It was Liu Ying who spoke first. Liu Ying raised her head and looked at the Queen Mother in surprise, "Why? You are still so young!"
"Young? Oh, I'm going to be my father's man. Why are you young?"
Liu Ying's eyes widened, "Ah??"
He suddenly looked at Liu Chang, but Liu Chang didn't care much. He stood up suddenly, grinned and walked to Empress Lu's side, helping his mother to sit down.
"Mom...I can't leave now!"
Empress Lu sneered, "Aren't you eager to leave? You tell others all day long that you are a tiger imprisoned in a cage. I will help you open the cage today. You are a tiger, you can go wherever you like. I will never go there again."
I won’t tie you up anymore!”
"Hehehe..." Liu Chang scratched his head and said, "That's just a few complaints."
"Just complaining? Didn't you take the initiative to get close to the Cao family's daughter just to leave Chang'an? You are so impatient to leave, how can I stop you?" Queen Lu said, with obvious disappointment in her eyes.
Liu Chang raised his head disdainfully, "I want to marry Cao Shu just because I want to marry her. It has nothing to do with other things! I will leave Chang'an sooner or later, but even if I have to leave, I have to do it myself.
Say goodbye to my mother and leave with my blessings, instead of being framed by others and leaving angrily!"
Queen Lu was stunned and wanted to say something, but Liu Chang looked at Liu Ying beside him and said with a smile: "Brother, please go back to the palace, I will find you later!"
Liu Ying was about to say something, but when she saw Empress Lu's cold eyes, she still flinched, turned around and left Jiaofang Palace.
After Liu Ying left, Liu Chang sat in front of his mother again, "Mom, are you worried that the Cao family will ignore the Liu family in the future?"
"I am already old, and your brother is no match for the Queen or the Cao family."
"Yes, does my mother still intend to engage in brother-to-brother behavior?"
"Your brother is weak and sick. If I am gone and the queen supports Xiang in power, the Cao family will be a disaster to the world."
Empress Lu did not directly answer Liu Chang's question, but instead gave her own reasons.
Liu Chang laughed and said, "Mom, you know, I have no intention of becoming an emperor at all."
Empress Lu glanced at Liu Chang, "I never had the idea of ruling the world. Do you believe it?"
Liu Chang didn't know how to answer for a while, so he added: "Let's not talk about this matter, let's talk about the Cao family!"
"Cao Shen is very scared. He is worried that my mother will support me to rise to power, and I will murder Queen Xianghe and eliminate the Cao family."
"He's not afraid of you, he's afraid that I will take action."
"Therefore, he specially asked the two daughters to come close to me. As long as I marry the daughter of the Cao family, firstly, my mother will be angry and will no longer have the idea of marrying me. Secondly, even if something happens in the future, I will still be able to
Protecting the Cao family is his plan to kill two birds with one stone!"
Queen Lu squinted her eyes, "You see clearly. Why didn't you think of it yesterday?"
"How could I not have thought of it? But what does this have to do with me?"
Liu Chang said proudly: "First of all, my mother is not a stupid woman and will not be led by others. Secondly, I am definitely not a stupid person like Ruyi, and I will not protect the entire Cao Dynasty because of Cao Shu.
Family... Cao Shu is Cao Shu, and the Cao family is the Cao family... Are there any relatives who can put pressure on me?!"
Empress Lu suddenly hesitated. She pondered for a moment and asked, "Then what do you want to do?"
"I have to give Cao Shen a lesson. These old guys always don't understand one thing."
"What's up?"
"I am strong."
........
After walking out of Jiaofang Hall, Liu Chang came to Ganquan Palace with a smile. Liu Ying was talking to the queen. After Liu Chang came in, the two of them stopped talking. Liu Chang greeted the queen with a smile. The queen
But he glared at him and said: "The king of Tang kidnapped my sister and ruined her reputation. What's the reason?"
Liu Chang didn't care. He grinned and replied: "Sister-in-law, this is a heroic act. I am a hero, and I am a perfect match for you!"
Liu Ying smiled bitterly, "Brother, I have never heard of anyone calling himself a hero... How can this be good? How can you blatantly rob civilian girls... Alas, the government and the public are shocked. The memorial to impeach you
There are countless tables..."
"Shu is a prime minister's daughter, not a commoner's daughter."
"The prime minister is even more difficult to grab!"
"What about folk girls?"
"No way!!"
"Oh, okay, I won't grab it next time."
"You're such a naughty boy!" Liu Ying was so angry that he didn't know what to say. He looked at Queen Cao helplessly and said: "Queen, my brother is naughty, don't blame me... Besides, let Shu marry
It’s not like I’ve been wronged..."
