"Dajian" refers to critical illness, and Zhao Heng knew it in his heart. But who is critically ill? Is it the father? But if my father is really critically ill, he will definitely come to me and give orders to summon my father. And why did the imperial sister come? The imperial sister also said that he had not entered the palace to see his father recently. His father had not given any orders, and if he entered the palace rashly, he might make his father angry. Zhao Heng wavered. A woman knocked on the door and said, "Prince, please drink some herbal tea."
Hearing this slender and gentle voice, Zhao Heng's thoughts were interrupted, and then he opened the door. A pretty woman was standing in front of the study door with tea in her hand. Her big, smart eyes looked at Zhao Heng with a smile, and she also saw Zhao Heng's sadness.
"Your Highness, are you worried?"
"Yes, there are some things that are difficult to decide."
The woman seemed to see something and said: "Your Highness, if you have something unclear in your heart, just do it. Can you get results by worrying about it?" Then she walked to Zhao Heng and handed the tea to him. , said: "I believe in your decision, no matter what, Xiao'e will be with you."
Zhao Heng felt warm in his heart after hearing this. It wasn't that he didn't want to, but he was afraid of making the wrong decision. When people are confused, all they need is one sentence, one sentence that can push them to make a decision. Zhao Heng strengthened his belief, then held the girl's hand and said, "Okay, Xiao'e, wait until I come back." Then he walked out of the study.
The woman shouted: "Your Highness the Crown Prince!" Then she went over to tidy up Zhao Heng's clothes and said, "Since it is an important matter, it is necessary to bring along prestigious confidants." Zhao Heng nodded and strode out. study.
Above the main hall, several ministers are already waiting here. The emperor is seriously ill, so not all ministers will go to court in the past two days. Only important matters will be presented to the court early, and the emperor will make a decision after seeing them. But on weekdays, the emperor is diligent in political affairs and rarely arrives late. At this time, these ministers were talking about it. Naturally, there are some people who already know this and are just pretending not to know. While everyone was discussing in low voices, Wang Jien walked out with a sad face. He said: "My lords, please wait a moment. I have sent people to notify the ministers, and they will be here soon." Then he wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes and said, "His Majesty passed away this morning."
As the first assistant prime minister, how could Lu Duan not be present? He smiled and said, "Eunuch, please stop joking."
"Emperor Dragon Body, how dare I talk nonsense? The Queen is already at the back of the palace and has ordered people to inform all the ministers."
At this time, several adults came to ask quietly, and everyone was curious. What's more, during this period, there were only a few people attending court, and now all the ministers had to be summoned. Everyone present wanted to understand the situation first.
On weekdays, Prime Minister Lu Duan always smiles and is very friendly. However, this person is sometimes confused and a bit careless in doing things, so some people like him and some people hate him. Some people think that this confused person can be the prime minister. I really don’t know how the emperor can listen to his sweet words. Thinking that I am several times more capable than him, I angrily defend myself; some people naturally like him to be optimistic and easy to deal with. There are also some smart little officials who are filled with joy when they see such people. The more confused they are above, the easier it is for them to make small moves below.
Wang Jien didn't take Lu Duan seriously on weekdays. Although he was the prime minister, he always felt that he was just a fool. Now that he was still in his sixtieth year, he was afraid that he would not live for a few more years and would not be able to achieve anything big. After hearing what he said, he felt in his heart The odds of winning have increased a bit. Even you, the prime minister, don't know about the emperor's affairs. You do things flawlessly. You feel a little proud, but you still look very sad.
The ministers were also crying in sorrow, saying words such as "the national destiny is unfavorable" and "the talents of the heavenly furnace". Although Lu Duan knew this in his heart, he still said with grief and anger: "Impossible! The emperor is in good health and must be protected by gods and Buddhas. How could it be possible?"
At this time, many courtiers rushed here, all crying and feeling extremely sad. Wang Jien felt that the time was almost up, so he glanced at Li Changling, the counselor and political advisor. Li Changling nodded in understanding and said with sobs: "My lords, please listen to me." Then he pretended to calm down and said to the ministers: " The death of the emperor is a disaster for the Song Dynasty. I know that this is something that the ministers do not want to see, and I can feel the sadness. It is just that the emperor is going west, and we, as ministers, must take care of the emperor's death. Work is worthy of the Emperor!" Then he said to Wang Jien: "My lord, I wonder if the queen's phoenix body is good?"
Wang Jien replied: "The Queen is extremely grieved and is in the back hall. I will go to invite the Queen now."
Li Changling said: "I'm sorry to bother you, Eunuch Wang. If the Queen is in good health, please come out and take charge of the overall situation."
Wang Jien said: "The villain understands and will definitely bring these words to you." Then he went to the back hall to meet the queen.
Li Changling said sadly: "The emperor's sudden death was due to the incompetence of our ministers and our inability to share the emperor's worries, which caused the emperor to become ill from overwork and die." Then he wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes and said righteously: " But the country cannot be without a king for a day, we must quickly help the new emperor succeed to the throne and prolong the prosperity of our Song Dynasty."
What a loyal minister, what a touching act, what an upright word, but these words should have been spoken by the Prime Minister Lu Duanlu, who is the head of the hundred officials. It's not for you, who is involved in political affairs, to say that, you can only be considered a deputy prime minister at best. If Mr. Lu is not here, you can still say, now that Mr. Lu is here, how can you have the nerve to take over? Although a few adults thought so in their hearts, no one dared to say it. After all, Prime Minister Lu was here and they didn't say anything, so how could they accuse others. It is better to be wise and protect yourself and avoid causing trouble.
