Jiuxi

Chapter 876 874 [I say autumn is better than spring]

It is August now and autumn is approaching.

The flowing clouds in the sky seem to be inlaid with thin golden threads, blown towards the earth by the fresh breeze, clinging to the green branches and leaves, quietly weaving a layer of light yellow of autumn.

The sunlight shines through the cracks, staining the fallen leaves on the ground, reflecting mottled gold.

Such beautiful scenery can be seen everywhere in the Dajing Palace.

However, no matter how beautiful the scenery is, you will get bored if you look at it every day.

Emperor Jingdi never liked to stay in the palace for a long time. At this time of year in previous years, he would usually stay in the vast royal hunting ground in the northern suburbs of Dadu for a period of time. Officials in the court were also accustomed to going there frequently to seek an audience with the emperor or discuss state affairs.

This year is naturally different.

The serious injury caused irreversible damage to Emperor Jing's body. If he had not been gifted and had not practiced martial arts for decades, and had not had an extremely strong physique, he would definitely not have survived.

Even so, his body was destined to never recover, leaving behind many unresolved chronic illnesses, and he battled illness almost every day.

For nearly a year, he did not leave the palace.

Fortunately, he still had strong control over the court, especially after he stopped the military reform. Most of the Jinglian nobles were tactful and kept quiet. Occasionally, there were a few stupid guys, but they were suppressed by Emperor Jing with thundering means.

He used hundreds of bloody heads to intimidate all ambitious people. Even though he was injured and bleeding and no longer as absolutely powerful as he once was, he was still the master of this vast territory, and no one could shake his rule.

For example, one night two months ago, a large number of Hezha warriors suddenly went out and attacked the residences of five ministers in the capital. When the sky was bright, the conclusive evidence of these ministers' collusion and conspiracy to rebel was placed in front of all the important officials. It was obvious that their every move had long been under the observation of Emperor Jing.

Before most people could react, more than 300 heads were hung on the outer wall of the east gate, allowing everyone to deeply experience the emperor's awe-inspiring majesty.

In short, although Emperor Jing was unable to leave the palace due to health reasons, there were still countless eyes and ears watching this huge and powerful dynasty for him.

"I now understand the foolish emperors of Southern Qi. They are trapped in this small place all day long. On the surface, they own a vast territory, but in fact, they can only see a small corner of the world. As the saying goes, when you are too quiet, you will want to move. If you live like this for too long, you will inevitably try to find some fun and indulge in it, delaying your work. If the officials in the court are loyal and capable, there won't be too many problems. I'm afraid that they are all those greedy people who abuse their power and eventually unite to exclude the loyal and good."

In the imperial study, Emperor Jing looked at the secret report in his hand and said calmly, "It just happens that the latter is more likely to happen. For example, Emperor Chengzong of the Southern Qi Dynasty indulged in pleasure and handed over all power to a group of treacherous people. He only wanted to live a life of drunkenness and dreams, and eventually made the people live in misery and the land desolate. Even a famous general like Yang Guangyuan, who only appears once in a century, was framed and killed. How sad it is."

When more than a dozen important officials heard this sigh, they all felt secretly that the emperor's words were obviously not groundless.

Crown Prince Wu Yan, who was standing solemnly at the side, was even more alert.

It has been more than half a year since Wu Yan entered the Eastern Palace, but he still feels a sense of unreality.

After the sudden death of Crown Prince Nalan, clues related to the murder of the crown prince were found in his house. When he was imprisoned by the order of Emperor Jing, Wu Yan even had the urge to commit suicide to prove his innocence.

But he didn't expect that on the first night of his confinement, his father, who was like a god in his heart, would personally come to the dark path where he was and tell him that the matter was not that simple. He believed that Wu Yan would not do such a despicable act as to kill his brother, but the situation was not yet clear, so he took this opportunity to reflect on himself and why he was framed by others.

Wu Yan gave up the idea of ​​committing suicide and honestly reflected on his negligence and carelessness in the past years.

But at that time he didn't expect anything else at all, until the day he became the crown prince, it was as if he was in a dream.

He has not wasted a single day in the past six months, and has been studying hard all the time, just to prove that his father's choice was correct, because at the Tianqing Festival last year, the scholar Du Weizheng publicly declared that only Nalan and Hai Ge had the hope of inheriting Emperor Jing's great cause, and the other princes did not have that ability.

Hearing his father's calm words at this moment, Wu Yan's heart trembled and his expression became more serious.

Emperor Jing glanced at him calmly, then shook the secret letter in his hand and said, "The south has been very busy in the past few months. Li Zongben obviously did not learn the way of the emperor from his father. Instead, he has a very strange suspicion. He has almost never stopped testing and suppressing Lu Chen. During this period, the contradiction between the monarch and his subjects has become more and more intense. It seems that he is more like inheriting the temperament of Emperor Chengzong of Southern Qi. It's a pity that Li Duan, a wise ruler, had to choose such a successor in the end."

The atmosphere in the hall became a little more relaxed.

Regardless of whether these important officials admit it verbally or not, it is the consensus of the vast majority of people that Lu Chen's threat to Dajing has surpassed that of Li Tianrun and Xiao Wangzhi.

Xiao Li and the other two had experienced the darkest years in Qi State, and their fear of Jing Army had never diminished. They would instinctively choose a more secure strategy. However, Lu Chen was completely different from them. In his first battle in the army, he defeated the elite troops of Jing Army under the city of Guangling, and he won battles after battle. Therefore, he had no fear of Jing Army, on the contrary, he was extremely aggressive and proactive.

