Chapter 24 True and False
The Palace of Qinzheng is the place where the emperor and his ministers deal with government affairs. Han Ruzi came here once on the day of his ascension to the throne, and caught up with the accident that the eunuch Liu Jie died to protect the seal. After that, there was no chance of connecting to the Palace of Qinzheng.
Until today, a defeat in Kanto made Han Ruzi come to Qinzheng Hall for the second time, and finally saw the Queen Mother herself.
There were more people in the hall than last time, apart from Grand Tutor Cui Hong who was leading the troops outside, the four Gu Ming ministers all came, and there were more than 20 civil servants and military generals, but the chief commander of the Southern Army, Ma Guanxu, was nowhere to be seen. At the critical moment, the queen mother did not call her brother.
The most unusual thing is that there are very few eunuchs in the hall, only Yang Feng, Jing Yao, and Zuo Ji, and the ministers have an absolute advantage in number.
This time the Queen Mother did not hide in the Tingzheng Pavilion, but sat on the throne, facing the ministers. In fact, the Empress Dowager participates in politics every day and has met the ministers. The only person who has never seen the Empress Dowager is the Emperor.
The Empress Dowager looked very young, if she hadn't looked dignified and was dressed in an overly formal attire, some people would believe that she was less than thirty years old.
The king of Donghai once complained in private that as long as the queen mother is present, his father will not look at others. Han Ruzi now thinks this sentence is too exaggerated. From the perspective of a thirteen-year-old boy, the queen mother is indeed very beautiful. But it was not so beautiful that people couldn't look away. At least none of the ministers in the room cared about the Queen Mother's appearance, and they were all arguing fiercely with each other.
As soon as the emperor appeared, the ministers quieted down, retreated to the two sides, and ranked in order, with Prime Minister Yin Wuhai taking the lead, kneeling and kowtowing.
The tablets in the Ancestral Temple can also be treated and worshiped with courtesy, but they are just dead objects after all, not the incarnation of the late emperor, and the worshipers will forget them after they walk out of the Ancestral Temple. Right now, Han Ruzi is no different from a moving tablet, which was handed over to the Empress Dowager personally by Shangguan Empress Dowager.
The throne was wide enough to seat three adults. Han Ruzi stepped aside intentionally, but the Queen Mother stretched out her hand and pulled her over.
The Empress Dowager Shangguan stood beside the Queen Mother, holding on to the wrist of the King of the East China Sea. In this way, the Shangguan sisters held Emperor Huan's two sons tightly in their hands.
The brothers and sisters of the Meng family and the three eunuchs separated to the left and right, forming the only protective circle. Meng Che did not wear the costume of a court lady this time, but appeared in the costume of a guard.
Jingyao, the supervisor of the central government, announced his dismissal, and the officials stood up, and after a moment of silence, several ministers raised their heads to look at the emperor, their eyes full of curiosity and doubt.
Han Ruzi was also puzzled. After all, he was the emperor in name, and the queen mother was sitting beside him. Why were these ministers so rude, and the queen mother didn't respond?
Slowly, the ministers began to quarrel again,
The inspector on the right, Shen Mingzhi, waved the wat board in his hand and shouted at a minister in his thirties, continuing his previous accusation: "Cui Taifu led 200,000 troops, conscripted nearly 400,000 civilians from ten counties, and the Qi king's army was only a dozen or so. Wan, guarding Linzi alone, it is clear at a glance which one is stronger and which one is weaker. Taifu Cui has been unable to attack for a long time, which has already caused the world to be in shock and uncertainty. The sudden defeat of the army will put the court in danger, which is very suspicious!"
The accused minister blushed, but he didn't dare to argue directly. He knelt down and kowtowed to the Queen Mother, "The Queen Mother is aware that only the Taifu of the Cui family is leading the army, and all his family members are staying in Beijing. Although the Taifu is trapped for a while, he will be able to Gathering the Heavenly Soldiers and fighting the King of Qi again, we will not let the rebels approach the capital, let alone put your Majesty and the Queen Mother in danger. If you don’t believe inside, you won’t stand outside..."
