"Think about it carefully, why is it that Marquis Huaiyin is still alive today?"
"This is easy. Apart from Wu Chen, the King of Changsha, there are no other princes with different surnames... Why did father kill him?"
"Changsha is a remote country with very little registered farmland. Next door are Huainan, Jing and Chu. Any one of these three is stronger than Changsha. How dare he have any other intentions?"
Zhang Cang looked at Liu Chang deeply and said, "You are actually very smart, but you just don't want to study. Even if you study, you only know the general idea and don't pursue deeper content. Therefore, you only have a superficial understanding. This kind of knowledge may fool children, but it is not enough to govern a country."
Liu Chang grinned, "I know I'm smart!"
"Um... I mean, you can study more."
"Master, let's continue talking about how to rescue them."
"It is impossible for the Marquis of Huaiyin to be released. Even if he is released, he cannot leave Chang'an and will be imprisoned for the rest of his life... He is too capable and is dissatisfied with Your Majesty. Your Majesty loves his talent but is also wary of it."
"And the prince...Excuse me for being blunt, even His Majesty doesn't dare to use him, let alone the prince."
"However, you just want to get Marquis Huaiyin out of prison, which is not difficult... As long as Marquis Huaiyin is still useful to Your Majesty, you can learn more from the Queen in this regard..."
"Learn from mother?"
Liu Chang narrowed his eyes, "Do you want me to kill the King of Changsha so that my father will no longer have any internal troubles?"
"Ah? No! No!"
Zhang Cang was startled and said hurriedly: "What I mean is that we must let His Majesty see that the Marquis of Huaiyin is still useful... Even if we don't let him leave Chang'an, we can let him out of prison and put him under house arrest in Chang'an..."
Liu Chang suddenly realized and asked, "Then how can we make the master useful?"
"Now that the internal troubles have been resolved, the only thing left is the external troubles."
"And if you want to guard the border... you will definitely need the ability to hold out against foreign aggression..."
"So... I still have to finalize the closure of the country first."
Liu Chang said seriously.
Zhang Cang helplessly advised: "In fact, Liang is also very good... It is rich and has a large population. Why do you need to go to Yunyan? Your Majesty did not say that he would kill the Marquis of Huaiyin. Why are you so persistent?"
Liu Chang stood up and said, "Among all the princes, I am the bravest. If I don't guard the country's gates, who will? If someone like Ruyi encounters the Huns, he will be terrified and flee at the sight of the enemy. How can he resist the enemy? I was born in the royal family and have enjoyed wealth and honor since I was young, so naturally I have to bear such responsibilities!"
"My second brother is too kind. I swore to my parents that no one would bully him, no matter if it was the Xiongnu outside the Great Wall, the princes inside the country, or the ministers in the temple. I am in charge of the State of Jin, and no one dares to bully me!"
"As for why I want to save Master... If one day, Master, you are in trouble, I will definitely save you regardless of everything... Even if I die, I will not give up."
For some reason, Zhang Cang was actually somewhat moved when he heard the bragging of the boy in front of him.
He hurriedly shook his head and said with disdain: "But let me make it clear in advance, if you really want to go to Jin State, I won't go with you. It's too dangerous there, and I haven't lived enough!"
"How can a disciple of Xunzi be so greedy for life and afraid of death?!"
"I am not afraid of death, but when my master was alive, he advised me many times: A gentleman should not stand under a dangerous wall. Naturally, I will listen to my master's teachings."
Liu Chang always felt that this teacher was really to his liking. Sometimes, he really wanted to burn paper with him and become sworn brothers, the kind who died on the same day of the same month of the same year. But Liu Chang thought again, he was still so young, and this guy was already an old man, it would be a loss to become sworn brothers with him.
…
Liu Ruyi had not yet grown up, but he was past the age of premature death, so this time, Liu Bang wanted him to go to his fiefdom.
Liu Bang had long given up the idea of ​​letting Ruyi replace Liu Ying, and the ministers gradually realized that Liu Ruyi posed no threat to the prince at all.
The only one who opposed it was Liu Ying. He still felt that his brother was too young, and even if he wanted to go, he would have to wait another four or five years.
However, when the emperor, Empress Lu, and the ministers reached a consensus, the prince had no say at all.
Liu Ruyi himself was still very happy. Sitting in the Tianlu Pavilion, he once again talked about his grand ambitions, still using the same old rhetoric: develop domestic affairs and deal with the Huns.
Liu Ruyi boasted for a long time, but saw no Liu Chang coming to refute him. He looked around and then he remembered that Liu Chang was next door.
