The destiny of all heavens begins in the Red Chamber

To be honest, it's frustrating that the Embroidered Uniform Guard wasn't fully under their control until the middle of this year.

It was only after the Embroidered Uniform Guard was completely under their control that this information came to light among the vast amount of information available.

The commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard dared not delay and immediately reported to the emperor.

The current authorities are taking this very seriously and have ordered the elite of the Embroidered Uniform Guard to conduct a full investigation, but they must not alert Prince Zhongshun.

The Emperor is naturally very wary of his younger brothers, especially before the Emperor Emeritus has completely passed away; no amount of precaution is too much.

Speaking of the retired emperor, he is quite a headache for the current emperor!

More than twenty years ago, during the battle to depose the crown prince, the retired emperor suffered a severe shock and nearly fainted. Since then, rumors have circulated in the palace that the retired emperor was in poor health.

However, the retired emperor was in excellent health for the previous twenty years, and he held firm to his power, making the current emperor suffer greatly.

It was only in the last two years, when the Emperor Emeritus had indeed grown old and fallen seriously ill, that he gradually relinquished power.

The most dangerous thing was last year's serious illness, which almost killed me.

Not only today, but even the court officials are preparing for a grand national mourning.

As a result, the retired emperor, with remarkably tenacious vitality, wandered back from the gates of the underworld.

His physical condition was naturally not as good as before, but his spirits were still quite good. In the struggle with the current emperor, he quickly lost power, but still firmly held onto most of the military power of the Beijing garrison.

Although I am unhappy with the present day, I have no intention of following the example of Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Er, because my reputation is too bad.

Anyway, he's only forty now, in the prime of his life, so waiting a few more years won't be a big deal.

However, some things are naturally easy to overlook or omit during the transfer of power.

Therefore, as long as the retired emperor is alive, without clear evidence of rebellion, the current emperor cannot do anything to his many brothers. Instead, he has to create an atmosphere of brotherly love and respect.

Whether or not it can fool outsiders, at least it looks convincing.

As a result, around the middle of the year, news suddenly broke that Prince Chungshun was making frequent underhanded moves in private.

At first, he was naturally quite angry, but after calming down and asking questions carefully, he realized that something was wrong.

Although the Prince Zhongshun's mansion had a large amount of supplies and money to mobilize, it did not resort to the old tricks of rebellion.

Instead of recruiting displaced young men and secretly raising weapons, they transported all the astonishing supplies they collected to the open sea, which was highly unusual.

The current ruler is naturally maintaining sufficient vigilance towards Prince Chungshun!

Although this person has been trying hard to curry favor with the current emperor and has even gained some power, how could the current emperor possibly trust him?

He kept in mind all the little tricks of Prince Chungshun.

Now that we've finally heard reliable news, how could we not take it seriously?

"Your Majesty, Prince Chungsun spent a considerable amount of money to seize a large island off the coast of Goryeo. It is rumored that its area is equivalent to that of a county in the Central Plains!"

The commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard reported: "The large amount of money, materials, and manpower raised by the Prince of Zhongshun's Mansion have all been transported to that island by sea for development and construction!"

The emperor was utterly shocked, never expecting that Prince Zhongshun would go to such lengths.

I was quite displeased. This was a great opportunity to expand our territory, yet Prince Zhongshun had been concealing it from us. What was he planning?

"How do you know this so clearly?"

The emperor quickly realized what was happening, his eyes sharp and his tone menacing, demanding an explanation from the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

"Your Majesty, I heard about this from the Rong family, and it was quite detailed!"

The commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard looked terrified and hurriedly replied, "This matter is not a secret in the Rong family!"

"How come you're in contact with the Rong family again?"

The Emperor said unhappily, "The relationship between the Rong family and the Prince Zhongshun's family is terrible!"

"it is true!"

The commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard hurriedly explained, "It's mainly Jia Huan, the illegitimate son of the second branch of the Rong family. I don't know how he got in touch with Prince Zhongshun and they're jointly developing the large island in the outer sea!"

"I heard that in order to win over Jia Huan, Prince Zhongshun directly gifted Jia Huan a territory the size of a small town, demanding that Jia Huan put in the effort to manage and develop it properly!"

"That's really generous!"

He wore a cold smile on his face, but was quite unhappy inside.

Damn it, doesn't Chung-shun know how many brothers he has under his command?

