Feast at Hongmen

  The Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty's last regret on his deathbed was that he had dispersed the salt and iron industries, which were crucial to the country's economy, with a wave of his hand years ago, resulting in being controlled by various families, even his own decision to appoint a crown prince was influenced by others.

  In the early years, Zhou Guogong's memorial requested that he establish a crown prince. In an idle conversation, Emperor Wu of Han mentioned that his second son was calm and composed, with the way to govern the country, but was opposed by different forces. In a fit of anger, he rejected the proposal to establish a crown prince on the grounds that many princes were still young and needed to be cultivated and observed.

  After this disturbance, Wu Zetian was vigilant and since the wealth had already slipped out of her control, she would tightly grasp military power in her hands. This was the only thing she could do to help her future crown prince. With military power in hand, how could she fear not recovering her wealth?

  The Wu regime had four elite troops, the largest of which was the Xiang family army led by Xiao Lidai, father of Xiao Congrong. This army was a sharp weapon against national rebellion and foreign enemies, with outstanding military achievements that were plain to see, and was a force that Emperor Wu II particularly relied on.

  The second elite troop is stationed at the border and belongs to General Hong. It is said that this General Hong was a talented general cultivated by Xiao Lao Hou Ye, who was both literary and martial, had participated in over a hundred battles, and had achieved great military merit. Emperor Wu II, in order to win him over, married his own younger sister, Princess He Ping, to him, making him a relative of the imperial family.

  The third elite troop was small in scale and was used by the Jingqiu Governor to maintain the safety of the Imperial City, although there were few people, each one was a good man who could hold off a hundred.

  The fourth elite troop was a legendary imperial guard personally cultivated by Emperor Wu of Han, whose existence could only be guessed at, but never openly displayed.

  No one knows who is in charge, and no one knows how many people are involved! Some speculate that whoever gets the command of this elite army will be the next emperor, but judging from the performance of all the princes, none of them seem to have already obtained the military power.

  The Wu Emperor had many sons, and the five grown-up princes were the most powerful contenders for the throne. Except for the fourth prince who was physically weak and had not been trained in the army, the other four princes had all received training to varying degrees.

  Among them, the fifth prince is somewhat slack and not very enthusiastic about the throne. The other three princes are openly competing with each other in secret, all vying for power to contend for the throne.

  With financial support, if they also gain military power, they will be unbeatable. The Xiao family army would then become the top target for all the princes to win over.

  Xiao Lid only inherited his father's straightforwardness, understood his heavy responsibility, and was not interested in pulling factions at all. He declared that he would be loyal to the emperor alone, whoever the emperor established as the crown prince, the Xiao family army would swear to die for him.

  The iron plate is in place, and although the princes are helpless, they can also rest assured that as long as they become the legitimate crown prince, they won't have to worry about the Xiao family's army not being under their command.

  But this reassurance was only temporary, as Wu Er's illness worsened, the competition for the crown prince position also entered a white-hot stage, and with the Xiao family army not in hand, who could sleep soundly?

  Xiao Congrong, once a transcendent guest, had her legs broken as soon as she crossed over and was busy nursing herself, with no time to heed the affairs outside her window. When she heard that the Empress Dowager summoned her to the palace, she naturally wouldn't think that her crippled self could still move the Empress Dowager's compassionate heart. After doing some homework on current events and judging the situation, she determined: this was absolutely a Hongmen Banquet!