The Crown Prince

Canglan King City.

The residence of Minister of the Ministry of War.

More than ten days passed in a flash.

After Ye Fan took over the Ministry of War, he began to reorganize the Ministry of War.

In the last Jinluan Palace rebellion case, as many as seventeen officials from the Ministry of War followed Rui Liangzhi, the former Minister of War, and the second prince to rebel. It became the hardest hit area of the rebellion, and a large number of officials from the Ministry of War were dismissed from their posts for investigation.

Of the Wuhou supervisors who passed the imperial examination this time, seven or eight Wuhou were added to the Ministry of War as deputy positions, and the Ministry of War was completely under control.

As time passed, disasters in various parts of the Canglan Kingdom were reported to the royal city on horseback one after another, becoming the top priority in the court.

The situation was worse than expected. A small city with a population of hundreds of thousands was directly destroyed by the thunder star meteorite, and almost no one survived. More than ten cities were seriously affected, millions of houses collapsed, millions of households were affected, and hundreds of thousands of people were injured. A large amount of fertile farmland was burned in fires and various disasters. Half of the counties in Canglan were affected by the disaster, and the number of refugees has reached millions.

Of course, the monarch and the Ministry of Households will provide disaster relief, transfer food from the national treasury and various counties, and stabilize the victims, without Ye Fan having to worry about it.

But something worse happened.

The Green Wolf tribe in the Lieri Mountains seemed to have also been hit by the thunder star meteorite, and was ready to invade the major counties on the border of Canglan Kingdom. There have been more than dozens of large and small conflicts, with thousands of people killed and injured.

In addition, a large number of disaster victims also appeared in the surrounding vassal states, and the number of bandits and bandits in various places increased accordingly, causing friction and fights on the borders of the Canglan Kingdom.

The relationship between Canglan Kingdom and the neighboring vassal states is not very good, and disputes occur from time to time.

These things are all related to the Ministry of War.

After these things reached the royal city, the monarch wanted to take the initiative to start a war against the Lieri Qinglang tribe and sent an army of 100,000 cavalry to encircle and suppress the Qinglang tribe.

However, many ministers in the court were excited and opposed.

In order to provide disaster relief, the national treasury has spent a lot of materials and financial resources, and more will be spent in the future, which will exhaust the national strength.

If a large-scale army was launched to encircle and suppress the Qinglang tribe, it would be even more expensive to send out a large army.

The monarch had no choice but to order the whole country to be on strict alert to prevent the Green Wolf tribe from attacking the border city.

Ye Fan took the military intelligence reports from various places and meditated on how to deploy troops and generals to strengthen the defense forces of the border cities.

Although there are hundreds of thousands of elite soldiers in the Canglan Kingdom, one hundred thousand imperial guards guard the royal city, one hundred thousand elite cavalry guard the important towns near the Lieri Mountains, 30,000 naval forces are stationed in Donglai County, and there are additional garrison troops in the ten major counties. Tens of thousands.

Although the total number is large, they all have responsibilities, and there are not many soldiers and horses that can be mobilized in large numbers. The only option is to squeeze out some troops from the cities in the ten counties and send them to the border towns.

"Brother Ye Fan!"

A familiar lively laughter came from outside the gate of the Ministry of War.

Ye Fan couldn't help but look up when he heard the sound and saw a young and beautiful figure walking into the hall. He couldn't help but his eyes warmed up, and he said with a faint smile: "Yu'er, I haven't seen you for ten days, you have broken through to the realm of Marquis Wu!"

"That's right! With brother Ye Fan's Wuhun Awakening Pill, and the protection of Sister Bing and Youwen, I can naturally break through Wuhou. I just became Wuhou yesterday, and I came to announce the good news this morning! Ye Fan My brother became the Minister of War in the blink of an eye, are you very busy now?"

Qin Yuer walked quickly into the hall with a smile and looked curiously at the government affairs hall of the Minister of War.

"It's all trivial matters, not really busy."

