Three Kingdoms: I am not Liu Bian

Chapter 103 Liu Hong: How about I be the emperor?
Liu Hong narrowed his eyes slightly and slowly swept his gaze over Liu Bian. There was scrutiny in his eyes, but also a hint of barely perceptible satisfaction. However, this satisfaction was masked by the long-term majesty of the emperor and his complex state of mind, and the words he spoke had several different meanings.

"He has grown stronger and has the appearance of a master."

Unlike Empress He, she was also concerned about her son's safety after not seeing him for more than half a year. She could not eat the delicious food, and the shy beauties could no longer attract her. Her mind was filled with only this "unfilial" son.

Although the father and son had some disagreements before, they are still father and son after all.

Furthermore, do we really want to throw the country into someone else's hands like Emperor Xiaohuan did?

Moreover, when this rebellious son ascends the throne in the future, he will definitely "invite" Emperor Xiaohuan out of the Taimiao.

This is not because the rebellious son is disrespectful to the late emperor, but because the system of the Taimiao requires it to be so.

There were already seven emperors in the "Temple of Emperor Taizu" of the Later Han Dynasty. According to the ritual system, he would definitely have an admission ticket to the Taimiao after his death. However, the Taimiao was a system of seven temples, so one lucky person had to be selected from the seven emperors in the Taimiao to be "invited" out to make room for Liu Hong.

Obviously, Emperor Xiaohuan, who offended scholars during his lifetime and whose throne was not inherited by his son after his death, was such a wronged person.

Haha, no matter how majestic he was during his lifetime, if he can’t even guarantee his food after his death, what’s the point of being an emperor?
But when this rebellious son really came back to him, the longing and worry in his heart disappeared as if they had never existed. Although they were words of praise, they always had a bit of sarcastic meaning.

At the beginning, when Liu Hong was in the court, facing the joint petition of all officials to make the emperor's eldest son Bian the crown prince, Liu Hong bluntly said in front of all the officials that he was "frivolous and without dignity, and is not fit to be a ruler."

Now people say that he "has the potential to be a ruler", which always makes Liu Bian feel uncomfortable.

"Father looks like a king."

Liu Bian also retorted subconsciously, and Liu Hong didn't pay attention to one of them at first, but after thinking about it carefully, he realized that the more he listened to it, the more awkward it became.

No! This is clearly a naked sarcasm!

What does it mean to look like a monarch? A person who looks like a monarch is not a monarch after all. But if you say that he does not look like a monarch, that would sound even more unpleasant.

It's like when someone says you look like a human being, is that a compliment?
Liu Hong gritted his teeth, his cheeks slightly puffed up, and he lowered his voice, almost squeezing out two words from between his teeth: "Rebellious son!"

"Dark Lord!"

Liu Biancai would never have a good attitude towards this bastard father, and he immediately retorted without showing any weakness.

Although after taking control of the power, he also understood that this "tyrant" had used every means to be the paperhanger of this big man, but this did not prevent him from using the word "tyrant" to retort Liu Hong.

Who made all these bad things happen when you were the emperor?
Future generations will only blame you!

Catching a glimpse of the sarcastic smile on the face of this rebellious son, Liu Hong clenched his fists, thinking about the seriousness of slapping the prince in public.

He could naturally think of what this rebellious son could think of.

Even if the Han Dynasty perished in this generation, future generations would only say that he, a "tyrant king", committed a sin by entrusting a crumbling empire to this rebellious son. However, this rebellious son was brave and wise but could not turn the tide, and he was positioned as a tragic hero.

When he thought of this, Liu Hong looked at this rebellious son with an even more unfriendly look.

Or why not just follow the example of King Wuling of Zhao and give up the throne?

Hmm... the title of "Grand Emperor" for Taigong is also pretty good?

No matter how catastrophic the flood is, it will all be the fault of this rebellious son. He will not continue to take the blame for this rebellious son!
Yang Ci, Yuan Wei and Zhang Ji looked at each other, not knowing what to say.

Your Majesty, Crown Prince, if you two want to argue, please don't do it here. The officials standing in the front row heard the quarrel between the most noble father and son in the Han Empire clearly, but they had to turn their heads away, or pretend to adjust their court robes, or stare at the ground, but everyone acted as if they didn't hear a word.
Empress He was too lazy to care about the father and son. How could an old stubborn donkey and a young stubborn donkey live in harmony if they were placed in the same stable?
Finally, Liu Yu, the head of the imperial clan, coughed lightly and stepped forward to interrupt the father-son exchange. "Your Majesty, Your Highness, it's time to reward the soldiers."

