Volume 1 I Want to Be an Emperor Chapter 23 Choosing a Concubine and Establishing an Empress

  Liu Xuan sorted out the thoughts in his mind, and at the same time, he gathered all the dragon energy that was scattered around him into his body. With great difficulty, he condensed a wisp of smoke-like energy around the dragon egg - this was what was meant by "warming up" the dragon egg. The dragon energy surrounding the egg was crucial; if it was too thin, it would take even longer to incubate the young dragon, and there was even a possibility that it might never make it through this stage.

  If the dragon energy is strong, this stage will naturally pass more quickly, so it's not that Liu Xuan can only wait anxiously, he still needs to work hard at his cultivation in order to ensure that he passes through this awkward stage in the shortest time possible.

  It was already morning, and the morning light shone through the window onto Liu Xuan's body, making him feel slightly warm. However, when he got up to open the window, a gust of cold wind like a knife reminded him that winter was approaching.

  Getting up, washing and dressing, all these things didn't require him to exert himself, the palace maids around him were very skilled in handling these matters, Liu Xuan only needed to act as a large doll that people could manipulate at will, until the palace maids dispersed to both sides, all these trivial matters were also completely finished.

  The style of the clothes on his body didn't change much, the biggest change was the crown on his head, a row of pearl curtains hanging in front of his forehead, although it didn't block his line of sight, but still made Liu Xuan feel a bit uncomfortable - having something like this on top of his head, if he felt comfortable, that would be strange.

  Alas, this is the symbol of the emperor, and Liu Xuan, even if he wants to make changes, it's not the right time now - he has been on the throne for less than a day, with no achievements, and the ministers in the court are also waiting to see what happens. Even though there are a few who are willing to assist him, it is based on the great righteousness of 'Han House', rather than because they truly recognize him as a wise and capable emperor.

  "But before becoming Ming Jun, we need to quietly build up our own power!"

  Dong Zhuo's problem is not difficult to solve, even if Liu Xuan doesn't have any soldiers or horses. Wanting to deal with Dong Zhuo isn't a big deal - although Dong Zhuo has strong troops and horses, the more powerful he becomes, the easier it is to control him.

  The more powerful the force, the more factions will be under his command. When that happens, as soon as Dong Zhuo dies, the massive forces under him will immediately disintegrate, and he only needs to make some concessions to those people who will not insist on avenging Dong Zhuo, and even if they are slightly promised benefits, these people can still be used by Liu Xuan.

  As an emperor, it's not difficult to kill Dong Zhuo. Even if Dong Zhuo is being cautious and has soldiers guarding him when he enters or exits, can there still be soldiers and horses guarding him during the court meetings?

  Liu Xuan was confident that with his own strength, he could behead Dong Zhuo in the palace at any time and place, even if Lu Bu protected him - let alone whether Lu Bu would protect Dong Zhuo or not.

  As soon as he left the bedroom, Cao Guo hurriedly approached him: "Your Majesty, are you still discussing matters in the Deyang Hall today?"

  In the early days of the Han Dynasty, Chang'an was the capital, and later it was moved to Luoyang (also because of the Five Elements theory, Luoyang was changed to Luoyang). At first, Nan Gong was also used as a place for policy discussion. Later, Emperor Ling was greedy for pleasure and changed the policy discussion venue to Bei Gong De Yang Hall. Currently, all officials are accustomed to discussing matters in De Yang Hall, and Liu Xuan is not interested in running from north to south every day, so he continued according to this habit.

  "Besides, the Luoyang Imperial Palace won't be usable for much longer either!"

  This year is Zhongping 6th year, because of the new emperor's accession to the throne, so it needs to change the era name.

  Liu Bian ascended to the throne and changed it immediately. However, in less than half a year, he changed it several times, as if it were a farce.

  This time Liu Xuan ascended to the throne, he did not want his reign title to be changed again after he came to power - he even hoped that his reign would last forever like the Anno Domini era.

  However, he knew that this matter couldn't be rushed at the moment. At least for now, it wasn't up to him to make decisions about changing the era. As he was walking towards the Deyang Hall, an old eunuch with a hunched back approached him.

  Someone on both sides was about to step forward and intercept, but Liu Xuan saw at a glance that the person was Zhang Rang, who had been saved by himself, so he waved his hand to dismiss those on both sides and let Zhang Rang come forward.

  In this great chaos, the ten eunuchs who held the reins of power were killed off one by one. Zhang Rang was also supposed to be among them, but he was spared thanks to Liu Xuan's intervention.

  Later, a minister in the imperial court suggested that Zhang Rang be arrested and imprisoned, but was stopped by Liu Xuan. In addition, when the officials killed the Ten Eunuchs, they used cruel methods to humiliate the royal family. Liu Xuan, as the Prince of Liang, guaranteed that he would report to the Emperor and strip Zhang Rang of his marquis title, demoting him to a middle-ranking eunuch, no longer holding significant power. Only then did the officials reluctantly agree to this arrangement.

  For Zhang Rang, although all the glory is gone, he has preserved a life, which is more important than anything else. Moreover, Liu Xuan did not send anyone to confiscate the wealth that Zhang Rang had accumulated over the years, so Zhang Rang was also very satisfied with this result, and thought that in the future, he would become a rich man and enjoy his later years.

  At that time, Zhang Rang still thought he would follow Emperor Xian of Han out of the capital, but did not expect this matter to change so wonderfully. In less than a month, Emperor Huai of Jin ascended to the throne, and Zhang Rang floated up again and returned to the center of power in the Han Dynasty.

