In the Northern Yan Imperial Court, there were three distinct factions: the civil officials, the military generals, and the Xiang Li, Xiang Chong, and other members of the royal family.
Of course, there were those who did not sit next to each other. Chu Xiu was one of them. Xiang Wu was also one of them. He was a general of the West-Hill Army, but he was also a member of the Northern Yan royal family. Therefore, he could not even stand on one side. He leaned against a dragon pillar and yawned. Obviously, he did not attend court often.
After a long while, Xiang Long walked in with the help of Eunuch Han.
Seeing Xiang Long's current state, Chu Xiu could not help but shake his head.
Xiang Long was already at the end of his rope. Chu Xiu would not be surprised even if he were to kick the bucket in the next moment.
"Greetings, Your Majesty!"
Everyone kneeled down below. Only a few elders of the Xiang Royal Family with extremely high seniority and people of extremely high status like Beigong Baili merely bowed to him.
On Chu Xiu's side, Mei Qinglian and Shang Tianliang had come. Chu Xiu and Mei Qinglian would at least put on an act and salute him. However, Shang Tianliang was looking at the sky and did not even bother to put on an act.
Born in the Green Capital, he did not understand how a dying person could still sit in such a high position.
If there were people in the same state as Xiang Long in the Green Capital, they would have committed suicide long ago to save themselves from wasting resources and implicating others.
"Rise, all of you."
Xiang Long said weakly. He did not keep them in suspense. He sat on the dragon throne and said, "Today, I have gathered everyone here to announce a few things."
Hearing this, everyone immediately put on a solemn expression.
Xiang Long had already weakened to this extent, so it was easy to imagine what he would announce next.
Among the Northern Yan royal family, Xiang Li clenched his fists tightly. He did not even dare to raise his head.
Right now, he was the most nervous person here.
He had waited for the position of Crown Prince for more than a decade. In these years, apart from the title, his power was no different from that of a Crown Prince. If not for Xiang Chong, he would have long been the Crown Prince!
Xiang Li subconsciously turned to look at Xiang Chong.
Compared to Xiang Li's nervousness, Xiang Chong seemed to be rather calm at this moment.
Everyone wanted to be the Crown Prince, especially with Xiang Long's current condition. If anyone could become the Crown Prince, it probably wouldn't take long for them to officially ascend the throne.
He knew that in terms of prestige and personal strength, he was not inferior to Xiang Li, but his only advantage was Xiang Long's love!
Even if he, Xiang Li, had a great advantage, those things could be taken away by Xiang Long with a single word. Therefore, it was useless for him to worry now. Whether he lived or died depended on Xiang Long's decision!
On the dragon throne, Xiang Long's gaze swept past Xiang Li and Xiang Chong. In the end, he sighed and said, "I've decided to appoint Cheng Chong as the Crown Prince!"
The crowd burst into an uproar as soon as he said that.
Xiang Li felt as if all his strength had been sucked out, and he almost fell to the ground.
He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, lowering his head so that no one could see his expression. But in fact, the expression on his face was extremely ferocious, as if he wanted to eat someone.
He refused to accept this! Not convinced!
Anyone could be the Crown Prince, but why Xiang Chong?
He had worked hard for more than ten years. Just because he looked like his father when he was young, he could have all this?
What Xiang Li was unwilling to accept was that his careful and meticulous planning had actually been defeated by a face. How could he swallow this insult? How could he accept this?
Chu Xiu, on the other hand, felt that this was very normal. Because in the original plot, the one who obtained the Crown Prince position in the end was the weaker Xiang Chong.
Xiang Li's power was indeed not weak, but he had neglected one point. For a great ruler like Xiang Long, most of the time, it was the father who was strong and the son who was weak. If Xiang Long wanted to give something to you, it was only a matter of a word. If he didn't want to give it to you, no matter how much you schemed, he would still slap you to the ground.
At this moment, Xiang Chong was also stunned. His face was also filled with disbelief.
Although he knew that he was favored by Xiang Long, he did not expect that one day, this favor would allow him to inherit the throne.
After all, in terms of strength, he was much younger than Xiang Li. Although he had fantasized about this day, he did not dare to imagine that the throne would fall into his hands.
At this moment, the other Northern Yan generals and members of the royal family were also discussing this matter. To be honest, they did not expect that Xiang Chong would become the Crown Prince in the end. Previously, they had always thought that this person would be Xiang Li, so they had invested in him in advance and befriended him.
But now, at this time, because of a word from Xiang Long, the Crown Prince had to be replaced. This was unacceptable to them.
Looking around, Xiang Long coughed, and a cold glint flashed in his eyes.
He did not say a word, but after feeling Xiang Long's gaze, everyone immediately quieted down.
Although Xiang Long looked like he was about to die, he had been in charge of the Northern Yan for decades. His prestige was still there, and not many people dared to challenge him in front of him.
When the hall was completely quiet, Xiang Long said, "This is only the first thing. There are still a few things that I need to announce.
