In the Southern Song Dynasty, I competed with Mongolia for the world

Chapter 600: Invite the King to the Throne

Early in the morning of April 23rd.

Officials from the capital went to the imperial city one after another to prepare for court.

But as soon as I arrived at the city gate today, I felt that it was different from before.

There are a lot of people in the Imperial City Bureau, three layers inside and outside, guarding inside and outside the city gates.

The news of the emperor's accident had now spread throughout the city. Of course, everyone had heard about it, and people immediately began whispering at the scene.

Soon, it was time for court session. The city gates were opened and a group of civil and military officials entered one after another.

Everyone soon arrived at the Fengtian Hall. According to usual practice, the emperor was not there, so the cabinet presided over the meeting.

Due to the death of Prime Minister Zhen Zhidao, Shi Jieqing is currently in charge.

Some minor matters were discussed in court first.

After finishing talking about trivial matters, Shi Jieqing asked the officials if they had anything else to say, and if they had nothing else, he would adjourn the court.

At this moment, a man suddenly stepped out from the crowd and said, "I want to ask, has His Majesty the Emperor been in trouble?"

There was an uproar all around, and everyone looked over and saw that it was the new Minister of Personnel, Wen Tianxiang.

Wen Tianxiang's original name was Wen Yunsun. He was promoted by the emperor and transferred from the secondary capital Lin'an to the capital.

Not long after arriving, he changed his name to Wen Tianxiang, making the same choice as in history.

Historically, he changed his name after passing the imperial examination, and this time he changed his name after entering the capital.

Upon hearing this, Shi Jieqing said in a deep voice: "We have already sent people to investigate your majesty's affairs. If there is any news, we will certainly announce it to the world."

Wen Tianxiang said loudly: "Your Majesty's safety is a national priority. How can you be so careless? Besides, the country cannot be without a monarch for a day. I ask the cabinet to immediately summon the eldest son Zhao Qi to the palace and make him the crown prince."

Wen Tianxiang didn't know who the crown prince was, but according to convention, the eldest son should be made crown prince.

But just as he said this, someone beside him shouted, "Your Majesty, why don't you open the edict of enthronement in public instead of writing it on the tablet in Fengtian Hall?"

"Your Majesty doesn't know whether he is alive or dead, how can you read the imperial edict now?"

The hall was suddenly filled with chaos. Some people wanted to see the imperial edict, while others said that the emperor might not be dead yet and that the edict could not be read.

Seeing this, Wen Tianxiang asked again: "Why not ask Queen Xie to come out and take charge of the situation?"

However, his voice was quickly drowned out by others nearby.

Wen Tianxiang was very anxious and wanted to mention Empress Xie several times, but there were always people around him talking loudly about other things.

"Stop making noise." Shi Jieqing suddenly yelled, shocking the whole audience.

"Well, let's follow the usual practice. Although we don't know whether the emperor is alive or dead, we should prepare for a rainy day and appoint a prince as regent to assist in governing the country. This way, when we find the emperor in the future, we can welcome him back."

This opinion was agreed by most people present.

Even Wen Tianxiang agreed that the position of crown prince could not be left vacant and that someone must be found to regulate the country and assist in governing the country.

But there were big differences of opinion on the issue of who to find. Some supported the eldest prince, some supported Zhao Yi, and some supported Zhao Xie.

Wen Tianxiang discovered that Zhao Yi had the most people supporting him.

At this time, Shi Jieqing said again: "Let's still follow the convention and take the emperor's edict as the main thing. Those who agree to open the edict stand on the left, and those who disagree to open the edict stand on the right."

Shi Jieqing asked for a vote and then read the emperor's edict.

Sounds most fair.

The emperor's edict is the most accurate.

People immediately started lining up at the scene.

Some people disagree, but many people have already taken sides, splitting into the left and right sides.

Wen Tianxiang also disagreed with reading the emperor's edict, as the emperor had not yet been confirmed dead.