Lu Duan listened to Mr. Li's speech with great interest, and said: "Master Li is right. We must help the new emperor ascend the throne as soon as possible." Li Changling was even more proud, thinking, Lu Duan, just do your best Look, when we help the new emperor succeed to the throne, you can go home and retire, and I will be the prime minister. Why didn't Lu Duan know their little plan? But, you say whatever you want. If I don't let you finish singing the play, how should I act in the next play?
At this time, "The Queen has arrived." After the queen walked up to the main hall with the support of Lu Duan, all the ministers knelt down to salute and pay homage to the queen.
The queen sat down in the main hall. Although her appearance was obviously tidy, she still couldn't hide her red eyes and the tears in the corners of her eyes. The queen went straight to the point and said: "My lords, I am dead. The death of the previous emperor means that for the future foundation of the Song Dynasty, a wise new emperor must be elected."
At this time, the ministers below immediately exploded. There was already a prince in the court, so what else could he support? One of the ministers said: "Empress, the country has a prince, and the family has a heir. Now that the late emperor has passed away, we should immediately summon the prince to the palace to inherit the throne."
I saw another minister saying: "The late emperor passed away today, but the prince was not summoned, and he never served in front of the emperor to fulfill his filial piety. It shows that the emperor has no trust in the prince. Queen, did the emperor say this before he died? Who will inherit the throne?"
Empress Li said: "No, the late emperor only said that a wise man should succeed the king." Tears fell down the corners of her eyes again, and she wiped her eyes with her handkerchief.
The minister said: "My condolences, the Queen. It seems that the late emperor also realized that the prince's ability was not enough, so he did not summon the prince before his death. It is obvious that he wanted us to appoint a more capable person to inherit the throne."
"It's a joke. The late emperor suddenly died and it was very possible that he was too late to summon the prince. Since the emperor has appointed a prince, the prince is undoubtedly the best candidate for the throne." said an adult.
In an instant, the court was divided into two factions. One faction supported the crown prince, and the other faction established a new king and accused the prince of being inappropriate. Of course, there are still some people who remain silent, depending on which faction they follow depending on the situation there. It's no wonder that since the late emperor became seriously ill, the ministers in the court have already begun to take action. Some of them have begun to show their favor to the prince, and some of them have been colluding with Wang Jien. Whoever becomes the emperor now will have a bearing on their future. You must strive for your career and destiny no matter what.
At this time, Wang Jien shouted: "My lords, please be quiet first and let the Queen make the decision."
The queen calmed down and said: "The late emperor once said that the prince was too kind and weak. If the eldest prince Yuan Zuo had not gone mad and the second prince Yuan Xi had died of illness, he would not have established Zhao. He will always be the crown prince." He paused, and then continued: "Recently, the imperial doctor has said that the eldest prince's madness is no longer a problem. I think the eldest prince was deeply liked by the late emperor when he was young. Zhifeng is more suitable than the prince."
As soon as the queen said this, the expressions of the ministers below were different. Some ministers continued to fight for the prince, while others were regretful and sad. They felt that they had chosen the wrong person and were worried about their future. There were also some who had not expressed their opinions. He also made tactful gestures to the ministers who supported the new emperor.
Lu Duan saw all this, but he scorned those people in his heart. At this time, Lu Duan suddenly looked like he had a sudden realization, and said to everyone: "By the way, I remembered it, old minister. The late emperor had a will from me, which he said could be revealed to others after he passed away a hundred years ago. Now the late emperor has passed away. , I think it’s time to come up with this edict.”
Several ashen-faced ministers immediately said as if they had grasped a life-saving straw: "Mr. Lu, why didn't you tell me earlier? Take out the edict quickly!"
"What kind of edict? I have never heard the late emperor say that he left any edict." Wang Jien thought, his expression suddenly became solemn, and then he remembered the sneer on the corner of his mouth when the late emperor died, and said: "Mr. Lu, you want to Be clear! Don’t talk nonsense about this matter.”
"This matter is of great importance. I am the prime minister of the dynasty, how can I still lie about what I say?!" Lu Duan said to Wang Jien.
"Then why didn't you take out the edict from the beginning?"
"This edict has been kept with me for a while. In addition, as the old minister is old, some things are easy to forget. I just recalled it when the ministers were discussing it. It seems that I really have to abdicate in favor of someone better, haha." Lu Duan laughed. said. "I'm going to get the edict now."
Bring it! ? The imperial edict is no longer with him. That would be easy. As long as you get the imperial edict before Lu Duan, you can modify it with me. Wang Jien hurried over and said to Lu Duan: "Master Lu also said that since he is old, I should let the men do the rough work of fetching things for me. Where did you put the imperial edict?"
"The imperial edict is in the imperial edict pavilion of Zhongshu Province. In the top drawer of the third cabinet next to the main table?" Lu Duan recalled. "No, is it the fourth or fifth one? Above or below?"
Wang Jien was very angry when he saw that he didn't know what he was doing. You old man, you are so stupid that you still have the nerve to be the prime minister here.
"Okay, Eunuch Wang, you can come with me to get it." Lu Duan said immediately.
