We have fought to the Arctic Circle, and you want me to inherit the throne?

As soon as these words were spoken, the court officials behind him clearly saw that the prince's back shook violently twice.

The Sixth Prince should have been a prince. It was the Crown Prince who claimed to have discovered the witchcraft incident and secretly pointed the finger at him, the only prince who remained in Beijing, so the Sixth Prince was conferred the title of a Duke.

Now that the Sixth Prince has made great achievements, the Crown Prince will probably have trouble sleeping.

Hearing His Majesty say this, the faces of the court officials on the prince's side suddenly turned ugly.

The non-Crown Prince's party, led by Left Prime Minister Du Fuchen, looked like they were watching the fun.

Although the prince is powerful, not all court officials support him. Among them are smart people like Du Fuchen who see through everything, and there are also upright officials who cannot stand the prince's two-faced style.

Emperor Qing quickly noticed the unusual atmosphere in the hall and turned his gaze to the Crown Prince in the front row: "Crown Prince, do you have any objections?"

The Crown Prince immediately raised his head, his face pale, and stammered, "This... Sixth Brother has made remarkable military achievements and possesses outstanding talents... He should be granted the title of Prince. I have no objection."

Emperor Qing nodded, a hint of mischief suddenly flashing in his eyes. He said seriously, "In that case, how about you go outside the Great Wall and convey the imperial decree of the conferment of the title?"

The prince's face changed drastically, his legs went weak and he almost fell to the ground.

Fortunately, Du Fuchen, who was standing beside him, gently pulled him aside, preventing the prince from making a fool of himself in public.

"Your Majesty, your son has been feeling unwell recently, and my leg pain has been recurring. I'm afraid I can't travel far... Father..."

Emperor Qing nodded indifferently without saying anything, but the disappointment in his heart was growing heavier.

I had no intention of asking the crown prince to confer an honor upon a vassal king, I just wanted to test the crown prince's courage.

After just a little try, the prince's true colors were revealed, and he was indeed useless!

"Forget it, just have a good rest." Emperor Qing said coldly.

The prince was stunned for a moment, and his heart suddenly turned cold.

"The Ministry of Rites will discuss a suitable title for the king and choose an auspicious day to send someone outside the Great Wall to convey the decree." Emperor Qing glanced at the many courtiers. "Which minister is willing to make the trip?"

Everyone looked at each other, and no one said a word.

This is not as simple as just conveying an imperial edict. To convey an imperial eunuch, you can just send one.

Emperor Qing obviously has high hopes for the Sixth Prince and wants to find a backer for him in the court.

Whoever takes on this task will be siding with the Sixth Prince.

There was silence in the court. Du Fuchen looked hesitant and was about to speak.

Suddenly, an old man in purple court robes stepped out from the side.

It was the Right Prime Minister Huo Tao.

Huo Tao was a veteran minister who had served three dynasties. He was the top scholar during the reign of Emperor Wen of the previous dynasty, and his students and former officials were spread throughout the court.

This person does not like to fight for power. Although he has a reputation, he never gets involved in the fight for the throne. The prince has tried to win him over many times but failed.

Du Fuchen didn't expect that even he couldn't help but quit.

"I recommend one person."

"Oh?" Emperor Qing looked surprised. "Who did Elder Huo recommend?"

"I recommend my son Huo Duanxiao, regardless of his relationship with me."

Emperor Qing thought for a moment and said, "Approved. Prince Ninggu's subordinates are short of men. After your son announces the decree, he will remain under Prince Ninggu's command and serve."

"Your Majesty, I obey your command." Huo Tao returned to the queue with a blank expression.

The ministers were shocked. Huo Tao, who had never expressed his position before, actually sent his son to take sides. Although he himself had not yet made his position clear, he at least did not oppose the Sixth Prince.

This is enough. The prime minister's non-objection is enough for countless scholars to make their choice.

The Sixth Prince might suddenly become a popular candidate for the throne!

The court is about to change!

