Happy Emperor

Lin Tian secretly summoned Li Yi half a month ago and had a long talk with him all night long.

The purpose was, on the one hand, to test Prince Li Ren's attitude towards the imperial power in Shengjing; on the other hand, to hope to pass on the message through the Li family and summon the other two kings of different surnames to send people to Shengjing.

Unexpectedly, in such a short period of time, the two kings of different surnames, Wang and Zhao, had already sent special envoys.

From this point of view, at least they no longer look down on Lin Tian, ​​the emperor of Daxia.

In fact, the current situation of Daxia is very similar to that of the Three Kingdoms period, but it is much more complicated.

King Pingdong, Lin Tian and the three kings of different surnames formed a three-way confrontation.

Among these three forces, the most powerful one is the Lin clan prince led by King Pingdong.

Although Lin Tian unified the three provinces, he was the weakest among the three forces.

But this does not mean that the other two forces can easily defeat it.

Lin Tian has his own advantage, that is, he has the final say in the three provinces under his control.

And between those two forces, they actually seem to be united internally.

Take the three kings of different surnames as an example.

Although they mostly spoke to the outside world in the form of a coalition, in fact each king of a different surname ruled over a province, and they cooperated internally but also had their own opinions.

Take the attitude towards the imperial power in Shengjing as an example. Prince Li Ren always insisted that since there was a new emperor, he should just go with the flow.

Don't look for a crown prince to re-establish the emperor, so as to reduce the turmoil of the change of imperial power.

At the same time, he supported the new emperor to gradually take control of the government and finally unify Daxia.

The other two princes disagreed with him.

Especially Prince Wang Qian, he always believed that since the late emperor had appointed a crown prince, he should find a crown prince to inherit the throne, and should not support the sixth prince who was promoted to the throne by Ji Feng.

Of course, this is related to the prince's origin. His biological mother is actually Wang Qian's sister. It is not surprising that he has such an opinion.

As for Prince Zhao Wuji, he didn't care much about who would be the emperor of Daxia.

But it also shows that he will not support a puppet emperor unless Emperor Li can behave like a qualified emperor.

The previous Emperor Li's performance was really disappointing, so Wang Zhao Wuji did not have a good attitude towards imperial power.

However, the attitudes of these three families towards King Pingdong were very consistent.

He did not agree with King Pingdong inheriting the throne and unifying Daxia.

There are actually many reasons.

The most important thing is that King Pingdong did not agree to enfeoff a king with a different surname.

This was also the reason why Emperor Gaozu did not pass the throne to King Pingdong. His relationship with several kings of different surnames was always not harmonious.

"The two kings of different surnames, Wang and Zhao, sent special envoys to Shengjing so quickly. We are grateful to Prince Li Ren for mediating this matter!"

Lin Tian said very seriously.

"Your Majesty, you are too polite." Li Yi bowed and said, "In fact, the reason why the two princes were able to send special envoys to Shengjing is entirely due to Your Majesty's wisdom, and has nothing to do with me."

Lin Tian smiled and said nothing more about this matter. Instead, he asked, "When you go back to see Prince Li Ren this time, how is his health? Is he still able to ride a horse?"

There was actually another deeper meaning behind his question.

On the surface, he was concerned about Li Ren's health, but in fact he was concerned about Li Ren's control over the territory.

You know, only if Li Ren is in good health will the territorial power remain unchanged.

This means that Li Ren’s territory’s friendly attitude towards him will not change easily.

If his descendants come to power, then everything will be hard to say.

"Thanks to the Emperor's great blessing, my brother is still in good health and recently had a son!"

Li Yi replied with a hearty laugh.

When he returned this time, he told the whole story of the confrontation between Emperor Li and many of the royal palace chief secretaries in the court.

Li Ren's blood boiled when he heard this, especially when he said that sentence.

"I am not afraid to fight anyone!"

Upon hearing this, Li Ren was so excited that he stood up and said loudly to all the ministers in his territory, "From now on, our Great Xia will have another sage ruler like Emperor Gaozu!"

In fact, the reason why Li Ren was so happy was not because of the bold words that Lin Tian said.

Before you have the ability, making any harsh words is equivalent to bragging!

Li Ren admired Emperor Li because in just less than two months, Emperor Li not only broke free from Ji Feng's control, but also unified the three provinces of Shengjing.

What is most valuable is that this process did not rely on forces outside the three provinces.

"Really? Hahaha, Prince Li Renfan is still going strong despite his old age!"

Lin Tian also laughed heartily.

Li Ren was about the same age as the late emperor and had already passed the age of 50.

The fact that she was able to give birth to a son at this age shows that there is absolutely nothing wrong with Li Ren's health.

Lin Tian felt relieved.

After the two of them finished laughing, Li Yi spoke again.

"Your Majesty, the prince asked me to bring you some local specialties from Nanyun Province. I came here in a hurry and am still at the palace. I will have someone deliver them to the palace when I return."

"Prince Li Renfan is so thoughtful! If I have the chance, I will definitely thank him in person." Lin Tian's facial expression did not change much, and he replied lightly.

But I was already very excited in my heart.

It wasn't important what Prince Li Ren sent his men to bring, but the meaning behind it was indeed very important. Especially at this time, it could be said to be a timely help.

To a certain extent, this represents Li Ren's recognition of the current imperial power in Shengjing, and also shows that he is willing to be a vassal of Emperor Li.

"Your Majesty is too polite. It is a matter of etiquette for vassal kings to offer tribute." Li Yi was in a daze for a moment and then immediately bowed.

He didn't expect the emperor to be so calm after hearing this, and he was secretly suspicious.

"Could it be that Emperor Li didn't understand the deeper meaning behind my brother's tribute? Have I overestimated his cunning?"

But Li Yi couldn't say this out loud.

The reason is simple. He couldn't just tell the emperor that he saw that you were doing well, so he was ready to submit to you.

That would be equivalent to indirectly telling Emperor Li that you were nothing before and that our Li family did not really recognize you as the emperor.

Although this is the fact, Emperor Li and Li Ren both know it, but they just can't say it!

Sometimes, this is what the struggle for imperial power is like.

Everyone can see it clearly, but they must learn to pretend to be confused.

The ministers need this, and the emperor needs this too.

Seeing that Emperor Li had not reacted much, Li Yi had no choice but to speak again: "Nanyun Province has often experienced wars on its borders in recent years, and my brother only managed to quell it this year. So..."

"Hahahaha!"

Lin Tian burst into laughter after hearing this.

He knew what Li Yi meant.

It is nothing more than explaining why no tribute has been offered in these years.

The more Li Yi said this, the more Lin Tian was sure that Li Ren wanted to stand on his side.

Otherwise, I wouldn't explain these trivial matters.

"I am well aware of Prince Li Ren's contributions in defending the territory over the years."

"I have no children now. When I appoint a crown prince, I will choose a crown princess from the Li family!"

After Lin Tian finished speaking, he added with a smile: "Of course, Li Changshi, you will also be valued by me!"

"Thank you Lord for your grace!"

Li Yi hurriedly knelt down to express his gratitude.

Although Emperor Li only drew a pie in the sky, it was indeed tempting.

Only now could Li Yi be sure that Emperor Li had indeed understood his brother's intentions.