Chapter 78 Brotherly Love and Respect

Let's not discuss whether the Sixth Prince truly loves metaphysics. Although, given his habit of consulting a divination before doing anything, I feel he is definitely a true Taoist.

In May of the tenth year of Jinghua, with the new weapons and equipment in place, and after a brief assessment of the domestic situation, Emperor Jungjong embarked on a campaign to conquer the north and south.

What? You're asking who's in charge of court affairs? Well, that's naturally his beloved crown prince, and the empress, who's rumored to have become his enemy.

The ministers were puzzled and confused.

They simply couldn't understand this path. And while it might seem absurd, it wasn't quite so.

With the crown prince already established, the foundation of the state is secured. In short, even if the emperor dies outside the capital, it doesn't seem to pose a significant problem.

but……

At the same time, a memory of an old friend came to mind.

Emperor Ning Taizong, who loved war throughout his life, spent half his life fighting against the Northern Di. Before his death, no crown prince was appointed, and several sons vied for the throne, ultimately causing a great uproar throughout the city.

Compared to this emperor, Emperor Zhongzong, who at least considered the well-being of his successor, seemed remarkably pure and upright.

In fact, Emperor Zhongzong's initiative to launch the expedition can be considered as something that was anticipated. Why do I say that? Ever since the earliest attack on the Northern Di, some ministers have proposed building a Great Wall in the northeast to defend against foreign enemies.

Emperor Zhongzong immediately rejected the idea, stating bluntly: "Since the Northern Barbarians have invaded my Ning Dynasty, who are we guarding against? Is it even necessary? Are we supposed to build a Great Wall in my own territory to defend against our own people?"

Cheng Zhuoran gazed into the distance, with dark, dense forests behind him and an endless expanse of wilderness in front of him.

When will Ning Chao be able to achieve this? Such strong self-confidence is exactly what he has been hoping for.

But he believed that day would come eventually.

[Speaking of falling out with the Empress, Up mentioned it once before; it's a very classic brainwashing tactic.]

The origin story is actually about a student who failed the imperial examination. After failing, he mistakenly believed that a woman had taken his place. In a fit of anger, he wrote this very classic fan fiction. It revolves around the death of Gu Jingshan and drastically alters the true history—that is, it spreads rumors, making it seem as if the two of them were always arguing or on their way to arguing.

Emperor Zhongzong never expected this calamity after his death. Zhong Shuo, oh Zhong Shuo, why didn't you foresee this when you were telling the emperor's fortune?

Zhou She: "..." This is indeed unavoidable.

Gu Xunhui: "..." Dad, you... sigh.

How did you become the subject of discussion?

Emperor Hong'an forced a smile. How could a book written by a failed scholar have survived for centuries?

Regardless of whether the book was actually written during the Jinghua era, even people from later generations must have had someone behind it all.

The main feature of the Jinghua Dynasty is that it produces a large number of talented people. Not to mention the reclusive masters who were dug out of their homes by Huai Leju and others, countless virtuous and talented people are discovered every year in the imperial examinations.

King Jungjong himself said: "I only grasped the general direction and kept it from going astray; the specific implementation still requires everyone to work together."

Of course, although he concealed his personal abilities, we usually say that an emperor like him who could work through the night was actually quite dedicated.

Sometimes I seriously suspect that it was these experiences of working overtime and staying up all night that caused King Jungjong to die so young.

Caught off guard, Emperor Hong'an suddenly stood up.

He stared at Zhou She, looked him up and down, and then turned to order, "Summon the imperial physician!"

Zhou She stood silently, thinking: My body should still be in pretty good shape... right?

The imperial physician who was summoned was also an old acquaintance, none other than Lin Jingcheng.

He looked at the emperor's worried expression, then at Zhou She's strong and healthy appearance: "..."

After all that effort, they couldn't find anything. His pulse was strong and powerful, and it seemed like he could live another ninety years.

Emperor Hong'an was slightly relieved, but his knuckles turned white from clenching his fists. He scolded, "How can you be an emperor like this? You don't know how to take care of your health, and you don't care about the country!"

Overall, after several years of recuperation, Ningchao's economy has reached a new peak.

Emperor Zhongzong was not one to cause trouble for his subjects. While he was somewhat strict with his officials, he was a very lenient emperor towards the common people.

In this situation, facing Western missionaries on exploration and a certain major power that was clearly not behaving harmoniously or politely, could he tolerate it? Absolutely not.

Xiao Jianhe and the others nodded repeatedly.

Yes, yes, the future Emperor Zhongzong was indeed so gentle and kind.

As for those ministers who were dragged away and beheaded, who even knew them?

Upon hearing this, Ren Heng realized that foreigners dared to come to the Central Plains to act arrogantly and wildly again. He immediately smiled coldly, wishing he could put on his armor and go into battle right away: "Those ambitious and unruly people should be killed immediately!"

Clearly, the sky also thinks so:

We've all reached high political positions. How could we possibly tolerate this group of people? Initially, King Jungjong sent Jangshi, but he was inherently somewhat unrestrained.

Upon discovering that the Crown Prince was capable of handling matters independently, the emperor quickly used the excuse of training the prince to say: "My dear ministers, you all guard the home; I will go and scout ahead."