Queen Cao was helpless. She said: "I am not against them, but...since I came to the palace, the Cao family has made many enemies. Now if Shu marries the eldest brother, then my clan will...
How can we be safe?"
When Liu Ying heard this, she immediately laughed, "Then Queen, don't worry, my brother is not a good person. With him here, no one dares to go against the Cao family!"
"Brother, are you praising me?"
"What does it mean to not be a good person? I have grown up to be a good person. Who in Chang'an doesn't know about me? Who doesn't know about me?"
Liu Ying ignored this guy and just said calmly: "My father is not here, so I should go there in person to marry this girl for my eldest brother!"
"No, second brother, listen to me first!!"
Liu Chang shouted, but Liu Ying said with a straight face: "Eldest brother, you can't do things like starting chaos and then giving up!"
"No, I'm not...Oh, listen to me...I am determined to marry Cao Shu, but now is not the time. Brother, please give me some time and I will finish my own business first!"
Liu Ying was a little confused, "What are you going to do?"
Liu Chang said with a smile: "That's it. My mother is worried that the Cao family is too powerful and won't allow me to marry Cao Shu. I've thought about it. In fact, the Cao family only has one legitimate son, Cao Cheng, and the rest are distant relatives... So I
I plan to keep Cao Cheng and kill all the other children of the Cao family. In this way, my mother will not have to worry about the power of the Cao family, and I can marry Cao Shu with peace of mind."
When Liu Chang said a very cruel word with a smile, Liu Ying was completely confused and stunned.
Not only Liu Ying, but also Empress Cao was also confused at this moment.
The two looked at Liu Chang blankly.
Liu Ying suddenly roared: "Shuzi! How dare you disregard human life!!"
"Um... Second brother doesn't want to? Then I kill Cao Cheng and leave the other children?"
"Eldest brother! Eldest brother!"
Queen Cao grabbed Liu Chang's hand suddenly, her eyes full of fear, "Don't do this, eldest brother, I beg you, please don't do this!"
"Ah? Sister-in-law, they are just distant relatives, why should you care?"
"Eldest brother, Shu, Shu doesn't want to see you do this either..."
Queen Cao was completely confused, her voice was trembling.
"Oh, sister-in-law, you don't have to be like this... In fact, I have long thought that relatives are the most troublesome thing, so I decided a long time ago that if I marry anyone, I will kill their clan first."
"Chang!! You are not allowed to do anything wrong!" Liu Ying was furious, took off her shoes, and was about to hit Liu Chang, but Liu Chang hurriedly avoided it, and Liu Ying couldn't catch up at all. Liu Chang shouted while hiding.
: "Second brother! It's too late! My people have already gone to kill the Cao family's children! Stop fighting!"
Liu Chang quickly rushed to the door and said with a smile: "Second brother! You don't have to worry, nothing will happen!"
After saying that, Liu Chang turned around and ran away.
.........
In Cao Mansion, Cao Shen was stroking his beard with a smile.
"As we thought, the Queen Mother is very angry. This time, she will definitely give up her original idea and let the Tang Dynasty go to the feudal country... Chang'an is finally at peace."
The counselor on the side sighed and said: "It's a pity, it's just hard work...your second daughter."
Cao Shen was in a good mood. He shook his head and said: "No, it's not difficult. Although that Shuzi is naughty, he also has a heroic spirit, just like Emperor Gao. Although I don't like him, I admit that among all the kings, he is the only
He is the bravest, and it is good to have such a son-in-law!"
The counselor changed the topic and said with a smile: "Congratulations to Prime Minister Cao for finding such a good son-in-law!"
The big stone that had been weighing on Cao Shen's heart for a long time finally disappeared at this moment. He raised his head and was about to speak when a servant rushed into the house in fear. The man was in such a hurry that he almost fell in front of Cao Shen. Cao Shen couldn't help but
Looking at him happily, "What happened? Why are you so rude?"
The attendant trembled and said: "The Queen sent me here... to say that the King of Tang wants to kill the Cao family..."
The attendant told Cao Shen everything the queen had told him.
After hearing what this man said, Cao Shen stood up suddenly.
"What did you say?!"
Before Cao Shen could react, the servants' exclamations came from outside the house.
In just a moment, an armored general rushed into the inner room, followed by several strong soldiers, holding crossbows, standing proudly behind the general. Cao Shen squinted his eyes and looked at it for a moment.
Asked: "Liu Buhai?"
"General Cao!"
