pappabearbooks Chapter 5541 Who ascends the throne?
Chapter 5541 Who ascends the throne?
Chapter 5541 Who ascends the throne?
Outside the palace, the wind and rain were dark and gloomy, with the clanging of armor and the sounds of battle.
The hall finally fell silent. After displaying their grief with wailing and bowing their heads, they had to face the most practical question: His Majesty has passed away, who will succeed him?
This palace coup has resulted in His Majesty being poisoned and the Crown Prince facing assassination. Almost all of the "Hundred Cavalry Division" and the Imperial Guards within the palace have been infiltrated and turned against him. Whether the mastermind behind this is His Majesty or someone else, they must have far-reaching connections. A huge vacuum has almost emerged in the center of imperial power.
Who gets in and who gets out—this naturally involves huge interests…
The most important question is: who will ascend to the throne?
Liu Xiangdao frowned: "Now that the Crown Prince is missing, should we postpone his enthronement?"
Fang Jun glanced at him and said calmly, "The Crown Prince and Empress are currently with Wang Fangyi's army, being besieged by rebel forces at the rear. They will arrive shortly. Furthermore, our presence here is indeed based on the legitimate succession, and has nothing to do with the Crown Prince's life or death. As long as the legitimate succession belongs to the Crown Prince, even if he dies in battle, he will still be the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty. After bestowing upon him a temple name and posthumous title, we can then establish someone else. If the legitimate succession does not belong to the Crown Prince, what difference does it make if he stands here?"
Some things cannot be put off; they must be decided quickly and decisively, otherwise, changes may occur.
Although His Majesty never issued an edict to change the heir apparent before his death, who knows if someone might suddenly produce such an edict?
Even if the succession to the throne at this moment depends on the strength of the ruler rather than a decree, it is still troublesome, leaves room for criticism, and has many potential future problems...
Liu Xiangdao retorted, "His Majesty's sudden death and the truth are unknown. Anyone who was in the palace last night is a suspect. Before the Emperor thoroughly investigates the truth, I believe we should not rush to conclusions. Otherwise, what will we do when the truth comes out?"
Fang Jun did not argue, but stood with his hand on the knife, serious and cautious.
Liu Rengui said with dissatisfaction, "Does the Imperial Censor mean that His Majesty's death was caused by the Crown Prince?"
Liu Xiangdao shook his head and said, "When did I say that? I just wanted to minimize the impact. I dare not say that this matter is related to the Crown Prince, and you dare not say that it is necessarily unrelated to the Crown Prince."
Liu Rengui snorted: "I dare say it has nothing to do with the Crown Prince. All the rumors are just the traitors trying to bewitch people."
Liu Xiang said with dissatisfaction: "Knowing that the Crown Prince is a suspect, are you still trying to bury your head in the sand and turn a blind eye?"
Ma Zhou then spoke up: "A country cannot be without a ruler for a day. If the real culprit cannot be found, will the empire be without a monarch for a day?"
Liu Xiangdao hesitated and could not answer.
The saying "a country cannot be without a ruler for a day" is not irrefutable. In fact, it is common for there to be a "gap period" between the death of the previous emperor and the establishment of a new emperor. This has happened many times throughout history.
However, "a country can be without a ruler for a day," but it cannot be without the power to lead its ministers; otherwise, how can the affairs of the country continue?
A new ruler can be enthroned temporarily, and someone must be in charge of state affairs, or what is called "regency".
Looking at the court, only Li Ji, Fang Jun, and Ma Zhou are qualified to assume the important task of overseeing the country. Li Ji should avoid suspicion because his grandson Li Jingye participated in and even planned this palace coup. Ma Zhou and Fang Jun have always shared the same political views and are allies. Once they have the power to "oversee the country", their factions will take the opportunity to grow stronger and become unstoppable.
It would be better to let the Crown Prince ascend the throne. At least Fang Jun, Ma Zhou, and others would have to consider the Crown Prince's face and feelings, and wouldn't act recklessly...
