Chapter 958 You Will Be the Emperor
Luoyang, the divine capital, is located at the confluence of the Yi River and the Luo River. According to many legends, it is a sacred city of eternal light.
In the Tianguan Yamen, as this year's chief examiner, Luo Junwei finished reading the last exam paper with the name on it covered, and stood up. Her hair was already gray, but she still kept it meticulous. Seeing this, the other examiners in the hall stood up one after another. Luo Junwei said loudly, "Everyone, His Majesty needs it urgently. Please quickly unseal the exam papers and compile the names. I will go to the palace to report to His Majesty."
The people in the Ministry of Heaven hurriedly removed the test papers that had been screened out with their names covered. Since the emperor passed away in the Tianshou Palace a few years ago, Li Zhe, no, now it's Li Xian, was briefly considered for the position of crown prince, but was soon excluded because of misconduct. The country cannot be without a monarch for a day, and Prince Li Dan made it to the end and became the emperor of Tang Dynasty, but no one knew why he did not go to worship King Su. Some rumors came out that Li Dan did not get the recognition of King Su, but they soon disappeared. Li Dan had no real power. Now the Queen Mother of Tang Dynasty is the only one in power. She is not an emperor but has the power of an emperor.
The Queen Mother has always attached great importance to the imperial examination and invested a lot of resources in civil governance. In order not to interfere with the imperial examination selection, she even gave the sons of noble families such as meritorious officials, royal family, and relatives to the military officers. In the officialdom of the Tang Dynasty, a saying gradually spread that the rich and powerful tend to be military, while the poor tend to be literary.
The reason why Luo Junwei attached great importance to this imperial examination was that Wu Zhao would hold a palace examination in Tianshou Palace this year, and she would personally arrange the seats for the candidates taking part in the imperial examination.
The intention was obvious. She wanted to see these imperial elites who had been selected through layers of selection in person and select those who could assist in the government in the future. The deeper intention was that Wu Zhao could manually adjust the ratio of poor and wealthy families, which was also one of the purposes of Wu Zhao's palace examination.
…
As the sun sets, the brilliant sunset glows the sky, making it red. Everyone has his or her own troubles. So, as the emperor of the Tang Dynasty, what troubles did Li Dan have?
He did not eat in the bedroom. Instead, he held his bowl and sat directly on the stone steps in front of the hall. He looked at the red sky and ate bite by bite. From time to time, he let out a sigh. His body was a little hunched and he did not look at all spirited.
"Royal brother."
A clear voice came from the door in the distance. Li Dan looked up and saw a wonderful person with a majestic appearance walking in. Every time he saw Princess Taiping, he would feel a little dazed, because Princess Taiping and his mother Wu Zhao looked really alike.
Taiping was holding a box of snacks in her hand and looking at Li Dan with complicated eyes. Many people had told her not to say anything extra about the relationship between her mother and brother.
"My little sister is here."
Li Dan showed a smile from the heart on his face. He and Taiping were the youngest children. Taiping was much younger than him. The relationship between the two was the best between siblings.
Taiping came over and spread out his handkerchief, then sat beside Li Dan, feeling a little distressed. He reached out and took out a piece of fragrant cake, "Brother, this is the most popular snack in Shendu now. It's from Luo's shop. It contains the best fine sugar, which is sold in all four regions. Try it."
Li Dan reached out and took it. He took a bite and found it sweet and soft with an endless aftertaste. The sweetness relieved his tired mood a little. He felt that this was the best thing he had ever eaten in his life. For a moment, he was so happy that he wanted to cry. "Little sister, hey, you are the only one who can talk to me."
Li Dan choked as he ate and talked. Taiping quickly fed him water and patted his back. "Mother is a strong-willed man. Brother, don't take it too seriously. You are the emperor of the Tang Dynasty. No one can deny that."
Li Dan grabbed Taiping's hand and said, "Little sister, I can't get the Mandate of the Tang Dynasty, and I don't have the ability to be qualified. Mother doesn't like me, and she loves you the most. Little sister, go and ask mother to let Brother Xian Wang come back to be the emperor. I really don't want to be the emperor. Please save me."
Li Dan's voice was urgent, which scared Taiping. Li Dan begged bitterly, and it could be seen that he really didn't want to be the emperor. Taiping actually knew that her mother had the same idea. The reason why she let Li Dan become the emperor was because of the saying that a country cannot be without a monarch for a day. Li Zhi's death was rather sudden. He died suddenly while seriously ill and there was no time to make too many arrangements. Wu Zetian's arrangements were not fully implemented, which allowed Li Dan to take advantage of the opportunity.
