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Seeing that the officials had been engaged in intense discussion in the grand hall for half a day without reaching any conclusion, Prince Lu Yi directly looked at Zhao Wenhan and asked, "Mr. Zhao, what is your opinion?"

Ever since Prince Lu Shuyun started a rebellion in the South, Zhao Wenhan had sided with Prince Lu Yi.

It has always been the system for the eldest legitimate son to inherit the throne; however, the struggle for the Sum Emperor's throne had been fierce for several generations, and it had been a long time since an eldest legitimate son became Emperor, so Zhao Wenhan was not initially optimistic about Prince Lu Yi's prospects.

But now, with the Aristocratic Families of the South having been eliminated, only Prince Lu Yi's power remained the strongest. Also, the majority of those who supported Prince Lu Yi belonged to the Scholar Officials class, not the traditional Ancient Families. With this class's support, it was not impossible for Prince Lu Yi to become the Crown Prince and eventually ascend the throne.

Prince Lu Yi first asked Zhao Wenhan for his opinion because Zhao Wenhan was currently aligned with his faction.

At this moment, Zhao Wenhan spoke up, "Your Highness, in my view, whether or not Yongan County is sold to North Country, it won't have much impact on Great Sum."

Upon hearing Zhao Wenhan's words, the grand hall instantly fell quiet. Most officials thought Zhao Wenhan would object, but unexpectedly, Zhao Wenhan didn't seem to care at all.

Prince Lu Yi inquired, "Oh? Why is that?"

Zhao Wenhan continued, "Yongan County is situated in the northwest. If North Prince intends to march his troops southward from the northwest, it would require a significant detour, with the constant risk of supply lines being cut off.

If North Prince truly harbors rebellious intentions, instead of taking such a roundabout path, it would be better to directly attack Qi Country and then head south after occupying it."

Prince Lu Yi thought for a moment and felt there was some truth to this.

Prince Lu Yi then looked towards Lin Gaoyuan and asked, "Mr. Lin, what do you think is North Country's purpose in buying Yongan County?"

Lin Gaoyuan answered, "Not long ago, North Country signed a trade cooperation agreement with Great Wu Dynasty, and there is no direct border between North Country and Great Wu Dynasty. To transport goods from North Country to Great Wu, the route must pass through Qi Country or Great Jue, which is disadvantageous to the trade between North Country and Great Wu.

Therefore, I believe that North Country's purchase of Yongan County is likely meant to establish a direct border with Great Wu to facilitate smoother movements for trading caravans."

Prince Lu Yi asked, "Then, in Mr. Zhao and Mr. Lin's view, should the Court approve this land transaction between Qi Country and North Country?"

Lin Gaoyuan and Zhao Wenhan simultaneously said, "It should be approved."

Seeing both men agreed with the land transaction, Prince Lu Yi's gaze fell on Zhao Wenhan, who continued, "Your Highness, at this moment, the Princes in the South are already restless. Under no circumstances can we afford to offend North Prince. If North Prince initiates a rebellion, it will certainly incite the Princes in the South to follow suit.

Should the Court's troops be occupied in the north battling North Country, with the South Princes taking advantage of the situation, the Capital City might face the risk of falling."

"Therefore, I believe it's best to stabilize North Prince for now."

It wasn't that Zhao Wenhan was taking sides with North Prince; he genuinely felt that a direct conflict with North Country should be avoided at this time. If the Court engaged in war with North Country, the Princes led by Zhao King would surely raise their armies.

In Zhao Wenhan's view, stabilizing North Prince was the most crucial task at the moment. Once the Sum Emperor passed away and Prince Lu Yi ascended the throne, they would have many previously unavailable tactics at their disposal.

After listening to Zhao Wenhan's argument, Prince Lu Yi's attention turned to Lin Gaoyuan, who said, "I agree with Mr. Zhao's statement. Indeed, it's not suitable to provoke conflict with North Country at this time. Stabilizing North Country is most important."

