Please call me Your Majesty!

Chapter 172 The determined Jin Wang Party - Emperor Yongjin, the Eastern Palace is planning a coup!

Emperor Yongjin sent Prince of Jin to the south of the Yangtze River to quell the rebellion.

What do you want?

It is to suppress the rebellion.

He didn't care what the process was like for the King of Jin. What he wanted was the result. He wanted the rebel army to be quiet and have no problem with the Great Zhou Dynasty.

He could accept any policy, whether it was a conciliatory policy or a suppressive policy, or even killing all the rebel forces under him.

Chu Shizhao supported his troops and respected himself.

Emperor Yongjin didn't care.

If he still had a dozen years to live, Emperor Yongjin would certainly not tolerate Chu Shizhao daring to do this.

But Emperor Yongjin knew that his time was running out, and at this time, as a mature and older politician, he was clearly aware of what he should do.

The Great Zhou Dynasty needs a successor.

A viable successor.

A successor who can ensure the continuation of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Emperor Yongjin actually didn't care at all who inherited the throne, because no matter who inherited the throne, he was already dead.

However, at least the person who inherits the throne can ensure that the Great Zhou Dynasty remains a whole, still a country, and someone who can connect the past and the future.

Chu Shixu is not qualified.

Chu Shiren is not qualified either.

And Chu Shiyu, who ranked after the two, was even less qualified.

It's nothing more than that they can all be controlled by external forces, and the power of their relatives behind them is enough to turn them into puppets, which is something Emperor Yongjin cannot accept.

He knew very well the feeling of holding power but being unable to act. Just like him, he was the emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty and had military and political authority, but he was still controlled by others.

The policies are controlled by the big families. If they disagree or don't nod their heads, they can block all the ideas of Emperor Yongjin.

In terms of military affairs, there were checks and balances from the Jiedushi. If they were sincere in fighting the Yongjin Emperor to the end, the Yongjin Emperor would be unable to do anything to them. The division and rebellion of the country were visible to the naked eye.

In the end, Emperor Yongjin could only maintain peace, ensure the stability of interests and expenditures between the emperor and the great families, and appease the military governors to prevent their power from extending further, but he could not truly abolish the military governors.

If any of his three legitimate sons succeeded to the throne, he would be constrained by the situation. The maternal relatives are a powerful family themselves, and the powerful families supported the royal family to ascend to the throne. In time, the maternal relatives would become a dictatorship, and the world would be shared by the king and Chu.

As for the Wang family, which has a higher status among the big families, can you ensure that they have no ulterior motives and will not overthrow the Chu family's regime?

Why are so many people afraid of Chu Shizhao's self-reliance in the military?

Emperor Yongjin knew it very well.

Because his fourth son, unlike the others, was brave enough to kill with a knife. It was precisely because of this decisiveness that he was able to control so many people.

The ministers' admonitions seemed to be telling Emperor Yongjin that his fourth son had too much power and was about to affect him, the emperor, the Son of Heaven.

In fact, it was not just Emperor Yongjin who was threatened. The ministers and the big families were also threatened.

They just wanted to use Emperor Yongjin to suppress Prince Jin and his fourth prince.

They want to be respectable themselves.

Why would Emperor Yongjin care about Prince Jin's affairs?

He himself had suffered the pain of being controlled by others, and Emperor Yongjin saw many impossibilities in Prince Jin. And now, Prince Jin was turning these impossibilities into possibilities.

When Emperor Yongjin saw these big families constantly flattering him because of Chu Shizhao's power, and showing him how helpless they were and how much they worried about Prince Jin's power, he actually wanted to laugh in his heart, but he had to continue playing this drama with these ministers.

So, Emperor Yongjin issued an edict.

Let Huan Sheng return to the capital to be tried for his crimes.

When a rebellion broke out in the southeast, Emperor Yongjin initially asked Huan Sheng to quell the chaos in the southeast. However, Huan Sheng's policies were not implemented properly, which led to rebellions in the south. This was his fault.

No matter what the outcome is, this henchman of King Jin failed in his mission and will inevitably be punished.

Aren’t the ministers going to see the attitude of Emperor Yongjin?
This is the attitude of Emperor Yongjin.

Punish Huan Sheng.

But by then, who released Huan Sheng and who reused him would have nothing to do with Emperor Yongjin. He was just a foolish king.

The foolish emperor was so incompetent that even when the King of Jin had his own army, he was still hesitating and looking back.

The royal power was not lost by Emperor Yongjin, but was simply transferred to the hands of Prince Jin.

As the power of the King of Jin gradually establishes, the authority of the royal family and the majesty of the Great Zhou will last forever.

"His Majesty--"

"Lord Guo requests to see you."

As the eunuch's childish voice sounded, Emperor Yongjin waved his hand and said, "Let him in."

