Lin'an Never Night

Chapter 865 Will the King of Yan become like Yi Yin?
Yang Yuan's mind raced, and he immediately changed his mind again.

He nodded slightly and said to the servant of Prince Qing's mansion, "Lead the way."

Yang Yuan boarded his own carriage, and under the protection of his entourage, he slowly left the capital in the carriage belonging to the Prince of Qing's residence.

Among the warriors in front of the palace gates were officials from the Imperial City Guard. After Yang Yuan "purged the court of corrupt officials," he did not exercise any control over the Imperial City Guard, whether intentionally or by forgetting.

Therefore, the news was quickly and quietly transmitted to the inner palace.

Inside the car, Yang Yuan sat quietly, gazing at the gently swaying curtain in front of him, and suddenly smiled freely.

My mindset!

Now that my stance has changed, I need to adjust my mindset accordingly.

If the Prince of Jin refuses to become emperor, then I'm determined to become the powerful minister.

If I'm going to become a powerful minister, why am I making my stance so obvious?
This second king is still useful.

Zhao Kai was restless in the Prince's mansion.

He was still a sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy, and even his elder brother had not received much education as a crown prince. He had no such training at all, so how could he possibly be calm and composed?

Seeing Zhao Kai's restless state, Wang Fu Lü Hu shook his head slightly: "Your Highness, please calm down."

The chief secretary of the Prince's Palace, Ge Jiping, also said: "If there is a change in the throne, the Second Prince will be the first choice. It is important to see who the Prince of Yan supports."

But the King of Yan also needed an emperor who trusted him to consolidate his power.

Therefore, the King of Yan also needs something from the two kings, and the two kings must not appear eager.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Kai realized he had been somewhat out of line, gave an awkward smile, and sat down again.

Although the princes of the Song Dynasty did not wield as much power as the princes of the Tang Dynasty, they still had basic officials assigned to their princely residences.

For example, Wang Fu. The Crown Prince's teacher is called Tai Fu, so the Prince's teacher is naturally Wang Fu.

Another example is the Chief Secretary, who was an official responsible for the daily administrative affairs of the Prince's residence.

Below him were Sima, Ziyi Canjun, Jishi Canjun, and others.

In the past few days, Zhao Kai has been going to the palace to pay his respects and visit his uncle, Zhao Qu, and has gradually noticed that something is wrong.

His elder brother, now the emperor, was never seen from beginning to end.

This explains why the Song Dynasty only held court once every ten days or half a month; otherwise, the people in the court and the public would have discovered long ago that the emperor was under house arrest.

Zhao Kai told his tutor and chief secretary about the commotion he had noticed in the palace, and Lü Hu and Ge Jiping couldn't help but have their own ideas.

Being an official under the Crown Prince still offers hope.

As long as the crown prince ascends the throne, he will rise to great heights.

However, being an official in the Prince's palace basically means the end of one's life.

At most, when they retired in their old age, the imperial court would symbolically grant them a promotion of one rank.

However, all indications now suggest that the current emperor's throne is unstable.

So... if the emperor were to abdicate, who would inherit the throne?
Lu Hu and Ge Jiping suddenly realized that this huge pie was about to fall into their laps.

Their king is the second son of the emperor, and if he were to inherit the throne, he would naturally be the new emperor.

However, while that's the logic, they weren't entirely sure.

To be on the safe side, it would be wise to extend an olive branch to the King of Yan at this time.

Therefore, the two quickly persuaded Prince Qing to extend an invitation to Prince Yan.

However, Zhao Kai, being an underage king, really didn't have anything he could use to bribe the King of Yan.

He didn't have a beautiful woman.

In terms of wealth, he doesn't even have as much as Yang Yuan.

All he could offer was a vague promise about the future.

But he didn't consider that the Prince of Yan was already at the pinnacle of power. What kind of future could he promise Yang Yuan to entice him?

……

"Your Majesty, the Prince of Yan went to the Second Prince's residence and left after only the time it takes for three incense sticks to burn."

Soon, the Wu family received news that Yang Yuan had gone to meet with Prince Qing.

However, it is impossible to find out exactly what the two sides discussed during their meeting.

However, based solely on the length of their meeting, Ms. Wu was able to roughly deduce the desired outcome, and felt a slight sense of relief.

