417. Prince Ding takes action

"I've met Mr. Qingyun." Although these old scholars were very impressive outside, they still felt inferior to Mr. Qingyun. Although Mr. Qingyun looked like an amiable old god with his white hair and beard, these people were all quite old, so they naturally knew more about Mr. Qingyun than the average young people, and some of them were even his students.

Mr. Qingyun smiled and said, "No need to be polite. You are all very busy people. How can you find the time to come to my remote place?"

Everyone said they dared not, and even though they were in awe of Mr. Qingyun in front of them, they also had a hint of envy in their hearts. If anyone in the world had the best fortune, Mr. Qingyun could be counted among them. Not only were all his sons and grandsons successful, but Master Qingchen was famous all over the world when he was young, and the fourth son of the Xu family was a high-ranking official before he was 25 years old. Even the third son of the Xu family, who gave up civil service and joined the military, had made outstanding contributions in the Mohist army. More importantly, there was also a granddaughter who became the Princess of Ding. With these, the Xu family could easily prosper for another hundred years. Mr. Qingyun was naturally very free and did not have to carefully calculate for the prosperity of his family like they did.

Mr. Qingyun asked the servant boy to serve tea, and everyone sat down on the stone benches in the bamboo forest to drink the tea in silence for a while.

After sipping tea for a while, seeing that Mr. Qingyun was sitting there leisurely and expressionless, someone finally couldn't sit still anymore.

"Mr. Qingyun, we came here to disturb you today because we have something to ask for." One of them stood up and said with a respectful smile. Mr. Qingyun raised his eyes and glanced at the person who was speaking. His old eyes were unexpectedly calm and clear. He smiled faintly and said, "Are you... Zhao Zhefang? Did you study at Lishan Academy? Speaking of which... we haven't seen each other for nearly 20 years, right?"

The man who was speaking was already nearly sixty years old. Hearing what Mr. Qingyun said, he immediately smiled and said, "Mr. Qingyun is right. I did learn from Mr. Qingyun in the past." Mr. Qingyun also became famous at a young age. Although he was only less than twenty years older than him, when he was studying at Lishan Academy, Mr. Qingyun was already a great scholar. Although he was not Mr. Qingyun's disciple, if he followed the rules, he still had to stand in front of Mr. Qingyun. But this made Zhao Zhefang, who had been self-righteous for most of his life, a little embarrassed.

Mr. Qingyun didn't care and smiled and said, "What do you want to say?"

Zhao Zhefang said hurriedly, "Now that His Royal Highness Prince Ding has pacified the four directions, it is time for him to ascend the throne and claim the throne to appease the people of the world. He should establish a queen and take a concubine, re-establish the court, let everything return to its proper place, and let all officials do their jobs, so as to reassure the people. But yesterday, we wrote to His Royal Highness Prince Ding, but he was furious and refused to take a concubine. We were thinking whether to ask Mr. Qingyun to persuade Princess Ding. This... Princess Ding has made great contributions to the Prince Ding Mansion. When His Royal Highness Prince Ding ascends the throne, the princess will naturally be the empress. But if the princess is determined to dominate His Royal Highness Prince Ding alone, I am afraid... it will damage the reputation of the princess and the Xu family."

Mr. Qingyun pondered for a moment, raised his head and asked with a smile: "Is this what you all mean?"

Everyone looked at each other and said in unison: "Mr. Qingyun, please put the world first. The Xu family is a model for scholars in the world and will handle this matter properly."

Mr. Qingyun looked at the people in front of him and shook his head with some regret. These people were not young anymore, some were even a few years younger than him. But were they so eager for fame and fortune that they had blinded their eyes?

"It has been a while since you all arrived in Licheng. What do you think of the governance of the Northwest?" Mr. Qingyun asked leisurely.

"This...Prince Ding is truly a wise ruler. The people in the northwest live and work in peace and contentment under his rule, and there is a real sign of prosperity."

Mr. Qingyun shook his head and smiled, "It's a bit exaggerated to say that it's a prosperous era, but it's true that people live and work in peace and contentment. In the past ten years or so, Prince Ding has not proclaimed himself emperor, and people in the northwest have lived and worked in peace and contentment. It can be seen that... proclaiming oneself emperor or not has no direct relationship with whether the world is stable or not."

