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

Chapter 35 The Art of Smoking
Dark clouds obscured the moon, and the autumn wind was bleak.

A rumor spread throughout the hunting grounds of the Yuhe River Valley Plain.

The military and political situation of the Han Dynasty is about to shift. While the affairs of the court are temporarily unknown, significant changes have occurred in the military.

The original plan for the northern expedition against the Xiongnu, to be led solely by Huo Qubing, the Marquis of Champion and Colonel of the Piaoyao Army, in the spring of the second year of the Yuanshou era, was to be changed to have Huo Qubing, Li Guang, Li Gan, and Han Shuo each lead 10,000 cavalry in separate operations.

There are even rumors that His Majesty was very fond of Li Ling, the posthumous son of Li Danghu, and had ordered the Li family to send a grandson to serve him.

Personnel matters are politics; in many cases, personnel changes signify a political shift.

The hunting grounds were filled with powerful and influential figures of the Han Dynasty, all shrewd and astute. How could they not know that His Majesty was about to take action against the emerging military elites, against Wei Qing and Huo Qubing, and against... the Crown Prince?

As the emperor's nephew and the great-great-grandson of Cao Can, the Marquis of Pingyang of the Han Dynasty, Cao Xiang was the first to respond to His Majesty's wishes and went to visit Han Shuo. Without avoiding outsiders, they talked for a long time, and it seemed that they were preparing to fall asleep together when they were tired of talking.

The bonfire was burning brightly, a vibrant and lively sight.

The complete white deer hide was peeled off and hung to dry.

Fresh venison, glistening with fat, dripped onto the flames and sizzled as it fell into the fire, releasing a rich aroma that filled everyone's nostrils.

"The group of founding heroes is truly dead," Liu Ju said with a faint smile.

Throughout the Han Dynasty, the problem of maternal relatives was something that could never be avoided. The reason for this was the inherent flaw in the power structure, which was destined from the very beginning of the Han Dynasty.

Before the Han Dynasty, state power was transferred only between royal families and aristocratic clans. However, Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang rose from humble beginnings, serving as a minor official in Pei County, responsible for apprehending thieves and managing postal services within a radius of about ten miles.

Therefore, to gain the throne, Emperor Gaozu could not rely solely on his own strength; he needed to forge extensive alliances. Thus, the early relationship between Emperor Gaozu and the founding heroes was not strictly hierarchical but more like a "partnership in starting a business." Emperor Gaozu was "recommended" to become emperor by everyone.

The letter urging the emperor to ascend the throne clearly stated the reason for recommending Emperor Gaozu, in three simple words: "His merits are the greatest."

Of course, the ability to fairly share profits with everyone was also a major reason why he was "promoted" to be emperor; there was no such thing as "divine mandate."

But people are ultimately influenced by their own circumstances. After ascending the throne, Emperor Gaozu tasted the power, and everything changed.

On the one hand, it restrained the group of meritorious officials, and on the other hand, it elevated the imperial power.

On the one hand, they slaughtered meritorious officials to eliminate enemies, and on the other hand, they built up a large number of members of the imperial clan to establish support.

After the founding of the Han Dynasty, Emperor Gaozu rarely had a moment of peace and quiet. He was always busy attacking the non-royal princes. Han Xin, Peng Yue, Ying Bu, and seven others had made the greatest contributions and joined the army later in life. Therefore, apart from the weak and compliant King Wu Rui of Changsha in the remote south and King Zhang Er of Zhao who died young, all the other non-royal princes were killed by Emperor Gaozu.

Those childhood friends from Fengpei who were the first to follow Emperor Gaozu were all granted titles of nobility and appointed to high-ranking positions. This was not because Emperor Gaozu was kind-hearted, but because he could not immediately eliminate them. Moreover, Emperor Gaozu needed helpers to govern the country with him. These people and their descendants constituted the group of founding heroes.

After Emperor Gaozu, the power structure of the court, or political groups, faced by Empress Lü, Emperor Xiaowen, Emperor Xiaojing, and Your Majesty the present can be roughly divided into three.

