Liu Chang crossed his arms and looked at the old man in front of him, his eyes full of suspicion.
He was about to go find Gai Gong when the old man suddenly stopped him. He had never seen this man before in court. He spoke with a strong dialect and had a sinister look on his face. He was not a good person at first glance.
.
"I am the domestic historian of Qi, and I will accompany the King of Qi to the court this time."
"I heard that the king has a port in South Korea, with Danshui, and can trade goods to and from Shangdang. When my king learned about it, he wanted to choose a county by the river and give it to the king... In this way, the ships of the Tang Dynasty came out of Shangdang.
, Wang Yangwu, arrived at Qi. Although Qi is not as vast and rich in resources as Tang, it still has items that the king can use. Wouldn’t it be wonderful for Qi and Tang to exchange what they have? "
Before the counselor had finished speaking, Liu Chang held his hand tightly.
"Sir, you are truly a wise minister!"
"Sir, you are absolutely right. Tang and Qi can exchange goods... How wonderful is this? Tang produces iron and your Qi produces grain, so we can exchange it! Tang is poor, and the people have no clothes and no food.
If there is a county in Qi State, it can feed countless people of the Tang Dynasty! Sir, you are so benevolent and righteous!"
The counselor hesitated for a moment and then said: "This is all King Qi's intention... King Qi almost made a mistake before, but fortunately even if King Tang stopped him..."
"Where is my eldest brother! I have to go see him in person!"
In the Jiaofang Hall, Liu Fei lowered his head and looked respectfully at Empress Lu in front of him.
"You want to give the land of a county to the chief?"
"My son is going to give three county towns to his mother. The queen can give it to Princess Lu Yuan as her food. I will give another county to my eldest brother. My son has lost his temper a few days ago and almost drank during the mourning period.
Thanks to the King of Tang for stopping him in time... In the future, I will definitely keep the etiquette of being a minister in mind... I will never dare to do such rude things again."
Liu Fei spoke very sincerely, and Queen Lu's expression softened a lot.
"That's the best thing you can think of...but this matter of Xianjun is unnecessary."
"My mother, my sons and ministers are mediocre, and without the assistance of Prime Minister Cao, I cannot govern the country of Qi at all. I hope my mother can ask the King of Tang to help me... rule a county for me."
"Where is Princess Nalu Yuan..."
"Princess Lu Yuan is my father's legitimate daughter. I am just a concubine. I gave her land. This is what should be done and is in line with etiquette. I should treat her like an elder."
"Okay, since that's what you think, then I agree."
"You can hold a banquet in your mansion tomorrow, and I will lead everyone there."
"Thank you, Queen Mother!"
Liu Fei finally breathed a sigh of relief, got up and left. As soon as he walked out of Jiaofang Hall, he met Liu Chang who came towards him. Liu Chang shouted: "Brother!" and immediately threw himself into Liu Fei's arms.
He was smiling brightly and said, "I heard that my eldest brother is going to give me a county. I'm really embarrassed!"
"As a younger brother, I should give gifts to my elder brother. How can I accept gifts from my elder brother?"
Liu Fei laughed and said, "Then I won't give it away. You can give me a county instead."
"Brother, don't you hear that the elders give me a gift and I can't refuse it! Since my brother wants to give me a county, if I don't agree, wouldn't I be looking down on my brother? What's more, I, a poor and remote country in the Tang Dynasty, can't give me a county as a gift.
others."
Liu Fei looked at this guy helplessly and cursed: "You idiot, how could I really ask for your land?!"
Liu Chang was in a good mood at the moment. Even if he was scolded, he was still smiling. He asked: "What county does brother want to give to me?"
"Which county do you want?"
"Qijun!"
"If Qijun is given to you, where will I live?!"
"I can build a new palace for my eldest brother in Handan County!"
"Qi County can't give it to you. How about changing it to Jibei County?"
Liu Chang pondered for a moment, "Jibei County is close to me, and ships can easily get there... However, the population of Jibei County is too small..."
"How is Jiaodong County?"
"There are quite a lot of people in Jiaodong County, but it is too far away from the Tang Dynasty and the ships have to sail for a long time... which is not appropriate... I have an idea!"
Liu Fei was stunned and asked: "What do you think?"
Liu Chang said excitedly: "Brother, why don't you give me both Jibei County and Jiaodong County!"
"The original King of Qin didn't even dare to ask for this! You are even more greedy than Qin! Why don't you let me give you all the counties except Qi County!"
Liu Chang asked in surprise: "It's a deal?!"
