Jiuxi

Chapter 768

Liu Yuan's words were not difficult to understand; even the uneducated Sagai could understand them.

His core ideas were two-fold. The first was that the position of Crown Prince of Jing Dynasty had been vacant for nearly a year, which was not a good thing. A Crown Prince should be appointed as soon as possible to stabilize the foundation of the country.

The second is about the selection of the crown prince. Unless there are special circumstances, the eldest son will naturally be the first choice.

In this case, Liu Yuan obviously wanted to nominate the fourth prince Hai Ge as the crown prince.

The Queen had three sons. The eldest son, Nalan, had passed away. The third prince, Wuyan, was imprisoned in Youdao for killing his brother. The fourth prince, Haige, was the only legitimate son who could possibly inherit the throne.

Liu Yuan's words did not cause a commotion among the civil and military officials.

Perhaps in the eyes of these people, the emperor's agreement to the marriage between the Fourth Prince and Qing Yu Huaijin was already a very obvious hint.

If the Fourth Prince had no hope of becoming the Crown Prince, why would the Emperor allow him to marry the eldest daughter of the Prince of Changshan?

Although Qing Yugong's glory has dimmed in the past two years, the foundation of the Qing Yu family is still strong. If a prince has such help, it will be enough to pose a fatal threat to the prince in the East Palace, unless he is the prince himself.

Of course, the ministers did not think that the emperor would make a stupid decision.

Some looked at the Fourth Prince Hai Ge, while others looked at the calm Qing Yugong. Could it be that the prince and the prince, who were about to become father-in-law and son-in-law, had secretly reached an agreement and asked the Minister of Rites to come forward to urge the emperor to make up his mind?
They would not link this incident with forcing the emperor to abdicate, because Da Jing would have to enthrone a crown prince sooner or later.

After a moment of silence, Emperor Jing ignored Liu Yuan and turned to look at Qing Yugong and asked, "Does the prince have any suggestions?"

Qing Yugong stood up.

The Fourth Prince couldn't help but swallow quietly, his hands clenched tightly in his sleeves.

Qing Yugong thought for a moment and said slowly: "Your Majesty, I agree with Minister Liu's opinion."

Behind him, Qing Yu Huaijin frowned slightly and was about to stand up when a broad hand suddenly stretched out from the side.

She turned her head and saw her brother Qing Yuzhongwang holding her wrist and shaking his head at her, with a look of admonition in his eyes.

After hearing Qing Yugong's answer, Emperor Jing remained silent.

The Fourth Prince's heart sank as he watched this scene. He then without hesitation pulled out one hand and lowered it, making a concealed gesture.

The middle-aged scholar took in everything and then coughed lightly.

The emperor's silence at this moment made all the civil and military officials keenly aware that something was wrong. When Liu Yuan bravely spoke up, many people thought that it was just a formality and that the emperor would definitely agree. When an auspicious day came, Dajing would once again have a crown prince.

Why is the emperor silent?

No one dared to ask.

After a long while, Emperor Jing looked past Qing Yugong and Sagai and landed on Jiaguyong's face. He asked calmly, "What do you think?"

Jia Guyong quickly stood up and said, "Your Majesty, I agree with the suggestions of Minister Liu and the Prince of Changshan."

"It seems like you have thought it through very carefully."

Emperor Jing did not continue to ask, and slowly said: "Regarding the position of crown prince, I have also thought about it for a long time. Liu Yuan just mentioned the difference between eldest son and talented person, but I have a different view. Dajing was founded on military power, and now the world is not settled, the successor must be able to conquer the world and also be able to rule the world. If you want to inherit my foundation, it is not enough to have the title of eldest son, you must have outstanding talents. The so-called eldest son system is a rule that has been passed down by the people of the Central Plains for thousands of years, but it may not be applicable to Dajing."

At this moment, Minister of Rites Liu Yuan suddenly trembled slightly.

Emperor Jing didn't even look at him. He looked up at the second prince, Nagu, and said with a hint of sarcasm: "After Nalan passed away, you became the eldest son of the royal family. Although you were not born by the queen, I have not treated you unfairly over the years. I made you a prince, ordered people to build a palace for you, and allowed you to go on expeditions with the army for training. Is this how you repay me?"

Gu was horrified and quickly knelt down and said, "Father, I have done nothing wrong."

"Ah."

Emperor Jing laughed expressionlessly, and then said: "You really didn't do anything wrong. It's not that you didn't want to, but you didn't have the courage. At most, you did something shameful, such as bribing the manager of the hunting ground with a large sum of money to have him prepare enough prey in advance and put it in front of Ahudai. I really don't understand, since you are determined to compete for the throne, why can't you use your brain and do such a ridiculous and stupid thing?"

Na Gu's face turned pale immediately, his eyes full of panic.

The eighth prince Ahudai in the distance stared at his royal brother in a daze.

He thought he was particularly lucky today, but he didn't expect it to be a human arrangement.

Emperor Jing still looked at the Second Prince Nagu, and said sternly: "You know that according to the principle of primogeniture, the Fourth Prince must be ahead of you, and I have been quite fond of the Eighth Prince over the past year, so you want to seduce me on occasions like today. You let the Eighth Prince take the top spot, so that you can hit the Fourth Prince's momentum, and at the same time maybe arouse my suspicion of the Eighth Prince. You think this is a strategy of killing two birds with one stone, but you never thought about who would believe such a clumsy method. Sake."

Sagai, the former Marshal of the North Court and the head of the Huiluo clan, was shocked and immediately stood up and said, "I am here!"

Emperor Jing asked, "Do you believe that Ah Hudai cheated secretly today just to show off in front of me?"

Sagai looked around and said cautiously, "Your Majesty, the Eighth Prince is so young and has always been upright. I just think someone is setting a trap for him."

