The prince is more stable

Chapter 19: Ennoblement
To know the result, you must find out the cause.

Zhao Xu is not a foolish ruler. When something happens, he must know the cause and effect.

King Zhao Hao of Chu submitted a memorial to restore the new law, which was completely contrary to his previous position and words and deeds. How could Zhao Xu not investigate such abnormal behavior?
After taking power, Zhao Xu was determined to reinstate the new laws, and he was indeed determined to target King Zhao Hao of Chu.

If the new law is to be restored, the first thing to do is to intimidate the old party forces in the court. If the old party officials are directly targeted, it will inevitably affect the entire body and cause a fierce backlash from the old party.

If the clan members are targeted first, the negative impact can be minimized, and at the same time, the reaction of the old party can be tested.

There is no family affection in the royal family. Before this, Zhao Xu had no good feelings towards the lineage of King Chu, so he had no psychological pressure to target King Chu.

Interestingly, the Prince of Chu suddenly appeared and forced the King of Chu to change his position, secretly catering to Zhao Xu's intentions.

Now Zhao Xu no longer had any intention of targeting the King of Chu, but instead became interested in his cousin Zhao Xiaoqian.

Before this, Zhao Xiaoqian was an unknown person in Bianliang. Not to mention normal travel, he rarely appeared even in important ceremonial occasions of the royal family.

So, when did he become a spirit?

Zhao Xu couldn't figure it out. This was almost an unsolvable problem, and he might not get the answer even if he asked Zhao Xiaoqian in person.

Zhao Xu didn’t want to think about the problem he couldn’t figure out for the time being. What he was thinking about now was the big game of the court and the world.

There were more and more memorials impeaching Zhao Hao in the court. Every day, the memorials piled up like a mountain in the Zhongshu Menxia Dutang. Several prime ministers were embarrassed to send them to the Forbidden Palace because there were too many of them and they were afraid that Zhao Xu would be exhausted to death.

There are too many impeachments, and it is not a good idea for Zhao Xu to always remain silent. The government cannot keep turning a deaf ear to it.

After pondering for a long time, Zhao Xu suddenly said, "Tell the Secretariat to draft an edict. Prince Zhao Hao of Chu will be promoted to Grand Tutor, and his son Zhao Xiaoqian will be appointed Governor of Duanzhou and concurrently Commandant of the Light Chariots."

Zheng Chunhe bowed and accepted the order and withdrew.

…………

The decree came suddenly, and the father and son of the Prince of Chu were caught off guard.

Zhao Hao has been very busy these past two days. The new salt-making method invented by Zhao Xiaoqian has helped Zhao Hao find a new way to make a fortune. He is so happy that he jumps up and down.

The Chu Palace had land outside the city of Bianjing. After all, it was under the feet of the emperor, so Zhao Hao did not dare to buy too much, but it was enough to open a few workshops.

Zhao Hao asked a blacksmith to make more than 20 sets of the salt-making equipment built by Zhao Xiaoqian, and sent them to the farm outside the city. He hired local farmers to work on the salt-making equipment, and within two days, he purified hundreds of kilograms of snow salt.

"Xueyan" was the name given by Zhao Hao, and it is quite worthy of the name.

Zhao Xiaoqian was quite dissatisfied, believing that intellectual property rights were very important and that the salt should be called "Zhao Xiaoqian Brand Snow Salt". Zhao Hao, who always doted on his son, rarely refused.

Even Zhao Hao, who was thick-skinned enough, felt that calling him that was too shameless.

Hundreds of kilograms of purified snow salt were delivered to the Prince of Chu's Palace, and Zhao Hao immediately gave it away as a gift.

After learning from the last lesson, Zhao Hao did not dare to interact with court officials this time. The people he sent were all relatives of the royal family, including Zhao Zongsheng, the Minister of the Imperial Clan Affairs Ministry.

When Zhao Hao was enjoying the farewell, someone from the palace came to announce the imperial decree. When the servants in the palace reported it, Zhao Hao was frightened out of his wits, thinking that he had committed something wrong again.

Especially recently, he was busy delivering salt, which was a very sensitive commodity and was an officially controlled good. Zhao Hao delivered the salt privately without informing the Salt and Iron Bureau. When he heard that someone from the palace had come to announce the decree, Zhao Hao felt even more guilty.

It was not until he heard that it was an imperial decree to grant him an additional official title that Zhao Hao finally breathed a sigh of relief and straightened his back.

This prince and the emperor are already political allies, what is there to be afraid of? What is there to be ashamed of?

He ordered his servants to call Zhao Xiaoqian, and the father and son respectfully welcomed the imperial edict in the front courtyard of the palace.

Zhao Xiaoqian was completely bewildered when he was called in. "What does it have to do with me if the government grants the Prince of Chu a favor? Whether it's good or bad, it's all my father's fault."

An incense table was set up and ceremonial guards were arranged. The father and son knelt in front of the incense table. The Secretary of the Central Secretariat unfolded the imperial edict and read it in a rhythmic manner. Zhao Xiaoqian did not understand a word he heard. He secretly observed Zhao Hao's expression and saw that he looked happy. He thought that the imperial edict should be correct.

