The prince is more stable

Chapter 817 The winner and the loser
Inside the Daqing Hall, the dust has settled.

All the ceremonial items for the coronation ceremony were removed by the palace staff, and inside and outside the palace, white banners still fluttered in the wind.

After everything was said, the Empress Dowager immediately dismissed the officials, but she kept Zhang Dun and Zhao Xiaoqian behind.

The ministers still wore expressions of shock, likely still processing the dramatic events of the day.

A perfectly good emperor, who had already sat on the dragon throne, was ultimately overthrown. The struggles in the court and palace were indeed so cruel.

Zhao Ji poisoning the young prince was certainly a serious crime, but this crime may only be a superficial reason.

Most court officials speculated that the real reason Zhao Ji was overthrown was that after being established as the new emperor, he failed to straighten out the relationships within the court and palace and did not take into account the interests of all parties.

Just like Emperor Yang of Sui was overthrown, was his crime really the construction of the Grand Canal and the three campaigns against Goguryeo?
The real reason was that he threatened the interests of powerful clans, which displeased them all.

Therefore, the court officials speculated that the real reason for Zhao Ji's overthrow was ultimately Zhang Dun's opposition and Zhao Ji's previous remarks about dismissing the prime minister and abolishing the new policies.

This has affected the interests of too many people, especially since most of the officials in the court are from the New Party. The Old Party has been suppressed and can only cower in a corner. Even before Zhao Ji ascended the throne, there were rumors that he would take action against the New Policies and the New Party. This may be the reason why he was overthrown today.

Therefore, at today's coronation ceremony, the emperor who was about to ascend the throne was questioned and challenged by his court officials, but not a single civil or military official stood up to speak for Zhao Ji.

Because the New Party and the Old Party are now irreconcilable, if Emperor Huizong (Zhao Ji) intends to abolish the New Party and restore the Old Party after ascending the throne, the New Party officials standing in the court may be demoted, and the Old Party's retaliation against the New Party will be more brutal and intense than ever before.

This outcome was unacceptable to the New Party officials. What they needed to do was to unify their stance and preserve their current official positions and power. Therefore, Zhao Ji could not be allowed to ascend the throne smoothly.

Moreover, Zhao Ji brought this upon himself by committing such a serious crime, practically handing Zhang Dun and the New Party a knife to the throat. Why be polite to him?

Inside the Daqing Hall, only Zhao Xiaoqian, the Empress Dowager, and Zhang Dun remained.

After dismissing all the palace servants, the Empress Dowager sighed softly, "It's finally over. I was almost scared to death just now."

Zhang Dun glanced at Zhao Xiaoqian in surprise.

Zhang Dun was still shocked by the Empress Dowager's sudden change of stance today. He couldn't understand what methods the father and son had used to completely reverse the Empress Dowager's position, from firmly supporting Zhao Ji to leading the overthrow of Zhao Ji. He was very curious about this process of change.

However, the Empress Dowager and Zhao Xiaoqian clearly did not intend to tell him the answer. This matter was truly disgraceful, and the reason for the Empress Dowager's change of attitude would likely remain a secret within the palace forever, and not a single word could be uttered to the outside world.

At this moment, Zhao Xiaoqian only had one thing on his mind.

Judging from this situation, could it be that Empress Dowager Xiang will become my stepmother from now on?

Zhao Xiaoqian's eyelids twitched suddenly, and he quickly glanced at the Empress Dowager.

You'd better not act like my stepmother, or I might not be able to resist killing you in the future.

The Empress Dowager, completely unaware of Zhao Xiaoqian's wild thoughts, put on a smiling face and said, "Zian, are you satisfied with today's result?"

Zhao Xiaoqian smiled and said, "Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty. I am very satisfied."

The Empress Dowager sighed and said, "Zhao Ji... he is really too disappointing, otherwise I wouldn't have..."

Zhao Xiaoqian smirked. Is this some kind of power struggle? The battles in the imperial court are a matter of life and death, sister!

Zhang Dun said in a deep voice, "The matter isn't resolved yet; we still have another problem..."

