Hongchang eighteen years.
He was born in Renyin.
May twenty-third.
Dark clouds cover the moon, and everything is silent.
A carriage draped in black cloth stopped at the back door of Prince Qin's Mansion.
When the guard on duty saw the old man getting out of the car, he didn't dare to stop him at all and hurriedly went to the mansion to report it.
When King Zhao Yuan of Qin heard about Zhang Zhengyang's late night visit, he guessed that something big was going on. He quickly invited people to the study and ordered the guards to screen away the servants on the left and right, and no one was allowed to come near!
Zhang Zhengyang was alone, and the first words he said after entering the study made Zhao Yuan look pale.
"Your Majesty collapsed two hours ago!"
"Ah! Father..."
Zhao Yuan exclaimed, stood up quickly, and then said dejectedly: "Father even hid the news of his death, I guess he had some arrangements."
"good."
Zhang Zhengyang nodded and said: "The late emperor issued a decree and appointed Lao Chan and four other ministers as Gu Ming ministers to assist the six princes in governing the country."
"What about you?"
Hope flashed in Zhao Yuan's eyes. The bells of Shangyang Palace had not yet rung, and the news of Emperor Hongchang's death had not yet spread. Things might have turned around.
Zhang Zhengyang said: "Young Master, I doubt that the Sixth Prince is naughty in nature, and he is not like a human king!"
Zhao Yuan nodded slightly and waited for the next sentence. The so-called "unlike a human king" was just a name. There must be other reasons for Prime Minister Zhang to take risks and disobey the late emperor's edict.
"The other three ministers who care about life are one an eunuch and a castrated dog, one an ignorant woman, and one a vulgar nobleman!"
Zhang Zhengyang said: "How can the important affairs of the country be left to such people to decide? The late emperor only had such a revival after wearing clothes and eating at night. The old man must not watch and be destroyed by the hands of children!"
"Xiang Zhang is right!"
Zhao Yuan was able to guess the identities of the other three people and admired the arrangement of his father's decree.
The eunuch is the eunuch, the dog king, and the eunuch is in charge of the imperial guards. The sixth prince's biological mother is the imperial concubine Sun, and his father and brother are in charge of the capital camp. Duke Cheng Guo is over eighty years old and has the greatest prestige and seniority among the nobles.
Prime Minister Zhang has been in charge of the government for nearly 20 years, and his party members have spread all over the imperial court and local state capitals.
Only these three powerful ministers, who were not among the officials in the court, could check each other with Zhang and give the sixth prince enough time to grow up and take power.
Zhao Yuan admired him, but also felt jealous.
The current queen only has one son. After the prince rebelled and was deposed, Zhao Yuan was the eldest son.
So, why did the throne fall to Lao Liu?
Zhao Yuan could understand his father's good intentions and made a will to restrict Prime Minister Zhang's power, but that didn't mean he would obey it!
Zhang Zhengyang said: "Those three people are in the palace at this time, and the edict has not yet been issued. If Your Highness is interested, I am willing to give my full assistance!"
"Has Prime Minister Zhang forgotten the urgent report from Northern Xinjiang?"
Zhao Yuan changed his voice and reminded: "Fighting for power on this occasion may delay the war. Once Northern Xinjiang is defeated..."
"So what if Northern Xinjiang is defeated? The left and right sides are just ceding territory and paying compensation. They can fight back in the future, but there is only one throne. If you miss it, you will never have another chance!"
Zhang Zhengyang has been an old fox for decades, but he didn't know that Zhao Yuan was already interested, so he added fuel to the fire: "The defeat in Northern Xinjiang is not a bad thing. After His Highness ascends the throne, he can easily secure the throne by using the war to divert conflicts in the court."
"My father ascended the throne with the throne of Qin. Now that I am the king of Qin, I should be the successor!"
Zhao Yuan finally stopped hiding his thoughts and promised: "After this king ascends the throne, Prime Minister Zhang will still be the chief assistant and be in charge of internal and external affairs of the court."
Zhang Zhengyang leaned over and bowed: "My lord, thank you for your kindness!"
"Prime Minister Zhang, there is no need to be polite."
