143 Chapter 143
◎The death of the prime minister.◎
But in the Emperor's plan, Zhang Tang was never among the candidates for Prime Minister.
This is not because His Majesty the Emperor loves him very much. Since the Prime Minister of this dynasty seems to be a consumable, the Emperor does not consider him.
The main reason why Zhang Tang could not be the prime minister was that for His Majesty the Emperor, he could only play a role in the position of Chief Justice, and the Emperor did not need him to be the prime minister.
Ji An once said, "Your Majesty uses your ministers like piling up firewood; those who come later will be on top."
In the eyes of His Majesty the Emperor, there are very few ministers who are indispensable to him, and Zhang Tang is obviously not one of them. Unfortunately, Zhang Tang himself does not understand this.
Seeing the prince hesitate to speak and staring at him blankly, Zhang Tang couldn't help but ask, "Your Highness, what do you want to say?"
Liu Ju shook his head and said, "Nothing, Zhang Tingwei, I'm just suddenly curious. How many sons do you have?"
Zhang Tang clearly didn't believe Liu Ju's excuse, but he couldn't question the Crown Prince, so he answered truthfully, "I have two sons."
Liu Ju asked again, "How old are you? Have you ever been an official? Are you a palace attendant?"
Zhang Tang said, "My eldest son is only thirteen years old, and my second son is even younger. They are still studying and have not yet entered the government."
"Oh," Liu Ju said, "Zhang Tingwei, you must serve His Majesty well and obey His Majesty's orders. Your two sons will have good futures."
Although Zhang Tang did not understand why, he still followed the prince's words and said, "I have always done so."
He didn't do anything to go against Your Majesty's wishes, so Your Majesty doesn't need to let the prince reprimand him. What does the prince mean by this?
The prince is really strange, Zhang Tang thought, but the prince is not the kind of person who would act without a purpose. Could it be that he really has made some mistake?
Zhang Tang pondered for a moment and decided to reflect on himself.
Liu Ju could only say this much. For His Majesty the Emperor, the ministers had to prove that they were useful and that they played the role he needed.
The direct cause of Zhang Tang's death was the dispute over the position of prime minister, but in the final analysis, he had offended too many people, and His Majesty the Emperor had to use his life to appease the public anger, just like the Enfeoffment Order required the death of Emperor Zhufu Yan.
If Zhang Tang could convince His Majesty the Emperor that he was still useful besides dying, and that he could not be replaced by anyone else for the time being, then he could live a few more years.
But Liu Ju could not guarantee how many years it would take.
Just like Li Cai, they will still be used by His Majesty the Emperor for the time being, but when they will be abandoned depends on when they become useless in the eyes of His Majesty the Emperor, or when their death is more useful than their life.
This was Emperor Wu of Han's personnel strategy. Liu Ju had always tried to emulate his father, but... his vision and ability were certainly not as good as his father's, so he would be a case of the ugly duckling imitating the beautiful woman.
While Zhang Tang was reflecting on himself, Liu Ju also conducted practical reflection along the way.
Liu Ju had only been a ghost for more than two thousand years. Even if he knew more about later history, his IQ obviously could not be improved by time. Fortunately, abilities could be trained.
Liu Ju calculated that his father could live for another thirty years, so he would definitely have time to study, as long as he didn't become as estranged from his father as he was in his previous life.
In his previous life, Liu Ju lived for less than forty years. After he came of age, he often listened to his father's teachings for a few years, but then they gradually drifted apart.
Perhaps he felt he had grown up? Liu Ju could hardly recall his thoughts back then.
Sure enough, Liu Ju thought, I still have to go to Fusu to discuss how to maintain a close relationship with my father for a long time.
Although Fusu's words made sense, it was only his first time in practice, and they could share and exchange experiences with each other.
As for Li Chengqian, Liu Ju swore that he would definitely peek at the screen.
…
The fact that Prime Minister Li Cai's son occupied the tomb of the previous emperor angered the Emperor, and he ordered the Supreme Court to deal with the case strictly according to the law. However, since the Prime Minister took the initiative to surrender with his son and confess his guilt, although his son's life was in danger, Li Cai was able to keep his position as Prime Minister. He was only punished by having his fief as Marquis of Le'an reduced.
In addition, due to the chain reaction caused by this incident, His Majesty the Emperor ordered a nationwide investigation into illegal land occupation and gave full authority to the Crown Prince to handle the matter, assisted by the Chief Justice Zhang Tang.
The weather in early autumn gradually became cooler, but the ministers and dignitaries who heard the emperor's edict broke out in sweat. Zhang Tang was just a dog of the emperor, and he would bite whoever the emperor told him to bite. This time, the emperor must be coming to torment them again!
And the Crown Prince! The royal family's father and son seemed to be of one mind, but the powerful nobles only felt that the future of their children and grandchildren was bleak.
But Liu Ju ignored these discussions. After receiving the imperial edict, he immediately ordered Zhang Tang to send people to various places for thorough investigation.
Zhang Tang has always been decisive and efficient in his work, and his subordinates are no less so. For a time, the powerful and wealthy people in various places were afraid to speak, but the reputation of the Supreme Court among the people unexpectedly improved.
Compared to the court where everyone wanted to eat Zhang Tang alive, the common people who had their land reclaimed because of the strict investigation of the land occupation by the Supreme Court were very grateful to the Supreme Court.
Of course, because the prince was in charge, his orders spread to all places, and the people of the Han Dynasty heard the word "prince" for the second time.
Last time, His Majesty commended the Crown Prince for his benevolence and filial piety, and this time he was speaking for the people, so the Crown Prince naturally gained a good reputation among the people.
