To be honest, Liu Tan didn't know how to refute Shi Qing's train of thought for a moment.
He couldn't understand the idea of not developing things themselves because they were worried that others would take away their advanced things.
He guessed that Liu Che probably couldn't understand it either, because Liu Che had already started frowning at this time.
Everyone was whispering, looking at Liu Tan from time to time, with eyes that were filled with worry, gloating, and indifference.
However, Liu Tan just sat there with an indifferent expression, looking even more indifferent than them.
Liu Ju turned around and looked at Liu Tan worriedly, then realized that his worries seemed to be in vain. He couldn't help but poke Liu Tan and whispered, "Can't you tell the difference?"
Liu Tan tilted his head and said, "There's nothing much to say. Humanity has always been making progress. Back during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, countless countries fought against the Xiongnu and the Quanrong. At that time, hundreds of schools of thought contended with each other, and all kinds of unique artifacts emerged endlessly. I've never heard of a country giving up progress for fear of being learned by the barbarians. If everyone back then had the same idea as the Prime Minister, who knows who would be the master of the Central Plains now."
Liu Ju almost laughed out loud, he quickly lowered his head to cover it up, thinking to himself, this is what you call not being able to distinguish?
In fact, Liu Tan was being lenient. He originally wanted to cite the example of the Qin Dynasty. You know, Qin Shihuang came up with many new things at that time. The most famous one was probably the unified writing system and the unified wheel gauge. This laid a good foundation for the unification of the Central Plains in later generations.
But when Liu Tan was about to say this, he suddenly thought of the Han Dynasty... It seemed to be Qin Hei, at least the first few generations were, and Sima Qian, who wrote "Records of the Grand Historian", was even more so.
If he had cited this example, he might have been attacked severely, so he simply changed his words and went back to the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Anyway, no one knew where the Liu family was at that time.
Liu Tan's voice was neither loud nor soft, but at least everyone present could hear it.
Shi Qing could naturally hear it, but this time for some reason he didn't say a word.
Liu Che was speaking directly from above: "Liu Tan is right. The Han Dynasty is not afraid of the Xiongnu. The Xiongnu haven't even learned how to smelt iron yet. Even if they see the shape of the horseshoe, what can they do?"
Liu Tan felt relieved. As long as Liu Che did not back down, there was nothing to worry about.
As for Liu Che's retreat... Liu Tan even cited examples from the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. In addition, he just glanced at Liu Tan vaguely, and he probably knew very well what Liu Tan really wanted to say, so he would not retreat.
Even though Qin Ershi died, they still acknowledged the achievement of the First Emperor in unifying the world. It was for this reason that Liu Che always compared himself with the First Emperor.
The First Emperor had such courage back then, but doesn’t he have it now?
At this time, Gongsun He stood up and said, "The Han light cavalry has always been inferior to the Xiongnu, but the heavy cavalry consumes too much energy and is difficult to control in a flexible and ever-changing situation. It is far inferior to the light cavalry. If the Han light cavalry can be improved and combined with the heavy cavalry, it will definitely deal a thundering blow to the Xiongnu!"
Liu Tan nodded. That’s right. Having advanced things means you are temporarily in the leading position. The first thing you need to do is to widen the gap. While your equipment is advanced, you should quickly beat up the Huns and scare them. Isn’t that enough?
By the way, they can also take the opportunity to ask the Huns for a large sum of compensation, further weakening their national strength, which is simply killing two birds with one stone.
Liu Tan looked at Shi Qing. If Shi Qing continued to hold on, he would decide to fire from beginning to end.
In fact, compared to the issue of the horse harness, Liu Tan was more angry about the fact that his greenhouse was against the will of nature, which was really intolerable.
You can touch anything, but touching his vegetable basket is like touching Liu Tan's sore spot!
Just think about it, if because of Shi Qing's words, we had no vegetables or fruits to eat in winter and could only eat radishes and cabbages, everyone would be furious!
Just as Liu Tan was wondering how Shi Qing would struggle, he suddenly stood up, bowed, and said very simply, "I am narrow-minded. I am not worthy of being a prime minister. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."
Liu Tan: ?????
No, wasn't this just a casual discussion? How did it get dragged into the issue of being unfit for the position of Prime Minister?
In Liu Tan's impression, it was normal for ministers in feudal dynasties to be sarcastic to each other, and there was nothing wrong with even scolding each other. What's more, there were even fights in the court, which was not surprising.
I have never heard of a prime minister being dismissed for saying the wrong thing or taking action. Usually, if the emperor was angry, he would just deduct his salary.
This guy really doesn't play by the rules.
Liu Che, however, seemed accustomed to this and said, "That's fine. It's precisely because of my limited vision that I've asked you, my dear ministers, to brainstorm. Otherwise, why would we even need to discuss this matter?"
Shi Qing said seriously, "This matter is different from the past. I almost cut off the path of the Han Dynasty's advancement. If I continue to hold this position, what will happen if I delay it even further?"
This time, Liu Che didn't need to speak. Gongsun He, standing beside him, consoled him, saying, "Prime Minister, there's no need to blame yourself so much. Even if you're wrong, don't we still have you? Besides, Your Majesty has a keen eye and will do nothing wrong."
