The little fox was a little scared and covered its eyes with its two little paws.
The prince quickly stopped laughing, gently stroked the little fox, and comforted it, "Don't be afraid, I was just thinking about the hardships of my childhood. It's a pity that now, if I talk about it, everyone will probably say I'm being sentimental."
After all, I'm about to become emperor!
"Your Majesty, the entire Tianwu is under my control, and everyone must kneel before me."
“But, San Tiao, sometimes I think, if I were an ordinary person, I could be a trusted steward in the Li family, or even... marry a girl I like, have a few children, be a good husband and father, wouldn’t my life be happier?”
The little fox tilted its head, its small eyes filled with some inexplicable emotions, and finally gently rubbed against his hand, a silent form of comfort.
The prince smiled wryly and hugged it tightly.
"Fine, since things have come to this, I might as well be an emperor. At least that's much better than the one in the coffin."
The little fox immediately chirped a few times, raised its chin, and showed a rare display of pride...
Sunrise and sunset, two days passed in the blink of an eye, and half of the kneeling ritual was over. Everyone felt much more relaxed.
In fact, according to the established rites, the death of the emperor was far more complicated and troublesome than this.
However, the Crown Prince insisted that state affairs were of utmost importance, and indeed, there were many trivial matters both inside and outside the court, so the civil and military officials silently obeyed.
After all, putting everything else aside, the thousands of refugees outside the city haven't been settled yet.
At dusk that day, a dozen knights, covered in gunpowder smoke, rushed into the new capital with an urgent message.
Marquis Xinting recaptured the border, but was betrayed when he led the vanguard out of the pass to attack the barbarians. The barbarians set an ambush and besieged Gushan for four days, putting him in imminent danger.
At the critical moment, with the help of divine thunder, the vanguard army rose up in a counterattack and annihilated more than 3,000 grassland barbarians.
With the Khan of the Steppe and his fifth prince killed, the Steppe Khan will have no strength left to invade for the next twenty years!
However, Marquis Xinting and General Li Si have disappeared and their whereabouts are unknown!
All the civil and military officials kneeling before the coffin in the palace were excited!
They've been talking about unifying the country for ages, and I never imagined it would actually happen!
Twenty years of peace! As long as the new emperor isn't an incompetent fool, Tianwu will have enough time to recuperate and create a golden age!
Moreover, the new emperor is clearly much wiser and more intelligent than the previous one!
The Northern Expeditionary Army and Marquis Xinting are undoubtedly the greatest contributors to Tianwu!
Some veteran officials wept with ecstatic joy, while some clever people immediately began to calculate how many officials would be needed to manage the recaptured Jiangbei and how much benefit their families could gain.
But most people still miss the missing Marquis of Xinting and General Li Si!
Why did they disappear?
Was he murdered by a treacherous scheme, died in battle with his body left no trace, or escaped by making a swift retreat?
Thinking of the Li family's evacuation in the dead of night, everyone felt even more troubled!
The Li family knew that the Marquis knew he was wise to retire while he was still at the height of his power, so they withdrew.
Or perhaps the Li family received news that the Marquis was going to fight to the death, and fearing they would lose their backing, they retreated to Quanzhou because they were struggling to survive in Xindu.
For a time, everyone outwardly rejoiced at the complete victory of the Northern Expedition, but their minds were in complete turmoil!
Surprisingly, the Crown Prince remained calm and issued a series of decrees.
The generals temporarily assigned to guard the border were appointed, provisions were collected and transported, the Northern Expeditionary Army was rewarded, the fallen soldiers were compensated, and the wounded were given medical treatment...
Every decree was perfectly appropriate, without a single flaw, as if it were the result of long deliberation.
This completely dispelled any slight of contempt the courtiers might have felt towards him because of his youth.
The imperial edict was good, but the capital was short of food due to the severe drought!
Raising funds for the food and supplies of tens of thousands of people is no easy task, and both the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War are extremely worried.
