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

Chapter 311 Zen Position
"You're deceiving the heavens!"

Liu Che slammed the long poem to the ground.

The bamboo slips crumbled upon contact with the ground, and on the scattered bamboo pieces were phrases such as "the treasury is depleted like a river bursting its banks," "the smoke from cooking fires in the villages is gradually thinning," "the rich feast on wine and meat, and sing and dance all night long," "crying from hunger and cold," and "not even having enough to wear." Sima Xiangru used the most direct language and the most beautiful diction to describe the changes in the national conditions and the people's lives from the first year of Jianyuan to the beginning of Yuanshou.

Chuntuo stood there, his entire frame tense up.

The next moment, as Liu Che looked up, blood stained the void.

Chun Tuo knelt down and caught the dragon's body before it collapsed.

The light in Liu Che's eyes slowly diffused.

He fainted.

Sensing the divine aura, Chun Tuo helped the dragon back to its bed to lie flat. Then, he hurriedly went to the golden basin stand, poured hot water from the bronze kettle into it, picked up a towel, spread it out, soaked it in the hot water, and gently wrung it out until the water in the towel was just enough to not drip. He then quickly returned to Liu Che on the dragon bed, unfolded the towel, and wrapped it around Liu Che's claw-like hands, holding them half-loosely and half-tightly. In this way, Chun Tuo ran back and forth, using a total of seven towels, until Liu Che's stiff hands were finally warmed and softened.

Then, he poured the water from the copper pot into another golden basin, picked up another, larger face towel, dipped it in the water, wrung it out gently, unfolded it, and covered the face of the saint.

After a short while, she took off her face towel, put it back into the gold basin, poured the remaining hot water from the copper kettle into a silver basin, carried it to the ground in front of the dragon bed, then took off his socks and lifted his feet to put them into the hot water.

Chun Tuo was no longer young. After repeating this process, sweat beaded on his forehead, yet he continued to rub His Majesty's feet, slowly warming the icy dragon's body.

"Will I be remembered for my infamy for eternity?" Liu Che asked, his feet soaking in hot water.

Sima Xiangru said he would compose another poem tomorrow.

This is a naked threat.

If they disagree with the abdication, then they should issue a daily edict, using various methods and techniques to criticize his failures and mistakes during his rule.

Everyone can criticize Sima Xiangru's character, but no one can question his talent.

Including him, the emperor of the Han Dynasty.

Sima Xiangru initially served as a military attendant to Emperor Jing of Han. Later, he traveled to the Liang region for several years. After the death of Liu Wu, the Prince of Liang, Sima Xiangru returned to his hometown. Impoverished, he seduced Zhuo Wenjun, the daughter of Zhuo Wangsun, the richest man in the Han Dynasty, and eloped with her.

In the third year of Emperor Jing's reign (1122), Liu Che ascended the throne. He read Sima Xiangru's "Zixu Fu" and greatly admired it, appointing Sima Xiangru as a court official.

In the sixth year of the Jianyuan era, Sima Xiangru was appointed as a General of the Gentlemen-at-Arms and sent as an envoy to the southwestern barbarians. After returning to the capital, he was dismissed from his post for accepting bribes. A year later, he was recalled to serve as a Gentleman-at-Arms.

He was later appointed as the supervisor of Emperor Xiaowen's mausoleum, but later retired to Maoling due to illness.

The poems "Shanglin Fu", "Ai Er Shi Fu", "Da Ren Fu", and "Mei Ren Fu" were all widely sung.

He is undoubtedly the master of rhetoric and the sage of prose in his time.

Although Sima Xiangru was very obsequious to Huo Qubing after the Battle of Hexi, lacking the integrity of a scholar and being criticized by his contemporaries, this was mostly due to jealousy. If anyone had the opportunity to follow the Marquis of Guannei and be ennobled, they would probably have been even more obsequious and unbearable than Sima Xiangru. After being ennobled as the Marquis of Guannei, Sima Xiangru's status in poetry and prose reached an unprecedented level.

For later generations of Chinese scholars, Sima Xiangru was an inescapable figure when it came to matters of literature. His poems and prose have been passed down through generations, and the people, events, and objects described in them have even been regarded as historical facts and have been immortalized.