"Did you hear that?"

Emperor Jing looked at the Second Prince Na Gu with disdain and said coldly, "Go and kneel down to the side!"

"Yes, Father."

The second prince was sweating profusely. He did not dare to argue at all. He crawled on his knees to a distance and continued to kneel.

This incident left the ministers somewhat confused. Although the Second Prince's little thoughts were indeed laughable, why did it make the Emperor so angry?
Over the past ten years, the image of Emperor Jing in the minds of all officials has always been that of an unshakable towering mountain. Not to mention this trivial matter at the moment, even when the prince was murdered, the emperor was still able to calmly deal with the aftermath.

At this time, Emperor Jing only said indifferently: "Fourth brother."

The fourth prince Hai Ge quickly stood up and said, "Your son is here."

Emperor Jing looked up at the only surviving legitimate son and said slowly, "Do you feel resentful that I did not make you the crown prince?"

Except for a few people, most officials and nobles looked confused at this moment.

They looked at the father and son, king and minister, who were looking at each other from afar in confusion. Could it be that the emperor really didn't want to make the fourth prince the crown prince?
The fourth prince took a deep breath and raised his voice slightly: "I dare not."

"Don't dare..."

Emperor Jing repeated the story expressionlessly, and then said with a dull tone: "Among my sons, you are considered to be a relatively smart one. Although it is just a little clever, you must be proud of it. Liu Yuan spoke up for you today, and I believe you are secretly very proud of it. I still remember that Qing Yugong was criticized by thousands of people in the court because of the defeat in Yongqiu, and the military heroes attacked him one after another. At that time, you resolutely stood up and defended him with the courage of a newborn calf. Because of this incident, you won the favor of some civil officials. These people still hold on to the idea of ​​benevolent monarchs and wise ministers, and they would never give up even if they die."

Upon hearing this, the civil servants headed by Zhao Siwen couldn't help but look embarrassed.

As for the Minister of Rites Liu Yuan, who was still standing in the same place, his face had turned pale at this time.

Emperor Jing continued, "Since you are clever, you will not miss this opportunity. When Liu Yuan and others showed their appreciation for you, you immediately tried to make friends with them. You are a man of great courtesy. These people have read too much and their brains are ruined. They only want you to be the candidate for the Holy Son of Heaven. You only need to show your determination and they will be eager to cheer for you. But have you ever thought about who has the final say on this matter?"

The fourth prince lowered his head and said with some self-mockery: "In the hands of my father."

"you're right."

Emperor Jing nodded slightly, then stood up and said calmly: "Bring him here."

The ministers were waiting nervously, but the Fourth Prince seemed very calm. Unlike his usual docile and obedient demeanor in front of the Emperor, he instead showed some arrogance.

About an incense stick of time later, a young man appeared in front of everyone, surrounded by several Hezha warriors.

"This this……"

Zhao Siwen whispered to himself, his face full of disbelief.

The Fourth Prince looked up, and after seeing the man's face clearly, he actually smiled with relief.

The person who came was the third prince Wu Yan, who should be imprisoned in the dark road at this moment.

He came to the imperial court and paid homage, saying respectfully, "Greetings, Father."

It was at this time that everyone realized that Wu Yan was calm and composed, and he did not seem to be cowed by the hardship of being imprisoned for a long time.

Emperor Jing signaled Wu Yan to stand up, then turned his head to glance at Liu Yuan and said calmly: "You just said that not establishing the eldest son is not a blessing for the country. I thought about it carefully and found that there is some truth in what you said, so I decided to establish Wu Yan as the Crown Prince. Do you have any different opinions?"

The ministers were in awe.

If we go by the standard of eldest son, Wu Yan is indeed more qualified than Hai Ge. The problem is that the emperor has already determined that Wu Yan is the murderer of the prince.

How could such a person become the crown prince of Dajing?
At this moment they knew that something must be fishy, ​​so they didn't dare to speak casually.

Emperor Jing didn't care. He continued to look at the Fourth Prince and said, "The previous evidence pointed to Wu Yan murdering Nalan. Are you willing to defend him today?"

The fourth prince raised his head and looked at his father. After a moment of silence, he shook his head and said, "Please forgive me, father. I don't know the situation and dare not make any rash comments."

There was another long silence.

Emperor Jing stood with his hands behind his back and said in a deep voice: "Do you know that I have given you many chances today?"

The Fourth Prince lowered his head again and expressed his attitude with silence.

At this moment, a young general quickly ran up to the platform, and walked forward quickly under the surprised gazes of the civil and military officials and the nobles. He knelt on one knee when he was still five or six feet away from the emperor and said hurriedly: "Your Majesty, there are large groups of soldiers approaching the hunting grounds from the south, east and northeast. They are coming with great momentum. Your Majesty, please take shelter for a while!"

The ministers were in an uproar, a number of military heroes suddenly stood up, and some even shouted angrily.

This is the royal hunting ground where the emperor resides. Which troops dare to approach without permission?

This is rebellion!

Amid the uproar, Emperor Jing raised his hand and pressed it lightly, and everyone had to force themselves to calm down.

Emperor Jing took two steps forward and looked at the Fourth Prince who had maintained the same attitude. He asked with some confusion and sadness, "Since you dare not do this or that, why did you do such a treasonous thing?"

"Fourth Prince?!"

Many ministers said in unison. They looked at the young prince in surprise. Could he be the mastermind of those troops outside the hunting ground?
The wind howled.

The fourth prince, Brother Hai, raised his head slowly. His eyes were slightly red and his expression gradually became ferocious. His voice was filled with inextricable grief and anger as he roared out word by word.

"Because...I am unwilling to do so!"

(End of this chapter)