Chapter 6 When the Son of Heaven died in the thirty-first chapter of the Heavens, only the eldest princess and the queen were by his side.

Jinyang Palace, as usual, was very quiet. Master Xiangkai and Master Hua Tuo, under the escort of Yulin Lang Zhao Hu and thirty Yulin guards, walked into Shangshutai.

In an elegant study room in Shangshutai, the three lords stood up to greet each other. Master Hua Tuo shook his head sadly and sighed softly,

"Your Majesty is very young, and he should be saved." After the general returned to Jinyang a few days ago, Master Hua Tuo once again asked for a craniotomy, and recounted in detail that he had used the method of craniotomy to save several lives.

The general hesitated for a long time. If the Son of Heaven can be saved, the crisis facing Hebei will be solved.

But a doctor is not a war, a war can be dangerous, but a doctor can't, especially today.

If the Son of Heaven dies intact, outsiders do not believe that the Son of Heaven died of illness, but the ministers of the DPRK and China do.

Now I have opened the head of the Son of Heaven, the Son of Heaven is dead, who killed the Son of Heaven if he didn't kill me? The general refused.

Zhao Qi glanced at Hua Tuo and asked in a low voice, "How about the eldest princess and the queen?" ”

The eldest princess blamed herself very much, and hugged Her Majesty and cried to death. Because the child in her womb was nine months old, the queen was afraid that the child would cry badly, so she could barely restrain her emotions. Xiang Kai said,

"The imperial doctor has ordered Lord Huang to stay in the palace all the time, and the three adults can rest assured."

"Is the child okay?" Zhao Qi asked again.

"The situation is stable at the moment." Hua Tuo arched his hand and said,

"It's a matter of the fate of the community, and I and Brother Gongji should do our best."

"It's not about doing everything you can, it's about making sure your child is safe." Liu He said solemnly,

"The hope of the great Han Zhongxing is in the hands of the two masters."

"If it's a princess...... Xiangkai stroked his white beard, whispered a few words, and stopped. If the child in the queen's womb is a princess, it has nothing to do with Han Zhongxing.

"Master, you and Lord Xu Shao, Lord Cai Yong, and Master Zheng Xuan are all famous Yi Xuexue masters today, who are familiar with the heavens and the earth, can't they see it at all?" Liu He pointed to the gray sky outside the house and asked helplessly,

"There are no signs of celestial phenomena?" Xiangkai shook his head,

"Without any warning. It's better for the three adults to make plans early. Liu He patted the case and said depressedly: "There is no celestial phenomenon, no sign, it is a celestial phenomenon in itself, it is a sign, Hebei is in danger, and the Han is in danger." The atmosphere in the room was tense, and everyone was in a heavy mood, and they bowed their heads and said nothing.

"How much time is there until the birth of the child?" Li Hong coughed lightly and looked at Master Hua Tuo.

"Maybe ten days, maybe a month." Hua Tuo said,

"Ten months pregnant, melons are ripe, this is a matter of course, it is determined by heaven, I can't give you the exact time. But one thing is certain, the child will be born around the fifteenth day of the first lunar month at the latest. Li Hong, Zhao Qi, and Liu He looked at each other.

Hua Tuo said this, which means that he didn't say it. This is also a master healer? If it weren't for Xiang Kai, Zhao Qi and others who respected him as a god, Li Hong would even suspect that there was something wrong with his level.

"More than a month?" Zhao Qi frowned and thought for a long time,

"The two masters still have to do one thing for us, to properly protect His Majesty's body as soon as possible."

"Protecting His Majesty's remains?" Xiangkai asked hesitantly,

"You're going to ......"

"It's the only way." Zhao Qi smiled bitterly,

"Don't mourn secretly, wait for the child to be born." In the Shang study room, nine ministers, two ministers (Zhi Jinwu, will be a master craftsman), three important ministers (Shang Shuling, Yu Shi Zhongcheng, Si Lixiao Wei) and Shang Shutai's left and right servants Zhu Mu and Tian Chou A total of sixteen ministers sat solemnly on both sides, and behind the first case in the middle was the eldest princess's special seat, where a delicate Hu chair was placed.

Seeing the three lords enter, all the ministers got up and saluted.

"There are three things that need to be addressed urgently." Zhao Qi waved his hand and motioned for everyone to sit down. One is the matter of the emperor's rule.

We have to prepare for the affairs of the emperor with both hands. If the child in the queen's womb is a prince, then he will inherit the imperial throne and become the emperor of the Han Dynasty when he is born.

If it is a princess, then the matter of the imperial succession will be very troublesome. We must make this preparation, and within a month, we must select a suitable candidate from among the royal descendants from all over Hebei to inherit the throne, and we must also bring him to Jinyang immediately.

There's a problem. According to the laws of the Great Han Dynasty, if there is no heir after the death of the Son of Heaven, the matter of the succession of the emperor is decided by the Minister of Auxiliary Affairs and the officials of the foreign court, and then presented to the Empress Dowager.

