Nine dragons fight for the throne, I don't want to sit on this throne

The night was gloomy and the wind was biting.

The cold winter wind blows in your face, making you feel biting and painful.

On a night that should have been completely silent, the sound of chaotic footsteps could be heard on the streets of Kyoto.

There were the sounds of horse hooves, footsteps, and urging voices.

"Hurry up, hurry up!"

"Your Majesty, please summon us immediately when you return to the palace. It must be something important. If you are late, I will hold you accountable."

The civil officials sitting in the sedan chair kept urging the bearers, while the military generals who could ride horses kept urging their horses to speed up.

In just two quarters of an hour, many officials gathered at the gate of the palace.

"Master Zhang, do you know why His Majesty summoned us?"

"I heard that His Majesty went to the Prince of Chu's Palace to stop the fight between General Xiahou and the Prince of Chu. Perhaps he summoned us for this matter."

"It looks like there will be trouble tonight. I wonder how His Majesty will punish the King of Chu."

"Who said that Your Majesty will definitely punish the King of Chu? Will He not punish the Xiahou family?"

The ministers were discussing this matter, and some thought that when the emperor returned and saw this situation, he would definitely punish Chu Ning severely.

After all, it was Chu Ning who killed the general first, which led to all this.

But some people also think that since Xiahou Yan led his troops to besiege the Prince of Chu’s Palace, how could the emperor let him go easily?

For a while, everyone was arguing about this matter and heading towards the palace while arguing.

Inside the Yangxin Hall.

The emperor sat in the main seat, while Chu Ning and Xiahou Yan, the two parties involved, stood opposite each other in the hall.

At this moment, Xiahou Yan had already received treatment from the imperial physician. His shoulder, which was pierced by Ran Ming, had been bandaged and his complexion had improved a lot.

The ministers came into the hall and asked the two men to stand in the middle. They were tactful enough to stand on both sides.

"See Your Majesty!"

"My dear ministers, there is no need to be so polite."

Sitting on the main seat, the emperor glanced at everyone and said calmly, "Do you know what happened between the Xiahou Family and the Prince of Chu's Mansion today?"

As soon as these words came out, the prince's face changed, and he quickly stood up and said, "Father, when I learned that General Xiahou Yan was leading the army in this way, I immediately went to mobilize the soldiers of the city defense camp to stop them, but before I could mobilize the troops, they had already started fighting."

As the prince regent, if he did not come forward to explain what happened in the city, the emperor would be the first to hold him accountable.

But this statement made the emperor snort coldly: "How many hours will it take for you to go to the city defense camp to mobilize troops?"

"This..." The prince was suddenly speechless and unable to explain.

The emperor's eyes turned cold: "I think you want to let them fight on purpose, right?"

The prince's face changed drastically, and he immediately knelt on the ground: "Father, I definitely did not mean that. I just..."

"enough!"

The emperor slammed his right hand on the table and shouted angrily, "How long are you going to keep quibbling?"

"As the crown prince, not only did you fail to handle this matter properly, but you let them kill each other. You have greatly disappointed me."

"Come here, take the prince away and give him twenty heavy sticks. For the next month, the prince is not allowed to go anywhere in the East Palace!"

At one order, the prince was placed under house arrest.

Suddenly, two black-armored imperial guards came to the palace and dragged the prince away.

Then, the sound of beating and the prince's screams were heard outside the palace.

This scene made all the ministers' faces change drastically and they were shocked.

No one expected that the emperor would beat the prince as soon as he arrived!

The princes were even more panic-stricken, fearing that the emperor would beat them as well.

After all, it was impossible for them not to know about such a big thing, but they still chose to stand by and watch.

Just as the princes were trembling with fear, the emperor looked at them and said coldly: "And you, why didn't you send someone to stop this?"

The princes learned their lesson this time. No one dared to speak out, for fear of being the first to be criticized.

But their silence only made the emperor even angrier. "Do you think I can't do anything to you if you don't speak?"

"Humph, the Prince Chu's Mansion was surrounded, and you didn't even try to stop it. As princes, you have brought shame to the royal family!"

"Come here, drag these rebellious sons away and punish them twenty times!"

A group of black-armored imperial guards rushed up. The princes did not dare to resist and were dragged away by them.

As the sound of beating was heard again, the screams of the princes also rang out.

This scene made all the ministers' faces change drastically.

As soon as the emperor came back, he started taking action against the crown prince and other princes. No one knows if it will be their turn next.

Just when everyone was feeling threatened, the emperor looked at them and said indifferently:

"My Lords, why didn't you stop the conflict between the Chu Palace and the Xiahou Family?"

The ministers were shocked and dared not answer. They could only look at the Prime Minister and the Grand Tutor.

Among the officials in the court, only these two are their backbone.

The Prime Minister and the Grand Tutor looked at each other, and then the Grand Tutor stepped forward and saluted:

"Your Majesty, both the Chu Palace and the Xiahou Family have troops, and the two sides have deep grievances. I am old and dare not stop them without authorization."

The emperor's mouth twitched.

This old guy is actually taking advantage of his age.

But this is his teacher after all, and he cannot lose face for the teacher in front of everyone.

The emperor snorted coldly, turned to look at the prime minister and asked, "Prime Minister, what about you?"

Yang Wende smiled bitterly and said, "Your Majesty, during the time you were away from Kyoto, I assisted His Royal Highness the Crown Prince in handling state affairs. I happened to be away from the city today, and it was too late to hear about this matter when I came back."

The emperor raised his eyebrows.

What a pair of old foxes they are, they always try to shirk all responsibility. There is no reason to cause trouble for them.

However, this should be enough of a show of force, and no one will oppose his decision from now on.

The emperor narrowed his eyes and said calmly, "I see. You have really worked hard during this period, Prime Minister."

"I dare not. This is what I should do." Yang Wende smiled awkwardly and returned to the train.

The ministers immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

The emperor did not punish the tutor and the prime minister, so naturally he would not punish them either.

Only Chu Ning frowned at this moment, looking thoughtful.

There is something wrong with the emperor today!

It's not logical to attack the crown prince and other princes as soon as you come back.

What exactly is the emperor up to?

And judging from his actions just now to intimidate the Grand Tutor and the Prime Minister, the Emperor obviously has a backup plan.

The emperor came back at the right time this time, and he must have been paying attention to the situation in the city. Now Xiahou Yan is the only one left in the Xiahou family. Does he still want to support the Xiahou family?

Just as Chu Ning was deep in thought, the emperor looked at his ministers.

"My dear ministers, why didn't you stop this?"

The faces of the ministers changed drastically, and they all knelt on the ground: "We are incompetent, please forgive us, Your Majesty."

The emperor listened to them coldly and did not speak for a long time. The atmosphere on the scene suddenly became weird.

It was not until a long time later that the emperor shook his head and said, "Forget it, you don't have many people, so you naturally dare not stop it.

But this will not happen again. If it happens again, I will never let you off easily!"

At this point, the emperor paused, and then said: "Next, let's talk about Chu Ning and Xiahou Yan!"

Chu Ning narrowed his eyes and finally got to the point.