Jinling City of Xia Kingdom and the Palace of the Prince of Jin.
Today coincides with the forty-ninth birthday of King Jin. According to the custom of the Xia Kingdom, "nine times are not ten years old." Therefore, the Jin King's Mansion treated today's birthday banquet as if it were his fiftieth birthday, so it was particularly lively.
All the courtiers in the court came one after another with greeting cards. Countless carriages even tried to block the wide street before they gathered at the Jin Palace.
The King of Jin has a smooth temperament, is good at dancing, and is especially good at government affairs. He has been in charge of government affairs since he became an adult. He has always done things appropriately and has the image of a good king. He has high hopes for many officials in the court.
In the past ten years or so, when the battle for the right to inherit the throne has been intensifying, courtiers and ministers have always been busy in front of the King of Jin's house, and all the seats in the palace are packed.
A few months ago, the current Emperor of Xia suddenly sent the embroidered robe envoy to put him under house arrest in the palace in the name of the Jin King's meritorious service and appreciated the embroidered clothes envoy.
The retainers and former officials were all banished from the capital for various reasons.
At the same time, Prince Qi, an unexpected 19th prince, stood out and became the de facto crown prince.
Since then, King Jin, the prince who the government and the public had placed high hopes on, has become the loser in the battle for the right to inherit the throne. The direction of the court suddenly changed, and the palace of King Jin became a place that courtiers could not avoid, and it suddenly became deserted.
.
However, as the saying goes, the changes in the coup d'état are unpredictable and unpredictable.
It had only been a few short months since King Jin had been under house arrest, but the situation had changed again.
Today, His Majesty has personally issued an order to order the King of Jin, Yu Zhaoli, to leave the government and assist in the government affairs of the DPRK.
After Emperor Xia's imperial edict was issued, the Prince Jin's Mansion had been silent for a long time. Within a day, the front door was once again lined with courtiers and slaves delivering invitations to pay their respects.
Although the close confidants and old officials of King Jin still have no intention of resurrecting.
But the courtiers, who have always been shrewd, still feel that the King Qi who is now in the southwest does not look like a prince at all.
Perhaps His Majesty also has this worry in his heart, which is why he allowed King Jin to leave the government again?
With this idea in mind, the courtiers naturally regretted their previous alienation and neglect of King Jin, and each of them hoped to take advantage of today's birthday banquet of King Jin to repair and mend their relationship.
At this moment, I heard the sound of many people shouting loudly.
The clear and clear voice filled with internal energy from the high-level warriors recruited by the kings was clearly transmitted to everyone's ears, and it immediately covered up the slightly chaotic noise in front of Prince Jin's palace.
"His Royal Highness the King of Chu is here!"
"His Royal Highness King Qi is here!"
"His Royal Highness King Lu is here!"
"His Royal Highness King Xiang said!"
"..."
When a prince or prince arrives, it is natural that someone should announce the king's title and spread it around to show the dignity of the king.
It was just normal at first, but not long after, the shouts of the masters under the kings became louder and louder, and there was already a sense of competition in the secret.
After many years of seizing the throne, the princes who bear the same bloodline have already forged deep grudges. Whenever they bump into each other on weekdays, there will be many vindictive fights. Now it has developed to the point where even the king's title is given to him.
, all with the intention of overpowering the person in front.
The so-called "peeping through the cracks" is enough to tell from this small incident how far the Xia Kingdom's prince's battle for the right to inherit the throne has developed.
Prince Xia has many heirs, and now that he has grown up, there are more than twenty titled princes. However, in just a short time, seven or eight extremely luxurious carriages came to the scene under the protection of the soldiers of the princes.
here.
The many courtiers who came to congratulate them, faced with the princes and princes, naturally did not dare to neglect, and quickly urged the servants to get the carriages out of the way.
One after another, the princes got off the royal carriage, straightened their clothes, and slowly walked into the palace under the leadership of the servants of the Jin Palace.
At this scene, the sharp-minded courtiers had their eyelids twitching, and they had the intention of retreating in their hearts.
Why?
Now in the court, the battle for the reserve position, which was already clear, has become unclear again with the release of King Jin from the palace.
The princes and princes who had no intention of taking the throne were all extremely honest at this time and were staying in their mansions. No matter whether they were doing business in Prince Qi or Prince Jin's mansion, they would always give them a decent gift and never come in person.
Come.
In fact, this is because I am afraid that I am on the wrong team at this time, which will lead to liquidation later.
Therefore, in the current situation, the princes who still dare to wander outside are those who are unwilling to give up on the reserve.
