Journey to the West: From the Primordial Era

Chapter 135: The Heart of Crown Prince Di Xin

Shang Dynasty, Chaoge Palace, Prince's Mansion.

"Minor friction? Doctor Fei, you said that the battle between Donglu and Qingzhou with hundreds of thousands of troops is a minor friction? If the battle between hundreds of thousands of troops is a minor matter, then what is a major matter?"

Shang Rong's face immediately showed anger, and he was obviously very dissatisfied with Fei Zhong's words.

When the Shang Dynasty marched eastward, Grand Master Wen led only a few hundred thousand soldiers and horses.

Of course, the core of these hundreds of thousands of troops are the elite soldiers of the Shang Dynasty, which far outnumber the troops of the princes in all directions.

Now that Donglu and Qingzhou had a conflict, they sent out hundreds of thousands of troops to fight. The momentum was almost catching up with the original Eastern Expedition Army.

Shang Rong was good at government affairs but knew nothing about military affairs, so he was deceived by the apparent momentum of the two princes and thought that the fighting in Dong Lu and Qingzhou had already turned into a river of blood.

Didn’t the information on the jade slip say that Dong Lu lost ten Xuanxian generals in one fell swoop, severely damaging its vitality!

Fei Zhong smiled and said respectfully, "Prime Minister, you just saw that the place where the Duke of Dongbo and the Duke of Qingzhou sent their troops to fight was Mengzhou! Mengzhou was established a few years ago and was originally a wild land inhabited by the Dongyi people!"

"If the two marquises really wanted to fight to the death, they would have sent troops to attack the mainland of Donglu and Qingzhou long ago. It is impossible for them to fight only in this barren land!"

"Another point is that after the Qingzhou Marquis's army entered Mengzhou, they defeated Donglu in succession, but did not enter the city. Instead, they directly occupied Mengzhou. This shows that the Qingzhou Marquis knew the limits. If he had directly captured Mengzhou and occupied the territory of the Dongbo Marquis, then Chaoge would have needed to send people to intervene!"

"But right now, the fighting is all outside the city. It's just a minor conflict at best. Both of you know your limits. Wait for a while until they calm down. The conflict will naturally be resolved. There's no need for Your Majesty to send anyone to mediate!"

Bigan's eyes moved back and forth between Crown Prince Di Xin and Fei Zhong, and suddenly he seemed to realize something.

"What Doctor Fei said makes sense, but this matter still depends on how Your Majesty decides. Whether you send an envoy or put it on hold for the time being, it doesn't matter!"

He smiled and signaled to Shang Rong with his eyes that he should stop forcing a debate with Fei Zhong.

Shang Rong tried to suppress his anger, looked at Fei Zhong deeply, then cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, please make the decision!"

"Dong Bohou is my in-law, so this matter is a little difficult to handle. Prime Minister and uncle, why don't you step aside first and wait for me to consider it before making a decision!"

Emperor Xin stood up and said calmly.

"I resign!"

Shang Rong and Bigan bowed and left after hearing this.

Fei Zhong also followed the two men out of the hall, but after he walked out, he walked around the hall for a short while, and when the two men disappeared, he quietly returned to the hall.

Emperor Xin was still standing at the top of the hall, seemingly in deep thought. He had expected Fei Zhong to return, and showed no surprise.

"Fei Zhong, do you think the Prime Minister and the Emperor's uncle have guessed what I meant?"

Emperor Xin suddenly spoke, his voice echoing in the empty hall. Without anyone noticing, all the palace maids in the hall had left, leaving only him and Fei Zhong.

Fei Zhong was still respectful and replied with a folded hand: "The Prime Minister is a straightforward person and I'm afraid he doesn't understand what Your Majesty means, but the Emperor's uncle is very wise and must have some guesses!"

"Yes! The Emperor's uncle is very smart and wise. How can I hide my thoughts from him?"

Emperor Xin seemed to sigh. He looked at the palace door and seemed to see two figures walking out of the palace.

Fei Zhong lowered his head, seemingly not hearing the Crown Prince Di Xin's sigh.

Whether it was Prime Minister Shang Rong or the deputy prime minister Bigan, they were not comparable to him. Even though Emperor Xin valued him very much, if he didn't know what was good for him and confronted Shang Rong and Bigan head-on, it would definitely not be these two who would die.

After a moment, Crown Prince Di Xin withdrew his gaze.

"Nowadays, the Great Shang Dynasty seems to be powerful and powerful, and the barbarians on all sides have submitted to it. In fact, it has internal and external troubles. The external trouble is Yuan Futong from the North Sea. This problem must be solved by the Grand Master!"

"As for the internal troubles, they are the increasingly powerful princes in all directions! Especially the Marquis of Xibo and the Marquis of Dongbo! Once the mainland of Da Shang is in turmoil, with the strength of the Marquis of Xibo and the Marquis of Dongbo, they might be able to break through the pass and enter the mainland of Da Shang, which would affect my succession to the throne of the Human Emperor in the near future!"

