Controlling mountains and rivers since the Warring States Period

Chapter 391 Lü Peng
"It seems that the Wu Kingdom hasn't sent tribute for some years."

While dealing with documents in the Eastern Palace, Crown Prince Liu Ju suddenly remembered this matter and turned to his subordinates to speak about it.

A few days ago,

Under the successive persuasion of his ministers and even Master Huian,

The emperor finally softened his stance and reduced his pressure on the crown prince.

Although the doting affection for the eldest son that was once cherished has not yet been restored, the power of the crown prince to participate in politics has been reinstated.

This made Liu Ju breathe a huge sigh of relief.

To become the crown prince
Especially to be the successor of a great ruler,
It's very stressful.

Outstanding talent

It would make the monarch wary.

Weak personality

This would displease the monarch.

Liu Ju often found himself caught between these two dilemmas, enduring the pain of not daring to move forward or retreat.

When Jiang Chong and others gained favor with the emperor...
Liu Ju felt even more gloomy about his future.

He believed that he had not made any major mistakes during his years as crown prince;

He believed that his talents were sufficient to shoulder the future of the Han Dynasty.

But often,
The emperor did not allow him to "feel" anything, but only made his own judgments arbitrarily.

Liu Ju privately confided his troubles to his mother.

Then his mother,

The Han Dynasty empress, of humble origins and so insignificant and cautious in the palace as to be almost invisible, made a terrifying suggestion to her grieving son:
If this situation continues to deteriorate, Liu Ju, as the crown prince, can rely on the empress's authority to use force to resolve the root cause of the problem.

Fortunately,

Everything has improved.

The mother and son tacitly let go of that day's conversation, treating the Empress of the Great Han as the same gentle and virtuous empress who had diligently managed the harem for the emperor for many years and never complained about his constant influx of new favorites.

The emperor himself was completely unaware of this matter.

He continued to tour the lands under his rule, seizing the opportunity to feel the little life he had left, and entrusting some insignificant things to the Crown Prince.

Therefore,

The fact that Wu seemed to have cut off tribute to the emperor caught the attention of Liu Ju, who was focused on his work to prevent his father from using the matter as an excuse to act irrationally again.

After thinking for a moment, the subordinate said, "Perhaps the sea is too rough, making it inconvenient for the Wu Kingdom to travel there."

"It seemed to be going smoothly before."

"How can one predict the winds and waves at sea?"

"But the navy sent out by the imperial court is not like that."

Luzon gold mines lured in,
The Han Dynasty intensified its exploration of the seas, and now it has established outposts on some islands in the South China Sea.

The Han people left behind many texts and traces there to prove that this was the land of the Chinese people "since ancient times".

The administrators of those outposts would send people by boat northward each year when the weather was favorable to report their gains to the emperor and request that the court allow more people to be relocated to their locations to consolidate the Han people's foundation overseas.

With this comparison,
It is quite obvious whether the Kingdom of Wu in Luzon was unwilling or unable to send envoys to pay tribute.

Seeing this, the minister could only say, "The court should send an envoy to reprimand the Wu Kingdom for its disrespect!"

Liu Ju nodded, then brought up the matter of Qi, saying, "Even the descendants of Wu, who betrayed the state, cannot compare to the respect and courtesy of Qi."

The relations between the State of Qi and the Han Dynasty were further strengthened in these years.

Every year, envoys were sent to the Central Plains to learn about its advanced culture and to trade with it.

The Han Dynasty was very satisfied with this.

The only thing that raises concerns is that Lü Peng, the "General Who Conquers the Barbarians" of the State of Qi, seems to have the suspicion of usurping power.

But what does this have to do with the Han Dynasty?

Far away in the East China Sea,

Even if the Han Dynasty wanted to intervene, it couldn't reach out and do so.

Moreover, compared to his predecessor, the King of Qi, who had already died of illness, Lü Peng was much more submissive to the Han Dynasty, and none of his actions angered the Han Dynasty.

Therefore,
If he wanted to become the King of Qi
The Han Dynasty was also willing to do for him the same thing that the Zhou emperor had done when he conferred the title of Duke Tai of Tian Qi.

