Establishing a thousand-year family from the nobles of the Western Han Dynasty

Chapter 44 Going to the meeting alone
"Well, we have to face these things and do our best." Xu Zhen sighed. It is not easy to change the social atmosphere and class structure. These are the inevitable results of historical development!
Even without the power of fate to correct it, it would be difficult to change it. All he can do now is to plan properly and try his best to keep his family alive. For example, some bloodthirsty emperors are a hurdle.

Fortunately, the Xu family has a very strong reputation among the people. I believe that as long as they are not the perverts of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, no one will act rashly.

.........

Changan.

In the early days of Emperor Liu Qi, he promoted the Internal History Chao Cuo to be the Imperial Censor and ranked him among the Three Dukes. Xu Gong also expressed his support for this. He said that this man was His Majesty's own man and it was most appropriate for him to be the Imperial Censor.

Because of the atmosphere set by Xu Zhen and Xu Zhao, Xu had no ambition at all and only wanted to do her best to assist Emperor Liu.

Therefore, he strongly supported Liu Qi in cultivating his own team and was willing to give up power when necessary.

"Your Majesty, I have something to say."

Chao Cuo stepped out, still holding the bamboo slips in his hand.

"Teacher, what brilliant ideas do you have for me?" Liu Qi seemed to have known it for a long time, with a smile on his face.

"Your Majesty, this is the strategy of reducing the power of the feudal lords that I have proposed privately. Please take a look at it." Chao Cuo held the bamboo slips in both hands and let the guards take them away.

He opened the bamboo slips and read them attentively. Chao Cuo had indeed discussed this with him before, but he had never seen such a policy to reduce the power of the feudal lords.

"Okay, teacher, this strategy is very much to my liking."

"Come here, send it to the Grand Commandant. I want to hear what he thinks." The first person Liu Qi was concerned about was Xu Gong. As for Prime Minister Shen Jiatu, he didn't care that much.

Even if he was entrusted with the care of an important minister, it would actually be of little use. But Xu Gong was different. His ability over the years was obvious to all. Liu Qi dared to put the reduction of the feudal lords on the agenda directly because he relied on him.

Xu took it respectfully, glanced at it briefly, frowned slightly, but soon relaxed: "Reducing the power of the vassal states is indeed a top priority. The chaos in Zhao State in the past is a lesson for us. King Wu Liu Bi has been mining and minting coins, making and selling salt for many years. He has been preparing for decades."

"I'm afraid he is still brooding over the death of his own son. This person must be eliminated!"

"But forced reduction of fiefdoms will inevitably lead to fierce resistance, which will then become another rebellion."

Seeing this, Liu Qi hurriedly asked, "In the opinion of General Xu, will this rebellion of the princes be successful?"

“Hahaha…” Xu Gong laughed and shook his head, not taking the princes seriously at all: “Even if King Wu Liu Bi unites with other princes, he will never reach the scale of King Zhao.”

"What's more, the main force of my army is in Chang'an. For me, killing them is just like killing chickens and dogs! You don't even need me. General Zhou Yafu can do it alone."

After hearing this, Liu Qi finally felt relieved and continued, "In this case, let's adopt the teacher's plan to reduce the number of vassal states, and start with the King of Wu!"

Finally, Liu Qi decided to implement the policy of reducing the power of the vassal states and recovering the territories of the vassal states. The large vassal states were dismembered, first divided into several small states, and then the power of the vassal states was reduced.

The first to suffer were Wu and Chu, followed by Jiaodong, Jibei and other countries. Only King Liu Wu of Liang escaped the disaster under the protection of Queen Mother Dou.

For a time, the Liu clan princes cried out in grief, and it seemed that King Liu Bi of Wu had already begun plotting a rebellion.

Xu Gong saw all of this. In order to follow the instructions of Emperor Wen and his brother to avoid war as much as possible, he made a bold decision to fundamentally resolve the rebellion of the vassal states!

"No, uncle, there is absolutely no way that I would agree to this." Xu Zhou guessed it before the other party could say it.

He simply wanted to go to Wu alone, and then take advantage of Liu Bi's relaxation of his vigilance to kill him! In this way, even if there is a rebellion, it will be leaderless and can be easily quelled to avoid war.

"My dear nephew, you know my martial arts. Even if hundreds of people ambushed me together, they couldn't hurt me! I tried my best to listen to you in everything before, but this time, as the head of the family, I have the final say!"

