The prince is more stable

Chapter 816 Dethronement and Imprisonment
An army of 100,000 men was at the city gates.

The Yan-Yun border troops finally arrived in Bianjing at the most opportune time.

Amidst the panicked crowd, Zhao Xiaoqian let out a leisurely breath, his long-held anxiety finally subsiding. A smile appeared on his face—a confident smile of complete control over the situation.

The smarter one was Zhang Dun, who made the right move at the right time.

While the court officials were in a panic, Zhang Dun decisively stepped forward and calmed them down with a lie.

After deliberation by the Empress Dowager, the Council of State Affairs, and the Privy Council, border troops were dispatched to the capital.

This reason is very valid, and what leaves the courtiers speechless is that it is legitimate.

With the late emperor gone and a new emperor yet to be enthroned, the Empress Dowager, the Council of State Affairs, and the Privy Council indeed have the authority to mobilize troops.

Next, what's the reason for deploying troops?

All eyes of the courtiers were on Zhang Dun; they needed to know the answer.

The mobilization of troops is legal, but the reasons must also be legitimate; otherwise, it is considered arbitrary command. The Song Dynasty was particularly sensitive about military power. Unless it was an earth-shattering event, anyone who dared to mobilize troops recklessly would bear the responsibility, and the Empress Dowager and the Prime Minister were no exception.

Facing the varied gazes of the assembled officials, Zhang Dun remained calm and slowly said, "Gentlemen, do not panic. The Empress Dowager and I secretly discussed mobilizing troops because of Zhao Ji's plot to murder Crown Prince Chongxian."

"The late emperor's only son was murdered by thieves. The truth of the case only came to light after the late emperor's death and the establishment of the new emperor as Prince Duan. The Imperial City Guard conducted a thorough investigation and only obtained all the evidence a few days ago. By then, Prince Duan had already been established, and the die was cast..."

Then Zhang Dun's tone suddenly turned stern: "But! How can the emperor of our Great Song be usurped by the murderer who killed the late emperor's son? If this traitor ascends the throne, what a disgraceful sight the Great Song court and the people will be in?"

"If he was so audacious as a prince in his youth, plotting to murder the crown prince, how could the people of the world be spared if he became emperor? How could the Song Dynasty be at peace? The century-old foundation laid by our ancestors will surely be ruined by this traitor."

"I was appointed prime minister by the late emperor, and I should bear the responsibility for the rise and fall of the nation. Even if it costs me my life, I must not allow this traitor to succeed, seize the throne, and enjoy wealth and honor!"

"Therefore, I secretly met with the Empress Dowager and reported this matter to her face. The Empress Dowager was furious and then discussed with me the matter. The Council of State Affairs and the Privy Council issued official documents to mobilize troops. The Empress Dowager affixed her seal and a few days ago secretly dispatched 100,000 troops from Yan and Yun to the capital to defend the emperor, avenge the innocent death of the young prince, and set the record straight for the world!"

Zhang Dun stood proudly in the hall, looking around at the assembled officials, and said slowly, "This matter is of great importance and cannot be disclosed. Therefore, the Empress Dowager and I can only act in secrecy. If any of you have any questions, you may stand up in the hall and ask them. I will answer them without reservation."

Upon hearing this, no one in the hall uttered a sound.

Zhang Dun's reasoning was so justified that even if his political enemies wanted to find fault, they couldn't find anything wrong with it. After all, Zhao Ji's crimes had been proven, and the Empress Dowager was involved in the troop mobilization. So what was wrong with the Empress Dowager and the Prime Minister secretly mobilizing the troops in Yan and Yun?

It's perfectly reasonable and legal. Zhang Dun not only did nothing wrong, but he also contributed to the country.

He overthrew a murderer who was about to usurp the throne, averting a major disaster for the future of the Song Dynasty and preventing a tyrant from ruling the Song Dynasty. The crumbling edifice was stabilized by Zhang Dun.

Zhao Xiaoqian, standing in the crowd, was even more amazed. Zhang Dun, that old fox, was indeed a cunning old fox. Not only did he stand firmly in his own camp, but he also shamelessly took credit for himself, further enhancing his prestige in the court.