Ye Fan shook his head, put down the military intelligence report, and said with a helpless smile: "You have become a Wuhou, and you can go out to practice with Mu Bing, Youwen and the others in the future. The three of you are already extremely powerful Wuhou, and no one wants to come. I dare to provoke you!"

Qin Yu'er nodded and said with a proud smile: "That's natural. Sister Bing and Youwen and I have been staying in the royal city for more than a year. We are a little bored. We have finally become Wuhou, and we are planning to go out and walk around. Ye Fan Brother, do you have any plans? Will you always stay in the royal city, or will you go out?"

"I?"

Ye Fan thought for a moment and said, "The monarch is going to appoint a crown prince, and it will probably be a matter of one or two months. Once this matter is over, I will go to the border of the Lieri Mountains."

The appointment of the crown prince is related to the situation of Canglan Kingdom for hundreds of years in the future. He will definitely not be able to leave the royal city now. At the very least, he must establish a crown prince who is beneficial to him, Princess Jiaojiao and the queen.

When Qin Yu'er heard that Ye Fan was going to the Lieyang Mountains, her eyes couldn't help but brighten, "Border of the Lieyang Mountains?! Brother Ye Fan, don't you want to cause trouble for the Green Wolf King? I will go too, and I think Sister Bing and the others will definitely do the same. go!"

"Of course! The blood feud and wronged souls of thousands of people in Luyang Mansion have not yet been avenged! It is not just as simple as making trouble."

Ye Fan said lightly.

In the depths of his eyes, an extremely cold light flashed.

Luyang City was once attacked by the Green Wolf Soldiers at night and burned red by fire. Jiang Wei, the soldiers and civilians who defended the city died in that battle. He never forgot these.

One day, he will conquer the Lieyang Mountains.

…

In the royal city.

Although disasters and military situations continued in various places, they involved a lot of energy from the monarch and his courtiers.

But there is another undercurrent surging, and that is the appointment of a crown prince. The urgency of this matter is not at all inferior to disaster relief.

Ling Jiaojiao and the queen both knew that the monarch only had three months left to live. Of course they were very anxious and wanted to choose the most suitable crown prince among the many princes.

Similarly, the most powerful third prince and fifth prince are also very anxious. Although they don't know the precise time, they can estimate that the king's deadline is only about half a year.

This is their last chance to become the crown prince. If they miss this time, they will miss the throne completely. The next time a crown prince is appointed will probably be a hundred years from now.

Of course they did not dare to follow the example of the second prince and conspire to usurp the throne. That lesson was too harsh, and with King Wu Bian Herong and the iron-fisted Minister of War Ye Fan in the royal city, the possibility of succeeding in usurping the throne was pitifully low.

But they can still do their best to win over the queen, win over the court ministers, and win the support of more ministers.

Almost every once in a while, the two princes came into the palace to greet the king, the queen, and Princess Jiaojiao, and to inquire about her welfare. After leaving the palace, they went non-stop to visit the important officials of the court one by one, talking heart-to-heart and talking all night long.

It takes about three to five days to take turns visiting the important ministers, and then go into the palace to greet the king and queen, all over again, almost without stopping for a day.

Their generals visited various small and medium-sized officials and tried their best to win over them from top to bottom.

Sometimes, they even visited the same important minister at the same time and bumped into him at his residence. They were not embarrassed at all and simply visited together.

The sincerity of the two princes' attitudes and the depth of their efforts were enough to move all the courtiers.

However, if there is only one prince, it is easy to choose.

It just happened to be two.

The performance of the two princes was so "outstanding" that the ministers were in a dilemma, not knowing who to support.

…

One day.

The monarch summoned Ye Fan into the palace and asked about the recent military situation in the counties of Canglan Kingdom.

After reporting back, Ye Fan was about to leave.

The monarch suddenly asked calmly, "Ye Qing, what do you think of the princes?"

"this..."

The expression on Ye Fan's face did not change. He had already expected that the monarch would ask him about the crown prince. However, he didn't know how to answer.