When Liu Fei went to his fiefdom, the brothers did not have any feelings. But when Liu Ruyi was going to his fiefdom, they were a little at a loss, because the age difference between Liu Ruyi and them was not that big, and if Liu Ruyi was going to his fiefdom, then they would be there soon too.
Leaving the palace where they had always lived and going to a strange place to live alone made them both yearn for it and fear it.
Liu Ruyi was obviously not afraid, but only yearning.
"Ha, I smelled a foul odor next door, and when I came in, sure enough, it was you who farted again!"
Liu Chang stood at the door, his hands on his hips, speaking loudly.
Liu Ruyi said disdainfully: "I won't bother with a kid like you!"
"You've already called yourself the widower before you even take office. How shameless!"
Liu Chang cursed and sat down next to Liu Hui. Gai Gong glanced at him and continued to read with his head down.
"At least I have a fiefdom. Some people don't even have a fiefdom, but they dare to call themselves 'I am the king'. That's really shameless! Right, sir?"
"Hey, eldest brother, Third Brother is leaving soon... and you're still making a fuss ."
Liu Hui shook his head. "After Third Brother left, I wonder how much you missed him. Stop arguing these few days and apologize to Third Brother."
"Will I miss him? What a joke! At most I will wait until his country is destroyed by the Huns and bring some fruits to offer sacrifice to him."
Liu Heng asked, "Brother, have you set a date?"
"No, during several court meetings, only my second brother disapproved and even scolded the Imperial Censor..."
"Then my brother will have to go to the storage hall in person..."
"I'll be there later."
Liu Chang waited until Gai Gong finished his get out of class and started practicing sword with him before he told him his thoughts.
He did not mention anything about rescuing Han Xin, but only asked Gai Gong how he could be granted an appointment to the State of Jin.
Gai Gong was stunned, then shook his head. He had the same idea as Zhang Cang. The terrain of Jin State was dangerous. Even if Han, Wei and Zhao were eliminated, it was still a large territory. They could have everything they wanted. It was above the imperial court and could never be sealed away.
"If it could be easily solved, I wouldn't come to you, Master."
"Don't you have a tutor now? Why don't you ask him?"
Liu Chang said with disdain: "That scholar? What kind of strategy can he have? He is not as knowledgeable as you, and his strategy is far inferior to yours... Apart from having a good master and some knowledge, it is useless! I always feel sleepy when I listen to his class now..."
Gai Gong smiled and said, "You can't say that about the Grand Tutor... He is still very knowledgeable. In fact, this matter is not difficult. Let me ask you, why did Your Majesty do his best to eliminate the princes of other surnames, but turned a blind eye to the princes of the Liu surname?"
Liu Chang was stunned for a long time before he shouted, "Although my father is a tyrant, those princes are all close relatives. There is no way my father could do anything to them!"
"Yes, the Queen only thinks about the Crown Prince. As for Your Majesty... all the Lius in the world are his close relatives."
Liu Chang seemed to understand something. "Master, do you mean... that I should go directly to my father?"
Gai Gong smiled but said nothing.
…
"I am ready to swear an oath with my ministers..."
Liu Bang was talking to Chen Ping about his ideas when a soldier suddenly came to report, "My Lord, I am here to see you!"
Liu Bang was stunned, waved his hand and cursed: "Get him out!"
After a while, the soldier came in again, "Your Majesty... The prince bowed again and said there was something important..."
Liu Bang sighed helplessly and asked the soldiers to bring the boy in.
Liu Chang was dressed very formally, wearing a crown, and walked into the Xuanshi Hall. He carefully took off his shoes, lowered his head, and trotted to Liu Bang. This set of rules was set by the ministers, that is, the etiquette to be followed when meeting the emperor. However, the princes never followed it, and even Liu Ying did not perform such etiquette, after all, he was meeting his biological father.
At this moment, Liu Bang looked at Liu Chang blankly, seeming to want to say something but stopping himself.
"Your Highness, I pay my respects to your father!"
Liu Chang frowned and bowed to Liu Bang seriously.
"Puchi..." Liu Bang couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Liu Chang said in a particularly serious tone: "I came to see you for an important matter. Why do you despise me?"
“Hahahaha~~”
Liu Bang slapped his thigh and almost fell down with laughter. This guy's serious look was really funny.
"Don't laugh! I really have something important to deal with!"
“Hahahaha~~”
"Don't laugh! Don't laugh!!"
Liu Chang shouted in grievance, but Liu Bang almost died of laughter.