My life is like walking on thin ice

Chapter 82 Dragon Slayer Warrior
Emperor Qi was originally in a good mood.

The King of Liang was already in the urn, and Queen Mother Dou was busy cleaning up the turmoil caused by Liu Rong, and had no time to worry about it.

Next, Emperor Qi could naturally roll up his sleeves and concentrate on preparing the "Cutting the Fans Policy" and the subsequent efforts to put down the rebellion.

But after hearing Zhou Ren's report, although the faint smile still hung on Emperor Qi's face, there was no trace of happiness in Emperor Qi's eyes.

"Prime Minister, you are really old and wise in seeking the country..."

"The Prime Minister actually got it right."

"——There are seven kings in the Qi family, and there are six who want to rebel;"

"The three kings of Huainan only have one family of loyal ministers."

···
"The Qi clan is six, the Huainan clan is two, plus Wu Chu, and Zhao Guo who contacted the Huns for Liu Bi..."

"——This is the Eleven Kingdoms~"

"Today, my Han family and the Communist Party of Manchuria are only seventeen - seventeen families of princes and vassals in Manchuria..."

Seemingly saying this without joy or sorrow, the figure of Emperor Qi with his back to Zhou Ren felt an inexplicable desolation in the blink of an eye.

Today, in the Han family, there are three kings of Yan, Dai, and Zhao who guard the border in the north;

To the east were the two kings of Wu and Chu, and the seven kings of Qi.

In the south are the three kings of the Huainan clan, and the only remaining king of the Han Dynasty with a different surname: Wu's Changsha Kingdom.

And Liang Guo, who guards the gateway to Guanzhong.

According to Zhou Ren's report and Emperor Qifang's summary, there are a total of seventeen vassals and vassals of the Han family, and a total of eleven families will become participants in this 'Wu-Chu Rebellion'.

Although the situation is not optimistic, there are still six - more than one-third of the princes have decided to become 'loyal ministers', and the situation does not seem to be much worse;

But Emperor Qi knew very well: This was not the way the account was calculated at all.

Among the three kings who guarded the border in the north, King Liu Jia of Yan was very old, and because Emperor Taizong returned to Yan State to hold the ancestral hall in his own family, he had always been loyal to Emperor Taizong's lineage;
Dai Wang Liu Deng is more directly the half-brother of today's emperor Qi: Dai Xiao Wang Liu Shen's son is himself a member of Emperor Taizong's lineage.

At first glance, it seems that among the three border garrison kings of Yan, Dai and Zhao, Yan and Dai, which directly border the grassland, will not rebel. Even if Zhao is ready to make a move, it seems that it will not be able to make a big splash.

But the fact is: Zhao Guo's position will directly determine the stability of the Han family's northern border wall!

As for why...

"On his deathbed, Emperor Taizu Gao appointed Zhou Chang as the Prime Minister of Zhao and left an edict: If there is a change in the border wall, Prime Minister Zhao can independently summon the troops of Yan, Dai, and Zhao to respond to the enemy first, and then make up for Chang'an."

"While waiting for the Empress Dowager Lu, Lu Lu was the King of Zhao, and even received an edict from the Empress Dowager: Whenever there is a change in the border wall, the King of Zhao can independently mobilize the troops of the three kingdoms of Yan, Dai, and Zhao to respond to the enemy without having to report."

"Since then, I, King Zhao of the Han family, have the power to mobilize the troops and horses of the three kings to guard the border in response to the changes in the border wall."

"Even the late emperor had no choice but to acquiesce to this system due to the Huns' military strength..."

After saying these words in an inexplicably calm tone, Emperor Qi turned slightly sideways and raised his eyebrows at the doctor behind him, Zhou Ren.

Then Zhou Ren nodded solemnly: "That's true."

"When King Zhao contacted the Huns, he made an agreement with the Huns: the Huns would pretend to attack the border wall, so that King Zhao could take the opportunity to call on the soldiers and horses of the three kings guarding the border."

