July is the hottest time in Yudu.

The sun hangs high in the air, illuminating the earth with a spicy slight wind. Anyone who is exposed to the sun will be roasted into charcoal.

There were fewer people walking outside in this weather, but Qu Chu was about to go out.

It has been five days since I returned to Yudu, and Qu Chu is preparing to go to the city defense army camp today.

The generals of Yudu came with her and left only Wang Liangcong, Wu Dagang, He Dabao and the other two, and the rest of the generals returned to the border.

Wang Liangcong and two other generals managed Ning Youbei's 100,000 troops left by the neighboring Yudu, while Wu Dagang and He Dabao followed Qu Chu to train the city defense force for her.

After Qu Chu fired 2,000 people from the city defense force, 2,000 people later voluntarily withdrew.

The reason is that I can't stand the hard training.

Originally, there were thousands of people in the city defense army who were empty-handed, but after the rectification of Qu Chu, it was almost done.

...

When leaving the gate of Yudu City, Qu Chu saw a prince's carriage parked in front of the city gate, and there were more than a dozen guards riding horses and swords next to him.

Qu Chu glanced casually and knew that these guards had good internal skills.

There is only one prince in the entire Yudu City, Ning Youbei. Did this person come back from his fiefdom?

Qu Chu didn't know much about the royal family, and he didn't know how many princes and princes there were in the local area. She thought: If you want to stay in Yudu, it would be better to know it.

Qu Chu was about to ask Ning Youbei after returning from the city defense camp today.

...

After several months of training, the overall combat effectiveness of the city defense force has improved a lot compared to before, at least the queue looks quite energetic.

However, if compared with Qu Chu's border guards, the gap is still big.

Qu Chu also understood that the work of the city defense army is to be responsible for the safety of Yudu. He usually guards several city gates, patrols the city, and helps maintain public order.

If there hadn't been an army that had come to Yudu, the city defense army would not have to fight.

Most of the nobles and rich men in the city defense army were not allowed to make achievements, but just to have an errand.

Therefore, Qu Chu did not think about building the city defense army into a border army.

I guess the emperor didn't have this idea either.

If the city defense army really became a powerful army of tigers and wolves, then the emperor in the palace would probably be restless.

After inspecting the training of the city defense force, Qu Chu returned to the General's Mansion.

...

During dinner, Ning Youbei came.

He is here to have a free meal.

Seeing that he had almost eaten, Qu Chu asked, "When I left the city today, I saw a prince's carriage. Which prince came to Yudu?"

“I’m about to tell you.

This year is the birthday of Yin Sheng, the emperor's 60th year. It is the Zhongyuan Festival soon. The emperor is preparing to pay a good tribute to his father this year. He specially ordered other brothers to rush back to Yudu."

So that's it!

Qu Chu hesitated for a moment: "Can you tell me about the situation of the royal family?"

Ning Youbei Zhan Yan Yixiao:

"Of course, I'll wait for you to ask.

I thought before that if you don’t ask me again, I will tell you before this Zhongyuan Festival.”

Qu Chu slightly moved his gaze.

Every time Ning Youbei smiled at her, she didn't want to see his overly brilliant face.

After Ning Youbei's narration, Qu Chu roughly understood the current situation of the royal family.

The late emperor had a total of seven sons and eight daughters. When the emperor ascended the throne, he had only four sons and six daughters left.

The remaining four sons are the Emperor, King Ning Youbei of Chu, King Ning Youdi of Jing, and King Ning Youyuan of Huai.

King Jing Ning Youdi was born to the early empress.

Ning Youdi is two years older than the emperor.

The first queen gave birth to a son and a daughter, and a eldest princess Kang Ning married her cousin, the son of Duke Zhenguo, and the second-rank general of the guard, Sui Lijing.

King Ning Youyuan of Huai was two months younger than Ning Youbei. Her mother was not of high status. When the old emperor passed away, she was only a fourth-rank concubine. It was King Huai who was named the prince of the county and then she was named the third-rank concubine.

"The prince frame you see today should be from King Jing Ning Youdi."

Qu Chu digested the news that Ning Youbei said in his mind.

The emperor died three brothers when he ascended the throne, which shows that the competition for the throne was cruel at that time.

Huai Wang Ning Youyuan was two months younger than Ning Youbei. He was less than 16 years old when the emperor ascended the throne and did not have time to participate in the competition for the throne, so he was able to save his life.

But what happened to King Jing?

King Jing Ning Youdi was two years older than the emperor, born to the early empress, and also supported by the powerful foreign family, and was logically the most powerful competitor to the throne.

But he survived well and was also named Prince.

Is he not participating in the competition for the throne or is he too strong? So even if the emperor ascended the throne, he would not dare to attack him?

Qu Chu asked his questions.

Ning Youbei's expression became a little strange.

"Why? Can't you say it?"

"No, although these are secret matters in the palace, Achu, you are your own person and there is nothing you can't say."

Ningyou North Road:

"King Jing was the most popular person at that time. He was the legitimate son. Not only did he have the support of the Duke Zhenguo Mansion, but also the support of the Grand Tutor. But something happened later..."

When the competition for the throne was the most fierce, the first queen was caught and raped in bed, and the adulterer was still her childhood sweetheart.

After the Queen was arrested and raped, she drank poison and proved her innocence to the Queen, saying that she was framed. However, under the instigation of others, the Queen still suspected that King Jing was not his biological son.

So the former emperor appointed King Jing as the prince and drove him to his fiefdom.

Although the Duke of Zhenguo later investigated the matter clearly, the Empress was framed by a prince and his mother, and the Emperor of Zhen also personally ordered the execution of the concubine and the prince, but the matter was irreversible.

The first empress is dead, and King Jing’s life experience is always a thorn in the heart of the last emperor, and it is ultimately inseparable from the throne.

The Duke of Zhenguo Mansion has since fallen silent.

Duke Zhenguo no longer participated in the court affairs, and Duke Zhenguo Prince Sui Lijing took Princess Kang Ning to the coast of the East China Sea.

Ning Youbei smiled bitterly:

"If it weren't for the incident back then, it would be impossible for the emperor's brother to ascend the throne."

This is really...

Qu Chu didn't know what to say.

There are naturally methods for the emperor to ascend the throne. Did the emperor interfere in the matter of the first empress back then? Or even if he did not intervene, he could not explain whether he had contributed to the fire.

However, the throne disputes have always been cruel. Even if there is no blood flowing, they are framed with all kinds of conspiracies and tricks, which are full of dangers. It is hard to say who is right or wrong.

What we need to see is whether we can become a good emperor.

The emperor has ascended the throne for 8 years, and his performance in the past 8 years is quite good. Although he cannot be said to be a wise monarch, he is better than most emperors in history.

...

Qu Chu thought for a moment and asked, "How is this King Jing like?"

This time, Ning Youbei did not answer directly.

"You will see him in a few days, you can tell it yourself."
Chapter completed!