160 Chapter 160
◎Marquis Bowang returned to the capital.◎
When Marquis Guanjun returned to the capital, good news came from the Crown Prince's Palace: Concubine Liang was pregnant.
"Congratulations, Your Highness." Upon seeing Liu Ju, Huo Qubing bowed and said, "I heard that Your Highness wants to bring Huo Shan into the palace?"
Liu Ju suddenly stopped laughing: "My grandfather is blaming me again."
Huo Qubing continued his previous words, "Now Your Majesty no longer has to envy Huo Xian and Cao Zong."
Liu Ju said, "Cousin, do you dare to say this to my grandfather's face?"
"I dare." Huo Qubing said, "But does Your Highness dare?"
Liu Ju thought about it. Although he was not trying to shirk responsibility, his father would definitely think so. Considering that he still had the debt from Qiu Lie, he decided not to get involved.
Liu Ju smiled and said, "Forget it, cousin. Let's talk about something else. For example, how was your boat this time? I have an idea. Although we do business with people across the sea, the sea is still boundless. I wonder if we can build a bigger ship that can sail further and find the edge of the sea."
This was exactly what Huo Qubing wanted. He said seriously, "Of course, Your Highness. If the time comes, I would like to ask for your permission to lead the fleet out to sea."
"Marquis Guanjun has conquered the grassland and the land, and now he wants to conquer the sea?" Liu Ju blinked and smiled.
Huo Qubing asked, "Your Highness, have you ever seen the sea?"
Liu Ju shook his head. "I've only heard it told to me. Actually, cousin, the farthest place I've ever been is just outside the city of Chang'an."
This touched a sore spot, so Huo Qubing kept silent.
Liu Ju was surprised and asked, "Cousin, why are you silent? Do you think I will blame you?"
"No," Huo Qubing said, "I'm worried that Your Highness will want to leave the capital because of this, and His Majesty will say that I have led you astray."
Liu Ju was silent for a moment, then said, "Cousin, you are really annoying..."
Huo Qubing said first: "I will not take you out of the capital, let alone take you to sea."
Liu Ju said, "Then I won't let you go out to sea either."
"Juer, are you sure?" Huo Qubing looked at him.
Liu Ju was stunned. As he grew up and began to establish his position as the crown prince, Huo Qubing had not used this intimate title for a long time.
"Cousin..." Liu Ju said faintly, "Is this what you call a honey trap?"
Huo Qubing's face froze, and he said, "Your Highness, you really need to read more military books."
Liu Ju said, "Didn't you say that reading that stuff is useless?"
Huo Qubing looked up at the sky and said, "These are not my original words, Your Highness. Please do not misinterpret my meaning."
Liu Ju snorted, "Your Highness again now? Cousin, you're killing the donkey before it's even finished grinding, and you're tearing down the bridge before you've even crossed the river."
Huo Qubing smiled and said, "The ship hasn't been built yet. There's no need to rush. I'll flatter Your Highness when the time comes."
"The world is going downhill." Liu Ju couldn't help laughing.
When the two of them walked to the Xuanshi Hall, Liu Che saw that they were both smiling. He asked curiously, "What happy things are they talking about?"
Wei Qing also looked over curiously.
Liu Ju said with a smile: "Ah, uncle, my cousin said he wants to build a big ship and take me out to sea in the future!"
Huo Qubing did not refute, but asked: "Your Majesty, do you think my proposal is feasible?"
Liu Che laughed: "Are you talking about your idea of going to sea or your idea of kidnapping the prince?"
Wei Qing smiled and said, "Your Majesty, I also have a suggestion. When the large ship is built, I will accompany Your Majesty to sea. What do you think?"
His Majesty the Emperor smiled and twirled his beard, saying, "I think what the General said is very good!"
"Wow, uncle..." Liu Ju exclaimed, "It turns out you are the scariest person."
Huo Qubing said, "You just found out."
Wei Qing smiled modestly, "Your Highness, thank you for the compliment."
Liu Che laughed heartily: "This is my great general, Prince. Do you know what it means to lift a rock and drop it on your own feet?"
"Oh." Liu Ju sighed, holding his chin.
Liu Che ruffled his hair twice and said with a smile, "You are going to be an old man, but you are still so childish."
Liu Ju touched his hair and said, "I am going to be an old man, old man, and you still treat me like a child."
"Okay, I treat you as an adult." Liu Che said with a smile, "Let's talk about building a ship and going to sea."
Liu Ju said, "I just started it casually. Uncle, my cousin knows more about the situation at sea. Please let him speak."
Liu Che then looked at Huo Qubing.
Huo Qubing had been thinking about going on a long sea voyage for more than two months. When the emperor asked him, he immediately told him all his thoughts.
Thinking of the unknown on the other side of the sea, Liu Che was also quite tempted, but the endless sea inevitably frightened people on land. Therefore, although he had made a future plan to build ships and go to sea, he had to take his time to consider when to set off.
Liu Ju said: "It probably won't be possible within three to five years."
Huo Qubing said, "It's okay, I can wait."
Liu Ju looked at his father and uncle, and finally at his cousin: "Well, we can all wait."
This time, they all have more time to do more things.
…
A few days later, the Weiyang Palace received a piece of mourning news: King Liu Sheng of Zhongshan had passed away.
"King of Zhongshan? Is that the King Jing of Zhongshan?" Li Ying asked, "The King Jing of Zhongshan who later became Liu Bei's ancestor?"