But there were too many people standing in line, and Wen Tianxiang had no choice but to stand on the right subconsciously.

It turned out that there were the fewest people on the right, with less than ten people including him.

Obviously most people are interested in the emperor's edict.

It was obvious at the scene that the vast majority of ministers demanded to see the imperial edict and determine the crown prince according to the emperor's requirements.

Wen Tianxiang knew that this was the fairest thing to do, so of course he couldn't say anything.

"Someone come here." Shi Jieqing shouted to the outside of the hall.

"Hua Hua Hua" Hu Qingshan strode towards the outside of the hall.

"Raise the ladder and read the imperial edict."

"Yes." Hu Qingshan turned around to get the ladder.

Shi Jieqing said in a deep voice: "All the ministers are here today. Let's all read the imperial edict together. The imperial edict is the agreement to appoint the prince as the regent. Does anyone have any objections?"

It was quiet.

Hu Qingshan quickly came in with two armored soldiers, then put down the ladder and turned to look at everyone.

Shi Jieqing asked, "Who is willing to go and get it?"

"I am willing." Wen Tianxiang stood up immediately.

He had just been transferred from the secondary capital, so he was considered a newcomer to the capital and had no faction. Everyone nodded and agreed with Wen Tianxiang.

Wen Tianxiang immediately climbed up the ladder and when he reached the top, he found a secret chamber with a box inside.

He took down the box and climbed down the ladder.

He opened the box in front of everyone and took out the imperial edict inside.

All the ministers almost rushed forward to watch.

"Zhao Yi, the third son of the Ming prince, has a pure character and noble personality. He is very similar to me and will surely be able to inherit the throne—"

"Ah" There was surprise all around. No one expected that the person mentioned in the edict of succession was actually Zhao Yi.

Wen Tianxiang held the hand in his hand and looked at it left and right. Suddenly, he felt something was wrong. He rubbed his hands and found that there was oil on the palms.

This, wasn't this rewritten not long ago?
"Wait."

Before he could finish his words, the imperial edict was snatched away and handed to Shi Jieqing.

Shi Jieqing held up the imperial edict and circulated it around: "Your Majesty is wise and has confirmed the position of crown prince. All the ministers have seen it with their own eyes. The sun and the moon can testify to it, and the heaven and earth can bear witness to it."

"This edict was just written." Someone in the crowd suddenly shouted. It was Wen Tianxiang.

Wen Tianxiang jumped out and pointed at the edict and said, "The ink on it is not dry yet, it is obviously a fake, someone must have replaced the edict in advance."

"How dare you." Du Fan, the left assistant minister of the Ministry of War, shouted, "The weather is damp, and the ink is on the beam, so it will get damp easily. Who dares to cheat in public? What do you think of the Imperial City Department?"

"I request a strict investigation. All the soldiers of the Imperial City Division who were on duty last night and today must be checked." Wen Tianxiang refused to give in and determined that the edict was a fake.

"Wen Yunsun, do you have selfish motives? Did you receive benefits from someone and are deliberately making trouble?" Someone in the crowd cursed at Wen Tianxiang.

"I, Wen Tianxiang, have devoted my heart to the country. Heaven and earth can bear witness to this. How dare I have any selfish thoughts? But you, you have replaced the pillars and changed the sky. Do you want to bring disaster to our Song Dynasty?"

The two sides confronted each other on the spot, but Wen Tianxiang was the only one on this side, while there were more than a dozen people talking at the same time on the other side. There were also cabinet members who cursed Wen Tianxiang. For a while, he was completely at a disadvantage.

Just when there was some panic at the scene.

"The Ming King Zhao Yi has arrived." A deep voice sounded outside the palace.

The hall suddenly fell silent, and everyone turned around in disbelief.

Zhao Yi was seen wearing common people's clothes, covered in dirt and water stains all over his body, but he was energetic and refreshed, striding towards him.

