King Huainan came out to speak, which was actually expected by many people.
The Sima family wanted to send Miss Sima to the palace and eventually establish her as queen. At this time, many people knew it.
When the late emperor passed away, undercurrents surged. Sima Lan urgently mobilized the Black Knife Battalion to enter the capital, and then supported Longtai to inherit the throne. With this support, the Sima family could be said to be infinitely glorious. It can match the scenery of the Ma family of the boss.
The current Queen Mother is the eldest daughter of Sima Lan. Sima Lan was promoted to the Duke of Zhenguo. His son Sima Changshen inherited the title of Marquis of Zhongyi. There were even more officials, big and small, who defected to the Sima family. This power was already overwhelming for a while. If Sima were to be replaced again When the eldest lady was brought into the palace, there were traces of the Sima family everywhere inside and outside the palace. When the time came, I really didn’t know whether the great Chu’s surname was Xiao or Sima.
Although there were people who defected to the Sima family and worked their way up the ranks, there were also many people in the court who felt disgusted with the Sima family.
Needless to say, the King of Huainan is a party, but many officials are thinking that the Sima family is too powerful and is also a big threat to today's world. A big tree attracts wind. Although the Sima family has unlimited glory, it also attracts many people. of jealousy.
In the civil and military affairs of the Manchu Dynasty, the only party that could compete with the Sima family was the King of Huainan.
Among the other three hereditary princes, the Jindao Hou is low-key and silent, making it difficult to distinguish his position. The Wuxiang Hou Suzhen is closer to the King of Huainan, while the Jinyi Hou Qining, the young prince, seems to have a close relationship with the emperor. Secret, and highly valued by the emperor, the strength of any of these three marquises is far from enough to compete with the Sima family.
All the officials knew that the Sima family was rising steadily, and among the civil and military officials in the dynasty, the most jealous person was of course King Huainan. As long as there was a chance, King Huainan would never let the Sima family go unscrupulous.
Nowadays, the Sima family and the King of Huainan are well-known rivals. When the two sides have reached this point, there is no possibility of retreat. This kind of struggle can still advance without retreating. Once retreating, they will only face a complete defeat. And in In this power game, the consequences of failure are self-evident.
Longtai was secretly happy to see King Huainan come out at the most suitable time as he wished, but his expression remained calm and asked: "Uncle Wang, do you think I, the great Chu, can also form an alliance with Dong Qi through in-laws?"
The King of Huainan said respectfully: "Your Majesty, in the dispute between Chu and Northern Han, Eastern Qi is indeed very important. Regardless of us or Northern Han, whichever country has good relations with Eastern Qi will definitely be in great advantage. Over the years, I have Da Chu tried their best, and the Northern Han people also tried their best to form an alliance with Dong Qi, but all failed." After a pause, he continued: "Now the situation between Da Chu and Northern Han is like that of Jinyi What Hou said is like a scale, maintaining a delicate balance, while Dong Qi is like a small stone, no matter which side it is placed on, the scale will tilt. The advice Jinyi Hou put forward today really makes me wake up like a dream , if the emperor sends envoys to ask for marriage from Dong Qi, I think that Dong Qi will consider it carefully for the benefit of his own country. Once the marriage proposal is successful, everything will be as Jin Yihou said, and our great Chu will be even more powerful."
Qi Ning smiled and said: "Your Majesty is ridiculous. In fact, it's not that Your Majesty didn't think of it, nor that the civil and military officials of the whole dynasty didn't think of this strategy. Your Majesty is far-sighted, but the Emperor never mentioned the wedding in the past. As ministers, of course we can't You are making random remonstrances. Today, the emperor is wise and allows ministers to speak freely. Those who speak are not guilty, so I am bold enough to remonstrate directly."
"Jinyihou is so humble." King Huainan laughed and said, "You are the first minister in the Manchu Dynasty to propose a marriage with Dong Qi. If this is true, you deserve the greatest credit."