This was probably Zhang Dun's way of leaving himself a way out. If Zhao Xiaoqian were to take the throne in the future and wanted to replace him as prime minister, given Zhang Dun's performance in turning the tide today and his prestige in the court, Zhao Xiaoqian would probably be too embarrassed to replace him.

The only loophole was that the Privy Council was also involved in the troop mobilization, but unfortunately, Zeng Bu was not present, so the officials had no way to verify it.

With no emperor in the country, the Empress Dowager, the Council of State Affairs, and the Privy Council jointly decided to mobilize troops; there's nothing wrong with that.

After Zhang Dun finished speaking, the Empress Dowager immediately chimed in, "That's right. The decision to transfer the troops from Yan and Yun to the capital was made jointly by me and Minister Zhang. I also affixed my seal to the troop transfer document. At that time, Zhao Ji's affair had already been exposed, and to avoid alerting the enemy, Minister Zhang and I had no choice but to secretly transfer the troops."

"If any of you gentlemen have any objections, you may raise them directly. I and Minister Zhang are willing to bear the responsibility."

Criticism?

No one dared to object. The Empress Dowager and Zhang Dun were already on the moral high ground, and the officials could only look up to them. The moral high ground had been occupied, so who would dare to object?
Criticizing the Empress Dowager and Zhang Dun's decision to mobilize troops means siding with Zhao Ji, the murderer. No matter how stupid the ministers were, they would never make such a choice.

What was originally a turbulent unauthorized troop mobilization was surprisingly accepted by the court officials in a reasonable and legal manner, thanks to the cooperation of the Empress Dowager and Zhang Dun.

In other words, the arrival of the Yan-Yun army at the gates of Bianjing has gained legitimacy and will no longer cause panic among the people.

Zhao Xiaoqian breathed a sigh of relief and cast an approving glance at Zhang Dun.

This old fellow is quite capable; he can be relied upon in crucial moments. Objectively speaking, he has indeed made a great contribution today, which will serve as his qualification to continue ruling the court in the future.

No one in the hall questioned the troop deployment, and the matter should have been approved, but one person shouted out loud.

"No! This is treason! You are openly plotting against me, Empress Dowager, Zhang Dun, and Zhao Xiaoqian! This is a conspiracy! You have mobilized troops without authorization, which is a capital offense of treason!" Zhao Ji roared madly.

The Empress Dowager and Zhang Dun's expressions turned cold. The Empress Dowager immediately looked coldly at Zhao Ji, and then looked at Zhao Zongsheng of the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs, and said: "Old Minister of the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs, Prince Duan has committed heinous crimes, and he still refuses to confess his crimes. How should this matter be dealt with?"

As the old clan leader, Zhao Zongsheng hated Zhao Ji with a vengeance because the only bloodline of the late emperor had been poisoned by Zhao Ji. So he spoke coldly.

"Zhao Ji's throne has been deposed, but that's not enough. Prince Duan has committed so many evils that they cannot be forgiven by Heaven and the law. The Court of Imperial Clan Affairs should strip him of the title of 'Prince Duan,' and Zhao Ji should be demoted to a commoner and exiled to Lingnan, never to return to the capital for the rest of his life." The Empress Dowager nodded: "Then, I will handle it personally."

"The Imperial Guards will enter the palace in full force and confine Zhao Ji to the Prince Duan's residence. After the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, the Censorate, and the Court of Judicial Review hold a joint trial and execute him in accordance with the law, Zhao Ji will be exiled to Lingnan and never be released back to Bianjing for the rest of his life."

After speaking, the Empress Dowager flicked her sleeve.

Soon, the Imperial Guards outside the hall rushed in. The head constable hesitated for a moment, but still grabbed Zhao Ji's arms and escorted him out of the hall.

At this point, Zhao Ji had completely lost his mind and was still laughing wildly as Ban Zhi took him away.

"You are all traitors! Traitors! You have plotted to usurp the throne and seized my imperial power. You will all die a horrible death! A horrible death! Hahaha!"

With Zhao Ji being escorted out of the palace, the farce of today's coronation ceremony finally came to an end.

This farce inevitably became known to the world, severely damaging the prestige of the Song Dynasty's imperial family and court.

But since the deed was done, the Empress Dowager and the court officials were helpless. They couldn't just let someone like Zhao Ji ascend the throne for the sake of their so-called prestige, could they?