Xu Gong did not intend to listen to Xu Zhou's dissuasion. It was not because he was reckless, but because he was absolutely confident in his martial arts!

He was absolutely sure that he could kill the King of Wu and escape. If he wanted to leave, no one could stop him.

In addition, the intercepted letters of conspiracy with the King of Jibei and the King of Jiaodong were enough to convince the world. In other words, Xu Gong took action only after he had enough evidence, otherwise it would not look good to kill Liu's blood relatives at will.

So this time Xu Gong did not inform the emperor, but went to the State of Wu to inspect the army as the Grand Marshal. The excuse was sufficient and he only brought a few hundred personal followers, which made it impossible for Liu Bi to refuse.

He could only dress up and go out ten miles outside the city in person to welcome him. He had indeed developed rebellious intentions, but he was not well prepared now, and the vassal states in the north had not been contacted yet. It would be best to stabilize Liu Qi in the central government.

"I am honored that the Grand Commandant has come to Wu! I was also fortunate enough to witness the heroic demeanor of Grand Tutor Xu in the past. The word 'hero' cannot describe his majesty!"

Don't hit a smiling person. Liu Bi started to flatter Xu Zhen from the very beginning. He knew Xu Zhen's sons very well. It was useless to praise them, but it was easy to make Xu Zhen happy if you praised him.

Sure enough, Xu Gong's originally serious expression relaxed. He planned to let this kid die quickly later.

"General Xu, please."

"King Wu, there is no need to be like this. After all, you are a king and my elder." Xu Gong also said a few polite words.

"Hahaha... What's the big deal? The capable ones are the leaders." Liu Bi was a very cunning man. He could act as if nothing had happened even when his son died, let alone now.

"Then I'd be disrespectful to refuse." After Xu Gong said this, he called the chief of the personal guards over.

"Just take everyone and wait outside the city."

“But if something unexpected happens to you…” The chief guard was a little hesitant.

"This is the territory of the Han Dynasty. What can I expect to encounter here? Besides, we have this." Xu Gong pressed the ring-handled sword at his waist, signaling the other party to stay.

"Yes, sir." The chief guard didn't say much.

Xu Gong entered the capital of Wu alone. Liu Bi, who had been extremely vigilant, immediately felt relieved. He guessed that the other party was just here to test the waters.

After all, there is only one person, and there are thousands of defenders in the city of Wu. What problem can there be?

It's a pity that Liu Bi had lived in Huainan for a long time and had never seen Xu Gong fight. If he had seen it, he probably wouldn't have dared to get so close to him.

In order to welcome the central commander, the Wu State held a grand banquet. Everyone took their seats, and Liu Bi was also careful and sat aside, with at least dozens of soldiers in armor protecting him.

"Come, General Xu, let me offer you a drink. I hope the relationship between the Liu and Xu families will last forever!" Liu Bi poured a glass of wine.

"I'd also like to offer a toast to King Wu. It's the beheading wine, and you won't be able to drink it again in the future." Xu Gong faced the other party's surprised look and drank the wine in one gulp.

Then he suddenly stood up and kicked the table heavily towards Liu Bi with his legs, but fortunately he was protected by elite soldiers.

"Protect the emperor, protect the emperor quickly!" Liu Bi reacted immediately, although it was not known whether he had the courage to do so.

Xu Gong casually grabbed the ring-handled sword on the table and killed several people in the blink of an eye. Dozens of people rushed up, but he had to deal with them all alone.

Looking at the bloody scene in front of him, Liu Bi was so scared that he knelt on the ground.

Xu Gong did not hesitate. He chopped off the other party's head with his sword. He also took the Crown Prince of Wu hostage and escaped by jumping out of the window. At this time, the Wu soldiers in the courtyard also surrounded them.

He rushed towards the group of soldiers, grabbed a horse and fled towards the city gate.

.........

"Han Taiwei Xu Gong was born with supernatural powers, extraordinary bravery, and unmatched courage."

"The King of Wu secretly rebelled and wrote to several kings in Jiaodong and Jibei. Gong was furious and entered Wu alone with a sword. He beheaded Bi at a banquet, and the whole world admired his bravery." - Records of the Grand Historian, Xu Shijia
　The historical correction power in the previous chapter is to increase the difficulty. It's not that it can't be changed, otherwise the protagonist's first eight generations are too useless. Even with such a big cheat, you can't pass the level. If you play normally, the late Han Dynasty, the Three Kingdoms, the Five Barbarians and the Sixteen Kingdoms will not appear. It's directly suppressed by the props.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)