At the temple the next day, Ouyang Yanran, the imperial censor, took the lead in starting the war and listed the twenty-five major crimes of the Ji family, including but not limited to murdering court officials, assassinating Dingbei military captains, intimidating good families, falsely accusing good people, corruption and perverting the law, and seizing power in disorder. The government... From the Duke of Ye to the younger generation of the Ji family, they all were impeached!
Not to be outdone, the Ji family collected a lot of dirt on Ouyang Yanran, and in turn impeached almost the entire royalist faction!
After such an incident, the two sides could be said to be completely at odds with each other. They were going back and forth, arguing with each other, and the atmosphere in the court was tense.
Chunjia was still able to occupy the throne at first, but later as the situation became more and more intense, he had to step in personally to help break up the dispute - the court meeting broke up later than usual on this day, almost after dinner time, but in the end Nothing came of it, because everyone got really angry when they were tearing each other up, and all the old scores were brought out. They just vented their grievances, but they went off topic.
So Chunjia didn't look very good when he went to court. During this period, he tried to change the subject many times. However, over the years, the Ji family has suppressed the royalists quite a lot. People like Ouyang Yanran, who have been deceived by them for many years, have... You can imagine the resentment in the heart of the veteran minister whose family reputation has been reduced!
Normally it's okay, but today, when he was really angry, he couldn't control it.
Of course, in Chunjia's view, this was because his own prestige could not completely overwhelm such courtiers.
Otherwise, if Shenzong is on the throne, no matter how wronged his subordinates have been, they dare not act based on the emperor's face first
He silently told himself not to rush, after all, he had only been in charge for a few years, but he also thought that Ji would not discuss with him the length of time he had been in charge and whether he would be victorious.
Slowly exhaling, Chunjia took a few bites of lunch at will, and then ordered people to go ahead and invite Ouyang Yanran and other senior officials to Taichu Palace to discuss countermeasures.
After some communication between the monarch and his ministers, the next court meeting was much safer. This time the royalists gave up their approach of targeting the entire Ji family and turned to specifically attack the Minyang Marquis lineage.
Originally, the various evidences submitted by Chao Jingyou when she filed the complaint could only prove that she was related to the Ji family, but not to an important descendant of the Ji family. Now she was also recorded in the Minyang Hou lineage. -After half a day of tug-of-war, it ended with Marquis Minyang being stripped of his title of marquis, relieved of all his duties, and his family was exiled to southern Xinjiang.
To achieve this result, the regent worked hard.
After the disbandment of the dynasty, Chunjia kept this cheap uncle here to cultivate their relationship, and discussed how to make persistent efforts to get rid of people like Gonghai Xihou of Ye State.
The regent reminded him: "Your Majesty, the matter of the royal mausoleum has been delayed for a long time. Even if there is a reason to comfort the emperor's brother, I am afraid it cannot continue like this. Your Majesty should make a decision as soon as possible on the choice of heir and the strategy for dealing with the aftermath."
"I was about to talk to the emperor about this." Chunjia personally made him a cup of tea and said warmly, "I am young, Jianzuo, and the lineage of King Fuyang is very thin. Therefore, among my relatives, I am not very popular. I understand. But I don’t know who the emperor thinks is suitable to succeed King Fuyang?”
The regent introduced him to several candidates, all of whom were relatives from distant clans. Some of them even lost their titles and were no different from ordinary wealthy families. There are people of all ages, from those who are just learning to talk, to those who are full of children and grandchildren... The regent said: "The incident in the royal mausoleum is 80% inseparable from the Ji family. Please be careful in selecting your majesty, so as not to be taken advantage of by the Ji family. "
Chunjia nodded noncommittally, said some common things to him, sent him away, and then drove to Huanhua Hall.
Yun Fenghuang was looking forward to it. When he saw him walking in with a gentle expression, he guessed that the result today was not very happy. After all, the three nobles of the Ji family had only dealt with the weakest Marquis Minyang.
This plan started years ago, and it finally caught Ji by surprise!
After this experience, how could Ji not learn a lesson
I'm afraid there won't be such an easy opportunity to switch sides in the future.
She actually sighed sadly, but didn't show it on her face. She welcomed Chunjia to sit down, handed him some tea, and chatted with her gently for a while.
Chunjia then retreated and discussed with her the issue of heirs from the lineage of King Fuyang: "The regent recommended all the down-and-out children from distant branches. I thought about it, the lineage of King Fuyang is already weak. Such children I’m afraid it will be difficult to support the courtyard.”
This kind of down-and-out child from a distant branch has the advantage that it is easy to control, but it also has the disadvantage that generally speaking, it cannot help Chunjia.
Although it is said that after Chunjia succeeded Xiaozong, her relationship with King Fuyang became distant relatives.
But the law is nothing more than human feelings. He is the emperor who came from the lineage of King Fuyang. How can he have no feelings for the lineage of King Fuyang? Furthermore, Queen Mother Yuan and Queen Mother Qu, the two wives and concubines of King Fuyang Duan, are still being respected by Chunjia's mother-in-law in the palace.
Therefore, it can be said that the heirs of King Fuyang are naturally with him.
Yun Fenghuang speculated that Chunjia said this because he wanted a descendant of the clan with a better background to inherit the lineage of King Fuyang. She thought about it and then said: "Your Majesty is absolutely right. As the saying goes, the truth is known in the warehouse. Etiquette, those down-and-out children from the distant branch may have lost their spirits, and their words and deeds will inevitably be petty. If they are the heirs of King Fuyang, I am afraid it will be inappropriate. Why not choose from the knees of the vassal kings? "
When she said this, she quickly considered the vassal kings of the lower dynasty.
