Become a king right from the start, beginning with receiving rewards from all the heavens.

To be honest, Meng Zhou didn't expect Ren Wang to be so direct.

He was, after all, the prime minister, and even before becoming prime minister, he was the Minister of one of the Six Ministries.

However, when he thought about the purpose of his visit today, he immediately felt relieved.

"Your Highness's style is certainly direct," Meng Zhou said with a smile.

He wanted to ease the awkwardness between the two of them and didn't want the conversation to be filled with calculations and interests.

Xia Zhaoyan finally sat up straight; he could feel the goodwill emanating from Meng Zhou.

Although he disdains to curry favor with local officials, he will not offend them for no reason.

Moreover, the person before him was the newly appointed prime minister, and most importantly, he had not placed any bets on any of the princes.

"Prime Minister, please don't be offended. You know my situation since I was enfeoffed as a king. If I didn't act directly, I would have been entangled with various forces long ago!"

"A prince like me, lacking any power, has no energy to waste on petty squabbles with others!"

Meng Zhou nodded to indicate that he understood, but a strange feeling arose in his heart.

You don't have any power yet? Then aren't the other princes just beggars?

"I've come to visit Your Highness today, firstly to express my gratitude!"

Xia Zhaoyan paused for a moment, then instantly understood what the other party meant.

Sure enough, Meng Zhou continued.

"If Zhang Wenjin hadn't offended His Highness and hadn't been exterminated..."

...

"Stop!" Xia Zhaoyan raised his hand to interrupt Meng Zhou.

"Zhang Wenjin didn't offend me; it's their family that violated the laws of the Great Xia Dynasty!"

Xia Zhaoyan would not allow such a conclusion to emerge, lest he become a tyrant in the eyes of others.

Meng Zhou's heart skipped a beat, and he couldn't help but curse himself inwardly for being so careless.

Has becoming prime minister made him arrogant?

"Your Highness, I misspoke just now. Please forgive me!"

Meng Zhou then took a deep breath and said with a serious expression.

"Your Highness, the second thing I've come to do today is to ask that you accept me!"

Xia Zhaoyan's expression changed instantly, and his eyes became extremely sharp!

She just stared intently at Meng Zhou.

At this moment, however, my mind was filled with a raging storm!

Who is Meng Zhou? He is the leader of a group in the officialdom.

He himself was incredibly powerful, and was a veteran minister from the time of his grandfather.

Moreover, he has no powerful family backing him, and crucially, he has not been courted by any princes to this day.

But they're not exactly neutral either!

To be honest, Xia Zhaoyan was caught off guard when such a person wanted to join him.

He had already decided not to recruit officials from the imperial court.

Because once he takes power, these people are destined to be replaced one by one by the historical figures of the previous life.

Slowly relaxing his body, Xia Zhaoyan spoke.

"Does the Prime Minister realize that once you pledge allegiance to me, you will become the enemy of all the other princes!"

"They will also become targets of suppression by powerful figures!"

"Your own family will also become a target of suppression by various forces."

Xia Zhaoyan's voice was devoid of any emotion, as if he were stating something that had nothing to do with him.

Meng Zhou's expression did not change; he simply nodded slightly.

"I understand all of this."

"To be honest, I wouldn't have come to pledge allegiance if Your Highness hadn't regained your right to the throne."

Even if a prince has great power, he will not be tempted to pledge allegiance to a prince who is not qualified to succeed to the throne.

...

"Since you understand this, you also know that it is unwise to side with me."

"The five princes—King Pan, King Yu, and King Heng—any one of them is more suitable than me!"

At this moment, Xia Zhaoyan was not being pretentious; he rationally analyzed that the aforementioned individuals were indeed more suitable for the other party to rely on than himself.

At least in the eyes of the world, these people all have a greater chance of success than he does.

He can ensure the loyalty of those who come from the heavens, but he cannot be certain that the natives will be loyal to him.

Meng Zhou suddenly smiled. "Your Highness, the princes you mentioned are indeed suitable."

"But I have not seen in them any determination to change the Great Xia."

"Only you possess the determination to change the Great Xia."

"There are still ten thousand years until the cycle of reincarnation, which is neither a long nor a short time!"

"I also hope that during the great calamity ten thousand years from now, I can survive to my second life under Your Highness's protection."

After saying that, he let out a deep sigh of relief.

Although he was at the Celestial Realm, he had the opportunity to be reborn in the cycle of reincarnation.

However, such hope is too slim. As you can see, in every cycle of reincarnation, although many celestial beings are reborn, their souls are still reborn.

However, in the new cycle of reincarnation, few people are able to successfully awaken their past life memories.

Is this still a rebirth of the soul? If there were a better option, no one at the Celestial Realm would choose this kind of rebirth.

Xia Zhaoyan took a deep breath and quickly thought through his thoughts.

Analyzing the pros and cons of accepting Meng Zhou, no matter how you look at it, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

Putting aside Meng Zhou's current position as prime minister, his previous position as Minister of Personnel had already allowed him to accumulate considerable influence in the officialdom.

Otherwise, how could he have led a political group?

Thinking of this, he got up and left his seat.

"Very well, since you, Meng Zhou, dare to pledge allegiance, how could I refuse!"

"We shall see what the future holds, but at least I can guarantee that once I ascend the throne, you and your family will not be purged!"

As expected, a realization flashed through Meng Zhou's mind.

His Highness really intends to purge the Great Xia court; he could tell from the way Renwang handled things before.

Fortunately, at least His Highness accepted me!

Otherwise, what awaits him is His Highness's purge.

As I said before, the Great Xia Dynasty may not have much else, but it has plenty of capable people who want to become officials.

"Your Highness, now that I have pledged my allegiance to you..."

"I plan to announce the news once everything is ready. From now on, I, Meng Zhou, belong to you!"

Xia Zhaoyan was in a great mood, even though he had only accepted Meng Zhou.

But don't forget, the circle led by Meng Zhou will also become completely theirs.

From then on, he was no longer so weak and alone in the court.

He won't always have to go through the motions shirtless!

At this moment, the women slowly emerged, some carrying spirit wine and others carrying spirit fruit.

Meng Zhou quickly stood up and clasped his hands in thanks to the four women.

He was so shrewd that he could tell at a glance that the four women would become princesses sooner or later.

Besides, all four of them are highly skilled, and the strongest one could kill me with a single finger.

...

The storm surrounding Xia Zhaoyan's reinstatement as he was entitled to the throne continued to rage throughout the Great Xia Dynasty.

This matter won't dissipate so quickly, even if it takes a month or two.

In the Wu King's Palace in the northwest corner of the inner city, the Wu King no longer maintained his indifferent and detached demeanor.

"How's the investigation going?"

...

"Your Highness, we have only uncovered part of the information so far!"

"Among the five cities and twelve towers of Baiyujing, the Pig Tower is located in the Northern Wilderness!" someone from the crowd below said.

However, after saying that, the person added cautiously.

"Your Highness, are we really going to take action against Bai Yujing?"

The King of Wu's expression suddenly changed. "What? Are you questioning my decision?"