In the distant Kyoto, at the foot of the emperor, the original prosperity and bustle seemed to have suddenly turned upside down after the emperor's death. The streets were deserted, the teahouses and restaurants were closed, and the shops were all just shutters.
Occasionally, there are pedestrians walking in a hurry, trying to carry their legs and hurry on their way quietly, for fear of making any noise and causing disaster to their family.
This is not alarmist talk; it has actually happened many times in Kyoto.
The day before yesterday, the third prince used the excuse that a third-rank official in the second prince's team was not kneeling piously, and led his troops to search the house that day. Not only did he confiscate the gold, silver and treasures, but he also executed the third-rank official directly.
The second prince was not to be outdone. He accused the third prince of coveting the throne and directly sealed off the street where the third prince's mansion was located.
The eldest prince was also busy. He contacted court officials and promised them benefits. In just two days, he had won over one-third of the court officials.
The entire Kyoto is like a powder keg, which can explode at any time because of someone's words or actions.
Seeing this, the six ministers and the elders were afraid that the Wei Dynasty would completely collapse, so they discussed and invited the three princes to the palace for a proper discussion.
Even if it is not easy to reach an agreement on the distribution of interests, as long as one of them finally ascends the throne, the other two will be made princes, given large fiefdoms to become actual local emperors, and be nominally loyal to the new emperor.
The three princes probably did not want to start a big fight and hurt their vitality, and they also wanted to leave a good reputation, so under the watchful eyes of all the important ministers, they went into the imperial study to discuss.
The important officials were waiting outside eagerly, hoping for a good result.
Of course, those who have chosen sides are even more eager for their "master" to ascend the throne.
But after waiting for a long time, some old ministers began to feel pain in their legs and planned to find a place to sit for a while, but there was still no result in the imperial study.
An important official felt something was amiss and knocked on the door to ask a few questions, but there was no movement from inside...
Finally, everyone worked together to open the door, and then they were horrified to find that one of the three princes was lying beside the table, and two were lying on the ground. They were bleeding from all seven orifices, dead, and their bodies were stiff!
One old minister could not bear the shock and fainted after seeing his eyes.
The people at the back didn't know what was going on and thought the air in the room was poisonous, so they scattered.
Finally, one of the elders calmed down a little and called out for the imperial physician.
Of course, the imperial doctors weren't there to save the lives of the three princes, as they were truly beyond death. Their only mission was to find out why all three princes had died!
There was no outsider in this room at all, and it was even more impossible for someone to break in and poison three people!
Everyone had some guesses in their minds, but they all felt it was too outrageous.
Unexpectedly, after the imperial physician examined him, his expression was also complicated!
"Well," the oldest imperial physician, pushed out by two colleagues, swallowed hard and took a deep breath before speaking, "The deaths of the three princes... were truly unexpected! Two poisons were found in each of the three princes' tea. And each of the three princes also had a poison hidden in their bodies!"
Everyone stared at each other, not reacting for a long time.
The old imperial physician had no choice but to add another sentence.
"That is, the three princes poisoned each other, but unexpectedly, the other party did the same. So, in the end, they all...died from poisoning."
Because of these words, the outside of the imperial study suddenly became as silent as a grave, and everyone's heartbeat seemed to have stopped.
Although the gossips this year have been endless and have never stopped, even the emperor visited a brothel. But the three princes discussed who would ascend the throne, played tricks together, and in the end they were all poisoned to death... It was really bizarre!
Could it be that the main theme today is "Good brothers should go to hell together"?
You two are brothers with deep affection, but what will happen to the Wei Dynasty, the court, and the people?
The few old ministers who had remained sober also rolled their eyes and followed the example of their old friends.
When he was rescued, the first thing the old ministers said was, "The princes are all dead. Who will inherit the country? Is Heaven going to destroy the Wei Dynasty?"
The other court officials were also stunned, especially those who had chosen their own side. They had just chosen a master and were expecting a flood of wealth and honor, but it just disappeared so suddenly...
Outside the entire imperial study, this moment was worse than hell.
Some clever court officials were already quickly calculating which young royal family member could come to the rescue. If they chose the right one, it would be a real achievement to follow the emperor!
At this moment, a third-rank official from the Ministry of War suddenly stood up and said calmly, "My Lords, have you forgotten one thing? Our Great Wei has more princes than just these three in this room."
The others frowned when they heard this, because although the late emperor had many concubines, he was not very prolific. Now there were only three adult princes, and the other two princes were still young, one was five years old and weak, and the other was still in the arms of a wet nurse.
The Great Wei Dynasty wasn't in dire straits, but it certainly wasn't prosperous. A young emperor ascending the throne would easily foster ambitions among the court officials assisting him, a far greater disaster for the Great Wei.
Seeing that no one spoke, the military official pointed to the north and said, "My Lords, there's also the Sixth Prince! I've been sorting through military reports lately, and I've seen the Sixth Prince's name a lot! I've actually thought about it a little more than you all do now..."
"Although the Sixth Prince has been guarding the Imperial Mausoleum and the Imperial Palace, I'm told he's also a skilled warrior. Ever since the Rakshasa invaders, he's been rushing to the border with his guards, fighting alongside the troops. His military exploits are now legendary, and his reputation resonates throughout the borderlands!
"Now that the three princes in Kyoto have passed away unexpectedly, and the other two young princes are not even capable of shouldering the responsibility of governing the country, why can't we invite the Sixth Prince to take the throne? Compared to some who vie for fame and fortune... I believe that the Sixth Prince, who is so dedicated to his country and his people and so brave and skilled in battle, is more capable of leading the Great Wei to prosperity!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the eyes of everyone in front of the imperial study lit up.
During this period, first the emperor fell ill in disgrace, then the princes competed for favor and secretly formed cliques, and then the emperor passed away. The princes brought the fight for the throne to the table, and there were swords and guns everywhere, leaving no chance for everyone to think much.
Now that I hear this reminder, it really dawns on me!
Yes, there's a sixth prince who has reached adulthood! And when they accompanied the emperor to the imperial palace earlier, many people had seen this prince. He was humble and polite, not competitive. Even if he wasn't a master of both civil and military skills, at least he wasn't tyrannical or cruel!
Given the current situation, no matter how you look at it, no matter how you look at it, no matter how you look at it, no matter how you look at it, it will be most beneficial to calming the current chaos in Wei!
"Where's the military report? Hurry up and get it!" A senior cabinet official made an excuse, saying, "I've been so busy with trivial matters lately that I haven't been able to pay attention to the border war. I'll take this opportunity to take a look."
In fact, everyone knows that caring about the war is fake. The real thing is to confirm whether the Sixth Prince is really going to the border to fight, not afraid of hardships, and defending the country!
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