Such an opponent is not easy to deal with. Now that they know that he is suspected by the Emperor of Qi, they can't help but smile. Some people even imagine that if the same thing happened to Yang Guangyuan again in Southern Qi, it will obviously be more refreshing for Yu Dajing.

Emperor Jing looked around at his ministers and knew what some people were thinking. He then said calmly, "Li Zongben is too immature. He hasn't even taken control of the power of the clans in the south of Qi State, and he wants to suppress a powerful military hero who controls more than 100,000 elite border troops. It's nothing but a fool's dream. Prince, who do you think will win in the end between the monarch and his ministers in Southern Qi?"

Qing Yugong didn't think too much and said calmly: "Your Majesty, I think Lu Chen will win."

Emperor Jing asked with interest: "Why?"

Qing Yugong replied: "Because he is not Yang Guangyuan."

The other important officials could not help but feel puzzled, but Emperor Jing did not continue to ask, but just nodded and smiled, "That makes sense."

Sagai secretly felt jealous.

The emperor was also very wary of Qing Yugong and had suppressed him before, but even Sagai had to admit that no one in the court could compare to Qing Yugong in terms of understanding the emperor's intentions. Anyway, he did not admit that the emperor and Qing Yugong had a rapport.

However, seven or eight days later, when the news of Li Zongben's sudden death, the exposure of the conspiracy of the Southern Qi clan, and Lu Chen's monopoly of power reached Dadu, perhaps he would change his mind.

Emperor Jing put down the secret letter and said slowly, "I summoned you to the palace today because I have something to tell you."

All the ministers were in awe, and everyone put away their thoughts.

Emperor Jing said, "My health is not as good as before. With the heavy state affairs, it is inevitable that I will not have enough energy. Therefore, I want to appoint the crown prince as regent to help me share some of the burden. The crown prince has a fair temperament and is humble and eager to learn. In the future, you must assist him wholeheartedly so that he can adapt to the heavy burden as soon as possible."

The news came too suddenly, and except for Qing Yugong and Shangshu Ling Zhao Siwen, all other important officials were shocked.

Wu Yan looked confused, which soon turned into anxiety.

"Prince."

Wu Yan was startled awake by Emperor Jing's calm voice.

He knelt down quickly and said, "Father is in his prime. He will recover after a period of recuperation. How dare I, your son, overstep my bounds?"

"Just because you are the regent does not mean that I will hand over all power to you. I will still make the final decision on all important matters in the court."

Emperor Jing showed no impatience and said slowly, "You have never experienced anything before. Do you want to be a naive prince for the rest of your life? I let you supervise the country so that you can learn how to govern the country. There is no need to increase the number of officials in the East Palace. From now on, you can attend court and participate in government affairs like them."

Wu Yan did not dare to refuse any more, and bowed his head and said, "Your son obeys your order."

"Get up."

Emperor Jing looked at his ministers and asked, "Did you understand what I said just now?"

"I understand."

Everyone responded respectfully.

Qing Yugong was filled with admiration.

Not adding officials to the East Palace, and only letting the prince participate in politics, is to let him integrate into the existing structure of the court. The emperor's arrangement seems a bit abrupt on the surface, but it is actually the best way to ensure a smooth transfer of power.

Emperor Jing nodded and said, "The Minister of the Chancellery will draft the edict for me. You may leave now."

Zhao Siwen and others bowed and left.

After a while, Emperor Jing slowly stood up and walked out. Wu Yan hurriedly followed him carefully.

Walking in the quiet corridor, Emperor Jing looked at the bleak autumn scenery and said leisurely: "You have also read many history books of the Central Plains dynasties. You should know that there have been countless disturbances in the succession of imperial power from ancient times to the present. There are countless examples of fathers and sons killing each other and brothers fighting. People often say that it is difficult to be a crown prince. It is even more difficult to be a crown prince of a promising monarch. Do you know why?"

Wu Yan was so nervous that he could not express it in words. He said cautiously, "I don't know."

Emperor Jing walked with his hands behind his back and said bluntly: "As the successor to the throne, the crown prince cannot be alone. He needs his own team so that he can control the overall situation after ascending the throne. No matter which dynasty or generation, there is never a lack of opportunists. They all want to seek a share of the credit of following the emperor, so they will naturally gather around the crown prince."

Wu Yan responded: "Indeed."

"You are honest."

Emperor Jing did not comment, and said: "An emperor who cares about the world certainly does not like his heir to be a waste, but if the heir is too strong, it will inevitably arouse the emperor's suspicion, because before he truly ascends the throne, the prince may have everything taken away at any time. This is the root of the conflict between the monarch, his subjects, and his son."

Beads of sweat continued to appear on Wu Yan's forehead.

Emperor Jing suddenly stopped, turned his head and looked at him, and said in a slow tone: "I want to break this convention, so I give you the responsibility of regent. You don't need to start all over again and rack your brains to train your own team. My people are your people, and when I die in the future, they will naturally continue to be loyal to you."

Wu Yan was stunned, and the uneasiness in his heart disappeared instantly.

Emperor Jing showed a complicated smile on his face, and continued: "I haven't taught you too much before, so I will speak frankly. Wu Yan, no matter how the world views you, you must remember that you are my son, the future emperor of Dajing. I will help you complete this journey. As for whether you can inherit my great cause in the future and whether you can make Dajing prosperous, I cannot judge it out of thin air, but-"

"Father."

Wu Yan looked at him seriously, his tone trembling a little, but his expression was extremely firm.

Emperor Jing raised his hand and gently patted his shoulder, smiling and saying, "I believe you can do it."

(End of this chapter)