The Great Han Dynasty: From Crown Prince Li to Emperor of All Ages!

Chapter 42: Confrontation Before the Palace, Am I Not the Emperor?

At noon, in the Xuan Room Hall of Weiyang Palace.

The eunuch had come to inquire several times whether the meal should be served, but he had turned him away each time by the Vice Minister of the Palace Secretariat, Su Wen.

Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che, Chancellor Shi Qing, Imperial Censor Er Kuan, Grand Master of Ceremonies Gongsun He, and others disregarded their rumbling stomachs and waited for Liu Ju.

"His Majesty."

"His Highness the Crown Prince has arrived!"

A young eunuch hurriedly entered the hall and loudly proclaimed his arrival.

"Tap tap..."

A tall figure in a crimson gauze robe appeared before everyone's eyes, with sword-like eyebrows, cold eyes, and a face as sharp as if carved by a knife.

"Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Prince."

The three dukes and nine ministers, led by Shi Qing, all bowed in respect.

"Um."

With a slight nod, Liu Ju strode into the hall, facing Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che, on the steps of the palace, his expression unchanged and his heart unmoved.

"The Crown Prince opened the armory without an imperial edict; where does this place the law of the Han Dynasty? Where does it place the dignity of the Emperor?"

The Imperial Censor Xian Xuan spoke sharply and questioned the emperor loudly.

The sound resounded throughout the Xuan Shi Hall, echoing in everyone's hearts. Shi Qing and Gongsun He couldn't help but feel a pang of worry for Liu Ju.

"hehe!"

Liu Ju looked at Xian Xuan with disdain and sneered, "Opening without an imperial edict?"

"Explain to me what an imperial edict is."

"An imperial edict?"

Xian Xuan was stunned for a moment, not quite understanding.

"The Grand Commander."

"You are in charge of etiquette; could you please explain?"

Next, Liu Ju turned his gaze to Li Xi, the Grand Master of Ceremonies.

"promise."

Li Xi immediately explained, "After King Zheng of Qin unified the six states, he changed the order from 'ming' to 'zhi' and the decree from 'zhao'."

"According to the rites and laws of our Han Dynasty, the emperor is called Emperor, his words are called decrees, supplementary decrees are called edicts, and when the people speak, he is called Your Majesty."

"The Emperor decreed four categories: policy documents, decrees, edicts, and admonitions."

"The edicts are the concise edicts issued by the emperor for the appointment and removal of officials."

"The imperial edict was an important decree used by the emperor to promulgate major national systems and to commend officials."

"The Book of Admonitions is an order issued by the emperor to admonish governors, prefects, and officers of the border garrisons."

*Whoosh!*

Upon hearing this, the ministers' minds were unsettled.

Clearly, Li Xi's explanation was in favor of Crown Prince Liu Ju.

Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che, narrowed his eyes on the steps of the palace, while Crown Prince Liu Ju, standing below the steps, smiled. Li Xi joined the army as a young man and served Emperor Jing of Han. After Emperor Wu of Han ascended the throne, he followed General Wei Qing and Grand Secretary Han Anguo in many campaigns against the Xiongnu and guarded the border towns. He served as General of the Cavalry and Grand Master of Ceremonies and was enfeoffed as Marquis of Guannei.

In a sense, Li Xi, the Grand Master of Ceremonies, was not exactly a staunch member of the Wei family clique, but he was one of the Nine Ministers who was close to the Crown Prince.

"Since when has opening the armory always required an imperial edict?"

Liu Ju gave a cold laugh.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince."

"According to the laws of the Great Han Dynasty, the Lieutenant Commander of the Northern Army is in charge of the Central Armory."

"Without the lieutenant's tiger tally, the armory shall not be opened."

The Imperial Censor Xian Xuan responded sharply, giving Liu Ju absolutely no room to maneuver.

"Who is Gu?"

Liu Ju asked in return.

"Crown Prince..."

Xian Xuan was somewhat taken aback. Who else could Liu Ju be besides the Crown Prince?

"Emperor Gaozu decreed that the Crown Prince of the Han Dynasty would be the heir apparent, and the successor would be the heir."

"Does the Emperor require the Lieutenant's Tiger Tally to open the armory?"

Liu Ju shouted loudly.

"this..."

Xianxuan was unsure of the deeper meaning behind it, so he quickly looked at Erkuan.

"The successor to the throne is the one who inherits the throne from the emperor; the position of the ruler is already established."

