Chapter 1 Choosing the Foundation

To determine the foundation of the country,
To determine the foundation of the most powerful empire in the East,
Not in the golden palace,
Nor in the imperial study,
Much less in the ancestral temple,
But,
In this Peking duck restaurant.

Among a flock of ducks, selecting the best one.

This,
Is all too casual.

Sitting on the chair, Marquis Zheng's mind was already simulating how later historical records might describe this period with the utmost detail. After all, many people like to write about succession struggles, and even more like to read about them.

But its actual occurrence took place in such an environment.

Marquis Zheng's gaze slowly swept over the four princes kneeling on the ground.

Right now,
He, Zheng Fan,
Was the most carefree person on the second floor of this Peking duck restaurant.

Fortunately, he hadn't been foolish enough to kneel down earlier; even if he wanted to rebel, he wouldn't be so directly headstrong.

However, being the only audience member felt quite good.

First,
Was the Crown Prince.

He remembered the first time he met the Crown Prince, oh no, at that time, he was not yet the Crown Prince.

At the entrance of the imperial prince's residence, Tian Wujing brought him to find the mastermind behind the plot. The Crown Prince came forward and was frightened by the aggressive Old Tian, his own maternal uncle.

In recent years, the Crown Prince had experienced more things, or rather, had suffered more setbacks, and had become more composed.

Even at this moment,
As he knelt there,
His expression was still calm.

But, as the Crown Prince, at this moment, when the Yan Emperor directly said the words "choose the foundation of the country," it was the greatest insult to him!

He was the Crown Prince,
He was the master of the Eastern Palace,
The reason he was in that position proved that he was the popular choice, the legitimate heir to the Great Yan Empire, recognized by the court and the ancestors!

After all, when he entered the Eastern Palace, he had also paid homage to the ancestral temple, conveying the message to the ancestors of the Ji family.

But now,
They were going to choose again?
What was the point of him, the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace?

Since they were choosing among these Ji whelps,
What was the point of him being the Crown Prince?
Why did he have to endure so many suppressions and live in fear and trepidation for so many years?

Could he tolerate this?

In Marquis Zheng's view, this was certainly intolerable.

This wasn't just a cooked duck flying away,
But you had already eaten the duck leg into your stomach, but you still had to pry open your throat and forcibly demand that you spit it out completely.

But the Crown Prince,
Still endured it,
Endured it,
As if it were just an ordinary thing.

This composure was commendable.

A scholar who has been away three days must be looked at with new eyes; being a son under the Yan Emperor must mean a faster rate of progress.

It's a pity that there were no officials present, no staff of the Eastern Palace, so no one would stand on his side for the sake of the righteousness of the country;

Perhaps,
This was the reason why the Yan Emperor chose to discuss the selection in this place.

He could disregard those officials, but he could no longer carry out another purge like he did in the past, because the country's operation still needed them, because he, Ji Runhao, didn't have much time left to reorganize the court.

The Third Prince, slightly behind, had done one thing in recent years, which was to move from the cold Lakeside Pavilion to the even colder Stone Tablet Pavilion.

Looking at Ji Lao Liu (Sixth Prince),
Wow,
This one was even steadier.

The cuffed sleeves stained with soot and grease hadn't been taken off yet,
A dignified prince, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Revenue, the master of the Sixth Prince Party, was demonstrating what it meant to be able to go to the hall and enter the kitchen;

One moment he was still roasting ducks in the back kitchen, and the next he was kneeling here with a chance to inherit the dragon throne;

Yet, you couldn't see any discomfort in him.

Back when they first met at the Zhenbei Marquis's residence, this idle prince was seen by Zheng Fan as someone with great ambitions; now, he was a bit unfathomable.

Of course, he must be fighting for it; he must want to sit in that position;
Otherwise, why would he have bothered for so long?

He already had three children; without the backing of the imperial treasury, how could he possibly live on the salary of a noble?

You had to know that his imperial father was very indifferent to nobles; after ascending the throne, he directly ennobled those uncles as marquises!

And he,
Ji Lao Liu (Sixth Prince),
After taking charge of the Ministry of Revenue, he unhesitatingly inherited his father's style, cutting the nobles' money, grain, and treatment the most severely!

He remembered that at that time,
An old earl of the imperial clan, waiting for his salary and grain to marry off his granddaughter, had pointed at Ji Lao Liu's (Sixth Prince's) nose and cursed:

Fine, I'll see if you, Sixth Master, can't sit in that position, whether you can make a living for the imperial clan!

