Chapter 657

"Crown Prince, servants Su Su Chengsheng and Ma Chengen request an audience..."

Being able to be a servant of the Heavenly Family, calling oneself a "servant", is actually something many people in the Great Zheng Qian cannot ask for.

After all, this is an ancient feudal society that eats people everywhere.

"Come in."

Fang Xing nodded.

Seeing the Chief Eunuch Su Su Chengsheng, who was by the late Emperor's side, bringing his companion Ma Chengen in, he immediately knew something was up.

"Speak..."

He held a teacup in one hand and scraped the tea surface with the cup lid with the other, speaking casually, but with an unquestionable aura of majesty.

"Servant, following the late Emperor's order, manages the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Now the roster is here, I ask the Crown Prince to take a look..."

Su Su Chengsheng knelt down and held a booklet high above his head.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard is actually the Brocade Guard, responsible only to the Emperor, with the power of investigation and arrest, and has always been hostile to dukes, nobles, and civil officials.

If the new Emperor does not accept them, the outcome will probably be very miserable.

"Eunuch Ma, what about you?"

Fang Xing looked at his own Chief Eunuch and sighed.

"Servant also holds the position of Deputy Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard... I ask the Crown Prince to forgive my sin."

Ma Chengen kowtowed repeatedly.

"Father Emperor..."

Fang Xing sighed for a long time: "Truly laying out a long-term plan, even my companion who grew up with me is an Embroidered Uniform Guard..."

"Servant deserves death, but the late Emperor just wanted to protect Your Highness, and Your Highness is purely filial; I am a villain in vain..."

Ma Chengen wept.

As the person monitoring the Crown Prince, he of course knew most of the Crown Prince's privacy, and indeed there was no intention of rebellion.

And this time the Emperor passed away, it had even less to do with the Crown Prince.

It can only be said that his fate was bad. He originally thought the Emperor was in his prime and he would certainly walk before the late Emperor and the Crown Prince, but he didn't expect the will of heaven to be unpredictable...

"You two, the death penalty can be avoided, but the living penalty is hard to escape... All of you will be sent to guard the late Emperor's spirit."

Fang Xing waved his hand, which could be considered raising high and putting down lightly.

"Crown Prince..."

Eunuch Ma was simply weeping, originally thinking he was dead this time, but didn't expect there to be a glimmer of life.

Little did he know, he was the best witness to the Crown Prince's innocence, so Fang Xing naturally had to keep him in case someone with ulterior motives checked.

The 26th year of Jingde.

Today's court meeting was especially different.

The princes who had left the palace to establish their own mansions early, such as Prince Tai Li Li Ruzhang and Prince Kang Li Rujin, had all arrived. Although they had cover, they could still see their haggard appearance.

The hundred officials stood still, arranged in order of civil on the left and military on the right, with dukes, nobles, and civil officials lined up in turn.

"Raise the imperial carriage!"

At this time, accompanied by a eunuch's soft shout, a phoenix chair was lifted to the side of the imperial throne, immediately shocking the group of officials.

"Pay respects to the Empress Dowager!"

The group of officials knelt down in a hurry, and saw the Empress Dowager coming slowly, supported by the Crown Prince, knowing that something major had happened.

"Last night... the Emperor suddenly had a heart attack and unfortunately passed away..."

The Empress Dowager spoke slowly.

"Father Emperor?!"

Li Li Ruzhang immediately wailed: "I want to see Father Emperor! I want to see Father Emperor!"

"Alright, Prince Kang, Prince Tai... after the court meeting, you naturally should go... Now let's discuss the major affairs of the country. The country cannot be without a master for a day. What do you all think?"

At this time, the group of officials saw the Crown Prince standing beside the Emperor's throne; who didn't know the overall situation was settled?

Yuan Zhao took the lead and stepped out: "The Crown Prince's character is precious, with the posture of a dragon and phoenix, and his name and status are righteous; he should naturally ascend to the Emperor's throne."

"Please, Crown Prince, inherit the great unification."

The group of officials knelt down like cutting wheat. Prince Kang and Prince Tai appeared a bit abrupt, but soon suppressed the unwillingness in their hearts and knelt down to worship: "Please, Crown Prince brother, succeed to the throne..."

Fang Xing declined three times as usual, then smiled bitterly: "Sigh... you have harmed me bitterly."

He came before the Emperor's throne, but did not sit down, standing on the side: "Today's court affairs should be prioritized by Father Emperor's funeral... The ancient saying goes, not changing the father's way for three years can be called filial piety. I wish to follow it... From today on, I will attend court to govern, and the appointment and removal of officials above the third rank will be temporarily frozen... Wait until I am familiar with the situation before talking."

Friends who are often Emperors know that the most taboo thing for an Emperor is to make big moves as soon as they take office.

Especially for someone like Fang Xing, who doesn't have the majesty of the founding Emperor, his only orthodoxy lies in being the son of the late Emperor.

This is actually very fragile. If he hasn't come of age, he would truly be taught how to behave by the Empress Dowager and the Empress Grand Dowager...

Even if he had come of age and taken power, and then immediately shouted that I want to implement new policies, I want to seize power, I want to smash the pot, I want to smash many, many people's pots... he would still be beaten like a pig's head. Now that the new Emperor has just been established, grabbing military power and financial power is just wishful thinking.

Military power and financial power ultimately need people to grab them. The most important thing is actually personnel power!

Now Fang Xing's wings are thin, and there are not many people in his inner circle!

It would be good to be able to figure out the palace guards and the Forbidden Army within three years.

Therefore, before becoming Emperor, one must break the situation by any means.

After becoming Emperor, one must sit firmly on the fishing platform.

