Jiuxi

Chapter 991 989 [Exhausted]

Being in power for ten years is a double-edged sword.

For the royal family, once Lu Chen accepted the appointment, he could then cultivate his own clique without any scruples. Even if he replaced the two prime ministers and the six ministers, as long as the reasons were sufficient, the royal family would have no right to interfere.

And there is one particularly important point. Lu Chen is not a civil servant. He holds more than 90% of the military power of Da Qi. The 18 commanders after the reform are all his trusted subordinates. As long as he gives an order, these people will crush all enemies in front of them.

In other words, Lu Chen could monopolize military and political power in these ten years and become a powerful official whose words were truly law.

By that time, the initiative will be completely in Lu Chen's hands, and the Tian family will have no ability to resist.

But from another perspective, Empress Dowager Ning's decision was courageous and wise.

It was indeed an unprecedented achievement for Lu Chen to recover his homeland in Jiangbei, but the performance of the Li royal family in the past twenty years, including the two years of Li Zongben's reign, was worthy of praise, especially since the people of Jiangnan did not abandon them. Even Lu Chen's successful implementation of the new land tax policy this time benefited from the foundation laid by the Jingjie Law.

In short, at least so far, people have not generally formed the concept that it is better for Lu Chen to be in power.

Empress Dowager Ning knew very well that it was impossible to regain military power, at least there was no hope within the next three to five years, so she continued with her previous idea and simply retreated.

Ever since she came to power, her image of taking the overall situation into consideration has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. From the beginning, she handed over the military power of Jiangbei to Lu Chen, and later firmly supported the border troops. Then, she took the initiative to move the capital in order to avoid domestic turmoil. Now she has even handed over power without reservation. It seems that she is at an absolute disadvantage, but she can inadvertently arouse empathy from the world.

Many times, showing weakness is the best option. If you force your way out, you will end up at a disadvantage.

If Lu Chen agreed, he would be in a more passive situation. Under the premise that the royal family was so sensible, if he continued to force the orphan and the widow, not to mention that the civil officials would not agree, the soldiers under his command might not be willing to accept that their commander was such a despicable and violent person.

Once the military morale is shaken, Lu Chen's greatest asset will lose its original deterrent effect.

The long silence in the hall at this moment was frightening.

However, unlike what Empress Dowager Ning imagined, Lu Chen remained silent not because he was considering the pros and cons of the matter, but because he suddenly remembered two stories.

Two stories from previous lives that were widely circulated, with beautiful colors and sad endings.

The protagonists in the story are named Zhang Juzheng and Dorgon.

Lu Chen was a professional soldier in his previous life and had little exposure to history and literature, but these two stories were so famous, and there were many film and television dramas that adapted or adapted them, so naturally he had some understanding of them.

Now that he thought about it carefully, his current situation was surprisingly similar to that of those two great men who left their names in history.

Of course, whether he remembered these two stories or not, he would not accept Queen Dowager Ning's proposal, because he knew very well that he could not retreat, and he could not accept a ten-year shackle.

Once he gives up power in the future, he will inevitably face an extremely tragic reckoning. This has nothing to do with the character of Empress Dowager Ning, but is a truth proven by countless bloody examples.

The fate of too many people throughout history has shown that having illusions about the emperor is the most foolish choice, even if the emperor is only seven or eight years old.

Thinking of this, Lu Chen finally broke the silence and said calmly: "Your Majesty, please forgive me for being so presumptuous. This proposal is slightly inappropriate."

Queen Mother Ning was not in a hurry either, and said calmly: "Your Highness, please speak clearly."

"Today, His Majesty sent Junior Supervisor Yuan to summon me. In fact, I didn't see him at all. According to the personal guards in my house, Junior Supervisor Yuan learned that there was a guest in my house, so he left a message for me to come here to see His Majesty, and then hurried back."

Lu Chen sighed and said slowly, "If this matter gets out, how will the people in the court view me? Prime Minister Xue and Prime Minister Xu are both loyal gentlemen. They will definitely accuse me of being arrogant and domineering, and even ignoring the saints. However, this is the decision made by Junior Supervisor Yuan. It is clearly an unprovoked disaster for me."

"Is there such a thing?"

Empress Dowager Ning was such a person that she understood why Yuan Yuji did this in an instant. She frowned and said, "Yuan Yuji is so good. He doesn't think about his duty and caution, but instead does such a self-righteous and foolish thing. Don't worry, Prince. I will never let him off easily and will punish him severely."

Lu Chen knew very well that Empress Dowager Ning would not really cut Yuan Yuji into pieces. After all, he was an old man from Li Zongben's time in the palace. Regardless of his abilities, he was at least loyal to the royal family and would be responsible for helping Empress Dowager Ning control the palace in the future.

He just used this opportunity to make people like Yuan Yuji behave themselves, and at the same time to pave the way for what he would say later, so he continued, "Your Majesty, please don't be angry. I believe that Junior Supervisor Yuan did this unintentionally, but he still needs to know the limits. He is Junior Supervisor of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, a person trusted by Your Majesty and the Emperor. If even he does not sympathize with the Holy Spirit and understand my difficulties, then I am afraid that I will have no one to complain to in the future."

Hearing this, Empress Dowager Ning could only nod and say, "The prince is right. Ruolan, have someone give Yuan Yuji fifty strokes of the cane and deprive him of half a year's salary. Tell him that if he does it again, I will expel him from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and leave him to fend for himself."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Ruolan lowered her head and agreed, feeling a bit more genuine fear of Lu Chen in her heart.

In fact, with Lu Chen's current power and status, even if he personally taught Yuan Yuji a lesson, Empress Dowager Ning would not say much, but this would have a very bad impact on the outside world.

