There are certain rules for the drafting and dissemination of edicts sent by the imperial court to local supervisors and issued by the emperor to ministers:
Generally speaking, edicts issued directly by the emperor were drafted by Hanlin scholars, while edicts issued by Zhongshu Menxia Province were drafted by Zhongshu Sheren or Zhizhigao, and then passed on through the Tongzou Academy under the jurisdiction of Zhongshu Menxia Provincial Government.
Some of the more special edicts, such as those to reward meritorious services or honors, or to show favor, are usually announced by eunuchs from the Ministry of Internal Affairs to the destination with the edict.
From a logical point of view, this secret edict should have been sent to Chushan by an eunuch appointed from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and delivered to the hands of Jingsheng Hou Xu Huai.
However, in the current situation, everyone knows that this sealed edict is a thorn in the side.
No, it is simply an active volcano that can erupt at any time and burn itself to the point where no bones and dregs are left.
His Majesty is critically ill, life or death is uncertain, and the prince is young and barely learning to speak. Huai Wang Zhao Guan has already decided on the title of the emperor's younger brother. Logically speaking, Huai Wang Zhao Guan should supervise the affairs of the country.
Now this sealed edict has become the biggest variable.
If this secret edict was given to someone else, it might not be so powerful, and the court would not necessarily need to act in accordance with the secret edict.
Over the years since the founding of the Dai Viet dynasty, the emperor's edicts have been contrary to the ancestral system or inappropriate for the times. I don't know how many times they have been refuted by Zhongshu Menxiasheng and Taijian, and this secret edict is no exception.
However, the difficulty lies in the fact that this secret edict was given to Jingsheng Hou Xu Huai.
Jingsheng Hou Xu Huai has tens of thousands of Chushan elites in his hands, and he has not been defeated even against the Chihu cavalry. This is the biggest support behind this sealed edict. When the time comes, who dares to easily refute this sealed edict without fear of falling behind and annihilating the clan?
A tragic end?
More importantly, no one except Princess Yingyun had time to take a look at what the sealed edict was.
If something unexpected happened in the middle of this secret edict and it did not reach the hands of Marquis Jingsheng, Marquis Jingsheng would definitely not be able to let it go.
In the end, the momentum may not be that big, but the blame for the imperial edict going awry is definitely not something that anyone can bear.
And from the look on Huai Wang’s face when he learned about the existence of the secret edict when he entered the palace, who can guarantee that nothing will go wrong with the secret edict on its way to Chushan?
Qiao Jien first proposed that the secret edict should be handed over to Chushan camp commander Zheng Tu for safekeeping, and Zheng Tu would rush back to Chushan and hand it over to Xu Huai. Zhu Hang, Hu Kai and others also agreed with this proposal, and they were also worried about the secret edict.
If it falls into the hands of others, it will be stolen and replaced.
Even though Zhou He, Gao Chunnian, Gu Fan and others all hoped that King Huai would supervise the state affairs, they did not comment on the matter of passing the imperial edict. After all, Emperor Jianji was still lying on the bed with his eyes open, wasn't he?
This is actually a big variable that they cannot control. If they are not careful, they will be doomed.
At the end of the day, Zhou He simply left the command of the troops and escort to Hu Kai.
Hu Kai then suggested that the secret edict be sealed in a box and sent by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Zhongshu Menxia to jointly supervise it with Zheng Tu. The imperial envoys should inspect and escort a team of cavalry until it was delivered to the hands of Jingsheng Hou Xu Huai without any flaws.
…………
…………
The treatment was not improving, so it was impossible for all the ministers to wait in Funing Palace; and due to the variable existence of the secret edict, no one was willing to come forward and advocate for King Huai to supervise the country.
The ministers of Prince Huai's Mansion still need to avoid suspicion and dare not make blind suggestions at this juncture, otherwise they will be easily taken advantage of.
Finally, after deliberation for a long time, the ministers decided to strictly control the matter of Emperor Jian's critical illness. Zhou He, Hu Kai, and Huai Wang Zhao Guan were temporarily in charge of the ministers to discuss the state affairs. They would wait for a period of treatment to see if there was any improvement before discussing anything else.
"What is the secret edict? Are you sure that no one in the palace saw even a few words, and Qiao Jien didn't see anything?"
Back at Prince Huai's Mansion, Zhao Guan stared at a middle-aged eunuch with a sinister expression and asked.
"Yesterday before noon, Your Majesty came to his senses, but he was very weak and couldn't stop vomiting blood. At that time, everyone was in a hurry around the imperial doctor, and sent orders to the Prime Minister, and Hu Xiang entered the palace. At that time, Princess Yingyun should be the only one serving His Majesty, even if
Concubine Zheng was also sent away, and the secret edict was finally put into her sleeve by Princess Yingyun after using her seal. Except for Princess Yingyun, she did not see what was written in the secret edict, but I heard from the eunuch serving in Funing Palace that the secret edict said
Finally, His Majesty was unable to hold the pen and fell down..."
"Wang Gong, what do you think the secret edict might have written?" Zhao Guan frowned and looked at Wang Boyan, the deputy envoy to the Privy Council, and asked.
"Except for Princess Yingyun, no one has seen or even said a word of the secret edict. I only know that there is such a secret edict. In fact, what is written in the secret edict is no longer important!" Wang Boyan said.
Huai Wang Zhao Guan's face became increasingly gloomy.
Secret edicts can be forged, and Emperor Jianji's handwriting can also be imitated.
