Complete Cooperation

"Your subject wishes to pay homage to Uncle Liang next spring!"

The tomb of the King of Liang is located in the Liang region, and its location is known to only a very few people to this day.

However, there is an area within Liang called Fengxize, which is where Emperor Gaozu killed the white snake.

The new emperor's visit to the Liang King's tomb was a pretense; his true destination was Fengxize.

It's difficult to tamper with the tomb of Emperor Gaozu, but the chances of success are much higher in the wilderness.

This was a plan he had been pondering for a long time, and he brought it up during this discussion with the King of Liang.

"Your Majesty's trip to Liang is a good thing!"

The Empress Dowager nodded.

There was no need for the Empress Dowager to speculate; she knew that the new emperor might have other plans or be seeking irrefutable evidence to accuse the King of Huainan.

But the new emperor was still a step too slow.

If it had happened a year ago, and the Empress Dowager had known about this, she would have certainly conducted a thorough investigation into the King of Huainan.

At present, she is not only weakened but also seriously ill, and even needs to rely on the power of the King of Huainan to perfectly deal with the possible counterattack of great Confucian scholars such as Shen Peigong.

The Empress Dowager summoned the new emperor for this very reason.

She had intended to have the new emperor issue an edict to see how best to handle the matter, but the situation had undoubtedly taken an unexpected turn.

She had previously had few disagreements with the King of Huainan, but now the Empress Dowager undoubtedly felt uneasy, even suspecting that the King of Huainan might be plotting against her.

When Emperor Jing died, and the Prince of Liang also died, and the new emperor was incompetent, the King of Huainan was the most advantageous among all the options.

The other party was not only renowned throughout the land for his benevolence and hospitality, but the retainers of the King of Huainan's Household were like a miniature imperial court.

Whenever the Great Han Dynasty is difficult to control, the King of Huainan taking over the court to suppress the rebellion would undoubtedly be a popular choice.

The new emperor was restrained by the Empress Dowager, but the Empress Dowager undoubtedly also protected him from all harm and helped him avoid countless potential threats.

She didn't think the new emperor was targeting the King of Huainan, but the Empress Dowager really wanted a real answer, not just a possible guess.

She accepted the new emperor's request to go to Liang, and abandoned her previous plans.

"The bodies of Zhao Wan and Wang Zang have been returned. What does Your Majesty think the Confucian School ' reaction will be?"

The commotion caused by the King of Huainan entering Chang'an City overshadowed the bleakness in the imperial court.

But before the Prince of King of Huainan entered Chang'an City, the atmosphere in Chang'an City was indeed very heavy.

Taking advantage of the Yangling incident, Zhao Wan and Wang Zang were imprisoned under the forced arrangement of the Empress Dowager, while Dou Ying, Tian Fen, and others were also reprimanded.

If there was any unexpected turn of events, it was the report submitted by Kong Zhong and others.

This report shifted the blame for Anle Palace's actions to Zhao Wan and others violating the court's order, thus giving them a legitimate claim.

Logically, Shen Peigong and his group have no choice but to accept this gift, but if they cannot suppress their anger at being targeted and act desperately, Anle Palace will undoubtedly face a painful blow.

"The evidence presented in court is irrefutable. Zhao Wan and Wang Zang committed suicide out of shame. Any extreme actions by the Confucian School would be considered treason," the new emperor declared. "If the Empress Dowager can obtain conclusive evidence, I will certainly order Li Guang and others to suppress the rebellion!"

"Very good," the Empress Dowager nodded. "What do you think of Xu Chang and Zhuang Qingdi?"

"Marquis Baizhi and Marquis Wuqiang are naturally excellent," the new emperor replied earnestly.

"What about Marquis Qu Ni, Chen He, and Marquis Yangling, Fu Yan?"

"That's excellent!"

"Marquis Yingyin, Guan Qiang?"

"Very good!"

The Empress Dowager asked, and the new emperor answered.

The prerequisite for being a good grandson is obedience.

If it were a previous new emperor, his expression would have changed drastically by now, and he might even have found fault with these marquises.

But at this time, the new emperor did not mention any of the shortcomings of any of them.

