Chapter 2177 Xiao Qi's Words

Xiao Qi's words finished,

The second floor of the roast duck restaurant was silent for a moment.

Everyone present,

Without exception, was intelligent.

Generals who had crawled out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood; to say that they didn't understand politics or human nature was clearly unrealistic.

First, they were slightly familiar with the imperial court, Tian Wujing?

Second, the accumulation of a century of the Zhenbei Marquis household, the heritage it nurtured, this kind of educational inheritance, to be honest, wasn't that different from the imperial family. The Zhenbei Marquis household, in Beifeng County, was essentially a local emperor.

The several princes present,

The Crown Prince had always been steady, steadily getting beaten to the ground by Ji Lao Liu time and time again, then steadily waiting to be pulled up by his own father's favoritism.

Ji Lao Liu didn't need to be mentioned. If his old man hadn't personally intervened, he would have long become the Situ Lei of Great Yan, and had even mocked Situ Lei for leaving his two older brothers alive as womanly benevolence, a failure of a lifetime.

Even the Fourth Prince, who had given up the struggle for the throne and formally announced his withdrawal from the succession battle, to be honest, being able to actively extinguish that little flame at this time was itself a kind of wisdom.

The other two,

One was Eunuch Wei, an old-timer in the palace, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Imperial Ceremonies, who had long become a shrewd old fox.

The other was Marquis Zheng.

Marquis Zheng's entry into the capital this time, daring not to bring Gou Moli and the Blind Man, was itself a display of confidence in his own political abilities.

Therefore,

Everyone present,

No one would naively think,

That Xiao Qi, Ji Chengsu's speech,

Was really just a shy and innocent childish remark from a young child.

He didn't say that he wanted to fight for that position,

He pretended that he was just speaking in order,

He said that he had no opinion,

He said that he would just listen to everyone,

Listen to Crown Prince brother, listen to Little Sixth brother, listen to the princes, listen to the marquises, listen to everyone.

The implication was,

That him sitting on the dragon throne would just be a mascot.

Others wanted to fight for this position, they would fight to the death; if he sat in that position, everyone could stand beside him and offer advice.

No one knew if someone had taught him, or if he had really thought of it himself.

It wasn't impossible that he thought of it himself. After all, how could the children of the imperial family really be those honest and lovable simpletons?

It should be known that growing up in the palace, a eunuch, a palace maid, a look, a gust of wind, could all give people a sense of warning.

Not to mention how excellent the overall quality of the Yan Emperor's sons was.

Perhaps,

In Xiao Qi's heart,

Some things had already changed.

That night, Third Brother was released from the lakeside pavilion, and he held a fruit drink and celebrated with his brothers for Third Brother's return;

Then at the banquet,

Third Brother died tragically at the hands of an assassin.

Xiao Qi would never forget that scene in his life.

If there was an opportunity, he would definitely fight for it.

Marquis Zheng shook his head slightly in his heart, recalling what he and the Blind Man had said while drinking tea, about Dorgon and Haoge fighting for the throne, ultimately benefiting Fulin.

Who knew that a similar drama seemed to be trending toward a re-enactment in Great Yan.

What the Crown Prince wanted was to rule by non-action;

What Ji Lao Liu wanted was to continue to centralize power, to reintegrate the legacy of the three giants, including Zheng Fan and his eldest brother Ji Wujiang's various troops;

And Xiao Qi,

He didn't want,

But what he represented was itself a kind of setting aside disputes.

I'm still young,

I still have to grow up,

Even if I become the emperor, I can't possibly take personal control of the government quickly, and even if I do, it will be difficult to truly grasp power.

The young master is suspicious of the country, it is inevitable, contradictions are covered up and postponed, it is also inevitable, but it must be said that it is a feasible method.

The Crown Prince was still kneeling there, his expression calm.

Ji Chengjue then turned his head and glanced at Xiao Qi, who was kneeling behind him.

Xiao Qi looked at his Sixth Brother with some shyness and innocence.

Everyone was shrewd,

Ji Lao Liu naturally saw some implications beyond Xiao Qi's age in his eyes.

How to say it,

He, Ji Lao Liu, was also good at pretending to be innocent at this age.

But the problem was, he was older now, and he already had a large group of forces around him, the Sixth Master Party.

In comparison,

When he and the Crown Prince were fighting each other, Xiao Qi, with nothing to lose, instead showed his advantage.

