Chapter 483: Restoring Order

After hearing what Zhaohua said, most of the court officials in the hall felt guilty and dared not say anything.

However, there are exceptions among these people.

That was the censor who had given Xiao Jingheng a headache in the past, the "Great Remonstrance" Yan Qi.

He is a man of integrity, but also extremely conservative and stubborn.

Zhao Hua's hand recorded the book, in order to see his mistakes, so he had enough confidence to question Zhao Hua.

“As the Queen Mother said, there were many cases of corruption in the previous dynasty. You can investigate them one by one and make the corrupt officials pay the ill-gotten gains into the national treasury. You should not use this as a threat to force the court officials to acquiesce in your control of the government.

Since ancient times, men have been in charge of the outside world, while women have been in charge of the inside world. The Queen Mother was born into a noble family, so she should know that even if she were a woman from an ordinary family, it would be unworthy of a woman to show up in public, let alone a woman ruling the country. Wouldn't she become a laughing stock of the world?"

Yan Qi pressed forward step by step, almost standing right under the platform, and said in a voice as loud as a bell:

"State affairs are heavy, so I advise the Queen Mother to retreat to the harem and return power to the emperor. Don't risk the public's taboo."

"Master Yan, do you think that the world will be peaceful if I retire to the harem?"

Zhao Hua asked in a solemn voice, "As court officials assisting the government, if you get something good, it's your credit, but if something goes wrong, the emperor should be held responsible?"

As she spoke, she actually walked out from behind the curtain.

He stood upright beside the dragon throne, then suddenly opened his sleeves and asked all the court officials,

"If you insist on having court officials assist in the administration, then choose a regent. I will retreat to the harem and no longer interfere in government affairs. When the emperor grows up and can rule on his own, all decisions in the court will be made by the regent. But if the decision is wrong and harms the interests of the dynasty, then the responsibility should be borne by the regent. I will execute his entire family and apologize to the world with my death!"

Yan Qi said in a deep voice: "The Queen Mother threatens life and death in everything. Do you really rely on the military power in your hands to treat us, the pillars of the court, as minced meat on the chopping board?"

"Life and death threat? Lord Yan has served three dynasties. Don't you understand that when you sit on the throne, you can decide the life and death of millions of people with your imperial edicts?"

Zhao Hua walked down the platform slowly, approaching Yan Qi step by step, and asked in a resounding voice:

"In today's national affairs, the southern barbarians have been invading for years and fighting on the border, intending to take advantage of the civil strife in Qi Dynasty to attack from both sides and get a share of the spoils;

Floods in the south of the Yangtze River continue, and the people are worried; drought is coming to Henan, and locust plagues are spreading across the border. If they are not handled properly, famine will occur, and the tragedy of cannibalism 26 years ago will reappear;

Officials colluded with each other, embezzled money, refused to pay taxes, and private salt was in power. Which of these decisions was more important and which came first? If the decision was wrong, at the least, tens of millions of people would be displaced, and at the worst, the dam would collapse and the country would be destroyed!

You are so sure that you want the court officials to assist you in governing the country, but in reality you want to sideline the emperor and let you rule the country dictatorship. I want to ask you now, if power is not centralized and something bad really happens, who will bear the responsibility? "

The questions she asked one after another stunned all the court officials.

Even Yan Qi, who was talking loudly just now, was now intimidated by the powerful pressure from the female students of Zhaohua and was speechless in response.

Zhao Hua's phoenix eyes narrowed, and he looked at him fiercely.

"Lord Yan just spoke with certainty. Can you bear the responsibility now?"

Seeing Yan Qi bowing his head in silence, Zhao Hua waved his sleeves and turned around, climbed back onto the high platform and stood beside the dragon throne. He patted Cheng Yu's shoulder and said softly:

"Yuer, please get up."

Only after Cheng Yu stood up did Zhao Hua point at the empty dragon throne and shout to the court officials in the hall:

"Now that the Dragon Throne is vacant, I will give you a chance. Whoever can turn the tide, step out and sit on this Dragon Throne now!"

With things at this point, who dares to take a step forward?

After a while, the court officials all bowed and said in unison:

"Queen, please calm down. We are terrified..."

Zhao Hua glanced at them coldly and said, "I gave you a chance, but you didn't want to do it. So in the future, if anyone dares to use this matter to argue with me again, don't blame me for being merciless!"

After saying that, she took Cheng Yu's hand and helped the child sit back on the dragon throne.

As she turned her back to the courtiers, she suddenly gave Cheng Yu a comforting smile with a dignified and solemn face.

He then retreated behind the curtain and said solemnly:

"All ministers, please stand. If you have something to say, please report it. If not, please leave the court!"

In fact, the common people did not have many objections to Zhao Hua's ruling behind the scenes.

After all, during the Silkworm Ceremony, Zhaohua promised the Queen ten years of her salary to fill the deficit of the farmers and mulberry families.

In the eyes of the people, she could sacrifice her own interests for such a small matter and care about the people. If she encountered a big event in the future, she would definitely put the people first.

Moreover, the common people are busy making a living and have no time to care about the undercurrents of struggle among those in power.

They only recognize one principle.

That is, whoever can make their lives better is more suitable to hold power in the world.

As for the various countries and tribes, the Hu tribe and Mongolia were the strongest.

These two tribes are both subservient to the Qi Dynasty and are blatant supporters of Zhaohua. How dare other small countries make any noise at this time?

Therefore, as long as the disputes of the previous dynasty are settled and the mouths of these court officials are shut, Zhao Hua will not be hindered in the future whether he is ruling the country from behind the curtain or pulling off the moon shadow veil and stepping out from behind the scenes to the front of the stage.

The simplest and most effective way to make court officials put aside their outdated prejudices against women is to kill a chicken to scare the monkeys.

That night, Xiao Fuzi handed Zhaohua the letter from Tianji Office.

"Empress Dowager, since the death of the previous emperor, you have been asking the Tianji Office to keep an eye on who in the court has objections to your ruling behind the curtain, and are trying to use this to create chaos. Now the Tianji Office has drawn up a list, and the people on this list are almost colluding with each other and plotting something in private."

Zhao Hua took the list and glanced at it briefly, saying disdainfully:

"Look, those who are most afraid of my control of government are the ones who have gained the most in recent years. With these evils in the court, abusing their power for personal gain, how can the people live in peace?"

Xiao Fuzi said, "Then according to the Queen Mother, do you still want the Tianji Office to keep an eye on them, just in case?"

"No need." Zhao Hua nodded slightly, with a bright smile on the corner of his lips.

"Since they dislike me so much, I'll just send them on their way. When they die, they won't see me anymore, and naturally they won't be bothered anymore."

He raised his eyebrows slightly at Xiao Fuzi and said, "Don't you think so?"

Xiao Fuzi smiled knowingly and quickly responded, "The Queen Mother is considerate, it is really their blessing. I will start to arrange it now."