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

Chapter 287 Lu Chen's Busy and Fulfilling Life

Seeing that the officials in the hall had been discussing heatedly for a long time without reaching a conclusion, the eldest prince looked directly at Zhao Wenhan and asked, "What does Lord Zhao think?"

After the Eighth Prince rebelled in Jiangnan, Zhao Wenhan sided with the First Prince.

Since ancient times, the succession system has always been based on the eldest son of the legitimate wife. However, the struggle for the throne among the Xia emperors in recent generations has been quite intense, and it has been a long time since the eldest son of the legitimate wife has become emperor. Therefore, Zhao Wenhan did not have high hopes for the eldest prince at first.

However, now that the Jiangnan aristocratic families have been eliminated, only the eldest prince's power remains the strongest. Moreover, most of the eldest prince's supporters are from the scholar-official class, not the traditional ancient aristocratic families. With this class in place, it is not impossible for the eldest prince to smoothly become the crown prince and eventually ascend the throne as emperor.

The eldest prince asked Zhao Wenhan for his opinion first, because Zhao Wenhan was currently on his side.

Zhao Wenhan then spoke up, saying, "Your Highness, in my opinion, whether Yong'an County is sold to the Northern Kingdom or not will not have a significant impact on Great Xia."

Upon hearing Zhao Wenhan's words, the hall fell silent instantly. Most officials had expected Zhao Wenhan to object as well, but to their surprise, he didn't seem to care at all.

The eldest prince asked, "Oh? Why is that?"

Zhao Wenhan continued, "Yong'an County is in the northwest. If the Northern King wants to send troops south from the northwest, it will be a long detour, and there is always the risk of being cut off from supplies. If the Northern King really intends to rebel, instead of taking such a long detour, it would be better to directly attack Qi State, occupy Qi State, and then move south."

The eldest prince thought about it for a moment and felt that it made some sense.

The eldest prince then looked at Lin Gaoyuan and asked, "Lord Lin, what do you think the Northern Kingdom's purpose is in buying Yong'an County?"

Lin Gaoyuan replied, "Not long ago, the Northern Kingdom and the Great Wu Dynasty signed a trade cooperation agreement. However, the Northern Kingdom and the Great Wu Dynasty do not have a direct border. To transport goods from the Northern Kingdom to the Great Wu Dynasty, one must either pass through the Qi Kingdom or the Dayue Kingdom. This is not conducive to trade between the Northern Kingdom and the Great Wu Dynasty. Therefore, I believe that the Northern Kingdom purchased Yong'an County in order to be able to border the Great Wu Dynasty, so that the trade between the two sides can be smoother."

The eldest prince asked, "In the opinion of Lord Zhao and Lord Lin, should the court approve this land transaction between Qi and the Northern Kingdom?"

Lin Gaoyuan and Zhao Wenhan said in unison, "It should be approved."

Seeing that both of them agreed to the land transaction, the eldest prince's gaze fell on Zhao Wenhan, who continued, "Your Highness, the southern princes are already restless. At this time, we must not offend the Northern King. Once the Northern King rebels, it will inevitably provoke the southern princes to follow suit. If the imperial army is fighting the Northern Kingdom in the north, the southern princes will take advantage of the situation, and the capital may be at risk of falling."

"Therefore, I believe that we should try our best to stabilize the Northern King for now."

It wasn't that Zhao Wenhan wanted to side with the Northern King; he genuinely felt that there shouldn't be a direct conflict with the Northern Kingdom right now. If the imperial court and the Northern Kingdom were to fight, the vassal kings, led by the Zhao King, would inevitably raise an army.

In Zhao Wenhan's view, the most important thing now is to stabilize the Northern King, and then wait for the Xia Emperor to pass away and the eldest prince to ascend the throne. Once the eldest prince ascends the throne, there will be many methods that they could not use before that they can use.

After hearing Zhao Wenhan's words, the Crown Prince's gaze fell on Lin Gaoyuan. Lin Gaoyuan then said, "I agree with Lord Zhao's statement. It is indeed not advisable to have a conflict with the Northern Kingdom now. Stabilizing the Northern Kingdom is the most important thing."