Zhao Xiaoqian immediately understood, and said with a solemn expression, "There shouldn't be a big problem. My father secretly slipped out of the palace during the ceremony and sent people to control Zeng Bu. As long as Zeng Bu is captured, Bianjing won't be in chaos."

The Empress Dowager asked curiously, "Has the Privy Councilor Zeng Bu disappeared?"

Zhang Dun nodded: "Yes, Zeng Bu was still there when the grand ceremony to worship Heaven was held, but when everyone moved to the Daqing Hall, Zeng Bu disappeared inexplicably. He must have already heard the news that the Yan Yun troops had arrived in Bianjing. He sensed something was wrong and probably went to mobilize the troops of the Palace Guard."

Zhao Xiaoqian said calmly, "Last night, Liu Mao, the commander of the Palace Guard, along with his deputy commander, the commander of the three armies, and more than ten others, were secretly killed by my men. Only the deputy commander, Han Song, surrendered."

The Empress Dowager and Zhang Dun were startled by his words and stared at him with wide eyes.

"Basically, don't do it six times."

Zhang Dun murmured in shock, "No wonder the Imperial Guards dared to disobey Zhao Ji's orders today, and I stopped them with just a few words. It turns out that only Han Song is left in the Palace Guard, and he has sided with His Highness."

Zhao Xiaoqian smiled and said, "I have made many moves for today. Some of them may be useful, while others may be useless. Who knows? Perhaps a useless piece will suddenly come in handy."

"It's always good to be well-prepared."

Zhang Dun said approvingly, "Your Highness has great foresight and brilliant strategies. I admire you greatly."

Emperor Huizong of Song was overthrown, but Emperor Xiaoqian of Zhao did not feel much joy. For him, it was not yet time for final victory, and everything was still uncertain. If he became complacent at this time, he might die a terrible death in the future.

"What we need to do now is to take Zeng Bu down immediately. The Empress Dowager and the Council of State Affairs should remove Zeng Bu from his position as Privy Councilor on the grounds that he has been arbitrarily mobilizing troops and intending to rebel."

Zhang Dun nodded and said, "Zeng Bu and I have always been at odds, mostly due to disagreements over political views. However, he is very supportive of Zhao Ji's ascension to the throne. Now that things have come to this point, I'm afraid Zeng Bu cannot be allowed to live."

Zhao Xiaoqian said slowly, "Try to keep the chaos within a small area. I don't want the struggle for the throne to escalate to the point of bloodshed and mass casualties."

Zhang Dun cupped his hands in greeting and said, "I will understand. The chaos must not be allowed to expand any further, otherwise it will become a laughing stock for the world, which would be too much of a blow to the emperor's authority and credibility, and would not benefit either the emperor or his ministers." "Next, rumors will spread in the court and among the common people of Bianjing that 'appointing the virtuous over the eldest son' will become the mainstream opinion, paving the way for Your Highness to be recommended for the throne in the future."

The Empress Dowager said in a low voice, "Don't forget, the late Emperor Zhezong still has two brothers who are alive."

Zhao Xiaoqian smiled and said, "They will know when to back down from the competition for the position."

The Empress Dowager and Zhang Dun looked at him with meaningful expressions.

Zhao Xiaoqian didn't explain. He believed that the two mediocre princes had seen how the struggle had progressed to this point. If they had the guts to participate, they would have done so long ago. Now that it was a life-or-death situation, if they still dared to step in, then one could only admire their stubbornness.

Prince Jian fell, and Prince Duan fell too. Whoever was involved fell, and their fate was utter ruin. If you still can't understand this, you've wasted all these years.

They weren't even qualified to participate in this game; they couldn't even get a ticket to enter.

…………

After leaving Yanfu Palace, Zhao Xiaoqian walked out of the palace gate and took several deep breaths.

The journey is not over yet; don't think that victory is already in your grasp, or that it's time to laugh all the way to the end.

Zhao Xiaoqian reminded himself silently.

Zeng Bu, who is missing today, is a problem. I wonder if his father has sent someone to take him into custody.

