Fu Shanhe

Chapter 426 A Self-Inflicted Injury vs. A Counter-Strategy
"What a mess you've made!"

Emperor Yongning reprimanded him irritably.

The mess he made has gotten bigger and bigger, and now he has no idea how to clean it up.

The nobles were making a scene earlier; after today, it's the civil officials' turn to perform.

"Your Majesty, treacherous officials throughout history have always been cunning and scheming. How could we, uncouth people, possibly distinguish between them?"

In my humble opinion, the recent turn of events was a ruse by the enemy.

If it weren't for Lai Yaohua, that bastard deliberately provoked us into taking action, this whole thing wouldn't have happened.

You saw it with your own eyes; it wasn't just us who were involved, but also the civil officials who were underhanded with each other.

You must bear witness to what happened today; we can't let those scholars spout nonsense.

For example, the person who pushed Grand Secretary Xu into the pillar was not a civil official.

You should investigate who was behind this tragedy and who orchestrated it.

Duke Liang said with a simple and honest expression.

There are some things you can do, but you absolutely cannot admit to.

Regardless of what happened just now, the nobles must now insist that it was a ruse by the civil officials.

"Your Majesty, I believe the Duke of Liang is right; there must be a conspiracy behind this."

Lai Yaohua is such a shrewd person, how could he say such things under normal circumstances? He was clearly asking for a beating.

Look, even Zhou Guozhang has lost his front teeth! We can't let the murderer get away with this!

Lord Bowling echoed this sentiment.

In today's battle, not only were the nobles charging into battle, but the imperial relatives were also busy.

Although the deceased Marquis of Wuyang was a member of the Empress Dowager's family and had no relation to other relatives of the empress, everyone still needs to state their position.

In such a critical moment, if you get involved in the chaos, no one will remember you.

If you choose to stand by and watch, everyone will definitely hold a grudge, and you won't be able to stay in the industry afterward.

Especially the families of the Imperial Concubine and the Empress; if they don't intervene, the news will reach the Empress Dowager's ears, and her daughter's life in the palace will become difficult.

The death of the Marquis of Wuyang caused a rift between the Empress Dowager and the Emperor.

Being unwilling to mistreat one's son doesn't mean being unwilling to mistreat one's daughter-in-law; the more favored a concubine is, the more likely she is to be targeted with mistreatment.

With a mere claim of illness, he would be summoned daily to attend to his sickbed and fulfill his filial duties, a practice even the emperor could not prevent.

There are many ways to torment people in the imperial harem; it doesn't take long for someone to become a haggard old woman.

Once youthful beauty fades, no one dares to try and see how much of the emperor's favor will remain.

"roll!"

"I don't want to see you!"

"Wait, what happened today must not be leaked!"

Emperor Yongning couldn't help but curse angrily.

Although the dead were all civil officials, it did not mean that the nobles and relatives of the emperor who participated in the war were unharmed.

These guys are clearly trying to be shameless.

If it were up to his own nature, Emperor Yongning would have loved to imprison all these eyesores.

Reason told him that things shouldn't be done that way.

He couldn't bring himself to harm the maternal relatives, as they were family; otherwise, the harem would fall into chaos first.

The nobles are powerful figures, and deciding who to send to carry out the operation against them is a problem.

The guards had tried to take sides when they entered, and although they did it subtly, Emperor Yongning still noticed.

To attack the nobles would be to strike at the very lifeblood of the empire.

Since we can't do anything about it, we might as well just ignore it.

"Your Majesty, please seek justice for the deceased Grand Secretaries! These executioners must not be let off!"

Seeing that Emperor Yongning was dismissing people, the civil officials who remained in the court hurriedly tried to stop him.

If the emperor wants to downplay the issue and resolve it peacefully, they will suffer a huge loss.

The top officials of the civil service were almost all taken away in this wave, and those who survived are receiving emergency treatment.

If justice is not served, the Great Yu will become a country ruled by military men.

"Your Majesty, look, the treacherous minister has jumped out again."

All the other civil officials feigned injury and waited for the imperial physician to treat them; only these few were showing off!

The Marquis of Zhendong's finishing blow left the group of young civil officials dumbfounded.

No wonder so many people were carried away earlier; they realized the situation was bad and strategically feigned unconsciousness.

Smart people know that if things go wrong, they should get out of there as soon as possible.

Arguing with reason to get the emperor to punish the nobles and relatives of the empress is pure fantasy.

Such an imperial edict would mean being deserted by everyone.

The power of civil officials is built upon a system of rules; the moment those rules are broken, they instantly become vulnerable.

"If you don't want to leave, then stay!"

Wang Yifeng ordered the Eastern Depot men to keep an eye on them, and forbade anyone from leaving the palace until the matter was resolved!

