Chapter 283 King Bei, what do you mean?

Since Emperor Xia fell ill, the struggle between the princes has become more and more intense. Although Emperor Xia will not go to court for the time being, officials still have to voluntarily attend court meetings held every few days.

The Great Court Meeting is usually hosted by Zhao Wenhan and Lin Gaoyuan. Without Emperor Xia's pressure, the Great Court Meeting becomes a battlefield where various prince factions attack each other.

As long as the court meeting arrives, the officials in the court can make noises from the upper court to the lower court.

Even though the various factions were incompatible with each other, Emperor Xia still did not come out to go to court. Now, except for the imperial advisor and the people around Emperor Xia who serve Emperor Xia, only the two prime ministers on the left and right can see Emperor Xia after going to court.

Very few people know the specific condition of Emperor Xia's health. People only know that Emperor Xia's illness is getting worse and worse, and he has reached the point where he is about to die.

Xuanzheng Hall.

Today's morning court was as noisy as ever. At this moment, an official from the eldest prince's faction stood up and said to Lin Gaoyuan and Zhao Wenhan: "Prime Minister Zhao, Prime Minister Lin, your Majesty is bedridden now, and the government affairs are piled up. Is it right?" It’s time to persuade Your Majesty to establish a crown prince.”

Hearing this, the originally noisy crowd in the hall suddenly became quiet, and they all looked at Lin Gaoyuan and Zhao Wenhan.

Now they are the only ones in the entire court who have access to Emperor Xia, and they are the only two who know the specific situation of Emperor Xia. Even the princes don't know how Emperor Xia's health is now, and Emperor Xia has also made it clear that it is not allowed Any prince goes to see him.

To establish a prince at this time, the only way is to let the two prime ministers Lin Gaoyuan and Zhao Wenhan persuade Emperor Xia.

At this time, officials from the Third Prince's faction also stood up, "Yes, the court must not have someone in charge of the overall situation for a day. If this situation continues, it is likely to cause turmoil. The vassal kings everywhere are already preparing to take action. , to establish a prince early is to stabilize the country."

After the man finished speaking, other officials soon stood up. No matter which prince's faction they were officials from, they all hoped to establish the prince as soon as possible.

As for who the prince is in their hearts, of course it is the prince they support. This also means that the battle for the right to inherit the throne has reached its most intense stage.

If Emperor Xia's illness continues to worsen, and the crown prince position is not the one they support, then they can turn the table over.

At this time, Lin Gaoyuan spoke to the restless crowd: "Your Majesty has his own ideas, there is no need to be too anxious."

Zhao Wenhan immediately said: "I have discussed it with Prime Minister Lin, and will mention the establishment of a crown prince to His Majesty later."

At this time, the eldest prince asked: "Prime Minister Zhao, Prime Minister Lin, do you know how my father's health is?"

Zhao Wenhan replied: "The eldest prince, don't worry. Your Majesty just suffered a little bit of wind and cold. He should be fine after a while."

Hearing Zhao Wenhan's words, the first reaction of the princes and court officials in the hall was that he was lying. They even thought that Emperor Xia's illness had become more serious.

If it was just an ordinary wind and cold, how could it be possible that he hadn't gone to court for so long? Maybe he would have recovered a long time ago.

Zhao Wenhan and Lin Gaoyuan were people who had met Emperor Xia, and they were the prime ministers. Naturally, they had to stabilize the court, so even if Emperor Xia was really dying, the two of them would only talk about Emperor Xia. There is nothing wrong with my body.

The more the two of them said that there was nothing wrong with Emperor Xia, the more pessimistic the situation became. For a while, everyone in the court began to think about what they were going to do next, especially the princes. They could no longer hold back their inner restlessness.

Originally, they thought that Emperor Xia was in good health and in his prime. They would not be able to sit in that position in a few decades. At most, they would only be able to compete for the position of prince.

Even if they become princes, they have to be careful. If they make the slightest mistake, they will be attacked by officials from other prince factions. Lu Shuyun is a good example.

But if Emperor Xia's life is not long, then as long as they become princes, they will be able to become emperors in a short time. After ascending to the position of Nine-Five Supreme, they can use the power of the royal family to purge other princes, so that their positions can be Sit tight.

