Extra: New Crisis
Extra: New Crisis
In the 40th year of Zhengqing, Su Jin, a lady of the first rank, passed away.
Most of the officials in the court came to pay their respects to this lady of noble birth, from the royal family to the tenants on the farm, even the Su family who lived far away in Hexi came, as well as members of the Gu family.
On the day of the mourning, there was no room to sit in the yard, so the tables were set up outside on the street.
The funeral procession was even longer, stretching for ten miles. Although it was only a first-rank imperial edict, its status was no less than that of a princess'.
Because Lady Gu Suiyu, the wife of Marquis Dingyuan, was very wealthy, the funeral was extremely luxurious. Even the burial site was chosen by the emperor himself, just to the west of the imperial mausoleum.
Some ministers reported this to the emperor, saying it was inappropriate, but Zhao Huaiguang's answer was very simple.
"The bumper harvest of grain is the result of Madam Su's efforts. Without Madam Su, there would be no Chen Hong, no bicycles, no steam engines, and our Great Zhou would not have the current territory and prosperity. Although Madam Su is a woman, she is as brave as a man, loyal, brave, and intelligent. She deserves the title."
With the words "well-deserved", Su Jin's tomb was set to the west of the imperial mausoleum.
But Su Jin no longer knew about these things. They were all dead, so why would he care what the living did?
The emperor ordered a three-day national mourning period to commend Su Jin's contributions to the Great Zhou and express his regret for the loss of Su Jin.
Half a month later, when Gu Zixuan was still in mourning, someone came to visit him.
Qingyuan Hou Cao Yun came to the door in the middle of the night and plotted a rebellion.
"Brother, I have followed you for the longest time, so I will speak frankly..."
Cao Yun looked sinister and said, "Although the Crown Prince is kind, he has no ability. The Third Prince is extraordinary and has more prestige in the army. Now that the Emperor is old, it is inevitable that he will be confused. For the prosperity of our Great Zhou, the Third Prince should be promoted to Crown Prince..."
Gu Zixuan looked at Cao Yun steadily. He thought that Cao Yun followed him later than Song Yingjie, which was a long time after Zhao Huaiguang ascended the throne.
It seems that this person doesn't know his relationship with Xie Huaiguang.
He said in silence: "Unless it is an accident, the prince cannot be replaced."
"It's easy to deal with an accident. I have plenty of manpower here. As long as my brother is willing to mobilize troops..."
"The northwest is too far away, and there are many obstacles in between. Do you think it's so easy to transfer troops to the capital? Even if you can, won't the capital's garrison notice it? They are not just ten or eight people, but a large number of fully armed soldiers!"
However, Cao Yun seemed to have been prepared for this. He smiled and said, "I am guarding the city gate, and you can let me pass. In addition, there are eunuchs in the palace to meet you..."
He spoke slowly but without mentioning any names, only talking about his plans.
Gu Zixuan stroked his long beard, looking like he was deep in thought. After a while, he said, "You and I are both reckless men. We need someone smart to give us advice so that I can act with peace of mind."
"Don't worry, brother. I have someone in the cabinet who will make all the decisions..."
Gu Zixuan lowered his eyelids and said calmly: "Let me think about it."
Cao Yun smiled and said, "Brother, you are too loyal, but don't you see the crisis your Gu family is facing?"
"Oh?" Gu Zixuan looked over and said, "I'd like to hear more about it."
"The Gu family is very powerful. Your brother has been the prime minister for twenty years. The richest man, Marquis Dingyuan's wife, is your brother's sister. Your brother also controls a large number of troops. The whole court is made up of people from the Hexi Su family and the Gu family. I can't say half of them, but they account for a lot. They have money, power, soldiers, and officials. The Gu family has too much power. When the old lady was still alive, the emperor thought of her contributions and hard work and was reluctant to take action. Now that the old lady is gone, the emperor has no scruples and wants to pave the way for the new emperor. He wants to kill the old ministers. The Gu family is the first to bear the brunt."
Cao Yun tapped the table lightly, and the tapping sound was quite loud in the silence.
Gu Zixuan's expression really changed. He looked at Cao Yun and said sternly, "This is definitely not something you can come up with. Tell me, who taught you this?"
"Ha!" Cao Yun chuckled, "I told you, I have people in the cabinet. We are ignorant of things, but there are people who can help us see them clearly. Brother, the Third Prince is kind and generous. He promised that as long as he can be crowned as the emperor, he will never touch a hair of the Gu family!"
What a big pie!
Gu Zixuan looked at Cao Yun and could only say that a idiot is a idiot.
The third prince is kind?
A kind person would never think of rebelling and becoming emperor!
The Gu family has money, power and soldiers. Not to mention that Zhao Huaiguang sees them as a thorn in his side, just ask those people in the court, who doesn't covet them, who doesn't envy them? !
Will the Third Prince let Gu go?
What a joke.
But now that it has come to this, Gu Zixuan naturally has to express his opinion. He pretended to be worried and said, "Let me discuss it with my brother-in-law."
Cao Yun really laughed. That person had said when he proposed to win over the Duke of Protectorate that as long as he could win over the Duke of Protectorate, it would be equivalent to winning over Prime Minister Gu Zilu. With the help of these two people, he would be like a tiger with wings, and everything would go smoothly!
Cao Yun can already foresee a smooth and successful future. He seems to see wealth and glory waiting for him ahead. The future is promising and bright!
"Okay, but I hope Brother can give us a reply soon. We still need to make careful arrangements and plans."
"Yes, I know."
After sending Cao Yun away, Gu Zixuan sat in the darkness with a grim expression.
I have to say that Cao Yun’s words are very touching.
When his mother was alive, Zhao Huaiguang could treat them as his own people. Now that his mother is gone, even if Zhao Huaiguang doesn't touch them for the sake of his mother's face, what about the new emperor?
His mother once said that a new emperor appoints new ministers, and he and Gu Zilu were both ministers of Zhao Huaiguang. Few of the old ministers of Emperor Yuan Jing could stay with Emperor Zheng Qing.
If it were someone else who had no feelings for Zhao Huaiguang, he might have been instigated. Unfortunately, these people only knew Zhao Huaiguang and not Xie Huaiguang. They only knew that the emperor had feelings for his mother, but did not know about his interactions and relationship with Xie Huaiguang.
This is exactly what can be utilized.
My mother once said that a gentleman is good at making use of things, and the same is true for taking advantage of the information gap among others.
He remained silent, but secretly passed the message to Zhao Huaiguang.
Emperor Zhengqing is old, undercurrents are surging in the capital, and various forces are eager to try. However, the greatest force is still the emperor. As for the Gu family, they will always stand on Zhao Huaiguang's side.
As a human being, we should be grateful and repay kindness. Even animals know how to repay. Are humans worse than animals?
This is what my mother said too.
Gu Zixuan closed his eyes and waited quietly.
Soon, news came from the palace that Emperor Zhengqing was critically ill, and some people finally could no longer sit still.