The expedition to the church ended and the crown returned. For the remaining ten years, in addition to stabilizing the empire's political system and situation, Zhou Ming devoted most of his energy to the arrangement of his fifteen sons.

Zhou Ming was not sure how many women gave birth to him, seven or eight? He was not sure, but his son was worthy of his mother. Among these fifteen sons, except for those concubines with lower status, servants and illegitimate sons, there were eight sons, and they needed to make proper arrangements. Otherwise, if the arrangements were improper, civil strife similar to the battle for the throne, his decades of hard work would be wasted.

Even the game score will be much lower.

Opening [World Map], Zhou Ming looked at the assets he owned.

In order to make a distinction, he used the Ural Snow Mountains as the boundary and called the continent in the west the "Old Continent" and the continent in the east the "New Continent".

On the old continent, his Gangdu Empire now controlled the area of ​​the territory, which was about 10 million square kilometers (not that it could not be expanded, but before the invention of radio and telegraph, this was almost the limit of the management of an ancient empire). After becoming emperor, he surrendered to nearly a hundred kingdoms around him (if he did not surrender, he would be beaten), and the total area was tens of millions of square kilometers. For these nearly a hundred kingdoms, he would just take away a few kings and send tens of thousands of troops to escort a few sons with lower status to be kings. There should be no big problem.

On the New World, after more than 30 years of development, Zhou Ming has built more than ten cities and immigrated millions. After promulgated the "Houseland Law" to allow immigrants to enclose lands, the new Gangduo Empire he established on this new continent with an area of ​​nearly 200 million square kilometers only occupied a very small corner. Not to mention how much land it occupied, the space for millions of immigrants to frequently move, no more than 5 million square kilometers.

Two continents, two empires, one new and one old, and among the eight sons, how to choose the two best heirs and inherit these two empires has become the most difficult problem for the elderly Zhou Ming.

Therefore, in line with the principle of "easy first and then difficult", Zhou Ming made the following arrangements:

First, the seven concubines gave birth to children, servants gave birth to children, and illegitimate children. Zhou Ming picked out a few kings from the nearly 100 vassal kingdoms around the Gangduo Empire who had no descendants. In the name of royal marriage, he placed the seven sons in the seven kingdoms, each with 1 million gold coins to develop funds and 5,000 elite firearms guards. Once the kings of these seven kingdoms died, his seven sons would be able to take over (it was enough to be impatient to take over the throne, either let these kings abdicate or take away a cup of poisoned wine... How to do it depends on the seven sons, how much they have learned from him over the years, can they play out).

There is also an episode here. Zhou Ming and the daughter of Snake Girl are born with a temperament of "who says women are inferior to men". She doesn't like red clothes and loves armed forces. She fought with Zhou Ming for more than ten years and led her army to make great achievements and gain a reputation. For this reason, after this daughter conquered a kingdom, Zhou Ming set a precedent in history and named her the queen of that kingdom.

Then, in one of Fanny's sons, Alice's three sons, Elena's two sons, and Eugenie's two sons (similar to the situation in the previous life, seeing Zhou Ming's development momentum getting stronger and stronger, he was unwilling to be a king of a small country with only three territories. He also sent this peerless beauty to Zhou Ming in a mahjong court through some special channels. Then it was natural). In the middle, Zhou Ming selected five sons with average qualifications or large personality defects. He also found five kingdoms with strong national strength and large land area from nearly a hundred small countries around the empire, and let them choose, and gave each person 5 million gold coins of development funds and 50,000 elite firearm legion. If this could not take the kingdom and lay a foundation, it was only said that rotten wood was hard to carve, so it would be better to return to China to be a rich man.

Then, except that...

There are only three sons left to arrange.

After roughly having a plan in his mind, Zhou Ming called his three sons together and said to them in front of a huge sand table: "Allen, George (son of Eugenie), you two can choose a vassal kingdom with strong national strength in the Old Continent and enfeoff it, or you can go to a large piece of land you want in the New Continent Circle. Alexander, you can choose between the two Steel Dog empires, and I will make reasonable arrangements based on the choice you made."

"His Majesty, please give me a bigger affiliated kingdom." Alan said nothing more than Zhou Ming expected, because Alice had mentioned this to him recently, saying that her son Alan had a weak personality and was more appropriate to be a king of a small country.

"His Majesty, I want to be a piece of land in the New World Circle." George's answer surprised Zhou Ming. He glanced at the son and found that he had no intention of joking. George was the only one among all his sons who expressed his desire to develop in the New World.

"George, are you crazy? The New World is so dangerous. That devilish land is not suitable for human habitation at all. Any plague can kill you." Alexander looked at the younger brother in surprise, feeling that his head was a little abnormal, and then said to Zhou Ming: "His Majesty, I want to inherit your will and carry forward the Burns family!"

It's indeed this choice...