Guo Qian came in with quiet footsteps. As the eyes and ears of Emperor Yongjin, Guo Qian was very clear about the responsibilities of his job, so all the unusual movements in Chang'an were within his control.

There are many things he can choose to say or not say.

However, if he dared to hide something that Emperor Yongjin asked him about, he would lose his head.

Previously, Cao Wei was a sword hanging over Guo Qian's head. Both of them were the eyes and ears of Emperor Yongjin, supervising each other to prevent Emperor Yongjin from being unaware of the rumors from the outside world.

Now that Cao Wei is dead, Guo Qian is nominally the eyes and ears of Emperor Yongjin. However, Guo Qian is worried because he knows very well that Emperor Yongjin will not just keep one hand in his hands.

Therefore, Guo Qian now dares not hide anything and will inform Your Majesty of everything he knows.

What's more, what Guo Qian knew now concerned the safety of Emperor Yongjin, so he dared not not speak out. After all, all the power in his hands came from Emperor Yongjin.

"Your Majesty, the Eastern Palace has been running around these days." Guo Qian paused and said, "He visited many ministers and Wang's disciples."

Emperor Yongjin closed his eyes to rest.

Now that the Prince of Jin has taken action, his other sons will not sit idly by and wait for death. It is normal for them to take action.

just
So stupid.

If Chu Shixu won over some generals of the Jiedushi and some capable people in the army, Emperor Yongjin would still regard him as a real man, but in the end, he still had to rely on their in-laws.

"They still want Your Majesty to appoint a crown prince as soon as possible to stabilize the country's foundation." Guo Qian lowered his voice.

Emperor Yongjin allowed Chu Shixu to enter the Eastern Palace, but only gave him a symbolic title of "Crown Prince", but no power. Chu Shixu was not a Crown Prince, nor did he have the ability to supervise the country. The Eastern Palace was just the residence of the Crown Prince.

There is no actual name, but it looks like that.

Chu Shixu's idea now is to force Emperor Yongjin to appoint a crown prince as soon as possible. This will not only appease Chu Shixu's mind, but also provide the capital to restrain Prince Jin.

The more anxious Chu Shixu became, the more he exposed his desire and lust for the position of crown prince, and the more disappointed Emperor Yongjin became.

Even if Chu Shixu pretended to be a filial and virtuous son, Emperor Yongjin might give him some chances.

As a result, just because Emperor Yongjin slightly sided with Prince Jin, he acted like a mortal enemy and was determined to regain his position.

What's more, status and power are earned by one's own efforts.

This kid, the King of Jin, dared to attack the siege of Chang'an, dared to lead troops to fight against the Huns, and confront the Hun army head-on.

What did you do in the East Palace?
The King of Jin dared to go to the southeast to quell the rebellion, to maintain a stalemate with the rebels, to negotiate with the rebels, to pacify the rebels, and to govern the local area.

What did you do in the East Palace?
If Chu Shixu could do everything arranged by Emperor Yongjin perfectly and make the Wang family serve him as slaves and lackeys, would Emperor Yongjin not take his eldest son of the Eastern Palace seriously?

If he could have accomplished just one thing, would the King of Jin have his current power and status?
Incompetence is incompetence.

Using the fact that Emperor Yongjin valued Prince of Jin was an excuse to shirk responsibility. If Emperor Yongjin asked Chu Shixu to lead several thousand soldiers to fight the enemy during the siege of Chang'an, would he dare to go?

This is what happens when others succeed, and afterwards they feel they can succeed too. It was Emperor Yongjin's decentralization that allowed the Prince of Jin to gain power.

Just ridiculous.

And the other side.

Chu Shixu's gaze became increasingly sinister.

On both sides of the East Palace's desk were already filled with his retainers and close ministers. Most of these people were descendants of officials, and those who were close to the Wang family were his trusted confidants.

"Everyone, I want to restore order and orthodoxy to the whole country." At this point, Chu Shixu had already made up his mind to shoot.

Chu Shizhao's power was growing, which made Chu Shixu feel uneasy. If he continued to let it go like this, sooner or later he, the crown prince, would become a bird in a cage.

As the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace, Chu Shixu, who received a good education since childhood, was also very clear how dangerous his situation was now.

When these words were spoken, everyone present was slightly surprised.

To restore order is the orthodox way for the whole country.

These words sounded like preparations before a coup, but who would have thought that the prince, who had always been low-key, would make such a choice at this time.

Even Wang Huai, who was secretly colluding with Chu Shizhao, was a little surprised.

"Your Highness, what are you doing?" Wei Yan's son Wei Shang was also shocked when he heard this. As a playboy, he got along well with Chu Shixu.

But if he gets involved in something like this that could cost him his life, wouldn't that make him completely crazy?

Chu Shixu pulled Wei Shang in, of course not because he needed Wei Shang's support, but to drag Wei Shang's father Wei Yan into the game.

