The first to grow restless was naturally Benevolent Sovereign Ji Long.
Benevolent Sovereign Ji Long's goal was simple: first abandon cities and relinquish territory to lighten the burden and prolong his life, then recover the lost lands, expand the realm, and increase his lifespan, achieving an imperial legacy for all ages.
But now, even this first step of abandoning cities and relinquishing territory had become a back-and-forth affair.
Benevolent Sovereign Ji Long understood this clearly. Once the abandonment of cities and territory kept going back and forth, the greatest losses, aside from Great Zhou's national strength and popular support, would be to the power of him, the Emperor.
He did not know about anything else, but according to reports from the Heavenly Patrol Division and the Secret Directorate, many more officials had begun visiting the residence of his eldest son, Prince Huan Ji Ao.
This represented a trend in public sentiment.
It meant that quite a few officials had already lost faith in him, the Emperor.
Some nobles had even been secretly exchanging letters with Prince Li Ji Yuan, which made Benevolent Sovereign Ji Long especially anxious.
The court officials and nobles of Luoyi were all shrewd.
Over such a long period, Great Zhou's wars had seesawed repeatedly. Although Benevolent Sovereign Ji Long found someone to take the blame for every military defeat, making it seem as though it had nothing to do with him high upon the imperial throne, who could say it truly had no connection to him at all?
All of this had happened under Benevolent Sovereign Ji Long's rule. That was the greatest responsibility.
Benevolent Sovereign Ji Long keenly realized that the nobles' support for him as Emperor had already begun to waver.
That was an extremely dangerous sign.
Thus, whenever the Heavenly Patrol Division sent