Chapter 948 Entering the Palace
Chapter 948 Entering the Palace (Part )
Luoyang is undergoing reconstruction.
As the convoy moved towards Duanmen, many official residences close to the palace were being converted into government offices along the way.
The palace inside Duanmen was also being rebuilt, but when Shao Xun's carriage arrived, the servants were quickly taken away.
All the guards guarding the palace bowed to the ground.
Most of them were fellow villagers from Donghai who were summoned by Sima Yue at that time, totaling one thousand people. Later, they were gradually supplemented, and now there are no less than fifteen thousand people.
According to the standard procedure for Shao Xun to enter the palace, the Puyang soldiers entered first and occupied every corner.
Then his personal troops surrounded his carriage and drove directly into the palace, but there were some changes today.
Zheng Shida, a deputy minister, came to the East Palace with a unhappy look on his face and withdrew the warriors with spears from the main hall, Zhaode Hall.
He didn't know which bitch came up with the slander.
The halberd-bearing warriors in the palace were different from the guards. Most of them were the children of loyal soldiers, and they did not hold real weapons. Their numbers were pitifully small. During non-court meetings, most of the palaces did not have halberd-bearing warriors. There were only a few in the main halls, and there were none even in the sleeping halls.
I am not at ease with these people who have almost no weapons, they are just acting recklessly.
Of course, no matter how dissatisfied Zheng Shida was, he had to save face for King Liang.
The reason he gave was to receive a reward: King Liang said that everyone had worked hard, so he went to Yunlong Gate to receive a reward.
Everyone was delighted and soon left in a line.
Zheng Shida stood in front of the Zhaode Hall, the main hall of the Eastern Palace, waiting quietly - there was also a Zhaode Hall in the Ningshuo Palace in Pingyang, but it was one of the main halls in the harem.
He did not have to wait long before he saw from afar a large group of soldiers escorting a huge golden chariot coming towards him - the golden chariot, the emperor's official carriage, driven by six dragons (the imperial horses are called dragons).
The Golden Chariot was bestowed upon the King of Liang by the imperial court. After all, he had made so many contributions to the restoration of the country, and "all his majesty and dignity were like that of an emperor."
However, the ceremonial guards that went with the golden chariot were not brought out. Surrounding the chariot were actually warriors who killed many people. Zheng Shida couldn't help but feel his anus tighten. He thought again that King Liang was, after all, a hero who conquered the world on horseback. Even after he ascended the throne, he would probably be different from ordinary emperors.
He would be annoyed by red tape.
The palace would certainly not be able to hold him, he would wander around like he did in the army.
There might even be a training ground inside the palace, and King Liang would personally train the guards.
In a nutshell, he could do anything that Emperor Taiping could not do, and no one dared to dissuade him, and no one was qualified to do so.
"Your Majesty." After the golden carriage stopped, Zheng Shida ran quickly in small steps, then slowed down when he got closer, and finally stopped ten steps away and bowed.
Huang Zheng, the commander of the imperial guards, lifted the curtain of the carriage.
Shao Xun walked down slowly, looked at Zheng Shida first, then looked at Gong Cheng, and smiled: "It has been many years in the future."
"Your Majesty is already the lord of Luoyang and can come at any time." Zheng Shida said with a smile.
Shao Xun stepped forward.
The personal soldiers were wearing helmets and armor, guarding on both sides, and some of them even held large shields, just like they were fighting on a corpse field.
Shao Xun frowned and said, "Put away the shield."
Because he has personally been to the battlefield many times, these personal soldiers are already used to doing this. They have layer upon layer of large shields that can even block crossbow arrows.
Tong Qianjin gave an order, and the sword and shield soldiers immediately formed a team and retreated.
"Your Majesty, actually..." Zheng Shida followed and said hesitantly.
"You did a good job." Shao Xun looked at Zheng Shida and said gently, "You will go to Chang'an in a while and serve as the governor of Jingzhao. You will watch over Guanxi for me."
Zheng Shida was overjoyed and said repeatedly, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness."
Although he was reluctant to give up the position of Pushe, a close minister, compared with it, the Jingzhao prefect was a broader world. Only by holding this position could he be promoted to the governor, and by becoming the governor, it would be easier for him to enter the cabinet and become an important official of the national court.
He still knew what was important and what was not. King Liang was cultivating him, and it was worth it for him to send Zheng Yingtao away with great pain.
******
Meticulous footsteps sounded outside the East Palace, approaching little by little.
Crown Prince Sima Duan stood in front of Zhaode Hall with a grim expression.
The palace was deserted inside and outside, not even a single palace servant was there, as they had all been temporarily sent away. Now, in Zhaode Palace, besides him, there were only two people, Zhang Yu, the Imperial Library Officer, and Qin, the Crown Princess.
The clanging sounds of armor leaves gradually stopped, and the warriors shining with silver light gathered in the corridors, filling them up.
Huang Zhengben, the commander of the imperial guards, wanted to send troops into Zhaode Hall to search for the items, but was stopped by Shao Xun.
After all, you can't do this.
"Greetings to the Crown Prince and Crown Princess." Shao Xun nodded at the two of them without any greeting and spoke directly.
The Crown Prince and the Crown Princess bowed to him and said, "Greetings, King Liang."
The military commander Huang Zheng brought several official leaders inside to conduct a thorough inspection. This was also a workaround.
Shao Xun talked with the two in the corridor.
"I just returned from Chang'an and was about to report the victory, but I was shocked to hear that Your Majesty was ill and couldn't sleep or eat well..." Shao Xun sighed, "Did the Crown Prince visit you in Zhaoyang Palace?"