Extravagance, reckless militarism, debauchery, cruelty, and so on—his reputation rivaled that of tyrannical rulers like Jie and Zhou. Chun Tuo paused, then resumed rubbing her hands. "This servant has heard two sayings that I wish to share with Your Majesty."

Liu Che stared blankly at the palace beams.

Chun Tuo slowly said, "One sentence is what I heard from the dyeing master when I was in the weaving room: the color of cloth is not 'either black or white'."

Your Majesty once held supreme power, your words bringing joy to the world and sorrow to the world. You were the only one who mattered, and made all the decisions. There was nothing in this world that Your Majesty did not know or could not do.

Although I haven't read many books, I can still tell that historians often say "the victor is king, the loser is villain" when recording history, and they often say "to avoid mentioning the faults of the superiors," speaking of the ruler from the perspective of a subject, which tends to be extreme.

But in my opinion, how can a person do only the right thing and never do the wrong thing in their entire life?

The servant has overstepped his bounds, speaking presumptuously of lofty ideals; his merits and demerits have always gone hand in hand.

Some people believe that it is good enough to avoid mistakes rather than seek merit. They believe that those who are incompetent or do absurd things are more valuable because of this.

Emperor Xiaowen treated his people with leniency and frugality, yet he would sometimes consult ghosts and spirits in the middle of the night.

Emperor Xiaojing reduced taxes and levies, yet he still killed someone while playing chess.

Emperor Gaozu, Emperor Qin Shi Huang, King Zhaoxiang of Qin, and even King Wu of Zhou, King Wen of Zhou, Yao, Shun, Yu, and Tang—which of these sage rulers and virtuous monarchs dares to claim that they were born without fault and governed without error?
Merits and demerits are recorded in history; human nature is clearly revealed.

Liu Che's feet stopped in the silver basin, and Chun Tuo's hands also stopped, waiting for His Majesty to chew.

"Go on."

Chun Tuo said righteously, “The second sentence is exactly what Your Majesty’s scholar-official, Dong Zhongshu, said: ‘Those who understand me are only those who know me, and those who condemn me are only those who know me.’”

This servant knows that these words were not spoken by Dong Zhongshu, but by Confucius: "The Spring and Autumn Annals are matters concerning the Son of Heaven." "When the world declines and the Way weakens, heresies and violent acts arise. There are instances of ministers murdering their rulers and sons murdering their fathers." Now, the matters concerning the Spring and Autumn Annals are between Your Majesty, the Crown Prince, and between father and son.

Your Majesty wanted to kill too many people, and you killed too many people. There were meritorious families, officials and powerful clans, wealthy merchants, wandering knights and thieves, and countless ordinary people. Even the Crown Prince, the Grand Marshal and General Wei Qing, the Grand Marshal and General Huo Qubing... Throughout the world, the emperor killed his subjects, and the subjects wanted to kill the emperor.

The Crown Prince is a capable ruler; this is the destiny of our great Han Dynasty. The throne will belong to the Crown Prince sooner or later. Even now, the Crown Prince has not murdered his father, which shows his filial piety.

But Your Majesty clings to power and cherishes your reputation both in life and after death, stubbornly refusing to change your ways. If one day the people petition before you, and blood is spilled in the imperial court, Your Majesty may become a sinner for all time.

At this point, tears welled up in Chuntuo's eyes.

China.

It was never up to the emperor to decide.

In the past, Emperor Gao wanted to depose Emperor Hui as crown prince, but Empress Lü adopted the strategy of Marquis Liu Zhang Liang. With a humble attitude, generous gifts and a personal letter from the crown prince, she invited the Four Sages of Shang Mountain to come out of seclusion and assist her. Even Emperor Gao sighed helplessly, "Their wings have been formed," and completely gave up the idea of ​​changing the crown prince.

If the Crown Prince follows suit, please send out the elders of Nanshan and Beishan... Our China has no shortage of mountains, let alone elders, to enter the palace and persuade His Majesty to abdicate. If this fails, His Majesty will die for his cause. With the blood of his imperial relatives and the blood of the people on his body, many years later, he will become the greatest tyrant of all time.

"A decree is issued throughout the realm: the Crown Prince shall abdicate!"

(End of this chapter)