As for the Fourth Prince, Ji Chengfeng,
His thoughts were actually simpler;

During the inn incident outside Yin City, he was also schemed against by the Third Prince while the Third Prince was scheming against others. In the end, the Third Prince had a miserable end.

This misery frightened Ji Chengfeng.

After that,
The first defeat of the Eastern Expeditionary Army. The Deng family, his greatest reliance on his maternal side, was severely suppressed by his imperial father due to the defeat of the left-wing army, and the original military power was almost annihilated;

Subsequently,
Watching the confrontation between the Crown Prince and Lao Liu (Sixth Prince), he was stunned!

Now,
He was in charge of a Jing Camp with only five thousand soldiers. In the grand scheme of things, unless his own imperial father suddenly had a whim and arranged for his troops to be stationed in the imperial palace, he would have almost no cards to play in influencing the overall situation.

When Lao Wu (Fifth Prince) left the capital, he spoke with him;

He knew that Lao Wu (Fifth Prince) had seen things clearly early on, so he had voluntarily requested to leave the capital to do things in the provinces. He heard that he was doing well in Yingdu. He was no longer seeking the throne, but was striving to become a virtuous prince in the future.

His thoughts had long faded.

But the words that his imperial father said here at this moment,
Made the ashes in his heart suddenly rise with sparks, and then, a small flame began to burn.

They were all sons of the imperial father,
They all bore the name Ji,
They were all princes,
Four of them were kneeling here;

Didn't that mean,
I still had a chance?

Everyone had a fluke mentality; everyone dreamed beautiful dreams; moreover, that was the dragon throne, and it was so close at hand!

As for Xiao Qi (Seventh Prince),
He just lowered his head and knelt there, his expression unclear.

Such a drama of imperial family ethics was truly wonderful.

Marquis Zheng felt very lucky to be able to sit so close and admire it.

The Yan Emperor had seven adult sons; excluding Lao San (Third Prince), that made six.

In principle, all six of them had the possibility of inheriting the throne.

Because the Yan Emperor himself was not born of the eldest son of the legitimate wife.

The late emperor, that is, the Yan Emperor's father, Ji Lao Liu's (Sixth Prince's) imperial grandfather, was not born of the eldest son of the legitimate wife either.

So,
Although the Second Prince was the eldest son of the legitimate wife,
How should I put it,
Who told them that their line had this tradition!

Of course, of the six, two were not present today; those two had already been effectively excluded from the qualifications for the throne.

One was the eldest prince, Ji Wujiang. One defeat of the Eastern Expeditionary Army was not an unforgivable crime, especially since he had also made contributions in Yinlang County.

But the problem was that he married a barbarian princess; the Yan people would not allow their crown prince to have half-barbarian blood.

Lao Wu (Fifth Prince) had voluntarily chosen to withdraw from the succession sequence; he was timid and liked ease. Although he was not without ambition, he saw the reality more clearly. His most outrageous move was probably hinting to the Marquis of Pingxi that he had to protect him at a critical moment. At least, he was a prince and still had some use.

The Yan Emperor's question had been asked.

Next,
It depended on how the two princes would answer.

Five years ago,
The three of them led thousands of iron cavalry to court, opening the prelude to trampling the aristocratic families;

Today,
It was still the three of them,
Sitting here,
Selecting the successor of the next generation of the empire.

Li Liangting's gaze swept over the four princes in turn;

Tian Wujing, however, continued to drink tea, his gaze not even glancing at the princes.

In fact, the one with the best innate conditions among those present was still the Crown Prince;

His birth mother was the Empress,
Although his imperial grandfather and imperial father were not born of the eldest son of the legitimate wife, they were able to sit on the throne, but they themselves should be clear about what the system of succession by the eldest son of the legitimate wife meant for the smooth succession of the empire. This could minimize the internal friction that might occur in the future.

As for choosing the virtuous or choosing the legitimate, to put it bluntly, unless a non-eldest son of the legitimate wife could achieve something like Ji Chengjue, with unparalleled economic talent, making it impossible for anyone to ignore, otherwise, other reputations for virtue were just a matter of who was willing to promote you, just like those literati in Qian.

For the Crown Prince,
If everything were the best development option, then the three people sitting at that table were likely to be:

His own father,
His father-in-law,
His maternal uncle.