Emperor Yongning, enraged and humiliated, issued an order.

Nobles, relatives of the emperor, and civil officials were all involved, and now he can only rely on the power of eunuchs.

Unfortunately, the eunuchs in the Yongning Dynasty were weak and unable to suppress any faction, thus failing to play a decisive role.

"The slaves obey the orders!"

He verbally accepted the imperial decree, but deep down, Wang Yifeng was secretly lamenting his misfortune.

Detaining these people is no easy task.

Soon someone from the palace came to greet him. If he didn't release the person, he would offend the harem; if he did release the person, he would offend the emperor.

He couldn't afford to offend either side, and being caught in the middle put him in a difficult position.

……

"Do you think the incident just now was a ruse by the civil officials?"

After leaving the main hall, Emperor Yongning asked with slight hesitation.

It's clear he's starting to have doubts.

Lai Yaohua's provocations are clearly not something a normal person would do.

According to past practice, as long as a fight broke out in court, the emperor would punish both sides equally, thus resolving the nobles' attempt to seize power.

"Your Majesty, there is some suspicion."

Last night, Lai Yaohua visited Grand Secretary Xu.

Judging from their behavior today, they do indeed seem to be provoking the nobles to take action, staging a ruse.

Zheng Yingyi answered nervously.

He ignored the news of the meeting yesterday and did not report it to the emperor immediately.

After all, it was common for civil officials to visit each other, and they would be too busy to report to the emperor every time.

"Then, the plan came to the attention of those nobles, who decided to turn the tables on them."

Using the stage set up by civil officials, they crippled the civil official group in one fell swoop.

With the upper echelons destroyed by force, the people below are leaderless. Aside from verbal battles, at most they can hold another strike.

Anyway, I'll be the one to clean up the mess; it has nothing to do with them.

This is a gamble; I dare not touch them now!

Emperor Yongning said with a cold laugh.

Having experienced much of the intrigue and backstabbing in the imperial court, he was no political novice.

At first glance, the nobles and relatives of the emperor seem to have acted too ruthlessly, putting themselves in a disadvantageous position.

But upon closer inspection, it became clear that they had completely won.

The bloody battle and bloody retribution have been completed, and the civil service group has also been severely damaged in the process.

The high-level officials suffered heavy losses, and recovery will not be achieved overnight.

It's not that there's a lack of replacements for civil servants; on the contrary, there are too many replacements for them.

When it comes to interests, no one will back down.

Before the civil and military struggle begins, a power struggle for leadership must first take place within the various factions of civil officials.

After the factional infighting is over, the struggle for power within the civil service group will begin again.

Only after everything is sorted out will the focus shift to the powerful nobles and their relatives, settling old scores.

In this process, the nobles and relatives of the emperor would not sit idly by and would inevitably expand their power.

As long as military superiority can be maintained, even if civil officials make a comeback, they will never be able to recreate the situation of using civil officials to control the military.

"Your Majesty, perhaps it is a coincidence."

Xu Zhongen answered nervously.

If the emperor's prediction is correct, then the civil service group will be in even more trouble.

When it comes to beating a drowning dog, the nobles will not hold back.

During the Battle of Changping, all civil officials of the second rank and above in the imperial court played a dishonorable role.

Many of the people below were also involved.

When it comes to revenge, they won't be forgotten. ...

Cining Palace.

"Your Majesty, we have just received a message."

At today's court assembly, nobles, relatives of the emperor, and civil officials got into a fight.

It is said that more than a dozen civil officials died on the spot, including three Grand Secretaries, and hundreds were injured.

The wounded are currently receiving treatment in the palace, and it looks like several more will die.

Upon hearing the news brought by the eunuch, the Empress Dowager, whose face had been pale, instantly broke into a smile.

This is undoubtedly bad news for the situation between North Korea and China.

But for her, a woman whose brother had died, it was the best news imaginable.

"I've said it before, my brother's death cannot be in vain."

Those nobles and relatives of the emperor, for once, stood up for themselves. How did the emperor handle that?

The Empress Dowager asked with a concerned expression.

The enemy died, and was even beaten to death in the imperial court; this is truly a bizarre tale throughout history.

Although this incident had a significant impact on the emperor, she couldn't care less about that now.

When she consulted with the emperor earlier, she rejected the suggestion of revenge, and she was seething with anger.

"Your Majesty has not stated your position, but has only placed everyone under house arrest temporarily."

It seems they were trying to cover it up as much as possible to preserve the court's dignity.

The middle-aged eunuch hurriedly explained.

The most important thing for someone working in the palace is to be well-informed.

Those familiar with Emperor Yongning know that the emperor was trying to cover this up.

"The emperor is still too young and values ​​face too much."

Some things, if you have to tear off the mask, then you have to.

Enough of these troublesome things.

