He Jin and Yuan Wei discussed the matter many times and felt that Queen He's words made sense.
If Empress Dowager Dong and others really persuaded Liu Hong and changed the situation, once the edict was issued, even if Liu Hong failed in the end, it would still be possible to shake Liu Bian's position a little and disgust them.
This kind of thing is unacceptable to them no matter what, so they must continue this battle.
But first they had to confirm whether something had really happened to Liu Hong and whether he was dead. Otherwise, if they acted rashly, they would most likely be directly labeled as traitors.
Liu Hong's twenty years as emperor were not in vain, he still had the power to claim this.
So Yuan Wei mobilized all his interpersonal relationships to try to get some information, and then continued to instigate ministers to ask about Liu Hong's health problems and put forward the need to visit the doctor.
Of course, it is not just Yuan Wei and others who want to do this this time, officials who have nothing to do with this matter also have this demand.
The emperor has not gone to court to deal with state affairs seriously for more than a month, and has not received ministers for seven or eight days. Even if he is sick, he still has to give everyone a chance to visit him, right?
Regardless of others, Lu Zhi began to ask Liu Bei if he had any similar news. He was also worried about Liu Hong's health.
Liu Bei hid his secrets tightly and did not reveal anything to Lu Zhi. Naturally, he would not tell Lu Zhi the news that Liu Hong was seriously ill and would soon die.
Otherwise someone will definitely cause trouble.
The plan he and Liu Hong agreed on required Liu Hong's cooperation, but if Liu Hong really couldn't hold on, he could only activate an emergency plan. Despite this, he still hoped that Liu Hong could hold on.
After a lifetime of nonsense, it’s time to get down to business, my lord.
Yuan Wei and He Jin were also trying every possible means to find out about Liu Hong, hoping to know how Liu Hong was doing and whether he was dead.
They didn't want to confront Liu Bei openly and passionately while Liu Hong was still alive, but they had no way of knowing the specific news.
Zhang Rang's reply to him was that Empress Dowager Dong's palace was controlled by Dong Chong and Jian Shuo. He could not approach it, and his people could not enter, so he could not know the specific situation.
Yuan Wei felt very anxious about this.
Although all the preparations had been made before, just before the incident happened, everyone unconsciously felt a little uncomfortable doing such a thing in front of an emperor.
Liu Hong is like a fragile valve. Regardless of whether he is leaking or not, as long as he is still there, the situation that is about to collapse will not collapse smoothly, and once he is gone...
Then ashes to ashes to dust.
Therefore, the significance of Liu Hong's career as emperor for more than 20 years lies in this.
Various forces in Luoyang City launched a round of secret confrontation around the issue of Liu Hong's life. Everyone, regardless of whether they were involved in the conflict or not, was trying to figure out the answer to this question.
Queen He was so anxious that she repeatedly asked to see Liu Hong at the gate of Empress Dowager Dong's palace, but the palace door was always closed and she would not be let in.
Queen He was so anxious that after a period of wonderful twists and turns, her somewhat simple brain circuit came up with a wonderful solution to the problem.
So she decided to make a bigger move.
On April 11, the sixth year of Zhongping, on the ninth day when Liu Hong did not summon the ministers, Queen He secretly discussed with He Jin and Yuan Wei to unite more than 50 courtiers, and let Yuan Wei lead these more than 50 people as Queen He. With the support of Empress He, he went to the palace of Empress Dowager Dong to ask for an audience with Liu Hong.
Empress He even called Liu Bian over and "discussed the situation face to face". She asked Liu Bian to kneel at the entrance of the palace, side by side with Yuan Wei, and shouted toward the palace to see Liu Hong, greeting Liu Hong's condition, etc.
"I beg to see your Majesty!"
"My son begs to see his father!"
Their voices were loud, their moods were very excited and eager, and they tended to rush into the palace gate if they disagreed.
In the palace, Empress Dowager Dong and Dong Zhong were as anxious as ants on a hot pot, feeling that they could no longer bear it.
Jian Shuo simply went out from the small door, preparing to mobilize the soldiers and horses of the Xiyuan Army to suppress the formation to prevent this group of people from actually rushing into the palace gate.
By the time Liu Bian stepped forward and slapped the palace door at the instruction of Yuan Wei, Empress Dowager Dong and Dong Zhong could no longer bear it. They knew that the door had to be opened today and they would not be able to get through no matter what.
And at this critical moment, Liu Hong, who had been unconscious, suddenly woke up.
"My son?"
Empress Dowager Dong looked at Liu Hong with a calm expression in surprise, and hurriedly stepped forward to observe his condition.
Liu Hong's complexion was relatively normal, and he did not look as weak as before. This made Queen Mother Dong think that Liu Hong had recovered.
