The wives of the second, fourth, and fifth daughters-in-law of these ten families each gave birth to triplets, making a total of nine boys. Later, the eldest daughter-in-law gave birth to a son and a daughter, and the third daughter-in-law gave birth to twin sons, making a total of twelve grandsons.
Later, Erfu's wife gave birth to three more daughters, and Sifu and Wufu's wives each gave birth to a son, making a total of eight granddaughters.
Erfu and Sifu were born with superhuman strength and should have been good candidates to be military generals. However, in order to prevent outsiders from saying that the emperor had given power to the Zhou family, they did not seek positions in the court and continued to do business to support their families. Although their business grew bigger and bigger, they also cultivated capable people under their command. In recent years, Erfu and Sifu have been working behind the scenes and rarely appeared in public.
When they had some free time, the two of them, with their great strength and nowhere to use it, gathered all the boys in the family to train them in martial arts.
Coincidentally, the son born to Erfu and Sifu inherited their great strength. He was also combative and impulsive, and didn't like studying much. He preferred learning to ride horses, shoot arrows, and learn all kinds of kung fu.
It was also thanks to having an aunt who was an emperor that learning things like horseback riding and archery was no problem for them. They could find someone to teach them whatever they wanted to learn. The elders in the Zhou family would fully support any child who wanted to learn a skill, because having more skills was never a bad thing.
However, one thing is certain: no matter what you do, you cannot oppress the people; you must be upright in character.
Xingxing has personally spoken: if the Zhou family wants to become officials, they can study hard and take the imperial examinations first, like their eldest and third brothers, and enter the court as officials based on their own abilities. As long as they are capable, she can promote them depending on the situation, but if they are incompetent, they should not come out and embarrass themselves.
The land of the Great Jin Dynasty is not for the incompetent to squander. The capable shall rule, the fittest shall survive, and the weak shall be the strong; no one shall be an exception.
However, aside from Xingxing, the Zhou family is also very self-disciplined and has taught the younger generation very well. At least in this generation, there are no spoiled brats or willful young ladies.
The sons of Dafu, Sanfu, and Wufu were all quite refined and loved reading, unlike their other cousins who were loud and fond of fighting. So when all the brothers entered the palace to be the king's study companions, only Dafu's eldest son and Sanfu's youngest son were left behind, while the others were expelled from the palace.
When it comes to raising children, Xingxing is extremely strict and impartial, showing no mercy whatsoever. Anyone unsuitable to accompany the Crown Prince should not be kept, after all, not just anyone can serve as the Crown Prince's companion, and the future prospects of such a person are beyond the reach of ordinary people.
Regarding the matter of returning to the Northern Territory to fight, Xingxing finally agreed to let Erfu and Sifu go to the Northern Territory with the Crown Prince. When she was in power, she had several senior brothers and sisters by her side to help her. When Yu'er ascends the throne in the near future, he should also have his own people by his side to help him.
Second and fourth brothers are good candidates. If they can achieve success in this trip to the northern border, it is not impossible for them to lead troops in battle in the future. It is not good for military power to always be in the hands of outsiders. We must find a way to gradually transfer it to our own people.
Zhu Lin was still worried about his son going to fight on the border, so he sent Zhu Qiuyu, Zhu Xichen, and Zhu Yueran to secretly follow him. The reason they didn't go openly was to protect him in secret.
Naturally, it was for Wang Yu's training, but training was one thing, but if he were to encounter any real danger, the three senior brothers would appear to save him. They couldn't let anything happen to Yu'er.
When the Crown Prince set off on his expedition, the Emperor and Prince Hui personally saw him off, accompanying him all the way to the city gate before stopping. The Crown Prince led an army of 10,000 men and it took him more than a month to reach the northern border.
Crown Prince Wang Yu demonstrated his astonishing military leadership and combat abilities on his first expedition. The war lasted for more than a year, and a year after the Crown Prince appeared, he finally defeated the people of the Great Silver Kingdom, who fled in disarray.
This exceptionally talented and handsome prince became famous at a young age. Not only were the soldiers in the army convinced of his worth, but the people on the frontier also praised him and were all grateful to him.
After the border war ended, Crown Prince Wang Yu returned to the capital to report his mission. However, when he returned to the capital after two months, only civil and military officials came to greet him. The emperor and Prince Hui were nowhere to be seen. The crown prince was a little disappointed at the time, and it was not until he returned to the palace that he realized something was wrong.
There was no sign of his parents in the palace, and the entire harem was unusually quiet. The palace servants' reactions were also somewhat abnormal. The Crown Prince felt a chill run down his spine, and he had a bad feeling.
Sure enough, when he strode into the Hall of Diligent Governance, he found only a letter and a wooden box containing the imperial seal. He paused for a moment, then picked up the letter from the desk to read it.
"Yu'er, you have grown up and are capable enough to govern the country and keep the civil and military officials in check. Your parents are getting old and can no longer handle state affairs day and night. It's time for us to rest. Your parents have arranged everything for you in the court. After you return to the capital, you can ascend the throne directly, and no one will dare to say a word against it."
This dragon throne is more suitable for you to sit on… Finally, there's something else I need to tell you. I'm pregnant again, four months along now. Your father and I won't stay in the palace anymore; we're going to find a place to give birth. Don't worry about us. Your two aunts care about you and won't leave the palace for now. Your fourth and fifth uncles will also stay in the palace to help you. And feel free to ask your second and fourth uncles for anything; they'll all help you…”
The two aunts refer to Zhu Changge and Zhu Qingruo, while the fourth and fifth uncles are Zhu Chumo and Zhu Yueran. As for Zhu Qiuyu and Zhu Xichen, they have already returned to Xianwu Island.
After reading the news, Xin Wangyu's face turned ashen. The throne was abdicated so hastily. Why couldn't they have waited for his return before passing on the throne? Instead, they ran away before he even returned to the palace. He was speechless.
The ministers didn't have much of an opinion. The crown prince's succession was inevitable, and the retired emperor had already made arrangements, so the ministers had no room for objection.
Initially, everyone was reluctant for the retired emperor to be a woman, feeling uneasy about it, and always hoped that the crown prince would grow up quickly so that he could succeed to the throne. However, when the crown prince actually grew up, the ministers began to worry again.
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