Disciplining Emperor Gaozu of Han

Chapter 65 Sunset Major

"Uncle, do you know who he granted the right to mint coins to? And who are minting coins?" Liu Ying asked as he hurried toward the palace.

"After the pacification of the Three Qin regions, the King of Han rewarded those who had contributed to the victory, ordering a group of veterans, including Han Xin, to mint coins." Xiahou Ying was very familiar with this matter: "I could not refuse, so I had to accept, but I did not mint any. The Prime Minister did the same. Lu Wan, Zhou Bo, Cao Can, and Guan Ying were all minting coins."

"Where is Han Xin?" Liu Ying asked.

"General Han's direct refusal is the same excuse he used to refuse to do business," Xiahou Ying added.

"Han Xin is excellent," Liu Ying exclaimed.

"The Zhou brothers accepted it, but no coins were minted," Xiahou Ying continued. "Liu Fu also didn't mint coins, and as for Fan Kuai, he said selling dog meat was more profitable."

"Pfft." Liu Ying burst out laughing on the spot: "Uncle really wants to make a fortune off dog meat, huh?"

"Haha." Xiahou Ying laughed loudly.

"Who cast the most?" Liu Ying asked again.

"Those who mint coins all minted quite a lot," Xiahou Ying pondered. "If we're talking about who minted the most, it would have to be Lu Wan."

"Why Lu Wan?" Liu Ying asked, somewhat puzzled.

"How should I put it? Besides being tyrannical, he's also greedy," Xiahou Ying said, pursing his lips.

Liu Ying had witnessed Lu Wan's arrogance, but he had not yet witnessed her greed.

"Do you know why he became enemies with Zhou Bo?" Xiahou Ying asked Liu Ying.

"I don't know." Liu Ying truly didn't know.

"It's all because Lu Wan is greedy." Xiahou Ying shook his head, looking down on Lu Wan. "Zhou Bo came from a poor background, making a living by weaving brocade and supporting his family by handling funerals. Earning money wasn't easy for him. Even so, Lu Wan still had her eye on him. In order to get money from Zhou Bo, she made things difficult for him a lot and fought with him countless times."

"He wants this money too?" Liu Ying was shocked.

The money spent on funerals is often considered unclean and is generally taboo; no one wants to get involved with it. Lu Wan's attempt to extract this money from Zhou Bo reveals his extreme greed.

"Good." Xiahou Ying nodded.

"He never cared?" Liu Ying asked with some disdain for Liu Bang.

"Lu Wan is the most trusted person of the King of Han," Xiahou Ying said.

"His most trusted person is Uncle Shi," Liu Ying said, looking at Xiahou Ying.

Although Lu Wan and Liu Bang were childhood friends, and Lu Wan's loyalty to Liu Bang was unquestionable, especially given his significant assistance in Dangshan, Liu Bang trusted Xiahou Ying the most in terms of trust level.

Otherwise, Liu Bang wouldn't have taken Xiahou Ying with him when he fled from Pengcheng after his defeat; nor would he have been the only one, Liu Bang, when he seized the army at Xiuwu.

"The King of Meng Han trusts me." Xiahou Ying straightened his chest.

As they spoke, they arrived at the royal palace.

"Greetings, Your Highness." As soon as he entered the royal camp, he was greeted by Tian, ​​who clasped his hands in a salute to Liu Ying and said, "The King of Han requests that Your Highness come over for an audience."

"Do you know what this is about?" Tian was a very loyal man. Although he was not of high rank and was just Liu Bang's personal bodyguard, Liu Ying still treated him with courtesy and returned the greeting with clasped hands.

"It concerns the prince's studies," Tian replied.

"Why do I need to study?" Liu Ying felt this was absurd. "I'm a college student, and I've been transported to the Han Dynasty. Do I still need to study?"

"The prince is at the age where he should be studying." Tian Ba ​​glanced at Liu Ying, his words carrying a hidden meaning.

I can't explain it to you, so I followed Tian to Liu Bang's bedroom.

The palace is mainly divided into two parts: the front hall and the back hall. The front hall was where ministers like Xiao He handled official business, which is what later generations referred to as the location of the central administrative center.

The rear hall was where Liu Bang and Liu Ying lived.

Upon arriving at the backyard, they headed straight for the main hall in the center, which was Liu Bang's sleeping quarters. Inside, they found Liu Bang with disheveled hair, half-lying on Lady Qi's long, white legs, his hands constantly groping and pinching, making Lady Qi giggle.

A middle-aged man, wearing a scholar's cap and a brocade robe, stood to one side, watching with an air of indifference.

"Ying'er, come here." Liu Bang beckoned to Liu Ying as he entered.

Liu Ying led the way, followed by Xiahou Ying and Liu Le. They quickly approached and asked, "What is it?"

