Father Han Gaozu

Chapter 171 Not stubborn at the beginning, but lost love to the ministers

Chang'an has two.

Chang'an inside the city, and Chang'an outside the city.

When Liu Ying followed Liu Chang out of the city and drove along the city wall for a long time, Liu Ying saw an amazing scene.

He saw many people with their backs against the city wall, huddled, covered with messy things, wishing to bury themselves with soil, most of them were adults in the family, holding their children in both hands, looking helplessly in their eyes There are indeed a lot of people in the past. The people who come and go are some high-ranking people wearing fur coats. They will pick and choose here, and occasionally pull out a few children, throw money to their families, and grow up. go.

"What is this doing?"

"Many people can't survive this cold winter, so they can only sell their children as vassals. They cannot be sold in Chang'an. After all, how can the common people not be able to survive? Only in this remote place can they do this. ."

Liu Ying's expression was a little stunned, "How come there are so many people. Nei Shi clearly said that no one in Chang'an was frozen this year."

"If he doesn't say that, how could our foolish emperor give him a reward?"

"Me", Liu Ying was shocked and angry, looking at the people who were leaning against the city wall and couldn't see the end, her breathing became heavier.Liu Chang was very calm. Although the second brother grew up in the palace, he also knew that the people's livelihood was suffering. He was very concerned about these things, and he kept trying to make the people live a good life.

However, he completely believed in those ministers in the country, and did not doubt whether they had deceived him at all.

"The emperor today is definitely not an ordinary person."

Liu Chang said: "When my grandfather was still there, the internal history would be played every year, saying how many Chang'an died of starvation and freezing. My grandfather was furious and changed several internal historians in a row, asking them to put an end to this kind of thing. In this situation, I have also denounced, how can there be frozen bones under the emperor's feet?!"

"When the son ascends the throne today, the world will be at peace in an instant, the world will be at peace, and the people will have a good time. No matter how bad the weather is, the areas where hundreds of thousands of people can freeze to death in the past years will be unreliable after the emperor ascends the throne. One person died, tsk, this emperor is really the emperor, once he ascends the throne, even the gods can't bear to freeze and kill the big men."

"Okay, Liu Er, stop watching! Come with me!"

Liu Chang turned and left, Liu Ying was shocked and angry, and kept mumbling Nei Shi's name, as if he was going to chew him into pieces.

"Heh, it's not just a matter of internal history. From top to bottom, they just let you know what they want you to know. What else do you know about other things?"

Liu Chang said disdainfully, they walked all the way to the east, and when it was almost night, they came to a place.

Li Zheng heard that the nobles came to stay for the night, and they rushed to greet them with great respect. They smiled and led the way. Liu Chang proudly walked ahead and said, "I am Lu Lu, the son of Marquis Jiancheng! This is my elder brother Lu Lu. Birth! Do you know us?"

Li Zheng was shocked, and hurriedly bowed again, saying, "I've heard for a long time about the prestige of Duke Jiancheng!"

"What? Don't you hear our names?"

"I heard it, I heard it."

Liu Chang snorted coldly, walked into a room under the leadership of Li Zheng, and then instructed Li Zheng, "Choose twenty girls from the room and send them to my room!"

Li Zheng's eyes widened, looking up and down the child who built the Hou family in front of him, "Twenty??"

"My lord. That's how it is. We are small and can't afford 20 people."

"Don't lie to me! I heard from a friend that when the noble person stayed here, you also treated the women in the middle of the country. Why, treat them but not me? Do you look down on my father?!"

Liu grows up and curses.

Li Zheng explained helplessly: "Your Excellency, someone came before, but they only asked for four or five people. I have never heard of twenty women."

"There are no more than [-] women, forget it, get out! No more!"

"My daughter is also very beautiful."

"I'm naturally strong, with less than [-] women, I can't act, get out!"

Liu Chang drove away from this place, then looked at Liu Ying who was stunned, and asked, "Brother, do you know why your ministers like to run out? What do you mean by rectifying the place and cleaning up the government? Look, they It is in these wards that the officials are purged, how can they be purged? It's very simple, those who do not send women are purged."

"Although I am young, my friends are all over the place. Brother, don't you believe me? Just the day before yesterday, your maid spent the night here and forced four women to come and serve. This matter, but The armored soldiers who accompanied him told me that my brother can check it at any time."

