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

Chapter 40 Remnants
At midnight, the moon rose high in the sky. On the banks of the Yu River, a gentle breeze carried a slight chill. The two cups of wine that Liu Ju had drunk had their effect, barely managing to resist the chill.

"Your Highness." Zhao Chongguo, the commander of Liu Ju's personal guard, appeared in the hunting grounds. Neither Wei Qing, Huo Qubing, nor the twelve generals of the Northern Army were surprised.

The power struggle within the imperial family has reached such a point that neither father nor son can completely entrust their lives to each other.

Liu Ju's eight hundred personal guards had already secretly entered the plains of the Yu River valley. Outside the valley, there were several thousand more personal guards trusted by Wei Qing, Huo Qubing, and the twelve generals of the Northern Army.

If anything goes wrong, they can coordinate from within and without, and in an instant, they can crush Li Guang's undisciplined Southern Army of three thousand cavalry and seven thousand infantry.

However, the situation did not escalate to an irreversible point during the hunting party.

"What is Your Majesty doing?" Huo Qubing asked Liu Ju.

From last night's legend to today's banquet, everything seems strange.

"Weaken the Crown Prince's Palace."

"Weaken the power and nobility of the Han Dynasty."

"It also diminishes the emperor's holy reputation."

Liu Ju slowly paced back and forth, the effects of the wine gradually dissipating, and said, "The Crown Prince's palace still has no Grand Tutor, Junior Tutor, or even a Palace Minister, but with my uncle here, my elder brother here, and all the generals here, I have an unshakeable position in the Northern Army, the most elite army of the Han Dynasty."

In the imperial court, the Prime Minister's office actively aligned itself with the Crown Prince's palace, acting as Grand Tutor even without the official title.

The Northern Army and the Imperial Court have closely united around the Crown Prince's Palace, or rather, around me.

With an army and court officials, it was only because the Southern Army was responsible for the safety of the hunt that the Emperor's father would not have even left Chang'an.

"My father felt fear," Liu Ju stated, "and he also regretted it."

Under the emperor's rule, the group of founding heroes almost disappeared, and was replaced by a more powerful new military merit group.

After Empress Chen Ajiao was deposed and moved to Changmen Palace, her mother was made Empress of the Great Han Dynasty. Shortly afterward, her mother gave birth to him, and according to custom, he should have been made Crown Prince long ago.

However, the Emperor preferred to risk not establishing an heir and having the princes covet the throne by delaying the process. If it weren't for the discovery this year of the disloyalty of Liu An, the Prince of Huainan, and Liu Ci, the Prince of Hengshan, the Emperor would still not have held the ceremony to establish an heir.

The Emperor regretted that the emerging military clique had become so large, and he was also annoyed that all the great talents in the world were associated with the Wei family.

Wei Qing and Huo Qubing, uncle and nephew, alone surpassed countless other great generals.

The emperor thought that since he was the crown prince, he was still young and there was still time. He thought that once the Xiongnu were pacified and the emperor's prestige reached its peak, the Weiyang Palace could easily suppress the crown prince's palace.

Unexpectedly, in the blink of an eye, the army and the court changed their minds. Compared to the aging Azure Dragon, the officials and generals of the Han Dynasty preferred the hidden dragon in the abyss. Only those marquises and nobles who did not understand the will of Heaven still submitted to the Azure Dragon's seemingly strong but actually weak dragon might.

Canglong knew that he could no longer ignore Qianlong's thoughts and opinions.

"Next spring, Father Emperor has found several opponents for my elder brother to compete in the arena for the heir apparent. Father Emperor has also found several opponents for me as well," Liu Ju continued.

Li Guang, Li Gan, and Han Shuo.

Liu Hong, Liu Dan, and Liu Xu.

One contender for the army.

A second struggle for the throne.

"The emperor's shift is something that officials, marquises, members of the imperial family, and ordinary nobles cannot ignore. Faced with a choice, these people will follow their father's lead. This is how they distinguish between friend and foe. From my father's perspective, it can also be said to be a way of distinguishing between 'loyal and treacherous'."