It just so happens that Lü Peng is a descendant of Jiang Qi. If he ascends to the throne, it would be a way of avenging the "nine generations of hatred" for Duke Kang of Qi, who was starved to death on the island.

……

"So, when do you plan to ascend the throne?"

On the island of Japan,
The salted fish, carried by the current, came to Lu Peng, whose hair had grown quite white.

The once proud and carefree young man now appears much more serious and aloof after experiencing the trials of court life.

But in front of his childhood playmates, and the spirits who could protect the land and ensure a stable harvest in the stormy and resource-scarce land of Japan, Lü Peng would still relax his brow and reveal some of the expressions he had in his youth.

after all,

Times change,

He has fewer and fewer friends.

"I do not yet have the merits to be called king, so I will wait for another opportunity."

Upon hearing Shui Bo's words, Lü Peng did not adopt a "loyal minister" attitude, nor did he swear to the heavens and the earth that he had no intention of usurping the throne.

He simply told the other party calmly, "Although I have the blood of Jiang Qi, after hundreds of years, what persuasive power do I have?"

"Moreover, when the Tian family usurped the throne of Qi, it took the efforts of several generations to win the hearts of the people and stabilize the situation before they could force Duke Kang to abdicate."

"What merit do I possess to occupy a high position without worrying about the consequences?"

Lü Peng obtained his title of General Who Conquers the Barbarians through a coup.

After the absurd King Qi, who was so close to the Japanese, died of intestinal parasites due to his love of raw fish, Lü Peng, who had already secretly conspired with his accomplices, decisively took action, causing the East Sea to boil and the State of Qi to burn.

He deposed the heir appointed by the King of Qi before his death and installed another young prince as regent.

Shortly thereafter,

The young King Qi appointed him as the General Who Conquers the Barbarians, ordered him to establish his own government, and bestowed upon him privileges such as "not having to be named when being praised, not having to hasten his steps when entering the court, and being allowed to wear a sword and shoes in the palace"...

But all of this

This had already made Lü Peng uneasy.

he knows,
Although he had a certain reputation and achievements within the State of Qi, it was not enough to warrant such treatment.

The reason those people sought out Lü Peng back then was simply because they wanted a leader who was both energetic and capable.

Once the King of Qi's misrule was rectified and the young King of Qi became their puppet,

These people became smug and thought that Lü Peng should thank them for their support and recommendation.

Lü Peng knew the reason for this.

If you try to force growth by pulling up seedlings, even if it yields some results, the foundation will be shallow, and how can it withstand the erosion of wind, frost, rain, and snow?
How can it grow and last long in the future?

Therefore,
After becoming the Shogun and establishing his own shogunate
Lu Peng proceeded cautiously, embarking on his own path to consolidating power.

He campaigned northwards against the hateful Japanese, seizing more land and enacting clear laws to enslave them.

Once tamed, these barbarians would display an inexplicable fanaticism, naturally becoming a good source of slaves for the Chinese gentry.

However, their wild nature makes the process of taming them somewhat difficult.

But that's okay,
Lü Peng's aversion and rejection of the Japanese gave him ample means and power to tame these humanoid creatures!

Using the argument that "the Japanese are not human, but livestock," he introduced advanced pig castration techniques from the Central Plains, subjected them to strict sterilization, and then exported the Japanese slaves to the Han Dynasty as a specialty of Japan.

The nobles of the Han Dynasty were quite curious about these short-statured servants from overseas.

Adhering to the principles of "rarity increases value" and "having what others don't,"

Qi's export trade with the Han Dynasty has increased over the years, opening up new sources of revenue for Qi.

This further fueled the Qi people's motivation to expand their territory and repel foreign invaders.

However, targeting only the Japanese would only allow Lü Peng to consolidate his position and become a general in name only.

He needs even greater achievements to overthrow the ancestral temple of Tian Qi and re-establish the state of Jiang Qi.

“I have heard that the Kingdom of Wu has not been very respectful to the Han Dynasty recently. I plan to send troops to conquer it in order to show my respect for the Emperor.”

Lü Peng said this to Uncle Shui.

Upon hearing this, the salted fish flipped over on the surface of the water:
"what?"

"You want to advocate for the emperor's supremacy and the expulsion of barbarians?"

(End of this chapter)