Chapter 1111: Conquering the enemy without fighting is the best strategy
The atmosphere in the room suddenly became solemn. Jiang Xue winked at the wet nurse, and the two children were immediately carried to the warm room behind the screen.
The young emperor sat in the main seat and said in a deep voice: "Announce."
Half a cup of tea later, the postman covered in frost and dust hurried into the hall and presented a secret letter sealed with wax with both hands.
When Jiang Heng opened Lan Feng's handwritten document, the gilded armor made a slight sound as it scratched the parchment.
After he finished reading the letter, he handed it to his aunt, with wrinkles like distant mountains between his brows.
"Huangfu Shang is finally going to take the throne." Jiang Xue stroked the dark patterns on the letter paper with her fingertips, and the dust danced lightly in the beam of light coming through the south window.
The secret agent she had trained had reported unusual movements in Tianshui Imperial City half a month ago, but not as quickly as Lan Feng's urgent secret letter.
This grassland warlord watched Huangfu Shang's movements just like a falcon watching a cunning rabbit.
Xiao Zhan pondered and unfolded the letter, the golden cloud pattern on his black cuffs shimmering slightly: "Dead from a sudden illness? This illness came at an inopportune time."
Before he finished speaking, Jiang Xue sneered, "It's just a trick of brothers fighting against each other. The old emperor of Tianshui only has two direct descendants left. What can they do even if they know the inside story?"
"Lan Feng mentioned that the old emperor's illness was getting worse."
Xiao Zhan placed the secret letter on the table and used a white jade paperweight to hold down the corner of the letter. "If things continue like this, within three months..."
Before he finished speaking, everyone understood his meaning.
Jiang Xue stood up and walked to the carved bronze mirror, which reflected her slightly furrowed brows. "If the new monarch follows his father's example and engages in war..."
Her fingertips unconsciously brushed across the peony pattern on the mirror. She wanted to avenge her best friend, but last year's expedition to Xixia had emptied the treasury, so now was definitely not the right time to start a war.
"Let's see how Huangfu Shang makes his move."
Xiao Zhan picked up the celadon teacup, his eyes blurred by the mist: "When this man was pretending to be an idle prince, he dared to have secret dealings with Xixia. Now that he is in power..."
The unfinished words dissipated with the aroma of tea. Everyone present knew that Tianshui Kingdom had annexed large tracts of Western Xia territory in recent years, and its military strength was no longer comparable to what it used to be.
The young emperor suddenly spoke, his childish voice revealing a calmness that did not match his age: "This spring, the tax revenue of each prefecture has increased by 30% compared to previous years, and the grain stored in Taicang can last for three years."
Jiang Heng picked up the red pen and tapped a certain spot on the map: "My aunt always said that the best strategy is to defeat the enemy without fighting."
Jiang Xue looked back at her brother in astonishment, then suddenly smiled, her gilded hairpin swaying with brilliance: "Your Majesty is wise."
She gently stroked the python embroidered on the boy's shoulder with her bare hands, and suddenly realized that the younger brother who held her sleeve back then was now able to carry mountains and rivers on his shoulders under his dragon robe.
Seeing this, Xiao Zhan smiled and said, "Your Majesty has recently studied the "Salt and Iron Theory" and has gained a lot of insights."
Jiang Heng's ears turned red but he straightened his back: "It's because of the good teaching of the Grand Tutor."
Before he finished speaking, the sound of children playing was heard in the warm room, and the solemn court was suddenly filled with the worldly life.
Half a month later, heavy snow fell in the Tianshui Palace.
The old emperor on his sickbed forced himself to issue an edict, ordering Huangfu Shang to take over the seal of regent.
That night, twelve former officials of the Eastern Palace were secretly taken to the imperial prison. The newly replaced armor of the guards on Suzaku Street shone coldly in the snow.
The echoes of the court officials' cheers of "Long live the emperor" were still lingering on the golden dragon pillars of the Taiji Hall. Huangfu Shang stood in front of the jade steps with his head lowered. The four-clawed python pattern on his black court robe glowed coldly in the morning light.
Ever since the sudden death of the late Crown Prince Huangfu Shen, memorials from the three ministries and nine officials in the court have piled up on the imperial desk like snowflakes, and without exception, all of them are requesting the establishment of a new crown prince.
This legitimate prince, who quelled the rebellion of the thirteen tribes in the Western Xinjiang, rectified the grain transport system and eradicated corruption, finally ascended to the throne of the Crown Prince.
"Shang'er."
