NABC Chapter 472 Initiative
Chapter 472 Initiative
Cheng Hai was completely unable to answer Emperor Qi Xiao's question.
Is he in charge? He became the new ruler of the Yan state;
To say he didn't care? He was still communicating the plans to be implemented to the court officials of Daqi; he hadn't abandoned the matter.
But Emperor Qi Xiao was so angry that his lungs ached. He thought Yuan Cuo was just going to see the King of Yan and was seeing him off, but he never expected that the man would not return after being seen off to Yan!
"Summon Chen Zhongyao to the palace immediately, along with the ministers of the six ministries and all the cabinet members!"
There are hardly any people left in the Liu family. Only Huang Wanwan remains. Liu Yuechu is gone, Liu Musheng is gone, and Liu Zhong is still in the Taoist temple, indifferent to worldly affairs and utterly useless.
Nowadays, the only person who can speak with Yuan Cuo is Chen Zhongyao.
"Furthermore, all of the Liu family's businesses must be suspended; do not touch anything else!"
"You must immediately reclaim command of the secret guards..."
Emperor Qi Xiao issued a series of decrees in one breath. However, apart from Chen Zhongyao entering the palace to meet with Emperor Qi Xiao, all the decrees were completely ineffective.
The ministers of the six ministries were all busy and unable to attend to their respective duties.
The tasks assigned by Yuan Cuo were extremely heavy, and almost no one had time to leisurely drink tea and chat; everyone was busy as a dog.
"The Minister of War personally went to the forging site. A smelting formula selected by the Duke of Baoguo is ready for production today. The old minister wants to witness it with his own eyes. The Minister of Works is busy with the allocation of tasks to repair the dikes. There are several dikes that have not been repaired since the snow disaster two years ago. Now the Ministry of Revenue has the money."
"The Minister of Justice is keeping a close eye on the case of the Right Chancellor's Office and dares not entrust it to others. The Ministry of Personnel is still selecting people to fill the vacancies."
"The Minister of Revenue is waiting for tax reports from various regions and has been reviewing the accounts..."
"Now only the Minister of Rites remains. He is busy with the early holding of the Spring Examination. Because many vacant official positions have been removed this year, new people need to be transferred to various places, and the Great Qi is short of manpower."
None of the six ministers had any free time.
But after Cheng Hai reported back, Emperor Qi Xiao's heart felt as cold as nine feet of ice.
"Now I can't even summon the six ministers anymore?" Although he didn't care about court affairs before, he was still in this position, and the court officials gave him some face.
"And now? These six people have refused to come to see him, simply because they know that Yuan Cuo has become the ruler of Yan. They have no desire to come and discuss the matter and only want to accept the current situation."
Emperor Qi Xiao wanted to pick up the inkstone in front of him and smash it.
But then he suddenly noticed that the furnishings in the Imperial Study were not as abundant as before.
He smashed things several times in a fit of rage, almost destroying everything...
"Where is Chen Zhongyao? Is he still busy with impeachment memorials, trying to purge my court of every last old man?!"
Emperor Qi Xiao's words carried a hint of anger and a self-deprecating sense of powerlessness.
Cheng Hai's tone was complicated, "Imperial Censor Chen has arrived and is waiting at the door..."
Emperor Qi Xiao: "???"
He glared at Cheng Hai. Why didn't you say you were coming? Why bring up those six old geezers?
"Then what are you still standing outside for? Come in." He could only clear his throat and sit up straight.
Upon hearing this, Chen Zhongyao entered the Imperial Study from outside. He still observed the proper etiquette.
But now, this set of etiquette between the emperor and his subjects is even more ironic in the eyes of Emperor Qi Xiao.
"Alright, enough of this formality. Tell me, what exactly does he mean? How did he suddenly become the new ruler of Yan? He's just leaving Great Qi hanging here, what kind of behavior is this!"
"He is a descendant and bloodline of the Great Qi..."
Emperor Qi Xiao launched into another frantic rant, wishing he could say that Yuan Cuo had forgotten his ancestors!
Chen Zhongyao remained remarkably calm, silencing Qi Xiaodi's resentment with a single sentence: "He is also of Chu Emperor's blood, and since he didn't go to Chu, he hasn't failed you either."
Emperor Qi Xiao: "..."
Chen Zhongyao didn't expect Emperor Qi Xiao to say anything, and spoke frankly, "Besides, Your Majesty has never formally recognized him as your biological son, so it can't be considered that he has betrayed the Great Qi. It's perfectly reasonable."
"Is it that I am unwilling? It is that he is unwilling."
"Just because he doesn't want to, you won't acknowledge it?"
Emperor Qi Xiao: "..."
Chen Zhongyao remained calm and expressionless. "Your Majesty, please forgive my bluntness, but in truth, you have never truly accepted his ascension to the throne of Great Qi, which is why we are in this situation today."
"But he is not a worldly man. He seems to really not care whether he sits on the dragon throne securely or not. He has the world in his heart, not only the people of Great Qi, but also all the people of the world. However, in the eyes of the court officials, he is already the leader of Great Qi, because he has truly made Great Qi leap forward."
"Whatever decision Your Majesty makes, you must take the current situation into account. It's not that he can't live without Great Qi, but that Great Qi can't live without him."
"If he intends to maintain the status quo, you'd better not sever ties."
……
Chen Zhongyao's words were like knives, making Emperor Qi Xiao feel as if he had a thorn in his side.
He knew Chen Zhongyao was talking behind his back, but this sober-minded statement left Emperor Qixiao speechless.
Perhaps the ministers of the six ministries thought the same thing, but those old foxes wouldn't say it out loud.
"I never expected that you would dare to speak frankly to me. In fact, I have long wanted to promote you to the position of Left Censor-in-Chief, in charge of the entire Censorate. I was originally hesitant because of your young age, fearing that you would not be able to command respect..."
Emperor Qi Xiao was eager to win them over, and he could see how close Chen Zhongyao was to the Yuan family.
Chen Zhongyao showed no gratitude, saying, "I don't care about the position of Left Censor-in-Chief at all, because no matter what rank I hold, I am the only one in the Censorate who dares to stand up and impeach the Left and Right Vice Ministers, impeach imperial relatives, or even directly impeach His Majesty."
Emperor Qi Xiao: "..." I really thank you.
"No wonder you're on good terms with him; you're actually the same kind of people."
Chen Zhongyao did not deny this, and it was the most important reason why he admired Yuan Cuo.
"Alright, let me think about what to do carefully. I need to calm down." Emperor Qi Xiao didn't want to listen to Chen Zhongyao's cold words anymore. He was only thinking of Chu Yunu.
He was so angry that he didn't know what Chu Yunu would do.
Liu Yuechu is still by her side. Would she really kill Liu Yuechu in a fit of anger?
Emperor Qi Xiao could not guess Emperor Chu's actions, so he could only hide and watch quietly.
At this moment, the Chu Emperor also learned that Yuan Cuo had become the new ruler of Yan, and he was stunned on the spot.
"I was still figuring out how to lure him to Chu, but he suddenly abandoned Qi and became the new ruler of Yan?"
She looked at Liu Yuechu, who was eating snacks, and said, "Still eating? You're the new Queen Consort of Yan now!"
"But be careful, men are ruthless. He accepted the position of King of Yan without even consulting you. He probably already abandoned you in his heart!"