"All of them are sane, but there are only a few who really have the world in their hearts."

"Brother saves others by yourself and thinks too well of everyone. Hahaha, but I don't know what they have done in places you can't see!"

Liu Ying walked into the inner room without saying a word, and after seeing him enter, Luan Bu hurriedly came to Liu Chang and said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, don't be too kind-hearted, if you are too sad and angry, I'm afraid It's not right."

"I know, so I took him to see these. Otherwise, I would have taken him to see more serious things."

Ji Bu pondered and said, "It's not that Your Majesty doesn't know."

"Heh, he knows that the people's livelihood is suffering. I brought him out, not to show him how hard it is for the people, but to let him know how to treat ministers in the future!"

Ji Bu said solemnly: "Your Majesty is doing the right thing. I have an idea. Tomorrow, we will go back to Chang'an first. I heard about it some time ago."

Liu Chang listened carefully, and when Ji Bu finished speaking, he said with a smile, "You fellow, you seem to be an upright gentleman, but you are also full of bad water!"

Ji Bu smiled, "If there is no bad water, I really can't be the lover of the king."

Until the next day, Liu Ying was unhappy.

Liu Ying never speculates on the ministers with the worst malice. He knows people's livelihood is suffering, and he never feels that he is ruling a prosperous world, but he did not expect that the ministers would deceive himself so much and do such bad things in private. The matter of seizing people's daughters is a capital crime to be beheaded in the Han law.

Watching Liu Ying lowered her head to eat, Liu Chang said, "We'll return to Chang'an later."

"Chang'an? Shall we keep going?"

"Keep going? This is the case even outside of Chang'an. What if you go a little further?"

"I don't dare to take you there again. If I get angry with you, how can I explain it to my mother?"

After the meal, Liu Chang left with Liu Ying, and Li Zheng came to say goodbye again. It was not until these people left that Li Zheng Fang shook his head and said to the left and right: "The son of Duke Jiancheng is rude, lustful, and absolutely rude. It is not the luck of the Duke of Jiancheng!"

Liu Chang returned to Chang'an, as if he was ready, and took Liu Ying directly to a mansion.

Far away, Liu Chang stopped and looked at the mansion in the distance. Liu Chang asked with a smile, "Brother, do you know whose mansion this is?"

Liu Ying looked at it for a moment, then shook her head, "I don't know."

"This is the mansion of Shen Shiqi."

"Ah? Eldest brother, you want to."

Liu Ying was taken aback, but Liu Chang said: "Don't worry, I came here naturally for my purpose, now the funeral period has passed, the ministers haven't drank alcohol for a long time, and now everyone is having fun in the mansion, and it is even more generous to review the food. Celebrities and sages in and outside Chang'an, having fun in the mansion, said that they had to drink for three days, and this was the second day."

Liu Ying shook her head, "The mourning period is over, although gatherings and drinking are prohibited, but it is not easy to ask for guilt."

"Who said I'm going to ask the guilt, I just want you to see how your minister treats you."

Liu Chang looked at Luan Bu, Luan Bu hurriedly left after a while, then Luan Bu pulled a valet over, the valet's face was full of horror, he originally went out of the palace to buy something, but suddenly there was a sword The guy grabbed himself and dragged him all the way here. The attendant was not afraid until this person claimed to be Tang Wangsheren. The attendant was extremely frightened and struggled, but he was no match for Luan Bu at all.

When the valet saw the emperor, he was relieved and hurried to meet him.

However, Liu Chang said with a smile: "In this way, you pass an oral order for the emperor, you go to Shen Shiqi's mansion, tell Shen Shiqi, and say that the emperor has something to meet with Shen Shiqi, and ask him to go to Xuanshi Hall as soon as possible. "

The attendant looked at Liu Ying, Liu Ying pondered for a moment, and nodded.

The attendant was about to go in, and Liu Chang shouted again: "Don't say the emperor is here! Otherwise, the widow will cook you!!"

After seeing the valet away, Liu Ying asked suspiciously, "What does the eldest brother want to do?"

"Brother will know soon!"

They waited here. After waiting for a long time, the valet walked out with his head lowered. He came here soon, his face ashamed and hesitating.

"Tell me, how much did he give you?"

