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

Chapter 192 You will soon hear the news of the Northern King's sudden death.

early morning.

Xuanzheng Hall.

The officials arrived here early today. As soon as they entered the Xuanzheng Hall, they began discussing the reforms in Beijun, showing no concern for the war between Daxia and Dawu.

Although the war between Da Xia and Da Wu was related to them, with soldiers holding the line at the front, no matter how strong Da Wu's military strength was, it was impossible for them to reach the capital in a short time.

The reforms in the Northern Commandery were different. The land issue was closely related to everyone. Although the Northern King was only carrying out reforms within his fiefdom and it seemed that they were not affected, the Northern King's ideology made them feel very dangerous.

Such ideas must never appear in the Great Xia. Once such ideas spread, everyone's interests will be affected. They will not allow the Xia Emperor to have such thoughts, so they must nip this idea in the bud.

Seeing the officials in the main hall discussing the reforms of Beijun with great enthusiasm, Lin Gaoyuan felt a mix of emotions.

That's why he decided to side with the Northern King and support him from now on. As a result, the Northern King caused such a big commotion in the Northern Prefecture.

The Northern King dared to legislate that the ownership of the fiefdom belonged to the prince. Was there not a single official or advisor around him to stop him?

The Northern King is incredibly audacious.

Lin Gaoyuan's resolve had even begun to waver.

He seriously doubted whether the Northern King would survive past next year.

Even if the Xia Emperor did not punish the Northern King, those aristocratic families and scholar-official class would still secretly send people to assassinate him.

Thinking of this, Lin Gaoyuan sighed.

He originally thought that the Northern King was a person who was good at enduring hardship and would surely achieve great things in the future.

Unexpectedly, the Northern King was so reckless.

I wonder if the heavy cavalry of Beijun has really been wiped out. It seems I must ask my son about the situation in Beijun when he returns.

Just as Lin Gaoyuan was lost in thought, the voice of a eunuch came from inside the hall.

"His Majesty has arrived!"

Upon hearing this, the hall, which had just been as quiet as a marketplace, instantly fell silent.

Soon, the Xia Emperor, dressed in a yellow dragon robe, arrived at the Dragon Platform.

After he sat on the dragon throne, he said calmly, "What were you all discussing just now? Why were you discussing so intensely? Could it be that there have been some major changes in the war at the front that I am unaware of?"

Seeing that the Xia Emperor was pretending to be ignorant, a censor from a powerful family could no longer hold back and stepped forward, saying, "Your Majesty, I impeach the Northern King for disregarding the law, disrespecting etiquette, oppressing the people, and acting recklessly in his fiefdom. I suggest that the title of Northern King be abolished and that someone be sent to arrest him and bring him back to the capital for punishment."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Xia feigned confusion and then said, "Prince Bei? Weren't you just discussing the battle at the front? How did the conversation turn to Prince Bei? Has he done something I don't know about that would lead to your impeachment?"

Seeing that Emperor Xia pretended to be completely unaware, the ministers in the hall were taken aback. Could it be that the things the Northern King did in the Northern Prefecture were really ordered by Emperor Xia?

Could it be that the Xia emperor is planning to legislate to reclaim land ownership?

At this moment, Zhao Wenhan stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I have heard that the Northern King is carrying out reforms in the Northern Commandery and is going to legislate that all land in the Northern Commandery belongs to him alone and that no one can buy or sell it at will. This blatant act of the Northern King will seriously endanger the Great Xia state. Therefore, I believe that the Northern King should be stopped from continuing his reforms immediately, otherwise the Great Xia will be in danger."

Emperor Xia frowned, then said, "Minister Zhao's information network is truly impressive. You know things that I don't even know."

"However, it seems that a vassal king carrying out reforms and establishing laws in his own fiefdom has little to do with the imperial court."

"If the imperial court interferes in the affairs of the vassal kings' fiefdoms at will, it will likely cause dissatisfaction among the vassal kings."

Zhao Wenhan quickly said, "Your Majesty, the Northern King's reforms have aroused public anger. Now, people in the streets and alleys are discussing the affairs of the Northern Prefecture, and even the war at the front is no longer of much concern to them."

"If the Northern King's reforms are not stopped and he is not punished, the people will probably think that His Majesty ordered the Northern King to do this, and His Majesty may even legislate to take back all the land within the Great Xia territory in the future."

"The battle at the front is now critical. If the soldiers knew that the land they earned through military merit might be taken back, how could they be in the mood to fight for Great Xia and for His Majesty?"

"Therefore, I humbly request Your Majesty to severely punish the Prince of the North!"