At this time, Lin Gaoyuan said: "If you have no other important things to report today, then you can retreat. I and Prime Minister Zhao will go to report to your Majesty what happened recently."

After the words fell, Lin Gaoyuan glanced at the people in the hall. Seeing that no one continued to speak, Lin Gaoyuan said, "That's it."

After saying that, Lin Gaoyuan turned around and walked towards the side hall, followed closely by Zhao Wenhan.

Seeing that the two prime ministers had left, the officials in the hall looked at me and I looked at you, and then they also left the hall. However, on the way the officials left, they basically reported to the group, and the officials from the prince's faction followed. That prince.

At this time, Lin Xiuming felt a little embarrassed. He looked around and found that almost all the ministers in the court chose to stand in line, even the generals. As a result, he, the general, was the only one walking behind.

As the leader of the Qilin Army, naturally there were princes who tried to win over him.

He is Lin Gaoyuan's son. As long as he wins over him, he is basically winning over the entire Lin family and Lin Gaoyuan, the left prime minister.

Lin Xiuming thought at this moment that even the military generals had chosen to take sides, and there might be civil strife in the capital.

Military generals usually do not easily choose sides. If a military general expresses a political stance, it means that those princes have military power. If every prince has military power, then in order to fight for the throne, there will be a bloody storm in the end. .

At this time, an official from the eldest prince's faction came to Lin Xiuming and said, "His Royal Highness the King of Qin is hosting a banquet at Chunyue Restaurant at noon today. I hope General Lin can attend."

Hearing this, Lin Xiuming smiled. Now it is blatant to invite people. If it were before, the prince would never dare to entertain a general who has soldiers. This would make people think that they want to rebel.

Lin Xiuming then said: "Thank you for your kindness, His Highness King Qin. I have something to do at noon today, so I won't go."

Hearing this, the official was not surprised. Lin Xiuming's status was quite special, and it was not easy to win over him.

Then the official returned to the eldest prince and said, "Your Highness, General Lin said he has something to do at noon and will not come."

The eldest prince said calmly: "We have already reached this point, and we haven't seen the Lin family taking sides. Is it possible that Prime Minister Lin will wait until the results are known before making a choice?"

Having said this, the eldest prince laughed and said, "What an old fox, but he will not be reused in the end."

The eldest prince didn't think much about it. He only regarded the Lin family as mere outsiders, and Lin Gaoyuan had no intention of choosing any prince.

Lin Gaoyuan's status as a grassroots man also has certain benefits for him. If Lin Gaoyuan is a grassroots man, it means that Lin Gaoyuan will not choose him, nor will he side with other princes, nor will he increase his power to other princes.

Lin Gaoyuan, the leftist prime minister, has a certain prestige in the court. He has his own faction. If Lin Gaoyuan makes it clear that he sides with a certain prince, officials from Lin Gaoyuan's faction will probably also side with that prince.

Now that Lin Gaoyuan has not made it clear who is on his side, the eldest prince has the opportunity to win over officials from Lin Gaoyuan's faction.

at the same time.

The Hall of Nourishing Heart.

Emperor Xia was lying on the bed, his face was pale and bloodless, and he looked like he was about to die.

Lin Gaoyuan and Zhao Wenhan stood outside the dragon couch, reporting on recent events.

Emperor Xia asked at this time: "What's going on in the north?"

Hearing Emperor Xia ask this question, Zhao Wenhan and Lin Gaoyuan naturally knew that Emperor Xia was asking about the actions of the Northern King. Zhao Wenhan replied: "Back to Your Majesty, I heard that the Northern Kingdom has recently been discussing a business cooperation agreement with the Dawu Dynasty. .”

Upon hearing this, Emperor Xia suddenly coughed violently, as if he was angry.

Seeing this scene, Zhao Wenhan and Lin Gaoyuan said in unison: "Your Majesty, take care of the dragon body!"

Emperor Xia coughed twice and said, "I'm fine."

Having said this, Emperor Xia snorted coldly and continued: "Signing a business cooperation agreement, what's the difference between this and establishing diplomatic relations with Dawu alone? That traitor really doesn't take me seriously anymore!"

Emperor Xia asked again: "Have all the soldiers from Jiangnan been transferred to Qi State?"