Just a few steps outside the palace gates, Chen Shou and the other guards from the Prince's Palace surrounded them.

Chen Shou said with a delighted expression, "Your Highness, I have heard about what happened in the palace today. Congratulations, Your Highness..."

Before he could finish speaking, Zhao Xiaoqian waved his hand to interrupt: "It's not time to congratulate me yet, this matter is not over yet."

"Why?"

Zhao Xiaoqian said in a deep voice, "Zeng Bu suddenly disappeared during today's enthronement ceremony."

"What kind of trouble can a mere Zeng Bu stir up?" Chen Shou was somewhat dismissive.

Zhao Xiaoqian glanced at him and said, "Zeng Bu is the Privy Councilor, with the power to mobilize troops throughout the country. Who gave you the confidence to describe him as 'mere'?"

"The Crown Prince's 100,000-strong Yan Yun army is already outside Bianjing City, and the Crown Prince has also dealt with the commanders of the Palace Guard. Who else can Zeng Bu mobilize?"

Zhao Xiaoqian kicked him in the butt, making him stagger.

"Many evil villains, when they are laughing arrogantly at the end of the story, are inexplicably stabbed in the back by the righteous protagonist who is about to die. Your ugly face now is very similar to that villain."

"Never underestimate any enemy, even if he is just a lowly soldier. He could change the outcome of the battle and become a variable in the final victory. You must remember this until the day you die," Zhao Xiaoqian said solemnly.

Chen Shouyi was startled and hurriedly said, "This humble general will remember it and will never forget it in this lifetime."

Zhao Xiaoqian straightened his clothes and said, "Now, come with me out of the city and meet my comrades."

Chen Shou excitedly replied, "Yes!"

The carriage entered the Imperial Street, with Chen Shou and other imperial guards escorting it on both sides.

Zhao Xiaoqian lifted the carriage curtain to take a look and found that the streets of Bianjing were packed with people. The carriage could hardly move an inch as it traveled through the crowds of people on the Imperial Street.

The people crowded the streets, their expressions one of shock, asking each other for news and vividly describing to acquaintances the enormous changes that had taken place during the coronation ceremony that day.

The news must have spread throughout the city by now. For ordinary people who lead mundane lives and are busy making a living, the major events that happened in the palace today are simply unimaginable. They are exciting, thrilling, and lively. If they weren't ineligible, these commoners would probably have rushed into the palace to watch the spectacle.

"I never imagined that Prince Duan would be this kind of person. A few days ago, the brothel owner was boasting about Prince Duan's life story, and I even gave him a few coins as a tip. I have to get that money back; it's so upsetting!"

"That's right. He talked about some extraordinary natural phenomenon and being destined by heaven, but in the end he turned out to be a traitor who dared to poison Crown Prince Chongxian."

"Fortunately, that villain didn't become emperor, otherwise it would have been us common people who suffered. Thank goodness!"

"I heard that the Empress Dowager has issued an imperial edict to imprison Prince Duan, and the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs has also stripped him of his princely title, demoting him to a commoner. He will soon be convicted and exiled to Lingnan, never to be released again. From now on, we can call him by his name directly without any taboo."

"But our Great Song Dynasty still doesn't have an emperor, that won't do."

Who will be the future emperor of the Song Dynasty?

"Who knows? At least it's surnamed Zhao. Otherwise, it wouldn't be a different surname, haha!"

Inside the carriage, Zhao Xiaoqian lowered the curtain and smiled.

What he was concerned about was whether the arrival of the Yan Yun troops had caused panic among the people of Bianjing. Judging from the topics of discussion among the people just now, it seemed that they were not panicked. Presumably, the Council of State and the Kaifeng Prefecture had already sent the Imperial Guards patrolling the streets to spread the word and explain the purpose of the Yan Yun troops' arrival, and the people had accepted it.

That's good. Zhao Xiaoqian has always emphasized trying to keep the chaos within a small scope. This is not a statement he made to show benevolence to the outside world, but his true feelings.

(End of this chapter)