But this was just a stopgap measure. Everyone in the court knew that Li Dan's succession did not mean the end of the fight for the throne. Li Xian still had a chance. The most obvious evidence was that the current reign title of the Tang Dynasty was still Tianfeng!
That's right.
Li Dan succeeded to the throne and did not even change the reign title.
The current Li Dan is more like an intern emperor, in a probationary period. If he fails to satisfy the world, Prince of Wei Li Xian may still come back.
Seeing Li Dan's expression, Taiping patted him on the back again and said, "Don't worry, my brother. I will tell mother. With the teacher's help, your wish will surely come true."
Hearing the word "teacher", Li Dan fell into a trance again. In today's world, as the legitimate son of the late emperor and the empress, his status was extremely noble. Although he was not talented, he had been taught by various famous teachers since childhood. But even though they were all famous teachers, there was still a gap between them. His sister, Princess Taiping, was the one who was loved by everyone.
Their mother, Empress Wu Zhao, chose Luo Junwei as the teacher for Princess Taiping!
This is comparable to when Emperor Taizong chose Luo Xuanye as a teacher for Li Chengqian. Luo Junwei is the real prime minister, and the rest are her yes-men. Who doesn't know this?
Princess Taiping's husband was already from the Luo family, but he still had to succeed Luo Junwei. This was another special thing that the Queen Mother did to Luo Junwei.
Seeing that Taiping agreed to his request, Li Dan finally relaxed a little. The brother and sister chatted a lot more until it got dark. Princess Taiping said goodbye and left.
Li Dan just stared at Princess Taiping's back as she slowly disappeared at the palace gate. Her familiar walking posture made him feel a little dazed.
Princess Taiping walked out of the door, looked back, and then went straight to Tianshou Hall. Although it was already dark, the lights in Tianshou Hall were still on. Wu Zhao was still reviewing memorials, and Luo Junwei was sitting opposite her. The two were discussing state affairs and some trivial matters.
Luo Junwei was a woman, so it was very convenient for her to enter and leave the palace, and she often stayed overnight in the palace.
From a political perspective, this point alone is something that ordinary ministers cannot compare to. In front of a minister like Luo Junwei, even eunuchs, who usually stir up trouble inside and outside the country, have lost their function. Luo Junwei can be said to have combined both internal and external power in one person.
As soon as Princess Taiping appeared outside the palace, the maid hurried in and reported, "Your Majesty, Princess Taiping is here."
Just as the voice fell, Princess Taiping had already walked in from outside the palace. The Taiping here was different from the Taiping in Li Dan's palace just now. She was full of nobleness. Before she arrived, her voice came first, "Long live the queen mother. Long live mother."
Princess Taiping usually called Wu Zhao mother, but when Luo Junwei was present, she would make a distinction. She couldn't call Luo Junwei teacher, as that would be rude.
"Have you visited your brother?"
Wu Zhao's love for Taiping was beyond words, because Taiping looked so much like her, and Princess Taiping was also very talented. In politics, Wu Zhao felt that she was "similar to me". Princess Taiping's talent was also one of the main reasons why Wu Zhao made up her mind.
Princess Taiping snuggled up to Wu Zhao and said, "Mother, I have been chatting with my brother in the palace for a long time and I have something to say. After all, my brother is an emperor. Isn't it a bit bad to let him stay in the palace all the time? When I went there, he had lost some weight."
Wu Zhao's face froze when she heard this, and then she said unhappily, "Your brother has been timid since he was young, and he has no demeanor like me at all. I didn't do anything to your brother, Prince Wei, but he was afraid of me like a tiger. I was just saying something in anger, but he didn't even dare to say a word. I am really disappointed."
Princess Taiping smiled awkwardly. She didn't have a particularly deep memory of her brother Li Xian, Prince Wei. Although they were siblings, they did not meet very often. But Luo Junwei had told her about the rumors in the palace, so of course she knew what her mother was talking about.
Before, Li Dan made Wu Zetian angry, so Wu Zetian put Li Dan under house arrest. As a result, Li Dan didn't dare to say a word and was really kept under house arrest. He was too honest and didn't even understand the principle of walking away after being beaten with a large stick. No wonder Wu Zetian was always dissatisfied with him.
Princess Taiping thought about what Li Dan had asked her to do today. After a while, she spoke tentatively, "Mother, my brother told me today that he felt that he did not have the ability and virtue to be a king. In the short time since he took the position of Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, he has been trembling with fear, unable to sleep at night, and tossing and turning. I am afraid that if this continues, it will only cause irreparable harm to the Tang Dynasty, and he will not be able to face the people of the world and his ancestors in the future. So he wants to ask you, mother, to establish a new emperor."