After the ministers dispersed, Emperor Qing still sat on the throne, thinking with clear eyes.

He was not too surprised that Huo Tao was on Lao Liu's side.

Huo Tao, this old fox, has always prided himself on being a clean official in the court and never takes sides casually.

But this is the imperial court. How could they allow a prime minister with an unstable stance to appear? Emperor Qing has long been dissatisfied with this.

What he did today was simply because he saw how much Emperor Qing valued Li Che, and he took the opportunity to show his loyalty.

It is better to say that he is on the side of Emperor Qing rather than on Li Che's side.

Emperor Qing smiled helplessly, not caring about the tricks played by this old fox.

In comparison, he cared more about Li Che's future title of king.

If managed by the Ministry of Rites, the title of king is generally closely related to a place name. For example, Li Lin was granted the land of Yan and Zhao, so his title was King of Zhao.

By analogy, since Li Che's fiefdom was outside the Great Wall, it was most reasonable for him to be given the title King of Liao.

But Emperor Qing did not like the title of King of Liao.

After all, Liao was a foreign regime, which was not good for Lao Liu's future and he himself could not stand it.

We need to find a way to come up with a more suitable title for Lao Liu.

Emperor Qing's thoughts wandered, and his eyes suddenly fell on the imperial edicts scattered beside him.

At the front of the imperial edict, the six words "Emperor by the Mandate of Heaven" were clearly written.

Emperor Qing's eyes fell on one of the characters and he immediately had an idea.

. . . . . .

Chaoyang City, government office.

Li Che leaned back in his seat, staring at the ceiling with unfocused eyes, listening to He Conglong's report below.

"I have examined the bodies of the assassins and questioned the slaves who had contact with them, but have not found any clues."

He Conglong's face was bitter: "I am incompetent and cannot find the assassin's origin. Please punish me, Your Highness."

Li Che came back to his senses and smiled slightly: "Don't act like that. These assassins have split up into small groups and their intentions are very big. Naturally, they won't leave any handle for us."

If we talk about suspicion, the one he offended the most must be the Yan family.

But Huang Jin led the team from the imperial capital to the outside of the Great Wall, passing through many places along the way.

There are large and small families everywhere, and they can send their assassins to infiltrate the team. It is also possible that other families will divert the blame.

"Forget it, let's put this matter aside for now." Li Che sighed.

He Conglong was stunned and said with a bow, "Your Highness, are you going to let these sinister villains who are trying to murder you go?"

"Letting them go? How could it be possible?" Li Che sneered, "Since we can't determine which family did it, then we might as well put the blame on all the Daqing families!"

He Conglong widened his eyes: "You mean..."

"There are many ways to take revenge. It doesn't necessarily require violence." Li Che smiled sinisterly, "Sometimes the pen is more effective than the sword."

Seeing that He Conglong was still puzzled, Li Che waved his hand and said, "Okay, there's nothing for you to do now. You can go back. I'll go back too."

After He Conglong bid farewell to Li Che, Li Che also walked towards the palace with Hu Qiang and several personal guards.

Along the way, Li Che kept thinking about how to dig out the roots of the family.

It would definitely not be possible to send troops to kill their way through. Although Li Che was reckless, he was not stupid.

There are aristocratic families all over Daqing. Killing their way through is no different from rebellion. He is not Huang Chao.

The reason why aristocratic families are powerful is that they monopolize knowledge, talents and means of production.

It’s very easy to crack down on them. Isn’t it enough to prevent them from monopolizing the market?

As he thought about it, Li Che couldn't help but smile.

The world of martial arts is not about fighting and killing, it is about human relationships and worldly wisdom!

Several National Protection Army officers came towards them. Seeing Li Che smiling, they quickly stood at attention and bowed, "Greetings, Young Marshal."

"Yeah." Li Che smiled and nodded.

Only after several people left did he realize what was going on.

Huh? Am I not a feudal prince? Why does this painting style feel increasingly off?