The new year begins, which is the seventeenth year of Yuankang.

By April, when the grass was growing and the orioles were flying, the Western Expedition army launched a counterattack. The cavalry penetrated deep into the grassland and approached the royal court of Dijon. They killed countless people and captured the Khan's concubine and grandson. The Great Khan of Dijon fled in panic.

In June, Rong and Di sent envoys to negotiate peace.

In August, the negotiations reached a preliminary agreement, and Rong Di surrendered to the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Except for some sergeants stationed at the border, the army returned to the court, and the war that lasted for nearly a year came to an end.

This battle brought twenty years of peace to the northwest border. The premise is that within twenty years, no second emerging force will appear on the grassland.

This battle also brought huge political benefits to Emperor Yuan Kang.

It was the first war to destroy the country that he fought in a real sense and led since he inherited the throne, and he won.

Invisibly, the imperial power was increased.

What Emperor Yuan Kang said is obviously more effective than before.

Of course, the soldiers who go on an expedition have their own advantages.

only……

This battle defeated Rong and Di, and the court also paid a huge price.

The war lasted for nearly a year, and the fighting expenses were nearly two million taels. After the war, the expenses for pensions, rewards, and severance were more than one million yuan.

A war cost more than three million taels of real gold and silver, not counting the deaths of cattle, sheep and horses, casualties, and supplies that needed to be replenished in the future. In short, this war was a big loss in the eyes of the Ministry of Household Affairs.

deficit.

The seizures from Rong Di were converted into hundreds of thousands of taels of silver at most, which was not enough to settle the accounts.

Because of the peace talks, all the captured prisoners were returned to Rong Di.

All in all... everyone in the household department has a frown on their faces, this year is destined to be a year of losses.

Emperor Yuankang had mines in his hands and was not afraid of shortfalls. He could still bear a shortfall of several million.

As the army returned to the court, Wu King Liu Pu discussed his merits, and it is said that he discussed his merits. It was said that he was in charge of the army's baggage and handled it properly, ensuring that the army's logistics were timely and fully guaranteed.

King Liu Pu of Wu suddenly became famous, and all the officials in the court, as if they had made an agreement, came together to ask his Majesty to appoint a heir apparent as soon as possible.

King Wu Liu Pu was virtuous and humble, and he was the eldest son, so he was the best candidate for the crown prince.

Emperor Yuan Kang remained silent and allowed the courtiers to make a fuss.

The more silent he became, the more the courtiers made a fuss.

There was no time to care about the autumn harvest taxes. Everyone was focused on the important matter of appointing the crown prince. Not only the officials from the capital joined in the fun, but local officials also came to the book to ask Liu Pu, King of Wu, to be crown prince.

"It is the will of the people to appoint the King of Wu as the crown prince. Please give your Majesty the decree!"

The phrase "what the people want" completely stung Emperor Yuan Kang.

The immortal contribution of the Western Expedition army was due to his proper command as an emperor. At the beginning, he was also the one who opposed all opinions and decided to send troops to attack Rongdi.

Now, when the army returns to the court, no one sings praises for the emperor, but everyone is praising King Wu Liu Pu for how virtuous he is, how worthy he is of being the crown prince, and what the people want. Even some people in the cabinet are joining in the fun.

It's also annoying.

Emperor Yuan Kang lost his anger and left directly, abandoning the court meeting halfway.

All the ministers looked at each other and were at a loss.

The establishment of a crown prince is related to the foundation of the country and is a top priority for the court. What is your Majesty so angry about?

We cannot continue to fail to establish a crown prince, let alone abolish the eldest son and establish a younger one.

In the past, it was said that King Wu had no virtue and should not appoint a crown prince for the time being.

Now that the King of Wu has gained military merit and gained virtue, why does His Majesty still look dissatisfied?

Some people can't figure it out, but some people can.

Several members of the cabinet are all academics and talented people. Everyone can argue with each other without having to speak, as everything is kept silent.

Everyone understands His Majesty's intentions, and everyone understands them, but they cannot take the lead in being a flatterer.

Your Majesty wants to be praised by the courtiers and wants to sing his praises, but the courtiers only focus on the important matter of the crown prince, and don't bother to be sycophants. They just want to say nothing.

These days, civil servants still have some backbone. It's okay to be a flatterer occasionally, but you can't be a flatterer openly during a court meeting.

Do you still want fame?

Publicly flattering the emperor, what about the moral integrity of scholars? Where is the backbone?

