Chapter 550 [Three Updates]

Liu Tan was so frightened by Sang Hongyang that he actually jumped up and helped him up. As he asked him to sit down, he said, "What are you doing, Grand Minister of Agriculture? I cannot accept such courtesy."

What Liu Tan said was not wrong. In those days, it was not like the later dynasties with pigtails, where the royal family was the master and the ministers were the servants.

Ministers were all literati and officials, and even the emperor had to be polite to them. For people of such high status as the Three Dukes, even the emperor had to exchange greetings with the ministers.

If the emperor was like this, let alone Liu Tan, a small prince.

Sang Hongyang was one of the Nine Ministers, second only to the Three Dukes in status. The most he and Liu Tan did was to bow to each other. How could Liu Tan be worthy of his courtesy?

After Sang Hongyang sat down, he said, "I have a favor to ask of you."

Liu Tan said sternly, "There's not much I can do. Since the Grand Minister of Agriculture has spoken, I will do it no matter what. Please tell me."

Sang Hongyang was somewhat surprised: "Your Highness, don't you even ask what I want to ask you for?"

Liu Tan smiled and said, "I am only a vassal king. Even if I have some power, it is all in the Northern Border Kingdom. In Chang'an, the Grand Minister of Agriculture can do more than I can. Since the Grand Minister of Agriculture wants to ask me for a favor, it must be related to the Northern Border Kingdom. In that case, except for illegal matters, there is nothing I won't agree to."

It is no exaggeration to say that Liu Tan has absolute power in the Northern Border Kingdom. Huo Guang and others would indeed often preach to him earnestly, but generally speaking, even Huo Guang would not oppose what Liu Tan insisted on.

Sang Hongyang's complexion brightened slightly, and he said solemnly, "Your Highness is right. I only ask that Your Highness take better care of Sang Qian."

Liu Tan was not surprised after hearing this. He had long guessed that Sang Hongyang might have done this for Sang Qian.

"Grand Minister of Agriculture, don't worry about Sang Qian. I know all about Sang Qian's affairs. He won't be able to stay in Xi'anyang Commandery for many more days. When a suitable person takes over, I will have him return to Shuofang City to serve as Minister of Agriculture. This will be like the son inheriting his father's business."

Sang Hongyang said, "I don't care what position he holds. I just hope Your Highness will not let him return to Chang'an."

Liu Tan was a little surprised: "Huh?"

Originally, Liu Tan wanted to say that if Sang Hongyang missed his son, he could give Sang Qian a holiday during the New Year and let him return to Chang'an to visit his old father. But Sang Hongyang actually didn't let Sang Qian come back?

Sang Hongyang continued, "If he has offended you in any way, I apologize to Your Highness. As long as he has not committed any heinous crime, I beg Your Highness to tolerate him."

As he was about to bow again, Liu Tan had no choice but to hold him back and ask, "What does the Minister of Agriculture mean? What exactly happened?"

This was too abnormal for Sang Hongyang. If Sang Qian had just been sent by him to be the prefect of Xi'anyang County, Liu Tan would have thought that Sang Hongyang was probably retreating to advance.

Of course, there was actually no need for Sang Hongyang to do this. His achievements and status were enough for Liu Tan to give him this face as long as he opened his mouth.

The current situation... most likely something has happened, and it must be a big thing. Sang Hongyang knows that his time is running out, or the entire Sang family may be in danger of collapse, so he came to ask Liu Tan for help.

Otherwise, with so many people in the Sang family, why would Liu Tan be needed to take care of Sang Qian?

When Liu Tan thought of this, he couldn't help but feel a pang in his heart. Sang Hongyang...could he have any connection with Liu Qumao's rebellion case?

But that's not right. When he asked Du Zhou to investigate, he only found some gifts exchanged between them and some invitations or visiting cards to banquets.

These were all normal personal interactions and could not be considered as accomplices in the conspiracy to rebel. Otherwise, given Liu Qumao's status and position at the time, most of the officials in Chang'an would have been wiped out - even if there were any left, they would have been those who were not qualified to interact with the prime minister.

Or did his father find out something again?

If it is true, then Sang Hongyang hid it too well, right?

But that doesn't make sense.

Liu Tan frowned and looked at Sang Hongyang. Sang Hongyang sighed deeply and said, "To be honest, Your Highness, at the court this morning, His Majesty appointed me as the new Prime Minister."

"Ah?" Liu Tan was caught off guard by the news and was stunned for a moment.

After a long while, he hesitated and said, "This... Father thinks highly of you. You don't have to... worry too much."

Sang Hongyang smiled bitterly and said, "Your Highness, there is no need to persuade me."

Liu Tan said seriously, "I'm not trying to persuade you, but when Sang Qian was in the Northern Border Kingdom, even though he lacked ability at first, he always strictly abided by the law and never did anything to oppress the people or do anything outrageous. To be honest, there are only a handful of people in the entire Chang'an City who can do this. He can do this because the Minister of Agriculture taught him well. Good family education also means that the Minister of Agriculture has good character. A father's example can only influence his son. Those people before him... they themselves were not upright, so it's not anyone else's fault."

