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

Chapter 19 War

At dawn on this day, Imperial Censor Li Cai woke up, washed and dressed, and felt extremely refreshed and invigorated.

During breakfast, the clerk and the head of the household reported to him on the newly arrived internal and external affairs. He pointed out a few things and made decisions on several matters to be handled by the groups of officials who were to arrive in the afternoon. The day's political affairs were largely concluded.

In the past, he would have used his remaining time to mediate between various parties. Li Cai had his own unique way of being an official, which was to "do less and move around more".

People who like to do practical work often have a difficult career path in government, just like his cousin Li Guang, who suffered repeated setbacks.

There is only one reason: to do things, you are bound to make mistakes; to make mistakes, you will be criticized; and if there is too much criticism, you will inevitably have to step down.

Therefore, Li Cai has a unique approach to "doing less": more discussion, less action, more abstract matters, and less concrete matters.

As the Imperial Censor, one can participate in discussions on all matters, but cannot do anything personally. Success brings credit for decision-making, while failure provides excuses for shirking responsibility.

In short, talk more and do less.

However, it is impossible to never do anything as long as one is an official. Therefore, one should try to do as many superficial things as possible, such as receiving envoys, offering sacrifices to heaven and earth, comforting soldiers, providing relief to disaster victims, compiling national history, supervising the construction of palaces, sending envoys to friendly countries, inspecting the administration of officials, presiding over state banquets, selecting concubines, and praising the establishment of empresses, etc.

For practical matters that are easy to investigate but difficult to achieve results, we should resolutely refrain from doing them unless absolutely necessary. These include things like building dikes, leading troops into battle, rectifying officialdom, enacting laws, investigating impeachments, sending envoys to enemy countries, deciding on war or peace, supervising farming, suppressing thieves, and adjudicating cases.

Li Cai had only one major task: to consolidate his position and enhance his prestige.

But to achieve this, one must go to great lengths to network, to negotiate with superiors, to maneuver among subordinates, to speak politely to officials, and to speak righteously to scholars. Over the years, Li Cai has done this with great success.

During the reigns of Emperor Jing and Emperor Wen, he served the emperors with utmost care and consideration. Towards his colleagues and learned scholars, he prioritized righteousness, was humble and generous, and was willing to lower himself to befriend them. This became a celebrated story in the Han Dynasty, and people always praised him as "wise and righteous."

However, Li Cai always knew that all those years of painstaking effort were for that fleeting moment of youthful beauty.

A bureaucrat who doesn't want to be prime minister is not a good bureaucrat.

Not long ago, the Grand Physician Zhuang Zhu came to see him late at night in the rain, informing him that the "Northern Army Case" would be tried, and that preparations were even being made to interrogate the Crown Prince.

When Zhuang Zhu left the mansion, he subtly revealed that Prime Minister Gongsun was getting old and might not live much longer. His Majesty intended to allow him to resign without returning home. It was unknown who would get the position of Prime Minister. Li Cai knew that his decades-long wait was finally about to bear fruit.

In fact, Gongsun Hong's appointment as prime minister was a historical turning point for the Han Dynasty's officialdom. Before Gongsun Hong, almost all appointments of prime ministers in the Han Dynasty followed the principle of seniority, with either meritorious officials or their descendants taking office with the title of marquis.

Gongsun Hong, however, was the first prime minister of the Han Dynasty to be appointed prime minister first and then enfeoffed as a marquis. This landmark change represented that the Han Dynasty had spent more than seventy years completely eliminating the influence and monopoly of the special group of the first generation of military merit class in the court. From then on, the Han Dynasty "rewarded marquises with prime ministership".

The position of Prime Minister not only represents the position of prime minister, but also the title of marquis.

That was something his cousin had sought for three days but could not obtain, yet it was about to be realized in his hands.

He deeply understood His Majesty's meaning, and thus removed the Crown Prince from office, thereby resolving the Grand Marshal and other generals' control over the military.

The memorial stating that "the Crown Prince eats ten thousand pigs a day" was the key to everything.

