The film and television world begins with the battle for the throne in Kowloon

Chapter 985: The Wisdom of Empress Changsun

This is too weird. He caused such a big fuss in the court, but he resisted the pressure from the emperor and overturned the imperial edict.

After this battle, the emperor's prestige was destroyed, while Hou Junji's reputation soared.

When you have the overall advantage and initiative, and now you say that everyone can listen to you and the emperor, then what is your purpose in doing that in the Taiji Hall?

Not knowing whether what Hou Junji said was true or not, Changsun Wugou asked tentatively: "Then if I ask you to give up pushing Xiang'er as the heir, will you agree?"

Hou Junji felt relieved. After all, his task of delaying time had been completed. The official court meeting would be held in three days. During these two days, even if Li Shimin woke up now, he would not be in a hurry to push Prince Jin to the throne. A slight delay would be ten days or eight days.

In any case, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will come back, or rather, it’s time for him to come out.

It doesn’t matter what I say now.

Then Hou Junji looked up at Zhangsun Wugou and said with a firm and serious face: "I will obey your majesty. I promise on my life that from now on, I will obey your majesty in everything."

Suddenly, Zhangsun Wugou was overjoyed and asked anxiously, "Do you really agree to give up recommending Xiang'er as the crown prince? Will Ashina Yun, Changsheng, Xue Rengui and other old men in the Eastern Palace also agree to give up?"

"I will, I promise."

Hou Junji said straightforwardly: "In fact, they have no intention of promoting the eldest grandson. They just advise the emperor to reconsider. Officials from the Wei and Wu dynasties, such as Cen Wenben, Du Chuke, Xiao Yu, Chai Zhewei, Sun Fujia, and Xue Wanche, also have their own plans."

Zhangsun Wugou was startled, then suddenly realized that people in power have to weigh every word they say. If they are careless, they will not be able to figure out their true intentions. The messenger said that the ministers all advised the emperor to think twice, instead of advising the emperor to make Li Xiang the crown prince.

The meaning of this "think twice" is very questionable.

You can say that you support the establishment of the eldest grandson, or you can say that you can agree with your opinion, but you have to give me an explanation.

Thinking of this, Zhangsun Wugou secretly resented Li Shimin. Establishing a crown prince was such a big deal, and you dared to propose it directly in the court without obtaining widespread agreement and approval from court officials. Isn't this treating the important matter of establishing a crown prince as a joke?
In order to gain the approval of the public, one has to do a lot of mediation, exchange of interests, promises and guarantees, win over strong allies, eliminate dissidents, eliminate hidden dangers in advance, appease those with different opinions, and ensure the interests of the majority.

Finally, when you are more than 80% sure, you can propose it in the court. This is the mature way to serve the country.

Power itself is a game of exchange and compromise. With such huge benefits in establishing a crown prince, even those who don’t care would want to gain some benefits?
You just brought the case to the court, punished two ministers, acted aggressively, and wanted to get the matter done without thinking. This simply shows that you don't take the ministers in the court seriously, especially when Li Shimin was about to die.

Its prestige has declined, and its influence is no longer as strong as it was at its peak.

Thinking of this, Zhangsun Wugou probably understood the internal logic of the Taiji Hall's abdication today. Looking at Hou Junji who looked uneasy, he was not so angry anymore. The situation was like this, even if Hou Junji was not there, someone else would stand up.

The other party just happened to be there and played the role of making a call from a high place, and he really had no ulterior motives.

Zhangsun Wugou raised his hand, returning to his usual graceful demeanor and confidence towards Hou Junji: "Duke Lu, please get up quickly! Your health is not good, and you have been kneeling all the time. If something happens to you, what will happen to Haitang and Xiang'er in the future?"

"Thank you, Your Majesty, but I'm afraid the Emperor is still blaming me?" Hou Junji bowed his head and stood up.

As long as Hou Junji, the flag bearer of the Eastern Palace faction, does not go all the way, then things will not get out of hand. Changsun Wugou showed her usual calm attitude: "In my opinion, what happened today is all a misunderstanding."

"I will explain to you about the emperor."

"But you did go too far today. You have been king and subject for thirty years, and your friendship is deep and profound. Why can't you discuss things in private? Why do you have to confront each other in the court, making it difficult for everyone to leave?"

She acted as the queen and reprimanded Hou Junji. Seeing Hou Junji's panicked attitude of admitting guilt, Changsun Wugou changed the subject and said comfortingly, "As for how the emperor will punish us in the end, it depends on his attitude after he wakes up."

"You don't have to worry. The emperor once told me that as long as Hou Junji doesn't rebel, I won't kill him no matter what he does."

Changsun Wugou was worthy of having followed Li Shimin for decades. She was knowledgeable and her political skills were no worse than those of the scheming masters who had been immersed in the officialdom for decades. She used both kindness and severity, and a combination of firmness and flexibility, and she managed to subdue Hou Junji with both defense and attack.

Upon hearing this, Hou Junji burst into tears. He had just stood up, but he knelt down again and cried out in pain towards the Chengqing Palace: "Your Majesty, I am guilty. Your Majesty values ​​me so much, but I disobeyed Your Majesty."

