Su Tingxia garrisoned Jiangling, and the soldiers and horses did not advance in January. The people of Chu were very frightened, the local people were homeless, and even the Jiangjiang region was not at peace.

The soldiers and horses of the Northern Dynasties did not move, and the people of the Southern Dynasties were worried about the war, and the prices of goods soared, making the lives of the people more difficult.

At this time, in Jiangdu City, Han Jian still had no intention of leading the troops to the battle. It can be said that the soldiers and horses prepared by Han Jian in Jiangdu and Yuzhou can go into battle and charge, and retreat can be farmed and tuntian, as long as they can continue to put pressure on the Southern Dynasties, then the Southern Dynasties will also be chaotic without a fight, and Han Jian does not need to fight this battle so urgently.

At the end of May, the summer grain in the north had already begun to be put into storage, and at this time it seemed that the war had reached the point where it had to be started, because at this time the rainy season in the south had come, and if Han Jian delayed sending troops, the war would develop in a direction that was unfavorable to the Northern Korean army, which had cavalry as the main combat force.

Finally, in late May, the Qi Dynasty, from the empress Xiao Zhan, to the Hui Wang Xiao Ling, and then to the ministers of various ministries, including generals at all levels, began to form a unified opinion, and transferred troops to Jiangzuo, and at the same time ordered Zhu Tongjing, the king of Linjiang, to take the initiative to cross the river to attack Su Tingxia's department and relieve the difficulty of Jiangling Hankou. Zhu Tongjing knew very well that he was now being used as a springboard by the Wei Dynasty, and was ready to gradually encroach on the south by annihilating his soldiers and horses, if Zhu Tongjing did not follow the imperial edict, he would betray his trust in the imperial court and would not get reinforcements, but if he sent troops to fight with Su Tingxia's troops, it was not what he wanted.

In Zhu Tongjing's view, it is best to fight between the Northern and Southern Dynasties first, but the Northern Dynasties sent troops under the pretext of crusading against him, and obviously could not put him out of the matter.

At the beginning of June, the Jiangjiang region began to gather troops and horses, and Zhu Tongjing intended to personally lead his troops across the river to the north to engage Su Tingxia's troops, who were 400 miles away. At this time. The situation on the Yangtze River was suddenly tense, no merchant ships or fishing boats were allowed to pass on the river, and the river was even more blocked, and sampans were not allowed to be launched.

Han Jian continued to live a very comfortable life in Jiangdu City, whether it was to the people around him, or to the court officials and even generals at all levels. He said that he wanted to drive the expedition in person, and before going to Jiangdu, he said as if he would personally lead his troops and horses south when he arrived in Jiangdu. But when Han Jian arrived in Jiangdu, he was abnormal, what should he do, he met the courtiers normally every day, reviewed the chapters, and returned to the Dongwang Mansion to rest very early in the afternoon, without the slightest intention of being nervous about sending troops.

After such a big battle, in the end, it was only Su Tingxia who brought his 20,000 soldiers and horses to Jiangling. In addition, there was not even any movement of soldiers and horses to move south, and after Zhu Tongjing led his troops to the west, he simply reversed the momentum, as if the soldiers and horses of the Southern Dynasty were going to take the initiative to attack the Northern Dynasty.

“…… Your Majesty, if the people of the world urgently need to be unified, our soldiers are strong and strong, and when the soldiers arrive, all the people of the world will submit. ”

Ning Yuan was initially waiting for Han Jian to go on the expedition. He was able to gradually control the government, and he was looking forward to Han Jian's expedition later. By June, he had already begun to run to Han Jian to make a speech, asking Han Jian to go on the expedition.

But as long as Han Jian stayed in Jiangdu, Ning Yuan felt uneasy all day long, Han Jian didn't care about his affairs in Ningzhou Mansion, and he didn't even take too much power in his hands. But he knew very well that with his current power, he could not pose any threat to Han Jian's imperial power. As long as Han Jian went on the expedition, he had the opportunity to contact Luoyang's subordinates and arrange a series of plans to seize power from the imperial court.

Han Jian held in his hand the notebook about the storage of summer grain uploaded to Jiangdu from the locality, these are all household affairs, but after all, war needs resources. Han Jian looked at these things very seriously.

