books44 Chapter 36 King Song Takes a Poisonous Oath
Chapter 36 King Song Takes a Poisonous Oath
After Tang Dan left, Liu Zhao really missed a woman.
I was restless all over, tossing and turning, and had a bad sleep all night.
Tang Dan came to teach Liu Zhao to recite scriptures every day, and Liu Zhao gradually adapted to life here.
Although chanting scriptures is boring, it takes time in order to purify one's wisdom!
Keep a low profile!
Liu Yan came several times and was very happy to see that Liu Zhao was becoming more and more familiar with the reading.
Liu Zhao was also very clever in making Liu Yan slowly feel that he was indeed getting the idea!
Liu Yan also believed more that the Buddha had really appeared!
He even praised Buddhism at court meetings and encouraged its spread.
Although the ministers in the court did not believe it, they were not in a position to point it out!
The fifth day of May is the Tianzhong Festival of Jingchao.
Liu Yan also hosted a banquet in the Linde Hall to entertain his ministers.
All officials of the third rank and above in the capital participated.
As the crown prince, Liu Zhao obviously had to participate.
Liu Yan was very happy that day and specially asked Liu Zhao to sit with him. Liu Zhao's wisdom had improved, and he wanted to let all the ministers see it.
Lest these ministers not believe it.
By the way, once again shut up those kings who want to change the crown prince!
When the ministers saw Liu Zhao, they all shook their heads in their hearts.
The reason why Liu Yan did this was to declare to the court officials that Liu Zhao was his successor!
Liu Zhao looked at the banquet of a hundred people and thought that this was a good opportunity to prove himself.
But you must know when to stop and never use too much force.
Sima Bei and Song Xian are of course here too!
Of all the kings, only King Anping and King Song came.
In the summer, Prince Anping's health improved, so he also came to participate.
The King of Song originally lived in the capital, so of course he had to participate.
The other kings were not in the capital and therefore did not participate.
Tang Dan was only a fourth-rank general of the Left Guard at that time and was not qualified to participate!
But because of his special official position, he is in charge of the palace guards, so he is also in the palace at this time, responsible for security work!
The banquet arrangement highlights the supremacy of imperial power.
Directly in front was Liu Yan's seat, on his left sat Liu Zhao, and on his right sat Queen Liu Zhi.
The seats of the other ministers were farther away from Liu Yan, with a carpeted area in the middle and dining tables placed on both sides.
Officials sat on the left and right according to their rank, with a one-meter table in front of each person.
Of course Liu Fu sat on the left, at the first table.
Taibao He Zhi sat at the first table on the right.
The other ministers took their seats according to their ranks and official positions.
"My dear ministers, today is a good day. Let's drink this glass of wine first!"
Liu Yan was in a good mood and first picked up his jade cup with a dragon pattern.
This cup is obviously different from the one used by the ministers, but the ones used by the ministers are also all exquisite white jade cups!
"Long live my emperor! Long live!"
All the ministers stood up and toasted Liu Yan.
It seems everyone can drink.
Liu Zhao hesitated for a moment.
"Have a drink too!"
Liu Yan reminded.
Liu Zhao also picked up his cup and drank it!
As soon as the drinking party started, the ministers did not hesitate to eat with relish.
Liu Zhao observed quietly and found that there seemed to be no difference between the way these ministers drank and modern people.
Some take a sip, some take just one sip!
Liu Fu was already quite old, so he could not hold his liquor well. He came before Liu Yan, supported by two eunuchs, and said, "Your Majesty!"
"Granduncle! No need to be polite!"
Liu Yan hurriedly stood up from the throne and personally came down to support Liu Fu.
It can be seen that Liu Yan respects Liu Fu very much.
The eunuch hurriedly brought Liu Fu's stool and asked Liu Fu to sit down.
"Your Majesty, this old minister is useless!"
Liu Fu was panting.
"My great-uncle's merits and virtues are immense, and I admire him. He guided the world with his teachings and brought peace to the world. Now, in his old age, he is as vigorous as a man in his thirties. I am in my forties, but I can hardly match his vigor. I am truly ashamed!"
It has to be said that Liu Yan also knows how to flatter.
Liu Zhao didn't quite understand what was said, but he just knew it was just two words: flattery.
