In the Fengtian Hall, some eunuchs brought some chairs for Yuan Lao Shangshu and several other elderly ministers to sit and wait.
Although there was no loud noise, the ministers still whispered in low voices. Dou Kui was surrounded by seven or eight officials, all with excitement on their faces, but more of them were thoughtful and silent.
After waiting for more than half an hour, the emperor finally came back. Xiao Shaozong followed the emperor respectfully back to the main hall. The eunuch in charge of the ceremony held a wax-sealed scroll in his hand. When the palace became quiet, the eunuch in charge of the ceremony Guihe Then he raised the scroll in his hand and said in a sharp voice: "This is the archive that was transferred from the imperial archives under the order. The seal indicates that it was archived and put into the warehouse eight days before the death of the late emperor Long Yu. In addition, it has been verified that that night, the late emperor summoned King Huainan entered the palace and talked alone for about half a stick of incense. This secret decree was archived after King Huainan left the palace."
When the ministers saw the secret edict archive and found it, they thought that it seemed that the secret edict presented by Xiao Shaozong was true. The Huainan King would be cleared of the crime of rebellion today.
"Lu... Lu Aiqing, please keep this secret edict on file and read it again." The emperor who was sitting on the dragon throne ordered.
Lu Xiao was startled. Guihe had already sent the secret edict archive. After taking it, Lu Xiao opened it, looked at it twice, hesitated, and finally read: "My secret order: The King of Huainan has a direct connection with me." We are blood relatives, loyal to the king and serve the country, but one day the Sima family has the intention of rebellion, and asks the King of Huainan to protect the country and protect the king, and kill the Sima family, I admire this!"
When the ministers heard that the content of the decree was exactly the same as the one presented by Xiao Shaozong, they all concluded that King Huainan had indeed accepted the late emperor's order.
Xiao Shaozong, however, had already knelt on the ground and said respectfully: "Your Majesty, I have this archive in the imperial archives. I think my father has indeed accepted the late emperor's order. I have the courage to ask the emperor to pardon my father for the crime of rebellion and to clear his name!"
Dou Kui and more than a dozen ministers stood up and knelt on the ground, saying in unison: "Please, Your Majesty, clear the name of King Huainan!"
The rebellion of King Huainan, which shocked the whole world, was about to turn upside down because of a secret decree presented by Xiao Shaozong today. King Huainan, who had been punished by everyone for his rebellious officials and traitors, was about to become someone who upheld the rules of the court and eradicated traitors in an instant. Great loyal minister, many ministers just think it is a bit unbelievable, but the imperial archives have a file of this secret edict. Without the emperor's will, no one can enter the imperial archives without authorization, so this archive is absolutely true.
After a moment of silence in the main hall, the emperor finally said in a hoarse voice: "Dear sirs, I never knew that the late emperor had left this secret edict for King Huainan. This prince has submitted the secret edict, and the imperial documents have confirmed it is correct. Since King Huainan is the recipient of Since he had obeyed the late emperor's will, then the change in the imperial mausoleum was naturally not for the purpose of King Huainan seeking to usurp the government." He coughed and asked Lu Xiao: "Lu Aiqing, what do you think?"
Lu Xiao said respectfully: "Reporting to Your Majesty, I think that since the late emperor left a will, the King of Huainan will follow the late emperor's will to hoe traitors, so naturally he is not a treasonous minister."
"What Mr. Lu said is absolutely true." Dou Kui said loudly: "Your Majesty, the King of Huainan has been wronged for the country. He is actually a loyal and righteous minister throughout the ages. I ask your Majesty to make the decision for the King of Huainan." Everyone behind him immediately followed suit.
The emperor thought for a moment and then said: "The King of Huainan is very loyal and righteous, I am very relieved." He sighed: "It is my will that the King of Huainan is loyal to the king and serves the country. I am uneasy when he is wronged and wronged. All the crimes that the King of Huainan has committed should be exempted. The body was moved to the imperial mausoleum, and the title of Huainan King was inherited by the Prince of Huainan."
