The Young and Vigorous Eighth Prince

Jiang Fan's achievements this time are enough to make him a king, and once he is crowned a king, it means he has officially entered the struggle for imperial power.

According to past practice, only those who were crowned king were eligible to continue on the throne, but without sufficient merit, one could not be crowned king.

Because of this, the eldest prince and others have not yet been crowned kings. If they want to be crowned kings, it would be unless Emperor Yan is seriously ill or reaches the age of 24.

The eldest prince is only twenty-three years old this year. If he does not have enough achievements by next year, he must be crowned king.

"Everything is up to your father!" Jiang Fan said to Emperor Yan with a smile upon hearing this.

Being crowned a king would be more beneficial for him. He would have a private army of up to 2,000. In addition to the private army, he would also have a fiefdom. Of course, having a fiefdom does not necessarily mean he would become a vassal.

Only the princes who lost the battle for the throne would be forced to go to the frontier and not be allowed to stay in the capital.

If he was really crowned king, Jiang Fan could legitimately bring the grain and fodder troops under his command, and he could also take Jinzhou as his fiefdom.

"Father, I want to keep those 2,000 soldiers with food and fodder. I wonder if you can give them to me!" Jiang Fan said to Emperor Yan with a smile.

Jiang Fan didn't think that he had violated any taboo by doing this. He already had a thousand private soldiers. If he added another two thousand food and fodder troops, he would have three thousand private soldiers in total.

This has exceeded the standard for a prince to be crowned king. In fact, Jiang Fan can hide half of the food and fodder troops, so that there are only 2,000 on the surface.

But Jiang Fan didn't want to act petty in front of his adopted father, so he decided to be honest. Considering how much his old father loved him, this small request was not excessive.

Upon hearing this, Emperor Yan looked at Jiang Fan with a smile, patted him on the shoulder and said, "Boy, you act without reservation in front of me... Aren't you afraid that I will be suspicious of you?"

Hearing this, Jiang Fan said with a grin, "Father, I know you won't be suspicious of me... I trained those food and fodder troops myself, they are quite useful if I keep them, I would feel bad if I throw away half of them! Father, you love me, so I dare to ask for it. If you don't want me to, I can only reluctantly give them up!"

"You little brat... forget it, since you like it, just keep it! Father is not a stingy person, and father should also give you enough confidence!"

Emperor Yan patted Jiang Fan's shoulder lightly and scolded him with a doting smile.

At this point, he straightened his face and said, "Fan'er, father knows that handing the throne to you will be the best choice, but even if father is arbitrary, it is still uncertain whether you can sit firmly on the throne after father passes away."

"Therefore, there are some things you must do, and you must do them! Therefore, Father is handing Su Yuanguang's matter to you for your own good! Do you understand?!"

Emperor Yan did not avoid Jiang Fan and told him what he was thinking.

Jiang Fan nodded when he heard this. He understood what Emperor Yan meant.

The first person to express support for him was Su Yuanguang. He not only represented the attitude of the ministers towards him, but also the attitude of the governors of various continents towards him.

If Su Yuanguang ended up dying because of his support for Jiang Fan, and Jiang Fan remained indifferent to it, it would not only discourage the court officials, but also the governors of various continents.

Even if he ascends the throne in the future, the throne may be shaky at any time. Any one of the princes may get support from others if he makes a call.

Even if the people support Jiang Fan, the real power is still held by the court officials and local dignitaries. If they unite to overthrow Jiang Fan, they can still do it.

Even if Jiang Fan has the ability to suppress the rebellion, the entire Dayan will be plunged into civil strife and the people of Dayan will suffer in the end!

"Your son understands. I will definitely handle this matter well and will never let your father down... Please rest assured, father!" Jiang Fan straightened his expression when he heard this.

On the way back, he had already learned about Su Yuanguang's matter from the letter sent by Emperor Yan. This matter was indeed difficult to handle, but it was not difficult to handle.

The matter is actually very simple. As the governor of Hejianzhou, Su Yuanguang is responsible for all affairs of the entire Hejianzhou, including the imperial court's taxes.

It was November at this time, the time when Su Yuanguang sent taxes to the capital. In previous years, the taxes paid were mainly in the form of silver.

After all, if the tax is mainly in the form of grain, the transportation cost alone is extremely high, not to mention the loss on the road. Therefore, the taxes in various places are to exchange grain for tax silver.

But this year's tax had not yet begun to be delivered, but something went wrong. The grain that was supposed to be stored in the granaries of Hejianzhou Prefecture disappeared, and all 500,000 shi of grain was gone.

Without grain to exchange for tax silver, taxes cannot be paid at all.

At the same time, the chief clerk of Hejianzhou hanged himself and left a blood letter accusing Hejian Governor Su Yuanguang of embezzling taxes and grain.

This incident immediately shocked the government and the public. Everyone could see that this was a blatant frame-up. No matter how greedy Su Yuanguang was, he would not do such a thing as embezzling all the taxes.

However, the problem is that all the taxes and grain are gone, and even if no one sues Su Yuanguang, he cannot escape blame.

In addition to this lawsuit, if the tax issue cannot be clarified, Su Yuanguang will face the confiscation of property and execution, and even his family will be implicated.

Now, the Emperor of Yan suppressed the matter, neither punishing Su Yuanguang nor making it public. But the officials in the court and the public knew about it a long time ago.

Ye Ren and other court officials reported this to the Emperor of Yan countless times, asking him to severely punish Su Yuanguang.

However, some court officials also spoke up for Su Yuanguang. The Emperor of Yan suppressed the matter, but it didn't last long.

"I don't give you much time for this matter. Only one month. If you can't solve it, Su Yuanguang will end up with his property confiscated and his name confiscated. You... hurry up!"

Emperor Yan patted Jiang Fan on the shoulder, his tone heavy.

Jiang Fan nodded, and after chatting with Emperor Yan for a few more words, he turned and left the imperial study.

The Chu brothers were waiting bored at the door, while Zhong Ling was staring at the imperial study without blinking.

She looked like someone who wanted to keep strangers away, and the powerful aura she exuded made the Chu brothers dare not get close to her.

Ever since she was led out by Jiang Fan, she has been loyally serving as Jiang Fan's personal bodyguard.

Because of the appearance of Beimeng's National Master, she realized that if she didn't protect Jiang Fan, Jiang Fan would be in danger at any time.

Even after returning to the capital, she never relaxed for a moment. Seeing Jiang Fan coming out, she retracted her gaze and glanced around calmly.

Jiang Fan smiled when he saw her serious look. This woman was too serious and too cold! However, with her around, he felt a lot safer.

The group left the palace, and nearly a hundred white-robed guards waiting outside the palace escorted Jiang Fan back to the prince's mansion.

The imperial decree to confer the title of king would not be issued until Jiang Fan had resolved the issue of Su Yuanguang.

As for the food and fodder army, it has now become Jiang Fan's private army with the tacit approval of Emperor Yan.

As soon as I arrived at the gate of the prince's mansion, I saw Chu Yan'er looking forward to the front. When she saw Jiang Fan coming on horseback, the worried look on her face relaxed and a gentle smile appeared on her face.

The two girls, Chu Xiaoya and Chu Xiaolan, were looking ahead expectantly. When they saw Jiang Fan, they smiled widely.

Jiang Fan came to the door, dismounted from his horse and walked quickly towards Chu Yan'er.