Professional Ethics of a Concubine

"Han Yan, our two countries have an alliance, and the Crown Prince's concubine is your good friend and treats you very well. The Crown Prince should send troops to help us quell the rebellion."

The Seventh Prince spoke again in a hoarse voice.

"Of course." The Ninth Princess nodded, hesitated for a moment and said,

"However, my royal brother, you must know that there is a price to pay for the Great Zhao sending troops to help us quell the rebellion."

"Of course. When the rebellion is quelled and I ascend the throne, I will use a large amount of gold, silver, jewelry, cattle, sheep and horses to thank Da Zhao for sending troops to help."

The Seventh Prince looked as if he understood everything and said that he would not take advantage of the Great Zhao for nothing.

Xie Zimo covered his face, feeling a little reluctant to attack his brother-in-law at this time.

The Ninth Princess also sighed deeply and said to him,

"Brother, I'm telling you the truth. After this rebellion is quelled, there will no longer be the Yan Kingdom, because the crown prince has long had the ambition to unify the world."

"Is it really impossible? Can't our two countries sign an alliance and become friends forever? Must our countries be destroyed?" The Seventh Prince asked uncomfortably.

"We, the Yan State, can even pay tribute to the Great Zhao. I, I don't want to lose our country!"

He knows this truth, but he just doesn't want to face it and admit it!

The foundation laid by his ancestors and the country were to end in his hands. He even wanted to hand over the State of Yan. He felt that he was too useless!

"Brother, let me tell you another cruel fact. Even if the Crown Prince only sends troops to help you quell the rebellion and ascend the throne, as long as you pay a certain amount of compensation, in three or four years, you will find that the Yan Kingdom can no longer hold on and will be finished."

The Ninth Princess spoke with a sullen face.

"How is this possible! I know that Yan State has many problems. After I ascend the throne, I will carry out reforms. I will reduce taxes and redistribute land. As long as the people have land to farm, there will be no problem..."

The Seventh Prince spoke excitedly, loudly refuting what the Ninth Princess had said.

"Brother, do you know how much tax revenue Yan State collected last year? It was only one-third of what it was five years ago, or even less!"

The Ninth Princess asked him to calm down, presented the facts, and calmly persuaded him.

“Because a lot of land has been swallowed up by the nobles in various ways, they don’t need to pay taxes, and a lot of people have lost their land and have no land to pay taxes. You will find that the treasury is getting poorer and poorer.

If you don’t have money, how can you support the soldiers and officials and maintain the iron-blooded majesty of your imperial power?

You said you wanted reform, you said you wanted the nobles to hand over their land and redistribute it to the people. These policies are indeed very good and can solve the problem.

But the key is, once your decree is issued, will anyone listen?

Only if you have the power to send troops to eliminate them at any time, will they listen to you obediently!

But you don't even have the money to pay the soldiers and salaries, so who will really listen to you? Those nobles will only continue to suck the blood of the people and accumulate their own wealth.

The lower-class people were displaced and could not survive. In order to survive, many people from Dayan took the initiative to seek refuge in Dayzhao, vying to become Zhao citizens.

What would they do if there was no such road?

When we rise up in rebellion, we first become soldiers and bandits, kill officials and nobles, recruit soldiers and buy horses, and finally form a large-scale uprising army to overthrow our Ji royal family and establish a new regime.

My royal brother, if you look through the history books, you will see that every dynasty has evolved in this way. Our Ji royal family has come to an end.

It’s not that my brother is useless, it’s that my father is too incompetent. He has exhausted the luck of Yan State. If he could be half as wise as the Emperor of Zhao, our Yan State could survive for another hundred years…”

"You, how dare you humiliate my father like this!" The Seventh Prince stared at her, "Without the Kingdom of Yan and my father, you wouldn't be a princess, and you wouldn't have the good life you have now."

"Brother, being a princess in the Kingdom of Yan, although you grew up in luxury, it is not a happy thing.

The seventh sister didn't want to marry, so she committed suicide by taking poison. The eleventh sister was abused to death less than a year after her marriage.

Although the third and fifth sisters were not married off, they could not escape the fate of being forcibly abducted, because their father treated them as objects to please the nobles and gave them away at will.

I am living a good life today because I came to Da Zhao and met the kind and generous emperor and prince, not because my father was kind to me and treated me as his daughter. "

The Seventh Prince was speechless after hearing what she said.

"Father is quite tolerant towards my brother, and seems to have some fatherly love for him. I can understand your reverence and admiration for him."

The Ninth Princess continued to speak,

"But, my royal brother, you should also see the situation clearly. Our Ji royal family has run out of luck. What you should do is to preserve the bloodline. Don't let the country be destroyed and the Ji bloodline be gone too.

With the prince's tolerance, as long as my royal brother knows how to handle things, even if the country is destroyed, you can still have fiefdoms and titles, and your descendants can still enjoy wealth and glory.

This result is better than you overestimating your own capabilities, trying to fight against the strong with your own strength, and then being killed."

The Seventh Prince stared, gasping for breath, unable to speak.

He knew that there was nothing wrong with what his sister said, but he just felt uncomfortable and couldn't accept it for a while.

"Brother, don't you want to save mother, wife and children?" The Ninth Princess asked him again, "Mother is very likely still alive."

