Chapter 438: Tracing the Roots and Seeking Orthodoxy
The Empress's intentions were clear, and the Minister of War, who was about to offer a few words of defense, was grabbed by the arm by the Minister of Justice, with whom he currently had a relatively good relationship. Lord Wang's eyes were clear as he met the Empress's gaze.
"We can't just say this on our own. Every country's history books aren't meant to be read. Are you, Queen, really planning to rob me? This will definitely go down in history books. I hope Your Majesty will reconsider!"
"Your Excellency Wang, you are worrying too much. Since I can bring this up, there must be a basis for it."
"I, your humble servant, am all ears! Zhenyang City is the northern barrier of Dali. It was given its name by the founding emperor of Dali. Since when has it become an inseparable part of Dayu?"
The Minister of Justice is a man of particularities. After all, the Wang family of Langya has accumulated face and reputation since its inheritance to this day, and he, Wang Xuanqing, must not be allowed to have the infamy of following a shameless villain.
"Your Majesty, I understand your feelings, but everything must be done with a legitimate reason! Otherwise, it will be difficult to silence the complaints of the nations of the world."
Minister Wang's voice sounded rather annoyed, as if to say, "You're so confused!" Then the Empress calmly clapped her hands against the Emperor, who was about to jump up and start cursing.
“What Lord Wang said makes sense, but what I said is not without reason either.
Your Wang family of Langya has been passed down to this day, so there should still be history books of the Dahua Dynasty in your library, right?
Why not look up the geographical records and see which territory Zhenyang City belonged to when it was still called Cangze Prefecture five hundred years ago?
The smart ones understood the Queen's meaning almost instantly, while the not-so-smart Minister of War turned around and nudged the Duke of Ling who was standing not far away.
"Shush, shush, Lao Jiang..."
"Fuck you, don't poke me!"
While the superiors were arguing, Jiang Huailiang stretched out his hoof and kicked Xu Shan backwards, making him grit his teeth.
"Jiang Hanxiong, what are you doing?"
"If you dare to call me by my nickname again, I'll kick you to death! This is happening right in front of the emperor, Xu the Eel, can you please be more careful?"
"I…"
If the other party was not one rank higher than him and was not the Queen's father, the Minister of War would definitely not give up on this guy. He gritted his teeth fiercely, suppressing his anger, and then sneaked up to Jiang Huailiang to inquire.
"What does the Queen mean? I don't understand. Is there any connection between Dahua and our Dayu?"
“No connection.”
"Ah? It's irrelevant, why is the Queen bringing it up?
Dahua was destroyed by Dayong many years ago, and then Dayong was destroyed by Daqi. We later destroyed Daqi before establishing Dayu. Why are we still talking about it? "
"Hey, if I fucking knew, would I still be standing there staring? Don't talk nonsense or interrupt, just listen to the civil servants talk, you'll figure it out sooner or later anyway!"
"No, I think I was also a civil servant..."
"Come on, you're just a half-hearted monk with a crooked mouth. I don't think you even know as many characters as I do. I really don't understand why the late emperor pushed you into the position of Minister of War. Tsk, what a waste of a good meal."
"I…"
The two rough guys, who were not very smart, very sensibly stepped aside and listened to the civil servants arguing.
The Minister of Rites felt that the Queen's statement was somewhat far-fetched.
"Empress, even if Zhenyang City did belong to Dahua five hundred years ago, Dahua has long been destroyed. Dynasties have changed twice in this land alone, and each country has its own territorial divisions. How can we rely on those old histories?"
The queen smiled slightly, making sense.
"Lord Liu is mistaken. Although the Great Hua people have long been extinct, they have not been lost in the long river of history. The culture passed down from them has never been interrupted. Even after experiencing two periods of great turmoil, various books, rituals, and skills have been preserved intact.
You also said that this land has experienced several changes of dynasties, and now it is our Dayu's turn. We recognize the legitimacy of the previous dynasty, Daqi, and naturally recognize the legitimacy of Dayong. So why don't we recognize the legitimacy of Dahua?
Therefore, if we trace back to the origin, we can easily come to the conclusion that Dayu inherited the blood, etiquette culture and territory from Dahua.
They are our ancestors!
So, as descendants of our ancestors, is there anything wrong with reclaiming the city that was stolen from us?"
The queen's beautiful eyes turned and looked at the Minister of Justice, who looked like he had learned something new.
"Lord Wang, can this be considered a legitimate action?"
Well, how can this not count?
The Empress is indeed capable of great things, and can bend and stretch. In order to gain an advantage in a legitimate way, she forced an ancestor out of the history books for the people of Dayu!
Everyone couldn't help but admire the Queen's great wisdom and courage. The court officials all had happy smiles in their eyes, except for the brothers of the old Li family, who all frowned.
Turning his head and looking at the people standing in the hall, he found that they could barely be considered as pro-emperor factions. Prince Jing could no longer endure it and stood up to question them.
"Your Majesty, I would like to ask, if we declare to the world that the previous dynasty, Daqi, is legitimate, what should the descendants of the Gu family do if they find it?"
I can't just give the throne back, right? That would probably break my father's coffin! But if he comes back to demand it and I refuse to give it, wouldn't that be a slap in the face in front of everyone in the world?
Prince Jing's consideration was correct. The four Li brothers were all worried. They wanted to take back some of the Duan family's land, but they didn't want to return their own land to the Gu family.
Tsk, so depressing!
But it’s okay, the Queen has a backup plan.
“What to do?
When the enemy comes, we will fight them; when the water comes, we will block it with earth.
The reason why we at Dayu dare to acknowledge the legitimacy of the previous dynasties is because we at Dayu are the legitimacy to begin with!"
The Queen raised her hands and counted carefully, her words and actions showing the calm and dignified demeanor of the Queen Mother.
"If we count the dynasties and discuss who gained power legitimately, it would be none other than the founding emperor of Dayu!
The late emperor was born into a farming family and rose from humble beginnings during a time of turmoil. He never colluded with foreign enemies to sell out his country for personal gain, nor did he massacre innocent people.
It was clearly the tyranny of the previous dynasty's foolish rulers that put the people in dire straits and the inheritance in jeopardy.
If it weren't for the founding emperor of the Li family who turned the tide at the last moment, wouldn't everything passed down from generation to generation on our land have been destroyed at the hands of the Gu family?
In this case, how can they have the face to come back and ask for it?
If they are shameless enough, then come on, and the Emperor and I will treat them fairly. Let the people of this land judge who is right and wrong, the merits and demerits of Dayu and the previous dynasty!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
