Chapter 269 Liu Bang, do you think the Ji-Jiang alliance is powerful?

The Han army returned from the State of Yan with a large number of captives. They could already see the outline of Luoyang city. Liu Bang stood on the chariot in the center of the army, full of high spirits!

This time, when they went to the State of Yan, they easily gained two thousand miles of land and millions of subjects, and the power of the Liu family was greatly enhanced.

When I have pacified all the kings of other surnames in the world and replaced them with kings of the Liu family, only the King of Qi will be left, and he will be easy to capture.

This way, the Lu family's external arm would be cut off. If anything happened to Lu Ze, the world would completely belong to the Liu family.

If I could live a little longer, I might be able to depose the Crown Prince of the Lu family. That would be perfect.

Although Liu Bang knew he was dreaming, he was still very happy. Fan Kuai suddenly approached the carriage and reported: "Your Majesty, the King of Qi wants to see you."

King of Qi?

What is he doing in Luoyang?

Liu Bang had a bad feeling and lifted the curtain. He could vaguely see a beautiful woman. A cold light flashed before Fan Kuai's eyes. Liu Bang asked curiously, "Did he come alone?"

Fan Kuai bowed his head and said, "I only brought a few guards with me."

Upon hearing this, Liu Bang looked at the Luoyang City from afar and realized that Lu Zhi wanted to confront him completely. She could eliminate the kings of different surnames, but she had to keep the King of Qi.

Liu Bang was a little angry. He thought that the King of Qi came to Luoyang because Lu Zhi wanted to confront him. He didn't expect that Lu Zhi would choose to undermine the dignity of the royal family to ensure Lu Zhi's status.

Thinking that Fan Kuai was also a member of the Lu family, Liu Bang said directly: "Let the King of Qi come to the Luoyang Palace to meet me. I am tired now and it is inconvenient for me to meet with the princes."

Qi Wang Lü Cheng did not expect Liu Bang to be so disrespectful, and was naturally very angry. He could not help but curse in his heart: "Liu Bang, this old dog, likes to insult people, and he actually insulted me. If Zhao Gong did not want to touch you, I would kill you first.

Since you won't give me face, I'll go directly to the Queen. I will clearly support the Prince of the Lu family. Let's see what you can do. "

…

When Lu Cheng saw Lu Zhi and Lu Ze, he said straight to the point: "Queen, after receiving the letter from you and Lu Hou, I went straight to Zhaocheng. Zhao Gong wanted me to voluntarily give up the position of King of Qi."

Lu Zhi frowned slightly when she heard this. She originally wanted to keep the throne of Lucheng by force. She hesitated for a moment and said, "Duke Zhao is a genius. Since he said so, it seems that keeping the throne is not a good idea.

But if he gave up the throne like this, the power of the Lu family would be greatly weakened. Once the most critical connection between the inside and the outside was lost, Ying'er's position as the crown prince would not be as stable as it is now.

Your Majesty, please repeat to you exactly what the Duke of Zhao said."

The power of King Lu Cheng of Qi was one of the three pillars of Lu Zhi. Once he was lost, she would have to rely entirely on Lu Ze's power and the attitudes of other people in the group of meritorious officials.

With Lu Zhi's current level of power struggle, she can certainly see the danger. The struggle at the center is the most dangerous, and if you are not careful, you will be overturned. If you can win safely, she certainly doesn't want to take that risky path.

And deep down, she was unwilling to fight with Liu Bang over the crown prince.

Because when Luo Xin told her history, there were too many examples of countries declining due to struggles for the throne.

Years of war had already made the world very decadent. She wanted Liu Ying to be regent after he ascended the throne, but she was unwilling to take over a mess herself.

So the best outcome is that Liu Bang can see the prince's huge power and take the initiative to give in.

Lu Cheng said: "Duke Zhao said that although the position of King of Qi cannot be preserved, the Qi area can still be controlled by the Lu family. This requires you, the Queen, to make the arrangements."

Lu Zhi nodded slowly, she understood what she should do.

…

In the Luoyang Palace, important officials of the Han Empire attended the banquet to welcome Lu Cheng. Lu Cheng said in front of everyone: "Your Majesty.

My ancestor, who is also the ancestor of the Queen, was a hero in establishing the Zhou Dynasty. King Wu enfeoffed King Su and my ancestor as marquises, and the dynasty has been passed down for a thousand years until today.

For thousands of years, the Luo family of the Ji surname and the Lu family of the Jiang surname have supported each other and never betrayed each other.

With so many nobles in the Zhou Dynasty, it is impossible for them to have no descendants. However, only our two families have inherited the family tree.

You accepted the Mandate of Heaven, established the Han Dynasty, and became the supreme emperor.

After I was named the King of Qi, I tossed and turned day and night in Linzi, unable to sleep. Duke Zhao was a direct descendant of the Luo family, and he could only be a duke. I am only a branch of the Lu family, and I am not like you who was appointed by heaven, so how can I be a king and be above Duke Zhao?"

After hearing these words, all the ministers in the hall were envious and their hands were shaking. King Qi, what on earth are you trying to do? You even dug up such ancient things as the Ji and Jiang surnames.

Moreover, Duke Zhao refused to accept the throne. This was Duke Zhao's own decision. Do you really want to give up the throne yourself?

"I resign the throne. Whether you make me a duke or a marquis, I will obey your will."

"Please resign the throne?"

Liu Bang's hands trembled. He never expected that Lu Cheng would say such a thing. No one expected it.

The fiefs of princes and dukes are completely different.