After saying this, Princess Taiping quietly looked at her mother's reaction. She had thought her mother would be furious. After all, this kind of behavior of giving up one's job was somewhat inappropriate. This was why Li Dan did not dare to say it himself, and only dared to let the favored Princess Taiping say it. But to her great surprise, her mother was not angry. The inexplicable expression on her face made her a little puzzled.
Instead, her teacher Luo Junwei asked, "It is important for a person to know himself. It is not easy for His Majesty to have such an understanding. Taiping thinks that if the emperor is really deposed, who can become the new emperor?"
Wu Zhao also looked over. Both mothers stared at her. Taiping felt a little nervous and said hesitantly, "If we depose the emperor, then it must be Brother Xian, the Prince of Wei. We can't call Brother Xian, the Prince of Wei, back from Penglai. That would cause unrest in the Tang Dynasty."
But after she finished speaking, she felt something was wrong. If Li Xian really wanted to succeed to the throne, her mother would not have skipped Li Xian and let Li Dan succeed to the throne. How could she go back now? She was a little confused and looked at her mother in disbelief. Are they really going to call back her brother Prince Wei to succeed to the throne?
Wu Zetian stared at Princess Taiping's face. Princess Taiping had a very dignified, majestic, and bright appearance. In physiognomy, people with this appearance are called dragon eyes and phoenix necks. The more Wu Zetian looked at her, the more she felt that she saw herself in the past. She suddenly smiled and asked, "Taiping, have you never thought about becoming an emperor?"
I?
No one can accurately describe Princess Taiping's expression when she heard these words.
She felt as if a bolt of lightning struck her from the blue sky, and countless fireworks exploded in her mind, leaving her mind blank. This was the normal reaction of a person after hearing or seeing something that was completely beyond imagination.
"Don't joke around, mother."
The first thing Princess Taiping said after she came to her senses was to hug Wu Zetian's arm and act coquettishly.
But Wu Zhao did not speak. Princess Taiping and Luo Junwei looked at each other. Luo Junwei smiled gently and asked, "Why does Taiping think your majesty is joking?"
Luo Junwei also said so. Princess Taiping realized that something was wrong. Her voice was a little hoarse and dry, like two pieces of iron rubbing against each other without lubrication. "How can a woman be an emperor?"
How can a woman become an emperor?
Good question!
When they heard this, Wu Zhao and Luo Junwei laughed out loud at the same time, and suddenly several thunders rumbled in the sky.
Luo Junwei sighed deeply, "How can a woman be an emperor? This has always been the tradition in everyone's eyes since ancient times.
How can one become the Son of Heaven if he is not a descendant of Huangdi?
The Three Dynasties and the Qin Dynasty were all descendants of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors of ancient times. How could a peasant obtain the Mandate of Heaven? When Emperor Gaozu of Han established the Han Dynasty, someone asked this question.
How can a subject rebel against his king?
Someone asked this question when Shang Tang was attacking the Xia Dynasty.
How can a king appoint outsiders instead of his relatives?
Someone asked this question when the hereditary nobility and official titles were abolished.
How many "it has always been like this" that were once regarded as truths have become a laughing stock in this era?
Has it always been like this? Is it right?
You see, even you, a princess of the Li family's direct lineage, dare not imagine that a woman can become an emperor. This is a kind of ideological constraint, and to break this constraint, a woman is needed to become the emperor.
With this precedent, no one in the world will ever say things like "How can a woman be an emperor?" This is especially true because it sets a good example and will become a benchmark in the future.
Every word spoken by Luo Junwei hit Princess Taiping's heart hard. She was horrified to find that her teacher and mother-in-law, as well as her mother, the Empress Dowager of the Tang Empire, were serious. They were really thinking about making herself, the daughter of the late emperor, Princess Taiping, the future emperor of the Tang Dynasty, or even the Son of Heaven, if King Su approved.
"Mother, daughter, I..."
Princess Taiping was almost speechless.
————
The emperor was very handsome when he was young, with a dragon-like face and a phoenix-like neck. When he grew up, he was calm, intelligent and resourceful. The empress thought he was similar to herself, so she favored him among all the sons. When Xiang Wang Dan abdicated, he became the emperor and took the throne, creating an unprecedented era. - "Book of Tang: Chronicle of Emperor Shizong"
(End of this chapter)
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