Please call me Your Majesty!

Chapter 124 The battlefield between Li Fengning and Huan Yi! The battle between the princes has always been like this!
[In March of the 23rd year of Kaihuang, after the Great Zhou Dynasty destroyed Khwarezm, it ushered in the peak period of its military power. ]

[Chu Jimin, who pacified Khwarezm, was praised by many wise officials as "profound and strategic, and a master in military operations." He also had "his father's style", and his spirit still remained.]

[The great victory in this battle made Chu Jimin's prestige in the court and the country unprecedentedly strong. Many generals highly respected this second prince who came from a famous family in Jinyang. ]

[In May, Chu Jimin petitioned to return to his country. He was not happy with many of the affairs of the Governor of Khwarezm. The folk customs here were very different from those of the Great Zhou Dynasty. In addition, in order to conquer Khwarezm, his policy of attacking the enemy was tough, so he encountered great resistance and his rule was not ideal.]

[In July of the 23rd year of Kaihuang, Chu Shizhao approved Chu Jimin's wish and appointed Lan Shu's eldest son Lan Qichou as the governor of Khwarezm.]

[In August, Chu Shizhao was firm in his attitude towards appointing Guoben as the crown prince. Although he treated his two sons equally, he always chose to appoint the eldest son as the heir to the throne.]

[In December of the 23rd year of Kaihuang, Chu Shizhao established Chu Jimin as the King of Yan and made him a vassal in Fanyang, the place where the Lu-Ma Rebellion had been launched.]

[In the 24th year of Kaihuang, there were many factions in the Great Zhou Dynasty, and the factional disputes were getting more and more intense. Although Chu Shizhao tried his best to suppress them during his reign, he still could not stop the long-accumulated malpractices in the officialdom of the Great Zhou Dynasty.]

[This is a long-standing problem. Almost every generation has seen political parties fighting against each other. By the time of Chu Shizhao's generation, Chu Shizhao had calmed down these officials and helped them make up their minds, but he was unable to stop these people from fighting each other privately.]

[In order to protect themselves, many ministers had no choice but to stick together. ]

[The Great Zhou Dynasty, which had experienced many wars, also produced countless active people during this period, which made the Great Zhou Dynasty at this time look completely different from the strength that a dynasty should have in the middle of the dynasty, with many powerful ministers in the court.]

[In the 25th year of Kaihuang, the Single Whip Law ushered in great peace. The tax reform policy it set greatly simplified the tax system, making it easier to collect taxes, while making it difficult for local officials to cheat, thereby increasing fiscal revenue.]

[This eased the increasingly intensified internal and external conflicts in Zhou Dynasty society.]

【Chu Shizhao even took advantage of a series of wars such as the Luma Rebellion, the conquest of Goguryeo, and the occupation of the Korean Peninsula to redistribute land resources. In the process, he cleared out a group of old officials and took over the land of many powerful people during the reigns of Emperor Zhengguang and Emperor Yongjin.】

[In the 26th year of Kaihuang, the Great Zhou Dynasty ushered in a new period of rejuvenation. Chu Shizhao completed the cause of Kaihuang's rejuvenation. Because of Chu Shizhao's wisdom in identifying talents and his ability to make decisions, many capable officials emerged in the Kaihuang Dynasty. Most of their talents were put to good use by Chu Shizhao, which gave the decadent Great Zhou Dynasty a chance to regain its glory.]

[In the early days of Chu Shizhao's accession to the throne, it was a difficult year for the Great Zhou Dynasty. The previous emperor died in the deep palace, the throne was seized by a coup, and there was a series of rebellions by the Jiedushi during the Lu-Ma Rebellion. Chu Shizhao successively suppressed the rebellions and abolished the military malpractices of the Jiedushi. However, the good times did not last long. The Yellow River flooded, Shaanxi was hit by an earthquake, and there was a national mourning. It can be said that everything was a trouble. ]

[Even so, Chu Shizhao still showed amazing talent. He eliminated the negative impact of the coup through wise ministers such as Huan Sheng, Li Jin, Lan Shu, Wen Yu, Guo You, etc. Not only that, the Single Whip Law introduced during his reign abolished all tax system abuses, and the political situation was clear and bright, praised by the government and the public.]

[After 26 years of rule, the Great Zhou Dynasty went from being poor and weak to a prosperous Western Expedition, with all nations coming to pay tribute. This was proof of Chu Shizhao's efforts to govern the country. However, by this time, Chu Shizhao also realized that the country was on the verge of collapse due to frequent wars.]

[In the 27th year of Kaihuang, Chu Shizhao vigorously built water conservancy projects, developed agriculture, prospered the economy, and implemented many policies that favored farmers and civilians, which gave the exhausted people from the long war some room to rest.]

[He also began to let Chu Jiyue manage the government affairs of the court, and let him study the governance methods in detail.]

[In August of the 27th year of Kaihuang, Chu Jiyue, who had been the regent for eight years, already had great power in the East Palace and could express his own opinions and views on many state affairs. He was kind to others and had the demeanor of a gentleman.]

[This is not the custom of the Huan family in Liangzhou.]

