Chapter 479 - Chapter 479: Chapter 283: North Prince, What Do You Mean?_3

Chapter 479: Chapter 283: North Prince, What Do You Mean?_3

“Hahaha, my dear brother, the Emperor, is finally on his last legs. After sitting on that throne for so many years, it’s time for him to step down.”

“Send out the order for Qin Feng to immediately assemble the army. I’m going to the Capital to see my dear brother, the Emperor.”

At this moment, one of the ministers in the hall hurriedly cautioned, “Your Highness, you must not. The current situation is still unclear. Whether His Majesty is truly near the end of his life, no one knows. If we send out troops now, we may very well fall into a trap set by the Imperial Court.”

Hearing this, Zhao King dismissively said, “A trap? What kind of trap could there be? The elite soldiers of the court have all been dispatched to Qi Country to defend against the North Country. If we don’t seize this opportunity to take down the Capital now, should other Seigniors take the lead, I fear that I will have no connection to that seat at all.”

The minister continued, “Your Highness, there have been rumors circulating lately that phenomena identical to those observed in the North Country have appeared in the Imperial Palace, and a Celestial from the Heavenly Human Realm has emerged within. If this is true, and there is a Celestial from that Realm present, even if we enter the Capital, it will be very difficult to defeat that Celestial!”

Upon hearing this, Zhao King said with disbelief, “A Celestial from the Heavenly Human Realm? Ha! Don’t tell me you actually believe that a Celestial has emerged in the Capital?”

“That is clearly fake news put out by my brother, the Emperor. He is on his deathbed and fears that the Seigniors of the world will raise an army and rebel, so naturally, he would fabricate lies about a Celestial emerging in the royal family to deter the feudal states.”

“I know him too well!”

“The Heavenly Human Realm is not common cabbage; attaining it is not so easily achieved!”

“Moreover, if indeed someone from the royal family has broken through to the Heavenly Human Realm, it can only be one of the few old members of the royal family. Those old ones will not care who the next Sum Emperor is. As long as the kingdom of Great Sum retains the Lu surname, they will not intervene rashly. Back when my brother fought for the throne, he killed many of his brothers and sisters, but none of those old immortals showed their faces.”

Upon saying this, Zhao King spoke resolutely, “You need not say more. You only need to do as I say!”

Seeing how adamant Zhao King was, the other ministers in the hall no longer said anything.

Subsequently, Zhao Country began preparations, not only blatantly expanding their forces in defiance of the troop-limitation edict but also continuously amassing supplies and provisions.

The movements of Zhao Country were too significant; other feudal states noticed what they were doing, and upon seeing Zhao Country’s troop build-up, it immediately dawned on them what Zhao Country intended to do.

Since Zhao Country was expanding its forces, if they did not follow suit, wouldn’t they miss such an excellent opportunity? The Seigniors of the different countries believed that even if the Sum Emperor turned out to be fine, he would not punish them. After all, the law does not punish the masses, and with so many Seigniors expanding their forces, surely the Sum Emperor couldn’t dismiss them all, could he?

If the Sum Emperor really did that, then Great Sum might very well crumble into pieces.

Of course, the Seigniors’ main goal in expanding their military was not just to increase their forces; they also wanted to try their hand at seizing the throne of the Capital. Who wouldn’t want to be Emperor, the supreme position?

In a short time, the activities of the Seigniors throughout the land grew more extensive, and Great Sum was on the brink of turbulence. Yet, there was no sign from the Sum Emperor, who not only had yet to appoint a Crown Prince but had also not issued orders to stop the Seigniors from expanding their forces, as if his illness had become so severe that he could no longer give commands.

Some even started to doubt whether the Sum Emperor was already too ill to speak. Otherwise, it would be unlike his temper to let those Seigniors run rampant with such impunity.

…

North Country, Hall of Political Affairs.

Today was the day for North Country to sign the trade agreement with Great Wu. At this time, Wu Ming, who sat beside Wu Junwan, was somewhat excited. The delegation from Great Wu had finally agreed to North Country’s terms, and he thought the credit for this diplomatic mission to North Country was slipping through his fingers.

Thinking this, Wu Ming turned his head slightly, glancing at Wu Junwan out of the corner of his eye. His lips curved slightly, showing a smug smile. However, just then, Lu Chen suddenly said, “Since Princess Junwan has no further objections to the treaty of the trade agreement, I would trouble the Princess to sign her name on it.”

As these words fell, the soldiers in the hall placed the scroll of the trade agreement in front of Wu Junwan.

Seeing this scene, Wu Ming was momentarily stunned.

What was going on?

Hadn’t the North Prince agreed to let him sign?

After snapping back to reality, Wu Ming burned with anger, immediately challenging, “North Prince, what are you trying to do? Didn’t you say that I was to sign? Why the sudden change of mind?”

Lu Chen replied with a smile, “I apologize, Prince Wu Ming, but the terms of this agreement were mainly negotiated between myself and Princess Junwan, and they don’t concern you greatly. Considering this, I thought it would be more fitting for the Princess to sign to make it official.”

Upon hearing this, Wu Ming immediately understood the situation. Obviously, Wu Junwan and the North Prince had reached some agreement in private, hence the last-minute change in the designated signatory.

Thinking this, Wu Ming turned to look at Wu Junwan, filled with fury.

This detestable woman! The credit for this diplomatic mission to North Country was supposed to be his, and now she had stolen it from him!

No, he couldn’t just let it go!

If Wu Junwan could use various means to delay the signing of the trade agreement at first, why couldn’t he do the same?

With this thought, Wu Ming then said, “I have objections to the terms of the trade agreement!”

“I believe some of the terms severely harm the interests of Great Wu, and they need further discussion.”

As soon as Wu Ming finished speaking, Wu Junwan, who was reviewing the trade agreement, said expressionlessly, “Younger brother, don’t make trouble!”

Just as Wu Ming was about to continue, an elder next to him spoke up, “Your Highness, since the trade agreement was jointly drafted by Princess Junwan and the North Prince, there surely can’t be any issues with it. I trust that the Princess would not betray the interests of Great Wu.”