Shi Jieqing was overjoyed. He ran down with the imperial edict in his hand, knelt down in front of Zhao Yi, and held the imperial edict high.

"His Majesty has ordered the throne to be passed to the wise king. Please, wise king, ascend the throne." No one knew whether the emperor was alive or dead. He was just said to be the regent, but Shi Jieqing came up and asked him to ascend the throne.

Zhao Yi was immediately displeased and said angrily, "Father has been murdered by a traitor and his life or death is unknown. As a son, how dare I be selfish and covet the treasure? I should investigate this matter first and then announce it to the world."

Hu Qingshan, the Imperial City Officer, also knelt down suddenly. "The country cannot be without a monarch for a day. If the emperor's affairs cannot be investigated in ten years, will the throne be vacant for ten years? Please, King Ming, take the throne immediately."

"What do you want to do? You are plotting treason. You should find the emperor first." Wen Tianxiang was furious and wanted to say something.

Two soldiers from the Imperial City Division suddenly stepped forward, and one of them took out his scabbard and hit him hard on the mouth.

"Um." Wen Tianxiang covered his mouth and squatted down. When he looked back, his mouth was full of blood.

The whole audience was in an uproar, and many people showed fear on their faces.

"We can discuss this matter later. I want to know who murdered my father. I will never be on good terms with that person." Zhao Yi refused again.

"The Song Dynasty is about to end." Some people in the crowd screamed and knelt on the ground again.

Everyone turned their heads and saw that it was Chen Sheng, the commander of the Imperial City Department.

Chen Sheng cried loudly: "Now the rebels are approaching Lugou Bridge, and the imperial guards in the city are not moving at all. If the Ming King does not continue the throne, the Song Dynasty will inevitably be in chaos. Once the rebels enter the city, how can the officials and officials survive? I beg the Ming King to take the throne immediately."

These words were a reminder to the ministers who supported Zhao Yi that if they did not speak up, they would be doomed when the rebels entered the city.

Sure enough, people in the crowd knelt down one after another.

"Please ask the king to take the throne."

"Please ask the king to take the throne."

"Please ask the king to take the throne."

With a thud, dozens of people knelt down one after another at the scene, occupying more than half of the space.

"You, you guys, hey, why do you have to embarrass me." Zhao Yi stamped his feet, looking helpless: "How can I be so worthy——"

He was halfway through his words when Hu Qingshan suddenly jumped up and, along with two soldiers from the Imperial City Division, carried Zhao Yi to the high dragon throne.

"What are you doing? Stop, stop--" Zhao Yi struggled with a red face and was very angry.

but.

With a plop, when he was pressed onto the dragon throne, he felt as if he had ascended to heaven. An incomparable feeling of pleasure rushed from the soles of his feet straight to his mind.

For a moment, he felt that after sitting down in this position, he would never want to get up again.

"Long live the emperor." Shi Jieqing immediately turned around and knelt down again.

Many people in the hall bowed down.

Originally about half of the people were still standing, but seeing the general trend, they could not stop it and began to kneel down one after another.

In the end, there were still more than twenty people who did not kneel.

"Treason, you are committing treason--" Wen Tianxiang jumped up again.

"Bold Wen Yunsun, you speak wildly. You should kill all your nine clans." Chen Sheng said angrily.

Wen Tianxiang suddenly stood up and said, "What if you kill all ten of my clans?"

"Come here, take him out and chop him off," Chen Sheng said directly.

Several Imperial City Division personnel rushed forward, grabbed Wen Tianxiang, and dragged him out.

"Hahaha." Wen Tianxiang laughed instead.

"Since everyone is mortal, I will leave my loyalty to shine in history. Among the civil and military officials in the Song Dynasty, there is not a single man—"

Puff, in just a moment, a knife was cut from the outside.

After a while, someone walked into the hall carrying Wen Tianxiang's head.

The bloody hall was instantly filled with a terrifying atmosphere.

