Do you know: I have a different surname: Wang, uncle Minglan.

Chapter 274: The party struggle ends, Wei Yuan is dismissed, and the old is replaced by the new
Wang Anshi was still a little puzzled. "Even if Liao and Xia have a plan, even if your guess is about to come true, you shouldn't choose to reform the system at this time."

Hearing this, Wei Yuan sighed, "How could I not know that? But you also saw that before the emperor fainted, he asked me to guard the Forbidden City. This kind of trust is rare in ancient times, right?"

Wang Anshi was even more confused. "Isn't it a good thing that the government trusts you?"

"I didn't say it was a bad thing." Wei Yuan said, "To be honest, I thought that the emperor... I transferred the new army to the palace to ensure that the status of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince would not be affected."

"Now that it's done, how will the emperor look at me when he wakes up? I'm still young, but I've already become the best military commander. Will the emperor be assured of everything that will happen after the crown prince ascends the throne in the future?"

Wang Anshi understood and stroked his beard, saying, "What a good move of retreating to advance. Aren't you afraid that if you are really punished, you won't be able to return to the capital for a while?"

Wei Yuan said: "It's okay, as you said, let's wait and see."

Wang Anshi didn't dare to say any more.

On the second day of the second month in the seventh year of Jiayou, after Zhao Zhen regained consciousness, he immediately summoned Crown Prince Zhao Xi and asked him about the many major events that had occurred in the country in recent days.

Zhao Xi focused on the conflict between the two phases.

Zhao Zhen, with a pale face and increasingly thin body, was lying weakly on the dragon couch, sighing:

"I let them fight each other, just thinking of using them to punish some officials and pave the way for you to ascend the throne in the future. But I never thought that they would continue to quarrel while I fainted."

Zhao Xi knelt down in front of him and said, "Father, please take care of your health. As for the matter of the two prime ministers, although they are still arguing, the national order will not be disrupted. Please rest assured, father."

Zhao Zhen suddenly coughed violently and even coughed up blood.

Seeing this, Zhao Xi hurried forward and said with a worried look on his face: "Father, the dragon's body is the most important!"

Zhao Zhen forced a bitter smile and said, "Don't worry, my son. I will hold on for a while longer and won't leave too much trouble for you."

"Father." As Zhao Xi spoke, he seemed to be about to cry.

Zhao Zhen raised his arm with great effort and stroked Zhao Xi's head. At this moment, he was no longer the emperor of the Great Zhou, but only Zhao Xi's father, nothing more.

"There are still many things I haven't taught you, and I don't have the energy to teach you how to be a good emperor in the future."

Zhao Xi said: "Minister Wang has taught me to read the books of sages and how to be like Yao and Shun."

Zhao Zhen shook his head. "When I say being the Son of Heaven, I mean being an emperor. It's not what the sages taught you, and it's certainly not being Yao or Shun."

Zhao Xi showed a confused expression.

Zhao Zhen sighed again, "Forget it. Has anything else happened in the court recently? Is there any movement between Liao and Xia?"

Zhao Xi shook his head and said, "There is no movement from Liao and Xia countries, just..."

Zhao Zhen looked at him, hesitating to speak, and felt something was wrong. He frowned and asked, "Just what?"

Zhao Xi immediately knelt on the ground and kowtowed, saying, "I beg the Emperor to punish me! I, as the Regent, order the reform of the Yanbian military system! I am guilty!"

Zhao Zhen listened to his childish voice, his pupils gradually dilated, and suddenly he started coughing violently.

Zhao Xi didn't dare to stand up, and hurriedly said: "Father, please take care of your health!"

Zhao Zhen stared at him intently and said in a deep voice: "Why are you so anxious about the military reform in Yanbian? Can't you wait a little longer?"

Zhao Xi said: "Father, Liao and Xia are eyeing us covetously. They might go south and cross the Great Wall one day. I, your son, also want to take precautions."

Zhao Zhen took a deep breath and said, "You and Wei Yuan are both too anxious! Have you ever thought about what would happen if the military reform fails?"

Zhao Xi suddenly raised his head and looked at Zhao Zhen, and said firmly: "Please rest assured, father. I am willing to guarantee with my life that the military reform will be foolproof!"

He knew what his father was worried about.

It was simply because he was afraid that the military reform would fail, and when historians recorded this period of history in the future, it would be blamed on Zhao Zhen.

People in later generations would say that such a wise and benevolent ruler became as foolish as Li Longji of the previous dynasty in his later years.

"Father, the history books will write that it was I who took the initiative to promote military reforms during my time as regent, and it had nothing to do with you, Father!"

When Zhao Xi said this, it was obvious that he was going to protect Wei Yuan.