"As for these soldiers and horses, will they be taken north by King Zhao to defend against foreign enemies, or will they go south to join Liu Bi and Liu Wu's Wu-Chu coalition..."

This is the reason why Zhao State, although it does not border the grassland, can become a decisive factor in the stability of the border wall.

——The King of Zhao of the Han family naturally has wartime command authority over the three border guarding kings: Yan, Dai, and Zhao.

When the Huns invaded, this privilege ensured that the three border guarding kings could respond quickly, instead of first sending the news to Chang'an and then waiting for instructions from the court. But if King Zhao has ulterior motives, then this privilege will be the most powerful reminder in the world.

Later generations often say: King Zhao of the Han family was poisonous, and the feng shui of Zhao land was bad;

King Zhao killed one of them, and two of them died.

But if you think about it, you can know: If it was really so mysterious, the clan princes of the old Liu family would not follow one after another, and would even do whatever they could to fight to seal the kingdom of Zhao.

——Zhao's singing and dancing girls, gentle countryside, as well as the suitable climate and national strength are indeed the reasons that attracted the Liu clan members to covet the position of King Zhao.

The reason why many of the Han family's Zhao kings "died badly" was because they independently invoked the power of the three border guard kings during the war. It was really difficult for the Emperor of the Han Dynasty in Chang'an City to rest assured about this distant relative who was far away from the customs.

Holding great power means that you must be firm in your stance and be of one mind with Chang'an - especially with the emperor!

Once the position is slightly shaken, it will be irreversible, which is something that can be encountered.

"If King Zhao has a different intention, Yan and Dai will be in chaos."

"Each of the Qi and Huainan families had one family who did not rebel - rather than saying that they were state-owned loyal ministers, it was better to say that the Qi and Huainan families knew that they could not take the risk of national subjugation and annihilation, so they each retained a vassal king as a kindling."

"As for the Changsha Kingdom in the south—the fourth king of Changsha, Wu Zhu, passed away last year and had no heirs, so he was exterminated according to the law."

"In other words: out of the seventeen clan lords of my Han family, the only one I can count on is the King of Liang..."

Tianzi Qi's seemingly plain tone actually caused Zhou Ren to take a deep breath, and his face, which had not seen any change in expression for many years, was already full of solemnity.

But I saw the Emperor Qi suddenly laughing: "Do you know what I am thinking about right now?"

After asking sarcastically, Zhou Ren shook his head blankly and saw Emperor Qi slightly raising his head and looking at Changle Palace across Zhangtai Street from Weiyang Palace.

"I'm thinking: Can the Liang Kingdom of the Han family really be able to fight on my own against the coalition of eleven families of Wu and Chu who rebelled against the king?"

"If not, then my Han family will be overthrown and destroyed."

"If so, then how could the Liang Kingdom not be my Han family - my Chang'an court has another serious problem..."

···
"——Wu King Liu Bi, even though he has many soldiers and generals, and the country is rich and the people are strong, he still has to gather eleven princes, and even summon the Huns outside the Great Wall, before he dares to challenge my Chang'an court."

"But if Liang Guo can resist Wu King Liu Bi's coalition forces by itself, then how can I solve Liang Guo's problem..."

The extremely sarcastic and self-deprecating words made Zhou Ren instinctively lower his head, not daring to express more on this topic.

——The power of Liang State was caused by the Chang'an court.

It was the Chang'an court, under the instructions of the late emperor and the current Emperor Qi, that supported the Liang Kingdom bit by bit and became as strong as it is today.

How to deal with Liang Guo, the key is not the difficulty.

But this is: Except for Emperor Qi, no one dares to have this thought...

"Has the Prime Minister heard about these things?"

"What does the Prime Minister think of this?"

Just when he was bowing his head and sighing that the floor under his feet was really too low, the indifferent voice of Emperor Qi came into his ears again.

It was not until this time - until Emperor Qi changed the topic from 'how to deal with the Liang Kingdom' that the doctor, Zhou Ren, finally secretly breathed a sigh of relief...

　First update on March 3th, second update coming soon

　　
　
(End of this chapter)