But Ji Lao Liu didn't speak, turned his head back, and continued to kneel.

"How is it?"

The Yan Emperor asked.

Li Liangting pointed at Xiao Qi and smiled,

Saying;

"Envy."

Envy of the quality of the sons.

Tian Wujing didn't speak.

The Yan Emperor spread out his left hand and placed it on the table,

Saying to the two:

"Alright, you have to give me an answer."

Li Liangting shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, this is, after all, a matter for the imperial family. I won't get involved. Your Majesty, you can choose as you see fit. Anyway, Great Yan will have thirty years of peace."

The Yan Emperor looked at Tian Wujing, it was necessary for the Jingnan Prince to express his position.

Tian Wujing put down his teacup,

And said:

"Whether it is rule by non-action or aggressive advancement, either is fine. Whether it is destruction or establishment, who can really know what will happen in the future.

Chengsu, is too young, he can't hold the stage."

Li Liangting kicked the ball back,

And Tian Wujing, in front of everyone, denied Xiao Qi.

Xiao Qi's breath stagnated, his face flushed, and his small fists clenched immediately, but he didn't dare to speak, and could only lower his head.

How much he hoped that the Jingnan Prince could, like the Zhenbei Prince, laugh it off and return the favor, so that he felt that he still had a great chance.

"Wujing, which one do you think is more suitable?"

The Yan Emperor asked specifically.

In fact, the three people sitting here could choose not to speak, but once they spoke, it was impossible to ignore them.

For the Yan Emperor,

Tian Wujing's words were even more important than Li Liangting's to a certain extent.

Because even the current him must first appease him.

Tian Wujing shook his head,

And said:

"Your Majesty, I just think the Seventh Prince is not suitable;

The soldiers of my Great Yan have forged ahead, shed blood on the battlefield, and only then have they created the current territory and military might of Great Yan;

We shouldn't learn from the Qian people,

And now suddenly play a trick of the young master being suspicious of the country.

The more we go back, the less sense it makes, what's the point?"

Ji Chengsu had already pressed his head against the floor, he knew that he almost had no chance.

The Jingnan Prince had already spoken so openly, unless his father used thunderous means to forcibly take down the Jingnan Prince at this time, and at the same time clear the Jingnan Prince's influence in the army, such as this Marquis of Pingxi;

Otherwise,

He, Ji Chengsu, would have no chance with that dragon throne.

In fact, Ji Chengsu also knew that the current father was impossible to do such a thing, one was unwilling, and two... probably couldn't do it either.

The father's return to the palace this time was a grand gesture, but he had not interfered with the court, which meant that the father wanted to smoothly transition the situation in Great Yan.

The father who once trampled on the aristocratic families, although he was still the true supreme of Great Yan, no longer had the magnificent spirit and youth of when he trampled on the aristocratic families.

And Marquis Zheng, who was lowering his head on the other side, studying the mysteries of the patterns on the table,

Also felt a little surprised in his heart.

It was really not in line with Lao Tian's consistent style for Lao Tian to deny Xiao Qi so directly.

Earlier, he was still drinking tea and talking casually.

In fact, from Marquis Zheng's own perspective, the best situation for Xiao Qi to ascend the throne was for the Second Prince and the Sixth Prince to help govern the country together as assistant princes.

The two would inevitably continue to confront each other, it was impossible for them to assist their younger brother intimately.

Because at this point, it was no longer a matter between the two brothers, it should be known that behind each of them, there was a group of forces supporting them.

Just like how Dorgon later used means to bring down Haoge and became the Imperial Uncle Regent, if it wasn't because Dorgon himself had no sons, he might have usurped the throne long ago.

Raising the level a bit further, this was no longer a struggle between two factions, it could be elevated to a clash of two governing philosophies.

Ruling by non-action and continuing to centralize power were inherently contradictory, so naturally there was no room for integration.

And once the central government split and could not issue a unified voice, the vassals would have an extremely comfortable time.

A unified central government would inevitably weaken the vassals and take back local power, while a split central government would need to win over the vassals to support itself.

Xiao Qi's words,

While Marquis Zheng lamented that he was indeed the Yan Emperor's son, and that none of them could be underestimated;

At the same time,

What he was thinking in his heart was,

Hmm,

Xiao Qi ascending the throne would be very good for him.

The Blind Man and Gou Moli would definitely be very happy to know about this.

But, he was denied by Lao Tian.