The eldest prince then said, "In his memorial, Prince Qi wrote that in order to prevent the Northern King from sending troops south directly through Yong'an County, Qi only plans to sell part of Yong'an County to the Northern Kingdom. In this way, the areas controlled by the Northern Kingdom and the court will still not border each other."

"Furthermore, I will send troops to be stationed in the southern part of Yong'an County to keep a close watch on the northern army."

Upon hearing the Crown Prince's words, the ministers in the hall fell silent. This was indeed the best way to avoid conflict with the Northern Kingdom.

The eldest prince glanced at the officials in the hall and then said, "Does anyone else have other ideas about this matter? Please speak up."

"If there are no objections, I will approve this land transaction."

The hall was silent. No one spoke. The ministers understood that the situation was quite serious and that they could only try to appease the Northern King.

Seeing that no one spoke, the eldest prince said, "Since no one has any objections, then this matter is settled. Next, we will discuss the issue of the regional princes expanding their armies without authorization."

Upon hearing this, the hall instantly fell silent. The court officials, including the princes, were all in cahoots with certain vassal kings, so no one wanted to express too much opinion on this topic.

Furthermore, if we're talking about who expanded their army first, it was the Northern King of the Northern Kingdom who did so first. The Northern Kingdom was originally only allowed to have 150,000 soldiers, but when the Northern Kingdom held a military parade, 200,000 soldiers appeared.

Although the Xia emperor did not hold the Northern King accountable at the time, but rather balanced his merits and demerits, the emperor's actions set a bad precedent. If the Northern King was not punished, what would happen if the other vassal kings expanded their armies?

If we are to discuss how to deal with those vassal kings who have expanded their armies, the first thing we should discuss is how to deal with the Northern King. If the Northern King has not been dealt with, it is certainly impossible to win over the people.

Ultimately, the issue of how to deal with the princes who had expanded their armies without authorization was left unresolved.

Soon, the imperial decree reached the Qi Kingdom. Upon learning that the court had agreed to allow the Northern Kingdom to purchase land from Qi, the King of Qi immediately summoned Zhou Tongguang, the envoy from the Northern Kingdom.

The discussion about the selling price of Yong'an County did not last long. King Qi did not intend to make unreasonable demands at this time. There were 100,000 troops from the North on the border of Qi, and the North's army had defeated the barbarian army three times. King Qi dared not make exorbitant demands in front of the North.

In the end, the Qi Kingdom sold the northern part of Yong'an County to the Northern Kingdom at a very low price.

After completing the transaction, Zhou Tongguang quickly returned to the north to report back.

North.

The Northern Prince's Mansion, Lu Chen's Study.

After listening to Zhou Tongguang's report on his mission to the Northern Kingdom, Lu Chen smiled and said to Zhou Tongguang, "You did a good job. You've been in Qi Kingdom for so long, you must be tired. I'll give you five days off. Spend these few days with your family."

Zhou Tongguang immediately said, "Thank you, Your Highness!"

"If Your Highness has nothing else to say, I will take my leave."

Lu Chen said calmly, "Okay."

After Zhou Tongguang finished bowing, he left Lu Chen's study.

After Zhou Tongguang left, Wu Yuan entered the study and said, "Greetings, Your Highness!"

Lu Chen asked directly, "Have the barbarian slaves been transferred to Lord Xuanyuan City?"

Wu Yuan replied, "It has already been transferred to City Lord Xuanyuan."

Lu Chen didn't continue the topic. He said to the maid at the door, "Xiao Huan, have someone go and call General Wenren here."

"Yes, Your Highness."

After saying this, Lu Chen's gaze fell on Wu Yuan, and he continued, "Commander Wu, I intend to give you a task."

Wu Yuan immediately replied, "Your Highness, please speak. I will do anything, even die, to complete Your Highness's mission."

Lu Chen said, "Starting today, you will assist City Lord Xuanyuan in building the railway. If City Lord Xuanyuan needs anything, inform me immediately."

Upon hearing this, Wu Yuan was stunned. He hadn't expected Lu Chen to assign him this task.

This task wasn't particularly difficult; on the contrary, it was far too easy. There was practically nothing to do. As a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, he was usually responsible for gathering intelligence, but now he was being asked to handle infrastructure construction. Wu Yuan wondered if he had somehow offended the Northern King and displeased him.

