Chapter 116: Fighting for the Emperor
The imperial capital of the Great Han Dynasty, Yunling City.
The Dahan Dynasty has been established for nearly a thousand years. In this long and heavy history, a total of twenty-one emperors have been replaced, but the capital city has only been the same since ancient times and has never changed.
It is said that the Imperial Capital of Yunling was the foundation of the Great Han Dynasty. It is located on a plateau and is praised by the world as the City in Heaven!
In the heavenly city, in the heavenly palace!
The imperial palace is located at the highest point in the city, with hundreds of stone steps stretching up, and the entire golden palace is as bright as the sun.
Under the stone steps, people can worship every day.
In the palace, the emperor did not go to court early today, and there was no one in the court hall.
On a dragon chair in the health palace.
Wearing a dragon robe, the white-haired old emperor was leaning on him helplessly.
His face was dull and dull, without any luster at all.
His eyes were cloudy and lifeless, staring at the mural of leaping dragons and tigers on the wall in trance.
At this time, a person walked in.
"Old minister, see your Majesty."
This person is of the same age, and his official uniform is decorated with a crane. This is the official uniform of a first-rank official in the court.
"Prime Minister Wei, I have been sleeping for three days. How is the situation in the court?" The old emperor still fixed his eyes on the mural and asked slowly.
"Your Majesty, there has been nothing to do in the court for the past three days. According to your instructions, His Highness the Crown Prince is now handling the affairs of the court on your behalf." Prime Minister Wei respectfully replied.
The old emperor's eyes moved little by little. It seemed that even moving his eyes was extremely difficult for him now.
His eyes finally fell on the Prime Minister in front of him.
"Prime Minister Wei, you are the person I trust most in the court. Please tell me, how confident is Zheng'er that he can successfully ascend the throne after my death." The old emperor asked, his voice a bit unclear.
"Your Majesty is in good health."
As soon as the prime minister opened his mouth, the old emperor frowned and interrupted: "There are only two of us here, so there is no need to say anything more. Just answer my question."
When the Prime Minister saw this, he also changed his words.
"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has been appointed by you. He will abide by the destiny and ascend the throne as emperor. Your Majesty, you can rest assured that when the time comes, even if I die, I will definitely protect the Crown Prince's successful accession to the throne."
"." The old emperor's eyes became colder, and the turbidity on his body dissipated slightly, and he stared at the prime minister in front of him.
"Wei Zhe, in these years since I became emperor, I have promoted you to the position of prime minister and regarded you as my confidant. Why!"
At the end of the sentence, the old emperor's tone became much more serious, like an old lion roaring with all its strength!
“Why did you disobey my order!”
"I don't dare!" The prime minister's expression changed slightly and he knelt on the ground.
After all, the old emperor is still the old emperor. No matter how old he is, he is still the most powerful person in the world!
The aura of an emperor is enough to overwhelm anyone in front of him.
"Don't you dare?" The old emperor's originally bloodless cheeks suddenly turned slightly rosy, and he stared at the prime minister kneeling in front of him.
"You are secretly helping Jing'er, do you think you don't know anything because I am bedridden?"
"Your Majesty, calm down, I have been wronged." The prime minister was shocked, but he quickly defended himself.
"I only work for your majesty. I have never been disloyal. I ask for your Majesty's warning."
As the prime minister said this, he suddenly saw no movement on the dragon throne, and couldn't help but raise his head slightly and look around.
But I saw the old emperor lying on the dragon chair at some point, his eyes open and motionless, without making any sound.
The Prime Minister's heart skipped a beat, and he tentatively called His Majesty twice more, but there was still no response.
He immediately stood up and came closer to confirm thoroughly that the old emperor had passed away so suddenly!
The Prime Minister stood still with his sleeves rolled up, his mind suddenly became more active, and he completely let go of his original worries, and murmured to himself.
"Your Majesty, you don't know something. The prince is unruly and cannot tolerate me in his heart. How can I support him.
If the prince really succeeds in ascending the throne, it will be a dead end for the old minister!
You should also understand me, everything I did was just for self-protection."
He expressed his truest thoughts, but the old emperor was destined not to hear him.
The news of the emperor's death did not reach the palace immediately.
At first, only the six powerful princes knew about it.
then.
The imperial palace was sealed off, and people lurking outside Yunling City, in various states and counties, received orders immediately.
Many county guards led their troops towards Yunling City!
The world is in complete chaos at this moment!
When the storm comes, it will take the huge imperial capital as the center and quickly sweep away in all directions.
Donglai County, where Song Changming is located, is located in a remote area. When the news from the imperial capital came, it was already the beginning of autumn in July.
Liuzhai, in the courtyard.
Liu Dingsheng and Song Changming sat opposite each other at the stone table.
There was a chess game on the table, and some yellowed leaves fell on the chess board, and were pushed aside by Song Changming.
Snap!
Liu Dingsheng pressed down a piece, thinking that he was a good chess player. He proudly picked up the tea in the cup and drank it with a smile.
After a while, Song Changming shook his head and surrendered. "Senior's chess skills are superb, but I lost again."
"Haha, that's right, Chang Ming. You've made a lot of progress recently. It's not easy for me to win this time." Liu Dingsheng smiled while stroking his beard.
