si-mexico Chapter 587 The crown prince died, a new crown prince was appointed, and the court and the public we
Chapter 587 The crown prince died, a new crown prince was appointed, and the court and the public we
As Zhu Chun said, things are far from over.
The next day, a shocking piece of news swept the entire imperial capital and then spread to every corner of Daqing at an accelerated speed of 800 miles.
Crown Prince Li Qian passed away!
Although the court officials had long known that the prince's health was getting worse day by day and he would definitely not be able to hold on for much longer.
But when the news of the prince's death came out, everyone's thoughts immediately began to move.
No matter how incompetent the prince is, he is still the foundation of the country!
After the death of the crown prince, the Daqing Kingdom was still unstable, and the vacant position was enough to ignite everyone's ambition.
The Qin Wang Party, the Jin Wang Party, the Chu Wang Party... and even the Feng Wang Party, the court officials who supported their respective vassal kings suddenly became active.
However, before the ministers could fully digest the news of the Crown Prince's death, another even more bizarre imperial edict followed, like a second thunderclap!
King Li Huan of Shu had secretly entered the capital a few days ago.
The emperor said: The country cannot be without a foundation for a day, so he appointed King Li Huan of Shu as the crown prince!
When the news came out, the court officials were devastated.
After a brief period of silence, there was a tsunami of doubts and opposition.
Inside and outside the Xuanzheng Hall, there were constant cries and the sound of discussions could be heard.
All ministers who were qualified to attend court gathered here, and no one would miss such a major event that would change the fate of the country.
However, as soon as the crown prince passed away, Emperor Qing had already ordered the court to be suspended for three days.
From beginning to end, the only thing seen in the grand scene was the eunuchs in the palace coming out to deliver messages. Not to mention His Majesty, even Huang Jin who was beside His Majesty did not show up.
The sudden death of the crown prince brought the entire court to a freezing point.
Li Huan's inexplicable rise to power instantly made the court, which had just reached a freezing point, boil over again.
The world is like ice and fire, and even those old ministers who have served as court officials for decades are a little confused.
The King of Shu succeeded to the throne? Why?
The King of Shu...who is he? Can he be the crown prince?
Most of the court officials had never even met the King of Shu a few times, so it was naturally impossible for them to recognize such a prince who was forcibly pushed to the throne.
After all, among all the princes, Li Huan was only the seventh, neither the legitimate nor the eldest, which was completely against the etiquette.
He also didn't have much strength. In terms of civil administration, he was not as good as the King of Jin. In terms of loyalty and filial piety, he was not as good as the King of Yan. In terms of military achievements...
What a joke, is there anyone in Daqing with more outstanding military achievements than His Royal Highness Prince Feng?
Even Your Majesty wouldn't dare to say that he can completely surpass Prince Feng, right?
"King Li Huan of Shu has a perverse temperament and has accomplished nothing. He lacks the moral integrity to win the support of the people. How can he be crown prince? This is a move that would undermine the foundation of the nation!"
"The Crown Prince's passing is mysterious and full of suspicions. The most urgent task is to thoroughly investigate the cause of his death to comfort his spirit and reassure the people! How can we hastily appoint a new ruler? And who is he to succeed? The King of Shu?!"
"Your Majesty has sons like the Prince of Qin, the Prince of Jin, the Prince of Yan, and the Prince of Feng, all of whom are truly outstanding. The Prince of Qin is courageous and resolute, the Prince of Jin is intelligent, the Prince of Yan is steady, and the Prince of Feng is even more virtuous. Whether it's the eldest son or the most virtuous, the Prince of Shu is not the first choice! We implore Your Majesty to choose another virtuous prince to rule the Eastern Palace!"
The ministers were arguing with each other. Some demanded a thorough investigation into the crown prince's death, some suggested choosing another prince as crown prince, and some wanted to summon Prince Feng to the capital immediately.
After much arguing, no consensus could be reached, and everyone could only rely on Prime Ministers Huo Tao and Du Fuchen to take charge of the situation.
Du Fuchen was a minister with extremely high political sensitivity. He realized that the Sixth Prince was not an ordinary person as early as the first time Li Che left the capital.
The current political situation is confusing, and Du Fuchen can naturally see that there must be something hidden.
He sat in his own seat and kept silent no matter how other court officials pleaded with him, obviously not wanting to get involved in the matter.
Huo Tao obviously understood this. Like Du Fuchen, he did not show any abnormality and would not easily express his position.
Unlike Du Fuchen, the court officials could still use high-sounding excuses such as "crisis of the country" to swarm around Du Fuchen like flies, and morally blackmail Du Fuchen into expressing his opinion.
But it doesn't work at all with Huo Tao.
One is that Huo Tao is old enough and has enough experience, and the other is the two figures standing behind Huo Tao.
Huo Duanren and Huo Duanli.
The former is the eldest son of the Huo family. He is not a civil official, but a real new generation military general and a brave general who has been tempered at the border for many years.
The latter, Huo Duanli, was a civil official, but he had returned from Fengguo after further studies.
Whether you have learned other things or not, no one knows.
But Huo Duanli had learned about 70 to 80 percent of Feng Wang's deadly mouth.
Anyone who gives Huo Tao advice will be met with Huo Duanren's death stare.
If the visitor is not afraid of Huo Duanren's intimidation and speaks a little more harshly, he will be hit by Huo Duanli's "fragrant bird song" verbal attack.