"This... However, it is not right for Prince Ding to claim the title of emperor," someone said anxiously.

Mr. Qingyun smiled and said, "It is true that a country cannot be without a ruler. Prince Ding is very determined to conquer the world and will not let the world be left without a ruler. Prince Ding is unwilling to become emperor now, so it is obviously not the right time. Why should you be so anxious?"

Everyone looked at Mr. Qingyun with a hint of disappointment in their eyes. They originally thought that the Xu family was willing to let Prince Ding ascend the throne as soon as possible. After all, the biggest contributor after Prince Ding ascended the throne was definitely the Xu family. As long as Prince Ding ascended the throne, things would naturally be easier in the future. But they didn't expect that Mr. Qingyun really didn't care.

One of them stood up and said, "Mr. Qingyun is right. We should not say too much about when Prince Ding will become emperor. But Prince Ding has been married to the princess for more than ten years. It is a bit inappropriate for the backyard to be empty with only the princess. Women value their virtues, and the princess is too overbearing. How can she live up to the reputation of the mother of the world in the future?"

Hearing this, Mr. Qingyun's eyes darkened slightly. Just as he was about to speak, a clear voice came from outside the bamboo forest, saying, "This old gentleman is wrong. The marriage system of the Great Chu says: A wife is equal to her husband. A woman who is equal to her husband is her wife. Prince Ding is a man of genius, and there is no one like him in the world. Apart from the Princess Ding, who is extremely intelligent and has both civil and military talents, which woman in the world dares to think that she is equal to Prince Ding, and who dares to think that she deserves the title of Princess Ding?" A young man in blue clothes walked into the bamboo forest, glanced at the people present, and continued, "In addition, , the ancient etiquette states that the legitimate wife is the only mistress of the family. Only after 20 years of marriage and no children, can a concubine be taken. Even if the legitimate wife has no children, the children born by the concubine belong to the legitimate wife. Princess Ding gave birth to a little prince only three years after marriage, and last year a pair of twins were born. What's wrong with Prince Ding not taking concubines? Since you adults have spoken of etiquette, why don't you keep silent about etiquette and write to His Royal Highness Prince Ding to restore the ancient etiquette? But if so... the concubines and illegitimate children in the families..." Xu Qingyan smiled at everyone, but smiled without saying anything.

"You...you are making excuses!" Everyone's faces flushed with anger, and the fingers of several older people pointing at Xu Qingyan trembled a little. The ancient etiquette that Xu Qingyan mentioned was the etiquette of ancient times, when etiquette and law were just established and the people were simple and honest. From emperors and generals to peddlers and hawkers, there was no talk of taking concubines. Therefore, the marriage system stipulates that a woman must have no children for twenty years before she can be remarried. Even if the remarried woman gives birth to children, they cannot dominate the first married woman. Later, people's hearts gradually changed, and it was stipulated that those who violated the marriage system and remarried would be beaten with a hundred sticks and imprisoned for one year. However, later on, the world deteriorated and the imperial power gradually strengthened. These etiquette and laws were gradually distorted by one rule after another, forming the three wives and four concubines in people's consciousness today. Until now, probably only families like the Xu family still keep the rule that men can take concubines only after they are 40 and have no children. If the ancient customs are really restored by force, the punishment for these people is to have all their wives and concubines gone, which is the lightest punishment. They can be beaten to death and imprisoned until their bones are reduced to ashes.

Xu Qingyan snorted disdainfully, walked up to Mr. Qingyun and saluted respectfully, "Grandson has met grandfather."

Seeing the youngest grandson, Mr. Qingyun was also very happy and said with a smile: "Yan'er, when did you come back? Have you seen your father and mother?" Xu Qingyan grinned and said, "My grandson just came back and came to see grandfather after passing by the mountain. I thought grandfather was playing chess with Mr. Su, but I didn't expect it to be so lively."

Mr. Qingyun smiled and said, "Some people are here to visit Grandpa. You should go and meet them. These people are all famous scholars and old officials of Da Chu." Xu Qingyan tilted his head slightly and raised his voice, "Oh? So they are famous scholars of Da Chu..." Xu Qingyan emphasized the word "Da Chu" very much, which made the old gentlemen look a little uncomfortable. Although Da Chu moved south, it was not destroyed after all. They were in a hurry to join Prince Ding's Mansion, which was considered disloyal by outsiders.