But Liu Hong had no expression. He just turned his head and looked at Queen Mother Dong.
"Mother, is someone making a noise outside the palace gate?"
Empress Dowager Dong immediately turned red.
"He, Bian, Yuan Wei, and more than fifty ministers are all beating on the palace door, saying they want to see you. They are all looking forward to your death and for Bian to inherit the throne! "
Liu Hong pursed his lips.
"Xuande didn't take action, did he?"
"No."
"Okay, mother, help me up and put them in."
"My son, you..."
"Mom, I'm fine."
"good."
Although she felt something was wrong with Liu Hong, Empress Dowager Dong was in a hurry and didn't think too much, and directly asked Dong Zhong to open the door.
Outside the palace gate, Queen He and Yuan Wei were even ready to knock on the door, but the door suddenly opened, and Dong Chong stood at the door with an unhappy look on his face.
"Are you guys too eager? Are you planning to rush into the palace gate? Do you know that this is the palace of the Queen Mother? What do you want to do when you bump into the Queen Mother? Do you want to rebel?"
The officials were silent.
Queen He and Yuan Wei looked at each other and felt something was wrong.
Are you trying to hide the truth?
Or is there something to rely on?
Isn't this a dragon's pool and a tiger's den? There won't be an ambush, right?
At that moment, Yuan Wei thought a lot, but when he saw Liu Bian beside him, he gained confidence again.
No matter how brave Dong Chong was, would he dare to hurt the future emperor?
Yuan Wei then "stepped forward".
"I am indeed guilty of offending you, but what I did was not without reason. The emperor has not summoned the ministers for nine days. I was really worried about the emperor's condition, so I did something inappropriate in a hurry. If there is any offense, please ask the Queen Mother to punish you!"
Compared to Yuan Wei, Queen He was not so polite.
"As a queen, I am bringing the prince to visit your majesty. Am I still going to be harshly criticized by you?"
Dong Zhong stood in front of Queen He and did not give in.
"The prince can go, but the queen, your majesty has said many times that you don't want to see the queen. The queen's rash approach will only make your majesty unhappy. I privately think that the queen should not do such an unwise thing."
"you……"
Queen He was extremely angry, pointed at Dong Chong and said angrily: "Dong Chong, don't think that you can do whatever you want because you are the nephew of the Queen Mother. Aren't you afraid that my son will kill you after he ascends the throne?"
"Queen, be careful!"
Dong Zhong was suddenly furious: "Emperor An Tai, how can the prince ascend the throne? Are you already impatient for the emperor to bury him? Or are you saying that the queen is already preparing to rebel?!"
"you!"
Empress He knew she was in the wrong and stopped talking. She waved her hand and was about to move forward, but Dong Chong stopped her and refused to let her go.
So Queen He simply put Liu Bian in front and let Liu Bian go first, while she followed behind. As a result, Dong Chong was forced back step by step by Liu Bian, the obedient tool man, and could not stop Queen He's progress.
With Liu Bian as a human propeller, all the officials moved forward together, advancing step by step.
Arriving in front of Liu Hong's bedroom, Dong Chong had no choice but to retreat and stopped.
"Your Majesty is not in good health, so not too many people can enter. Only Yuan Situ and the eldest son of the emperor can enter."
"I want to come in too!"
Queen He said angrily: "If you want to drive me away, then let your Majesty drive me away personally! Who do you think you are?"
Dong Zhong was very angry, but he could never really stop Queen He. After all, she was the queen, and in status she was the master of the empire, while he was a minister.
So Queen He took Liu Bian and Yuan Wei, and the three of them stepped onto the steps and walked into the palace.
To be honest, at that moment, both Queen He and Yuan Wei wanted to see a scene - Liu Hong was dying and dying.
In fact, what they saw was Liu Hong's body.
But they did not see the scene they wanted to see. They did not see Liu Hong dying. Instead, they saw Liu Hong leaning on the bed, being fed porridge by Empress Dowager Dong herself. He seemed to be in good condition.
The expressions of Yuan Wei and Queen He changed, but Liu Bian looked happy.
"Father!"
Liu Bian shouted and ran forward to say hello to Liu Hong.
Liu Hong looked at Liu Bian with a complicated expression, hesitated for a long time, and just nodded slightly.
"well."
Then he said nothing more.
He has this son in his heart.
Although he hated his mother, he didn't have any real dislike for his son. He also wanted to save his son's life, so he took such a series of measures.
The only thing he resented was that his son was born and raised by that vicious woman.
He looked at the stunned woman he once loved but now hated so much and uttered evil words.
"Why are you here? Didn't I tell you not to see you again? How dare you break into my bedroom? Don't you know that disobeying the king's order will be punished?"
(End of chapter)
