94 Chapter 94
◎Superstition.◎
When Wei Qing returned, besides being happy, there was also a deep confusion in his eyes: "Zi'er, where did you get these things?"
No matter how secretive military affairs are, the general will know about them. If the general does not know about them, then Your Majesty will not know about them either.
Therefore, the appearance of horse harness must have nothing to do with Your Majesty.
Although Liu Ju had already started practicing archery and horse riding, it was still unlikely that he could come up with something like this.
Wei Qing had seen smart children, and Huo Qubing, who was around him, was such an example. Since Huo Qubing was a child, Wei Qing discovered that his nephew was different from other children.
However, at least before today, Liu Ju had never shown any extraordinary talent.
Liu Ju took out a piece of silk and said, "I'll have the craftsmen at the Ministry of Rites make it according to this pattern."
Wei Qing took the silk from his hand, and Huo Qubing came over to look at it with his uncle. In addition to the patterns, there were also words on it, and the handwriting was that of Liu Ju, whom they were familiar with.
Both the uncle and the nephew understood Liu Ju's meaning; this set of horse harness was the result of his thoughts.
Huo Qubing quickly recovered from his shock. He looked at Liu Ju and made a rare joke: "You didn't run into an evil god, but the Taiyi God, didn't you?"
Liu Ju pondered for a moment, then smiled and said, "Maybe."
Wei Qing relaxed his frown, looked at Liu Ju's smiling face, and smiled too: "Ju'er, I want to present the silk and horse harness to His Majesty. Do you want to go?"
Liu Ju still shook his head: "Uncle and cousin, go ahead. I still have to go back to study."
Wei Qing did not force it. After seeing Liu Ju leave, he and Huo Qubing went to ask for an audience with the emperor.
"What's going on with Taiyi God and the evil god?" Wei Qing asked.
Huo Qubing briefly summarized what had just happened and said, "Ever since I saw Ju'er at Your Majesty's place a few days ago, I've felt that he was a little strange. Today, I thought he was just playing with me, but now I see that he's not like that... Uncle, don't you understand? Never mind, let's go and ask Your Majesty."
Wei Qing nodded. The uncle and nephew always had the same views on His Majesty the Emperor.
——As long as it is not a tactical issue, if you are in doubt, just ask His Majesty.
However, His Majesty the Emperor is obviously not omnipotent.
Liu Che was very surprised about the horse harness, and quickly ordered the Shaofu to mass-produce it. Then he remembered to ask who came up with the idea of the horse harness, and whether it was developed by the uncle and nephew together.
Then, Liu Che heard an answer that surprised him.
Wei Qing said, "It's His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
Liu Che took the silk and looked at his son's handwriting on it. After a moment of silence, Liu Che said, "Zi'er came to greet me this morning. Why didn't he just hand over the harness to me?"
Huo Qubing said, "Perhaps the harness was not ready at that time."
Liu Che continued, "After it was finished, why didn't you come and give it to me?"
Wei Qing said, "Zi'er often asked Qubing to take him out of the palace for horseback riding. Now that he had the horse gear, he naturally thought of Qubing immediately."
"Yeah." Liu Che nodded, feeling that there was some truth in his answer. "Zi'er is still at the age where he likes to play."
Liu Che asked again, "Did you ever tell me who presented the horse harness to him?"
Wei Qing and Huo Qubing were both stunned. They did not keep any retainers or staff, and indeed overlooked the fact that Liu Ju already had officials and guests in the prince's palace.
The horse harness might have been presented to the prince by the subordinates as a token of their allegiance.
As for why it was not given directly to the emperor, perhaps it was just like Lü Buwei's rare goods, which was not surprising.
Liu Che's logic is very consistent.
——If Liu Ju’s situation was not so special and beyond the Emperor’s imagination, it would be correct to think so.
Wei Qing smiled awkwardly and said, "I forgot to ask."
Liu Che couldn't help but laugh: "I don't blame you. The general has never been familiar with these mundane affairs. Qubing is no different from your uncle." As he said that, he ordered the eunuch to invite the prince.
But Liu Che certainly wouldn't hear a single name from Liu Ju, and Liu Ju's answer from beginning to end was only one: "I painted it."
Although Wei Qing and Huo Qubing were shocked and confused, seeing that Liu Ju was so determined, they accepted his statement.
They were not the kind of people who were obsessed with superstitions. They thought that they would occasionally have flashes of inspiration and ideas that were as if they were divine strokes. Even though they found it strange that Liu Ju suddenly showed such a talent, since it happened, it was not unacceptable.
His Majesty the Emperor has a different opinion.
"Zi'er, you said it was your own idea..." Liu Che stroked his chin, "Do you have any other ideas?"
Liu Ju lowered his eyes for a moment, then looked up at his father: "Aunt, did you know that bamboo can be made into paper in addition to bamboo slips?"
The prototype of paper already existed, but its quality was questionable, so people still used bamboo slips to write. If they wanted something lighter, they could use silk, but it was too expensive.
This sentence caused the three people to look at him.
Liu Che thought about the paper available today and said, "Paper...is not as useful as horse harnesses."
"The ink doesn't smudge when you write on it. Although it's not as good as silk, it's still quite strong if you preserve it well." Liu Ju added.
Liu Che smiled and said, "That sounds very good. Er, tell me, how is this bamboo paper made?"
