Do You Know?: I, the Little Cabinet Elder, Regent of the World.

Chapter 165 The Emperor Dies!
Crown Prince, Zhao Ceying!

For a moment, the group was filled with mixed feelings and had differing thoughts.

For Zhao Ceying, there was a mixture of joy and sadness.

From the day Jiang Zhao returned to his hometown to care for his ailing father, the Emperor explained the matter of establishing an heir to the throne to him.

Therefore, he already knew that he was the crown prince.

However, knowing it in private is one thing, but making a real deathbed announcement is quite another.

It would be a lie to say I wasn't happy.

Along with the joy was a touch of sadness.

I have been caring for the sick for over a year. Humans are not plants or trees; how can they be without feelings?
For the remaining four members of the royal family, this was undoubtedly a chilling thought.

Even though they had predicted that they couldn't win.

But when the results were actually announced, things were quite different.

The Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet exchanged glances, clearly having all anticipated this, and were not surprised.

In the past, if there were predictions, one might have to take sides.

Now, thanks to the secret succession law, the Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet sit on their high platforms, no longer needing to take sides, and naturally no longer worried about failure.

"Emperor Taizu conquered eighty-one states with his dragon-patterned staff, then donned the yellow robe and established the empire."

Zhao Zhen sighed, "It's a pity that the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun were never expanded, and the Western Xia, Liao, and Jiaozhi never submitted to the Zhou dynasty. In terms of territory, the Great Zhou is truly incomparable to the Tang, Sui, and Han dynasties."

More than ten people remained silent, not daring to utter a sound.

The territory is too narrow, a fact that is tacitly avoided by everyone from top to bottom.

To put it nicely, that's called being introspective and striving for self-improvement.

To put it bluntly, that's called being content with a small corner of the world!
The fact that there were few frontier poems during a golden age of literary culture says it all.

Both Emperor Taizong and Emperor Zhenzong tacitly avoided discussing territorial matters.

If it weren't for the fact that he had unexpectedly acquired the martial skill of "opening up the borders of Xihe," the emperor would most likely not have mentioned the issue of the size of the territory.

"I have allowed the people to rest for thirty years, and in my old age I have expanded the borders."

Zhao Zhen glanced at the scribe recording the emperor's daily activities and slowly said, "Alas, Heaven is blind, allowing me to die young."

Otherwise, even in my twilight years, I would have to personally lead the army! Now, my health is failing, so I can only choose a descendant with strong martial spirit to carry on my legacy.”

“Ce Ying is a man of great martial virtue.”

"You all, assist him!" Zhao Zhen instructed.

After speaking several sentences, Zhao Zhen was out of breath, sweating profusely and panting heavily.

"Your Majesty, rest assured, we will do our utmost to assist His Highness the Crown Prince," Han Zhang quickly replied.

Several Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet and the Duke of England nodded in succession, their expressions respectful.

In fact, there has never been a shortage of officials in the imperial court who resisted the Northern Expedition.

The reason for this is quite simple.

No benefit!

The large-scale northern expedition consumed a great deal of financial and material resources, yet yielded no benefit whatsoever; it was almost a complete waste of money.

This repeated itself several times, naturally causing people to resist the Northern Expedition.

However, since Jiang Zhao expanded the border, the voices of opposition have weakened considerably.

Expanding the perimeter is a true way to "enlarge the plate".

Even if the team that expands the borders gets the lion's share, the rest of the team can still get plenty of soup and broth.

Expanding into the frontier is not impossible!

Having given all the necessary instructions, Zhao Zhen nodded and waved his hand, saying, "Everyone, go out now."

There's not much to entrust with the care of an orphan.

The Crown Prince Zhao Ceying is already twenty-eight years old and is not a child who cannot take care of himself.

The so-called entrustment of a son to Zhuge Liang was more about letting several important ministers know the candidate for the crown prince so that they could support the crown prince to ascend the throne smoothly, rather than "Liu Bei entrusting his son to Zhuge Liang".

More than ten people stood up, bowed, and withdrew.

Just as Zhao Ceying was about to get up, Zhao Zhen ordered, "Ceying, stay."

As he spoke, he looked at Empress Cao, who was attending to him, and said, "Your Majesty, you may also leave."

Therefore, he naturally needed to speak privately with the Crown Prince and give him some instructions.

Empress Cao rose respectfully and couldn't help but call out, "Your Majesty."

