I just reached the maximum level, and you want me to be a puppet emperor?

Chapter 190: Expanding the territory and searching for the plan of immortality! (Please subscribe and vote)
Li Chen felt that Pang Jin, whom Zhao Wenyuan recommended last time, was quite capable, and perhaps he knew who had real talents and skills.

Li Chen himself only had some understanding of the ministers, but he was not as familiar with them as Zhao Wenyuan.

Hearing this, many court officials were envious that Zhao Wenyuan was able to gain the trust of His Majesty.

With so many positions, it is not a problem to arrange some of his own disciples and old officials.

Zhao Wenyuan is now wondering whether Li Chen is testing him.

Moreover, many court officials were eyeing his position as prime minister. If they really found out that he was abusing his power for personal gain, they would really dare to report him.

The most important thing is that Li Chen is the kind of person who really handles things.

So Zhao Wenyuan was thinking about what to do.

His students and former officials must have real talents and hard work, so it seems unreasonable to avoid suspicion and not recommend any of them.

Such a large-scale reshuffle is rare in the Tiance Dynasty, and everyone is thinking about promotion.

If he doesn't recommend it, his disciples will feel that there is no future in following him.

After thinking for a moment, Zhao Wenyuan stood up and said, "Your Majesty, this matter is of great importance, and I am afraid that I am not good enough. How about I make a list and Your Majesty will personally examine it."

According to his idea, he would recommend two people for each position, one of his own and the other one from someone else.

Anyway, both of them are capable of taking on the vacant position. As for who to choose, it depends on your mood, Your Majesty.

Then my students and former officials cannot say that I did not recommend them, and other court officials cannot accuse me of abusing my power for personal gain. All decision-making power lies with Your Majesty.

This is the person chosen by His Majesty, it is none of my business.

I can also show His Majesty that I have completed the recommendation task he assigned me.

"Okay, it's up to you."

Li Chen said this and thought that today's morning court session was over.

Unexpectedly, the Minister of Rites stood up and said, "Your Majesty, a mutiny seems to have begun in the Tianwu Dynasty surrounding the Tiance Dynasty."

This is similar to "international news" and has little impact on the Tiance Dynasty for the time being, or no impact at all.

It was just a simple report from the ministers, for example, the situation in the southern countries and the internal situation of the Sassanid Empire in the west was often mentioned by the ministers.

Just like within the Tiance Dynasty, the Third Prince and the Prince of Zhennan were fighting, and the courts of other countries would also have reports, it was all pretty much the same.

But when Li Chen heard this, he was stunned.

Because he had a woman, who seemed to be the eldest princess of the Tianwu Dynasty, named Pei Wanyu.

Li Chen still remembered that Pei Wanyu said that she wanted to inherit the throne of the Tianwu Dynasty and become the empress of the Tianwu Dynasty.

The Tianwu Dynasty is located in the southeast of the Tiance Dynasty, separated from Huju City by the Canglong Mountain Range.

The Canglong Mountains are vast, with numerous monsters and beasts, as well as ancient sects and families hidden within them.

Because of this natural barrier, there has been basically no friction between the Tianwu Dynasty and the Tiance Dynasty for nearly a thousand years.

During the Tiance Dynasty's national celebration, the Tianwu Dynasty would also send envoys to pay tribute.

The Tiance Dynasty would also send an envoy to participate in the Tianwu Dynasty’s national celebration and send congratulatory gifts.

The relations between the two countries have always been peaceful.

The Tianwu Dynasty was a medium-sized country. It was not a small country, but it was certainly not big either.

After the morning court session, Li Chen returned to the imperial study.

From the map drawn up by Peng Zhao, Marquis of Zhaoyuan, who was on a diplomatic mission for twelve years, we can see the territory of the Tianwu Dynasty and some cities and passes.

Li Chen increasingly felt that Peng Zhao was a talented person.

Looking at so many countries on the map, Li Chen had a feeling of wanting unification.

Perhaps he had been emperor for too long and started to suffer from occupational diseases.

It is like every emperor wants to occupy every piece of land he sees and become the master of the world.

The second occupational disease is the search for immortality.

How can I not be nostalgic for such a country?

Li Chen’s second occupational disease is not that exaggerated, and the main reason is also because he is young.

To put it bluntly, life expectancy is still very long for the time being.

Only those saints who are in their seventies or eighties and are nearing the end of their lifespans are eager to increase their lifespans.

In this world, as far as Li Chen knows, if one wants to achieve immortality, he needs to ascend and break the limitations of lifespan.

But whether ascension is a good thing or a trap is hard to say.

