Chang'an is still cold in the first month of the year. Spring has not yet arrived, winter is still there, and the snow is still there.
The heavy snow covered Chang'an City with a silver look. The New Year's excitement had passed, but Chang'an City was boiling again.
The news of yesterday's grand court meeting has now spread throughout Chang'an. After hearing the news, the first reaction of the people in Chang'an City was that it was nonsense -
Ministers impeach the emperor?
I have only heard of the emperor executing a minister's entire family or even killing all nine generations of his clan, but I have never heard of a minister impeaching the emperor.
In the flying snow, teahouses and taverns were full of people, and what they were talking about was the content of this grand court meeting.
It wasn't about the three provinces' policy plans for this year, but about the impeachment of the emperor.
"This is true! My nephew is the Minister of Rites. He said it himself when he came back last night!"
"How do you say that?"
"It was the young emperor who wanted to nationalize many businesses, such as your family's mines and cotton mills. Upon hearing this, Prime Minister Yan disagreed, saying that the retired emperor had spent many years building the current business system, which led to the prosperous and vibrant business atmosphere in Daxia today!"
"Prime Minister Yan is right. If they really take away my family's assets... then there's no point in running a business!"
"Yes, so Yan Shi immediately clashed with the young emperor and brought up the Constitution. It clearly states that if the emperor does something perverse, the three provinces can propose impeachment. Isn't that what actually happened?"
A group of people sat around the table, looking at each other. "So, has the emperor been impeached?"
"He's been confined, awaiting a cabinet vote. If the cabinet approves... then the emperor will no longer be the emperor. It all depends on how the three provinces will decide to deal with the little emperor. Oh, and something else has happened that's very gratifying!"
"What is it?"
"Prime Minister Yan ordered the garrison commander, Huo Huaijin, to lead his troops to the Inner Court... Do you know the Inner Court? It's the little court that the young emperor has set up in the palace, a small and unpopular court... Prime Minister Yan ordered Commander Huo to arrest everyone in the Inner Court. It was a brilliant operation. I guess the young emperor was probably deceived by those treacherous people in the Inner Court. Otherwise, how could the son of the retired emperor be so absurd?"
"But the Emperor is still the Emperor! Besides, our Emperor was personally chosen by the Retired Emperor. Also, I heard that the Retired Emperor and Prime Minister Yan are close friends, like brothers. In that case, Prime Minister Yan is the Emperor's uncle... If Prime Minister Yan does something this big, it will surely be known to the world... Wouldn't that be a disgrace to the Royal Family?"
"Besides, the Retired Emperor will definitely return from his expedition. If he returns and finds that his son has been captured by Prime Minister Yan and his men... do you think the Retired Emperor will be angry? The Retired Emperor is no ordinary person. If he were to make trouble... would those ministers in the three provinces, six ministries, and even the cabinet who voted to impeach the Emperor suffer any consequences?"
"Mr. Li, you simply don't understand the Emperor. The Constitution was drafted by the Emperor himself. Since he included this clause in it, he must have foreseen that a future Emperor might do something detrimental to Daxia!"
"And the current emperor has indeed done nothing to exploit the affairs of Daxia, so what's the problem with the three provinces launching an impeachment? In my opinion, when the emperor returns and learns about this, he will not blame these ministers, but will be even more relieved!"
"As for face, our emperor is a pragmatic man, he doesn't care about face at all!"
"But if that happens, we in Dachen will have no emperor!"
The old man stroked his beard and smiled faintly: "So what if there is no emperor? Even without Butcher Zhang, we won't eat hairy pigs! With three prime ministers and a cabinet to keep things in check, Daxia will still be the same Daxia. Don't worry, we will do what we need to do, and Daxia will only get better!"
“…”
Such scenes took place in the streets and alleys of Chang'an. Nowadays, ordinary people are accustomed to discussing political affairs, not to mention that this is an unprecedented and huge event.
They were shocked that the emperor was impeached by the ministers, but the shock did not last long. They quickly accepted the result and felt that it was a bit novel. It seemed that the absence of the emperor in Daxia had no impact on their business or life.
Yun Xiyan returned home.
You Xifeng, with a worried look on his face, took off his official uniform and changed him into a cotton robe. He asked, "You are really brave. He's his son. How could you actually impeach him?"
Yun Xiyan grinned: "If we don't impeach him... the future will not only be difficult for us, but also for the people of the world!"
"Don't worry about it. The cabinet will vote tomorrow. When the grand court meeting was adjourned, I spoke with Yan Xiwen and the others, along with Elder Zhuo, Lord Shangguan, and Elder Meng. Actually, this impeachment was initiated by Elder Zhuo after he met with Yan Xiwen a few years ago."
You Xifeng opened her mouth in astonishment and looked at Yun Xiyan, "Isn't he the emperor's great-grandfather?"
"This is where Master Zhuo's strength lies. He knows that if the Emperor continues like this, he's doomed. Of course, I think the main reason is that Master Zhuo knows that Fu Xiaoguan will come back sooner or later. So, rather than letting the situation get out of hand, it's better to impeach the Emperor now. This way, at least the Emperor's life can be saved!"
"So there won't be any surprises in this impeachment. The cabinet will approve it tomorrow. Wu Tianci... he will no longer be the emperor, but he will still live in the palace. After all, he is Fu Xiaoguan's son. We can't just throw him in jail, which would be a disguised form of imprisonment."
You Xifeng still felt like she was dreaming, "Oh, my father is here."
"Father-in-law?"
"Yeah, I arrived today."
Yun Xiyan remembered that there were more people from the cabinet at the grand court meeting.
These people were former members of the Wu Dynasty, such as Xiao Yulou, Zhu Wei, and so on.
It seems that Wu Tianci invited these people to come to Chang'an and return to the cabinet after he went to Guanyun City at the end of last year. He probably hoped that these people could become his helpers, but now it seems that he might be disappointed.
Father-in-law You Xianzhi did not show up at this grand court meeting... Yun Xiyan smiled slightly and shook his head, thinking that it was because of his own reasons.
Yun Xiyan walked towards the west wing, where You Xianzhi was brewing a pot of tea.
He raised his eyes and looked at Yun Xiyan, "Are you really impeaching me?"
"Replying to my father-in-law, I have really impeached him."
"...It's all right that he was impeached. I came to Chang'an thinking I'd see a play, but I didn't expect it to be such a big show."
"Sit down, sit down and tell me in detail."
Yun Xiyan sat down and told You Zhizhi in detail what happened at the grand court meeting. You Zhizhi listened very carefully, and only sighed after listening...
"It seems that when he established the Three Provinces Decision-Making Cabinet to review this system, he probably had in mind that Daxia would no longer have an emperor!"
Yun Xiyan was shocked. Even he had never thought that Daxia had no emperor. He and Yan Xiwen and others thought that Fu Xiaoguan had so many sons, so they could just train one more.
But You Xianzhi's words made him suddenly enlightened, "My father-in-law means..."
"You should continue to do what you should do and adapt to the state structure of Daxia without an emperor."
"Perhaps, this is the best way for him to break free from the cage!"
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