Chapter 588: Abdicate to the Crown Prince

"Actually, he was right to do so."

Zhan Doudou could understand Su Mingzhe's approach.

After all, the eldest prince was born to the queen, so he was the undisputed heir to the throne.

This might avoid the various open and covert struggles for the throne.

Only if the throne can be passed on smoothly can the prosperity and fortune of Qing Kingdom continue.

If Zhan Doudou had the ability to make a woman pregnant, she would do the same.

"Sure enough, emperors are all cold-blooded animals."

Haitang Duoduo didn't expect that Zhan Doudou would actually help Su Mingzhe explain, and she couldn't help but look at him with contempt.

Then changing the topic, Haitang Duoduo asked about Zhan Doudou's situation two years after they separated.

In response to Haitang Duoduo's concern, Zhan Doudou just smiled calmly.

During the Northern Qi Dynasty, she was a puppet emperor.

The Northern Qi Empress Dowager had always been in charge of all the important affairs of state. Even the various "struggles for power" between the young emperor and the Empress Dowager in front of outsiders were led by this Empress Dowager.

As the young emperor of Northern Qi, Zhan Doudou's daily routine, apart from studying, was to kill time by reading some idle books.

Of course, he would occasionally practice martial arts to keep fit, but due to his talent and age, he did not achieve much success.

"Aunt, what about you? I heard that you were imprisoned by the Qing people for a year before being released."

"I'm fine too. During that year, the Qing people only imprisoned me, my master, and my senior brother in the dungeon of the Imperial Prison. Apart from the restriction on our freedom of movement, everything else was fine."

Haitang Duoduo was talking when she suddenly remembered something and apologized to Zhan Doudou:

"Your Majesty, after I entered the palace last year, I originally wanted to continue to assassinate the emperor. Who would have thought that the new emperor of Qing Kingdom is also a great master..."

"Is the new emperor of Qing Kingdom also a Grandmaster?"

Zhan Doudou was stunned, his eyes full of disbelief.

Do you really think that the grand master is just cabbage?

After all the hard work of Northern Qi for so many years, the only thing he had was a national teacher named Ku He.

Now you tell me, the two emperors before and after Qing Kingdom were both grandmasters, is the martial arts of Qing Kingdom really so prosperous?

At this time, a palace maid came to report that the Concubine Chen came to visit.

Zhan Doudou hid her surprise, put on a calm and peaceful expression again, and came to the palace gate to greet her sister.

During the Northern Qi Dynasty, the young emperor and the eldest princess of Northern Qi got along quite well.

Unfortunately, the Queen Mother of Northern Qi was particularly wary of the Princess Royal of Northern Qi, which led to many misunderstandings between the two sides.

Now, the two sisters meet again in a foreign country, but the gap between them has not only not decreased, but has increased.

Don’t mention the matters of the concubines in the harem.

Since the pacification of Northern Qi, the ruler and ministers of Qing Kingdom have had differences over the future direction of country governance.

What Su Mingzhe was thinking was that everyone should work together to defeat the Western Hu, Northern Rong, Southern Man, and overseas countries one by one.

However, most of the military heroes wanted to rest on their laurels, live out their lives, and pass on their wealth to the next generation.

Most of the civil officials thought that the emperor could rely on military generals to pacify the world immediately, but could not rule the world immediately, so as civil officials, they could achieve great things immediately.

Occasionally, there are some unwilling military heroes who want to continue fighting and gain some merits for their descendants, but these people are a minority.

As the emperor, Su Mingzhe had no choice but to develop the economy and improve people's livelihood when the entire court began to resist continuing the war.

Thirty years passed in a flash.

For young people, Northern Qi has become a historical term.

Only some old people still remember the former "Nanqing", "Beiqi" and "Dongyi".

In the palace, the Empress Dowager had already passed away.

The Queen Mother is already very old.

'Emperor Qing' and 'Master Ku He' haven't returned from the temple for nearly ten years.

Su Mingzhe stayed overnight in Yaohua Palace that day and discussed something with the Queen.

"Ruoruo, have you heard a recent rumor in Kyoto?"

"What rumors?"

Although Su Mingzhe let Fan Ruoruo take charge of the Internal Supervision Department and the Inner Treasury, in fact, Fan Ruoruo had already handed over these two institutions to his son, the current crown prince.