The monarch waved his hand, shook his head and sighed: "I know these sons best. When it comes to fighting for power and making superficial appearances, the second, third, and fifth princes are all the same, but really let them As soon as he ascends the throne, he is afraid of changing his face and revealing his true nature. The second most capable prince is still the second child, but it is a pity that he has no patience to wait for another fifty years, and actually dares to use poisonous tricks to harm this king, which shows the viciousness of his heart. The other remaining princes, From the sixth to the thirteenth prince, there are all kinds of foolish, greedy and lustful people. The worst, the thirteenth prince, is a philanderer, timid and cowardly, almost like a pig. You have many ideas and you can see far. No matter what you say, I won't care about it."

Ye Fan also smiled bitterly when he heard this.

The king still seems to be very clear in his heart that few of his sons are suitable to be kings. However, will the monarch allow a member of the royal family to ascend the throne?

I guess don't even think about it.

Among the branches of the royal family, Ling Qingshan is the leader of the younger generation. His cultivation has reached the level of Marquis Wu, his work is steady and practical, and his character is far superior to that of the monarch's sons. There is no bad reputation. If he could become the king of Canglan, he would be a virtuous king.

But Ling Qingshan has been sent directly to Donglai County by the monarch to go out to sea to purchase food with a large number of ships. I am afraid that he will not be able to return at all for more than half a year. When Ling Qingshan comes back, it is estimated that the new king has already ascended the throne and there will be nothing wrong with him.

Ye Fan didn't know whether the monarch did it accidentally or deliberately. But since Ling Qingshan, the youngest and most outstanding member of the royal family, is out of the question, there is no point in considering other branches.

"Your Majesty... If you really can't choose a good one, then choose the most harmless one. It is also an idea to choose the lesser of two powers that harm each other."

Ye Fan thought for a moment, cupped his hands and said.

"Oh! Choose something harmless? How to choose?"

The king was slightly stunned.

"That day at the Jinluan Palace, I saw that the third prince and the fifth prince also had the idea of usurping the throne, but they were weak, so I deliberately let the second prince stand up to the thunder. They hid behind and didn't have time to take action. Choose the two of them, It is no different from choosing the second prince. After these two ascend the throne, it is only a matter of time that they change their views. They have already cultivated a large number of cronies in their houses. Once they ascend the throne, the court will soon replace them with their trusted direct descendants, and the ministers will follow them in the court. I can't wait any longer. If your Majesty asks me who is the most suitable person to be the crown prince, I think that in comparison, the thirteenth prince, who is the most harmless, may just be the most suitable candidate."

Ye Fan said one by one.

"Hmph, Old Thirteen, this lustful but cowardly, good-for-nothing good-for-nothing, has nothing else to do except swagger around the world on the basis that he is a prince?! If I pass the throne to him, I'm afraid it won't take more than a few years. It will completely ruin the Canglan Kingdom."

The king said with disdain.

"Your Majesty, you have forgotten that you also have a daughter, Princess Jiaojiao. Her wisdom and courage far exceed those of other princes. Although she is a bit more delicate and savage, it does not harm the country! Moreover, she has become more mature and sensible in the past year or so. She can make She is the regent! The Thirteenth Master is incompetent and cowardly, which just allows Princess Jiaojiao to gain a firm foothold in the court. If a group of ministers support the princess as regent, then everything will be stable in the Canglan Kingdom, and there will be no worries in the next one or two hundred years. ."

Ye Fan finally said the key sentence.

The monarch suddenly shook his body, his eyes shone brightly, his mouth opened wide, and he looked at Mark in disbelief.

He had never considered such an arrangement for Lao Shisan to ascend the throne and Ling Jiaojiao to become the regent. But... this was indeed an arrangement that made him feel almost perfect.

Since he became seriously ill last year, Ling Jiaojiao and the queen have been maintaining the situation in the court for the past year. Just because of the obstruction of the second prince, the queen and Ling Jiaojiao did nothing. But in terms of talent and character, Jiaojiao is obviously above all the princes.

"Go down first, I, the king, will think about it!"

"yes!"