The emperor on the gilded dragon chair suddenly spoke, startling the ambergris ash in the incense burner and causing it to fall to the ground.
The emperor, who was over fifty, had gray hair on his temples, but his eyes were still as sharp as when he personally conquered the Northern Di. "Have you seen the auspicious date proposed by the Ministry of Rites?"
Huangfu Shang maintained a proper degree of humility: "I am very humble, but the matter of the crown prince is entirely up to your majesty's decision."
"It all depends on the Holy Judgment!"
The emperor suddenly slammed the teacup on the table. The crisp sound of the celadon porcelain cracking startled the eunuchs in the corridor and they knelt down in panic:
"Then tell me, why did the three bodies that were carried out from the back alley of the Prince's Mansion on the night Shen'er died suddenly appear in the secret files of the Ministry of Justice?"
The sunlight filtering in through the long carved windows floated on the coiled dragon bricks, and the air was as stagnant as iron.
Huangfu Shang slowly raised his eyes and met his father's hawk-like gaze: "Father, since you have seen the coroner's report, you should know that my brother died of an overdose of Ji Le Powder. As for that woman..."
He brushed off the tea foam on his sleeves, and a smile appeared on the corners of his lips: "Since she can make the crown prince stop attending court for seven consecutive days, she can also make the East Palace secret pharmacy have a few more rare Western delicacies."
The emperor's knuckles turned white from pinching the paper, and the paperweight with a carving of a Bi'an on the desk cracked.
The strange horse fright at the spring hunting ground three years ago and the poison-testing eunuch who disappeared from the imperial kitchen five days ago, all these events made the emperor's mind surge.
He suddenly remembered Shen'er's hand that was clutching his sleeve when she was dying. There was half a blood-stained peacock feather embedded in the purple nails - it was the ornament on Huangfu Shang's crown.
"Killing one's brother is treasonous and the entire clan should be executed according to the law."
The emperor's sword was unsheathed with a clang, and the tip of the sword was pressed against the throat of his son. "Do you think that by controlling the twelve guards, you can force me to write an edict of succession?"
Bright red blood beads rolled down the sword blade, blooming into red plum blossoms on the apricot yellow lichen.
Huangfu Shang suddenly chuckled and said, "Father, do you know that I just received an urgent message from the northern border 800 miles away yesterday?"
He flicked the sword with his fingertips, and the sound of metal hitting metal startled the birds sleeping under the eaves:
"One hundred thousand Turkish cavalry have already passed Yinshan Mountain, and the tiger talisman that can mobilize the Northern Guard Army is now in the golden python pattern bag in my arms."
Years of dust accumulated on the ceiling fluttered in the beam of light, and the clepsydra on the imperial desk suddenly stopped.
The emperor looked at his son, whose features and eyebrows were exactly the same as his own when he was young, and seemed to see the pool of blood in front of Xuanwu Gate thirty years ago.
Back then, he also stood in front of his elder brother holding a sword, and at this moment, the coiled dragon pattern on the hilt was hurting his palm.
"Go to the Imperial Ancestral Temple and kneel down!"
The emperor suddenly threw his sword to the ground, and the blade of the fine steel sank three inches into the gold brick: "Ancestors, please wait and see how a rebellious person like you can shoulder the responsibility of the country!"
The vermilion palace door closed tightly behind Huangfu Shang. He stroked the bloodstain on his neck and let his fingertips stain the jade belt around his waist with blood.
A dull bell sound came from the direction of the Taimiao, startling a group of crows perched on the palace walls, which flew across the red clouds above the imperial city in a black mass.
The Purple Palace was filled with ambergris mist. The old emperor stroked the gilded handrail and sighed:
"My left and right hands are both my dearest. No matter how I make a decision, it will hurt your bloodline. In the final analysis, it is because I did not teach you the principle of protecting your younger brothers."
His skinny fingers suddenly grasped the collar of his clothes: "If you want to judge me, you should first cut out this biased heart of mine."
Huangfu Shang's palms behind his back were oozing with sweat, and his shoulders under his dark brocade robe were trembling slightly.
Only after making sure that the imperial guards were motionless did he loosen his clenched knuckles.
Amid the ticking sound of the copper clock, Emperor Chengping suddenly stared at the jade seal on the desk and said, "Shen'er is not cut out to be a monarch after all."
Without waiting for a response, he continued, "Back then, the Imperial Astronomical Observatory said that two stars were in conflict with Ziwei, but I refused to believe it. I thought that with your assistance, the country would be stable."
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