Harem Daily Life

Chapter 433 Why don't you be the emperor?

The civil unrest in Yan required a huge amount of financial support, so the Great Zhou proposed to double the purchase of Yan's iron ore, and Yan agreed without even thinking about it.

In order to ensure that the mining and transportation of iron ore would not be affected by the civil war in Yan, Da Zhou finally sent troops to enter the mines. However, they were limited to entering the mines, and other places were not within the scope of the Da Zhou army's protection.

Without the support of the Great Zhou, the Princess of Yan was no match for the King of Northern Yan. The second civil war in Yan State lasted only three months, and the Princess of Yan was defeated.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty..." Eunuch Zhang called out carefully twice from outside the curtain. He Linzhang got up from his sleepy state: "What's the matter?"

Eunuch Zhang did not dare to disturb Concubine Tao's rest, and whispered: "The Ministry of War has sent an urgent military report. The civil war in Yan is over. The Princess of Yan has been captured, the young emperor has been deposed, and the King of Northern Yan has unified Yan."

The King of Northern Yan is the younger brother of the late King of Yan, and is a complete advocate of war.

He Linzhang pinched his brows and said, "Send an order to the border to guard it strictly to prevent the King of Northern Yan from invading."

Eunuch Zhang agreed and said, "The people from the Zhenbei Palace are waiting at the palace gate. They hope that the Great Zhou can send someone to bring back Princess Pingning."

He Linzhang sighed and said, "Let General Duan on the border negotiate with the State of Yan. The Great Zhou advocates peace. I hope they will release the former Yan princess."

Eunuch Zhang then quietly withdrew.

He Linzhang looked at the time and saw that there were still two hours before court session, so he continued to lie down and held the sleeping Tao Yanyan in his arms.

The next day, when the court went to court, the officials expressed their opinions on the issue of the State of Yan. In the end, they all agreed to send an envoy to Northern Yan to sign a peace agreement.

After a few days of quarreling, they unexpectedly received documents from the State of Yan first.

The document said that the State of Yan requested to conclude a friendly agreement with the Great Zhou and was willing to send Princess Qinghe to the Great Zhou for marriage.

"Your Majesty, I believe that Yan is sincere and we should organize a wedding delegation to Yan."

"Your Majesty, marriage between two countries has always been a means of maintaining friendly relations. In the past, it was the Great Zhou that sent the princess for marriage. Now Yan State has taken the initiative to send the princess, which is a reflection of the strength of our Great Zhou. I think what Lord Zhao said is very true. In order to show respect, the envoy to welcome the bride should have a certain status."

"Your Majesty, Ningyuan Marquis is a first-rank military marquis, and General Gu has shown bravery in the battle against Yan State before, so he is familiar with Yan State. I think that the Marquis of Ningyuan Mansion and General Gu can both serve as envoys to welcome the bride."

Everyone seemed to agree that the princess should be allowed to enter the harem.

He Linzhang said expressionlessly: "Peace between the two countries does not necessarily have to be in the form of marriage. I think Princess Qinghe does not need to come."

As soon as he finished speaking, all the ministers were very confused and urged him to take back his decision.

"Your Majesty, taking the princess of Yan as your consort and giving birth to a prince in the future can also appease Yan State. This is a great thing for both countries!"

"It's just a concubine in the harem, why do you have to worry too much?"

"Could it be that His Majesty only favors the Imperial Concubine and therefore does not want to take in any new people?"

"Your Majesty, please put the country first and don't be greedy for personal love."

He Linzhang: "..."

As the emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty, he has to be constrained by these court officials in the affairs of the harem. He is so angry that he wants to vomit blood.

"Your Majesty, now Imperial Concubine Tao is the only favorite. In the past two years, apart from the former Empress and Concubine Shu, no other concubine in the harem has been pregnant. An imperial successor is also a major issue for the country. I hope Your Majesty will be fair and give other concubines a chance."

