"Your Majesty, Jin State cannot be trusted to others."
When Xiao He spoke, he never concealed anything and always got straight to the point. It was probably because of this character that he had to stay in the court for a few days. When other ministers spoke, they always showed that they were thinking about Liu Bang, the emperor was the most important, and the country was second. But Xiao He was just the opposite. He put the country first, then the people, and finally Liu Bang...
It was natural for Liu Bang to feel unhappy, even if you just said a few false polite words.
Xiao He said solemnly: "Young Master Chang has a rebellious character and is brave and strong. He can be a barrier for the Han Dynasty, but he cannot be a neighbor of the emperor."
"What does the Prime Minister mean?"
"In the past, Emperor Yao of the Tao Tang clan, Yi Qi Fangxun, was king, and later made Taiyuan his capital, and the Tang Kingdom was established."
"What does the Prime Minister mean?"
"It is better to make Taiyuan, Shangdang, Yunzhong, Yanmen, and Shangjun the Tang Kingdom, and make Prince Chang the King of Tang. Hedong and Henei must not fall into the hands of the princes, no matter which prince they are."
Liu Bang was furious, "Prime Minister, do you want my son to be your shield?"
The reason why Liu Bang was angry was very simple. With this regalia, Liu Chang lost the wealthy plain area. Although Taiyuan and Shangdang were also good, they were surrounded by foreign enemies on three sides. If Zhao Dai did not help, he would have to face the huge Huns alone, which was really not a good place to be.
At this time, under the leadership of Maodun Chanyu, the Xiongnu conquered more than 20 countries including Loulan, Wusun, Hujie, etc., controlled most of the Western Regions, and conquered Hunyu, Qushe, Dingling, Gekun, Xinli and other countries to the north. To the south, they annexed Loufan and the territory of Baiyang Henan King, and reoccupied the land south of Hetao.
The vast area stretching from Yinshan Mountain in the south to Lake Baikal in the north, from Liaohe River in the east to Pamir Mountains in the west is said to have united all the people who can draw the bow into one family. It has more than 300,000 soldiers who can wield the bow, and everyone is afraid of it.
The Han Dynasty was newly established, the people were exhausted, and there was a shortage of food and grass. It could not withstand a large-scale full-scale war. Even if there were a group of powerful men, it would be of no help. What's more, Maodun had no shortage of powerful men under his command. Maodun himself was also a monarch with great talent and strategy. The second man to unify all the nomadic tribes was Temujin, and he was the first one.
Liu Bang himself didn't dare to say that he could definitely defeat Maodun, let alone this stupid boy Liu Chang?
The threat from the Huns was growing day by day. You must know that the Huns were behind the Zhao Dai rebellion. Han Wangxin led the Huns cavalry to the war. The same was true for the King of Yan. Maodun sent people to invite Lu Wan several times and said that he wanted to make him king.
Maodun was now at his strongest and most powerful. After pacifying the grassland, he set his sights on the huge empire in the south. If it weren't for the tribal problems within the Xiongnu that needed to be integrated, I'm afraid the war would have broken out long ago. But even so, Maodun would send small groups of troops every year to plunder in Yunyan, Shangjun, Taiyuan, Yan, and even Zhaodai.
Facing Liu Bang's questioning, Xiao He was not afraid at all. He said calmly: "Your Majesty wanted to use the princes to protect the emperor, so you did not fully implement the county system and set up feudal states... Could it be that Your Majesty only wants future generations to enjoy wealth and honor, but does not want them to bear responsibilities?"
Liu Bang was no longer angry. He sighed helplessly, "If it were possible, who would be willing to let their offspring suffer?"
"Although he doesn't look like me, he is my most beloved son. He has a strong character, just like his mother..." Liu Bang looked around and whispered, "My biological mother... I want to make Ruyi the King of Zhao because Ruyi knows how to make choices and has great ambitions. He will not act rashly and will govern Zhao seriously. When Zhao is strong, he can immediately rescue the border areas... I want to make Heng the King of Dai because Heng knows how to be patient more than other princes."
"If the Huns were to plunder, they would always be able to endure the humiliation and would not act on impulse."
"But Chang... I dare to conclude that if the Huns plunder, he will definitely go out in person to fight the Huns. If he is humiliated, he will definitely not live in vain... The Huns are strong... This is what the Queen and I are worried about."
This was the first time that Liu Bang was so sincere. He discussed with Xiao He not as the emperor, but in the tone of an old father.
Xiao He chuckled and said, "It is precisely because of this that I think that Prince Chang should be made the King of Tang."
