My father is Emperor Wu of Han, how can I be different from him?

Chapter 166: Li Guang, Who Even the Emperor Cannot See Through
When Liu Ju was secretly trying to gather his consciousness, the emperor had already waved his hand, and the others understood and quietly retreated downstairs.

When only the father and son were left on the balcony, Liu Che glanced at the copper pots and dishes that were steaming nearby. Without saying a word, he walked to the edge of the balcony and opened the window.

call!
A cold winter wind blew, and the slight drunkenness I felt before was completely gone.

"When I was first appointed as the crown prince, I was only seven years old. I didn't like coming here because I felt that the tower was too high and climbing was too tiring. When I was ten years old, I came here occasionally."

"When I was fifteen, I often came here." He turned around, looked at Liu Ju and asked, "Do you come here often too?"

"Come here often so you can climb high and see far." Liu Ju said honestly.

The emperor nodded after hearing this, his expression did not change. He sat down beside the table and picked up a set of clean bowls and chopsticks without any dislike.

While the prince and Su Sheren were eating the copper pot mutton hotpot, Liu Ju, who had just picked up the chopsticks and sat down again, explained:

“It can be eaten as soon as it is cooked. It can be cooked as soon as it is eaten.”

He picked up the mutton and demonstrated it. After a while, the emperor took a few bites of the mutton and felt a warm current spread throughout his body. "Not bad, it's perfect for winter."

"You're always good at making new things."

"It's just to satisfy my appetite, it's nonsense." Liu Ju replied.

Ok.

The emperor responded without comment and put a slice of thinly cut mutton into the soup pot. "Did you know that the second and third sons will be crowned kings recently?"

"I didn't know it beforehand, but I found out afterwards." Liu Ju replied while dealing with a chicken wing. His answer was very interesting.

The emperor sighed, "It seems that Qubing is taking good care of you."

"That's my cousin."

Regarding the matter of conferring the title of king on the second and third sons of the emperor, neither Huo Qubing nor Huo Guang had the idea of ​​informing the crown prince in advance.

There's no way through.

Telling the prince would only make things difficult for him. Should he keep his brothers and express his reluctance to leave? Or should he let them leave Chang'an as soon as possible and show his cold side?
Neither is appropriate. The best way is not to tell.

Liu Ju was indeed unaware of this beforehand. He only realized it after the quarrel in the Xuanshi Hall spread.

"call."

The mutton was cooked. The emperor blew on it and a puff of mist rose up. "Is Li Guang helping you too?"

"This..." Liu Ju thought for a moment, "I don't know."

"hehe."

The emperor laughed after hearing this, "Yes, I can't see through him."

The topic of the prince being crowned king was first brought up by the bickering between Huo Qubing and Li Guang in Xuanshi Hall that day. Huo Qubing could see through it easily, but Li Guang...

As the emperor said, he couldn't see through it.

It is said that Li Guang pretended to be confused when he knew the truth, but he did not seem to have that kind of brains. But if you say that Li Guang was really confused, he and Huo Qubing cooperated very well that day.

Ugh.

People become more cunning as they age.

The emperor raised his eyes and looked across, then asked, "Do you think your brothers should be crowned kings? What do you think?"

"It is up to the Emperor, Father, to decide on this matter. If you insist on giving me some superficial advice, I think it would be fine for my two younger brothers to stay in Chang'an for a while longer since they are still young."

"well said."

The emperor nodded and said, "In front of foreign ministers, you should use this set of words. Now that there is no one else here, let's change it first. I want to hear the truth."

Liu Ju did not argue, and immediately told the truth: "My second brother is weak and sickly, and lost his mother at an early age. He has suffered too much, so I will find a fertile land to make him a king."

"Third brother may be small, but he is brave enough to fight against ten thousand men. Let's find a cold and bitter place to make him a king, so that he can be useful."

"It is better to crown a king sooner rather than later." After saying this.

The only sounds in the attic were the bubbling of the copper pot and the whistling of the cold wind outside. After a while, the emperor called out.

"Go, close the window."

After Liu Ju finished running errands and sat down again, the emperor also picked up a chicken wing.

"I was battling wits and courage with a group of old guys in Weiyang Palace before, so I didn't drink much wine or eat much food. Fortunately, you are eating here, and the food is not bad."

"Father thought it was delicious. Come here often in the future."

"Hmph." The emperor said with a fake smile, "I scared you half to death when you came here once. Do you come here often? Won't you scare people to death just like you did when you went to Changmen Palace?"

Upon hearing this.

Liu Ju's tense mind suddenly relaxed, and he thought to himself: "Damn it, this is the right taste!"

Seeing that his father the emperor had returned to normal, Liu Ju no longer held back. He ordered plate after plate of mutton rolls. How could he eat them slice by slice?
He relaxed his hands and started to talk nonsense, "Father, you don't have to be polite to me. I am so happy that you can come. How can I be scared?"

Humph.

The emperor was still dignified, spitting out a bone, and did not respond to this sentence. Instead, he said: "I asked those princes to stay for a few more days because I have something to do."

"I originally planned to come in person, but now I have changed my mind." He wiped the oil stains on his hands with a towel and continued:
"I intend to abolish the platinum coin and take back the coinage rights of the counties. Since you are in charge of the Water Balance Commandery and are the crown prince, you will be the one to persuade the princes to do the job."

The emperor looked at Liu Ju and said sternly, "In the future, the Water Controller will have considerable power. If you want power, I can give it to you, but you must also show me your ability!"

Hear the words.

Liu Ju's face turned serious, "Yes!"

This hot pot dinner in the Prince's Palace in winter was destined to be of extraordinary significance. While eating the meat, several important matters concerning the operation of the empire were finalized between the two people.

one.

Liu Ju gave his opinion on the matter of making the second and third sons of the emperor kings. Judging from the emperor's reaction afterwards, he was quite satisfied.

Second, take back the right of counties and states to mint coins.

This time the withdrawal is an enhanced version of the "withdrawal of private coinage rights" proposed by Zhang Tang at that time.

That is, no matter whether it is the wealthy families in the private sector or the counties and vassal states, they are not allowed to mint coins anymore. The intention is to take back all the power that Emperor Gao had delegated to the local areas!

If you want to take back power, you will naturally touch upon the vested interests.

The counties and prefectures had little influence. After all, they were all directly under the jurisdiction of the imperial court. A single official document was enough to suppress any voices of opposition.

But the princes, if you can stroke the fur, do your best to stroke the fur...

previous years.

The initiator of the Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms, King Liu Bi of Wu, became extremely wealthy by mining copper to cast coins and boiling sea water to make salt in his country, and was able to raise a large army.

The princes today certainly do not have the power that the King of Wu had in the past, but profiting from coinage is an important source of income for them.

If the imperial court takes it by force, it is not impossible, and the Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms will certainly not happen again, but it is very likely that the Seven Kingdoms will cause unrest.

The vassal states were spread all over the place and had been rooted for a long time. They had great influence in the local areas, especially around the fiefdoms.

Even if it is not for the sake of the royal family's dignity, the court will have to use a soft knife when taking action just for the sake of this "influence".

The emperor was originally planning to do the killing himself, but changed his mind and decided to do it with the crown prince.

Skillful.

Liu Ju just happened to have someone with whom he could sound out the truth first, and that person was none other than his eighth uncle, the impotent King of Jiaoxi, Liu Duan!

(End of this chapter)