Chapter 518: The Crown Prince is appointed and the palace coup ends
"Lord Governor Xiao." General Yin looked at Xiao Yan.
Xiao Yan's eyes were cold. "Shang Qin is not someone I can command, and the Dragon Court Guards only obey the Holy Orders. My encounter with the Dragon Court Guards on my way to the northwest was just an accident. Even the events of the South were revealed to me by Shang Qin. If Your Majesty had let me out safely tonight, I would naturally have found a way to stop Shang Qin from besieging the city. It's a pity..."
He glanced at Emperor An.
"I have no troops or power, so I can't stop Shang Qin. The Dragon Court Guards want to purge the emperor and uphold the orthodoxy, but I can't do anything about it."
The phrase "upholding orthodoxy" almost confirmed the speculation of everyone in the hall.
Cui Lin, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly spoke up: "How dare you say Shang Qin and you are not together?"
"What if we're together?"
Xiao Yan sneered: "He is fighting for the royal orthodoxy left by Taizu, and I am only fighting for the He family."
"If I succeed, I will not let him mess up the situation I fought so hard to regain for the He family. It's a pity that His Majesty's actions are eye-opening. The Dragon Court Guards and I are courting death, but they are also my last resort. I can't die alone, so why not die together? We won't be lonely on the road to the underworld."
"Your Majesty, do you agree?"
Emperor An felt a chill in his heart. Looking at the indifference in Xiao Yan's eyes, he knew that Xiao Yan probably knew the truth about his usurpation of the throne a long time ago, and that those people from the Shang family and the Dragon Court Guard came to the capital for this matter.
They knew that he did not have the Dragon Jade Token and that he was not a legitimate royal family member.
They want to seize his throne!
Compared to the people of the He family and saving Xiao Yan's life, he was more afraid of the Longting Guards.
Xiao Yan was only alive because he was a descendant of the He family. Even if the old case from twenty years ago was brought up, the Lu family would be at the forefront. He would only be embarrassed and ridiculed. But if Shang Qin were to enter the palace to expose his illicit origins, uncover the cause of the previous emperor's death, and even implicate the Crown Prince in treason...
He can't even sit firmly on the throne.
Emperor An looked at Xiao Yan and asked, "What do you want in exchange for stopping the Dragon Court Guards?"
Xiao Yan raised his lips: "They are serving the king, why stop them?"
"Xiao Yan!"
Emperor An no longer had any of his previous aura. He looked at the people standing in front of the palace and said submissively, "I can give you anything you want, but Shang Qin may not care about the He family after entering the palace. I can promise you everything, as long as you stop them..."
Xiao Yan remained unmoved by what he said: "Your Majesty's promise, believing it once almost cost me my life, I dare not believe it again."
"Lord Cao..."
Emperor An looked at Cao Dejiang and saw that he looked indifferent. He could only look aside and said, "General Yin."
"Marquis Wenxin."
"Master Lin."
Those who were named by him remained silent, those who were not named also had indifference on their faces, and even those from the royal family remained silent.
Emperor An looked at these people and truly regretted his decision. He regretted having tried to stop Xiao Yan from retreating, regretted having asked Liu Tong'en to kill him, and even more regretted ordering a bloodbath in order to put Xiao Yan to death, causing all the court officials to become alienated from him.
Sitting on the throne, he really became a lonely man, abandoned by everyone.
Liang Guangyi glanced at Emperor An, who was isolated and helpless on the high platform. He heard the increasingly frequent sounds of war drums outside, and could even vaguely hear the loud noise coming from the impact on the palace gate. His face kept changing. Just when he was about to speak, Feng Qiuli, who had been standing beside him for some time, reached out to stop him.
"Lord Governor Xiao, the Dragon Court Guards are coming in force, with most of the Imperial Guards and Black Armor Guards killed or wounded. They're using the drums of war as a signal to storm the Imperial City. They probably won't know who their opponents are when they start killing. And when the killing gets intense, can you guarantee you'll be able to escape safely?"
