The news that Mr. Lu is returning to Beijing has given all the already heated forces a reasonable excuse for a truce. Even if it is to deceive themselves and others, at least they have really stopped fighting each other.
The frightening reputation of the Jinyiwei is very useful. Many people are speculating whether it is because the fighting between your highnesses has gone too far, so His Majesty recalled Lu Hanjiang to make everyone calm down.
However, the fight between the princes became more and more intense, essentially because the emperor was getting older day by day. The imperial power has not declined, but the people in power have become old.
When the tiger grows old, those who covet the throne can't help but set their sights in that direction.
And because after the assassination of the prince, the old emperor had not canonized a second adult prince for more than 20 years. Unlike previous dynasties, the princes of this dynasty had the extremely rare embarrassment of having only a title but no fiefdom.
scene.
From the second prince to the seventh prince, every prince has married and established a mansion. They all call themselves kings, but the emperor has never canonized any of them.
From the beginning to the end, these six princes did not have their own fiefdoms, nor did they have people who could obey their orders legally. Each of them was a rootless duck, and they could be completely overturned by the slightest storm.
The fourth prince and the seventh prince have told everyone with their own actual experiences that as long as the old emperor wants, he can depose any prince in one day without any impact on the court.
All the forces attached to these His Highnesses are also in danger, because the Emperor has decisive suppression power over the prince, and this suppression is so strong that the prince does not even have the ability to resist.
Without the fiefdom and the people, these princes didn't even have the ability to rebel. With just a few hundred or so servants in their house, they couldn't even make waves in the capital. If the emperor wanted to, he would be trampled to death.
They are as easy as crushing ants.
Therefore, the princes eagerly hope to receive support, especially from the army.
The imperial army is divided into three categories. One is the guards guarding the border. These troops are far away. Even if they win, they will not have much significance except for their momentum.
The second category is the guards that defend the capital. These are the standing army of the imperial court, with a total of nearly 200,000 troops scattered in various camps around the capital.
This force is very powerful, but it actually means little to the princes, because the imperial court has strict orders that these armies cannot approach the capital at all.
Moreover, the walls of the capital city are so tall that it is extremely difficult to break through. Even if that day comes, even if these troops are won over, the corpses of the princes will probably be cold by the time they break into the imperial city.
Therefore, whether the princes want to protect themselves or want to risk their lives to take advantage of the chaos, they can only rely on the power existing within the capital.
Due to the special nature of the important area of Gyeonggi, the only two armies that can be used in the city are the Forbidden Army and the Jin Yiwei.
There is no need to think about the imperial army. If you have the ability to poach people from under the emperor's nose, then there is no need for the princes to worry.
Therefore, the remaining Jin Yiwei are their only breakthrough point. Unlike the Forbidden Army, the Forbidden Army is responsible for guarding the Imperial City and has little connection with the previous dynasty. No matter which prince takes the throne, their status will not change.
But the Jin Yiwei is different. Because Meng Yuan is too strong, and his successor Lu Hanjiang is too clingy, it is not an exaggeration to say that the Jin Yiwei has power over the government and the public.
Today's Jinyiwei, through the efforts of two generations of leaders, has extended its tentacles to every corner of the imperial court, and its power has reached an incredible level.
The status of one person below ten thousand people is indeed very powerful, but it is also a burning fire. Everyone can see that once the new emperor comes to the throne, the huge force of Jin Yiwei will definitely be the first to be attacked.
Unless they personally support a highness to go up, of course, this will inevitably lead to the possibility that the rabbit will die and the dog will die. But even so, this is the only path they can choose.
As for the last and most terrifying possibility, that is to start a rebellion to replace them. To put it bluntly, with the strength of the Jin Yiwei today, it is not impossible for them to storm into the imperial city and seize the throne, and the success rate is not low.
But this is a dead end. Although today's Luo Dynasty has a weird old emperor who loves cultivating immortals rather than going to court, the people of the world have not been greatly affected by this.
Thanks to such a respected Confucian leader in the imperial court, no matter how absurd the emperor was, people everywhere could still live and work in peace and contentment. The threat posed to them by uncontrolled knights in the world was far greater than the emperor's absurdity.
Moreover, the world has been at peace for a long time, and the people have been ruled by the Luo Emperor for a hundred years. Regardless of whether the Jinyiwei's surname is Lu or Meng, as long as they are not surnamed Luo, they will not be able to win the hearts of the world.
It is said that the Duke of Zhou encouraged the world to return to its heart. The people did not know who Duke Zhou was. However, after a hundred years of precipitation in the Luo Dynasty, Emperor Luo has become the lord of the world recognized by the people. As long as this flag does not fall, the people of the world will eventually unite.
under their command.
As long as the Jinyiwei dare to risk the disapproval of the world, then what awaits them will be wars and smoke, and the world will be in complete chaos until they are overwhelmed by this wave.
The Jinyiwei's choice and retreat were seen by everyone. Either they would cut off an arm and disappear into oblivion, or they could only secretly stand in line and fight for the future.
The old emperor did not clearly indicate who would inherit the throne, so no matter how the Jinyiwei chose, the fact of their "betrayal" would be confirmed, which was also a treasure card used by the various highnesses to win over them.
Although Mr. Lu, the commander of Jin Yiwei, has not returned to Beijing yet, countless invitations have already filled his study room, and countless lobbyists have visited his door countless times.
The price tags of the princes are all the same, which is nothing more than to ensure that the power of the Jin Yiwei will not be reduced. Apart from that, there is nothing much to say. Today, the Jin Yiwei, except for the throne, can control almost everything.
With the eager anticipation of all the princes and the silent expectations of the adults in the imperial court, two months passed in a hurry, and the commander Lu Hanjiang finally returned to the capital.
Everyone thought that even if Mr. Lu would not keep distance from His Highnesses, he would still return all the gifts to show his loyalty.
But the result was shocking. Not only did Mr. Lu not return the gifts, he not only accepted all the gifts from the princes, he even accepted the gift from the East Palace.
According to the young eunuch who gave the gift to the East Palace, Mr. Lu even muttered after accepting the gift: "Why is the Crown Princess of the East Palace so shabby?"
Cao Yuan was also impartial and reported all these matters to His Majesty the Emperor himself.
After hearing this, the old emperor just laughed it off: "This shameless look really seems to have been taught by Meng Yuan."
"..." Cao Yuan shut up and stopped talking. It seems that His Majesty's trust in Jin Yiwei has never changed.
Thinking about it, instead of pretending to refuse, it is better to accept it openly. Anyway, His Majesty already knows everything about that boy's virtues.