NOVEL NEXT Chapter 7 - Power of the Court! Calling a Deer a Horse!
Chapter 7 Power of the Court! Calling a Deer a Horse!
As the voice trailed off.
For a moment inside the Tai Ji Hall.
The entire hall fell silent and not a single sound could be heard.
The civil and military officials in the court were shocked, dumbfounded, and raised their heads to look at Gu Changsheng, who sat calmly on the dragon throne.
Even the left prime minister, the right prime minister, and the empress dowager couldn’t help but widen their eyes in shock as their pupils slightly contracted, staring fixedly at Gu Changsheng.
The new emperor had ascended the throne, intending to create the Royal Shadow Guards and make a grand move.
They naturally understood this.
But the power of these Royal Shadow Guards was simply too great!
The emperor’s special authorization allowed them to act first and report later.
They would monitor the entire realm, gather intelligence, and eliminate all corrupt officials, traitors, demons, and evil cultivators within the Zhou Dynasty.
This meant that once the Royal Shadow Guards were established, a blade would hang over the heads of the civil and military officials, with the possibility of their heads falling at any moment.
At that time, it would be the situation where the emperor orders his ministers to die, and they would have no choice but to obey.
In an instant, all the officials realized this, and their faces showed panic, not knowing what to do.
“His Majesty’s proposal is quite good. If the Royal Shadow Guards is to be established, I will fully support it.”
At this moment, the Empress Dowager’s eyes gleamed with a rare smile as she voiced her approval of Gu Changsheng’s proposal.
With these words, the court was in an uproar.
The Empress Dowager’s faction among the civil and military officials could no longer sit still.
The emperor wanted to create the Royal Shadow Guards.
The Empress Dowager should have been firmly opposed, so why was she stepping forward in support?
Especially the Minister of Revenue, Li Yang, whose heart instantly filled with fear upon hearing the Empress Dowager’s words.
Today, he had completely offended the new emperor in court.
If the Royal Shadow Guards were established, the emperor would certainly settle the score with him first.
By then, he feared that he would lose his head.
The Empress Dowager squinted her eyes, seeing the panicked expressions of the officials, but she did not offer any explanation.
The Royal Shadow Guards would monitor the realm, with the emperor’s special authorization allowing them to act first and report later.
They would eliminate all corrupt officials, traitors, demons, and evil cultivators within the Zhou Dynasty, wielding immense power.
But it all depended on who controlled the Royal Shadow Guards in the end.
In the Empress Dowager’s view, if Gu Changsheng wanted to establish the Jinyiwei, he would naturally need many powerful figures to join.
But Gu Changsheng had a shallow foundation, with neither forces nor strong individuals under his command.
In this case, who would be inserted into the Royal Shadow Guards would be up to her.
By that time, wouldn’t the Royal Shadow Guards fall into her hands?
Therefore, the Empress Dowager voiced her support for Gu Changsheng’s creation of the Royal Shadow Guards.
None of the court officials were fools. At first, they were simply shocked by Gu Changsheng and hadn’t reacted.
But after seeing the Empress Dowager’s move, these astute ministers quickly realized that things were not as simple as they seemed.
The new emperor was creating the Royal Shadow Guards, but he had no powerful figures under his command.
In the end, wouldn’t the Royal Shadow Guards be under the control of the Empress Dowager?
The new emperor is essentially digging his own grave.
Seeing the situation in court,
Xue Wuyan, the Left Prime Minister of the Zhou Dynasty, remained expressionless, taking a deep breath, feeling somewhat helpless.
He could naturally see that Gu Changsheng’s intention in creating the Royal Shadow Guards was to deal with the Empress Dowager and regain power.
But in the end, it was too hasty.
The court was filled with the Empress Dowager’s people.
The new emperor’s creation of the Royal Shadow Guards was nothing short of giving the Empress Dowager a great gift.
It seemed, faced with the Empress Dowager, who held supreme power, the new emperor had no chance of winning, destined for failure.
However, at this moment, Gu Changsheng wasn’t panicked at all. He had long seen through the Empress Dowager’s schemes and found it somewhat amusing.
He had three thousand Royal Shadow Guards under his command and didn’t need to recruit strong individuals from the Zhou Dynasty.
In this way, the Empress Dowager’s attempt to interfere with the Royal Shadow Guards was nothing but a foolish dream.
[Ding! Host has created the Royal Shadow Guards, monitoring the realm and changing the plot, earning 10,000 plot points!]
At this moment, the system notification sounded.
Gu Changsheng’s lips curled into a smile, his mood brightened.
Not bad.
I have made a handsome profit of plot points.
Moreover, I smoothly established the Royal Shadow Guards in the open.
The Empress Dowager schemed so much, but she would never have guessed that I already have three thousand Royal Shadow Guards in my hands.
Seeing the smile on Gu Changsheng’s face, the Empress Dowager’s expression remained indifferent, but she sneered inwardly.
Did he think he could create the Royal Shadow Guards and escape her control? Impossible.
