The Ultimate Prodigal Son - Chapter 1189

[Chapter 1189: Mutual Despise]

When these princes saw Lin Tian, they all showed shocked expressions on their faces. Obviously, they did not expect Lin Tian to be so young.

Although when Lin Tian became the prime minister of Yan State, the emperor also posted an imperial edict to inform the people of Yan State that Prime Minister Zhao had retired and returned to his hometown, and now the position of prime minister of Yan State was taken over by Lin Tian.

At that time, these princes also knew about Lin Tian. When they heard that Lin Tian was so young, they did not believe that the emperor could appoint such a young person as the prime minister of Yan State.

So they did not believe this in their hearts, but when they saw Lin Tian, they believed that Lin Tian was so young.

But what they did not expect was that Lin Tian actually came to the palace to meet the emperor wearing such a dress. They even thought that Lin Tian was putting on a show, but they quickly denied this idea.

“Lord Lin, they are my cousins, and they are all princes. Now they are stationed in other cities of Yan State. If it weren’t for the military elite competition held in our army, I’m afraid Lord Lin wouldn’t have had the chance to meet them.”

The emperor saw that the princes looked at Lin Tian carefully, but didn’t say anything, so he spoke to Lin Tian.

In fact, the emperor was not only telling Lin Tian that they were the princes that the emperor had been worried about for a long time. Now they have appeared in front of Lin Tian, so he wanted Lin Tian to find a way to deal with them.

“Lord Lin, did you fall into a mud pit when you came here? Why are you covered with so much mud?”

However, when the emperor saw the mud on Lin Tian’s clothes, the expression on his face changed slightly, and then he had to open his mouth and say to Lin Tian as if jokingly.

“Your Majesty, I didn’t fall into the mud pit. I just accidentally rubbed mud while doing some work. Your Majesty, don’t care about so many details.

What’s more, these princes are waiting for you at this moment. Does your Majesty still want to waste their precious time? It’s better for your Majesty to tell them directly, so that their elites can be excited.”

Lin Tian said to the emperor. Although he was talking to the emperor on the surface, Lin Tian was actually reminding the emperor to tell these princes the reason for inviting them here.

“Okay, since Lin Aiqing said so, I won’t beat around the bush with the princes. I will tell you the purpose of inviting you here this time.”

The emperor heard what Lin Tian said and understood what Lin Tian meant, so he said to the princes.

“I invited you here this time and asked you to bring your elites with me. I mainly want to find a group of real elite troops in the army of Yan State. I wonder if you are willing to let your elites compete with some people I selected?”

The emperor continued to speak to the princes.

“Oh? Your Majesty, isn’t the military management contest an election among all the armies? Has Your Majesty already selected the elites in the army? Do you want them to compete with our personal guards?”

After hearing what the emperor said, one of the princes said to the emperor.

“Since it is a military management contest, it must be a selection of elites from all the armies, but our Yan State just had a terrible war with Qi State, so we can’t spare so many soldiers.

And they all have important positions, even if they want to participate, they can’t leave, so I decided to select some of the newly recruited soldiers this year and let them compete.”

After hearing what the prince said, the emperor also showed a helpless expression on his face.

These princes only knew that they had not been in a period of large-scale war with Qi State. Even if the troops of King Dongfeng of Yan wanted to fight to the death with Qi State, they simply did not have enough qualifications and strength.

After hearing what the emperor said, the princes were all surprised. The reason for their shock was that they had never thought that the emperor would select some soldiers from the new recruits for this contest. They all

knew very well that the newly recruited soldiers this year had no so-called combat strength at all. Even if they had strength, they had never been on the battlefield, so they had no combat experience at all.

If the emperor wanted them to participate in this contest, then they simply did not want to win this time. At the same time, they were also guessing in their hearts why the emperor did this.

These princes thought about it for a long time but could not think of it, so they could only put it aside for the time being.

“Then the next contest process and the venue will need to be decided by Lord Lin. For the sake of fairness, the princes can also discuss it with Lord Lin, and then we will start the real competition tomorrow.”

After the emperor saw that these princes did not start talking, he continued to speak to them.

“Your Majesty, I think it’s not appropriate to do this. Zhu Weiqing and his men came from afar. They are obviously not familiar with the terrain here. If we choose, they will definitely not be able to take advantage.

So I decided not to discuss it, but to let them choose, and then write down their own suggestions or competition methods on paper, and then put them in a cardboard box, and then draw lots to decide.

This can not only ensure a certain degree of fairness, but also allow the princes’ subordinates to show their strength. Only in this way can the competition be worth watching.”

After hearing the emperor’s words, Lin Tian quickly spoke to the emperor and gave his own suggestions.

“Prime Minister Lin, I think your majesty is right. Since we are guests from afar, we must follow the advice of the host here.

However, what Prime Minister Lin said not only violated our bottom line, but also looked down on the elites under our command. I think we should proceed in the way your majesty said.”

After hearing what Lin Tian said, the princes also showed unhappy expressions on their faces. Obviously, he also stood up to the meaning of Lin Tian’s contempt for them, so he spoke to the emperor.

After hearing what the prince said, the emperor also showed an embarrassment on his face, but this expression was fake, not what he really thought.

“Your Majesty, I think it would be better if I wrote the content of the competition and let the princes choose. What do you think of this?”