Chapter 66 Recommending the Ninth Prince
The emperor certainly knew this. The crown prince was mediocre and inconspicuous among the other princes. However, the other princes were unwilling to stand out. This might not be what the crown prince thought. These people were worried that he would not be able to be emperor for many years.
If they waste too much time at the border, maybe the new emperor will ascend the throne when they return, and they will no longer have the chance to compete for the throne. The crown prince is mediocre, and the princes in the court all covet the throne to some extent, but they are not so presumptuous as to show it openly.
"Oh, I finally understand today. What you usually say about sacrificing your life for the dynasty is just a bunch of empty talk. Even if I wait until dark today, I still can't come up with a conclusion. So I'm going to leave the court."
The emperor waved his hands irritably, his words were not directed at the prince, but at everyone in the hall.
Everyone had different thoughts, but still no one stood up. The emperor was too lazy to look at the calculating faces of these people, so he left a few trusted ministers to discuss countermeasures, and then waved his hand for everyone else to leave.
In the imperial study, several ministers discussed the feasibility of the strategy proposed by the prime minister.
"Your Majesty, what the Prime Minister said makes a lot of sense. Ordering the princes or the emperor to go to the border will certainly boost morale. However, the princes who remain in the capital are already old and are in their forties or fifties."
The minister of counselor was somewhat helpless. Since the Rong family was executed, there has been no more talented generals in this dynasty. Some people said that this was the retribution for your majesty's killing of loyal and brave people. Of course, no one dared to say such words in front of the emperor.
"Your Highnesses' martial arts skills are not very good, and your ability in marching and fighting is average. You will most likely lose your lives on the battlefield." The Minister Counselor was being polite. If the Princes went, they would definitely die.
The emperor leaned on the dragon throne with his forehead supported, his brows knitted into the shape of a "川" character. He naturally knew what the minister said. In recent years, the military examinations have not selected any talents, and the emperor has been troubled by this matter.
"Since the princes are not capable, do you think there is someone among the princes who can take on the important task?"
The ministers, who had something to say, fell silent after the emperor raised this question.
The sudden silence made the atmosphere in the imperial study extremely awkward, but trying to make up for it at this time would only backfire, so everyone had to bite the bullet and remain silent.
Among the emperor's several princes, the crown prince is mediocre in talent, while the other princes are slightly better than the crown prince, but none of them are particularly outstanding and are just good at fancy moves.
The silence of the ministers made the emperor fall into deep thought. Is the current royal family so incompetent?
When the emperor was about to lose face, the minister sitting at the end moved his tightly closed lips hesitantly.
"I wonder what the Grand Secretary's opinion is?" The minister, who was frustrated that no one could break the deadlock, noticed the Grand Secretary's hesitation and immediately asked, trying to guide him to say what he was about to say.
The Grand Tutor, Lord Sun, is the teacher who teaches the princes the art of war. He is already old and has gray hair.
Lord Sun was a top scorer in the military examination in his early years. He later fought in the border for several years and had to return to the capital because he was injured. Since there was no suitable teacher to teach military tactics in the Imperial College, he took over.
In fact, he was old and it was not his responsibility to worry about the facts on the border. However, there were no talented generals in the court, so they had to arrest him, a man whose half body was already buried in the ground, like a conscripted man.
As soon as the Minister Counselor said this, everyone's eyes fell on him. Even the emperor looked at him expectantly, hoping that Lord Sun could come up with a feasible method or recommend a suitable candidate.
"I am old and don't have any good plans. However, I just heard what Your Majesty and my colleagues said. Everyone seems to have forgotten one person. When I was teaching at the Imperial Academy, the young Ninth Prince was very talented."
Although Mr. Sun is old, he is very strict with his students, and only a few of them can get his praise. It is rare to get a compliment like "outstanding" from him.
Because the Ninth Prince had been out of everyone's sight for too long, it took a while for those present to remember who the Ninth Prince was.
Lord Sun pondered for a moment and sighed with regret: "But since the Ninth Prince fell into the lotus pond and nearly drowned when he was eight years old, his temperament has changed drastically and he has become dull. Since then, the Ninth Prince has stopped receiving instruction from me."
The Ninth Prince was involved in too many relationships, so no one in the court dared to speak lightly of this person. Lord Sun mentioned Chi Hongyuan at this time, and said that he fell into the water when he was young, which inevitably made people think wrongly.
"Your Majesty, just give him a try to see what the Ninth Prince's qualifications are and whether he can handle such a big responsibility, then you will know," the Minister Counselor suggested hastily. Since there is no other way now, why not give it a try?
There were Hu people eyeing the border covetously, there was no one available in the court, and those princes and nobles were all afraid of death. The emperor pressed his solar plexus with a headache, but he could only try his best.
"Come here, pass on my order to bring His Majesty the Ninth Prince to the imperial study." The emperor thought of his son and had a puzzled look on his face. The ministers all knew why the emperor was in such a complicated mood, so they tactfully did not ask.
In less than a quarter of an hour, Chi Hongyuan was led by a palace servant to the imperial study. As soon as he entered the door, he respectfully greeted the emperor and several ministers.
"Xiaojiu, you look taller and stronger." The emperor looked at his youngest son whom he had not seen for a long time, or rather, whom he had not paid attention to for a long time, and said some indifferent words.
"Your Majesty, I am seventeen years old this year." Chi Hongyuan answered respectfully with a bow, without a single extra word.
He lowered his head and looked honest and dull, without any sign of intelligence at all, and it seemed that he had no talent at all.
The emperor frowned, looked at several ministers, and wondered how to test his background.
Everyone in the imperial study stared at each other, and the atmosphere became a little strange.
"Your Majesty, since the Ninth Prince is here, why don't you ask Lord Sun for his opinion on that matter?" A minister in the audience suggested.
The emperor came back to his senses from his thousands of thoughts and gave Lord Sun a look: "In this case, Lord Sun, please investigate for me. Don't be nervous. Lord Sun asks you to answer whatever you think."
As a father, the emperor's attitude towards Chi Hongyuan was particularly gentle, perhaps because he hadn't seen him for a long time or for some other reason.
"Yes, your son obeys." Chi Hongyuan accepted the order, walked to Lord Sun, and sat opposite him across the table.
The master and the disciple had not seen each other for many years. Lord Sun looked at the young man in front of him and bowed, saying, "Your Highness, long time no see."
"Hello, Master." Chi Hongyuan returned the greeting to Master Sun respectfully, but his eyes were timid and he looked very reserved.
"Excuse me, Your Highness. When the two armies are at war, if there is a sudden change of the commander in chief in the rear of our army, and several deputy commanders are dissatisfied with each other, and at this time the enemy army leads troops to attack the city, how would Your Highness respond?"
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