Urban Sims

In the era of the feudal empire, the courtiers and nobles had always attached great importance to the issue of the emperor's marriage and heirs, and even regarded it as a fundamental issue of the country, related to the stability of the empire.

The emperor got married late, no, the throne cannot remain vacant for a long time.

It is not okay for the emperor to have no heirs for a long time after getting married. If there is no one to inherit the empire's foundation, the empire will be unstable and people will be uneasy.

The fundamental reason why there is such a phenomenon is that the emperor has too much power, and the life and death of hundreds of millions of people are tied to him. Any slight disturbance that happens to the emperor will cause the entire country to experience shock.

The emperor's private affairs are the official affairs of the empire.

Moreover, the average life span of the emperor is not long, and accidents often happen. For the sake of safety, it is indeed a matter of course to get married early and give birth to children as soon as possible.

The ministers also know this truth.

But in today's court meeting, the ministers almost collectively support the emperor and stand on the emperor's side. On the one hand, because they are ministers and the emperor's "domestic servants", they should safeguard the emperor's interests or positions.

On the other hand, the aristocratic faction was too tough and arrogant, and was too rude to the emperor. The ministers, who had many conflicts with the aristocratic faction, felt very unhappy. Of course, they had to go against them, and of course they would not give in to the aristocratic faction's tough demands. Succeed...even if the request is quite reasonable.

In short, the conflict between the two factions has almost reached the level of "I will oppose what you support, and I will support what you oppose, and oppose for the sake of opposition."

So what do the noble faction think about?

The nobles are actually very anxious and seriously insecure.

Especially the old Wang Jue, his anxiety was the most serious, to the point where he tossed and turned every night and had difficulty falling asleep.

Why?

One, after the "Empire Takes Off" plan was launched, dozens of large-scale projects were started one after another. In just a few years, agricultural output increased significantly, industrial output soared every year, and commercial activities became more active year by year. The empire's financial situation , last year achieved an unprecedented financial surplus of 10 million gold pagoda shields.

However, the take-off of the empire is mainly due to the take-off of the states and counties in the "King's Territory". Dozens of large-scale projects are all in the King's Territory. Although the aristocrats can get a piece of the business cooperation, they still make a profit. The most numerous ones are from the royal family.

Those whose strength has increased significantly are mainly the royal family and ministers who support the emperor.

The balance of power is shifting at a speed visible to the naked eye... The situation is becoming increasingly unfavorable to the noble faction.

In this case, only if the emperor agrees to the marriage early and completes the marriage with the noble faction, the anxiety in the old prince's heart will be greatly alleviated.

Two, time waits for no one.

If the emperor wants to delay the marriage for a few years, it is okay to delay the marriage. After all, he is only 16 years old. If he delays it to 18 or 20 years old, or two or three years, it is not that there is no limit to grace.

But the old Wangjue can't afford to delay!

He is 93 years old this year. He is considered one of the old people who live a strange life in this world. However, as an ordinary person, it is impossible for the old Wang Jue to live beyond the age of one hundred. He cannot live such a long life... In recent years, He felt that his body was getting worse day by day, and he began to feel unable to do many things.

The old Wang Jue also realized that the time left for him was probably running out.

If he had not forced Noctis to fulfill his promise and promoted the marriage between the royal family and the Lucis family while he was still alive, after he left, Noctis, whose wings would become stronger, would probably not let go of the Lucis family. In his eyes, he might just betray his promise and kick the Lucis family aside!

"Noctis is a hundred times crueler than his father! If he is not forced to surrender now, I am afraid that in the future, the noble faction will be completely trampled under his feet, and they can only surrender to him! The pride of the nobles will be gone forever. , and even killed them all by him." The old Wangjue, who saw the essence of the problem clearly, said to his son.

Therefore, the old Wang Jue’s attitude is: Don’t delay for a year! No matter what the day is this year, Noctis must fulfill his promise!

But now it is mid-July, and there is less than half a year left for Zhou Ming.

If he doesn't marry Elsa this year, he will have to bear the consequences next year!

After three days of fruitless quarrels, this was the toughest warning that the old Wang Jue issued at the court meeting.

The hall suddenly became extremely quiet.

Then there was an uproar.

The ministers rebuked one after another!

"Lord Lucis, what do you mean? Are you trying to threaten His Majesty?"

"Old Wangjue, please tell me clearly. What exactly do you want to do? Do you want to rebel?"

"Old Wangjue, don't rely on your old age anymore. Just be a little more presumptuous. Can you try to walk out of this hall?!"

The ministers were not vegetarians either. They did not accept Old Wang Jue's tricks at all, and they fought back one by one.

The old prince ignored these voices, stared at Zhou Ming who was above him, tapped the crutch in his hand and said: "Noctis, you forced me to do this! I know what you are thinking, but if you don't Fulfill your promise, even if it means death, I will make you pay the price!"

Everyone in the hall suddenly became quiet.

They all looked at the old Wang Jue, extremely surprised by his naked warning.

His Majesty the Emperor, who has the power of Heaven in his face, the Constitution in his mouth, and unshakable authority, actually some people dare to warn loudly in front of everyone.

this……

Zhou Ming was also silent for a while.

He asked in a deep voice: "Old Lord Wangjue, do you really ask me to fulfill my promise to Elsa within this year without any delay?"

"That's right! I'm 93 years old. What I want most is to see my great-granddaughter Elsa marry into the royal family and get married smoothly. Do you want to drag me to death? Besides, getting married early is not the same as getting married late, so you can't make it happen for me. Old Bones?”

The old Wang Jue's tone was still tough, but he also gave his reasons, showing that he was not unreasonable.

"good!"

Zhou Ming nodded: "Old Lord Wangjue, since you can't wait so hard, I will fulfill your promise. I will fulfill my promise to Elsa within this year. How about this?" As he said that, his eyes flashed. A cold light passed.

"Hmph! That's pretty much it!"

Sensing the significant change in Zhou Ming's aura, the old Wangjue also realized: Noctis was angry. When the boy was angry, he suddenly felt a little frightened, and had a tendency to "just give up when he gets good". idea.

However, he still did not forget to remind: "Noctis, there are so many ministers and nobles in this palace here, everyone can hear it, I hope you mean what you say!"

"Don't worry, a gentleman's words can't be followed by a horse."

Zhou Ming said lightly.

Seeing that the emperor had surrendered and compromised, the ministers on the left lowered their heads one after another, looking frustrated, like defeated roosters.

Another minister gritted his teeth and said: "Damn nobles, you are so persuasive, sooner or later you will have to bear the king's wrath!"

However, neither the ministers nor the nobles knew that more than three months later, when Zhou Ming's fulfilled "promise" was presented to everyone, they were all shocked. , there was an uproar.

I heard that many monthly votes are invalidated because readers forgot to vote. It seems that this is the result of the author not asking for votes (crying). Please, vote if you have votes~!