How many people can threaten the emperor's rule?

His own son is undoubtedly one force, and the ministers of the court are another force, and the encroachment of foreign armies is also one of the reasons.

If we want to rule the country forever, we need to eradicate all these potentially threatening forces.

In terms of foreign enemies, the old emperor spent a full thirty years attacking neighboring countries, expanding his territory and reducing the power of foreign states to a minimum, and now he basically does not pose a threat to the imperial power. In terms of ministers, the survival and normal operation of the empire requires the support of capable courtiers, and these capable courtiers have to be on guard at all times, for this reason, the close ministers around the old emperor have hardly changed since he was young, he knows that the courtiers are similar no matter how they are replaced, the key is not who is in that position, but what their intentions are, whether they are dedicated to the country or greedy for selfish interests.

Like Tuoba Zichu, he is obviously a pillar of the country who can share his worries, like Murong Nan is a traitor, like Shangguan Hongri, that is the most shameless and despicable person. The old emperor spent a full thirty years judging, testing, and finally came up with an evaluation of the powerful ministers around him, which determined who he should use, who he should kill, and who he should imprison.

In terms of the prince, Jiulong won the throne, everyone was eager to try the throne when they were not dead, completely regarded family affection as nothing, regarded human nature as child's play, and all should be killed.

After thirty years, the old emperor laid out, operated, tested, and came to the conclusion that he was finally about to act, and he felt that the time had come to start the long-brewing plan. As he made his decision, an undercurrent followed in the imperial capital, quietly acting, accurately finding the target, and carrying out the mission. There are many people in the empire, and only one person feels the existence of the undercurrent, and that is Tuoba Lie, the eleventh son of the emperor. The Lie Emperor clearly sensed that the guards of the Praetorian Guard were deliberately alienating themselves, as if they were no longer under his control and secretly dispatching.

He realized that something big was going to happen, and he told Shen Fei, the only person he trusted, about his doubts, and Shen Fei's response to him was very intriguing.

At the same time as the undercurrent was surging, the old emperor finally went to court, and as soon as he went to the court, he showed a sick look, and announced two incredible decisions: first, I am old, the dragon body is not safe and needs to be recuperated in the harem, no one is allowed to disturb during the recuperation period, the affairs of the court and the central government are fully responsible for the left prime minister Tuoba Zichu, and Tuoba Zichu is the protector of the country, in charge of the government, acting for the imperial power, and sharing worries for me;

After the two decisions were made, there was an uproar in the Manchurian court.

I thought that what the emperor was going to promulgate in the previous court must be the decision of the noble concubine and the true prince, but I didn't think that he would actually call himself sick and leave the court affairs alone, and actually hand over the supreme power as the emperor to the most maverick courtier, Tuoba Zichu, instead of passing it on to one of the princes, and what is even more incredible is that he actually announced that the city would be locked down for six months, what was this going to do? Why did an ominous premonition arise in everyone's hearts at the same time.

After the edict was issued, the old emperor was even more so that he personally handed over the jade seal to Tuoba Zichu, and announced aloud to the courtiers: "Zichu shares my worries and acts as the imperial power, and no one can question the decision to disobey him, and the imperial capital Janissary is under the full command and dispatch of Tuoba Zichu." ”

As soon as this remark came out, everyone was even more shocked, and the people with bad intentions looked at each other, almost all of them had a premonition that something bad was about to happen, and their long-standing plan might be in vain.

Aside from his official position as the left prime minister of the empire, he also had another important identity as a cousin of the old emperor, and Tuoba Zichu had no heirs, in other words, as a person who had always been the head of the old emperor, he was the sharpest knife in the hands of the old emperor.

Why is there always a powerful minister in history, because there are some things that the emperor is unwilling to come forward in person and is unwilling to bear the infamy, so he instructed his courtiers to come forward to deal with some disgraceful issues on his behalf. The old emperor obviously felt that the matter of Lichu was getting more and more stiff, the situation was becoming more and more difficult to clean up, and the scene was becoming more and more ugly, and it needed to be completely resolved. Therefore, he simply took a salary from the bottom of the kettle, threw all the problems to Tuoba Zichu, and let him handle everything, and he retreated behind the scenes to secretly manipulate, and played a double reed with Zichu, so that someone in the black pot was carried, and it became convenient to deal with inconvenient things, and after a few years, Zichu died, and he didn't have to worry about retaliation from the courtiers.

