We have fought to the Arctic Circle, and you want me to inherit the throne?

Huang Jin was so angry at Li Huan's distortion of right and wrong that he trembled all over, but he had no way to refute it.

It is a fact that Li Huan was plotting a rebellion, but Your Majesty, for various reasons, did not make a public announcement to the world. Instead, he was placed in the position of crown prince.

Legally speaking, Li Huan is indeed the nominal crown prince at this moment, and he occupies the position of righteousness.

If something happened to Emperor Qing at this moment, it would be legal for Li Huanling to succeed him as emperor, and even the most strict Confucian scholar would not be able to find fault with him.

Of course, the prerequisite is that Li Huan is willing to bear the infamy of regicide and father-killing, and has a way to deal with the Fengtian Army entrenched in the north and outside the Great Wall.

Huang Jin staggered back a few steps, his lips trembling, unable to utter a word.

Li Huan stopped looking at him and glanced at the courtiers in front of him with different expressions. He spoke softly:

"The Emperor is seriously ill, and state affairs cannot be neglected. I will temporarily take charge of state affairs. Do you have any objections?"

As soon as the words fell, dozens of officials stepped out from the crowd, bowed respectfully, and said in unison:

"Your Highness, I pay my respects to His Majesty the Crown Prince!"

"The country cannot be without a leader for a day. Your Highness, please take charge of the situation!"

Most of these people are from aristocratic families, and they obviously knew that such a scene would happen today.

However, not everyone gave in.

Since ancient times, civil officials have died for their advice, and there has always been no shortage of literati who dared to sacrifice their lives for the sake of righteousness in every dynasty.

An imperial censor stiffened his neck, his hair standing on end in anger, and pointed at Li Huan and cursed:

"Traitor! You are usurping the throne! This is treason! As long as His Majesty is still alive, when will it be your turn..."

Before he could finish his words, he was grabbed tightly by his colleague next to him.

However, it was too late. Li Huan just glanced to the side, and two guards came forward and took the censor away.

The censor continued to curse: "You traitor! You are disloyal and unfilial, unworthy of being the son of His Majesty. You will die without a burial place!"

Li Huan waved his hand, and two guards pulled the censor away.

Even if Li Huan had done such a rebellious thing, he would never dare to execute the censor in public.

But the censor would definitely not have a good end if he was taken away.

When the officials who wanted to agree saw this scene, they fell silent.

Just like what Li Che encountered a few years ago, when he hit his head against the pillar, didn’t all the civil and military officials in the court know that he was wronged?

But no one stood up to speak for him.

At this moment, another person stepped forward and stood in front of Li Huan in the astonished eyes of the ministers.

This man is still young, but he stands straight.

It was Huo Duanli, the son of the Right Prime Minister Huo Tao and the head of the Gunpowder Bureau.

Huo Duanli showed no fear as he glared at the officials who were vassal to the crown prince and Li Huan:

"You are disloyal people who have no respect for your king or your father. Your Majesty is only slightly ill, yet you are so eager to join the King of Shu and commit such a rebellious act!"

"Aren't you afraid of being spurned by the world? Aren't you afraid that His Royal Highness will return with his army to settle accounts with you?!"

The atmosphere in front of the hall suddenly became tense.

Huo Duanli directly pointed out Li Huan’s previous title, which completely denied the legitimacy of Li Huan’s position as crown prince.

If that were all, it wouldn't be a big deal.

He just followed in the footsteps of the imperial censor, was dragged away by the guards, and then disappeared in the imperial city.

But Huo Duanli also brought up Li Che who was far away in the northern border.

This is different. Prince Feng’s deterrence is real. The hundreds of thousands of troops are Prince Feng’s largest ceremonial guard.

As soon as these words were spoken, not only did the ministers of the aristocratic families stop talking, but even Li Huan stopped smiling.

This Huo family is truly a die-hard royalist. Aren't they afraid of death?!

At this moment, an old and steady voice sounded:

"Master Huo, this is wrong."

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice in disbelief, only to see the Left Prime Minister Du Fuchen, who had been silent all this time, slowly walking out of the crowd.

He walked steadily, bowed slightly to Li Huan, and then turned to the crowd:

"Your Highness was personally appointed Crown Prince by His Majesty. His title was determined long ago, and he is not the King of Shu."

"Your Majesty is now recuperating, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is governing the country as the Crown Prince, following the ancestral system. How can there be any talk of usurping the throne or plotting rebellion?"

"Master Huo, please don't act on impulse and speak nonsense, as this could lead to a huge mistake."

As soon as these words came out, the whole hall was shocked.

Du Fuchen, the left prime minister, is the head of civil officials!

He actually...actually openly sided with the Crown Prince?!

At this moment, the last glimmer of hope in the hearts of those court officials who were still hesitating and waiting was completely shattered.

Even Prime Minister Du has defected. At least in this imperial capital, the Feng Wang faction is doomed!

Right Prime Minister Huo Tao looked at his old friend and colleague beside him. His gray beard trembled slightly and finally turned into a long sigh.

Unexpectedly, the two of them finally came to this point, and in this way.

The Du family is, after all, a noble family.

Not only the Du family, but also his wife Lu is from a very powerful family.

From a national perspective, Du Fuchen admired Li Che very much and even hoped that Li Che would succeed to the throne and lead Daqing forward.

But when it comes to political stance, the butt ultimately determines the head.

Du Fuchen saw clearly that once this Prince Feng came to power, it would be questionable whether the aristocratic families in Daqing could survive.

Seeing that Du Fuchen was indeed on his side, Li Huan's smile deepened.

He walked to Huo Tao and stopped, saying respectfully, "Prime Minister Huo, Prime Minister Du has made his position clear."

"You are a trusted minister of the Emperor, a veteran of three dynasties, and highly respected. Do you think... is it appropriate for me to serve as regent?"

In an instant, everyone's eyes were focused on Huo Tao.

Huo Tao raised his cloudy old eyes and looked at the prince in front of him with a gentle smile.

He also saw two guards who had quietly walked behind Huo Duanli at some point.

Huo Tao is not afraid of death, and at his age he no longer seeks fame.

Although resisting at this time would certainly make him famous throughout history, the hundreds of people in the Huo family would probably be destroyed.

Huo Tao knew that he only had a few years left to live, but Duanren, Duanxiao, Duanli and others still had to live.

He trembled and bowed deeply, and said in a hoarse voice:

"Old minister Huo Tao is over seventy years old, his energy is fading, and he is no longer of any benefit to the country or the court."

"I beg Your Highness... to grant me the grace to retire and return home to retire."

As soon as these words were spoken, the whole place fell silent.

Begging for his remains at this time was both a way to protect himself and Huo Tao's final protest.

He was unwilling to go along with the crowd, but he didn't dare to fight against it with a sledgehammer, so he could only retreat.

However, the smile on Li Huan's face disappeared in an instant, replaced by a cold and sinister look.

He stared at Huo Tao, his voice turned cold, and he said word by word:

"No."

These two words made everyone's heart tremble.

When a minister begs to retire, even if the king wishes he would leave immediately, he still has to pretend to keep him to show his favor to the old minister.

The prince actually rejected the retirement request of a veteran of three dynasties on the spot!

what does this mean?

This means that he didn't even give Huo Tao a chance to retire safely!

This means that this right prime minister, I'm afraid...

The ministers were silent as a mouse, even their breathing was lightened, and many of them were trembling and could hardly stand.