Although the dispute between the uncle and nephew over the heir of King Fuyang has never been brought to the surface, the secret rivalry has never stopped.
The regent's preferred heir is of course the more mediocre and honest the better, and there must be no powerful people among the blood relatives. Anyway, they are just names and can't take on anything without causing trouble.
But Chunjia didn't have the support of his brothers, but he wanted to use this opportunity to make an alliance within the clan.
It’s just that the emperor is young, and although he has had the upper hand over the years, in the eyes of powerful feudal kings like Zhou Wang and Han Wang, it is not enough for them to make up their minds. Since the princes and princes of the country have become vassals, Wu Zhao is basically There is no possibility of returning to the imperial capital. Kings like them who were granted the title during the Taizong period will live in the fiefdom for generations. The battles in the central government, no matter how bloody, have little to do with them.
Unless it's a situation like Xiaozong's: the direct descendants are extinct and an adoptive successor needs to be selected from among their descendants.
However, this choice is often not their turn.
Therefore, although the titles of the Fuyang King lineage attracted the attention of these vassal kings with prosperous heirs, they were hesitant to get involved in the battle between the emperor and the Ji family.
The main reason is that if they do nothing, neither the Ji family nor Chunjia will do anything to these feudal kings.
Once you take sides, it's okay if you succeed. If you fail, the consequences can be imagined.
Demotion and nobility are all trivial matters. If one person is not good, the whole group may be ruined.
This price inevitably makes them hesitate.
Chunjia took advantage of the situation to decide on the candidate for his heir, not without the intention of tactfully persuading the regent: if the emperor makes the choice and the regent does not object, this candidate will definitely be passed.
Then, even if the vassal king behind it didn't really want to wade into troubled waters, it was impossible for him to express it.
This is actually a kind of coercion.
"...Who does Your Majesty want to inherit the lineage of Prince Fuyang?" The Regent was silent for a moment and asked slowly.
Chunjia coughed dryly and said: "I think that the son of King Zhou, Gong Xiang Ruoyu, has an honest temperament, shows talent, is pure, filial and humble, and can be the heir of King Fuyang."
Gongxiang Ruoyu was of the same generation as the regent. He was the youngest son of the King of Zhou. He was only the direct descendant of a step-sibling. He was only seventeen this year and had not yet been married.
This generation of Zhou Wangfei died of illness after giving birth to seven children. Because she already had an heir, the need for legitimate sons was not so strong. When King Zhou married again, he let himself go more freely - his step-concubine Lin was not of high birth, but she was very beautiful, good at singing and dancing, and was considerate. She made King Zhou very happy and almost doted on her.
It's just that the Lin family didn't have many children. She gave birth to two sons and one daughter. One of them died in infancy. Gongxiang Ruochang was her only surviving child. Of course, the Lin family loved her like a treasure.
However, the Crown Prince of Zhou is the legitimate grandson of the legitimate son. He was granted the title of Crown Prince early on, and his status is stable. He has many younger brothers and sisters from the same mother as his wings, and even older bastards to assist him... The only thing Lin can do is not to offend King Zhou. The prince, well, to be precise, she had to please this stepson so that the prince could take more care of her biological son.
Under such circumstances, if Chunjia established Duke Xiang Ruoyu as the heir of King Fuyang, it is conceivable that the Lin family would also try their best to drag King Zhou onto Chunjia's ship for the sake of the future of their own flesh and blood!
The regent quickly thought about the status of King Zhou Zhou in the royal family. This is the younger son of Taizong, and is the regent's uncle in terms of seniority. For several generations, he has managed the Zhou Dynasty without leakage, and he can be regarded as one of the most powerful vassal kings in the dynasty. one.
For the regent, the most important thing is his seniority.