"Does Taishi Ning think this war is too easy?" Han Jian glanced at Ning Yuan and said, "When I was in Luoyang, I was ready to take Ning Taishi as the overseer and lead the troops south, at that time, Ning Taishi you did everything you could to prevaricate, but now you let me drive the expedition in person, but you know that this north cannot be left without a master for a day, I went to the Southern Dynasty, if there is a three long and two short can not come back, Ning Taishi is ready to assist the royal family of the old dynasty to ascend the throne as a minister of care?" ”

Ning Yuan hurriedly kowtowed and apologized: "The old minister has no such intention. ”

"You didn't mean that? Well, I won't bother with you in detail, I will ask you, if I can't come back this time, who does Taishi Ning like to ascend the throne as emperor? ”

Of course, Ning Yuan thought that Han Jian was testing him, and he hurriedly said: "If Your Majesty leads the troops to the battle, you will definitely be able to succeed and return safely." ”

"Anyone can say nice things, but how can there be a reason to win a war? Since ancient times, there are not a few kings who want to dominate the rivers and mountains, just twenty years ago, my dynasty soldiers and horses are strong and strong after all, under Jinling City, I don't want to blame you, since I want to drive the royal conquest, I must always think about it, the country can not be without a king for a day, the world always needs a prince to stabilize people's hearts. I'm asking Taishi Ning, who is the most suitable to defend the Chu army now? ”

"This ......" Ning Yuan's words are not easy to answer, Han Jian has two queens, and even the former empress is also his concubine, the queens of the two palaces gave birth to a son to Han Jian, and the eldest son of the emperor Han Xi is three years old, so it stands to reason that Han Xi should be appointed as the prince. But Han Jian has not established Han Xi for a long time, which means that it is difficult to solve the problem of the prince, because there is still a layer of relationship with Yang Rui, if Han Jian can make him and Yang Rui's heir as the prince, it will be very helpful to subdue the people, and some old ministers of the previous dynasty will also support this prince and train him to become a wise monarch of the future Wei Dynasty.

Seeing Ning Yuan's hesitation, Han Jian sneered: "What Taishi Ning said before was not very good, why is there no sound now?" ”

"Back to Your Majesty, the old minister thinks that there is no long-term monarch in this country, and now all the princes are young, and they don't know what their ability is, so it's better to ...... With His Majesty's eldest prince as the crown prince......"

Han Jian smiled and said, "Taishi Ning didn't say such things earlier, he just asked who you liked, and it wasn't who I had to set up." I also think that what you said in the first half of the sentence makes sense, my sons are still young, and they are just babbling, so it is not appropriate to decide who will be the prince. Although the eldest son should inherit the throne, there are still some things that need to be cautious, and besides, I have to explain to the people of the world. ”

Ning Yuan saluted and said, "What Your Majesty said is extremely true. ”

"I won't say much of this kind of high-sounding words in the future, and I'm really tired of hearing it. Since I haven't decided who will be the prince yet, I'm not in a hurry to lead the troops on the expedition, and I'll wait a few days to see how the situation changes. ”

Ning Yuan was like a fish in his throat, and he couldn't speak. He had to retreat abruptly, Han Jian was now putting on a posture of not establishing a prince and not going to fight, and what he said could not be fully approved by Han Jian. But he is not helpless, now there are many official gentry in Jiangdu, he can reveal some rumors to these people from some channels, so that they feel that Han Jian intends to establish a prince, and let these people do it.

As long as the matter of Lichu is put on the bright side, everyone in the world will pay attention to it. Han Jian, as an emperor, could not ignore it. The pressure on him alone can't make Han Jian go out on the expedition, but the pressure that people all over the world give Han Jian has nothing to do with him.

Ning Yuan was very familiar with the matter of power and conspiracy, and after he returned, he found people close to him and passed on his meaning through these people.

It has only been two days, and together with the local officials and gentry who have contributed to the dispatch of troops to the Eastern Palace, they all feel that the new emperor should appoint a prince as soon as possible to reassure the people. These local gentry in Jiangdu are also regarded as retainers of the Eastern Prince's Mansion, and they are now close ministers of the Son of Heaven. After all, the words of these people are easy to use, and after the discussion of these people, people began to write to the court through the civil and political system of Jiangdu, asking Han Jian to establish the prince as soon as possible.

Almost suddenly, Han Jian's desk had a lot of copies asking for the early establishment of the crown prince, if it were those ministers in Luoyang, he only needed a holy decree to prevent people from discussing it, but this time the situation was different. The people who spoke were all the people in Jiangdu who he relied on. These people have made great contributions to the unification of the East Wangfu in the north and the drive out of the Xianbei people, and now they want him to set up the prince as soon as possible. In fact, it is also for his good, if Han Jian does not appreciate it and orders a reprimand, it is tantamount to offending his own people around him.

Among these people, there are even the generals who are reused under Han Jian's command, as well as the figures of the family behind Han Jian's aunts. Han Jian didn't know how to deal with it for a while.

In the end, this matter was a good show made by Ning Yuan, and Han Jian understood it in his heart. But you can't directly bring Ning Yuan to justice, after all, there is no reason. Han Jian also had to say that Ning Yuan's hand was very beautiful, he choked Ning Yuan back with the matter of the prince, and Ning Yuan bounced back the question of the prince through other people's mouths, which made Han Jian in a dilemma.