"Now the fourth prince and his confidants are in the southeast, the court is empty, and my father is old and indecisive, and has the intention of deposing the eldest son and enthroning a concubine. If I am not safe, how can you all have a place to live?"

Chu Shixu had already thought of the next steps. What he wanted to do was to take the initiative to force the emperor to abdicate while Chu Shizhao was away from Chang'an.

The general that the Fourth Brother trusted the most, Yang Fang, was also in the southeast, in the Chang'an military camp, and Chu Shizhao had few people he could use.

Among the troops that went south to quell the rebellion, Wei Yan and Du Zhiyun led one army. Wei Yan was on his side, while Du Zhiyun was a fence-sitter. This old man would listen to whoever wins.

As long as he succeeded in forcing his father to abdicate in Chang'an and make him give up his position, he would force Chu Shizhao to return to the capital in the name of orthodoxy and place him under house arrest.

If Chu Shizhao does not comply, he will be punished for treason and executed without prior notice.

The most important thing is, as long as Chu Shixu succeeds in forcing the emperor to abdicate, Wei Yan's army will definitely obey him as the crown prince. If Wei Yan and his men can maintain a stalemate with Chu Shizhao in the southeast, Chu Shixu will have enough time to organize new forces in the court.

The reason why Chu Shixu was so anxious was that this was the weakest time for Chu Shizhao in Chang'an.

Since Chu Shizhao was in Chang'an, it would be difficult for Chu Shixu to take action, because Chu Shizhao would definitely firmly support Emperor Yongjin, and he had many soldiers and generals, and was outnumbered, so he was no match for him.

Now the fourth brother is not in Chang'an, Chu Shixu has taken action, and the fourth brother cannot return to Beijing immediately. By the time Chu Shixu has finished everything, the court will have changed. Then, no matter what Chu Shixu says, the fourth brother must obey. If he does not obey, he can be charged with treason, and he will have a legitimate reason to do so.

This is the best time. The powerful families around me are enough to fight against the people under my father's command. If I win, I will get everything.

As for losing?

By the time the fourth brother returns to Chang'an, Chu Shixu will also lose, so why not choose a time when he has a better chance to make a move?

Chu Shixu analyzed the pros and cons. After his words, the other members of the Donggong Party also realized that this made sense and there was a chance, but such a plan sounded too crazy.

Ideally, it can be done.

Under such unfavorable circumstances, did you, Chu Shixu, treat your two younger brothers as nothing?
Could it be that they all want you to be the emperor?

Now, the people of the East Palace Party feel that Chu Shixu cannot compete with Prince Jin, so they decide to take a radical approach and take a gamble.

This is a choice that can only be made when there is no way out.

Wang Huai narrowed his eyes slightly.

Chu Shixu succeeded, and he was credited with following the dragon. However, if he went to help Emperor Yongjin, Chu Shixu would not be able to accomplish this task, and he would still be credited with following the dragon. And if he was more ruthless and took this opportunity to secretly help Prince Jin, he would still be credited with following the dragon.

But it depends on the benefits.

Helping Chu Shixu would only bring temporary benefits, because Wang Huai was sure that the people involved in this matter were helped by a group of big clans and famous families, and he himself represented the Wang family, so even if the profits were divided up, he would not get the biggest share.

Helping Emperor Yongjin would only bring temporary benefits, which meant that Wang Huai could enjoy wealth and glory as long as Emperor Yongjin lived. Moreover, he had also "betrayed" the Wang family. The benefits were considerable, but not enough to make Wang Huai pay the price of betraying his clan.

The one that brings the greatest benefit is helping Prince of Jin Chu Shizhao, but the most difficult thing is still helping Prince of Jin Chu Shizhao.

Because it is not possible for Wang Huai to help King Jin just because he wants to. Chu Shizhao is still in the southeast and cannot arrive immediately.

Moreover, in Chang'an, Chu Shizhao's people are weak and it is too difficult to help Chu Shizhao at this time.

But by the same token, in this situation where the situation is worse than the others, if Wang Huai can walk the tightrope and give the best help, then if the King of Jin comes to power, he, Wang Huai, will be a first-class meritorious official. In addition, the King of Jin is young, so helping the King of Jin once will benefit him for the rest of his life, and it will be the most profitable investment ever.

This is a deal. Wang Huai doesn't want to sell himself so cheaply. If he wants to sell something, he'd rather sell a big one and make money for a lifetime.

If he could have contacted the Huan family or the Li family before Chu Shixu's coup, Wang Huai would have had a chance to accomplish his goal, but he might not have such an opportunity in the future.

Wang Huai lowered his head and slowly pondered over what to do next.

This is an opportunity.

A political opportunity that can allow anyone to undergo a drastic change in status.

(End of this chapter)