Chapter 230: The World Chessboard
When the news reached Shengjing, many people were indeed unable to sit still.
The censors in the court were impassioned and angrily denounced Beilin's wolfish ambitions, accusing him of openly challenging Shengjing and defying the emperor's ears.
They also argued fiercely about whether to send troops to attack Beilin, and the roof of the Fengtian Palace was almost blown off in the past few days.
After the court session, Li Zhaonian and Li Jifeng had a conversation in the Xuanhui Hall.
After the death of the previous emperor, Li Zhaonian succeeded to the throne and named himself Yongning. It will not be until next year that the reign title will be changed to the first year of Yongning. Now it is still the nineteenth year of Tongxu.
"You shouldn't have quarreled with them in the court yesterday." Emperor Yongning Li Zhaonian made a mistake.
Li Jifeng sat there lazily, "I can't stand it anymore. Those people only talk big in the court and clamor for sending troops all day long. But when they are really asked to go to the battlefield, they can't even lift a sword."
Yesterday, Li Jifeng ridiculed the censors during the court session, and as a result, the focus of today's court discussion became Li Jifeng himself.
The censors directed their criticism at Li Jifeng and made recommendations to Emperor Yongning. They found many faults, but they were not serious.
Li Jifeng raised his eyes and looked at Li Zhaonian. "Those charges are not sufficient. They don't know the real serious crime and they didn't say it."
"What?"
"It affects the government." Li Jifeng said naturally, "They don't know what we two brothers talk about behind our backs."
The piece in Li Zhaonian's hand did not fall for a long time, as if he was in deep thought. Li Jifeng did not urge him, but waited patiently with the chess piece in his hand.
With a click, Li Zhaonian finally made another move. "I understand."
"What did your royal brother understand?" Li Jifeng raised his eyes and looked at him.
Li Zhaonian stared at Li Jifeng intently and said slowly: "Your so-called desire to save the world is just to manipulate the chessboard of the world to show your ability."
Li Jifeng was not angry when he heard this. He placed the chess piece precisely at a spot and said, "It's your turn."
Li Zhaonian stared at the chessboard for a long while, then put the remaining chess pieces in his hand back into the chess box.
"This is a dead end. I lost."
"It's not over yet." Li Jifeng said with a smile, "I still have a few breaths left. Brother, don't you want to continue?"
"To continue is just to linger on.
Like——" Li Zhaonian stopped suddenly, his eyes met Li Jifeng's half-smiley face.
"Let me finish what my brother is saying. Instead of lingering on, why not start another game?" Li Jifeng tapped the chessboard a few times.
"My royal brother said that I wanted to mess with the chessboard of the world, but the world is already a dead end. Didn't my royal brother also say that we should start over? Why don't we mess up the chessboard together to see if it's an opportunity?"
After Li Jifeng left, Li Zhaonian was still sitting in front of the remains. He didn't even notice when it got dark and the eunuchs came into the hall to light the lamps.
After an unknown amount of time, the eunuch knocked on the door outside the palace.
"Your Majesty, the Queen is here."
Li Zhaonian seemed to be awakened, and then he came back to his senses from the chessboard, "Let her in."
The queen is the daughter of the Chu family, one of the four great families.
In order to avoid the dictatorship of foreign relatives, Li Zhaonian left the throne vacant for more than a month after he ascended the throne. However, he could not resist the advice of officials and only placed the empress on the throne a month ago.
The Queen entered the palace and bowed, "Your Majesty."
"You're here." Li Zhaonian glanced at her and then shifted his gaze back to the chessboard.
The queen was a daughter of the aristocratic Chu family. She stood not far from him and did not disturb him.
Li Zhaonian looked at it for a long time, and suddenly asked: "Come and take a look at this end game for me."
The queen sat down nearby, watched for a moment and said, "I am not an expert at chess, but this seems to be a dead end."
"Is it a dead end?" Li Zhaonian murmured.
The Queen said, "It's just one round. Just play the next one. Your Majesty, don't worry."
After saying that, he reached out to take the chess piece, but Li Zhaonian grabbed his hand.
"Your Majesty." The Queen looked at him in confusion.
Li Zhaonian loosened his hands, stared at the chessboard, and his breathing became increasingly rapid.
“Clang—”
He swept the chessboard to the ground, and the queen was so frightened that she knelt on the ground.
Li Zhaonian stared at the queen. "Tell me, what kind of emperor am I? The court is not my court. I was constrained by important officials in front of me, and my younger brother interfered in politics in the back. Since I took this position, have I been able to choose anything?"
"Ha." Li Zhaonian laughed sarcastically.
"I can't even decide on my three meals a day. If I eat a dish I like for a few more meals, the censors will say that people can't spy on my preferences. But it's just a dish. What kind of emperor is this? He's just a puppet."
Li Zhaonian had always been gentle, and the queen had never seen him lose his temper like this, so she plucked up the courage to hold his hand.
"Your Majesty," the Queen said gently, "I know that Your Majesty has no intention of fighting for power, but now that you have taken the throne, if you want to live a freer life, you can only hold power in your own hands and have a say. Otherwise, you can only continue to be a puppet."
Li Zhaonian lowered his head and said, "When I was the King of Qin, it was the most comfortable time in my life."
The queen said softly, "Yes, everyone wants to be a leisurely king, so the King of Chu does not fight or compete, because he knows what the fate of a king who loses his country is."
Li Zhaonian was shocked and looked at the queen with gleaming eyes.
These words are deafening and hit the nail on the head.
When Li Zhaonian woke up from his dream, he had to examine the person who said these words.
Did someone instigate the queen to say this? They had actually already reached out to the person beside him.
But the timing of these words was just right, and they came out naturally when he was angry.
"Your Majesty." The Queen quickly apologized, "I spoke out of turn, I hope Your Majesty will forgive me."
Li Zhaonian waved his hand and said, "You can go back."
Li Zhaonian heard the sound of the palace door opening and closing, and he thought of the past.
When I was little, I thought my father was the sky and that he could do anything as long as he sat on that position.
He has been more perceptive than ordinary people since he was a child. As he grew up, he gradually saw all kinds of helplessness and powerlessness from his father.
He also understood why the Supreme Being in the World called himself "Gu". Now, he felt the same pain.
No one around you can be trusted, even the person next to you is starting to doubt you.
The queen has left Xuanhui Palace.
"Tell father that I have said everything I need to say. It is up to His Majesty whether he can figure it out."
The maid replied, "My Lord said that as long as you mention the kings who lost their country, Your Majesty will think of those kings in the history books and he will definitely figure it out."
…
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