Based on the current situation, there were only a few possibilities that the officials could think of. Either Li Linfu died of illness and Yang Guozhong became the leader of the officials, or the Emperor died of illness and the Crown Prince ascended the throne with Yang Guozhong's head separated from his body. Or the Emperor could hold on for a few more days. During this time, Yang Guozhong's group would use all sorts of methods to frame the Crown Prince. The Imperial Concubine would use pillow talk to force the Emperor to depose the Crown Prince and choose another Prince as the Crown Prince. This Crown Prince would definitely allow Yang Guozhong to become the leader of the officials in exchange for Yang Guozhong's support.
In other words, in two of these three scenarios, Yang Guozhong would become the leader of the officials, and in the other scenario, he would become a ghost under the blade. The chances of him winning seemed to be higher.
Of course, the actual situation might not be limited to these three scenarios. There were many uncertain factors, but because they could not be predicted, they were not considered.
"Assistant Minister Li, do you know of His Majesty's condition?"
An official walked up to Ang Lee and asked.
In the minds of many officials, although Ang Lee did not like to deal with the matters of the Imperial Court, he was still a very powerful figure. While he had invented many technologies that shocked them, he had also built a great image for Ang Lee.
Thus, when many officials thought of Ang Lee, the first thing they thought of was a very powerful figure. They felt that Ang Lee was omnipotent. Now that the Emperor was suddenly unwell, they naturally thought of asking Ang Lee.
"Didn't the Imperial Physician say that His Majesty is fine? His Majesty is fine, so there shouldn't be any big problems! "
Ang Lee did not dare to speak carelessly and could only follow the Imperial Physician's instructions.
"Since His Majesty is fine, why is he not seeing anyone? At the very least, he should explain who is in charge of the important matters of the Imperial Court! "
Ang Lee thought for a moment and looked at Yang Guozhong who was not far away. He said, "Perhaps Imperial Censor Yang knows something. Why don't you ask him?"
Ang Lee was not very clear about the Emperor's situation and did not want to guess. He threw the question to Yang Guozhong.
"Imperial Censor Yang, are you not aware of His Majesty's situation?"
A minister asked again when he saw Yang Guozhong shaking his head.
Yang Guozhong continued to shake his head, "His Majesty doesn't see anyone. How could I know about His Majesty's situation? To be honest, I'm very worried."
"Imperial Consort Gui serves His Majesty all day long. Imperial Consort Gui should know His Majesty's situation?"
An official reminded.
Yang Guozhong said angrily, "This official is a minister of the imperial court. How can I casually go to the back to see the imperial concubine? Wait! It's only been four or five days. Perhaps His Majesty is just tired and wants to rest. "
Seeing that Yang Guozhong's expression did not seem to be lying, the other ministers did not say anything. They lowered their heads and did not speak. Yang Guozhong was waiting for news from the three sisters. When he returned today, perhaps he would know what was going on with the Emperor.
However, while Yang Guozhong could wait one more day, some people could not. The eldest imperial son, Li Zong, and the sixteenth imperial son, Li Gu, agitatedly urged their brothers to see the Emperor today. Many of the princes were also suspicious. Naturally, they expressed their support and felt that what they said was reasonable. If the Emperor was controlled by someone, it would be terrible.
The crown prince wanted to object, but all the princes were agitated. He could not clearly object and could only remain silent to express his tacit agreement.
"Prince Qing, His Majesty is resting."
Li Zong was the first to step forward, but he was stopped by a young eunuch.
"Slap … Dog servant, get out of my way."
Because it was just a very ordinary young eunuch, Li Zong naturally did not care. Even if he hit him, it did not matter. The Emperor could not punish his son for hitting his young eunuch. Moreover, his actions seemed to be filial.
The young eunuch was hit, so he naturally did not dare to continue blocking. He could only cover his face and stand to the side, allowing Prince Tan and the others to tyrannically break through his line of defense.
The Crown Prince should have been walking at the front, but because the Crown Prince was not very supportive of barging into the bedroom, he could only follow behind King Tan. He became a follower, but at the same time, he could be understood as leading the way. This way, he would not lose his status.
The ministers also wanted to know what was going on with the Emperor. Seeing the princes forcefully break into the palace, they naturally did not want to be outdone. Almost without thinking, they followed. With so many important ministers, even if the Emperor was unhappy, he could not kill them all.
