Please call me Your Majesty!

Chapter 99 They seem to think that I am unable to lift a sword and can no longer shoulder the responsibility of governing the world?

Emperor Yongjin closed his eyes.

The numb feeling in his arms told him that what he had just experienced was not a dream.

When he rolled up his sleeves.

The wound cut by the ant thief gradually showed signs of healing.

So, is all this true?

Thinking of this, Emperor Yongjin no longer had the thought of falling asleep. After experiencing such a thrilling battle, he was physically and mentally exhausted. But no matter how tired he was, as long as he thought that he was about to die and the Great Zhou Dynasty would soon fall apart and be destroyed after his death, how much sleep could he still have?
Wang Ruizhen’s land case.

The case of burning Jin.

Battle of Poyang.

Ant thief.

The 30th year of Yongjin.

Now it is the 29th year of Yongjin. Is there only one year left before my death?
In the center of Emperor Yongjin's bedroom, there was a bronze incense burner with three legs and a lid, which was magnificently decorated. The pattern on the lid was hollowed out with the images of the Eight Diagrams.

A faint scent of ambergris continuously emanates from this hollow space.

Emperor Yongjin stood up. He was wearing only an extremely thin silk and gold-thread robe, and his long hair fell behind his shoulders. At this moment, he sometimes sat still, sometimes glared, and sometimes pondered with a sad expression, looking crazy.

No one could have imagined that Emperor Yongjin, the Emperor of the Great Zhou, would have such an expression at this moment.

"Wang Ruizhen's land case is a common land donation by the Jiangnan gentry. Our Great Zhou Dynasty has been established for so long, and there are countless pieces of land like this in the names of the Jiangnan gentry."

Emperor Yongjin's plan was indeed to have Chu Shizhao go south to investigate Wang Ruizhen's land case.

Moreover, Emperor Yongjin had long known that the land under Wang Ruizhen's name was all obtained through land donations from the people.

During the Zhou Dynasty, imperial farms, land granted by royal clans, and land of officials all enjoyed certain tax exemptions.

For a country, such a large area of ​​land was donated, with Wang Ruizhen alone owning 100,000 acres of land. This was unacceptable to Emperor Yongjin.

This is equivalent to reducing the country's tax revenue. In addition, if such practices have not been stopped, there will only be more and more such lands in the future. Then, how will the Great Zhou rely on to maintain its finances?
Emperor Yongjin asked Chu Shizhao to investigate this case, no doubt because of Chu Shizhao's submission of the "Memorial on Public Security".

First, Chu Shizhao's "Memorial on Public Security" proved that Chu Shizhao had certain talents, and his starting point was to consider the livelihood of the country.

Second, Chu Shizhao's background was clean enough, so he didn't have to worry about being involved with the gentry or having any connections. Compared with the eldest, second, and third sons of Emperor Yongjin, Chu Shizhao's mother came from a declining poor family.

Emperor Yongjin does not have to worry that Chu Shizhao will collude with the gentry and the aristocratic families to go against Emperor Yongjin.

Third, sending his own prince over proved the attitude of Emperor Yongjin and the royal family.

You, the gentry and aristocratic families in the south of the Yangtze River, can share the money with him, but don't take too much.

The original intention of Emperor Yongjin was just to catch the "main culprit" like Wang Ruizhen, make this case an example, and prevent the trend of land donation from getting worse.

The results of it?
The people of Jiangnan staged a "burning the prince" drama for Emperor Yongjin, and Chu Shizhao escaped death. If he had not been lucky, he would have died in a foreign land.

"The fact that they were able to burn the prince proves that the fourth brother did not collude with them." Emperor Yongjin saw the big picture and immediately sneered.

The fact that Chu Shizhao was burned to death proved that he went south to do the right thing. If Chu Shizhao had negotiated the bargaining chips with these Jiangnan gentry, would he still be burned to death?
It was the fact that Chu Shizhao was burned to death that was enough to show that the situation in the south was not optimistic.

Even as for the rise of the Ant Bandits, Emperor Yongjin felt that the Jiangnan gentry might have contributed to it.

Even if they did not add fuel to the flames, these people probably did not really perform their duties loyally for the court.

The more he thought about it, the more Emperor Yongjin felt that his fourth son was on the same side as him.

Only Chu Shizhao's loyalty to his father, the Emperor, could satisfy the conditions for the "Burning of Jin". If it were any other prince, he would have hesitated and pleaded for Wang Ruizhen in order to win over the nobles.

Emperor Yongjin's face immediately turned gloomy.

He married Wang Conghui in order to gain the support of the gentry as quickly as possible. The Wang family had a high status among the gentry in Guanzhong, so they each sought what they needed and thus formed a political alliance.

Moreover, after the marriage, Emperor Yongjin did receive great support from the Wang family.

Therefore, Emperor Yongjin and Wang Conghui, his Queen Wang, had three legitimate sons.

Chu Shixu, Chu Shiren, and Chu Shiyu.

In name, these are also the three people most likely to inherit the throne.

In fact, long before Wang Conghui, Emperor Yongjin had a first wife named Wei Nian, a girl from a commoner family.

However, after Emperor Yongjin became emperor from a vassal king, his original wife entered the capital, but she died of illness not long after. Later, the legitimate son born to Emperor Yongjin and Wei Nian also died after being made crown prince.

The Emperor Yongjin at that time was eager to stabilize the court, so he married Wang Conghui with the help of the Wang family.

Since Emperor Yongjin had the support of Wang, he naturally concealed the matter of his original wife, Wei Nian.