Yang Feng bent down and introduced to the emperor softly: "Jiang Juying, Minister of the Ministry of War, is the son-in-law of Taifu Cui."
Han Ruzi understood, and glanced at the Queen Mother out of the corner of his eye, wanting to see how she would resolve this crisis.
The mother's hand was always warm and soft, but the queen mother's hand was wet and cold, and it was uncomfortable to be held by it. Han Ruzi couldn't help wondering if the queen mother was sick.
The queen mother did not speak, and the quarrel among the ministers gradually expanded. Some stood on the side of the right inspector Shi Shenmingzhi and reprimanded the Cui family, and many people defended Taifu Cui.
Yang Feng quietly introduced the minister's name, official position and brief background. The queen mother heard it and did not stop it.
The general structure of the imperial court gradually emerged before Han Ruzi's eyes. What made him feel strange was that several ministers who should be members of the Cui family were full of righteous indignation and criticized the Tai Fu Cui Hong, even more excited than the right patrol censor Shen Mingzhi.
More ministers are holding both ends, waiting for the situation to become clear.
The one who can decide right from wrong is the Empress Dowager, but she has never shown her attitude, and occasionally she speaks, ordering a silent minister to express her opinion, and finally she calls the Prime Minister Yin Wuhai: "Prime Minister Yin, you are the official of all officials. Chief, why have you been refusing to speak?"
The Empress Dowager has more experience in governing than many ministers expected. It is impossible to pretend to be confused in front of her. Yin Wuhai has more contact with the Empress Dowager, and he has a deep feeling about it. "I don't dare to hide my personal information. It's just that the matter is too big. There is not much news from Qi, and there are many conflicts between them. It seems that this news alone is not enough to draw a conclusion."
"The sages know what they know. Your lords are all important ministers of the country selected by the late emperor. Even if you can't be called a sage, you should get close. No matter how much news there is, it is always true that Qi's war is unfavorable. The prime minister is your majesty's arm. Keeping your hands silent makes His Majesty helpless."
Yin Wuhai hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed to plead guilty, his trembling voice became heavier, "According to my humble opinion, Taifu Cui was accidentally defeated by the King of Qi. If he can collect the remnants, it seems that he can still fight again. Although the King of Qi won, there were many casualties , although the momentum is strong, it may not be able to drive to the capital for a long time. Let's wait and see..."
A military general in his twenties strode up to the prime minister and said angrily: "Wait and see, wait and see, and wait and see, and the Qi soldiers will reach the gate of the city. Queen Mother, give me a hundred thousand elite soldiers, and I am willing to fight against the rebels. If you don’t behead the king of Qi, you are willing to be punished by military law!”
Yang Feng only said his name in the emperor's ear: "Shangguan Sheng."
Needless to say, this is a relative of the Empress Dowager, and it has not been long since he obtained an official position.
The queen mother did not respond, Shangguan Sheng became more and more annoyed, and pointed at Cui Hong's son-in-law Jiang Juying with the wat board in his hand, "I only have one condition, arrest all the members of the Cui family, and don't give them a chance to cooperate internally and externally."
This sentence offended a lot of people, and the ministers refuted it in a hurry, and some people kowtowed to the queen mother, shouting "Cui is not guilty".
The Hall of Qinzheng suddenly became chaotic. This is not the first time Han Ruzi has seen such a scene. He understands why the queen mother seldom speaks and has been reluctant to show her attitude. The queen mother's mind is unpredictable, and the position of the ministers is even more difficult to judge , everyone is hiding their own thoughts, trying to figure out the thoughts of others, and the quarrels that seem to be farce actually hide subtle wisdom.
Han Ruzi still can't understand it for the time being, he has to participate in political discussions more frequently to figure out the rules.
Jing Yao stepped forward and waved the whisk in his hand a few times, which indicated that the Queen Mother was really going to speak, and it would be the long-awaited conclusion. The ministers immediately shut up and knelt down in unison.
