Chapter 522: Clearing the Court
Emperor Jing'an always gave the letter to his confidant and delivered it to Zhao Yi.
Now that Emperor Jing'an has handed the letter to Prince Zhenbei, it shows the importance of this letter. I'm afraid not a single word of it can be leaked.
Zhao Yi took the letter from the King of Zhenbei, tore open the seal, and took out a piece of white silk with no traces of writing or ink on it.
He put the white silk over the fire, and only then did the light yellow writing appear.
This is a letter written with alum water.
Zhao Yi read word by word, and the more he read, the more shocked he became.
Emperor Jing'an said in the letter that Zhao Yi was the only heir left of the Northern Qi Emperor. However, the Northern Qi Emperor did not trust his son, who was raised in the Great Zhou, to be loyal to Northern Qi.
Although the Emperor of Northern Qi believed that human nature could not stand the test and no one could resist the temptation of power, Princess Yizhen did not covet power and would not bow to the strong. She would only bow her head for the beliefs and obsessions in her heart.
The Emperor of Northern Qi suspected that Zhao Yi would be as loyal to the Great Zhou as his mother, and would protect the Great Zhou country even at the cost of his own life, so he forced Zhao Yi to send troops to the Great Zhou.
If Zhao Yi disobeyed the order of the Northern Qi Emperor and did not send troops to the Great Zhou, he would certainly become a pawn of the Northern Qi Emperor to restrain the Great Zhou.
If that day really comes, Emperor Jing'an will lend troops to Zhao Yi to help him rebel against the Emperor of Northern Qi.
Seeing Zhao Yi staring at the letter in a trance, the King of Zhenbei couldn't help but say, "Originally, the Emperor was waiting for you to take Princess Yizhen's remains back to the Great Zhou. After the Great Zhou had recuperated, you would then pacify the Northern Qi."
"But the Northern Qi Emperor went back on his word and refused to allow you to return home with Princess Yizhen's remains. He forced you to remain in Northern Qi to hinder the Great Zhou."
"The Emperor intends to send troops against Northern Qi, but he has three concerns. First, the Great Zhou's national strength is not suitable for a protracted war, only a quick victory. Second, he is concerned about your and Manman's safety. Third, he is worried that the Emperor of Northern Qi will seek revenge on him and leave Princess Yizhen's body to the ground."
"So the Emperor intends to wait and see what happens, and then devise a foolproof plan that will allow you to return safely with Princess Yizhen's remains, while also annexing Northern Qi."
"However, the situation in the Northern Qi royal family has changed. The Prince of Qi, born to the Queen, has been imprisoned in Guangyang Palace, and the Xian Prince, born to Concubine Shu, has also died. You are the only son left."
"You have made remarkable achievements in Northern Qi and are very popular among the people. The emperor has been tempted to let you stay in Northern Qi and become emperor."
How could the Prince of Zhenbei not know that Emperor Jing'an wanted to unify Northern Qi?
It's just that Emperor Jing'an and Princess Yizhen once depended on each other. It was Princess Yizhen who used her innocence and life to allow Emperor Jing'an to return to the Great Zhou and become emperor.
If there was no Princess Yizhen, there would be no Emperor Jing'an today.
Emperor Jing'an naturally wanted to preserve Princess Yizhen's only bloodline.
If the Great Zhou unified the Northern Qi, even if the civil and military officials did not care about Zhao Yi's bloodline, Zhao Yi would become a powerful official with the support of Emperor Jing'an. When the new emperor ascended the throne in the future, he would inevitably be wary of Zhao Yi and would want to eliminate him.
The most satisfactory solution is to support Zhao Yi to become the new emperor of Northern Qi, so that Zhao Yi can live a stable life.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Yi immediately understood why Emperor Jing'an said that he would wait until the time was right before giving him the letter.
In order to strengthen the national strength, the Emperor of Northern Qi sent troops to attack the Zhou Dynasty, so he increased the taxes levied on the people.
The court's exploitation of the people was bound to lead to civil unrest.
At that time, they would take advantage of the civil strife in Northern Qi and raise an army to "rescue the emperor" in the name of clearing out the emperor's side and purifying the palace.
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