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

Chapter 162 Ancestors
The court discussion concluded.

The news that fourteen princes and princes had been enfeoffed as kings spread throughout Chang'an, enraging the people of Chang'an. Then came the news that the people of Nanyue and the southwestern Yi had all been incorporated into the Central Plains, which brought joy to the people of Chang'an.

When it was learned that the great honor was requested by Liu Duan, the King of Jiaoxi, the entire city of Chang'an was instantly filled with a joyful atmosphere.

From then on, the southern border was guarded by fourteen princes and their families.

In the teahouses of the neighborhood, jokes abound.

The people of Chang'an finally vented their anger at the fact that the emperor had not yet punished the feudal lords for their crimes.

The Zhao Kingdom's residence, a secret room.

The four brothers who served Emperor Xiaojing—Liu Pengzu, King of Zhao; Liu Duan, King of Jiaoxi; Liu Ji, King of Jiaodong; and Liu Shun, King of Changshan—gathered together.

"In the past, Emperor Gaozu divided the land to protect the Han dynasty, but at the beginning of the Yuan Shou era, some of the princes indulged in pleasure and others secretly harbored rebellious intentions. Their foolishness and stubbornness made Jia Yi weep for them, and Chao Cuo once wrote down their strategies."

Behold the courts of the feudal lords: their nine-tasseled crowns stand majestically, their double-shafted chariots gleaming. They cast golden pellets to shoot sparrows, and molten copper to build mountains to hang lanterns. Their banquets leave the fields reeking of game, their hunts result in the burning of forests for miles around. Thirty post stations are paved with brocade, and twelve layers of walls are plastered with pepper and mud. Yet, inquiring about the granaries reveals stale and rotten grain, and inspecting the houses reveals empty looms and idle shafts. They still boast: "This is a special privilege granted by Emperor Gaozu!"

The snoring of court officials shook the palace; his delirious pronouncements on governance startled even the wise and virtuous. He hired alchemists to refine elixirs in secret chambers and summoned shamans to perform rituals with peachwood charms in the high hall. He dismissed the prime minister based on slander and used a beautiful concubine to expand the territory. He claimed a comet was a divine gift and an earthquake was an auspicious sign. He gathered books in Huainan to plot his own schemes and forged weapons in Jiangdu, violating the established laws. His cunning schemes were too much; his fourteen sons became the Monkey King…

Upon seeing the words "Monkey King" in a poem by a famous scholar, Liu Pengzu was so enraged that he nearly died.

Even though his crown prince had defiled his harem and had affairs with his own daughters and sisters, he couldn't bear to lay a finger on him.

Now he has become a feudal lord in a deserted land, truly a "monkey king".

Liu Ji and Liu Shun both looked grim. That was their own son, whom they had nurtured for many years as the crown prince, and had poured so much effort into. In the blink of an eye, he was going to run off to the wilderness to be the king of monkeys.

Can not accept.

How could I possibly accept that?

Liu Duan knew he had caused a great disaster. At the imperial court meeting, he not only failed to secure any real benefits for the imperial clan, but the emperor, without making a sound, also stripped the princes of their skin.

It's fortunate that he was impotent and childless, destined to die without an heir; otherwise, if he had become the Monkey King of a prefecture, he would have wanted to die.

"How could someone so young have such a vicious mind? How could he dare to do such a thing?" Liu Duan said, seemingly empathizing with him.

He sensed something strange about Liu Ju, the emperor of the Han Dynasty and his nephew. When faced with the princes storming into the palace and demanding credit, he showed no tact whatsoever. He led them to dig their own pits, jump in, and then buried them with a shovel of earth.

He had only seen this level of composure in his grandfather, Emperor Xiaowen, and his father, Emperor Xiaojing; it was so calm it was frightening.

“I think I understand why my brother couldn’t defeat him,” Liu Ji replied.

Political acumen is innate.

That's why there's the saying "a son is not like his father." Their eldest nephew is indeed "not like his father," but he is "like his grandfather."

Faced with the potential recurrence of the "Linjiang Prince's Past," he preemptively exiled the emperor. Since you don't want me to be the Crown Prince properly, then I will find a way to make you the Retired Emperor.