Liu Ju did not answer, but sat down at the desk, picked up his pen and began to write. Liu Che and the other two followed him and watched him slowly write down the steps of making paper from bamboo.
When Liu Ju put down the last stroke and looked up at his father, he found a very strange expression on his face.
Liu Che rubbed his son's head and asked, "Ju'er, is this all your own idea?"
Liu Ju nodded again.
Liu Che smiled slowly again: "Okay."
Until they left that day, His Majesty did not comment on the Prince's behavior.
After leaving Xuanshi Hall, Liu Ju wanted to go back and Wei Huo wanted to go forward. Before they parted ways, Liu Ju asked, "Cousin, will you take me horseback riding tomorrow?"
Although His Majesty's attitude just now was rather ambiguous, Huo Qubing had followed him for many years and was very familiar with His Majesty's character of playing riddles with others from time to time. He thought it was the same this time, so he did not take it seriously.
Huo Qubing said, "It depends on your Majesty's wishes."
Liu Ju resisted the urge to look back inside the hall, and instead smiled nonchalantly, "Then... tomorrow morning when I come to greet Grandfather, I'll ask him. If Grandfather lets me go, cousin, you can't say you don't have time."
Huo Qubing said reluctantly, "Yes."
He now believed that Liu Ju was playing tricks on him just to trick him into taking him out to play. He was forced to take care of the child again, so of course Huo Qubing was very unhappy.
Wei Qing was always open-minded. Since His Majesty hadn't mentioned anything, then it was all right. So, with a cheerful smile on his face, he said, "Don't worry. I'll remember this. I won't assign any missions to your cousin tomorrow."
Liu Ju smiled and said, "Thank you, uncle."
…
What's good?
Liu Ju sat in the prince's bedroom, staring blankly at the window screen with lifeless eyes.
What does my father mean by this word?
Fusu had already sent him the manufacturing process of the telescope, and he could order people to start developing it at any time, but Liu Ju didn't want to do anything now. He just wanted to figure out what the word "father" meant.
Facts have proved that people's IQ will not increase with time. Even if Liu Ju is given another two thousand years, he may not be able to figure out his father's thought process.
His father, whose brain circuits Liu Ju thought were difficult to understand, was now listening to Zhang Tang's report on the situation in the Crown Prince's Palace: "Everything is normal with the Crown Prince..."
Zhang Tang said respectfully, "Indeed, Your Majesty, you still need me..."
"No need," Liu Che said, smiling. "The Crown Prince just left his mother's side, and I'm just a little worried. This isn't a thief investigation, so there's no need to investigate so thoroughly."
Zhang Tang bowed his head and said, "I obey your command."
Liu Che ordered: "Retreat."
Zhang Tang accepted the order and withdrew.
Liu Che pointed at the two pieces of silk on the table, stood up, walked to the door, looked at the sunlight for a while, and suddenly smiled softly.
His two generals have verified that the horse harness can definitely further enhance the combat effectiveness of the Han cavalry.
Liu Che had not yet arranged for anyone to make bamboo paper, but with the horse harness in hand, he did not actually doubt the truthfulness of Liu Ju's words.
At first, Liu Che thought that the horse harness was presented by the prince's officials. Later, Liu Ju said it was his idea. Liu Che actually still had some doubts, including the bamboo paper later. Liu Ju insisted that it was his own idea. Liu Che still had some doubts, thinking that perhaps his son lied.
However, in Liu Che's view, these are all trivial matters. His son is the crown prince and will be the emperor in the future. His son does not want to be a saint, so he does not need to have such a high moral bottom line.
——Although this point does need to be taught, it is definitely not a moral issue.
Now Zhang Tang told him that there was nothing unusual around the prince and no one had given him any advice.
...So, it was really his son's own idea.
At this moment of certainty, Liu Che was even unexpectedly calm.
Back then, when Emperor Taizu conquered the world with his three-foot sword, our Han Dynasty was blessed by heaven from the very beginning. Liu Che thought, isn't it natural that I'm not surprised?
Among all the crown princes appointed by the emperors of our Han Dynasty, from Emperor Xiaowen who appointed the late emperor to the late emperor who appointed me, which one was not extraordinary?
My extraordinaryness has been proven since I was seven years old, when the late emperor deposed Crown Prince Li to enthrone me. Everything that happened since then has proved that the late emperor had an extraordinary vision, and that I and the Han Dynasty are blessed by heaven.
My crown prince must naturally have extraordinary qualities. He began to show this when he officially became the crown prince at the age of seven. Isn’t this proof that God is blessing the Han Dynasty?
Liu Che enthusiastically shared his discovery with his son, and asked him with shining eyes: "Zi'er, do you have any other ideas?"
Liu Ju: “…”
Liu Ju said, "Yes."
In Liu Ju's original plan, he would not make any explanation. Perhaps the first and second things would attract surprised looks, and then when enough surprising things appeared, they would become numb and accustomed to it.
But now, Liu Ju doesn't have to go through this process again, because his father has already justified it for him.
Li Ying exclaimed, "Your Highness, did you expect this a long time ago?"
Liu Ju said, "I said I didn't do it. Do you believe me?"
Li Ying shook her head firmly.
Liu Ju thought for a moment and said, "Fusu's father only became superstitious when he reached middle age. My father is different. He has been superstitious since he was young."
Li Ying: “…”
Li Ying said: "That doesn't sound like you're praising your dad."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com