Zhao Zhen thought about it for a moment. How could he change his mind at this point? He could only go with the flow.
"You are still young, what do you know? You have not yet ascended the throne, but you are already in charge of such a military and national event. If you succeed, it's fine. But if you fail, how will the world view you? Will you be able to keep your throne in the future?"

Zhao Xi had never thought of this.

When he thought about it more deeply, he broke out in a cold sweat.

Yes, what if it fails?
People all over the world will say that Zhao Xi is a tyrant and unworthy of being the emperor.

If he does anything wrong again in the future, it will most likely cause public outrage.

After all, no one is perfect.

Zhao Zhen said: "Don't do military and national affairs like reforming the system with passion. You are like this, and so is Wei Qing."

"He has had a very smooth life these years. Whether he is an official or doing things, he has never encountered any problems."

Zhao Xi's heart tightened, "Father."

Zhao Zhen said earnestly: "I know what you are going to say. You will say that it was Wei Qing who transferred the new army to the imperial city during my serious illness and unconsciousness. This move was to protect your position from being affected."

"I know the deep love between you two, but I cannot give you Wei Qing, who has never encountered setbacks. Do you understand what I mean?"

Zhao Xi remained silent.

Zhao Zhen continued, "If you ascend the throne in the future, you will definitely use Wei Yuan. His smooth career is a good thing for him, but it is not a good thing for the country."

"He will be grateful to you for the military reform, but that's not enough. I want him to be loyal to you for the rest of his life!"

Judging from the fact that he fainted, Wei Yuan's actions have already demonstrated his loyalty.

Not only loyal to Zhao Zhen, but also to Zhao Xi.

The new army entered the imperial city, and this army only obeyed the orders of Wei Yuan. In other words, once Zhao Zhen really passed away, Wei Yuan could immediately assist Zhao Xi to succeed to the throne and help the Great Zhou to get through the critical moment of power change.

Zhao Zhen and his son were not worried that Wei Yuan would do the same thing as Dong Zhuo, because Wei Yuan's position was not yet so prominent.

Han Zhang, Wen Yanbo, and some other veteran nobles will not sit idly by and watch this happen.

Wei Yuan was still a little too young to fight with them.

It is impossible for him not to know this, so Zhao Zhen and his son would not doubt Wei Yuan's motives for dispatching troops into the imperial city.

But this touched Zhao Zhen's reverse scale after all, and he also asked his son to issue an order for military reform as regent.
Zhao Zhen must teach Wei Yuan a lesson.

Afterwards, after his death, Zhao Xi, who had his own stable regime, summoned Wei Yuan again and entrusted him with important tasks. At that time, Wei Yuan had no choice but to be loyal to Zhao Xi.

After all, everyone in the world has eyes, not all are fools.

"Come here, draft an imperial decree. Han and Wen have no regard for the dignity of the country and have formed a faction to fight each other. Order them to reflect on their mistakes behind closed doors. Fu Yanguo will replace Han Zhang, and Fan Chunren will replace Wen Yanbo."

"Wei Yuan changed his guard without authorization, violating the old system. His crime is unforgivable. His title will be retained, but all positions will be removed. He will reflect on his mistakes."

As Zhao Zhen’s two edicts came down.

Manager Zhu was shocked.

Even Zhao Xi was at a loss, "Father, isn't this punishment too much?"

Zhao Zhen asked: "You want to disobey my order?"

Zhao Xi kowtowed again, "I dare not!"

"May I ask Father, if the position of Wei Qing is removed, who will take on the position of the Commander-in-Chief of the Palace Front Department?"

Zhao Zhen slowly closed his eyes and said, "Let's talk about it later."

Reconsideration?

Zhao Xi's eyes lit up, and he asked again: "Father, what about the military reform in Yanbian?"

Zhao Zhen waved his hand, signaling him to leave the hall.

He understood instantly that he should change the system as he wanted. However, if something went wrong, the person who would resist the crime was not him, but Wei Yuan.

"Thank you, father, for your good intentions!"

Zhao Xi slowly left the hall.

When he left, Zhao Zhen, who was lying on the bed, kept staring at his back, feeling quite eager to see him go.

“Like, really like.”

Zhu, the chief steward standing by, asked curiously, "Excuse me, sir, what does it look like?"

Zhao Zhen said: "Like me when I was young."

Manager Zhu said no more.

After a while, Zhao Zhen sighed again, "Unfortunately, I don't have the energy or the heart to teach him how to be an emperor."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Zongguan said again: "The prince is smart and will definitely be able to become a talent through self-study."

Zhao Zhen no longer responded, but continued to fall into a deep sleep.

When the imperial edict he issued was sent to the Secretariat, many officials stood up for Han and Wen.

"Is the emperor okay? Why are you punishing the Second Prime Minister? The Second Prime Minister has been in charge of state affairs in recent times!"