Today, the new emperor indeed stole the limelight.
It seems like I will have to step in and suppress Gu Changsheng’s growing prestige and let Gu Changsheng see who truly has power in the Zhou Dynasty.
The Empress Dowager’s expression turned cold, her eyes faint as she glanced at the Minister of Revenue, Li Yang.
Seeing the Empress Dowager’s look, Li Yang nodded slightly, immediately understanding something. He stepped forward from the ranks, bowing respectfully to Gu Changsheng on the dragon throne, and said with a respectful expression:
“Today, Your Majesty has ascended the throne.”
“This old minister has prepared a generous gift to present to Your Majesty.”
Hearing this, the civil and military officials were filled with confusion, looking at Li Yang in astonishment.
What’s happening?
Is Li Yang trying to show goodwill to the emperor?
“Oh! I wonder what this generous gift is that the Minister of Revenue speaks of. I’m rather curious.”
Gu Changsheng’s lips curled into a smile as he feigned curiosity.
He was familiar with the plot.
He naturally knew what would happen next.
In the original plot, a major event would soon take place in court.
Li Yang, the Minister of Revenue, would openly reverse right and wrong, calling a deer a horse.
The emperor would lose face, being manipulated by the civil and military officials and the Empress Dowager.
But now, he was ready to use this opportunity to eliminate the Minister of Revenue, so he didn’t mind playing along.
“Your Majesty, I have gone to great lengths to find a Red Flame Dragon Horse, which contains the bloodline of a True Dragon, from the wilderness.”
“The Red Flame Dragon Horse, even as a young one, possesses the cultivation of a King realm. When fully grown, it is comparable to a mighty expert and can travel a million miles in a day. It is a rare mount in this world.”
“Today, I present this Red Flame Dragon Horse to Your Majesty!”
Li Yang sneered with a meaningful expression.
As soon as he spoke!
The civil and military officials couldn’t help but gasp in shock.
The True Dragon was the most powerful creature in the Shen Zhou.
Even a King wouldn’t dare to easily provoke a True Dragon.
And the Red Flame Dragon Horse, containing a trace of the True Dragon’s bloodline, could compare to a mighty expert when fully grown and travel a million miles in a day, making it an extremely rare and precious beast.
For Li Yang to offer such a treasure to please the new emperor was truly extravagant.
But soon, when the so-called Red Flame Dragon Horse appeared in the court,
The civil and military officials’ faces changed, their eyes wide with shock, unable to recover for a long time.
This was a Red Flame Dragon Horse?
The creature before them had antlers on its head, brown fur covered with red plum blossom-like spots.
How can this be the Red Flame Dragon Horse that supposedly contains the bloodline of a True Dragon? It’s clearly an ordinary sika deer.
Li Yang had audaciously committed the crime of deceiving the emperor.
According to the laws of the Zhou Dynasty, deceiving the emperor was a crime punishable by death for the entire family.
Didn’t Li Yang know the consequences of his actions?
“Minister of Revenue, are you certain that this creature is the Red Flame Dragon Horse and not just an ordinary deer?”
Left Prime Minister Xue Wuyan frowned, his gaze cold as he glanced at Li Yang, immediately understanding his intentions.
He had initially thought that Li Yang was showing goodwill to the emperor.
But it turned out that his intentions were sinister, aiming to humiliate the emperor in court.
“With antlers and spots like plum blossoms.”
“Minister of Revenue, this is no Red Flame Dragon Horse with a True Dragon’s bloodline, but clearly an ordinary sika deer. Are you perhaps blind in your old age?”
“…”
As the Left Prime Minister spoke, many other officials chimed in.
But the civil and military officials were no fools and quickly realized that this situation wasn’t as simple as it seemed.
Sure enough, in the next moment, Li Yang confidently patted his chest and said with conviction:
“This old minister has gone through great pains to find this Red Flame Dragon Horse from the wilderness. How could it possibly be an ordinary sika deer?”
At this point, the civil and military officials were no fools.
They quickly realized that a coup was taking place. But the smart ones, like Xue Wuyan, already understood that this matter was not so simple. They were treading on very thin ice!
It’s Li Yang, the Minister of Revenue.
This is lying with open eyes.
Openly reversing black and white in the court, calling a deer a horse, making your majesty lose face.
If there is no Empress Dowager’s signal behind this.
How dare Li Yang, the Minister of Revenue, do this.
Even if some old ministers were angry and want to defend your majesty.
But due to the Empress Dowager’s power, they dare not stand up to speak for Gu Changsheng.
This time, your majesty is in trouble.
Looking at the scene in the court.
Gu Changsheng had no expression on his face, his face was very calm, without a ripple.
For what was happening now. He had anticipated this and had come up with a plan.
However, Gu Changsheng did not immediately launch an attack to eliminate the Minister of Revenue Li Yang.
He wanted to see if there would be any ministers among the civil and military officials in the court who would stand up and speak for him, or if they were all traitors.
For a moment there was dead silence in the Tai Ji Hall.