Half an hour later, Madam Liu brought Tao Ge'er to the outside of Fengtian Hall. Seeing so many people standing in the hall, Tao Ge'er subconsciously wanted to hide behind Madam Liu. But he remembered what Madam Liu had told him before she came, that he must not show his timidity in front of others, otherwise she would not take him to play with his third sister. He hadn't seen his third sister for a long time and missed her very much.
So Tao Ge'er kept saying in his heart, "They are all cabbages, they are all cabbages", pretending not to see the people in the hall. But soon, he found Liu Ziqi sitting in the hall, and Liu Yu standing among the crowd, and he was not so scared anymore.
He happily shouted to Liu Ziqi who was sitting on the dragon chair: "Big brother!"
Liu Ziqi responded with a gentle smile.
Tao Ge'er tried to break free from Madam Liu's hand and ran to the hall to find him, but Madam Liu hurriedly held him back.
Liu Yu said, "This is my eldest son. Lord Shen, please come and see him."
Liu Zitao stood beside Madam Liu and allowed everyone in the hall to stare at him. Although he felt very uncomfortable being stared at, he raised his chin proudly in the encouraging and admiring eyes of Liu Ziqi.
As soon as Liu Zitao stood in the main hall, it became clear who was more like Liu Yu between him and Liu Ziqi.
Although Liu Zitao looked innocent and honest, it was easy to tell from the contours of his eyebrows that he was 60% similar to Liu Yu. An old minister who had worked with Liu Yu since he was young said bluntly: "The eldest son of Lord Liu looks too much like Lord Liu when he was young." After saying that, he felt sorry. The eldest son of the Liu family was tall and looked no different from an ordinary person at first glance. If it weren't for the intellectual impairment caused by illness, with the guidance of Lord Liu, he would definitely be an outstanding person.
"Madam, please take Brother Tao down first." Liu Ziqi said in a gentle voice.
Madam Liu bowed with Tao Ge'er and left the hall.
"Lord Shen, do you have anything else to say?" Liu Ziqi said in a very calm tone, "If it is just an insignificant matter, there is no need to bring it up in the palace. There are still many court affairs that need to be resolved urgently."
Shen Tian said, "Don't worry. Even if there is no doubt about your background, Prince Ye, as Concubine Rong said, the emperor is just unconscious, not dead. You have neither the emperor's abdication edict nor the succession edict. How can you be qualified to rule the world? Such behavior is tantamount to stealing the country. What is the difference between you and the traitor Ji Wudao?"
"Even if we go to Xianyang to purge the emperor's court, it should be the emperor's prince who gives the order, not you, Prince Ye!"
Liu Ziqi held the Chilong armrest and smiled slowly.
"I wonder if any of you ministers agree with what Lord Shen said?"
The court was silent, with former members of Shen's party mingling among them, and no one stood out to stand with Shen Tian.
Yu Qizhe said in a clear voice: "The country cannot be without a ruler for a day. Xianyang is now controlled by Cheng Ying, and the life and death of Emperor Mingzheng is unknown. It is the wish of all the people and officials for Prince Ye to ascend the throne and support the government."
"Emperor Kuang Mingzheng was obsessed with cultivating immortality and seeking the elixir of immortality. He wasted people's money and labor, ignored the people, and disregarded the government. He favored corrupt officials and did not distinguish between loyalty and treachery. He was incompetent and lawless. The people have long been complaining. If it weren't for the palace coup, Crown Prince Chen should have inherited the throne and sat on the throne. Lord Shen, don't pretend you don't know. You were an eyewitness to the palace coup."
Yu Qizhe's words were sharp, pointing out that Zhu Kuang was incompetent and that his throne was obtained illegitimately, which shocked all the officials in the palace.
Shen Tian said sarcastically: "The emperor is not dead yet, but Lord Yu is eager to flatter the new emperor. No wonder he can be so popular in the officialdom and rise to the top."
"He is not as courageous as Lord Shen. He relies on his status as a former minister of two dynasties to bully others and repeatedly question what the current emperor says in this hall." Yu Qizhe retorted.
Only now did the others realize how powerful Yu Qizhe was. It would be a waste of talent to send such arguments to the Dali Temple. He should have been sent to the Censorate.
Liu Ziqi raised his hand to stop the verbal battle between the two, with a fierce look in his eyes, and said: "It doesn't matter if Lord Shen doesn't recognize me as the emperor. I remember that Ji Wudao was recommended by Lord Shen to be the commander-in-chief of the two military garrisons. He should avoid suspicion. Come, send Lord Shen home to recuperate!"
The palace guards immediately rushed out, one on the left and one on the right, to "invite" Shen Tian to leave.
Shen Tian no longer had the glory he once had in the hall, nor did he have the support of the Shen Party, who used to have so much support. He was forcefully asked to leave by the hall guards.
All the officials saw this and could vaguely feel that although the new emperor looked gentle on the outside, he was very decisive in his actions.
Upon seeing this, Concubine Rong felt disheartened. She hugged the Fourth Prince and wanted to leave quietly, but even the slightest movement in the hall would attract a lot of attention.
"Right now the situation in Xianyang is unclear and the rebellion is imminent. I have decided to let Xiao Ning lead the troops to Xianyang, and Yu Shaoqing will cooperate with him." Liu Ziqi did not even give her a look. After Shen Tian left, he talked about business. It was more like he directly gave his own plan rather than discussing it with the officials, and no one was allowed to object.
The civil and military officials all understood that there could not be two emperors in the world. As long as Emperor Mingzheng was alive, the new emperor would not feel at ease. Therefore, they tactfully did not raise any objections.
Feng Yuanqi, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, said, "The rebellion of the rebels should not be underestimated. Ji Wudao has 200,000 soldiers and horses under his command. We must be on guard against his counterattack."
"What Minister Feng said makes sense. I had made some arrangements with General Xiao in Datong, Shanxi. Yesterday, the people who were watching the rebels sent news that Ji Wudao was on the way back to Shanxi with the rebels. Now the military strength in the capital is weak, and the Weining Army needs to stay in the capital for the time being. My dear ministers, please discuss where to transfer troops to Shanxi to quell the rebellion most conveniently and quickly. We will make a decision at the court tomorrow morning." Liu Ziqi said.
After these two things were said, Song Ling, the Minister of Rites, stepped out. He did not ignore Rongpin beside him and said, "The emperor has moved into the palace, and the concubines in the harem should also have a place to go. I wonder if this matter should be left to the emperor to decide, or should we, the Ministry of Rites, discuss it?"
"Let your Ministry of Rites draft it." Liu Ziqi understood that Song Ling's words could save him a lot of trouble. If he gave the order directly, no matter how he arranged it, he would inevitably be criticized, and he might be accused of being harsh on Emperor Mingzheng's concubines and the princes.
The assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice was also eager to express his views in front of the new emperor, saying: "Your Majesty must not tolerate this Concubine Rong."
Liu Ziqi glanced at Rongpin and her son and said, "The Fourth Prince is still young and may not be able to distinguish right from wrong. Rongpin is suspected of instigating, so she should be demoted to a commoner, given 20 strokes of the cane, and sent to a nunnery to worship Buddha and pray for the Fourth Prince."
"Your Majesty is kind and benevolent." The Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice praised hurriedly.
Rongpin felt relieved. She thought she would really be exiled three thousand miles away. In that case, she, a weak woman, would probably die on the way to exile and would never be able to return to the capital. Going to the nunnery was a rare good ending, and Liu Ziqi had not yet taken his anger out on her son.
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