Chapter 295 Public Opinion Boils Over, Emperor Concedes

He lowered his head powerlessly, like a child who had done something wrong and was waiting for judgment.

Looking at him in this state, the anger in the Empress Dowager's eyes gradually turned into deep sorrow.

"Enough, enough."

She waved her hand, her voice filled with exhaustion.

"You should go. I am not qualified to be your mother, nor am I worthy of it. I will take Prince Yans childhood nickname back to my Cining Palace, and I will never be an eyesore to you again."

As she spoke, she pulled Prince Zhao Gou up to leave.

These words were more painful to him than a slap in the face.

"Mother!"

Emperor Zhao Tuo fell to his knees with a thud.

He could not let the Empress Dowager and Prince Zhao Gou leave just like that.

If the Empress Dowager really moved out of the imperial palace and into the Yan Prince Mansion, he, as the Emperor, would completely become the laughingstock of the world.

He would never be able to wash away the charges of being unfilial and harming his own kin.

"Mother, your son was wrong; your son was truly wrong."

He knelt and crawled to the Empress Dowager, his voice choked with sobs.

"Your son was just confused for a moment; your son was also afraid that things would blow up and shake the foundation of the state... Your son did not truly want to wrong my imperial brother..."

Looking at the Emperor kneeling on the ground and weeping bitterly, the Empress Dowager's heart eventually softened.

She closed her eyes and let out a long sigh.

"Get up."

Her voice remained cold.

"You are the Emperor; do not let people make a joke of you."

Emperor Zhao Tuo, as if pardoned, quickly stood up.

"How you want me and the people of the world to view you does not depend on what you say, but on what you do."

The Empress Dowager looked at him coldly.

"Prince Yans childhood nickname has suffered a great injustice this time and was quite frightened. He is dedicated to the country, guarding the Northern Frontier, and in the end, he almost lost his life. How do you intend to compensate him for this?"

Emperor Zhao Tuo immediately understood the Empress Dowager's meaning.

This was demanding he take concrete action to settle this matter.

"Mother, rest assured; your son will definitely give my imperial brother a satisfactory explanation."

He turned to Prince Zhao Gou, who had been silent the whole time, and said sincerely:

"Imperial brother, your imperial brother has wronged you. Whatever you need, just ask. As long as I can provide it, I will not be stingy."

Prince Zhao Gou lifted his eyelids, glanced at him, and said indifferently:

"Your younger brother dares not. Your younger brother only asks to keep his life and continue guarding the national gates for the Great Qi; that would be enough to satisfy me."

His words seemed humble, but in reality, he was advancing by retreating.

Emperor Zhao Tuo cursed "old fox" in his heart, but on his face, he had to squeeze out an even more sincere smile.

"Imperial brother, you joke. The security of the Northern Frontier is of the utmost importance. Previously, you submitted a memorial requesting to expand the army by fifty thousand to prevent the Northern Di from moving south. It was your imperial brother who failed to think it through and kept delaying the approval. At tomorrow's morning court, I will issue an imperial decree and approve it!"

He paused and increased the stakes.

"Not only that, I will add five hundred thousand shi of grain, one hundred thousand jin of refined iron, and five thousand warhorses! Take it as... take it as your imperial brother apologizing to you."

Once these words were spoken, even the Empress Dowager on the side was somewhat moved.

This was no longer a simple compensation; this was bleeding himself dry.

For a vassal king to command nearly two hundred thousand troops, combined with such a massive amount of military supplies and provisions, was something unthinkable throughout history.

On Prince Zhao Gou's face, a trace of "being moved" finally appeared.

He stood up and bowed deeply to Emperor Zhao Tuo.

"Your imperial brother's great grace, your younger brother... is endlessly grateful."

"We are family; there is no need to speak as if we are two separate households."

Emperor Zhao Tuo quickly stepped forward to support him, and the two brothers once again performed the drama of "brotherly friendship and filial piety."

Although everyone knew this was just acting.

But at least, this storm that almost overturned the Great Qian court was temporarily quelled under the strong intervention of the Empress Dowager and the massive concessions of the Emperor.

Emperor Zhao Tuo said a few more soothing words, then used the excuse of not wanting to disturb the Empress Dowager and his imperial brother's rest to take his leave.

Walking out of the gates of the Yan Prince Mansion, blown by the night wind, he finally felt that his back was already soaked with cold sweat.

He looked back at the brightly lit mansion, a flash of humiliation and resentment passing through his eyes.

Today, he lost.

He lost completely.

But he would not keep losing forever.

He noted down this debt.

Sooner or later, he would get it all back with interest.

The next day's morning court had an unusually heavy atmosphere.

The civil and military officials all kept their heads down; no one dared to breathe loudly.

Everyone knew what had happened at the Yan Prince Mansion the previous night and was waiting to see how the Emperor would resolve it.

Emperor Zhao Tuo on the dragon throne looked a bit pale, but his expression was relatively calm.

He did not mention anything about the hunt or the assassins, as if none of it had ever happened.

He just followed the procedure and handled a few trivial government affairs.

Then, he cleared his throat and spoke.

"Officials, regarding the memorial submitted by Prince Yan the other day about expanding the troops in the Northern Frontier, I have given it deep consideration."

Everyone's ears perked up.

"The Northern Frontier is the gateway of our Great Qian; it concerns the safety of the state and cannot be lost. Prince Yan Zhao Gou is loyal and brave, guarding the borders with great merit."

Emperor Zhao Tuo's voice echoed in the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

"I have decided to approve Prince Yan's request and allow him to expand his troops in Yan by another fifty thousand to strengthen border defense."

Once these words were spoken, a faint sound of gasping echoed throughout the court.

Although many had already guessed this result, hearing it from the Emperor's own mouth still caused a huge shock.

That was fifty thousand troops!

Added to Prince Yan's existing troops, the forces under his command would reach a staggering one hundred and ninety thousand.

This was almost half of the total number of the Capital Garrison and border troops that the Great Qian court could control.

For a vassal king to hold such heavy military power was something unprecedented since the founding of the dynasty.

However, before the ministers could recover from their shock, Emperor Zhao Tuo's next words left them dumbfounded.

"Additionally, to reward the soldiers of the Northern Frontier, I specially decree that five hundred thousand shi of grain be allocated from the national treasury, one hundred thousand jin of refined iron from the Ministry of War, and five thousand warhorses from the Court of Imperial Stud, all to be sent to Yan and placed under Prince Yan's command."

"I hope Prince Yan can understand my painstaking efforts, make good use of the troops, money, and grain, and achieve new merits for our Great Qi."

If expanding the army by fifty thousand was a concession forced by pressure.

Then, adding such a massive amount of grain and military equipment was completely a naked "compensation."

This was equivalent to telling everyone that regarding the hunting grounds incident, he, the Emperor, had conceded defeat.

He used massive resources to buy back his precarious reputation and also bought off that precarious brotherly affection.

From now on, the ruler is the ruler, and the subject is the subject.

There is no more affection, only transactions.

Minister of War Jiang Hai, Grand Secretary Prime Minister Su Yuandao, and others all had very grim expressions.

They opened their mouths, wanting to voice their opposition.

Because this completely broke the court's checks and balances on vassal kings, with endless future troubles.

But when they saw the unquestionable look in Emperor Zhao Tuo's eyes on the dragon throne, they swallowed their words back.

They knew that the Emperor at this moment was like a gambler who had lost all his money and had red eyes.

Whoever crossed him at this time was just looking for death.

The entire morning court ended in such an eerie silence.

The Emperor's decree was sent to the Six Ministries at the fastest speed and spread throughout the entire capital.