Liu Ju said: "That's him. He has many sons, one of whom is called Liu Qumao."
Li Ying was surprised and said, "Ah, so Liu Qumao, who was colluding with Li Guangli, is his son."
Liu Ju wondered, "Before you go out to carry out a mission, don't you first understand the relationships between the characters?"
Li Ying felt quite wronged, and he explained: "Your Highness, there are so many people in your Liu family, I can't possibly remember every one of them."
"Okay." Liu Ju shrugged.
"Oh, I saw the Jade Cloth with Gold Threads from Liu Sheng's Tomb in the museum!" Li Ying suddenly remembered, "It's the one with the thumbs-up sign. Is it his?"
Liu Ju rubbed his brow and said, "As an ancient person whose grave may be dug up, I really don't want to talk about this topic."
Li Ying hurriedly asked, "What do you mean by digging graves, Your Highness? That's archaeology. Do you know the significance of archaeology? We are searching for history, in..."
"I know," Liu Ju said. "Archaeology certainly has value and significance, but that doesn't stop me from getting goosebumps."
Li Ying said, "Okay, I won't mention this anymore."
The Emperor felt it was a pity that Liu Sheng died. After all, there were not many princes who were as pleasing to His Majesty as he was.
He only loved listening to music and appreciating beautiful women. His greatest contribution to the Han Dynasty was having children. Thanks to him, Zhongshan Kingdom was divided into small pieces here and there. His Majesty the Emperor was extremely satisfied when he saw this.
But in the final analysis, the death of a prince would not cause any waves in Chang'an City. Moreover, within half a month, news came that the delegation led by Zhang Qian, Marquis of Bowang, would return to Chang'an. Compared with this, the death of a prince was a trivial matter.
Zhang Qian's deputy envoy was still away, so he was the first envoy to return to Chang'an.
When Zhang Qian left Chang'an, Liu Ju was still a child. When he came back, the prince was about to become a father.
When Zhang Qian entered the palace to pay homage to His Majesty, he almost didn't recognize the young man next to him. Fortunately, the prince was wearing a formal suit, and even though his appearance had changed drastically, Marquis Bowang could still tell his identity at a glance.
Zhang Qian sighed inwardly, how time has passed, the prince has grown up already.
Although reports of what he saw and heard during the mission were sent back to Chang'an from time to time, Liu Che still had many questions he wanted to ask Zhang Qian in person.
Zhang Qian answered carefully, but he would turn his head and cough from time to time.
Liu Che asked, "Is Marquis Bowang ill?"
Zhang Qian hurriedly tried to apologize, but the Crown Prince held him back. "Marquis Bowang has served the Han Dynasty for many years. Your Majesty is concerned about you, not blaming you."
"Call the physician." Liu Che ordered.
"Thank you, Your Majesty," Zhang Qian said respectfully. "This is an old ailment of mine. Thank you, Your Majesty, and Your Highness, for your concern."
Liu Che said with concern: "You should stay in Ganquan Palace to recuperate. Your family members are also allowed to stay here with you."
Zhang Qian thanked him again.
Liu Ju smiled and said, "Ganquan Palace is cooler, Marquis Bowang, you can rest assured and recuperate. Your son is now in the Crown Prince's Palace. I see that he is doing very well, so I brought him here this time. It is a good opportunity for you and your son to see each other more often."
Zhang Qian had not had time to return home, but in the past few years the prince had sent messengers to deliver two letters to him, which contained private letters from his family, so he was not completely ignorant of the situation at home.
"Thank you, Your Highness." Zhang Qian was unable to stand up.
Liu Ju pressed his arm and said with a smile, "I saw the specialties that Marquis Bowang brought me. Consider this my return of favor, Aung. What do you say?"
Liu Che said with a smile: "Ziwen, just follow his lead. This kid is just so stubborn. Sometimes I can't do anything with him."
After not seeing each other for several years, Zhang Qian discovered that His Majesty and the Prince were not only not unfamiliar, but were even closer than before. This really surprised him.
But that's always a good thing.
The knowledgeable Marquis Bowang thought that it was a blessing for the Han Dynasty that there was no rift between the father and son of the royal family.
The attending physician arrived quickly, and after checking Zhang Qian's pulse, he looked very worried.
When Zhang Qian was young, he was ordered to go on a diplomatic mission to the Western Regions. His journey was not smooth. He was a captive of the Huns for many years and suffered a lot before he returned to Chang'an.
Although his journey this time was not bumpy, modern journeys are tiring, not to mention the backward transportation in feudal society. Therefore, Zhang Qian suffered a lot in the past few years.
Now Zhang Qian was no longer young, and all the hardships he had suffered came back to him, and his body was no longer able to resist.
Marquis Bowang could climb over countless mountains and ridges, but he could not resist the invasion of disease and death.
Liu Che was very sad. He summoned famous doctors and offered them the title of marquis and a reward of millions of gold as long as they could cure Zhang Qian.
But, it's of no avail.
Zhang Qian remained calm about this, perhaps because he had known that this day was not far away.
"I heard that Your Highness and Marquis Guanjun are preparing to build a ship and go out to sea." Even though his face turned pale due to illness, there was still a gleam in Zhang Qian's eyes.
Liu Ju nodded and said firmly, "Yes, the Han Dynasty will not only conquer the land, but also the sea."
Zhang Qian smiled and said, "What a pity, Your Highness, I will not live to see that day."
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