In an absolute monarchy, even if the most powerful monarch reigns, once it gets old, pretenders to the throne will naturally arise. This is especially true when there is a problem with the heirs.

Sadly, pretenders are often brothers and even sons of powerful monarchs.

It is said that tiger poison does not eat children, let alone people?

No matter how cruel and cold-blooded the monarch is, he can't escape this law.

And once the monarch relents, the pretenders will become even more unscrupulous, even cannibalistic, and sometimes even the monarch will be drawn into the struggle and die miserably.

This is exactly what Mansour is facing today, and Saeed even gave him the example of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, Li Longji.

Li Longji was a powerful emperor who had been in power for nearly 50 years in the Tang Dynasty, but in his old age, he could not escape the fate of being tormented by pretenders to the throne, and finally died a tragic death in the turmoil.

After listening to Said's account, Mansour was shocked.

The Tang Dynasty was a great empire located in the east, which can be said to be on a par with the Great Eclipse.

Li Longji's experience made him feel an indescribable sense of anxiety in his heart, and this kind of sad emotion can only arise in people with similar status.

Of course, it is impossible for Saeed to know about Mansour's inner activities, and it is not necessarily a good thing for Saeed to know.

None of this is the point, the point is that Mansour accepted Said's advice and agreed to promise not to punish the defeated Prince Said.

This was a huge compromise for Mansour, who did not compromise with Said, but with fate.

After this decision, it is unknown how conflicted al-Mansour was, but Saeed was offered a higher position than the tax collector, albeit in name.

Vizier, Said's newly acquired official position, set out from Ctesiphon, the caliph representing the empire, to Mulu City to meet the prime minister of the Tang Dynasty.

On the surface, Saeed rushed to Khorasan in the east to inspect the battlefield and pacify the local tribes, but in fact he had another important task.

It wasn't just the eerie clouds that hung over the court and beyond. At the same time as the news of Mahdi's defeat was received, military reports from the north were also sent in a hurry.

The Khazars in the north launched raids on the northwestern frontier of the empire in the Caucasus.

To make matters worse, the infidels living there responded and took up arms against the Empire's civil officials and generals.

At the same time, there was the fear that the newly defeated Romans were actively planning a counteroffensive in an attempt to subdue the lost lands of Asia Minor.

Suddenly, al-Mansur found himself in a situation where he was suddenly caught in the trap of being attacked on all sides.

Among the many enemies on all sides, the most direct enemy of the empire at the moment turned out to be the Tang Dynasty from the far east. Pagans everywhere, including Khorasan, were also affected by the crisis.

It wasn't until after the defeat of Mahdi that al-Mansur began to face up to an enemy he had never seen before.

And for the understanding of the Tang Dynasty, except for the priceless silk, I don't know anything.

At this time, the importance of Said, a merchant who had lived in the East for decades, was able to speak well of the customs of the Tang Dynasty.

Moreover, this man was even more loyal to the caliph than he was to religion, and al-Mansur would have preferred to have more people like Saeed around him than the nobles who spent their days only making demands.

Saeed had always been at Mansour's side as an advisor minister, and it was certainly impossible for Mansour to see him as a minister.

The prime ministers and generals around al-Mansur were the most important support forces around the caliph.

In fact, a person of Saeed's background can reach the status he has today, and it is impossible for a person with no family and tribe support behind him and no corresponding religious qualifications to get an official position like Vizier.

When Said's appointment was announced, there was an uproar in the Ctesiphon government and the opposition.

Even Mansour's cronies didn't understand.

It's just that if you don't understand, you don't understand, the caliph is supreme, and who dares to question it openly?

……

Mahdi has been distressed and depressed lately, and the battle with Yusuf has continued to stalemate, with both sides winning and losing, and many of their rangers dying as a result.

Fortunately, there was no movement from the Khazars, and Khan Afri remained surprisingly silent and did not come forward to accuse him.

After all, Yusuf belonged to the Khazars who were sheltered, and taking the initiative to attack him would touch the bottom line of the Khazars.

Fortunately, the Khazarians acquiesced to Mahdi's actions, and Mahdi's heart did not know whether he was happy or inexplicably humiliated.

Ibn had analyzed with him that they were inexplicably caught in a war with Yusuf, and that the masterminds behind it were probably the Khazars, and the Afri Khan, who had been watching coldly, was probably the mastermind.

It's not that Mahdi hasn't thought about this possibility, however, everything is just speculation, and even if he guesses correctly, there is no evidence, let alone any way, so he can only blindfold and go all the way to the dark.

Just when Mahdi was in great sorrow, a man rushed from Ctesiphon to his makeshift camp.

Mahdi was pleasantly surprised when he saw this man.

"Said, why are you here......?

