My name is Wei Qing, and I want to fight the Xiongnu.

At most, Lu's violation of laws and regulations would only result in a scolding.

Liu's violations of laws and regulations, unsurprisingly, warranted a three-fold increase in punishment.

Some say that Empress Lü wanted to be emperor, but in reality, she was already the de facto emperor of the Han Dynasty.

"Never mind him, let's go into town."

Liu Yangxin has probably had a lot of dealings with the Lü family, and it's clear that she dislikes them.

It's normal. Anyone would be disgusted if they encountered a situation where someone else took over another's place.

Wei Qing withdrew his gaze: "Are all members of the Lü family this arrogant and domineering?"

"Most of them are like that, but there are a few who are still quite kind, respectful and modest."

"So, the Lü clan is not far from its demise."

Wei Qing was not flattering anyone. If what Liu Yangxin said was true, then the Lü family was like a castle in the air, not far from collapsing.

Chapter Ten: To give birth but not to raise, even a severed finger can be repaid.

In Wei Qing's eyes, the fate of the Lü family lineage could be summed up in one sentence: "Watch them build a tall building, watch them entertain guests, and watch their building collapse."

Wei Qing was not the only one who could see this; people like Xiao He, Cao Can, and even Empress Lü herself probably clearly foresaw the fate of the Lü clan.

Liu Yangxin glanced at Wei Qing beside him, somewhat surprised: "Why do you say that?"

In just two or three days of contact, she could tell that Wei Qing's speech might be somewhat incoherent and confusing, but every word he uttered was not without purpose.

Since he said it, he must have had his own considerations.

Wei Qing opened the window, looked at the streets of Chang'an, and said: "If one's virtue is not commensurate with one's position, disaster will surely follow; if one's virtue is meager but one's position is high, if one's wisdom is small but one's schemes are grand, if one's strength is weak but one's responsibilities are heavy, one will almost certainly fail."

These are the words of Confucius, and they also describe the current situation facing the Lü family.

In short, his virtue does not match his position!

The reason it hasn't completely exploded yet is entirely due to Empress Lü holding things together.

If anything were to happen to Empress Lü, or if any unforeseen event were to occur, the Lü clan would be destroyed in an instant.

......

Compared to the royal city of Chang'an, Pingyang County was practically a remote and impoverished place.

In just a few minutes, the buildings on both sides of the street showed Wei Qing what it meant to be "the crystallization of human wisdom and the pinnacle of civilization among all races".

"what is that?"

Wei Qing pointed to a giant metal box not far away, which he didn't know how it was powered.

Liu Yangxin explained to Wei Qing, "Those are the Mo family's mechanical beasts for transportation. Since flying is prohibited inside the royal city, and the royal city is extremely large, it would probably take an ordinary person a month to walk from the east to the west of the city. Therefore, means of transportation are very important."

Ordinary cattle and horses would defecate, making the streets stink, so ordinary livestock were not allowed to roam freely within the royal city.

However, the common people could not afford to keep intelligent beasts for transportation, so the Mohists invented these large mechanical beasts. The inside of the mechanical beasts was a vacuum, and they would travel along a designated route and stop at fixed locations, allowing the people to enter or leave the mechanical beasts.

Besides these large mechanical beasts, there are also some more exquisite and compact ones, which are not only faster but also more comfortable, and of course, more expensive.

In fact, these large mechanical beasts don't make money; in fact, they cost money to produce. The company fills the gap by selling smaller, more delicate mechanical beasts.

Wei Qing found it fascinating. In Pingyang County, if one wanted to travel long distances, besides relying on cattle, horses, and exotic animals, one could only rely on two legs.

When Wei Qing chased the Xiongnu barbarians for three days and three nights, he relied entirely on his two legs to run.

Liu Yangxin added, "The inventions of the Mohists were mostly used for people's livelihood, while the inventions of the Gongshu School were dedicated to the battlefield. The similar mechanical beasts equipped in the Han Dynasty army were made by the Gongshu School. However, in recent years, the Gongshu School has also been adjusting its strategic policy and developing towards people's livelihood."

Military and civilian applications do not necessarily indicate the level of technology. Civilian applications need to consider cost, while military applications need to consider strength.

Currently, the Gongshu family is actually not doing as well as the Mo family, since the war can't even break out.

Even without fighting, the army is so poor they're practically selling their pants, so the Gongshu family can forget about getting any funding.

How can you conduct research without funding?

Unlike when the Han Dynasty was first established, where the court would spare no effort to allocate funds as long as you produced results.

After listening to Liu Yangxin's introduction of the Mohist and Gongshu families, Wei Qing nodded to himself, thinking that he might be able to communicate with the Gongshu family in the future.

If nine and a half out of ten military strategists are advocates of war, then every single one of the Gongshu family members would love to fight every single day.

