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

Chapter 235 The Crown Prince Rebelled

Conspiracies can often only target one person or a small group. Simple conspiracies cannot succeed in targeting a large group or destroying a powerful force.

From the moment Emperor Xia ascended the throne, he had been plotting and scheming against those powerful families, trying to sow discord among them. But despite all his scheming, those families remained closely united, and no one was ever eliminated by his schemes.

Ancient aristocratic families like the Wang family cannot be eradicated without physical means of elimination. Any policy aimed at suppressing these families is merely a minor disturbance to them. These families can not only distort the emperor's policies but also use new policies to gain more benefits for themselves.

Emperor Xia had long seen through the methods of the aristocratic families. He knew very well that none of the measures were as effective as simply cutting off their heads.

Years of political maneuvering with powerful families in the imperial court had instilled in Emperor Xia the belief that only force could solve everything.

As the Crown Prince Lu Shu sent his letter south, the imperial army also prepared to march south. Although nominally it was to resist the spread of the plague, the generals knew very well that their southward march was not to control the plague, or rather, in the eyes of the Xia Emperor, those aristocratic families were the plague.

After arriving in Sufeng City, Lu Shuyun, with the help of the powerful families of Jiangnan, quickly took control of the counties and prefectures in the Jiangnan region.

Since ancient times, the Jiangnan region has been the territory of the Jiangnan aristocratic families. There are no imperial princes in this area, and the surrounding counties are all officials of aristocratic families. It is very easy for Lu Shuyun to control the counties in this area without having to spend too much effort.

Of course, controlling the counties is one aspect, but controlling the local army is the main thing. If you only control the local counties but don't have an army to resist the imperial army, then it's not very useful.

On the one hand, Lu Shuyun was consolidating the private armies of aristocratic families in the Jiangnan region, and on the other hand, he sent people to win over the generals of the imperial court. If they were to start a rebellion, they could not rely solely on these aristocratic families.

Only with the support of more people and more powerful forces can they have a chance of success.

June 7th.

News of the Crown Prince's rebellion spread throughout the Great Xia Dynasty. Lu Shuyun gathered hundreds of thousands of troops and marched north, claiming he wanted to purge the court of corrupt officials.

Lu Shuyun turned his attention to Lin Gaoyuan, who was not on his side, saying that it was precisely because of treacherous ministers like Lin Gaoyuan that the Xia Dynasty was defeated by the Da Wu Dynasty, and that the Xia Dynasty had to cede territory and pay reparations.

The capital of Daxia.

Lin House.

Lin Gaoyuan was drinking tea in his study while writing a letter to Lu Chen when Lin Xiuming burst in without even knocking, shouting, "Father, something terrible has happened!!!"

Seeing Lin Xiuming's impetuous behavior, Lin Gaoyuan frowned, put down his pen, and said, "You're such a grown man, why are you still so impetuous?"

Lin Xiuming ignored Lin Gaoyuan's reprimand and handed him a piece of yellow paper, saying, "Father, the Crown Prince has rebelled. He has issued a proclamation to punish the traitors, saying that he will purge the court of corrupt officials and that you are the culprit who caused the Great Xia's defeat."

Hearing this, Lin Gaoyuan showed no surprise whatsoever. He smiled, stroked his beard, and then said, "Just as I thought, I knew the Crown Prince would choose me as their open target for attack."

Most of the officials in the imperial court were people that Lu Shuyun could win over. If Lu Shuyun succeeded in the end, he could still give those officials important positions.

However, Lin Gaoyuan is different. Ever since Lu Shuyun became the crown prince, Lin Gaoyuan has targeted Lu Shuyun many times. He and Lu Shuyun are obviously not on the same side. Most importantly, Lu Shuyun needs to choose an official that the common people know.

Ordinary people have never even heard of these officials, not even those at the level of a minister. They have virtually no recollection of them.

But the prime minister is different.

Lin Gaoyuan and Zhao Wenhan have served as prime ministers for so many years that the common people already know their names.

Since Zhao Wenhan is biased towards Lu Shuyun, Lu Shuyun would definitely not choose Zhao Wenhan as a "traitor" to be punished, which leaves only Lin Gaoyuan.

Lin Gaoyuan was prepared to be regarded as a "traitor" by Lu Shuyun when Lu Shuyun left the capital.

Seeing that Lin Gaoyuan remained unmoved, and even smiled, Lin Xiuming said, "Father, how can you still smile at a time like this? What if His Majesty hands you over?"

Lin Gaoyuan chuckled and then said, "Hand me over? I told you to read more books, but you wouldn't listen. How could His Majesty possibly hand me over? Don't you even use your brain?"