Zhou Ming felt a little regretful. He should have given this son a low-key name, nor should he tell her the stories of the great emperors to make his wife Fanny happy. Now, looking at the son in front of him, who looked proud and confident, as if he was born a noble man, he felt a little unsure of his attention.

Because that person made the same choice in his indirect attacks.

Who is more suitable?

The different experiences of the two people during their growth process were played in their minds, comparing their ways of dealing with people and their inner personalities, and comparing their respective achievements in the process of the founding of the empire...

But for the long-term stability and prosperity of the empire, there must be a choice between simplicity and nobility, maturity and frivolity, virtuousness and mediocrity, down-to-earth and one step to the sky...

Three days later.

News that shocked the imperial capital, shocked the empire, and shocked all the people came out of the palace.

His Majesty Edward announced the appointment of the eldest son Otto as the crown prince and the fourth prince Alexander as the emperor of the new Gangduo Empire, and asked him to go to the new empire as soon as possible to take over the throne.

Soon, Queen Fanny brought the fourth prince Alexander to the emperor and asked sternly: "Why did you make such a foolish and ridiculous decision? Alexander is your eldest son! How could you wear that noble crown on the head of a humble illegitimate child?"

The fourth prince Alexander, whose eyes were red, had a violent chest up and down. He pointed at the emperor with gritted teeth and said, "Your Majesty, you will pass the position of prince to that lowly illegitimate son, I am not convinced!"

Zhou Ming had no choice but to persuade: "Alexander, the development level of the New World is not enough, but that land has a vast land, richer resources, and easier to conquer than the Old World. As long as we overcome plagues and diseases, the New World will sooner or later become a golden land that is far more valuable than the Old World. It is a land full of hope!" Zhou Ming has said this statement of the New World many times, but among all his wives, concubines and children, it seems that only Eugenie, who is good at competing for favor and listening, listened.

"I don't want that ghost place! Your Majesty, please take your life back immediately and pass on the position of crown prince to those who should be passed on it!" There are many people who are enjoying and struggling. Compared with the prosperous and prosperous empire of the old continent, the New World in the east is sparsely populated, and a plague can take away half of the population. It is indeed not at all attractive.

So, after putting down such a harsh statement, Zhou Ming received a report from the minister two days later that the fourth prince Alexander and more than a dozen martial arts assassins were assassinating Prince Otto who was returning to the prince's uterus on the street. If the city defense team had not arrived in time, Prince Otto who was hunting all the way would have been killed by random swords.

"A bastard! I'm useless!"

Zhou Ming was furious and immediately asked the guards to arrest Alexander. After scolding him, he demoted him the next day and exiled him to a closed place in the south, causing him to suffer a little. Two years later, he was enfeoffed to a remote small country. He did not give him the initial development funds and the guard firearm team, and he was left to fend for himself.

At this time, the vacant position of the new Gangduo Empire could only be passed on to George, son who had the idea of ​​developing in the New World.

After the eldest son of the emperor, Otto, officially became the crown prince, in the next few years, with his decisive style of work, superb political skills, and ruthless attack ability to attack political enemies, he quickly stepped onto the front of the empire with the tacit support of Zhou Ming and controlled most of the rights, and no one could question it.

Seeing Otto governing the empire better and better, he continued to implement the reforms he initiated, stepped up training the army, prepared to launch foreign wars, and consolidate his power... Every step, he took like a qualified king. Zhou Ming, who was relieved, also gave up all his power and abdicated to him, spent more than two years peacefully in a manor near the lake.

On this day, Zhou Ming, who was in a good mood when he saw the busy government affairs, looked at the setting sun in the sky and said to the powerful emperor beside him:

"You must hate me very much, right? You hate me for why I treat you differently from other sons. I hate me for my care, but I look down on you. I also hate me for why I give other sons the best environment to cultivate. At the age of ten, I took them from their mother's hands, put them beside me and taught you personally, leaving you aside... Sometimes you will also doubt whether you are my son..."

"How could you not be my son?"

Zhou Ming sighed and said, "From the first time I saw you, I knew that you are different, different from all children, so I will not give you any preferential treatment, nor will I teach you anything, because you don't need me to teach you, your growth experience has long taught you how to treat this world and how to treat the people around you? So I also gave you three opportunities, and these opportunities were captured by you, but when you were the most proud, you pushed you to the bottom three times. Now, you seem to have a little bit..."

The voice weakened and said, "Child, please be optimistic about this empire. Don't stand still. To inherit my will, to expand your territory, and to be an emperor greater than me..."

Listening to these words, the look of majesty and inviolableness, the stare made people frightened. At this moment, his body trembled violently, and many pictures suddenly appeared in his memory. There were scenes of the man secretly covering him with blankets when he was sleeping; there were scenes of the man hiding at the door and accidentally exposing his boots when he was seriously ill; there were scenes of the man hugging his grandchildren after he had children...

When there was no sound coming, I turned around and saw that he was lying peacefully on the wheelchair without a trace of breath.

"dad!"
Chapter completed!