As soon as these words were spoken, it seemed to ignite the flame in everyone's hearts, and it suddenly burst into flames.

"Although Imperial Concubine Tao is stunningly beautiful, she has been favored for many years but has no children. Now His Majesty only has three sons and three daughters, one of whom is the second prince who was adopted by the common people and cannot be counted. Two princes are really too few. For the sake of the country, His Majesty should also move around the harem more. Many of the ladies are young, and it is a good time to get pregnant!"

"The selection of concubines is held every three years, so why not move it forward this year to recruit concubines and expand the royal family?"

"In my opinion, we should quickly appoint a queen before we can select a concubine."

"His Majesty……"

"Alright, alright!" He Linzhang rubbed his brows and said, "Today we will discuss the marriage of the Princess of Yan. I don't want her to enter the harem, but if the prince is willing to marry, I have no objection."

He glanced at everyone and said, "I have also been thinking about the selection of concubines. I am now fully focused on government affairs and have no interest in the harem. It would be useless to accept any more people. Therefore, this year's selection of concubines will be suspended. If there is a need, we can select again in the future."

He Linzhang's words aroused dissatisfaction among the court officials, especially those who already had girls of suitable age waiting to be sent to the Gong Guangyao family. They immediately raised objections: "Your Majesty, you must not stop the selection of girls! The rules set by our ancestors cannot be abolished. I hope Your Majesty will think twice!"

"Yes, yes, I hope Your Majesty will think twice!"

"I have to think twice about this and that. If you want to make the decision for me so much, why don't you be the emperor?" He Linzhang said coldly.

"We are terrified!" The court officials knelt one after another.

He Linzhang stood up, flicked his sleeves and left.

The court officials then stood up, each of them looking as pale as death.

"Lord Gu, please give some advice! There are not many heirs to the throne. How will we choose an heir in the future?"

Ning Yuanhou coughed lightly and said, "Your Majesty is still young, it is too early to consider the issue of succession."

Lord Wen said sarcastically: "The Ningyuan Marquis's Mansion is married to the Tao family, so they naturally hope that Concubine Tao will move up a level. How can they consider other concubines? You all still want to ask Ningyuan Marquis to persuade His Majesty, but I'm afraid you've asked the wrong person!"

Someone also went to Lord Tao and said, "Lord Tao, you are also an important official of the court. You should advise the Imperial Concubine. His Majesty has few children. The Imperial Concubine should be more generous and stop vying for favor. She should also give others a chance."

Tao Qian felt that this person must have a hole in his brain, otherwise why would he say such a thing to him! He wished that Yan Yan would be favored by His Majesty and be held in the palm of his hand and cared for!

Tao Qian laughed and said, "To be honest, the Imperial Concubine is very generous and has been trying to persuade him. But His Majesty just refuses to go anywhere else. What else can we do? Can we tie him up and take him there? Oh, it's difficult for the Imperial Concubine too!"

After Tao Qian finished speaking, he called Ningyuan Hou, and the two relatives left, talking and laughing, leaving everyone with a gloomy face.

He Linzhang returned to the imperial study, and Eunuch Zhang set the lunch table: "Your Majesty, the Imperial Concubine sent someone to bring you some cold noodles, which are the most refreshing and refreshing to eat in summer. I have already set them up for you."

He Linzhang walked to the table, looked at the refreshing cold noodles, picked up the chopsticks and ate it all in no time.

"This is the herbal tea sent by the Imperial Concubine. She said it was made from fruit and should be served to Your Majesty in the afternoon." Eunuch Zhang said with a smile.

"Well, I remember that the new cloth offered this year will soon arrive in the capital. You can select the best ones and send some to the empress dowager and the imperial concubine. You can also send some to those who have children, but the amount cannot exceed that of the imperial concubine."

Eunuch Zhang agreed, and said hesitantly: "Lady Lu's baby is already seven months old, should we send one as well?"