The ministers were injured, but it was for the sake of the country, and I cannot say anything about it.

Gu Yue, bring them my calming medicine to take.

At his age, acting so impulsively is likely to cause trouble.

Remember, send this to those who killed my brother; they need rest the most.

To survive in the imperial harem and become the ultimate victor, one must naturally possess a ruthless side.

She was still thinking about how to get revenge, but now the opportunity has come knocking on her door.

Directly poisoning someone is too brutal.

But even if the wrong medicine is served, it's still possible to get away with it.

Even if an autopsy is performed after death, nothing will be found.

"Your Majesty, this is not proper!"

“There were guards standing in front of the officials, and the process of decocting the medicine was also supervised throughout.”

Changing the herbal decoction is not easy.

Gu Yue answered hesitantly.

Such a deadly task, if even the slightest mistake is made, will result in the extermination of nine generations of one's family.

As for the Empress Dowager in the palace, the fire couldn't reach her.

Before the investigation can proceed, they will be silenced.

"Having someone watching over you will clear your name of any suspicion."

The palace guards are all clever men; they will cover for you.

Even if you don't do it, they will still take action.

Blood feuds can only be settled with blood; no one will interfere!

The Empress Dowager said with a cold expression.

She definitely couldn't do this by herself.

But now that they've tied themselves to the powerful nobles, the palace is full of their own people.

As long as things are done cleanly, there will be no hidden dangers.

Tranquilizers are not poisons, and on the surface there seems to be no problem.

The eunuchs who delivered the medicine could demonstrate by tasting it on the spot.

It's simply a matter of getting a good night's sleep; there are virtually no side effects.

The main reason for choosing to do this was to delay the treatment of the wounded.

For some seriously injured people, if they do not receive timely treatment, their wounds can easily become infected and lead to death.

In fact, the noble faction acted even before she did.

Besides showing favoritism and resorting to underhanded tactics, the guards deliberately omitted the stretcher when carrying the wounded and started handling them directly.

Some civil servants received special treatment, and in the process, they suffered secondary harm.

When the imperial physicians were treating the wounded, they happened to leave them behind, as if they were afraid the wounded might not die.

Without prior warning, it's impossible for the guards to lock onto their target immediately if they act on their own.

"The slaves obey the orders!"

Seeing that the Empress Dowager had made up her mind, Gu Yue hurriedly agreed.

Doing this hard job offers a glimmer of hope.

If they refuse, they won't even be able to leave the Cining Palace and will become fertilizer.

……

The Hall of Nourishing Heart.

"Your Majesty, it's time to come up with a plan."

It's past the time for the court session to end.

The officials' prolonged absence from home could easily trigger unrest in the capital.

Xu Zhongen stepped forward to remind him.

Placing officials under house arrest can indeed block information, but this can only be used temporarily and cannot buy much time.

If it was premeditated, the fact that no one returned for a long time would naturally indicate that something had happened in the palace.

The civil officials had backup plans, so they had nothing to fear; at most, they would only embarrass the emperor once more.

Emperor Yongning had already suffered many humiliating incidents, so he didn't care about adding another one.

However, the destructive power of those nobles' backup plans is uncertain.

"Ok!"

"Issue a gag order, then release the uninjured officials."

Tell the person in question that anyone who dares to leak the news will have their entire family wiped out.

Other officials had not returned, so they said that a plague had broken out in the palace and that treatment was underway.

Emperor Yongning thought for a moment and then spoke.

Regardless of whether the outside world believes this explanation, he has to cover it up.

Once the news leaks out, the court's prestige will be completely lost, and his status as emperor will no longer be so dignified.

"Your Majesty, something is wrong!"

"The imperial physicians have sent word that three more wounded soldiers who were being treated have died, and several others are also nearing their end."

The deceased were all high-ranking officials, and all were connected to the Battle of Changping.

Zheng Yingyi rushed over and said.

Being a member of the emperor's personal guard is no easy task; people can die right under his nose.

When he started investigating the deceased's identity, he was immediately shocked.

From the chaotic battle at the court to now, all those who have died are important figures, and all of them are related to the destruction of the loyalist army led by the Marquis of Wuyang.

One or two coincidences may be coincidences, but a series of coincidences strung together constitute targeted murder.

Three more have died!

"it is good!"

"it is good!"

"That's wonderful!"

"It seems that my loyal ministers are indeed very diligent!"
"They don't even bother to hide their murders anymore. What if one day they're in a bad mood and take my head too?"

"check!"

"No matter who it leads to, we must get to the bottom of this!"
"I want to see just who dares to be so audacious!"

Emperor Yongning couldn't help but fly into a rage.

Being schemed against time and again, and having no control over one's own life and death, would make anyone feel upset.

……

(End of this chapter)