These officials often like to go against the emperor in order to gain a reputation as someone who is not afraid of imperial power. They will be praised by scholars and gain a lot of benefits.

…

Emperor Yuan Kang was very aware of the behavior of the courtiers, so he did not scold him at the court meeting, but just let the court meeting stop halfway.

Returning to the Political Affairs Hall of Jianzhang Palace, Emperor Yuankang immediately vented his anger.

Set after set of porcelain was smashed, and all the memorials on the desk fell to the ground.

"It's too much to bully others. It's simply too much to bully others. It's what people want, haha! If I make a mistake, I should abdicate and become the Supreme Emperor."

This is so angry!

He even said such heart-wrenching words as abdication.

Eunuch Fang immediately waved his hand, and all the maids, eunuchs and chamberlains left the hall.

Your Majesty's words must not be spread. Anyone who dares to say a word will die!

"Your Majesty, calm down!"

"I can't extinguish this anger. In the eyes of all the officials, I am just a foolish king, less than one percent as good as King Wu. What do I think about what the people want? Am I unpopular with the people?"

Superintendent Fang frowned. During the meeting, the official who called out what the people wanted was certain that he was fishing in troubled waters and deliberately causing trouble.

He even suspected that the Zhang family arranged all this, and even the Zhao family was involved.

The Xue family was so anxious that they asked to establish a crown prince at this time and made such a big splash.

It is no wonder that when the King of Wu made military exploits, the officials below could not see the situation clearly and thought that the position of crown prince did not belong to the King of Wu, so they followed the crowd. If they can gain support and support, they will be prosperous.

A group of speculators, following the Xue family's call, came to ask King Wu to be crown prince.

With such a huge battle, no wonder someone would take advantage of it and shout out taboo words about what the people want in front of Emperor Yuan Kang.

Emperor Yuan Kang's face turned blue.

The son, the people, will never feel happy at all, but only anger, vigilance, suspicion and even fear.

He is old, but his son is still young.

He was low on energy, but his son was full of energy.

He didn't know how many years he could live, but his son still had at least several decades left.

As one situation went up and down, Emperor Yuan Kang became more wary than ever towards Concubine Xue and the King of Wu.

This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! The courtiers proposed King Wu as the crown prince, but he refused.

However, he could not confront the courtiers head-on.

What method should I think of to break this support and destroy King Wu's arrogance?

"According to my decree, the King of Wu has served in the army for a year and has achieved great results through hard work. He rests at home and recuperates, so that he can share my worries in the future."

Inspector Fang: "..."

This was to allow King Wu Liu Pu to stay at home, without granting him any real power or errands.

This does not mean that the hard work is high, it is clearly that the high work overwhelms the master, and must be suppressed.

Fang Naijian picked up his pen and silently wrote the edict.

After writing it, he showed it to Emperor Yuan Kang, had it stamped, and arranged for a eunuch to go to Prince Wu's Mansion to deliver the order.

After doing all this, the eunuch Fang said: "I am worried that the courtiers may criticize me."

Emperor Yuankang snorted coldly, "Of course the courtiers criticized him for what the people wanted. He thought that I should not let the virtuous and wise King Wu idle at home. I am a loving father and care about the health of the King of Wu. I am afraid that he will suffer from hidden diseases outside, so I let him

Recuperate at home. Let’s talk about errands when you’re done.”

"Your Majesty is kind! However, this move cannot completely calm down the issue of asking for the crown prince. It will even make the courtiers more determined to ask the king of Wu to be the crown prince."

Emperor Yuan Kang frowned.

"This situation must be broken! I am at the peak of my power in the Spring and Autumn Period. I only had thirteen princes this year. I still have several decades to go, so I am not in any hurry to establish my position as Crown Prince."

"Your Majesty's words are reasonable. However, King Wei followed King Wu's lead, and the other princes were even more unbearable. No one can fight against King Wu and kill King Wu's limelight. It's no wonder that the courtiers are standing up for King Wu and want to establish King Wu.

For the crown prince."

"King Wei is a coward, a fool, a piece of mud that can't hold up the wall. I gave him a chance, but he couldn't seize it. As soon as King Wu came back, he shrank and didn't even dare to let out a fart. What use do I need from him?

."

Emperor Yuan Kang originally wanted to support the second-eldest Wei Wang Liu Yu to compete with Wu Wang Liu Pu. The mother-in-law of Wei Wang was Concubine Yang Xian, and her background was sufficient.
To be continued...