Zhao Wenhan replied: "I have been transferred to the border of Qi State. I will be able to enter Qi State in a few days."

Emperor Xia said: "I heard that there are rumors in the capital recently that Zhuge Chongguang has not really broken through to the realm of heaven and man. I wonder if you have heard of this rumor."

Hearing this, Zhao Wenhan and Lin Gaoyuan glanced at each other. They didn't know why Emperor Xia was asking this at this time. Could it be that Emperor Xia was planning to attack Beiguo?

Do it now?

Emperor Xia himself was seriously ill in bed, looking like he was in danger, but he still wanted to get rid of Beiguo?

Zhao Wenhan immediately said: "I have indeed heard about it, but I think this is a rumor spread deliberately in order to make the court relax its vigilance."

Emperor Xia said: "Whether it is a rumor or not, let the soldiers on the front line be prepared to counter the rebellion at any time."

Zhao Wenhan and Lin Gaoyuan said in unison: "Yes, Your Majesty."

At this time, Zhao Wenhan said: "Your Majesty, the people in the court have been unstable recently. Some ministers proposed to establish a prince as soon as possible to stabilize the court."

Hearing this, Emperor Xia coughed violently again. Seeing this scene, Zhao Wenhan was about to say something. Emperor Xia immediately said angrily: "If you establish the prince, you will establish the prince. Xiaoba just rebelled. At this time, let him I have established a crown prince, is it possible that you really want me to die early?"

Zhao Wenhan knelt down quickly and said, "Your Majesty, that's not what I meant. I'm just worried that if the chaos in the court continues, it will cause greater trouble."

Hearing Zhao Wenhan's words, Emperor Xia snorted coldly, "The cause of trouble? What cause of trouble? Some people still want to rebel?"

"You two go back and tell those ministers that I am not dead yet and will not establish a prince so early, so that they can put their thoughts aside."

Zhao Wenhan and Lin Gaoyuan said at the same time: "Yes, Your Majesty."

Emperor Xia waved his hand, "If you have nothing to do, just go out."

"Your Majesty, please leave!"

After Lin Gaoyuan and Zhao Wenhan finished speaking, they turned and left the Yangxin Hall.

Looking at the two people leaving, Emperor Xia said coldly: "Finally, some people can't sit still anymore. I want to see how many people will jump out at this time."

…

Within the territory of Daxia, it was the capital of the State of Zhao.

A man sat on the throne of the main hall, listening to the report of the soldiers kneeling in front of him, and then showed a arrogant smile.

"Hahahaha, my good brother is finally dying. After sitting in that position for so many years, it's time to give up."

"Go down and ask Qin Feng to assemble the army immediately. I want to go to the capital to meet my good brother."

At this time, a minister in the hall quickly reminded: "Your Majesty, you must not do it. The situation is still unclear. Whether your Majesty is really dying. No one knows. If we send troops at this time, we may fall into the trap of the court." .”

Hearing this, King Zhao said nonchalantly: "A trap? What kind of trap can there be? Now all the elite soldiers of the imperial court have been transferred to Qi State to defend the Northern Kingdom. At this time, if we don't seize the opportunity to capture the capital directly, If we wait for other feudal lords to take the lead, I’m afraid that position will have nothing to do with me.”

The minister continued: "Your Majesty, there have been rumors recently that the same strange phenomena as those in the Northern Kingdom have appeared in the palace, and a strong man in the heavenly realm was also born in the palace. If this is true, there is a man in the heavenly realm. Even if we enter the capital, it will be difficult to defeat that powerful person in the Heavenly Realm!"

Hearing this, King Zhao said disapprovingly: "A strong man in the Heavenly Realm? Ha! You don't really believe that a strong Heavenly Realm was born in the capital, right?"

"This is obviously fake news released by my royal brother. He is already dying, and he is afraid that the feudal kings in the world will rebel. Naturally, he will fabricate lies about the birth of a powerful man in the heaven and human realm in the royal family to intimidate various feudal states."

"I know him very well!"

"The Heavenly Realm is not a cabbage, how can one break through to the Heavenly Realm so easily!"

