The ministers begged me to ascend the throne

In Xingde Palace, Zhao Yao sat in the courtyard, holding his face with his hands, looking up at the moon in the night sky in a daze, and sighing from time to time.

"Ugh……"

Seeing Zhao Yao's worried look, Tongxi asked with concern: "Your Highness, what's wrong with you? You look like you're sighing. Did something happen?"

"I just think what the second uncle said..." Zhao Yao smiled bitterly, "I want to refute what the second uncle said, but I can't."

The colleague asked curiously: "What did General He say to you that makes you so troubled?" His Highness has always been careless, and it is rare for things to trouble him for so long.

"Tongxi, do you think the royal family really has no love between father and son, no love between brothers?"

"Ah?" Tongxi was a little stunned by Zhao Yao's question, "Your Highness, there must be one. Don't you and the Emperor have a father-son relationship? Don't you have the same relationship with the King of Chu and the King of Wei? Brotherly love?"

"Second uncle said that the reason why I can have the love between father and son and brotherhood now is because I did not pose a threat to my father, fourth brother, and my eighth brother. Once they feel that I am a threat, they will not tolerate me." In Before He Lianfang said this to him, Zhao Yao had never thought much about this matter.

"General He is right." Tong Xi didn't understand why Zhao Yao was worried about this matter, "Your Highness, you have been pretending to be stupid in front of His Highness the King of Chu and His Highness the King of Wei, isn't it because you don't want them to know your true strength? Well, haven't you been wary of them?"

Tong Xi's words were like a hammer, hitting Zhao Yao's heart hard.He stared blankly at Tongxi.

"Your Highness, why are you looking at this slave like this?" Tong Xi's scalp went numb when Zhao Yao looked at him, and he asked timidly, "Did your slave say something wrong?"

Zhao Yao came back to his senses, raised the corner of his mouth and smiled self-deprecatingly: "You are not wrong, you are right. I have been wary of Fourth Brother and Eighth Brother."

Tongxi didn't understand that Zhao Yao was laughing at him.He looked strange and said: "Your Highness, you said before that you did so many things to protect yourself."

"Yes, to protect myself." Zhao Yao stood up and said, "To protect myself, I can't let Fourth Brother and Eighth Brother know my trump card. Why do you think I want to protect myself?"

Tongxi was asked by Zhao Yao again.He looked at Zhao Yao with a strange expression: "Your Highness, you said it yourself. You don't want to be involved in the danger of seizing your heir, so you have to protect yourself."

"That's one of the reasons, but it's not the main reason."

"Ah, what's the main reason?" Tongxi felt that His Highness was a little weird today.

Zhao Yao said sarcastically: "The main reason is that I don't believe in the brotherhood of the royal family, and I don't believe in the fourth brother and eighth brother. In fact, I still don't believe in the father." He knew that the father loved him, but he did not believe in the father. He was still wary, so he never talked to his father and did not dare to talk to him about matters in the court.

"Your Highness, don't you usually trust His Highness the King of Chu and His Highness the King of Wei?"

"If I really believed in Fourth Brother and Eighth Brother, I wouldn't hide so many things from them, and I wouldn't keep pretending to be stupid in front of them." Zhao Yao held his forehead and ridiculed himself, "I also told Second Uncle I insist on saying that my father and I have a father-son relationship, and that I have a brotherly relationship with Fourth Brother and the others, but I am really hypocritical."

"Your Highness, why do you start scolding yourself?" Tong Xi muttered in his heart, His Highness is really weird today, maybe he took the wrong medicine.

"Second uncle is right, your life can only be in your own hands and cannot be controlled by others." Zhao Yao swept away the entanglement of the past two days, "Fourth brother may not be suspicious of me when he takes the throne in the future, but fourth brother's son will not be suspicious of me in the future. When you take the throne, will you trust me like your fourth brother? Absolutely not. Therefore, I must have my own private army, a private army that will not be noticed by the court, but can fight against the court. "

"Your Highness, didn't you already ask the Second Master to take in some orphans and train them into qualified soldiers?" Tong Xi didn't understand why Zhao Yao said this now.

"Yeah, I've done that a long time ago."

"Your Highness, have you forgotten what you have done over the years?"

"No, it's just that I didn't think deeply about some things. I have figured it out now." After Zhao Yao finished speaking, he raised his hands and stretched, "Second uncle's plan for a rainy day was right." One hundred thousand private soldiers is one hundred thousand private soldiers, he It’s not like I can’t afford it. "It's getting late, I should go and rest."

"Your Highness, I will help you change your clothes." Although I don't know what happened to Your Highness, I hope you have figured it out.If His Highness still looks worried, Empress Liang will be the only one to ask questions.

The next day at court, Zhao Yao did not rush out of the palace to find He Lianfang. Instead, he went to Kunde Hall to have breakfast with Concubine Liang.