At this moment, Old Master Liu brought Liu Zhiheng into the palace.
The two men provided enough rations to feed the Northern Expeditionary Army for two months, relieving their immediate crisis.
This grain was deliberately left behind by the Li family when they left, as a way to repay the grain they had previously borrowed from various powerful families.
Now, Old Master Liu, assessing the situation, reported to the Crown Prince.
The Crown Prince immediately summoned these families, offered to temporarily lend grain to the Northern Expeditionary Army, and then subtly promised that the families could send their daughters to the palace or that members of their families could become officials in Jiangbei.
The families were overjoyed and immediately agreed.
Food is in short supply, but it can still grow in the fields after this year.
However, the opportunity to enter the palace and serve in the government is not something that can be obtained at any time!
Just as everyone was kneeling to express their gratitude, Old Master Liu and the Crown Prince exchanged a glance and smiled contentedly.
The grain left behind by the Li family was originally intended for the Northern Expeditionary Army.
The Crown Prince simply has to offer some benefits in exchange. What would be a tremendous benefit for aristocratic families is nothing more than a few more women in the harem or someone to govern Jiangbei for the Crown Prince.
Whether a woman is good or not is up to him to decide.
Whether an official is good or not is also assessed based on their performance!
While the imperial court was bustling with activity, many people in the new capital were also keeping busy.
For so many years, the Li family's businesses were incredibly successful, making a fortune every day, to the point that everyone was envious.
Now that the Li family has withdrawn, this business has become a juicy piece of meat that everyone wants to devour.
And then there's the Broken Gold Beach, a treasure trove that everyone wants to embrace, dreaming of making money there!
So, some people started to get restless and stretched out their little claws.
On this day, the closed doors of Baiyunjian were suddenly knocked on by government officials who claimed that they had colluded with unscrupulous merchants to buy inferior flour and intended to make pastries to sell to customers.
Chen Xi and the others were naturally dissatisfied, and as a result, the kitchen was smashed into a mess.
When the news spread, many people were filled with regret, wondering who had acted so quickly and lamenting that they had missed the opportunity to strike first.
But the next day they were incredibly relieved!
Because the Third Princess, with lightning speed, found out who was behind the constables and led a hundred guards to storm into the small family's mansion, smashing it to pieces from the inside out, and even chopping off the head of the family's arm!
Instead of stopping the princess's tyranny and cruelty, the new emperor issued an edict to exile the entire family to the border for hard labor.
Some senior officials, despite their reluctance, pleaded for the small family, only to find out that the shops and businesses in Baiyunjian, and even the Broken Gold Beach, now belonged to the Third Princess and the new emperor!
That small family wasn't bullying the Li family members, but rather the royal servants!
Sending them to the border was already a mercy from the new emperor; otherwise, if the entire clan were beheaded, no one could say anything!
After all, no one has ever heard of anyone daring to "steal" the Emperor's money box!
When the small family was escorted out of the capital, their cries were deafening, but the capital was unusually quiet inside and out.
The small family is the chicken, and everyone else is a terrified monkey!
The old and young of Suijintan stood by the roadside, watching quietly. They did not laugh or curse, but everyone's back was straight!
The best decision they ever made was to follow the Li family; no matter what, the Li family never abandoned them!
Even though none of the Li family members were here, they were still protected under a powerful wing.
Once the last prisoner was out of sight, everyone returned to Broken Gold Beach, where they went about their work and meals.
In the orchard, weeds have already grown because of the rain. They need to be pulled out as soon as possible to avoid wasting the soil and delaying the fruiting next year.
It's time to thin out the cabbage and radish seedlings in the field. We can't be greedy; if we leave too many seedlings, they won't grow big.
There are also seven or eight fat pigs in the pigsty, weighing over 200 pounds each. Slaughter five of them, have them properly cured into cured meat, and send them south, so that everyone will remember the taste of home...
Today's update is here!
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