Chapter 5: There is no such thing as breaking off a marriage

But soon, Wang An found the answer from his previous life's memories.

Although Jizhou is vast in area, it is dangerous. Since Emperor Shenzong conquered this place during his northern expedition two hundred years ago, no vassal king of the royal family has been willing to establish his fiefdom in Jizhou.

The vassal kings of the Daliang Empire were similar to the princes of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period in the previous life, and they possessed all military and political power within their fiefdoms.

Apart from expressing submission to the Emperor of Daliang and paying a certain amount of taxes every year, he was no different from the emperor.

But with rights come obligations, and that is the need to defend one's own fiefdom from foreign invasion and to protect one's subjects from natural and man-made disasters.

Before this, Jizhou had never had a vassal king, so the military supply in the border areas was the responsibility of the imperial court.

And when Wang An became a fief, the peace of Jizhou would fall on his shoulders.

How could Wang An, the posthumous son of the late emperor, afford the expenses of the frontier army?

It would be fine if Jizhou was prosperous, as it could support military spending through taxation, but Jizhou was notoriously poor.

It was good enough not to ask Wang An for money for relief. It was simply a pipe dream to expect to collect taxes from those half-beggar people.

After understanding Jizhou's situation, Wang An looked at Shen Shaozhu who was arguing in front of him, and a warm feeling suddenly filled his body.

The mother is trying her best to find help for her son.

As the Grand Commander of the Five Military Commanderies, Cao Meng commanded all the garrisons and border troops in the country.

If she could become his son-in-law, even if Jizhou was invaded, Cao Meng would never sit idly by and watch her daughter and son-in-law die at the hands of the barbarians in times of crisis, and would definitely send a large army to rescue them.

However, Shen Shaozhu took it for granted.

Mobilizing a large army would cost more than a million!
Although Cao Meng had military power, he could not do whatever he wanted.

However, Shen Shaozhu has done her best as a mother.

Shen Shaozhu's revisiting of the past apparently evoked memories of some old officials.

For example, Gao Jin came out and said, "Your Majesty, what the Empress Dowager said is true!"

"At the oath-taking ceremony before the late emperor's expedition to Mobei, the late emperor made an agreement with the Grand Commander on the stage that if the Grand Commander had a daughter in the future, she would marry into the royal family as the Crown Princess, and the Grand Commander agreed."

Gao Jin's words were like the seal of a dusty memory. Some old ministers came forward to testify that the late emperor had indeed made such an agreement with the Grand Commander.

As the saying goes, a king never jokes. No matter whether the late emperor was joking or speaking casually, even if it was really just a joke, as the late emperor passed away and was unable to come out to clarify, then this matter is equivalent to the late emperor's will.

It would be fine if no one brought up this matter, but once someone brought it up, Cao Meng would have no choice but to admit it!

Cao Meng stared at Gao Jin with a gloomy face, wishing he could chop the old man into pieces.

Cao Meng was so opposed to this marriage because, on the one hand, he was reluctant to give up his only daughter, and on the other hand, he was intimidated by Wang Hongyuan's tyranny.

As the Grand Commander, he is a high-ranking official and can naturally understand the emperor's intentions. He is also an expert in conspiracy and trickery. How could he not guess Wang Hongyuan's attitude towards his nephew?

Even when I first heard about Wang An's sudden death, I was certain that it was definitely Wang Hongyuan's doing!

Let me ask you, if you marry your daughter to someone the emperor wants to kill, is that a good thing? Even the Grand Commander cannot wade into the muddy waters of the royal family.

As for Shen Shaozhu's intention, Cao Meng didn't believe that Wang Hongyuan couldn't see it. In fact, except for a few young people in the court, almost no one couldn't see it.

However, Wang Hongyuan just sat on the dragon throne without saying a word.

Cao Meng cursed the old fox in his heart and tried his best to deny it, saying, "Master Gao, you are wrong. You just said it yourself. The late emperor and I agreed that if we have a daughter, she will be the crown princess!"

"Excuse me, where is the prince?"

"This..." Gao Jin was suddenly speechless.

Cao Meng did not give Gao Jin time to think, and directly said: "Your Majesty, I did have such a joke with the late emperor, but it was just a joke. Since the Empress Dowager insists on being serious, then let's discuss it word by word!"

Wang Hongyuan was extremely satisfied. Although his nephew had requested to be a vassal and sternly rejected the offer of abdication, as long as Wang An was still alive and well, it would be a wish of the subjects all over the world.

In the eyes of the people of the world, Wang Hongyuan has always been a usurper of the throne, and the throne of the Emperor of Daliang has always been illegitimate.

The legitimate heir to the throne will always be Wang An!
This was also the only reason why he signaled Fang Bingqian to propose that Wang An be enfeoffed in Jizhou. Without the financial and military support of the court in such a chaotic place, Wang Hongyuan could almost be sure that within a few years he would hear the news that His Royal Highness Prince Xin had died in the rebellion.

Therefore, Wang Hongyuan naturally did not want Cao Meng, the commander-in-chief of the Five Armies, to marry Wang An.

Wang Hongyuan nodded and pretended to think: "So, what you said does make sense."

Wang Hongyuan did not support Cao Meng before, just because it was not in the interests of the people.

Now that Cao Meng has come up with an excuse himself, Wang Hongyuan is of course happy to support him.

However, as soon as he finished speaking, Wang An looked at Cao Meng coldly and said, "My mother often talks to me about the past of the late emperor. When she mentions the Grand Commander, she always says that the Grand Commander and my father are as close as Guan Yu and Bao Bao, and their friendship is as deep as brothers!"

"Now it seems that it was nothing but false pretense! Haha, if the late emperor had not passed away, I would be the crown prince now! May I ask the Grand Commander, would you still oppose the engagement like you do today?"

After he finished speaking, some upright court officials could not help but nod and point fingers at Cao Meng.

Cao Meng's face turned pale. Wang An's words and implications were nothing more than accusing Cao Meng of saying that his friendship with the late emperor was all false in order to gain promotion, and that he turned his back on the emperor as soon as he passed away.

If this accusation is confirmed, then in the eyes of the people of the world, Cao Meng will no longer be a great marshal who commands the world's troops and has made great military achievements, but a power-hungry, opportunistic and mercenary villain!

Even if one does not handle it properly, it may be considered as deceiving the emperor.

Of course, this "king" had passed away sixteen years ago, so no one would punish him for deceiving the king.

But the infamy of being "disloyal, unjust and dishonest" will be firmly branded on him and cannot be washed away even after a hundred years.

Cao Meng stared at Wang An, unable to understand why Prince Xin, who in his impression was always humble and gentle like a coward, seemed like a completely different person today.

Not only did he answer Wang Hongyuan fluently and clearly in the court, but now he even dared to point at his nose and scold him!

However, Wang An seemed not to notice Cao Meng's murderous look, and continued to ask questions passionately and incessantly.

"Please answer me, Grand Commander, if the late emperor were still alive and I were the crown prince, what would you do?"

(End of this chapter)