bookrandom Chapter 183 The Useless Prince's Power Seizure (61)
Chapter 183 The Useless Prince's Power Seizure (61)
In the spring of the same year, the emperor issued an imperial edict to pass the throne to Crown Prince Jingli, which sparked discussion among the people. However, due to Jingli's suspected identity as a "true god" and the fact that the previous emperor had also followed the same procedure in passing the throne to the current emperor, it did not immediately cause a stir.
Langyue's seniority was also elevated from Empress to Empress Dowager. She simply treated the Emperor as her son and took him by her side, starting her life of leisure and retirement early.
As Jingli began attending court, memorials urging the filling of the harem arrived in droves, which Jingli brushed aside.
"I am the true form of a celestial being, and my other half is naturally a person of great merit. I cannot bear to let him compete for favor with others."
These words silenced some people, but others set their sights on Jingjing.
After all, Jingjing was the only one who had ever had physical intimacy with His Highness.
Unfortunately, Jingjing, who knew the truth early on, had already severed her ties to love and was no longer lingering in matters of the heart.
Jingli arranged many things for her, all of which required her to show her face and investigate on the ground. This was a challenge for her, who was confined to her boudoir, but she also found enjoyment in it.
Jingjing and Zeng Yuan traveled around, taking the capital city as their starting point, living and eating with the locals, collecting their needs, and sorting out the problems in the current system.
These problems were complex and intertwined, but Zeng Yuan, starting from the people's sentiments and supplemented by Jingjing's years of experience in managing servants, was able to resolve some of them.
If it can't be solved, 6058 has a solution.
In the autumn of the same year, news of a great victory in the north arrived. Seventy percent of the previously lost cities had been recovered. The two young generals of the Yuan Dynasty (Yu An, who was using the alias Yuan An) pressed their advantage and the war was about to end.
The new emperor granted a general amnesty, opened imperial examinations, recruited talented individuals, standardized measurement, allowed the sale of grain by the people, promoted frugality, and abolished the extravagant spending of the royal family and nobility, using all the funds for the construction of the people.
The powerful and wealthy suffered greatly, while the lives of ordinary people truly improved.
Where there is innovation, there is also conservatism. The eldest and second princes were restless and, in the spring of the following year, they led their private armies and conspired with Yu An to launch a pincer attack when the northern army returned to the capital, forcing Jing Li to abdicate.
But their plan clearly failed.
Yu An took the head of the rebel leader with an arrow. These private soldiers were different from the soldiers who had actually fought on the battlefield. With their leader captured, the rest of them, even if they still had the will to fight, were like a pile of loose sand.
Yuan Lanying led a few soldiers to disperse them and clean up the battlefield, as if she had expected it.
The eldest and second princes, unaware that they had been tricked, still mocked Jingli even after becoming prisoners:
"Do you really think the people around you are sincere for you? Your head maid has long been secretly colluding with the guards! They can't wait to kill you and live a carefree life!"
Jingli neither argued nor debated, but simply asked, "Is that so?"
Behind him, Yu An, who had grown even taller, knelt down, clapping his hands: "Xiao An dares not. Xiao An's heart can only hold Your Highness, no, His Majesty alone."
The eldest prince was as if he had seen a ghost. He felt that the guard was lying, but the guard's affectionate eyes did not seem fake.
Quan Jiu, standing to the side, was still struggling: "You're no longer a guard, you wield significant military power! Are you really willing to be subservient to this man and watch him defile your beloved?"
"My beloved?" Yu An chuckled. "You've never figured out who my beloved really is."
After that, neither Yu An nor Jing Li said anything more, since the eldest prince and the second prince would not cause any more trouble.
As for the details, Jingli did not act rashly like the late emperor. Instead, he analyzed the situation early on, determining which spheres of influence could be used for reform and which groups could check and balance each other, like boiling a frog in lukewarm water.
In addition, 6058 also secretly cheated by using the original world line to find several talented people who still adhered to their original intentions during the world line change and recruited them under his command. After Enko, these newcomers were busy with the new emperor's "sudden and crazy ideas" under the guise of "trials".
These so-called brilliant ideas were actually extracted by 6058 based on the development of the original world, combined with his feasible experience in other small worlds, and then casually mentioned by Jingli.
The people sent out have all undergone rigorous screening and careful investigation by 6058. Once they spend a little time figuring out the secrets behind it, they will not take it as a joke, but will admire Jingli even more.
However, time is equally important.
During this period, some conservatives felt that the new emperor Jingli was being reckless and asserted that the country was in danger of falling into the hands of the Jing family.
Unfortunately, the group of alarmists from the Imperial Observatory had already been purged by Jingli using his "divine" power. Jingli then created dreams for these conservatives, showing them what the original world looked like. No matter how unconvinced they were, they would eventually shut up under the guidance of the "gods."
Moreover, the court was in chaos under the previous emperor's rule, but now Jingli has taken control of the key aspects. As for military power, Yuan Lanying and Yu An have already made a name for themselves. It can be said that Jingli's position is very secure.
At this time, less than four years had passed since Seversey's visit.
In the blink of an eye, Jingli had grown from a boy into a young man. When Langyue asked Jingli about marriage again, Jingli told Langyue that he had someone he loved and also revealed that he had never had any relationship with Jingjing before.
Lang Yue felt shocked, yet also surprisingly felt that it made sense.
She only instructed Jingli to make proper arrangements for Jingjing's affairs, so as not to disappoint Jingjing and the Qi family. Afterwards, she took the emperor out of the palace and went sightseeing to relax.
The little pig emperor has fully adapted to life as a human, but he still can't leave Langyue. He was so excited about leaving the palace this time that he kept snoring.
Lang Yue sighed helplessly, thinking that she might never be able to hold her own grandson, so raising this pig emperor as a child for fun was fine, since he was quite obedient anyway.
After the fall of the First and Second Princes, the Fifth Prince's faction was initially forced into the situation, but they quickly turned against him. Jingli spared their lives, gave the Fifth Prince a fiefdom, and sent him out of the palace.
The sixth prince formed a wonderful friendship with Jingli because of a childhood dispute over a rabbit. He was also given preferential treatment when he was enfeoffed and was assigned a good position when he left the palace.
The late emperor's only princess, Jingyu, is also approaching her coming-of-age ceremony. It is worth mentioning that the little palace maid who was possessed by the time-traveling woman and was driven out, returned to the princess's maternal home and was depressed for a while. Later, she regained her voice and escaped the fate of being just a "pawn" and took control of a small part of her own destiny.
During his travels with Jingjing, Zeng Yuan developed feelings for this brave and resourceful woman. He was initially worried about Jingli's intentions, but unexpectedly learned from Jingjing that the two had no relationship. Upon returning to the capital, Zeng Yuan requested an audience with Jingli and proposed marriage.
Jingli, however, said that it depended on Jingjing's opinion.
Unfortunately, during her time traveling, Jingjing has found the life she wants and has, unusually, developed the desire to live for herself.
Jingli once said that in this world, women can also stand on their own and do not have to be confined to their boudoirs.
Jingjing thought defiantly, she wanted to see if Jingli could really do it.
Like a freed eagle, she soared high in the sky and took up the business of a merchant, which everyone disliked.
Zeng Yuan struggled with this for a long time. After some hesitation, he resolutely caught up with Jingjing and served her wholeheartedly.
Everyone laughed at the Zeng family boy, saying he was truly short-sighted, having studied with the Crown Prince for so long without achieving anything.
Jingli, however, did not think so.
His two companions, whether they were a fledgling strategist stationed in the eastern border or someone who followed in the footsteps of a woman to defy societal norms, were both formidable figures.