First, I feel that the Northern Yan Jianghu is too chaotic, so I sent people to the Great Light Temple and the Chunyang Dao Sect to invite the eminent monks of the Great Light Temple and the Taoist priests of the Chunyang Dao Sect to come to Yan Jing City to establish a branch.
With the protection of both Taoism and Buddhism, I believe that the Northern Yan Land will be more prosperous. "
As soon as this was said, Chu Xiu's expression, which was originally watching a show, suddenly became gloomy.
Was Xiang Long preparing to break down and rebuild? Inviting the Great Light Temple and the Chunyang Dao Sect was clearly to target Chu Xiu and the Zhenwu Hall.
The courtiers present were not stupid. They quickly figured out the crux of the matter. This was also what Xiang Long was best at.
The combination of vertical and horizontal, driving the tiger to swallow the wolf, Xiang Long relied on these few moves to defeat Eastern Qi.
In the past, when the Northern Yan was weak, they used the power of the Northern Yan Jianghu to attack Eastern Qi.
When the Northern Yan Jianghu was stable, they brought in Chu Xiu to suppress the Northern Yan Jianghu. Chu Xiu alone was notorious, and there were not many in the Northern Yan Jianghu who scolded the imperial court.
Seeing that Chu Xiu was too big to be shaken off, Xiang Long actually brought in the forces of Taoism and Buddhism to suppress Chu Xiu.
The three branches of Taoism, Buddhism, and Diabolism gathered in Yan Jing City. They could imagine what kind of scene it would be. Chaos. It would be a complete mess.
If Xiang Long was still young, they would have confidence in him to solve all the problems and win in the chaos.
However, the problem was that Xiang Long did not have many days left to live. Was he not afraid of getting into trouble by making such a big move?
Before the crowd could react, Xiang Long continued, "At the same time, I have decided to give the land of Wei County to Jiangshan Pavilion. In a few days, people from Jiangshan Pavilion will come to Yan Jing City. When Jiangshan Pavilion takes control of Wei County, I will agree to restore their country! "
The power of this sentence was even greater than the previous one. They didn't know how to describe Xiang Long anymore.
The forces of the three countries had already reached a balance, but now Xiang Long wanted to create a fourth country. Was he not afraid of going overboard?
Chu Xiu was silent at the side. He suddenly guessed what Xiang Long wanted to do.
Previously, he had threatened Xiang Long in front of him. Xiang Long had endured it for fear of harming the innocent.
But now, it seemed that Xiang Long was really dying. Even if he wanted to endure it, he did not have the time.
Therefore, at this juncture, Xiang Long decided to stake it all on one throw. He put all the internal and external conflicts and troubles in the light. Everyone would check and balance each other and weaken each other. In the end, they would even reach a delicate balance.
The enmity between the three branches of Taoism, Buddhism, and Diabolism, as well as their worldviews, were not in the same pot. Hoping for them to coexist peacefully was more difficult than asking a pig to fly to heaven.
Although the risk was great, Xiang Long couldn't care less anymore.
After so many years, which of the things he did did not have risks?
The court was noisy, but no one objected. It should be said that even if there were people who had objections, they did not dare to say it.
This was where Xiang Long's advantage lay. His reputation in the Northern Yan was too high. It was so high that as long as he was alive, no one in the entire Northern Yan Imperial Court would dare to say a word against him.
At this moment, Xiang Long had already instructed Xiang Chong to take care of these matters. Only then did he inform the crowd. This was not a discussion, but a routine notice.
"Go and get the Nine Dragon Seal to strengthen Chong-er. We no longer have time, so let's simplify everything. "
As Xiang Long's voice fell, Xiang Chong and several elders of the Xiang royal family left together. A moment later, they carefully brought back an exquisite wooden box and placed it in the center of the hall.
When the box was opened, it immediately shone with a golden light. Nine lifelike coiling dragons were engraved on it, and a powerful aura lingered in the hall. Even Shang Tianliang could feel a faint pressure from it.
Chu Xiu narrowed his eyes. He knew what the Nine Dragon Seal was.
When the Northern Yan Empire had just been founded, all the master smiths of the Northern Yan were gathered. They even specially invited people from the Black Tortoise Gate and the Hall of Gods to forge this item together.
The Nine Dragon Seal was not a weapon, but it was even more terrifying than a weapon.
The Nine Dragon Seal that was forged by so many master smiths was not used directly. Every generation of the Xiang royal family had to give the Nine Dragon Seal their first drop of blood when they were born. This made it a treasure that only the bloodline of the Xiang family could wield.
Moreover, the place where the Nine Dragon Seal was nurtured was not ordinary. It was in the Northern Yan Dragon Vein.
After being stored in the Dragon Vein for a long time, the Nine Dragon Seal had already fused with the Northern Yan Dragon Vein. It could be considered as a derivative of the Dragon Vein. It could even be said that this item was the last trump card of the Northern Yan Empire, or even the entire Xiang royal family.
Moreover, this item was not only in the Northern Yan Empire. Eastern Qi and Western Chu Empire should have it as well. However, it was not a seal, but something else. The power of the Dragon Vein was so strong. As the ruler of the empire, how could he not make use of it?
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