Seeing that Prince Qi was speechless, everyone present knew that this peace agreement must be signed as soon as possible.
But who signs
The Minister of Personnel stood up and said, "Empress Dowager, I suggest that the Crown Prince temporarily take over the post of Regent and sign the peace agreement."
Lord Cui glanced at the Minister of Personnel indifferently. He knew before that the Minister had close contacts with the Grand Tutor. It turned out that he had joined the Prince's party.
The Queen Mother did not answer him directly, but looked at the Crown Prince and asked, "Prince, do you think you are qualified to be the regent?"
Crown Prince Murong Qiao stood up slowly, with a humble look on his face. "Grandmother, uncles, brothers, ministers, thank you all for your support and appreciation of me. I am still young and my ability to govern a country is definitely not as good as those of you present here. Grandmother has chosen me as the regent. I am very terrified, but I know that as the crown prince, I have a responsibility that I cannot shirk. I hope that uncles and ministers will help me in the future."
Everyone was surprised. Where did he get this from? The Queen Mother only asked him what he thought, and didn't say that she would appoint him as the regent. His words seemed humble, but he was confident and determined to win.
The Queen Mother shook her head gently. Stupid, stupid, absolutely stupid.
She let him speak because she knew that a regent had to be chosen today. Since he couldn't escape it, she gave him a chance to speak about his good strategies for governing the country in front of all the emperors and ministers and to have a heated debate with those who opposed him in order to show his talent. But he just said directly that she had chosen him.
How can someone so reckless win people's support
As expected, Prince Li stood up and said, "Empress Dowager, I think the selection of the regent is a matter of great importance and should not be made hastily. I suggest that the Empress Dowager preside over the government tomorrow, select the regent, and then sign the peace agreement."
Taifu Liang sneered, "Prince Li, the selection of the regent cannot be made hastily, but His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is legitimate as the regent. He was personally appointed by the Emperor, and the Emperor also praised the Crown Prince in his early years. Do you remember how the Emperor evaluated the Crown Prince when he was appointed? In the edict of appointment, the Emperor said that the Crown Prince is gentle, respectful, benevolent, and virtuous. He is loyal and filial to his monarch and father, and is friendly and faithful to his brothers. The Emperor highly praises the Crown Prince, and you can see his heart. Therefore, it is legitimate for the Crown Prince to be the regent."
Lord Cui stood up and said, "When the emperor appointed the crown prince, the imperial edict did clearly state so. However, when the emperor was seriously ill, he appointed the prince who was originally scheduled to be the regent and appointed him as the supervisor of the country. It is obvious that the emperor believes that the crown prince is young and needs experience. It is not a good idea to put the crown prince in the limelight too early."
Prince An also said, "Empress Dowager, I agree with what Lord Cui said. The Crown Prince is young and energetic. If he seizes power too early, he will easily become arrogant and unable to control the old ministers. If the officials in the court cannot be loyal, the state power will be loose. If the barbarians covet it at this moment, then the Great Zhou will be in trouble."
Taifu Liang said, "Prince An, please be careful with your words. You seem to have some other meaning when you say you can't control the old ministers. Don't offend the old ministers present. If you are targeting me, just speak frankly."
Prince An said coldly, "You did hear it. The Imperial Tutor is smart. That's right, I'm talking about you. The Crown Prince is ignorant and will definitely rely on the Imperial Tutor for everything in the future. There are many examples in the past dynasties that can be used as reference for the consequences of the imperial relatives sitting in the meeting. I'm not exaggerating, but as a member of the royal family, I want to ensure that the imperial power does not fall into the hands of others."
Taifu Liang said sternly, "Prince An, this is a very serious accusation. To be more serious, you are making groundless accusations and directly accusing me of having ambitions to usurp the throne. If you don't explain it clearly in front of the Empress Dowager and the other royal relatives and ministers today, I will never give up."
Prince An looked cold and arrogant. "Grand Tutor, if you don't give up with me, I will argue with you. Let's not talk about the distant future. Let's talk about the selection of the regent now. As Grand Tutor and Minister of the Central Secretariat, you should have proposed to hold the discussion on the selection of the regent later, because it is still unclear whether the regent has passed away."
Taifu Liang said: "The Prince Regent died of serious injuries, and even the Concubine confirmed it herself. How could it be false?"
"Where is the body? The living have seen the people, the dead have seen the bodies, and even the body has not been found yet. It is ridiculous to say that the regent of the country has passed away."
Taifu Liang was furious. "Then according to what the prince said, as long as the body of the regent is not found, the position of regent will remain vacant? The country is so big that it cannot be left without a leader. Could it be that Prince An wants to take the position of regent? If he really wants to do so, just say it directly. Why bother to hide his thoughts in a roundabout way?"
Prince An said, "Why can't I be the regent? In terms of military achievements, knowledge, and literary and martial arts talent, in which aspect am I inferior to the crown prince?"
Prime Minister Xia became anxious when he saw Prince An's constant opposition, so he gave Yuan a look and asked her to speak for the prince.
However, Yuan seemed not to see it and turned her head slightly.
Prime Minister Xia was so angry that his face turned blue, but he had to stand up and said, "The Grand Tutor and the Prince are at a stalemate. Arguing will only hurt the relationship. My wife set up a forum to discuss politics that day, and the Emperor also thinks that my wife has unique insights. Why not listen to what my wife has to say?"
If anyone else said this, they would be suspected of being shameless for praising their wife in this way.
However, only when Prime Minister Xia said this would not cause resentment, because the wife Yuan Cuiyu he mentioned was indeed a remarkable woman with extraordinary and unique insights.
Everyone looked at Yuan with bated breath, waiting for her to make a profound speech.
However, many people knew what was going on, because Prime Minister Xia had already sided with the Crown Prince, and Yuan's words must have been in support of the Crown Prince. And everyone present knew that Yuan's words were meant to suppress Prince An, because Prince An would not refute Yuan.
Those who knew the inside story felt that Prime Minister Xia's move was extremely vicious.
Even Prince Qi couldn't help but look at Prince An with pity when he saw him. Having known Prince An for many years, he knew about Prince An's feelings for Yuan Cuiyu, and he would definitely be defeated this time.
The Empress Dowager also wanted to listen to what Yuan had to say, not because she thought Yuan would say anything profound, but because the Grand Empress Dowager had a high opinion of Xia Zian in her heart, and she wanted to get to know Xia Zian better by getting to know Yuan.
So she said, "Madam, I once heard the emperor say that if you were a man, you would definitely be a pillar of the country. I want to hear your opinion."
When Madam Linglong heard the Empress Dowager praising Yuan in this way, and saw that everyone's eyes were focused on Yuan's face, she was jealous to the point of madness. She didn't know how much she wished that the person shining in the crowd was her, and not that bitch Yuan Cuiyu.
Yuan stood up slowly and bowed to the Empress Dowager. Before she could say anything, Prime Minister Xia glanced at Prince An triumphantly. Prince An's expression was gloomy and he kept looking at Yuan.
Yuan said in a clear voice, "I have been staying at home for a long time and have not heard about government affairs for a long time. I really don't have any unique insights. However, after listening to the argument between the Grand Tutor and the Prince, I wonder if everyone has overlooked one thing?"
Everyone looked at each other, what had they overlooked
(End of this chapter)