  Fortunately, he was clear-headed and knew that his reputation had been tarnished. The civil and military officials hated him so much that they wanted to flay him alive. At this time, the only one he could rely on was Liu Xuan. Therefore, he tried every means to curry favor with Liu Xuan. On the first day of his ascension to the throne, Zhang Rang rushed around before dawn, relying on his connections and relationships from the past, and learned about many things. He hurried over to report to Liu Xuan.

  "The officials discussed and changed the era to Yonghan!" In fact, Zhang Rang could only hear about it for a limited time, but he had to show his attitude, that he was still useful, and could do things for the new emperor. Otherwise, he really had no place to stand. He didn't think that without Liu Xuan's protection, he could still survive. At this time, if he left the palace alone, he would probably become a puddle of flesh before even leaving the city.

  "Forever and ever?" Liu Xuan raised an eyebrow: "So-so!"

  Zhang Rang smiled wryly at this topic, which he didn't dare to bring up. The emperor thought it was ordinary, but the ministers had already made a decision, and they couldn't change it just because of the new ruler's words, could they?

  "Moreover, Your Majesty is already of age and the position of Empress is vacant. The selection of consorts should be expedited!"

  At this point, Zhang Rang couldn't help but glance at Liu Xuan with curiosity, thinking that the new emperor must have some unspoken secret. To say that he originally lived a relatively simple life, but even in simplicity, he was still an imperial prince, and there was no shortage of beautiful young palace maids by his side. If he spoke up, which of these palace maids would not obey?

  The palace maid is not stupid, entering the imperial palace is not only for a stable life and livelihood but also to fly high one day and become a phoenix. The emperor has high vision, and there are no shortage of beautiful women around him, so the prince is the object of desire for most palace maids.

  Even if one cannot ascend to the throne, having a king's position is still possible. If becoming a queen consort is not feasible, being favored by an imperial prince and taken into his chambers would also be a life of luxury and comfort, a dream shared by many palace maidens.

  This eldest prince unexpectedly kept himself clean and upright, let alone taking a certain palace maid into his chambers, even on ordinary days he couldn't be bothered to take more than a glance at them, as if these girls didn't exist.

  So much so that ordinary people think he is abnormal, and even those who claim to be Confucian scholars are curious: "Can this guy really have a problem?"

  At that time, Liu Xuan was just a prince and didn't receive much attention. What he did was his own business, and no one paid any mind! But now it's different. After Liu Xuan ascended to the throne, if we say that even the consorts of the king still don't have a turn to speak, then this matter of the empress is related to the succession of the imperial family, and even affects the changes in the court's power dynamics. They can't help but be anxious about it. So as soon as Liu Xuan ascended to the throne, everyone immediately realized the importance of this matter and hastily began discussing it.

  What specific conclusion was reached, Zhang Rang did not hear, but Liu Xuan Yi saw the group of officials in the Deyang Hall, and they didn't say a few words before the officials immediately turned the topic to the selection of the empress.

  "This matter concerns the imperial bloodline succession, Your Majesty must make an early decision!"

  These words seemed to be for the good of the Liu family, but the next sentence revealed its true intention: "Zheng Shilang has a virtuous daughter who can enter the palace as a concubine..."

  Liu Xuan sat on the throne, his expression unchanged. Beside him, Zhang Rang leaned in and whispered, "Zheng Shilang is Zheng Tai, who was originally under the command of the Grand General to assist with governance. This time it should be a plot by the original Grand General's faction, recommending his daughter as a concubine to stabilize his own power."

  He nodded slightly, secretly delighted: "This Zhang indeed has no fault, with this person by his side, the forces in the imperial court are now much clearer!"

  Liu Xuan has always been low-key, and the consequence is that he is very unfamiliar with the imperial court. At present, he only knows that Dong Zhuo has his own system, and his power is the heaviest.

  There is also a group of old ministers who are loyal to the Han house, but there are also differences among them - Wang Yun and Yang Bi attach great importance to their own interests, they will only be loyal to the emperor when their own interests are guaranteed; while Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun are the kind of ministers who put national interests above everything.

  Apart from this, there are the remnants of the Grand General's faction, those who were originally at odds with the Grand General, the neutral faction that doesn't take sides, and the wall grass faction that leans towards whichever side is stronger.

  Liu Xuan was not clear about these things, but Zhang Rang was very clear. With him by his side, Liu Xuan could quickly understand the situation in the court and determine which people could be won over and which ones must be eliminated from the imperial court.

  "Have you heard of Zheng Tai's daughter?"

  Zhang Rang thought for a moment and immediately said: "He has always had a good reputation, but I have never heard any rumors about his appearance being beautiful!"

  Liu Xuan nodded, not saying anything. The person who spoke up below saw that the emperor did not respond and knew that the emperor was not interested in his proposal. However, he still did not give up: "This matter is related to the rise and fall of the Han dynasty and the country's ancestral temple. I hope Your Majesty will consider it carefully!"

  "These guys nowadays know how to use state power to bully people?"

  Liu Xuan cursed silently for a few moments, then saw several people come forward to speak, all of whom were talking about the matter of selecting a consort. The people they recommended were varied and numerous, but upon careful analysis, it was immediately apparent that the women these people were recommending were all daughters of either their own faction or close friends. Even if such women were truly sent into the palace, Liu Xuan thought to himself that he would not be pleased.

  He looked around, suddenly his eyes lit up, and he said: "I've heard that the Cai family has a virtuous daughter with great talent and reputation. I've long been aware of this, she can be made the Empress."

  As soon as these words came out, all the people in the hall turned their heads and looked at the Minister Cai Yong who had been silent and pretending to be a statue.

  In the name of Cai Jia's sister, come at me!