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

Chapter 291 Wang Qingci is Pregnant

Great Xia Dynasty.

The capital city, the sleeping quarters of the Xia emperor.

Emperor Xia lay on his bed, looking like he was on his deathbed. At this time, Zhao Wenhan and Lin Gaoyuan were reporting on the recent movements of the various dynasties.

After a while, Emperor Xia suddenly coughed violently. The maidservant quickly brought a yellow silk handkerchief. The next moment, Emperor Xia spat a mouthful of blood onto the handkerchief, staining it dark red.

Seeing this, Zhao Wenhan and Lin Gaoyuan both frowned, their eyes flickering slightly, each with their own thoughts, plotting something.

After a while, Emperor Xia spoke up, saying, "I never expected that as soon as I fell, all the major dynasties would swarm around me like vultures."

At this point, Emperor Xia glanced at Zhao Wenhan and Lin Gaoyuan, and then asked, "Minister Zhao, Minister Lin, in your opinion, which prince is capable of inheriting my throne?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Gaoyuan and Zhao Wenhan simultaneously knelt on the ground, saying in unison, "We dare not speak presumptuously!"

Some things shouldn't be said carelessly, especially when it comes to choosing an heir.

Emperor Xia coughed a few more times, then said, "Speak freely, I will pardon you."

The two men remained prostrate on the ground, not daring to lift their heads. Seeing that they still remained silent, Emperor Xia snorted coldly and said, "You, as prime ministers, dare not even express your opinion on the matter of choosing an heir? What kind of prime ministers are you?"

After a long while, Emperor Xia said, "Alright, get up. If you dare not speak, I will not force you."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Wenhan and Lin Gaoyuan stood up.

At this moment, Emperor Xia continued, "Since the founding of the Great Xia Dynasty, the throne has been inherited by the eldest son of the legitimate wife. However, as the interference of aristocratic families in the succession has become more and more serious, most of the eldest sons of the legitimate wife in recent generations have not lived past the age of thirty. Every transfer of the throne is accompanied by a strong smell of blood."

"Now that the powerful families of Jiangnan have been wiped out, and those ancient families have also become much more restrained, it's time to return to the system of primogeniture."

Upon hearing Emperor Xia's words, Lin Gaoyuan and Zhao Wenhan were taken aback. So, Emperor Xia was planning to make the eldest prince the crown prince?

After realizing what had happened, Zhao Wenhan was overjoyed. Fortunately, he had immediately pledged allegiance to the First Prince after the Eighth Prince's rebellion. If the First Prince could successfully ascend the throne, he would still be highly valued.

The Emperor then continued, "I intend to make the eldest prince the crown prince. What do you two think?"

Zhao Wenhan and Lin Gaoyuan both said in unison, "We leave the decision entirely to Your Majesty!"

Although Lin Gaoyuan was somewhat surprised by the result, he could understand it. After all, Emperor Xia was nearing his end, and it was time to choose a successor; the matter could not be delayed any longer.

In terms of ability, the eldest prince is quite capable. The key is that he is the eldest son of the legitimate wife and should have inherited the throne. However, the powerful families of the Great Xia Dynasty have interfered too much in the succession, and the system of primogeniture has long been a dead name.

However, Lin Gaoyuan did not believe that the eldest prince could inherit the throne so smoothly. He had a fairly good understanding of the current court situation. He knew very well that each prince basically had several forces behind him, and most importantly, most princes had the support of vassal kings.

Once the Xia Emperor appoints the eldest prince as crown prince and passes the throne to him, it is very likely that the eldest prince will not be able to control the other princes, let alone the vassal kings of Xia. At that time, the eldest prince may very well be dethroned.

Lin Gaoyuan didn't think much of the eldest prince. In his opinion, the Northern King was still the most suitable candidate for the throne.

He was very familiar with the development of the Northern Kingdom. The Northern Kingdom was developing very rapidly, and its military strength was becoming stronger and stronger. At present, no other vassal state in the Great Xia had such strong military strength as the Northern Kingdom.

Once the regional kings rise up in rebellion, they will fight to the death. The Northern Kingdom will then seize the opportunity to act. With the military strength of the Northern Kingdom, the Northern King will surely be able to smoothly ascend to that position.

However, Lin Gaoyuan is currently somewhat worried about the Great Wu Dynasty and the Great Yue Dynasty. If the Great Xia Dynasty were to truly fall into internal strife, these two dynasties would not simply stand by and watch.

But now is not the time to think about these things. He can't find a solution by thinking about them now, so he can only wait and see how things develop.

At this moment, the Xia Emperor said wearily, "Minister Zhao, Minister Lin, you may leave. What I said to you today must not be spread around."

The two men replied in unison once again, "We understand."

"We take our leave."

Then the two of them turned and left the Xia Emperor's palace. After they had both left, a dark figure appeared from behind a pillar in the room.

At this moment, Emperor Xia got up from the bed, put his hands behind his back, and looked out the window. He was completely different from his sickly appearance just now. He looked perfectly healthy.

At this moment, Emperor Xia asked in a cold voice, "Whom does Lin Gaoyuan support?"

Upon hearing this question, the shadowy figure behind the pillar replied, "We haven't found anything yet. He keeps his distance from all the princes; he seems to want to remain neutral."

Emperor Xia chuckled, "That old fox, he probably saw through my feigned illness."

Now that most of the ministers in the court have chosen sides, it seems somewhat suspicious that Lin Gaoyuan, as the Left Chancellor, has not chosen the prince he favors, given that the dynasty may be about to change hands.

If they don't take sides now, their Lin family won't be as prosperous as it is now after the struggle for the throne ends. It's hard to say whether Lin Gaoyuan, the prime minister, will still be able to keep his position.

