The shrill voice slowly and gradually rises.
Amid the ambiguous singing and shouting, a young man, about 26 or 27 years old, wearing a dragon robe and with a sickly look on his face, walked out.
It seemed that the Emperor was indeed seriously ill. Only with the support of two eunuchs could he tremblingly enter the sight of all officials.
As soon as they saw this young man who was nearly dying from illness, all the ministers standing in the hall fell to their knees like weeds crawling in the wind.
It was customary for the emperor to appear and for all officials to pay homage. Zhu Li was no exception and followed everyone else, kneeling in front of him.
Yuchi Jin was right in front of him, so Zhu Li naturally knelt behind Yuchi Jin's butt; seeing the other party's round little butt raised up because of worship, his heart surged, and he couldn't help but feel distracted and had wild thoughts.
In the end, he was so afraid that he didn't even dare to raise his head, for fear of being disrespectful; in the eyes of others, it seemed that he was being very respectful to the emperor in front of him.
It took Li Xuan nearly two minutes to walk up the stairs, a distance of several steps, from the bottom to the top. It seemed that His Majesty was really dying.
"Everyone, ahem, my dear ministers, please stand up."
Two minutes later, a weak voice came faintly. After hearing it, everyone thanked and stood up.
Looking up, Zhu Li saw only a young man with a sallow complexion and dying, sitting high on the dragon throne.
There is no doubt that this person must be the current emperor, the foolish and tyrannical Li Xuan.
When Zhu Li was looking at the other person, the other person was also looking at the court officials in the hall; there was no spirit of vigor and enthusiasm in him. Instead, Zhu Li saw indifference and disregard in the other person.
The world is prosperous and the world is wonderful.
But what does all this matter to a dying person
Perhaps, it was because he knew that his death was not far away that this emperor, the Emperor Xizong of later generations, had such a dead look on his face.
On the left side of the dragon throne, in an inconspicuous place, stood an old man who was about to die. This old man had a pale face and no beard, and was trembling. His frail demeanor was even more unbearable than that of Li Xuan just now.
This person was none other than Yang Sixu, also known by the name Liu Xingshen.
His pair of dim and dim old eyes were expressionless as he looked at the officials below the stage; however, there seemed to be a chilling coldness in the occasional flash of his eyes.
In history, Yang Sixu was cruel, tyrannical and ruthless by nature; however, his loyalty to Li Tang was flawless and evident to all.
This old man, why is he here today instead of staying in the inner hall
Could it be that they came for the various vassal states
You must know that today's grand court meeting was attended not only by former court officials, but also by twenty or thirty high-ranking officials from the vassal states; each of these people was unruly and ambitious and wanted to gather forces in one area.
Perhaps, in Yang Sixu's eyes, they are traitors.
When he saw Yang Sixu, Zhu Li also narrowed his eyes and felt unhappy.
It was this old guy who almost killed him. He had to flee for a whole year before he was able to escape. If someone else almost forced you to death, even if you are a person with a good character, you would probably feel uncomfortable when you see that person again.
When all the officials were standing in line, a eunuch with a loud voice immediately walked to the bottom of the steps and stood in front of the dragon throne.
He quickly unfolded an imperial edict and read it aloud: "The sage said: I rule the world with culture and suppress rebellion with force."
"However, I am entrusted with a great responsibility, and I am above millions of people. I must be cautious every day, as if I were walking on a path that was not yet clear. I work hard every day, and think about the truth when I wake up and sleep. I am still a little acquainted with the Dao, and my teachings are not yet credible..."
The difficult and obscure imperial edict resounded throughout the hall in the rhythmic and clear voice of the eunuch who announced it.
However, the opening remarks made the vassal statesmen like Yang Xingmi and Liu Hanhong, who were born as rogues and gangsters, stare at each other in confusion.
Many of the vassal states that came here were mostly illiterate and rough men. Now that they were going to meet the emperor, they could not bring their subordinates with them. How could they possibly understand on their own
Can be similar to Li Maozhen,
Although a man of both civil and military talents like Zhu Li could understand the imperial edict, he was extremely disdainful of it.