Regardless of whether Xu Qingyan meant this or not, at least that's what the old gentlemen heard. Being squeezed out by a young boy, even the sons of the Xu family couldn't stand it. One of them sneered and said, "I heard that the fifth son of Xu is in a high position at such a young age. Mr. Qingyun is really lucky."

Xu Qingyan seemed to not understand the other party's implication at all, and said with a smile: "Old sir, there is no need to envy grandfather. I came back this time to ask the prince and the princess for people. I heard that the young masters in the old sir's family are all outstanding people. Why don't you come with me to the north to serve the palace? I am still young, so I can help your young master."

The old man who was speaking suddenly froze in his face. If he had squeezed Xu Qingbai, he might have had something to say. But choosing to squeeze Xu Qingyan was a bit of a mistake. Everyone knew that when the fifth son of the Xu family was only a dozen years old, he followed the fourth son of the Xu family to the north to lead a group of common people to open up wasteland and cultivate the land. Now the fourth son of the Xu family went to Xiling, and the fifth son of the Xu family remained alone in the north. How could these self-proclaimed scholars be willing to let their children and grandchildren hang out with a group of vulgar common people? They would only think that the official positions given to their children by the Dingwang Mansion were not noble enough!

Master Xu Wu is definitely the best talker among the masters of the Xu family, and he has inherited the true teachings of Master Xu Er when he was young. However, his eloquence is not because he is good at making arguments, but because his words are venomous, hurtful, and merciless. After a while, the group of old scholars who were over fifty years old who were crowded in left in a hurry with sullen faces.

Watching the group of people leave, Xu Qingyan snorted disdainfully and said, "These people are really bored and have nothing to do. What does it have to do with them whether Prince Ding takes a concubine or not?"

Su Zhe who was sitting next to him shook his head and smiled: "Fifth Young Master is a smart man, how could he not know? This is not just a matter of taking a concubine?" More importantly, once Prince Ding ascends the throne and takes a concubine, these people will become royal relatives. If they give birth to a boy or a girl, they will naturally be extremely precious.

"You're really not afraid of death." Xu Qingyan murmured in a low voice. With a personality that would kill someone without mercy, would Prince Ding really allow these self-righteous old scholars to manipulate him?

"People die for money and birds die for food. It has been like this since ancient times." Su Zhe said with a smile.

Sure enough, those old gentlemen who went to visit Mr. Qingyun had not yet settled down in the city when they heard the decree of Prince Ding from Prince Ding's mansion. Prince Ding ordered that Prince Qingchen be appointed as the right prime minister, and Zhang Qilan, Lu Jinxian, Yuan Pei, and Leng Huai be appointed as generals. It was not surprising that all the generals under the command of the Mohist Army were rewarded. More importantly, all the important positions above the third rank were filled by young people under the age of 40. For example, Feng Zhiyao, Leng Haoyu, Han Mingxi and others were all in high positions without exception. Even the several secret guards around Princess Ding, Qin Feng was named the leader of the Mohist Army Qilin, and at the same time was awarded the title of General Minglie, and was on par with generals such as Murong Shen who commanded hundreds of thousands of troops. Zhuo Jing, Lin Han, Wei Rui were also given official positions, and were assigned to the Ministry of Households, the Ministry of Punishment, and the Ministry of Personnel respectively. As for He Su, who had made outstanding military achievements, he was naturally appointed as a general.

Prince Ding's sudden move stunned countless people. Most of those so-called respected and elderly elders from famous families only got a high and empty title. But facing Prince Ding's treatment, everyone was speechless. Because the two Xu Hongyu and Xu Hongyan of the Xu family also had the same empty title as them. The Xu family has worked hard for Prince Ding's mansion in recent years. This time, Prince Ding and Princess Ding were on the expedition at the same time, and such a big thing happened in the middle of the journey. If it weren't for the Xu family, how could the northwest not be in chaos? No one expressed dissatisfaction, and these idle people who were raised up really didn't have the face to say they were dissatisfied.

