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

Chapter 273 Capturing the dragon
The wind and rain have ceased, and the clouds and rosy hues are in full bloom.

There was no decadent music.

Dong Zhongshu and Wuqiu Shouwang entered the hall.

The stove is still warm.

Madam Li possessed an indescribable charm.

She appeared slightly shy upon seeing people and covered herself with a brocade quilt.

Emperor Liu Che of the Han Dynasty, who had recently taken the elixir, was clearly feeling hot. When his close ministers came to attend him, he simply wrapped himself in a brocade robe and sat down by the bed.

Listening attentively to the matter of restoration.

When the Empress Dowager's aunt and the eldest princess's elder sister were found to have recruited assassins and privately forged weapons and armor, and were imprisoned, Liu Che remained completely unmoved.

The two princesses of the Han Dynasty helped him a lot, but they also harmed him.

He had only two empresses, Empress Chen and Empress Wei. He spent a lot of effort to depose the former, while the latter became an uncontrollable force.

If Princess Dou and Princess Pingyang could have risked their lives to splatter the Crown Prince with blood, he might have shed a few tears and mourned his poor aunt and elder sister. But he did nothing and was imprisoned by the Crown Prince. So there's no point in wasting his emotions.

The reactions of meritorious families, officials, wealthy merchants, and wandering knights and thieves were exactly what Liu Che had expected.

It seems positive.

Perhaps because he had exhausted his energy and spirit, or perhaps because he knew that the chances of a successful restoration were slim, Liu Che did not show any anger.

The combination of Liu Ju, Gongsun Hong, Wei Qing, and Huo Qubing—ruler, prime minister, commander, and general—puts excessive pressure on anyone.

Including the emperor.

During his twenty years as emperor, Liu Che boasted that he had not made any major mistakes and felt that he had a fairly clear understanding of the court and people's hearts.

It all stems from the fact that "the son is not like his father".

As it turns out, it was not wrong for the emperor and the father to deliberately suppress the crown prince and his maternal clan, and to sever the connection between the crown prince's palace and the prime minister's residence by selecting a tutor for the crown prince.

The combined power of the Crown Prince, the Chancellor, the Grand General, and the Marquis of Champion could indeed shake the Emperor's rule.

However, his methods failed and instead angered the Crown Prince, who, at such a young age, held both military and political power, leading to the current situation.

Liu Che had no regrets.

More often than not, it's about accepting that one's skills are inferior to others.

The only thing to be thankful for is that the one who beat him was his own son.

The First Crown Prince of China!
Even if he ultimately fails, when he reaches the underworld, facing the late emperor, Emperor Xiaowen, and even Emperor Gao, Liu Che can say, "My son is stronger than all your sons!"

A smile appeared at the corner of Liu Che's mouth, but it quickly disappeared; otherwise, he would probably be beaten up by his ancestors.

The success or failure of the restoration.

I gradually stopped caring so much.

Of course, whether it was due to inner obsession or the atmosphere at that point, the father and son were bound to have a fight in the end.

He lost, so he abdicated and became the retired emperor.

If he wins, he will temporarily imprison the Empress, the Crown Prince, his brother-in-law, and his nephew, and then reign as emperor for another twenty years before passing the throne to the Crown Prince. The so-called thirty-year covenant of power is meaningless to the Liu family monarchs. If he can rule for twenty years, Liu Che believes he can sweep away all enemies, bring peace to the land, and transform the entire Han Empire. Then, he will hand over power to the Crown Prince, and the future of the Han Dynasty will be incredibly glorious.

In short, Liu Che thought a lot. Perhaps it was because Lady Mei and Lady Bai, whom he had visited on the hillsides and in the fields of Nanyang County, were about to give birth, and he was so influenced by the joy that even his dreams were beautiful.

They might even have given names to the children born to the two wives in advance. If they were sons, one would be Liu Ya and the other Liu Kun; if they were daughters, one would be Liu Yan and the other Liu Xing.

When a person is at leisure, their mind is at peace.

When Liu Che heard that the four meritorious families of Zhou, Xiao, Zhang, and Chen were willing to give everything to support his restoration, he felt a pang of guilt.

