Chapter 509
"But isn't he afraid that the matter of gunpowder will be known by the other princes and they will become wary of him and deal with him together next?" Yuan Jing asked doubtfully.
Jing Lie guessed, "Maybe he can't wait any longer. Among the princes, his situation is the worst. In addition, the emperor's health is declining and he won't live long, so he can't hold back. I think he may be looking for an opportunity to do something big."
Jing Lie hit the nail on the head. The Fifth Prince really made a big move. He wanted to wipe out the old emperor and other princes at once. If he was the only prince left, who else would be qualified to sit on the throne except him?
In the blink of an eye, it was the end of the year. The old emperor, who was so angry about the eldest prince's affairs that he vomited blood, was in better health again, so the palace prepared to celebrate properly. It was the empress dowager who suggested this. She wanted the emperor to enjoy the happiness of his family and asked the princes and grandchildren to come to the emperor to express their filial piety and hope that the emperor's health would get better soon. Even the fifth prince who was under house arrest was released at the empress dowager's intercession.
When Yuan Jing heard about this, he guessed that it must be the Fifth Prince who bribed the people around the Queen Mother and whispered in her ear. To put it bluntly, the Queen Mother was easily persuaded and nodded in agreement without realizing how serious the situation in the fight for the throne was. The so-called harmony was simply impossible to exist.
That night, Yuan Jing and Jing Lie, who were originally staying in the hot spring villa, changed into night clothes and sneaked back to the capital. The two stood on the highest point of the roof, quietly waiting for the development of the situation in the palace.
In fact, this situation was not only the result of the efforts of the Fifth Prince alone. The reason why it went so smoothly was because of the support of other princes and concubines. The old emperor's health could not hold on for much longer, but the position of the crown prince had not been decided yet. Everyone wanted to take advantage of this last moment to scramble for it. If they succeeded, they would be above millions of people. As a prince, who would not want that supreme position?
Yuan Jing could have stopped it, but why did he do that? This situation was not caused by him, but by the ambitions of these princes. In fact, a key factor was that Han Miao, the time-traveling girl, brought the biggest change. The gunpowder she brought would change the fate of many people, and the biggest change was the fifth prince.
Originally, the fifth prince lived a quiet life in the back while the other princes fought each other to a draw, which allowed him, the only prince who seemed not to be involved, to win the emperor's favor. Before the old emperor died, he designated him as the successor to the throne. But this time, because of the interference of the time-traveling woman, the fifth prince entered the game early, and even jumped around more than anyone else.
So this night may end in total destruction.
From their height, they could see that the palace was decorated with lights and it was a festive occasion, but the atmosphere inside the imperial city was depressing. Officials from various factions knew that a palace coup would take place tonight and its success or failure depended on God's will. They were waiting nervously. Even Yuan Jing and his team could see local personnel transfers and lurking in some places.
He was almost dozing off when a loud explosion suddenly sounded from the direction of the palace. Yuan Jing woke up with a start and looked in that direction: "Here they are, finally here?"
Jing Lie took him into his arms with amusement and shielded him from the wind: "Here it comes, the Fifth Prince did it after all, he is really crazy."
Yuan Jing had also experienced many palace coups and coups, and could only say that this was a drawback of the imperial power model and was simply unavoidable. He just lost interest in going into the palace to watch: "Forget it, we'll just watch here and wait for the noise over there to end."
Jing Lie let Yuan Jing go and didn't want to see what was going on. Anyway, he could guess what the situation was and someone would report to him.
They were not too shocked, but for many families in the capital who were unaware of the situation, they were extremely shocked and terrified when they heard the deafening explosion coming from the direction of the imperial palace. Most officials could only restrain their family members and ask them to stay in the mansion, not to go out or let anyone in, and they also organized servants to guard each door.
The old emperor had never expected that the fifth prince would be so mad. The entire palace was blown up. He saw with his own eyes that the third prince was killed on the spot, and the fourth prince was barely alive. The fifth prince laughed behind him: "Father, did you see that? You forced me to do this. If you had passed the throne to me earlier, nothing would have happened. But you forced me to take action. Otherwise, what good would have happened to me?"
"You guys forced me to do this. Now I have killed all my good brothers. Besides me, who else can you pass the throne to?"
When the third prince was killed on the spot by the explosion, the old Queen Mother was so frightened by the bloody scene that she fainted.
"Old Fifth, you..." The old emperor's eyes were bloodshot and his whole body was trembling.
"Puff!" But at this moment, the fifth prince rushed forward, spitting blood. The tip of the knife was exposed in his chest, and he was stabbed through the heart.
The fifth prince looked back in disbelief. It was a guard he had brought into the palace who had stabbed him with a knife when he was in the best mood: "You..."
