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

Chapter 9 No food
"Inverted!"

Liu Che let out a scream!
His face turned from pale to white, his eyes flashed with a fierce light, and his hand holding the memorial of the Prefect of Pei County trembled violently!
Chun Tuo jumped up in fright!

Only the Grand Master Zhuang Zhu remained unmoved, carefully studying the selection method for soldiers promulgated by Liu Ju in the army.

Before he knew it, he had read it more than ten times, pondered it repeatedly, and had many feelings about it.

It should be said that the Han Dynasty had an excellent source of soldiers. The diverse conscription system, including the system of convict soldiers, convict soldiers, barbarian soldiers, and troop deployment, ensured that the Han army was always abundant.

Recently, China and North Korea have been considering a new conscription system, a volunteer system, to recruit soldiers who voluntarily join the army and are eager to make contributions, in order to build a highly effective army.

The reason it was not implemented was precisely because of the selection process. Liu Ju's selection of soldiers gave him a lot of insights.

Orphans of fallen soldiers and sons of good families from the six prefectures—leaving aside everything else, their loyalty is guaranteed, and loyalty is a manifestation of fighting strength.

Of course, Zhuang Zhu did not approve of Liu Ju's method of training troops, simply because it was too expensive.

Meat, fresh fruit, and crispy tea—these are not things that commoners are worthy of enjoying.

"Your Majesty, what's wrong? Your Majesty..." Chun Tu knelt forward in alarm.

Liu Che then woke up, and as if he were about to smash a mountain, he slammed the memorial in his hand to the ground. "Chun Tuo!"

"The slave is here!"

"Grab him! Grab this person!"

"Arrest, arrest whom?"

"Shi Qing!"

Chun Tuo stood there, stunned.

If I remember correctly, the memorial on the ground is a petition to Prefect Shi Qing of Pei County for illegally opening the official granary and committing suicide out of fear of punishment. The person is dead and burned, so are we supposed to bring up his ashes?
"His Majesty!"

Liu Che, who was still trembling with anger, was stopped by Zhuang Zhu's shout. His eyes, which had been fixed on him, suddenly glared at him.

Zhuang Zhu slowly lowered his head. "When a person dies, all debts are settled. Your Majesty, no matter how many sins there are, they should all be in the past."

Liu Che did not speak, his eyes were fixed on Zhuang Zhu.

The first thing every emperor does upon ascending the throne is to promote his own people.

Liu Che was once the crown prince, and he knew that the people he was closest to and most trusted were often his subordinates. Once he ascended to the throne, he was most willing to promote these same old faces.

However, the number of officials under the Crown Prince is ultimately limited, and not everyone possesses great talent and is capable of undertaking important responsibilities. Since the people in the court cannot be trusted, the only option is to cast a wide net across the country, bringing all the talented individuals scattered throughout the land into his trap.

As for the methods, they have been exploring them since the time of Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang. A year before his death, Emperor Gaozu issued an edict seeking talented people.

“If any virtuous scholar or official is willing to associate with me, I will honor and honor him.”

Vulgar yet domineering.

I bought your talent with fame and fortune, but in the end it was all wasted.

Therefore, Emperor Xiaowen imposed restrictions, and "recommending virtuous, upright, and outspoken individuals" became a system of examinations in the Han Dynasty.

In October of the first year of the Jianyuan era, Liu Che, in the first month of his reign, like his grandfather and father, issued an edict to "recommend virtuous, upright, and outspoken individuals" to the court, selecting more than one hundred people. Among them were Zhuang Zhu from Kuaiji Wu, Gongsun Hong from Zichuan Xue, Yuan Gusheng, a scholar during the reign of Emperor Jing, and Feng Tang, the prime minister of Chu.

Yuan Gusheng and Feng Tang need no further introduction. Gongsun Hong has become the Chancellor of the Han Dynasty and is the head of the outer court. Zhuang Zhu, a Grand Master of the Palace, is second only to Wei Qing in the inner court.

He was Liu Che's favorite among that group of wise men.

"The prefecture recommended virtuous and talented individuals, and more than a hundred people responded to the imperial examinations. The emperor was good at assisting them in their responses, and thus he alone promoted them to the rank of Grand Master of the Palace."

