A son who doesn't resemble his father? Love you, old man, see you at Xuanwu Gate!

Chapter 33 Martial Arts Nobility

The deer was hit by an arrow.

He collapsed right in front of Liu Ju, his cries of pain filled with the gentle bleating of a deer.

Liu Ju drew the sword from Huo Qubing's waist and killed the little deer instantly; bright red deer blood dripped down the tip of the sword.

"Long live!"

"Long live!"

"Long live your Majesty!"

"Long live your highness!"

Another round of cheers and jumping erupted across the mountains and fields.

This time, however, there were also calls for him to become the crown prince.

Liu Che held a bow, and Liu Ju held a sword; father and son gazed at each other from afar.

"Go and offer your congratulations to His Majesty!" Liu Ju sheathed his sword and said to Sima Qian, who was nearby.

Sima Qian stared at the headless muntjac, its prey dripping with blood, and felt that the Crown Prince's understanding of the congratulations was flawed.

However, he was forced to obey the emperor's orders and had no choice in the matter. Sima Qian, holding a small deer, greeted the emperor's carriage, saying, "Your Highness congratulates His Majesty!"

"The deer will fall into my hands? Who will fall into my hands?" Liu Che smiled, but it was a cold smile. "What a pity for a deer hide. This little muntjac will be given to the fox!"

Lady Wang, whose given name is Hu, is known as the Fox Fairy, but when pronounced quickly, she sounds like a fox spirit.

"Your Majesty, I thank you." Lady Wang smiled beautifully and charmingly.

Liu Che's gaze shifted from Liu Ju, the dukes, ministers, generals, marquises, and members of the imperial clan to the distance, looking out at the vast mountains to the north. Pointing to the faintly visible mountains, he said, "Let's move the hunting grounds north, over the mountains!"

The large group of people marched towards the northern hilltop with great fanfare.

Even when encountering a stream, the imperial chariot, drawn by four horses, showed no fear and charged into the water with a rumble. At this moment, the white horse let out a long neigh, soared into the air, and flew across the stream.

His Majesty's gaze was like a brand, imprinted in the minds of the dukes, marquises, and members of the imperial family, before fading away.

"Your Highness deserves this deer!" said Zhao Buyu, Marquis of Suicheng.

Marquis Ping, Gongsun Rongnu, and Marquis Zhongli, Hao Xian, echoed, "That is correct."

All three of them had served under Wei Qing for three years, achieving great military exploits and being ennobled as marquises. They were undoubtedly the elite generals of the Wei family. Although the little deer was shot down by His Majesty, it died at His Highness's hands.

Luck is also a part of strength. According to the rules of the hunting grounds, the muntjac should belong to His Highness.

But who can steal His Majesty's prey?
"Just a small muntjac."

Liu Ju shook his head and turned to the generals of the Northern Army, saying, "Go hunting, and bring back at least one white deer."

"Here."

The generals of the Northern Army received their orders and rode off on horseback to chase after the prey that was running like the wind.

Wei Qing and Huo Qubing didn't leave for a moment, and asked in confusion, "Brother Ju, how do you hunt white deer?"

“I am worried that my father has ulterior motives.” Liu Ju pointed to the various “nobles”.

The financial crisis of the Great Han Empire has been going on for more than just one or two years. In order to raise money, they have exhausted almost every possible method, and even some unusable methods have been put to use one after another.

The most typical example is last year, the sixth year of Yuanshuo. In order to provide relief to nearly a million disaster victims from the floods in Guandong, Liu Che moved to northern Shaanxi and excavated Kunming Lake. In order to raise money quickly, he simply sold titles.

Of course, the military merit system was the guarantee of the empire's military strength, and the twenty-rank military merit titles could not be bought or sold. Therefore, in addition to the military merit titles, Liu Che created the "military merit titles." This system consisted of eleven ranks: Zaoshi, Xianyuwei, Liangshi, Yuanrongshi, Guanshou, Bingduo, Qianfu, Yueqing, Zhirong, Zhengli Shuzhang, and Junwei.

