I, the prince, only want to be deposed.

Chapter 94 I also have a sincere heart

A moment later.

Before I saw the person, I heard his voice first.

"Ah my, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will participate in government affairs and assist the country from today on. It seems that His Majesty is ready to entrust him with a great responsibility. This is really cause for celebration, cause for celebration!"

With a burst of noise, a young man about the same age as Huo Guang walked in with a staggering step. This man was Gongsun Jingsheng.

After seeing Liu Ju, Gongsun Jingsheng smiled even more and bowed exaggeratedly:
"Gongsun Jingsheng greets His Highness. I have come here today to present a gift and congratulate Your Highness on participating in government and assisting the country!"

"Gongsun Zhonglang, you are too polite. I am embarrassed to do this."

Liu Ju returned the salute and looked at this cousin who was completely different from Huo Guang.

This man was not tall, probably about 1.6 meters, half a head shorter than the current Liu Ju.

However, his weight was much higher than Liu Ju's, and looked to be at least 200 kilograms, so that his whole body looked oval.

The most eye-catching thing is his round belly that seems to be about to burst out. His wide robe has no wrinkles at all, giving people the feeling that he is ready to dribble into someone at any time.

As far as I can remember, between Huo Guang and Gongsun Jingsheng, the former lord seemed to be more familiar with Gongsun Jingsheng.

Because Huo Guang always treated him with a distance, while Gongsun Jingsheng was the type of person who was talkative and outgoing, and they could always talk when they met.

But in Liu Ju's heart now.

Huo Guang could be his cousin, but Gongsun Jingsheng was just Gongsun Langzhong...

"How can we be polite to each other when we are family? We should just celebrate together!"

Gongsun Jingsheng laughed loudly, then turned around and shouted to the outside:

"Hurry up, hurry up, everyone, hurry up, do you want His Highness to think that I came here empty-handed? If you don't hurry up, don't blame me for being rude!"

"Here I come, here I come, Master, calm down, I'm coming, hurry up!"

There was an immediate flurry of responses and urging noises from outside.

Not long after, several fully loaded carriages and a team of about a hundred people appeared in front of Liu Ju.

"Something that's causing trouble!"

Gongsun Jingsheng glared and scolded the servant in charge of this matter, then put on a smile again and turned back to Liu Ju and said:
"Your Highness, in addition to the gifts I have prepared, I heard that Bowang Garden is recruiting servants these days, so I specially found a hundred slaves to send to Your Highness. Your Highness, please take a look at these slaves and see if they are suitable for you."

A slave is a slave. Men are slaves and women are maids. It means the same thing.

Although the Han Dynasty was a feudal society, there were still a large number of slaves. Wasn't Wei Qing born a riding slave?

At the same time, the buying, selling and giving away of slaves were also legal. The biggest difference was that slaves at this time were given some human rights. At least at the legal level, slaves could marry and have children, and their masters could not decide the life and death of slaves at will. If they really wanted to execute them, they had to be handed over to the government for disposal according to the law.

Of course, the law remains the law.

In fact, it was still very common for people to privately dispose of slaves.

Moreover, under the current laws, slaves have no right to file a complaint. Even if they report something to the government, it will not be accepted because they are not considered "people" at the official level and cannot be plaintiffs.

Therefore, these laws that grant slaves some human rights are nothing but illusions to the slaves themselves, and have long since become weapons for the powerful to attack each other.

and……

The Han Dynasty is the largest slave owner in the world today.

During this period alone, the number of slaves controlled by the court exceeded one million.

However, the slaves of the imperial court were mainly composed of prisoners of war and criminals. They were not as unscrupulous as the common people, who would do everything they could to force good people into slavery, which was also shaking the foundation of the Han Dynasty.

As for this Gongsun Jingsheng, Liu Ju heard that he was secretly involved in the slave business.

Many of the slaves and maids in the homes of the rich and powerful in Chang'an City were made by him, of all types, and he could even provide customized services, but this is just hearsay and there is no evidence.

After all, even if it is true.

Gongsun Jingsheng must be just the boss behind the scenes, and there are other agents in front. Who said that merchants have a low status these days, and they must register as merchants to do this kind of business. If he is not crazy, he will never let himself be registered as a merchant.

"Gongsun Zhonglang is too polite. I would be disrespectful to refuse. So I have no choice but to accept it."

Liu Ju still smiled slightly, and then said to Ji Ping who was accompanying him,

"Master Ji, take these servants and settle them down."

When this group of slaves came in just now, Liu Ju had already noticed their situation.

This group of slaves consisted of half men and half women.

The oldest one should be around 30 years old. This age group is mainly composed of men, who are in their prime and are good laborers.

The youngest one looks to be about ten years old, and this age group is mostly girls.

It is the age when you can do anything, whether it is nothing or something.

It seems that the hundred slaves sent by Gongsun Jingsheng must have been carefully selected and took a lot of thought.

However, Liu Ju did not feel any psychological burden when accepting this gift.

Just based on the fact that Gongsun Jingsheng dragged him into the vortex of Witchcraft and Poisoning in history, if he accepted some gifts now, he would just be collecting some interest first. Why should he be polite to him?

Even at this moment.

Liu Ju was still thinking about how to bring down Gongsun Jingsheng and keep him away from the core power circle of Chang'an.

This is to prevent him from becoming a royal coachman as described in history books, committing adultery with the princess, embezzling military funds for the Northern Expedition, and then implicating himself.

As for the situation of these slaves.

This is a common social phenomenon with the characteristics of the Han Dynasty, and it even continued into the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It is increasingly difficult for him alone to change it, and even Liu Che, the greatest emperor of all time, is powerless to change it.

Liu Ju had read a related article, which seemed to say that the social system is actually determined by the level of development of productivity.

The higher the productivity, the higher the value provided by producers. In order to continue to maintain their rule, the ruling class will be forced to make compromises to improve the social status of producers. Otherwise, they will face the fate of being overthrown by revolution.

Since he was powerless to change the situation, Liu Ju naturally felt at ease.

Anyway, he doesn't have any special hobbies, and apart from the normal rules, the Prince's Mansion does not treat slaves as non-human beings. It may not be a bad thing for them to stay here.

Just as I was thinking about it.

"Your Highness, I came here today because I have something I would like to ask for your help."

But Gongsun Jingsheng grabbed his arm without any sense of boundaries, and asked him to come to a deserted place nearby before he winked and said.

"Oh, Gongsun Zhonglang, you can go ahead and say whatever you want."

Liu Ju knew from his expression that it was definitely not a good thing, but he still said it calmly.

Gongsun Jingsheng laughed:

"I heard that in the Hexi Corridor, many Qiang people were instigated by the Xiongnu envoys. Now many tribes have gathered in the Qilian Mountains. I am afraid there will be unusual movements in the near future."

"Your Majesty also plans to hold a court meeting in the next few days to discuss this matter and discuss countermeasures."

"Your Highness knows that given His Majesty's temperament, this war is inevitable."

"I, Gongsun Jingsheng, also have a sincere heart to contribute to the country."

"Your Highness is now able to participate in government affairs and assist the country, and he will definitely have a say in front of His Majesty."

"Can you please recommend me to His Majesty during the court meeting? I'm definitely not capable of fighting on the battlefield, but I'm more than capable of helping to allocate military supplies and fodder in the rear."

　Thanks to Mr. [Wuyin Guke] for his reward and support.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)