Chapter 489: Chapter 288: I am Willing to Give Up the Position of Prime Minister_2

“The North Country is still quite fragile at the moment, and if a large-scale war were to break out, with the North Country’s material reserves, it would be very difficult to support the Northern army in conquering the entire Great Xia.”

“So, for the North Prince, the best move is to wait and stabilize the development of the North Country, waiting until the various seigniors within Great Xia have fought amongst themselves and weakened each other, then the North Country can reap the benefits.”

Hearing Chai Jiliang’s words, the Martial Emperor spoke, “So you’re saying that the North Prince’s thoughts are actually the same as mine?”

Chai Jiliang replied, “Your servant believes so.”

The Martial Emperor snorted coldly and said, “No wonder the North Prince had just acquired Yongan County and immediately dispatched thirty thousand heavy cavalry there.”

“In this way, if we want to send troops to Great Xia, we have to get past the North Country first.”

At this point, the Martial Emperor fell into deep thought, and the ministers who had just been advocating for sending troops to Great Xia also lapsed into contemplation.

Under the current circumstances, if Great Wu sends troops to Great Xia, the North Country will surely send troops to attack Great Wu. The military strength of the North Country is not weak, and fighting on two fronts would be highly disadvantageous for Great Wu.

We must think of a solution, preferably one that could win over the Da Yue Dynasty.

After a long while, the Martial Emperor turned to a eunuch beside him and commanded, “Go inform Princess Junwan that after the court session, she is to come to the Imperial Study Room. I have matters to discuss with her.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Once the eunuch departed, the Martial Emperor spoke again, “To extinguish Great Xia, relying solely on Great Wu is somewhat difficult. I plan to align with Da Yue and form an alliance to jointly attack the Great Xia Dynasty.”

Upon hearing the Martial Emperor’s words, the Minister of Rites stood up and said, “Your Majesty, your plan is truly excellent! By having Da Yue hold back the North Country, then our Great Wu can attack Great Xia with ease. Since Da Yue has been able to withstand the southward advance of the Barbarian Tribe coalition, they surely can handle a small North Country without any problem.”

After hearing this, the Martial Emperor said indifferently, “It’s just uncertain whether Princess Junwan will be able to persuade Da Yue.”

At this remark, the Martial Emperor glanced across the room at the officials present, “Do my esteemed subjects have any other matters to address? If there are none, then this morning’s court session is concluded.”

Upon these words, an official stood out and said, “Your Majesty, Princess Junwan has already reached the age suitable for marriage—it is time to select a noble consort for her.”

As the words were spoken, the entire court turned silent, the sound of breathing audible, and all the ministers’ gazes fell upon the Martial Emperor as if waiting for his response.

The marriage of Princess Junwan has always been a matter of great concern among the court ministers. Now that Princess Junwan remains single, many fear that the Martial Emperor plans to groom her as a successor and have her take a husband into the imperial family.

Now, quite a few ministers are thinking that if they can have the princess marry off early, they could use her married status as a reason to gradually chip away at her power.

To the imperial clan, it is abnormal that the princess, in her thirties, is still unwed, implying she must be plotting something. As long as she remains unwed, they feel uneasy, always fearing that she might become the next emperor of Great Wu.

Seeing someone raise the issue of Wu Junwan’s marriage, the Martial Emperor said with a smile, “It seems that you all care about Junwan’s lifelong happiness more than I do.”

“However, I once promised her that only when she wishes to marry, will I help her select a husband.”

“Since she is not keen on marriage now, let’s drop this matter.”

Hearing this, an elder member of the imperial family could no longer hold back; he immediately stood up and said, “Your Majesty, since ancient times, the women of Great Wu have wed by the age of sixteen. It is unheard of for a woman to remain unwed into her thirties.”

“If the princess continues to refuse marriage, it will inevitably lead other women to follow suit. If the women of Great Wu no longer wish to marry, our population may significantly diminish, undermining the very foundations of our nation!”

“As a princess of the royal family, even if Your Majesty has appointed her as Princess Junwan, she should not have special privileges. Please, Your Majesty, find a noble consort for the princess at your earliest convenience.”

Upon hearing these words, the Martial Emperor’s expression darkened, for how could an emperor not know what these people were thinking?

They clearly feared that he would pass the throne to Wu Junwan.

The reason he had appointed Wu Junwan as Princess Junwan years ago was due to some special circumstances, but that did not mean he would go against the ancestral teachings and bequeath the throne to a woman.

The Martial Emperor then said, “We will discuss this matter with Junwan later. Do my subjects have any other matters? If not, you are dismissed from the court session.”

Seeing that the Martial Emperor did not give a clear answer, the ministers understood that it was very likely he still had no intention of marrying her off.

Just then, Chai Jiliang suddenly stood up, boldly saying, “Your Majesty, I have long admired Princess Junwan. I humbly request that Your Majesty grant marriage between her and myself.”

At these words, the entire hall fell into a deathly silence.

The relationship between Chai Jiliang and Princess Junwan was not ordinary, something already known by many. Yet, no one had expected that Chai Jiliang would dare to take the initiative to ask the Martial Emperor for Princess Junwan’s hand in marriage.

The thought crossed the minds of the ministers: Had Chai Jiliang gone mad?

Instead of continuing his role as the Prime Minister, he actually desired to marry Princess Junwan!

Throughout history, the husbands of princesses in Great Wu were never entrusted with important duties; even those who held official positions were stripped of them after marrying into the royal family, as a measure to prevent them from seizing power.