This time, Chen Huai'an was truly enraged.
It wasn't just because of the court officials' petition for a forced marriage, but also because these guys from the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun actually handed the petition directly to his mother, Empress Xu Ruoyun.
Do these guys even see me as the emperor anymore?
This time it's a petition to force marriage, will the next one be a petition to force the emperor to abdicate?
Chen Huai'an's subtle changes in expression, and the fleeting murderous intent in his starry eyes, naturally did not escape the discerning eyes of his mother, Xu Ruoyun.
To be honest, Xu Ruoyun, as the mother, shouldn't have gotten involved in this matter.
However, now that the new dynasty has just been established, every word and action of the new emperor Chen Huai'an is related to the image of the new dynasty.
In particular, the civil officials and former generals of the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun were a force to be reckoned with in the new dynasty, and behind them was Liu Xinwu, the Prince of Wuning.
The position of Prince Wuning in the new dynasty was incomparable to that of ordinary civil and military officials.
At the very beginning of Prince Chen Huai'an's uprising, Prince Wu Ning risked everything on Chen Huai'an.
Not only did he directly contribute his manpower and resources to offer advice and strategies during the Tumu Crisis, but it was also during this time that Chen Huai'an was able to easily annihilate Zhao Gan's 500,000-strong Northern Expeditionary Army and send the Second Emperor of the Great Xin Dynasty to his death.
Later, when the Longcheng Southern Expeditionary Army was conquering the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun, he single-handedly persuaded the Fourteen Prefectures of Youyun to surrender to the Prince of Jin, thus making an unparalleled contribution to the Longcheng Jingnan Army in pacifying the north.
In addition, Princess Liu Shujun of the Wu Ning Prince's Mansion was already engaged to Chen Huai'an, but the marriage had been delayed because Chen Huai'an was busy with war.
From both a moral and logical standpoint, Xu Ruoyun could not ignore the legitimate demands of Prince Wu Ning, Liu Xinwu, whether as Chen Huai'an's mother or from the perspective of the Empress Dowager of the new dynasty.
Therefore, when she received a joint memorial from local officials and garrison generals of the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun, requesting the emperor to hold the wedding as soon as possible to appease the people;
After much deliberation, she finally decided to come and talk to her son, Chen Huai'an, as his mother.
Xu Ruoyun looked calmly at Chen Huai'an, who was on the verge of anger, and said in a peaceful tone, "My son, your mother is also very surprised. Why would the officials of the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun hand over their memorials to your mother?"
"but--"
Xu Ruoyun changed the subject, saying, "Now that this has happened, we can't just leave it unresolved. Dragging it out like this isn't a solution, do you think?"
Um!
Chen Huai'an nodded, his mood having calmed down considerably, and said, "Mother, I actually planned to go and discuss the wedding arrangements with you today."
"However, these guys bypassed me and handed the petition for forced marriage directly to the Empress Dowager. This behavior has indeed angered me!"
Xu Ruoyun comforted her, saying, "My child, strictly speaking, this matter isn't entirely the fault of the officials in the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun. Think about it, since ancient times, marriage has always been arranged by parents and matchmakers."
"Although my son has ascended to the throne and is the Son of Heaven, the most honorable man, he still cannot escape the constraints of worldly etiquette!"
"The Empress Dowager thinks that the officials of the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun must have submitted this memorial requesting the Emperor's wedding to the Empress Dowager out of consideration for worldly etiquette."
And that is indeed the case.
Originally, when the officials of the sixteen prefectures of Youyun, led by Xiong Kai, the garrison commander of Youzhou, and He Kuan, the prefect of Changshan County, jointly submitted a memorial to the emperor requesting his marriage, they intended to deliver the memorial directly to the new emperor, Chen Huai'an.
Ultimately, when they were about to submit their memorial, Prince Wu Ning, Liu Xinwu, urgently stopped them and ordered them to forward the memorial to Empress Dowager Xu Ruoyun.
Although the officials were puzzled, they still handed the memorial to Empress Dowager Xu Ruoyun as the prince requested.
Looking back now, we have to admit that experience really does pay off!
Prince Liu Xinwu of Wuning's move was indeed a brilliant one.
Otherwise, if this memorial had reached Chen Huai'an directly, without the intervention of Empress Dowager Xu Ruoyun, Chen Huai'an, in his rage, might have already ordered the Longcheng Guards to arrest the people listed on the memorial.
He was just looking for a scapegoat to scare the arrogant soldiers and nobles before the imperial decree ceremony began, and the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun were the perfect target.
However, once the memorial reached Empress Xu Ruoyun's hands, Chen Huai'an naturally couldn't see the list of officials who jointly submitted the memorial.
We can't just adopt the principle of "better to kill three thousand innocent people than let one guilty person go free" and wipe out all the civil and military officials of the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun from top to bottom and replace them with a new batch of people, can we?
Chen Huai'an was still lost in thought.
Over here, Empress Dowager Xu Ruoyun continued, "My child, now that the wedding has been put on the table, what are your plans?"
"Princess Shujun and Princess Pijia, should one be made empress and the other a concubine, or should we follow what Mother Empress told you and make the two empresses the East and West?"
Forehead--
After returning from the Western Regions, Chen Huai'an pondered this issue for several months, but still couldn't come up with a solution that satisfied both sides.
Logically speaking, as a transmigrator emperor who built his empire through system-generated troops and conquered the country step by step, he should not be troubled by such a problem.
He doesn't need to consider anyone's opinion when choosing an empress.
After all, Chen Huai'an was able to raise an army as the crown prince and eventually become the emperor of the new dynasty without relying on the power of Prince Wu Ning, Liu Xinwu, or the Uyghur Khaganate and the Western Regions.
It wasn't that Chen Huai'an was ungrateful or intentionally wanted to erase the achievements of Prince Wu Ning, Liu Xinwu;
In fact, during the establishment of the new dynasty, Prince Wu Ning only did some things that added to the existing glory.
Even without him, Chen Huai'an's Longcheng army was still able to sweep through and eventually seize the Zhao family's empire in the Great Xin Dynasty.
It might be a year or two later.
However, the outcome of Chen Huai'an's eventual ascension to the throne will not change.
As for the Uyghurs and the various kingdoms of the Western Regions, they had absolutely no influence or support on Chen Huai'an's ascension to the throne; they were not even icing on the cake.
However, on the other hand, for Chen Huai'an, who aspires to become an emperor comparable to Qin Shi Huang and Emperor Wu of Han and to unlock the power of immortality, he has no choice but to abide by the constraints of worldly etiquette.
We can't just rely on having an absolutely loyal system army to suppress the enemy with bloodshed, can we?
Killing everyone who dares to voice dissent would make one a tyrant for all time.
Therefore, when faced with the question posed by his mother, Xu Ruoyun, about who should be made empress or the empresses of the East and West Palaces, Chen Huai'an was at a loss for words.
Eh—
Xu Ruoyun seemed to sense Chen Huai'an's dilemma, and spoke again, "My son, your mother knows that you are fully capable of making the decision regarding who should be made empress, and that you are not influenced by any external forces."
All you need to do is follow your heart.
Finally, Xu Ruoyun offered her opinion, saying, "Regarding the question of who should be made empress, the Empress Dowager's opinion is, why don't you listen to the thoughts of the person involved?"
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