Emperor: When will the Seventh Prince rebel? I will open the city gates to welcome him.

"Good! Haha! Hongxuan is indeed my son!"

Inside the Hall of Supreme Harmony, Emperor Dingwen Hongjing let out a hearty laugh.

"Where is the historian?"

"I'm here!" An official in Confucian robes held a brush in his hand.

"Write down for me the shocking words spoken by our son Hongxuan!"

"Your Majesty, I have already noted it down!" said the historian.

Emperor Dingwen's eyes fell on the three princes:

"I asked you how you would govern the country as the crown princes. Do you know how big the gap is between your three answers and Hongxuan's? What were your answers? I am very disappointed."

"I know my faults!"

"I know my faults!"

"I know my mistake!"

The eldest prince, the second prince, and the third prince all kowtowed without daring to make a sound.

"Everyone get up!"

Emperor Dingwen's gaze fell on Hongxuan.

The other three princes knew that the position of crown prince would not be theirs and would definitely fall to Hongxuan.

"Hongxuan! Establish your mind for the world, establish your destiny for the people, inherit the lost knowledge of the past sages, and bring peace to the world for all eternity! Are you willing to become the crown prince of the Dafeng Kingdom?"

Hong Xuan clasped his hands and said:

"Father! The most important thing for me to do now is to resolve the crisis at the northern border."

"The new ruler Baxin is eyeing our Dafeng country covetously. If this crisis is not resolved, how can the people of Dafeng live in peace? I only want to make achievements and establish a career in the northern border, rather than just talk about it on paper."

Hongxuan saw Hongxiong's murderous eyes, and he couldn't help but feel how much hatred the other two princes had for him.

He understood that there were murderous intentions at every step in the palace. If he wanted to secure his position as the crown prince, Hongxuan knew very well that he did not have the strength to do so now.

Emperor Dingwen, who was sitting on the dragon throne, nodded:

"Well! Then wait until my son Hongxuan resolves the danger at the northern border, and then I will make him the crown prince!"

Hong Xuan clasped his hands together and said, "Father, you must not do this! I am determined to stay at the border and will not return to Kyoto in the short term. Even if we drive Ba Xin away, there is no guarantee that he will come back again!"

"The position of the crown prince is related to the foundation of the country! Since I am destined by the King of Zhenbei, I cannot covet the position of the crown prince."

"Father received a message from the late ancestor in his dream, so the position of the crown prince must be among the three brothers. This is also a mandate from heaven!"

Hongxuan knew that no matter how well he performed or how talented he showed, he could not escape the fact that he had no foundation or supporters in the court.

Emperor Dingwen was also aware that Hongxuan had no political foundation in the court:

"Xuan'er is right! So, in that case, which of your three brothers do you think is more suitable to be the crown prince?"

Hong Xuan said in fear: "The position of the crown prince is related to the foundation of the country. I dare not express my opinion carelessly."

Emperor Dingwen looked at the people in the court and said:

"My Qilin'er's plan to bring peace to the world is not just random talk!"

"Most of the civil and military officials in the court are supporters of these three people. There is no point in asking the ministers in the court. Only by asking you can we get an objective answer."

"Xuan'er, you must tell me a definite answer today, otherwise I will make you the crown prince!"

All the civil officials, military generals, princes and ministers in the Hall of Supreme Harmony were looking at Hongxuan.

The three princes, Hongxiong, Hongze and Hongli, stared at Hongxuan intently.

As princes, the three of them had never thought of appointing a crown prince, and the decision needed to be made by the seventh prince, Hongxuan.

Hong Li looked at Hong Xuan with a fiery gaze: "Seventh brother! You and your elder brother will be good at both civil and military affairs. The Dafeng Kingdom will surely become strong!"

"You are not allowed to talk nonsense in this hall! The position of the crown prince is related to the foundation of the country, so don't influence my seventh brother! Seventh brother! If I become the crown prince, all the troops in the world will be under your command!" Hongze kowtowed with both hands.

"Third brother, you can't say that! The troops in the world are not commanded by me, but by our father!" Hongxuan hurriedly supported Hongze's hands.