"You don't actually think that the Crown Prince's so-called 'purging the court of corrupt officials' really means eliminating our Lin family, do you? The Crown Prince's so-called 'purging the court of corrupt officials' refers to His Majesty; he's just using me as a scapegoat."

"If the Crown Prince says he wants to purge the emperor, wouldn't that be a son rebelling against his father? Even if he succeeds, he will inevitably be despised by the world. Moreover, if he dares to directly target His Majesty, how will he win people's hearts then?"

Lin Xiuming then said, "Father, I naturally know that the Crown Prince's rebellion is not simply a matter of purging the court of corrupt officials. I'm just worried that when the imperial army can't hold out, His Majesty will hand over our Lin family to buy time."

"A few months ago, the people in the Eastern Palace created the Cloud Piercing Bow. The Crown Prince must have already had many similar weapons secretly made in the Jiangnan area. When the imperial army faces those rebels, they may not be a match for them."

Lin Xiuming was, after all, Lin Gaoyuan's son, and through his upbringing, he was somewhat sensitive to politics. He was well aware that the so-called "purging the emperor's inner circle" was not just about eliminating so-called treacherous officials.

What he was really worried about was what would happen to the Lin family if the imperial army was defeated.

Upon hearing Lin Xiuming's words, Lin Gaoyuan said with a serious expression, "You are, after all, the commander of the Qilin Army, a general. How can you have so little confidence in the imperial army?"

Lin Xiuming said, "I have used the Cloud Piercing Bow and know how terrifying its power is. The Cloud Piercing Arrows fired from the Cloud Piercing Bow can easily pierce through the armor of heavy cavalry. At that time, even if the court sends out 20,000 heavy cavalry, they may not be able to play a significant role."

Lin Gaoyuan said calmly, "Whether a war is won or lost depends not only on the power of weapons, but also on many other factors. The power of the Cloud Piercing Bow is indeed great, but not all soldiers can use it. Moreover, His Majesty has been planning for so long. He must have planted spies among the powerful families in Jiangnan. The outcome of this war is most likely to be His Majesty's victory. You don't need to worry too much."

At this point, Lin Gaoyuan picked up his pen again and continued writing the letter, saying as he wrote, "The Northern King wrote to me not long ago, saying that he intends to marry your sister, and your sister has agreed."

Upon hearing this, Lin Xiuming was taken aback.

Did his sworn sister agree?

real or fake?

He remembered that when he told her about it in the North, she was very resistant. How did she suddenly agree?

Just as Lin Xiuming was lost in thought, Lin Gaoyuan suddenly said something.

"If His Majesty is truly defeated, then we will go directly to the Northern Kingdom."

This……

Lin Xiuming was stunned. Now he understood why his father wasn't worried at all. It turned out that he had already planned out a way out for the Lin family.

only……

If the imperial army is truly defeated, will it really be so easy for the Lin family to escape the capital and head to the northern country?

Lin Xiuming remained skeptical.

……

at the same time.

The Northern Kingdom, the Hall of State Affairs.

Li Rui was reporting on the current state of land reclamation in the Northern Kingdom in the imperial court. The Northern Kingdom is characterized by its vast land and sparse population, and there are still many areas that have not been reclaimed.

Since the reforms in the Northern Kingdom, the kingdom has been encouraging its people to reclaim wasteland. Even though Lu Chen has reclaimed all the land ownership in the Northern Kingdom, the people there are still quite enthusiastic about reclaiming wasteland.

This was all thanks to Lu Chen's policy of abolishing agricultural taxes. The abolition of agricultural taxes was far ahead of its time, as people had never experienced the feeling of reaping exactly what they had grown.

Although they don't own the land, the people think that they can cultivate it for many years after clearing the land, and they won't have to pay agricultural taxes during those years. As long as they cultivate it for a few more years, the labor they put into clearing the land is nothing.

Under the land policy of the Northern Kingdom, many people were willing to actively reclaim wasteland. In addition, many refugees from the three counties ceded by the Great Xia Kingdom migrated to the Northern Kingdom. These refugees had no land, and in order to settle down, they also joined the land reclamation team.

After listening to Li Rui's report, Lu Chen said, "Continue to encourage the people to reclaim wasteland. Tell them that the Northern Prince's Mansion will continue to distribute high-yield grain seeds regularly for the next three years. Don't worry that there won't be any crops to grow after the land is reclaimed."

Li Rui replied, "Yes, Your Highness."

At this moment, Lu Chen continued, "Furthermore, I intend to incorporate the northern lands into the Northern Kingdom. Starting today, the map of the Northern Kingdom will need to be changed."

Upon hearing this, everyone in the hall was stunned.

Will the northern lands be incorporated into the northern kingdom?