The Empress Dowager did not have much right to interfere in the succession of the imperial lineage. In order to prevent their relatives from interfering in politics, Emperor Gaozu and Emperor Shizu made very strict provisions in the law.

Although many queen mothers later did not abide by the law and monopolized power, causing endless disasters to their relatives, the law of the Han Dynasty has not been changed.

Is the succession of the emperor the queen mother in accordance with the usual practice, or is it decided by the foreign court officials themselves in accordance with the law of the Han Dynasty?

The second is the matter of authority. According to the law of the Han Dynasty, the Son of Heaven died, the empress became the empress dowager, and until the new emperor was a minor, state affairs were all in charge of the auxiliary ministers together with foreign officials.

However, since Emperor Xiaowu, due to the weight of Shangshutai, the officials of the Inner Dynasty and the officials of the Middle Dynasty are in charge, and the auxiliary ministers are all relatives of the Shangshushi, so the Empress Dowager is often in power and dominates everything, and the Outer Dynasty is completely squeezed out of the center of power.

After the new emperor succeeds to the throne this time, who will hold the authority? The third is the issue of preparing for war. After the death of the Son of Heaven, we and Yuan Shao suddenly stood in a position, that is, to rebuild the imperial system.

The key reason why Yuan Shao's proposal to rebuild the imperial system has repeatedly failed is the existence of today's son.

Now that this biggest obstacle is gone, Yuan Shao will immediately rebuild the imperial system. We have discussed this issue many times in the past, and I believe everyone knows it very well in their hearts, which is also the main reason why we have always insisted on King Qin.

Who wants to watch the Great Han split? Who wants to watch the flames of war burn this country? But with the death of the Son of Heaven, the last thing we want to see has become a reality.

There are two sons of heaven in the world, and the choice of states and counties will directly determine the fate of the Han Dynasty. Who will they choose in this case?

What has happened in Jinyang in the past few months, all the states and counties have probably gotten the news. In the eyes of outsiders, this is a premeditated massacre by the general to use the power of the eldest princess to eradicate dissidents.

The sudden death of the Son of Heaven undoubtedly confirmed this speculation even more, so as long as Yuan Shao, Cao Cao and others hyped it up, the general and Hebei became the target of public criticism.

The death of the Son of Heaven and the succession of the new emperor to the throne, these two things we will definitely tell the world before the end of the first month of next year, and the next thing may be a bloody war.

Hebei suffered a disaster the year before last, and its vitality was greatly damaged. Although we have recruited a sufficient number of troops after the implementation of the new military system, we do not have enough financial resources to support the continuous operation of more than 200,000 troops.

Of course, this battle will definitely be fought. In order to defeat the rebellion and hold Hebei, we need to work together.

Another reason why the imperial court announced the change of imperial leadership before the end of the first month was to delay the war until after the spring ploughing and spring harvest in May next year.

From the time Yuan Shao and the others received the news to the time they joined the alliance and assembled the army, it would take at least three to four months.

With this buffer, Hebei can not only accumulate more money and grain, but also calmly recruit and deploy a large army.

The main task of the imperial court next year is to rebuild the imperial system, defeat the rebellion, stabilize Hebei, and strive to go south to the Central Plains in two or three years to carry out a counterinsurgency war, and strive to rejuvenate the Han Dynasty as soon as possible.

With this in mind, the ministers began to discuss how to deal with the three questions raised by Lord Cho.

Emperor Guangwu had eleven princes, except for Liu Zhuang, the son of Empress Guanglie, who inherited the unification, the remaining ten sons had nine kings and one prince.

At present, there are only two in Hebei. One is the descendant of Liu Qiang, the king of the East China Sea born to Queen Guo, and the current counselor Liu Wan is his sixth grandson, the former Taifu Liu Yu is his sixth grandson, and the current Sikong Liu He is his seventh grandson.

One was also born to Queen Guo, after Liu Yan, the king of Zhongshan Jian, after the death of his fifth grandson Liu Jie, because he had no heirs, the prince was canceled, and the country was removed, and now only the descendants of the concubine.

Neither of these descendants has a suitable candidate. Emperor Xiaoming Liu Zhuang was located in Emperor Xiaozhang, who had two sons who were crowned kings in Hebei.

One is Liu Qing, the filial piety king of Qinghe, and his son is Emperor Xiao'an. One is Liu Kai, the filial piety king of Hejian, his grandson is Emperor Xiaohuan, and the great-grandson of his other son is Emperor Xiaoling.

Since the death of today's son, these two families have no descendants. Emperor Xiaozhang also had a great-grandson named Liu Hong, who was named King Xiaowang of Bohai.

The son of the filial piety king of Bohai is the famous filial piety emperor Liu Zhang, who has only been the emperor for more than a year, because he called the general Liang Yiwei

"General Bahu" was poisoned and died at the age of nine. Among the great-grandsons of King Xiao of Bohai, Liu Yu, a nine-year-old eldest grandson, was very smart and could be used as a candidate to inherit the throne.

The one who recommended this son was Zongzheng Xu Shao. Three years ago, when he served as the Taishou of Bohai County in Jizhou, he was very impressed by this child.