For example, these princes who came today are all princes who are entrenched in the court and have a lot of power and foundation. At this juncture, it is not that simple to come to celebrate birthdays in person...
Many courtiers came here, and they just wanted to have a good relationship and show that they had no objection to the King of Jin. They did not want to gain wealth and honor at risk and get too involved in the fight for the right to inherit the throne!
Out of such worries, many courtiers had already taken action at this time. They put down their gifts at the gatekeeper of Prince Jin's Mansion, said a few congratulations, and then casually found an excuse to leave.
In just a short time, 20 to 30% of the courtiers left, and some people continued to notice something and tried all kinds of excuses to avoid it.
In the study room of Prince Jin's Mansion, Prince Yu Zhaoli of Jin frowned after hearing the report from his confidant.
After pondering for a moment, he raised his head and glanced at the brothers sitting in the study, and waved slightly to his confidants, signaling him to retreat.
The confidant bowed slightly, turned around and left quickly, and even closed the study thoughtfully.
King Jin took a deep breath, looked at the princes present, and said with a smile:
"Brothers, you have come to congratulate me on my birthday today, and you are acting like a welcome visitor. Many of my guests have already left by now!"
Upon hearing this, all the princes in the study raised their eyelids and sneered.
"Guest? Third brother, could it be that now, you are still thinking about getting those wallflowers in the court to work for you?" Prince Xiang, who was well-built and with a shiny face, suddenly sneered while sitting on the chair with his belly puffed out.
Prince Qing, who was the youngest and most domineering, also showed indignation and said:
"Is the third brother pretending to be stupid, or is he really not seeing clearly? Even I, after what happened to the 19th brother, have clearly seen the old man's control over the court. On the surface, we brothers each have a solid foundation in the court.
, all of them are powerful and fiercely competing with each other. But in reality? In the eyes of the old man, our forces are just playing house!"
"Are these important things such as official administration, money and food, and military power in various places in the hands of our brothers at all?" King Chu, who had a long and carefully groomed beard and a rather serious face, continued at this time.
"There is also Lao Jiu. This boy is usually very secretive. I thought he didn't care about the throne and only wanted to lead troops to fight. I really don't know why my father values him so much and allows him to control the civil and military affairs of the southwest.
Gather hundreds of thousands of troops under his command!"
"And Third Brother, even though you are now released from the government to be in charge of government affairs, what about your confidants? None of them have returned to the capital now! The old man's attitude is obviously just to use you to beat you!"
"Before, we thought that the old man paid so much attention to the Nineteenth, and thought that he had changed his temper. Or maybe it was because he didn't have much time left, so he entrusted the country with it. Now that we see it, I have overthought it, Father.
This method of carrying water is still as powerful as ever!"
"..."
Outside the study, there were loyal soldiers brought by them to guard the outside. Naturally, many princes started talking without any scruples, and their words were quite impudent.
King Jin lowered his eyebrows slightly as he listened to the discussion of the princes. His face was unexpectedly calm, as if he didn't take any of these words into his heart.
Seeing King Jin's presence as an old god, the princes, who were all indignant just now, paused in their words and glanced at each other subconsciously.
King Chu, who was the oldest and most calm, looked at King Jin's reaction, glanced at the brothers present, and spoke first:
"Third brother, we brothers have been fighting for so many years, I might as well tell you the truth today."
King Chu pointed at everyone present and said in a deep voice:
"If any one of you here wins the respect of the old man and has the last laugh, the rest of our brothers will be able to accept it even though they are unwilling to do so!"
Having said this, the look in King Chu's eyes changed, and he suddenly became fierce and said:
"But it's nineteen, and none of our brothers are convinced!"
"Has he ever won a war? How can he compare to you, the third child, in handling government affairs and being good at dancing? When it comes to accumulating wealth and assisting in business and industry, who can compare to the sixth child? When it comes to connections, no one can compare with him! Even the second child
Thirteenth brother, the influence of his mother’s family is enough for him!”
King Qing, who was listening on the side, frowned when he heard this and said unhappily:
"Second brother, what do you mean by 'even if you are the king'? Apart from the power of my mother and concubine's family, I have no other abilities?"
Upon hearing this, all the princes present looked at Prince Qing, with sneers on their faces and did not speak. The meaning they wanted to express was self-evident.
Prince Qing was asking for trouble. He also knew that it was not easy to have an attack now, so he could only snort and turn away.
King Jin coughed lightly and said:
"Ahem, actually, Nineteen, he also fought a lot of victorious battles in the northern border..."