After all, in the battle between the regent and Chunjia, his own seniority was an advantage, and it was easy to rely on his elders at critical moments. But what if the King of Zhou sided with Chunjia, and when the Regent turned around and used his identity as Uncle Wang to point fingers at the Emperor, what if the King of Zhou also came out to gossip with the Regent
Although the King of Zhou is quite old, looking at Gong Xiang Ruochang's age, one can guess that he must be getting older and stronger.
If he was still alive when Chunjia broke up with the regent, this would be really troublesome.
And even if King Zhou is gone by then, won’t the Lin family still be there
No matter how criticized Lin's background was, she was also the second wife of King Zhou Zheng'er, and she was an elder whom the regent would call "Aunt Wang" when he saw her.
King Zhou is old, but she is still young.
If she is just Aunt Wang, that's fine. When the time comes, she will stand by Chunjia, and Chunjia will protect her, just like the Queen Mother Yuan now. Then no one in the clan can ignore her, and they can't help but look at this "Wang" Auntie" made various remarks.
"If Gongxiang has no brothers from the same mother, his biological mother's family will not be considered prosperous." The regent said, "He is not married yet, and I am afraid that the fate of his children may not be good after getting married. This candidate is not very suitable. .Originally, the lineage of King Fuyang had few heirs, but now there is no heir. How can we find another one like this? What if there is no one in the lineage of King Fuyang in two years?"
"The rules governing the succession of dynasty and vassal kings shall not apply to countries without heirs."
"But the lineage of King Fuyang is, after all, His Majesty's origin. It is enough to make an exception for his adoptive heir and retain the feudal kingdom."
"But again and again, I'm afraid other clans will have opinions."
"Looking at it as an orphan, it would be better to choose Jian Changbo's grandnephew. That Gong Xiangpi is also a filial man with both talents and appearance, and he has many brothers and nephews, so he will definitely be able to prosper the lineage of King Fuyang."
Just by hearing the title of earl, you can tell that Jianchang Bo is a distant branch of the clan, the kind who can't even keep the title of king. And if he is a great-nephew, that is even further.
Chunjia knew something about this young man, and he was a highly recommended heir candidate by the regent. He was truly filial and obedient to his parents... Chunjia couldn't have chosen him because of this.
After all, people are so kind to their biological father and mother. When they adopt the Fuyang King lineage, who knows whether they will use the benefits of the Fuyang King lineage to favor their blood relatives
Even if Chunjia doesn't expect much help from the Fuyang King lineage, he still has to take care of Queen Mother Yuan, Queen Mother Qu and Princess Kunze for him. Such a county prince is not given away in vain, right
He said gently: "Uncle, Gongxiang Ruoyu has not yet been married. Although his biological mother has not had many children, his biological father, King Zhou, has many children. When the time comes, we will choose a concubine suitable for him to have children. I don't expect that there will be no legitimate children. If I am a single descendant of several generations, but now I have four sons and one daughter, and I even have a pregnant concubine?"
"Furthermore, Gongxiang Ruoyu is the legitimate son of a prince. He has been exposed to the etiquette and rules that a county prince should have since he was a child, so it is not difficult for him to adapt."
"On the other hand, Gong Xiangfei is just the grandnephew of an earl and is estranged from our direct bloodline. Even though he frequently travels with the earl's palace, he only learns things at the level of an earl. How can he support the dignity of the county prince's palace in a short period of time? "
"The two empress dowagers are already lying on the bed. If the heir wants them to worry about it now, wouldn't it make matters worse?"
"Furthermore, the most urgent task is to eradicate the Ji family."
"The Wangling Incident was caused by the Ji family. If this matter is delayed for a long time, I'm afraid they will cause trouble again."
The regent raised his eyebrows and said: "It is precisely because of Ji's cunning and cruelty that we cannot choose Duke Xiang Ruoyu. He is young and I am afraid he will not be able to cope with it. When the time comes, why not ask the two empress dowagers to work hard with him?"
