A Political Card Played Too Late

"Rebels! Rebels! All these people are rebels!"

The loyal minister Dou Ying's tearful accusations put the new emperor in a very difficult position.

For a moment, the new emperor wondered if only the mother and son could fight each other, and that the ministers would not turn against each other until the Empress Dowager was completely dead.

When the Han Dynasty was founded, 143 marquises were enfeoffed. This group of meritorious officials had quelled Empress Lü's rebellion and stabilized the Great Han Dynasty, allowing the new emperor's grandfather to ascend the throne before the transition to Emperor Jing and then to the reign of the new emperor.

Some marquises died without heirs, leaving no successors, but most marquises still exist.

This was a powerful force. Although it did not rule a country by enclosing land like feudal lords, it still controlled a large population, wealth, and economy.

Like large corporations, these marquises still have the ability to stir up trouble.

But when his gaze swept over the faces of the excited and determined marquises, determined to eliminate the treacherous and rebellious, the new emperor felt a sense of relief for some reason.

The nobility of marquises declined with each generation. In the early Great Han Dynasty, even Emperor Gaozu had to do his best to appease them to avoid losing the support of these important ministers.

But a century has passed, and marquises with unique talents are now rare.

Dou Ying is considered to have mastered many skills, but his health is indeed not good at present.

The hastily arrived Marquis Qu Ni, Chen He, was hardly presentable; Marquis Tao, Liu You, looked weak and was even slightly out of breath while walking; Marquis Ji Yang, Du Wu, was obsessed with alchemy and his indiscriminate use of elixirs had led to his old age and physical decline; Marquis Chao Yang, Hua Dang, looked impassioned and, without considering the seriousness of the matter, clamored for the swift mobilization of the Southern Army to enter Chang'an City and capture the thieves...

More than twenty marquises rushed to the Imperial Medical Academy, the strongest of whom, Chen He, was only at the Divine Ability Realm.

The new emperor's somewhat chaotic mind gradually calmed down after seeing this group of misfits.

If these people succeed, that's fine; if they fail and defect, the consequences will be limited.

"It would be one thing if I were unaware, but if I were to disregard my mother now, that would be truly unfilial and disloyal. No one would dare to be close to me in the future, and these marquises would scatter in all directions..."

As he gradually came to terms with the situation, he realized that the new emperor had undoubtedly made up his mind.

He felt he might understand why Emperor Jing had so ruthlessly killed loyal ministers.

On Dou Ying's side, Dou Ying was extremely loyal and virtuous, steadfastly following Emperor Jing's will for more than ten years, and even uncovering a large amount of evidence.

But if one were on the new emperor's side, Dou Ying's actions would lead to the destruction of his family.

The other party should never have made this public, hoping to use the power of righteousness to complete the crackdown.

"Marquis Qu, you will stay here to look after Marquis of Weiqi for the time being. I need to summon my loyal and capable ministers to discuss countermeasures and see how to bring these people to justice!"

After some thought, the new emperor removed his hand from Dou Ying's right hand, which was tightly gripping the entrustment, and entrusted Qu Ni Hou Chen He to take care of him temporarily.

"Your Majesty, I've heard..."

"Aunt, I will act immediately and without delay!"

As the new emperor hurriedly left the Imperial Medical Academy, he bumped into Princess Dou, who had come upon hearing the news, accompanied by the Empress.

He forced a smile for a few seconds, then made an excuse and quickly left.

"To Changxin Palace!"

Once back in the imperial carriage, the new emperor whispered his orders, and the carriage, capable of traveling throughout the palace, quickly began its journey.

"I wonder where Dongfang Shuo is. I really need the Imperial Shuttle at this time. He might offer some advice, but I wonder what good solutions he has for this matter?"

The carriage was incredibly fast, but even the fastest carriage couldn't match the speed of the Sky Shuttle as it flew in a straight line.

The new emperor was extremely anxious, but found it difficult to act any faster.

"An urgent edict is issued to Wei Qing, Gongsun Ao, Mei Gao, Wuqiu Shouwang, Gongsun He, Zhufu Yan, Xu Le, Yan An, Han Yan, Zhang Tang, Sima Tan, Dongfang Shuo, Zhong Jun, Anguo Shaoji, and Guo Sheren!"

Upon quickly entering the inner palace, the new emperor didn't even bother to call for a eunuch to announce the decree; he simply shouted it out.

The people he urgently recruited included both old and new officials. The old officials had the advantage of having served him for many years and were all loyal, while the new officials had unique talents that allowed them to catch his eye.

These people are usually trained in various departments of the imperial court, but when needed, they are all summoned to serve as confidants for internal consultation.