When Liu Chang asked, the valet was so frightened that he almost knelt on the ground, Luan Bu supported him in time, the valet took out the money from his arms tremblingly, and said, "It's not what I asked for. The Marquis of Biyang. He asked me to tell His Majesty, saying He is unwell."

At that moment, Liu Ying's face flushed and she was about to roar, Liu Chang hurriedly grabbed him, "Brother, you have been fooled like this hundreds of times, and you have endured it, why can't you bear it this time? Woolen cloth?"

Liu Ying glared angrily, this honest man had never been so angry before.

"This dog thief is going to kill him! Isn't my business as good as his drinking?"

"That elder brother will have to kill most of the court officials, elder brother, are they afraid of you? Do they respect you? The elder brother treats them well, but they feel that the elder brother can be deceived, so they will make all kinds of tricks. If my father Now, believe it or not, he is now rushing to the palace with his valet?"

"You're welcome, why isn't that the case with Prime Minister Cao? He won't delay major events, but he also drinks in the mansion all day long. You send someone to look for him. He even leaves that person to drink, and he drinks. It's much more powerful than Shen Shi, he's not fooling him, he just told his brother directly that he doesn't take you seriously at all!"

"How can brother?!"

This time, Liu Chang really didn't slander Cao Can. Cao Can was the Prime Minister, and it happened that all the famous people were repelled, leaving only the old and dull people. Once the mourning period passed, he began to drink and have fun day and night. When the accustomed person wants to remonstrate, Cao Can calls him and drinks it, until he gets drunk, and the speaker can't say a word.

Liu Ying sent his son Cao Cheng to persuade him, but Cao Cheng's persuasion failed, and he was beaten by Cao Can instead.

What is the act of tying up and beating the messenger sent by the emperor? ?

Even if the messenger is his own son.

That is, Liu Ying has a good temper. If you want to replace Liu Bang, Cao Can will be tied up and subjected to Liu Bang's whip the next day.

Liu Ying was furious and said, "I'm going to ask him about it!"

"Brother, don't be in a hurry, you are hiding between Luan Bu and Jibu, with your head down, that's how it is, you follow behind me, don't make a sound, don't look around, just stay at the door later, hehe, ministers Always slandering me in front of you, saying that I am rude, etc., I will let my brother see what the real situation is like."

Liu Ying was also obedient, following behind Liu Chang, blocked by two renunciations.

Liu Chang looked at Luan Bu, winked, and Luan Bu nodded lightly.

Liu Chang took them to the mansion of Shen Shiqi.

When the doormen came to open the door, Liu Chang directly broke in. Those doormen couldn't stop him at all, but kept shouting and reporting to the insider. When Liu Chang came to the other courtyard, everyone was drinking here, only , Liu Chang didn't know these people, he only knew the people who sat in the upper seat and were drunk.

When Shen Shiqi saw Liu Chang, his wine seemed to wake up.

He stood up vigilantly and stared at Liu Chang without speaking.

Liu Chang glared angrily and said, "Shen Shiqi, I respect you as an important minister of the late emperor, the emperor has an edict, why are you drinking here if you don't go to see him?"

Chen Shiqi was speechless and looked uneasy. The person sitting beside him stood up and asked with a smile, "But the emperor sent King Tang here?"

"That's not the case, it's just that I met a valet occasionally, and when I learned about it, I came here to persuade!"

The man said with a smile, "Don't be impatient, King Tang. Marquis Piyang is really unwell, so we came to see them. Marquis Piyang endured the pain and came to greet them, not because he didn't want to go."

"Right, that is it!"

Everyone shouted, Liu Chang's eyes widened, and he said incredulously: "How can there be such a reason in the world?"

"Your Majesty is young, and he is not old enough to leave the palace, but now that you can enter and leave at will, there is no such thing in the world!"

The crowd kept talking and talking without giving Liu Chang a chance to speak. Liu Chang jumped in a hurry, but he was speechless and refused to leave. After a long time, footsteps suddenly came from outside the door. , In a moment, I saw Tingwei Xuanyi lead people into the mansion.

Xuan Yi looked directly at Shen Shiqi, then glanced at Liu Chang again, and said, "Someone, take Tang King back!"

Seeing Xuanyi coming, Shen Shiqi was very happy, and hurriedly got up to meet him, and everyone got up one after another.