"It seems that Kai'er has caught wind of something and has her eye on that seat."

Madam Wu smiled faintly: "But he doesn't know that the one who nominated Dun'er before him was none other than the Prince of Yan."

Madam Wu shook her head slightly at her second grandson's foolishness and instructed, "When Zhao Kai comes to pay his respects again, tell him not to come for the time being."

"Just as the Prince of Jin needs to rest and recuperate, so do I and the Empress Dowager."

The chief eunuch agreed and withdrew.

Empress Dowager Xie said, "Since Yang Yuan proposed that Prince Gong succeed to the throne, he should not have attended Prince Qing's meeting."

The Zhao Song imperial family is now facing an unprecedented crisis, but with Zhao Qu awakened, a great weight has been lifted from Wu's heart.

She knew that the only one in the Zhao family who could still keep Yang Yuan, this fierce tiger, in check was Qu Ge'er.

Now that Qu Ge'er is safe and sound, the situation in the court has at least stabilized for the time being, and she feels much more relaxed.

Madam Wu smiled and said, "Otherwise, from your position, of course you shouldn't see him."

However, from Yang Yuan's perspective, it is the right thing to do.

In the current situation, the only people Wu can discuss things with or confide in are her daughter-in-law and her granddaughter Zhao Ning'er, who is by her side.

Because of the sensitive relationship between Prince Qing and Prince Gong and the throne, it's now impossible to discuss anything with them.

However, these three women from different generations had a more privileged status, so they could discuss the matter openly and frankly.

Madam Wu said, "Although I don't know what he said to Prince Qing, I can ascertain that he won't reveal his true thoughts, but he will subtly hint to Prince Qing that the emperor is indeed going to be replaced. But..."

She looked at Xie Shi and Zhao Ning'er: "However, the question of who will inherit the throne is to be decided by the two palaces."

Empress Dowager Xie asked in confusion, "Why is that?"

Ms. Wu smiled but remained silent.

Yang Yuan went to see Prince Qing, Zhao Kai, who had already been abandoned, which put people at ease.

This shows that Yang Yuan still harbored ambitions to curry favor with the emperor. His ambition to curry favor indicates that he did not intend to usurp the throne or covet it.

If he wanted to become a powerful minister, either to fulfill his life's ambitions or to protect himself...

In any case, the son is capable but lazy by nature, and the grandsons are all useless. It is not necessarily a bad thing to have such a capable and powerful minister in charge of the overall situation and maintain the lifeline of the Song Dynasty.

Surely not all the descendants of the Zhao family are utterly worthless?
If another valiant and capable person like Emperor Taizu emerges from among his descendants, the Zhao family will one day reclaim their imperial power.

Wu said meaningfully, "If he wants to be like the Duke of Zhou, Yi Yin, or Huo Guang, it's not impossible."

……

"Does the King of Yan intend to become like Yi Yin?"

The young scholar who spoke had red lips and white teeth, and his eyebrows and eyes were like a painting.

Beneath those neat, beautiful eyelashes were a pair of sweet almond-shaped eyes.

Her skin was exceptionally white and smooth, with a milky, honey-like luster, and a fragrance more exquisite than jade.

Anyone could tell that this was a beautiful young woman disguised as a hairpin.

She wore men's clothing simply for convenience, so the people on the ship didn't treat her like a boy.

Lu Jiuyuan smiled and said, "Mu Yi, you should know that 'purging the emperor's inner circle' is a last resort, even if it is done out of desperation."

But once you embark on this path, there is no turning back.

As for the actions of the current emperor, we all have our own judgment.

Perhaps... after the King of Yan, he can only become another Yi Yin.

Mu Yi is not the name of this "young scholar".

She's so young, she looks like she's only in her early teens, and when she glares at me, she still has a hint of cuteness and fierceness.

Therefore, this is not her handwriting.

However, "Muyi" is her pseudonym.

That's right, this little girl, despite her young age, has given herself the pseudonym "Muyi Jushi" (慕易居士).

She is Lu Jiuyuan's junior sister, a follower of the New Shu School, and a fervent fan of Mr. Mu Yi.

Her surname is Qian, but she refuses to reveal her given name.

