Having many children brings many blessings; the struggle for power begins with marriage.

Chapter 123 Why is everyone so mute today?

Upon hearing Emperor Xia's words, none of the ministers could believe it, as it had completely overturned their understanding.

Even if the Northern King is not useless, with the small number of soldiers in the Northern Commandery, it would be difficult for him to even defend Yan City.

Now they're being told that the Northern King not only defended Yan City, but also annihilated the barbarian army of 300,000!

Who would believe that?

At this moment, the princes in the court were completely dumbfounded!

Isn't Ninth Brother the most useless one among them? Hasn't his body been ruined by wine and women?

How could he possibly lead the small number of soldiers in the Northern Commandery to defeat the barbarian army of 300,000?

Is this something a good-for-nothing like him could possibly accomplish?

Everyone in the court wondered if they were still dreaming, which was why they were having such a ridiculous dream.

The court was filled with people from Great Xia. They should have been overjoyed to hear such a shocking battle report, but not a single person in the court was happy at this moment.

If everything the Xia Emperor said is true and can be verified, then it means that the Great Xia Dynasty is about to undergo a major upheaval!

Slaying 200,000 barbarians and capturing 100,000 is comparable to the Xia Emperor's conquest of the Chen Kingdom!

With such a great achievement, who would dare not make the Northern King the Crown Prince?

The Northern King's achievements have even surpassed those of his master!

At this moment, everyone was puzzled: how exactly did the Northern King manage to do that?

Secondly, the ministers were very worried that the Northern King, whom they had always regarded as a useless person, would not actually return to the capital and become the crown prince.

In the imperial court, there were factions led by the Eighth Prince, the First Prince, and other princes, but there were no officials from the Ninth Prince's faction.

Now even the Chu family officials in the imperial court are all part of the Eighth Prince's faction.

Then, they were told that the Ninth Prince was going back to the capital to become the Crown Prince! This was tantamount to all the investments made by the court officials going down the drain.

They absolutely will not allow such a thing to happen.

Emperor Xia could see from the ministers' faces that they did not believe it, or rather, dared not believe it, so he continued, "According to intelligence from all sides, the Northern King has at least 50,000 heavy cavalry. Just a few days ago, the Northern King sent 5,000 heavy cavalry south to bring back all his wives, concubines, and children to Yancheng."

Emperor Xia's words once again ignited a firestorm in the imperial court.

Fifty thousand heavy cavalry?

How is this possible?!

How could the Northern King possibly possess so many heavy cavalry?!

What heavy cavalry represented was something the ministers certainly knew.

When Emperor Taizu of Xia was conquering the world, three thousand heavy cavalrymen chased after and slaughtered an enemy army of one hundred thousand peasants.

Currently, the entire Great Xia only has 20,000 heavy cavalry. Heavy cavalry requires a lot of resources, and each cavalryman needs at least three excellent horses.

Besides horses, the most important thing for heavy cavalry is their armor.

A single craftsman might not be able to forge a full set of armor for heavy cavalry in a month; it would take at least three months.

How could the Northern King possibly have 50,000 heavy cavalry when he has only been in Beijun for a short time?

What does it mean to have 50,000 heavy cavalry?

This means that the Northern King can now directly declare his independence from the Great Xia and establish himself as emperor without any problem!

Moreover, if the Northern King truly possessed 100,000 captured barbarian soldiers, it meant that even if the court knew he might harbor rebellious intentions, it would still dare not do anything to him and could only prioritize appeasement.

Logically speaking, the Northern King didn't have the time or resources to build 50,000 heavy cavalrymen, so where did his heavy cavalrymen come from?

Now that multiple sources have confirmed the existence of these 50,000 heavy cavalry, this is a very serious problem.

The fact that the Northern King had brought out his 50,000 heavy cavalry meant that he not only had the ability to rebel, but also the intention to do so.

Within the territory of the Great Xia Dynasty, especially with the Xia Emperor reducing the power of the vassal states year after year, a vassal king built up 50,000 heavy cavalry. What else could this be but an attempt to rebel?

