Emperor Xuanwu's eyebrows tightened slightly, and he immediately came back from his meditation. The sadness in his eyes was swept away, and his whole person returned to his former majesty.
At Emperor Xuanwu's signal, Lu Yao slightly raised his voice and preached outside the palace: "Xuan—His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
A moment later, a man of about thirty years old walked into the hall, wearing a gold crown and an indigo brocade robe. The dragon-shaped dark flower pattern embroidered on the robe showed his extraordinary status. He has a delicate face and a slightly thin figure. His pale cheeks look a bit sickly. His eyes are bright but not shrewd, giving him a gentle and honest feeling.
"My son, I will see you, Emperor Father." Prince Rong Ming knelt down respectfully and kowtowed to Emperor Xuanwu.
"Get back on your feet." Emperor Xuanwu said calmly. His sharp eyes glanced around Rong Ming and asked, "I saw that the prince didn't look well this morning. Is he sick?"
Rong Ming thanked him and stood up, raised his head to meet Emperor Xuanwu's scrutinizing gaze, pursed his lips and smiled, "I'm sorry, my father, I'm worried. I just feel the cold occasionally, it's nothing serious."
Emperor Xuanwu narrowed his eyes slightly and stared at him calmly for a long time. It was not until he saw that he was a little embarrassed that he showed a kind smile and said: "The cold can be a big or small thing. Since you are sick, you should stay in the house and take good care of it." Keep it, and don’t go to the palace again in the near future."
Emperor Xuanwu's words were tactful and seemed to be concerned, but in fact he was beating Rong Ming hard.
——Instead of trying every possible way to please me in the palace, it is better to reflect on your own problem, why is a dignified prince living in a mansion outside the palace? If you continue like this, the position of the prince will be in jeopardy.
The smile on Rong Ming's lips froze, and he slowly lowered his eyes to cover up the flash of sadness and loneliness in his eyes.
According to the ancestral system, the prince was supposed to be in charge of the East Palace, but Rong Ming lived in a mansion outside the palace like other princes. The reason must start with Rong Ming's biological mother, Queen Renzhao.
Queen Renzhao, Xiao Heng, is the legitimate daughter of Xiao Yuchuan, the general of Zhenyuan in Beiming. The Xiao family is a famous family of generals in Beiming. During the Four Kingdoms War, their ancestors led Beiming soldiers to resist foreign enemies and fight bloody battles for the country. Beiming State has made great contributions and has a very high prestige throughout Beiming. Xiao Yuchuan, the general of Zhenyuan, inherited the legacy of his ancestors and held heavy troops. He guarded the border for the country all year round and was deeply supported by the border residents.
Faced with such a prestigious family with a large number of soldiers, the emperor naturally had concerns, but he could not directly do something that would cause public opinion in the world, so he could only slowly plan for it and take back the military power step by step. .
Long before Emperor Xuanwu became the crown prince, he had noticed the late emperor's fear of the Xiao family, so he used this to try every means to win Xiao Yuchuan's favor, and fell in love with Xiao Heng at first sight at a banquet. Emperor Xuanwu then went to Xiao Yuchuan Asking to marry Xiao Heng.
Xiao Yuchuan knew that the royal family had always been wary of the Xiao family's military power. He had left the Xiao clan in Shangyuan City and sent himself to guard the border, just to force him to hand over his military power. But the Xiao family has been in power for many years, so how could they be willing to give up their power? Even if the Xiao family is really willing to hand over the military talisman, how can the royal family let the Xiao family off easily? The emperor might even slap him with an unwarranted label and get rid of him. Xiao Yuchuan was not stupid.
But Emperor Xuanwu's request to marry Xiao Heng undoubtedly gave Xiao Yuchuan and the Xiao family another way out. If Emperor Xuanwu is supported to inherit the throne, then the Xiao family will be the ministers of the emperor, and the suspicion between the emperor and the royal family will be alleviated. Emperor Xuanwu will naturally have no reason to touch the Xiao family. Even if he has thoughts in his heart, he will take into account other officials in the court. My ministers and everyone in the world will never be so stupid as to cross the river and demolish the bridge to let the subjects feel cold. As long as the Xiao family has military power, it means that Xiao Heng's son will naturally be the prince in the future, and the Xiao family's status will be unshakable.