Seeing Xiao Yan's indifference and silence, Feng Qiuli said:
"You said you didn't care about life or death and wanted to drag everyone down with you. You must have known they wouldn't withdraw in time when the sword was about to strike. You also knew that once the army entered the capital, even those without ambitions would probably harbor lustful thoughts and wouldn't retreat easily."
"You don't care about your own life, but don't you care about Princess Xiangning and the others?"
Xiao Yan reached out and shook Tang Ning's hand, then raised his eyes and said, "The emperor forced me to do this."
He sneered:
"If you want me to stop the Dragon Court Guards, fine, but I'm worried about Xie Tianyong. I don't want to wait until I force the Dragon Court Guards to retreat and then have him kill me."
Emperor An hissed, "Then what do you want?"
Xiao Yan glanced coldly at the palace and said in a cold voice, "You appointed Prince Zan as the Crown Prince, handed over the affairs of the He family to the Crown Prince, and allowed me to mobilize the troops inside and outside the capital with the Tiger Tally. Besides that, whether you knew about the Rongjiang incident twenty years ago or not, you were negligent in your supervision."
"I want you to issue an edict of apology right now, exonerating my father, He Wenzhuo. From today onwards, make this edict known to the world, and personally go to the Imperial Ancestral Temple to offer sacrifices to the people who died unjustly in Rongjiang, as well as my father, and the imperial physicians, officials, and soldiers who perished in Rongjiang."
Prince Zeng was delighted when he heard Xiao Yan's words, while Emperor An couldn't hide his ferocious expression as he looked at Xiao Yan.
What is the difference between his demands and asking him to abdicate directly?
What's more, after giving the tiger talisman to Xiao Yan, how could he possibly take it back?
He let Prince Zan enter the Eastern Palace and issued a self-criticism edict. Even if he could put the blame on the Lu family, from now on people would only know the prince and not him as the emperor!
Emperor An gritted his teeth and said, "I can hand over the affairs of the He family to Prince Zan, and I can also give you the power to mobilize the troops inside and outside the capital, but the position of crown prince is related to the foundation of the country, and the past events in the south have not been thoroughly investigated. How can I issue an edict of remorse..."
"I'm not negotiating with you."
Xiao Yan spoke coldly, "Your words and actions do not worthy of being a king. If I weren't afraid that a hasty dethronement would destabilize the country, I would have killed you today."
"I simply asked you to appoint a crown prince and have him temporarily take charge of government affairs, while still leaving you on the throne to stabilize the people and the court of Wei. I have already repaid your previous desire to kill me."
"If you are unwilling to issue the imperial edict of apology, then wait for the Dragon Court Guards to enter the palace. I'm sure Shang Qin will have a lot to say to Your Majesty!"
Emperor An gasped at Xiao Yan's words, his fingertips twitching as his chest rose and fell.
He looked at the people below, hoping someone would come out to refute Xiao Yan, but no one spoke, not even the court officials from the aristocratic families who were at odds with Xiao Yan.
The hall was eerily quiet, and Emperor An's breathing became heavier.
He just felt that Xiao Yan was forcing him and tearing off all his face, but now he had no choice but to agree to Xiao Yan.
The hidden danger of the Dragon Jade Order made the Dragon Court Guard like a knife hanging around his neck. Once Shang Qin led his troops into the palace, he would not even be able to keep his throne.
Now he just needs to appoint a crown prince and issue a self-criticism edict. As long as he can force the Dragon Court Guards to retreat and not involve the cause of the late emperor's death in the affairs of the Crown Prince, he still has a chance.
It’s just the He family, just the He family…
As long as he can get through today, he still has a trump card, he still has Liu Tongen and that private army. As long as the Longting Guards retreat, he will still be the emperor and there will always be a chance to turn things around.
Emperor An looked at Xiao Yan, the severe pain in his head almost making him unable to keep steady.
"Okay, I promise you!"
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