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

Chapter 39 On merit
Ji An silently took his seat.

The room fell into an unprecedented silence, the atmosphere unusually somber.

This mere golden seal managed to deceive the dukes, marquises, imperial family ministers, and powerful nobles of the Han Dynasty.

Some nobles who kept monkeys at home couldn't help but compare their own performance to that of a monkey show.
As I thought about it, tears welled up in my eyes.

For no reason at all, they offended the crown prince to death.

I have the heart to want to die.

One by one, sweat poured down their faces, and they cursed inwardly, "Beast," "You've ruined us all."

However, no one can truly understand another person's inner thoughts without them knowing. No matter how harshly you curse someone in your heart, it won't change anything.

Liu Ju, feeling the effects of the alcohol, lay there drowsy.

Wei Qing and Huo Qubing kept their eyes down. The latter gradually understood what it meant that being His Majesty's dog was not so easy.

The twelve generals of the Northern Army and some court officials from the inner and outer courts blushed red. How many times in life can one have such a good time?

A smile appeared at the corner of Liu Che's mouth, but it quickly disappeared. "This year, there was a severe drought in two prefectures and a flood in three prefectures. There were also several major battles in the north and southwest. To be honest, I don't know how I got through it. Fortunately, with the protection of Heaven and the hard work of all my ministers, my great Han Dynasty is still thriving."

He paused here, waiting for the ministers to digest and agree. Whether they agreed or not, all the dukes, marquises, royal ministers, and nobles wore solemn expressions.

"Therefore, I will reward those who have made contributions."

Hear the words.

The powerful and influential of the Han Dynasty rose to prominence.

Yes, the monkey show at home is good, and we also give the monkey some treats. Your Majesty, are you pleased by the show?

Then they're not at a huge loss.

Wei Qing and Huo Qubing's lips twitched slightly. These guys never learn from their mistakes, but given His Majesty's stingy nature, it's unlikely he'll actually give them anything. He'll probably just say it, but getting a beating is probably for real.

"I think that all those with the rank of 'official head' or above in the martial arts nobility should be allowed to serve as officials."

This time.

The noise in the venue reached a new level.

The title of "Martial Merit Nobility" was originally a privilege granted by the powerful and wealthy of the Han Dynasty to themselves and their descendants, through money, which included exemption from corvée labor and reduction of punishments.

A means of paying money to avoid trouble and to show loyalty.

Basically, every prominent and powerful family in the Han Dynasty has several, or even dozens, of members with martial arts titles of level five or above.

As for the part about those who have reached the seventh level of martial arts and are given priority in being selected as officials, many people don't take it seriously at all.

With just a few hundred thousand coins, you think you can buy an official position or title in the Han Dynasty? You can't sell it for such a low price.

Under the emperor's pronouncement, the powerful and wealthy of the Han Dynasty almost went mad. If they could really buy their way into office, even the lowest-ranking official or clerk would represent power. With power, why would they be afraid of not having money?

Even if His Majesty promised to cancel the annual salary, it would still be worthwhile. Wei Qing and Huo Qubing couldn't help but exchange glances. So generous, is this really His Majesty?

However, with hundreds of thousands more officials added all at once, is the imperial court really okay with this?
“Currently, Shanglin Garden is under construction, Shuofang City is under development, Kunming Pool is being excavated, and the border defense forces are severely understaffed…” Liu Che said slowly.

Shanglin Garden? Shuofang City? Kunming Pool?
The more the powerful and influential people in the Han Dynasty listened, the more they felt something was wrong. The more they heard about these places, the more miserable they felt. If they went to these places to be officials, were they going to be officials or to perform corvée labor?
Besides, aren't the border guards going to their deaths?
More than a decade of war between the Han and the Xiongnu had turned the border regions of both sides into a living hell, with very few returning alive.

The dukes, marquises, members of the royal family, and powerful nobles suddenly calmed down, though their hearts were colder than people's.

Wei Qing and Huo Qubing locked eyes, confirming that it was indeed His Majesty!
"This is an imperial edict, to serve the country. I hope you will stand together with the Han Dynasty and not say that I did not warn you."

After Liu Che finished speaking, he left, and the hunting banquet came to an end.

The people in the hall seemed to be petrified, their eyes filled with desolation. With this edict, their beloved children, grandchildren, and younger generations would immediately have to go dig in the sand.

This isn't buying a title, it's buying a coffin!
Grand Master of Ceremonies and Attendant-in-Ordinary Wuqiu Shouwang stood up and said in a voice that was neither too loud nor too soft, “I have heard that in the possession of Sang Hongyang, the Chief of Grain Supply, Dongguo Xianyang, the Minister of Agriculture, and Kong Jin, there is something called ‘White Deer Coin,’ which is only worth forty gold coins. This item will be used as the base for the tribute of princes and marquises. In addition to its use in sacrifices, it can also exempt a person from the serious crime of refusing to serve as an official.”

White Deer Coin?
Forty gold coins?
I understand now, I understand completely. His Majesty not only doesn't want to pay the upcoming military merit rewards, but also threatens to promote all military merit nobles to official positions in the court, forcing them to buy expensive white deerskins to "redeem" themselves.

Refusing to become an official also meant voluntarily giving up the annual military merit salary. From then on, the imperial court would no longer pay attention to military merit nobles of the fifth rank and above.

As for the military nobles below the fifth rank, they must have been terrified. If they didn't want to perform corvée labor, they wouldn't dare to ask the court for their salaries.

Small families and clans suffer small losses, large families and clans suffer huge losses, and the powerful and wealthy people present here have not only failed to steal a chicken, but have also lost the rice.

If one person has 400,000 coins, then a family of dozens of people would have millions or even tens of millions of coins. How could they possibly come up with that?
But if we don't take it out, are we just going to watch our children, grandchildren, and younger generations die?

No matter how large a family is, it still relies on people. If the people are gone, the family is gone too.

"Your Highness, the farce is over," Wei Qing reminded Liu Ju, it was time to leave.

Feeling drowsy and intoxicated, Liu Ju stood up from his seat and walked out of the hall.

Suddenly, Marquis Pingyang, Cao Xiang, stood up and shouted at Liu Ju's retreating figure, "Your Highness, don't you care about your people?"

The Cao family has been around for four generations, with nearly a hundred descendants, all of whom are martial arts masters. At their peak, relying on the profits from the salt and iron trade in Pingyang, they didn't care about tens of millions of coins. Now that they have lost the profits from the salt and iron trade, they would probably have to sell everything they own to come up with tens of millions of coins again.

This is His Majesty's plunder of the wealth of the powerful and wealthy. How can the Crown Prince, as the heir apparent of the Han Dynasty, stand idly by?

The powerful nobles of the Han Dynasty awoke from their confusion and finally realized that the true purpose of His Majesty's monkey show was to make the Crown Prince realize the true colors of everyone and refuse to help them, not to get involved, and not to oppose the new edict.

"My people?"

Liu Ju turned his head, smiled as if he had suddenly realized something, and said, "Is this a joke? Oh, thank you."

Liu Ju left.

Wei Qing and Huo Qubing followed behind and left.

Cao Xiang and other powerful figures of the Han Dynasty wanted to say something, but they were firmly blocked by the twelve generals of the Northern Army. Facing the emotionally charged dukes, marquises, members of the imperial clan, and other powerful figures, General Gongsun Ao said:

“You cannot just say you support the crown prince of the Han Dynasty when your family is destroyed and your people are dying.”

(End of this chapter)