Since ancient times, the succession of the throne in any dynasty was a bloody process. It seemed that one would not be able to inherit the throne without going through a bloody storm.
Other than the sons of the Emperor who would fight for the throne, the rest of the members of the Imperial Family who had strength and prestige were also happy to fight for the throne. If they met a legitimate heir who had weak character and ability, they would make even more noise. They would not stop until the Imperial Court had collapsed.
For example, the second generation of the West Jin Dynasty, Emperor Jinhui, had already inherited the throne legally. However, because he was too weak, the members of the royal family were all restless. They caused the Rebellion of the Eight Princes, which destroyed the newly unified Jin Dynasty. This caused the Han Dynasty to encounter an unprecedented crisis for the first time.
The Tang Empire was strong enough! However, ever since the founding of the country, there had never been an Emperor who had smoothly become the Emperor. Li Shimin had caused the Black Tortoise Gate incident, and his sons had also fought until their heads bled. His daughter-in-law had even killed her own son and sat behind the curtain to listen to the government. She had put countless hats on the head of the Li family.
Li Longji, who succeeded the throne, also made a lot of coups. Finally, there was a stable Kaiyuan Age, which lasted until today. None of the four generations of emperors was succeeded by the eldest son.
This was the case for the dynasties of Hua Xia, and naturally, it was the same abroad. Which empire's succession was not broken and bloody? There were too few examples of peaceful coexistence.
In the current Apus dynasty, Mansur and Abdullah were ambitious to inherit the position of the Caliph.
In order to succeed, the two of them also fought openly and secretly. They did everything they could to expand their forces and finally obtain the throne.
Abdullah's forces controlled a large area of land in the north and east, and also had a place in Khorasan. Mansur's forces controlled the south and west. The elite cavalry deployed in Khorasan had always been the elite force of the entire Apus dynasty.
In addition, the two of them had made immortal contributions in the process of establishing the Apus dynasty and had great prestige. Therefore, Mansur and Abdullah both had the qualifications to compete for the position of the Caliph. No matter who succeeded, they would receive a lot of support.
Now, it was up to Apos's opinion. After all, no matter how high the prestige of the two of them was, they could not compare to Apos, who had the idea of becoming the Caliph. As long as Apos confirmed his successor before his death, the confirmed successor would have a great advantage and could smoothly ascend the throne.
However, even if the successor supported by Apos ascended the throne, the loser would not be satisfied. The new successor, because he had obtained a higher position, would definitely attack his former competitors. If the competitors were weak, they would be easily eliminated. However, if the competitors were strong and prepared, it would be a long and fierce battle.
But no matter what, obtaining Apos's support and successfully ascending to the position of Caliph was always the most important thing. This meant that they could seize the opportunity and win more support. Military struggle could only be the last resort. At present, Mansur and Abdullah were mainly competing for the legal succession.
Apos was not much older than Mansur and younger than Abdullah. Of course, he did not want the two of them to succeed his position. Unfortunately, his body was not up to par and would soon die. In order for the new Apus dynasty to exist smoothly, he had to let a person with prestige and ability inherit the position of Caliph.
What was more awkward was that Mansur and Abdullah's strength and contributions were equally matched. No one had an absolute advantage. When Apos was healthy, he thought this was a good thing. As long as the two of them kept each other in check, he would be able to sit firmly in his position. He had been creating this opportunity for the two of them to be evenly matched. However, he never thought that he would suddenly become seriously ill. The position of his right-hand men that he had maintained previously had to be inherited. As a result, his original plan to gain an advantage became a disadvantage.
Apos, who was about to meet Allah, very much hoped that one of Mansur and Abdullah would voluntarily withdraw from the fight for the position of Caliph. However, he knew that this was impossible. With his wisdom, how could he not see that Mansur and Abdullah were ambitious and ruthless people who were unwilling to be under others for too long? It was impossible for the two of them to voluntarily give up the power in their hands.
In this way, the Apus dynasty was bound to run the risk of falling into internal strife. He had to find a way to weaken one of the forces and nurture the other to take the position.
However, Mansur and Abdullah were both his family. They were his flesh and blood. He could not bear to lay his hands on either of them. Moreover, he was already so ill. How many of the people around him had been bribed by the two of them? How could they not be anxious to hug the thigh of the next Caliph when their time was approaching?
Apos was a ruthless and suspicious person. When he was seriously ill, his suspicions became even stronger. He suspected that all the people around him had been bribed by Mansur and Abdullah. He did not know who else around him was worthy of his trust. Therefore, even though he had many ideas, he did not dare to speak them out so as not to let Mansur and Abdullah know in advance. In this way, it would prompt them to rebel and make the situation of the dynasty worse.
The rapid rise and westward expansion of the Tang Empire greatly damaged the interests of the Apus dynasty. All the small neighboring countries in the east of the empire had chosen to submit to the Tang Empire and were protected by the Tang Empire. Moreover, the Tang Empire's Anxi army was constantly increasing its troops and completely controlled the land in the middle of the river and the Tocharian region. This made the Apus dynasty have no hope of expanding eastward.
For the ambitious Apos, the westward expansion of the Tang Empire was intolerable. However, the elite troops under his command were no match for the Tang Empire at all. Moreover, they were not on the same level at all. This made him very helpless and depressed.
Even though he was about to die, the knot in his heart had not been untied. He was still brooding over the rapid rise of the Tang Empire and was depressed that his troops had once been defeated by the Tang Empire.
Even when he was about to die, the knot in his heart could not be untied. It was obvious that Apos was hopeless.