What was originally a certainty was forcibly torn apart.

Li Liangting laughed and said:

"Oh dear, how can we choose?"

Zheng Fan muttered in his heart: Were they going to pass the buck again?

"Wujing, what do you think?" Li Liangting looked at Tian Wujing.

Tian Wujing then turned his face and glanced over there;

Because Zheng Fan was also sitting at the table below, in theory, this gaze also swept Zheng Fan in.

For a moment,
Marquis Zheng's heart jumped to his throat,
He was really afraid that Old Tian would suddenly say:

"Let's hear the opinion of the Marquis of Pingxi";
Or even more directly,
"The Marquis of Pingxi's opinion is my opinion."

This wasn't just putting himself on the fire to roast, this was directly throwing himself into the furnace to burn!

Fortunately,
Old Tian didn't say such a thing,
But shook his head,
And said;
"Whatever."

The Yan Emperor was choosing the foundation of the country in a Peking duck restaurant,
The Prince of Jingnan directly said, "Whatever,"
Today's sense of ceremony was really lacking a bit.

Li Liangting sighed,
But he didn't pass the buck to His Majesty again,
Instead, he turned his head to look at the princes kneeling on the ground,
And said;
"How about this, whoever wants to sit on the dragon throne, volunteer to speak up. At this time, there's no point in trying to hide it."

The Yan Emperor's gaze slowly fell on Li Liangting.

Tian Wujing smiled,
Personally picked up the teapot and poured a cup of tea.

To outsiders,
The Emperor and two Princes of Yan were inseparable;
But only those who were truly qualified to touch the core of this power could clearly see that the relationship between the three of them was not as harmonious as it appeared on the surface.

To put it another way, three old good people sitting together under an old locust tree, playing chess and drinking tea, was nothing. If they wanted to steer the entire Great Yan, that was impossible.

And Li Liangting's words,
Also made Marquis Zheng's heart skip a beat.

The successor,
Being chosen by the three of them, choosing one of them, and letting the princes below choose themselves, were completely different concepts.

If the three of them chose, then whoever was chosen was the one. The others would naturally have no chance, at least, unless all three of them were gone, it would be impossible to turn the tables.

In this way, whether it was the Crown Prince, Lao Liu (Sixth Prince), or someone else, you just went up and sat there. You could continue to put on a show of brotherly respect and harmony; at least, the facade wasn't torn apart.

But if the princes were allowed to recommend themselves,
Hehe,
This was clearly a poisoned pill coated with sugar.

Would you eat it?

If you didn't even have the courage to eat this pill, then you were naturally not qualified to be an emperor. If you didn't even have this kind of courage, what was the point of sitting on the dragon throne?

As a prince,
Who wouldn't be willing to fight for it when the opportunity was right in front of them?

And once you opened your mouth and said you wanted it,
Well,
Whoever became the emperor in the future would remember this scene today.

He, he, he,
Today,
He actually dared to compete with me for the throne!

After a round of self-recommendation, it was hard to say who would be determined, but as long as you opened your mouth to compete, what followed would be a visible fratricidal slaughter.

After the Yan Emperor ascended the throne, he was very ruthless to his brothers who weren't so well-behaved;

But that didn't mean that he wanted his remaining sons to walk the same old path.

He was the emperor; he could be ruthless,
But,
He wasn't a pervert.

Zheng Fan believed that even he could see the clues, and the Yan Emperor couldn't possibly not see them.

Moreover,
Although the Marquis of Zhenbei had once done something like roasting lamb legs in the imperial garden, he was definitely not a political novice. At least, he wasn't as crude and honest as he seemed to be.

Not to mention that Old Tian was smiling.

What did this mean?

Clearly,
Selecting one of your sons to inherit Great Yan and inherit that dragon throne was fine, no problem.

The rest,
Just let the family feud entertain us.

These were really... good brothers.

The warmly decorated store,
The fragrant roasted duck,
Still couldn't dissipate the blood and depression emanating from that table at this time.

The Yan Emperor smiled,
And said:
"Good."

Saying that,
The Yan Emperor's gaze fell on his four sons,
And said:
"If you want to sit in that chair, show some courage. Opportunity knocks but once."

This was the opening remark.

Sitting on the side, Marquis Zheng suddenly felt that the excitement of the good show in front of him had increased by two levels.