Chunjia said slowly: "Did uncle forget about Wang Linglai's arrival two days ago? Wang Linglai was born as a scholar, how could he be a master who has never seen the world? But he was still shocked by the Ji family and took the initiative to request an annulment of the engagement! He was born in Gongxiangyi If it is too low, if he is an heir, he may follow in the footsteps of Wang Linglai and be thrown into disarray by Ji's slight intimidation."
"On the other hand, as the prince's legitimate son, Gong Xiang Ruoyu's mother is deeply favored by the King of Zhou. He is naturally bold and not easily controlled by the Ji family."
"Moreover, he is the direct bloodline of King Zhou. Even if Ji wants to do something to him, he must consider whether it will anger King Zhou and Princess Zhou...Uncle, when we are wrestling with Ji, the bloodline of King Fuyang is unexpected. Do you have to expend your energy specifically to protect the heirs of this lineage?"
The regent had a sullen face and thought to himself, "You may sound nice, but are you actually trying to recruit a helper?"
He calmed down and said, "But there is no need to choose Prince Zhou. In fact, some of the descendants of the King of Han can also be considered."
Even if his most promising candidate, Gong Xiangyi, has no reason to continue to recommend him, Chunjia cannot be too fulfilled. Although the King of Han is not close to him and may not be on his side, he is still better than Gong Xiang in any case. Is Ruoyan a strong candidate
This was decided after careful selection by Chun Jia.
"There are also suitable descendants of the King of Han, but..." Chunjia smiled and told him calmly, "The Crown Prince of Han recently accepted two beauties who were filial to him, but they have some relationship with the Ji family."
The regent's expression changed slightly: "Seriously?"
"This is reported by the Imperial City Secretary." Chunjia said calmly, "Uncle doesn't believe it, just ask back and you will know."
You will know this kind of thing if you ask later. The emperor would never lie to his face... The regent looked ugly and said: "The prince of Han is also a descendant of my clan. Don't you know why the emperor died young in the first place?! How dare he? Doing something like this?!”
Chunjia sighed: "It's useless for me to make the clan feel that the Ji family is too powerful to offend."
The regent knew that he said this on purpose, but he was just pretending to fan the flames and arouse his anger against the Ji family and the King of Han - but he really couldn't hold it back!
As mentioned before, the regent had true feelings for Xiaozong.
At first, Xiaozong fought to the death with the Ji family, but Xiaozong's biological mother was the daughter of the Ji family, and the queen was the daughter of the Ji family. The clan was in decline, the ministers were separated, and almost no one stood on his side in the huge palace. It can be said that at that time, the person Xiaozong trusted and relied on the most was the regent.
Otherwise, he would not have refused to adopt an heir while he was still alive, and would have devoted himself to establishing himself as the crown prince.
When the emperor died of depression, the regent was so grief-stricken that he almost broke his heart.
No matter how much Chunjia made him envious, jealous, and resentful, no matter how resentful he was, she was still better than the Ji family. If the regent had to lose, he might be unconvinced if he lost to Chunjia, but he might be dead if he lost to the Ji family. They can't rest in peace.
"..." After a long silence, the regent finally compromised, "In this case, please ask the two empress dowagers to come forward and choose the youngest son of King Zhou as the heir of King Fuyang, and go to Fuyang County as soon as possible to comfort the ancestors."
Considering how soft-hearted he is at this moment, he may not be able to bring about any kind of trouble in the future.
He paused and then added, "The collapse of the royal mausoleum is a big deal. If the heir is truly filial, he might as well live in a cottage beside the royal mausoleum and observe filial piety for three years. Not only will the friendship with the heir father be complete, It can also appease the souls of our ancestors under the Nine Springs and pray for the two empress dowagers in the palace."
Nowadays, the conflict between the uncle and nephew and the Ji family cannot be concealed, and it is basically impossible to drag it out.
If Duke Xiangruo stays in mourning for three years, the Ji family should no longer be the first enemy... The regent should be able to free up his hands to deal with Chunjia and the king of Zhou and Han... right