Ang Lee had never been to the Emperor's palace before. This time, he could go in with them to broaden his horizons. Seeing the furnishings of the Emperor's palace was also very good.
"Your Majesty, the princes have broken in. Do you want this old servant to …"
Gao Lishi saw that Prince Tan and the others had hit the young eunuch and said.
Li Longji leaned on the couch, feeling a little tired. However, it was much better than a few days ago. He waved his hand and said softly, "No need. If they want to come in, let them come in!"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Gao Lishi waved his hand and most of the serving eunuchs and palace maids left, leaving only a few people to serve the Emperor by the bed.
"Imperial concubine, you should also retreat to the back!"
Under normal circumstances, it was not appropriate for the Emperor's concubines to meet outsiders.
"Father, Father …"
Before they reached the palace, the voices of the princes could already be heard. Moreover, it was an emotional voice.
"Father, Father …"
After entering the palace and seeing the Emperor, the princes all knelt down to pay their respects when they saw that the Emperor's complexion was not good.
"Your Majesty …"
The ministers who followed closely behind also knelt down to pay their respects when they saw the Emperor. Their expressions were sorrowful. No one raised their heads. They all lowered their heads and knelt down.
Li Longji turned his head slightly and looked at Prince Tan and the others who were leading the way. He then looked at the ministers behind him and said softly, "Don't kneel. Get up!"
His voice was gentle and elegant. He did not seem to have much strength. It was obvious that he was sick.
The princes and ministers could not tell what illness the Emperor had. They only felt that he was indeed a little weak. After getting up, they were all thinking quickly about what illness the Emperor had. Only Ang Lee looked around and admired the furnishings of the Emperor's palace. He felt that there was nothing special about it. It was just a little bigger than an ordinary person's residence.
"Prince Tan, did I let you in?"
Li Longji said in an unhappy tone.
Prince Tan, Li Zong, who had just gotten up, quickly knelt down and said, "Father, I was worried about you. That's why I came up with this plan. Seeing that you are fine, I am relieved."
His tone was full of concern and filial piety. His acting skills were excellent.
"Worried about me? What are you worried about? Could it be that I will be held hostage by the people around me? Is it the imperial concubine or the general?"
Li Longji said unhappily.
"Father, Elder Brother was just being filial. Please forgive him, Father."
Li Zong pleaded.
"Father, please forgive us. We are really worried about you."
More and more princes began to plead for mercy.
"I am fine. It is rare for all of you to be so filial. I will not pursue the matter. All of you may leave!"
Li Longji first chased the princes away. After thinking for a moment, he added, "The Crown Prince stays."
Seeing that the Emperor only left the Crown Prince behind, the hearts of Prince Tan, Li Zong, and the other princes skipped a beat. It was obvious that he valued the Crown Prince. As such, they naturally became vigilant.
Although the Crown Prince was the most promising candidate to inherit the throne, after so many years, the first Crown Prince had been sentenced to death. The current Crown Prince had also been bullied everywhere. He had almost been deposed several times. As such, the Crown Prince's prestige was naturally insufficient. And if the Crown Prince's prestige was insufficient, the princes below him would naturally not be so obedient. They were all the Emperor's biological sons. Why could he inherit the throne but not me?
Among all the princes, the one with the most unbalanced mentality was the eldest son, Li Zong. After all, he and the current Crown Prince were both born of concubines. And he was the eldest brother. His ability was not inferior to the current Crown Prince. Why didn't the Emperor choose him as the Crown Prince and leave the position of Crown Prince to his younger brother? This made him feel very unbalanced in his heart. He also couldn't figure it out. He even felt a little hatred.
As for why the Emperor didn't choose the eldest son but chose the third son to be the Crown Prince, probably only the Emperor himself knew. He probably didn't want to establish a Crown Prince, so as not to nurture someone who would threaten his position. And the opinion he told the officials was that the eldest son's face had scars, which meant that his appearance wasn't good. He didn't have the dignity that the Emperor should have.
In ancient times without plastic surgery, it was very difficult to treat scars on the face. If a person had a scar on his body, it would definitely accompany him for a lifetime.