Emperor Xuanwu had already seen through Xiao Yuchuan's thoughts, and he simply promised Xiao Yuchuan that if he ascended the throne in Japan, Xiao Heng would be his only queen, and her son would also be the prince of Beiming. In the end, Xiao Yuchuan asked the late emperor to grant a marriage for the two of them. Soon after, Emperor Xuanwu was canonized as prince.
After Emperor Xuanwu ascended the throne, he kept his promise and consecrated Xiao Heng as Queen Renzhao and Xiao Heng's eldest daughter as eldest princess. However, Emperor Xuanwu was in his prime shortly after he ascended the throne, and Rong Ming was not more than one year old, so he was not canonized as crown prince for the time being. Xiao Yuchuan also understood that the situation in the DPRK was not yet stable at this time, so he could not act too hastily, and his power was far away at the border. As long as he could still lead his army to occupy the border fortress, he would not be afraid of Emperor Xuanwu breaking his promise, so Xiao Yuchuan soon after Emperor Xuanwu ascended the throne. Return to the border garrison.
However, Xiao Yuchuan never expected that many years later, what he was waiting for was not the good news of canonizing Rong Ming as the crown prince, but the sad news that Queen Renzhao passed away due to illness.
Xiao Yuchuan couldn't believe it. Queen Renzhao, the legitimate daughter of a general, had been in better health than others since she was a child. How could she suddenly die of illness? Xiao Yuchuan was full of doubts and secretly contacted his granddaughter, the eldest princess, and then he learned that the whole thing was related to the establishment of diplomatic relations with the Mo clan.
The Mo people who had been living in the north of Beiming Country the year before last sent envoys to Beiming, requesting trade exchanges with Beiming Country in order to enhance friendly exchanges between the two countries. After the courtiers learned about this, they wrote a letter overnight, and most of them firmly opposed it for four reasons.
First, the nomadic people in the north have always lived in pursuit of water and grass. Due to the cold and dry climate in the north and harsh natural conditions, which are not suitable for crops to survive. In addition, due to restrictions on farming technology, smelting technology and other factors, productivity levels are low and materials are scarce. As a result, these herdsmen often Invading and plundering the border towns in northern Beiming seriously threatened the security of the northern border. Beiming and these northern barbarians have been in a state of constant tension.
Second, the Mo tribe is just a relatively weak one among the many nomadic tribes in the north. After being robbed of their pasture by other tribes, they were unable to survive and were forced to migrate to the border of Beiming and live adjacent to Beiming. Such a nation is already poor in resources and does not have enough material foundation to give birth to civilization. How can it establish diplomatic relations with Yangyang Beiming?
Third, Beiming has gone through a period of economic recovery and has the ability to expand its territory and incorporate the Mo people into Beiming's territory at any time. Now it just lacks a reason to raise troops. If we can exchange trade and trade at this time, The establishment of diplomatic relations allowed the Black Ink Clan to learn the advanced civilization of the Central Plains, and then it would not be so easy to conquer the Black Ink Clan in the future.
Fourth, those who are not of my race must have different minds. After the Four-Nation War, the economies of various countries declined, and the northern nomads took advantage of the situation to rise, becoming increasingly powerful and likely to expand to the Central Plains. The reason why the Mo people want to establish diplomatic relations with Beiming is simply to get protection from Beiming when they are invaded by other nomads. If they fight the northern barbarians in the future, will the Black Ink Clan turn against each other again?
For a time, all the ministers advised Emperor Xuanwu that it was not appropriate to establish diplomatic relations and open trade at this time to avoid endless troubles.
However, the deputy envoy of the Mo people knew the culture of the Central Plains very well. She listed many examples from the previous dynasties and frontiers, and presented documents to Beiming.
The document clearly states that if Beiming wants to go to war with the northern tribes in the future, the Black Ink Clan will work with Beiming to resist them. Compared with Beiming's army, the Black Ink Clan is more familiar with the climate and terrain of the grasslands and can serve as the vanguard of Beiming's army. .
With his extraordinary conversation and profound knowledge, this deputy envoy of the Mo clan successfully resolved some of Beiming's concerns about the Mo clan, and gained the approval and appreciation of Emperor Xuanwu. Later, everyone found out that this deputy envoy was actually a member of the Mo clan. The princess——Mo Ling.