Nasser's suggestion moved Abdullah. He paced for a while and suddenly said, "Nasser, what you said is very reasonable. Ziyad's sudden return to the Khorasan is a sign that Mansur is going to attack me! No, Mansur is not only going to attack me, but also Apos. This way, he can smoothly ascend the throne. "
"Sir, this matter should not be delayed. You should go and see the Caliph now."
Nasser suggested.
Abdullah nodded and motioned for his servant to hurry and prepare.
In a dazzling palace, an old man of noble status was lying powerlessly on a bed. Beside him was a large group of people who were in charge of serving him. There were six women dressed in black and a dozen men. There were also many guards who were in charge of security at the outermost perimeter.
Although the entire room was resplendent and exuded an air of nobility, there was no warmth in it. Instead, it was filled with a tense and austere atmosphere. This was because many people had died here. People died almost every day.
This old man who was about to die had become more and more eccentric. As long as he felt the slightest bit of dissatisfaction, he would vent his anger on the people around him. Moreover, he would beat them to death in court. His methods were very cruel.
When a person's heart was under too much pressure, they had to find a way to vent. For example, scolding people, exercising, eating, drinking, whoring, gambling, and so on. These were all ways to vent. The only way left for Apos to vent was to kill people. Perhaps after killing people, the resentment in his heart would lessen.
Of course, Apos was already very ill. He could not do anything other than let the guards kill people. He had lost his appetite for food and drink. It was very difficult for him to move. He was powerless to play with women. His heart was severely twisted.
"Uh, cough cough cough cough …"
Apos's heavy coughs broke the silence of the palace.
When the people around him heard the heavy coughs, they couldn't help but tremble. They hoped that Apos would die soon. That way, they would be free. However, Apos's coughs were telling them that he wasn't dead. He was still alive.
Apos knew very well that these people who served him all hoped that he would die soon. However, he refused to comply with their wishes. He stubbornly held on to his frail body. He wanted to live as long as possible so that he could make arrangements for his death. Occasionally, he would kill a few people to vent his anger. This was because it wasn't good for his body to keep anger bottled up in his heart. Occasionally, he would vent his anger and live a little longer. At least, that was what Apos thought.
"Mm …"
Apos glared angrily at the people around him and let out a drawn-out sound.
When the people heard this sound, they were frightened. After this sound, it usually meant that Apos was about to kill someone. They didn't know who would be so unlucky and were momentarily at a loss as to what to do.
"Help me up."
Apos said with all his strength.
The maids didn't dare to be negligent. All six of them went up. Three of them helped Apos up while the other three supported him from the side to show that they had done their best.
Apos leaned against the soft cushion, his deep eyes looking forward. He was clearly thinking. As for what he was thinking about, no one knew.
In truth, at this point, what else could he be thinking about? It was the problem of the Caliph's successor. If he didn't choose a suitable successor, the Apus dynasty that he had worked so hard to establish would run the risk of falling into chaos once more.
He sometimes thought of Mansur and sometimes of Abdullah. These two had the most prestige. The empire would only be safest if it was handed over to them. However, there could only be one successor. He had to choose between the two. According to their age and relationship, Apos naturally had to support Mansur. However, his uncle Abdullah's power had been growing rapidly in recent years. If he couldn't make Abdullah give up on fighting for power, the consequences would be unimaginable.
And if he supported Abdullah, Mansur would definitely not be convinced. This would also cause a lot of trouble and cause the Apus dynasty to fall into turmoil.
As for finding a junior without much prestige to inherit the throne and having Mansur and Abdullah assist him, this was even more impossible.
Apos was an iron-fisted figure with prestige, so he could easily control Mansur and Abdullah to stabilize his position. However, if it was a junior without much merit and ability, how could he control two outstanding figures?
Old Zhu, the founding emperor of the Great Ming Dynasty in Hua Xia, had considered this problem. He knew that his grandson was too weak and couldn't control these founding officials. If these founding officials were allowed to live, they would seriously threaten his grandson's future rule. Moreover, he couldn't live past these founding officials, so he didn't have a good solution. He could only kill all these arrogant founding officials to pave the way for his grandson.
However, Old Zhu's family had done this when the country was stable. At present, the Apus dynasty was still unstable and hadn't been founded for a long time. Naturally, they couldn't kill Mansur and Abdullah. Moreover, Apos was now seriously ill. He wasn't sure if his trusted aides were reliable, so he really didn't have the ability to kill Mansur and Abdullah. He even felt that he couldn't control these two people in his current state. As long as these two people attacked, there was nothing he could do. He could only die of anger.
"Caliph, your uncle, Abdullah, requests an audience?"
A servant of relatively high status stepped forward and reported.
Apos roused himself. After thinking for a while, he gently waved his hand, indicating for Abdullah to come in.
After entering the palace, Abdullah was first intimidated by the austere atmosphere in the hall. The relaxed feeling in his heart suddenly became tense. He was still rather respectful to Apos, even though this was his nephew.
"Revered Lord Caliph, your complexion is much better than it was a few days ago. You will definitely get better."
Abdullah respectfully prayed.
Apos tilted his head and looked at Abdullah, trying to make himself appear more spirited. He said, "My body won't get better. It's only a matter of time before I see Allah. However, I still thank you for your kindness."
"Great Caliph, you must take care of your body. Your health is the future of the empire. If something happens to you, some people with evil intentions will run amok."
Abdullah said.
Apos frowned and said, "People with evil intentions? You're talking about Mansur, right? Aren't your thoughts the same as Mansur's? Both of you are eyeing the position of Caliph. "
"Caliph, it's not like that. I'm your uncle, so how could I covet the position of Caliph? But as an elder of the empire, I can't just watch as the empire is controlled by people with evil intentions. I have to take responsibility for the empire's eternal glory. "
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