[In September of the 27th year of Kaihuang, an official reported that Chu Jimin, the Prince of Yan, who was enfeoffed in Beiping, had used witchcraft to cast spells to harm his father and the emperor.]

【Chu Shizhao laughed loudly and said, "There is no such thing as witchcraft in this world." Then he ordered the arrest and imprisonment of the official who had spread rumors and misled the public.】

[However, in such a political environment, Chu Jimin felt increasingly uneasy. It was difficult for him to be a vassal in Beiping, so he repeatedly wrote to his father, asking him to strip him of his military power and order him to be a vassal king in the Huainan area.]

[In October of the 27th year of Kaihuang, Chu Shizhao comforted his second son Chu Jimin. However, in an era when information was not circulated, Chu Jimin, although a son of a general, was frightened and could only ask his mother for advice on how to protect himself.]

[Chu Jimin was not timid, on the contrary he was very courageous and brave. However, facing his father, he always thought that his insignificant achievements were not worth mentioning. Now that someone slandered him like this, how could he not feel awe and fear? ]

[In November of the 27th year of Kaihuang, a general close to Chu Jimin advised: "Why not follow the example of the night change at Chengtian Gate in the past to seek long-term stability."]

[“Your Highness governs a foreign country thousands of miles away, is loved by the generals in the army, and has the help of the Li family, your maternal relatives.”]

[“Datong Governor Yang Yanchao highly respects your talents. If we can win him over, we will be able to gain a leg up.”]

[“Jinyang is the place where the Li family made their fortune. After they conquered Datong, they conquered Jinyang. Now, Your Highness is in charge of Beiping. If they are lucky, they can conquer most of the north.”]

[“Although your brother is quite talented, he is just a scholar. How can he know the art of war?”]

[“Since ancient times, the throne has always been obtained by those with strong military forces!”]

[“In order to live a life without worries, the only way to go is to rule the world.”]

[Chu Jimin thought about it and finally refused. ]

[“My father is on the throne. If I rebel against him, it would be a quarrel between father and son. It is not filial piety. Why would I go to this extent in order to protect myself?”]

Chu Shizhao's expression became subtle.

He knew that if he staged a coup, there would be a chain reaction.

This is the same thing that happened to Li Yuan and Li Shimin's family.

For the benefit of the group of meritorious officials, Li Shimin killed his elder brother and younger brother, and went to see Li Yuan with their heads to ask for the throne.

It just so happened that Li Shimin's influence was unprecedented in the entire Tang Dynasty, and the name of the Zhenguan Reign was too loud.

This also led to many palace coups in the Li Tang Dynasty, all of which were imitations of Li Shimin's Xuanwu Gate Incident.

In the Ming Dynasty, there was also the example of Zhu Di, a vassal king, who rebelled and seized control of the country.

There were many incidents that led to rebellions by vassal kings. The most famous ones were the ambush of Ming Xuanzong Zhu Zhanji by Zhu Di's second son Zhu Gaoxu and the Ning Wang Rebellion during the reign of Emperor Zhengde.

This thing has a "reference" effect.

When he first gained the throne, all dynasties changed through the more "humane" method of abdication. Cao Cao also married several of his daughters to Emperor Xian of Han, Liu Xie, and Cao Pi also treated Liu Xie very well.

But the Sima family was not a human family, so they had to kill the king in the street. From then on, all dynasties began to learn from the Sima family's approach. The process of changing dynasties was to try to kill all the royal family members of the previous generation.

The most laughable thing is that the people of the Cao family snatched the throne from the Liu family, but it was eventually stolen by the Sima family. In the end, the person who avenged the Cao family was Liu Yu, a descendant of the Liu family.

The reason why Chu Shizhao was extremely helpless about the start of this simulation was that it set a bad precedent.

Although Chu Shizhao was forced to do so for self-protection.

However, every descendant of Chu Shizhao can say that they were forced to rise up in rebellion in order to protect themselves.

Chu Shizhao was truly protecting himself, but his descendants used this reason, so who can be 100% sure that they were doing it to protect themselves?
At least Chu Shizhao didn't see Chu Jiyue's intention to kill Chu Jimin. At least for now, the relationship between the brothers is still very harmonious.

Now I am afraid that the ministers below will continue to add fuel to the fire for their own interests. In this way, even if there is no personal grudge, they will add fuel to the fire and create real hatred.

Fortunately, Chu Jimin didn't fall for it.

Being able to say these words at least shows the utmost respect for him as the king and father.

But Chu Shizhao could also see that Chu Jimin did have his concerns, and he was also afraid that his brother would take action against him.

In fact, in theory there is a foolproof plan, which is to learn from the Yuan Dynasty, enfeoff one's sons to other places, and leave the Central Plains dynasty as the base to one's eldest son.

The Western Expedition has already been launched, so it is not impossible to let Chu Jimin go out and establish a dynasty to rule by himself.

The problem is that places outside the Central Plains Dynasty are not that good.

After all, the Central Plains dynasty was still an agricultural civilization. Given the quality of the ancient times, except for the Central Plains, the level of land reclamation in other places was very low and extremely poor.

