Chapter 1127: Argument

The Imperial Court fell silent.

Qi Xiuyuan glared at his brother.

The ministers also looked at Qi Haoran in shock. How could Prince Rong suggest such a thing just as he was about to be conferred a fief? Shouldn’t the ministers be the ones who were kneeling on the ground crying and begging the Emperor not to confer a fief, and Prince Rong confronting them about their opposition?

Why was it the other way around now? Now that they had agreed, Prince Rong was objecting to it?

Qi Haoran did not know that the people behind him were shocked. Seeing that his brother was stunned, he righteously said what Ah Ling had advised him last night.

Just as Ah Ling had said, generals could be used to defend the borders and defend the country. As long as the country equally values military and civil talents, they would not end up like the previous dynasty, which valued literature over martial arts. Even if there were no vassal kings guarding the borders, they could still protect the country and even avoid many conflicts of interest.

Qi Haoran had already thought it through last night. He took the opportunity to suggest expanding the scale of the martial academy and turning it into something like the Imperial Academy. Regardless of whether the ruler valued literature over martial arts or martial arts over literature, they had to nurture a certain number of martial arts students every year and ensure their quality.

Only then, regardless of the character and ability of the Emperor who ascended the throne in the future, Great Qi could at least ensure that there would be no lack of civil and military talents. Only then could the country prosper and be stable.

This was what Qi Haoran thought of after pondering about it last night. It was still an incomplete idea, but he was very pleased with himself that he had come up with it. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that this policy would bring about peace in Great Qi for a long time. If not for the fact that he could not turn back, he would definitely carefully observe the expressions on the officials’ faces.

However, the officials did not pay attention to the latter half of what he said. They were all focused on his suggestion to completely abolish the vassal system.

After hearing that the Emperor wanted to confer Prince Rong a fief, courtiers who had daughters as concubines in the palace were tempted, especially those who had given birth to princes. Their hearts fluttered at the very prospect.

As the Emperor of this dynasty only chose his concubines from the families of officials below the third-grade, they did not have much power to begin with. Plus, the Empress was highly favored by the Emperor, and the Emperor had zero tolerance for corruption. Therefore, even if their daughter entered the harem and gave birth to a prince, she still wasn’t of much help to the family.

However, it was different when the prince was conferred a fief. As the prince’s maternal family, they would benefit no matter what. When the time came, they could choose a girl from their clan to marry the prince as his secondary or main consort. With the help of the influence of their grandson, it would not be a problem for them to prosper for another 20 to 30 years.

Even if the descendants weren’t particularly outstanding, they could still make use of this connection to find a good job in the prince’s fief.

But now, Qi Haoran’s words had shattered all their dreams.

They secretly looked at the Emperor on the throne and knew that although he didn’t say anything now, he would still agree to Prince Rong’s suggestion in the end.

Ever since the Emperor ascended the throne, he had always agreed to anything that Prince Rong suggested.

Some people felt pity, while others naturally felt fortunate.

It was not that no one in the imperial court knew that the vassal system had its flaws, but they did not dare to mention it.

At the end of the day, the entire empire belonged to the Qi family. If the Emperor wanted to distribute the family business to his younger brother and sons, what could they do as officials?

Persuading the Emperor would not only offend Prince Rong and the other princes, but also the Emperor. Therefore, it was better to remain silent.

However, now that Qi Haoran had taken the initiative to decline, the ministers no longer had qualms. After recovering from their shock, they all agreed with Qi Haoran’s suggestion. Some civil servants even praised Qi Haoran without blushing. Officials praised that he was the number one person in history, among which were officials who were known for being stick-in-the-mud.

Qi Haoran smiled smugly.

Qi Xiuyuan: “…”

Only Fan Zijin glanced at Qi Haoran and lowered his head to think about his suggestion.

Since Haoran had decided not to accept the fief, he would only be depressed if he thought too much about it. He might as well think of something practical and useful.

However, not everyone had Fan Zijin’s breadth of mind and wisdom. Because of the abolition of the vassal system, the imperial court was in a heated argument.

Those who had grandsons and princes in the palace were the first to stand up and object. They did not want to expose themselves like this, but most of the ministers in the hall agreed with Qi Haoran’s suggestion. The rest were neutral and did not express their opinions. If they still did not speak up, this matter would be set in stone.

Those who objected gave sufficient reasons to support their stand. Firstly, just as the Emperor had thought, after the previous dynasty had abolished the vassal system, causing foreign races to invade and the country to lose a large portion of its territory. The vassal kings could defend the vassal towns for the country, which would be a great help to Great Qi.

Secondly, they reminded the Emperor that he had a vast country to rule, and thus should let his sons help him out.

Finally, as a benevolent father, the Emperor naturally hoped that his children would do well. By distributing part of his vast territory to his sons, his sons and their offsprings would only flourish.

When these three reasons were listed, there was no need for Qi Haoran to step out at all. Many ministers in the court retorted, and the court instantly fell into chaos.

Qi Haoran widened his eyes and couldn’t help but turn to Fan Zijin behind him. “Shouldn’t the focus of this court assembly be on the equal focus on literary and military talents?”

This was clearly the most important issue, alright? He even wanted to suggest that the martial academy be set up like the Imperial Academy, and the martial academy be set up in various prefectures and counties. This way, they could guarantee the supply of martial arts talents. Why were they arguing over the vassal system instead?

Fan Zijin rolled his eyes at him, indicating for him to look at the Emperor who wore a dark countenance.

Qi Haoran turned around and met his big brother’s eyes. Seeing him glare at him, he shrank his neck.

The ministers below were already in such a heated argument that their faces and necks were red. Some civil officials even rolled up their sleeves and began to push each other. Meanwhile, the generals stood at the periphery with their hands on their waist. From time to time, they would shout at the other party to express their opinion and attitude.

Qi Xiuyuan looked at the Imperial Court that was like a market and slammed the table angrily, dismissing the court.

The ministers could only force a straight expression and kneel down to send the Emperor off. After the Emperor left, they patted their knees and stood up, then grabbed each other and continued arguing.

With a smile, Rong Xuan rushed towards Qi Haoran, grabbed his hand, and said with a smile, “Your Highness, let’s go see His Majesty together.”

He gritted his teeth as he spoke.

‘If you don’t want to be a vassal king, you should have said it yesterday. Yesterday, you said that you wanted to go back and choose a fief. Today, you went back on your word early in the morning. How ridiculous!’

Rong Xuan dragged Qi Haoran to see the Emperor while Fan Zijin followed behind.

Yan Du hesitated for a moment before following them.

As soon as Qi Haoran entered, a memorial flew towards him. Rong Xuan immediately jumped to the side to avoid it. Qi Haoran didn’t dare to dodge and could only lower his head and let the memorial hit his head. Fortunately, the force of the memorial had already decreased by the time it flew from the dragon throne and landed on him, so it didn’t hurt at all.

Livid, Qi Xiuyuan pointed at his brother’s nose and scolded, “If you didn’t want to be a vassal king, why didn’t you say so yesterday? At the very least, you could’ve given me a hint this morning before the assembly, right? I could’ve chosen not to ask you about the fief on the spot, and the matter would have passed. Why did you have to bring it up to make everyone quarrel? Do you think the Imperial Court isn’t chaotic enough now? How do you want Wensu and the others to think of you in the future?”

Qi Xiuyuan shouted at his silly brother worriedly.

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