He thought that his father, who was the caliph, still did not let him go, but who knew that the news brought by Saeed made him stunned.

"What? The caliph will pardon me for all my crimes, including treason and his troops north?"

Said smiled mysteriously and shook his head.

"No, no, no, His Royal Highness the Prince has not lost the battle before, nor has he committed treason, His Royal Highness is just sent to return to China, that's all!"

"What? This ......"

Mahdi was inexplicable and speechless, if he didn't know Said before, he really thought that Said was crazy, but seeing this person's confident appearance, he couldn't help but be curious in his heart.

"What the hell is the Caliph going to do with me?"

Although he has been treasonous, he has grown up in Ctesiphon since he was a child, and this sense of belonging is not something that can be given up.

However, the answer he received once again baffled him.

"No, no, no, the caliph will not dispose of His Highness, but will only reward His Highness!"

"Said, aren't you confused, don't the people of Ctesiphon still know what happened to Sylvan?"

Said laughed:

"These are all rumors in Ctesiphon, and those who dare to spread rumors have been beheaded by the Caliph, and not only that, but even the entire family of the rumor spreader has been beheaded, Your Highness thinks, who else dares to risk the destruction of the clan to spread rumors?"

……

Even Ibn, who had participated in the secret talks, was stunned, and he really couldn't find a plausible explanation for what happened to Ctesiphon in Sa'id's mouth.

"Doesn't the caliph have the idea of punishing His Royal Highness for the defeat of the prince?"

At this point, Said began to introduce in detail the clouds of intrigue that were dense in the court of Ctesiphon.

When the news of the Prince's defeat was first sent back to Ctesiphon, there was immediately an undercurrent inside and outside the court, and the fermentation of the conspiracy was hidden, because they knew that His Royal Highness the Prince would inevitably die, and the Caliph was getting old, and who would become the heir of the caliph became the center of the maelstrom of conspiracy. ”

This situation left Mahdi and Ibn stunned for a long time, and they could not imagine that the caliph's toughness could not control the situation in Ctesiphon.

And it is this potential risk that makes the caliph make a decision that goes against the principles of the past.

But this did not completely convince Mahdi that he did not believe that his father, who was caliph, had become such a cowardly person.

Saeed had a keen insight into Mahdi's psychological changes.

"Your Highness, don't be surprised, it's normal for the caliph to be old and lack energy. What's more, there is no prince in the current court of Ctesiphon who is more suitable to inherit the caliphate than His Highness!"

Mansur's brothers, many of whom were young and powerful, and each commanded a powerful tribe, was not impossible to claim the position of successor to the caliph.

Therefore, the most threatening to the caliph at the moment is not the sons, but the young and powerful brothers.

At this time, Mansour must have been well aware of this.

Mahdi gasped.

"So, therefore, the caliph intends to pardon, pardon ......"

He couldn't say the latter "I" anyway, although it seemed to him that the situation was so ridiculous that even if there were a thousand or ten thousand reasonable reasons, how could the caliph, who had never compromised, agree?

Moreover, his sin is not as simple as killing people and setting fires, and his betrayal of the empire has always been cruelly punished for his crimes, and he will never be so fried as if nothing had happened.

Saeed corrected again:

"No, no, no, the caliph will not forgive anyone who has sinned!"

"What?"

Mahdi's face became extremely ugly, and he couldn't understand why Said said this.

Saeed hastened to explain:

"Don't Your Highness still understand? The Caliph will cover all this for His Highness, and since someone will receive the punishment for His Highness, His Highness will return to Ctesiphon safe and sound. ”

Hearing this, Mahdi was overjoyed, and the emotions that had been suppressed for many days finally exploded at this moment, and he laughed loudly until he burst into tears.

But Iben's cold words made him fall to the bottom of the glacier again.

"How can you guarantee that this is not the caliph trapping His Highness?"

This is indeed a possibility, with the character of the caliph, he will never let go of those who betray him, not to mention that the betrayer is still his most valued son.

In this regard, Saeed had already prepared, took out a piece of stuff from the skin bag around his waist, and handed it to Mahdi.

"Before the villain left, the caliph repeatedly told him that he must hand over this thing to His Highness, and when His Highness saw this thing, he would naturally understand his intentions!"

It was a fist-sized wooden box, and it looked so plain that it wasn't even beautifully made.

Ibn looked suspiciously at the wooden box and then at Sa'id, not believing his words.

"This, is this really what the Caliph asked you to take?"

Said was also surprised by the prince's reaction and quickly swore that he would not lie.

"The villain doesn't dare to say a word of lie in front of His Highness......"

Before he finished speaking, Mahdi had already snatched the wooden box that Saeed was holding, held it in his hand, and burst into tears......