The first eight levels can be freely bought and sold. Anyone can purchase up to the fifth level, "Official Head," by paying a total of over 300,000 coins, and can purchase up to the seventh level, "Thousand-Man."

The pricing system stipulated that each rank of nobility should cost 170,000 coins, but there was a lot of room for maneuver. One could buy the fifth-rank "official head" for about 300,000 coins.

Anyone who buys a military title can be exempt from any military service or corvée labor, and can receive an annual salary. Those who reach the rank of "Thousand Man" can even have priority in being selected as officials by the imperial court.

Originally, titles were bestowed by the empire upon those who had rendered meritorious service. However, the opening of these titles for sale not only granted them preferential treatment but also allowed them to be passed down through generations, with annual stipends. This made them a sure-fire way to make money, and they immediately became highly sought after by countless wealthy people.

In a short period of time, he obtained more than 300,000 taels of gold, which caused considerable chaos in the government's administration.

However, for the imperial court, after receiving money from those who bought the titles, these military nobles became a burden.

The time to fulfill the promise is fast approaching, but based on Liu's understanding of his father, that's impossible.

Trying to get money out of the Emperor's pocket is simply a pipe dream.

However, since this concerned the credibility of the imperial court, the emperor could not explicitly refuse to fulfill his promise, so he had to find another way to resolve the issue.

In any era, there are only two ways to resolve unpayable debts: one is to let the creditor voluntarily give up the payment and forgo the money; the other is to increase the debt, create sunk costs, until the creditor can no longer bear them and voluntarily gives up the payment.

His Majesty is the kind of person who earns more if he has a conscience, and even more if he doesn't. If nothing unexpected happens, Father has prepared a trap for the martial arts nobles, or rather, for everyone, in the Shanglin Garden.

The Shanglin Garden is full of deer, and only this one could be used as a trap.

Speaking of deer, even those who are completely unfamiliar with history know about the White Deer Skin Currency.

Regardless of whether the conjecture is right or wrong, the generals of the Northern Army are idle anyway. If they are right, it's a good thing; if they are wrong, the venison from Shanglin is a rare and precious tonic, and they won't waste it.

"Does Your Majesty not want to keep your promise?" Huo Qubing asked in shock.

That's the emperor! He can't just throw away his dignity for money, can he?
Wei Qing remained silent.

Liu nodded.

One shouldn't sacrifice money for the sake of saving face.

"If word gets out, what will become of the royal family's reputation?"

Huo Qubing found it hard to accept that the person who had been like a teacher and father to him since childhood had become like this, and he was even more unable to accept the consequences of the court's breach of trust. "Who will still believe in the court?"

“There will always be someone who takes advantage of you. One crop of leeks after another will fall, and new ones will grow up. As long as ordinary people aren’t taken advantage of, it’s fine,” Liu Ju said slowly.

Non-metallic currencies like White Deer Coin are like digital cryptocurrencies; they are generally inaccessible, unaffordable, and untouchable by the average person, and have no significant impact on the overall situation.

From afar, one could see Li Gan, the cavalry captain who had defected to the Southern Army and should now be called a general, riding his Yinshan warhorse, which could travel a thousand miles a day, galloping through the hunting grounds, shooting down one prey after another like lightning.

Upon seeing Liu Ju, Wei Qing, and Huo Qubing, he gave a cold smile, let out a long whistle, and his exceptionally powerful warhorse neighed, then leaped into the air, skimming the vast reeds as if flying.

He drew his bow and aimed at the white deer that Gongsun Ao was chasing, which had tried to make a saddle for His Highness. With a whoosh, the white deer died.

"General, there's no need for thanks."

"you!"

Before Gongsun Ao could finish speaking, Li Gan had already laughed and walked away.

The entire hunting grounds of the Yuhe River valley are a vibrant scene of life, with all things thriving.

(End of this chapter)