Song Changming looked at the massacre on the chessboard and was speechless.
It's not easy to win.
He had not studied too much about chess before and was only at the stage where he could play it.
Liu Dingsheng, on the other hand, has studied chess for decades, and it goes without saying that his chess skills are strong.
It just so happens that this old guy also loves to torture vegetables.
After learning that Song Changming could play chess, he often invited Song Changming to come and make chess pieces for him.
Song Changming accepted it readily, and he could use this excuse to ask Liu Dingsheng for advice again and again.
As for being abused on the chessboard, you will get used to it after doing it many times.
"Sir, there is news from the Imperial Capital." Suddenly, a Liuzhai martial artist wearing a short shirt walked in and closed his mouth when he saw Song Changming.
"Senior, I'll take my leave first." Song Changming stood up with a discerning gesture.
"Hey, how can we leave after just one game? It doesn't matter, Zi Wen, just say it bluntly." Liu Dingsheng motioned for Song Changming to sit down, and then said to the warrior.
When the warrior saw this, he had no choice but to report the shocking news he had just learned.
"There is news from the Imperial Capital that the guards of the surrounding counties suddenly set off with their troops and horses one after another towards the Imperial Capital!"
"Oh!" Liu Dingsheng put down his tea cup and said after thinking for a moment.
"These county guards have all lined up for a long time. The only ones who can mobilize them now are the six princes. They are the ones who mobilized their troops."
Song Changming was listening on the sidelines, and a thought suddenly came to his mind, and he couldn't help but speak out.
"Could it be!"
Liu Dingsheng saw what Song Changming was thinking and nodded: "This is the most likely result. Something happened to the Holy Emperor today, and it is not the same as before when he was bedridden."
He said it rather tactfully.
In fact, what he was thinking was that the old emperor probably died this time!
If this were not the case, the six princes would not dare to force their troops to enter the capital!
This is a treasonous move, in order to fight for the throne that no one is sitting on.
At this moment, the six princes could be said to have completely broken the surface calm, and they were also at odds with each other.
It can be foreseen that the ensuing battle for the throne will inevitably be a river of blood. Either you die or I die.
"I just hope that the new emperor will ascend the throne soon and stabilize the overall situation, otherwise the world will be in chaos." Liu Dingsheng lamented the uncertainty of the world, and suddenly looked at Song Changming and said.
"By the way, Chang Ming, I would like to remind you that your Lord Zhuang, including the county guard and the captain, are actually people sent by the fifth prince and belong to his direct lineage."
"Fifth Prince" Song Changming was stunned for a moment.
He could guess that after the Xiao family was destroyed, Sheriff Xun, Zhuang Ren and others who came from the imperial capital must have been appointed by a certain prince.
However, he originally guessed it was the second prince.
After all, the second prince was the mastermind behind the destruction of the Xiao family.
It is reasonable to spend so much effort to destroy the Xiao family and then arrange for one of their own to succeed Donglai County Governor.
But Liu Dingsheng said that Zhuang Ren and the governor were backed by the fifth prince, which was beyond his expectation.
I don’t know how the fifth prince got involved in Donglai County back then.
But no matter what, Donglai County is relatively calm for the time being.
Donglai County Governor did not receive an order to send troops to the imperial capital at this time, which means that the fifth prince also knew that Donglai County was located in a remote location. When Donglai County Governor received his order, he would send troops to support him. It's cold.
There is no expectation that Dongnae County Sheriff will be able to play a role at this important time point.
Except for Donglai County, all remote prefectures and counties were temporarily put aside. They stood still and watched the results in the imperial palace from a distance.
Not only the governors of the prefectures and counties, but also well-informed people like Liu Dingsheng were always paying attention to the news coming out of the imperial capital.
Until everything is settled, no one can judge what the world will be like in the future.
"Senior, who among the six princes do you think can ascend the throne and proclaim the emperor this time?" After the conversation reached this point, Song Changming simply continued to ask.
During these days, through many contacts with Liu Dingsheng, an old man, he also learned a lot about the outside world.
People in the past and present can listen to Liu Dingsheng's clear and logical explanation.
Therefore, whenever he thinks of something now, Song Changming will instinctively ask Liu Dingsheng and listen to his answer.
"That is the current crown prince." Liu Dingsheng said with certainty.
"He is the prince appointed by the late emperor. He is inherently closer to the throne than the other five princes, and the late emperor will inevitably pave the way for him. As long as this prince is not too stupid, he will definitely be the most likely to become the final winner. of."
Song Changming didn't think so. Over the years, he had also gone through the past history of the Great Han Dynasty and couldn't help but ask: "Then the former emperor was the prince back then?"
"Uh" Liu Dingsheng was speechless for a moment, and then defended: "During the time of the previous emperor, it was the prince who was too stupid, and that's why the throne passed into the hands of the previous emperor."
"Maybe." Song Changming glanced at the chessboard on the table and continued: "But I think it is precisely because the prince is closest to the throne that he easily becomes the most eye-catching target at the beginning. The other five princes will take the lead in attacking him. Allow him.
He wants to become emperor, but it is the most difficult thing. "
(End of chapter)