The Heavens: From Knowing Whether You Rule the World

Chapter 78: Sniper at the Middle Gate!

Chapter 78: Sniper at the Middle Gate! (Part )
Hall of Wende

The atmosphere was heavy, like the earth that had been dry for a long time and then finally received a rain, gloomy and melancholy.

Many people looked quietly at Chu Hong in the first row and were secretly horrified.

Some things naturally cannot be hidden from those who are interested.

What's more, the Queen Mother did not stop the spread of the news, as if she was deliberately waiting for a rebuttal.

Sitting on the throne, Zhao Zongquan glanced at his nephew implicitly, signaling him to proceed without hesitation.

The latter came with bad intentions, and the referee had to go down to fight the match. If the nephew couldn't stand it, he, as the referee, would go down himself.

Behind the curtain, Empress Dowager Cao looked coldly in the direction of Chu Hong.

After a while, Empress Dowager Cao saw that the emperor had not yet officially started the court, so she immediately reminded him, "Emperor, are all the ministers here?"

Zhao Zongquan looked at the curtains, then at the civil and military officials, "Ahem. My dear ministers, do you have anything to report?"

There was silence.

No one took the initiative to report it.

Even Qi Heng, who had always been isolated, did not make any move to submit a memorial to the emperor.

Any official with a little bit of connections knows what big thing will happen today.

Some people may have urgent matters but they secretly procrastinate.

Today, not everyone can participate.

If we really talk about it, I'm afraid the only thing that can be compared to it is the abdication by Lord Fu and Lord Han many years ago.

However, compared to that time when many cabinet ministers forced the emperor to abdicate together and the civil and military officials collectively acquiesced, this time it was a one-on-one situation.

It's hard to say which one is more difficult.

silence.

Inexplicably quiet.

Chu Hong stood quietly in the first row, with no intention of taking the initiative to make a report or to refute.

"Oh! Did Lord Chu make any report?"

The Queen Mother took the initiative to ask the question, her tone was flat and it was impossible to tell whether she was happy or angry.

"I submitted a memorial yesterday, but I don't know whether the Madam has read it. Today, I have also prepared a draft. If the Madam wants me to submit it, I will submit it. If the Madam does not want me to submit it, I will not submit it."

Chu Hong's breath was calm, and his words were inexplicably indifferent, without any of the nervousness of making a report.

"Oh?" Empress Dowager Cao raised her eyebrows slightly behind the curtain. "I have also read Chu Qing's memorial and am a little confused. Can you explain it to me?"

"If your Majesty is not afraid to spend time, then I am willing to tell you."

Chu Hong's eyes narrowed, and he felt like drinking tea before the debate. "I am a little thirsty. Excuse me, could you please give me a cup of tea, Madam?"

This statement is actually very presumptuous and not in line with etiquette.

However, even Qi Heng, who always abided by the rules, and those old censors who had been in office for many years were sensible enough not to stand up and point out the mistakes.

"Okay, come here, please take a seat!"

The Queen Mother was not in a hurry either. She felt inexplicably calm and had become much more patient.

As soon as the Queen Mother said this, Zhao Zongquan immediately signaled his confidant to serve tea.

He didn't dare let his nephew drink the Queen Mother's tea.

At this time, two eunuchs in red and purple robes also carried chairs to Chu Hong's position.

Chu Hong held the tea and pointed to the center of the hall, "Put it there."

The two eunuchs were unsure and lifted their chairs while looking towards the curtain.

Zhao Zongquan immediately stood up from the throne and bowed slightly towards the curtain, "Madam, since you want to answer questions, why don't we move it to the center so that you don't have to turn around and can see Hong'er clearly."

"Can!"

Seeing that the empress dowager agreed, Zhao Zongquan sat back on the throne.

Chu Hong also took a sip of the tea, handed the cup to the two eunuchs who were placing the chairs, and sat down upright.

"Whatever your Majesty wants to ask, I will answer it with all my knowledge."

Many people held their breath and the atmosphere was a bit depressing.

This kind of confrontation between the monarch and his subjects is very rare.

"What is a ruler? What is a subject?"

The Queen Mother asked the first question, her tone unclear.

"The emperor is the ruler, and the rest are the ministers."

Chu Hong thought about it carefully and answered cautiously.

He had been particularly careful in his letter of "Public Security Memorial" and had proactively included a huge flaw in the topic.

But, he was not sure whether the Queen Mother would step on it.

If the Queen Mother steps on him, he will win.

If the Queen Mother doesn't step on him, he can only guarantee that he won't lose.