On the other hand, Li Cai, who had lost his son, was depressed for quite some time until the chief secretary of the Prime Minister's Mansion came to tell him, Prime Minister, if you don't work anymore, His Majesty will find out that the Han Dynasty will become stronger day by day with or without a Prime Minister, and then you will be completely finished!
Li Cai immediately broke out in a cold sweat. He perked up and observed for a few days, and found that during the time when he was casually handling official business, no one was affected, and the big man was even more... indifferent whether he was there or not.
Li Cai: “…”
Am I so insignificant?
After two heavy blows, Li Cai did not recover as the Chief Secretary had expected, but fell seriously ill.
Li Cai had no idea how much work Da Sima had shared with him. He was actually quite important. Unfortunately, no one could understand Li Cai's inner thoughts, so no one tried to explain it to him.
When Liu Ju heard that Li Cai was seriously ill, it was already mid-September, and it was the time of the annual pilgrimage for the princes to the king.
At this time, His Majesty the Emperor ordered the restoration of the previously abolished Qi and Yan states, and renamed Jiangdu state to Guangling state.
In addition to the crown prince, His Majesty the Emperor has three other sons. When this decree was issued, everyone knew that it was intended to enfeoff the other three princes.
However, the princes did not care about these things. They looked at the emperor who was rumored to have been seriously ill and was as energetic as before, and cursed the rumors in their hearts.
Li Cai had been in official service since the time of Emperor Xiaowen. He was much older than the emperor, and it seemed that he would never get up due to this illness.
His Majesty the Emperor did not take advantage of his misfortune at this time. Instead, he sent someone to see him and asked him to take good care of himself. He also reserved the position of Prime Minister for his recovery.
However, Liu Che did not know the cause of Li Cai's illness, and his kind comfort had the opposite effect. On the same night he sent people to Li's house, Li Cai died.
The next morning, just as the royal father and son had finished their meal, someone came to the Prime Minister's residence to announce the death.
Liu Che: “…”
Liu Ju: “…”
Liu Che rubbed the bridge of his nose, doubting himself for once. "Did I not send anyone to say anything provocative to him yesterday? Didn't I tell him to recuperate?"
Liu Ju hurriedly said, "Aunt, this is just a coincidence. It has nothing to do with you. There are so many coincidences in the world. I almost fell when I came here today. You can't blame Prime Minister Li, right?"
"Yes." His Majesty the Emperor smoothed his clothes and said, "Tell someone to do it according to the rules."
Seeing that his father was still unhappy, Liu Ju quickly thought of something to divert his attention: "Aunt, do you remember what I said before about preparing some fresh snacks for you?"
This was before the Emperor fell ill. He nodded and said, "It's been several months, Prince. Are you ready?"
Liu Ju explained: "Ah Weng, you were recovering from an illness before, so you can't drink alcohol or eat spicy food."
"Spicy?" Liu Che's eyes lit up. Ever since he fell ill, the emperor's diet has been mainly light. Meat is of course indispensable, but none of it is heavy in flavor. If Liu Che eats too much, he will inevitably feel that his mouth has no taste.
"Present it quickly!"
"Aunt, we just had dinner." Liu Ju said with a smile, "Let's go later."
Liu Che couldn't wait any longer: "No need to wait, I'm not going to have another meal, I just want to have a few glasses of wine."
As he spoke, His Majesty the Emperor had already ordered someone to bring him some good wine.
Young people have less things to do, so a drink is fine. Liu was convinced and asked someone to bring a plate of duck necks and duck wings.
Liu Ju had the imperial chef experiment with the ingredients for the duck for a long time before he created the perfect flavor. It is not too spicy, but absolutely irresistible.
His Majesty the Emperor had eaten duck meat, but he had never gnawed on the neck and wings alone. Although it was not very elegant to gnaw on it directly from the hand, there were no outsiders around, so satisfying his appetite was more important.
Liu Che took a bite immediately and found it so delicious that he even forgot to drink the wine.
However, even if it wasn't spicy, Liu Che would stick out his tongue if he ate too much, so Liu Ju hurriedly handed him a cup of warm water.
Liu Che drank a glass of water, but his tongue still felt spicy, so he said, "I want it cold."
Liu Ju said, "It's getting cold, old man. It's not good to drink cold water anymore. Besides, hot water can relieve the spiciness faster."
"You always have a reason." Liu Che sighed, "It's clearly not spicy, why does it get spicier the more I eat it?"
There were no chili peppers at that time. The spiciness came from Sichuan peppercorns and dogwood. Compared with later generations, it was not too spicy. It was just that His Majesty the Emperor had never tasted such a stimulating flavor and could not bear it for a while.
Liu Ju said with a smile, "Aunt, you've eaten too much. Try drinking some chrysanthemum tea later. I'm afraid you'll get a sore throat tomorrow."
"No," said the Emperor. "Just two sips, and I won't get angry."
Liu Ju agreed with a smile, but then secretly ordered the imperial chef to prepare two dishes to reduce internal heat for His Majesty.
When the spiciness in his mouth had completely subsided, His Majesty the Emperor said, "Tell the imperial chef to prepare two spicy dishes tomorrow."
Liu Ju was about to persuade him that eating spicy food all the time would not only cause a sore throat, but would also cause other symptoms, but seeing that the emperor was in high spirits, he simply gave up and let him give up on his own.
Sure enough, after eating spicy food for three consecutive days, the emperor summoned the imperial physician, and after taking anti-inflammatory medicine for three days, his preference for spicy food was gone.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