Liu Buhai also fought with Cao Shen and bowed to him.
"Aren't you a personal soldier of the Tang Dynasty? How dare you enter the city?"
"On the order of the King of Tang, I came to protect Prime Minister Cao."
"Protect?!"
Cao Shen laughed angrily, "Is Chang Liu planning to kill my entire clan?!"
Liu Buhai didn't answer, just stood aside silently.
"You are also a general of the late emperor, why do you want to cause trouble?!"
Liu Buyu replied loudly: "I never caused trouble, but I followed the order of the King of Tang to protect Prime Minister Cao!"
"What about my nephews?! Where are they?!"
"The King of Tang is a foreign king, how dare he kill people randomly in the capital?"
"The Tingwei reported that there were many lawbreakers among the Cao family's children. The Cao family's children openly beat the Tingwei officials who came to arrest them. Marquis Jiancheng is mobilizing people to arrest them. What does this have to do with the king of Tang?"
"It has nothing to do with it? It has nothing to do with it!! What about you! As soldiers, why are you here?!"
"We are the soldiers of Prince Tang, so naturally we are here to protect Princess Tang."
Cao Shen was speechless for a moment and shouted: "Where's Xuanyi! I'm going to see Xuanyi! What does he do for a living?! He actually protected Liu Chang!!"
"With meritorious service, he was promoted to imperial censor. The current court captain is General Wang Tianqi."
After listening to these answers, Cao Shen sat down helplessly, breathing heavily. When Liu Chang started to take action, the entire Chang'an was under his control. Cao Shen had almost no power to fight back. He did not expect that this would happen.
How can this guy be so cruel? The old tiger has now begun to eat people.
"Liu Chang is making trouble...Liu Chang is making trouble..."
Cao Shen murmured, but the soldier on the side cursed angrily: "Old man, if you dare to call the king by his name again, I will kill your clan first!!"
Cao Shen was stunned, and the counselor beside him got up angrily, "How dare you..." Before he could finish his words, two soldiers beside him kicked him over and dragged him out.
He was frightened and hurriedly begged for mercy. Cao Shen just stared at this scene blankly. The soldier threw the counselor out of the door and came back again.
At this time, someone suddenly came over. Liu Buyu chatted with the person for a few words and then nodded.
"Xiang Cao, please go to Xuanshi Hall."
.......
When Cao Shen arrived at the Xuanshi Hall, he found that the ministers had already arrived and were sitting on both sides. Cao Shen did not say anything. He walked slowly to the side with a cane. The ministers all lowered their heads, but no one dared to do so.
After greeting him, Cao Shen sat down alone and looked ahead.
The emperor was sitting in the upper position, looking very ugly.
The Queen Mother was not there, the atmosphere was extremely depressing, and everyone was just silent.
"Hahaha~~"
With a burst of laughter, Liu Chang walked into the Xuanshi Palace. When he walked in, the eyes of the officials focused on the young man. Liu Chang walked up to Liu Ying with a smile and saluted the emperor.
Greetings, "Brother! All the lawbreakers have been captured!"
Liu Ying had a straight face, but was a little hesitant.
Because the charges against the nephews and nephews of the Cao family were not made up by Liu Chang himself. As long as these noble sons dig deep, they can dig out something, but none of them is clean. And this time, it is the court.
Wei was taking action, but Liu Chang was not involved at all.
This put the emperor into a dilemma.
Liu Chang then sat on the left side of the emperor and looked at the ministers around him.
"Duke Zhou... I heard that some people criticized the king, saying that the Queen Mother was dictatorial and oppressed the emperor... What kind of punishment should be given to such a person?"
Zhou Bo said seriously: "Kill him."
"Very good, yes, he should be executed!"
"However, the Queen Mother is kind and will no longer be punished for her words... It's just that I don't have as kind a heart as the Queen Mother... The Queen Mother is my mother, and if someone insults her... I will take action myself... Uncle Sun Gong, you
What do you think? Is this kind of behavior consistent with etiquette and law?"
Shusun Tong forced out a smile, "Your Majesty, this is an act of filial piety. If the mother is humiliated, the son can push the blade!"
"Hahaha~~~"
Liu Chang raised his head and laughed.
"The Han Dynasty is still weak. Although it has the Holy Lord and wise ministers, it is still unable to deal with strong external enemies... At this moment, it is even more necessary for the ministers to work together to govern the Han Dynasty... If you use the long sword outwards, you will easily hurt yourself internally.
...The Queen Mother is not deceiving the emperor, but assisting the emperor. What she does is no different from what you do and what I do...she is all assisting the emperor and governing the great men."
