Guangzong Yaoming

Chapter 35: The Regent is worried, and the inner Zen is not possible

First, everyone checked on the emperor's current condition: he was still alive, but unconscious.

The emperor was then carried to a dragon couch at the rear side of the main hall of the Qianqing Palace.

Queen Mother Li sat behind the curtain leading to the main hall, and Queen Wang stood nervously beside her.

In the main hall, the throne was empty.

In front of all the ministers, Zhu Changluo was sitting on a chair in front of the throne.

On his side, not far away stood the various eunuchs of the Imperial Household Department, and then the three dukes.

In another, Zhao Zhigao lies prone on the couch, followed by Shen Yikuan and the nine ministers.

The representative of the imperial physician knelt in the middle and presented a detailed report to the future crown prince and a group of ministers.

"…Your Majesty is used to drinking, eating a lot of hot food, and feeling heavy…"

In the end, the emperor's eating habits are not good for health...

This is not what people care about.

"Your Majesty, we heard your decree during the day..."

Even Shen Yikuan had to be careful with his words at this time.

The implication of his words is: Why has the emperor's condition worsened?
Empress Dowager Li raised her eyelids and looked at everyone through the curtain.

They were no longer people she was familiar with.

Nearly twenty years ago, those who were qualified to be seen by her are now old, passed away or dead.

Lowering her eyelids, she spoke indifferently, "The country's foundation has been determined. Imperial Concubine Zheng is ignorant of the general situation, and the emperor cannot rest. This was already the case when I arrived. What's the point of saying this now? As for you, how have you assisted in the administration for so many years? A simple matter has been a fuss until today."

"…I am ashamed…"

Everyone who came here knew that Zheng’s mansion was under siege.

At this point, Empress Dowager Li didn't want outsiders to discuss the royal family's scandals anymore.

Anyway, the Yikun Palace and Zheng Mansion have been surrounded.

It would be better to attribute everything to the chain reaction after the national foundation was established.

Even though Shen Yikuan and his men were blamed for the country's financial difficulties, no one wanted to bring up the dispute between the two men.

Anyway, the foundation of the country has been determined.

Zhu Changluo sat there without saying anything.

"Holy Mother Empress Dowager, your majesty is the emperor, and you can turn misfortune into fortune..." Shen Yikuan spoke again.

"You are all pillars of the country. I summoned you to the palace late at night, not to listen to auspicious words." Empress Dowager Li interrupted him again, "The wind disease is very dangerous. The imperial physician has reported it in detail. The emperor fainted for the second time. State affairs are complicated. We need to make a decision."

She choked up when talking about her second fainting spell.

There was not even a moment to mourn the seriously ill and unconscious emperor. The question that immediately came to everyone's mind was what to do with the Ming Dynasty.

This is what matters.

"...Lord Zhao?" Shen Yikuan turned sideways and asked him to speak.

"Wuwuwu..." Since that clear cry, Zhao Zhigao can only cover his face and cry, and it looks like he will die at any time.

No one was afraid that he would faint from crying, and persuaded the Queen Mother to show mercy and let him go back.

The Empress Dowager and Zhu Changluo had no such intention either.

"Alas..." Shen Yi Guan sighed for someone unknown, "The cabinet has already prepared a decree to enthronize the emperor..."

Tian Yi spoke up: "Before nightfall, I have followed your majesty's order and have it approved and sealed. I am waiting to send it to the government offices tomorrow morning and announce it to the world."

He emphasized that this incident happened before nightfall and was recorded in the Yinshou Bureau.

Shen Yi Guan nodded, got up from his seat and knelt down, "Your Majesty has issued a decree to appoint His Royal Highness, the eldest son, as the Crown Prince. Now that His Majesty has suddenly fallen seriously ill, state affairs urgently need His Majesty's decision. At this extraordinary time, I think that the Holy Mother Empress Dowager should issue an imperial decree, announcing it to the world tomorrow, and then allow Your Highness to supervise the country first, respectfully replace Your Majesty in governing the country, and report all matters to the Holy Mother Empress Dowager, who will review and handle state affairs with the cabinet ministers and the nine ministers."

Zhu Changluo didn't look at him.

Empress Dowager Li did not look at him: "What do you think?"

Starting from the Minister of Rites Yu Jideng, no one spoke.

Zhao Zhigao continued to sob.

"Since you dare not say it, I will say it."

Empress Dowager Li's voice was dry.

She first looked back to the side, then lowered her head and wiped her eyes.

"My son... I'm afraid it's difficult. He has been unconscious for so long. Even if he wakes up, I don't know if he can govern the country."

Empress Dowager Li's words made everyone's hearts beat wildly, and they quickly tried to guess what she meant.

But no one dared to be so rebellious as to propose any outrageous ideas.

What if the emperor wakes up?
"I think that Elder Shen's suggestion is very appropriate." Xiao Daheng also knelt down, "Your Highness the Crown Prince is the regent, this is really a helpless move. Your Majesty is blessed by heaven, so there will be no major problems. Now there is no other way except to let the Crown Prince be the regent."

No one will suggest ruling from behind the scenes.

There has never been such a precedent in the Ming Dynasty.

Yingzong's mother refused, and Empress Dowager Li did not do so either.

Now the only solution is for the Crown Prince to be regent.

It is impossible for the cabinet to act arbitrarily. The courts of the Ming Dynasty were actually very stable, and the only necessary link required was the judgment of the palace.

It doesn't have to be the emperor's will, it just has to be the will of the imperial power in special periods. Zhu Changluo sat there like a wooden man.

In their minds, there is a prince who had no sense of existence in the past and had not received much education, and an empress dowager who has lived in seclusion, devoted herself to worshiping Buddha, and is unaware of the current national conditions.