How many more nephews need to be taken care of?

A territory at the township level would have been at least a fiefdom of a marquis in the Han Dynasty.

"Have you found out why Chung-shun is so generous?"

After calming his anger, he continued to ask.

"Your Majesty, news from the Rong Mansion indicates that Prince Zhongshun's search for island territory in the open sea was instigated by Jia Huan of the Rong Mansion!"

The commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard hurriedly replied, "It is rumored that when Jia Huan was reading history books, he discovered some unclaimed lands in the outer seas, and that's why he started encouraging Prince Zhongshun to seize them!"

Why is it Zhongshun?

Jin Dian asked, puzzled, "That Jia Huan kid, doesn't he seem to have directly slapped Zhong Shun in the face?"

"Your Majesty, the message from the Rong family is that Jia Huan felt the Rong family was not strong enough and that he couldn't mobilize the Rong family's resources, so he sought help from Prince Zhongshun!"

"Chungsoon agreed so readily?"

Still puzzled, he shook his head and said, "Impossible!"

"Your Majesty, the reason why Prince Chungsun went to such great lengths to open up trade routes to the outer seas of Goryeo was to find that island called Jeju Island, and incidentally to replenish the money and food supplies consumed through overseas trade!"

"I see!"

It's a bit awkward now, since he did try to take the credit for himself.

"So, Chungshun found that island in the open sea and even occupied it?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, the price paid by the Prince Zhongshun's Mansion this year has exceeded one million taels of silver!"

"They really know how to spend money!"

The emperor sneered, "Such a big matter, and you didn't even report it in advance?"

The commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard below remained silent, but inwardly found it amusing.

Don't you have any idea why people are wary of you?

Of course, even if he had a few more lives, he wouldn't dare show it on his face.

Although he is not a tyrannical ruler now, he is still quite ruthless and cruel in dealing with disloyal confidants and subordinates; otherwise, he would not be able to hold onto the throne.

"Have you found out the details?"

Today, the question is directly asked: "What exactly is Chung-shun's purpose in causing trouble overseas?"

"Prince Zhongshun wants to establish a fiefdom in the outer seas!"

The Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard lowered his head and answered cautiously, "It's still the rumor from the Rong family. Rather than staying in the fifth generation of the Great Qian Dynasty and becoming a commoner, it's better to go to the outer seas and try your luck!"

"Establishing feudal states?"

Jintian was shaken and sneered, "He's dreaming!"

He was quite disdainful. If he didn't agree, Prince Zhongshun would be wasting a lot of resources.

"Anymore?"

Seeing that the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard had no intention of taking his leave, the Emperor asked directly, "What information have you gathered? Just tell me!"

"Your Majesty, the Prince of Zhongshun intends to gain the recognition of the Great Qian Dynasty under the guise of an outer vassal state!"

The commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard cautiously said, "Just like the vassal states of our Great Qian, it's not like they directly request a royal title from within the Great Qian!"

Clearly, he misunderstood what he meant, and it is necessary to explain it clearly.

Otherwise, if something goes wrong because of this, he will definitely be held responsible.

Is it so easy to take the blame for the emperor? It could be deadly.

"Furthermore, judging from Jia Huan's actions in the Rong Mansion and the measures taken by Prince Zhongshun, they seem to have big plans for next year and have already begun preparing for the initial food and supplies!"

"What do you mean by 'bigger moves'?"

It's understandable that he's confused these days.

As the emperor of the Central Plains, the Great Qian Dynasty was not particularly powerful in terms of national strength and military strength.

Unable to have as many vassal states as the Han, Tang, or even the Ming dynasties, they paid little attention to matters outside their homeland and were completely ignorant about the situation there.

That is, knowing which of the surrounding countries and forces could threaten the peace and security of the Great Qian's borders, nothing more.

As for further information, neither the Ministry of Rites nor the Court of State Ceremonies knew, let alone the current emperor, so their thinking was rather limited.

If it were a battle for supremacy in the Central Plains, people's minds would definitely be much more active today!

"It's still the rumor from the Rong Mansion. Jia Huan, through careful reading of those historical records, learned that the other unclaimed territories in the outer seas want to seize them as his own territory!"

As he said this, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard was also quite envious.

If only he could get involved and help the family acquire a small territory in the open sea.

As the head of intelligence, the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard may have enjoyed immense prestige and power, but the danger he also faced was extremely high.