Lu Chen seemed to have seen through Wu Yuan's thoughts, and then continued, "The railway is very important to the Northern Kingdom. I am worried that some people with ulterior motives will sabotage the construction of the railway. In addition to cooperating with Lord Xuanyuan City to build the railway, you must also stop those who want to sabotage the railway, especially spies from other dynasties."

Wu Yuan thought for a moment. If the train really started running, Yancheng would have an easier time controlling the entire Northern Kingdom, and their soldiers would be able to reach the border more quickly. Therefore, the railway was indeed very important to the Northern Kingdom.

It seems he misunderstood the Northern King. The Northern King entrusted him with such an important task, which clearly shows that he values ​​him.

Wu Yuan then said, "Your Highness, I will certainly complete the task assigned to me perfectly."

Lu Chen then asked, "Is there anything else?"

Upon hearing this, Wu Yuan remembered that he had come to the study. He quickly took out a letter from his sleeve and said, "Your Highness, this is intelligence gathered by the Embroidered Uniform Guard regarding the collusion between the princes and the vassal kings."

Upon hearing this, Lu Chen took the intelligence from Wu Yuan and glanced at it.

Lu Chen chuckled. He hadn't expected that, apart from the eldest prince, all the princes in the capital who were qualified to vie for the throne had secretly colluded with the regional princes, and the second prince had even received the support of two regional princes.

It seems that those vassal kings also understand that even if they conquer the capital, they will not be able to ascend to the throne. There are still some old guys in the royal family. Unless they have the ability to kill all those old guys or gain their approval, all their efforts will be in vain.

Since it's difficult to obtain that position, why not support a puppet emperor to take the throne? With a puppet emperor, they can do many things, and perhaps they can even force the puppet emperor to abdicate in the future.

At this moment, Wu Yuan said, "If Your Highness has nothing else to say, I will take my leave."

Lu Chen hummed in agreement, looked at the intelligence in his hand, and didn't say anything more.

Wu Yuan then left the study.

About half an hour later, Wenren Lie arrived at the study. Wenren Lie was a little confused. In the past, if there was anything, Lu Chen would always have someone call him and Xuan Yuan Chen together. Why did Lu Chen only call him today?

What task does Nanlu Chen want to assign to him alone?

Just as Wenren Lie was thinking this, Lu Chen spoke up: "General Wenren, tomorrow you will lead 30,000 heavy cavalry to garrison Yong'an County."

Upon hearing this, Wenren Lie paused for a moment, then asked, "Your Majesty, what am I required to do after entering Yong'an County?"

Lu Chen said, "Just be wary of spies from enemy countries, nothing else needs to be done."

Wenren Lie said, "Your subject understands."

Lu Chen said, "Go and prepare. We'll set off first thing tomorrow morning."

"Yes, I'll take my leave."

After Wenren Lie left, Lu Chen leaned back in the wooden chair, closed his eyes, and rubbed his temples.

As the Great Xia Dynasty grew increasingly chaotic, his affairs became more and more numerous. He could entrust the administration of the northern kingdoms to Zhuge Chongguang, but he had to personally handle matters concerning other dynasties.

At that moment, the red glow of the sunset shone through the window and into the room, turning it a muddy yellow color. A familiar voice entered the room.

"Chen'er, it's time for dinner."

Chu Yuqin stood at the door of the study, blocking the red glow of the sunset.

Seeing Chu Yuqin's dignified and graceful figure, Lu Chen's lips curled up slightly. Although these days were a bit busy, he was quite fulfilled.

Lu Chen then got up from his chair and walked towards the study door. When he arrived at the door, he put his arm around Chu Yuqin's slender waist. Chu Yuqin blushed and said, "Someone is watching."

Upon hearing this, Lu Chen glanced at the maid beside him, who quickly turned her face away upon seeing this.

Chu Yuqin said shyly, "Alright, we should go to the main courtyard now. Zixuan has prepared a lot of nourishing foods for you tonight."

Lu Chen smiled faintly, "Okay."

Without saying another word, the two headed straight for the main courtyard.

……

(End of this chapter)