The self-chosen name "Mu Yi" comes from the great Confucian scholar Mu Yi.

The young girl comes from an extremely wealthy family; she is not only rich but also has connections in various industries.

It can be said that Lu Jiuyuan and other disciples of the new Shu School promoted the new school everywhere and created momentum for Grandmaster Muyi, but most of them could only contribute their personal strength.

We need this junior sister for both money and supplies.

In addition, she was pretty and cute, so she was clearly the darling of the new students.

The Song Dynasty had an open academic atmosphere, and scholars and students of the Imperial Academy could discuss world affairs freely, daring to talk about any taboo topics.

Moreover, this ship had just returned from Sichuan and Chongqing, and the passengers were all disciples of the New Sichuan School.

The young girl, naturally even more uninhibited, said, "But Yi Yin exiled Tai Jia and declared himself king."

The orthodox Confucian school acknowledges the account in the Records of the Grand Historian.

The Records of the Grand Historian states that Yi Yin was a renowned minister of the Shang Dynasty who did not covet power and served four emperors.

The fourth emperor, Taijia, was immoral, so Yi Yin exiled him.

Three years later, seeing that Taijia had repented and reformed, they welcomed Taijia back as king, while Taijia himself died of illness.

However, the Bamboo Annals, which was written more than two hundred years earlier than the Records of the Grand Historian, is a comprehensive history written in annals by historians during the Warring States period.

This work, unearthed from the Jin Dynasty by tomb robbers, contains a great deal of history that is completely different from that in the Records of the Grand Historian.

Examples include the killing of Yi by Qi and the killing of Yi Yin by Taijia.

For example, the Bamboo Annals record that from the time the Zhou dynasty received its mandate until the reign of King Mu of Zhou, it was one hundred years, not that King Mu of Zhou was one hundred years old.

The Bamboo Annals record that "(Yin) Zu Yisheng ascended the throne, becoming Zhongzong."

However, the Records of the Grand Historian, Annals of Yin, states that Zhongzong was Taiwu.

However, the oracle bone inscriptions unearthed in later generations read "Emperor Zhongzong Zu Yi".

However, the power struggle depicted in the Bamboo Annals does not align with the Confucian ideal of ancient times, and thus it was criticized and condemned by many great Confucian scholars.

However, it was not entirely rejected by Confucian scholars.

Many prominent Confucian scholars who denied it may not actually have truly disbelieved its records.

However, the need for a specific value orientation meant that it could not be recognized by mainstream Confucian scholars.

However, this is not absolute; Confucian scholars throughout history have studied it.

The Song Dynasty book "Taiping Yulan" records that "when Zhong Ren died, Yi Yin exiled Tai Jia and then established himself as emperor."

The rise of Neo-Shu studies has subtly changed Confucian scholars, gradually fostering a pragmatic approach.

As a result, more scholars have studied and accepted the Bamboo Annals.

According to the Bamboo Annals, when Yi Yin assisted the fourth emperor Tai Jia, his power reached its peak, and he then declared himself king.

Seven years later, Taijia secretly returned from his place of exile, killed Yi Yin who had usurped the throne, and installed Yi Yin's sons Yi Zhi and Yi Fen as heirs of the Yi family.

The reason they generally exiled the losers instead of exterminating them was because it was not possible in that era.

Because the ministers at that time, like the Jurchen tribal alliance before them, each had a large tribe behind them.

Yang Yuan, from Zhao Gou, Zhao Yuan, to Zhao Qi, spans three generations.

If the Song Dynasty were to change its emperor, it would be the fourth generation.

If a high-ranking official were to bring up this topic at this time, he would inevitably avoid the subject due to taboo.

However, the people on this boat were a group of students who were fearless.

So, they started a heated discussion on this topic again.

Just then, a boatman ran in and reported to the group of young men dressed in Confucian robes: "Gentlemen, we are about to arrive at Longshan Ferry Wharf."

At the Longshan Ferry Wharf, a group of high-ranking officials of the imperial court were gathered, because Prime Minister Wei Liangchen was returning to his hometown of Jiankang today.

The dock was packed with people, dressed in all sorts of colors, from scarlet and purple to green silk, wearing official hats and belts.

(End of this chapter)