Some ministers suddenly felt that there was something wrong with the emperor's decree.
After all, it was the emperor who personally issued the order to convict King Huainan of treason. Although he has cleared the grievances of King Huainan today, if this order is passed down, it will be as if the emperor had wrongly accused King Huainan before.
The emperor is the emperor, and even if the emperor makes mistakes, he is not wrong.
Restoring the innocence of King Huainan and spreading it to the world will definitely arouse discussion among the government and the public, and the consequences will naturally be great damage to the emperor's wisdom and majesty.
It's just that Xiao Shaozong took out the late emperor's secret decree in public. If he didn't clear the name of King Huainan, he would have violated the late emperor's decree. This was a dilemma. If very few people knew about it, there might be something else. The method of handling it, but now that both civil and military officials in the Manchu Dynasty know it, there is no room for maneuver.
Lu Xiao and many other ministers knew the key, but they couldn't say anything at this time.
Xiao Shaozong had already knelt down to thank him, and the emperor said again: "Huainan... King Huainan, you are not in good health, so you will stay in the palace for a few days...!" After a pause, he added: "There are doctors in the palace who can diagnose and treat you at any time. In addition... we are currently at war, and I... I know that you like to read military books on weekdays, so you will stay in the palace for the time being and make suggestions for me...!"
The ministers were suddenly shocked again, thinking that it was extremely rare for foreign ministers to stay in the inner palace. The emperor's decree at this time could be said to be extremely important to Xiao Shaozong. Could it be because the Huainan King died unjustly and wrongly? The emperor's heart I feel guilty, that's why I love Xiao Shaozong so much.
Xiao Shaozong had been confined to the Huainan Palace before. Not to mention participating in state affairs, it was not easy for him to even go out. Today, the emperor wanted to keep Xiao Shaozong in the palace to discuss affairs, which meant that the Huainan Prince had the right to participate in political affairs.
Many important ministers could not help but frown, thinking that the emperor was still too impulsive.
Many ministers know that Xiao Shaozong stayed in the palace when he was young, and he got along with the emperor day and night. They were childhood playmates. Naturally, the relationship between the two was not bad. Now that the innocence of King Huainan has been restored, Xiao Shaozong has also inherited the title of king. This They are already Long Enhao, but it is not appropriate to leave them in the palace to discuss matters.
Everyone knows that Xiao Shaozong is the eldest grandson of Emperor Taizu after all. The existence of this person, just like the existence of King Huainan during the previous emperor's time, is a threat to the imperial power.
Although the former emperor was very generous to the King of Huainan and gave him a lot of food and frequent rewards, the former emperor never allowed the King of Huainan Xiao Zhang to really participate in political affairs. Even if he sent some errands to the King of Huainan, he would not It was something of no importance. King Huainan had never entered the core of Da Chu's political affairs.
Until the death of the late emperor, King Huainan had no real power in his hands. King Huainan had no right to mobilize any soldiers and soldiers of the empire. Because of this, the ministers were heartbroken when they learned that the late emperor had left a secret decree for King Huainan to fight against traitors. Everyone was surprised. After all, Sima Lan, as the minister of Tuogu, was extremely powerful. Apart from the advantage of having royal blood, the King of Huainan really had no capital to compete with the Sima family. If the late emperor really wanted to use King Huainan to deal with Sima Lan , King Huainan should be given some actual power before his death. Otherwise, what would King Huainan do to eradicate the Sima family
The former emperor did not let Xiao Zhang, the king of Huainan, have real power. Both the civil and military officials in the court and the Chinese government knew the reason and understood that this was the best choice to maintain imperial power.
Logically speaking, the current emperor should naturally continue the previous emperor's strategy of treating the King of Huainan. Although he can reward Xiao Shaozong greatly, he must not give him the real power to know political affairs. And the young emperor seems to have forgotten everything the previous emperor did. Not only Let Xiao Shaozong take part in political affairs, and even keep him by his side.
