An old man and his wife were digging in the vegetable garden in front of their house, preparing to plant some vegetables. As they were digging, "clang!" the hoe broke.
"What's going on?" The old woman came over and saw that there was a dark blue thing in the ground. She quickly dug it up and found an iron tablet. The tablet looked very old, as if it had been buried in the ground for hundreds of years.
The old man leaned closer to take a look and said, "My wife, look, there are words here."
Just then, a scholar walked in from outside the garden. "Uncle, ma'am, can I have a drink of water?"
The old woman, seeing that he was a scholar, hurriedly beckoned, "Young master, can you read? If you can, come and see what's written here."
The scholar circled around and entered the garden. He wiped the stone tablet with his hand and said, "This stone tablet has been buried in the ground for at least several thousand years. The characters on it are still ancient characters. It seems to say that it reads, 'The civil and military achievements are magnificent. Heaven has bestowed upon him his virtue and matched him with my son, who has received the mandate of heaven.'"
The old man and his wife were illiterate and didn't know what it meant, so they asked, "What does it mean?"
"The current emperor, before ascending the throne, was named Zhao Chongyi, with the courtesy name Ziyi. The word 'Ziyi' means 'the emperor is the only one in the world.' The inscription on the stone tablet means that the emperor is the emperor appointed by heaven. The term 'Son of Heaven' means this," the scholar explained.
"So that's what it means. The Emperor is the Son of Heaven, the Son of Heaven. That's what it means. Yes, that's exactly what it means." The old man and his wife nodded in agreement.
The scholar continued, "I heard that the Crown Prince was injured while carrying out disaster relief work. Ah, what a good emperor and a good crown prince!"
Wang Kuanqi was leading his clansmen, preparing to kneel before the palace gates to beg the emperor for justice, when Yang Zhong's men arrived.
"Lord Wang, my master asks you to calm down."
Wang Kuanqi asked in confusion, "Why?"
Yang Zhong's men handed over a slip of paper, saying, "You'll understand once you read this, sir."
Wang Kuanqi read the note Yang Zhong had given him and angrily kicked the chair next to him. "Outrageous! Who! Who dares to oppose me!"
He was in a rage when a servant rushed in to report, "Master, Master."
"If you keep yelling, I'll rip your tongue out!" Wang Kuanqi glared with bloodshot eyes and a face as black as a hunchback.
"My lord, it's being said everywhere in the streets, 'His civil and military achievements are outstanding, Heaven has bestowed upon him his virtue, and he has been matched with my son, who has received the Mandate of Heaven.'" The servant knelt at a distance, showing both fear of his master and reverence for the current emperor.
The Emperor is indeed a true Son of Heaven; no wonder Dayong has enjoyed favorable weather and peace all these years.
Upon hearing this, Wang Kuanqi was so enraged that he spat out a mouthful of blood, his eyes rolled back, and he fainted. "The Emperor is truly shameless!"
Yang Zhong locked himself in his study, muttering to himself, "Am I really getting old? Even in this situation, the Emperor still refuses to admit defeat."
Yang Yousu pushed open the study door and walked in. "Father, what should we do? This is clearly fake."
"Fake?" Yang Zhong looked at him.
“It’s fake, it’s man-made,” Yang Yousu said firmly.
"Ha, so what if it's fake? Some people believe it, the common people believe it, that's enough." Yang Zhong smiled sarcastically.
“But the Crown Prince’s disappearance is a fact,” Yang Yousu said unwillingly.
Yang Zhong stood up and walked out, saying as he went, "What do those ignorant people know? Even if the Crown Prince is in the palace right now, they won't see him. They should secretly search for him and bring his body back when they find him." The Crown Prince's injury has won him the hearts of the people, so let him remain a good Crown Prince forever.
Divine right of kings? Ha, only fools believe that. But the world is full of fools. He knows it's fake, but so what? He dares not tell anyone. Not only does he dare not tell anyone, but in front of others, he has to say that it is the will of Heaven.
So, is this what the Emperor was planning? The adult princes have all run into trouble, and the Yong Prince's mansion has also run into trouble. That means these people failed to share the Emperor's burdens, while the Crown Prince was injured while trying to share the Emperor's burdens. So, in a fit of anger, Heaven punished all the princes and the people of the Yong Prince's mansion.
This is truly a good reason, a brilliant counterattack, using the voices of the people to silence the powerful families and restrain the princes.
Even Grand Tutor Wang's death was almost in vain.
If aristocratic families also use this tactic against the emperor, then they are at a disadvantage.
Just as he expected, in less than half a day, the whole capital knew that the Crown Prince had fallen into the Canglan River while trying to divert water during a disaster relief mission and was now seriously injured.
The Emperor is the Emperor appointed by Heaven, and the Crown Prince is the Crown Prince appointed by the Emperor, so he is also the Crown Prince appointed by Heaven. When the Crown Prince was injured, Heaven was furious and punished several princes and nobles who were in the imperial family but had never made any contribution to the country.
Otherwise, why would only adult princes be injured, and why would only the Yongwang Mansion be the site of trouble? It must be Heaven's way of giving them a small punishment as a warning.
Liu Huan and Wang Jiyang gathered again at Qiu Tangshi's house, and the three of them burst into laughter.
"That was a brilliant move," Qiu Tang said, pouring himself a small glass of wine, his posture relaxed and his expression at ease.
“The next step will be much easier, but we still need to guard against the princes causing trouble,” Wang Jiyang said.
Liu Huan deeply agreed. As the Crown Prince's man, he desperately hoped that the Crown Prince would return alive. Before seeing the Crown Prince's body, he did not want any of the princes to cause trouble.
"Do you two gentlemen have any ideas?" Liu Huan asked.
Wang Jiyang and Qiu Tangshi exchanged a glance and laughed. Liu Huan was completely baffled. "My lords, please stop keeping me in suspense and tell me." He was genuinely anxious.
"The Crown Prince is seriously injured. What will happen to the princes? What will happen to the concubines? What will happen to everyone?" Qiu Chengshi asked several questions in a row.
Liu Huan still didn't understand. "How?"
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