The founding heroes group, the Liu clan group, and the maternal relatives group.

When the Lü clan, a powerful maternal relative group, became too powerful, the group of founding heroes and the Liu clan, a powerful imperial family, joined forces to launch a palace coup, exterminate all members of the Lü clan, depose the young emperor, and support Liu Heng, the Prince of Dai, to ascend the throne as Emperor Xiaowen.

Although Emperor Xiaowen's ascension to the throne as a prince was the source of Emperor Xiaojing's and the current emperor's thrones, from the perspective of Emperor Xiaojing and Liu Ju, who had secured their positions as crown prince, this set a terrible precedent. Power groups could collude privately, and a new emperor could be installed through palace coups and political deals, regardless of whether he was the legitimate heir designated by the emperor. Even the reigning emperor could depose or kill him under various pretexts.

Liu Ju did not know what his grandfather was thinking when he was the crown prince, whether he firmly believed that he would take the throne from Emperor Xiaowen and thus befriend the three major political groups.

But for Liu Ju, before ascending the throne, he would first maintain a basic level of dignity. Unexpectedly, the founding heroes group was the first to lose their dignity.

With just a glance, Cao Xiang, the Marquis of Pingyang, who had suffered heavy losses from having his iron ore seized from his mansion through the salt and iron monopoly, fawned over him like a dog.

It is foreseeable that other marquises, who are not as powerful as the Marquis of Pingyang, will also be unable to refuse the emperor's will.

However, unlike the reigns of Emperors Xiaohui and Xiaowen, the status of the founding meritorious officials had been replaced by his maternal uncle Wei Qing and elder brother Huo Qubing. In short, the existence of Wei Qing and Huo Qubing meant that Liu Ju had two political groups in his hands: the emerging military merit group and the maternal relatives group.

What the Emperor received was nothing more than a broken-backed dog.

"His Majesty is giving you the opportunity to fight against the Xiongnu. Our Han Dynasty is invincible. Who can defeat the Xiongnu?"

The rumors intensified.

The military achievements of Wei Qing and Huo Qubing, who were unparalleled in the entire army, were "erased" by the arrogant and prejudiced aristocracy.

When Wei Qing, Huo Qubing, and the twelve generals of the Northern Army heard the rumor, they said nothing, smiled faintly, took the venison that the Crown Prince had personally cut, and began to feast on it with the refreshing and mellow wine.

Meanwhile, in the distance, at the Li family's place, Li Guang and his son Li Gan were delighted at the prospect of leading their army into battle. However, when they spoke with the marquises, members of the imperial clan, and ministers who came to congratulate and visit them, they appeared quite impatient, and even somewhat agitated.

He was both pleased and distressed by the flattery, intimacy, and support expressed by the Marquis of Dongcheng, Ju Gu, the Marquis of Yagu, Lu He, the Marquis of Kailing, and other marquises and nobles.

Who was it that went to so many battlefields but failed to defeat the Xiongnu?
It’s so hard to guess.

After a while, the nobles and dignitaries, perhaps noticing the awkwardness of Li Guang and his son Li Gan, as well as some inappropriate remarks, left sheepishly.

Even the longest night eventually comes to an end.

As the sun rises, the white dew turns to frost.

After everyone had a hearty meal, they all threw themselves into the hunt. According to the rules and tradition, today's competition would be based on the number of prey hunted. The one with the most prey would not only receive a reward from His Majesty, but would also be awarded the title of "Warrior".

In this era of great competition, and with fame and fortune at stake, how could they not strive to be the first? They all marched toward the central valley, frantically drawing their bows and shooting arrows, all in an effort to be number one.

Seeing his father's imperial chariot rumbling out again, Liu Ju said to the twelve generals of the Northern Army, "Continue hunting the white deer."

"Here."

Gongsun Ao and his generals bowed and obeyed his orders.

Yesterday's hunt revealed that the number of white deer in Shanglin Garden was unusually low this year. Hunting them would not be easy, but since His Highness was interested, they would do it no matter how difficult it was.

(End of this chapter)