Even if the human realm doesn't go to war with the Xiongnu barbarians, they hope that the surrounding smaller realms will fight each other to the death.

These guys are definitely warmongers.

If you don't fight, how am I supposed to make money?

If I don't earn money, where will I get the money to do research?

If I don't do research, how can my value be demonstrated?

If it doesn't demonstrate any value, what's the difference between it and a salted fish?

The streets of the royal city are never short of exotic animals and ingenious gadgets.

Despite the sweltering heat of summer, one can still witness the beauty of nature.

Even though the sun is blazing overhead, you can still see the stars moving.

The shops were so numerous and varied that I'd never seen or even heard of them before; they stood side by side, leaving onlookers speechless.

Seeing that Wei Qing seemed very interested in the capital, Liu Yangxin took the initiative to suggest, "Zhongqing, why don't you come with me to Yangxin Prefecture for a few days? I'll help you contact the military and also bring your family from Pingyang Prefecture to Yangxin Prefecture."

Wei Qing did not refuse, as the Imperial Academy was still some time away from its enrollment for this quarter.

Besides, we have to settle things with the military faction first before we can even think about enrolling in school.

Upon hearing Liu Yangxin mention bringing his family over, Wei Qing suddenly fell silent.

Previously, Liu Yangxin suggested that Wei Qing change his surname to Cao and enter the Imperial Academy as an adopted son of the Cao family, but Wei Qing was still worried that it would implicate Pingyang Prefecture and refused.

Even Pingyang Prefecture could be brought to ruin by Wei Qing, so how could Wei Ao and her slaves possibly withstand the raging storms he stirred up?

The best solution is to completely sever ties with them.

In this way, when someone wants to deal with or even retaliate against Wei Qing, they won't think of targeting his family first.

Finally, Wei Qing said, "Your Highness, I have heard a folk saying: 'If you give birth but do not raise your child, you can return a severed finger.'"

What do you want to do?

Wei Qing picked up the chipped woodcutter's knife, then stretched out his left hand and looked at the little finger.

"Zhongqing...you..."

"Your Highness, please close your eyes."

Since you're going to sever ties, then go all the way.

After saying that, Wei Qing raised his wood-chopping knife and glared fiercely at his left little finger.

The pain caused beads of sweat to instantly form on Wei Qing's forehead.

The four maids who witnessed the process also showed expressions of horror.

What does he want to do?

are you crazy?

Wei Qing wasn't crazy. He casually tore off a piece of cloth and simply bandaged the wound on his severed finger.

He then bandaged his little finger and handed it to Liu Yangxin, saying, "This little finger is to repay her for giving me life. From now on, we will be strangers and have no more grudges."

Liu Yangxin looked at the severed finger that was wrapped up. The maid next to him came over and tried to take it from Wei Qing, but Liu Yangxin stopped her.

Ignoring the blood on the fabric, she took a deep breath, finally calmed herself, and solemnly accepted the severed finger from Wei Qing's hand.

"I will wait until you enter the Imperial Academy before bringing them over."

"Thank you, Your Highness."

This expression of gratitude was from the bottom of Wei Qing's heart.

I am not only grateful for Liu Yangxin's help, but also for her understanding.

The road ahead is full of difficulties and obstacles, so let me walk it alone.

Chapter 11: It's still necessary to avoid suspicion.

Chang'an, a place that had appeared countless times in his dreams, truly did not disappoint.

The capital city is very large, consisting of eight sections, each of which is further divided into ten major districts, and each major district is further divided into twelve sub-districts.

The eight major sections are Heaven, Earth, Black and Yellow, Universe, and Primordial Chaos.

The ten major regions correspond to the ten Heavenly Stems, and the twelve minor regions correspond to the twelve Earthly Branches.

Therefore, there are 960 residential areas within the royal city alone.

The emperor's daughters are called princesses, while the daughters of princes are called princesses.

Liu Yangxin's father, Liu Qi, was the heir apparent, while his grandfather, Liu Heng, was the Prince of Dai.

Princess Liu Yangxin's title was not due to her father or ancestors, but was bestowed upon her by Empress Lü as an exceptional honor.

Such bestowal of titles is not very common, but it is not uncommon either.

If even members of the Lü clan could be granted the title of king, why can't the children of the Liu clan be granted the title of king or princess?

Basically, every time Empress Lü enfeoffed a member of the Lü clan as a marquis or king, she would also bestow titles upon a few members of the Liu clan.

See, you all see, I treat everyone equally.

This would greatly reduce opposition within the imperial court.

Even if Empress Lü hadn't done this, the discontent in the court primarily stemmed from the Liu imperial family; as for the attitudes of other court officials...

"The melons are really sweet this year, you should try some."

"Want some sunflower seeds? My wife roasted them herself; I don't usually give them to just anyone."