"Besides, if there are really members of the royal family who break through to the heavenly realm, they can only be those old guys from the royal family. Those old guys don't care who is the next Emperor of Xia, as long as the country of Daxia is still surnamed Lu. They will not interfere casually. In order to compete for that position, my royal brother killed many brothers and sisters, but those old immortals did not come out. "

Having said this, King Zhao said with strong words: "You don't need to say anything, you just need to do what I say!"

Seeing how tough King Zhao was, the other ministers in the hall said nothing more.

Immediately, the State of Zhao began to prepare. Not only did it violate the troop limit order and expand its army, but it also continued to raise food and grass.

Zhao Guo's move was so big that the other feudal states noticed what they were doing. Seeing that Zhao Guo was increasing their troops, the other feudal states instantly understood what Zhao Guo wanted to do.

Now that the Zhao State has expanded its troops, if they don't expand their troops, wouldn't they miss such a good opportunity? The vassal kings of various countries believe that even if Emperor Xia is fine by then, they will not punish them. After all, the law does not punish everyone, so many vassals The royal capital has expanded its troops, so Emperor Xia can't remove all the vassals, right?

If Emperor Xia really did this, then the whole of Great Xia would probably fall apart.

Of course, the main idea of ​​the vassal kings to expand their troops is not simply to expand their troops. They also want to try to compete for the position in the capital. Whoever doesn't want to be the emperor, that is the supreme position.

For a time, the actions of the vassal kings everywhere became more and more intense, and Daxia was already in a state of turmoil. However, Emperor Xia made no movement at all. Not only did he not establish a prince, he also did not issue an order for the vassal kings to stop expanding their troops, as if Emperor Xia's The illness was so severe that he was no longer able to issue orders.

Some people are even wondering whether Emperor Xia is too sick to speak. Otherwise, with Emperor Xia's temper, it would be impossible for those vassal kings to be so unscrupulous.

…

Northland, Government Hall.

Today is the day when the North Kingdom and the Dawu Dynasty signed a business cooperation agreement. At this time, Wu Ming, who was sitting next to Wu Yunwan, was a little excited. The people from the Dawu Mission finally agreed to the conditions of the North Kingdom. He thought he was going to the North Kingdom this time. The credit is about to slip away from his hands.

Thinking of this, Wu Ming turned his head slightly and glanced at Wu Yunwan next to him with the corner of his eye. The corners of his mouth raised slightly, and he looked like he had a proud smile. However, at this moment, Lu Chen suddenly said: "Since The eldest princess has no objections to the treaty of the business cooperation agreement, so please ask the eldest princess to sign the business cooperation agreement!"

After the words fell, the soldiers in the hall placed the scroll of the business cooperation letter in front of Wu Yunwan.

Seeing this scene, Wu Ming was stunned.

How is this going?

Didn't King Bei agree that he should sign it?

After Wu Ming came back to his senses, he suddenly felt angry. He couldn't hold it back and asked directly: "King Bei, what do you mean? Didn't you say you wanted me to sign? Why did you change your mind now?"

Lu Chen said with a smile: "Your Highness Wu Ming, I'm really sorry. The treaty in this business cooperation letter was mainly negotiated by the king and the eldest princess, and it has nothing to do with you. Considering this, I feel that the treaty should be It is only valid if the eldest princess signs it."

As soon as these words came out, how could Wu Ming not know what was going on? It was obvious that Wu Yunwan and Bei Wang had reached some conditions in private, so Bei Wang temporarily changed the designated signature recipient.

Thinking of this, Wu Ming turned to look at Wu Yunwan, filled with anger.

This hateful woman originally had the credit for her mission to the North, but she actually took it away from her!

No, we can’t just let it go!

Since Wu Yunwan was able to use various methods to prevent the signing of the business cooperation letter from the beginning, why couldn't she do it herself?

Thinking of this, Wu Ming said at this time: "I have objections to the business cooperation agreement!"

"I believe that some of the conditions in the business cooperation agreement have seriously damaged the interests of the Dawu Dynasty and need to be discussed."

As soon as Wu Ming finished speaking, Wu Yunwan, who was checking the business cooperation letter at the side, said expressionlessly: "Third brother, don't be ridiculous!"

Wu Ming was about to continue talking when the old man next to Wu Ming said: "Your Highness, since this business cooperation letter was jointly drawn up by the eldest princess and King Bei, there must be no problems. I believe that the eldest princess will not Selling Dawu’s interests.”