Zhao Yuan hurriedly stepped forward to help him up, feeling extremely vigilant in his heart. Zhang Zhengyang would not hesitate to betray his father for power. The first thing he did after he ascended the throne was to eradicate his gang members.
"Without any further delay, the overall situation must be decided before the edict is promulgated!"
Zhang Zhengyang said: "The old man has gathered the servants in the palace and roped in Commander Lin who is stationed at the east gate of the palace to fully support His Highness and quickly enter the palace to take control of the situation."
"So good!"
Zhao Yuan ordered the guard commander to gather his men, and also summoned the royal palace chief Shi. He held a waist badge and sent a message to several martial arts schools in Shenjing to quickly go to the east gate of the palace to meet up.
Zhao Yuan controlled the behind-the-scenes of these martial arts schools. When the prince was in power, they were just used as a money-making business, but now they have turned into a force fighting for power.
In other words, any prince will cultivate a potential force in case of emergency!
Soldiers are valuable and quick, and the opportunity cannot be missed.
In less than half an hour since Zhang Zhengyang entered the palace, Zhao Yuan had already led thousands of people to the east gate of the palace.
Wearing strong swords, wielding swords and spears, he looked quite imposing in the darkness.
When Commander Lin saw Prime Minister Zhang accompanying him, he ordered the city gate to be opened.
"Greetings to Your Highness, the ministers are still in Shangyang Palace!"
"Commander Lin has made great achievements this time. After I ascend the throne, I will be granted the title of Marquis."
Zhao Yuan was so generous with rewards, which made the people following behind him burst with momentum. They all thought that once they entered the palace, the overall situation was decided.
…
Shangyang Palace.
The lights are bright.
The sixth prince lay on the dragon bed, sobbing softly.
The royal family is not without family affection, not to mention the child who is just ten years old and is usually the most favored by Emperor Hongchang.
Eunuch Wang, Duke Cheng and Zhang Zhengyang stood in front of the bed and waited, looking tired.
Princess Sun sat aside and called the servant to ask: "What time is it now?"
"Go back to your Majesty, it's already four quarters of the year."
The chamberlain knew what Princess Sun wanted to ask, so he took the initiative to answer: "It will be less than half an hour before all the officials go to court."
Princess Sun glanced at Prime Minister Zhang, who was here with the old god, and felt relieved in her heart. Maybe this person didn't care about the gain or loss of power, and he was a famous prime minister who was truly loyal to the emperor and the country!
Not long ago.
Emperor Hongchang died late at night. Before his death, he issued an edict appointing four ministers to assist the sixth prince.
Princess Sun and others immediately realized that this was Emperor Hongchang's attempt to divide Zhang Zhengyang's authority, so as to prevent the young ministers from destabilizing the powerful country.
Therefore, when Zhang Zhengyang was about to leave Shangyang Palace to read the edict, he was blocked by three ministers who took care of his life.
Zhang Zhengyang has been in control of the government for nearly twenty years, and there are unknown forces hidden in the capital. If they collude in the dark to cause trouble, the other three will be unable to resist.
After several back-and-forth discussions, the four of them set the rules.
No one could leave Shangyang Palace before dawn, and the funeral was kept secret for the time being until hundreds of officials came to court to read the edict.
Concubine Sun's confidants went out of the city to inform the capital camp, and the prince ordered his servants to summon the royal guards. After the imperial edict was announced in the morning, they would have enough strength to confront Zhang Zhengyang.
Only the old god Cheng Guogong was present, and he seemed not to care about the affairs of the country.
suddenly.
There was a noise outside the palace gate, followed by a series of screams.
Princess Sun quickly sent people to check what happened outside.
Cheng Guogong glanced at Zhang Zhengyang and saw that the other person's face was still expressionless, as if he was not surprised by the changes outside.
The chamberlain came back with a horrified look on his face: "Mother, Your Highness the King of Qin and Prime Minister Zhang came in with their troops and killed everyone on sight..."
As he said this, he suddenly froze and looked at Zhang Zhengyang together with everyone else in the palace.
Zhang Zhengyang remained silent, slowly raising his hand to pull the skin behind his ears, tearing off a layer of his old face, revealing his true appearance.