There were no outsiders in the palace, and Fei Zhong was his confidant who was promoted by him personally, so Emperor Xin did not hide his thoughts.

After Emperor Yi of the Human World retired, he slowly took control of the court and wanted to do something. At least after he succeeded to the throne, he had barely stabilized the local power of Da Shang and had secured the position of crown prince. However, he still needed to be patient first.

After Crown Prince Di Xin needed to consolidate his position as Emperor of Mankind, he turned his attention to the East and the West.

Although Dong Bohou was his father-in-law, Emperor Xin never really trusted him. After all, Dong Bohou's true identity was the ruler of Donglu! The leader of the two hundred princes in the east!

The two great vassal states were already too powerful to be controlled. So when Emperor Xin saw that Xuanzong, the Marquis of Qingzhou, suddenly jumped out to challenge the position of Donglu, he felt a little happy.

With Qingzhou as a constraint, it would be difficult for Dongbo Hou to do anything in the future. And the mainland of Dashang would not have to worry about being threatened by Dongbo Hou.

"Your Majesty's worries are justified! The Duke of Dongbo can easily send out True Immortals and Mysterious Immortal warriors, which shows that Donglu has a deep foundation... However, the envoy sent by the Duke of Dongbo is now preparing to come to Chaoge for help!"

"After all, the Duke of Dongbo is the Queen's father. If the Queen comes to complain, Your Majesty will still have to make a decision!"

Fei Zhong hesitated for a moment before giving a reminder.

When Emperor Xin heard this, he was also a little troubled. He was quite satisfied with Queen Jiang, especially since she had given birth to a prince for him and her position was stable. He couldn't just dismiss her.

"Let's talk about it then!"

Emperor Xin waved his hand.

Emperor Xin noticed that Fei Zhong seemed to be hesitant to speak, so he frowned and said, "Fei Zhong, you are my confidant, just speak up if you have anything to say!"

Fei Zhong said, "Then please forgive me for speaking frankly! Now that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is about to ascend the throne, the Emperor is no longer involved in the affairs. Although his position seems to be stable, in fact, many old ministers are still dissatisfied! I have a way that may solve this problem!"

Emperor Xin's expression was suddenly shocked. He knew that Fei Zhong was always cautious and careful, and never said anything that would displease him or that he was unsure of. Now that he said so, it meant that Fei Zhong really had an idea.

Now in the court of the Shang Dynasty, Emperor Xin had few ministers he could trust, except for Huang Feihu and his family, Fei Lian and his son E Lai, and Fei Zhong, whom he had conquered when he was a prince, and the important minister Wen Taishi who was entrusted with the care of his son.

Among those ministers, some were Xuanniao priests from the royal family of the Shang Dynasty. These people were in charge of the rituals of worshiping ancestors and heaven and earth. When Emperor Xin ascended the throne, these priests presided over the ceremony.

In addition to the representatives of the divine power of the priests, there were also Bigan, Weizi, and Jizi who represented the royal family, and the prime minister Shang Rong who represented the senior officials...

Some of these people were very loyal to the Shang Dynasty, but some officials, while submitting to Emperor Xin on the surface, were actually bent on personal gain and only knew how to dig into the Shang Dynasty and enrich their own fields.

Crown Prince Di Xin had great ambitions, and after he ascended the throne, he wanted to realize his ambitions. But the premise for realizing his ambitions was to completely win over all the officials and make them do things according to his wishes.

Emperor Xin has been working on this matter, but the results are mediocre.

Those so-called loyal ministers did not have much trust in such a young emperor, and were somewhat repulsive to the reform plan proposed by Emperor Xin.

So when Emperor Xin heard Fei Zhong's words, he was immediately interested.

"What's the solution? Tell me now!"

Emperor Xin asked hurriedly.

Fei Zhong looked up at him and said respectfully, "The best way to win over the ministers is through marriage! Now that your majesty has only the queen in the harem, it's a bit inappropriate!"

"In addition to the Empress, the Emperor should also have four concubines! With the positions of the four concubines, you can win over important frontier towns such as the Marquis of Jiuzhou, or important officials in the court, and your Majesty will surely be able to strengthen his power!"

Emperor Xin was not too keen on women. Since he ascended the throne, he had no concubines except the queen, and he seldom made moves on the palace maids.

Until now, several years have passed, and only one prince has been born in the palace. It must be said that Emperor Xin is far inferior to Ji Chang, who has dozens of concubines and a hundred sons!

"Marriage..."

Emperor Xin muttered a few words and suddenly realized that he usually didn't have much interest in women, so he was a little confused. Fei Zhong was right, marriage was one of the best ways to improve the relationship between the monarch and his subjects.

For example, Jiang Huanchu, the Marquis of Dongbo, although he was a bit domineering and often called himself the father-in-law of the country in Dong Lu, it was with the support of the Marquis of Dongbo that Emperor Xin was able to secure the position of crown prince.

