The third year of Xuanwu.
Li Qin sat on his dragon throne, handling his daily official duties.
Li Ruwen and Li Ruwu also followed him on either side to observe the political situation.
During this period, the ministers in the court kept submitting memorials requesting him to establish a crown prince.
After all, although he was young, the position of crown prince was vacant, which was not a good thing for the country.
At this time, the main topic of the dispute over the position of crown prince was Li Ruwen and Li Ruwu.
After all, the two were the eldest and second sons of the legitimate wife, although Li Qin had more affection for his first son, Li Ruci, whom he had truly watched grow up.
However, one aspect that cannot be ignored is his identity.
Li Ruci's status and influence are no match for Li Ruwen and Li Ruwu.
In terms of status, Li Ruci was a son born out of wedlock, while Li Ruwen and Li Ruwu were sons born out of wedlock.
In terms of seniority, Li Ruwen and Li Ruwu were the elder brothers, while Li Ruci was the younger brother.
And there's another point, namely the influence of her maternal family.
Looking around your own harem, who can compare to Zhuang Xiaoyu?
It should be noted that Zhuang Xiaoyu had been the legal wife since Liaodong.
She could become the wife chosen by the original owner's father, as her family's influence in Liaodong was considerable.
Many of his core members in Liaodong had some connection with Zhuang Xiaoyu's family.
People secretly arrange marriages among themselves; it's really... wow.
Leaving aside others, let's take his confidant Qi Duchen as an example. His mother is Zhuang Xiaoyu's aunt, and Zhang Hengshuo's eldest son is engaged to Zhuang Xiaoyu's younger cousin.
There was also Dugu Yu, who, shortly after making contributions in Xuanfu, married a woman from the Zhuang family, who was Zhuang Xiaoyu's cousin.
Not to mention the various generals below them.
That's truly a case of you being in me and me being in you.
Such a powerful force is all hidden, belonging to the direct descendants of the emperor.
If I were to forcefully push for the establishment of a son born of a concubine, it would absolutely cause a political earthquake.
Because traditionally, if there is no legitimate heir, the eldest son is chosen; otherwise, the eldest son is chosen.
Li Ruci doesn't fit any of those criteria.
He was neither the legitimate son nor the eldest son, and his maternal family's influence, well, it could be said, had been completely wiped out by him; he had nothing left.
He wants to take over, unless Li Ruwen and Li Ruwu above him are gone.
He had no legitimate son, and he also had no elder brother.
He could then compete as the eldest son of a concubine.
But who can predict the future?
I can live for at least several more decades, and anything can happen.
Li Qin glanced at Li Ruwen and Li Ruwu, who were observing the situation beside him, and shook his head slightly.
Then he looked at the urgent military intelligence coming from the south in his hand.
This was sent by Hong Chengchou from Fujian. He reported that after years of conquest, Fujian had finally been conquered.
The Zheng regime in Fujian was completely destroyed.
All the former direct territories of the Great Wu have been completely acquired.
Li Qin then wrote his own comments on the memorial.
After summarizing the intelligence gathered on Fujian over this period, it was only a matter of time before Hong Chengchou gradually wore Fujian down.
Subsequently, Li Qin issued an order that Hong Chengchou had rendered meritorious service in pacifying Fujian and should be summoned to the capital to receive a reward.
After writing this instruction, Li Qin gave a cold laugh: "Now that you've come to the capital, don't even think about going back."
Although he had recruited some soldiers during this period, the core of his army consisted mainly of veterans from the Northwest.
Their families are all in their own hands.
The personal guards and retainers who truly obeyed him were simply incapable of supporting him against himself.
Now that the problem in Fujian has been resolved, it's time to completely resolve the issue of the regional princes.
In Datong, after such a long period of courting and sowing, many of Jiang Xiangyang's subordinates have been won over by him.
In Henan, most of Li Hongji's army had become so corrupt that it had little fighting capacity.
Both of these people can be easily dealt with, as long as they both resolve the issue.
The two vassal kings in the south can also be taken along.
Next, we can begin planning for these vassal kings.
Early in the fourth year of Xuanwu.
A memorial from Datong caused a sensation in the imperial court.
Jiang Xiangyang's deputy accused Jiang Xiangyang, the Prince of Datong, of conspiring with Li Hongji, the Prince of Luoyang, to rebel.
Then Emperor Li Qin was furious and summoned the two men to the capital for questioning.
Out of fear, the two refused to go to the capital, and Li Qin subsequently sent troops to suppress them.
The two men raised an army in rebellion.
At the end of the fourth year of Xuanwu, a mutiny broke out in Datong City, which was heavily besieged, and Jiang Xiangyang and his brothers were killed.
Datong was subsequently pacified.
In the same year, on the plains south of the Yellow River, Wanyan Gun led his Jurchen cavalry to break through Li Hongji's army formation from both flanks.
Li Hongji fled with his remaining troops, but Wanyan Gun relentlessly pursued and killed him.
In the early part of the fifth year of Xuanwu, Li Hongji, having nowhere else to turn, prepared to lead his remaining troops to Bashu to seek refuge with Liu Sixiu.
They were intercepted and killed by Zu Zhilong's army on the way.
At the end of the fifth year of Xuanwu, Jin Hufu in Jiangxi was deeply worried about the defeats and deaths of Jiang Xiangyang in Datong and Li Hongji in Henan.
Finally, they joined forces with Liu Sixiu of Bashu to prepare for a joint uprising.
In early 1927, Jin Hufu raised an army in Jiangxi, marching down the Yangtze River to Jiangnan and launching a surprise attack on Zhejiang, intending to replicate his success in conquering Jiangnan when he followed Li Xuanshang.
Meanwhile, Liu Sixiu in Bashu also raised an army in response, but due to the difficult roads, he was unable to break out of Bashu to aid Jinhu Prefecture in Jiangxi.
In Jinhu Prefecture in Jiangxi, he personally led his army through the mountains of Zhejiang, and fought his way to Hangzhou, causing shockwaves throughout Jiangnan.
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