"The Crown Prince is the ruler. What the ruler does or does not do, why should he need the consent of his subjects?"

"If Your Highness wishes to open the armory, you need only send someone to inform the lieutenant."

In front of everyone, Grand Master of Ceremonies Li Xi made the most authoritative judgment. As one of the Nine Ministers in charge of the rites and laws of the court, no one could question him, not even Emperor Liu Che of the Han Dynasty. The Han Dynasty governed the world by upholding the rites and laws, a rule established since Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang.

"Whether I have sent someone to inform the lieutenant or not is self-evident."

Liu Ju glanced at Lieutenant Yin Qi out of the corner of his eye, and the other officials understood immediately.

If the Crown Prince hadn't sent someone to inform Yin Qi, how could Yin Qi have appeared here ahead of time?

"call!!!"

Xian Xuan sighed deeply, his eyes dimming. It was clear that the Censorate could not wrest back the lost dignity from the Crown Prince.

"color!!!"

Shi Qing, Gongsun He, and other supporters of the Crown Prince were overjoyed; they had finally overcome this hurdle.

The Crown Prince's opening of the armory was procedurally legal and compliant. Moreover, he only took away the armor and weapons assigned to his left and right guards, nothing more. This left no room for anyone with ulterior motives to criticize the Crown Prince.

"The matter of the Orchid Armory has been resolved."

"Now, shouldn't we talk about why I went to the armory?"

Looking around at his ministers, Liu Ju said expressionlessly.

'Thump!'

Everyone present felt a jolt and turned their attention to the young master, Wen Shu.

"Bitter!" 』

Wang Wenshu looked distressed but couldn't explain the situation. Should he say it was an imperial edict?

"May I ask, Young Master?"

"Were the Crown Prince's Left and Right Guards the soldiers of the Han army?"

"Yes."

Wang Wenshu nodded bitterly.

"Since they are Han soldiers, why hasn't the Imperial Treasury allocated them with weapons and armor?"

"I...."

Faced with the Crown Prince's questioning, Wang Wenshu, the Junior Steward, had no way to answer.

"His Majesty."

Liu Ju shouted loudly, "The Minister of the Imperial Household has failed in his duty; how can he be an ally of the empire?"

"Your subject requests that the officials in charge of the Imperial Workshops, the Imperial Workshops, the Left Guards, the Ruolu Guards, the Temple Workshops, and the Palace Attendants be punished for dereliction of duty."

"Whoa!!!"

All the officials present were astonished; it seemed they were about to wipe out the entire Imperial Household Department.

"Court Commandant".

Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che, who had remained silent until now, passed the question to Du Zhou, the Minister of Justice.

"His Majesty."

The Minister of Justice, Du Zhou, meticulously stated, "According to the laws of the Han Dynasty, those who neglect their duties shall be sentenced to death, have their family property confiscated, and be exiled to the frontier as soldiers."

"allow!!!"

Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che, waved his sleeve and set forth the punishment.

"Huh?"

The assembled officials were dumbfounded. The execution of all six officials of the Imperial Household Department was far too cruel.

"The six superiors should all be punished."

However, Liu Ju had no intention of letting the matter rest and spoke up again.

"I have failed in my duty!"

Before Emperor Wu of Han could give the order, Wang Wenshu, the Minister of the Imperial Household, had already knelt on the ground and admitted his dereliction of duty.

"The Junior Steward is guilty as well."

Then Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che, spoke coldly.

Wang Wenshu's face was deathly pale, devoid of any color. When he looked at the figure on the steps of the palace, despair and fear enveloped him. He knew he had become a pawn and had no choice but to accept this fate.

The officials trembled with fear. These were high-ranking officials among the Nine Ministers. The fact that an entire Junior Chamber of the Imperial Household had been purged was truly terrifying.

When the Imperial Censor Xian Xuan saw the Imperial Guards taking Wang Wenshu away, he was terrified. This was the consequence of offending the Crown Prince, and there was no room for maneuver between him and the Crown Prince.

PS: Daxingling generally refers to Hongluqing, an official in charge of diplomatic etiquette in ancient times. Its establishment can be traced back to Dianke in the Qin Dynasty. During the reign of Emperor Jing of the Western Han Dynasty, it was renamed Daxingling. Emperor Wu renamed it Dahonglu. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, it was renamed Dahonglu again. The Northern Qi Dynasty established Honglu Temple as the competent agency.