Huo Duanli's way of scolding people is different from that of Wang Sanchun, Li Lin and others.
He is a civilized person who disdains to speak vulgar words. He does not use any dirty words when scolding others, but he directly hits the soft spot of the person being scolded. Every word he says is a critical hit.
The two brothers' moves are completely opposite. If you are not afraid of fists and feet, then we brothers also understand a little bit of the truth!
The ministers were slightly frustrated and knew that Huo Tao did not want to get involved, so no one bothered him anymore.
Huo Tao, however, felt at ease and just sat in the Xuanzheng Hall until the end of the morning court session. Then he leisurely went home carrying his little walking stick.
The two prime ministers had no way out, so the ministers could only hope that the emperor in the palace would give them an explanation.
Although the emperor is the supreme ruler above all others, we court officials are also the pillars of the country. We should have some right to know, right?
However, the courtiers' ideas were destined to fail.
Emperor Qing neither explained why the prince died suddenly nor why he chose Li Huan as the crown prince.
He just... did it.
The first knife was swung towards the Shu Princess's family's home - the Duke of Qi's Mansion.
Just as the court officials were still arguing fiercely over the issue of appointing a crown prince, teams of ferocious Jinyiwei, under the gaze of countless horrified eyes, brazenly surrounded the Duke's mansion that had been glorious for more than a decade.
There was no interrogation, no announcement, only the cold sound of breaking the door and rough scolding.
"Open the door! Jinyiwei is doing business!"
Jinyiwei Commander Cao Yong led the team personally, giving the Duke of Qi no time to react, let alone a chance to resist.
The Duke of Qi's Mansion, which was once bustling with people, was ransacked and sealed within a day.
All the males in the mansion, young and old, were locked up and imprisoned. The men were sent to the Sky Prison with heavy shackles, while the women were driven into the dark and gloomy Ye Ting, crying and wailing.
Charge?
Perhaps inspired by Li Che, Emperor Qing did not give a specific charge at all.
They only said: Duke Qi is plotting treason! The accusation is groundless!
The Embroidered Uniform Guard once again let the court officials know what the emperor's personal army was and what the imperial privilege was!
The second knife continued to plow towards the remnants of the "Princelings" who had just been bloodbathed.
This time, it is no longer limited to arresting a few high-ranking officials.
The Jinyiwei's cavalry went out in all directions, sweeping through every corner of the imperial capital like a comb.
Those who had once been attached to the Eastern Palace, even low-ranking officials, merchants, retainers, and servants who had only handed over an insignificant visiting card or sent a meager annual gift.
As long as their names had appeared on a list in the Eastern Palace, they would be ruthlessly pulled out and sent to the Imperial Prison for screening!
The imperial prison was overcrowded, and the cries of crying and begging for mercy could be heard day and night.
The scope of the purge, the number of people involved, and the brutality of the means used are jaw-dropping.
The ministers understood that Emperor Qing was declaring in the most direct way:
The era of the former crown prince, along with all traces of him, must be completely erased!
Two blood-stained butcher knives were raised high and then brought down fiercely.
The noisy waves of opposition in front of the Xuan Zheng Hall came to an abrupt halt, like a duck with its neck strangled.
The faces of those officials who were still holding memorials and preparing to make impassioned speeches suddenly turned as pale as paper, and cold sweat instantly soaked the backs of their official robes.
They watched the Jinyiwei escorting the wailing crowd past the palace gate, and listened to the faint screams coming from the direction of the imperial prison, feeling only a chill in their bones.
They finally realized that things were far from as simple as they had imagined!
The crown prince died suddenly and the King of Shu succeeded to the throne.
Hidden behind this is a huge wave that ordinary court officials like them cannot touch and dare not touch!
His Majesty does not need their opinions or understanding at all. He is just using the most ruthless way to implement the chess game he had already planned.
Anyone who tries to question or obstruct it, or even just to pry into the secrets, will be crushed without hesitation, just like the Duke of Qi's Mansion and the small fish and shrimps implicated.
The court fell into dead silence.
After an unknown amount of time, the ministers gathered in the Xuanzheng Hall began to disperse.
No one dared to raise any questions about the selection of the new crown prince, and no one dared to propose a thorough investigation into the cause of the crown prince's death. All discussions about the crown prince position were instantly extinguished like sparks thrown into an ice cave.
And in this strange and terrifying silence, three days passed.
A brief decree was once again issued from the palace: The new Crown Prince Li Huan will move into the Eastern Palace today.
There was no grand enthronement ceremony, no spectacular scene of officials congratulating him, no solemn ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven, earth and ancestral temples, and even the symbolic prince's carriage and ceremonial guards did not appear.
The heavy vermilion-lacquered gate of the East Palace opens and closes silently only in the quiet of late night or at dawn.
No court official saw how the new prince entered the Eastern Palace.
No one saw the new crown prince in the days that followed.
The East Palace was tightly guarded inside and outside by loyal imperial guards and Jinyiwei, like a solid wall, blocking out all prying eyes.
It was quiet inside, eerily still.
Only the imperial meals and medicines delivered on time every day, and the sewage buckets occasionally carried out, proved that there was indeed a "prince" living there.
This new prince seemed to be just a name on an imperial edict.
Everyone in the government and the country knew it, but remained silent.
Everyone knew that the person in that position was not the future monarch, but a living sacrifice created by His Majesty himself.