"Was it the Eighth Prince who ordered the execution?"
Liu Laowu glanced at Liu Fu, who had already stepped forward and admitted it.
"Sigh, let them be killed. We've had our eyes on these damned Japanese pirates for a long time. Killing them will make things easier!"
The ministers in the court all thought that His Majesty would be unhappy about this matter.
But Liu Laowu didn't feel anything was wrong. On the contrary, he felt much more confident at this moment, as if killing the Japanese envoy was no big deal.
To put it bluntly, it was Liu Fu who put Liu Laowu's mind at ease yesterday in the Imperial Study.
When the animal breeding ranch was opened, Liu Laowu was stunned when he saw the terrifying creatures inside. This not only made Liu Laowu favor Liu Fu for the future crown prince position, but also gave Liu Laowu more confidence.
This was precisely why Liu Fu told Liu Laowu this secret.
With these behemoths as a backup plan, Liu Laowu can stand taller as emperor and act more decisively, without having to lower his stance as before.
At this moment, the old eunuch reported again:
"Your Majesty, the Japanese envoy was killed by King Chungmu, and now there is a newly arrived Jin envoy outside the palace who also requests an audience with Your Majesty."
When Liu Laowu heard that these two scoundrels had come together again, he was almost laughing in anger:
"Oh? They came together?"
Liu Laowu immediately looked at Liu Fu with a happy smile:
"Eighth Brother, what do you think should be done with this Later Jin envoy?"
As they were speaking, a horn was called, and several Later Jin envoys entered the hall trembling with fear.
The Later Jin envoys, who had been so arrogant and proud outside the palace, now appeared trembling with fear, even walking cautiously.
He was very polite to Liu Laowu, and was much more amiable than before.
"Foreign envoys pay their respects to His Majesty the Great Han."
Liu Laowu was delighted and asked the messenger below:
"I heard that you, like Japan, are dissatisfied with King Chungmu's killing of your envoy, and have come here specifically to question him in our Golden Palace?"
Unexpectedly, upon hearing this, the Later Jin envoys immediately shook their heads vigorously.
"That's not true. We are different from the Japanese. They came to demand an explanation, while we came to congratulate King Zhongwu on his return to the capital from Liao. We have come to offer our congratulations!"
Upon seeing the Later Jin envoys hastily change their tune, they immediately became very submissive.
The civil and military officials in the court also burst into laughter.
Unexpectedly, the Jurchens became humble in front of the Han people very quickly.
If they hadn't been more careful today, the Prince of Zhongwu might have killed them all if he had made a move!
Upon seeing the Later Jin envoy's obedient and cautious demeanor in the Han court, Liu Laowu was indeed pleased, and Liu Fu no longer harbored any murderous intent.
After all, one shouldn't hit a smiling face, so Liu Laowu pardoned them and let them leave the palace.
As night fell, the family gathered at the Imperial Vegetable Garden, a rare occasion. Liu Laowu prepared a sumptuous meal for his sons, while Liu Fu set up a stove to grill some barbecue.
Liu Laowu sighed and said to his sons:
"Old Eight has been a great help to us in suppressing the rebellion this time. Of course, the eldest and second eldest brothers also played an indispensable role in assisting him."
"However, our Later Han Dynasty borders several enemy states. Since we have enfeoffed you all as princes on various borders, it means that you are guarding the country's gates in place of the emperor. After you all go to your respective fiefdoms to establish your own vassal states in a few days, you must make yourselves strong."
At this moment, Liu Laowu, abandoning his usual leniency, appeared extremely stern and solemn, emphasizing:
"Externally, we must prevent invasion by enemy countries and defend our borders."
"Internally, we must suppress the mountain bandits and outlaws to prevent them from causing chaos among the people. But most importantly, we must distribute land to the people. We must start with the wealthy and powerful families. If we want the people to have enough to eat, we must break their monopoly."
Seeing that his sons were all nodding, Liu Laowu said to everyone earnestly:
"You guys nod off to us pretty quickly now, but you'll only realize how much pressure there is when it comes to actually doing things."
"Putting everything else aside, our Han Dynasty has a small population, and it's already difficult to recruit soldiers to guard the borders. If you were to conscript able-bodied men from the common people now, they would be even less likely to survive, and there would definitely be a lot of complaints. We are currently overwhelmed with work, so we can only push these tasks onto you. You must come up with a compromise."
"And then there's the matter of measuring the land. Don't underestimate the resistance this will bring. When we borrowed grain and silver from the wealthy families for disaster relief, it still provoked them to rebel. What you're doing now is much more difficult than what we had to do back then. I only hope that as my sons, Liu Laowu, you won't bring shame to the Liu family, and you won't forget your original aspirations. You must do your job well. When you have your own fiefdoms in the localities, you'll be like local emperors. Don't just spend your days eating, drinking, and having fun. Being arrogant, extravagant, and dissolute won't allow you to govern the region well."
Although Liu Laowu's earnest advice seemed verbose, Liu Fu knew that his father was indeed a relatively enlightened and good emperor.
They truly went to great lengths to ensure that the people could have enough to eat and live in peace.
At the same time, Liu Fu secretly decided that once he arrived in his fiefdom, he would make a big splash!
Liu Laowu's method of enfeoffing his sons to various places to guard the country's borders in his place was actually a form of enfeoffment.
The drawbacks are certainly significant, but given the current situation, there is no other option.
For Liu Fu, this is actually a good thing.
Under his father's rule, he had his own fiefdom, which was equivalent to being a mini-emperor in his own fiefdom, ruling his own territory on his own.
Then, whatever unique governing philosophy one has, one can implement it without any resistance.
A grand plan quickly unfolded in Liu Fu's mind...
Create a brand new kingdom, a brand new little world!
If he succeeds to the throne and becomes the crown prince, and then, according to the structure of this small world, transforms the entire Later Han Dynasty into a completely new world, it seems that this would be a very fulfilling and historically significant achievement.
Let's do it!
Three days later, the princes bid farewell to Liu Laowu and, with their eight hundred personal guards, went to their respective fiefdoms.
Xiao Ying'er finally saw Liu Fu again after a long time, and Liu Fu took her to the fiefdom.
On his way to the fiefdom, Liu Fu had already opened the points mall and was drooling over all the modern technology products.
Build a powerful kingdom, so that all people in the world may have enough to eat and wear. Mission begins!
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