Thief Emperor

Chapter 310: It's hard to recover from a defeat
Your Majesty, your illness is indeed getting worse.

After ordering the crown prince to act as regent last time, the emperor, who had been on the throne for more than 30 years, hardly cared about state affairs, hid in the harem, and was unwilling to see anyone.

Among the prime ministers, only Cui Yuan had met him.

The Emperor was seriously ill this time. Not only did he eat less and less, but sometimes he couldn't sleep all night, and his temper became more and more violent.

In the past two or three months, he has killed at least thirty palace servants.

Even the imperial physicians had several of them killed, and now no imperial physician is willing to diagnose the emperor.

Especially in recent times, His Majesty the Emperor's condition has become more serious. He has not slept for two consecutive days and his mood has become increasingly agitated.

But even so, he was still unwilling to leave the Chongde Hall. He locked himself in the emperor's bedroom and refused to go out.

If anyone suggested that he go out for some fresh air, he would fly into a rage.

It seemed as if as soon as he left Chongde Hall, he would be harmed by villains.

After the prime ministers finished their daily work in the government hall, they came to Chongde Hall together. At this time, the crown prince had been waiting outside Chongde Hall for a long time. Cui Yuan rushed over and bowed to the crown prince with the prime ministers, "Your Highness."

The prince also frowned at this time.

Because the Emperor's manic illness had nothing to do with him.

People are so strange. Although he has the idea of ​​killing his old father and ascending the throne himself, he has not had the time to do so. Now his old father seems to be really seriously ill, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince can't help feeling sad.

After all, they are father and son. Although His Majesty the Emperor has not been particularly fond of him over the years, he has not deposed him from the position of crown prince anyway.

There is still a father-son relationship between the two.

After seeing Cui Yuan, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince sighed and asked, "Is there anything important in the government hall today?"

"There is one thing I need to report to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, but it's not particularly important."

Cui Yuan bowed slightly and gave a general account of the Pinglu Army. He concluded, "The court cannot investigate this matter for a while, but according to our inference, the report from Wuzhou should be credible."

"The Pinglu Army most likely wants to get involved in Jiangnan."

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince looked unhappy and said in a deep voice: "None of these military governors are honest and obedient."

He looked at Cui Yuan, closed his eyes and thought for a while, then asked, "What did Gu Yuan say?"

"Gu Wenchuan reported that Li Zhao wanted to be the Jiangdong Recruiting Envoy."

Cui Yuan said silently: "He said that as long as he becomes the Recruiting Envoy, he will be able to wipe out the bandits in Hexi and ensure that the tax revenue in Jiangdong returns to normal."

The prince sneered, "Sure enough, he has evil intentions."

"They all took advantage of the important events of the court and began to coerce and threaten the court."

The prince looked at Cui Yuan and the prime ministers behind him, thought for a while, and then said, "Let's leave Jiangdong's affairs to the Council of State Affairs to decide. We must do our best to ensure that Jiangdong maintains its status quo, and at the same time, we must not let the Pinglu Army get involved."

"As for this Li Zhao..."

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince clenched his fist and said, "I have already remembered him. When I catch my breath, I will be the first to bring him to justice!"

Cui Yuan now understood what the prince meant, and quickly bowed his head and said, "I obey your command."

The prince closed his eyes and continued to ask, "Is there anything else?"

"There is no other major event, but there is a small matter that I need to report to Your Highness."

The prince glanced at Chongde Hall and nodded, "What do you say?"

"My nephew Cui Shao has recently returned to the capital from Xuanzhou, but he has no job yet. He was transferred back to the capital from his post as governor of Xuanzhou. Your Highness, please see if there is anything he can do..."

"Let him share some of His Highness's worries."

The prince was startled and said in silence, "The Ministry of Personnel didn't discuss it?"

"The Ministry of Personnel naturally discussed it, and the person who was appointed was a doctor of the Ministry of Rites."

"The court is in need of personnel right now, so I have specially informed Your Highness and let you know about this matter."

"The Doctor of the Ministry of Rites..."

The prince rubbed his temple and said slowly, "Since there is a vacancy, let him do it first. When he is free one day, let him come to the East Palace and I will meet him."

"After meeting him, I can know what position he is suitable for."

Cui Yuan looked calm, bowed his head and saluted, saying: "I, your Highness, would like to thank you on behalf of Cui Shao."

The Crown Prince shook his head and was about to speak when a young eunuch suddenly came out of Chongde Hall. The young eunuch looked left and right, then ran straight to Cui Yuan. After arriving in front of Cui Yuan, the young eunuch bowed his head and said, "Mr. Cui, His Majesty has summoned you to speak."

Cui Yuan was stunned, somewhat incredulous, and asked, "Is it just me?"

The prince had been waiting here for the entire morning but had not been able to get in. As a minister, he was allowed in right after arriving. Even if we put aside the political factors, it was somewhat inappropriate.

The young eunuch quickly raised his head to look at the crown prince, then looked at Cui Yuan, and said with his head down: "Yes, Your Majesty only mentioned Prime Minister Cui."