Emperor Zhongzong, who was not very unrestrained, had already done his best to sit on the throne for ten years.

Xiao Yichun, who had always followed the rules and never deviated from them, had a slight change in expression at this moment.

Having been a radical for half his life, he now realizes he's actually a conservative.

The real radicals are around him.

At first, the ministers were naturally unhappy. Your Majesty, you are right, the Crown Prince is excellent and capable. But have you considered that you are the Emperor?

Let's leave aside Xiao Jianhe, this staunch supporter of the emperor who swayed with the tide; he wholeheartedly agreed to every decision the emperor made. Huai Leju then jumped in and said: "Your Majesty is away on a long journey, leaving the court without a leader. What if treacherous officials harbor disloyal thoughts and the court becomes unstable? The territory to be conquered is merely insignificant; why seek divine intervention and personally lead the emperor to perilous places?"

These words struck a chord with everyone.

Admittedly, everyone knows that the emperor must have been quite bored living in the palace for so long, and everyone had heard of Zhou She.

He would travel and enjoy the scenery almost every year, a personality trait that made it truly difficult for him to stay in the palace.

Even so, they still hoped that the emperor could stay put and, if necessary, go on a southern tour to satisfy his cravings.

As soon as Huai Leju said this, everyone turned to look at him. "Good lad, you really dare to speak your mind! Others offer gentle advice, using a 'praise then criticism' approach, but you're just going straight for the kill!"

Emperor Zhongzong was not angry. He said with a smile: "When I was conquering the Northern Barbarians, you and the Empress guarded the capital together. Now that the Crown Prince is overseeing the country, all the decrees are issued by me. What do you have to worry about?"

If there are any treacherous officials in the capital, they will naturally be handed over to the Crown Prince for handling.

Huai Leju: "..."

Emperor Hong'an almost laughed: "I don't think you're so autocratic."

As for Huai Leju's tone of voice, Emperor Hong'an said he was already used to it. The boy had always been like that; he could even imagine Huai Leju's expression when he spoke.

Zhou She was stunned speechless by Emperor Hong'an's words. "Your Majesty, do you mean that my willingness to accept good advice and resolutely refuse to change it is not considered acting arbitrarily?"

In short, the ministers' resistance was futile. Emperor Zhongzong did not completely lose control of the capital. Before leaving, he told the crown prince: "All the civil and military officials are at your command, but they are my core group. However, if you want to undermine my staff, that is not impossible."

This statement not only supported the Crown Prince's attempt to poach his daughter, but also implied: "Although I am very satisfied with you, we are still father and daughter of the imperial family, and basic precautions must be taken. Do a good job, young man, I will always be watching you."

Actually, what he said wasn't wrong, but no one expected that such a topic would be brought up and expressed directly.

To say it's completely open and honest doesn't quite seem right. But if you're talking about being dishonest, then it's all been stated quite openly.

Fang Jingruo breathed a sigh of relief this time.

If King Jungjong completely trusted his daughter and was completely unguarded, then that would be very different from the royal family he imagined.

The crown prince and the emperor are inherently in a competitive relationship. As the emperor's man, he will be loyal to the crown prince because of the emperor's orders and will be dutiful to the crown prince because of his years of learning, but his heart will always lean towards the emperor.

Someone once joked that Ning Zhongzong's military achievements were more than double those of Zhuang Shi, the strongest general of the same era.

The Ning Dynasty's cavalry briefly penetrated deep into the west, but did not linger for long, nor did they engage in any colonial activities. After a great victory, just as Emperor Jungjong was about to return, his men arrived beyond the Great Wall when an urgent letter suddenly arrived.

Everyone held their breath.

Such an urgent message must have gone wrong. With the emperor far removed from court affairs, some people indeed caught wind of it and acted.

Shen Mingzhe almost wanted to look up to the sky and sigh. Impulsive, so impulsive!

Only a few more thoughtful individuals couldn't help but wonder: Could he be fishing?

If that's really the case, then it's truly impossible to guard against.

On the sky, the familiar Mingyuan Pass still stands. As the place where the emperor rose to power, it has naturally changed drastically compared to before.

King Jungjong hadn't even had lunch when he opened the letter.

The true form of the letter was also revealed to everyone under the sky.

Everyone stared intently, their pupils dilating in shock.

The sign read: "Commoners Zhou Su and Zhou Ren have rebelled."

Another rebellion? And who is this guy?

The Zhou family.

This peculiar surname reminded them of Zhou Xuyan's clan. But according to their memory, there seemed to be no such person as Zhou Su.

Zhou Ren could guess that it was most likely not yet born and was probably the next generation of the Zhou family.

Fortunately, the sky quickly explained:

This Zhou Su is the younger brother of Emperor Zhongzong, whose name is generally unknown to most people. Because Emperor Zhongzong obscured his name, completely blacking it out, we know that this person existed, but we do not know his real name.

The name Zhou Su is based on speculation and cannot be considered a real name.

I understand.

Princess Zhaoping finally understood that her two sons were truly loving and respectful brothers.

The other ministers, however, thought: Isn't this a trap? This is definitely a trap!