The emperor's retreat to Ganquan Palace and the suicide of the Prince of Zhongshan at the Wei River execution ground were one thing, while the crown prince's coup was another. The blood of the imperial relatives only shook the emperor's throne; the one who truly played a role was their eldest nephew.

Monster.

Liu Shun nodded in deep agreement.

Emperor Wu's elder brother, Liu Che, always acted in a rough and impatient manner, as if all matters of the world could be resolved with tyranny. On the other hand, his nephew, Liu Ju, was gentle and meticulous. He would bury someone without them even realizing it, and he would remember to wipe his hands. This "cleanliness" was exactly the same as that of Emperor Xiaowen.

Why couldn't they inherit the abilities and temperament of their imperial ancestors?

Looking at his brothers with regret, Liu Pengzu recalled the hexagram "Heavenly King" again. What his brothers lacked, he possessed. He said in a deep voice, "We can't go on like this."

"What does Your Highness mean?"

"We cannot allow Liu Ju to ascend the throne!"

Liu Pengzu's gaze swept over Liu Duan, Liu Ji, and Liu Shun in turn. "You all know the methods of our Imperial Ancestor. The vassal kings at that time were fortunate to have such powerful states. Our Imperial Ancestor dared not act rashly, but the death of the King of Huainan..."

After Empress Lü's death, the Lü clan was exterminated, and Liu Heng, the Prince of Dai, ascended the throne as Emperor Xiaowen.

At that time, only two sons remained of Emperor Gaozu: Emperor Xiaowen Liu Heng, who was the fourth son, and Liu Chang, the seventh son, who was the Prince of Huainan. Liu Chang, a prince who grew up in the deep palace, began to exert his strength and wanted to take back everything he had lost.

Liu Chang believed that he was closest to the emperor, so he acted extremely recklessly and often violated the laws of the Han Dynasty. Emperor Xiaowen always forgave Liu Chang.

In the third year of Emperor Xiaowen's reign, Liu Chang entered the court to pay homage to Emperor Xiaowen. He was extremely arrogant. When he went hunting with Emperor Xiaowen, he completely disregarded the etiquette between the emperor and his subject. Not only did he sit in the same carriage as the emperor, but he also addressed Emperor Xiaowen as "elder brother" at every turn.

Liu Chang was the second strongman after Xiang Yu, the Hegemon-King, to be "strong enough to lift a tripod". After gaining the emperor's favor, he used his immense strength to do the first thing that shocked the court and attracted the attention of the world during the reign of Emperor Xiaowen.

He brazenly murdered Marquis Biyang, Shen Shiqi.

The world was in uproar, but Liu Chang ran to Emperor Xiaowen and, after only a few tearful complaints, was spared by the emperor.

The fact that the king of Huainan was killed without punishment emboldened him, making him increasingly arrogant. From then on, the laws of the Han Dynasty were no longer respected in Huainan. People had to clear the way and observe strict discipline when entering and leaving the country. Liu Chang's orders were called "decrees" like those of the emperor, and he even created his own set of laws. When his arrogance reached its peak, in the sixth year of Emperor Wen's reign, Liu Chang planned a rebellion at Gukou and sent envoys to Minyue and the Xiongnu to contact other ethnic groups to join him.

Emperor Xiaowen finally revealed his true colors, and the rebellion immediately failed. Liu Chang himself was escorted to the capital.

Emperor Xiaowen did not kill him, but instead sentenced him to be imprisoned in Shu Commandery. Knowing that the Prince of Huainan was narrow-minded and deliberately humiliated him, the various counties along the way did not obey the imperial decree and did not remove the seals on the prison cart to allow the Prince of Huainan to get off and move around. In the end, the Prince of Huainan could not bear the humiliation of long-distance imprisonment and starved himself to death.

But this was not the end. After the death of King Li of Huainan, Emperor Xiaowen deliberately did not change the fiefdom, but instead enfeoffed Liu An, the son of King Li of Huainan, as the new King of Huainan, thus sowing the seeds of disaster for the lineage of the King of Huainan.