"I pay my respects to you every morning and evening, and it has never stopped." Prince Sima Duan said expressionlessly.
"What a filial son." Shao Xun smiled and looked the prince up and down.
The prince was only twenty-seven years old and lost his father at a young age.
Among the three elder brothers, the eldest brother has died, but the second brother is still alive and has inherited the title of King of Qinghe, but is actually a retired official in Luoyang. The third brother is the former crown prince Sima Quan, and both his wife and he were killed by Shao Xun.
In short, the line of Qinghe King Sima Xia was really unlucky. Three of his four sons were made crown princes, two of whom have died. It is hard to say whether the current crown prince Sima Duan can survive.
Although Sima Duan was nearly thirty years old, he had never experienced much and had lived in fear since childhood.
When Sima Quan was still alive, Sima Duan was conferred the title of Prince of Yuzhang - this title was simply a preparation for the crown prince.
His elder brother Sima Quan was able to marry Runan Heshi, who came from a prominent family, as his crown princess, but he was not like that. No prominent family was willing to marry their daughter to him.
In the end, only the family of Qin Zhun, a former minister and a descendant of the Xinxing Qin clan, whose family business was destroyed and who was also having a hard time, was willing to marry their daughter to the current Crown Princess.
A poor little couple.
Shao Xun had no intention of doing anything to them, but he couldn't help but feel scared.
"Your Majesty." Huang Zheng nodded in Zhaode Hall.
"Come in, I have something to say." Shao Xun walked in and found a single couch to sit on.
The prince and his wife sat together, while the author Zhang Yu knelt behind a table on the other side, slowly spreading out paper and pen.
Shao Xun's face darkened.
He hated these historians the most. It was easy to get rid of the historians when he was on a war trip, but it was difficult to get rid of them in the palace, and he shouldn't get rid of them.
"Your Majesty has been on the throne for twenty years, and has never been lazy. However, the affairs of the world cannot be achieved by hard work. In the past twenty years, floods, droughts, locusts and plagues have been everywhere, and barbarians and bandits have risen up. The court has dispatched troops, but the bandits have become more powerful and the people have become more trapped." Shao Xun said: "Besides, the evil star has appeared several times, which is a warning from the heavens. If something unbearable happens, the prince should be prepared."
The abdication process will take at least a year and a half and cannot be completed in a short period of time.
Shao Xun is now making preparations for both scenarios.
If the emperor dies midway, the prince will ascend the throne.
It would certainly be best if the emperor could hold on to the end.
After hearing Shao Xun's words, Sima Duan's face turned pale.
To be honest, at this time, only a mentally ill person would want to be the emperor. In fact, except for his eldest brother Sima Tan (deposed crown prince, killed by Sima Yue), no one in his family wanted to be the crown prince. They were all forced.
If the current emperor dies and the abdication is not completed, he will have to ascend the throne and serve his last shift. How would he be willing to do that?
Sima Duan remained silent while Zhang Yu had already started recording.
"The King of Liang said: 'The emperor has grown up in the deep palace, and is ignorant of the affairs of state. Although he worries day and night and works hard, the state affairs are declining day by day, and the king's government is becoming more and more chaotic.'"
"In the past few years, evil stars have appeared frequently. The emperor has taken refuge in the palace and is ill. If there is a landslide, the world cannot be without a ruler. The prince should think carefully about it."
How should I put it? This time the record was fairly “objective”, with a little bit of drama, but this was a chronic problem among historians at the time, and you can’t expect them not to create something secondary.
"Prince?" Seeing Sima Duan didn't speak, Shao Xun emphasized his tone.
"Whatever the general wants, so be it." Sima Duan lowered his head and said in a muffled voice.
Shao Xun remained silent and looked at Sima Duan for a long time.
Sima Duan raised his head quietly, and seeing Shao Xun looking at him, he immediately lowered it again.
Zhang Yu continued to record——
"The prince of Liang looked at the prince and said, 'You should do this, and try your best to plan it yourself.'"
"The prince was afraid of being attacked by a sharp blade, and dared not speak. The princess burst into tears and sobbed."
Shao Xun looked at the prince again.
The prince still lowered his head, but Princess Qin mustered up her courage and glared at Shao Xun.
Shao Xun was too lazy to argue with them, so he sighed, stood up and said, "There is nothing else to do today, Prince, please do as you please."
After saying this, he left Zhaode Hall.
He has already seen that Crown Prince Sima Duan's character is easy to control and he may be afraid of death. If the current emperor really dies halfway, the crown prince can take over and go through the entire process.
However, I don’t know what the history books will say—
Huh? He paused and turned to look at the author Zhang Yu.
Zhang Yu's hands trembled, he was stunned for a moment, then stood up and saluted.
That’s all! Shao Xun waved at him and left.
He knew the nature of these historians, but he didn't care.
Most of the records will not be recorded in the official history books, and most of the contents in the official history books will not be recorded in the history books. In other words, almost 90% of the contents will be deleted. Only the remaining 10% will be compiled into the official history books and presented to future generations.
The image of emperors and generals comes from this content, which even includes the part where historians embellish and glorify the emperor, as well as the part where historians brag and glorify themselves when interviewing meritorious officials in their later years.
This is of course incomplete and may even lead people to have a wrong understanding of these emperors and generals, but this is history. If you cannot go to ancient times to investigate in person, you can only believe these things.
The only downside may be that the historian is too subjective. He always adds drama, even tries to guess your mental activities, and then writes it down according to his own understanding.
In a word, it is too subjective and not objective.
After Shao Xun left the Eastern Palace, he returned to his own residence and summoned his trusted aides and generals to discuss matters.
(End of this chapter)