Emperor Yongjin knew that something was very strange going on here, but he had not broken up with the Wang family and still needed their help to stabilize the court, so he did not investigate further.

Why did Emperor Yongjin never appoint a crown prince and let his eldest son Chu Shixu with Wang Conghui enter the Eastern Palace to supervise the country?

It’s because Emperor Yongjin did not see Chu Shixu’s attitude.

Are these three sons descendants of the Wang family or the Chu family?
If they stand on the side of the Wang family and behind the aristocratic families, then what is the point of any one of them becoming the emperor?
Have they ever thought about the question of whether to be the common ruler of the world or the common ruler of the family?

Emperor Yongjin calculated carefully and found that he still had one year left.

This year was like an invisible pressure on Emperor Yongjin's chest. He had no time, no more opportunities, and he had to make the most correct decision in the shortest possible time.

"Cao Wei, help me undress." Emperor Yongjin closed his eyes, and then his cloudy gaze became clear, and he remained determined.

During his more than twenty years in power, he experienced struggles, revival, temporary glory, and irreparable mistakes.

Sometimes, the more you do, the more mistakes you make, so it’s better not to do it, or to let others do it.

This also made Emperor Yongjin more and more fond of controlling his subordinates to do things for him.

The so-called politics, the so-called power, the so-called fame, the so-called profit.

Emperor Yongjin could be released and have others administer the government for him, seize power for him, gain fame for him, and make profits for him.

Because the power is taken away, the politics is released, the fame is given away, and the benefits are given away.

Whoever can lift it must bear the weight.

If you fail to govern well, you will die. If you get the power but do nothing, you will be deposed. As for the so-called fame and fortune, in the end, whoever gets more will have more responsibilities and will have to take on such responsibilities.

Let the ministers below figure out his intentions.

If it is right, it is right. If it is done well, it means that Emperor Yongjin has made good use of people. If it is wrong, it is wrong. Just push that person out and let him be despised by the people.

The more intense the fight and the more ferocious the snatching, the higher up the throne the person will be, and the more secure his position will be.

And those ministers, for the sake of fame and fortune, will work harder and harder for Emperor Yongjin, in order to trample on others.

This was the way of governing of Emperor Yongjin, and it was also the reason why he was able to maintain peace and stability in the country during his reign.

However, what he had experienced personally made Emperor Yongjin realize that the time he had was getting less and less.

If he does nothing now, it will be too late.

Cao Wei walked into the bedroom and tiptoed to find the casual robe that Emperor Yongjin wore when he lived in the palace all year round. It was a Taoist robe that was quite elegant and casual.

But Emperor Yongjin pointed to the hanging dragon robe and said, "Wear this one."

"Your Majesty, what are you doing?" Cao Wei tried his best to calm himself down, his voice trembling a little because he presumptuously thought that Emperor Yongjin was going to wear that Taoist robe.

He was a servant and he made the decision for his master.

But the current Emperor Yongjin obviously has no time to care about Cao Wei's mistakes. There are too many more important things to do.

"Go ahead, I want to go to the Taimiao." Emperor Yongjin said indifferently.

When the dragon robe was put on, Emperor Yongjin waved his sleeves, as if to tell others - "I am still the emperor."

Rather than the Taoist who only practices Taoism.

Although Cao Wei was somewhat surprised as to why Emperor Yongjin wanted to go to the Taimiao in the imperial city at this time, he quickly retreated and began to call on the people in the palace to escort Emperor Yongjin.

Looking at the dark night outside the palace, Emperor Yongjin took a deep breath and walked outside.

Inside the Imperial Ancestral Temple.

Emperor Yongjin held the incense sticks high in both hands and worshipped his ancestors who were enshrined there.

Before the tablets of ancestors in the Taimiao, there is an ancient and unadorned sword, which is the magic sword symbolizing the authority of the emperor of the Zhou Dynasty.

When Emperor Yongjin offered incense to Emperor Gaozu, he stretched out his hand and placed it under the magic sword.

"Is Wang Ruizhen being held in the imperial prison?" Emperor Yongjin asked, looking at Cao Wei who followed him.

"Yes." Cao Wei replied.

"This sword has stayed in the Taimiao for too long." Emperor Yongjin sighed as he looked at the sword.

"Your Majesty, don't worry. We have been taking care of this magic sword." Cao Wei bowed and said, "It will still be as sharp as ever when it is unsheathed."

Emperor Yongjin drew his sword, and a cold light flashed in front of the Taimiao. Under the illumination of incense, the sharp edge of the sword was eye-catching.

The Emperor Yongjin in front of him suddenly drew his sword, which frightened Cao Wei so much that he stepped back slightly. According to ancestral rules, the magic sword in the Taimiao, which symbolized the authority of the Emperor of the Great Zhou, could only be drawn by the Emperor when the Great Zhou Dynasty was in danger.

Normally, when the servants were nurturing the sword, they were very careful, for fear of causing trouble.

"It really is a magic sword." Emperor Yongjin closed the sword, turned around and looked at Cao Wei again, "What do you think?"

"I..." Cao Wei was so frightened that he couldn't speak, "Your Majesty, what do you want?"

"What do I want?" Emperor Yongjin laughed. He seemed to be back in the Battle of Poyang, and he still remembered the burning feeling of the liquor entering his throat.

"Of course I want to kill people!" The voice of Emperor Yongjin at this time was filled with a chilling coldness.

"They seem to think that I am no longer able to lift a sword and shoulder the responsibility of governing the country?"

The real plot is brewing and laying the groundwork.

So there is a little caveat.

Try to stay up late today.

(End of this chapter)