Two heaters were lit in Wangchun Pavilion.
Fu Xiaoguan hung the hoe on the wall. Liu Jin brought a basin of water and a towel. Fu Xiaoguan washed his hands and smiled at Zhuo Bieli and the others:
"Sorry for the long wait. I've been sitting in the imperial study for most of the day and feel a little stiff. I just want to stretch my muscles. This has nothing to do with Zhao Hou and the others. Come on, come on, please take a seat."
Zhuo Bieli, Yan Beixi, and Qin Mowen sat down. Yan Beixi looked at Fu Xiaoguan, who was making tea, and said with a smile, "What? You suddenly want to hoe a field too?"
"In Jinling, I only hoe the fields when I'm worried. That's because it allows me to relax, focus, and think about more difficult problems."
"And you hoeing the fields?"
Fu Xiaoguan raised the corner of his mouth. "This is really the first time I've done this job seriously, but... I do have some questions in my mind."
"Great Xia is now at peace, and I suddenly realized I have nothing to do, so... next I plan to appoint a crown prince!"
"..." Zhuo Bieli and the other two were suddenly shocked. The emperor was at the peak of his career, so why did he suddenly want to enthrone a prince?
What’s more, the eldest prince, Wu Tianci, is only in his teens...isn’t this a little too early?
"Do you want to give up?" Yan Beixi leaned over and asked seriously.
"I find tilling the land more interesting than governing a country. Besides," Fu Xiaoguan took a deep breath, "Daxia's new power structure has been established. They were all my best friends back in Jinling. They are now in their prime. With them assisting the Crown Prince, Daxia will be safe."
Zhuo Bieli also leaned over and whispered, "But the princes are still young. You should give them more time to grow up. Let them grow up a little bit. When they have settled down, you can choose a crown prince!"
Throughout history, enthroning a crown prince has always been a major event in every dynasty.
It concerns the inheritance of the throne and the future destiny of the country.
It is even directly related to the struggles in the palace and the game between various forces.
This was an extremely formal matter that required extreme caution. As an emperor, he should have discussed such a major matter with his most trusted ministers.
But he just said it casually in front of the three of them.
The only one here, Zhuo Bieli, is the Minister of War. Yan Beixi and Qin Bingzhong are both retired old men.
"This matter is not complicated. I have already discussed it with my wives. I plan to appoint Wu Tianci as the crown prince. All the other princes will follow me when I leave. In other words, at least my generation's inheritance in Daxia will be free of those absurd things."
Wu Tianci? !
Zhuo Bieli was suddenly shocked. Wu Linger was his daughter!
Because Wu Linger married Fu Xiaoguan, she was adopted by Zhuo Bieli, but in fact, Wu Linger was Zhuo Bieli's biological daughter!
Fu Xiaoguan called him over and told him the news, which meant that as a grandfather, he had to take on the responsibility of protecting Wu Tianci and the Great Xia Empire.
"Old scholar Wen Xingzhou said that this child is gifted with intelligence and is studious and inquisitive. He is also kind-hearted. I have also observed that he is extremely diligent in his studies."
"The Great Xia dynasty emerged from the Wu Dynasty. Normally, I should have changed my surname in the Imperial Ancestral Temple, but the name Fu is so familiar to me, and I like it, so I haven't changed it yet. The other children still use the surname Fu, but Tianci is the only one with the surname Wu."
"Of course this is not important. What is important is that all the ladies in the palace have no objections."
"I will officially confer the title of Emperor by the end of this year. Starting tomorrow, I will bring Tianci to court to familiarize him with the various power structures of Daxia and to inform him of Daxia's political affairs."
"Tianci is eleven years old. He's a little young, but being exposed to government affairs earlier will help him grow faster."
"People always need to grow through practice. Otherwise, becoming an emperor who only talks big but does nothing is not a good thing."
Fu Xiaoguan poured a cup of tea for the three of them and looked at Zhuo Bieli. He suddenly changed the subject: "The Ministry of War has sent a letter to summon Yu Wentian back to the capital and appoint him as the Minister of War, in charge of naval construction."
This turn caught Zhuo Bieli off guard. He was stunned for a moment before nodding.
But when Yan Beixi heard this, he frowned - Yan Beixi knew that Kuchan had gone to Peacock Country, that Yu Shurong was missing, and that Yu Shurong had met Yu Wentian before she disappeared!
"Any news about her?"
Fu Xiaoguan nodded, and then told Zhuo Bieli the news that Ji Yungui brought back. Only then did Zhuo Bieli know the reason.
"Wouldn't it be better to send the Marines to Peacock Country to capture Ku Chan and Yu Shurong?"
Fu Xiaoguan pondered for a moment: "Daxia needs an enemy. Of course, I hope Kuchan can really unify the Peacock Kingdom, otherwise he is not qualified to be Daxia's enemy."
This sentence made the three of them very puzzled. Isn't it more in line with the interests of Daxia to eliminate the enemy in its infancy?
If we keep a possible enemy, the territory of the Peacock Kingdom is not much smaller than that of Daxia. If this enemy becomes stronger, won’t it pose a threat to Daxia?
“People are often born in hardship and die in comfort. The same is true for a country.”
"In today's Daxia, many people have become blindly optimistic, believing that Daxia's army is invincible and that Daxia's strength is unparalleled in the world."
"Such blind optimism will slow down Daxia's progress and encourage other countries threatened by Daxia to work harder to become stronger."
"If this continues, it's not impossible for Daxia to be surpassed by other countries. That would be a disaster for Daxia!"
"If there were a threatening country next door to Daxia, then the officials and people of Daxia would probably be wary and forge ahead!"
"Of course, this is my personal opinion. One day, when I leave Daxia, if you can get a resolution from the three prime ministers and a vote from the cabinet to destroy the Peacock Kingdom, that's fine."
"Let's not discuss this issue today. Daxia's six fleets are already fully staffed. What I want to ask you is, are they capable of actual combat?"
Is this going to start a war at sea?
Where is your Majesty going to attack next?
The sea routes are currently being explored. Last year, the Third Fleet split into three groups, each with ten warships, and they have not returned yet, so they naturally do not have the nautical charts, and those countries in the distant seas naturally do not know about it yet.
"It's a bit rushed. Grand Marshal Bai Yulian is in charge of naval training. Although many of the newly recruited naval personnel are from the army, fighting at sea and fighting on land are two different things. I'm afraid it will take some time."
"Okay, gather the commanders of the six major naval fleets and Bai Yulian to meet at the Ministry of War in early March."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