Li Xuan, known as Emperor Xizong of later generations, was an out-and-out tyrant and prodigal son. Now he shamelessly said in front of all the officials that he was sick from overwork and worried and could not bear the heavy burden. This was simply the biggest joke in the world.
However, even though they knew that His Majesty was shameless, Zhu Li and others still kept their eyes on the nose and their nose on the heart, looking very focused.
"... ... , however, looking at the whole world, there are many people who are in chaos and violate the law, and who rely on the masses to raise troops; there are many people who rely on violence to commit crimes and run rampant in counties; there are many people who harm lives and do evil things. All these things are angered by both the living and the dead, and cannot be tolerated by heaven and earth... ... "
When the imperial edict reached this point, the governors who did not understand it were still confused; but those who did understand it immediately narrowed their eyes and looked even more unfriendly.
A tyrant who was about to die, actually pointed at the noses of all the vassal states and everyone in the world at a court meeting, scolding them for their unjust deeds and being unacceptable to the world. Naturally, these vassal states and officials were uncomfortable.
No one thought that what they did was wrong. On the contrary, they were full of complaints and disdain for Emperor Li Xuan. They thought that they were all incompetent and useless people, so what qualifications did they have to criticize them
"... ... , the whole country is in turmoil, and the people are living in misery. In this troubled time, I am already overwhelmed by the heavy burden. At this time, my sixth brother, Ji Wang Bao, and my seventh brother, Shou Wang Jie, are both virtuous and capable. I want to choose one of them to handle military and national affairs."
"However, I am also worried that my brother may not be able to convince the people, so I want to gather all the ministers in the world at Kunming Lake to select wise men..."
In general, this imperial edict was first a shameless boast of oneself; then, it cursed all the vassal states in the world; and finally, it pointed out the purpose of this grand court meeting.
The eunuch who read the imperial edict had just stepped down, and Li Xuan, who looked sick, said with all his strength: "My dear ministers, I want to hold a grand spring search at Kunming Lake."
"At that time, everyone, you can choose one of the two royal brothers to support."
"During the hunting competition, the two will face off. The brother who wins will assist me in governing the country. What do you think about this? If there is no objection, then it is settled."
After Li Xuan finished speaking, the entire hall fell silent for a long time.
This seemed to suit his wishes. Just as he was about to signal the eunuchs to adjourn the court, Liu Xingshen, who was actually Yang Sixu, who was standing beside him, immediately bowed and said, "Your Majesty, it is almost April, and the spring ploughing season is about to begin."
"It will take a long time for the two princes, Prince Ji and Prince Shou, to hunt in Kunming Lake and decide the winner. It would be better to determine the list of supporters of the two princes right here in this hall."
Li Xuan remained expressionless upon hearing this.
However, he still chose to follow the old eunuch's advice and said, "Well, my two brothers, please stand on the steps so that the ministers can see you first. This will also help them decide who to support."
As soon as the words came out, two princes in dragon robes responded and walked towards the dragon throne. Li Xuan looked at the officials and said, "Everyone, to save time, let's decide on the spot."
"Whether you choose my sixth brother or support my seventh brother, you may as well give me a definite answer right here in this hall."
Forcing all officials to express their opinions on the spot, what is going on
Most people pondered over the old eunuch's suggestion and Li Xuan's decision with confusion on their faces.
At this time, the two princes also walked up the steps and turned to look at the officials.
There was a man on the left, with a fair face and bright eyes, looking elegant, with a wandering look that occasionally revealed a hint of cowardice; and a man on the right, who was mighty, handsome and elegant, with sharp eyes that occasionally revealed a hint of sinister ferocity.
These two people seemed to be Prince Ji and Prince Shou; but Li Xuan did not clearly state who was Li Bao and who was Li Jie, so Zhu Li and others naturally did not know yet.
However, as soon as the two men stood still, the court officials immediately moved and walked straight in the direction of their supporters.
Zhu Li did not act immediately, but watched coldly; of course, there were many people like him, at least most of the high-ranking officials from various regions did not act immediately.
