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

Chapter 204 I have some very important news to tell you.

When Lu Chen arrived at the study, Chu Xiong was standing at the door. Upon seeing Lu Chen, Chu Xiong immediately said, "This humble subject greets Your Highness!"

Lu Chen quickly came over and supported Chu Xiong's arms, saying, "Grandpa, what are you doing? You don't need to bow to me when we meet in private."

Chu Xiong was about to say something about the importance of propriety, but Lu Chen interrupted him, continuing, "Grandpa, you should have seen the assassin from last night, right?"

Upon hearing Lu Chen's question, Chu Xiong sighed and then said, "I saw it. I never imagined that after I left the Chu family, they would do such a heinous thing."

Lu Chen said with a smile, "What I did in the Northern Kingdom has crossed their bottom line. It's not surprising that they would do such a thing. After all, the Chu family is one of the aristocratic families, and it is the largest aristocratic family in Jiangnan."

Chu Xiong said, "The Chu family has now fallen apart and can no longer be considered a top-tier family among the prominent families of Jiangnan."

Lu Chen asked, "Grandpa, what have you thought about what I told you before?"

"If the Chu family members who follow you are willing to come to the Northern Kingdom, I can give them a piece of land for free. Of course, according to the laws of the Northern Kingdom, the Chu family only has the right to use it."

"However, Grandfather, you should understand that once the reforms in the North are completed, land will no longer be as important as before. The future development of the Chu family will not necessarily depend on land."

Chu Xiong said, "I plan to return to Sufeng City tomorrow, but if I bring the Chu family to the Northern Kingdom, I'm afraid there will be a lot of resistance."

He was, after all, the former head of the Chu family, and he must have had many followers. If he were to leave the Chu family, the Chu family's strength would be greatly weakened in the future, and the new head of the Chu family would certainly not agree to it.

Secondly, now is a crucial time for the Jiangnan aristocratic families to unite against the emperor. If so many members of the Chu family were to leave at once, it would be equivalent to weakening the strength of the Jiangnan aristocratic families.

In the past, the powerful families of Jiangnan would have been very happy to see the Chu family's strength weakened, but things are different now. If the power of the Jiangnan families is weakened, Emperor Xia might have designs on them.

Therefore, at the very least, the powerful families of Jiangnan cannot be weakened, and other powerful families certainly will not allow the Chu family to leave Jiangnan or Sufeng City.

There is another potential obstacle for Chu Xiong to lead his people away from Sufeng City: the Xia Emperor. The Xia Emperor may not be happy to see the Chu family come to the Northern Kingdom.

Although the migration of some members of the Chu family to the Northern Kingdom weakened the power of the Jiangnan aristocratic families, Emperor Xia was quite suspicious, and he might be wondering if the Chu family had some other purpose in going to the Northern Kingdom.

In short, it will not be an easy task for the Chu family to leave Jiangnan.

Hearing Chu Xiong's words, Lu Chen thought for a moment and then said, "Grandpa, if you encounter any difficulties, you can ask my people for help. They will assist you in moving to the Northern Kingdom."

Currently, the Embroidered Uniform Guards are spread throughout Sufeng City, and their intelligence work in the Jiangnan area is excellent. If any other aristocratic families make any moves, the Embroidered Uniform Guards will know very quickly. In that case, the Embroidered Uniform Guards can, to a certain extent, cover the Chu family's departure from Sufeng City.

Chu Xiong said, "Then I'll have to trouble you."

"I'll head back now. I'll send someone to let you know before we move to the North."

Lu Chen said, "Okay."

Chu Xiong then left the Northern King's Mansion.

Not long after Chu Xiong left, a vixen appeared at the entrance to the study's courtyard, leaning against the door frame and perfectly showcasing her S-shaped waist.

"Your Highness, such a big thing happened last night, why didn't you tell me? If I hadn't heard from the servants today, I wouldn't have known that such a big thing happened in Yancheng last night."

Seeing that it was Wang Qingci who had returned, Lu Chen said with a smile, "Big news? What big news? It's just dealing with a bunch of petty thieves, nothing serious."

At this point, Lu Chen glanced at Wang Qingci's graceful figure and continued, "Did you come back today with any intelligence?"

Wang Qingci said, "Indeed, there is a very important piece of intelligence, and it is intelligence that could very well affect the Great Xia."

Upon hearing this, Lu Chen was taken aback. Would it affect the Great Xia?

After regaining his senses, Lu Chen immediately headed towards the study. He had been talking to Chu Xiong in the courtyard and hadn't even entered the study.

