“Father King, did I say something wrong?”
Zhao Yuanliang looked at his father uneasily. He had always been very afraid of his father.
After a moment of thought, the Prince of Zhao slowly said, “Yuanliang, now is not the time to deal with Xiao Ming. Wang Xi sees this clearly.”
“Father King, if we don’t annihilate Xiao Ming now, I’m afraid Xiao Ming will take the opportunity to grow stronger. Your son has interacted with Xiao Ming, and he is very cunning, so we must be vigilant.”
“Then what if other vassal kings seize the opportunity to attack Chang’an when we are fighting Xiao Ming?” The Prince of Zhao’s gaze was sharp.
Zhao Yuanliang immediately broke into a cold sweat. Back then, even Beishan’s tens of thousands of iron cavalry were continuously defeated by Xiao Ming. This time, if they were to use troops against Xiao Ming again, they would certainly have to go all out.
If at this time other vassal kings took the opportunity to attack Chang’an and the heartland of Zhao, they would be doomed.
“Your son understands. Now we should first appease the other vassal kings.” Zhao Yuanliang said.
“Hmm, that’s right. Now go and arrange Xiao Wenxuan’s state funeral and the Thirteenth Prince’s enthronement. After the new Emperor ascends the throne, the attitudes of the other vassal kings will become clear, and it will not be too late to prepare then.” The Prince of Zhao slowly said.
“Yes, Father King.”
Zhao Yuanliang bowed and retreated.
Wang Xi also turned to leave, but at this moment, he was called back by the Prince of Zhao, who asked, “How is Wan Rong now?”
“Reporting to Your Highness, Her Highness is still not eating or drinking. If this continues, Her Highness might not make it.” Wang Xi said.
The Prince of Zhao sighed slightly, “It truly pains her for Father King’s last wish. I feel truly ashamed.”
“Your Highness, contending for the world cannot be done with a soft heart. Your Highness is not wrong.” Wang Xi said cautiously.
The Prince of Zhao nodded and asked, “I asked you to issue a proclamation to the other vassal kings. Have they responded?”
“Your Highness, so far, not a single vassal king has responded. It is estimated that they will not come to Chang’an to attend the late Emperor’s funeral and the new Emperor’s enthronement.”
“Do I truly have to deal with these vassal kings one by one?” The Prince of Zhao’s voice was tinged with anger.
Wang Xi sighed, no longer speaking.
Although they had taken control of Chang’an, there was still a long way to go to gain control of the world.
With a cold snort, the Prince of Zhao waved his hand, signaling Wang Xi to leave.
Three days later, Xiao Wenxuan’s state funeral was held in Chang’an City. Along Vermillion Bird Avenue, Xiao Wenxuan’s coffin was carried to the imperial tomb outside Chang’an City. The next day, the six-month-old Thirteenth Prince ascended the throne, appointing the Prince of Zhao as the Grand General overseeing the state, in charge of national affairs.
News from Chang’an spread, causing an uproar throughout the world.
Just a few days later, the King of Chu proclaimed to the world, vehemently denouncing the Prince of Zhao as a rebellious traitor. Immediately, he assisted the Third Prince in ascending the throne as Emperor and declared independence in Lin’an. At the same time, the King of Shu recognized the Third Prince as sovereign. The southern lands changed hands in a single day.
…
Qingzhou, messages from all over Great Yu Empire flowed into King Qi’s residence one by one.
These days, besides settling the former officials and nobles from Chang’an, Xiao Ming was pondering the situation of Great Yu Empire.
When the Prince of Zhao was enacting his enthronement farce in Chang’an, Fiji and Luo Quan successively went on diplomatic missions to Jinling City and Jizhou City. The Prince of Zhao’s conspiracy was exposed by the two.
And when the King of Chu assisted the Third Prince in declaring independence, Fiji and Luo Quan also returned to Qingzhou from the fiefs of the Prince of Wei and the Prince of Yong, respectively.
“Your Highness, the Prince of Wei’s attitude is ambiguous. He seems unwilling to ally with Your Highness to jointly address the current crisis.” Fiji was travel-worn and filled with anxiety.