Liu Fu, however, showed no sign of being happy. Instead, he glanced at Liu Yan and said leisurely, "Today is a solemn occasion, and I shouldn't have said these words! But my spirits are getting worse and worse, and I'm afraid I won't have the chance to speak to the emperor again, so I have to say this!"
Liu Yan felt really sad when he saw Liu Fu's expression.
This old man, who is more than 50 years older than me, is both my great-uncle and my childhood teacher.
At this time, he is the biggest supporter among his royal family.
With him here, we are more powerful than an army of 100,000.
"During the previous sacrifice to heaven, the King of Zhenbei proposed changing the crown prince. If this matter is not thoroughly resolved, it will be the biggest hidden worry of this dynasty!"
Liu Fu said this and looked at King Song.
"Granduncle, I know!"
Liu Yan knew that Liu Fu was trying to please King Song and other ministers.
"Your Majesty, please go back first. This old minister and Prince Song have a few words to say!"
"Yes, great-uncle!"
Liu Yan said this and returned to the throne.
"Shansi, come here!"
Sure enough, Liu Fu spoke and called Liu Heng by his courtesy name.
Liu Heng stood up carefully and walked up.
Most of the other ministers understood Liu Fu's character, and they came to support the emperor!
Previously, Prince Anping's sons, Prince Yiyang and Prince Anshun, had tried their best to prevent Prince Zhenbei from changing the crown prince, but they did not target Prince Song at that time.
To put it bluntly, King Liang is not qualified.
This time, Prince Anping dragged his frail body to come not only for a banquet, but also to warn Prince Song.
"Granduncle!"
Liu Heng knelt down.
"Stop kneeling, sit here!"
Liu Fu stopped him and spoke slowly.
"Yes, great-uncle!"
Liu Heng remained calm, obviously prepared in his heart. He knelt down and kowtowed three times before standing up and sitting next to Prince Anping.
"Shansi, you and Shan'an are brothers, but also ruler and subject. You should have both brotherly love and the courtesy of ruler and subject!"
Liu Fu's voice was not loud, but the hall was very quiet at that time and everyone could hear it clearly.
"Yes, great-uncle!"
"I know that the King of Zhenbei wants you to be the crown prince!" Liu Fu turned his head slowly and looked at Liu Heng.
"Granduncle, I never meant that. It was all my father's idea! I've already advised you, and you won't bring it up again!"
Because Liu Heng was adopted by the King of Zhenbei, he called Liu Shuo his father.
"That's good, that's good! Remember, you can't fight against your own family! When the Crown Prince ascends the throne, you must assist him with all your strength and never have any second thoughts!"
"Granduncle's words, I will definitely keep them in mind!"
"Swear an oath in front of your great uncle!"
Liu Fu spoke very seriously.
"Yes!"
Of course, Liu Heng had no room for refusal.
"I swear to do my utmost to assist the Crown Prince in ascending the throne. I will never have second thoughts. If I break this oath, I will be struck by lightning!"
"Very good, very good! I've told Shan Anye that as long as you assist me wholeheartedly, I'll ensure that your descendants will be prosperous and wealthy for generations to come!"
Liu Fu nodded.
"But if you have any other intentions, don't blame me for being ruthless! The royal family will kill you together!"
Liu Fu spoke slowly, but every word pierced Liu Heng's heart.
"Yes, great-uncle!"
No matter how unhappy Liu Heng was, he could only agree in a low voice.
"Go back! Eat well!"
Liu Fu didn't say anything else and just waved his hand.
Liu Heng stood up, his expression clearly unnatural.
It was extremely uncomfortable to swear a solemn oath in front of so many ministers, no matter whether it was from the heart or not.
Liu Zhao was secretly happy in his heart. This old man is pretty good!
It seems that his hope of succeeding to the throne is almost certain.
But on second thought, once you make a vow, you can always regret it.
If I want to succeed to the throne, I am afraid there are still two major problems.
One reason is that Liu Yan had so many concubines, and what if one of them gave birth to a son to compete with him.
Secondly, no matter how powerful Prince Anping is, he probably cannot stop Prince Zhenbei's army from seizing the throne.
But at least for now, the probability is not very high.