The ministers all looked at each other in confusion. Seeing King Huainan and Qining praising each other, they thought, it seems that not only King Huainan does not want to see the Sima family as queen, but the Jinyi Qi family also does not want to see the Sima family's power expand, so the two A tacit understanding was reached instantly and a temporary alliance was formed on this matter.
Wuxiang Hou Suzhen had not said a word since he came to court. At this time, he also saw the clues. He was naturally wary of the Sima family's gradually expanding strength. Moreover, Sima Lan was one of the four great marquises and was on an equal footing with him. Now, things have changed. The Sima family has become a duke, instantly overtaking the Su family and breaking the pattern that has existed for decades. This naturally makes Su Zhen very dissatisfied.
But among the four major hereditary queens, the Su family of Wuxiang Hou has been getting worse day by day since the death of the old Marquis of Wuxiang. Although he is dissatisfied with the Sima family, he is weak and weak, so naturally he does not dare to fight against them. Today we can see that Qi Ning stepped forward, and King Huainan stepped forward to help. He felt that Qin Ning was also jealous of Sima Lan's promotion to Duke, so he wanted to join forces with King Huainan to deal with the Sima family. At this time, he stood up without hesitation and said loudly: "Qi Ning Your Majesty, it is your duty to propose marriage to Dong Qi. As far as I know, the king of Dong Qi has three sons and two daughters. The eldest princess of Dong Qi has already left the cabinet, and her husband is Shen Tuluo, the commander-in-chief of the Navy of Dong Qi. There is another princess, called Princess Tianxiang. She is the youngest daughter of the king of Dong Qi. She seems to be less than 18 years old. It is said that she is very beautiful. She has not yet been married out of the palace. I, the great Chu, are going to Dong Qi to marry this Princess Tianxiang. .”
"Princess Tianxiang, I saw her when I went to Dong Qi." Longtai nodded slightly: "She is dignified and beautiful. She is indeed a gentle girl."
All the ministers knew that when Dong Qi held the ceremony to establish the crown prince, Longtai was ordered to go to Dong Qi in person to express his congratulations to the crown prince of Dong Qi. Longtai was still the prince at the time, and the late emperor sent the prince there in the hope of expressing his sincerity to Dong Qi. In order to win over, Longtai said that he had met Princess Tianxiang, which was certainly true.
Some people secretly wondered whether Qin Ning's advice to propose marriage to Dong Qi was playing into the little emperor's mind? Could it be that when the little emperor went to Dong Qi, he met Princess Tianxiang and fell in love with her at first sight, which is why today's incident happened
The ministers are not fools, of course they can all see it. From Yuan Lao Shangshu admonishing the emperor for the wedding, to the emperor asking the ministers for information, to Qin Ning proposing to Dong Qi for marriage, is it obviously a play? There is only one thing behind it. I'm afraid the little emperor has already made arrangements.
Although the little emperor is a noble, he is still young. It would not be unbelievable if he fell in love with Princess Dong Qi and the young man's heart fell in love with her.
Chen Lanting, the minister of official affairs, suddenly came out and said: "To report to the emperor, the people of the Eastern Qi Dynasty are two-faced and very cunning. What if...!" He hesitated for a moment and did not continue.
The little emperor said: "If you have anything to say, just say it. I have said that there is no guilt in speaking."
Chen Lanting then said: "Your Majesty, I am worried that the people of Dong Qi will take advantage of this marriage proposal to use their tactics, which will be harmful to our great Chu."
Su Zhen frowned and said, "Mr. Chen, where do you start with these words? How do the people of Dong Qi pull off the trick?"
"Your Majesty, if the people of Dong Qi agree to the marriage and really allow Princess Tianxiang to marry me in Dachu, Princess Tianxiang will definitely bring a large number of servants from Dong Qi." Chen Lanting said: "Once these people enter the palace, will they treat Is the emperor's safety a threat? Princess Tianxiang is from the Eastern Qi Dynasty. Once she is appointed as the queen, she will naturally be able to be close to the emperor at all times. I am worried...!"
