At that time, Emperor Gaozong had overseen the country and managed the government for many years. Nearly half of the civil servants came from his disciples. He also made great efforts to promote military attachés with civilian backgrounds. Whether it is the foundation in the court before taking the throne or the control of the government after taking the throne, it is far from what it is now among civil servants. There is almost no foundation at all. The military commanders only have a little bit of Huang Qi with no connections in the Xiaoqi camp. Joan, comparable.
If he had not had the connections accumulated over the years in the court, how could Emperor Gaozong have risked great criticism, especially the opposition from the clan, and found an excuse that was not an excuse to forcefully want to abolish the queen and replace her with the original queen? His sister-in-law, Concubine Xian, is the queen? Although he failed in the end, he still insisted on making the son of Concubine Xian the prince.
You must know that at the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the power of the clan was much greater than it is now, and its influence on the government was also much greater. Since you don't have the solid foundation that Emperor Gaozong had back then, just keep your tail between your legs and be a human being. If word spreads about Lin Hanyan and you, your already unstable foundation may be shaken at any time.
After understanding the meaning of the emperor's words, Huang Qiong couldn't help but feel a little ashamed. Just when he was about to say something else, the emperor did not dwell on this topic. Instead, he suddenly changed the topic: "How do you feel after the sacrifice today? Do you know that I am What is the real intention of asking you to offer sacrifices to the Ancestral Temple?"
Regarding the emperor's words, how could Huang Qiong dare to say, at least the reasons that he or those in his house thought? Even if that is really the truth, you can't say it openly and openly in front of the emperor. Isn't that asking for trouble? Therefore, in response to the emperor's question, Huang Qiong could only bow and humbly say that he didn't know and asked his father for advice.
Huang Qiong put on a humble and teachable attitude, but the emperor shook his head slightly and said: "You kid, you are playing tricks on me again. I have already ordered you to do this. With your personality, how can you really do this? Can’t guess it? Yes, my true intention is to show the world. Tell the world that I have made the decision to Chu."
"This can be regarded as me paving the way for deposing the crown prince and announcing the candidate for the new crown prince after a period of time. If it weren't for this period of time, too many things would have happened. I have now sued all previous emperors to abolish the crown prince. The position of crown prince. In order to let you understand more of my painstaking efforts, and to let all previous emperors see the candidate for the new crown prince that I am planning to appoint."
"That's why today I ask you to bow three times and kowtow before each of the former emperors. I hope you will remember the difficulties of the past emperors in starting a business. Please fully understand the painstaking efforts I have put in today. In the future, You can share more of the state affairs for me and help the court solve problems."
"I hope you can behave yourself in the future and set an example for the world. Don't live up to my high expectations, let alone your mother's painstaking teachings over the years. They say it is difficult to start a business and it is even harder to keep a business. I don't want to let you down. The country passed down from our ancestors is handed over to a person who does not know the hardships of his ancestors in starting a business and does not know how to cherish it."
After the emperor said these words, those who followed him were telling themselves in disguise that they hoped that the future emperor of the Qi Dynasty would be a person with no major flaws in his reputation. If he asked him not to give himself a lustful reputation, Huang Qiong automatically ignored it. But what he said before made him feel a little dumbfounded.
It turns out that when offering sacrifices to the Ancestral Temple, there is no need to perform three bows and nine kowtows before each of the late emperor's shrines. What happened today was completely deliberate by me, the emperor. Is it the so-called, let yourself see the difficulties of your ancestors starting a business so that you can understand his painstaking efforts?
No wonder I kowtow to every late emperor under the guidance of the chief minister of Taichang Temple. The Minister of Rites, who looked very mature and prudent, actually looked surprised. And the Taichang Temple Master who guided him always looked like he wanted to laugh but dared not. After working on it for a long time, it turned out that it was my father, the emperor, who was behind this.
This is to let myself experience his painstaking efforts, is it simply a prank on himself in disguise? I've been knocking my head down for a long time, and I'm almost confused. What makes Huang Qiong most aggrieved is that the thoughts in her heart are reflected in her heart, but Huang Qiong not only cannot show it on her face, but also expresses her understanding and acceptance of her father's painstaking efforts.
But just when Huang Qiong was having a lot of discussions in his heart, the emperor, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly asked seemingly casually: "One day in the future, when you sit in my position, how will you treat the waste?" Prince? After all, I know how he treated you in the first place. It’s not completely incomprehensible to me that you have thoughts of revenge.”
Although the emperor's words seemed to be unintentional. But Huang Qiong understood that this was him, the emperor, testing himself here. Even though this was only a question directed at the prince, the answer he gave would definitely not include the prince alone. As the emperor, I am trying to find a way for all my brothers who are still alive.
And it is even very possible that this includes the one who is now missing. But no one knows whether the King of Shu will appear again in the near future. When the emperor mentioned the prince, it was just a premise. What the emperor hopes more is to test his attitude towards all his brothers, or how much tolerance he has, through his views on the prince.