Two days down. There are constant visitors in the Dongwang Mansion, these people are here to pay tribute to Han Jian, they are all retainers and heroes of the Dongwang Mansion, even if Han Jian doesn't have time to meet, Han Jian has to send people around him to meet, and even several of Han Jian's aunts are also entertaining their families. It is not surprising that these people have another question, that is, about the future successor candidate, since Han Jian now has three sons, and the two sons are still from the queen, the matter of establishing the crown prince should be put on the desk as soon as possible.

“…… Jian'er, you too, now the gentry in Jiangdu are all talking about it. You also have to fight and make trouble, who are you setting up now? You always have to make a choice between Xin'er and Li'er, right? ”

Han Xu's nagging in Han Jian's ear, in the case of Han Song's, Han Cui's and Han Zhao's three county princesses with actual power are not in Jiangdu, Han Xu's is the representative of Han Jian's aunts, and her words represent the entire Jiangdu foreign relatives system.

Han Jian said angrily: "Then listen to Liuniang, do I want to make a prince or a queen?" Do I need to choose between Xin'er and Li'er, or am I going to abolish the queen and the backyard will be quiet from now on? ”

"What do you mean by that? Now that you are the crown prince, you don't choose one of Yin'er and Xi'er, do you still want to make your daughter the prince? Even if the woman agrees, I'm afraid that the people of Jiangdu will not agree, and if they can't give birth to a son, they want to make their daughter the crown prince, but this throne is still their Yang family's? ”

Han Xu almost roared at the back, if Yang Rui was present, she estimated that she could point to her nose and scold.

The original monarch was also the figure they looked up to, but now they are trampled under their feet, any favor of Han Jian for Yang Rui will cause Han Jian's aunts to be disgusted, they don't want Han Jian to kill Yang Rui, but they think that it should be more appropriate for Han Jian to put Yang Rui into the cold palace and never see him.

Han Jian's face darkened, and he just said lightly: "Is it possible for her to become pregnant again?" ”

One sentence made Han Xu stunned on the spot, and after thinking about it carefully, she realized that "something is not good", and the "she" in Han Jian's mouth is naturally the person they are most afraid of, Yang Rui, the former empress of the Wei Dynasty. Yang Rui only has a daughter, it's good to say that the orthodoxy of the royal family will not be passed back, but if Yang Rui is pregnant, there is at least a fifty percent probability that he will give birth to a son, and when the throne is passed back, it is equivalent to Han Jian usurping the throne as the emperor and even purging the old ministers later.

"No, you can't say anything." Han Xu was already a little incoherent.

Han Jian squinted at Han Xu and said, "Does Liu Niang know what she is talking about?" What not? Is it not allowed to be pregnant, or is it not allowed for me, the emperor's concubine? ”

"Anyway...... Forget it, I'll go back and write to your second mother and third mother to see what they mean. ”

One sentence is tantamount to leaking her mouth, and what she said was instructed by Han Song and Han Cui. Han Song's family is still in Luoyang, and all the real power has been put down, but Han Song's family always wants to be her princess of the county who can call the wind and rain, and be the helmsman of the East Palace.

Han Xu didn't mean to explain, and left in a hurry, and Han Jian's face was a little not good-looking. Although Han Jian didn't say that his family was not allowed to have any contact with Han Song's family, it was now clear that he and Han Song's had been in a stalemate with no sign of easing, and now he even had to bring Han Song's name to everything, and he didn't take him as the emperor in his eyes.

"Xianggong, don't worry about Liuniang, Liuniang is sometimes a little verbose, and she may not mean to offend Xianggong."

Yang Li'er hid behind the screen from Han Xu's coming, and didn't come out to persuade Han Jian until Han Xu's left.

Han Jian looked at Yang Li'er and said, "Even Li'er, do you think I should immediately establish a reserve now?" ”

Yang Li'er shook her head and said: "The concubine doesn't care about this, I have said from the beginning, no matter what happens in the future, I am husband and wife with my sister through thick and thin, in fact, the concubine is also very envious of my sister in her body." The concubine knows that Xianggong has always felt sorry for her sister about the throne, and she also wants to pass the throne back to the Yang family in the future. In the end, the concubine is also surnamed Yang. ”

Han Jian sighed, it was a little early to say these words now. He has always been biased towards Yang Rui on the issue of the crown prince, but Yang Rui does not appreciate this, and even Yang Rui thinks that he is coy.

Han Jian is a person who only cares about the people in front of him, if he really dies one day, the world can be handed over to the capable, and no capable person even needs to be his son, this is the open-mindedness of his mind. Of course, it is naturally good if it can be passed on, after all, even if Han Jian has a heart, the future successor will not treat his children and grandchildren well, and Han Jian does not want to cut off his children and grandchildren. (To be continued.) )