Chapter 663: Succession
Chapter 663: Succession (Additional Chapter for Subscriptions)
"This plan is good..."
King Tai's eyes lit up. "Perhaps the Crown Prince will panic tonight? That would really be hilarious..."
He almost didn't hesitate, ready to choose the middle plan: "We'll stay put for now, and... immediately send people to gather intelligence, both inside and outside the palace, at any cost!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Mr. Wu sighed inwardly, about to leave, when King Tai asked, "What about the worst plan?"
"The worst plan would be to mobilize all our troops, ambush at the palace gates, and kill the Crown Prince, then force our way into the palace..."
Mr. Wu sighed again.
King Tai shook his head vigorously. "My troops are fewer than the Eastern Palace Guard, and they might not dare to attack the Crown Prince... Even if we kill the Crown Prince, they definitely wouldn't dare to storm the palace... In the end, only Prince Kang and his ilk would benefit..."
'If the Emperor were still alive, his prestige as the founding ancestor would mean anyone who rebels would die... But if he has already passed away, storming the palace with the help of a Noble Consort might still have a chance.'
Mr. Wu added this thought in his mind but didn't say more. He gave King Tai a deep look, bowed, and left.
...
The Imperial Palace.
Divine Valor Gate.
This gate stood several zhang tall, grand and imposing, with the Imperial Guard stationed on the city walls.
An attacker would need ten times the number of defenders to besiege it, and even then, thousands or tens of thousands might not be able to capture it.
Fang Xing silently surveyed the scene and knew that with his agility, he could barely make it over, but no one else could.
'The main defense is here, and the other palace gates are scattered. They can't stop me...'
He halted his procession and had Eunuch Su go to the gate to call out.
The commander of this crucial palace gate was surely the Emperor's most trusted inner circle, loyal to no one else, especially not the Crown Prince or the princes!
Under normal circumstances, even with ten thousand troops, it would be difficult to capture it.
Not to mention hiding ten thousand soldiers in the capital?
There would likely be imperial troops from the outskirts coming to quell any rebellion before the day was half over.
Fang Xing was here to follow the proper procedures, so he acted calmly, sending Eunuch Su to negotiate.
The commander of the Divine Valor Gate was Kou Feng, a seasoned general deeply favored by the Emperor, who lamented that it wasn't a time of chaos, or he would surely have become a renowned marshal.
He was naturally loyal to the Emperor, but now he had a good idea of what was happening in the palace, and could only be loyal to whoever was on the throne.
Eunuch Su presented the Empress Dowager's decree and the Golden Token Arrow, and without much hesitation, Kou Feng ordered, "Open the gate!"
The sound of armor scraping the ground echoed as two hundred Eastern Palace Guards escorted the Crown Prince into the Divine Valor Gate.
"Zhao Hu, take two squads and guard this gate."
Fang Xing entered the Divine Valor Gate and gave the order directly.
"..."
Kou Feng's eyes darkened.
"Yes, Your Highness!"
Zhao Hu responded loudly, urging the Eastern Palace Guards to take their positions on the gate.
"Su, let's go!"
Fang Xing looked at Eunuch Su.
"Yes, Your Highness."
Eunuch Su bowed even deeper. Even if the Crown Prince suspected something, daring to directly intervene in the palace's defenses was a move that was both precise and swift, ruthless and lethal.
The key was... no one could stop him.
By the end of the night, the situation would be in his favor.
'Even now, he doesn't forget to secure his position. Truly cautious.'
Kou Feng was genuinely impressed, gazing toward the inner palace, tears welling in his eyes, and murmuring to himself, "Your Majesty... you have a worthy successor."
The nine-tiered palace gates opened one after another.
Fang Xing left some guards at each gate. When they reached the Emperor's bedchamber, there were no armored soldiers around him, only a few eunuchs and palace maids.
"..."
Eunuch Su was stunned by this sight.
If the Crown Prince was so open and honest, why set up guards along the way, only to disregard his own safety here?
'Trust between father and son is hard... but the Crown Prince is truly filial.'
Eunuch Su led Fang Xing into the Emperor's bedchamber, where many court physicians were kneeling on the ground.
Beside them was an elderly woman with silver hair, clearly the Empress Dowager.
"Grandmother."
Fang Xing approached and called out softly.
The Empress Dowager seemed to have just been crying, her eyes red. Seeing Fang Xing, her voice was hoarse, "Crown Prince... your father suffered a sudden heart attack tonight and has passed away. The ministers of the cabinet are on their way. You must be prepared."
"Father?!"
Fang Xing entered the hall and immediately burst into tears.
Not bringing armed soldiers was a testament to his absolute confidence in his own strength.
Moreover, storming the Emperor's bedchamber with armed soldiers would not look good.
Now that he was the victor, he needed to be composed and mindful of his image.
Before long, the cabinet ministers arrived, all in tears.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty..."
The cabinet's chief minister, Yuan Zhao, had been the Emperor's strategist during his rise to power. Seeing the Emperor's passing, he wept uncontrollably.
No matter what suspicions they harbored, they all showed their grief outwardly.
Next were the vice-minister Gao Yang and the Minister of Personnel, Sun Qiming, among others.
"You are all key ministers of the court. I am in deep pain and will not say more. My son died suddenly of an illness. The affairs of the state are now in your hands. Yuan Zhao, what do you say?"
The Empress Dowager looked at the chief minister.