Cui Yuan wanted to say something else, but the prince patted him on the shoulder and said, "Since your father has summoned you, Prime Minister Cui, please go in."

"We'll continue our conversation after Prime Minister Cui comes out."

Cui Yuan responded and followed the young eunuch into the Chongde Hall.

The Chongde Hall was already filled with a strong smell of medicine, so strong that it was a bit choking.

The last time Cui Yuan entered Chongde Hall was more than half a month ago. Although there was a smell of medicine in Chongde Hall when he came last time, it was far less strong than it is now.

Prime Minister Cui frowned slightly, but still followed the young eunuch into the Chongde Hall. After arriving at the back hall, he met the Emperor, whom he had not seen in public for a long time.

Cui Yuan quickly raised his head and looked at the emperor. At this time, the emperor was only wearing a purple robe and sitting behind a desk. On the desk were piles of thick documents. The emperor was flipping through one of the documents, but his expression was a little strange.

His hair was a little messy, his eyes were bloodshot, and he was obviously much thinner than before, and even looked a little haggard.

Cui Xianggong only took a glance, then quickly knelt down, kowtowed and said: "Your Majesty, I am Cui Yuan, and I pay my respects to you."

His Majesty the Emperor put down the document in his hand, looked at Cui Yuan with extremely tired eyes, and was silent for a long time before he said, "Get up."

Cui Yuan climbed up and bowed his head to thank him.

The emperor stared at Cui Yuan for a long time before asking, "Prime Minister Cui was born in the second year of Jianxing, right?"

Cui Yuan was startled and quickly bowed his head and said, "Yes, I was born in the second year of Jianxing."

"I…"

The emperor closed his eyes and said silently: "I was born in the sixth year of Jianxing, when my grandfather was still on the throne."

Cui Yuan had no idea what the emperor wanted to say, so he could only lower his head and remain silent.

"In which year did Prime Minister Cui enter the government?"

"The second year of Xinghua."

His Majesty the Emperor closed his eyes and said in a hoarse voice: "The second year after I ascended the throne."

"Yes."

Cui Yuan bowed his head deeply and said, "Since I entered the government, Your Majesty has promoted me all the way to where I am today."

The emperor did not respond, but just said to himself: "Prime Minister Cui has been the prime minister for seven or eight years, right?"

"Your Majesty is wise. I have been in the Council of State for more than seven years."

The emperor looked at Cui Yuan and continued, "When I ascended the throne, Prime Minister Cui entered the government and has been in the government for seven years. There are not many people in the court who know more about the affairs of this dynasty than Prime Minister Cui. I have a question for Prime Minister Cui."

Cui Yuan lowered his head and said respectfully, "I will tell you everything I know."

The emperor looked at Cui Yuan who was bowing his head, opened his mouth, but could not say anything. He tried several times, and finally seemed to have mustered up the courage, and asked in a hoarse voice: "What do you think..."

"I, the emperor..."

His Majesty the Emperor's voice trembled a little: "How?"

Cui Yuan was also shocked when he heard this. He looked up at the emperor. The emperor and his subject looked at each other. In an instant, Prime Minister Cui seemed to understand something.

He looked at the desk piled with documents again, and he already understood how the Emperor became ill.

Although he was in Chongde Hall, he had not completely let go of the affairs in the court and was even more concerned about them than before.

Because, His Majesty the Emperor now sees very clearly that the country he has ruled for decades is rapidly declining.

And he...was helpless.

He could only hide in the Chongde Hall, pretending that the incident was all done by the prince and pretending that he knew nothing.

As the situation deteriorated further, his mental illness became more and more serious.

Because he had already seen very clearly the trend of the country's demise.

This was unacceptable for an emperor who had been in power for decades.

Not to mention, this is a country that has existed for more than two hundred years.

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty..."

Cui Yuan took a deep breath, tried to find his words for a long time, then lowered his head and said: "Your Majesty is gifted and intelligent..."

"Speak of the truth."

The Emperor's eyes were bloodshot. He coughed twice and murmured, "We are old friends, emperor and subject."

"When your majesty first ascended the throne, you were wise and decisive, and had the potential to revive the Great Zhou Dynasty. However, only..."

Cui Yuan was silent for a long time, and finally he sighed and whispered: "It's just that later, I became a little lazy."

The emperor stared at Cui Yuan, and his eyes became fierce.

"At this point in state affairs, is it just slacking off?"

Cui Yuan lowered his head again, but did not dare to continue speaking.

"I have been here, locking myself up for a few months, and thinking about it for a few months."

"I…"

He grabbed his hair fiercely, looking a little crazy: "I...can't think of any way to save it."

At this point, the Emperor's wrinkled face was already filled with tears: "I can't think of it..."

"Ancestors, ancestors..."

He muttered a few words, staggered to his feet, then fell on his back and landed heavily on the ground.

Cui Xiang's face suddenly turned pale. He stood up, rushed forward, and shouted loudly.

"Come on, come on!"

"Pass on the imperial doctor, hurry up and pass on the imperial physician!"

(End of this chapter)