The matter is not over yet. Empress Dowager Xiang has now boarded the pirate ship of Zhao Hao and his son, and has no choice but to stick with it to the end.

The Empress Dowager gazed intently at Zhao Xiaoqian for a moment, and while the officials were all present, she slowly said, "Today the traitor has been eliminated, the sky is clear and the court is peaceful. This can be considered an explanation to the late Emperor..."

"But the 100,000 troops of Yan and Yun have already arrived outside the city. They must be led by a commander-in-chief, otherwise trouble may easily arise. What do you all think?"

The ministers were taken aback. After whispering among themselves for a while, they all nodded in agreement.

Suddenly, Cai Jing, the Minister of Revenue, stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, I believe that the 100,000 troops of Yanyun were once under the command of His Highness Prince Cheng. It is appropriate to temporarily hand over command of these troops to His Highness Prince Cheng."

"Moreover, His Highness Prince Cheng is also a member of the royal family and enjoys great prestige in the court and among the people. I believe it is quite appropriate for His Highness to restrain the troops in Yanyun and prevent Bianjing from becoming chaotic."

The Empress Dowager and Zhang Dun looked at Cai Jing, who had suddenly appeared, with surprise. Then they subconsciously looked at Zhao Xiaoqian, both of them assuming that it was Zhao Xiaoqian who had secretly instructed them.

Zhao Xiaoqian was also completely bewildered, looking at Cai Jing with equal surprise.

In order to overthrow Emperor Huizong, he has recently been plotting with the court officials in Bianjing. He has contacted many officials, all of whom are high-ranking and powerful figures. Otherwise, this gratifying result of everyone kicking him while he is down would not have occurred today.

However, Zhao Hao and Zhao Xiaoqian never had any contact with Cai Jing from beginning to end; Cai Jing was excluded from this conspiracy.

Unexpectedly, Cai Jing took the initiative to step forward and proposed, with righteous indignation, to return the military power of Yanyun to Zhao Xiaoqian.

Zhao Xiaoqian took a deep breath.

A shrewd person is a shrewd person. A person's rise to prominence mainly depends on their ability to read the room, choose sides, and seize the few golden opportunities that come their way in life.

At this moment, Cai Jing has clearly seized the opportunity.

Cai Jing wanted to advance his career, to move closer to power, and to be promoted.

More importantly, Cai Jing has a keen eye; he has already seen through the tricks of today's farce.

What the courtiers saw was the Empress Dowager and Zhang Dun working together to overthrow Emperor Huizong. But Cai Jing undoubtedly saw further; he saw Zhao Xiaoqian, who remained silent from beginning to end.

A man of such intelligence, it's no wonder he became the prime minister of the Song Dynasty. Of course, whether he was loyal or treacherous is a separate matter from his intelligence.

The Empress Dowager took a deep breath and looked at Zhang Dun.

Zhang Dun stroked his beard and nodded slightly.

The Empress Dowager then looked around at the assembled officials and asked, "Do any of you have any objections to what Minister Cai has said?"

Despite the magnitude of the events that have occurred today, the court officials are still in shock and bewilderment, and they are not particularly concerned about the issue of military power in the Yan Yun army.

After all, Cai Jing's words made perfect sense. This army was originally Prince Cheng's old troops. Now is a critical period for the Song Dynasty, so it is not inappropriate for him to take over the military power.

As for Chen Songling, the original commander of the Yan-Yun army, the officials wisely refrained from mentioning him.

Before the Liao Dynasty in the north was destroyed, when the Empress Dowager and Chancellor Zhang mobilized the troops in Yan and Yun, they must have left Chen Songling in Youzhou Prefecture to guard against the Liao people taking advantage of the internal turmoil in the Song Dynasty to move south.

Seeing that no one objected, the Empress Dowager said, "In that case, it shall be decided. Prince Cheng, Zhao Xiaoqian, shall temporarily serve as the commander-in-chief of the Yan-Yun army. The 100,000 troops of Yan-Yun have come to defend the emperor and may remain in Bianjing for two months. Once the situation in Bianjing is stable, the Yan-Yun troops shall immediately return north to guard the border."

(End of this chapter)