At this point, Zhao Wenhan could no longer contain himself and directly asked, "Your Majesty, if I may be so bold as to ask, is it true that the Northern King possesses 50,000 heavy cavalry?"

Emperor Xia said coldly, "This intelligence was sent back by Commander Wang and has also been confirmed by my Shadow Guards."

Upon hearing this, the ministers gasped in shock.

So, this is true?

Does the Northern King really possess 50,000 heavy cavalry?

No wonder the previous battle reports said that the Northern King led the Northern County soldiers to kill 200,000 barbarians in one night!

However, it's impossible that North County only has 50,000 heavy cavalry.

Heavy cavalry had an overwhelming advantage when fighting infantry, especially peasant soldiers, but their advantage was not obvious when fighting barbarian cavalry, and they might even be at a disadvantage.

Because heavy cavalry is more clumsy than barbarian light cavalry, it is not easy for them to catch up with barbarian light cavalry. If barbarian soldiers want to escape, it should be easy for them.

If the battle report that the Northern King led his soldiers to kill 200,000 barbarian soldiers is true, then it must mean that the Northern King still has something else in his possession.

As for whether this thing is a weapon or an army, that's hard to say.

At this moment, the imperial court fell into a deathly silence once again.

Logically, someone should have impeached the Northern King for plotting a rebellion at this time, but the timing of the appearance of the Northern Heavy Cavalry was just too perfect, coinciding with the southward march of 300,000 barbarian troops.

The Northern King had just led the soldiers of the Northern Commandery to defeat the barbarians, and you're jumping out now to say that the Northern King intends to rebel? Isn't that just courting death?

Who dares to criticize the Northern King at this time?

This is the greatest military achievement since the founding of the Great Xia Dynasty!

Who can blame the Northern King?

Seeing that no ministers spoke in court, Emperor Xia said coldly, "What's wrong? Did you all skip breakfast before coming to court? Don't you have the energy to speak? You're usually so energetic, why are you all mute today?"

As soon as Emperor Xia finished speaking, Zhao Wenhan immediately knelt down and bowed deeply to the emperor, saying, "His Highness the Ninth Prince is brave and skilled in battle. He led the soldiers of Beijun to kill 200,000 barbarian soldiers and capture 100,000. He is truly the third person after His Majesty Emperor Xia to achieve this. His Highness the Ninth Prince has made such great contributions and deserves to be rewarded. However, ordinary gifts are no longer worthy of His Highness the Ninth Prince's merits. I humbly request Your Majesty to allow His Highness the Ninth Prince to return to the capital and to establish His Highness the Ninth Prince as Crown Prince!"

Upon hearing Zhao Wenhan's words, some ministers cursed him inwardly, thinking he was a cunning old fox who knew that Emperor Xia was young and strong, and had been hesitant to establish a crown prince because he was afraid that the crown prince might have other ideas.

Zhao Wenhan's decision to establish a crown prince at this time was not intended to make the Northern King the crown prince at all. He was simply trying to disgust the Xia Emperor and sow discord between the Xia Emperor and the Northern King.

Upon hearing Zhao Wenhan's words, Emperor Xia did not speak immediately. He glanced at the ministers in the court.

He is waiting.

Wait for the other person to speak.

At this moment, Lin Gaoyuan, who was kneeling on the ground, instantly understood the Emperor's meaning. He then said, "Your Majesty, although His Highness the Ninth Prince has made tremendous contributions, I believe that the matter of establishing a Crown Prince is of great importance and should not be handled so hastily."

Emperor Xia remained silent, his gaze falling upon the princes in front of him.

At this moment, the princes were covered in sweat and dared not even breathe.

Especially the Eighth Prince, Lu Shuyun.

He has come to his full realization.

He finally understood why his assassination attempts had all failed, and he finally knew who had massacred his mansion.

Their ninth brother is hiding his true abilities far too well!

Everyone in the Great Xia Dynasty was fooled by him!

(End of this chapter)