“Seventh Brother…”
Cries suddenly filled the main hall. Princess Xiangcheng’s voice immediately ignited the fear that had been haunting these princes and princesses for days.
Princess Xiangcheng cried all the way to Xiao Ming, grabbing his arm and holding on tightly.
Other princes and princesses also came to his side, looking as if they had been bullied and were seeking their elder brother for justice.
“It’s alright. Now that you’re in Qingzhou, Seventh Brother won’t let you be bullied.” Xiao Ming comforted them. These princes and princesses who fled to Qingzhou were usually not highly regarded in the palace.
Like Consort Zhen, the birth mothers of these princes and princesses had no significant background; those with connections had already been taken away.
Concubine Zhen also stood up at this moment. It seemed she had been crying all the way back. At this point, she said to Xiao Ming, “Ming’er, now that Great Yu Empire has suffered this calamity, these younger siblings of yours can only rely on you to take care of them. Although they are your half-siblings, they still carry the royal blood in their veins. As the saying goes, ‘many hands make light work.’ You, alone, will always need some trustworthy people to assist you.”
Xiao Ming nodded. Concubine Zhen’s words were meant for him, but more so for these princes and princesses, to put their minds at ease.
“Yes, Mother Concubine, I will follow Father Emperor’s last wishes and take care of my younger siblings.” Xiao Ming said.
Hearing this, the mothers of these princes and princesses showed relieved expressions. At this moment, the only thing everyone who came to Qingzhou worried about was their future fate.
With Xiao Ming’s assurance, they felt more at ease.
Concubine Zhen now showed a hint of a smile. Then, she took out a golden-covered imperial edict from her sleeve and said to Xiao Ming, “Ming’er, this is the last will your Father Emperor left for you. Take it.”
Receiving the imperial edict, Xiao Ming opened it and scanned it. It indeed stated his appointment as Crown Prince. He quietly breathed a sigh of relief and slipped the imperial edict into his sleeve.
Xiao Wenxuan was indeed clear-headed in his final moments. Without this last will, it would have been difficult for him to gain the full allegiance of so many former officials, and his future enthronement would also be legitimate.
Putting away the imperial edict, he said, “Mother Concubine, the matter of the Prince of Zhao’s rebellion will be handled by me. From now on, you can live peacefully in Qingzhou. I will arrange a residence for Mother Concubine and the concubines.”
“That would be troublesome for you,” Concubine Zhen said. Due to Xiao Wenxuan’s death, she was still a bit down.
Xiao Ming sighed. He knew no amount of comfort would help Concubine Zhen right now.
Seemingly realizing something, Concubine Zhen continued, “Ming’er, now that such a great chaos has befallen the world, you will surely be very busy. State affairs are paramount. You don’t need to worry about Mother Concubine. Go and deal with state affairs. Yue’er is here to keep me company. You can leave these miscellaneous tasks to her.”
In Concubine Zhen’s view, Fei Yue’er was already the legitimate Empress, and these matters of the inner palace naturally fell to Fei Yue’er.
Xiao Ming understood. He said to Fei Yue’er, “Princess Consort, I’ll leave this to you.”
Fei Yue’er nodded, “Yes, Your Highness.”
After comforting the princes and princesses for a while, Xiao Ming left the main hall with the last will. As Concubine Zhen said, he could not waste time on these trivial matters now. After all, if Qingzhou could not be defended, he would only be able to jump into the sea with everyone.
Outside the door, Xiao Ming instructed Lu Luo and Ziyuan to assist Fei Yue’er with these miscellaneous affairs of the inner palace. He, meanwhile, took the last will to the government office and handed it to Pang Yukun.
“That’s right, this is His Majesty’s handwriting.”
When Xiao Ming first spoke of the last will, he had been anxious. Now that he saw the last will, a weight was lifted from his heart.
“The matter of this last will should temporarily only be spread among the officials of the fief. There’s no need for others to know about it.” Xiao Ming said to Pang Yukun.
“Yes, Your Highness.” Having confirmed the matter of the last will, Pang Yukun’s face turned red with excitement.
He paused, then said to Xiao Ming, “Your Highness has returned to the government office, presumably having thought about how to settle these officials?”
“That’s right. On my way back to the royal residence, I thought of a method. In a couple of days, I will gather these officials. At that time, I will show them the last will, and then I will propose that they go to Bowen Academy to study. If they succeed in their studies and pass the examination, they will remain in official positions. If they fail, they can only shed their official robes. How does that sound?”
Pang Yukun said, “This is a good method, and it can also accumulate officials. This way, every time Your Highness conquers a place, you can quickly establish a government office there and bring it under Your Highness’s administration.”
“Hmm, that’s exactly what I am thinking.” Xiao Ming said.
Actually, for him, the training of these officials was still for colonization, because he found that truly achieving the industrial revolution was impossible without the accumulation of wealth from overseas colonization.
Both resources and manpower would become constraints on the industrial revolution.
And what worried him most was the current situation in Great Yu Empire. If large-scale wars occurred, a decrease in population was inevitable.
Thinking of this, he said to Pang Yukun, “Has Liang Dahai returned?”
“No, probably in two more days.” Pang Yukun said. Liang Dahai had been selling slaves at sea these days. Some of these slaves came from Goryeo, some from Japan, and others were slaves from Great Yu Empire.
Xiao Ming said, “When he returns, have him come see me. There’s a big business deal that needs him.”
Pang Yukun was stunned for a moment. He understood one thing: the only business Liang Dahai and Xiao Ming could be discussing was human trafficking.
Just as he thought, Xiao Ming was preparing to have Liang Dahai traffic people from Great Yu Empire to Qingzhou. Rather than watching these common people die in war, it would be better to mobilize merchants to frantically traffic people to Qingzhou at this time. And Ryukyu also needed a large population for development.
During wartime, human lives were cheap as dogs. His decision was cruel, but also the greatest mercy.
…
Chang’an City, now completely under the control of the Prince of Zhao.
In the Chengqing Hall, the Prince of Zhao sat on the iron throne of the Great Yu Empire’s emperors, with the officials of Chang’an City bowed before him.
At this moment, these civil and military officials all lowered their heads, trembling under the Prince of Zhao’s gaze.
Zhao Yuanliang stood in front of the officials. He said to the Prince of Zhao on the throne, “Father King, Chang’an City is now stable. Should we proceed with the Thirteenth Prince’s enthronement ceremony and the late Emperor’s funeral?”
The Prince of Zhao stroked his chin, looking displeased at the officials. Fiji, Luo Quan, Du Heng, and all the other important ministers were gone. What remained were just some insignificant opportunists.
If it weren’t for the fact that these people still had some use, he would have killed them all. So he said, “What do you all think?”
A Ministry of Rites official immediately said obsequiously, “Your Highness, a nation cannot be without a monarch for a day. I believe that the late Emperor’s state funeral can be simplified, but the Thirteenth Prince’s enthronement ceremony must be grand.”