Chapter 257: Chapter 192 You will soon hear the news of the North Prince’s sudden death 1

Early morning.

Xuanzheng Hall.

Today, the officials arrived here early, and as soon as they reached Xuanzheng Hall, they began discussing the North City reforms, no longer caring about the war between Great Sum and Great Wu.

Even though the war between Great Sum and Great Wu was related to them, there were soldiers holding the front lines, and Great Wu’s military might, no matter how strong, could not possibly reach the Capital city in a short period of time.

However, the reforms in North City were different, as land issues were closely related to each and every one of them. Even though the North Prince was only carrying out the reforms within his fiefdom, appearing not to affect them, his ideas were perceived as extremely dangerous by them.

Such ideas absolutely must not arise within Great Sum, for once these ideas spread, the interests of everyone present would be affected. They could not allow for the Sum Emperor to entertain such thoughts either, so they had to nip this ideology in the bud.

As Lin Gaoyuan observed the officials fervently discussing the North City reforms in the great hall, he felt a mix of emotions.

It was only now that he had decided to side with the North Prince and support him henceforth when the North Prince had caused such a stir in North City.

To enact legislation declaring land ownership rights fall under the Prince, the North Prince dared to do such a thing. Didn’t the North Prince have any officials or strategists by his side to prevent him from doing so?

The audacity of the North Prince truly knew no bounds.

Even Lin Gaoyuan began to waver internally.

He began to doubt if the North Prince would survive through the next year.

Even if the Sum Emperor didn’t punish the North Prince, the Aristocratic Families and the Scholar Officials would likely send people to assassinate the North Prince in secret.

Thinking of this, Lin Gaoyuan sighed.

Originally, he had thought the North Prince was someone capable of biding his time, destined for greatness and bound to accomplish significant feats.

But it turned out the North Prince was rash beyond belief.

He also was uncertain whether the Heavy Cavalry of North City had indeed been wiped out. It seemed that he would have to thoroughly inquire about the North City situation once his son returned.

As Lin Gaoyuan was lost in thought, the voice of a eunuch echoed through the great hall.

“His Majesty arrives!”

At these words, the hall that had been as noisy as a marketplace instantly quieted down.

Soon, the Sum Emperor arrived atop the Dragon Throne, dressed in a yellow robe embroidered with the Golden Dragon.

After seating himself on the Dragon Throne, he spoke indifferently, “My loving officials, what were you discussing just now with such fervor? Could it be that there’s been some major change on the front lines that I am unaware of?”

Seeing the Sum Emperor feigning ignorance, an Aristocratic Family’s official could no longer hold back and stood up to speak, “Your Majesty, I impeach the North Prince for disregarding laws and rituals, oppressing the people, and acting despotically within his fiefdom. I suggest revoking the North Prince’s title and having him seized and brought back to the Royal Capital for punishment.”

Hearing this, the Sum Emperor appeared puzzled and then said, “North Prince? Weren’t you discussing the front-line warfare just now? How did it turn to the North Prince? Has the North Prince done something unknown to Us that warrants an official’s impeachment?”

Seeing the Sum Emperor acting completely uninformed, a tremor of surprise ran through the ministers in the hall—could it be that the actions taken by the North Prince in North City were actually instigated by the Sum Emperor?

Could it be that the Sum Emperor was considering legislating to reclaim land ownership rights?

It was at this moment that Zhao Wenhan stepped forward, “Your Majesty, I’ve heard that the North Prince is reforming North City and aims to enact laws stipulating that all land ownership rights in North City are to be vested solely in him. No one can buy or sell land at will. Such blatant seizure by the North Prince will severely endanger the state of Great Sum, hence I believe we need to stop the North Prince’s reform immediately, or Great Sum will find itself in jeopardy.”

The Sum Emperor’s brows furrowed, and then he said, “Zhao, you are truly well-informed. You know of matters even We were oblivious to.”

“However, if we may speak candidly, a Seignior reforming his own fiefdom and establishing decrees seems to bear little relation to the imperial court.”

“If the court were to meddle in the affairs of a Seignior’s fiefdom arbitrarily, it might provoke the dissatisfaction of the Seigniors.”

Zhao Wenhan hastily said, “Your Majesty, the North Prince’s reform has already incited public outrage. Everywhere you go, commoners are discussing the North City affairs, with few remaining concerned about the warfare at the front.”

“If we don’t halt the North Prince’s reforms and fail to punish him, the common people might assume that it was Your Majesty who instructed the North Prince to act thus, and it’s even possible that they fear Your Majesty will eventually legislate to reclaim all the lands within Great Sum.”

“Right now, as the warfare on the front intensifies, if the soldiers come to know that the lands they’ve earned through military service could be taken back, how could they have the heart to fight for Great Sum or Your Majesty?”

“Therefore, I earnestly beseech Your Majesty to severely punish the North Prince!”

With that, Zhao Wenhan knelt down.

Seeing Zhao Wenhan kneeling, officials from his faction knelt down one after another, raising their voices in unison, “We beseech Your Majesty to severely punish the North Prince!”

As more than half of the officials in the court knelt down, the Sum Emperor’s heart was unmoved. He had anticipated that today’s court session would turn out this way.

In fact, what these ministers feared the most was the Emperor himself reclaiming land ownership rights. The earlier words of Zhao Wenhan were both a probe and a warning, reminding him not to entertain such thoughts, or his reign would be over.

The Emperor then said calmly, “If what you say is true, and the North Prince in North City legislates to retake land ownership rights, then indeed he has overstepped his bounds.”