The Prodigal Son

The Imperial City of Daning.

Zhao Luan has been in a good mood these past two days, and she looks radiant.

Two days ago, he received a message from Fang Junji that he had been sent back by express courier.

Qin Yu forced the Chu army to surrender and captured Yu Wu alive.

Their worries about Yuwang Pass were completely unnecessary!

Meanwhile, Fang Junji successfully occupied Yuyang, the capital of the Min Kingdom.

Currently, the states of Yuzhou, Hezhou, Wuzhou, and Xingzhou in Min Kingdom are also under their control.

Because Miaozhou was too chaotic, Fang Junji only sent troops to keep an eye on it to prevent the chaos in Miaozhou from spreading to other places, and did not carry out a full occupation.

Today, Zhao Luan received another letter of submission from Yu Jing, delivered by someone from his side.

Yu Jing is willing to surrender all of Min's territory and submit to Da Ning!

Although Zhao Luan had long been determined to occupy the entire territory of Min Kingdom, the letter of submission sent by Yu Jing still made her very happy.

Their direct occupation and Yu Jing's surrender of territory are two different things.

Yu Jing surrendered his territory, and Da Ning's occupation of the entire Min Kingdom was legitimate, which would save a lot of trouble later!

In high spirits, Zhao Luan summoned all the important officials of the court to the Imperial Study and also invited the Empress Dowager to come and discuss the follow-up matters.

Upon seeing the letter of submission sent by Yu Jing, the Empress Dowager and her ministers were all extremely excited.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty!"

The officials all congratulated Zhao Luan.

"It should be a joyous occasion for me and all of you!"

Zhao Luan's face was full of smiles, and she felt that even the breeze blowing in from the window was sweet.

After a moment's thought, Gao Yi stood up and said, "Your Majesty, the most urgent task is to ensure that Yu Jing ascends the throne as soon as possible! After Yu Jing ascends the throne, he should then surrender the territory as the emperor of Min! Only in this way can our Great Ning rightfully occupy the entire territory of Min!"

"In my humble opinion, there is no need for Yu Jing to ascend the throne!"

Su Yu shook his head and said, "Lord Su only thinks about making things more legitimate, but little does he know that allowing Yu Jing to ascend the throne and then surrender territory is undoubtedly a humiliation!"

"right!"

Du Zhiwen agreed, saying, "I believe that Yu Jing would never want to bear the reputation of a ruler who has lost his country."

Although both countries have lost their kingdoms, the reputations of the crown prince and the king of a fallen kingdom are still different.

If it were him, he certainly wouldn't want to ascend the throne first and then surrender the land.

Ascending the throne first and then surrendering territory is not only unsavory in reputation, but also causes a great psychological letdown!

Who would want to be emperor for only a few days before being overthrown?

Gao Yi shook his head in rebuttal, "What Lord Su and Lord Du said certainly makes some sense, and it's only human nature!"

"However, the emperor's surrender of territory will greatly reduce the resistance of the people of Min, and save our dynasty a lot of unnecessary trouble in governing the newly acquired land!"

"Conversely, if Yu Jing were to submit as the Crown Prince, it would inevitably lead people to believe that we forced him to surrender territory, thus inciting resistance!"

"Since our dynasty intends to occupy the territory of the Min Kingdom, we naturally need to consider long-term stability and security, rather than the personal honor and disgrace of Yu Jing..."

First, make Yu Jing emperor, then offer up territory to submit. This is tantamount to telling the people of Min that Da Ning originally had no intention of occupying Min, and that it was only after Yu Jing repeatedly requested to submit that Da Ning granted Yu Jing's request.

This action may seem like a pointless stunt, but it actually has a significant effect!

Throughout history, haven't all those ministers who usurped the throne gone through the process of refusing the throne three times?

Usurping the throne and accepting the abdication are two different things!

Some things, even if it's self-deception, still have to be done!

These things are not done for the ministers to see, but for the people of the world to see!

As Gao Yi finished speaking, the ministers began to express their own opinions.

"What Minister Gao says is absolutely right!"