Seeing that there was no sorrow between Zhao Yao's brows and that his face no longer looked distressed, Liang Bin asked him gently: "How about solving the problem?"

"I figured it out." Strangely enough, he didn't really trust his father, nor did he completely trust his fourth brother and eighth brother, but he trusted his second uncle very much.It was obvious that his second uncle was an outsider and had no blood relationship with him, but he was willing to leave everything to him.He was willing to tell his second uncle whatever he had in mind.

"You look restless these days. Your father is very worried about you and asked me if something happened to you."

"Nothing happened to me. I just didn't figure out some things. I figured them out last night."

Liang Bi asked curiously and concernedly: "What have you figured out?"

"It's nothing, I just feel hypocritical." Zhao Yao was afraid that Liang Bin would be frightened if she knew that he wanted to raise [-] private soldiers, so he didn't plan to tell her. "I now accept my hypocrisy."

Liang Bi didn't understand and looked confused: "What are you hypocritical about?"

"It's nothing. I'm fine now. Concubine, don't worry."

Seeing that Zhao Yao didn't want to talk, Liang Bin didn't ask any more questions.

"If you have something on your mind that you can't figure out, you can talk to me."

"Okay." Zhao Yao still didn't tell Liang Bin why he was worried the past two days.

After breakfast, Zhao Yao left Kunde Hall.

After he left, Concubine Liang sighed softly: "Alas..."

"Empress, what's wrong with you? Are you still worried about Your Highness?" Guixing comforted Liang Bin and said, "Your Highness, haven't you figured it out and everything is fine?"

"This child has always been smart, and few things can make him frown for a few days. I'm afraid something big will happen to him this time."

When Guixing heard what Concubine Liang said, she couldn't help but feel worried, and there was an uneasy look on her face: "My Lady, what big thing has happened to His Highness?"

"He didn't tell me. If it was a trivial matter, he would tell me, but today he didn't tell me because he was afraid that the matter was not trivial." Liang Pin knew her son's temperament. If it was not a big matter, he would have discussed it with her. But he didn't say anything to her.

"Empress, what should we do?"

"I hope he can really handle it." Liang Bi guessed that it was a big deal, but she couldn't guess what the big deal was.

"Your Majesty, Your Highness is very resourceful and can handle it well." Guixing could only comfort Liang Bin in this way.

Liang Bin nodded slightly and said, "Yes."

Zhao Yao didn't know that Liang Bin was worried about him, so he arrived at He Lianfang's house.

When He Lianfang saw Zhao Yao, who had not shown up for several days, he finally gave up and said sarcastically: "Weren't you scared away and didn't dare to come? Why are you here again?"

Zhao Yao is thick-skinned and is not afraid of He Lianfang's strange aura.

"I'm not afraid, but I'm thinking deeply about it."

"Your Highness, have you thought carefully about it these past few days?" "Second uncle, you are right, just raise it as you said." Zhao Yao said very proudly, "I can afford it."

In fact, He Lianfang had long expected that Zhao Yao would agree with his approach.

"Then first one hundred thousand."

When Zhao Yao heard the word "first", his brows twitched slightly.It seems that the second uncle is not satisfied with raising [-] private soldiers, and wants to raise another [-].The second uncle would not want to form another army of hundreds of thousands that he had back then.

By the way, how many thousands of troops did Second Uncle command at his peak? 20, 30, or 40?

Although Lingnan is very large, it is a bit reluctant to support an army of 20 people.One hundred thousand private soldiers can barely hide, but 20 private soldiers will be difficult to hide.

There are not yet 20 private soldiers, so he won't worry about the [-] army for the time being.When he has [-] private soldiers, he will discuss it carefully with his second uncle.

"Second uncle, fortunately I can make money, otherwise what would you ask me to do to support 10 people?"

"There are ways to have no money." It was not because Zhao Yao was rich that He Lianfang asked him to raise [-] private soldiers. "I wasn't as rich as you before, and I couldn't lead hundreds of thousands of troops well."

Zhao Yao heard the hidden meaning of He Lianfang's words, and his expression became complicated: "Second uncle, it seems that no matter whether I have money or not, you will let me raise [-] private soldiers."

He Lianfang said: "That's right."

Zhao Yao: "..."

"Since you agreed to raise [-] private soldiers, should you consider the next steps?"

Zhao Yao blinked blankly: "What's the matter?"

"If you want to raise a hundred thousand private soldiers, you can't let them use their bare hands, right?"

Zhao Yao understood what He Lianfang meant: "Second uncle, you want me to forge weapons?" Secretly raising a hundred thousand private soldiers and forging weapons privately, if you tell others that he has no intention of rebellion, others will definitely not believe him.