The Grand Chancellor of the Han Dynasty, with his purple ribbon and gold seal, had the power to establish his own government and military headquarters. The Grand Commandant of the Han Dynasty, with his purple ribbon and gold seal, also had the power to establish his own government and military headquarters. However, the Grand Censor, who held the same rank as one of the Three Dukes, did not have this power. He could only conduct business in an office regulated by the imperial court, and this office was called "Lantai".

"Guards, summon Crown Prince Liu Ju!" Li Cai slammed down the gavel in his hand and said in a deep voice.

Zhao Chongguo, leading the Crown Prince's personal guards, dressed in straw raincoats, successfully took over the guard of the Imperial Library, and Liu Ju slowly walked in.

Li Cai's expression turned angry. "Liu Ju, do you know why you're here?"

"I have come here on the orders of my father, the Emperor," Liu Ju said with a smile, looking into those hostile eyes.

"Judging from his tone, he seems to be the crown prince?"

Li Cai slammed the court gates again and said coldly, "From the moment you arrived here, you have been merely a prisoner of this department. This dynasty governs the world with laws, and princes are subject to the same laws as commoners. Don't you know that?" "I don't know. What crime is it to be able to eat?"

"Lies! According to the laws of the Han Dynasty, receiving a salary without working and embezzling pensions are capital offenses!"

"Where's the evidence?" Liu asked calmly.

The vacant quotas have all been cleared by the Northern Army, and the pensions have been fully distributed by the Northern Army, leaving only the gold "allocated by the imperial court but not used".

The parts that were truly inexplicable were consumed by Liu Ju's daily consumption of ten thousand pigs, and now, they have been fully replenished.

What crime is it if the crown prince can eat a lot? In such a vast country as the Han Dynasty, surely the crown prince couldn't be deprived of his food?

All traces, the evidence found by Suo Zhong, Jian Xuan, and Zhou Yang, have vanished under the power of money.

"How dare you! Liu Ju, a criminal under the emperor's command, how could one person consume ten thousand pigs a day? You are deceiving His Majesty and the court, you are committing a grave offense. If you dare to argue again, I'm afraid we'll have to question you in another place," Li Cai threatened.

Although the seven-year-old crown prince is tall and strong, how many times can he withstand being frightened?

"Where to take them? To the Court of Justice prison?"

Liu Ju's smile remained unchanged as he slowly said, "I'm afraid that while I dare to go, the Imperial Censor wouldn't dare to go, would he?"

The current Minister of Justice is Zhang Tang, who is both a friend and disciple of Chancellor Gongsun Hong and a supporter of the Crown Prince's palace. If they all enter the Minister of Justice's office together, Li Cai will probably never get out.

The prison holds countless serious criminals; it's not an iron cage or copper cage, so it's normal for prisoners to escape. Those death row inmates don't care about the Three Dukes or the Censor-in-Chief; they can just kill them on a whim.

"How is the Imperial Guard?" Li Cai asked coldly.

That was his cousin Li Guang's territory; if something went wrong, it would be the crown prince.

"If I were to arrive there, the Imperial Guard's office would likely be razed to the ground."

Liu Ju looked at him indifferently, "Grand Censor, you are not an eagle, and I am not a chestnut. Don't say you weren't warned."

After saying that, he strode away.

As the crown prince of the Han Dynasty, being able to attend an interrogation was a great honor for everyone, including his father, the emperor.

If you're going to play, then play it properly.

Li Cai was trembling with anger, but he instantly regained his composure the moment Liu Ju disappeared.

The eagle was Zhi Du, a cruel official during the reign of Emperor Jing of Han.

The chestnut refers to Liu Rong, the deposed crown prince of Emperor Jing of Han, and the chestnut in question is none other than Consort Li, the most renowned physician of the Han Dynasty.

Decades ago, Consort Li fell out of favor, and Zhi Du, acting on Emperor Jing's orders, forced Liu Rong to commit suicide.

Liu Ju is not Liu Rong.

The phrase "Don't say you weren't warned" reminded Li Cai of the rumors circulating in Chang'an: "Yourse and your clan will be wiped out."

The position of prime minister and the title of marquis are good, but if you lose your life, you have nothing.

Garlic bird garlic bird.

(End of this chapter)