At this point, Zhao Wenhan immediately knelt down.

Seeing that Zhao Wenhan had knelt down, the officials who were with Zhao Wenhan also knelt down and said in unison, "Your Majesty, please severely punish the Prince of the North!"

Seeing that more than half of the officials in the court were kneeling, Emperor Xia was not moved at all. He had already expected the court to be like this today.

In fact, what these ministers feared most was that they would reclaim the land ownership. Zhao Wenhan's words just now were a test for them, and at the same time a reminder to him not to have such thoughts, otherwise his reign as emperor would be over.

Emperor Xia then said calmly, "If what you say is true, and the Northern King has enacted laws in the Northern Prefecture to reclaim land ownership, then he has indeed gone too far."

"Although the land I bestowed upon him rightfully belongs to him, how will the people survive if all the land is taken back?"

"Yes, they definitely deserve to be punished!"

At this point, Emperor Xia's gaze fell on Lin Gaoyuan.

Emperor Xia asked, "Minister Lin, what do you think should be done to punish the Prince of the North? Should he be stripped of his title, or something else?"

Lin Gaoyuan was stunned.

This is a very tricky question. If you don't answer it, you will not only offend the Xia Emperor, but also the entire court.

After thinking for a moment, Lin Gaoyuan finally said, "The Northern King preys on the people and doesn't care about their lives, so he should naturally be punished, but..."

"The war between the Great Xia and the Great Wu is not over yet. If we strip a vassal king of his title at this time, it could very well force the Northern King to rebel."

"Although I have heard that the heavy cavalry of the Northern Commandery has been wiped out, we must not forget that the King of the North led the soldiers of the Northern Commandery to destroy the Sirius King's tribe. This is enough to show that the Northern Commandery is full of martial spirit."

"Even without the heavy cavalry, the Northern King can still quickly recruit a group of soldiers with extremely strong combat capabilities. Once the Northern King rebels, the Great Xia will be caught in a pincer movement."

Before Lin Gaoyuan could finish speaking, just as he was about to continue, Emperor Xia interrupted him.

"What Minister Lin said makes a lot of sense. The war at the front is not over yet. It would be extremely unwise to abolish the title of a vassal king at this time."

"However, we cannot let them go unpunished. I should give the people of Great Xia an explanation. Since that's the case, then we should recall all the soldiers that the court sent to support Beijun and stop helping Beijun guard Tianguang City."

"From today onwards, the imperial court will no longer support Beijun. Even if the barbarians invade from the south, Beijun will be left to defend against their attacks alone."

Upon hearing Emperor Xia's words, Zhao Wenhan frowned.

What kind of punishment is this?

This punishment will probably be insignificant to the Northern King.

However, the Northern King chose an excellent time for reform. Now it is a time of war, and from the perspective of the overall situation, the court cannot simply depose a vassal king.

If the Northern King is forced to rebel, whoever leads the charge to depose him will be held responsible.

At this moment, Emperor Xia said, "Alright, all my beloved ministers, rise. I understand what you are worried about."

"But you can rest assured that all of this is just Xiao Jiu causing trouble in Beijun, and it has nothing to do with me. I would never pass a law to take back all the land in the world."

"Although the Great Xia Dynasty was conquered by the Great Ancestor, and nominally all the land of the Great Xia Dynasty belongs to the royal family and to me, I have already bestowed these lands away, so how could I possibly take them back?"

Hearing Emperor Xia's words, the ministers in the court felt something was off. It was as if Emperor Xia was reminding them that the Great Xia Dynasty belonged to him and that they should behave themselves.

Zhao Wenhan felt that continuing to kneel was pointless, so he stood up. After Zhao Wenhan stood up, the other officials of the court also stood up.

At this moment, Zhao Wenhan said, "Prime Minister Lin and His Majesty are right. I was too rash and did not consider the harm that abolishing the vassal kings at this time might bring to Great Xia."

Seeing that Zhao Wenhan did not continue to insist, most of the officials in the court felt very uncomfortable. Of course, they were not dissatisfied with Zhao Wenhan, but they felt it was a pity that the Prince of the North had escaped this calamity.

If the two dynasties weren't still at war, the Northern King's actions would absolutely be severely punished. His thoughts are too dangerous; no minister in the court would allow him to have such ideas.

Even if the Northern King's actions might have been instigated by the Xia Emperor, it still wouldn't work.

Just then, the voice of the Red Silk Messenger came from outside the main hall.

"Urgent report from Wuxi County! The Great Wu has amassed a million-strong army and launched a full-scale attack!"