Since Wang Qingci said it was a very important matter, it would be better to discuss it in the study.

"Come in and tell me in detail what happened."

Wang Qingci then followed Lu Chen into the study. After entering the study, Wang Qingci closed the door and took out a letter of intelligence from her sleeve, placing it on Lu Chen's desk.

Lu Chen picked up the intelligence report, opened it, and read it carefully. The corners of his mouth gradually turned up, but his expression quickly became serious again. He finally understood why Wang Qingci said that this intelligence would affect Great Xia.

Wang Qingci then said, "Da Wu launches wars against foreign powers every year, which is normal for it to incite popular uprisings. If they hadn't launched this war against Da Xia, popular uprisings might not have happened so quickly. Da Wu probably won't have the mind to deal with Da Xia anymore."

The intelligence contained information about recent events in the Great Wu Dynasty. Peasant uprisings broke out in two counties in the southwest corner of the Great Wu Dynasty and received support from the Great Wu Dynasty's regular army. The regular army and the peasant uprising army joined forces and marched towards the Great Wu capital under the slogan of "purging the court of corrupt officials".

If it were just two prefectures, it would be fine, but now many prefectures and counties in the Great Wu Dynasty are stirring up trouble, especially those vassal kings.

Before long, the civil war in the Great Wu will break out. To be precise, the civil war in the Great Wu will have already broken out the moment the peasant uprising begins.

Lu Chen was initially pleased to see the civil war break out in Da Wu, but he quickly realized that once Da Wu was embroiled in civil war, the external pressure on Da Xia would instantly disappear.

With no external pressure on Great Xia, my father, the emperor, is probably preparing to take action against the aristocratic families. Great Wu is in chaos, and Great Xia will be next.

"Besides the Great Wu Dynasty, I have another piece of intelligence here, but this intelligence is not as important as the outbreak of civil war in the Great Wu Dynasty, and it has not been confirmed yet, it is just some rumors."

As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Qingci took out another piece of intelligence from his sleeve and placed it on Lu Chen's desk.

Lu Chen opened the other intelligence report given to him by Wang Qingci, glanced at it, and his serious expression vanished. He smiled and said, "It seems the window of opportunity for development in the Northern Kingdom has arrived. Heaven is truly favoring me!"

The second intelligence report from Wang Qingci recorded some rumors that the Tingyulou caravan had heard within the territory of the Daqian Dynasty. The rumors said that a plague had broken out in the south of the Daqian Dynasty, and that the Daqian Dynasty had transferred its troops to the south to prevent the plague from spreading.

However, this matter is still under wraps, and people have only heard rumors and have no way of confirming whether the news is true.

At this moment, Wang Qingci continued, "Although we haven't confirmed the authenticity of this news yet, judging from the fact that the Daqian Dynasty has transferred its soldiers from the Daxia border, something really serious has probably happened in the south of the Daqian Dynasty."

Originally, several dynasties stationed troops on the border of the Great Xia Dynasty. However, when the war broke out, the Great Yue Dynasty remained inactive, the Great Qian Dynasty recalled its troops, and only the Great Wu Dynasty launched an attack on the Great Xia Dynasty.

Now the Great Wu Dynasty has no intention of dealing with the Great Xia, leaving only the Great Yue. However, judging from the current situation of the Great Yue, it is unlikely that the Great Yue will expand outwards anytime soon.

The Empress of Dayue had only recently ascended the throne, and like the Northern Kingdom, they also faced the threat of the northern barbarians. If the Dayue Dynasty were to expand southward at this time, it was uncertain whether the capital of Dayue could be preserved if the barbarians were to invade from the south.

Now, the three major dynasties bordering the Great Xia Dynasty all have their own matters to attend to, so the Great Xia Dynasty is free from all external pressures.

Once external pressure is removed, the internal contradictions that were previously suppressed will inevitably erupt.

The chaos in the world is a great thing for the Northern Kingdom. The Northern Kingdom is located on the periphery, and the chaos of other dynasties will not have a great impact on the Northern Kingdom. The only impact may be that a lot of refugees will come to the Northern Kingdom.

However, the influx of refugees into the Northern Kingdom was exactly what Lu Chen wanted to see. The Northern Kingdom had a relatively small population, and the refugees coming to the Northern Kingdom would replenish its population. Of course, the management pressure might be quite high at that time.

So ultimately, the biggest problem facing the Northern Kingdom is that there are too few civil officials.

