At the court meeting.

There was still a while before the morning court, and the ministers were waiting under the corridors on both sides.

Two ministers whispered in a low voice: "This time, Your Majesty was willing to establish a crown prince after hearing the advice of all officials. Do you think which one of the three princes in the royal family is the most hopeful to become the crown prince?"

Another minister watched from the side and lowered his voice: "In my opinion, it is impossible to be the eldest son of the emperor, nor can it be the King of England, so it must be the King of Chu."

“How to say it?”

The minister said, "It's very simple. Among Your Majesty's three princes, except for the eldest son of the emperor and the prince, the other two sons are princes, which obviously value one and the other. Your Majesty is also a Han Chinese, and there is a debate between China and the world. How can you make the son born by the concubine Hu as the crown prince? As for King Ying, his mother is Princess Li Tang. Li Tang and my Da Zhao are in a fight, so your Majesty will not make him the crown prince. So in the end, only the King of Chu is most likely to be named the crown prince."

"Gao Jian, Gao Jian. The mother of the King of Chu is Su Wei's granddaughter, and her family background is also good, at least not a poor family."

"Go to court!" But when the court officials shouted, the ministers sorted out their clothes and walked one after another from the corridor in order.

When they arrived in the hall, the ministers worshipped Li Chongjiu and first talked about the war with Li Tang.

Last year, Zhao State and Li Tang fought fiercely for many times, but Li Tang had only the defensive but no offensive. However, Zhao State had no choice but to take advantage of Li Tang's important town in Xiangyang. The famous Li Tang general Li Jing stationed in Xiangyang, and several generals of the Zhao army returned in disgrace.

Fortunately, the wars in Hexi, Hedong and Luoyang were all very smooth. The fall of Nanyang made the gates of Wuguan in Li Tang and the possibility of Zhao's army attacking Guanzhong. In addition, the surrender of Li Yuan, the King of Lujiang, ordered the Yuchi Gong troops of Zhao's army to threaten the Pujin Ferry. In the direction of Hexi. Wang Junkuo attacked several times, which made Li Tang's troops and horses have only defensive power."

As for the stability on the grassland, after Asina Momo was killed, the Turks were completely obedient. As for the other Khitans and Wei tribes, they were even more obedient as docile kittens. In a year, the situation in Zhao State had already digested the captured grasslands and the land in Jiangnan, and gradually became its own sphere of influence.

Although the ministers were very concerned about the war, they were now more concerned about the establishment of the legitimate king.

Li Chongjiu said immediately: "I already know the matter of the establishment of the crown prince, and I should discuss the matter of the crown prince in a few years. However, since some people in the court are so anxious, I will decide to announce the matter of the establishment of the crown prince in today's court discussion to the ministers."

All the ministers showed a solemn expression. Wen Yanbo said, "Your Majesty is wise and wise. The prince he has made must be outstanding. No matter what decisions His Majesty makes, I will obey it to the death."

As soon as Wen Yanbo said this, all the ministers present thought that they were indeed Prime Minister Zhao. Such a way to figure out the will of the holy people is really admirable. No wonder Li Chongjiu let him always serve as Prime Minister Zhao.

When Wen Yanbo said that, the other ministers also said: "I am willing to follow Your Majesty's decision."

Li Chongjiu nodded and praised: "All the ministers are really my loyal ministers, I am very pleased."

At that moment, Li Chongjiu took out an edict and said to the ministers: "The candidate for the prince is within this edict!"

The ministers raised their heads and looked at the edict made of bright yellow silk, with their eyes very complicated. The ministers were all waiting for Li Chongjiu to open the edict.

But unexpectedly, Li Chongjiu did not open the edict, but took an ebony box from the eunuch on the side. Li Chongjiu placed the edict into the ebony box and closed the box.

This move was beyond everyone's expectations, and no one knew Li Chongjiu's intention.

Li Chongjiu said: "This edict is sealed here. If there is no intention of my decree, it will not be opened. When I am behind me, my ministers will recommend the prince in the edict as the crown prince."

As soon as these words were spoken, the ministers were upset. Could it be considered as the crown prince?

A censor came forward and said, "Your Majesty, this is not in accordance with etiquette!"

"Etiquette! Which etiquette says is so unfavorable?" Li Chongjiu looked at the censor.

The censor was forced by Li Chongjiu's eyes and dared not speak anymore.

Li Chongjiu said: "I don't want to establish a prince, but I don't want to have the Li Tang Xuanwu Sect incident to appear today. Do you understand my intention?"

Li Chongjiu's approach was to imitate the secret establishment of the Qing Dynasty and establish a crown prince. Throughout history, many emperors were unwilling to establish a crown prince in advance when they were alive. There was a big reason that they did not like to announce the heirs of the throne, thus forming a power group around the heirs.

This power group is a challenge to the monarchy, and many emperors cannot handle their relationship with the prince. Therefore, the tragedy happened. In the past, many emperors who were arbitrary and had a strong desire for power, and had a long life to live in the country, had to order the killing of the prince and deposed the prince.

In the past, there were Emperor Wu of Han, Emperor Wen of Sui, and another time and space. Emperor Taizong of Tang, and later Kangxi. They did not handle their relationship with the prince well when they were in power, which made the forces of the Eastern Palace challenge the power of the monarch and finally had to abolish the prince. Li Chongjiu is only 30 years old now and will be in power for at least twenty or thirty years. If he is appointed now, he will face the challenge of forming a power group around the prince in the next twenty or thirty years.

But when the conflict came, the ministers didn't think so. They hoped that the emperor would establish a crown prince early, because it could reduce the risk of their political speculation failure and bet early. At the same time, they also hoped to use this method to weaken the monarch's power. For example, during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, the civil servant group quarreled with Wanli for decades about the establishment of the crown prince. Therefore, this is another battlefield for the game between the ministers and the monarch.

But it is not possible to establish a crown prince. Without an heir in advance, there is danger of inheriting the throne.

So Li Chongjiu directly copied Yongzheng's methods and used secret establishment of the reserve system to protect his position as the monarchy during his reign, opposing anyone's intention to try to decentralize power from the middle.

The fact that Li Chong hid the edict in the nine boxes caused an uproar, but he had to obey it, so many ministers were dissatisfied.

After retreating from the court, several ministers came to Ji Chuan and said, "Mr. Ji, you are the courage of my great Zhao civil servant. Your Majesty is not in harmony with the etiquette. Why don't you persuade me? Your Majesty can listen to you."

Ji Chuan heard this and sneered, "What's wrong with Your Majesty doing this? Although I, Ji Chuan, want to directly advise you, there are also differences. It is not Da Zhao who is the one who can choose your future. How can Your Majesty not see through your methods and tricks?"

Several ministers were dissatisfied with hearing this, and one of them said, "Mr. Ji, what are you talking about? If the emperor does not tell us the intention of a crown prince, if he makes the eldest son the crown prince, we will not even have a chance to object."
Chapter completed!