Hongxuan felt speechless. His third brother Hongze was not the emperor yet. Even if he became the crown prince, he could not command all the troops in the world.

The second prince, Hongxiong, looked at Hongxuan and sneered, "Hongze! What are you talking about? Even if you are the crown prince, you have no right to hand over the world's troops to Hongxuan to lead! What if he plots a rebellion? Hongxuan is the best at pretending, he has deceived all of us!"

Hongxiong took the opportunity to throw dirty water.

When Emperor Dingwen favored Hongxuan, Hongxiong knew that he had no chance of becoming the crown prince.

So now he's going to bite back.

Hongxuan didn't even look at him.

Hong Xuan stepped forward, clasped his fists and kowtowed, and said to Emperor Ding Wen:

"I think that since your father received the will of the late ancestor in his dream, then the position of crown prince should be established according to the late ancestor's wishes."

"In Father's dream, the late Emperor must have told Father who the Crown Prince is!"

All the civil and military officials in the court nodded.

Yes, since the late emperor had appeared in a dream to Emperor Dingwen, he must have told him who would be the crown prince.

Emperor Dingwen narrowed his eyes and smiled: "Xuan'er, you can speak freely. If you don't speak, I will make you the crown prince!"

"Then I will say it boldly! If I am not mistaken, the person chosen by my late ancestor in my dream to be the crown prince is Hongze!"

As soon as Hong Xuan finished speaking, the entire hall fell silent.

Then there was a noise.

The third prince Hongze felt an overwhelming surge of ecstasy.

The eldest prince Hongli looked at Hongxuan as if he was the enemy who murdered his father.

"Hmph!" The second prince Hongxiong sneered.

"No! Hongxuan, I am obviously the best candidate for the position of crown prince. I am the eldest prince. You are wrong, you must be wrong!" Hongli looked at Hongxuan fiercely and growled unwillingly.

"The late emperor did indeed appear in my dream and appointed Hongze as the crown prince."

As soon as Emperor Dingwen said this, the years-long struggle for the position of crown prince among the princes came to an end.

Emperor Dingwen looked at the chief eunuch in front of him.

The eunuch chief naturally understood what the emperor meant with just one look. He spread out the imperial edict, picked up the imperial brush and handed it to Emperor Dingwen.

Emperor Dingwen had already written the edict of enthronement and pressed the imperial seal.

The chief eunuch in front of the emperor took the imperial edict and read it aloud.

"Hongze accepts the order!"

The third prince Hongze knelt on the ground excitedly: "Your son accepts the order!"

"It is God's destiny, the emperor decreed:

I have inherited the destiny of heaven and have great virtue. I have been working hard to govern the country and the people. The foundation of a country lies in the succession of successors who can inherit the great tradition and protect the blessings of the ancestral temple. Therefore, I have carefully considered and decided to appoint Hongze as the crown prince.

Hongze, my eldest son, is a man of great intelligence, upright conduct, benevolence, filial piety, and righteousness. He is a role model. He has been educated in the palace since he was young, has mastered the Five Classics, read widely, has the talent to govern the country, and has the ambition to care for the people.

I now appoint Hongze as the Crown Prince to honor his virtue and demonstrate his ability. I hope that the Crown Prince will live up to my expectations, respect his teachers, study hard, practice rituals and music, and cultivate his virtues, so that he can inherit the throne in the future, lead the people, and bring glory to the country.

The prince should respect the heaven and ancestors, be filial, be friendly to his brothers, respect his ministers, be considerate of the people, govern the country with benevolence, and win the hearts of the people with virtue. He should uphold justice, be honest and self-disciplined, work hard day and night, and make every effort to govern the country so that the country can prosper and the people can live and work in peace.

I will teach you carefully and entrust you with important tasks so that the prince can hone his talents. All the officials and people should also do their best to assist the prince and protect the peace of the country and the prosperity of the country.

Admire this!

March 5, the 23rd year of the reign of Emperor Dafeng

Emperor Dingwen of Dafeng State

Hongze knelt down and kowtowed excitedly: "Thank you, father, for your great grace!" He stood up excitedly and took the imperial edict of enthronement.

All the officials in the court knelt down and said, "Long live the emperor! Long live the prince!"