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

The next day, news of the rebellion in Yan spread throughout the imperial capital.

The people in the capital are different from those in other places. Living in the imperial capital, they feel more secure and are not afraid of attacks from rebels or barbarians.

Most of them didn't even know where Yan was, so naturally they couldn't empathize with the situation.

At most, they would curse the traitor and say he deserved to be cut into pieces, and then they would do what they had to do and continue their lives as usual. This matter would become a topic of conversation after dinner.

But the officials were different. They knew very well what this matter meant and how serious the consequences would be if not handled properly.

The prince's party remained silent for the sake of the fact that Prince of Yan and the prince were brothers.

Other princes' men wrote letters to the emperor, requesting him to place Li Lin under house arrest and hand him over to the clan affairs office for handling.

Emperor Qing ignored these people's attempts to take advantage of his misfortune.

The next day, news spread in the court that Prince Yan and Prince Feng would lead 5,000 elite troops to Yan to quell the rebellion.

This time, the storm was even more violent.

Li Lin's enemies were dissatisfied and a rebellion broke out in Yan. Your Majesty did not punish the King of Yan, but why did he let him quell the rebellion?

The Feng Wang faction was also dissatisfied.

There are 100,000 rebels. How can we let Prince Yan and Prince Feng lead only 5,000 soldiers to suppress the rebellion?

Your Majesty, aren't you sending them to their deaths?

For a moment, memorials floated into the imperial city like snowflakes and landed on the desk of Emperor Qing in the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

Even the Left Prime Minister Du Fuchen, who had always maintained a neutral stance, went to the Yangxin Palace and tried his best to persuade Emperor Qing to revoke his decision.

However, no matter how anxious the court officials were, Emperor Qing always had one response: keep it inside and don't send it out!

Smart people have already realized that although the rebellion in Yan is a national affair, sending the two kings to quell the rebellion is Emperor Qing’s family affair, and Emperor Qing does not want them to get involved.

Gradually, fewer and fewer people submitted petitions, but the undercurrent continued to surge.

Various forces sent spies to the north to try to find out the situation in Yan.

There was even a burst of happy laughter from the East Palace. The prince didn't care about the brotherhood between him and the Prince of Yan at all. He just felt happy because Li Che was humiliated.

That night he drank several pots of wine, used the seafood that Li Che presented to Emperor Qing as a side dish, and ate several pieces of frozen tofu.

Li Che was a ruthless man. He knew that if he gave seafood to the prince, the other party would definitely be cautious.

But it’s different if it’s given to Emperor Qing. Emperor Qing is old, how much can he eat?

He is also a stingy person and is only generous to his family members.

Of those carts of seafood and frozen tofu, apart from a portion being distributed to the princes and married princesses, the rest would sooner or later flow into the Eastern Palace.

As expected, the gloating prince fell ill that night, and his feet swelled up...

The happy laughter turned into painful wail.

The East Palace was crying and laughing all day long. Privately, the eunuchs and palace maids thought that the prince was going crazy.

Compared to Li Che's enemies, his allies were very worried.

Zhu Chun and others scraped together the resources, with each family sending dozens to hundreds of retainers and servants to Li Che to increase his military strength.

These people are their private soldiers, all of whom are elite warriors who have fought in many battles. Once they put on armor and take up weapons, they are a powerful fighting force.

Li Che flatly refused.

Zhu Chun and others had no choice but to send another batch of food and silver.

This time Li Che accepted it.

Recruiting troops and collecting money are two different things. Li Che knew that he was already feared and there was no need to bring more trouble upon himself.

On the third day, Li Che entered the palace early in the morning.

When he came out again, there were several more decrees on his body.

Several of them were sent to various offices of the six ministries, and only one was sent to the Sifangguan.

When Captain Qu Jinshan, who was stationed at Sifang Pavilion, received the transfer order, he was completely stunned.

His Royal Highness Prince Feng... actually still remembers me?

Not only did he remember me, but he also wanted to transfer me to the Fengtian Army, and even specifically asked for His Majesty's permission for this?