Luo Quan had returned two days earlier than Fiji. He said to Fiji, “My trip to Jizhou was quite fruitful. The Prince of Yong is very indignant about the Prince of Zhao’s rebellion and implicitly expressed his willingness to ally with Your Highness to face the Prince of Zhao’s military threat.”
“Alas, it’s a pity that we valued the Prince of Wei so much back then. I didn’t expect that the Prince of Wei had long harbored rebellious intentions. His unwillingness to ally with Your Highness this time clearly shows his ambition to contend for the world.” Fiji slammed the table heavily.
Xiao Ming was not surprised by this result at all. He said, “Councillor Fei, there’s no need to sigh. For me, it might not be a bad thing. As for the alliance, it only needs the Prince of Yong’s agreement. After all, the Prince of Yong is the western shield of the fief. As long as the Prince of Yong is there, he can block the Prince of Zhao’s and barbarian soldiers’ attacks from the west for me. As for the Prince of Wei, I am just looking for an excuse to admonish him.”
Pang Yukun said, “Wei’s land is prosperous and populous. If Your Highness can annex Wei’s land, your strength will surely increase greatly.”
Niu Ben, on the other hand, said, “If Your Highness wants to take Wei’s land, you must first take Pengzhou. Pengzhou controls a vital transportation hub. Southward, it can attack Jiangnan, and westward, it can enter the central plains heartland. Moreover, Pengzhou is surrounded by mountains, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack, truly a place that strategists must contend for.”
Fiji sighed upon hearing this. Now, the Prince of Zhao, assisting the Thirteenth Prince’s enthronement, had the momentum of controlling the Emperor to command the feudal lords. Meanwhile, the King of Chu had declared independence in Lin’an, and it was said that he had already sent troops to attack the prefectures and counties that once belonged to the imperial family. The Prince of Ruyang and the Prince of Huainan were also unwilling to be left out, taking the opportunity to annex a large amount of former imperial territory. Thus, it seemed that the situation in the world was irreversible.
Now, even if Xiao Wenxuan were to revive, it would be difficult to stop the ambitions of the vassal kings.
However, he still had concerns, so he said, “Your Highness, I believe that the greatest threat in the world is the Prince of Zhao. After all, the Prince of Zhao borrowing troops from the barbarians is like inviting a wolf into the house, and the barbarians are eyeing Your Highness covetously, eager to overthrow Qingzhou immediately. So, in my old minister’s opinion, we should prioritize preventing the Prince of Zhao.”
Pang Yukun said at this time, “However, the Prince of Zhao seems unwilling to go to war with Your Highness right now. Two days ago, a so-called imperial decree came from Chang’an, commending Your Highness.”
“Oh?” Fiji showed a surprised expression.
Xiao Ming then gave the imperial decree to Fiji. He said, “The Prince of Zhao consorts with barbarians and will eventually suffer for it. As for this imperial decree, we can just look at it; we cannot fully trust it, after all, plans can’t keep up with changes.”
Everyone nodded upon hearing this.
After a pause, Xiao Ming said, “The Prince of Zhao has calculated everything, but the vassal kings of this world are not fools either. Since the world is already in chaos, they can only rely on their own abilities.”
“In that case, Your Highness is really preparing to take Pengzhou?” Fiji asked.
Xiao Ming nodded. This Pengzhou of Great Yu Empire was modern-day Pengcheng, which is Xuzhou in northern Jiangsu, the starting point of Han Emperor Liu Bang.
His decision to use troops this time was not a whim. It was precisely to guard against the attacks of the barbarians and the Prince of Zhao that he was preparing to annex Pengzhou. After all, historically, Shandong and Henan had always been disaster areas with severe food shortages. If he didn’t find a stable food production area for himself, it would severely limit his ability to launch expeditions.
Moreover, Pengzhou and its subordinate prefectures and counties had a population of over five hundred thousand, which would provide him with a large amount of manpower. Most importantly, as the closest territory to his fief belonging to the Prince of Wei, the secret guards naturally prioritized infiltrating it. Furthermore, Qingzhou’s folk theater also had a considerable influence in Pengzhou. It could be said that the people there yearned for Qingzhou. The only problem that needed to be resolved was the local prominent families.