Fu Shanhe

Chapter 137 People’s hearts are in turmoil
When the news of Emperor Tianyuan's death spread, the entire capital was shaken and officials rushed to the palace.

There were two issues facing the ministers: handling the funeral and supporting a new king to the throne.

"The country cannot be without a ruler for a day. I implore Your Highness to take over the throne as soon as possible!"

Zuo Guangen spoke first.

After this beginning, all the ministers followed suit and persuaded the emperor to ascend the throne.

Emperor Tianyuan left a will, supporting Prince Fu to ascend the throne without any political risk.

Don’t refuse the support that comes to your doorstep.

Countless officials have already expressed their regards to Zuo Guangen's entire family in their hearts.

You have become the regent, yet you still come here to take credit for the enthronement. Your greed is really shameless.

Not caring about what others think, Zuo Guangen now knows his own suffering.

As one of the eight regents, he is still considered powerful in the eyes of the outside world.

However, Emperor Tianyuan did not give a ranking to the eight ministers of state, so theoretically everyone has the same power.

This was undoubtedly a major blow to Zuo Guangen, who controlled the inner court.

With him alone, it would be almost impossible for the Inner Court to keep pace with the Outer Court.

In terms of the division of powers, Emperor Tianyuan also set a boundary: internal affairs are under the control of the cabinet, and military affairs are under the control of the left and right governors.

The arrangement for him, the chief eunuch, was to be the knife in the hands of the new emperor.

He didn't know whether Prince Fu listened to Emperor Tianyuan's instructions.

The only thing that is certain is that Prince Fu’s trust in him is not as great as that of Emperor Tianyuan.

Having lost the emperor's trust, he, the regent, was much weaker than the other seven.

In this context, if he wants to maintain his power, he must win the support of the new emperor.

Facing the advice of his ministers, Prince Fu responded by bursting into tears.

His elder brother had just passed away, and now he had to perform well in front of his ministers.

Any sign of being impatient to get to the top could trigger an unpredictable political storm.

The ministers were not surprised that the first round of persuasion failed.

Refusing and declining three times is an old tradition of the Dayu Dynasty.

After a pause, he changed the reason and started the second round of persuasion.

After going through all the trouble until dawn, Prince Fu completed the process and succeeded to the throne in front of the spirit of Emperor Tianyuan.

The process was indeed a bit hasty, but there was no other way, as this was the succession between the brother and the younger brother, and it had to be quick.

If it drags on for a few days as usual, who knows how the local princes will react after the news spreads.

It would be really fun if some foolish prince were to be the first to declare himself emperor.

Similar things have happened in history.

Once it comes to a battle of orthodoxy, there will be no winners.

The best option is to push the new king to power as soon as possible and stop the local princes from having such ideas.

As for the coronation ceremony, such a festive occasion must wait until the mourning period is over.

Confucianism advocates governing the world with filial piety, and the emperor must set an example.

Emperor Tianyuan had no children, so Ji Zhaoshun immediately expressed his willingness to observe three years of mourning, which immediately won praise from all the ministers.

The emperor observed mourning days instead of months, so the so-called three years of mourning was actually only twenty-seven days.

……

"Your Majesty, it's time to eat!"

Su Haoyu stepped forward and reminded.

The emperor has just passed away, and there are a lot of things that need to be dealt with.

As the new king, Ji Zhaoshun has no time to rest.

Although there were eight regents to assist, when it came to the issue of funeral arrangements, they tacitly handed over the decision-making power to him.

The people below could not figure out the emperor's temperament, so they reported all matters, no matter how big or small, to him for instructions.

Ji Zhaoshun, who had just gained power, enjoyed this feeling very much and approved instructions very quickly.

But the more this happened, the more frequently his subordinates asked for instructions, making him, the emperor, busier than the people working below.

"Leave it there until I finish reviewing the memorials!"

Ji Zhaoshun waved his hand and said.

He is determined to be a good and diligent emperor, and he cannot fall into depravity so quickly.

After opening a memorial, Ji Zhaoshun frowned.

After the emperor's death, his behavior during his lifetime would be summarized and evaluated.

According to convention, the posthumous title and temple name of the deceased emperor need to be determined after discussion in the court.

"Su Haoyu, what posthumous title and temple name do you think should be given to my brother?"

Su Haoyu was startled when he heard the question.

He was speechless in his heart. He was just a eunuch, and it was really inappropriate to discuss such topics.

But since the emperor asked, I had to answer.

"Your Majesty, I am a humble servant with limited knowledge and I don't know how to choose.

The late emperor was a wise man, and I think the officials will give him an objective evaluation. "

Su Haoyu reminded gently.

He knew that his master was dissatisfied with some of the late emperor's behaviors.

But now is not the time to express dissatisfaction, as Ji Zhaoshun was designated as the emperor by Emperor Tianyuan.

For this reason alone, Emperor Tianyuan must have a beautiful posthumous title and his temple name cannot be bad either.

Even if it means falling out with the ministers, we must fight for it with all our might.

"The Cabinet's intention is to choose a posthumous title from Jing or Yi, and a temple name from Xianzong, Xuanzong, or Jingzong.

The two governors on the left and right suggested that the posthumous title should be chosen from Xuan and Xiang, and the temple name should be Shengzong directly.

The Imperial Household Department suggested that the posthumous title be chosen from Wen and Wu, and the temple name be chosen from Renzong, Xiaozong, or Ruizong.

Everyone has different opinions, and it's hard for me to make a decision!"

Ji Zhaoshun shook his head and said.

He really didn't mean to cause trouble. Even if he didn't like his brother's behavior when he was alive, he wouldn't make a fuss about his brother's affairs after his death.

All the civil and military officials saw how Emperor Tianyuan treated him.

