The prince is more stable

Chapter 777 Weighing the Dilemma
As the saying goes, adults don't hold grudges; they only care about their own interests.

Of course, there's a prefix: "adults who do great things."

As for adults who can't accomplish great things, they will always be filled with tears, always have a clear sense of right and wrong, and will cling to their grudges for the rest of their lives, even in death they will drag their enemies down with them.

Everyone has their own way of living; there's no right or wrong.

At least at this moment, the four people in the Celebration Hall were not passionate adults.

Having witnessed too much of the darkness and ugliness of human nature in the treacherous imperial court, and heard too many tragedies of today's glory and wealth turning into tomorrow's death, one is naturally not so naive, nor would one give up present interests for past grudges.

Sometimes, those in high positions are more pitiful and pathetic than ordinary people. They only seek profit and often become numb to human emotions and joys and sorrows, turning into shells possessed by demons. Like dogs fighting over a bone, they are single-mindedly chasing after profit, without self-respect, without joy or sorrow, only wanting to gnaw on that bone.

Spring flowers and autumn moon, summer cicadas and winter snow, the extinction and revival of all things, the washing and cleansing of time, all seem to have nothing to do with them.

They are completely unaware of and blind to the many wonderful people and things in life.

They just want to get their hands on that bone.

At this moment, Zhao Xiaoqian suddenly felt a little pathetic.

Fortunately, he wasn't numb. He just wanted to do the thing in front of him well. He had a lot of time left in his life to spend with his family, wife and children, sitting in the yard and quietly appreciating the spring flowers, autumn moon, summer cicadas and winter snow.

Empress Dowager Xiang made her point very clearly; it was almost not a hint, but a blatant declaration.

Emperor Huizong of Song originally intended to make up stories to get by, but he did not give up on settling scores with Zhao Hao and his son after he ascended the throne.

After hearing the Empress Dowager's words, Zhao Ji fell into deep thought and then, from an adult's perspective, carefully analyzed the pros and cons.

The current situation is that Zhao Hao and his son have made their stance clear: first, Zhao Ji needs to show sincerity, and this sincerity must be enough to guarantee the lives of the Chu royal family. At the same time, wealth and glory cannot be lacking; otherwise, wouldn't our support have been in vain? We might as well turn around and support King Jian instead.

All three people in the hall looked at Zhao Ji. Zhao Ji knew that the father and son had already laid out their conditions and were just waiting for Zhao Ji's response.

For the first time in several years, Zhao Ji began to seriously consider whether he should truly let go of the grudges from the past and sincerely repair his relationship with his father and son.

Ultimately, the reason why Emperor Huizong of Song (Zhao Ji) attacked Zhao Xiaoqian first was simply because Zhao Xiaoqian had become a threat to him. He was no longer so confident that he would obtain the throne, which he had been determined to have.

Looking back now, if Zhao Ji had really ascended the throne, the grudges from back then would naturally have disappeared. He was the ultimate victor in the grudges that arose from the throne, so why bother holding onto the past?

Thinking of this, Zhao Ji composed himself and said in a deep voice, "Uncle King of Chu, Brother Zi'an, I want to ask you something, what do you want?"

"Just tell me what you want, and I'll give you whatever I can. Is that enough sincerity?"

Zhao Hao looked at him with great interest, his smile still as honest and simple as ever.

The Empress Dowager also smiled. She was quite satisfied with Zhao Ji's answer. Those who achieve great things should be so generous and unrestrained. It is worth paying any price to achieve the ultimate goal. This is the quality that those who achieve great things should possess.

Zhao Xiaoqian silently picked up his cup, took a small sip of wine, glanced quickly at Zhao Hao, and still remained silent.

After a long silence, Zhao Hao chuckled and said, "Of course, the first priority is to save our lives. My son and I are loyal subjects of the Song Dynasty. Although it is said that if the emperor commands a subject to die, the subject has no choice but to die, it would be wonderful if we could live a few more years."

Zhao Ji resolutely said, "You don't trust the imperial edict, but I can follow the example of the founding emperor and erect a stele in front of the ancestral temple to warn all emperors to treat the Chu King's lineage well, and that all matters can be overlooked and no one can be punished. The Chu King's lineage is exempt from the laws of the Great Song Dynasty."

The father and son exchanged a glance and gave each other a noncommittal smile.