Prince Lu Yi then said, "Qi Prince mentioned in his memorial that, to avoid North Prince from directly sending troops southward through Yongan County, Qi Country only plans to sell a part of it to North Country. This way, the area controlled by North Country and the Court will still not border each other."

"Moreover, I will station troops in the southern part of Yongan County to be on alert for North Country's army."

After hearing Prince Lu Yi's words, the ministers in the grand hall ceased to speak, for not getting into a conflict with North Country was indeed the best strategy.

Prince Lu Yi scanned the officials in the grand hall and then said, "Does anyone have other opinions on this matter? Feel free to express them."

"If there is no objection, I will approve this land transaction."

At that moment, the grand hall was silent, with no one speaking. The ministers understood that the current situation was severe, and the priority was to stabilize North Prince.

Seeing no one voiced an opinion, Prince Lu Yi said, "Since no one has spoken against it, then it is settled. We will now discuss the issue of Princes arbitrarily expanding their forces."

Upon hearing this, the grand hall became even quieter. The bureaucrats of the Court, including the Princes, had ties to some of the Princes, so nobody wanted to express too much on this topic.

Besides, if the question was raised about who expanded their forces first, it was North Prince of North Country who expanded his army first. North Country was initially only permitted to maintain a force of one hundred and fifty thousand soldiers, but during the military parade, two hundred thousand soldiers appeared.

Although the Sum Emperor did not pursue North Prince's responsibility at the time, simply offsetting it with his merits, the Emperor, by doing so, set a bad precedent. If North Prince went unpunished, the other Princes expanding their forces was not an issue.

If the discussion on how to deal with those Princes who expanded their forces were to take place now, it should start with how to deal with North Prince. If North Prince was unpunished, it would certainly not be convincing.

Ultimately, the issue of how to deal with Princes who expanded their forces without permission also came to nothing.

Soon, the Imperial edict reached Qi Country. Once Qi Prince learned of the Court's approval for North Country to purchase land from Qi Country, he immediately summoned the North Country envoy Zhou Tongguang.

The negotiation over the price of Yongan County was not protracted. Qi Prince had no intention of exploiting the situation at this time. North Country had ten thousand soldiers at the border of Qi Country, and North Country's military had defeated the Barbarian Army three times. Qi Prince dared not make exorbitant demands in the face of North Country.

Eventually, Qi Country sold the northern part of Yongan County to North Country at a very low price.

After the transaction was completed, Zhou Tongguang quickly returned to North Country to report back.

North Country.

Inside Lu Chen's study at the North Prince Mansion.

After listening to Zhou Tongguang's report on his mission to North Country, Lu Chen smiled at Zhou Tongguang and said, "You've done well. You have been in Qi Country for a long time; it's been hard work. I will give you five days off. Spend some quality time with your family."

Zhou Tongguang immediately replied, "Thank you, Prince!"

"If there is nothing else from the Prince, your subordinate will take his leave," Zhou Tongguang said.

Lu Chen responded indifferently, "Very well."

After Zhou Tongguang paid his respects, he left Lu Chen's study.

Once Zhou Tongguang had left, Wu Yuan entered the study, "Greetings, Prince!"

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Lu Chen directly asked, "Have the slaves from the Barbarian Tribe already been allocated to Lord Xuanyuan?"

Wu Yuan answered, "They have already been allocated to Lord Xuanyuan."

Lu Chen did not continue this topic and said to the maid at the door, "Xiao Huan, have someone call for General Wenren."

"Yes, Prince."

After saying this, Lu Chen's gaze fell upon Wu Yuan as he continued, "Commander Wu, I intend to give you a task."

Wu Yuan immediately said, "Please tell me, Prince. Your subordinate would die a thousand times before failing to complete the Prince's task."

Lu Chen said, "Starting today, you'll be working with Lord Xuanyuan on the railway construction. If Lord Xuanyuan needs anything, you must inform me at once."

Hearing this, Wu Yuan was startled. He had not expected Lu Chen to assign him this task.

The task was not especially difficult; in fact, it seemed too easy, with hardly anything to do. As a member of the Brocade Guard, he was usually responsible for gathering intelligence. Now he was being asked to work on infrastructure, and Wu Yuan couldn't help feeling he might have done something to displease the North Prince.