He looked at Dai Zhou, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, and asked, "Minister Dai, do you think this is appropriate?"
Does someone who poisoned the late emperor deserve to ascend the throne? This requires a clear answer from the judicial system.
Of course, whoever provides the answer is responsible for it.
Dai Zhou had been the top judicial official in the Tang Dynasty since the reign of Emperor Gaozu. He served under three emperors and three reigns. Putting aside his professional skills, his political acumen was absolutely first-rate. How could he have fallen into the trap set by Liu Xiangdao?
"This matter involves a wide range of issues and has far-reaching implications. It should be discussed jointly by the Censorate, the Court of Judicial Review, and the Ministry of Justice, and then a set of regulations should be formulated."
Shifting responsibility is a sign of a lack of accountability, so he dragged the Censorate and the Ministry of Justice into it. Regardless of whether the final conclusion would have any consequences, all three departments would have to bear the responsibility together. Since the law does not punish the masses, the responsibility of the Court of Judicial Review was not great.
Han Ai, the Minister of Justice who had been standing at the back of the crowd and trying to keep his presence low, spoke up at this moment: "The Ministry of Justice is only responsible for adjudicating cases and has no right to interfere with the succession to the throne."
Why bring yourself into this mess when you've already been so low-key and patient?
He was determined to avoid taking credit or coveting power rather than getting involved casually...
Ma Zhou complained: "At this critical time for the empire, with His Majesty's spirit watching over us, you are still shirking your responsibilities. You have truly failed His Majesty's trust."
He knew this matter couldn't be delayed. He exchanged a glance with Fang Jun and then said, "The Crown Prince is the heir apparent, appointed by imperial decree. Now that His Majesty has passed away, it is perfectly legitimate and rightful for the Crown Prince to ascend the throne. Those who agree with the Crown Prince's ascension, please go to the left; those who oppose it, please go to the right."
He adopted the system from the Council of State Affairs, where decisions on matters difficult to entrust were made by voting, with the minority submitting to the majority.
Fang Jun, holding the hilt of his sword, strode over to Ma Zhou's left, followed closely by Li Yuanjia, Ren Yaxiang, and Liu Rengui. Dai Zhou hesitated for a moment before joining them.
Liu Xiangdao looked around and, seeing that no one was going to Ma Zhou's right side, felt quite embarrassed.
In the end, he could only swallow his pride and follow along...
No one objected.
Ma Zhou nodded: "In that case, let the Crown Prince ascend the throne and establish the proper order of things."
Consort Shen knelt on one side of the bed, holding the little prince. She was almost curled up, her head lowered and her eyes downcast, not daring to make the slightest sound so as not to attract the attention of others.
With His Majesty passing away and the Crown Prince about to ascend the throne, she, a palace concubine who once instigated His Majesty to change the heir apparent and coveted the throne, and the mute young prince are in extremely dangerous situations. Who knows if someone will suggest killing them to silence them and eliminate any future troubles?
Fortunately, no one gave the mother and child a second glance throughout the entire ordeal.
I felt a sense of relief, but also a deep sadness...
*****
As dawn broke, the rain intensified, washing away the bloodstains on the bluestone pavement. Countless rebels converged from all directions, launching a fierce attack on the Xuanwu Gate garrison, fearless and relentless in their advance.
Wang Fangyi gripped his sword tightly and, along with dozens of heavily armored infantrymen, formed a protective circle around the Empress and the Crown Prince. Even though he didn't know where these suddenly appearing rebels came from, he wasn't too bewildered. Chang'an was originally named Daxing City, and the Taiji Palace, from the day it was built, was a large, leaky sieve. Not only did each palace gate have hidden gaps, but who knew how many secret passages had been dug beneath the feet of this forbidden palace?
There are always one or two things that the emperor controls, which he can use to either leave the palace to avoid trouble or summon people to the palace to protect him when necessary...
But these "Hundred Cavalry" and Imperial Guards before me, charging forward wave after wave, fearless of death—these are no ordinary Imperial Guards of the Northern Army! They are death warriors trained with great care and resources!