At the same time,
Marquis Zheng's gaze was especially directed at Ji Lao Liu (Sixth Prince),
And at this moment, Ji Lao Liu's (Sixth Prince's) gaze also looked at Zheng Fan.

Their eyes met, then moved away from each other.

"This son."

The Crown Prince spoke first,
He was the Crown Prince,
He had no choice;
Because there were no ministers around, no atmosphere of the court, he knew that even if he chose to withdraw on his own, no one would try to keep him.

The scene of throwing away his official hat wouldn't work here; at least, these three wouldn't act it out with him.

And because he had been the Crown Prince, it was a kind of original sin in itself.

Since ancient times,
How many crown princes who had been crown princes but failed to ascend the throne had a good ending?

"This son believes that the future of Great Yan will focus on restoring the people's livelihood. Years of war have emptied the national treasury and exhausted the people. The great cause personally created by the imperial father and uncles needs someone to inherit and continue.

This son is willing to use his life to prolong the life of Great Yan and accumulate strength for Great Yan. If there is an opportunity, he can send troops to attack Qian and conquer Chu, in order to unify the Xia;

If there is no opportunity,
Then restore the people's livelihood, replenish the national treasury, and accumulate national strength to lay the foundation for future generations.

With Yan and Jin in hand, after one or two generations, my Great Yan will surely be able to unify the Xia with an upright momentum!"

Because the Crown Prince was already governing the country as regent, there was no need to talk about specific policy measures at this time. What he mainly stated was his policy philosophy.

In fact, the Crown Prince himself knew why he was able to sit in the position of Crown Prince.

This was the label that his imperial father had set for him,
It was also the label that the officials of the court had set for him,

People change;
The Crown Prince was a person, and the emperor was also a person. The Crown Prince becoming an emperor would also change, and becoming middle-aged from young would also change.

But the Crown Prince could not abandon his label, that is, he could not destroy his persona.

In his statement just now, his meaning was very simple. He was willing to be a monarch who maintained the status quo, a transitional monarch, sacrificing his own historical reputation to continue the past and open up the future for the future of Great Yan.

After the Crown Prince finished speaking,
Next,
There was silence.

This silence
Made Lao Si (Fourth Prince) Ji Chengfeng very tormented.

Because he knew, and even everyone present knew, that Lao Liu (Sixth Prince) was bound to compete for this position. He had already done so much, and had openly and blatantly begun a succession struggle against the Crown Prince for so long, it was impossible for him to suddenly admit defeat and give up.

But, Lao Liu (Sixth Prince) didn't speak.

What did this mean?

The Crown Prince was the Second Brother,
Ahead of Lao Liu (Sixth Prince), there was still him, the Fourth Brother.

So, Lao Liu (Sixth Prince) was waiting, waiting for him to express his attitude.

Originally, Ji Chengfeng thought he was just a bystander. Although the flame in his heart had already risen, he could barely manage to wave his small flag after the Crown Prince and Lao Liu (Sixth Prince), but to have him go to the front, ahead of Lao Liu (Sixth Prince)...

Ji Chengfeng's eyes began to turn red,
At this moment,
He began to be afraid.

The emotion of fear, like frost and snow, directly extinguished the small flame that had just sprung up in his heart.

Some things would not change, and Ji Chengfeng also knew that this seemingly "fair" surface had actually already built the courtyard walls.

He,
Was not qualified.

"Thump."

Ji Chengfeng kowtowed,
And said:
"Chengfeng has great ambitions but limited talent, and has self-knowledge. He has never had any thoughts about that position, and only hopes that Great Yan can continue to prosper in the future.

As a son of the Ji family, if there is a need, he will shed blood for the ancestral territory and die without regret!"

After saying the nice words,
Ji Chengfeng lowered his head.

Was he resentful? Did he regret it?

Not really;
Only,
A sense of relief.

Next,
Ji Chengjue spoke;
"Chengjue believes that his virtue and ability are far superior to the Crown Prince. Great Yan will be more stable in Chengjue's hands. In terms of recuperation, Chengjue is more familiar with the way of the people than the Crown Prince. In terms of court governance, Chengjue is even more unwilling to yield!

If Chengjue is fortunate enough,
The first step,
Will be to clean up the mess left by the imperial father and uncles!"

A mess?

The three words were spoken,
The gazes of the three sitting at that table all changed slightly.