Upon hearing the messenger's words, the ministers had no choice but to turn the topic back to the war at the front, and then they began to discuss how to deal with the full-scale attack by Da Wu.

At this moment, Minister of War Chu Qinwu stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, we have already sent envoys to Da Wu to express our desire for peace talks, but Da Wu still mobilized a large army to attack Xi Wu County. This proves that in Da Wu's view, the strength of Da Xia has been greatly weakened, which is why they proposed the idea of ​​peace talks."

"I believe that in order to make peace, we must first repel the attack of Da Wu, and then launch a counterattack to a certain extent. Only in this way can we deter Da Wu and let them know that Da Xia is not weak and can not be bullied."

"In order to boost the morale of the soldiers at the front, I suggest that the Eighth Prince be appointed as the commander-in-chief to lead the three armies in a counterattack against Da Wu."

Upon hearing Chu Qinwu's words, Emperor Xia's eyes narrowed slightly.

He had basically guessed the intentions of the Jiangnan aristocratic families: they wanted the Eighth Prince to achieve military merit, so as to pave the way for his position as Crown Prince.

However, since he had already decided to compromise, he had no choice but to comply with their wishes. As for taking command of the three armies, that was definitely impossible.

Emperor Xia then said, "Although the King of Qi is skilled in both literature and martial arts, he lacks experience in commanding a large army. He can be sent to the front lines to inspire the soldiers, but he must not arbitrarily interfere with the decisions of the front-line commander."

Emperor Xia values ​​military power above all else, so how could he possibly hand it over to someone else so easily? If the Eighth Prince were to command the three armies, it would be easy to hand over military power, but it would not be so easy to take it back.

Upon hearing Emperor Xia's words, the Eighth Prince immediately stepped forward and said, "Thank you, Father, for giving me this opportunity!"

Seeing that Emperor Xia had so easily agreed to let the Eighth Prince go to the front line, the other princes immediately protested.

If the Eighth Prince was able to go to the front lines, then they were naturally qualified as well. Immediately, all the princes stood up and asked Emperor Xia to allow them to go to the front lines to fight against Da Wu.

However, Emperor Xia did not agree. The war was likely to end soon, and Emperor Xia could not allow other princes to cause trouble on the front lines.

Emperor Xia gave the Eighth Prince a chance to convey goodwill to the powerful families of Jiangnan. How could he allow other princes to follow him to the front lines and cause trouble?

After that, the court was filled with bickering between the various factions. They had originally intended to cause trouble for the Northern King, but now all the ministers had shifted their attention to the war at the front.

This was exactly as Lu Chen had predicted. Even if the court officials knew about the reforms he had implemented in Beijun, the court couldn't spare any extra energy to cause him trouble because of the war between Dawu and Daxia.

Moreover, the imperial court dared not cause trouble for a vassal king at this time. The external enemies had not yet been defeated, and if internal strife were to be provoked at this time, the Great Xia would become even more dangerous.

Of course, this made the court officials very uncomfortable. They could not touch the Northern King, nor could they stop him from carrying out reforms in his fiefdom. Were they just supposed to watch him mess things up in the Northern Commandery?

That definitely won't work.

Since the land reform measures in Beijun were ostensibly proposed by the Northern King, then eliminating the Northern King, the person who proposed them, would naturally bring the reform in Beijun to a halt.

at the same time.

In a weapons-selling attic, Wang Yong was talking to a middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man had a body full of strong muscles, each muscle clearly defined. He also had a long scar on his face, and his whole appearance was fierce and menacing, clearly that of a martial artist.

After hearing Wang Yong's words, the middle-aged man burst into laughter, then said, "Brother Wang, if you had come to find us sooner, that scourge in the north probably wouldn't have caused all this trouble!"

"Hmph, Blood Moon Tower is truly useless, actually falling into the hands of the Northern King!"

Wang Yong said with a smile, "What Pavilion Master Su says is true. Then I'll leave this matter to your Lingwu Pavilion. After it's done, I'll offer you five million taels of silver."

Su Teng said confidently, "Brother, rest assured, you will soon hear the news of the Northern King's sudden death."

"Apart from that person in the palace, no one in our Lingwu Pavilion can protect the person we want to kill, not even a Grandmaster."

Seeing Su Teng's confidence, Wang Yong felt relieved.

Lingwu Pavilion is not a professional assassin organization, but the dirty work they do is no less than that of professional assassin organizations like Blood Moon Tower.

Most importantly, Lingwu Pavilion is not as infamous as Xueyue Tower. Lingwu Pavilion is just a weapons shop on the surface, but in reality, they have many ways to make money, including taking orders to kill people.

(End of this chapter)