It's a multi-pronged strategy.

What worries the courtiers the most is that during the six months of locking down the city, what does the old emperor want to do when he cuts off the channels of communication between them and the outside world, will it not be a pot?

You must know that the imperial capital is firmly controlled by the Praetorian Guard, and the Praetorian Guard is in the hands of the old emperor, and now it is mobilized by Tuoba Zichu, which is obviously an ominous signal.

After completing the entrustment ceremony of the jade seal, the old emperor dragged his sick body back to the harem, and the ministers had mixed feelings in their hearts, giving birth to all kinds of thoughts, some of them were pedantic and even thinking, no, the emperor He wanted to follow the ancient sages and give the throne to his brothers! But that's not right, after all, Tuoba Zichu had no descendants, and who would he pass the throne to after a hundred years.

Of course, the ministers couldn't figure it out, because they couldn't imagine that some kind of unbelievable deal had been reached between the old emperor and Tuoba Zichu.

They all regretted dying one by one, they knew it was the result of today, it would be nice to get closer to Tuoba Zichu at the beginning, you don't care if he loves to be close to people, he is thick-skinned and takes the initiative to get close, such a good opportunity was not used, and now it is difficult to get close to it. Hey, it's a pity that there is no regret medicine in the world.

What surprised them even more was that Tuoba Zichu took over the jade seal, and actually swaggered up to a high position in front of the ministers, sitting on the throne symbolizing the supreme power, and seeing Murong Nan, Shangguan Hongri, and the princes were shocked.

He held the jade seal, smiled slightly, and made people shudder with a cold smile: "Your Majesty trusts me and orders me to act on behalf of the emperor, but I have to accept the initial push of Tuoba Zi, during the period of Your Majesty's absence, I will definitely handle government affairs well, and completely sweep away the unhealthy trends that are now permeating the court, and return a pure paradise to the world." In the next few days, I will work with officials in the Central Province to issue a number of decrees, and no one or others shall disobey them. After saying that, all the ministers looked at each other, and they all saw the sweat on each other's foreheads at a close distance, and they didn't know who knelt down first: "The minister's decree, the protector of the country is a thousand years old and a thousand years old." ”

Then some people knelt down one after another, until everyone including Murong Nan and Shangguan Hongri knelt down: "The minister's decree, the protector of the country is a thousand years old and a thousand years old." "Everyone knows each other very well, and no one stands up and stabs at this time.

"Okay!" When Takubako first laughed, the corners of his mouth opened very little, giving people the feeling that he was not smiling, maybe he didn't smile at all, because what was going to happen next was too bloody.

......

The sky in the imperial capital was dark and low, and people couldn't breathe, and in the coming week, except for the officials of the Central Province who were busy, almost everyone hid in their houses and closed their doors.

A big wave is about to sweep in, and those who have the ability will show their magic to save their lives!

The situation was chaotic, and the temple closed its doors to clean up.

Even the ordinary people who did nothing vaguely felt something, and hid in the house one by one, preferring to starve rather than go out.

The most people on the streets are the patrolling Janissaries, who usually stand guard during the day and patrol at night, but since the beginning of the first generation of the Emperor of Tuobazi, they also come out to patrol during the day, and they are all over the city in a team, not letting go of any blind spots, and the "suspicious" people who stay on the street will be severely investigated.

The wind is getting tighter, that's people's intuitive feeling, and it's another feeling that something big will happen soon. Now it's obviously too late to have a relationship with Tuoba Zichu, Tuoba Zichu is a person with no relatives and no reason, and no one can stop him from doing anything.

Looking at it now, the thirty-meter-high city wall is like a sturdy cage, and anyone in the imperial capital is a bird in the cage, and they can't walk if they want to, so they can only be slaughtered.

Shangguan Hongri, Murong Nan and other civil and military generals gathered in the mansion of the eldest prince and discussed anxiously, their expressions were nervous that had never been seen before, and they were obviously caught off guard by the old emperor's sudden decree.

