The Fifth Prince was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter, a few drops of moisture welling up in his eyes. He had led troops to force the palace, and his own brother had come to the rescue with his guards—how ironic.
Both sought the throne, yet they took completely different paths. The elder brother's path was righteous and honorable, saving the emperor and gaining merit, while the other was a treacherous minister who forced the emperor to abdicate. If he won, he would be rich and powerful for life; if he lost, he would lose his life!
Since that's the case, then he's going to take a gamble!
He picked up the longsword from the ground and thrust it fiercely at Dongfang Hong. He refused to believe that if he couldn't beat Dongfang Heng, he couldn't defeat Dongfang Hong either.
"Fifth Brother." Dongfang Hong dodged the Fifth Prince's sword, grabbed his wrist tightly, and looked at him with a solemn expression: "All three thousand Imperial Guards are here. Stop making trouble and quickly apologize to Father."
The Fifth Prince's gaze was icy as he glared fiercely at the Crown Prince. He used all his inner strength, but still couldn't break free from Dongfang Hong's grip. His sharp eyes blazed with fury as he was about to roar, "Get out of my way!"
Another fierce battle erupted as a figure in azure blue led over a hundred guards into the fray. The guards and the Imperial Guards joined forces, driving the guards trained by the Fifth Prince into a rout. One by one, the black-clad guards fell to the ground, their blood pooling around them, and the thick stench of blood filled the air.
The Imperial Guards fought with increasing ferocity, while the Fifth Prince's black-clad bodyguards fell one after another into pools of blood, their numbers dwindling. Looking at the few remaining bodyguards, the Fifth Prince was utterly shocked, muttering, "How is this possible? How is this possible?"
Were his carefully trained guards really that weak? They were being beaten back repeatedly.
"Your Majesty, I am late in coming to your rescue. I beg your forgiveness." Dongfang Zhan slowly walked up to the high platform, bowed and saluted. The fighting on the ground was fierce, and blood flowed like a river, but his azure brocade robe was spotless, and a faint fragrance of ambergris wafted, intoxicating people.
Looking at the Crown Prince and the Fifth Prince facing off, the Fifth Prince frowned almost imperceptibly. The Crown Prince had actually arrived at the platform to save the Emperor before him? And even stopped the Fifth Prince's killing move.
The last black-clad guard was killed, and the Fifth Prince's hard-earned power collapsed completely. The Fifth Prince trembled and collapsed to the ground, staring blankly at the bloodstains. His years of hard work had vanished just like that. How could this be?
"Your Majesty, all 1,500 assassins have been executed," a deputy commander of the guards stepped forward and reported respectfully.
The emperor waved for the deputy commander to leave, then turned his sharp gaze to the fifth prince: "Dongfang Che, do you know your crime?"
The Fifth Prince sat there blankly, neither speaking nor moving, a bitter smile on his lips. His hard work was so vulnerable in front of the Imperial Guards. He had indeed been too arrogant and too confident.
"Dongfang Che!" The emperor's voice grew louder, filled with deep anger. Forcing the emperor to abdicate was a grave taboo for the royal family. The fifth prince had knowingly broken the law, and his crime was compounded.
"Father, my fifth brother has realized his mistake. Please spare his life." Dongfang Hong glanced at the dazed fifth prince and knelt down to plead for him.
“Brother, half a month ago, Fifth Prince made a mistake. Father Emperor spared him out of consideration for our father-son relationship. But how did he repay Father Emperor? If it were you, and I hadn’t come in time, Father Emperor would be in grave danger by now.” Dongfang Che was the Empress’s son and Dongfang Zhan’s enemy. Having finally found a major weakness in the Fifth Prince, he was not willing to let him off easily.
"My fifth brother is just young and impetuous, and he did something wrong. He had no intention of killing Father. Please, Father, show him mercy and spare his life." Dongfang Hong had been fighting with Dongfang Zhan for many years. Although he didn't know Dongfang Zhan completely, he could guess what Dongfang Hong was thinking. The fifth prince had been able to pretend for so many years and cultivate these forces, which showed that he was quite capable. He was also a major obstacle on Dongfang Zhan's path to the throne, so of course he would try his best to eliminate him.
"According to you, Your Majesty, all those who plot to usurp the throne can be forgiven as long as they don't intend to kill the emperor?" Dongfang Zhan raised the corner of his mouth, looking at the Crown Prince with a half-smile.
If he dares to say it is the word, he is disregarding the dignity of the royal family. The royal family, whose military strength can be at its peak, has no right to speak. If he says it is not, he is indirectly admitting the Fifth Prince's crime. The Fifth Prince is treasonous and plots to usurp the throne. According to the law, he should be executed immediately.
The ministers exchanged glances, looking at each other in bewilderment. The Fifth Prince was the Emperor's son, and his usurpation could be considered a family matter or a matter of state. The size and importance of the matter depended entirely on the Emperor's judgment. There was no point in them, as ministers, saying anything more.
“Even tigers don’t eat their cubs. Fifth Prince is Father’s own son and has no intention of harming Father. The forces he cultivated have all been killed, so he poses no threat to Father anymore. Killing him now would be too cruel. Please reconsider, Father…” Dongfang Hong looked at Dongfang Che and pleaded for him word by word.
Dongfang Che lowered his eyelids and remained silent, his thin body appearing even more emaciated in the wind.
"Father, my fifth brother..."