"Come, quickly greet the teacher." Liu Bang pointed to the middle-aged man and said, "This is a great scholar. I went to great lengths to persuade him to teach you to read and write. You must cherish this opportunity."

The middle-aged man puffed out his chest, sizing up Liu Ying, as if expecting her to greet him.

Liu Ying ignored the middle-aged man and instead stared wide-eyed at Liu Bang: "If you don't study, why do you want me to?"

"Hiss." Lady Qi glanced at Liu Bang and chuckled.

"Who says I don't read books? Who says I don't read books? Who says I don't read books? I've read a lot of books!" Liu Bang refused to admit that he didn't read books and started to argue.

"Heh." Liu Ying sneered.

"Let me tell you, no matter how much you plead, you still have to study diligently," Liu Bang said, his eyes widening. "If you dare utter a single word of dissent, I'll beat you to death!"

"Some parents are bad at studying themselves, but they force their children to study. They're really despicable." Liu Ying thought of some modern parents who, despite not studying hard themselves, force their children to study diligently and hand in their homework on time.

They were the same kind of people as Liu Bang.

"You unfilial son, who are you cursing?" Liu Bang's face flushed red, a rare occurrence for him, and his imposing manner weakened.

"Prince, you should know how to study..." The middle-aged man quickly chimed in to help Liu Bang, who seemed to be in a difficult position.

"Who are you?" Liu Ying asked, tilting her head up.

"My name is Lu Jia," Lu Jia said proudly.

"It's you?" Liu Ying looked at Lu Jia and wanted to laugh.

Despite Liu Ying's poor historical record, he was aware of Lu Jia. The reason he knew of him wasn't because he was particularly capable, but because the whole affair was so ridiculous.

Lu Jia loved to show off his erudition, flaunting his knowledge of poetry and literature in front of Liu Bang, which displeased Liu Bang, who scolded him, "You conquered the land on horseback, what use are poetry and books to you!"

Lu Jia then countered, "If it was captured on horseback, can it be governed on horseback as well?"

Liu Bang had no answer, so he asked Lu Jia to summarize the gains and losses of the Qin Dynasty. Lu Jia accepted the task and wrote "New Discourses". It is said that Liu Bang would praise each of his writings, which made Lu Jia very proud.

Liu Ying hadn't read *Xin Yu* and didn't know its quality. However, his history teacher had commented that it was inferior in both literary style and depth of content, falling far short of Jia Yi's *Guo Qin Lun*. He suggested that Liu Bang was likely just teasing Lu Jia.

"Does the prince know me?" Lu Jia puffed out his chest.

"What can you teach me?" Liu Ying pouted.

"I can teach the prince the art of diplomacy," Lu Jia said proudly.

"Are you trying to frame me?" Liu Ying was furious.

"What do you mean by that, Your Highness?" Lu Jia said proudly, "During the Warring States period, the art of diplomacy was a prominent field of study, widely practiced throughout the land. Zhang Yi, Su Qin, Xi Shou, Chen Zhen, Su Dai, Su Li... all with their silver tongues, they traversed the world, traveling among the states, stirring up boundless waves and swaying the world's trends. What a magnificent sight that was! If it weren't for the King of Han's generous treatment, I wouldn't have taught Your Highness."

"Excellent!" Liu Bang agreed.

"Good!" Xiahou Ying echoed.

During the Warring States period, the most prominent school of thought was Legalism, which produced famous figures such as Li Li, Shang Yang, Han Fei, Li Si, and Shen Buhai.

Secondly, there were the strategists, represented by figures such as Zhang Yi, Su Qin, Xi Shou, and Chen Zhen. Each of them used their silver tongues to roam the world, traveling among the states and stirring up endless storms.

Therefore, many people study the art of diplomacy.

"Qin Shi Huang conquered the six states and unified the world. The art of diplomacy is no longer of use. Do you still want to mislead me?" Liu Ying rebuked Lu Jia.

"I..." Lu Jia stammered, unable to answer.

"Excellent!" A glint flashed in Liu Bang's eyes as he looked at Liu Ying, both surprised and delighted.

"Excellent!" Xiahou Ying also praised.

The reason why the art of diplomacy became a prominent field of study was that during the Warring States period, the various states were constantly at war, and there was a need for alliances and counter-alliances, which allowed strategists to fully demonstrate their abilities.

Qin Shi Huang conquered the six states and completed the unification of the country, ushering in the era of great unification. What use was learning the art of diplomacy then?

As the saying goes, "He has the skill to slay dragons, but no dragon to slay."

Therefore, with the death of Lu Jia, Sui He, and Kuai Che, the last of the strategists, no one else studied the art of diplomacy.

From then on, the School of Diplomacy disappeared.

In modern terms, the art of strategic maneuvering is a sunset industry.

In Liu Ying's eyes, Lu Jia was as despicable as a wicked tutor who lured students to apply for sunset-related majors.