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

Chapter 102 Marquis of Ten Thousand Households

A young man arrived as the emperor of the Han Dynasty.

This was the innermost thought of Zhao Yingqi, the crown prince of the Southern Yue Kingdom, at this moment.

If the world's evaluation of Emperor Liu Che of the Han Dynasty is: "There must be extraordinary people in the world before there can be extraordinary things, and only after there can be extraordinary things can there be extraordinary achievements."

Sitting on the throne, Liu Che psychologically regarded the people of the world and the wealth of the land as his own possessions.

"Extraordinary achievements" were also Liu Che's lifelong pursuit. However, human life is finite. In a limited time, there is nothing faster, more practical, or more visible to the world than expanding territory.

The existence of the Nanyue Kingdom was probably not a question for Liu Che at all. If someone had asked Liu Che this question, his answer might have been a counter-question: "Why should the Nanyue Kingdom exist?"

In the third year of the Jianyuan era, before Liu Che had consolidated power and held military authority, he wanted to resolve the conflict between Minyue and Dongou. Tian Fen and Zhuang Zhu had a debate in front of the emperor, and Zhuang Zhu's words represented Liu Che's will.

"Even the most severe afflictions cannot be saved by force, nor can virtue cover them up. If they can truly be saved, why abandon them?"

With such resources and capabilities, why not pursue such achievements?
For this purpose, Liu Che prepared for more than a decade, all for the purpose of restoring the ancient lands of China, the Nanyue Kingdom, the Yueyao Kingdom, and the Dongyue Kingdom, the southeastern stronghold of the Han Dynasty.

However, Emperor Wu of Han was an emperor who liked to flatter and fawn. As long as you did things to his satisfaction, he would increase his exploitation. He would not directly wield the butcher's knife while there was still something left to squeeze out of you.

Of course, Liu Che would not hesitate to kill those who had money to offer but refused to be exploited.

The crown prince of the Han Dynasty was not the heir apparent.

Once the advantage is fully established, this young monarch may make a move at any time, and once he does, it will be earth-shattering and thunderous.

Emperor Liu Che of the Han Dynasty had already experienced this firsthand, and he was utterly powerless to retaliate.

Zhao Yingqi was faced with only two choices: death or submission.

In the Southern Yue Kingdom, the Lü clan of Lü Jia was a rather large clan, with more than seventy members holding official positions in Southern Yue. Their descendants either married Southern Yue princesses or members of the Southern Yue royal family. Moreover, the Lü clan also had a marriage alliance with the Southern Yue king, the Prince of Cangwu, Qin.

In short, Lü Jia was the most powerful minister in the Nanyue Kingdom, and the Lü family was the most powerful and influential family in the Nanyue Kingdom, without exception.

The Han Dynasty wanted to subjugate the Southern Yue Kingdom, but the ruler prematurely sentenced the entire Lü clan to death.

The ruler's level of lucidity was chilling. Once Nanyue submitted to the Han Dynasty and became one of its vassal states, the future prime minister would be appointed by the central court.

Although the King of Nanyue would lose his power of life and death after being subjugated, he could at least retain his wealth and honor. Therefore, the ones who truly shared life and death with the Nanyue Kingdom were not the royal family of Nanyue, but the Lü family.

The ruler had no intention of winning over Lü Jia and the Lü family. When the Han army entered Nanyue, they would conduct a nationwide manhunt for the Lü clan, and any clan member taller than a horsewhip would be executed.

Of course, if the Lü clan could do this, the Zhao clan, the royal family of Nanyue, could too.

If the Zhao family is unwilling to submit, when Lu Bode, the Commandant of the Crossbowmen, leads tens of thousands of Han troops into Nanyue, the Zhao family will bleed to death.

"Your Majesty, the Nanyue Kingdom is not worth the Han court's large-scale war," Zhao Yingqi said sadly. Nanyue is a low-lying, damp, and malarial land, completely incomparable to the Guanzhong Plain, the Central Plains, and the Guandong Plain. It may not lack anything, but it is not worth the Han army's large-scale attack.

"Hasn't our dynasty done enough worthless things?" Liu Ju said with a faint smile.