The scars on the torso and limbs could be covered. It was not a big deal for a man. But the face was different. The face was the most important organ for a person's identification. A person's face was the most important. It was indecent for an ordinary person to have scars on their face. But as the Emperor of a country, if there were scars on his face, it would affect the image of the country. This could indeed be used as a seemingly reasonable reason.
Moreover, since the founding of the Tang Empire, there had been so many Emperors, but none of them was the eldest son who inherited the throne. The first Crown Prince, Li Jiancheng, was killed by his second brother. The next Emperor was Li Shimin's ninth son, Li Zhi. Then, it was Li Zhi's third son, Li Xian, and fourth son, Li Dan. There was also Wu Zetian. Then, it was Li Dan's third son, Li Longji, who inherited the throne.
It was true that for four or five generations, there was no eldest son who inherited the throne. Therefore, whether the Crown Prince was the eldest son or not had become very important. No one cared about this anymore.
Since ancient times, the succession of the Emperor's throne had been orderly. This was the most stable way. Abolishing the seniority was always a way to cause chaos. It was easy to cause chaos in an empire. Didn't the bloodshed of every succession of the Tang Empire prove this point?
However, because the second Emperor had set a very bad example, his descendants could only follow suit. It was not something that could be changed if they wanted to.
Of course, Emperor Li Er's actions were also forced by his own father. For the sake of his own rule, his father, Li Yuan, curried favor from both sides and suppressed both sides. Not only did he confer the title of Crown Prince to his eldest son, at the same time, he also used his second son very much. This caused the two to have the thought and strength to compete, which ultimately led to a tragedy.
In fact, the right way was to support one son wholeheartedly and let the people in the world see clearly that the Emperor's successor must be the supported prince. In this way, all the princes and ministers would be at ease and there would be no internal struggle. But in this way, the only supported prince would become the biggest threat to the Emperor. If this prince had been the Crown Prince for too long and could not wait, it would not be difficult for him to kill his father. Therefore, in order to prevent his sons from being impatient, many Emperors deliberately gave all the princes hope, making them feel that they might become the next Emperor and thus compete with each other for the position of Crown Prince. In this way, they would have no energy to fight against the Emperor's imperial power.
Li Yuan was such a muddle-headed person. How could Li Longji not be the same? Since he killed the first Crown Prince, he suppressed the second Crown Prince in various ways, but he was not willing to abolish him. In this way, he gave the other princes the opportunity to have the idea of competing for the position of Crown Prince and thus maintain his imperial power.
Li Longji treated his own sons like this and treated his ministers like this. All along, Li Longji had handed over the state affairs to Li Linfu because Li Linfu was obedient enough to understand his meaning and do what he liked to see. Later on, in order to restrain Li Linfu, he promoted Yang Guozhong. But Li Linfu's position of Right Prime Minister was always there. Even when Yang Guozhong was at his most glorious, his official position was below Li Linfu. It was not until Li Linfu's death that he rightfully ascended to the position of the head of the ministers.
This time, it was Prince Tan, Li Fong, who led the charge to break into the bedchamber. Although this was also a show of filial piety, this kind of behavior was really bold, so naturally, he had to be taught a little lesson. He let the Crown Prince stay because the Crown Prince's performance this time satisfied him the most and was what he wanted.
Although the area of the Emperor's bedroom was large, it was limited and could not accommodate too many people. Just now, when the Princes came in, they took up a lot of space. As a result, only a dozen or so officials entered the room, and the rest waited outside. After the Princes left, these officials stepped in to salute, and then stood up to wait.
"Yang Guozhong."
Li Longji suddenly called.
"Your humble subject is here."
Yang Guozhong was startled and hurriedly walked out of the group.
"Right Prime Minister is not well. You have to pay more attention to the matters of the court."
Li Longji said.
"Yes, Your Majesty. Your humble subject is willing to die ten thousand times to serve Your Majesty."
Yang Guozhong replied with a face of loyalty and righteousness, his heart bursting with joy.
Seeing Yang Guozhong so appreciated by the Emperor, Li Heng's expression chilled. He was naturally rather dissatisfied, and the Emperor saw all of this.
"Crown Prince, you also have to pay more attention to the matters of the court and help me deal with them."
Li Longji glanced at the Crown Prince and said.
Because the Crown Prince had performed very well this time and had not done anything out of line, Li Longji was very satisfied, so he gave him some encouragement and reward.
"Your son obeys the decree."
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