Without the four great families who made great contributions, the Han Dynasty would not have been established, and the Han Dynasty would not be where it is today. In times of national crisis, no matter how much injustice they had suffered in the past, the four great families would always stand up without hesitation, which truly made Liu Che feel somewhat ashamed.

Liu Che suddenly spoke up: "Dong Zhongshu."

"Your subject is here," Dong Zhongshu replied, bowing.

"You are a great Confucian scholar, tell me what 'public loyalty and dedication to the country' means?"

"To be loyal to the country and not shy away from power is the true meaning of being loyal to the country."

"Tell me, can the Zhou family, and the Xiao, Zhang, and Chen families be considered loyal and devoted to the country?" Liu Che stared intently at him and continued to ask.

Ever since this old fellow returned to the court, he has harbored ulterior motives. In his schemes, he seems to be acting from the perspective of the emperor's rule, but in reality, he is offering advice to the Confucianists. What's even more difficult to judge is that none of his schemes have ever succeeded.

Was it Dong Zhongshu who advised him to feign illness, or Dong Zhongshu who advised him to go on a southern tour, or Dong Zhongshu who advised him to respect Heaven and follow the ancestral laws...? Now, Dong Zhongshu is advising him to restore the monarchy.

No matter how well this old fellow disguises himself, he's not a loyal minister, and Confucianism isn't exactly a respectable school of thought.

He was filled with rage when he thought of the two previous instances of honoring Confucianism. How could he have been so blinded by greed, thinking of suppressing all other schools of thought and exclusively honoring Confucianism?
I regret it.

Dong Zhongshu understood the Emperor's sarcasm, but pretended not to understand and calmly replied, "The Xiao family, the Zhang family, and the Chen family are loyal and devoted to the country, and as for the Zhou family, they are even more so."

Xiao Qing, Zhang Cheng, and Chen Mo possess the talent of Gongsun Hong; Zhou Gong has the abilities of Wei Qing and Huo Qubing. Congratulations, Your Majesty, on finding such talented individuals!

It was not without sarcasm.

The Yuan family has a long line of successors and has produced many talented generals. Why did it decline in this dynasty?
Isn't His Majesty deliberately weakening the influence of the Yuan Gong family in the court?

When you're down on your luck, and you see someone who is loyal, remembering the goodness of that person and their ancestors, how despicable is that!

It's too late to regret admiring Confucianism and the Gongyang School!
During those twenty years, Confucianism used its power to collect and seize countless classics and treasures from various schools of thought. Even though the other schools of thought had previously "shared the credit" and then seized the classics and treasures back, they could only take back the bamboo slips, not the ideas that Confucianism had already adopted.

Over the past two decades, Confucianism has flourished.

With the resources gained through plunder, Confucianism will surely be able to weather the long night and usher in the dawn.

In the future, he will leave his writings to future Confucian scholars, placing Liu Che and his son Liu Ju in the same category as the tyrannical Qin Dynasty and the First Emperor!
On the surface, the ruler and his ministers seemed to get along well, but behind the scenes, they were both plotting to settle scores with each other.

Unable to bear the eerie atmosphere, Wuqiu Shouwang spoke up: "Your Majesty, the soldiers, armor, money, and provisions given to meritorious families, officials, wealthy merchants, and wandering knights and thieves should be received and allocated by special people. I think it would be better to follow the example of Emperor Gao, with Marquis Pingqu Zhou Gong in charge of the troops and armor, Xiao Qing in charge of the money and provisions, and Zhang Cheng and Chen Mo in charge of the plans and strategies. What does Your Majesty think?"

"allow."

Liu Che immediately agreed, then changed the subject and added, "Have Zhou Gong send the clansmen to Langchi Palace as soon as possible, making sure no one is left behind."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Prince Wuqiu Shou had a deeper understanding of the emperor's harshness and lack of kindness.

"Furthermore, send Qimen Lang to Shanglin Garden to hunt tigers and wolves. Tomorrow, I will launch an uprising and personally enter Chang'an to capture the dragon!"

(End of this chapter)