These people all looked on, trying
The picture determines the identities of the two princes by the positions of the crowd.
Soon after, the commotion died down.
On the left side, the leaders were mostly eunuchs; and on the right side, although the leader was also a eunuch, that person was Yang Fugong, whom Zhu Li had identified early on.
From this point of view, the elegant and handsome prince on the left seems to be Prince Ji Li Bao; and the mighty and sinister young man on the right is the later Emperor Zhaozong, now Prince Shou Li Jie.
Sure enough, Wang Yueyao had stood on the left side of the hall at some point, while Yuchi Jin left Zhu Li's presence and moved forward to support him.
When Zhu Li looked to the left, Wang Yueyao happened to look at him and winked at him playfully, with earnestness in her beautiful eyes.
But when Zhu Li looked at Yuchi Jin, this lady was looking at her nose with her eyes and her heart with her nose. It was unknown what she was thinking and she didn't even look at him.
When Zhu Li was hesitating, he suddenly found someone approaching. Turning back, he saw that it was Han Zhi and Guan Yu. Both of them looked like they were following Zhu Li's lead.
"General, have the ghost guards found any information about the two princes? If we just make such a random choice, it would be like a blind cat trying to catch a dead mouse. It all depends on luck." Han Zhi complained in a low voice as soon as he approached Zhu Li.
It's no wonder that Han Zhi complained like this. Among all the vassal states in the world, how many people still take the Li family's court seriously? It's already good enough to barely collect some information about Li Xuan. Who would care about other princes
To put it bluntly, the reason they came here to participate in this spring search was to gain a legitimate reputation; if they were asked to support someone from the bottom of their hearts, it would be absolutely impossible, and the person they supported the most was themselves.
This could be seen from the expressions of Wang Yueyao, Yuchi Jin and others.
Although they all chose their positions as local vassal states, as for Li Bao and Li Jie on the stage, these local vassal states who made their choices did not even look at them and simply ignored them.
It is for this reason that Han Zhi complained.
But before he finished speaking, Guan Yu spoke up, "As far as I know, the Sixth Prince Li Bao is very wise and kind, but he is a little cowardly."
"Liu Xingshen and others chose to support King Ji. They must want to continue to support a puppet like Li Xuan."
"And Shou Wang Li Jie is a man of both literary and martial talents, but unfortunately, he was born at the wrong time. If he were born in a peaceful era, he would have made great achievements."
Hearing Guan Yunchang's words, Zhu Li nodded slightly and said softly: "Brother Yunchang is right. Shou Wang Li Jie is indeed a talent. He is ambitious and has a strong character. However, the building is about to collapse, and he can no longer support it alone."
You know, Li Jie, the Emperor Zhaozong of later generations, was once the Jiedushi of Lulong. He was in charge of one side and governed the northern border, and now he can still stand here unscathed. It can be imagined that he must have extraordinary talents.
Moreover, Zhu Li from later generations also knew that Li Jie had doubts about Hegel's rationalist state as early as the Qianfu period. He was truly a remarkable figure.
Since Zhu Li could meet such an avant-garde figure in this era, how could he not get close to him
As soon as the idea came to his mind, Zhu Li took Han Zhi and Guan Yu and walked forward without hesitation; this time, Zhu Li walked straight to the side of Yuchi Jin before stopping.
Zhu Li stood beside Yuchi Jin without saying a word. There was no doubt that his action told everyone in the hall that he chose to support Li Jie.
Of course, only God knows whether he truly supports Li Jie.
The reason why he chose Li Jie was because he was a young man with avant-garde ideas and he was very interested in him; of course, the most important thing was that Yuchi Jin chose Li Jie.
If Yuchi Jin chose Li Bao, even if Zhu Li was interested in Li Jie, I believe he would stand on Li Bao's side without hesitation.
However, as soon as Zhu Li stood beside Yuchi Jin, Yiren rolled her eyes at him for the first time and said, "I have always thought that the general is a man who values friendship and loyalty, but now it seems that he is just so-so."
"He left his pregnant wife alone and stood beside me. Men, they are always looking at what is in the pot while eating from the bowl. None of them has a conscience."