The Emperor of Chu passed away. Although Yang Ning was surprised, he didn't feel much in his heart. Seeing Mao Wenshou's sad look on his face, he couldn't help but said: "When the emperor dies, a prince will succeed him. I think the court will do the same." We have made preparations, and everything should calm down soon after the new king takes the throne."
Mao Wenshou nodded slightly and said, "I hope so."
Qi Feng couldn't help but said: "The most worrying thing now is that the prince fails to come back in time, something might happen."
"Can't the prince come back?" Yang Ning asked curiously: "What do you mean by this? Isn't the prince not in the capital?"
Qi Feng whispered: "The Lord of the Eastern Qi Kingdom appointed the crown prince and held a ceremony. The crown prince led a delegation to attend, but I didn't hear that he had returned to the capital."
"Eastern Qi Kingdom?" Yang Ning was a little confused, "Why is there another Eastern Qi Kingdom? Isn't there only the Northern Han Dynasty?"
Qi Feng and Mao Wenshou looked at each other. Mao Wenshou pretended to be calm, while Qi Feng looked embarrassed and said with a smile: "Your Majesty is right. Ordinarily speaking, Eastern Qi is not a country. It is narrow and sparsely populated, but Yes... Hehe..." But he did not continue. He knew that his eldest son was still confused not long ago, and it was only recently that his mind became clear. It was not surprising that he was ignorant of many things.
Seeing that Yang Ning still looked confused, Mao Wenshou explained: "Your Majesty, Dong Qi is located on the Shandong Peninsula. It has a small territory and occupies the land of Qingzhou. It only has nine counties under its jurisdiction, which is not even as big as our Jingzhou." The land in the south is vast. Neither the Chu nor the Northern Han really regarded Dong Qi as a country. However, they had Donghai navy in their hands and were good at water warfare, so although the country was weak, it could still be in a corner. .”
"I see." Only then did Yang Ning know that there was a small Eastern Qi State between the two powerful countries. He heard Mao Wenshou's words clearly and knew that the Eastern Qi State occupied the Jiaodong Peninsula. Because the Jiaodong Peninsula faces the sea on three sides, it is reasonable to have a naval force.
It is not easy for such a small country to survive in a corner between two powerful countries.
But since the two powerful countries did not treat Dong Qi as a pot of rice, why did Chu send his own prince to attend the inscription ceremony of Dong Qi
But after thinking about it for a moment, I understood the key.
The two powerful powers of Southern Chu and Northern Han are facing each other. The two sides are evenly matched. Under such circumstances, whoever can win over Dong Qi will naturally have more strength. After all, although Dong Qi is weak, it is not without merit. At least they There is also a powerful navy in hand. The existence of such a navy force is enough to make the Northern Han and Southern Chu covet.
Sure enough, Mao Wenshou said: "The prince went to attend the registration ceremony of Dong Qi. It gave the people of Dong Qi great dignity. If the navy of Dong Qi can be used by our great Chu, the Northern Han people will not dare to act rashly."
"So, the prince is still in Dong Qi now?" Yang Ning said: "The emperor passed away. When the prince gets the news, he will naturally rush back immediately."
Mao Wenshou looked worried and said nothing.
Yang Ning couldn't help but ask: "You said someone in Beijing would take advantage of the chaos to cause trouble. Who has such courage?"
Mao Wenshou said: "With Marquis Zhongyi sitting in charge, there shouldn't be any problems." He waved his hands and said: "The imperial court has its own arrangements. The wise emperor of the previous generation must have made proper arrangements before his death. We are just casually Talk about it, it is not the turn of lower officials to discuss important matters of the country.”
"I'm just afraid...!" Qi Feng said halfway, but did not continue, but his expression became serious.
Yang Ning saw that the two of them were talking in a cloudy manner and hesitated to speak. He couldn't help but said: "Can you speak more clearly? I listened for a long time and I don't know what you are talking about." Pointing at Qi Feng, he said: "You What are you afraid of?"
Qi Feng hesitated for a moment, then lowered his voice and said: "Your Majesty, you don't know something. Some people... some people don't think that the Crown Prince can inherit the throne."
"What?" Yang Ning was startled, "If the prince is not the heir to the throne, then why establish the prince? Isn't the prince the crown prince?"
Mao Wenshou nodded slightly and said: "What the prince said is true. The prince is the crown prince. It is natural for a son to inherit his father's inheritance. Logically speaking, there is nothing wrong with the prince inheriting the throne. It's just... It's just that the incident at the beginning has always made some people unwilling. , what this official is worried about is that that group of people will take the opportunity to cause trouble."
"Which group?" Yang Ning still couldn't understand.
"King Huainan!" Qi Feng finally said: "We are only afraid that King Huainan will take the opportunity to cause trouble."
"King Huainan?" Yang Ning immediately thought of the day of Jinyi Hou Qi Jing's funeral. Before the palace sent someone to deliver the order, King Huainan arrived first and cried in memory of Jinyi Hou at the gate of the city. Many people were even moved at that time.
He remembered that King Huainan was already in his early forties, and he looked very noble. However, when the eunuchs from the palace arrived, King Huainan behaved indifferently, and even led people away before reading out the imperial edict, which seemed quite rude. Yang Ning had a deep impression of King Huainan. When Qi Feng mentioned King Huainan, he was surprised and asked, "Are you worried that something will happen to King Huainan?" He frowned and said, "What can happen to him? A prince." , can it still prevent the prince from inheriting the throne?"