The new emperor didn't care where these people were in Chang'an City or whether they could arrive quickly.

He shouted repeatedly, and the guards who heard him along the way looked solemn. Only after the deputy commander urged them several times did dozens of them scatter and go off in different directions to search for the person.

"If I choose the Empress Dowager's side, then I need to wipe out this group of people in one fell swoop. It just so happens that they are all in the Imperial Medical Academy, which is a good opportunity to make my move. If I can stop the rumors from spreading, and then have these people die from serious illnesses, the matter should just fade away!"

"Then we'll replace the officials in the court who received the secret edict, putting Gongsun Ao and others in charge. Afterwards, we'll announce to the world that talented individuals should assist them, thus completely changing the court!"

"..."

The new emperor pondered various things, feeling that although the method of drastic and indiscriminate cutting was terrible, it could roughly solve the problem.

When murderous intent arose in his heart, he didn't mind killing a group of people.

The high-ranking cultivators, the Imperial Guard, and the City Guard were almost all on their side. Military generals were a deadly counter to Technique Method- type cultivators at close range, and even some experts among the civil officials and marquises could not play much of a role.

"At that time, we can also send Zhang Tang to the prison to release all of my uncle's retainers, and let these brave and fierce men lead the charge!"

The new emperor's murderous intent grew stronger, and the various thoughts that arose from this murderous intent became increasingly risky.

Only when the imperial carriage came to a sudden stop did his various thoughts subside, and he then leaped up.

As his gaze swept over the dozen or so corpses at the entrance of Changxin Palace, the new emperor couldn't help but show a hint of surprise on his face.

He looked at Zheng Dangshi, who was bowing and not daring to stop him, and felt anxious and too lazy to deal with this matter that he would normally have to pay attention to. Then he barged into the main hall of Changxin Palace.

"Mother..."

"My son, you've come at the right time! Today, disaster is imminent. Neither of us can afford to panic; we must eliminate this threat, Dou Ying!"

As soon as the new emperor spoke, the Empress Dowager was seen walking back and forth in the hall instead of lying down. Her casual palace robes had been changed into fitted garments, and two large sleeves with iron filings had even been added to the cuffs.

Just like the new emperor, the Empress Dowager was equally murderous.

"Your Majesty should have exerted force when you helped Dou Ying, and then killed him with a single palm strike. That would have solved the problem with minimal cost!"

The Empress Dowager had previously reprimanded Tian Fen, and now she was also reprimanding the new emperor, feeling that the new emperor's methods were not ruthless enough.

If it were Emperor Jing, Emperor Jing would have taken advantage of the chaos to strike hard, and none of this would have happened.

"Then now..."

"Whether you go with men or alone, it will arouse suspicion. Your Majesty will find it difficult to act secretly. If you were to kill a loyal minister like Dou Ying in public, the court would inevitably fall into disarray, and no one would dare to be loyal to you!"

The new emperor touched his sword, while the Empress Dowager sighed in regret.

"When the late emperor left his will, he certainly didn't anticipate the current situation. He could hardly have foreseen the Empress Dowager's passing and Princess Dou's difficulty in taking over Anle Palace. In other words, this will has two possible uses!"

"One possibility is that Dou Ying will take over power and work with the Empress Dowager to eliminate the many people the late emperor suspected, thus bringing order to the court. What about the other possibility?"

"How was I supposed to know? I was one of the first types of people who would be surrounded and killed!"

"Use your brain and think about it!"

"I'm brainless, my brain is broken!"

The new emperor and empress dowager were sharpening their knives, while Zhang Xuezhou Tian Fen began peaceful discussions in the main hall.

Having taken a punch to the stomach, Tian Fen is now very polite to Zhang Xuezhou, but he also seems somewhat resigned to his fate.

"The second possibility is that they will turn the tables on the Dou family and wipe them out. The Empress Dowager is related to His Majesty by blood, so even if they win, they will still support His Majesty. Regardless of the outcome of the battle, His Majesty's throne will be secure!"

Zhang Xuezhou offered a reminder.

He frowned, realizing he almost blurted out the phrase "a dog bites another dog, leaving a mouthful of fur."

This is a will that will ignite a fierce battle. The Grand Empress Dowager's faction and the Empress Dowager's faction will engage in a life-or-death struggle because of this will that cannot be verified by the deceased, thus benefiting the weakest new emperor.

But what Emperor Jing did not expect was that the Empress Dowager passed away, the Empress Dowager relinquished power, and the new emperor took over the government.

With no rivals vying for power in the court, the new emperor's use of this imperial edict as a pretext only brought him trouble.