In the heavy rain, bows and crossbows and firearms were useless, leaving only the most primitive swords, spears and halberds to charge into battle with flesh and blood. The Xuanwu Gate garrison was carefully selected from the Left and Right Golden Guards, with strong combat power and good teamwork, but they were also under great pressure and suffered considerable casualties.
Wang Fangyi gritted his teeth and looked around. Seeing that the rebel army was still arriving in droves, he pointed his arm in the direction of Taiji Hall and roared, "Charge! Form ranks under the main hall!"
The reason for the immense pressure was that the rebel army was launching a siege from all directions, and the Xuanwu Gate defenders, being outnumbered, were naturally overwhelmed. If they could rush to the foot of the Taiji Hall and form a defensive formation with their backs to the steps, it would be equivalent to eliminating one threat and only needing to defend three sides.
Hundreds of Xuanwu Gate guards formed a square formation, with spearmen and shield bearers on the outer perimeter, sword-wielding soldiers and grenadiers on the inner layer, and heavily armored infantry protecting the Empress and the Crown Prince at the innermost point. The formation was well-rounded and provided excellent defense. They fought and retreated until they reached the steps behind the Taiji Hall, where the four-sided defense was reduced to three sides, significantly reducing the pressure on the defense.
But at the same time, they were trapped in a deadly situation with no chance of escape...
Li Jingye was already bloodthirsty. The rain washed away the blood from his armor and sword, but it couldn't wash away the crimson in his eyes. He gritted his teeth and ignored the armor that had been pierced by spears and swords. He charged forward with his blunted blades, bravely advancing through the layers of defenses of the Xuanwu Gate guards, his eyes fixed on Crown Prince Li Xiang, who was being protected by the crowd.
At this point, whether or not Li Xiang is killed is no longer of any real importance. Even if Li Xiang is killed and a new crown prince is established to ascend the throne, the decline of imperial power is inevitable, and the new emperor can only become a puppet.
But killing the crown prince and changing the heir apparent has become his obsession, and he is even willing to sacrifice the emperor's life for it. How could he be willing to give it up?
In any case, killing the crown prince would be tantamount to achieving the goal of "changing the heir apparent," and he could at least give an explanation to His Majesty in the afterlife...
But the Xuanwu Gate garrison is really tough!
The last remaining armed forces of the imperial clan launched a fierce attack like a tidal wave, leaving rivers of blood and countless severed limbs, yet they were as unshakeable as water crashing against rocks. Born into a prestigious family and naturally brave, he held himself in high esteem and looked down on most of the officers and soldiers in the army, believing they were merely lucky to have achieved some merit. He believed that "in times without heroes, even a nobody can become famous," and that if he were to defend the borders and fight across the land, he would naturally achieve great merit and become as renowned as Fang Jun.
But now he felt helpless in the face of Wang Fangyi, who was just a nobody.
Previously, he was just a lowly soldier in the Anxi army. He had only managed to catch Fang Jun's eye and achieve a few merits before being given the important task of guarding Xuanwu Gate. He was nothing more than a lucky one. But now, facing the fierce offensive of his own side, he was able to remain unmoved, which truly surprised him.
"Follow me and charge in! The Crown Prince poisoned His Majesty and deserves to die. We are loyal to His Majesty and should avenge him! Kill the Crown Prince!"
"Kill the Crown Prince!"
The surrounding soldiers shouted in unison, their morale soaring, and their attack became even more ferocious.
Li Jingye knew that time was of the essence. Since he had given up on killing all the ministers and supporting the young prince, when the news reached Chengtian Gate, the guards would surely give up and open the palace gate to let Fang Jun into the palace. Once the Left and Right Imperial Guards entered the palace, it would be the time of his demise.
The assassination attempt on the crown prince was about to take place.
Otherwise, there will be no other chance...
He even wondered if Fang Jun should give him the chance to kill the crown prince.
After all, it was in Fang Jun's best interest to have no crown prince.