The Great Qian established the cabinet to share the power of the chancellor, but the chief minister still held significant authority.
Yuan Zhao, a minister of dignity, was now sixty-seven years old. He scanned the hall with his cloudy old eyes and saw the Crown Prince's face filled with sorrow, while a noble lady beside the Empress Dowager looked nervous.
He sighed inwardly, knowing that he must prioritize the greater good, or the people of the empire would suffer: "Does His Majesty have a final edict?"
"No."
The Noble Consort by the Empress Dowager’s side felt a twinge of struggle but could do nothing.
A final edict was not something that could be casually written. A true imperial edict had strict requirements for format, paper, and the scribe.
After it was written, it had to be sealed with the imperial seal, and then two copies had to be made and archived...
Forging it would be extremely difficult, unless the emperor had written a blood-letter decree with his own hand. But the emperor had fallen too quickly, leaving no time for such a decree.
Attempting to forge one now would be a death sentence.
Unless the emperor had issued a final edict earlier to replace the Crown Prince, no one could stop the Crown Prince from ascending the throne.
Even if there had been a previous edict, the fact that the Crown Prince had not been deposed yet could very well mark the beginning of a civil war and the division of the empire.
Yuan Zhao's heart eased as he bowed to Fang Xing again: "If that is the case, I humbly request that the Crown Prince ascend the throne before the late emperor’s spirit, to inherit the Great Qian Empire..."
"I... Sigh, my heart is in turmoil..."
Fang Xing hesitated for a moment, but under the persuasion of the Empress Dowager and the ministers, he reluctantly accepted their homage.
It was now deep into the night. Fang Xing first asked the Empress Dowager to rest, then summoned a few key ministers.
"Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, all of you are the pillars of our Great Qian. We must first discuss the procedures for this significant event..."
Fang Xing spoke, then looked at Yuan Zhao.
These were the standard procedures, and Yuan Zhao naturally replied: "This is indeed proper. First, we should hold the morning court tomorrow, where the Empress Dowager will announce the late emperor’s passing, and the Crown Prince will receive the homage of the officials, thus securing his position... According to filial piety, a son should mourn his father for three years, but the emperor can use days to represent years or months..."
"How can I, with my limited virtue and ability, dare to compare myself to the ancient sage kings and use days to represent years? Let’s use days to represent months..."
Fang Xing waved his hand.
Yuan Zhao was taken aback: "If that is the case, then the mourning period will be thirty-six days, followed by the formal enthronement and ascension to the throne..."
"Very well, leave these matters to you all."
Fang Xing thought for a moment and said, "My father was wise and valiant, his posthumous name should be ‘Wu’ (Martial), making him the Grand Ancestor Wu Emperor... As for my era name, let’s call it ‘Longchang.’ There’s no need to change it this year; we can do so next year..."
...
After the chaos, the ministers left the hall, and the sky was already bright.
Yuan Zhao looked troubled as he saw Deputy Prime Minister Gao Yang approaching.
They glanced at each other and found that the guards were standing far away, so they exchanged greetings.
"Prime Minister, please take care of your health. The morning court will begin in half an hour..."
"Kang..." Prime Minister Yuan Zhao called Gao Yang by his courtesy name, hesitating to speak further.
They exchanged a glance and subtly shook their heads.
After exchanging a few pieces of information, Gao Yang took his leave.
Yuan Zhao felt a weight lift from his heart: 'The Crown Prince arrived only a short while before we did... Moreover, he doesn’t have the power to bribe the entire imperial medical corps. It seems the emperor... truly reached the end of his natural life?'
At this thought, tears streamed down his face: 'Emperor... Emperor...'
...
In a side hall.
Fang Xing was eating a few delicate pastries.
The dishes were exquisitely prepared, fragrant, and without any soup, clearly designed to keep him full and energized without causing any physical discomfort during his first appearance in court.
'The major issues are settled.'
Fang Xing sighed inwardly.
'But the real challenges lie ahead!'
'The empire is not in chaos, but there are hidden dangers...'
'The realm has just stabilized, and the people are still uneasy. The nobles form cliques, and the civil officials have grown powerful...'
'In the inner palace, the Grand Empress Dowager is unpredictable, and the imperial concubines are all shrewd...'
The Grand Empress Dowager’s support for the Crown Prince was more about tradition and stabilizing the situation, and did not necessarily mean deep affection. If the new emperor were to offend her, he would face even more difficulties.
'The most critical question is, who are my allies? Oh, an emperor has no friends...'
Fang Xing pondered silently. As the largest landowner in the empire, he should perhaps side with the landowners?
However, as the greatest slave owner, the emperor must ensure the well-being of his subjects, who are his slaves, so they can live decent lives?
At the very least, as the emperor’s property, the subjects should not suffer too much.
'Most importantly, I lack the prestige of the founding emperor, which would be needed to control the proud and powerful generals and the cunning civil officials...'
'To think that being an emperor means I can kill or do as I please is a sheer delusion...'
'Sadly, with the current literacy rate, my rule depends on the scholars and officials...'
'But there are also positives. The empire is still new, and the population has been greatly reduced, leaving a large pie to be divided...'
'By reducing taxes and levies, curbing the large landowners, and supporting small landowners and independent farmers, being lenient with the people, and governing with minimal intervention, the population and taxes will naturally grow, and perhaps I can earn a place in history as the ‘Prosperous Era of Longchang’?'
As Fang Xing pondered, a gentle voice came from outside.
(End of Chapter)
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