The guard said expressionlessly, "The Grand Prince asked me to pass a message to the Fifth Prince. The Grand Prince said this is tit-for-tat."
The old emperor was originally extremely angry, but he did not expect that the fifth prince would fall in front of him in the blink of an eye. His eyes were wide open before he died, and it was obvious that he died with his eyes open. The old emperor finally vomited blood and fell down, his face as pale as paper.
Outside, court officials were leading people to the palace. The commotion in the palace was too loud, and they needed to know what had happened to His Majesty and the princes. Of course, there were also officials who wanted to come and reap the fruits of victory.
But no one expected to face a messy scene with corpses all over the ground. Some people vomited on the spot. Who could have thought that these princes and grandchildren would end up like this. In this palace coup, no one was the final winner.
Originally, the explosions should have been heard outside the palace in coordination with those inside. The Fifth Prince had already arranged several blasting points. At the same time as the coup, several strongholds outside the palace were also taken down. No one could stop his actions. However, Jing Lie did not stop the actions inside the palace, but the actions were taken outside the palace. None of the points could be exploded.
Although the fifth prince invented gunpowder, it was still the most crude, and a bucket of water was enough to resolve the crisis.
"Dead? All dead?"
"Not all of them died, but the only one who was intact was the young Ninth Prince. But in my opinion, the Ninth Prince was also stunned by the explosion."
"This...what should I do?"
Who could have thought that the situation would be so tragic? The ministers felt a chill in their hearts when they saw it. They were even a little glad that the fifth prince also died in this rebellion. Otherwise, if he survived, the throne would have mostly fallen on him. Even if the ministers had their own selfish motives, they could not imagine letting such a cruel prince take the throne.
Finally, the ministers invited the eldest prince to take charge of the situation. Compared with other princes, the eldest prince had one crippled leg, but his injury had almost healed and he could still walk and work. The other surviving princes could only lie in bed.
The eldest prince sneered, and at the same time he was extremely sad. In a fight, all his brothers except Xiaojiu were involved. He was alive, but because one of his legs was crippled, he would never have the chance to become the emperor.
But looking at his current situation, he withdrew early and the outcome is still good. At least his life is saved, and he will not be feared by the next emperor.
The common people in the capital only knew that something happened in the palace. There was such a loud noise that night, how could ordinary people not know about it? But now the capital is in a panic, and people coming and going dare not stay. Teahouses and restaurants have become much quieter, with few customers.
It was under such circumstances that Prince Shun appeared in the Imperial City with his men, bringing with him evidence of the Fifth Prince's crimes and the Fifth Prince's arrangements in various places in the Imperial City. If it were not for the people left behind by Prince Shun who kept a close eye on the Fifth Prince's movements, the Imperial City would have been overturned by the Fifth Prince using explosives.
The eldest prince suddenly burst into laughter, unable to control himself. These princes were fighting to the death, but in the end the court might fall into the hands of Uncle Shun. Uncle Shun was the one who had been sitting on the mountain and watching the fight.
But could he blame Prince Shun for standing by and watching him being crippled by the Fifth Prince's trick? If he were in the other's shoes, would he choose to stop it or tell the truth in advance? It would be a good thing if there was no one inside to muddy the waters, so how could he come forward to stop it?
When Prince Shun entered the palace, he saw the palace that was reduced to ruins that night. He became afraid of gunpowder. The two masters in the palace were unconscious, and the old emperor was completely injured after vomiting blood. Even if he was rescued, he would not live for a few days. Therefore, no one had been able to make a decision in the past two days as to whether to wake up His Majesty.
"That is to say, if we don't wake up my brother, we can only delay time, right?"
"Yes, Your Highness Prince Shun." The old imperial physician said respectfully.
"Call me. No matter what the consequences are, I will bear them all on my shoulders."
"Yes, Your Highness." No matter what, His Majesty must leave a will.
After acupuncture and drug administration, the old emperor finally woke up and looked quite energetic. However, no one knew that this was his last breath.
When the old emperor woke up, he thought of the tragic scene before, and his face suddenly turned pale again. When he saw Prince Shun appear in his bedroom, his face became even uglier: "Why are you here?"
"You guys go back first. I will have a few words with my brother alone."
The others looked up at the old emperor, who waved his hand and told them to go down.
Those people outside didn't know what Prince Shun talked about with the emperor, but when they were called in again, the emperor left a will, handing the throne to Prince Shun. When this will was announced, the ministers were shocked. Even if it was handed over to the ninth prince, it was better than Prince Shun. Why would it be passed to Prince Shun?
Although there have been such precedents in history, this dynasty is not without princes. Even though the ninth prince is young, there is still the eldest prince who can serve as regent, and there is no need to worry about the eldest prince seizing the throne.
But the imperial edict has been issued, the situation has been determined, and even the eldest prince has acquiesced. What can they change?
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