"My father-in-law has grown up with me. It is because we followed Emperor Gao in founding the country. I shouldn't be arrogant here... But there are always people who want to bully us orphans and widowed mothers... Since my father's death, Zhong
The fathers were quite disrespectful to the emperor, and some even dared to beat the envoys sent by him... The queen mother assisted the emperor, and some people said that the queen mother was bullying the emperor. Are the fathers worried that the world will change hands? Or are they worried that their power is not as good as before?
Woolen cloth?"
"Thank you, there are still virtuous people in the court!"
"Father Zhong!"
Liu Chang saluted Chen Ping and then said: "If you hadn't given me many instructions, I would have caused trouble in the morning!"
Chen Ping's face twitched, but he didn't speak.
Liu Chang took a few steps and said: "You are all people I respect, but I want everyone to know... Emperor Gao is no longer here, and the current emperor is sitting there!"
"The princes can assist the emperor and govern the country with peace of mind, so that the Han people can have enough food and clothing and defend themselves against powerful enemies. This is more important than anything else!!"
"As for the rest, I and my brothers don't need to worry about the rest."
Only then did Liu Chang come to Cao Shen, lowered his head, and looked at Cao Shen.
"We are strong, you can rest now!"
Cao Shen closed his eyes and was unable to refute.
Liu Chang then sat back down and looked at the court captain. Wang Tianqi hurriedly stood up and asked, "Your Majesty, how should we deal with these prisoners?"
Liu Ying hesitated for a long time and then said: "For the sake of the queen's friendship, let's take a lighter sentence."
"only!!!"
The court meeting ended and the ministers filed out. In today's court meeting, Liu Chang gave them a great sense of oppression. This sense of oppression did not come from Liu Chang himself, but from the ability he showed.
In an instant, Chang'an was under martial law, and the Southern Army Tingwei dispatched and captured all the new relatives' clan, and they could not even get out of the mansion gate.
When they were besieged in their own mansion, they realized that the situation in Chang'an had already changed, and they had long lost the ability to resist. Unless the Queen Mother was gone, they would be lambs to be slaughtered in Chang'an.
The performance of the princes was also extremely strong, especially Liu Chang.
Even if the Queen Mother is gone, as long as this guy is still here... they are still lambs to be slaughtered.
As for the Queen Mother's exclusive power, from this day on, no one will dare to mention it again.
Inside Han Xin's Mansion.
When Liu Chang showed off his deeds, Han Xin shook his head with regret.
"Why don't you want to be emperor?"
"A true man should drive a chariot, behead powerful enemies, drink their blood, and bring peace to the people everywhere. How can he live in a deep palace?!"
"This was also the case when Emperor Gao was alive."
"Yes, so every time he goes out, there are a lot of troubles in the city waiting for him to come back to solve! Master, don't think about it. I am most afraid of trouble. As for those memorials, if you let me read them, I can't read three copies.
Sleep...at least my father can sit down and read it, but I can't. Besides, my second brother is also constantly studying, and one day, he will become a qualified emperor!"
Han Xin looked at him and said, "There are many things that don't mean you don't have to do them if you don't want to do them."
"Oh, others may be like this, but I am different. I don't want to do it. Even if my father crawls out of Changling and forces me, I won't do it either!!"
Han Xin didn't say anything more to him, but just asked: "Did King Yan agree? Who will lead the army this time?"
"I agreed, so of course it will be Li Zuo who drives nearly a million livestock... If we snatch them away, hahaha, the people of the Tang Dynasty will be able to eat meat every day!"
"Don't underestimate Mao Dun. Since the supplies are abundant, he must be well prepared... and will never let you take them away easily."
"Master, don't worry. The Yan State is going to send people to contact the Donghu people who have retreated to the mountains! With their involvement, Lieutenant Li has already made complete preparations for attacking in the east and in the west!"
...
In Ganquan Palace, Liu Ying didn't know what she was thinking about.
The Cao family members were not executed. Most of them were sent to the Tang Dynasty, where they wanted to flourish and continue their lives for the rest of their lives. However, they would probably never touch the glory and wealth again.
The queen sat aside and remained silent.
Liu Ying hesitated for a moment and asked cautiously: "You said...if I let the chief come..."
"Your Majesty, rest."
Queen Cao interrupted Liu Ying because she knew what Liu Ying wanted to say.
Liu Ying lowered her head and began to think deeply.
"Compared to me...he is more suitable."
ps: My health is getting worse and worse. I can’t go on like this anymore. I’ll start losing weight today, with a goal of 68 kg!!