The people recommended by Xu Shao, the ministers naturally have no objections. Fighting a war is the business of the generals and the generals of northern Xinjiang, and the money, food, ordnance, and requisition of the people are the affairs of the imperial court, as long as everyone has a clear division of labor and works together, even if the battle cannot be won, it will definitely not be a problem to keep Hebei.

Therefore, in this matter, the ministers mainly discussed their respective division of labor, especially after the promulgation of the edict, the affairs of the various states and counties.

Although everyone can now predict the future development of the situation, no one wants to give up the strategy of confrontation.

As long as Tian Kai, Liu Bei and Yuan Shu can be convinced, or one of these three, it is difficult to say whether next year's battle will be able to be fought.

Even if the fight starts, Hebei has a good chance of winning. Another purpose of the mission was to delay the start of the war.

According to Li Hong, the ideal time to start the war is from June to July. With half a year of sufficient time to prepare, Hebei can completely defeat the rebellious coalition forces, fix the battle line on the Yellow River, and ensure the stability and security of Hebei.

The next question to discuss was a headache. Who has the final say on the succession of the emperor? Who will be in charge of the authority of the Great Han?

To whom is the imperial power, which should have been controlled by the Son of Heaven, to whom? The opinions of the ministers were very clear, strictly following the laws of the Han Dynasty, and in the event of the death of the Son of Heaven and the absence of an heir, the succession of the emperor should be decided jointly by the auxiliary ministers and the empress dowager.

But in this way, it is tantamount to admitting that the Empress Dowager controlled the imperial power before the Son of Heaven took over, which the ministers did not want to see.

The defeat of the Han Dynasty began with the reign of the Empress Dowager, and if you want to completely separate the queen officials from the imperial power, it seems that the only way to do this is to revise the law.

The proposal to amend the law was immediately opposed by some ministers, because in this way, the foreign ministers monopolized the power, and it was easy to cause harm to the country.

The reason why the Great Han Law was formulated in this way is that the imperial power and the relative power must be separated in order to achieve checks and balances of power.

Taichang Xunyou believes that the Empress Dowager's rule is actually only the cause of the defeat of the Han Dynasty, and the real reason is that the Empress Dowager lives deep in the inner palace and cannot sit with the ministers every day to discuss matters, so the imperial power is stolen by the Empress Dowager's trusted relatives and eunuchs.

Then, because most of the auxiliary ministers were relatives who received Shangshushi, the relatives were able to control part of the power owned by Shangshutai, which caused the relatives to monopolize the power and bring disaster to the country and the people.

When the little emperor grew up, in order to regain the imperial power controlled by his relatives, he appointed eunuchs from the inner dynasty to kill his relatives, so that the eunuchs could hold the power by the hands of the fake Son of Heaven.

Relatives and eunuchs interfered in politics, Shangshutai was heavy, imperial power was getting bigger and bigger, and the prime minister was seriously deprived, which was the main reason for the defeat of the Han Dynasty.

In other words, there is no error in the provisions of the law of the Han Dynasty, and the fault lies in the setting of the official system. The mistakes in the bureaucratic system led to an imbalance between imperial power and relative power, giving foreign authorities and eunuchs the opportunity to interfere in politics.

Xun You believes that the official system should continue to be revised, the power of Shangshutai should be weakened, and the possibility of foreign relatives and eunuchs interfering in government affairs should be eliminated from the official system.

However, Liu He then raised an unavoidable conundrum. The queen mother is so young, she doesn't understand political affairs, and she doesn't have officials she trusts, she doesn't rely on her relatives and eunuchs around her, how can she give orders?

In addition, the consequences of the revision of the official system are obviously unfavorable to the Queen Mother, and she will not agree to the amendment. In the evening, the eldest princess, whose mood had regained her calm, was invited to Shangshutai, and her opinion had to be heard on the biggest problem.

"Take this Liu Yu to Jinyang immediately." The eldest princess was silent for a long time before saying her first words.

"I still take charge of Shangshushi, I am in charge of Shangshutai, and I will coordinate between the inner palace and the outer court." This is the second sentence of the eldest princess.

"Don't revise the official system for the time being. When the world is calm, let's talk about revising the official system. This is the third sentence of the eldest princess.

The ministers sat quietly below, with different expressions.

"If you agree, you'll be gone today." The eldest princess stood up.

"Your Royal Highness, the revision of the official system is related to the great cause of Zhongxing......" Kong Rong, the master craftsman, suddenly knelt down and played,

"The minister thinks ......"

"Don't think anything. Zhongxing Daya, we need to work together, but I have given you all the power, can you work together? Why was the prison in Tingwei's Mansion overcrowded a few days ago? Go back and think for yourself. The eldest princess brushed her sleeves away.

On December 26, the queen went into labor. The eldest princess of Yang'an went to the palace to accompany her daughter. On the evening of the 26th, the queen had a difficult birth, and both mother and child were in danger.

On the morning of the 27th, the queen gave birth to a son, who died of excessive blood loss. Jump to