Queen Mother Cao then asked, "Can the Queen Mother be your king?"

"To the Emperor, the Empress Dowager is a minister."

Chu Hong frowned slightly, realizing that Queen Mother Cao wanted to use the righteousness between the monarch and his subjects to pressure him.

Before Chu Hong could think too much, Empress Dowager Cao asked, "Lord Chu, can the Empress Dowager be your king?"

Repeated questions and answers.

"The harem cannot interfere in government affairs."

Chu Hong did not give a clear answer.

If the Queen Mother asked the emperor and his subjects three times, he would have no choice but to accept it.

At worst, you'll just be a little inferior.

There is no way, the Queen Mother is the king, and this is a fact.

To deny it is just sophistry.

Sophistry may win, but it is impossible to convince the majority.

This time it must be won fairly.

Queen Mother Cao smiled behind the curtain and was not in a hurry to discuss the issue of monarch and ministers.

She knew very well that the relationship between the ruler and his subjects was not difficult to refute.

When it comes to a real debate, no one can beat these writers with their eloquence.

However, one-sided questioning is different!
"Can the Queen Mother be your king?"

Three questions.

"For you!"

Three answers.

"Mr. Chu is well-versed in history books. Can you tell me who is the most virtuous empress dowager in the three generations since the founding of China?"

Queen Mother Cao got a satisfactory answer and immediately asked other questions.

This was the flaw she found. Chu Hong's article not only talked about the emperor, but also focused more on the empress dowagers of all dynasties.

In that article, Chu Hong slandered Empress Dowager Dou, the virtuous queen of the Han Dynasty.

It is acknowledged that Empress Dowager Dou was a great sage.

She wanted to see if she could refute such slander against the Empress Dowager.
If not, then she would have won most of the argument this time.

No matter who Chu Hong said was the virtuous empress dowager, she would compare this virtuous empress dowager with Empress Dowager Dou, and then use the things that Chu Hong had done to belittle Empress Dowager Dou to refute and denounce the Grand Secretary of Wenyuan Pavilion.

With the suppression from the emperor and his ministers, is there anything that can be said about this matter?
Sophistry is useless before there is clear suppression from the ruler and his subjects.

This is also the reason why she is so persistent in asking the three questions to the ruler and his subjects.

It is to lay the foundation for Empress Dowager Dou's affairs.

This is a one-sided question, and she doesn't believe that she can't win.

Empress Dowager Dou’s husband was Emperor Wen of Han, her son was Emperor Jing of Han, and her grandson was Emperor Wu of Han.

The reputation of a wise man throughout the ages is well deserved!
Empress Dowager Cao was happy, and Chu Hong was happy too.

Empress Dowager Dou, this is the loophole he deliberately left.

Sure enough, the clever Queen Mother Cao discovered this flaw.

Chu Hong's eyes lit up slightly. It seemed that the Queen Mother was going to make use of Queen Mother Dou to scold him as a cabinet minister and cause great damage to the prestige of the New Emperor's Party?

Steady!

It’s no wonder that he specially emphasized the deeds of Empress Dowager Dou!

Chu Hong immediately pretended to think deeply, and slowly answered: "Virtuous or not, it's just a matter of one thought. From ancient times to now, the most virtuous empress dowager should be Empress Dowager Dou of Emperor Xiaowen. Empress Dowager Dou's virtue and Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing's governance have been praised by all later generations."

Behind the curtain, Empress Dowager Cao was overjoyed, but Empress Dowager Dou was the target of Chu Hong's derogatory remarks.

She thought Chu Hong would give other examples, but she didn't expect him to directly praise the person who had been heavily criticized in the memorial?

"Empress Dowager Dou? But you used wild and perverse words in your memorial to the emperor, accusing her of being too strong. Why did Mr. Chu say two different things?"

Without waiting for Chu Hong to answer, Empress Dowager Cao's tone became a little harsher, "Are you using the disparagement of Empress Dowager Dou to disparage Empress Dowager Mingsu? Such a virtuous empress dowager is being attacked in this way. Who is the virtuous empress dowager in your mind?"

Empress Dowager Cao naturally knew that Empress Dowager Dou's words were meant to disparage her.

However, this kind of thing is naturally not easy to talk about.

Fortunately, the Empress Dowager Liu during the reign of the previous Emperor Zhao Zhen was also a strong one. Saying that Empress Dowager Dou was strong is a derogatory term for Empress Dowager Mingsu, and there is nothing wrong with that.