The rules of the imperial dynasty are that a prince can be granted the title of king fifteen times. If he is not appointed as the Eastern Palace, he will have to go out to join the feudal vassal. From then on, he will not be allowed to return to the imperial capital without an edict.
At the time when the tripod was first established, there were still many vassal kings because Taizu and Taizong all had prosperous heirs.
However, after Shenzong came to power, there was a lot of liquidation, and the direct branch of the Gongxiang family declined.
The vassal kings who are still alive at this moment are all descendants of Taizu Taizong. It happened that they were not involved in the incident, so they can survive to this day.
According to Yun Fenghuang's understanding, among them, the prosperous vassal kings who had the most prosperous heirs and managed their fiefdoms included the kings of Zhou, Han and Mao; the county kings included Ninghe and Changle.
These five are the most influential among the vassal kings of the Gongxiang family. Before Xiaozong died, they failed to establish the emperor's younger brother. They wanted to adopt Gongxiang Xiao as his heir. After the Ji family tried to stop them, they seemed to be ready to make a move... However, The Ji family was afraid of their large numbers, so they finally chose the Fuyang King lineage, which was orphaned and widowed.
Now Chunjia wanted to select a son from among them to be the heir to King Fuyang, but he took a fancy to their large numbers and wanted to win them over to fight against the Ji family and the regent.
But judging from the regent's statement, he did not want Chunjia to choose an heir for the Fuyang King lineage from these vassal kings.
"The regent's face must always be given, but the choice of heirs from the Fuyang King's lineage is very important..." Chunjia was in a dilemma. He could not fall out with the regent at the moment, and he even had to find ways to strengthen cooperation to avoid falling short and being killed by the Ji family. Escape.
The problem is, if this opportunity is missed, it will be difficult to find a more suitable reason to win over the powerful feudal king.
Yun Fenghuang suggested: "Your Majesty, why not spread the word and those who are willing to take the bait?"
Even if it is a prince, he can only pass on one son.
With so many heirs, no one would be unwilling to get a prince and title for nothing, and the prince and title would definitely receive special care from the emperor.
This is how they started to fight, and how could those distant clan members who were already in decline be able to compete with the descendants of the clan who had the support of the feudal king
Not to mention that after doing this, if anyone blocks it, it will be difficult for the future of these people... When the regent wants to stop it, he will inevitably have conflicts with these feudal princes.
So even if things don't work out, Chunjia still has the possibility to win people over, right
"What my beloved concubine said is absolutely true." Chunjia pondered for a while, nodded slightly, and saw Yun Fenghuang roll his eyes and said: "It's just that I have little knowledge after all, otherwise, I'd better tell Concubine Xuan and Concubine Rui about this matter. Let’s hear their opinions?”
When she brought it up on her own initiative, the emperor inevitably tried to persuade her not to think too much about it: "Even I have never heard of the colorful note, so how can I blame my beloved concubine?"
But after being coaxed by Yun Fenghuang's soft words, he finally agreed that before doing this, he should talk to the two concubines who were from well-known families.
Seeing that he could listen, Yun Fenghuang sighed in his heart, knowing that Luo Hanyi and Ouyang Fulu were relying on him and could not stop him.
She comforted herself that it wasn't such a bad thing.
Because I had planned before that I should restrain my sharpness appropriately, so as not to be considered by Chunjia as too capable and powerful, and not in need of care and pity.
Now that Luo Hanyi and Ouyang Fulu have gained the emperor's attention based on their family background, she can also do the opposite and win the emperor's love.
...Yeah, but I feel really uncomfortable.
She calmly chatted with the emperor for a while, and when Chen Guang arrived at the dinner table and was about to order people to prepare it, Chun Jia suddenly remembered and said, "My dear concubine, Chao Shiyan wants to see you."
Yun Fenghuang was startled and frowned: "Why does she want to see me? I don't have a good relationship with her."
When she said this, she was thinking rapidly in her heart. Since Chunjia had planned it so early, she would definitely not be able to hide the bad relationship between herself and Chao Jingyou.
It seems reasonable to reject it at this point.
But the question is, Chao Jingyou is now Qi Jiulu's wife. If she refuses her like this, will it make it look like she doesn't have three hundred taels of silver
But if he agrees to summon her, will Chunjia suspect that he is concerned about Qi Jiulu and wants to take advantage of the situation to get clues from his wife
It seems that no choice is safe enough.
Yun Fenghuang bit his lip, raised his head and glanced at Chunjia: "His Majesty, the emperor, actually personally sent a message to this middle-class woman?"
Chunjia looked at her calmly, as if she wanted to beat her up, and said: "It's just that the Imperial City Secretary thought that she and you are Sangzi after all. Exposing Ji's conspiracy in public this time will finally clear your and Xie's innocence. I was thinking that you might summon me unexpectedly, so I helped you report."
"... Then, I'll just meet her." Yun Fenghuang really wanted to see Chao Jingyou and ask her clearly. Now that the emperor said this, she quickly thought about it and nodded along with the words. , "Although this is all your Majesty's clever plan, it can still be regarded as her hard work."
Because Chao Jingyou was injured before, even though she agreed, she still had to wait a few more days for Chao Jingyou to recover from her injury in the Imperial City Department before she could come.
Yun Fenghuang then put the matter aside and talked to Chunjia about the ceremony of the three princesses' descent.