Her expression was one of sorrow and complexity. As empress, she still hoped that the emperor would leave her some power to maintain the Cao family's glory.

Unfortunately, Zhao Zhen did not respond.

The Empress, reluctant to leave, slowly walked out.

“Once I am gone, the new emperor will ascend the throne, but he will certainly be unable to win people’s hearts and will not have enough power in his hands.”

Zhao Zhen analyzed: "Entrusting the young emperor to the six Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet may allow them to check and balance each other, but it also means that the political situation will be chaotic. I have already taught him how to regain power. Remember to focus on breaking the checks and balances."

Besides facilitating the smooth ascension of the new emperor, another function of entrusting the young emperor to a regent was to create infighting and checks and balances among the regent ministers.

What the new emperor needs to do is to break the balance of power at the right opportunity, gradually reclaim his authority, and form a new system of checks and balances.

Zhao Ceying nodded repeatedly.

In that year or so, he learned quite a bit about political maneuvering and tactics.

In terms of methods, he might only be of average quality, but by relying on his status as the emperor, he was able to achieve different results.

"Jiang Zichuan of Huaizuo is truly a first-rate wise minister. He is capable of governing the country and bringing peace to the world through civil administration, and he can also conquer the world on horseback through military prowess."

A ruler must be broad-minded and skilled at employing people. The relationship between ruler and subject has always been one of mutual support.

Zhao Zhen sighed, "It is said that he entrusted his son to a few Grand Secretaries, but it is more accurate to say that he entrusted him to Jiang Zhao."

"Remember, Jiang Zhao is the only one who can be truly useful."

“Last year, his grandfather passed away, and Jiang Zhao had already resigned to attend to him. If you ascend the throne and summon him to the capital and promote him to a higher position, you will have done him a favor. When a ruler and his subject are indebted to each other, he will be loyal to you.”

Zhao Ceying nodded seriously.

Over the course of nearly a year, he exchanged three letters with Jiang Zhao.

This frequency is already quite high.

Whether it was training in Xihe or studying in the palace, he could sense Jiang Zhao's abilities.

This person is worth making an important contribution to!

"You must remember to expand the territory and achieve the glorious name of an emperor for all time, so that people will praise you for ten thousand generations," Zhao Zhen instructed.

He has been feeding the "great emperor of all time" title to his "good grandson".

If the "good grandson" can truly achieve unification, it will at least be a "golden age".

As someone who had spent thirty years recuperating and resting, he undoubtedly played a role similar to that of Emperor Wen of Han and Emperor Jing of Han.

Thus, it is still praised throughout the ages.

An emperor who is old and childless desperately wants to leave a lasting mark on history!
"Grandfather, don't worry!" Zhao Ceying nodded emphatically.

The old emperor loved to draw this cake, and he also truly loved to eat it.

Who wouldn't want to be a great emperor for all time?

Emperors of other dynasties probably didn't know how to become a great emperor for all time.

But the emperors of the Great Zhou Dynasty were different. Once they achieved unification, as long as their governance wasn't too bad, they could become emperors of all time!
His name will be sung throughout history!
Zhao Zhen pondered for a moment, then slowly said:

"Han Zhang has ruled the country for ten years, and his students and former officials are all over the land. Even Jiang Zhao was a student he taught since childhood. People's hearts are fickle. If he dares to abuse his power, you can have the Empress Dowager rule from behind the curtain to check the power of the prime minister." Zhao Zhen continued to instruct, panting heavily.

Han Zhang was someone he had personally promoted.

Unfortunately, a ruler is a ruler, and a subject is a subject.

The emperor was bound to be more wary of the head of all officials.

How terrifying it is to be the head of all officials for ten years.

Zhao Ceying remembered them all.

"Your father, Zhao Zongquan, may be granted the title of King. The remaining members of the imperial clan will be granted titles according to blood ties, but they are forbidden from leaving the capital for life."

The more Zhao Zhen spoke, the weaker his breath became.

After about ten breaths, his gaze became unfocused, a hissing sound came from his throat, and his hands fell to his sides.

"His Majesty!"

Zhao Ceying was startled and couldn't help but exclaim.

The dozen or so people standing outside the door, led by Han Zhang, quickly entered.

"His Majesty!"

"His Majesty!"

For a moment, there were gasps of surprise, and occasionally even sobs and cries of grief.

On the 29th day of the second month of the fourth year of the Zhiping era, Emperor Zhao Zhen passed away!
　This chapter is hard to categorize...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)