The tea gathering and reminiscing among the former princes did not last long.
In fact, for the few idle princes in the Jiangnan region who had long since distanced themselves from the center of the imperial court, there was no need to linger after achieving their purpose on this trip.
After seeing off his old comrades, Prince Wu Ning, Liu Xinwu, locked himself in his study in the palace, pondering and processing everything that had happened in and out of the court that day.
Liu Xinwu didn't think it was a big deal that the three former princes in the Jiangnan region hadn't taken the initiative to side with Liu Shujun in the struggle for the new empress.
These men were former officials of the previous dynasty who had lost their voice in the court. It was only because the new emperor, Chen Huai'an, remembered their past relationship with their father, Chen Polu, as one of the eight kings of different surnames in the Great Xin Dynasty that he was happy to let them serve as mascots in the new dynasty and continue to retain their titles and ranks.
These former princes were well aware of this.
Therefore, in the court of this new dynasty, one must keep a very low profile and how could one possibly participate in the power struggles within the court?
What made Prince Wu Ning, Liu Xinwu, uneasy and uneasy was the remarks made by Guo Xiaoru, the Vice Minister of Rites, in the court today regarding the Emperor's appointment of an Empress.
Liu Xinwu simply couldn't believe that the outrageous words "to set a precedent in history and establish empresses in the East and West Palaces" were just rumors that Guo Xiaoru had overheard in the streets.
Although, when the new emperor Chen Huai'an heard these remarks in the court today, his expression did not change significantly;
However, Liu Xinwu, who had dealt with Chen Huai'an for so long and had almost personally witnessed him rise from the heir of the Prince of Jin to the throne, was certain that this matter was not unfounded.
There's a strong chance that the new emperor, Chen Huai'an, really intends to establish empresses in the East and West Palaces.
Otherwise, why would he have delayed his marriage to Shujun and brought the Uyghur princess Yue Qiluo from the Western Regions from the Prince of Jin's mansion in Longcheng to live in the Jinling Imperial Palace?
Liu Xinwu had also heard about the story between Chen Huai'an and Yue Qiluo.
The old prime minister of the Uyghur Khanate, Has, with ulterior motives, was willing to get himself involved in the scheme to make Chen Huai'an bear the burden of Yue Qiluo's life-saving grace. Wasn't he just trying to gain an advantage for Princess Bilge Yue Qiluo of the Uyghur Khanate in the struggle for the new dynasty's empress?
Even in the thousands of years of history of the Central Plains dynasties, there has never been a precedent of a woman from a different ethnic group being made empress.
However, in the eyes of Liu Xinwu, the Prince of Wuning, the newly enthroned Emperor Chen Huai'an was a monarch with the courage and ability to do some shocking things.
Therefore, Liu Xinwu couldn't see through Chen Huai'an's thoughts at all regarding the matter of establishing an empress in the new dynasty.
Chen Huai'an, who was now the emperor, was no longer the nephew who could talk with him late into the night, nor would he affectionately call him "Uncle."
After all, there is a distinction between ruler and subject!
But one thing Liu Xinwu was certain of was that the mastermind behind the deliberate spread of the news that the emperor wanted to "set a precedent in history by establishing empresses in the East and West Palaces" was definitely a person with ulterior motives.
He wanted to muddy the waters in the new dynasty's court so he could profit from it!
From today's court assembly, starting with Guo Xiaoru, the Vice Minister of Rites, petitioning the Emperor to establish Shujun as the Empress of the new dynasty, to Liu Ziyu, the adopted son of Liu Xinwu and the head of the military generals of the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun, leading the petition to the Emperor to establish Shujun as Empress.
It's not hard to see that the mastermind behind spreading the rumors has already achieved their goal.
It makes sense, considering that in the first court assembly of this new dynasty, the two deputy marshals of the army took the initiative to relinquish their military power, which set a good precedent for all the military officers and won the emperor's favor.
However, the group of former generals who surrendered to the emperor, led by Liu Ziyu, a military general of the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun, had no intention of returning their military power to the emperor.
Not only did they refuse to relinquish military power to show their loyalty, but they also collectively petitioned the emperor to appoint Liu Shujun, the daughter of the Prince of Wuning, as the new empress. Wasn't this just deliberately trying to annoy the emperor?
To be fair, Liu Xinwu was unaware of this matter beforehand.
Otherwise, given his wisdom, he would never have allowed Liu Ziyu and the others to act so recklessly.
Last time, the civil and military officials of the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun jointly submitted a memorial to Empress Dowager Xu Ruoyun, requesting the establishment of an empress, but in the end, nothing came of it.