Liu Bang's eyes widened and he cursed, "Could it be that the Prime Minister came here specifically to murder my son?"
"Your Majesty and the Queen only saw the shortcomings of the young master, but never noticed his strengths."
"Your Majesty said that the young master was naughty and mischievous, but you don't know that this boy has quite the style of your Majesty. He can gather people. Although he is young, he has many friends and a wide network of contacts. It is really amazing. He can use people. For example, Lord Gai, Lord Zhang, Luan Bu and others are all willing to work for him."
"He has the courage to lead the crowd to charge into the Tingwei Prison."
"He is intelligent and can think of using the method of attacking the Jiancheng Marquis' Mansion to solve the problem. He can even do many incredible things."
"He is brave and chivalrous. He practices swordsmanship and military tactics... What surprised me the most was that when he attacked the mansion of Marquis Jiancheng, he actually deployed troops, used his confidants to hold crossbows, and used carriages to block the road. He assigned different children different tasks. My son was stupid, so he got the job of holding the flag. He even arranged for four children to set fire to the back door to prevent Marquis Jiancheng from escaping... This was all said by my son himself..."
"In fact, the young master is kind-hearted. Perhaps you have never noticed that the young master has repeatedly instructed his people not to bully civilians. Those who violate the rules will be executed. He has also distributed the looted food to the people several times..."
Xiao He shook his head, feeling somewhat emotional.
But Liu Bang stared at him and asked anxiously: "What else? What else?"
"Besides, your growth is obvious to all. Just a few years ago, you gradually grew into a wise and brave man. In another twenty years, he will be Maodun so what?"
"I predict that the one who can stabilize the Han Dynasty, resist foreign enemies, and support the emperor in the future will be the eldest son!"
"With a son like this, what does Your Majesty have to worry about?"
Liu Bang was overjoyed, raised his head proudly, and said: "The one who can protect the Liu family must be my young tiger!"
Seeing that Xiao He, who never flattered him on weekdays, actually flattered his son, Liu Bang was so happy that he happily kept Xiao He and had dinner with him before hurried to the Pepper Palace.
When he rushed into the Pepper Room, Empress Lu was holding a wooden stick high in her hand and Liu Chang was sticking his butt out.
Liu Bang was stunned, and hurriedly protected Liu Chang, asking, "Why did the queen hit him?"
"You act on your own initiative and are so audacious that you should be punished!"
Empress Lu said coldly.
Liu Bang hurriedly helped him up, patted his face with a smile, and then said to Empress Lu seriously: "My son has the heart to pacify the world, and he should not be punished!"
Empress Lu looked at him in surprise and did not answer.
"I have thought about it and finally came up with an idea. In the past, Emperor Yao Tao Tang clan Yi Qi Fangxun was the king. Later, Taiyuan was the capital and the Tang Kingdom was established... I plan to make the eldest son the King of Tang. What do you think?"
"Your Majesty, what do you mean? Do you want to kill my son?!"
Empress Lu snatched Liu Chang from Liu Bang and stared at him angrily.
Liu Bang shook his head and said, "The queen only saw the shortcomings of the young master, but never noticed his strengths."
"This boy may seem naughty, but he has my style. He can gather people. Although he is young, he has so many friends and a wide network of contacts. It is really amazing. He can use people. For example, Lord Gai, Lord Zhang, Luan Bu and others are all willing to work for him..."
"He has courage..."
"He has the courage..."
Liu Bang spoke loudly, and at the end, he said firmly: "The one who can bring peace to the world must be my young tiger!"
Empress Lü and Liu Chang were stunned.
Empress Lü didn't know how to refute for a moment, but Liu Chang hurriedly asked: "What else? What else?"
Finally, Liu Bang said seriously: "Among all the sons, only the eldest has this ability . I hope the queen can think about it seriously."
Liu Chang stood aside, grinning foolishly. Liu Bang's praise made him feel so light-hearted that he was still not at peace.
"Father is right! Mother, who else but me?"
"They say that my father is good at judging people. It's true. My father is so good at judging people. He saw my strengths at a glance!"
Liu Chang hugged Liu Bang's legs with some excitement and said, "Father, don't worry, I will never make you angry again... I will never call you a tyrant like Jie and Zhou again! Father, you are a wise ruler, the best ruler in the world! What Ying Zheng is not even one ten-thousandth as good as you, father. What Yao, Shun, Yu... what Shennong, Fuxi..."
"Okay, okay, this is a bit too much!!"