Li Chen is a person who pursues stability, so he will not come out until he has cultivated to the maximum level. So what will he encounter when he ascends to the upper realm?

In Li Chen's opinion, no matter which world it is, it is cruel.

People in the upper realm are not necessarily friendly.

Maybe we can capture those who have ascended and use them to mine, that would be considered a good thing.

It would be terrible if the skin and tendons were peeled off and refined into cultivation materials.

So Li Chen drew up several plans for ascension.

The first set is definitely to choose to ascend alone when one's lifespan is about to end. This is very risky, and no one knows what they will face, after all, there is no record.

The second set is group ascension, which involves forming a group of powerful people and ascending together. Since everyone goes up to the same plane, they can take care of each other to some extent.

The third set is the ascension of the whole country. The people of a country directly ascend to the upper realm, have higher resources, and obtain props to increase the upper limit of life.

In a country with a huge population, there will always be talented people emerging, so Li Chen’s risk will be much smaller.

The fourth and final solution is plane ascension.

The entire plane ascends together, and at least to a certain extent, Li Chen can develop rapidly.

However, to achieve this, Li Chen needs to unify this plane first.

There is also a crucial step, which is for Li Sining to cultivate to the pinnacle of this world according to the requirements of the system. It is estimated that by then, he will be able to start the ascension mission.

Li Chen can obtain intelligence through the ascension mission.

These are Li Chen’s views on ascension. He has never been in a hurry to ascend because he has not figured out what he will encounter after ascension.

Li Chen is still young, he has the time and ability to achieve great unification.

Since there was a mutiny in the Tianwu Dynasty next to the Tiance Dynasty, if Pei Wanyu wanted to regain the throne, she would need the help of Li Chen.

Li Chen thought that he might as well tell her his idea when the time comes and see if she supports it.

As Pei Wanyu is Li Chen’s woman, it would be fine if she supports him. If not, then she can only obey her.

But Pei Wanyu is not in the palace now. She and Li Chen's other woman, the flawless swordsman Mu Qingrou, returned to Ziyun Immortal Mansion to visit the place where her mother used to practice and to further her studies.

In Pei Wanyu's opinion, this is a rare opportunity that must be seized. Perhaps one can obtain some inheritance and improve one's cultivation.

Besides, Mu Qingrou is a powerful saint. They both learn the skills from the same sect. It is a good thing to get Mu Qingrou's guidance.

Li Chen sent someone to Ziyun Immortal Mansion to tell Pei Wanyu about this matter first and see how she would react.

Immediately afterwards, Li Chen's eyes swept over the Sassanid Empire on the map.

In his opinion, sooner or later there will be only one dynasty on this map.

At that time, another person will be needed to make the map again.

Just as Li Chen was thinking, a eunuch walked in and said that Crown Princess Yunshang wanted to see him.

Li Chen had some impression of this woman. She was very active in dealing with the Tianyan Divine Sect and the Jiuyuan Holy Land.

Yun Shang acted very capable in front of Li Chen with the purpose of pleasing Li Chen, and Li Chen knew this.

Her attitude of wanting to pay for her place in the palace made Li Chen wonder at first if she had some sort of plan.

Because at that time, the cause of the prince's death had not been found out, so how could Li Chen dare to touch these things.

Now that the Wang family has been raided and the remnants of the previous dynasty have been arrested, Yun Shang, as the Crown Princess, naturally has an excuse to find Li Chen.

Yun Shang was also a victim in this matter, and Li Chen had no way to avoid it, so he asked the eunuch to call Yun Shang in.

Not long after, a fairy who looked like she had walked out of a painting walked into the door of the imperial study.

Just the few steps she took showed off her graceful and exquisite figure, and every step exuded endless temptation.

After Yun Shang came closer, she knelt down and greeted Li Chen.

From Li Chen's angle, the plump breasts, slender waist, and perky buttocks formed a perfect double S-shaped curve.

The most important thing is that she doesn't need to do it on purpose. She is already incredibly beautiful just by showing off her beauty openly.

When she stood up, you could see the melancholy look on her face and her pitiful temperament, which made people want to protect her.

"Your Majesty, I heard that the culprit in the prince's case has been arrested?" Yun Shang's voice was very pleasant, elegant yet a little coquettish.

"Well, it's under trial. If you want to know the progress, you can go to Pang Jin. He is in charge of this case." Li Chen answered more formally.

There was no way Yun Shang would go looking for Pang Jin. If she cared about the case, she would have gone to the Ministry of Justice long ago.

