Once a Demon, Once a God

"Yes!"

Zhao Kuangyin nodded. After weighing it for a moment, he finally voiced his thoughts to Verdant Green Maiden.

"When I ascended the throne and proclaimed myself Emperor, I did not know how long I would live, nor how long Great Song would last. Of the previous Five Dynasties—Liang, Tang, Jin, Han, and Zhou—not one was a long-lived dynasty! Who could say whether Great Song would be the next? Thus... when choosing an heir, I chose Prince Jin."

At the time, Zhao Kuangyin's children had all still been very young.

If he had died within a year or two like Gaozu of Later Han and the Great Ancestor of Later Zhou before him, then with Zhao Guangyi governing Great Song, at least the realm would not have fallen into a situation where the ruler was young and the state uncertain.

But who could have known he would live this long?

Who could have known Great Song would truly endure this long as well!

Now, his children had grown up.

But Zhao Guangyi had grown up too!

Not in age, but in power. Having long held the post of Prefect of Kaifeng, he had already amassed considerable strength in the Imperial Court.

Although Zhao Kuangyin had begun letting his children participate in court affairs several years earlier.

But...

Zhao Guangyi's power remained deeply rooted.

"Who would not wish to pass the throne to his own child?"

"Imperial Tutor..."

"Do you think Zhen should make a move against Prince Jin?"

Zhao Kuangyin looked at Verdant Green Maiden and asked.

He thought he should be able to.

After all, the Central Plains and its former lands were now all in Great Song's hands, and the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun had been recovered as well!

Great Song had only the threat from the northwest