After all, she was the first empress dowager who served as regent in the Zhou Dynasty. She was so powerful that Renzong had to fight for power for more than ten years before his death.

Everyone in the court knew the truth, but they kept silent.

It is certainly not a good idea to talk about Empress Dowager Mingsu in this way, but Empress Dowager Mingsu was regent at the time and refused to give up power, so her reputation during the reign of Emperor Zhao Zhen was not very good.

Everyone present here is a beneficiary of the downfall of Empress Dowager Mingsu.

In this case, it’s okay to talk about it.

"A virtuous queen mother? Yao's mother was from the Youxiong clan, Shun's mother and Yu's mother were from the Youshen clan, and Tang's mother was from the Yousuo clan."

After the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, Empress Dowager Dou and Wei Zifu were basically the pinnacle of empress dowagers.

Chu Hong hoped to use Empress Dowager Dou's words, so naturally he would not mention the other virtuous empress dowagers three generations or less.

In this case, we can naturally only talk about more than three generations.

No answer.

"I'm asking about the three generations or less!"

The Queen Mother snorted coldly and forcefully. She wanted Chu Hong to say with his own words that Queen Mother Dou was a virtuous Queen Mother.

Or maybe the virtuous Queen Mother favored by Chu Hong was not as good as Queen Mother Dou.

"I have already said in my memorial that Empress Dowager Dou three generations later can be called a virtuous empress dowager."

Chu Hong guessed what the Queen Mother was thinking, but he was not in a hurry and simply magnified the flaw.

As Chu Hong expected, Empress Dowager Cao's tone changed slightly, and she was obviously pleased. "Since you also think Empress Dowager Dou is a virtuous empress dowager, why do you blame her for being unreasonable and not understanding people's livelihood? Is this an allusion to Empress Dowager Mingsu?"

Chu Hong didn't answer for a long time and just sat there quietly.

Queen Mother Cao immediately shouted angrily, "Why don't you reply?"

In fact, she was a little happy in her heart, because Chu Hong was obviously stumped by the question.

Chu Hong replied with disdain, "This statement is not worth refuting!"

The disdainful look in Empress Dowager Cao's eyes was like being asked a question, but she was trying to hold on, and immediately scolded again, "Not worth refuting, or is there nothing to refute?"

"Some people did not understand my memorial, and some people also did not understand it. Now, isn't it like playing the lute to a cow? Therefore, it is not worth refuting."

Chu Hong narrowed his calm eyes slightly. The Queen Mother finally fell into the trap!

What he wanted was the Queen Mother's questioning!

Been waiting for this thing!

"What a great learning, there is a purpose, you must refute it."

Queen Mother Cao was aggressive and was ready to force Chu Hong into a position where he could not defend himself.

In this case, this debate would be her official victory, and the prestige of the New Imperial Party would be greatly reduced.

Unexpectedly
"Empress Dowager Dou's husband was Emperor Wen, and she gave birth to Emperor Jing, which led to the reign of Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing, and was also the first priority of the reign of Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing. When Emperor Wen was alive, Empress Dowager Dou was gentle and virtuous, praised by everyone, and she was a queen who would be remembered for generations.

However, when Emperor Wen passed away, Empress Dowager Dou was no longer gentle and kind. She became regent and treated Emperor Jing as nothing. She resolutely implemented Emperor Wen's rule. Little did she know that after decades of precipitation, the princes of the Han Dynasty had already become extraordinary. They were all eager to try and keep their eyes on the position of the divine weapon. "

Chu Hong began to tell the story slowly, and Empress Dowager Cao's expression became worse and worse.

It turns out that it’s not that there is no rebuttal, it’s really not worth refuting.

And
She suddenly discovered that her experiences and those of Empress Dowager Dou seemed unusually similar.

In the memorial, Chu Hong did not emphasize the similarities between the Empress Dowager, but instead said that Renzong was similar to Emperor Jing, and Emperor Xin was similar to Emperor Wu.

The similarity was a bit forced, and the Queen Mother did not quite approve of it.

As a result, when she talked about the resemblance to the Queen Mother, she found that it was true.

Empress Dowager Dou succeeded Emperor Wen and succeeded Emperor Jing.

She succeeded Emperor Renzong and became the successor to the new emperor.

The same gentleness, the same regent.

In fact, Renzong was more like Emperor Wen.

The new emperor is more like Emperor Jing.

Zhao Ceying is the one who is more like Emperor Wu.

Three generations of the same family...

Empress Dowager Cao's complexion became increasingly worse.

just
It really looks like it!

Emperor Wen, Emperor Jing, and Emperor Wu.