"Of course I will save him!" said the Seventh Prince immediately.

"Brother, if you want to save us, just listen to the Crown Prince." The Ninth Princess said,

"I believe that as long as my mother and the others are still alive, the Crown Prince will definitely help us rescue them. But facing the same difficulties, my father will definitely abandon them."

The Seventh Prince was speechless again.

"If my royal brother feels embarrassed and doesn't want to listen to the Crown Prince and others discuss how to send troops to attack the State of Yan, he doesn't have to go into the palace. I will go in on his behalf." The Ninth Princess said again.

"I, I..." The Seventh Prince really didn't want to face it.

However, if he really dodged today, he would probably feel guilty for the rest of his life and would look down on himself.

"Let me think about it." The seventh prince covered his cheek, turned around and shut himself off.

Xie Zimo opened his mouth and was about to speak, but the Ninth Princess held him back and shook her head silently at him.

My brother needs time, so it’s useless to say more.

Because he understood the truth, but he just found it difficult to accept and didn't want to face it for the time being.

She had seen this path clearly a long time ago, but she had been avoiding it for many years and didn't want to face it.

After arriving in Da Zhao and seeing all kinds of hope here, she struggled for a long time before she made up her mind to overthrow patriarchy.

Therefore, my brother, without having these thoughts, encountered a major change and was forced to accept it immediately. It would be best for him to avoid it in any way he could.

When the carriage arrived at the palace gate, the Seventh Prince put down his arms that were covering his face, turned around, looked at the Ninth Princess with a pair of red eyes, and said to her,

"I, I will go to the palace with you. I can't be a deserter."

"Good!" The Ninth Princess smiled, grabbed the Seventh Prince's sleeve tightly, and praised him with a smile.

"Brother, you are really amazing! It is said that a man who knows the times is a hero, which is enough to show how amazing it is to be able to do this!"

The Seventh Prince,

Okay, stop trying to coax him and feed him sweet talk.

Although drinking a little does make you feel better.

-

Royal study room.

When the Ninth Princess and the Seventh Prince arrived at the Imperial Study, in addition to the Crown Prince, Xie Wenyuan and others, Prince Su and Fang Yunyan had also arrived.

Although the Seventh Prince was in a very bad mood, he would not lose the rules and etiquette on such occasions and would perform the necessary formalities.

The emperor asked them to excuse themselves from the formalities, and gave them both seats, then he asked,

"The Crown Prince of Yan State sought power and usurped the throne, killing the king and his father. My Lord, please accept my condolences. I wonder what you think about the situation in Yan State."

“I hope that Great Zhao can send troops to help me quell the rebellion, eliminate Ji Wu, the traitor, and rescue my biological mother, wife, and children.

When the war subsides, I am willing to offer my country to the Great Zhao. "

The Seventh Prince stood up again, bowed to the Emperor and the Crown Prince, and spoke directly.

"You are quite sensible." Xie Wenyuan raised his eyebrows and said.

"..." The Seventh Prince laughed bitterly, "My sister has advised me just now, and I also deeply understand how powerful the Great Zhao has become in the past few years.

Not only are there sharp weapons, sophisticated armor and equipment, war horses, but there are even powerful gunpowder and cannons.

If the Yan State fights a tough battle with the Great Zhao, it will definitely be defeated. At that time, the country will also be destroyed and occupied by the Great Zhao.

It would be better for me to come forward and fight in the name of suppressing the rebellion. This way, I can call on my loyal subordinates to get rid of Ji Wu together, and avoid Ji Wu deceiving them to fight the enemy with the whole country, and finally persecute the innocent Yan people. "

"You have already surpassed countless people by having such an understanding." Prince Xie Jin praised him and promised him,

"If your biological mother, wife and children are merely imprisoned, we will do our best to rescue them and protect their safety."

"Thank you, Your Highness!" The Seventh Prince bowed deeply to him and asked, "May I ask Your Highness, when can the army set out? How many people will be there?"

"The army will be assembled. It will take time to prepare food, fodder, and baggage. We will set out in ten days at the earliest. We will have 50,000 elite soldiers."

Xie Jin spoke up.

In fact, the Crown Prince and others had already discussed it before the Ninth Princess and the Seventh Prince came.

The coronation ceremony will be held in three days, and the ceremony will definitely not be delayed because of this matter. Even if the State of Yan has begun to attack the border, the ceremony will be held as usual.

Because Yan State can no longer pose a fatal threat to Zhao State, so even though there will be a war, there is no need to be so nervous.

As for the selection of generals to lead the troops into battle, we had just debated about it, and finally decided that Prince Su would be the general, and Xie Wenyuan would be the deputy general, leading an army of 50,000.

When it comes to attacking the State of Yan, Prince Su is the most qualified person to lead the charge. After all, he is most familiar with the State of Yan, and now it is his Black Feather Army that is stationed at the border.

If he does not serve as the general, the morale of the army will be unstable, which will cause dissatisfaction among the generals of the Black Feather Army and others.

Therefore, Crown Prince Xie Jin also expressed his support.

As for the psychological problems of the emperor's uncle, we still have the emperor's aunt, so he can go with him. The emperor's aunt can stay in the rear and doesn't have to go to the battlefield.

These are small things that can be overcome.