After that incident, Liu Xinwu probed the new emperor Chen Huai'an's attitude regarding the matter of establishing an empress.
It was utterly impossible to coerce Chen Huai'an into making Liu Shujun the empress of the new dynasty.
Not to mention, like today's court assembly, embarrassing the emperor in front of all the officials would only provoke his resentment and backfire!
Now, the repeated attempts by the civil and military officials of the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun to "force" the emperor to abdicate will surely make Chen Huai'an wary and resentful of the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun when he weighs the various forces in the court in the future.
Liu Xinwu, as a highly respected old prince among the civil and military officials of the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun, was also a beneficiary in the struggle for the establishment of the new dynasty's empress.
Regardless of whether Liu Xinwu approved or authorized these incidents, the blame will ultimately fall on him.
This is not a good sign!
Thinking of this, Liu Xinwu immediately felt that he had to do something quickly to make amends as much as possible!
"Someone come here!"
"Your Highness, you were looking for me!"
Soon, Liu Xinwu summoned his accompanying steward, Zhuge Yunsheng, to his study and immediately instructed him, "Yunsheng, go to the inn where Liu Ziyu is staying right away and tell him to come to the palace to see me immediately!"
"Let's go now!"
"Yes, Your Highness!"
Watching the butler Zhuge Yunsheng hurriedly leave, Liu Xinwu's mood finally calmed down a bit. He muttered to himself, "I hope this Liu Ziyu won't cause me any more trouble!"
"Eh—"
After another incense stick's time, the drunken deputy general Liu Ziyu, supported by the palace steward Zhuge Yunsheng, finally arrived at the study to meet Prince Wuning, Liu Xinwu.
"Father, Father King!"
Liu Ziyu, staggering slightly, bowed and greeted Liu Xinwu.
The latter could tell from his state that he must have been drunk.
Normally, Liu Xinwu would probably have had his servants help him down to rest and drink some hangover soup.
But today's matter was of great importance, so Liu Xinwu had no choice but to frown and ask, forcing himself to speak, "Ziyu, how much have you been drinking?"
"No, not many!"
Liu Ziyu chuckled and said, "Father, Father, your son... your son was drinking with the civil and military officials of the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun at the inn;"
"Please, please rest assured, Father. I will know my place in Jinling City and will absolutely not make any remarks in public that would damage the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun, nor will I do anything that would damage Father's image!"
Despite having drunk quite a bit, Liu Ziyu could still roughly guess the purpose of his father's late-night summons. It was probably to give him a warning and make him keep a low profile while he was in Jinling City, unlike in the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun.
Therefore, before the Prince of Wuning could even reprimand him, Liu Ziyu took the initiative to report his itinerary.
Um!
Liu Xinwu nodded. Drinking and boasting with officials from the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun in the inn wasn't a big problem.
He then asked, "Apart from the officials of our own Youyun region, you haven't had any contact with anyone else, have you?"
Forehead--
Liu Ziyu hesitated for a moment, and his expression clearly froze.
His godfather Liu Xinwu's question stumped him.
It turned out that at the end of the banquet today, the special envoy of Su Chen, the Governor-General of Liangjiang, secretly visited the inn where Liu Ziyu was staying at night, and brought a secret letter from Su Chen, the Governor-General of Liangjiang and Jianghu, and Jiang Ning.
Liu Ziyu sobered up considerably in an instant.
He hesitated, wondering whether he should truthfully report the matter to his godfather, Liu Xinwu.
It turned out that after the Governors-General of Liangjiang and Lianghu, Su Chen and Jiang Ning, finished their drinking party on the banks of the Qinhuai River, they decided to form an alliance with the civil and military officials of the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun, represented by Liu Ziyu.
They also sent a special envoy to the inn where Liu Ziyu was staying to test Liu Ziyu's feelings.
As for Tang Ziyi, the deputy general of the Tiger Warriors New Army who was also a surrendered general of the previous dynasty, he was excluded by Su Chen and Jiang Ning because he made remarks at the banquet on the flower boat that he intended to hand over military power to the new emperor Chen Huai'an and express his loyalty.
In fact, there are many historical examples of people like them, former generals who surrendered to the previous dynasty, "banding together for warmth" in the new dynasty.
They all simply want to gain more influence and benefits for their respective interest groups in the new dynasty's court.
However, the personal letter from Su Chen, the Governor-General of Liangjiang, to Su and Jiang, the two regional governors, contained only simple greetings and pleasantries, without directly mentioning the alliance with the civil and military officials of the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun to establish a defensive alliance.
However, the correspondence between the two sides at this critical juncture itself revealed their respective attitudes.