"Yes, even if there is a party dispute, you can't just dismiss the two gentlemen, right?"

"Didn't the favored minister Wei Yuan also end up like this?"

"What does the government want to do?"

"."

For a time, all the civil and military officials in the court were in panic.

At this time, in a room of the Secretariat.

Han Zhang and Wen Yanbo sat in a row. They both put their official hats on the table and spoke one after another:

"Finally I can take a break."

"You and I have been fighting for a lifetime, and we haven't even had time to cultivate our character. Take advantage of this period of time to take a good rest."

Afterwards, the two political opponents smiled at each other and walked out of the room together.

At this time, the room was already full of officials, not only officials from the three provinces, but also ministers from the six ministries.

"Prime Minister Han, Prime Minister Wen, we are writing this petition together. The country cannot do without you two!"

"Yes, let's put it on the record!"

"."

Han and Wen looked around, but saw that only Fu Yanguo and Fan Chunren were missing.

Yes, the two of them are the ones who should avoid suspicion the most now.

"Everyone, please help the two gentlemen handle state affairs with all your heart and do not mention this joint memorial again."

"When the two of us were at this stage in the past, you all had to take sides. But from now on, please remember one thing: there will be no factional strife in our Great Zhou, unless you are not afraid of death."

After Han and Wen talked to this point, how could they not understand that the situation in the court was going to change!
Palace Front Department.

Wei Yuan had just received the imperial edict. He took off his official hat as the commander-in-chief of the Palace Front Department, looking calm and composed.

However, many new army generals, such as Chen Daniu and Yang Huairen, who stayed in the imperial city after the change of guard, were dissatisfied.

"General Wei was so loyal, but he was dismissed from his post. How can we accept this?"

"That's right! Let's go before the government and get an explanation for General Wei!"

"Make a fuss, all you do is make a fuss. What else do you know besides brute force? Nowadays, everyone can speak up for Marshal Wei, except us military commanders! Otherwise, you and the rest of you are harming Marshal Wei!"

"."

After everyone heard Xu Changzhi's voice, they all fell silent.

After about an incense stick of time, Chen Daniu was the first to break the silence.

"This won't work, and that won't work either. We can't expect those civil officials to speak for General Wei, right?"

Yang Huairen said: "I heard that Prime Minister Han and Prime Minister Wen were also dismissed from their posts. I'm afraid that they are already too busy to take care of themselves at this moment."

Wei Yuan looked at his brothers and said with a smile, "Alright, stop talking about it. Just pretend you don't know about this. It's the same now as it was before."

"Changzhi, transfer the men from the Upper Fourth Army over here and have them continue to guard the Imperial City."

Having said this, he slowly stood up and stood in front of the Palace Office, enjoying the spring sunshine. In front of everyone, he stretched his body lazily.
"I've been tired for so many years, it's time to take a rest."

After saying this, he left the Dianqian Division alone.

Wherever he passed, no matter whether they were the soldiers guarding the imperial city or some of the former staff of the Palace Front Department, they all bowed their heads when they saw Wei Yuan.

It was as if Wei Yuan had not been dismissed from his official position.

Everyone looked at his back, all with a thoughtful look.

How can dismissal make the Marquis feel relieved?

They don't understand.

Suddenly, they noticed the note Wei Yuan left in the Palace Front Office.

No one opened it to see.

Xu Changzhi ordered: "Please ask Chief Steward Zhu to hand this letter to His Majesty."

After Wei Yuan left the Palace Front Office, he walked out of the imperial city on foot, came to the imperial road, and got directly on the carriage.

Someone asked, "My Lord, where are we going?"

Wei Yuan was relieved and said in a relaxed manner: "Go home!"

The servant smiled and said, "Okay!"

Wei Yuan was puzzled, "Your master was dismissed from his post, what are you laughing at?"

The servant said, "I have never seen you so relaxed, my Lord. I am laughing because of this."

Wei Yuan asked with interest: "What's your name?"

The servant responded respectfully: "My name is Song Ke."

Song Ke, this is a good name.

"From now on, you will stay by my side and serve me."

After Wei Yuan finished speaking, he sat upright in the carriage and slowly closed his eyes.

Song Ke clasped his fists in surprise and said, "Thank you, Lord! Lord, please sit down, we are going home!"

At this time.

Zhao Xi was standing on the wall of the imperial city, watching Wei Yuan leave.

Wang Anshi stood beside him and bowed, saying, "Your Highness, the dismissal of Lord Wei is not necessarily a bad thing."

Zhao Xi nodded indifferently and said, "I know, it's better to be prudent and retreat in order to advance."

Hearing this, Wang Anshi was shocked.

This is a child who is less than ten years old. What can he say?
(End of this chapter)