Han Xin, the highest-ranking among the Chehou, had only 30,000 households and no more than a hundred thousand people, while Qi was one of the richest and most prosperous regions.

With a population of millions, how can you just give up such a great power?

Lu Zhi's angry voice sounded: "King of Qi.

Do you think Qi is one of the other vassal states?

Among all the countries in the world today, Qi is the only country passed down by our ancestors. Can it be abandoned so easily?

The State of Qi is not yours alone, but the State of Qi of the Lu family. Have you asked for the opinions of other members of the Lu family?

You even keep saying that you don't want to be above Duke Zhao, but do you know what Duke Zhao thinks?

The Qi State of the Jiang clan and the Lu clan was not only established by the Lu clan for thousands of years. Many generations of Luo State monarchs worked hard for the country of Qi.

The State of Qi had a history of thousands of years, with forty-eight kings, thirty-two of whom were from the State of Luo, and twelve of whom were raised by the Marquis of Luo. You are actually going to abandon all the hard work of your ancestors.

I absolutely disagree!"

Lu Cheng wept upon hearing this, and bowed again, saying, "Queen, I am guilty, but there is an order between heaven and earth. A lowly person occupying a high position will certainly bring disaster. I bow my head again. Your Majesty is in the center of the world, and the Queen is on the right of the world. You are the most honorable person in the Lu family, please guide me."

Liu Bang already felt that something was wrong, and the ministers in the hall watched the show in silence.

Lu Zhi turned her head and looked at Liu Bang, and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, what do you think?"

Liu Bang thought to himself, what can I think? Of course I can’t wait to take over Qi State immediately.

"What the Queen and the Prince of Qi said just now makes sense. I need to think about it again."

Upon hearing this, Lü Zhi said, "Your Majesty, the King of Qi is unwilling to take the throne, but Qi is the old land of the Lü family. I suggest that you remove his throne and make him a duke.

Then redistribute the extra land to the Lu family. I know that the King of Qi has thirteen sons and daughters. You can make them marquises and divide cities from Qi for them to establish their own marquisates. This will surely demonstrate your grace."

As soon as these words were spoken, Liu Bang immediately wanted to curse in his heart. The King of Qi did have many heirs, but most of them were children, some were still in swaddling clothes.

Even if the fiefs are given to them, the power will still be in Lu Cheng's hands. It will take at least ten to fifteen years to achieve the goal of decentralization.

To a certain extent, he did achieve the goal of weakening the Lu family, but by that time he was probably already dead, and it was Liu Ying who sat on the throne.

He couldn't help but look at Luo Yi and saw that his close minister had his eyes slightly closed. On the matter of appointing the crown prince, he never asked Luo Yi's opinion, because it went without saying that no matter whether he was the eldest son or the degree of closeness, Luo Yi would choose Liu Ying.

But he still trusted Luo Yi very much, because he knew that a hundred years later, Luo Yi would be the only one who could protect Liu Ruyi.

He turned his gaze to Luo Cai and Han Xin again. The two were drinking by themselves and seemed not to care about the scene in front of them, but Liu Bang felt a chill in his heart.

There was no way they didn't hear what Lu Zhi just said!

They talked at length about the deep friendship between the Lu and Luo families, and the two direct descendants of the Luo family did not even say anything against it. Then Liu Bang suddenly thought of Duke Zhao who appeared in their conversation.

Could it be that...

Liu Bang couldn't help but look towards the east, because he knew that Lucheng and Luoling had a very good relationship.

Finally, he turned his gaze to the founding heroes, and saw that they all had their heads lowered, as if there were some delicacies on the table. Even Xiao He and Zhang Liang lowered their heads deeply.

A feeling of powerlessness suddenly came over me.

Ji Jiang!

Liu Bang couldn't help but mutter these two words in his heart. The great surname inherited from Huangdi and Yandi appeared in the Han Dynasty.

There is no need to say much about the Lu family. The Luo family is because of the Lu family and the clan system. The ministers in the hall are also because of the clan system and human nature. No one is willing to take risks, and everyone supports Liu Ying.

Liu Bang felt a little aggrieved, but also relieved. What virtue did the Liu family have to allow the descendants of the legendary emperor to assist them?

The prince has grown so powerful that there is no need for any more twists and turns.

After all, Liu Bang was an open-minded person. At this moment, he completely gave up the idea of ​​changing the crown prince and the idea of ​​weakening the Lu family.

Once he changed his mindset, Liu Bang immediately realized that the group of meritorious officials and the Luo family were also helpers in preventing the Lu family from usurping power.

Although the Luo family was an excellent ally, they also had very high political bottom lines for their allies. Usurpation of the throne was absolutely not allowed. The group of meritorious officials supported Liu Ying because of the clan system, not because they were loyal to the Lu family.

"What the Queen said is absolutely right. We will do as the Queen says. The King of Qi will be demoted to the Duke of Qi. Xiao He and Zi Yu, you will later make an edict to compile a list for the Duke of Qi and the thirteen Marquises.

Duke Qi, you are the prince's uncle. I am old now, and a hundred years later, I will still need you to support the prince."

Swish!

As soon as Liu Bang said this, the whole hall seemed to fall into silence for a moment. Everyone looked at Liu Bang in unison, and the King of Qi knelt down to accept Liu Bang's grace.

Lü Zhi smiled and said, "May the King of Su live long in the Han Dynasty. Your Majesty is wise and wise!"

The ministers all said: "May the King of Su live forever, and may your Majesty be wise and wise!"

The sound of stringed instruments suddenly rang out, and the hall instantly became lively, as if all the swordplay and saberplay that had occurred before had never appeared.

(End of this chapter)