But the attitude of Prince Ding made all the noble families anxious. The people that Prince Ding favored were all old friends and confidants of Prince Ding's mansion and the Mohist Army. He even preferred to use the guards of the princess rather than the children of these noble families. This was obviously a warning from Prince Ding to them. Moreover, the imperial examination system in the northwest has gradually matured in recent years, and the chances of these noble children to directly enter the court have been greatly reduced. No matter what kind of noble family it is, if no one has a say in the court, it will only end up in decline sooner or later. How can they not be anxious?

Before everyone could come to their senses, the orders from Prince Ding's mansion came one after another, making these old gentlemen dizzy and confused. The first one to be hit was a strange decree issued by Prince Ding. That is, from now on, except for the maiden family of the first wife, the maiden family of the concubines, concubines and other concubines under the Prince Ding's mansion are not allowed to serve as officials within three generations. And this decree is permanent and cannot be violated.

As soon as this order came down, the family leaders who were planning to send their daughters to Prince Ding's Palace immediately vomited blood. Three generations are not allowed to be officials, what does this mean? This means that your enemies will trample you into the mud and you will never be able to stand up. More importantly, this order is permanent! In other words, from now on, those who want to rise to the top through nepotism can give up the idea.

If these messages were only warnings to them, the last order was a clear message to them that Prince Ding's will must not be violated. The last order was that from now on, Prince Ding's mansion would no longer continue the previous system of preferential treatment for nobles in the Great Chu, and all officials must pass the imperial examination or be personally reviewed by Prince Ding's wife. Most importantly, scholars who participated in the imperial examination must have served in the military for at least one year. The noble families who had previously disapproved of the so-called system that adult men in the northwest must serve in the military were suddenly shocked. Not only could their disciples not pass the imperial examination to become officials, they did not even have the qualifications to participate in the imperial examination through the usual channels.

Suddenly, many more people came to Xu's house to seek a visit.

In Prince Ding's mansion, Xu Hongyu, Xu Hongyan, Xu Qingchen and others were all present. Mo Xiuyao pulled Ye Li to sit on the main seat and looked at everyone lazily, obviously in a very good mood. He was very angry with those old sour scholars two days ago, but he couldn't kill them casually. But it didn't matter. If he, Mo Xiuyao, wanted to punish someone, he had many ways to make him miserable. So His Highness Prince Ding didn't care that the bombs he dropped would blow up all the famous families in the world. He just sat in the mansion and pulled Ye Li to watch the show and laughed happily.

Xu Hongyu looked at him and shook his head, saying, "Does the prince really intend to kill all these noble families?" Sometimes these noble families who think they are noble are annoying, but sometimes they are indispensable. Moreover, if they are pushed too hard, these people may all defect to Jiangnan, which will not be good for the reputation of Prince Ding's mansion.

Mo Xiuyao raised his eyebrows and said, "Since they claim to be loyal to me, they must follow my rules! Could it be that... they want me to accommodate them? As long as they know the limits, I will naturally give them a way out. As for those who are already wavering, I don't care. They will cause a lot of trouble to Mr. Hongyu in the next two days."

Mr. Qingyun was far away in Lishan Academy, and he was not always available. But Xu Hongyu was in Licheng. As the current head of the Xu family, he was naturally the first person that the heads of other families wanted to find out about.

Xu Hongyu shook his head to indicate that it was not necessary to care. Now Xu Qingchen was the right prime minister, second only to the emperor, and Xu Qingbai was also a high-ranking official. Xu Qingze and Xu Qingfeng also held important positions. The Xu family was already too powerful, so the older generation naturally had no need to get entangled in these matters. They only needed to pave the way for the younger generation in a timely manner.

Xu Qingchen raised his eyebrows, looked at Mo Xiuyao and asked, "Who do you intend to catch by keeping the position of Left Prime Minister?"

Mo Xiuyao raised his eyebrows and smiled, and said sincerely: "No one is fooled. The position of Left Prime Minister has been selected, but the person cannot take up the position."