For example, the newly titled Empress Grand Dowager, she is so old, just waiting slowly will be enough to wait until she dies.

'Thinking that one is the Emperor and everyone must listen to one is actually the most stupid idea... This is as funny as all civil officials certainly forming a party and then being of one mind, just like the Zerg.'

'In fact, it is that everyone underneath has their own little thoughts. Even if you promote a group of people and defeat the original ones, after many years, they will all become vested interests, becoming the group of people you hate the most...'

'And among the civil officials, there are loyal and treacherous ones, and they will even transform at any time... Some are purely that if the Emperor wants you to be loyal, you are loyal, and if he wants you to be treacherous, you are treacherous.'

Fang Xing looked at the people kneeling below, first a few princes.

This is not a big problem. The overall situation is settled, and the name and status are established. If they rebel again, they are true rebels, and the world will attack them together.

Now that the people's hearts are settled, there will be no chaos.

!

Then there are the dukes and nobles.

Thinking of the dukes and nobles, Fang Xing sighed. The ancient battlefield was extremely tragic. Regardless of whether they were small soldiers or generals who came back alive, it's possible they all had a bit of post-traumatic stress disorder. To put it bluntly, they were mental patients who were completely unsuited to the environment of a peaceful era.

Especially these dukes and nobles, who don't know how many heads of rebel kings and fake emperors they have cut off, naturally have no awe for imperial power. Once military power is in their hands, they are immediately unstable factors.

It's no wonder that the founding meritorious groups of all dynasties rarely have a good ending.

'Fortunately, the first generation is a dragon, and the second generation is a worm... The third and fourth generations don't even need to be mentioned, just slowly wait until they die.'

'Among the civil officials, although there are also those who calculated against rebel kings in the chaotic world, they have no power... As long as the head is cut off, the problem is even smaller. A snake cannot move without a head...'

'The so-called snake head is naturally the person who holds the right to speak. Forming a party is very normal, but there cannot be only one party, and balance is needed... Furthermore, if someone has been cultivating a reputation for decades, and the folk scholars are all reciting it, calling him a "Sage", one should pay attention. This is wanting to seize the right to speak... Making him die of illness or something is just right.'

'Keeping the dukes and nobles won't be called mean and ungrateful, and it can also suppress the civil officials... Civil and military also need balance.'

'If the Qing Dynasty didn't have the Eight Banners to suppress the civil officials, how could the Emperor be so comfortable?'

'The so-called Emperor's world, before the development of papermaking and other civilizations, had to give half to the aristocratic families... After education sank to the poor scholars, it had to give half to the civil officials... There was nothing for the real common people.'

'Because only civil officials and military generals are the foundation of rule.'

'If one wants to enlighten the people, that's fine. Everyone reads and is literate, and then the Emperor's crown should fall, and it's possible even the head will fall together.'

'The so-called Emperor and scholar-officials governing the world together, at least they only want half, and universal education and the like, the cost is like a mountain and a sea, not to mention whether ten national treasuries can hold it, and after holding it, it is certainly the end of the Emperor being beheaded...'

'As an Emperor, unless one wants to commit suicide, it is impossible to engage in universal education...'

'Ancient feudal dynasties were all elite education. Of course, if a farmer's son reads and takes the imperial examination, he will be accepted as a member of the elite. The ruling class, in order to maintain rule, will also pay attention to absorbing new blood and updating...'

Fang Xing looked at the people below, his plan already decided: 'The most important point of being an Emperor is to be the referee yourself, never go down to the field, and you will certainly not lose!'

'Furthermore, I am more composed than all previous Emperors, because my great power belongs to myself, so I can use people with confidence, without having to fear that merit will shake the master, or that the cunning rabbit will die and the running dog will be cooked...'

'As long as there is ability, let go and use it, no need to fear...'

After thoughts flashed, Fang Xing spoke calmly:

"Ministers, rise..."

Just as Fang Xing was accepting the worship of many ministers in the court.

In the palace.

"My lord, spare my life, spare my life..."

Several eunuchs were dragged out and beaten to death.

Zhao Hu didn't even frown: "In this palace, it should be cleaned up properly. Daring to spread news outside... truly outrageous!"

"Report, 'Qinghe Hall' has been swept flat..."

A Crown Prince's mansion guard walked over quickly: "The Duke of England has received the edict and headed to the Forbidden Army camp..."

"Good, we, as the Crown Prince's mansion guards, must at least grasp the palace defense in our hands..."

Zhao Hu felt a bit hot in his heart.

He was originally just a squad leader of the Crown Prince's mansion, only the ninth rank.

Now it seems that even a third-rank Great General could be done. This is one person attaining the Tao, and chickens and dogs ascending to heaven.

'Those who are good at fighting have no great merit. The old Duke of England has great influence in the army. Although the late Emperor cleaned it up several times, it was difficult to eradicate it completely. Now inviting the new Duke of England, with the help of the dukes and nobles, can at least ensure the army is not in chaos...'

If the army is not in chaos, there will be no major trouble.

As for palace coups, Xuanwu Gate, etc., they were all secretly arranged, contacted, and eliminated in advance by Fang Xing...

In short, he did not give his opponents any chance, and nipped the danger in the bud.

Now cleaning up the informants in the palace is also cutting off internal and external connections.

Even if that Imperial Concubine had many backhands, now that palace power was lost, it would be ineffective for the most part, and separating her from Prince Tai would be of no use at all.

To outsiders, the coup had no military engagement, which was very boring.

But in reality, if blades were truly drawn, that would be damaging the Great Zheng Qian's vitality and causing the world's living beings to suffer.

(End of chapter)