Qi Ning had already interrupted with a smile: "Are Master Chen's worries unfounded? Princess Tianxiang was indeed from Dong Qi before marrying to Dachu, but once she married, not only her, but also the servants she brought, They will all be people of my Da Chu. If Princess Tianxiang becomes the queen of my Da Chu, of course she will put the interests of my Da Chu first. Is Mr. Chen worried that Princess Tianxiang will not succeed in assassinating the emperor at close range?"
Chen Lanting said sternly: "The people of Eastern Qi are treacherous and must be guarded against."
The King of Huainan said calmly: "Eastern Qi is a small country. We, the great Chu, marry Princess Tianxiang to give them a great face. If we don't confront the Northern Han Dynasty, we, the great Chu, will raise our troops to conquer the east in a few months." To destroy the Eastern Qi State, even if the Eastern Qi State has great courage, how dare they harm a hair on the emperor’s head?”
Long Tai said: "Chen Aiqing, you are worried because you are thinking about my safety. But if I can't even deal with a woman, how can I deal with the powerful Northern Han Dynasty?"
As soon as he said this, the officials were even more convinced that the young emperor had obviously decided in his heart that he wanted to propose marriage to Dong Qi.
Duke Zhenguo finally said: "Your Majesty, if you want to marry Dong Qi, but you don't know who to send as an envoy?" He glanced at the King of Huainan and said, "Your Majesty wants to marry Dong Qi and form an alliance. This is also beneficial to the country. It is a good thing to benefit the people. In this case, when I send envoys from Chu, of course I must show sufficient sincerity and ensure immediate success."
Longtai originally thought that Duke Zhen would not compromise so easily, but he did not expect that he would actually agree. He was slightly happy. Some of the ministers heard what Duke Zhen said and thought that today the King of Huainan, the Marquis of Jinyi and the Marquis of Wuxiang Joining forces, and it was the intention of the little emperor. It seemed that the Duke of Zhen also knew that it would not be easy to deal with, so he compromised.
"Dong Zhenguo, if you propose marriage to Dong Qi, you must prepare enough generous gifts." Long Tai looked at Dou Kui and said, "Dou Aiqing, you must handle this matter well."
Dou Kui immediately said: "Even if I sell iron, I will definitely prepare a marriage proposal and a generous gift."
"Your Majesty, preparing generous gifts is not the most important thing." Zheng Guozheng said: "Who is the envoy sent this time? It would be appropriate for him to go on a mission, but Mr. Yuan is over seventy years old and has to travel all the way through mountains and rivers. I am afraid that Mr. Yuan will not be able to persist."
Yuan Lao Shangshu immediately said: "I can endure the long journey across mountains and rivers, but I am old and my reaction is sometimes slow. If I go to Dong Qi, I will be confused for a while, lose my etiquette, or handle it improperly, and it will ruin a big event." I will never be able to atone for my sins even if I die."
The ministers thought that what Yuan Lao Shangshu said was true. Going to the capital of Eastern Qi, the mountains are high and the roads are long. This old guy in his seventies has to travel a long distance. This old guy may not be able to hold on.
Longtai said: "Old Minister is already old and it is really difficult for him to travel far." He pondered for a moment and asked: "Dong Zhenguo, do you have a suitable candidate?"
"I think that if we want to express our sincerity in seeking marriage from the great Chu, the envoy must not be careless. Not only must he be wise, capable and shrewd in dealing with things, but he must also be of noble status. I think that the prince is the most suitable candidate." The justice of the country. : "The prince is of royal blood, farsighted and wise. If the prince goes to Dong Qi, the people of Dong Qi will surely feel the sincerity of my great Chu, and this marriage will be successful immediately."