Because the issue of the state regent was brought up, Emperor Tianwu, who had previously sent Xuan Tianming and his men out of the palace, took back his words. Not only was he not in a hurry to send them away, but after thinking for a while, he instructed Zhang Yuan, "Go, call all the princes back to me, including the queen and the princes' birth mothers. Call them all into the room. I have something to announce."
Zhang Yuan nodded and trotted out. Yao Xian knew that this place was not suitable for him to stay any longer, so he stood up and said goodbye. Emperor Tianwu did not stay for long, but just waved his hand and said, "Go! I don't want to drink with you anymore."
As Yao Xian left, Feng Yuheng asked, "Father, do you want your daughter-in-law to leave?"
Emperor Tianwu shook his head, "You don't need to, just stay here. I just want to tell you about the regent."
The first person to come in was the Queen, because she stayed in the outer palace. Then came the birth mothers of several princes in the palace, but to be honest, there were only three of them, namely Concubine Gu Xian, Concubine Shi De, and Concubine Li. The princes had already left the palace, and Zhang Yuan sent people to invite them one by one. After less than half an hour, everyone finally came, but they were only the eldest prince, the second prince, the fifth prince, the sixth prince, and the seventh prince.
Originally there were nine princes of Dashun, but now they can't be gathered together.
Emperor Tianwu glanced at his sons and asked, "Where is the fourth son?"
The eldest prince took the initiative to say: "My father, my fourth brother is not in the capital. He has gone to Ji'an County."
"Oh!" Emperor Tianwu nodded and murmured, "Jian County! That place is the fiefdom I awarded to Ah Heng. I heard that it is well governed. I really want to go and see it." He looked yearning, but people didn't quite understand what he meant by that. The old emperor had been confused for too long, so that these princes were still not sure whether he was really sober.
So, in order to test the waters, the eldest prince took the initiative to talk about something on behalf of his brothers, "Father, my eighth brother and Concubine Yuan haven't arrived yet. They have been put in the death row by the Queen Mother."
Emperor Tianwu, who was lying on the bed, didn't say a word for a long time, but when he mentioned the mother and daughter, he couldn't hide his anger, and even his body was shaking with anger. Feng Yuheng reminded him, "Father, you have just recovered from a serious illness, so you shouldn't get angry."
Even so, it took the old emperor a long time to calm down, and then he told everyone in the room: "Let them stay in the death row until I can think of a way to make them die. Imperial Concubine Liu will be demoted to a commoner, and the eighth brother will be removed from the family tree and have nothing to do with the royal family from now on."
With this order, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. People finally knew that Emperor Tianwu was completely awake and had completely recovered. They no longer had to worry about the fate of Dashun, and no longer had to worry all day, fearing that the crown prince would suddenly fall into the hands of Lao Ba, or even that Lao Ba would suddenly become the emperor. Such a day would be too heartbreaking, and they did not think that Lao Ba could govern the territory of Dashun well. In fact, Lao Ba ascending to the throne would be a disaster for Dashun.
Now that the government has returned to normal, although Emperor Tianwu is ill, they all know that with Feng Yuheng and Yao Xian around, these injuries are not a big deal. But people don't understand why they were called back?
Finally, Emperor Tianwu expressed his thoughts. He told the princes, the empress, and the concubines, "I am ill and cannot manage state affairs for the time being. I need to choose one of the princes to serve as regent for me and exercise the power of state affairs. During my inability to govern, all state affairs will be handled by the regent prince, and he does not need to report to me."
As soon as this was said, everyone turned their eyes to Xuan Tianming. Everyone knew that the so-called regent was, in plain words, acting as the emperor. In the past, such a thing could only be done by the crown prince, but Dashun did not have a crown prince now, so whoever took the job of regent this time would most likely be the crown prince. They all agreed that this matter would definitely be done by the ninth prince Xuan Tianming. After all, before the incident with the eighth prince, all the actions taken by Emperor Tianwu were conveying a message to people, that is: his preferred candidate for the succession was Xuan Tianming.
People had no doubts about this. Xuan Tianming's military achievements were there, and he held two-thirds of the military power of the entire Dashun. He was upright and righteous. Although he was a little bit evil and had a strange temper, he was a righteous person inside. What's more, he married Feng Yuheng as his wife. This Princess Yu was not only a genius doctor, but also the creator of Dashun steel. She also managed the territory of Ji'an County and became famous all over the world. So now all officials in the country who were loyal to the court wanted to go to Ji'an County to learn how to govern, so that all prefectures and cities would prosper.
With such a princess helping him, it was natural for Xuan Tianming to ascend the throne, and everyone was convinced. Therefore, when Emperor Tianwu said he wanted to choose someone to govern the country, everyone was sure that this person was Xuan Tianming. Even the second prince laughed and said, "With my ninth brother governing the country, the country will be stronger."
But they didn't expect that what Emperor Tianwu said next would amaze them greatly. He said, "The prince I have chosen to be the regent is the sixth prince, Xuan Tianfeng."