The details naturally need to be discussed and finalized by several parties.
Therefore, when Prince Wu Ning, Liu Xinwu, asked Liu Ziyu whether there were any other people who had been in contact with him, the first thought that flashed through Liu Ziyu's mind was whether he should tell his adoptive father, Liu Xinwu, about the fact that the two powerful regional officials, the Governors-General of Liangjiang and Lianghu, had been secretly contacting him.
After hesitating for a moment, Liu Ziyu finally shook his head firmly.
Then, hiccuping, he said, "Father, I am new to Jinling City. Apart from drinking and chatting with my old acquaintances from the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun, I have not had any contact with outsiders."
After a pause, Liu Ziyu continued, "Furthermore, throughout my journey to the capital on imperial orders, I have always kept in mind the teachings my father gave me before his departure;"
"Now that the new dynasty has just been established, the people in the court are unpredictable, and the empress has not yet been appointed. Your son would never dare to cause trouble for your father and your sworn sister, Shujun, at this critical time!"
Um?
Upon hearing Liu Ziyu's words, Liu Xinwu's sparse eyebrows involuntarily twitched upwards, and he immediately continued, "Ziyu, speaking of the new dynasty's appointment of an empress, your father has to say a few words to you;"
"You're almost forty, how can you still be so immature in the imperial court?"
"At today's court assembly, your completely different reactions and attitudes on the two matters of handing over military power and establishing an empress have left even me, let alone the Emperor, with some thoughts."
Liu Xinwu continued, exasperated, "The current emperor was forced to raise an army to quell the rebellion because the second emperor of the previous dynasty pressured him to relinquish military power, ultimately leading to his rise to power."
"In my godfather's view, the fact that Chang Yuchun and Chen Qingzhi, the two deputy marshals of the armies, voluntarily relinquished their military power in court today is a good start for the military generals of this new dynasty."
"Who knew that you arrogant and fierce soldiers would turn out to be such blockheads, unable to even do a favor or use someone else's resources to your advantage!"
Liu Xinwu said sullenly, "Do you really think that the Emperor cares about the mere tens or hundreds of thousands of troops you control? What the Emperor cares about is your attitude towards the new dynasty and the imperial power!"
"My godfather has stated his position here: Chang Yuchun and Chen Qingzhi will definitely regain control of the left and right armies of Longcheng within a year."
"Moreover, after this incident, the two men's status in the Emperor's eyes will rise accordingly. During the new dynasty's conferment ceremony, Chang Yuchun and Chen Qingzhi will at least be granted the title of Duke!"
As he spoke, Liu Xinwu couldn't help but scold Liu Ziyu again: "You, do you think your father doesn't know your little schemes? You want to rely on your military power and the support of the civil officials of the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun to make the emperor wary of the power behind you, so that he will carefully consider the title bestowed upon you during the ceremony of bestowing rewards, right?"
"Father, I—"
Liu Ziyu, whose thoughts had been pointed out by his godfather, stubbornly tried to refute, but was rudely interrupted by Liu Xinwu waving his hand.
Liu Xinwu said, "Ziyu, your godfather has to criticize you a bit in this matter. You've been too clever for your own good."
"Don't you even consider how the current emperor ascended to this supreme throne? His greatest skill is dealing with military generals on horseback. Countless famous generals from the previous dynasty have been defeated by him. With only eight thousand soldiers in his fiefdom, he was able to overthrow the once-prosperous Xin Dynasty."
"Do you still believe that with your mere hundred thousand troops and the support of the civil officials of the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun, you can force the Emperor to submit?"
"You're so wrong!"
Eh—
At this point, Prince Liu Xinwu of Wuning couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
He said helplessly, "It's pointless for Godfather to say anything more now. It's Godfather's fault for not anticipating that the transfer of military power to the new dynasty would happen so quickly!"
"but--"
Liu Xinwu abruptly changed the subject, his expression turning serious and his tone stern as he said, "Ziyu, your godfather must remind you of something: the waters of the imperial court in Jinling City may appear calm on the surface, but in reality, turbulent currents are surging beneath."
"The controversy surrounding the selection of an empress, raised today by Guo Xiaoru, the Vice Minister of Rites, is merely the prelude; the real test and brutal court struggles are yet to come."
"At today's court assembly, the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun have already lost face before the Emperor. Your godfather hopes that in the days to come, you will be cautious in your words and actions, and more importantly, you will restrain the officials of the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun in the court, lest you fall into the trap of those with ulterior motives in a moment of impulsiveness."
"Otherwise, if the Emperor really becomes furious, even if your godfather swallows his pride, he probably won't be able to save you!"
"Father, I understand!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com