The new emperor was well aware that the Empress Dowager intended to take over power and maintain control of the court, and was wary of potential chaos that might arise from the infiltration of Confucian School into the official ranks.

This also involves the Empress Dowager's possible arrangements for the throne.

All the new emperor is doing right now is to cooperate.

Under normal circumstances, he would indeed become a puppet, and whether he would continue to hold the throne in the future would depend entirely on the Empress Dowager's arrangements.

Just as he had used the King of Huainan as a shield when he arrived, the new emperor had a plan to use a fake Chixiao Sword, and he didn't care how the Empress Dowager arranged things.

If he returns with his sword, all the arrangements made by the Empress Dowager will be in vain.

"If I appoint Xu Chang as Prime Minister, Zhuang Qingdi as Grand Censor, and send others as the Nine Ministers, what does Your Majesty think?" the Empress Dowager asked.

"They are all descendants of founding heroes, their loyalty is beyond doubt, and they will naturally be able to stabilize our Great Han Dynasty after they become officials," the new emperor said.

The new emperor's veiled criticism of the King of Huainan impressed the Empress Dowager, but the fact that the new emperor followed the Empress Dowager's arrangements completely was almost unbelievable to her.

With the court officials holding all the power in their hands, the new emperor is nothing more than a puppet.

If the new emperor hadn't vaguely mentioned tonight that the King of Huainan might possess the ability to use magic to kill the Prince of Liang, the Empress Dowager could have directly decided to replace the emperor after changing the important officials in the court, and all the transitions would have been smooth.

This was a momentous matter, but the new emperor was too obedient and didn't even offer any opinion.

This was not the style of Emperor Jing's son, but even if the Empress Dowager wanted to find fault, she couldn't find anything.

"Go back and get some rest," the Empress Dowager finally said. "The King of Huainan has to go to Yangling to pay respects tomorrow, and there are also matters concerning Zhao Wan and the others. Your Majesty must keep your spirits up!"

"I will obey the Empress Dowager's decree in all matters!"

The new emperor prostrated himself in obeisance, and only after completing the ceremony did he slowly retreat from the main hall of Anle Palace.

"Liu Che was very obedient today," said the Empress Dowager.

"He might have encountered some difficult situations that made him want to go with the flow," Princess Dou explained. "Moreover, the King of Huainan's entry into Chang'an City must have put a lot of pressure on him. Jiaojiao sent someone to tell him that His Majesty has been reading 'Honglie' in the Weiyang Palace, which may indicate that he has already considered the worst-case scenario."

Maybe!

The Empress Dowager finally nodded.

The new emperor's complete cooperation also helped her to quickly eliminate dissent in the court and even eliminate the potential threat from Confucian School.

But the Empress Dowager felt a strange emptiness in her heart.

She felt things shouldn't be finished so easily, but she did manage to arrange many subsequent matters properly.

This was much easier than she had imagined.

This was not what she had imagined. Under normal circumstances, the new emperor should have refused to send back the people she had placed, or at least expressed his opposition verbally, and then reluctantly allowed some people to enter the palace.

This would create a confrontational situation in the court. Once the Empress Dowager instructed Xu Chang, Zhuang Qingdi, and others to suppress some court officials, the situation in the court would stabilize.

Without going through the imagined process, things have gone straight into the final stages.

Regardless of whether the matter is complicated or simple, the basic arrangements for its aftermath have been determined. All that remains is for Xu Chang, Zhuang Qingdi, and others to insert themselves into the court and seize real power.

The Empress Dowager waved to Princess Dou, signaling her to make the arrangements.

"Perhaps it's also because His Majesty trusts you completely!"

Before leaving Anle Palace, Princess Dou thought of her daughter who had become Empress, and couldn't help but say a good word for the new emperor.

"Complete trust?"

The Empress Dowager in Anle Palace fell silent.

The new emperor, who followed Emperor Jing's guidance, was undoubtedly not popular, and was even regarded by the Empress Dowager as a substitute for Emperor Jing.

In the first year of the new emperor's reign, the Empress Dowager frequently made things difficult for him.

But in her daze, she realized that only the other person was her own grandson, and a relative she could completely trust.