Everyone was stunned, including the Queen. People looked at Emperor Tianwu in surprise, almost suspecting that Concubine Li and the Sixth Prince had poisoned him again. However, only Xuan Tianming and Feng Yuheng understood that the old emperor had made this decision after careful consideration, so he spoke up and expressed his attitude first. He said, "Sixth brother, Dashun is left to you."
As soon as Xuan Tianming said this, people knew that the old emperor was not bewitched again, because when Xuan Tianming said this, his tone was peaceful and his face was normal, which obviously showed his approval. Think about it again, although the sixth prince Xuan Tianfeng did not have so many military achievements, he was the most elegant among all the princes. Although he did not have the fairy-like aura of the seventh prince, his elegance was enough to shock the court. What's more, he was good at reading, so good that even the Yunlu Academy in Xiaozhou would be defeated in front of him. The imperial teacher Ye Rong once praised him, saying that he was slightly better than the sixth prince in terms of knowledge, but that was because he took advantage of his age. If the sixth prince becomes more mature in a few years, I'm afraid he will not be able to catch up.
The Sixth Prince's rich knowledge made students all over the world worship him as the supreme god. There were even carved portraits of him sold among the people. All students who went to Beijing to take the imperial examinations had to buy a wooden sculpture or a portrait and worship them all day long, hoping that the Sixth Prince would bless them to pass the examination.
Thinking in this way, it seems right to give the matter of regent to the sixth son, at least the civil officials will agree with it. After Dashun successively resolved the dangers in the northern and southern borders, the national situation was relatively stable and there were few wars. It was the time when it was most necessary to consolidate the internal affairs. It was correct for Emperor Tianwu to make such a choice at this time.
After thinking this through, the eldest prince followed Xuan Tianming and expressed his opinion: "I understand your intention, father. I will do my best to assist you in governing Dashun and let Dashun show its national prestige again in our generation."
The eldest and youngest princes expressed their opinions, and the others followed suit. Xuan Tianhua naturally had no objection, and the fifth prince had never held out any hope for the throne, so it didn't matter to him who sat on it.
Xuan Tianfeng took the post of regent, and everything seemed to be going smoothly. However, he still had some resistance, frowning and not speaking, looking at Emperor Tianwu, hoping that his father would take back his decision. No matter what, he was unwilling to take on this important position.
Feng Yuheng saw through his thoughts and said, "The Dashun government has been in turmoil for several months, and only someone as Confucian as Sixth Brother can calm the situation."
Her words were like a string that suddenly trembled in Xuan Tianfeng's mind, so that Xuan Tianfeng suddenly wanted to ask, was it you and the emperor who recommended me? But what would it matter if I asked? If it was really Feng Yuheng who recommended me, he would have to take on this burden because he couldn't refuse. If not, it meant that it was Emperor Tianwu's own consideration. As a prince, he had the responsibility to take on the responsibility of his family, country and the world.
With a sigh in his heart, Xuan Tianfeng knew that as long as he did this, from now on, he would never think about the school in Ji'an County, and he would never think about being a teacher and spending the whole day with students, growing flowers and vegetables in his spare time, and writing in his busy time. He would face a world, and the road he would take would be a road of advancing and retreating with Dashun. And it seemed that once he set foot on this road, there would be no end.
"Your son... accepts the order." Finally, Xuan Tianfeng knelt down in front of Emperor Tianwu and accepted the imperial edict.
"My Feng'er is the regent?" Suddenly, the voice of Concubine Li was raised among the concubines behind her. People turned their heads to see Concubine Li's face full of excitement and a little fear. She knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Emperor Tianwu, saying, "Your Majesty is wise! Your Majesty is wise!" After that, she murmured to herself, "It seems that it still works. What I asked for really came true. It seems that it still works!"
The Queen frowned slightly and asked, "What do you mean by 'effective'? What did you do to achieve what you wanted?"
As soon as these words came out, the Sixth Prince Xuan Tianfeng immediately became alert. Without waiting for Concubine Li to reply, he quickly spoke and asked Emperor Tianwu, "Father, your Majesty has issued an order to let your son supervise the country. Does it count from now on?"
Emperor Tianwu nodded, "That's right."
"Well then." Xuan Tianfeng stood up, turned around and looked at Concubine Li and said, "The first decree I issued when I first became regent was that Concubine Li of Changning Palace would be demoted to a noble lady, move out of Changning Palace, and live in Jingsi Palace."
The edict of the regent shocked everyone present again. Concubine Li was his biological mother! Unexpectedly, when the sixth son came to power, he immediately deposed his mother's concubine title. Was this considered... sacrificing one's own relatives for the sake of justice?
Concubine Li was also surprised. She almost thought there was something wrong with her ears. She couldn't help but ask loudly, "What did you say?"
Xuan Tianfeng looked at her with a sad face. He told Concubine Li: "Go back to Jingsi Palace! Be a noble lady again! Only in this way can your son keep you safe for the rest of your life..."
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