But since the emperor has personally issued the decree, who can raise objections
After all, the young emperor and Xiao Shaozong are both of royal blood, and they are brothers of the same clan. If the current government objects to the young emperor staying in the palace with Xiao Shaozong, and the young emperor becomes angry and puts the label of instigating the relationship between the royal brothers, That's just not enough to eat and walk around.
Some people also thought that Xiao Shaozong was terminally ill and would not live long. Perhaps because of this, the emperor relaxed his guard against this brother of the same clan. After all, what kind of threat could a dying person pose to the throne
Some people even wonder if the young emperor's decree to keep Xiao Shaozong in the palace was just to put Xiao Shaozong under house arrest in the palace.
Xiao Shaozong will not live long. Before he passes away, he will be directly under his nose and he will be watched. Naturally, there is no need to worry about Xiao Shaozong's little tricks.
The ministers had different thoughts. After Xiao Shaozong thanked him, he saw Yuan Laoshang, the Minister of Rites, coming out and saying, "Your Majesty, please tell me if I have anything to say!"
The emperor was stunned for a moment, and then he said "Hmm". Then Yuan Laoshangshu said: "Your Majesty, I am over seventy years old, deaf and blind, and often confused. I think I can no longer bear the burden on me. I beg the emperor to allow me to retire in old age." Return home!”
"You... you want to retire and return to your hometown?" The emperor seemed a little at a loss: "This... I...!" He glanced at Xiao Shaozong in the hall, but Xiao Shaozong stood in the hall, his head slightly lowered, looking extremely respectful, and said helplessly: "Let me think about it, wait... wait a few days...!"
"Your Majesty, Yuan Lao Shangshu has been in charge of the Ministry of Rites for decades. When my father was here, he said that the late emperor also respected Lao Shangshu very much." Xiao Shaozong suddenly said: "I thought that the war has not stopped yet, and the important ministers in the court should keep their positions. At this time If the old minister leaves, the Ministry of Rites will be leaderless, which would be inappropriate."
"Oh, Mr. Yuan Shangshu... Well, what King Huainan said is true. Old... Old Shangshu, please do your best. Don't retire and return home for the time being. Wait until our army returns home in triumph. How about... discussing this matter again?" The emperor asked Mr. Yuan. The minister said: "The Ministry of Rites cannot do without you."
There was a strange color in Yuan Laoshangshu's eyes, and he raised his head to stare at the emperor on the dragon throne, but he was old and had poor eyesight. The Jinluan Palace was high up, and the emperor had a jade hanging in front of the door. The old minister's eyes were blurry and he couldn't see clearly. , cupped his hands and said: "I am willing to serve the country again. When the army returns in triumph, I will ask the Holy One to resign." Without saying much, he returned to the list of ministers.
The emperor stood up and said: "My dear lords, I... I am a little tired. Let's leave the court first. If you have something to report, please hand over the paper. I will look back and take a closer look." Surrounded by eunuchs and maids, he hurriedly retreated from the court.
Dou Kui waited until the emperor left and was the first to walk over to Xiao Shaozong. With a smile on his face, he cupped his hands and said, "Congratulations to the prince. The old prince has been avenged. This is the way of heaven. Xiaguan... I am really happy in my heart." He raised his sleeves and wiped his eyes. But he shed tears with excitement.
The King of Huainan was restored to innocence and was no longer a rebel. After Dou Kui found out, no one could use his involvement with the King of Huainan as a crime against him. Although after the death of the King of Huainan, he defected to the Qi family, he still had a problem on his head. The hanging sword had always made him uneasy, but today he felt relaxed.
However, he seems to have forgotten that he took the lead and contributed a lot when he raided the Huainan Palace. It was because of him that Qining wiped out the large number of treasures stored in the Huainan Palace.