The Han-Xiongnu War of more than a decade wiped out the accumulation of a prosperous era and two generations of wise rulers. If one had to describe the past actions of the Han Dynasty, it would be impossible to say.

In short, he acted without restraint!
This is a threat.

Zhao Yingqi felt a chill run through his body. A weak nation doesn't even have the right to have an equal dialogue with the monarch of a powerful nation.

"I have no interest in the sordid affairs within the Southern Yue Kingdom, but I am well aware of the principle that 'those who are not of my kind will surely have different hearts.' The Zhao clan is originally of Han Chinese descent, and our ancestral tombs are still buried in Zhen Ding County of the Zhao Kingdom. Zhao Yingqi, you do not need to consider yourself a member of the Han people. You and the Zhao clan are Han people. As for Lü Jia, he is a Yue person, isn't he?"

King Zhao Tuo and King Zhao Hu of Nanyue were Han Chinese. The reason they heavily relied on Lü Jia, a Yue man, was because they valued the prestige of the Lü family and wanted to reconcile the relationship between the Han and Yue people.

"With the accumulation of generations, two dynasties, and if you, Zhao Yingqi, are included, you have been prime minister of three dynasties. The tree is deeply rooted and the people's hearts are more and more popular. The Southern Yue court is full of Lu Jia's disciples and former officials. What should happen next, Zhao Yingqi, you tell me?"

Liu Ju's question sent chills down Zhao Yingqi's spine. He had been taught by the Han dynasty since childhood and knew what powerful ministers were like, such as Lü Jia.

The next step for a powerful minister is to assassinate the emperor, depose him, or usurp the throne.

If action is not taken quickly, the Zhao family, the royal family of Nanyue, will perish at the hands of the Lü Jia clan, and their deaths will be even more horrific than when the Han court conquered Nanyue.

"Our dynasty can do nothing and wait quietly for several years or even a decade. Whether the Southern Yue Kingdom will perish or not is hard to say, but the Southern Yue royal family will certainly perish. At that time, our dynasty can take advantage of the chaos to launch an attack, which will be twice as effective with half the effort. The reason I am willing to tell you the strategy in advance is twofold: first, delay may lead to unforeseen changes; second, our dynasty also experienced the Lü Clan Rebellion, and my Liu clan almost suffered annihilation. We share the same ancestors and have similar experiences, which is why I am willing to lend a hand to the Southern Yue royal family. Our dynasty and the Southern Yue royal family are not enemies; Lü Jia is the common enemy of both our dynasty and the Southern Yue royal family," Liu Ju said solemnly.

"On behalf of the Zhao clan, I thank Your Majesty!" Zhao Yingqi seemed to suddenly realize something and prostrated himself on the ground.

When Zhang Qian, the Grand Master of Ceremonies, saw this scene, it felt so familiar. Back when he was ordered to go west, he had used the same trick to persuade the Western Regions to join the Han Dynasty in attacking the Xiongnu.

Unfortunately, the Dayuan and Kangju kingdoms were too weak to pose a strategic threat to the Xiongnu, while the Yuezhi, who were still relatively powerful, had long forgotten their long-fought homeland and the unpleasant hatred that followed.

Why does the same tactic work for the ruler but not for him?

However, Zhang Qian suddenly remembered that when he was captured by the Xiongnu, he had heard about another capital city with a history of enmity with the Xiongnu, Wusun.

Since the Yuezhi were not interested in forming an anti-Xiongnu alliance, would the Wusun be interested?
The strategy of befriending distant states while attacking nearby ones might be worthwhile.

Zhang Qian's longing for the wilderness stirred once more.

But no one in the main hall noticed.

"Your subject is willing to join forces with the Great Han to punish Lü Jia, and then lead the people of Nanyue, including all its subjects, and even relinquish the title of the Nanyue royal family to become subjects of the Great Han. However, however..." Zhao Yingqi appeared very hesitant under the gaze of the young lord.

Liu Ju, however, saw through his thoughts: "After we submit to the imperial court, we will be enfeoffed as marquises, with fiefs of ten thousand households. For the rest of my life, the Zhao family will enjoy wealth and honor for a long time!"

(End of this chapter)