King Qi still has a lot of prestige in the Northern Army. If he were just a prince, he would obviously not be able to reach this level. That is to say, when he went to Tiannan and faced off against the man of the Yun Kingdom who was both civil and military, he would never be able to do so.
The young emperor was defeated repeatedly in battles.
The King of Chu snorted coldly, without comment, and continued:
"Third brother, you know whether those words just now are true or false. Anyway, we brothers just have one thought right now! Let go of other disputes and work together to remove Nineteenth from the position that does not belong to him!"
At this time, King Xiang answered:
"As long as you are willing, Third Brother, we brothers will take you as the leader from now on and fight against Old Nineteen together!"
"After we defeat the Nineteenth Old Man, we brothers can start over again!"
"If Daxia Sheji falls into his hands, judging by his attitude, I am afraid that he will really die in the hands of the little emperor of Yun Kingdom!"
"Third brother!"
All the princes and princes looked at King Jin with eager and hot eyes.
King Jin met everyone's gaze, then lowered his eyes, picked up the teacup, took a sip, and said slowly:
"Let us think about it..."
There seems to be a hint of manipulation in the words.
As soon as these words came out, the expressions of the princes present changed. Although they all showed dissatisfaction, at this time, no one just walked away.
Among the princes present, King Jin's original strength was the deepest.
Just a few months ago, all his former officials and close confidants were demoted from the capital. Now when it comes to the power and influence in the court, none of the princes here, including the King of Jin, can compare with him!
However, it was precisely because of this that King Jin, who had no foundation in the court, was favored by Emperor Xia and used it as a check and balance to defeat King Qi's existence. This was equivalent to Emperor Xia's initiative to ask King Jin to come and reconcile with King Qi
to fight each other.
Only if King Jin fights, Emperor Xia will not take action. That's why the princes decided to follow King Jin for the time being!
Now, it is the princes who are asking for help from King Jin, and he is so calm at this time.
Just when the atmosphere in the study was solemn, someone suddenly heard a loud report outside the study:
"Your Highness, His Highness King Qi sent people from Jiangcheng Mansion to deliver congratulatory gifts."
Hearing King Qi's name, all the princes present were shocked and all looked at King Jin.
King Jin was slightly startled when he heard the shouting outside.
After a long time, a look of astonishment flashed through his eyes, and he said in a complicated tone:
"What was brought?"
"A jade seal engraved with 'Sun and Moon Prosperity' was carved by His Highness King Qi himself..."
The sun and moon are prosperous, wishing people to prosper forever like the sun and moon, which has a very good meaning. Not to mention, it was carved by King Qi himself. With such care, it is obvious that he cares about the brotherhood of the past.
When King Jin heard this, he felt a little moved in his heart and couldn't help but fell silent.
Seeing this, all the princes frowned.
Everyone here has not forgotten that among the many brothers, Nineteen has always been close to the third. Although the two are more than ten years apart, they have been able to play together since they were young.
In the eyes of others, King Qi has been serving in the army because he means to help King Jin. In the past, King Qi has always been regarded as an assistant to King Jin.
It wasn't until the great changes in the Yun Kingdom and the southwest frontier army purged the generals' forces that everything suddenly changed...
At this time, King Jin's expression and posture really made others worry that he might not have any desire to compete just because he cared about the friendship between the two of them.
Just when the princes were worried, a slightly hoarse voice came from outside the study again.
"Ahem, it's a good thing that the sun and the moon are prosperous... It's just that the sun and the moon are prosperous, but it's because there are no stars that can compete with them. If there were stars in the world suddenly leaping above the sun and the moon, no one would say
Why the sun and moon are bright!"
When the princes heard this, their eyes suddenly lit up.
Okay! Who is this? Well said! There are still some talents in Prince Jin’s palace!
At this time, King Jin also came back to his senses slightly. After listening to Dao Yan's words, the look in his eyes became more determined.
He had seen that Emperor Xia wanted to support King Qi before, and he had many plans secretly.
The original intention of the King of Jin was naturally not to harm King Qi, but to make arrangements for Yu Yingyao, who went to the Yun Kingdom to get married, so that King Qi could not enlist the help of the Yun Kingdom, thus giving birth to the ambition to seize the legitimate son.
Prince Qi is nostalgic for old times, and he is not a heartless person. Even if he ascends the throne, he may not do anything to him. But Yu Yingyao may not necessarily let him go...
King Jin did not dare to think about it any further. He immediately stopped hesitating and said in a deep voice:
"In this case, we need your brothers' help!"
When everyone heard this, their eyes lit up and they stood up immediately and said: