A thousand-year-old family begins with one fighting against ten thousand.

"Your subject Wei Qing risks his life to pay homage."

During a perfectly normal grand court assembly in the third year of Emperor Jing of Han's reign, Wei Qing walked leisurely to the center, bowed to Emperor Jing, and uttered words that silenced the entire court.

Given that Wei Qing, the eldest son of the Loyal and Martial King, the elder brother of the Marquis of Wu'an, and the current Grand Minister of Agriculture, Grand Tutor, and Marquis Che, dared to speak of risking his life to pay homage, one can imagine how earth-shattering what followed was.

Emperor Jing of Han also became serious and looked at Wei Qing with solemnity.

"Grand Tutor, please speak."

"Yu the Great tamed the floods, his virtue benefiting all living beings; Tang the King removed the nets, his benevolence extending to birds and beasts; King Wen expounded the Book of Changes, and the world came to know it. These three sages, one by force calming the raging waves, one by benevolence moving birds and beasts, and one by the Way clarifying Yin and Yang, though their achievements differed, their hearts were one—all concerned for the common people and embracing Heaven and Earth. Thus, rivers flowed peacefully thanks to Yu's achievements; plants flourished thanks to Tang's virtue; and the eight trigrams were revealed through King Wen."

Wei Qing's voice echoed throughout the hall, stirring the emotions of many officials present.

Emperor Jing of Han, his hand resting on his belt, descended the high platform step by step, approached Wei Qing, and bowed, saying, "I wish to use the three kings as examples to govern the world in peace. Please instruct me!"

Wei Qing returned the greeting: "The three kings have all rendered great service to the world, which is beyond the reach of ordinary people."

"But I have heard it said: If you can't sweep one's own house, how can you sweep the world? If you can't govern one's own family, how can you govern ten thousand people?"

"Your Majesty, I humbly request that you issue an edict of grace, extending blessings to the descendants of the Liu family, to illuminate the realm!"

Emperor Jing of Han seemed unaware of what the Edict of Grace was, and bowed again, saying, "My virtue is intended to begin with the Liu family; please teach me!"

Wei Qing returned the gift:

"The Liu family now possesses the wealth of the entire realm, and the princes and their heirs number in the dozens, or even hundreds. However, the titles and honors of these princes are inherited only by the eldest son of the legitimate wife. The others, though of the same bloodline, have not received an inch of land, thus failing to uphold the principles of benevolence and filial piety. I believe Your Majesty should order the princes to extend their benevolence and virtue, following the example of Qi and Huainan, by granting them land to their brothers. In this way, all branches of the Liu family will benefit from Your Majesty's kindness and the blessings of the former kings, which is the virtue of the Three Kings."

Emperor Jing of Han was overjoyed and bowed three times, saying, "As the ruler of the Liu family, I have long lacked the virtues of benevolence and filial piety. Fortunately, with the guidance of the Grand Tutor, I have come to understand the importance of extending grace. This is truly a virtuous policy of the Liu family!"

In their back-and-forth, the two of them elevated the Edict of Grace to the level of Liu's virtuous governance, and the first step for His Majesty to learn from the Three Kings.

If any minister or vassal king opposes this, it means they oppose the virtuous rule of the Liu family, do not want the descendants of the Liu family to enjoy Your Majesty's grace, and do not want Your Majesty to emulate the sage kings and become a wise ruler. Such a person is either stupid or wicked.

How could such fools, wicked people, and vermin be allowed to hold high positions or be noble princes?

How can a country be governed well when surrounded by such insects!

At this point, Emperor Jing of Han's decision to dismiss him from his official post and strip him of his titles was just and beyond reproach! No one could accuse him of being cruel and ungrateful!

On the contrary, we should shout that His Majesty is wise!

At this moment, Chao Cuo, the vanguard of the campaign to weaken the power of the regional military governors, stepped forward.

"Your Majesty's decree of bestowing grace has spread far and wide, and I am filled with admiration. Although I am of meager talent and ability, I am willing to contribute my humble efforts. Your Majesty and the Marquis of Yan are stationed in the capital, and I request to travel to all corners of the country to spread this policy."

These words were very skillful, praising Emperor Jing of Han to the skies and expressing that His Majesty was the wisest ruler, whom he admired greatly. However, His Majesty still needed to stay in the capital. He was moved by the emperor's words and was willing to offer his humble assistance to help the emperor travel to all corners of the country.

All the credit went to Emperor Jing of Han and the Marquis of Yan; he only received some insignificant hard work.

