Chapter 996

“What do you mean? Whose world is this? Does His Majesty need your and my consent to appoint the Chief Grand Secretary of the Cabinet? Don’t forget what His Majesty said: what he gives us, we can take; what he doesn’t give us, we cannot snatch.”

Luo Quan glared, puffing out his beard. Luo Hong was his son, and Luo Xin was also his son; both were equally dear to him.

But even with the empire’s reforms to date, the concept of legitimate and illegitimate sons had not changed much. They were figures from Xiao Wenxuan’s era, making it even more impossible for them to easily abandon ideas that had influenced their entire lives.

The ideology currently being promoted by the empire was still being accepted more quickly by the children who had just started primary school.

Luo Hong swayed to his feet, his eyes slightly red. “Father, from Chang’an to Qingzhou, I followed you all the way, fighting King Wei, then King Yan, and then King Zhao. Even if there’s no merit, there’s at least hard work. What merit does Zhu Sansi have? He only fought a battle at Yakutsk. Can you say that I’m not feeling wronged? I’m already over forty this year. Now that I can’t be promoted to military region commander, my career ends here.”

Luo Quan opened his mouth to say something, but finally sighed. He said, “This is all my fault, Father. I should have let you come to Qingzhou back then. If so, this military region command would be yours. As the eldest son of the Luo family, I, your father, indeed owe you too much.”

Luo Hong was stunned, sobering up considerably. He lowered his head and pondered for a long time, then sighed deeply. “Father, are we just going to let this matter drop? If so, wouldn’t the court officials led by Pang Yukun increasingly disregard us?”

Luo Quan frowned. He warned, “Then what do you intend to do?”

“A few days ago, Fei Tong was drinking with your son, and he mentioned that his eldest son was not yet married, implying a desire to marry into our Luo family. Your son thought that Susu, my daughter, is also sixteen this year, which is the time for marriage. If it succeeds, it would be a good thing,” Luo Hong said loudly.

“Fei Tong? Are you referring to Fei Ge’s nephew, Fei Tong?”

“Exactly. If the Luo family and the Fei family intermarry, with the strength of both families, His Majesty will have to take us seriously, Father. This is also for the sake of our Luo family’s descendants. In the past, we fought for the empire with His Majesty, and it was good to be united, but now that the empire is stable, it’s time to think for ourselves. Even if His Majesty is nostalgic, Pang Yukun and others may not tolerate us.”

Luo Hong continued. Luo Quan was already old, and the position of Luo family patriarch would soon be his. Now, he was already thinking from the perspective of the Luo family members.

Luo Quan hesitated a little. He knew very well that Xiao Ming was not Xiao Wenxuan, nor was he as easy to fathom as any historical monarch.

He also couldn’t be sure what kind of reaction this would cause, but throughout history, a suitable match had always been correct. His Luo family descendants could not marry the daughter of an ordinary commoner. This marriage alliance with the Fei family seemed to be nothing wrong.

Seeing Luo Quan’s hesitation, Luo Hong said directly, “Father, what are you still hesitating about? This Chief Grand Secretary Pang is much smarter than Father. It is said that he intends to marry his son to General Niu Ben’s granddaughter.”

Hearing this, Luo Quan closed his eyes. Everything that was happening now proved Niu Ben right. It was precisely because of this that the two chose to retire at this critical juncture and no longer concern themselves with court affairs.

In fact, he was very clear that the conflicts in the court would eventually erupt, and the more stable the empire, the faster they would erupt, especially after the great defeat of the barbarians, when the deep-rooted northern threat disappeared.

But at the same time, the will for everyone to unite and build the empire was also gone. What remained were the conflicts that had been masked during the rapid development of the past decade.

Now, every important official was looking for their place: either neutral, choosing to band together, or acting alone.

“This position of Luo family patriarch is yours. You decide how to choose, but there’s one thing: the court is a field of interests. It’s understandable to compete for interests, and His Majesty is happy to see ministers fighting each other, as that will make his throne more secure. But there’s one thing you absolutely must not do: touch the imperial power,” Luo Quan said sternly.

“Father, I don’t have that kind of courage. Since I can’t be a military region commander, can’t I at least arrange a good match for my daughter?”

Luo Hong took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, lit one, and started to puff smoke.

Seeing this, Luo Quan frowned even tighter. Power was enough to change a person, and this statement was now deeply reflected in Luo Hong.

He understood that his eldest son was a person who liked to dwell on minor issues and was especially obsessed with power. For years, he had fought battles in the north and south to catch up with his younger brother, but in the end, his efforts came to nothing. Perhaps this was the fundamental reason for his disappointment.

And from this point, he seemed to understand why His Majesty chose Luo Xin instead of Luo Hong as the military region commander.

The Emperor’s secret guards were spread throughout the land. It was impossible for him not to know something about important generals. Perhaps Luo Hong’s obsession with power led Xiao Ming to choose Luo Xin.

Thinking of this, he looked at Luo Hong again and said, “Remember, you bear the lives of thousands of people in the Luo family. Don’t harm others because of your own gains and losses.”

With that, he turned and left. Now was the era of the young, and old men like him should make way. After all, he could not accompany these young people forever.

Imperial Study.

Xiao Ming was reading telegrams. Ever since the wired telegraph appeared, he had specially set aside a telegraph room in a side hall next to the Imperial Study.

In this way, intelligence from the secret guards could be transmitted to him at any time.

During this period, the wired telegraph lines were laid very quickly. Now, lines from Qingzhou to Dengzhou in the east, Youzhou in the south, Jizhou in the west, and Xuzhou in the south had all been laid. It was estimated that most of the cities north of the Yangtze River would have telegraph access by the end of the year.

Of course, he immediately handed over this convenient intelligence transmission system to the secret guards.

“Your Majesty, also this. Now all six military region commanders are at Lu Fei’s residence,” Qian Dafu handed a translated telegram to Xiao Ming.

“These guys don’t know how to keep a low profile. I guess someone will soon submit a memorial to impeach them,” Xiao Ming said helplessly.

Qian Dafu echoed, “That’s right. Six military region commanders together? Others might think they’re rebelling?”

“That won’t happen. Zhu Sansi just happened to be passing by,” Xiao Ming said, picking up another telegram. It was clearly written on it.

Then he picked up another telegram. “It says that Zhu Sansi and Luo Xin had a verbal conflict. It seems I chose Zhu Sansi correctly.”

“Then aren’t there still five people?” Qian Dafu asked.

Xiao Ming laughed. “That’s right. It’s abnormal if they gather together, but if they don’t, it means they work well together.”