Upon hearing this, Liu Hong and Liu Bian stopped their verbal confrontation. They couldn't just waste time here and let the army bask in the sun, right?
"In compliance with the imperial decree of the Emperor and the Crown Prince Regent, rewards are bestowed upon meritorious soldiers..."

The person who was responsible for reading out the imperial edict to the good family children and professional soldiers headed by the Northern Army and the Yulin Cavalry at the city gate in front of the emperor, the empress, the crown prince and all the officials was the crown prince's groom and secretary Ju Su, while the people who read out the imperial edict on behalf of the crown prince to the army of good family children and the army of professional soldiers respectively were the crown prince's concubine Shen Pei and the crown prince's attendant Chen Gong.

Shen Pei was recruited by the prince in Weijun on his way back to the capital, and the prince's attendant Chen Gong was recommended to the prince by Cheng Yu during the last talent recommendation. However, Chen Gong was unable to go because of his mother's illness at that time. He only came to Cheng Yu at the beginning of the seventh year of Guanghe when his mother recovered from her illness.

As for Ju Su, it was an unexpected surprise that Liu Bian had never expected.

Ju Su was from Guangping County, but he did not find Ju Su in Guangping County. Later he learned that Ju Su had been selected as a talent at an early age and was appointed as a counselor in Luoyang, but he did not expect that such a dark thing would happen.

As for the rewards for the soldiers, they were among the most generous rewards since the founding of the Later Han Dynasty.

According to the regulations, good family men who were temporarily recruited to join the army were only guaranteed food. Not only did they not receive any military pay, they also had to carry their own armor and weapons to fight. However, all the spoils of war would belong to the good family men personally.

However, the prince not only replaced their armor and weapons with stronger and sharper ones from the Luoyang armory, he also did not confiscate their spoils and even gave them a reward!
"According to the order of the Crown Prince Regent, all soldiers are given two bolts of silk, the wounded are given four bolts, and the county provides them with sufficient food and clothing. Those who sacrifice their lives for the country are given six bolts of silk, and the county provides them with sufficient food and clothing for their parents, wives, and children."

It was Chen Gong who read the imperial edict to the army of more than 40,000 good families, but the eunuchs who accompanied him couldn't help but twitch their lips when they heard what Chen Gong read.

He remembered that the edict began with "an order from the Emperor and the Crown Prince who is the Regent." How could Chen Gong be so bold as to delete the Emperor's order on his own initiative?

However, the eunuch did not say anything. When he saw Chen Gong's loud and solemn voice reach the ears of the soldiers in the front row, the army suddenly became like hot water boiling in an oil pan, so they shut up tactfully.

The soldiers in the middle and back rows could not hear the imperial edict read by Shen Pei at all, but when they heard the retelling of the edict by their comrades in the front row, they immediately joined in the cheers.

A piece of silk was worth 1,500 coins, and two pieces of silk were enough to provide a family of three with food and clothing for several years. In particular, the special treatment given to the wounded and fallen soldiers in addition to the rewards moved everyone.

Giving up one's life, even if it is just dying in battle without any military merit, can ensure that the whole family has food and clothing. It is so worth it!
The rewards for professional soldiers, led by the Northern Army, were twice as much as those for sons of good families, and they were also required to further demonstrate their specific military achievements before being rewarded.

Originally, the Luoyang court should have discussed and worked out the specific rewards for professional soldiers' military merits and the promotions of officers before the army returned to the capital. However, the Crown Prince Regent was personally on a military expedition outside the capital, and he did not approve the reward standards discussed by the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers and the Secretariat, so the matter was eventually shelved.

There was only one reward established by the prince on his own accord: if a man died in battle after making meritorious contributions, his son could enter the Hongdu Gate School to study.

"Long live the prince!"

The cheers for the prince were like thunder, heard throughout the city.

Even without the reward, the gift of studying in Hongdu School alone is enough to make everyone willing to sacrifice their lives.

Before the Crown Prince became Regent, although the Northern Army was well-treated, it was only enough to meet their living needs. The idea among scholars that soldiers should be "taught with benevolence and righteousness, and given few rewards" led to their military pay being reduced repeatedly.

After the crown prince came to power, not only were all welfare benefits greatly improved, but their descendants were even given channels to learn knowledge.

I can never repay the prince's kindness in my lifetime!

(2506 words)
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PS: Sorry, I just got home from a business trip in Shanghai by taking the evening high-speed train. I just got home and started typing at 9:30. Even if I don’t have time to post the second update before midnight, I will make it up to you tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)