Although Lu Chen had mentioned this plan before, he had only thought about it at the time and had not taken any actual action.

Nowadays, there are no large tribes like the Sirius King's tribe in the North. They are all small tribes. As long as the Northern Kingdom's army intimidates them a little, they can drive those small tribes out of the North.

At this moment, Xiao Pengtian stepped forward and asked, "I wonder how Your Highness intends to deal with those barbarian tribes on the grasslands?"

Lu Chen said calmly, "Those who belong to my territory are naturally my subjects. After the Northern Lands are incorporated into the Northern Kingdom, all the barbarian tribes must be registered and filed, and every barbarian must register a Northern Kingdom ID card. They can continue to live a nomadic life on the grasslands of the Northern Lands, or they can give up nomadism and settle down in the south."

"The barbarian tribes who choose to settle in the south will be given some land by the Northern King's Palace, and people will be sent to teach them how to cultivate it."

Lu Chen already had experience in dealing with barbarians. After the barbarians from the Tianlang King Tribe and the Beixian King Tribe migrated to the Northern Kingdom, Lu Chen sent people to teach them how to farm.

Furthermore, Lu Chen specially invited some people who were fluent in both Daxia language and the Manchu language to teach the Manchus to speak Daxia language.

Among the barbarian tribes, the Tianlang King tribe did a better job of integrating into the Xia Dynasty from the beginning, so the barbarians of the Tianlang King tribe assimilated into the Xia Dynasty faster than the barbarians of the Beixian King tribe.

Now, the barbarians of the Sirius King tribe have become the link between the barbarians and the Northern Kingdom. The barbarians of the Sirius King tribe have completely submitted to Lu Chen from the bottom of their hearts. The barbarian soldiers who were captured by the Northern Kingdom before can now be released without anyone having to watch over them. They will return on their own when the time comes.

In addition, many men in the Great Xia have married widows from the barbarian tribes, so the integration between the barbarians and the people of the Northern Kingdom is now relatively good.

Upon hearing Lu Chen's words, Xiao Pengtian immediately knelt down and said, "Thank you for your mercy, Your Highness."

Lu Chen continued, "I will establish a special Barbarian Management Bureau, and all matters related to the barbarians will be handed over to the Barbarian Management Bureau."

"Alright, General Xiao, please get up. Let's leave it at that. Now, think about how many prefectures should be divided after the Northern Lands are incorporated into the Northern Kingdom."

Upon hearing this, the main hall erupted in discussion.

The North is simply too vast. Not to mention the unknown extent of the North, even if the known area of ​​the North were included in the Northern Kingdom, the Northern Kingdom's land area might still exceed that of the Great Xia.

If the territory of a vassal state exceeds that of its suzerain state, it would likely arouse the court's suspicion, and the Northern King might even be falsely accused of rebellion by the court.

As for how many counties should be divided in the North, it's really hard to say. The North is mostly grassland, and there aren't even any people. If it were divided like the counties of the Great Xia, some counties would probably be completely deserted. Not to mention where the officials who manage the counties would live.

Just as the officials in the main hall were having a heated discussion, a commander of the Imperial Guards entered the hall. He came to Lu Chen from a side hall and whispered to him, "Your Highness, the Eighth Prince has rebelled."

As soon as he finished speaking, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard handed the intelligence report to Lu Chen, who opened it and began to read it carefully.

At this moment, the discussion in the main hall gradually subsided, and the officials' eyes all fell on Lu Chen's face. Lu Chen's expression kept changing. Generally, only important intelligence would be brought into the Hall of State Affairs during the small court assembly. If it was not particularly important intelligence, the Jinyiwei would send the intelligence directly to Lu Chen's study.

Therefore, when the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard entered the Hall of State Affairs, the officials inside knew that something major must have happened in the Great Xia Dynasty.

After reading the intelligence report, Lu Chen addressed the officials in the main hall, saying, "I have received news that the Eighth Prince, under the pretext of heading south to fight the plague, has colluded with powerful families in Jiangnan to launch a rebellion."

Upon hearing this, the hall fell into complete silence.

People had long guessed that this day would come. Recently, they had frequently heard that Emperor Xia was purging the court and was going to send troops south, which was obviously to force the Eighth Prince and the powerful families of Jiangnan to rebel.

Now, the Eighth Prince and the powerful families of Jiangnan have indeed rebelled.

Their rebellion gave the northern kingdom its opportunity.

At this time, the Northern Kingdom will incorporate the northern lands into the Northern Kingdom. The officials of the court will definitely not say anything. At present, the most important task of the court is to quell the rebellion. They have no jurisdiction over the affairs of the Northern Kingdom. This is a great opportunity for the development of the Northern Kingdom.

(End of this chapter)