In the struggle.

Distinguishing between sides is very important. The two dynasties, the central and foreign, are too vast. The emperor doesn't know who is wholeheartedly supporting him, let alone who has secretly sided with the crown prince.

Therefore, the Emperor used a hunting expedition to distinguish between those who were part of the Emperor's faction and those who were part of the Crown Prince's faction. Then, the Emperor chose to eliminate them all at once.

The Han Dynasty was founded on loyalty and filial piety. If the crown prince did not want the feudal lords to rise up and be cursed for all eternity, he would not easily engage in war with him, and the throne would be temporarily secure.

However, the national treasury deficit could not continue for a moment, the salt and iron monopoly policy had been delayed, and the spring expedition launched 10,000 cavalry on four routes, far exceeding the expected force of Huo Qubing leading the northern expedition alone. Correspondingly, the military expenditure doubled.

"From the very beginning, Father Emperor had no intention of fulfilling his promise of military merit and rewards for six years of Yuanshuo, and he even set his sights on raising money from the powerful and wealthy."

This refers to the Bailu Coin.

Pay money, give up martial arts skills and official rank, and you'll be spared death.

If you don't pay them, they'll come to Shanglin Garden to feed the beasts, go to Shuofang City to dig sand, go to Kunming Pool to dig ditches, or go to the border city to die.

"Such actions certainly damage the emperor's prestige, but when there is no money, this is the only way. However, the emperor was worried that the marquises and nobles would align themselves with me and oppose the White Deer Coin, which led to the scene with the blank gold seal," Liu Ju exclaimed.

It is true that my father was a warmonger and a man of extravagance, but his abilities were also outstanding among emperors.

But in this one lifetime, I wanted too much.

Huo Qubing remained silent for a moment, then said, "If Brother Ju'er does not follow Your Majesty's wishes, but instead rescues the marquises and nobles and opposes the White Deer currency, then Your Majesty will have no one to rely on."

If we can win over the nobles and relatives, then the entire court and the country will truly be filled with the Crown Prince's palace servants.

"Why should I object?" Liu Ju looked at him. "Father Emperor saw through my policy of monopolizing salt and iron that I had no intention of harming the people, but the fact remains that the national treasury is empty."

Historically, when the national treasury is depleted, the authorities either prey on the common people, the merchants, or the powerful and wealthy. Now, I have protected the common people, but merchants like Dongguo Xianyang and Kong Jin are working for my father. How can they possibly protect themselves?

Here with Father Emperor.

What Liu Ju admired most was his ability to exploit.

There is no distinction between people. If you have money, I want it. You must give it to me, or I will kill you. Regardless of whether you are a scholar, farmer, artisan, or merchant, everyone is treated equally.

They were willing to sacrifice even the emperor's reputation.

Huo Qubing was somewhat shocked. "If all the marquises and nobles are dead, wouldn't everyone in the court and the country be in danger?"

"Do not."

Liu Ju looked at Huo Qubing, the twelve generals of the Northern Army, and Zhao Chongguo and his personal guards, and said, "Only when they are dead can you go up."

Human nature is selfish.

There is only one emperor, but many colleagues. If all the colleagues die, power, fame, and status will immediately follow.

The Han Dynasty had over a hundred vassal kings and marquises, many of whom did not recognize each other, which was extremely inconvenient.

The twelve generals of the Northern Army remained silent.

Among them, some had been granted titles of nobility, while others had not; there were simply too many people blocking their way.

Even Wei Qing didn't know what to say. The success of one general is built on the bones of ten thousand soldiers, and he couldn't stop his soldiers' ambition to improve.

"Brother, don't think so much. The marquises and nobles are all remnants of the old era. In the new era, there is no ship that can carry them."

The moonlight over the Yu River was so white and bright, quietly shining on everyone.

(End of this chapter)