In the staff of the eldest prince, the monks of Lingyin Temple have disappeared, and only the strange people and strange things in the society that he used to envelop remain around, but few of them are useful. They all attended this top-secret mini-meeting as a think tank.

The fire lights were extinguished, the doors and windows were closed, and the atmosphere in the room was depressing and terrifying, Shangguan Hongri paced back and forth, rubbing his hands nervously, and was the first to speak: "I think Tuoba Zichu is only afraid that the person who came is not good." ”

Murong Nan and the eldest prince sat side by side on the main seat, and everyone else was in the lower position of them, the lean Murong Nan completely lost his previous confidence, his brows were locked as if he was embarrassed, and he saw that everyone was frowning and did not say a word before he said slowly: "Yes, who would have thought that there would be such a move." That person has always done amazing things since he was young, and he is still the same, completely unpredictable. ”

"You're talking about Your Majesty or Tuoba Zichu. ”

"Of course it's Your Majesty! Can't you see that Your Majesty is going to use Tuoba Zichu's hand to complete his plan, but I'm afraid that those who coveted the throne before will be implicated. ”

"What do you mean, to put it bluntly, I can't understand it as a rough person!"

At the same time, the Imperial Dungeon,

In the single room where the condemned prisoners are held, the prince and his mother, the concubine Niang Ling, occupy one room alone, and both of them are treated very well, and they have not been harassed at all, but the cell is a cell after all, and for them, who have always been pampered, the taste of being in the cell is not pleasant.

Tuoba Zhen sat cross-legged, and there was an incredible darkness behind him, like a living thing, stretched or tight, loose or relaxed, like a shadow lying on the wall.

For several years, we have been mistakenly thinking that Your Majesty is already old, and sooner or later he will establish the prince as his successor, so he chooses the prince to be attached to him in the hope that he can enjoy the merits of support in the future, so that the wealth can be continued. Looking at it now, our idea is really too naïve, Your Majesty may not have thought about handing over power at all, he let the princes fight because his own physique is gradually deteriorating and he can't take care of everything, so he can only passively adopt a strategy of balancing left and right. This time, we really killed the prince, and the wanton hunt made him realize that the balance had been broken and that a thorough cleanup was needed to maintain his rule over the empire, so he pushed Tuoba Zichu to the forefront, let him handle everything, and finally became a scapegoat. ”

"You're saying that we really killed Tuoba and buried ourselves?"

"I never expected that His Majesty was so obsessed with the control of power that he didn't even trust his own son and didn't let it go. ”

"But with his current appearance, he can live for a few more days at most, and after he dies, will he really cheapen the throne Tuoba Zichu. ”

"Of course not, Tuoba Zichu has no children and no daughters, even if His Majesty dies now, he will not be able to do it on the throne for a few years, and sooner or later he will return the position to His Majesty's descendants, he is at most just a minister, a minister who is absolutely loyal to His Majesty and is the head of the horse for His Majesty. His mother, when the imperial concubine Niangniang was not surprised by what was behind her son, and said in a low voice: "Zhen'er, the spies in the palace just came to report that His Majesty had abdicated, announced that Tuoba Zi would be the first emperor to be responsible, and the city would be closed for six months. ”

"But I still can't figure out why Your Majesty wants to make things so troublesome, and he directly establishes the prince and leaves the throne to future generations, once and for all. ”

"I said you, why are you so confused! The reason why you don't want to establish a prince is not that you don't want to establish a prince, but that these people who are now vying for the throne and have power are not what he thinks in his heart, and they are not the successors he really approves. ”

At this point, Shangguan Hongri finally understood the old emperor's profound intentions, he gasped, while admiring the old emperor's deep intentions, he was also deeply worried about his future, looked at the people around him, and asked the doubts in the hearts of all of them: "I see, then according to this, wouldn't it be very dangerous for us now." ”

Murong Nan swept over everyone's bodies with his unique sharp gaze mixed with wisdom, and said word by word: "We will all die, if we don't fight back!"

"Are you trying to rebel?" Shangguan Hongri was shocked.

"I want to live!" Murong Nan clenched his fists.

......

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