After receiving the imperial edict, the father and son sent the Zhongshu Sheren away. Zhao Hao unfolded the edict and read it carefully again. Then he smiled and said, "Very good, very good. I, your father, have been promoted to 'Grand Master', and my son has also been appointed to an official position, the Governor of Duanzhou and the Senior Light Cavalry Commandant, both of the fourth rank."

Zhao Xiaoqian was surprised. "Governor of Duanzhou? Is this the governor of Duanzhou?"

Zhao Hao glanced at him and said, "You're overthinking it. Didn't you see the word 'leading' before the official title? It means he holds the title of Governor of Duanzhou, but doesn't hold any real power. Well, the same goes for being a Light Cavalry Commandant—no real power, just a meritorious official."

Zhao Hao suddenly narrowed his eyes and whispered, "The emperor granted official titles to my father and me as a show for the old party." "The entire court, civil and military officials, impeached my father, but not only did the emperor not punish me, but he granted official titles to our Chu Palace. This is actually a warning to the old party officials, and it also makes them prepare themselves. The situation is about to change, and the new party is coming, hehe."

Zhao Xiaoqian suddenly realized.

It turns out that it was just an empty title, just an official title. He was called the governor of Duanzhou, but if you went to Duanzhou, you would find that apart from the treatment and pomp of a governor, he basically had no power.

Fortunately, fortunately, I don’t have to go to Duanzhou to take up the post.

As for the dispute between the new and old parties, Zhao Xiaoqian did not care, and he was not qualified to play tricks with the old foxes in the court.

Zhao Xiaoqian has made up his mind in this life that he only wants to be a down-to-earth person who lives off his parents. He just wants to stay with Zhao Hao and doesn't want to go anywhere else.

He would eat away at Zhao Hao until he died of old age, then inherit his legacy and continue to be a non-productive social parasite.

This is what a prince should do.

This is a great ambition!

Zhao Xiaoqian instantly lost interest in the imperial edict: "Father, let's study how to make money."

Zhao Hao did not feel too much ripple in his heart about the imperial edict to grant him the title of Grand Tutor. After all, it was just an honorary position without real power. Adding any honorary title would only be icing on the cake.

His son's new method of making salt was a timely help, and Zhao Hao could count on it to alleviate the financial crisis of the royal palace.

Zhao Hao immediately became excited, and the father and son were birds of a feather, so they hit it off immediately.

"Come on, let's have a good chat as father and son."

In order to improve the situation of Xueyan, Zhao Hao has been working hard in the past two days.

Of course, he had no intention of expanding his business. Snow salt was too good to be suitable for mass consumption.

In Zhao Hao's plan, snow salt is a luxury item that ordinary people cannot afford.

The attendant who announced the decree left the Prince of Chu's mansion at noon, and a guest came to visit in the afternoon.

There were quite a few guests, headed by Prince Pu Zhao Zongsheng, and several relatives with the same surname Zhao, most of whom were princes and dukes.

Naturally, everyone was congratulating Zhao Hao on being promoted to Grand Tutor and Zhao Xiaoqian on being given an official title.

We all have the surname Zhao, so we are considered a family. We didn't bring any expensive gifts when we visited, just a few small sandalwood boxes with unknown contents.

Prince Pu Zhao Zongsheng was in a good mood and laughed as soon as he entered the door. He just casually congratulated Zhao Hao for conferring the title of Grand Tutor, but he praised Zhao Xiaoqian and Zhao Zongsheng highly.

The King of Chu has become a celebrity in Bianjing City recently and has long been on the capital's hot search list.

Being black and red is also red. Being impeached by all the civil and military officials in the court is also due to his ability.

Just because Zhao Hao was so stubborn and dared to stir up the hornet's nest of the old party, his relatives had no choice but to write the word "submission".

After the host and the guest had exchanged flattery and courtesy, Zhao Hao respectfully invited Prince Pu and his clan members into the Yin'an Hall to serve tea.

As soon as he sat down in the hall, Zhao Zongsheng looked around and said, "King of Chu, where is Zi'an? I came here today specifically to see him."

Zhao Zongsheng was Zhao Hao's uncle and also the Minister of the Zongzheng Temple. How could Zhao Hao dare to offend him, in case he got into trouble and fell into the hands of the Zongzheng Temple in the future?

So Zhao Hao hurriedly ordered someone to call Zhao Xiaoqian out to meet the guest.

Soon, a servant from the palace appeared outside Yin'an Palace with a nervous and guilty look on his face and relayed the prince's words.

The prince has been worried about his family and country recently, and has been exhausted and fallen ill, so he is unable to see guests.

The guests and hosts in the hall were all stunned.

Feelings...are they so great?
Zhao Hao was stunned for a moment, then immediately left his guests behind, jumped up and ran to the backyard. His chubby body turned out to be as light as a swallow.

"My dear son, please don't scare your father!"

(End of this chapter)