He was a leading figure in the effort to reduce the power of regional princes, so this edict of grace was exactly what he wanted.

In Chao Cuo's view, once the Edict of Grace is implemented, the local lords will no longer have the means to oppose the imperial court. At that time, it will be easy to reduce the power of the lords!

Indeed, Chao Cuo still wanted to reduce the power of the vassal kings. Even after the Edict of Grace, when the remaining vassal kings were no longer able to threaten the rule of the court, Chao Cuo still felt that these vassal kings should be completely eliminated and all the lands should be returned to the jurisdiction of the court.

Sharpening knives, ready to pounce on the feudal lords.jpg

Admittedly, there were many princes and kings in the court, but there were far more loyal ministers.

After the Rebellion of the Seven States, the feudal lords were no longer a threat, so what were we waiting for?!

Hurry up and grab the sacks to pick up the money... or grab the sacks to collect political achievements!

These are no longer feudal lords; they are walking achievements!

We can't let Chao Cuo take them all.

"Your Majesty is willing to go on a diplomatic mission to the State of Qi, and I am confident that the sons of the King of Qi will feel Your Majesty's benevolence."

"Your Majesty, I originally intended to go on a diplomatic mission to the State of Zhao to persuade the newly appointed King of Zhao to divide the land of Zhao among his brothers."

"Your subject is willing..."

The imperial court was in complete chaos, like a marketplace. Now, the Han Dynasty only had a dozen or so vassal kings left, and a few of them were sons of Emperor Jing of Han. These were definitely not to be touched.

There were only eleven or twelve feudal lords who could actually act; there were far more monks than porridge.

Chao Cuo panicked. This wouldn't do. He gritted his teeth and shouted, "Your Majesty, I am willing to go on a diplomatic mission to the Liang Kingdom. I guarantee with my life that I can persuade the King of Liang to agree to divide the Liang Kingdom among his many sons right now."

When Chao Cuo uttered these words, all the officials fell silent.

Even though they fought tooth and nail for the same vassal king before, there were a few other vassal kings that no one mentioned.

Aside from Emperor Jing's sons, the only other one was Liu Wu, the King of Liang.

Everyone in the world knows that the Prince of Liang is the Empress Dowager's darling, His Majesty's younger brother, and he made great contributions during the Rebellion of the Seven States, holding Liang firmly until the imperial army arrived to provide reinforcements. Only then was the imperial army, led by Wei Yu, able to defeat the states of Wu and Chu.

What's the difference between messing with the King of Liang and sending him to his death?

As expected of Chao Cuo, you are indeed brave.

Emperor Jing of Han was filled with mixed feelings of joy and worry. He was pleased that someone had volunteered to go to the Liang Kingdom to promote the Edict of Grace, and this person was one of his trusted and capable ministers. He believed that Chao Cuo was capable of doing this.

What worries him is that this man is his trusted and capable minister. What a pity it would be if the King of Liang had a moment of madness, or if his petty and thieving retainers killed Chao Cuo in a fit of rage.

Despite his ruthless killing of Chao Cuo in history, he believed that killing Chao Cuo would bring him greater benefits, appease the vassal kings who had not rebelled, and deprive the Seven Kingdoms Alliance of moral support. These benefits far outweighed Chao Cuo's personal talents.

Now that the imperial court is stable and the vassal kings are weak, it is the perfect time for him to make his mark.

Whether Liang is a unified entity or separate entities, it poses no threat to the current imperial court.

The benefits that Chao Cuo could bring out would exceed the advantages he gained from going to Liang.

Looking into Chao Cuo's eyes, one can see that Chao Cuo, who came from a Legalist background, believed that his political philosophy was to weaken the power of the feudal lords and implement a comprehensive prefecture-county system.

He could keep Chao Cuo physically, but he couldn't keep Chao Cuo's heart.

"Chao Qing, then you shall be the envoy to the Liang Kingdom. I request that Marquis Wu'an select a group of elite soldiers from the Imperial Guard to accompany you."

Emperor Jing of Han said to Wei Yu, "The Imperial Guards represent imperial power. With the protection of the Imperial Guards, the Prince of Liang will not dare to touch Chao Cuo. If he does touch Chao Cuo, the Prince of Liang can bear the consequences. But touching the Imperial Guards is treason!"

Emperor Jing of Han could not kill the King of Liang, but he could eliminate the kingdom. However, Emperor Jing would not do that. He would leave the King of Liang a small city as a fief to appease Empress Dowager Dou.