"I..." Liu Fei gritted his teeth and bent down to take off his shoes. Liu Chang immediately ran away. When he ran far away, he shouted again: "If the eldest brother is reluctant to give it to me, then give it to Jibei County."
, However, if we can move some people, move some food, and get some iron tools..."
Seeing that Liu Fei had picked up his shoes, Liu Chang turned around and ran away without saying a word. In the blink of an eye, he ran away without a trace.
In the Zhou Mansion, all the virtuous people have arrived, and the young and old have gathered together.
The group of sages were having a good time, but Liu Chang was the only one who was drawing something on the ground, mumbling words, and laughing from time to time. Zhou Shengzhi secretly walked to Liu Chang's side and looked at the ground, only to see Liu Chang draw several lines on the ground.
, Zhou Shengzhi couldn't understand what it was at all, and asked in confusion: "What is your Majesty doing?"
Liu Chang said proudly: "Paint water."
“Painting water??”
"Yes, you see, these are all waters in our Tang Dynasty. This is Fenshui, this is Danshui, this is Xiaoshui, and this is Hengshui... There are still a lot of water around our Tang Dynasty. You see, this is river water.
, if I can connect all these rivers in the future... my ships in the Tang Dynasty can go all the way from anywhere in the Tang Dynasty to Qi, Zhao, Yan, Chu... anywhere!"
The wise men gathered around Liu Chang and listened to his words carefully.
"The King of Qi knew that I was virtuous and was going to give Jibei County to me, so I had this idea!"
"King Shenwu!"
Everyone praised, and Liu Chang said proudly: "Today we will cut off one county... tomorrow we will cut three counties..."
"Ahem, of course, there is plenty of land, and there is no need to always ask the domestic princes to sacrifice land for me. In the future, I will definitely take over all the land of the Xiongnu and make all the tribes surrender to me. By then, the territory of the Tang State will be
,invincible!"
"At that time, your Majesty will be able to return the land you are asking for several times back..."
"Fart! It's all mine! Everything is mine! I won't give it to you!!"
Liu Chang suddenly covered the painting on the ground with his hands and shouted loudly.
Hearing these words, the other sages had no reaction. Only two brothers, Mr. Fan and Fan Shiren, lowered their heads and sighed glumly. Seeing them like this, Zhou Shengzhi asked curiously: "You and King Qi
Are you related?"
"No."
"Then why are you sighing here?"
Fan and his wife said helplessly: "Your Majesty lent me a lot of money...Looking at Your Majesty's behavior...I probably won't be able to get it."
Zhou Shengzhi laughed and looked at Fan Shiren again, "Did you also lend money to the king?"
"No."
"Then why do you sigh too?"
"The money eldest brother borrowed from the king is mine."
.....
Liu Fei had his own mansion in Chang'an, but he didn't dare to stay there these days. Now the Queen Mother ordered him to hold a banquet, so he returned to his mansion and held a banquet all night, inviting the Queen Mother and His Majesty, the King of Tang
Waiting for the banquet.
When everyone came, Liu Ying did not show any courtesy and sat in the upper seat, while Empress Lu sat aside. Both of them were in the upper seat.
However, Liu Fei repeatedly asked Liu Chang to sit on top of him, but Liu Chang did not refuse and sat directly closer to the emperor. Liu Fei sat at the end of the table respectfully.
Seeing this scene, a smile finally appeared on Queen Lu's face. Although it was just the usual fake smile, Liu Fei was finally able to eat.
"Brother, thank you for the gift of Jibei County! Don't worry, I will manage Jibei County well. If anything happens to Qi State, you can tell me that I will leave some troops in Jibei County and can help you at any time.
!”
"For the officials in Jibei, please don't transfer them away. Keep them all for me! I'm too lazy to arrange new officials!"
"Don't touch the food in the granary!"
"Chief! Don't be rude to your brother!"
Empress Lu scolded, and Liu Chang lowered his head and a smile appeared on his face.
Liu Fei said hurriedly: "The King of Tang is right, they should all be kept."
"No, you'd better take the hoarded grain back. Jibei County is an important place for hoarding grain in Qi State. If there is a famine in Qi State, I will never give you even half a grain of rice...
", Empress Lu said seriously.
"Mom! How can such a benevolent and righteous king refuse to save me even if I die?!"
"Shut up, if you talk any more, I will take Jibei County back to the temple!"
Liu Chang muttered something, lowered his head and continued to make rice.
"It's best to know your mistakes and correct them...Govern Qi well. Although Qi has no worries, the land of Yan and Zhao still needs more support from Qi."
"My son understands."
Liu Fei said seriously.
.......
Shortly after King Qi left, a major event occurred in the court.