After Gongsun He finished speaking, others followed suit to comfort Shi Qing, and those who comforted him were not of low rank. This really surprised Liu Tan. It turned out that Shi Qing had quite a good relationship with others. This was really unexpected.
Liu Che said, "That's right, Prime Minister, don't worry. Let's settle this matter. However, to prevent the Xiongnu from copying it too easily, I will summon craftsmen to make screws."
Liu Che's words decided everything, and at this point everyone basically just had to do their job.
Liu Tan served as a not-so-perfect background board, and when he came out, he happened to be right after Shi Qing.
Shi Qing bowed to Liu Tan and left without saying anything.
Liu Ju turned around and asked, "Do you want to come to my place for dinner?"
Liu Tan wanted to refuse, but when he thought of the magical scene just now, he couldn't help but nodded. He followed Liu Ju to his prince's palace and said, "Is Prime Minister Shi always like this?"
This is too quick to change. How can someone who can't stick to himself be the prime minister? Is it so easy to be the prime minister of the Han Dynasty?
Liu Ju's expression was indescribable after hearing this. He coughed lightly, glanced around, and after realizing they were all his own people, he whispered, "Well... there's a reason for this. When Shi Qing was first appointed prime minister, he declined for a long time, but couldn't resist his father, so he became prime minister. After that, Shi Qing kept trying to find a way to resign. A few years ago, he even submitted a petition to beg for his life, but my father rejected his request on the grounds that he was young and strong."
Liu Tan: ????
He was just about to ask if the position of prime minister was too hot to handle, which made Shi Qing so eager to escape.
Then he remembered that he had recalled before that few prime ministers in the Han Wu Dynasty had a good ending. When he thought of Shi Qing, he was already the tenth prime minister. So it was not an exaggeration to say that the prime ministers of Emperor Wu of Han were consumables.
Shi Qing must have been frightened by the fate of his predecessor, right?
Thinking about it again, those people who just comforted Shi Qing were not showing care for their colleagues at all. They simply wanted Shi Qing to continue staying in that position. Otherwise, if he stepped down, Liu Che would have to choose a new prime minister. The ranks of these people might be affected. In order to avoid bad luck, they definitely didn't want Shi Qing to push them away.
This is a blatant case of "I would rather die than my friends die".
Liu Tan no longer had any expectations for the moral integrity of these people, so he had a meal with Liu Ju and listened to him talk about important affairs of the court.
However, Liu Ju was also very cautious. Although he spoke, he was unwilling to reveal his own inclinations, and he always described those things in a very objective tone.
After eating and watching, Liu Tan came out of the Prince's Palace and slowly walked towards his Sui Yu Palace.
After not being back for a while, he found that he was a little unfamiliar with this palace. Or maybe it was because he had never seen the Weiyang Palace in spring, so he felt unfamiliar with it?
Just as Liu Tan was sighing, he suddenly heard Miao Rui whisper, "Your Highness, the Sixth Prince is coming."
Liu Tan, who was looking around, retracted his gaze and looked straight ahead, and sure enough, he saw Liu Fuling walking towards him.
After not seeing each other for a while, Liu Fuling seemed to have grown taller. Liu Tan suddenly felt a sense of crisis - he felt that he seemed to have not grown much taller.
However, when Liu Fuling came closer, he found that he was still half a head taller than Liu Fuling, which proved that he was also growing taller.
Liu Tan immediately felt relieved.
Although he didn't want to see Liu Fuling at all, he would not avoid Liu Tan since he had met him.
He nodded politely to Liu Fuling and said, "Sixth brother, are you going to look for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?"
He felt that this question was a bit useless. This road only led to the Prince's Palace. What else could it be if not to find the Prince?
However, Liu Fuling always managed to surprise him. Liu Fuling looked at him and said, "No, I'm here to see my fifth brother."
Liu Tan was instantly alert: "Oh? I wonder what Sixth Brother wants to talk to me about?"
"I'm not looking for you, but someone wants to see you." Liu Fuling said as he took two steps to the side, revealing a palace servant following him.
It was at this time that Liu Tan took a serious look at the palace servant. He had not paid attention to it just now. It was normal for the prince to be followed by a few people when walking in the palace.
Now taking a closer look, it is indeed not normal. This palace maid looks quite old, at least her face shows signs of age. The clothes she wears indicate that her rank is not high either. She should be just an ordinary palace maid.
The maid trembled as she bowed to Liu Tan and said, "I pay my respects to His Highness the Fifth Prince."
Liu Tan squinted at Liu Fuling and asked, "Sixth brother, what do you mean by this? Any palace maid can see me if they want to?"
He suspected that Liu Fuling's brain was eaten by a dog. This kind of tasteless disparagement was too boring. They were both princes, and Liu Fuling was insulting him.
After hearing this, Liu Fuling laughed and said, "Fifth brother, you are wrong. She is not just any palace maid."
When Liu Fuling said this, he suddenly took two steps forward and whispered in Liu Tan's ear, "She is your biological mother."
The author has something to say: Liu Tan: In fact, it’s not just Liu Che’s position as prime minister that is a high-risk job, it’s also his son’s!
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