"Your Majesty, you deserve to die."

After saying that, Hou Junji fell to the ground and burst into tears. This place was still some distance from Chengqing Palace. Just now, some officials had been looking over here. Now with such a big commotion, many people came out to watch this scene. Seeing this, Zhangsun Wugou's heart was completely relieved. A person who wanted to do something big would not act like a loyal and filial son in public.

Since Hou Junji would not rebel, he had to consider the face of an important official. Changsun Wugou turned to Haitang and said, "Haitang, help Duke Lu up quickly. Even if your father is guilty, only the emperor can deal with him. There is no reason to let others laugh at him."

"Thank you, ma'am."

Haitang looked at Changsun Wugou with gratitude, and hurried forward to help Hou Junji up. Several people followed Changsun Wugou into Chengqing Hall.

"Your servants are here to pay their respects to Her Majesty the Queen. May Her Majesty live a thousand years and a thousand thousand years." The Queen appeared in her gorgeous attire, and immediately, all the ministers in the hall paid their respects to her.

"All the nobles, please stand up!"

Empress Changsun was known for her virtue and was especially caring towards her ministers. She had a high prestige in the court and was extremely popular among the ministers.

After all the ministers stood up, Changsun Wugou glanced around and didn't see the person she wanted to see, so she asked, "Where is Prime Minister Fang? Why can't I see him?"

Cen Wenben quickly stepped forward to explain, "Your Majesty, the Emperor has just woken up and called in Lord Sikong to talk. He told the other ministers to disperse, as he doesn't want to see anyone right now. We are worried about the Emperor's health, and we just offended His Majesty in the Taiji Hall, so we are here to apologize."

Changsun Wugou looked at Cen Wenben, who was bowing his head with a guilty look on his face, then turned his gaze to glance at the other officials, who all lowered their heads in shame.

Xin Sun Wu Gou snorted secretly. If they were asking for forgiveness, when he came in, these people should have knelt on the ground instead of standing in the hall and talking in twos and threes. In terms of awe and affection for the emperor, these people were not even as good as Hou Junji, the initiator of the operation.

However, Changsun Wugou was also secretly startled. This indirectly showed that the emperor's prestige had really fallen to the freezing point, to the point that these ministers didn't even want to make a gesture. As for the emperor's punishment, they were not afraid at all.

Zhangsun Wugou felt a little cold in her heart, but she remained calm on her face, showing a kind smile of a mother who rules the country: "I know everything about what happened today. It was all normal court discussion. It was your majesty's own body that caused him to faint."

"If your majesty is in good health, this would be nothing more than an ordinary quarrel."

"When Wei Zheng was alive, he often contradicted the emperor in court meetings, which made the emperor furious and he almost killed him several times. This is nothing."

"In fact, the emperor called the Prince of Jin to the court today because he wanted to hear the ministers' opinions on the Prince of Jin. It was Duke Lu who was a little anxious and overreacted, misunderstanding the emperor's intention. In addition, you all know the emperor's temper, and he refused to explain."

“That’s why it happened.”

"The Emperor told me last night that he has not yet made a final choice for the crown prince. He will seek the opinions of all the ministers at the court, and will make an announcement after making a comprehensive assessment at the grand court three days later."

No matter what, the saying "the law does not hold everyone responsible" is applicable in any era. Even the emperor cannot afford to offend so many ministers. More than 90% of the ministers in the court stand against the emperor. This cannot happen no matter what.

The emperor's dignity is related to the stability of imperial power, and he cannot admit his mistakes.

Since this is a dead end and no matter how you solve it you won't be able to satisfy all aspects, then just take a step back to avoid the crisis.

As the empress, Zhangsun Wugou, on behalf of the emperor, calmed down today's events, which is what everyone wants to see.

As expected, when Zhangsun Wugou took a step back and showed her broad-minded attitude, all the ministers breathed a sigh of relief. Hou Junji even knelt down first and said, "No matter how wrong I am, it is all our fault. Please punish me, Queen."

After Hou Junji made this statement, important officials and princes including Cen Wenben, Zhangsun Wuji, Zhang Xuansu, Xiao Yu, Kong Yida, Du Zhenglun, Ma Zhou, Du Chuke, Chai Zhewei, Li Ke, Li You, Li Yin, Li Yun, and Li Zhen all knelt down and said, "Please punish us, Your Majesty."

Even Jin Wang Li Zhi in the corner knelt down with a gloomy face.

Li Zhi was so heartbroken that he could hardly breathe. He lowered his head with gnashing teeth, his eyes filled with bone-chilling coldness and gloom. He lay on the ground with his fists, his nails digging deeply into the flesh, causing bursts of stinging pain, but he could not suppress the pain deep in his heart.

He was very dissatisfied with his mother for erasing his position as the crown prince with just a few words. But he could do nothing about it, as all the ministers had already opposed it.

If I offend my mother again, I will never be tolerated by the world.

What's more, today's situation has nothing to do with the emperor and the empress. It's all because of that damn Hou Junji, who made him stand in opposition to the ministers.

Even the emperor and empress did not dare to go against the majority of the officials in the court. What could a weak prince like himself do?
(End of this chapter)