Zhao Yao, the imperial censor, was dismissed, and Shusun Tong assumed the position of censor.
This caused an uproar among the ministers. You must know that although the imperial censor has the lowest status among the three kilometers, no matter how low he is, he is still one of the three princes. How can Shusun Tong be so good? He is flattering a villain and is worthy of being ranked with Cao Shen and Zhou Bo?
Above all ministers?
All the ministers were very confused about this appointment, including Cao Shen, who did not like Shusun Tong very much. After the ministers left, he stayed in the Xuanshi Palace to advise the emperor.
"Your Majesty, although Zhao Yao is at odds with his ministers, he is an important minister who is deeply loved by the late emperor. He is talented and has not made any mistakes. Why does your Majesty want to dismiss him? Shusun Tong has changed his family several times and flattered him.
Flattery, the late emperor didn't like him either. He told his ministers many times: Uncle and grandson informed me of etiquette but didn't know etiquette."
"The etiquette he set for others, but he himself kept none of it."
"How can your Majesty give such a villain the position of Three Dukes?"
Liu Ying was a little hesitant, but remembering what Liu Chang said, she made up her mind and said, "Since Prime Minister Cao thinks it's inappropriate, how about Prime Minister Cao making the appointment?"
Cao Shen stood up suddenly and said angrily: "I do everything for Your Majesty. How can Your Majesty say this to me? This must be what the King of Tang taught me!"
Liu Ying was shocked and said hurriedly: "It was not taught by the King of Tang. This is my own idea."
Cao Shen snorted, turned around and left Xuanshi Hall.
Liu Ying watched him leave blankly, but had no time to stop him.
At this moment, in Jiaofang Hall, Liu Chang was pestering his mother, pleading hard.
"Mom, let me go too...I have been preparing for this hunt for so long...let me go too! Please!"
"Oh, you said earlier that you were going to hunt outside the city to practice archery. That means Ji Bu was so agile that he was almost killed by you with one arrow... You still want to go hunting with the emperor now? Do you want to kill your brother and usurp the throne?!"
"Ahem, grandma, I have been practicing with Marquis Guan for so long, and my archery skills are no longer at the same level as before!"
"That's the truth. In the past, I just flew past other people's ears, but now I just aim at their foreheads..."
"Mom!!"
Liu Chang was a little angry and said, "It's just a few mistakes. Why does my mother look down on me so much?"
"You still have the nerve to say that you are not allowed to go on this hunt! Wait until you make no mistakes before going!"
Just when Liu Chang puffed up his face and became indignant, the attendant hurriedly reported that Prime Minister Cao had come to see him.
"When the thief Cao comes, nothing good will happen."
Liu Chang muttered, Queen Lu glared at him and asked the attendant to invite Prime Minister Cao to come in.
Cao Shen entered the palace, stared at Liu Chang fiercely, and then went to see Empress Lu.
"Prime Minister Cao is here, do you have something important to do?"
"Queen Mother! I want to impeach the King of Tang. He speaks to the emperor, deceives the emperor, and the princes interfere in state affairs. This is definitely not a good thing!"
Liu Chang suddenly jumped up and cursed: "My brother has the final say in state affairs. Are you, a thief like Cao, trying to sideline His Majesty?"
Cao Shen didn't even look at him. He just looked at Empress Lu and said seriously: "Queen Mother, I have always been assisting your majesty, so that the ministers dare not look down upon it. State affairs are all decided by your majesty. What the king of Tang has done now, isn't it true?"
Do you just want to control the emperor?"
"Once such a precedent is started, the consequences will be disastrous!"
"Your Majesty can change the three princes, but your Majesty must do it yourself. Foreign kings must not be allowed to interfere in the affairs of the court, even if they are well-intentioned!"
Cao Shen was extremely serious and said: "The only one who can put an end to the affairs of the world is your Majesty!"
Empress Lu couldn't help but narrowed her eyes. She naturally knew that Cao Shen's words were not just for Liu Chang. However, she still nodded approvingly. She is not Liu Ying's enemy and has never been. "What Cao Shen said
That makes sense! I will tell the King of Tang, please don’t worry, Mr. Cao."
Cao Shen then stood up, glared at Liu Chang, and said, "If you teach His Majesty how to do things again, I will teach you how to do things!"
"You old thief, wait until I get older and see if I don't give you to you... Hey, hey~ Mom, it hurts~~"
Empress Lu pinched Liu Chang's ears and said, "What do you want to do to Prime Minister Cao?"
"See if I don't take you home and give you a treat!"
Cao Shen left angrily. Liu Chang looked at Empress Lu aggrievedly and lowered his head, "I just want to help my brother..."