In the third year of Emperor Jing's reign (200 BC), the Rebellion of the Seven States of Wu and Chu broke out. Liu An decided to join the rebellion, but he was not capable enough and was stopped by the prime minister. In the first year of the reign of Emperor Jing, he prepared to rebel again, but was suppressed by the emperor. The line of the King of Huainan was wiped out.

Fifty years to kill a king—only Emperor Xiaowen could have done that.

Now, Liu Ju is also capable.

Times have changed. The current vassal kings are far less powerful than during the reign of Emperor Xiaowen. It may not even take fifty years to eliminate all the other kings. In the past fifty years, the Han Dynasty has had three emperors, but the current emperor is young. From his ascension to his death, he can accomplish everything by himself.

Time is running out for the princes of the Han Dynasty.

The three kings felt a chill run through them. Liu Ji said in disbelief, "Impossible, right? We are, after all, his uncles and aunts. He can't possibly kill us all, can he? Brother, I think you're just too preoccupied with your own troubles."

"Heart disease?"

Liu Pengzu stared intently at him and sneered, "Brother, when the Kings of Huainan and Hengshan rebelled, we heard that the Kingdom of Jiaodong was secretly building more chariots and bows and arrows to strengthen its war preparations. What were they planning to do?"

"Just in case of unforeseen circumstances, in the event of any major, unspeakable event, the State of Jiaodong can come to the capital to defend the emperor at any time..."

Liu Ji's expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly tried to explain, but before he could finish, Liu Pengzu interrupted him, "Is it to serve the emperor, or to start a rebellion?"

"I don't understand what you're talking about, Brother Wang."

"Among the crimes of the princes, this matter is the first crime of the Jiaodong Kingdom. Once Liu Ju makes a move and wants to take action against us, he will be imprisoned in the Imperial Prison and face the cruel official Zhang Tang. Can the prince brother withstand the pressure and not confess?"

"Does Zhang Tang dare to torture me?"

"Without Liu Ju's order, Zhang Tang naturally wouldn't dare."

"Does Liu Ju dare to issue such an order?"

"I wouldn't dare."

Liu Pengzu's smile remained unchanged, as did the chill in his voice, "But in this world, there are more ways to conduct trials than just torture. Brother Wang, are you aware of the deaths of Gongsun He and his son Gongsun Jingsheng?"

A look of terror appeared in the eyes of Liu Ji and the three kings.

Liu Pengzu added the final blow, "We are Liu Ju's uncles, and Gongsun He is Liu Ju's maternal uncle!"

cold sweat.

It came down in an instant.

Liu Duan, Liu Ji, and Liu Shun thought of the demise of the Wei clan, the powerful maternal relatives who had brought calamity to the court, and felt a sense of unease.

That was Liu Ju's maternal clan.

Liu Ju was able to act without hesitation, even to the point of killing. Almost all of Empress Wei's close relatives disappeared, leaving only a few members of the Wei clan who did not cause trouble, such as Wei Qing, Huo Qubing, Wei Bu, and Wei Guang.

And what about his father's family, which harbored ulterior motives and might seize the throne?

"Brother Wang, what do you mean?" Liu Duan asked.

Although he had no children and no one to carry on his lineage after his death, he did not want to die, much less die in humiliation.

"We'd rather have our imperial brother return than have our nephew ascend the throne!"

Liu Pengzu said solemnly.

Unlike the foreign officials of the two dynasties who had no choice but to serve the emperor, these princes of the same surname, even if they committed serious crimes, would not be easily killed. At most, their fiefdoms would be reduced or their fiefdoms abolished. The emperor would also learn from the lesson of the death of Liu Sheng, the Prince of Zhongshan. Under Liu Che's rule, they might lose everything, but they could keep their lives. Under Liu Ju's rule, however, they would lose even their lives.

"Help the little pig come back?"

Liu Duan exclaimed in surprise, recalling Liu Che's old nickname.

Liu Ji and Liu Shun were also greatly shocked.

“We are brothers after all, so it is only right for us to help him take the throne. Between two evils, choose the lesser.”

"What are we going to do?"

"Let the powerful clans in the vassal states go elsewhere to create chaos, let Liu Ju's rule become a model of a chaotic world, and give our imperial brother the righteous cause of returning to the capital to demand the right to rule."

(End of this chapter)