The queen mother turned her head and glanced at the emperor, as if asking him if he had something to say, but Han Ruzi pretended not to see, and closed his lips tightly. Compared with the old foxes in the room, he was just a little fox who had just walked out of the lair. Beast, Yang Feng reminded correctly, the only thing he should do now is to listen more and talk less.
"Call Han Ling to the palace."
As soon as the queen mother said this, the ministers kneeling below all raised their heads in surprise and exchanged glances with each other.
Yang Feng said to the emperor: "The son of King Qi."
Han Ruzi remembered that when he ascended the throne, the princes from all over the world came to congratulate him. The king of Qi claimed that he was not yet sick, and the elder son Han Ling who replaced him in the pilgrimage must have had no time to escape after the assassination.
Jing Yao went to summon him, and not long after, two halberd-wielding warriors escorted a person into the hall.
Han Ling was in her thirties, tall and fat, wearing a red court dress, standing with her head held high, refusing to kneel down, it seemed that she didn't suffer much after being imprisoned, and she had heard the news about King Qi's great victory.
The queen mother did not force the prince of Qi to kneel down, but glanced at the officials, and said: "The king of Qi claimed that the emperor was a fake, and said that the emperor was pushed into the well after he ascended the throne. Prince Qi, do you still recognize the emperor?"
When the emperor ascended the throne, the son of King Qi was one of the first princes to congratulate him. Han Ruzi didn't remember him, but Han Ling recognized the emperor. He sneered and said, "Why is the queen mother like this? False is false. She was false when she ascended the throne. Now It can't become real either."
Han Ling turned to the ministers in the hall, "My lords, you must see clearly, don't kneel down to the wrong person, Da Chu Jiangshan's surname is Han, not Shangguan."
Shangguan Sheng was furious, he got up and was about to throw himself at Han Ling, but the Queen Mother took a look and knelt down again.
The Empress Dowager was not angry, "How can you admit that the present day is real?"
"It's actually quite simple. The Empress Dowager handed over the emperor to the elders of the clan. We, the Han family, will know if this son is the Empress of Emperor Huan."
The queen mother was silent for a while, and said to Han Xing, one of the ministers of Gu Ming, "Han Qing's family is the same generation as Emperor Wu, so they can be regarded as the elders of the clan."
Han Xing immediately said: "Today's son is the second son of Emperor Huan, as recorded in the genealogy, there is no doubt that the father and son of Qi have deceived the public with false rumors, and the crime is heinous."
Han Ling laughed loudly, "Old thief Han Xing, what benefits did the Shangguan family give you? You even sold your ancestors? Empress Dowager, you hold the emperor in your hand, who dares to say 'no'? To distinguish the truth from the false, Empress Dowager You have to step aside first."
The queen mother is still not angry, and she will not step aside, "Your family has seen that King Qi and his son are stubborn, and they must put my mother and son to death. The day before yesterday, King Qi sent a guest to assassinate him. Stay in the confinement room, and learn the art of civil and martial arts with the noble children every day. Today the emperor is in person at the Palace of Qinzheng, so if anyone has any doubts, feel free to ask."
The ministers had no doubts, Han Ling laughed even louder, and pointed at the young man beside the queen mother, "You say he is the emperor? He doesn't even dare to say a word, what kind of emperor is he?"
Just as the queen mother was about to speak, the emperor stood up and gently shook off her hand.
Han Ruzi didn't intend to do this at first, he just wanted to listen and didn't want to talk, but suddenly he had an idea and felt that this was a rare opportunity for him to speak in front of the officials without being coerced by the Queen Mother.
"I am the son of Emperor Huan and the grandson of Emperor Wu, I can prove it."
Han Ruzi's heart was pounding, but he still couldn't help looking at the Queen Mother. The moment he shook off the Queen Mother's palm, he clearly saw a wound on her wrist.
(seeking collection and recommendation)