In Qian'an Hall, the three cabinet ministers were all gathered in the main hall at this moment.
Zhao Yongcheng sat on the throne, looking slightly sad.
"Your Majesty, the prince passed away, and the whole world mourned..."
"But the great events of the world, the common people of China, all bear on the shoulders of the emperor. Please express your condolences and don't hurt the dragon's body!"
The words of Chief Assistant Wang Tinghe made Zhao Yongcheng let out a long sigh.
"My lords, am I really some kind of king of Jie and Zhou? That is why I have caused the wrath of heaven and caused disaster to the genius and the prince?"
The emperor takes the blame on himself, how can his ministers be blameless?
So Wang Tinghe and the others hurriedly bowed down and said: "The emperor's benevolence is due to the stupidity of all the officials, the inability to empathize with the Holy Heart and the inability to sympathize with the people, and even cause natural disasters!"
After Wang Tinghe finished speaking, Xie Xiaofang, the second assistant, continued: "This is all the fault of the ministers. Please don't kill yourself!"
There was some nonsense at the beginning, but this was only on the surface. In reality, the emperor and his ministers were testing each other.
The results of the test, as well as their tone and movements when speaking, were seen by each other and they were used to make judgments.
This is a very mysterious thing that needs to be understood by both monarch and ministers.
"All three dear ladies, please get up!"
Later, Zhao Yongcheng ordered someone to give them seats.
After the three people sat down, Zhao Yongcheng spoke first: "My dearest friends, the prince passed away due to illness, which makes me feel like a knife. I have to rely on you to take care of the funeral!"
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. After this matter is reported, I will urge the Ministry of Rites to handle it according to the regulations!" Xie Xiaofang, the second assistant, replied.
The Ministry of Rites has actually been prepared for this kind of thing, and it requires his personal supervision. This answer is just a response to the emperor's question.
"Since the beginning of spring, everything has been unfavorable, and the country has fallen into decline. Now the prince has passed away, the throne of the prince is vacant, the prince is uncertain, and the country is unstable!"
After saying this, Zhao Yongcheng looked at the three ministers with a serious tone and his eyes were like daggers: "You are my humerus, who do you think you should appoint?"
In the previous battle for succession, the three cabinet ministers had different positions.
The first assistant, Wang Tinghe, firmly supports Lichang, while the second assistant, Xie Xiaofang, is a centrist and sometimes favors Lichang.
The third assistant, Lu Chaowen, had the least qualifications and was promoted to the cabinet by Zhao Yongcheng, so he supported the establishment of Zhao Yanxun.
I thought that half a year ago, the matter of seizing the legitimate son would come to an end, but unexpectedly, this issue has been raised again.
Who should be established?
The left and right are nothing more than establishing leaders, virtuous people, or being loved by the emperor.
Among the three options, Zhao Yanxun is no longer in the capital, so he can naturally be chosen as the emperor's favorite.
So the question comes, among all the dragons and grandsons, who can be recognized as a sage? The answer is no, so Li Xian is also excluded.
Then the only person left to stand was Zhao Yanyuan, the tenth son of the emperor.
But at this time, I only heard Wang Tinghe say: "Your Majesty, such important matters are beyond the scope of my ministers!"
In fact, the three people present had their own ideas, but they didn't intend to speak them out. They became passive as soon as they spoke.
Zhao Yongcheng gradually laughed and said half-jokingly: "Wang Qing, when I wanted to establish a crown prince, you wrote a lot of memorials. Why can't you say it today?"
"Back then, when there was a prince, I could give advice out of public interest. But now that the prince's position is vacant, how can I dare to establish a king? So I dare not speak out today!"
Wang Tinghe spoke beautifully, and Zhao Yongcheng did not chase after him.
"If you don't say anything, then let the officials do it!"
After saying this, Zhao Yongcheng looked at Lu Chaowen on the side and said: "Lu Qing, you come and draft the imperial edict and let all the officials submit it to recommend the crown prince!"
"I obey the decree!"
Nodding, Zhao Yongcheng said: "I've finished talking about the prince. If you have nothing to do, you can leave and go on errands!"
There are many things that need to be discussed in the imperial court, but now is not the time, at least not today.
The three ministers stood up and bowed, then slowly exited Qian'an Palace.
After these three people were inside, Zhao Yongcheng slowly leaned back on the chair, looking indescribably tired.
Zhao Yongcheng is also very confused at the moment about who to establish.
Whether to establish a son or to establish a grandson, to establish an elder or to establish a young child, these opposing factors need to be carefully considered by him.
This time, asking hundreds of officials to submit a report to recommend a candidate for the crown prince was Zhao Yongcheng's ground-breaking operation.
See what the officials think, and then he will take advantage of the situation and establish the crown prince with minimal disturbance.
The imperial court is on the verge of life and death and cannot withstand too many twists and turns!
Besides, the three chief ministers and assistants left the main hall. They only had normal official exchanges with each other and did not mention a word about the opposition to Chu.
They have their own ideas, but they will not say these ideas themselves, but will let their disciples talk about them.
After being in the officialdom for so many years, their intentions are either to move forward with righteousness or hidden among hundreds of officials, never appearing alone.
The emperor opened his mouth this time, which just allowed them to take action on their own.
The three of them returned to the cabinet together, Wang Xie and others handled official duties, while Lu Chaowen began to draft the imperial edict.
After participating in government affairs for many years, Lu Chaowen soon wrote the edict and sent it to Wang and Xie for review.
"If the two pavilion elders have no objections, this edict will be sent to the Zhangyin Prison immediately!" Lu Chaowen said calmly.
In the end, neither Wang nor Xie had any objections, and the edict was sent out of the cabinet.
An hour later, the edict was officially issued, and all the ministries and offices in the capital were informed of the matter.
Many people were mourning the death of the prince and were preparing to pay tribute to the prince. Unexpectedly, one wave of unrest arose again, and the matter of electing the prince came again.
Taoyang Bo's Mansion, in the study room in the back garden.
Cao Yunhui sat on one side and said with a serious expression: "Father, the emperor has decreed that all the distinguished officials in the capital can submit memorials to recommend candidates for the heir apparent. What does my aunt say?"
"Your aunt just sent a message, asking us not to take any action or say anything about this matter for the time being!" Cao Jiasheng said calmly.
At this moment, Cao Yunhui stopped talking.
"If you have anything to say, just say it!" Cao Jiasheng said solemnly.
"Dad... my son thinks that this time is an opportunity for our family. We can't be pushed away by our aunt forever!"
Speaking of this, Cao Yunhui lowered his voice and said: "As long as we stand in the right position, we will be able to support him when the time comes, and the whole family will be rich and worry-free!"
The study could only be silent for a long time. After a while, Cao Jiasheng sighed: "How did the prince die? Have you forgotten?"
Good guy, just this sentence made Cao Yunhui stop and lose hope for the family to get rid of Duan Fei's control.
How the prince died contains two meanings.
First, since Concubine Duan can kill the prince, she has the ability to kill the "disobedient" people in the Cao family.
Secondly, how did the prince die? He was killed by the Cao family, which in itself was a method that could be used to control the Cao family.
"Don't think about all this. Your aunt has already made a plan, so let's not cause any trouble!"
Having said this, Cao Jiasheng sighed again. He was still quite pessimistic about the future.