It was not easy to get a chance to meet Li Chen, so he must be very attentive. And since he could meet Li Chen alone, he must show his best.

That would definitely be showing concern for each other and showing off all the good aspects of oneself.

Next, let’s talk about the Second Army. Her father is Yun Xu, the commander of the Second Army.

Speaking of this, Li Chen became interested and asked some questions about Yun Xu.

When Yun Shang heard that His Majesty liked this, she slowly began to talk about her father's ability and loyalty, as well as the Yun family's financial situation, hoping to help Li Chen.

She spent a full hour in the imperial study before leaving feeling satisfied.

Nothing happened, but she felt that Li Chen was not as repulsive to her as before, which proved that there was still a chance.

After returning to the mansion, Yunchang gave his father a letter of divorce.

In the barracks of the Second Army, when Yun Xu saw the letter, he was overwhelmed.

Yun Xu and the third prince Li Yu are now attacking the King of Zhennan. The third prince Li Xian was taught by him and can be considered his disciple.

Yun Xu knew that Li Yu had feelings for Yun Shang and had said it directly before.

But since the prince asked the late emperor to grant him a marriage, and Yun Shang agreed, there was nothing that could be done.

All I can say is that Yun Xu really likes this kid Li Yu, and there's nothing she can do to help him.

Now that the prince has been dead for almost a year, Li Yu returns to Yun Xu again. While discussing military affairs, he also mentions, intentionally or unintentionally, that he wants to marry Yun Shang.

As Yunshang's father, he doesn't want to see his daughter remain a widow for the rest of her life.

I'm just thinking about finding a solution after the war in the south is over.

Li Yu was also very excited when he heard this, and fought very hard.

But just as the fight started, the daughter wrote a letter saying that she wanted to get close to Li Chen, and that after a period of hard work, there had been some progress.

Yun Xu had just promised Li Yu that he would find a way, but his daughter played such a trick on him, leaving him a little overwhelmed.

Yun Xu felt that such emotional and political matters were more troublesome than fighting a war.

The problem is that Yun Xu cannot tell Li Yu about this.

Li Yu is a bit of a rookie, he just does whatever he thinks of.

What if he found out that his sweetheart was having an affair with Li Chen?

He might turn around and hit Li Chen.

Let's wait until the war is over. Thinking of this, he burned the letter. He really couldn't let that kid Li Yu see it.

Yun Xu is in very good health and still as strong as ever. It is only when it comes to things like this that he feels old. Young people's emotions are too complicated and he really doesn't understand them.

In the palace, after Yun Shang left, Li Chen's work was almost done.

In fact, he understood Yun Xu and was thinking about another thing.

The southern countries are helping the King of Zhennan, so as long as they win, why not let Yunxu keep fighting and open up the south.

Every time the Tian Ce Dynasty sent troops to attack other countries, it always made sure to have a legitimate reason for the attack.

Now the excuses have been given to you, why not fight?

Thinking about it this way, Li Chen felt that the Tiance Dynasty could expand in the east, west, south and north.

After the saint from Jiuyuan Holy Land comes, Li Chen plans to go to the north in person.

This time, Li Chen not only planned to drive the Snow Eagle Royal Court back to the Great Snow Mountain, he would personally go out and break through the Great Snow Mountain and reach a place that no emperor of any dynasty had ever set foot on!

After returning to the inner courtyard of the harem, Li Chen first went to the palace where Wang Yueyao and her mother Luo Qimeng lived.

There are also three beautiful mature women nearby: Han Yuesheng, Jin Qiaoqiao and Ling Qianxi.

Li Chen told them about the arrest of the Wang family. It would probably not be long before the Lord of Yinshan City, Wang Tengyue, would be escorted to the imperial capital.

In any case, Li Chen avenged them.

They were all so grateful that they burst into tears. They really had no way to repay Li Chen, so they could only try their best to serve him.

In their eyes, Li Chen is their only support in this world.

For them, being able to live in the palace is undoubtedly a heaven-defying opportunity.

If these mature and beautiful women were sincere in serving him, Li Chen would only need to close his eyes and enjoy it.

Zuixianlou in the Imperial Capital City, Xiao Ming had wanted to come here for a meal for a long time.

As soon as he woke up today, Wu Qi and Lin Mo asked him out for dinner.

In the private room of Zuixianlou, after three rounds of drinks, Wu Qi and Lin Mo were very curious about what Xiao Ming had experienced last night.

Xiao Ming began to brag about his achievements, and even said that the case of the Wang family and the prince was investigated by him alone, and that even with so many experts in the Ministry of Justice, they were unable to solve the case after a year.