Even now, many ministers in Chaoge regarded Duke Dongbo as an important minister who supported Emperor Xin. Usually, for the sake of Duke Dongbo's face, they only made a few vague remarks about the policies of selecting talents and releasing slaves that Emperor Xin mentioned from time to time, and did not oppose them on a large scale.

Of course, as the position of Crown Prince Di Xin became more and more stable, the role of Duke Dong Bo became smaller and smaller. In fact, because the power of Dong Lu continued to grow, it even became the target that Di Xin wanted to suppress.

"We can have a marriage, but the object of the marriage cannot be an important official like the Four Marquises. Otherwise, the marriage will only make them bigger and bigger!"

Emperor Xin said after hesitating for a while.

Fei Zhong quickly nodded in agreement. He could propose a marriage plan, but who to marry was not something he could decide. Emperor Xin had to decide for himself.

"The position of the Four Concubines must first include Huang! Feihu and I are brothers, but he is too young and has too few achievements. If he is promoted hastily, it will cause criticism. If he marries Huang, Feihu will be a relative by marriage. In this way, I can promote Feihu to a high position and let him control the military power of Chaoge for me!"

Emperor Xin began to think slowly.

"With Huang in control of the military, I can suppress the ministers and stabilize the homeland. I also have three principal wives, which I can use to win over the Nine Provinces Marquises in all directions..."

"Jizhou Hou Su Hu and Qingzhou Xuan Clan are both good choices!"

In the territory of Donglu, he is the real ruler of one side, ruling over all the people. If he is dissatisfied with the Great Merchant Emperor, he can pull Donglu to raise the flag and establish his own country.

There was also Ji Chang, the King of Xibo. His reputation in Xiqi was growing. The people of Xiqi didn't know about the Shang Dynasty at all. They only knew about their leader Ji Chang. This made Emperor Xin very dissatisfied.

Fei Zhong reminded carefully, "Your Majesty, in my opinion, the Marquis of Qingzhou has already had dirty dealings with the Marquis of Dongbo, so you can just win him over normally, without resorting to marriage! What's more, the Marquis of Dongbo is the father of the Queen. If Your Majesty takes the woman of the Qingzhou Xuan family as your concubine, the Marquis of Dongbo and the Crown Princess will certainly be dissatisfied!"

"It's Su Hu, Marquis of Jizhou. Jizhou's power has grown stronger recently, second only to the Marquis of Beibo among the northern princes. Your Majesty can take Su Hu's daughter as your concubine..."

Emperor Xin nodded slightly, agreeing deeply with Fei Zhong's words.

Indeed, Marquis Dongbo was fighting against the troops sent by Marquis Qingzhou. His marriage to Marquis Qingzhou at this time would undoubtedly be an external announcement of support for the Qingzhou Xuan Clan, which would lead to serious consequences.

"The next time the princes from all directions come to see me, you can find a chance to bring it up in the court!"

Emperor Xin then threw the matter to Fei Zhong and asked him to contact the Marquis of Jizhou.

Fei Zhong immediately accepted the order!

After Fei Zhong also left, Emperor Xin paced back and forth in the empty hall and stopped after a while.

"Wait until I ascend the throne to stabilize Chaoge and win over the princes! After these two things are done, I will be able to seize power. At this time, I will promote talents and clear out all the old guys in the court who are just sitting there doing nothing!"

He kept thinking about future plans in his mind.

Emperor Xin was a man of both civil and military talents, and he was very capable. The more capable a person is, the greater his ambitions become. He was unwilling to be just an ordinary merchant emperor.

He wanted to sweep the world, reform humanity, and catch up with the achievements of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors of ancient times!

More than twenty days later, the envoy of Duke Dongbo finally arrived in Chaoge.

Crown Princess Jiang lived deep in the harem and paid little attention to the affairs of the outer court. Only now did she hear about the friction between her father and Marquis Qingzhou. Especially when she heard that her father sent someone to say that the death of her brother Jiang Wenhuan was related to Marquis Qingzhou, she was filled with anger.

However, she knew that based on this alone, without solid evidence, even Emperor Xin would not send troops to attack a local vassal to vent his anger for his father-in-law.

So she suppressed her anger and often cried in front of Emperor Xin with the eldest prince Yin Jiao, who was only one or two years old, asking Emperor Xin to send an envoy first to ask the Qingzhou army to withdraw from the territory of Dong Lu even if he did not send troops to support!

She believed that as long as the Qingzhou army withdrew and gave Donglu some time to catch its breath, it would not take long for Donglu to return to normal with its strength, and by then there would be no doubt that it would crush Qingzhou.

The Crown Princess and her son kept crying and complaining. After a while, Crown Prince Di Xin finally gave in and sent the doctor Yang Ren to Qingzhou to mediate again.

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