Ji Chengjue continued:
"The imperial father is the creator, but if the Great Yan foundation is to last, it must strike while the iron is hot and build new laws. If the ancestral laws are not in line with the times, they should be changed. But future generations cannot change them and dare not change them. Chengjue is willing to take the first step and reform the law to seek a foundation for thousands of generations!

Secondly,
The Zhenbei Army of the Zhenbei Prince's Mansion,
The Jingnan Army of the Jingnan Prince's Mansion,
The Jindong Army of the Pingxi Marquis's Mansion,
Even,
Including the Nanyang City soldiers under the command of the Eldest Brother,
Must be re-adjusted and dispatched.

The current situation of Great Yan, while seemingly powerful and imposing, is actually as dangerous as eggs stacked on top of each other.

Because the imperial father is here, the uncle is here, and the uncle is here, it can be balanced.

But,
What about a hundred years later?

Now, the power of the Ministry of War must be re-established, and the central military power must be reshaped. The fierce weapon of the country must be controlled by the imperial court and the central government!"

Li Liangting heard the words,
Smiled,
And said;
"Xiao Liuzi (Sixth Prince), it's true that you're good at slicing roast duck, but do you think you can slice the vassals well?"

The two princes and one marquis present,
Were all vassals!

Ji Chengjue laughed:
"Because the elders are still here, so it is possible. Uncle, haven't you always done this before? Uncle, haven't you always done this before?"

Saying that,
Ji Chengjue looked at Zheng Fan,
And said:
"Marquis Zheng has always been Chengjue's good brother. The two of us hit it off at first sight when we first met, and became confidants. Compared with Marquis Zheng's military talent, Chengjue believes that in the future, Marquis Zheng is more suitable to be the prime minister of a country!"

Marquis Zheng swallowed,
Was this a roast duck in exchange for military power?

Prime Minister?
Back then, the tattooed Prime Minister of Qian was summoned to the capital to become a prime minister, which was actually a prime minister.

And then?

But you had to say,
Ji Lao Liu (Sixth Prince) was worthy of being Ji Lao Liu (Sixth Prince),
This person's political vision was absolutely unique.

He had accurately seen that the few people present, while seemingly vassals, actually had the entire Great Yan in their hearts.

The only one who might not be like this, the good brother surnamed Zheng,
At this time,
Had no qualification to speak and vote.

Therefore,
Gambling,
Was to come up with something practical!

What about thousands of generations, what about continuing the past and opening up the future, if I become the emperor, the first thing I will do is to control the military power!

No more pretense, no more acting,
I've already gotten into character!

Marquis Zheng "hehe" laughed twice in his heart, not angry;
On the contrary,
He looked at the Crown Prince,

Brothers were brothers, roast duck was roast duck,
But if he had a vote in hand at this time,
Marquis Zheng would definitely vote for the Crown Prince!

Damn you, damn you!

If at this moment, Ji Lao Liu (Sixth Prince) was really "appointed" successfully in the Peking duck restaurant,
Then the situation would be troublesome for him.

The Yan Emperor was still there, the Prince of Zhenbei was still there, and Old Tian was still there. If they asked him to sacrifice his power, then he would have no choice at all.

I've worked hard to farm the land for a year, and haven't experienced the joy of raising the flag and rebelling, and you have to directly pluck the fruits?

Love,
Would really disappear,
Not only had it disappeared after he became a marquis;
If the other party became the emperor, it would also disappear.

The Yan Emperor slowly closed his eyes,
Li Liangting smiled, picked up a piece of pastry, put it in his mouth, and ate it in one bite. This one seemed not to be completely full yet.

Tian Wujing put down his teacup.

Marquis Zheng looked down at the patterns on the table, seeming to find that these patterns were quite magical.

And just then,
A slightly childish voice sounded,
It was the Seventh Prince,
Ji Chengsong,
He seemed very nervous and very scared, so he was trembling constantly while speaking, but he still plucked up his courage and opened his mouth.

"I... I'm still young... I still... don't know anything... so...
I'll just listen to the imperial father, listen to the uncle, listen to the uncle...
I'll just listen to the Crown Prince's brother...
I'll just listen to the Sixth Imperial Brother...
Listen to Brother Zheng...
I'll just be good and listen to them."

——————

Thanks to the Silver Grand Alliance of fellow student Huai Zhu!

Thanks to the floating red of fellow student Wu Ao's Epitaph.

Thank you for your support. Long shamelessly continues to ask for monthly tickets using the previous template. It's only nine hundred votes away from seventh place, hehe.