At this point, Wu Qi and Lin Mo both felt that he was bragging, but in fact he was telling the truth.

Then, the two congratulated Xiao Ming on his promotion. Thanks to his merits, he got the position of head of the Ministry of Justice.

Speaking of this, Xiao Ming remembered one thing. Since he was going to be the head of the Ministry of Justice, he must also train his own subordinates so that he could do his work better.

He simply said it directly and asked if the two of them had any recommendations.

In terms of theoretical knowledge, Xiao Ming’s master must have many residual souls of saints, but the actual operation still depends on Xiao Ming himself.

When Xiao Ming brought up this topic, Wu Qi and Lin Mo were also considering it. After they were promoted, they could also train their own people. They were not willing to be at the bottom of society all their lives and they all had more ambitious goals.

Wu Qi said, "You can go to your family's location and find some young people with good qualifications to train there."

Wu Qi was not trying to make trouble. He knew that Xiao Ming's family was destroyed.

Given his character, even if he had a grudge against Xiao Ming, he would definitely not say this on purpose.

The reason why this is mentioned is that Wu Qi is a member of a family, and he thinks that if he starts looking for it from the birthplace of his family, then most of these people will have a close relationship with him.

For example, when people from Huju City come to the imperial capital, they are unfamiliar with the place and think that they are better people and know each other well.

Even if he couldn't find blood relatives, he could find some distant relatives, or old acquaintances. At least they would follow him and would be grateful to Xiao Ming.

After Wu Qi's reminder, Xiao Ming remembered that his family seemed to have been destroyed. He came to the imperial capital with a heart of revenge, but he actually forgot about it later.

If the remnant soul of the saint knew what he was thinking, he would definitely die of anger again.

I used to remind you every day, but you insisted on being a bootlicker, and I gave in.

Xiao Ming also felt that once he became the head of the Ministry of Justice, it would be time for him to go back and seek revenge on his enemies, and at the same time inquire about his mother's whereabouts.

Lin Mo next to him didn't have much opinion on this. He had only been in the imperial capital for a few days and was not familiar with the situation here.

The other two have been here for a few years after all.

He just listened to the two of them bragging and perhaps gained some experience from it.

When it came time to pay the bill, the three of them were scrambling to pay.

Xiao Ming originally intended to rip them off, but he acted too pretentiously and ended up getting the chance to pay the bill, thus missing out on a bonus.

On the way back, Xiao Ming passed by a mysterious man.

Having been an official in the Ministry of Justice for such a long time and having seen all kinds of prisoners, he felt that there was something wrong with this man at first sight.

However, this person's movement was extremely fast, and when Xiao Ming chased after him to check, he had already disappeared.

This made Xiao Ming feel that there was something wrong with him. If he met him again next time, he would definitely catch him and interrogate him.

The person Xiao Ming remembered was none other than Tang Shan, the son of destiny.

Tang Shan also got a great opportunity, which was to rescue a member of the Wang family.

Unlike Lin Mo, Tang Shan took the initiative to rescue and he had an agenda.

Because he had no one to rely on in the imperial capital, he had no choice but to take risks.

This member of the Wang family was seriously injured but not fatal, and he survived with the help of Tang Shan.

He asked Tang Shan to go outside to inquire about the news, and try to find Li Yang, the prince of Jing'an, and promised to give Tang Shan certain benefits.

That's why Tang Shan looked a little strange when he came out. He felt guilty when he saw the police, and Xiao Ming noticed it.

But in such a vast imperial capital, how could Tang Shan find Li Yang, the prince of Jing'an?

Li Yang had already fled the imperial capital a long time ago, and he was the one who indirectly killed the prince.

As long as Pang Jin finds out the truth, he will be a wanted criminal.

The reason why Li Yang was not arrested last night was because this time the investigation was about harboring the remnants of the previous dynasty, and the true circumstances of the prince's death have not yet been revealed.

Li Yang estimated that it was only a matter of time before the truth was revealed. If he didn't run away now, would he have to wait to be caught?
He had no choice but to betray the prince, and the mistake he made was punishable by death.

He fled to the eastern part of the Tiance Dynasty.

Li Yang never dreamed that he would meet Li Xian here.

The imperial capital was peaceful for a few days, and all the civil and military officials in the court were waiting for Pang Jin to announce the results of the investigation.

At this time, two saints from Jiuyuan Holy Land and a new saint from Huju City came to the imperial capital again.

They came here on invitation this time just to follow Li Chen northwards and break through the Snow Mountains!
(End of this chapter)