"Stop talking!" The emperor waved his hand to interrupt Dongfang Hong and Dongfang Zhan's argument, his sharp gaze fixed on the Fifth Prince: "Considering your youth and ignorance, I will not kill you, but demote you to a commoner and exile you to Xiangxi, never to return to the capital!"
"Thank you for your mercy, Father Emperor." Dongfang Hong's eyes lit up with joy. It was good that he wasn't sentenced to death.
Dongfang Zhan frowned, glanced at the dejected Fifth Prince, said nothing more, and his gaze deepened slightly.
"Your Majesty, the ritual to consult the heavens is complete, and the answer has appeared!" Yu Xinqing's clear voice rang out, and everyone then realized that the sky had returned to its previous clear state, a deep blue with not a cloud in sight.
Curious eyes all turned to the sheet of paper with the words "natural disaster" written on it...
Chapter 214: Li Xue vs. Li Youlan
On the white Xuan paper, several large characters in black ink were written: "Natural disasters appear, blue flames rage; to resolve the calamity, in the year, month, day, and hour of Yang, power shall be restored."
"What does this mean?" The emperor was puzzled, and the civil and military officials were also confused and did not understand.
Yu Xin chuckled and said, "Your Majesty, this is Heaven's instruction to place those born in the year, month, day, and hour of Yang in various Qingyan fortresses to avoid natural disasters."
The ministers nodded in understanding; so that's what it meant.
As Dongfang Heng stared at the black words on the white paper, his obsidian-like eyes flashing with a cold, eerie light. Yu Xin was Dongfang Zhan's man, and the contents of the paper were more Dongfang Zhan's idea than the will of Heaven.
He used the ritual of asking the heavens to deceive others, and took the opportunity to plant his own people in various fortresses of Qingyan. Then, he controlled these fortresses and made them his own. His ascension to the throne as emperor would be just around the corner. How clever!
The emperor nodded slightly. The natural disaster was a hint, and it was better to believe it than not. The Qingyan Kingdom was vast and had a large population. Although people born in the year, month, day, and hour of Yang were few, some could still be found. Even if they were not capable, they could be placed in the fortress as inconspicuous soldiers, which would still count. "Then what does 'returning power' mean?"
"Your Majesty, 'returning power' means that all power is unified, which means that Your Majesty is taking back the military power from the ministers and entrusting the fiefdoms to you or the princes to manage personally."
These words caused an uproar. The officials all looked at Dongfang Heng with surprise. There were hundreds of civil and military officials, but none of them had any real power. Only Dongfang Heng, the God of War of Azure Flame, held the power of four or five hundred thousand soldiers. If he were to relinquish his power, wouldn't that mean he would have to hand over his military power?
A faint smile appeared on Dongfang Heng's lips, yet it carried a strong sense of mockery. He raised his eyes to look at Dongfang Zhan. This time, Dongfang Zhan's attempt to question the heavens was not only to place people to control Qingyan, but also to scheme against him and force him to relinquish his military power.
The Holy King's Mansion has been a military force for generations, and its military power has a long history, which also symbolizes the Holy King's Mansion's transcendent status in Qingyan. Dongfang Zhan does not dare to confront Dongfang Heng head-on because he is wary of the hundreds of thousands of troops under Dongfang Heng's command, which is nearly half of Qingyan's military strength. If it were handed over, the Holy King's Mansion would become an idle and incompetent ordinary royal mansion, and would lose its strong ability to resist. It could be destroyed at any time with a single order from the emperor.
“Your Majesty, I believe that ‘all power is unified’ means that power belongs to the Eastern royal family. Prince An also has the surname Dongfang and is related to you as uncle and nephew. He holds military power, which is also in your hands…” Prince Huai looked at Dongfang Heng, stepped forward, and said slowly.
Some ministers echoed his opinion, saying that since they all shared the surname Dongfang, they were all one family, so it didn't matter who held the military power.
“Uncle, you can’t say that. Although Prince An’s surname is Dongfang, he is not a prince and does not meet the requirements for resolving natural disasters.”
Dongfang Zhan's gentle voice carried an inexplicable forcefulness, causing Prince Huai to frown deeply: "Prince Zhan, the document only states that the power belongs to the emperor, not that it must belong to the emperor or a prince."
"Lord Yu is a practitioner of magic, and he often deals with the stars and the heavens. He understands the will of the heavens best, and his explanation is the most reasonable." Dongfang Zhan emphasized the words "understands best," highlighting the importance of Yu's new explanation.
"No matter how reasonable it is, he cannot directly communicate with the heavens. He needs to rely on the hints left by the heavens to guess their meaning. The so-called power is just a general term. The power of Shuntian Prefecture to adjudicate cases, the power of the Ministry of Justice to supervise, the power of the Ministry of Rites to handle cases, and even the power of the Imperial Observatory to observe stars can all be called power. If all power is unified and rests on the emperor, and the emperor does everything personally, then what is the purpose of the court officials?"
The Prince of Huai's calm tone carried an indescribable chill. The ministers nodded in agreement. Qingyan's prosperity was not only due to the emperor, but also to the assistance of the ministers and the diligence of the people. To say that power was transferred to the princes and the emperor was indeed a far-fetched statement.
“Power has different levels. Powers like the power to adjudicate cases and the power to observe the stars are very small and have little effect on the natural disasters of Qingyan. But military power is the lifeblood of Qingyan and is a major power. It will definitely have some impact on the natural disasters of Qingyan. Since everything will be fine if it is handed over to the emperor, why should we take the risk and leave it in someone else’s hands?”