Zhao Hao continued, "Secondly... I am old and can live a leisurely life, but my son Xiaoqian is still young. He has a vibrant and sincere heart that is devoted to the Song Dynasty and loyal to the Emperor..."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhao Ji and the Empress Dowager rolled their eyes at the same time.

What a grand and righteous speech! Isn't it all about wanting power and official positions? The father and son speak with such righteous indignation; their shamelessness knows no bounds.

After thinking for a moment, Zhao Ji said, "If I ascend the throne, I will dismiss Zhang Dun from his post as prime minister and appoint Brother Zi'an as prime minister instead. In recent years, Your Majesty has repeatedly broken ancestral rules for Brother Zi'an and entrusted him with great power. It is not excessive for me to follow the old rules. Even if the court officials have some criticisms, I can suppress them."

The Empress Dowager nodded silently in approval, feeling that it was not an exaggeration.

Zhao Hao smiled and looked at Zhao Xiaoqian, saying, "Qian'er, what do you say?"

Zhao Xiaoqian slowly shook his head: "I do not wish to be prime minister."

Zhao Ji frowned: "The prime minister is already second only to the emperor, above all others. Is Brother Zian still not satisfied?"

Zhao Xiaoqian said calmly, "I am not good at handling court affairs, nor do I like to work too hard. I have only one wish in this life, which is to lead the elite troops of the Song Dynasty to sweep away the north, destroy the Liao and Xia, so that the Song Dynasty will never have war again, truly achieve the unification of the world, and let the people enjoy a hundred years of peace."

Zhao Ji's heart sank suddenly.

These words were beautifully spoken, and they also reflected a noble principle.

But Zhao Ji understood a different meaning.

Zhao Xiaoqian wants military power!
More accurately, he wanted military power in Yan and Yun.

Before this, no matter how many vicious oaths Zhao Ji made, or what he did about erecting monuments and stones, neither father nor son took them seriously, much less naively believed them.

However, with military power in hand, Zhao Ji would truly dare not touch the father and son. The Yan-Yun region boasted 100,000 elite troops. Given Zhao Xiaoqian's prestige over the years and the loyalty of his generals, if the court dared to act, the 100,000-strong Yan-Yun army could march south in no time. Even if the Song Dynasty wasn't destroyed by Zhao Xiaoqian, it would at least result in mutual destruction, leaving Zhao Ji with only a ravaged empire.

If he hadn't been careful, Zhao Xiaoqian might have won, and Zhao Ji might not have been able to remain a lonely ruler. Instead, he might have ended up like Li Yu, the last emperor of the Southern Tang dynasty, bitterly reciting "When will the spring flowers and autumn moon end?" in prison.

When Zhao Xiaoqian spoke, he was astonishing.

His request was serious and excessive. Zhao Ji had already put himself in the role of the emperor and immediately opened his mouth to sternly refuse.

No emperor with even a modicum of sense would agree to such outrageous conditions; it would be planting a huge hidden danger for himself and his descendants.

Once you sit on that supreme throne, who would want to be constantly watched by 100,000 elite troops from the north? If they disagreed, they would launch a "campaign to defend the capital" or a "purge of corrupt officials" at the drop of a hat. Would the emperor even be able to live a normal life?
Emperor Huizong's mind raced. He considered several times whether to refuse Zhao Xiaoqian's unreasonable request, but when the words were about to come out, he thought of the weight of this father and son. If they were rejected and then turned around in anger to support Prince Jian, it would undoubtedly be a fatal blow to him.

So, though the words were on the tip of his tongue, he couldn't bring himself to say them, and Zhao Ji looked to the Empress Dowager for help.

The Empress Dowager received Zhao Ji's gaze, lowered her head and pondered for a moment, then slowly said, "Zi'an's wish is naturally a matter of public-spiritedness and loyalty to the country, but... the Yan Yun army already has a commander-in-chief. If the commander is changed without a reason, it may arouse criticism from the people of the world."

"Zi'an, how about... rephrasing it?"

Zhao Xiaoqian sat calmly in his chair, his expression a half-smile. Meeting the Empress Dowager's pleading gaze, Zhao Xiaoqian said nothing, but simply picked up his wine cup and laughed, "Haha, it was my recklessness. Perhaps I was just drunk and talking nonsense. Please forgive me, Empress Dowager and Prince Duan. I will punish myself with a cup."

As he spoke, Zhao Xiaoqian picked up his cup and drank it down in one gulp.