Liu Chang's eyes widened, and he asked, "It's not that the widow made a mistake, so why did Tingwei arrest him?"

"Someone reported that King Tang broke into the Marquis of Piyang Mansion and did something wrong."

At this moment, everyone has the support of Tingwei, and they all responded, calling Tang Wang rude, Liu Chang was anxious and angry, and said: "The widow is just here to persuade the trial, it is not a nonsense!"

Xuanyi ignored Liu Chang's sophistry and ordered him to be arrested and sent back to the palace.

At this moment, one person suddenly said coldly, "Okay. That's how it is. I said why people come to impeach the eldest brother every day, saying that the eldest brother is messing around all day, I finally understand, it is so!"

When everyone heard the words and looked at it, Shen Shiqi looked at it like this. He shivered and slumped on the ground. He hurriedly got up, leaned over and bowed, "Your Majesty!!"

Xuan Yi was taken aback for a moment, and then he saluted, "Your Majesty!"

Liu Ying looked at Xuanyi with murderous intent, and roared angrily: "What an upright court officer, are you my court officer, or a hawk dog who examines him?!"

Xuan Yi said solemnly: "Someone came here just now to tell the King of Tang that he was examining his house and wanted to kill the Marquis of Piyang, so I brought them here."

"Really? The eldest brother is going to kill Shen Shiqi. I have been following behind him, why didn't I know?!"

There was no fear on Xuan Yi's face, he said seriously: "That must be someone lying."

Liu Ying laughed angrily, "What a donkey Tingwei, this ability to quibble is really good, very good, the eldest brother walked into the mansion, and you rushed to the Tingwei later, it is very efficient!"

"Come here!! Take Xuanyi and everyone here!!"

Liu Ying roared, and the soldiers who followed Xuanyi were stunned for a moment, and then they rushed up. Even the people including Xuanyi were directly pressed to the ground, and their faces were bloodless, and they didn't know. How to defend, Xuan Yi never resisted, just raised his head and shouted: "Your Majesty! I am innocent!!"

"Bring them all back to Tingwei's prison!"

Dozens of people, including Tingwei, were escorted by the soldiers and left here. Liu Ying was still very angry, with blue veins on his forehead, and Liu Chang walked up to him pitifully, "Brother always scolds me on weekdays. , said that I was doing bad things in Chang'an, that I was arrogant and unreasonable, and that I insulted the ministers."

"Actually, I haven't done it at all. I just slandered it because the ministers didn't like it."

Liu Chang wiped his tears and said, "You don't listen to me when I explain, and my brother only believes in those ministers, not me."

Seeing Liu Chang's appearance, Liu Ying suddenly felt a little distressed. He grabbed Liu Chang's shoulder and said seriously: "I already understand, I can't believe any of these ministers' words! I will never trust them again. Words, eldest brother, I have suffered for you, I never thought that they would dare to do this!"

Liu Ying gritted her teeth, apparently hating the ministers to the extreme.

"By the way, brother, that declaration of justice is different from that of Shen Shiqi, who sent someone to tell him that he was also deceived by others. Therefore, he can't kill him. Lock him up for a few days and let him reflect on it. , let it go."

"Eldest brother, you can be so merciful to those who slander you. It's really alas."

"Okay, brother, it's okay, let's go back and interrogate these people well. If we can, we will go to a few more people's mansions later, and I will accompany you to find them! Treat them one by one!"

"it is good!"

Liu Ying said angrily: "I will never let this thief go! Outside Chang'an City, the common people sell their sons and daughters just to survive, but the ministers in the city are drinking and having fun, ignoring the emperor's orders, and don't care about those outside the city. People, I want them all to squat outside Chang'an City Wall for three days!! Let them feel it too!!"

Liu Chang was stunned for a moment, and said in a low voice, "Eh, the younger ones are fine. Cao Can's age, I'm afraid he will freeze to death that day."

"People can be frozen to death?! Can't the minister?!!"

Seeing Liu Ying leave here angrily, Liu Chang couldn't help chuckling.

Ji Bu took a deep look at Liu Chang, "You deserve it, but why did the king want to kill Tingwei?"

"Ah? What's wrong with Tingwei? Why don't I know, Luan Bu, do you know?"

"I, Chen Xiangye, don't know anything."

ps: Can you see what allusions the title is taken from?

(End of this chapter)