"Mr. Xiuting?" Xu Qingchen asked. Regardless of his status, ability or reputation, Mr. Xiuting is undoubtedly a candidate for the time being. Although his origin as a Xiling native may be criticized, it will undoubtedly make it easier to win back the hearts of the original Xiling people. After all, one-third of the territory of the Dingwang Mansion was seized from Xiling. Having a famous Xiling scholar as prime minister will have a great effect on winning the hearts of the people.

"Mr. Xiuting agreed?" Xu Qingchen said, "But others don't know yet." If others don't know, many people will be eyeing the position of Left Prime Minister. Xu Qingchen absolutely doesn't believe that Mo Xiuyao has no intention of making a fuss about this.

Mo Xiuyao smiled and said, "Of course I agree, but Mr. Xiuting is busy with affairs in the northwest, and it will take at least two or three months before he can come to Licheng to take up his post. As for what happens during this period...it is none of my business."

Everyone present couldn't help but twitch their lips. Anyone who wanted to play tricks under Prince Ding's nose simply forgot to burn incense in his previous life.

Seeing everyone's expressions, Mo Xiuyaosi didn't care at all. He waved his hand and said, "Don't worry about these trivial matters for now. They should be quiet for a few days after this. Let's talk about... Lin'er and Xin'er's first birthday banquet first."

Everyone's expression was calm. Xu Qingze said calmly: "The invitations have been sent out. We have invited Beirong, Dachu, Xiling, Nanzhao, and the countries in the Western Regions. The posthouse is also being prepared. The envoys from Beirong are now in Licheng. As for the others, they should arrive in more than half a month. But by then... the safety of Licheng..." Xu Qingze frowned. Although the situation in the world has been determined, it is more dangerous because of this. Whether it is Beirong, Xiling or Dachu, there are probably many people who want Mo Xiuyao's life in secret.

Mo Xiuyao thought for a moment and said, "When the time comes, I will dispatch additional troops to guard the vicinity of Li City. In addition...Qing Feng's Qilin can also temporarily enter Li City in case of emergency." Ye Li nodded in agreement.

Mo Xiuyao asked curiously, "Who will come from Xiling?"

Xu Qingchen said leisurely: "If my guess is correct, it should be Lei Tengfeng."

"Lei Tengfeng?" Mo Xiuyao frowned. He didn't take Lei Tengfeng seriously. But if Lei Tengfeng came in person, it meant that the situation in Xiling was relatively stable.

Xu Qingchen nodded and said, "I'm sorry to disappoint you. Lei Tengfeng and the Emperor of Xiling did not fight. As soon as the news of Lei Zhenting's death in the battle spread, the Emperor of Xiling ordered Lei Tengfeng to succeed the throne of the King of Zhennan. The Emperor of Xiling has no son. If all goes well, Lei Tengfeng will be the next emperor of Xiling."

Neither the Xiling Emperor nor Lei Tengfeng were as stupid as they thought, so their hope of taking advantage of the situation was in vain. Mo Xiuyao didn't care, he waved his hand and smiled, "It doesn't matter. If Lei Tengfeng was finished so soon, I would be disappointed. Lei Zhenting's death should make him grow up, and this time, I also want to see how far he can grow."

Xu Qingchen nodded and said, "Lei Tengfeng came here to negotiate with Prince Ding's Mansion."

Mo Xiuyao lowered his brows and thought for a while, then said, "Let Murong Shen and Nan Hou continue to fight. If they don't fight to the original border between Xiling and Da Chu, then there's no need to talk." Xu Qingchen pondered for a moment and said, "If Lei Tengfeng wants to settle down and recuperate, he may take the initiative to give in."

"That's the best." Mo Xiuyao said with a smile: "No matter how he wants to talk, the Xiling army must retreat back to the original border with Da Chu."

Xu Qingchen nodded in agreement with Mo Xiuyao's point of view, frowned and said, "The Beirong envoy wants to talk to you or Li'er in person."

Mo Xiuyao looked at Ye Li in confusion and asked, "Who is the envoy sent by Beirong?"

Master Qingchen was speechless. It had been almost half a month since Mo Xiuyao came back. How could he not care about anything that he didn't even know who the Northern Rong envoy was? Even if the Northern Rong and the Mohist army had just fought a war, he was still an envoy of a country. As the Prince of Ding, he had to pretend to be a bit polite.

"Yelü Hong!"