Lu Chen seemed to see what Wu Yuan was thinking and continued, "The railway is extremely important to the North Country, and I am concerned that some ill-intentioned individuals may sabotage its construction. In addition to assisting Lord Xuanyuan in building the railway, you must also prevent those wishing to destroy it, particularly spies from other dynasties."

After some thought, Wu Yuan grasped that if the train really started operating, Yan County would have an even tighter grip over the entire North Country. Their soldiers could also reach the frontiers more quickly, so indeed, the railway was critical for the North Country.

It seemed he had misunderstood the North Prince. By entrusting him with such a crucial task, the Prince was clearly showing his trust in him.

Wu Yuan then said, "Your subordinate will perfectly complete the task given by the Prince."

At this time, Lu Chen asked, "Anything else?"

Upon hearing this, Wu Yuan recalled the purpose of his visit to the study. He quickly took out a piece of intelligence from his sleeve and said, "Prince, this is intelligence gathered by the Brocade Guard about the collusion between various princes and the seigniors."

Hearing this, Lu Chen took the intelligence from Wu Yuan's hand and glanced at it.

Lu Chen chuckled, surprised to find that apart from Prince Lu Yi, all princes in the Capital city with the right of inheritance had secretly colluded with seigniors from outside territories, with Prince Wu Ming even garnering the support of two seigniors.

It appeared these seigniors understood that even if they invaded the Capital city, they had no chance to ascend to the supreme throne. There were still some old members of the royal family, and unless they had the power to kill all those old members or gained their recognition, all their scheming would be in vain.

Since securing that position was unlikely, it was better to support a puppet monarch to ascend the throne. With a puppet emperor, they could manipulate many things, and perhaps, in the future, they could even coax the puppet emperor to abdicate in their favor.

At that moment, Wu Yuan said, "If the Prince has no other matters, your subordinate will take his leave."

Lu Chen uttered a sound of acknowledgment, his eyes on the intelligence in his hand, and said no more.

Wu Yuan then left the study.

About half an hour later, General Wenren arrived at the study, puzzled. Previously, if there was anything to discuss, Lu Chen would have both him and Xuanyuan Chen come together. Why had Lu Chen summoned only him today?

Could it be that Lu Chen had a task for him and him alone?

While General Wenren was pondering this, Lu Chen spoke up, "General Wenren, tomorrow you will take thirty thousand heavy cavalry to garrison in Yongan County."

Hearing this, General Wenren was taken aback and asked, "Prince, what should this subordinate do upon arriving in Yongan County?"

Lu Chen replied, "Just guard against spies from enemy countries. You don't need to do anything else."

General Wenren said, "This subordinate understands."

Lu Chen said, "Prepare and set out early tomorrow morning."

"Yes, your subordinate will take his leave."

After General Wenren left, Lu Chen leaned back in his wooden chair, eyes closed, massaging his temples.

As the Great Sum became increasingly chaotic, his responsibilities grew. He could entrust the domestic affairs of the North Country to Zhuge Zhongguang, but he had to handle matters concerning other dynasties personally.

At that moment, the red twilight light spilled over the windowsill, illuminating the room with a muddy yellow glow, and a familiar voice entered the room.

"Chen'er, it's time for dinner."

Chu Yuqin stood at the doorway, blocking the red twilight.

Seeing Chu Yuqin's dignified and graceful figure, the corners of Lu Chen's mouth lifted slightly. Though his days were busier, he felt quite fulfilled.

Then, Lu Chen rose from his chair and walked to the study door. Upon reaching it, he wrapped his arms around Chu Yuqin's slender waist. Blushing, she said, "Others are watching."

Hearing this, Lu Chen glanced at the maid beside them, and the maid quickly turned her face away.

With a shy expression, Chu Yuqin said, "Alright, we should head to the main courtyard. Zixuan has prepared many nourishing dishes for you tonight."

Lu Chen smiled faintly, "Alright."

The two spoke no further and went straight to the main courtyard.

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