"I agree with what Minister Gao said, but I believe that since Yu Jing has taken the initiative to offer his territory and submit, our dynasty should still save him some face!"

"Pushing Yu Jing too far now would be counterproductive!"

"What's wrong with that? Does Yu Jing dare to start a war with us?"

"If Yu Jing dares not wage war against us, does that mean he wouldn't dare lead his troops to surrender to the Yan state?"

"Exactly. If we can't even handle the immediate problems, how can we talk about long-term stability and security?"

Soon, the courtiers split into two factions.

Some agreed with Gao Yi's opinion, while others agreed with Su Yu and Du Zhiwen's opinions.

Zhao Luan sat there, her mind constantly in thought.

Both sides have their advantages and disadvantages.

However, she personally preferred that Yu Jing, as the crown prince of Min, surrender his territory and submit to the state.

They need to consider the immediate situation first before thinking about long-term stability!

At this point, if Yu Jing is pushed too far, it is indeed possible that he will be forced to go to the Yan state.

Even if Yu Jing is forced to accept it, he will definitely harbor resentment.

Zhao Luan pondered for a moment, then turned to look at the Empress Dowager, "What does Mother think?"

The Empress Dowager glanced at Zhao Luan and said earnestly, "I agree with Lord Su's opinion!"

"Yu Jing is a decent kid. Since he's offered to surrender his territory, let's save him some face! Don't push him to the brink!"

"We've pushed him too far. If he can't bear the humiliation and commits suicide, wouldn't that be even more troublesome?"

Many people agreed with the Empress Dowager's words.

Although Yu Jing is practically a sitting duck now, we shouldn't go too far.

The rabbit is in a hurry and even bites!

What about Yu Jing?

Zhao Luan already leaned towards this view, and upon hearing the Empress Dowager's opinion, he immediately made a decision: "I also feel that we shouldn't push Yu Jing too hard!"

Gao Yi's expression changed. "Your Majesty..."

"My mind is made up; there's no need for further words!"

Zhao Luan raised her hand to stop Gao Yi, "Let's discuss how to reward Yu Jing instead?"

Gao Yi replied without hesitation, "This old minister believes that for the long-term stability of Min, Yu Jing should be granted the title of Duke or even Prince! At least the people of Min should see that our dynasty has not mistreated Yu Jing!"

Lü Chunqiu nodded and suggested, "I recommend that he be granted the title of Prince! Choose a prefecture in Jiangzhou or Fengzhou, places relatively close to the capital, for him to govern, with all tax revenue belonging to him! This is to show him preferential treatment!"

Min Kingdom had at least seven provinces, and if you include Yuyang, it even had eight provinces!

This isn't small at all!

Even if Yu Jing was forced to surrender his territory, he should still be treated well!

This time, the ministers did not have much of a debate.

Most people preferred to bestow the title of Prince upon Yu Jing.

Moreover, they should be given a relatively wealthy county.

Even if Da Ning's finances are tight, there's no need to cut taxes from that one prefecture at this time.

However, bestowing upon him the title of Prince can appease the people of Min!

"Then let's bestow upon him the title of Prince of Fengyi!"

Zhao Luan pondered for a moment, then turned his gaze to Gao Yi. "Prime Minister Gao, I have heard that your granddaughter Gao Yao is of marriageable age but is still unmarried. I wish to bestow a marriage between Prince Fengyi and Gao Yao. Are you willing?"

Upon hearing Zhao Luan's words, Gao Yi's heart skipped a beat, and his mind raced.

Even if Yu Jing, as a prince, doesn't have much political resources, he is still a prince!

In terms of status alone, he is even above me, the prime minister!

Logically speaking, bestowing his granddaughter in marriage to the prince would be an immense favor.

But he doesn't know Zhao Luan's true feelings towards Yu Jing!

If Zhao Luan becomes intolerant of Yu Jing in the future, the Gao family will definitely be implicated if they accept the arranged marriage!

After careful consideration, Gao Yi bowed and said, "Your Majesty's grace is deeply appreciated by this old minister! However, this old minister believes that we should first consult with the Prince of Fengyi on this matter..."