Just as the Empress Dowager and Emperor Huizong were beginning to smile, Zhao Xiaoqian put down his wine cup but made no demands whatsoever. Instead, he began to talk about the pleasures of Bianjing.

She talked about cooking with Su Shi, the masterpieces of a rising star lyricist named Li Qingzhao, and how adorable her chubby son was...

They rambled on and on, talking nonsense and rambling on, never getting to the point. It was as if nothing had been said at all, and today was just a simple clan chat.

At first, the Empress Dowager and Emperor Huizong listened patiently and agreed with her while smiling. Emperor Huizong was a clever man, and he even offered a few subtle words of flattery from time to time, keeping a very humble attitude.

But Zhao Xiaoqian got more and more excited as he talked, and he went on and on about these meaningless everyday things, and the conversation showed no signs of ending for a long time.

The Empress Dowager and Emperor Huizong's hearts sank.

At this moment, they finally realized that the terms had not been agreed upon, and Zhao Xiaoqian did not want to continue the negotiations. Naturally, the matter of the King of Chu and his son supporting Zhao Ji was also abandoned.

Emperor Huizong forced a smile, but his heart was filled with grief and indignation.

When others negotiate a deal, they ask for the sky's the limit and then negotiate the price down. But you, you don't give me any room for negotiation at all. Your bottom line is your price, no discussion whatsoever. Take it or leave it, don't delay my ascension...

Military power in Yan and Yun... can you really give that away?
What normal emperor would offer that? Wouldn't that be like voluntarily putting a noose around your own neck, with one end of the noose held by someone else?

Zhao Ji lowered his head, his fists clenched in his sleeves and trembling slightly. The grudges he had put aside had returned to his memory, and Zhao Ji wanted to kill Zhao Xiaoqian's entire family again.

The Empress Dowager also tried her best to maintain a polite smile, and at least her expression did not show any impatience.

After a long while, the Empress Dowager glanced at Zhao Ji's face with her phoenix eyes, and her gaze met Zhao Ji's indignant eyes.

Then, the Empress Dowager suddenly nodded to Zhao Ji almost imperceptibly, her eyes flashing with an unfathomable light.

Over the years, Zhao Ji had been trying to curry favor with the Empress Dowager. Although they were not biological mother and son, their relationship was closer than that of biological mother and son, and their bond had become quite deep.

Of course, besides their close bond, this nominal mother and son also had their own motives.

Empress Dowager Xiang had no children and wanted to eliminate the influence of the Emperor's birth mother, Consort Zhu, so she decided to firmly support Zhao Ji.

Zhao Ji, on the other hand, valued the Empress Dowager's significant influence in the matter of choosing an heir. Perhaps soon, a single word from the Empress Dowager would carry considerable weight.

The two hit it off immediately, and their loving relationship was the envy of everyone.

The advantage of having a deep bond is that you understand each other perfectly. At this moment, Zhao Ji immediately understood the meaning behind the Empress Dowager's glance.

The Empress Dowager's meaning was clear: agree to it first, no matter what. If this father and son didn't agree, you wouldn't even be able to become emperor, let alone talk about military power, monarchical power, ministerial power, and other such messy things.

As for the future...

That's a matter for the future. We'll talk about it when I become emperor. As emperor, you can give military power to others, but can't you take it back?
The Song Dynasty's army equipped with firearms is no longer limited to the 100,000 troops in Yanyun. The more than 200,000 troops in the three upper armies of Bianjing are also equipped. Even if Zhao Xiaoqian and the Yanyun army are regarded as rebels in the future, and the court launches an attack, the chances of victory are extremely high. It will only cause some damage to the foundation of the country.

So what are you waiting for? He wants military power, give it to him!
Emperor Huizong of Song (Zhao Ji) finally realized that becoming emperor was the priority, and everything else was secondary.

So Zhao Ji gritted his teeth and suddenly interrupted Zhao Xiaoqian's endless, rambling, and nonsensical talk.

"Brother Zian, please stop talking. I agree!"

"Huh?" Zhao Xiaoqian was in the middle of talking and didn't immediately understand.

Zhao Ji took a deep breath and said, "Brother Zi'an has lofty aspirations. His ambition to destroy Liao and pacify Xia is truly a testament to his loyalty. How could I refuse?"

"The military power of Yan and Yun is yours."

(End of this chapter)