I am just a mere captain, how can I be worthy of this?

He had just said it casually that day, and even he himself didn't dare to dream that His Highness actually took it to heart.

Compared to Qu Jinshan's gratitude and ecstasy, the other officials who received the transfer orders were confused.

How come I became an official just after the Chinese New Year?

Wang Ji, the Deputy Minister of Rites, never imagined that he, a fifth-rank idle official, would catch the eye of Prince Feng.

When the imperial edict came down, he was fiddling with the spices he had brought from the Western Regions. When he heard that he was required to report to the Prince Feng's Palace, he was stunned for a long time and almost knocked over the ointment he had just prepared.

Wang Ji was a well-known "polymath" in the court, proficient in seven languages. In his early years, he had been an envoy to more than ten countries including Khitan, Northern Hu, and the Western Regions, and brought back many exotic treasures.

However, he was of a casual nature and did not like to scheme for personal gain, which made him out of place in the treacherous court. That was why he was sent to the Ministry of Rites, a sinecure.

Qi Fang, a doctor in the Ministry of Works, was also as confused as Wang Ji.

Although he is a fourth-rank official, he is a real technical talent.

In his early years, Qi Fang supervised the construction of warships in Jiangnan and was quite knowledgeable about naval warfare.

But later, he offended the powerful and was transferred back to the capital, where he did some insignificant work in the Ministry of Works.

The imperial edict came suddenly when Qi Fang was discussing "making a human being" with his newly-accepted concubine.

Since we can’t build the boat anymore, we have to find something to do, right?

After listening to the eunuch reading the imperial edict in a shrill voice, his hands were still trembling slightly and his legs were a little numb.

Prince Feng Li Che commands a large army and guards the border, and the situation has been a hot topic these past two days because of the rebellion in the State of Yan.

Why did he summon a shipbuilder like himself to serve the country?

In addition to Wang Ji and Qi Fang, Xie Huai, the head of the Ministry of Personnel, Zhao Qian, the deputy director of the Ministry of Revenue, and Sun Dingbian, the director of the Arsenal of the Ministry of War, also received transfer orders from the Prince Feng's Palace.

These people either possess special skills or are good at calculating, but without exception, they are all frustrated people who have been squeezed out of the center of power.

Even among them, Xie Huai is the prince's man, and Zhao Qian is the Prince of Jin's man. Although they are both marginal figures, they do have close ties with the prince and the Prince of Jin.

Li Che didn't care about all that. What about the Prince's party, the Prince of Jin's party... After just a few days in Feng State, he became a die-hard member of the Prince of Feng's party!

Several people came to the Prince Feng's Mansion to report with a nervous mood.

It happened that Li Che, wearing military uniform, walked out of the courtyard with his generals.

"Greetings, Your Highness." Several people bowed in different moods.

"Are you all here?" Li Che smiled. "Time is running out. I'll give you half an hour to say goodbye to your families and make arrangements for your home."

"Gather at the city gate in half an hour. Don't be late."

No one dared to ask more questions and could only bow and leave in a meek manner.

The generals walked out of the Fengwang Mansion one after another. There was no one in the huge Fengwang Mansion except the servants and maids who stayed behind.

However, in a dark corner, a group of people hid in the crowd and watched Li Che go away.

"Alas... Your Highness is so mean, leaving me alone in this imperial capital..." Qiu Bai murmured in a low voice.

As soon as he finished speaking, the sound of a pen scratching on paper could be heard from the side.

Qiu Bai looked in the direction of the sound and saw a personal guard staring at him while writing something in a small notebook.

"It's you again. Why did His Highness leave you here too?" Qiu Bai was furious.

The guard grinned and said, "Of course. If I were not here, who would record the bad things you said about His Highness?"

Qiu Bai rarely argued with him this time, but laughed instead:

"Well, let's go to the capital together. I want to see what kind of dragon's den and tiger's lair this is!"

Dozens of night watchmen left one by one, disappeared into the crowd, and gradually disappeared.