How can we do such an ungrateful thing when the late emperor's body is still warm?

The problem now is that he can't make the decision.

It is easy to choose a posthumous name and temple name, but whether it will be approved by the court is an unknown.

Frankly speaking, the eight ministers of state all gave high evaluations to Emperor Tianyuan.

All the posthumous titles were beautiful ones, and the temple names were also of medium to high quality.

Among them, the Silijian performed the most outstandingly, with posthumous titles directly reaching the level of civil and military emperors, and temple names also highlighting wise rulers.

I guess even Emperor Tianyuan himself wouldn't dare to accept this crazy and exaggerated final conclusion.

If I really gave it, it would become a joke.

If the plan is followed and the external threats on all sides are eliminated, then it will be fine. The opinions of the nobles are leaning towards the leader of the Restoration.

Although the Tianyuan Restoration was not thorough, it was still worthy of praise when compared with the performance of previous emperors.

It's a little bit lacking in idea, but if the new monarch is willing to promote it, the officials will probably accept it.

It was obvious that Ji Zhaoshun was not happy to do this.

His elder brother is the leader of the revival of the country, so what should he do in the future?

It is impossible for one leader of the revival of the country to be followed by another.

Entering the middle and late stages of the dynasty, the highest historical evaluation he received was that of the ruler of the revival.

In Ji Zhaoshun's opinion, his brother's name was most appropriately named Suzong, as he wanted to revive Dayu but failed.

He took over the cause of national rejuvenation himself, which is definitely a great historical story.

The embarrassing thing is that none of the ministers understood what he meant, or they deliberately refused to buy it.

Even if the temple name was given by a civil official, it would have both merits and demerits, but overall the merits outweighed the demerits.

It is clear that everyone is satisfied as long as the emperor can do this and dare not expect more.

“Your Majesty, if you can’t make up your mind, just choose the best one.

The rest is up to the officials to discuss. No matter what the final result is, no one will find fault with it. "

Su Haoyu suggested.

It is difficult for him to give a reliable choice, but he is professional at smoothing things over.

Not choosing the right one, but only choosing the good one, that is the closeness of brothers.

Brothers being friendly and respectful to each other is in line with the mainstream of the times and will definitely not go wrong.

……

Nanjing City.

Upon receiving the news of the emperor's death, Li Mu was stunned.

Emperor Tianyuan's death was obviously not at the right time, as the Liaodong War was at a critical moment.

The death of the emperor at this time would be a major blow to the morale of the front line.

The worst thing is the human heart!

Everyone's attention was focused on the change of imperial power, and the Liaodong war was suddenly relegated to a secondary position.

In this age of rule by man, attention means investment of resources.

The emperor and the ministers in the court are all keeping an eye on the front line, so the officials in charge of logistics have to work harder, even if they lose a lot.

Once the attention from above shifts, don't expect the people below to work hard.

During this period of transition from the old to the new, the first thing people think about is their career, followed by their financial prospects.

The war situation at the front is tense, so it has nothing to do with the civil servants in the rear.

"My lord, it's time to eat.

No matter what happens, you always have to take care of your health."

Jing Yaqing began to persuade.

Li Mu had been sitting there for an hour since he received the letter from the capital.

"Um!

Give orders to prepare mourning clothes.

From now on, all banquets in the palace will be stopped."

In a normal succession of the throne, the imperial court would announce the death to the public immediately.

Official paperwork will only take one or two nights at most, so it’s definitely a good idea to prepare in advance.

If the news came while a banquet was being held, it would be a political accident.

As he spoke, Li Mu handed the letter to his wife.

"His Majesty passed away, Prince Fu succeeded to the throne, and appointed eight ministers of state..."

The political sensitivity of the children of nobles is not low.

In an instant, Jing Yaqing realized that something was wrong.

Two of the eight regents are from his own family, so no matter how you look at it, he is the big winner in this political reshuffle.

What's more, my husband and the new husband have an old relationship and they exchange gifts during festivals.

But Li Mu's performance did not show any joy of a winner.

"Husband, is there a problem behind this?"

Jing Yaqing asked cautiously.

"No!
I'm just worried about the fighting on the front lines.

With this kind of incident, the court will be in chaos for a while, and it is very likely to affect the front line."

Li Mu immediately shook his head.

The truth cannot be told.

In the eyes of outsiders, Prince Fu's performance is still good.

It is ridiculous to doubt that someone can be a good emperor based on previous contact.

……

Jiangnan Academy.

"Master, our chance has come!"

Seeing his student's excited expression, Yin Zhiming's face changed and he scolded him angrily.

"Zhong Yang, how many times have I told you this?

Be steady when encountering things!
Even if it is…”

Before he could finish his words, Yin Zhiming was stunned by the contents of the document.

Emperor Tianyuan died and Prince Fu succeeded to the throne.

The long-awaited major changes in the court finally came.

A new emperor appoints new ministers, and a new emperor will definitely promote new people when he ascends the throne.

As the emperor's teacher, it was only a matter of time before he returned to the court.

The only thing that bothered him was that Emperor Tianyuan appointed eight ministers of state before his death.

With these stumbling blocks in place, even if he returns to the court, there will be no place for him.

Fortunately, the new emperor is already quite old, and these ministers of state cannot hold on to power for long.

At worst, he could just hold out for a year or two, and then come out to seize power once the emperor took power.

"Quickly send someone to invite Mr. Zuo to come over for a chat!"

Yin Zhiming said excitedly.

Such a big thing cannot be accomplished by him alone.

After leaving the court for so many years, it is still unknown how many of his former disciples and officials still buy into his ideas.

At this time, he must bring his ally Zuo Hongjiang to plan together.

……

(End of this chapter)