Next,

Li Liangting chimed in:

"That's right, it's a bit too petty, choosing a little baby to go up, can only make the Qian and Chu people laugh at our Great Yan for having no one. We old Yan people, like a sense of face, right?"

What a Zhenbei Prince,

After the Jingnan Prince clearly stated his position,

He took the initiative to pick up the ball he had kicked back earlier, and at the same time, smashed it in the face of the Seventh Prince.

It was impossible for the Zhenbei Prince's position to be a weathervane.

So,

The only explanation was,

That he was deliberately waiting for the Jingnan Prince to speak, and then take advantage of the situation to give an assist.

Two princes together, denying the possibility of Xiao Qi ascending the throne.

This was very interesting.

To put it bluntly,

The three of them sitting here,

Who was the foundation of the country had nothing to do with the princes, which was also the most helpless point for Little Sixth before, his power was actually much stronger than the Crown Prince's, and his arrangements were more meticulous and in-depth;

But precisely in front of these people, he knew that his power and his arrangements, even if they were really launched, would be of no avail.

Just like how the Regent of Chu painstakingly managed, but still couldn't withstand the Jingnan Prince's long-distance raid and directly burning down your Yingdu.

The Yan Emperor asked, who do you like to be the foundation of the country.

The Jingnan Prince and the Zhenbei Prince were casual at first, and then denied Xiao Qi.

It was equivalent to a chess move, letting you make a move, you took half a step, this didn't conform to the rules, and then you could only clean up the chessboard and start over.

The Yan Emperor was not angry, strictly speaking, this emperor, at this time, was the most powerful, and also the most weak.

He needed the existence of this iron triangle more than ever before, because he couldn't afford to toss anymore.

"Since that's the case, then let's just leave things as they are."

The Yan Emperor said such a sentence.

The Crown Prince continued to maintain his calm, he had been supervising the country for so long, he hadn't learned anything else, but this ability to nourish his energy had reached perfection.

Leaving things as they are was equivalent to the Crown Prince being the Crown Prince, since he was allowed to be the Crown Prince, he would inevitably ascend the throne in the future;

But, combined with the scene that had just happened in this roast duck restaurant today, it was likely another layer of meaning.

That was,

Put it on hold first,

You two, continue to fight for the succession.

In short,

The determination of the foundation of the country was not clarified as easily as imagined.

Even if they chose a very casual place, this was not something that could be taken casually.

"Tomorrow, Wujiang will return, the palace will hold a banquet."

The Jingnan Prince and the Zhenbei Prince left the table together,

"Your subject obeys the decree."

"Your subject obeys the decree."

"Chengsu, help me back to the palace."

"Yes, Father."

With red eyes, Ji Chengsu got up and trotted over to help his father downstairs.

Immediately afterwards,

The Crown Prince stood up shakily, walked to the two princes, bowed in turn, and then went downstairs as well.

The Fourth Prince, Ji Chengfeng, directly collapsed on the ground, gasping for breath.

Ji Chengjue then stretched out his hands to Zheng Fan,

"My legs are numb, come, give me a hand."

This wasn't an act,

When he needed to kneel for a long time before, Ji Chengjue would bind pads to his knees, and today, he was busy making roast duck in the back kitchen, he was already exhausted, and after kneeling for so long, it was fine when he was mentally tense, but now that he suddenly relaxed, the exhaustion and numbness of his body immediately attacked.

"Legs are numb?"

"Yes."

Marquis Zheng bent down and patted Ji Chengjue's thighs hard with both hands.

"Hiss………"

Ji Lao Liu immediately revealed an extremely sore expression.

"You can do it, you cut the vassals, you cut."

"Zheng, you're taking revenge for personal grudges!"

"Hey, I really like this tune, why would I hold a public job if it wasn't to avenge personal grudges?"

Ji Chengjue slowly climbed up.

At this time, the Jingnan Prince and the Zhenbei Prince also walked down the stairs.

The two princes came to the entrance of the roast duck restaurant on the first floor,

The Zhenbei Prince stretched first,

Looking at the setting sun in the sky,

He said with emotion:

"The setting sun, is very beautiful."

Tian Wujing didn't speak.

The Zhenbei Prince smiled again:

"He, is thinking beautifully too."

……

Upstairs, by the window, the Sword Saint flew back again, and nodded at the same time, indicating that the experts outside had all withdrawn.

Zheng Fan looked at Ji Chengjue and said:

"Your move was a bit too risky."