Zhu Changluo would first look at everything and then ask the Empress Dowager for instructions. With the massive amount of memorials, their eloquence, loyalty to the country and their painstaking efforts, there was no telling how much they could have accomplished.

Yes, several eunuchs in the Imperial Household Department are skilled at it.

But after Feng Bao, no one dared to be so rampant.

The prince who is the regent is still the prince after all. As long as the emperor is still alive, they don't have to be so afraid of the prince and treat him as the emperor.

Instead, we can hold him to higher standards and examine him, accumulate good materials, and when necessary, report directly to the emperor or the empress dowager to restrain him with a persuasive attitude.

After Mr. Xiao finished his speech, the hall fell silent again.

After a long time, Empress Dowager Li's voice came again.

"What if the emperor has difficulty waking up, or has difficulty governing after waking up?"

In fact, she had said this once before, but the meaning was slightly different.

Zhao Zhigao's sobbing became quieter and he looked over there uncontrollably.

Why do you assume this?

He could not move, and all the ministers left their seats and knelt down: "Your Majesty has the will of heaven and the protection of the saints, so there will be no danger!"

Each and every tone was filled with conviction.

Queen Mother Li closed her eyes in pain behind the curtain.

Zhu Changluo looked at them.

No one dares to take on this responsibility.

In the last years of a dynasty, either an entire system has become extremely stable, extremely deterrent and inertial, or it has completely collapsed.

The Ming Dynasty is the former.

No matter what happens locally, the center is so stable.

The last civil official who crossed the red line of his authority was Zhang Juzheng, and he ended up in a miserable way.

Therefore, no one dared to be so rebellious as to assume that the emperor was hopeless and could not recover.

Queen Mother Li spoke with difficulty behind the curtain: "The country cannot be without a ruler for a day..."

This statement immediately aroused the objection of Yu Jideng, the Minister of Rites: "I dare to ask the Holy Mother Empress Dowager to be careful with her words. Your Majesty is seriously ill now, how can we talk about the great succession? Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, there has never been an internal abdication. If Your Majesty wakes up later, how will we deal with it? How will the Empress Dowager and Your Highness deal with it?"

There is one example of an emperor emeritus in the Ming Dynasty, Bao Zong, who returned from studying abroad.

But can it be the same?

The emperor just had a stroke. Although two strokes in one day is hard to bear, what if he survived? What if he woke up and found that the throne was gone? What should he do?
As soon as Yu Jideng opened his mouth, Shen Yikuan immediately echoed him, and every civil official spoke in agreement.

The three dukes said nothing.

Xu Wenbi's heart was racing, and he even felt his breathing was not smooth.

I am willing to continue the sacrifice, I don't want to appear here.

For how many generations has the emperor entrusted his son to another without calling his ministers meritorious officials?
Today is different, once during the day and once at night, what on earth is this for!
Behind him, Duke Chengguo Zhu Dingchen, who had just inherited the title in March this year, and Duke Yingguo Zhang Weixian, who had inherited the title the year before, felt even more suffocated.

What was the Empress Dowager thinking? Why did she imply that the ministers should agree to the draft imperial edict to abdicate?
The situation in the hall seemed to be one-sided. Zhu Changluo stood up, turned around and knelt down towards Empress Dowager Li.

"Grandmother, I also think it's not possible. Father has the will of heaven and the protection of our ancestors, so please don't worry too much."

Through a curtain, his eyes met those of Empress Dowager Li.

He wanted to express that he was capable of doing so and that he could just be the regent.

The ministers will certainly be shocked in the future, as the eldest prince is beyond their imagination.

This is the most flawless way to do it, and the emperor... he has already suffered two strokes, so is it surprising that he fell seriously ill and died again?
But I don’t know if it’s because of the curtain or because we are too far away.

Empress Dowager Li said, "The Crown Prince started school late, and I haven't cared about state affairs for many years. If you are the regent... Tian Yi, Chen Ju, you have served the Emperor for many years and are familiar with state affairs. Can you assist the Crown Prince well?"

Shen Yikuan's eyes narrowed when he heard this. He looked up at the backs of the eldest prince and the future crown prince, then frowned and looked behind the curtain.

First he hinted at internal Zen, then he pointed out the Imperial Household Department.

In such an emergency, was it the unanimous opinion of all the ministers that made the Empress Dowager worry that the Crown Prince, who had no foundation at all, would not be able to hold the government steady and that the imperial power would be threatened?
Or they could commit treason and establish a new emperor to exercise complete authority.

Or they were worried that the imperial power would once again reuse eunuchs and suppress civil servants.

Zhao Zhigao lay on the couch, with four words constantly appearing in his mind: The country is about to end, the country is about to end...

Empress Dowager Li was hesitant: Although Chang Luo was intelligent and had a lot of insights, he had never been involved in state affairs... He was just a regent, and there would be too many troubles...

Shen Yi was always afraid: if the empress dowager forced him to do so, he would have no choice but to resign. Old Zhao pretended to be paralyzed and dead. Was he going to take charge of this internal abdication, which was a precedent in the Ming Dynasty?
At this moment, the palace maid's voice sounded faintly, "The Queen Mother... Your Majesty... is awake..."

Everyone in the hall was shocked, and Zhu Changluo took a deep breath.

Life is indeed tenacious, but nothing can be changed.

From the moment he began to suspect that he was being sidelined, the seeds of suspicion had already been planted.

After Empress Dowager Li bypassed him to investigate Concubine Zheng, there was only one path.

For Empress Dowager Li, there were only two choices: to protect her son or to protect her grandson.

Cruel but realistic.

Zhu Changluo could get up and go over, but the ministers could not.

No one is allowed to enter without being summoned!
(End of this chapter)