Seeing that she really didn't know, Su Mingzhe explained to her with a smile:

"Recently, there is a saying circulating in Kyoto, 'Has there ever been a prince who has been in office for thirty years?'..." Fan Ruoruo's many years of experience in palace fighting made her instantly aware of the sinister intention of this message, and she quickly said to her man:
"Your Majesty, this kind of talk is extremely treasonous. It must have been spread by someone with ulterior motives, hoping to alienate the relationship between the Emperor and the Crown Prince. Your Majesty, you must not believe it."

"Don't worry, I am not so broad-minded that I can't even tolerate my own son."

Su Mingzhe put his arm around Fan Ruoruo's shoulders and comforted her:
"Ruoruo, you and I have been married for thirty years, don't you know who I am? This is what I think. The Crown Prince has been regent for fifteen years. Especially in the last few years, I haven't paid much attention to state affairs, and the Crown Prince has managed the government in an orderly manner. I thought, why not just follow my father's example and abdicate directly, and have a good and carefree life for a few years."

For a moment, Fan Ruoruo couldn't guess whether Su Mingzhe's words were true or false.

She could only continue to persuade:

"Your Majesty, the important ministers and military heroes in the court are all arrogant. I'm afraid the prince can't bear this heavy responsibility."

"It's okay. I'm just abdicating. I'm not leaving Qing Kingdom and abandoning everything."

Su Mingzhe made up his mind and asked Fan Ruoruo to tell the prince in advance so that he could make preparations first.

On the second day.

Su Mingzhe was enjoying singing and dancing in the imperial garden when a palace maid came to report that the prince was here to pay a visit.

"Let's all go back."

Su Mingzhe waved his hand to send the dancer away, then summoned the prince.

After the prince came of age at the age of sixteen, Su Mingzhe gave him the power of regent and concurrently served as the prefect of Kyoto City.

Later, the boy got married and had a son. Su Mingzhe then asked him to work under Xin Qiwu.

Now, this kid has been regent for fifteen years. He is of fairly steady temperament, and when he walks, he is as majestic as a dragon or a tiger.

"My son, I pay my respects to my father."

"No need to be polite, come and play a game of chess with me."

Su Mingzhe was generally satisfied with the prince and felt at ease letting him take over Qing Kingdom.

"Yes, Father."

The prince walked into the pavilion, looking calm and composed, and started playing chess with Su Mingzhe.

Su Mingzhe's Go skills have long surpassed those of ordinary people, and he has no rival in the entire Daqing Kingdom.

The prince is young and inexperienced, so naturally he is no match for Su Mingzhe.

Soon, the winner of the game was revealed.

However, facing the defeat on the chessboard, the prince just frowned and thought, and did not admit defeat. Instead, he continued to make moves stubbornly.

Su Mingzhe didn't take it seriously and waited for the game to end.

The prince had no choice but to surrender.

"Prince, I know that you have been arrogant since you were born."

Su Mingzhe watched the prince slowly pack up his chess pieces, then he began to warn:

"State affairs are like this chess game. You are one side, and the civil and military officials in the court are the other side. If you insist on being aggressive and want to win or lose in one go, this is not the vision of a superior. You must learn to control the situation..."

The prince naturally nodded in agreement to Su Mingzhe's teachings.

"Okay, I won't say any more. I have already contacted the Imperial Observatory and asked them to choose an auspicious date. I have also consulted with several ministers in the cabinet."

Su Mingzhe also arranged everything for his son before deciding to abdicate:

"When I abdicate, I will take your mother and the others to live in the palace in Shangjing City. If there is no important matter, I will not come back."

When the prince heard what Su Mingzhe said, his expression changed slightly.

But after his eyes flickered for a while, the prince just cupped his hands and said nothing to persuade the girl to stay.

When Su Mingzhe saw this, he felt a little emotional.

My son has a bit of a cold-hearted character.

The rumors in Kyoto were actually spread secretly by the prince himself.

The prince thought what he did was very secretive, but he didn't know Su Mingzhe's methods.

Su Mingzhe also didn't want to confront his son and make a fool of himself, so he decided to take a step back and let Fan Ruoruo, as his mother, pass on the message.

As a result, today the prince simply did not hide his thoughts.

Seeing that his son was unwilling to be filial to his own father in order to gain the throne, he

Su Mingzhe felt a little sad, but he didn't think of destroying him.

After all, this son was raised by me bit by bit.

I don't have the energy to train another prince.

(End of this chapter)