It is difficult for the world to know the whole picture. All we know is that Lu Chen first ignored the Junior Supervisor of the Ministry of Internal Affairs who was summoned by the emperor, and then threatened and bullied him, appearing more and more arrogant and against the moral code.

But now that Queen Mother Ning had taken the initiative to teach the eunuchs a lesson, Lu Chen had no part in it. What frightened Ruolan was not Lu Chen's power, but the fact that he could remain so calm at a time like this.

Throughout history, there are countless people who have gained power and become arrogant, but how many people are cautious and self-controlled and will not make a wrong step?
Even a female official like Ruolan could see the mystery behind this little thing, so Empress Dowager Ning naturally knew it well, and a complex emotion flashed in her eyes.

And with a sense of powerlessness.

Lu Chen looked calm and said slowly, "Your Majesty, I didn't know you were going to discuss such an important matter. If you had informed me in advance, I would have apologized."

Queen Mother Ning collected her thoughts and asked in confusion, "What does the prince mean by this?"

Lu Chen said frankly: "Your Majesty urgently summoned me today, but outsiders do not know the inside story. In their opinion, it is possible that Your Majesty summoned me today, or I took the initiative to ask for an audience. If it was just an ordinary trivial matter, it would be fine, but it is such a major matter related to the power of the court. Let me ask, if I rashly accept the power of ruling without the witness of the prime minister and senior officials of the ministry, how will the court and the public view this matter?"

Empress Dowager Ning was stunned.

Lu Chen continued, "May I ask Your Majesty, do they think that this matter was indeed proposed by Your Majesty, asking me to assist the Emperor in building the Great Qi Dynasty, or do they think that I am relying on my military power to coerce and threaten the Emperor and act disloyal to seize power?"

Queen Mother Ning showed a trace of panic on her face, and quickly shook her head and said, "Prince, I don't have such intentions."

"I know and I understand that Your Majesty did this out of trust in me, and I am very grateful for Your Majesty's trust."

Lu Chen said with a sigh, "However, people's words are scary, and there is also a saying that three people make a tiger. I really can't bear such rumors. In the past year, all kinds of rumors have been rampant, saying that I have the intention of usurping the throne and eyeing the supreme throne. I feel very uncomfortable. Now that the court has returned to the old capital, I will immediately take over the power of government. I am afraid that within half a year, officials and people all over the country will poke at my spine and curse me. Your Majesty, I have made some small contributions to Da Qi over the years, and I hope you will sympathize with me."

"Don't say anything more, Your Majesty. I was not thoughtful enough. I only thought about avoiding the misunderstanding that I was forcing you, but I didn't think that this would cause even greater criticism."

Queen Mother Ning looked at Lu Chen steadily, her eyes full of uneasiness and apology: "This is my fault, I hope the prince will understand."

To be fair, the supreme and noble empress dowager in front of him was the most powerful woman Lu Chen had ever seen.

Her appearance and temperament can be described as pure and untainted, and her eyes at this moment are somewhat pitiful and at a loss. Moreover, with her status, revealing this uneasiness is more likely to arouse men's strange psychology.

Although she did not show the slightest self-deprecation, and there was no hint of flirtatiousness or ambiguity in her words, and she still maintained the dignity and grace of an empress dowager, that glance and frown had unimaginable lethality.

Fortunately, Lu Chen had been through Wang Chulong's test for a long time. At this moment, his eyes were extremely clear and he said sincerely: "Your Majesty, you are too serious. I was just complaining. I think Your Majesty will definitely understand my difficulties. In my humble opinion, it is not appropriate to start a war after the court moves the capital. The defense of the imperial city will be the responsibility of the imperial guards, and the defense of the capital will be jointly responsible by me, Liu Shouguang, Zhang Xu and Shen Yulai. The various departments in the court can follow the old rules. As for the new policy, if Your Majesty approves, I can make suggestions and assist the two prime ministers, but the two prime ministers must be the main ones."

At this point, Empress Dowager Ning had no choice but to respond: "The Prince's proposal is very appropriate, and I have no objection."

"Thank you for your permission, Your Majesty."

Lu Chen bowed his head slightly, then talked for a while about tomorrow's welcoming ceremony. After confirming that there were no problems, he bowed and took his leave.

After he left, Empress Dowager Ning was silent for a long time.

Ruolan stood aside with mixed feelings.

Queen Mother Ning sighed, turned her head and looked at her and said, "Do you think Lu Chen thinks I am shameless and despicable?"

Ruolan was shocked and said in a panic, "Your Majesty, you have made painstaking plans for the royal family and the emperor, what's wrong with that?"

Queen Mother Ning smiled sadly and shook her head, saying, "I have never had those despicable thoughts. I just want to take a gamble. If he is willing to take over the power, there are only two results. Either he will naturally take that position, or he will fail to benefit the people and instead cause the wrath of heaven and the people. At that time, he will naturally be unable to go against the trend."

"His Majesty……"

Ruolan had tears in her eyes and her voice was trembling.

Queen Mother Ning stood up and walked to the couch, lying down on her side, facing inward, and said no more.

Ruolan looked at her slightly trembling thin shoulders, knelt down and said: "Your Majesty, I dare to ask you to take care of your body. After all, the emperor is still young and cannot do without your Majesty's protection..."

"Just get down."

Queen Mother Ning whispered three words.

Ruolan's lips moved, but she could only kowtow and retreat.

Sitting on the couch, Queen Mother Ning did not shed tears. She stared blankly ahead and uttered an incomprehensible sigh.

(End of this chapter)