The officials only knew that this secret edict existed, but they did not know what was written in it. If Xu Huai finally came up with a forged edict, and the content was completely different from the secret edict written by Emperor Jianji, I am afraid that even Princess Yingyun would not be able to do anything about it.
The identification is false.
More importantly, in addition to Huai Wang Zhao Guan, Concubine Zheng gave birth to a new prince, and behind the prince were Zheng Huaizhong, Zheng Cong and his son, who were the 80,000 elites of Huainan East Road (Huaidong Camp). If Xu Huai held the secret edict and the Zheng family
Joining forces to support the young emperor, does the Huai Palace really have the strength to compete with him?
When the time comes, the sergeants of the imperial court may stand on his side, but what choices will Gao Junyang, Gu Jiqian, and the three generals of the Forbidden Army, Zhang Xin, Liu Yan, and Deng Gui, who are in charge of the Western Qin Camp and the Dongchuan Camp, make?
"If you continue to make decisions, you will inevitably suffer chaos," the middle-aged military commander sitting aside said, "Your Highness has made a decision now, and there is still a chance to intercept the secret edict!"
In Jianye City, in addition to the Xuanwei Army, the Jianye Navy, and the army under the jurisdiction of the Jianye Mansion, the Huai Prince Zhao Guan, as the emperor's younger brother, also commanded a guard of 3,000 armored soldiers. It was the Huai Prince's Mansion in Jianye.
Directly controlled elite members of the direct lineage.
In other words, it is not impossible for Huai Wang Zhao Guan to really make up his mind to intercept the secret edict.
"Things are not that simple..." Zhao Guan shook his head and said.
He is no longer the impulsive young man who ordered the murder to vent his anger after being offended by Hu Ji in Nuanxiang Tower.
When Chihu invaded the south, he first went to Weizhou to supervise the battle. After Bianliang moved south, he led his army southward in a hurry. The journey was bumpy and bumpy, and he suffered a lot, which also prompted him to grow up.
Otherwise, how could Wang Boyan, Yang Maoyan, Ge Boyi, Han Shiliang and other generals be willing to accept his control and unite tightly with Prince Huai's Mansion as the core?
As Wang Boyan said, the essence of the whole matter is not what is written in the secret edict, but the fact that Chushan and Huaidong have joined forces to suppress the Huai Palace through the secret edict.
All the ministers of the third rank and above in the court were aware of the existence of the secret edict, and there were also some people who knew the contents of the secret edict.
The secret edict has been robbed. Can they convince the Gao family, the Gu family and the three generals Zhang Xin, Liu Yan and Deng Gui to stand together with the Huai Palace and join forces to fight against Chushan and Huaidong?
Zhao Guan cannot ignore Gao Junyang, Liu Yan and Zheng Huaizhong came from the same lineage of the Western Army, nor can he ignore that Gu Jiqian is closely related to Chushan, and Zhang Xin and Deng Gui were both single-handedly promoted from their humble beginnings by Emperor Jianji.
, it is more likely that they will only blindly follow Emperor Jianji’s last edict.
There is another point that he has to consider, that is, is his half-brother really so critically ill that he can neither speak nor hold a pen at all?!
Huai Wang Zhao Guan was suspicious of this. He even suspected that the so-called secret edict was a trap set by his half-brother.
Obviously, if Emperor Jianji really felt that he, the emperor's younger brother, should succeed him after his death, there would be no need to leave any secret edict to Chushan.
The secret edict must be to prevent him from succeeding to the throne.
However, all the officials in the court were on his side, and Huai Wang Zhao Guan knew this very well.
In addition to his status as the emperor's younger brother, the more important thing is the current situation. Who among the officials in the court would want a young and completely ignorant young emperor to ascend the throne with the support of his relatives?
His elder brother wanted to break this obstacle and selfishly leave the throne to his son. The best way was to induce them to act rashly in advance, to establish evidence of their crimes, and then to naturally depose him as the crown prince.
Although Ye City was being built and Prince Huai's Mansion had three thousand elite soldiers, Zhao Guan did not dare to hope to compete with his brother - he knew how high his brother's prestige was among the generals in recent years, which he could not compare with.
of.
"Your Highness, we can no longer hesitate. Once the secret edict is in the hands of Chushan Fox, we will be passive!" Although there is a great risk in issuing the secret edict, everyone in the hall still felt that it was risky to get the secret edict into the hands of Jingsheng Hou Xu Huai.
Bigger.
Is it possible that when Xu Huai holds the secret edict and supports the young emperor, will they raise troops to resist the edict?
"Perhaps we can send someone secretly to Chu Mountain to meet Marquis Jingsheng!" Wang Boyan pondered for a while and said.
Zhao Guan's eyes lit up and he banged his head: "What Wang Gong said is true, he is worthy of being my adviser! Yes, if the Zheng family can give to Chu Shan, I can do the same. Maybe I can't persuade Chu Shan to forget about the secret edict!"
"Then what are you waiting for? Who is your Highness going to Chushan?" someone asked impatiently.
"If Chushan can be persuaded, there is no need to rush, and there is no guarantee that Chushan will sell at a reasonable price."
Zhao Guan thought through this section and felt relaxed all over. He stood with his hands behind his back and said,
"Besides, time is still on our side. If they really want to support their young son to ascend the throne, who can guarantee that nothing unexpected will happen when he grows up for more than ten years? We still have to be more patient. Besides, who
I still can’t let go until I finally take my last breath..."