The twenty or so civil and military ministers who had been standing all knelt down one after another.

"Long live the emperor." Under the leadership of Shi Jieqing, all the civil and military officials in the court paid homage to the new emperor.

Zhao Yi could no longer control his ecstasy. He stood up and helped Shi Jieqing up, then said loudly to all the officials: "You all supported me, and I will never forget you. The first thing I will do when I ascend the throne is to make all officials in the world hereditary and open up the way for nepotism and special recommendations."

"Your Majesty is wise." Shi Jieqing said happily.

Now all the ministers in the palace changed their expressions.

When Zhao Yurui was emperor, he gradually abolished the system of hereditary appointments and special commendations, thus cutting off the hereditary system for officials.

Now that Zhao Yi has taken office, he has changed things and returned to the way the Song Dynasty was before. This means that everyone can let their sons inherit official positions, and when they retire in the future, they can also be in charge of temples. How great is that?
Almost at the same time, all the officials knelt down again, shouted "Long live the emperor" three times, and said in unison: "Your Majesty is wise and wise."

On April 23, after much hardship, Fan Wenhu finally led his troops to break through the Lugou Bridge and enter the gate on the capital's side.

Fan Wenhu wanted to launch a violent attack but was blocked by the imperial guards. At this time, news came from the city that Zhao Yi had succeeded to the throne.

Zhao Yi also proposed to dismiss Fan Wenhu from his official position in the name of the emperor.

His army's morale was instantly shaken.

Moreover, he had been out for nearly a month before his troops arrived at the gates of the capital, and his subordinates had many complaints.

Fan Wenhu had no choice but to turn his horse around and lead his troops back to Jinzhou.

On the 23rd, Zhao Chen finally shook off the Zhejiang Navy that was blocking and pursuing him, and landed near Tianjin at the same time as Lu Wenhuan.

However, the news of Zhao Yi's succession to the throne when he entered the capital also reached him, and they also received the news that Fan Wenhu was incompetent and had to retreat to Jinzhou.

Zhao Xie stood on the shore and looked at Lu Wenhuan. The two looked at each other, speechless.

The situation was good before, but they were held up by the Zhejiang Navy at sea, and Fan Wenhu failed on land.

The key point is that Zhang Ping in the capital remained neutral.

He didn't have the military token, so he kept his troops in place.

The hundreds of thousands of imperial guards in the capital were like fiction, and they watched helplessly as Chen Sheng completed the turnaround with only a few hundred of his trusted men from the Imperial City Bureau.

Now even Zhao Xie felt inferior to him. He knew that his third brother Zhao Yi had probably arranged these things many years ago, while he was just improvising and making decisions on the spot.

He was behind Zhao Yi in all aspects, so his loss was not unfair.

"What should we do now?" Lu Wenhuan asked nervously.

Zhao Yu thought for a moment and said slowly, "Since ancient times, changes in imperial power have always been bloody."

"Even if Zhao Yi really takes the throne, we cannot surrender."

"In this case, surrender means death."

Lu Wenhuan nodded heavily, agreeing with him deeply. He also knew Zhao Yi's character, who was famous for his cruelty and ruthlessness. He had killed many Persians in Persia in the past.

Never surrender, or you will die.

"Let's go back to Liaodong and prepare for war."

"The true throne of the emperor still depends on victory on the battlefield."

Zhao Chen did not hesitate and immediately returned to the boat. He led his entire army back to Liaodong and started the campaign against Zhao Yi.

He sent telegrams to Zhao Qi, and the two sides soon decided to join forces. Zhao Qi started from Polo and marched towards Hanzhou.

Zhao Zhen sent troops from Liaodong by land and from Japan and Goryeo by sea.

Regardless of the outcome, both sides must first stabilize their own territory and then join forces to attack Zhao Yi.

"Ah" was at this moment.

Zhao Yurui opened his eyes suddenly.

(End of this chapter)