Emperor Xia did not believe that Lin Gaoyuan was a neutral person; in his view, Lin Gaoyuan must have discovered something.

Even if Lin Gaoyuan discovered something, Emperor Xia didn't care. His plan was very successful, and all the vassal kings in various parts of Great Xia had already joined the game. Now it was just a matter of whether the one in the north would fall into the trap.

If the one in the north also gets involved, then he can be free of problems once and for all.

Just then, a shadow guard appeared at the door. "Your Majesty, there's been unusual activity in the Northern Kingdom!"

Upon hearing this, Emperor Xia paused for a moment, then took the intelligence from the shadow guard, opened it, and read it carefully.

Upon seeing that the Northern Kingdom had dispatched 30,000 heavy cavalry to garrison Yong'an County, the Xia Emperor frowned slightly.

He didn't quite understand what the Northern Kingdom was doing. If the Northern Kingdom really intended to move south, it should have directly attacked the Qi Kingdom and crossed over to it. Yong'an County was in the northwest, so what was the point of stationing 30,000 heavy cavalry in the northwest?

Moreover, the Northern Kingdom only has 50,000 heavy cavalry in total. 30,000 heavy cavalry is considered a relatively strong military force in the Northern Kingdom. Placing this military force in the border area of ​​the Great Wu Dynasty would probably provoke the Great Wu Dynasty.

After thinking for a moment, the Xia Emperor still felt somewhat puzzled by the Northern Kingdom's actions. He then said, "Summon the Imperial Advisor to see me!"

The shadow guard in front of Emperor Xia immediately replied, "Yes, Your Majesty."

Shortly after, Situ Ce appeared in Emperor Xia's palace. Emperor Xia handed the intelligence report to Situ Ce and asked, "Why did the Northern Kingdom not send troops south but instead deploy heavy cavalry to Yong'an County? What does the Grand Preceptor think?"

Upon hearing this, Situ Ce paused for a moment, then took the intelligence from the Xia Emperor's hand and examined it carefully. After a while, Situ Ce finally replied, "Your Majesty, this old minister believes that the Northern King's intention is to deter Great Wu and prevent Great Wu from sending troops to attack Great Xia during its internal turmoil."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Xia's face darkened, and he said somewhat displeasedly, "He transferred such important military forces to Yong'an County. Does this mean he has absolutely no interest in the capital?"

If the Northern King truly covets the throne, he will surely follow the example of those other vassal kings, either expanding his army or gathering forces to wait for the right opportunity.

As a result, the Northern Kingdom directly transferred its most capable heavy cavalry to defend against the Great Wu Dynasty. Doesn't this mean that the Northern King had no intention of moving south? Otherwise, why would he have transferred such important heavy cavalry to defend against the Great Wu?

At this moment, Situ Ce said, "Your Majesty, the Northern King is loyal to the court. In my opinion, the Northern King will not rebel unless the capital can no longer hold out. If Your Majesty then orders the Northern King to march south, the Northern King may lead his troops south."

Upon hearing Situ Ce's words, Emperor Xia sneered and then said, "When did the Imperial Advisor also side with Xiao Jiu?"

Situ Ce replied neither humbly nor arrogantly, "I am merely stating the truth."

The Xia Emperor said calmly, "I do not believe that the Northern Kingdom will not get involved."

All his current plans are for the Northern Kingdom. If the Northern Kingdom doesn't fall for the trap, then all his efforts will have been in vain. In any case, he must make the Northern Kingdom move south on its own initiative.

At this moment, Emperor Xia said to Situ Ce, "I am tired. Imperial Advisor, please attend to your own business."

Upon hearing this, Situ Ce knew that the Xia Emperor had completely ignored his words and was determined to eliminate the Northern Kingdom.

Situ Ce said nothing more, then bowed and said, "Your subject takes his leave."

Situ Ce believed that with Zhuge Chongguang in the north, the Xia emperor's plans would be ineffective.

Even if the Northern King is not politically savvy, not skilled in strategy, and cannot understand the Xia Emperor's plans, as long as he is good at listening to Zhuge Chongguang's advice, the Xia Emperor's plans will eventually fail.

……

North.

The study of the Northern Prince's residence.

Lu Chen and Wang Qingci created even more wonderful memories today. Wang Qingci was so overwhelmed by these beautiful memories that she was completely exhausted. If Lu Chen hadn't been holding her, she probably would have collapsed to the ground and wouldn't have been able to get up.

At this moment, Lu Chen picked up Wang Qingci and carried her towards the secret room in the study. Seeing that Lu Chen had actually carried her into the secret room, Wang Qingci suddenly remembered what Lu Chen had done to her in the secret room last time. She hurriedly used her last bit of strength to beg for mercy, saying, "Your Highness, please spare me..."

Lu Chen smiled and then said, "We'll spend the night here."

Upon hearing that they would have to stay overnight, Wang Qingci's face turned deathly pale.

However, after Lu Chen placed Wang Qingci on the bed in the secret room of the study, he simply lay down on the bed and let Wang Qingci lie in his arms, without doing anything further to her.

Seeing that Lu Chen didn't make any physical contact, Wang Qingci was taken aback. She had thought Lu Chen was going to continue torturing her, but it turned out he was just sleeping.

Thank goodness.

Just as Wang Qingci breathed a sigh of relief, Lu Chen's lips curled up slightly, revealing a barely perceptible smile.

At this moment, Lu Chen looked up at the system interface, feeling extremely pleased.

[Congratulations, host, for getting Wang Qingci pregnant. You have received a reward: steamship blueprints.]

[The pregnancy reward is only an incentive. Please do your best to ensure the child's safe delivery. Once the child is safely born, you will receive even richer rewards.]

(End of this chapter)