"Yes, there are iron ore and copper mines in Lingnan, which can be used to forge weapons." He Lianfang ignored Zhao Yao's shocked eyes and continued, "Lingnan is far away from the capital, and weapons forged in Lingnan will not be noticed by the capital. Furthermore, Foreign countries such as Annam and Siam also have iron ore and copper mines, and weapons can also be forged in these foreign countries."

"Second uncle, you are really thoughtful." Zhao Yao felt that He Lianfang did not just have a sudden idea, but had thought about it for a long time, but never spoke to him.Now that he had the opportunity, the second uncle told him. "Second uncle, have you planned these things a long time ago?"

He Lianfang admitted generously: "Yes, since you have accepted me as your teacher, I will naturally think carefully about you."

Zhao Yao said angrily: "Then I really thank you."

"There are no good blacksmiths over there in Lingnan. The weapons in Annan and Luzon are not very good. I guess there aren't any good blacksmiths. The blacksmiths over in Shu are pretty good." He Lianfang looked at Zhao Yao and said, "We can get some good blacksmiths from Shu to go to Lingnan."

After Zhao Yao heard this, the corner of his mouth twitched and said: "Second uncle, good blacksmiths will be registered in the local government's household register. Do you think it is possible to take them to Lingnan?" Not to mention Shu, it is the capital. The blacksmith cannot be taken away casually.

"Nothing is impossible." He Lianfang didn't care at all about what Zhao Yao said about the blacksmith's registration, "I will handle this matter."

"Second uncle, you're not going to kidnap all the best blacksmiths in Shu to Lingnan, are you?" Zhao Yao thought He Lianfang could do such a thing. "Second uncle, you can't do this. If you do this, it will definitely arouse suspicion. Then I won't be able to wash it off by jumping into the Yellow River."

He Lianfang glared at Zhao Yao, "Do you think I would do such a stupid thing?"

Zhao Yao laughed twice: "Aren't I afraid that you will be impulsive?"

"You said there are iron ore and copper mines in Lingnan. When you get to Lingnan, you must find the iron ore and copper mines immediately." He Lianfang ordered very forcefully, "Don't delay forging weapons for too long."

"Second uncle, you seem to be rebelling." Zhao Yao complained.

When He Lianfang heard Zhao Yao's words, she said without changing her expression: "I want you to rebel, will you do it?"

"Of course I won't rebel." Zhao Yao didn't take He Lianfang's words to heart, thinking that He Lianfang was joking with him, "Why should I rebel? It's not like I have enough to eat and nothing to do."

He Lianfang glanced at Zhao Yao meaningfully, "What if the situation in the future forces you to rebel, will you still not rebel?"

Zhao Yao was stunned for a moment when he was asked, and then he said in a serious tone: "If you really force me to live without rebelling in the future, then I will definitely rebel. I am not stupid and will wait for death obediently."

He Lianfang said meaningfully: "Then I'll be relieved."

"No, Second Uncle, why don't you worry? What you said made me very upset." Zhao Yao always felt that He Lianfang would not say these "rebellious" words for no reason, "Second Uncle, these words of yours, It makes me have to doubt that you let me raise a hundred thousand private soldiers and forge weapons in order to rebel one day."

He Lianfang didn't expect Zhao Yao to be so sharp, but he didn't show it at all.

"Don't be afraid of ten thousand, just be afraid of the unexpected. You must take precautions before they happen."

"Second uncle, do you think my father or my fourth brother will force me to rebel in the future?"

"You came to me today, don't you already have the answer in your mind?"

Zhao Yao was silent.

He Lianfang saw that Zhao Yao was silent and said nothing more.

Zhao Yao said dumbfounded: "Second uncle, you really saw through me."

He Lianfang acquiesced to Zhao Yao's words.

"Second uncle, you can take care of it." Zhao Yao felt that he had too many things to worry about. Regarding private soldiers and forging weapons, he should let He Lianfang take care of it.Besides, this is also He Lianfang's strength.Leave professional matters to professionals.

He Lianfang nodded slightly.

Zhao Yao didn't know that if he didn't agree, He Lianfang would do the same.

"Why do I feel that what I am doing is not in line with my dreams?" Zhao Yao carefully recalled what he had done over the years. It didn't feel like something that an idle prince should do, but rather like something that was ambitious for the throne. people do things. "My dream has always been to be a dandy prince who only knows how to eat, drink and have fun, but the things I have done over the years are not dandy at all. I think I have done more than Fourth Brother and Eighth Brother."

"Do you want to be a dandy prince who is arbitrarily slaughtered?"

Zhao Yao quickly shook his head: "Of course not." Speaking of which, he did so many things in the past just to be a prince who would not be manipulated at will. "Forget it, everything has been done. It's too late for me to regret it now. It's better not to think about it. I still want to think about whether I can gather some wool before going to Lingnan."

"What bad idea are you thinking of?"

Zhao Yao chuckled twice: "Hehehehe..."

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