Sang Hongyang said with a gentle expression, "Your Highness, you are too kind. I dare not claim to be honest and upright, but I also disdain to do anything to oppress the people. Now I am just preparing for a rainy day. I hope Your Highness will take care of me because Sang Qian is honest."

Liu Tan was quite amused. Sang Qian was much older than him, and asking him to look after Sang Qian...

However, as he looked at Sang Hongyang's calm face, he had a vague feeling that the other party had seen through the world. If Buddhism existed in those days, or if Buddhism had been introduced to the Central Plains, this person would probably have become a monk right away.

Liu Tan had no choice but to say, "Don't worry, Sang Qian has the talent to be a prime minister... ahem, don't worry about that. The treatment of the prime minister in our Northern Border Kingdom is quite good."

Well, at least it's not consumable.

Sang Hongyang smiled and said, "Then I, on behalf of my useless son, would like to thank Your Highness for your cultivation."

Seeing that he was finally relieved, Liu Tan said, "Actually, if the Prime Minister is worried, then forget about everything else and just do one thing well."

Sang Hongyang asked, "Your Highness, are you talking about opening up the seas to trade?"

Liu Tan nodded seriously. "My father asked me to discuss this with the Prime Minister. I wonder how much he knows?"

Sang Hongyang was a little embarrassed: "Well, I don't quite understand what Your Highness means..."

It's not that he didn't understand, but the main reason was that Sang Hongyang was stunned by Liu Che's imperial edict before he could remember or figure it out, and then he had no mood to care about anything else.

Now that he had finally left descendants for his family, he stopped thinking about those things. As a result, he found that he had forgotten what Liu Tan had said at the beginning. He only remembered that he wanted to form a fleet to trade.

Liu Tan didn't notice anything wrong. His theory was probably a bit ahead of its time.

But the more advanced the better. Once the Han Dynasty's currency has laid the foundation, the country's ability to cope with economic crises will become stronger.

Throughout history, every change of dynasties was due to heavy taxes and natural disasters. If only one country wanted to deal with both at the same time, problems would easily arise. However, if the risks were transferred to other countries, the Han Dynasty would be much more stable.

Liu Tan repeated his thoughts to Sang Hongyang, and then explained, "This is just my personal opinion. Many parts are a bit fanciful, but the overall idea should be correct."

Sang Hongyang's imagination was already very big in this era, but no matter how big it was, it was not as big as that of the current King of the Northern Territory.

He was stunned by what Liu Tan said. After listening carefully, he said slowly, "This matter... is of great importance. I need to go back and think about it carefully. But Your Highness is right. It will benefit us in every way."

Although Sang Hongyang didn't quite understand what Liu Tan was talking about exchange and risk transfer, he understood Liu Tan's examples and saw through the essence of it - it could make money!

Of course, this method cannot be used too often, as problems may arise if used too often. However, if the Han Dynasty encounters a financial crisis or something like that, it can rely on this method to maintain its stability.

In other words, His Royal Highness the King of the North's method can make the Han Dynasty's economic system more stable!

Sang Hongyang only felt that his whole thinking had become broader. He was also a workaholic. At his position, he didn't think about so many things as he was the highest official in the country. He just wanted to do more things that would leave his name in history.

As he thought about it, he said with some regret: "It's a pity, it takes time."

He is already quite old now, and he doesn't know if he can see that day in his lifetime.

Liu Tan touched his chin and said, "Actually... not necessarily."

Sang Hongyang looked up at Liu Tan and asked, "Your Highness, do you have any other ideas?"

Liu Tan whispered, "I heard in Jiaozhi that there are many small countries there, just like the Western Regions, and they are constantly in conflict. We don't need to support any one country. We can just be emotionless arms dealers."

"What?" Sang Hongyang was a little surprised: "Selling weapons?"

Liu Tan said, "That's right. Especially those countries outside this plateau. Even if we give them weapons, they can't cross the plateau to deal with the Han. What's more... if we just sell them the upgraded weapons, they will be better than their current weapons, and we can also make a profit by recycling them."

How did the United States dominate the world back then? Wasn't it just by riding the wave of World War II and selling weapons?

A country whose history books are not as thick as a flower-growing family's recipe book has only been the world's number one for a few years, which shows that this is a shortcut.

Sang Hongyang thought for a moment, this was indeed a solution. He narrowed his eyes and said, "However, this depends on whether there is any friction between those countries."

Liu Tan mused, "Isn't this easy? Even if there isn't a conflict, we can still create one. As long as we do it covertly, it won't be a problem at all."

Sang Hongyang looked at Liu Tan in shock, and suddenly understood why his son was treated so badly after arriving in the Northern Border Kingdom.

Now he just wanted to write a letter to his son quickly, asking him to behave himself - the King of the North had definitely shown mercy!