The word "exclusive" perfectly conveys the favor shown.

However, in Liu Che's heart, Zhuang Zhu back then was even better than Zhuang Zhu now.

Liu Che did not believe that Shi Qing was dead. The trick of "shedding one's skin like a cicada" was not uncommon in the dynasty. Among the hundreds of thousands of refugees in Guandong, it would not be difficult to find a scapegoat similar to Shi Qing. The act of burning the corpse was more like a mockery of the emperor.

Therefore, Liu Che's anger erupted, and even Zhuang Zhu, who spoke up at this moment, couldn't help but feel resentful.

Zhuang Zhu felt the murderous aura surrounding him and knelt down, saying, "Your Majesty, there is a father and a son. People's hearts always lean towards the latter. No subject can ignore the threat from his sovereign, not even the crown prince."

The greatest merit is to follow a dragon, and the greatest merit is to save one's lord.

Who wouldn't want to lend a hand on the Crown Prince's path to the throne, and would actually think of going against the Crown Prince's wishes?
Liu Che's momentum weakened, his previous rage subsided, he took a deep breath, and gradually revealed a sinister smile, softly asking, "And what about you?"

Zhuang Zhu raised his head and looked directly at Liu Che. "Your Majesty, my body is already like a candle in the wind or a lamp in the rain. If one day I fall asleep and never wake up, it will be my blessing. My wish for the rest of my life is to do my best for Your Majesty."

Being born in a prosperous era is both a blessing and a curse. The blessing is peace and happiness, but the curse is that while there are countless talented people in the world, few can achieve fame at a young age.

In the first year of the Jianyuan era, when the emperor, who was only seventeen years old, met them, he was already forty years old. Gongsun Hong was even older, at sixty years old, while Yuan Gusheng and Feng Tang were even older, at over ninety years old.

Everyone grows old easily.

The young emperor met the old man, and now the emperor is middle-aged, while he is already old.

Zhuang Zhu was not as healthy as Gongsun Hong. Nearly sixty years old, he often felt cold, even in the sweltering summer.

Liu Che's voice became even gentler, yet even more chilling: "I trust you. Please, sir, teach me the best course of action now!"

Gongsun Hong, who was nearly eighty years old, was still striving for the position of Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince. It would be hard for the emperor to believe that Zhuang Zhu, who was over fifty, was also vying for the position.

Gongsun Hong shot an arrow into the palace, unexpectedly hitting the brow of the Grand Master of the Central Court.

Zhuang Zhu felt a chill in his heart. The names of "Han Shuo", "Shangqiu Cheng", and "Shangguan Jie" flashed through his mind. He calmed himself down and said slowly, "During the Jianyuan era, when the Right Inner Historian Ji An was on an inspection tour of Henan County, he saw that the local poor people were suffering from floods and droughts. There were more than 10,000 families affected by the disaster, and some even resorted to cannibalism. Based on the tally he carried, he ordered the distribution of grain stored in the Henan County granary to relieve the local disaster victims. His Majesty pardoned his crime and praised his benevolence."

Now, Shi Qing has committed suicide in office, which is an act of loyalty. Such a loyal and benevolent man should be rewarded by Your Majesty and his family. I know that Shi Qing favored his second son, Shi De. Since the father has died, the son should succeed him. Your Majesty may allow Shi De to succeed as the Prefect of Pei Commandery.”

The emperor intended to appoint the Grand Tutor and Junior Tutor of the Crown Prince's Palace, but one was seriously injured and the other hanged himself. Countless rumors circulated in the streets. If this was not stopped, who would dare to take over the position of Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince's Palace?

The struggle within the imperial family can exist, but it cannot be displayed. After all, the crown prince may be young and ignorant, but the emperor cannot.

Liu Che remained silent.

Zhuang Zhu continued, "Furthermore, Your Majesty may wish to postpone the matters concerning the Crown Prince's palace and the selection of the Grand Tutor and Junior Tutor. I believe that now that the Crown Prince is of age, according to the rites, he should move to the Crown Prince's palace, establish his own residence and headquarters, raise soldiers and guards, and all financial matters should be handled by the Crown Prince himself..."

(End of this chapter)