The area where Silla, Baekje, and Goguryeo were located is the area around the Korean Peninsula and some territories in the northeast. Except for the northeastern part, you can still grow crops.

The Korean Peninsula is full of mountains in this era.

Is it useful to shoot it down?

To annex them is to give them a bargain.

Got it.

That is, even if you get them, your own strength will not become stronger, but the indigenous people in these places will become stronger because they join your dynasty, and you still have to find a way to provide funds to develop their land.

It is better to work hard than to choose.

The Mongols did not care whether the land was barren or not. They established their rule and did not need to collect taxes themselves. They let the local people pay protection fees themselves.

But the Great Zhou Dynasty was not Mongolian.

They all have a homesickness complex. Just ask the Zhou army stationed in Khwarezm whether they miss home.

It’s not like the Mongols can just live anywhere with a pasture, and immigration is impossible.

Therefore, it became unrealistic to want to enfeoff the sons in other places.

Otherwise, the best option would be to conquer Tianzhu directly. Tianzhu is a place that is easy to defend and difficult to attack. It also has a larger area of ​​arable land than the Central Plains dynasty and a good climate.

In the current situation, Chu Shizhao felt that as soon as he passed away, the world would be in chaos.

It’s not that Chu Shizhao didn’t control the relationship between Chu Jiyue and Chu Jimin, but that Chu Shizhao has always been consciously comforting his two sons.

But he could not stop the ministers under him from making political investments.

In addition, Chu Jiyue and Chu Jimin had different styles, which led to different ministers showing tendencies.

Wen voted Chu to benefit the Yue, and Wu voted Chu to benefit the people.

Now it is not a question of whether the two brothers will fight or not, but a question of the distribution of interests between the two groups under their command.

What's more, even if Chu Shizhao suppressed the power of one of his sons, his sons all had powerful in-laws.

Although Chu Jimin did not have the assistance of military officials, he still had the support of the Jinyang Li family.

If I insist on competing with you in fighting strength, won’t you be able to withstand it?

And the other side.

Li Fengning also became popular.

The main reason is that she didn't serve as a general, didn't lead troops to fight, but married Chu Shizhao and had a son. She couldn't help but think about Chu Shizhao and Chu Jimin.

Who is Chu Jiyue?
He is the son of Chu Shizhao's other woman and has nothing to do with Li Fengning. And now Chu Shizhao's other son is coming to "persecute" her only son.

Can you tolerate that?

In fact, what annoys Li Fengning the most now is this wild woman who came out of nowhere. Not only did she snatch away Chu Shizhao several times, but she also gave birth to a son every day to snatch the position of the eldest son.

As a result, her son had a low status and was forced to worry about protecting himself.

Moreover.

Just talking about personality, how is Chu Jiyue similar to Chu Shizhao?

On the other hand, although Chu Jimin is not as good as Chu Shizhao in fighting skills, he is also a capable person. In terms of appearance, he inherited Chu Shizhao's handsome appearance and also has Li Fengning's style. He can be said to be a rare talent.

Even his decision-making is extremely decisive. At critical moments, he can make the most accurate choice.

So do you think Li Fengning will be convinced?

The first person to be Chu Shizhao's eldest son was Chu Jimin.

However, during these simulations, Li Fengning was unable to contact Chu Shizhao in Jinyang. Moreover, after some thought, she also had no way to go to the capital. She could only wait for Chu Shizhao to become a vassal in Jinyang before she would have a chance.

However, Tiantian was intercepted by Huan Yi in Chang'an.

Li Fengning was almost annoyed to death by this woman.

She gritted her teeth in hatred.

At the same time, Huan Yi, looking at the picture in his mind, was also thinking about how to deal with the current situation and trying his best to comfort Chu Jimin, especially because he was the son of the old Li family and he was quite strong.

Her son was good at domestic affairs.

The people coming out of the Li family are obsessed with war.

Even though they went to such a far place, they were still able to win a great victory, which was hailed as a major event in the Great Zhou Dynasty's Western Expedition.

Can they be the opponents in a head-on confrontation?
Fortunately, Huan Yi became the queen. As the mistress, she treated all of Chu Shizhao's sons equally and took good care of them.

Although Huan Yi admitted that he had selfish motives and wanted to get the support of other brothers in the process of Chu Jiyue's succession to the throne.

However, as a queen, we should at least act like a queen and not bring chaos to the rear.

She now mediates relationships as best she can.

If mediation fails, let’s talk about other things.

Anyway, Huan Yi has the confidence to stabilize the whole situation.

At least for now the main court officials all support Chu Jiyue. Besides, isn't Chu Shizhao still here?

Based on the performance of these simulations, Huan Yi still trusts the decisions made by Chu Shizhao.

Therefore, no matter what choice Chu Shizhao makes, Huan Yi will respect it.

After all, without Chu Shizhao, there would be no current Great Zhou Dynasty. It would be unreasonable to take over the foundation created by Chu Shizhao with great effort for no reason.

Everything depends on Chu Shizhao's choice.

Of course, giving it to my son is the best.

Think of this.

Huan Yi's eyes quietly fell on Li Fengning.

This is also a war between her and Li Fengning!
The fight among princes has always been like this!
(End of this chapter)