"He is your brother, not your child."
"I told you a long time ago, you just need to do your own thing well and scare the officials. Don't do other things. Also, don't be rude to Prime Minister Cao."
"If this thief didn't have a beautiful daughter, I would have pulled out his beard!"
"Oh, Prime Minister Cao hates you so much, and you still want to marry his daughter?"
Hearing Empress Lu's words, Liu Chang woke up suddenly. He pondered for a moment and asked: "Mom... do you think it's possible that Prime Minister Cao doesn't really hate me? It's just a political disagreement, and it can be done in private.
Be a son-in-law?"
"Absolutely impossible."
"Um... Then how many soldiers do you think I need to snatch people from Cao's mansion?"
"Hey! Mom! I just said it casually! I just said it casually!!"
Liu Chang looked at the stick in Empress Lu's hand and said hurriedly: "The traitor Cao is not a good thing either! He is the one who killed Zhang Ren!"
Queen Lu was stunned, "What did you say?"
"I really didn't kill the person. I do have such thoughts. However, it was not Chen Ping who told me about this matter. It was Cao Shen who told me... Why did he send someone to tell me? Isn't he just wanting me to do it?
Is it? I sent Lu Chan, but I didn’t ask him to poison Zhang Ren. I just asked him to scare Zhang Ren so that he would not seek death..."
"Anyway, it's either Chen Ping or Cao Shen."
"However, I don't think it was Chen Ping. If he wanted to kill someone, he would definitely not spend so much effort... Besides, I sent someone to ask him for help before, but he was unwilling, so it must be Cao Shen who killed him!"
Empress Lu seemed to understand something, and then she said coldly: "Zhang Ren died of illness."
"Okay, okay, I'll die of illness...I'll die of illness."
Seeing the impatient look on Liu Chang's face, Queen Lu sneered, "You are so proud of being cheated... Zhuzi..."
Shusun Tong still took the position of Sangong. Although the ministers objected, the emperor asked him to do it. Indeed, no one could refute him, including Cao Shen. He also did not refute the emperor in front of the ministers. He just looked dark and everyone
It can be seen that he is not very satisfied with this new Lord.
Sure enough, as soon as the new Sangong took office, he began to flatter the emperor without any bottom line.
This guy instantly entered the state of a mad dog and turned into the emperor's vicious dog. Every time there was a court meeting, he would stare at the ministers. If the ministers showed any slightest lack of etiquette, he would loudly reprimand him.
The disciples were all like this, always staring at the ministers. This guy was completely merciless and criticized everyone. When Cao Shen came to the court meeting a moment late, he stood in front of Cao Shen and spoke to him for nearly half of the time.
The gift of an hour.
Cao Shen was almost moved by him.
And Shusun Tong placed his disciples in various important positions, staring at the ministers every day, as if hoping that they would do something wrong. Such a censor is really disgusting. Since Shusun
After Tong became the censor, the ministers could not even drink wine. They were afraid that Shusun Tong would say nonsense in the court meeting that it was a sin to drink together.
Yes, it is illegal for four or five people to drink together in the Han Dynasty, but Liu Bang never cares about this, and the officials basically don't care either. Only Shusun Tong, a thief like this, will hold on to these things.
Liu Chang finally got his wish and followed the emperor to participate in the autumn hunt.
He was wearing the clothes he should wear for hunting majestically, standing on a real chariot, Luan Bu came to drive, and there were many sages on his left and right. However, Liu Chang's face was very ugly. He lowered his head and looked at his hands.
Then he looked at the arrow without an arrow and cursed angrily, "Who is the minister in charge of hunting?! Do you treat the princes and kings like this?!"
"Ahem, Your Majesty, this is the Queen Mother's order."
Luan Bu reminded in a low voice.
"Can this thing be hunted? It can't even kill a rabbit!"
Everyone bowed their heads and remained silent. Xiaoguan'a said: "This is what my father suggested! He said that the king learned archery from him for a year and injured nine people. One of them was a passerby. He was just rushing outside the mansion.
He was shot down by an arrow from you... He said that your bravery was amazing, but your accuracy was something he had never seen before in his life..."
With a dark face, Liu Chang picked up his bow and arrow, lowered his head and asked, "Where is Marquis Guan hunting?"
At this moment, in the Chen Mansion, Chen Ping was basking in the sun and drinking tea, looking extremely comfortable.
"Master, why don't you go hunting with the emperor?"
"No need to go, I've already hunted."
ps: I’m exhausted! I haven’t eaten anything for a day, and I started typing when I came back from the hospital... I haven’t moved a single step until now, please vote for me!!!