"Other princes may not have such ability, but King Huainan is different." Mao Wenshou lowered his voice and said, "Your Majesty, as far as I know, actually... King Huainan is qualified to inherit the throne."
Yang Ning said in astonishment: "Is King Huainan qualified to inherit the throne? Master Mao, what do you mean by this?"
Mao Wenshou explained: "I, Emperor Wude, Taizu of Chu, was brilliant in martial arts. He conquered the world and founded the country of Chu. However... he died young and died before he was forty years old. Before Emperor Taizu died, The King of Huainan was still in his infancy, and the world was still in turmoil at that time. There were a lot of chaos and thieves in the south, Bashu had not yet been pacified, and the people of the Northern Han Dynasty were also watching with eager eyes...!"
"King Huainan is the son of Emperor Taizu?" Yang Ning asked.
Mao Wenshou nodded and said: "He is not only the prince of Emperor Taizu, but also the only prince. Taizu was in troubled times and conquered the world. He originally gave birth to a prince, but he died in infancy. King Huainan was the second son of Emperor Taizu, but The eldest son died in infancy, so King Huainan was actually Emperor Taizu’s only prince.”
Yang Ning asked curiously: "Since King Huainan is the only heir of Emperor Taizu, why... why is he only a prince now?"
"This is related to the situation at that time." Mao Wenshou said: "Taizu passed away, and the situation was critical, with internal and external troubles. The only person who could stabilize the situation at that time was Emperor Taizong. Emperor Taizong was the brother of Emperor Taizu, and Taizu conquered the world. , Emperor Taizong has been by his side from beginning to end, and has made countless military achievements. He is the arm of Emperor Taizong...!"
Yang Ning understood instantly and said, "It's the end of the relationship between brothers and sisters."
He knew that there were usually two situations in the succession of the throne, either the inheritance from father to son, or the inheritance from elder brother to younger brother. It was rare for someone to give way to a wise man.
There are only a handful of cases in history where brothers succeed each other. Unless forced by circumstances, generally speaking, it is a matter of course for a son to inherit Lao Tzu's legacy.
After what Mao Wenshou said, Yang Ning already understood the reason.
There is no doubt that Taizu of Chu was a great hero and conquered half of the country. However, he died young and the King of Huainan was still in his infancy.
It was reasonable for King Huainan to inherit the throne, but under the circumstances of internal and external troubles, what the newly established Chu State needed was a strong and prestigious figure to take charge and unite the Chu State into one fist, otherwise it would be inevitable A plate of loose sand, and a baby who is still in his infancy, of course cannot have the ability to unite people's hearts.
Emperor Taizong followed Taizu to conquer the world, and his military achievements were outstanding, and his prestige was enough to stabilize people's hearts. In that case, it was naturally the best choice for Taizong to inherit the throne.
"As said, Taizong inherited the great cause. It was the brother who succeeded the brother. Emperor Taizu thought of the world and passed the throne to Emperor Taizong...!" Mao Wenshou hesitated for a moment, then lowered his voice and said: "It's just that there were rumors later. It is said that Emperor Taizu passed the throne to Taizong before his death, but Taizong refused to accept it. It was Emperor Taizu who insisted and asked Emperor Taizong to focus on his great cause. Emperor Taizong then accepted the jade seal and promised Emperor Taizu that he would wait until Huainan When the king grows up, he will pass the throne to King Huainan."
Yang Ning thought to himself, regardless of whether it was true or not, even if Emperor Taizong really said this at that time, it cannot be taken seriously. Once the power is in their hands, few people will be willing to let it go.
"The King of Huainan is still a prince, so Emperor Taizong naturally did not pass the throne to him." Yang Ning said.
Mao Wenshou said: "After Emperor Taizong succeeded to the throne, he took up the unfinished business of Emperor Taizu and continued to conquer the rebels from all walks of life. Except for the land of Bashu and the south of the Huai River, I captured everything south of the Huaihe River. After years of fighting, Emperor Taizong also fell ill. In fact, when Emperor Taizong ascended the throne, many people came to advise Emperor Taizong to appoint a crown prince, but Emperor Taizong ignored them. Until he fell ill, he finally appointed the current emperor as crown prince and granted him the title of King of Huainan. For the prince."
"I see, no wonder you said there are people who are unwilling." Yang Ning understood the cause and effect at this time. He could understand the unwillingness of King Huainan, but he could also understand the heart of Emperor Taizong. Although Emperor Taizu founded the country, he The territory of Da Chu was not really established. The territory of Da Chu was roughly determined in the hands of Emperor Taizong. Before his death, what he naturally thought of was to hand over the country he conquered to his descendants. Naturally, it was impossible to pass on the throne to his descendants. into the hands of King Huainan.
King Huainan is the only prince of Taizu. In his opinion, it is only natural that Dachu was founded by Taizu and that he should inherit the empire of Chu founded by Taizu. In the eyes of King Taizong, of course, it is A robber who broke an agreement and took away his throne.
"The current sage Wen Tao has a military strategy, appoints wise men, and has included the land of Bashu into the territory of our great Chu." Mao Wenshou said: "The sage has always been very respectful to the King of Huainan. In today's world, what the King of Huainan has done is No one can surpass me in receiving this honor, but it’s a pity...!" He shook his head and did not continue.
Qi Feng remained silent and finally couldn't help but said: "Your Majesty, no matter what, we can't let King Huainan succeed. If King Huainan becomes emperor, our Qi family will...!" He clenched his hands into fists and his expression became abnormal. Cold.