"You don't even look at what extent I was forced to." Ji Chengjue's face also sank.

"Who do you think taught Xiao Qi those words?"

"After Father returned to the palace, he hasn't summoned any foreign officials, the princes are not allowed to enter the palace to greet him, and Xiao Qi, lives in the palace, what do you think?"

Things seemed to be getting more and more interesting.

"At this time, whoever dares to teach Xiao Qi to speak, he must have the guts to do so, right?" Ji Chengjue added.

"But, it's over, he was still denied."

"He was denied, that's true, but to be honest, when Xiao Qi said those words, I really thought I was going to be overturned by my youngest brother.

Zheng,

Are you the one who wants Xiao Qi to sit in that position the most?"

"Yes." Marquis Zheng was very frank.

"What's the point of that, playing chess with a bad chess player, the more you play, the less interesting it becomes, you should play chess with me, so that we can fight each other in the future, wouldn't that be interesting?"

Zheng Fan pointed at his face,

Looking at Ji Chengjue with a curious expression,

He said:

"Ji Lao Liu?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you think I'm sick?"

"Not yet."

"Right, so why would I choose you."

"Seriously, bro………"

"Alright, don't give me that."

"The two princes, and Father, don't seem to be on the same side."

Ji Chengjue reached out and poured himself a cup of tea, and continued:

"Why do I feel like the two princes want to watch a show? They just want to watch me and the Crown Prince fight to the death, they just want to watch our brothers kill each other."

"And then?" Zheng Fan looked at Ji Chengjue with a smile, "You, Ji Lao Liu, are going to promote style and give up the position, is that right?"

Ji Chengjue shook his head and said: "I won't be the hand that gets crippled."

After saying that,

Ji Chengjue put the teacup back on the table.

At this time,

Zheng Fan picked up another teacup and stacked it on top of Ji Chengjue's teacup.

Ji Chengjue looked at Zheng Fan in surprise, and said in shock: "Are you crazy?"

Zheng Fan shook his head slightly.

"No, you must be crazy, this doesn't seem like your style, this is Father's chessboard."

Zheng Fan took a deep breath,

And slowly exhaled it,

He said:

"They play theirs, we, play ours."

……

Inside the carriage;

Ji Chengsu sat obediently on the side, across from him, the Yan Emperor, covered with a blanket, lay there with his eyes closed.

Xiao Qi hiccuped from time to time, but he didn't dare to make the sound too loud.

Looking at his father's face,

What he felt wasn't a sense of security, but a heartfelt fear.

Last night,

Father called him to his side.

He said, he was old.

He immediately knelt down and said, Father, may you live forever, ten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten thousand years.

He said, in this world, it was impossible for anyone to live for ten thousand years.

He also said,

Later,

You must listen to your brothers, listen to everyone.

Therefore,

Ji Chengsu dared to muster up the courage to make his own voice on the second floor of the roast duck restaurant today.

But,

He had disappointed his father.

At the same time,

A sense of indignation began to rise from the bottom of his heart.

Children of this age already had the concept of mine and yours, not to mention the Seventh Prince of Great Yan, who was naturally precocious.

This is clearly my Ji family's business,

Why should you two say no!

The young prince, although intelligent, was still young after all, and had just brushed shoulders with the most mesmerizing chair in this world, so it was inevitable that he would fall into shape.

The Yan Emperor slowly opened his eyes at this time,

Looking at the young son sitting there,

The corners of his mouth,

Revealed a smile.

When he noticed his father's gaze, Ji Chengsu immediately got up and knelt down in front of his father.

"Your son, your son has disappointed Father."

In Ji Chengsu's view, his father had intentionally wanted to give him a push, to let him ascend the throne.

His father,

Loved him.

It was him, it was him who wasn't good enough, so that Father couldn't step down.

"Your son, your son has made Father unhappy, sob sob sob………"

The Yan Emperor shook his head, looking at the falling dead leaves outside the car window, a murderous atmosphere flowed in the dark;

Today,

Was just an appetizer;

At this time,

Seeming to be annoyed by the crying of his young son,

The Yan Emperor said:

"Stop crying."

Ji Chengsu stopped immediately.

But he was still continuing to plead guilty, attempting to use flattery to salvage something,

"Father, your son………"

"You did well."

"Your son is ashamed, your son can't bear Father's………"

"You made them happy, that's enough."

"………" Ji Chengsu.

————

There is another chapter before two o'clock, don't panic!