Once the Chu family arrives, Lu Chen plans to appoint some members of the Chu family to official positions. The divided Chu family does not pose a significant threat, and he is not worried that the Chu family will form a new major power in the Northern Kingdom.

After the Chu family arrived in the Northern Kingdom, they had no one to rely on there and could only stand with the Northern King's Mansion. Using the Chu family's people was not a big problem.

The key is that the military power and economic lifeline of the Northern Kingdom are now controlled by the Northern King's Mansion, which is why Lu Chen has such confidence.

If he were just a prince with nothing right now, and he appointed people from the Chu family as officials, he might very well be sidelined by the Chu family officials. This is the dilemma that Great Xia is currently facing.

That's how the court is now; it appoints officials from powerful families, so even the Xia emperor's orders can't leave the capital.

Lu Chen looked at the two intelligence reports on the table and pondered for a moment. Then he said to Wang Qingci, "Continue to send people to inquire about the situation of the Great Qian Dynasty. I need to get definite information to see if something has really happened to the Great Qian Dynasty."

Wang Qingci replied, "Yes, Your Highness."

At this point, Wang Qingci took a serious look at Lu Chen. For some reason, she suddenly felt that Lu Chen seemed to have become even more handsome, and also taller and stronger.

Was it just her imagination?

Wang Qingci couldn't help but wonder if it was because she hadn't been back for so long that she felt Lu Chen's body had changed.

Just as Wang Qingci was thinking this, Lu Chen looked up at her and found that she was staring straight at him. He had originally planned to have the maid outside notify the Embroidered Uniform Guard to have all the officials of Yancheng go to the Council Hall to discuss political affairs.

However, seeing Wang Qingci staring at him with affectionate eyes, Lu Chen suddenly had some thoughts.

Lu Chen laughed and said, "Lord Wang, why are you staring at me like that? Is there something on my face?"

Upon hearing Lu Chen's words, Wang Qingci, who was lost in her infatuation, snapped out of her reverie and quickly said, "No, no, I was just thinking about something."

Lu Chen smiled and said, "Oh? Thinking about something? What are you thinking about so intently? Tell me about it."

Wang Qingci said softly, "I was wondering why Your Highness seems to have grown taller again."

Lu Chen said calmly, "I'm currently in the process of growing taller, isn't it normal for me to grow taller?"

Wang Qingci said, "Your Highness is right. If there is nothing else, I will take my leave."

Wang Qingci was afraid that Lu Chen would have designs on her again, so she decided to run away as soon as possible.

Lu Chen said, "Lord Wang, don't be in such a hurry to leave. I have some important news to tell you, and it's even more important for you personally."

Wang Qingci was stunned for a moment when she heard Lu Chen's words.

Is this news very important to her?

What news is that?

Judging from Lu Chen's tone, it didn't sound like he was talking about anything serious. What important news could it be?

When Lu Chen was discussing serious matters with her, he wouldn't address her as "Master Wang."

Although she had a feeling it couldn't be anything serious, Wang Qingci still asked curiously, "What news does Your Highness want to share?"

Lu Chen smiled and said, "Come to my side. Not many people know about this yet. I'll tell you quietly."

Seeing Lu Chen's harmless smile, Wang Qingci's legs couldn't help but tremble.

Did he really have some important news to tell him?

It can't be that you want to...

Wang Qingci then swayed her hips and came to Lu Chen's side, saying with a resentful look, "Your Highness, if you want to do something bad, just say so. Why make up excuses and say you have some important news to tell me?"

After Wang Qingci came to Lu Chen's side, she was prepared to be pinned to the table by him. However, Lu Chen did not make any moves. Instead, he whispered in her ear, "Not many people know about this yet. You must not leak it out, or you will be severely punished by me."

Seeing that Lu Chen didn't make any moves, Wang Qingci suddenly became very curious. Did Lu Chen actually have some news to tell her?

She thought Lu Chen would act like before, calling her "Master Wang" all the time, and then suddenly pinning her down on the table to clean her up.

Wang Qingci immediately replied, "Your Highness, please tell me, and I will definitely keep it a secret and will absolutely not let a third person know."

Lu Chen then said, "I have broken through to the Grandmaster level. My body has become much stronger than before. Before, I could only go one night without sleep, but now I can go for several days and nights without sleep."

At this point, Lu Chen paused, then leaned close to Wang Qingci's ear and said through her ear canal, "I wonder if this news is considered important to you, Master Wang?"

Upon hearing Lu Chen's last words, Wang Qingci's face turned deathly pale, and her delicate body trembled involuntarily.

(End of this chapter)