of varying sizes.

Liu Ju did not send troops to invade any country. He just kept expanding the member states of Western Alliance westward, supporting some countries, rejecting some countries, suppressing some countries, and creating confrontation in the name of a peacemaker like a troublemaker.

He knew very well that with the level of communication in this era, the cost of ruling was frighteningly high, and this was the most cost-effective way of ruling.

As for the Xiongnu, Liu Ju never killed them all, and still kept his original intention in mind, allowing them to gradually move towards the Mediterranean to complete the mission of "God's Whip"...

Just when Liu Ju was lost in thought.

"Father, can you please talk to your son about financial hegemony? I think this is a plan made in heaven."

Liu Fuling's voice sounded beside him.

Liu Fuling is now nearly twenty years old and has married and has children.

Liu Bingyi, who was a few years younger, also came to Liu Fuling's side and looked at Liu Ju eagerly:

"Yes, father, you said that our Han Dynasty has initially established the foundation of financial hegemony. One day, the Han Dynasty only needs to stamp its feet, and the Western Region will be shaken three times. Is it really that amazing?"

Looking at his two sons, Liu Ju, who was already in his forties, shook his head and said seriously:
“Don’t always think about hegemony. Hegemony should be in your hands, but you should not rely on it too much, otherwise you will suffer from it.”

"We Han have our own system, which should be mixed with the way of the hegemon and the way of the king."

"It's the same internally and externally!"

"Your father is well versed in this area. He is a natural born king..."

At this point, Liu Ju's voice became slightly lower.

It was now the first year of the Hou Yuan Dynasty. If he remembered correctly, Liu Che's death would be in the spring of next year, which was only a few months away...

"Father, you often mentioned my great grandfather to us, but all these years have passed and I have never seen him once..."

Liu Bingyi muttered.

"I only vaguely remember meeting my grandfather when I was very young, but now my impression of him is blurry."

Liu Fuling was also somewhat puzzled.
"Father, what kind of person is Grandfather? Doesn't he miss you and us at all? Why have you never returned to Chang'an in all these years, and Grandfather has never come to call you back?"

"Your great grandfather is first the emperor of the Han Dynasty, and then my father and your great grandfather. Many times he has no choice..."

Liu Ju laughed, showing no resentment. As he was speaking, Guo Zhen's voice suddenly came from outside the door:

"Your Highness, His Majesty's messenger has delivered an imperial decree."

"come in."

Liu Ju agreed, and waited for Guo Zhen to come in before asking,

"What instructions does my father have this time?"

"His Majesty orders Your Highness to go to Yumen Pass immediately to obey the imperial edict. There must be no mistakes."

Guo Zhen bowed and replied.

Time has also left obvious marks on Guo Zhen. The former prince's horse-dressing master is still the prince's horse-dressing master, but his temples are now gray.

"understood……"

Liu Ju's voice instantly became much lower, and his eyes became red uncontrollably.
"Father, you and I have such a tacit understanding. Did you also foresee what I know?"

"What did father say?"

Liu Fuling and Liu Bingyi asked in confusion.

"Nothing, go get ready, you will go with me to obey the imperial edict."

Liu Ju turned his face away, and his voice became a little hoarse for some reason.

……

One month later, outside Yumen Pass.

Liu Ju came riding a horse, and behind the smoke and dust was a huge convoy.

His wife, his groom, and his personal soldiers followed closely behind him, and each of them was nervous.

It has been more than ten years, and this is the first time they have followed Liu Ju to Yumen Pass. No one knows what they are about to face.

Without Liu Ju, I felt sad.

On top of the Yumen Pass tower.

An elderly couple supported each other, followed by a middle-aged man with a delicate face. He kept an eye on the elderly couple and looked at the smoke coming from afar.

This middle-aged man was none other than the current King of Qi, Liu Hong.

Liu Hong now has a wife, four concubines and three sons, and he has bags under his eyes.

Su Wen did not come. He was too old. He was too old to endure the fatigue of the journey and could only stay in Changan to wait for good news.

Before leaving Chang'an, Su Wen met with Liu Hong in private. He called himself "Su Liu" and asked Liu Hong to greet Liu Ju on behalf of "Su Liu".

Liu Hong asked him what he meant.

He only said that he and Liu Ju had a heart-to-heart friendship, and "Su Liu" was the proof.

Liu Hong did not ask any further questions.

He knew that Liu Ju had many secrets, and he would no longer tell Liu Ju's secrets to Liu Che as easily as he did when he was young, nor would he be easily tricked by Liu Che... After all, he also had his own secrets, which he could only hide deep in his heart.

"..."

Before the smoke and dust, the figure on the horse seemed familiar yet a little strange.

But Liu Hong recognized the visitor at the first moment.

"Uu——!"

With the sound of a chariot, the horses stopped at the foot of the Yumen Pass tower.

The man on the horse raised his head, looked past the plaque of "Yumen Pass" on the city wall, looked at the elderly couple standing high above, and also looked at Liu Hong.

According to my brother...

It's been a long time.

At this moment, Liu Hong was overwhelmed with emotions, and his nose suddenly felt sore for some reason.

But he knew his identity, he was just the King of Qi, he could not usurp the throne, especially at this time, so he had to be patient.

"According to my..."

The elderly woman couldn't hold it back, and she covered her mouth with tears in her eyes, her body shaking uncontrollably.

Liu Hong had never seen his stepmother behave so badly. As the queen who was the mother of the country, she never showed her emotions even in front of him. She just kept looking for a suitable woman for him...

"Rebellious...son..."

A hoarse and dry voice finally sounded.

Liu Hong looked at the hunched back beside the elderly woman.

He saw that the figure was also trembling, as if these two words had drained all his strength.

But then the figure seemed to have gained strength from somewhere, and straightened up a little, and the voice became louder.

I only heard him shout again with full energy:

"Rebel!"

"You have been wronged, you can follow me... follow me home!"

go home……

Not going back to the palace...but going home!

Liu Hong was instantly struck by lightning, and tears started to fall.

No one knows how distant, strange and luxurious the word "home" is to people like them.

"Father! Mother!"

Under the tower, Liu Ju dismounted from his horse.
"Why don't you give the order to open the door first?"

(end)

(End of this chapter)