It was obvious that the emperor was worried that after he passed the throne to him, he would kill his brothers who had been rude to him, or even looked down upon him. Therefore, the emperor, who did not want to see brothers fighting each other again, wanted not only a promise to the prince, but also a promise to all his brothers who were still alive.
Thinking of this, Huang Qiong couldn't help but smile bitterly. This old man himself is too worried about gains and losses now. I thought I was really so narrow-minded that I couldn't tolerate those brothers. Especially now that he is still in the capital, and besides the King of Shu, he is the prince who has offended him the most, and he is probably the one the emperor is most worried about.
Not to mention that he is far from an unshakable position in the emperor's mind. Even if it has been achieved, if the answer is not good, it will still cause great trouble. You know, that was the former prince. No matter how disappointed he was, he was still the son whom I, the emperor, once valued and loved the most.
Even if his position as prince was to be abolished, he would still be the son of the emperor. As a father who lost five sons in one year, he did not want to see his brothers killing each other happen again. Moreover, the King of Shu faked his death and his whereabouts are still unknown. King Jing and King Duan are both dead.
Of the four sons born by Queen Daxing, at least on the surface, this prince is the only one left. It was impossible for the emperor not to feel uncomfortable when his once most beloved son became like this. Therefore, in the emperor's heart, I am afraid that what he cares about most now is his opinion of the prince. He was worried that after his death, the first person he would liquidate would be the prince.
For a prince who has been more than ten years old, no matter how useless he is, his connections in the court and his visible and invisible forces are far beyond what other princes can compare with, of course the King of Shu is an exception. Since it is impossible to completely eliminate the crown prince's foundation, eradicating the roots has become the simplest and most effective method in all dynasties.
Therefore, no matter which dynasty, a prince who loses his position as prince will not end well. Either he was killed by his own father, or he was the first prince of the former Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty. He was killed by the brother who really had the last laugh, like Yang Yong, the deposed prince of Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty. Even the best ending is just imprisonment or exile until death, just like the deposed prince Cheng Qian of Emperor Taizong of the former Tang Dynasty.
The most important thing is that after he left the palace, the emperor also knew what the prince had done to him. The prince planted cronies all over his house, trying to keep himself firmly in his hands. Not to mention the bodyguards around him, they are also the servants in his own house, all assigned by the prince. Even if he farts in the palace, the prince can hear him clearly. And the prince never let go of his murderous intention towards himself.
Although Chen Yao's death was not caused by the prince, the prince was just a step too late. No matter which aspect you look at it, if you reach that position, there will be no reason for the prince to continue to live. But he was disappointed. As a father, the emperor obviously hoped that the prince could survive. In other words, I hope that the prince can die in peace and not die by his own sword.
If he was assassinated, it was really the prince who did it. Huang Qiong even tried his best to be punished or resented by the emperor. Even if he doesn't want that position, he will try his best to avenge Chen Yao. But since the prince didn't do that thing, Huang Qiong turned into a deadlocked prince as soon as he addressed King Jing and Duan Er, so he didn't think too much about it.
The things the prince did were just the actions of a villain. Although it has brought some harm to himself, if the prince does not do it, the King of Shu will not let him go. It's just that compared to the prince, the king of Shu did it more skillfully. When the prince was in power, I was never afraid of him. As for now, what do I have to worry about?
After glancing at the silent emperor, Huang Qiong said simply: "Back to my father, do you want to hear the truth from me, or do you want to hear lies? To tell lies, I have two choices. Let’s see how the father chooses. If the father wants to be ruthless and get rid of this rebellious son, but he is worried about the relationship between father and son and the relationship between his wife and Queen Daxing.”
"The son and minister can share the worries of the king and father and take action on his behalf. As for the second option, if the father wants to fulfill the relationship between father and son and want to protect the prince, the son will naturally understand the holy will and swear to the father that as long as I will protect the prince's life in one day. But with the lessons learned from King Jing and Duan, I will naturally choose the second one, and never the first one."
"That is to say, we can show brotherly love in front of our father and avoid the brothers who want to see each other. We can also suppress those who want to please our father, but have misplaced their thoughts and want to take action on his behalf. My brother has an advantage. Why would I not do this kind of thing that kills two birds with one stone? But if I really do this, my father should actually be more worried about the prince."
"Because I figured out my father's thoughts and temporarily fooled him. When the day comes, I will deceive my father. But at that time, what can my father do to me? So, son If you want to understand the holy will, the more you swear, the more your father should not believe it. Therefore, I can only tell my father clearly that these are all lies."
Huang Qiong's answer made the emperor stunned. As early as when he asked that question, the emperor thought of a thousand possible responses from Huang Qiong. Only Huang Qiong's blunt statement, no matter what he answered, would be a lie as long as he understood the holy meaning, he didn't expect it at all. After being stunned for a long time, the emperor said: "Then what is the truth?"
