Chapter 1,151 Succession as Prime Minister

Just by looking at the lack of movement by the emperor's three guards, one could tell what the one sitting on the supreme throne was probably thinking about. Therefore, the nobles were very worried that they were being taken advantage of by others, or that someone was fishing in troubled waters and benefiting from it.

There are not many examples of the emperor taking advantage of the opportunity of revenge among the nobles to purge those he disliked. There are countless examples of other nobles taking advantage of the opportunity to commit evil acts. Many times, even if you know about the bad things among nobles, you can do nothing but swallow the sour consequences.

However, the old emperor had different ideas from most of the nobles. He stood on the high platform of the palace, overlooking the burning super-large torch in the imperial capital. He once thought that he could control everyone, so that even if they argued, they could control the scope and intensity of the struggle below a certain level. But this fire made him realize that maybe the more he suppressed, the greater the rebound would be.

At this time, it was too late to bridge the gap between the two capable subordinates. Sacrificing the bloody flag means fighting to the death, even the authority of the emperor is not qualified to interrupt.

If it were an ordinary little noble, if he couldn't stand it and sent out iron guards to pin everyone on both sides to the ground, the matter would be solved. However, if the emperor intervenes at will in the struggle between the two grand dukes, whether he is fighting for one side or both sides, it is very likely to turn into a civil war that divides the empire, or at least a serious internal conflict. Standing by and watching is the only option left.

So as an emperor, the next thing to do is to warn others. Let them not be stupidly sandwiched between two giant beasts and weaken the power of this country. Although the empire is not yet at the point where it is at the end of the day and has only one breath left, this senseless loss can still be avoided.

After making up his mind, the old emperor prepared to return to his palace. Before leaving, he looked back again. The grand duke's mansion was given to that friend by himself, but now it was burned down by another friend. That inexplicable and indistinguishable feeling may be difficult for others to understand.

In addition to the unusual atmosphere due to the fire last night, the imperial prime minister, the head of the ministers, did not appear in the palace during the regular court meeting in the palace.

In the general process of court meetings, the emperor is like a decoration. He does not care about anything and does not say anything. Everything is presided over by the prime minister. Unless there are matters that are difficult for everyone to resolve, the emperor will be asked to speak Chrysostom. But under the leadership of Duke Rizal, the powerful prime minister, this rarely happened.

Now that the powerful man was not there, the ministers who had been favored or cultivated by him did not know how to start this court meeting, so they looked at each other in confusion.

Fortunately, the old emperor was not too old to be unable to do anything. He directly announced to the ministers: "The Grand Duke of Risa resigned from the post of prime minister yesterday due to busy affairs in the territory. However, I am old and cannot bear the burden of government affairs, so A successor will be selected to take over the position of prime minister. I hope that all your ministers will continue to help me as much as in the past to promote the smooth conduct of government affairs in the empire."

Those who originally wanted to express their opinions fell silent at this time. Duke Rizal's withdrawal is undoubtedly an opportunity for the palace to reshuffle. Even for those who were politically loyal to the Grand Duke, their long-repressed or forgotten ambitions began to flourish again. Not to mention those people who were already eyeing him, how could they not take advantage of the old man's withdrawal to seek opportunities for themselves to gain the upper hand.

So everyone is waiting, waiting for the old emperor to announce who will succeed the prime minister, before deciding their next step. This is also a last resort. After all, things are so rushed and the changes are so fast. Everyone is caught off guard. If they had more time to operate, they might be able to put a suitable candidate or leader in place, which would save everyone a lot of trouble. Now I can only wait passively.

"The person who will take over the position of prime minister is Crown Prince Nawav Kazalnia."

The crown prince, who was named and stood behind the old emperor, came to his father in panic under the surprised eyes of the ministers. He half-knelt on the ground and said in a trembling voice: "Father, I am not strong enough and I am afraid I will not be able to do the job."

The old emperor Armin couldn't help it and wanted to taunt his son. But after all, he is not the kind of person who enjoys seeing people in embarrassment, and this is not a place for joking, so he can only continue to play the role of a loving father and a filial son, showing a kind expression and saying: "The empire will eventually be unified." How can you say that you are incompetent to succeed? Moreover, your performance in the past few times of supervising the country has been commendable in the eyes of the ministers. Now it is just a continuation of the experience at that time and shouldering more responsibilities. "

Knowing the character of his father, who is an emperor, the Crown Prince knew that if he continued to pretend, he might be self-defeating. Therefore, he stepped forward, knelt down half-kneeling, and said respectfully: "My lord, I sincerely obey your will, my father."

At this time, an attendant stood up holding a tray. The tray was covered with a red velvet mat and placed with the brooch surrendered by the Rizal Office yesterday. That is the left hand holding the scepter, and the right hand holding the sword are symbols of the pinnacle of civil and military officials in the contemporary empire. It's just that this attendant is still a few steps away from the crown prince, and he doesn't look like he's about to hand over the brooch.

Crown Prince Nawaf was thinking whether he should go forward to get the brooch and pin it on his collar. The old emperor spoke again at this time: "Although it is the past practice to entrust the prime minister with full power over the affairs of the empire. But there is one thing you must not do, including the palace under your leadership. If anyone violates the prohibition, I will You will take this as proof that you are unable to command so many civil servants, and consider changing the title of Crown Prince to someone else."

Although the old emperor didn't like to show his evil intentions and look at people's embarrassment. But this explicit warning still made everyone raise eyebrows. Everyone is thinking about what the old emperor's red line is. Emperor Armin did not wait for everyone's curiosity and said directly:

"The hatred between the two grand dukes, you are strictly prohibited from using any form of support or suppression to support or suppress either party. Not only military, but also political and economic actions are strictly prohibited. Whether it is you, or The fact that other people in this court are doing this only proves that your leadership is incompetent. Remember one thing, you have many younger brothers and sisters. There are many people who are willing to replace you and have the ability to replace you. Of course, you can use your position as prime minister During this period, use various means to kill all those who threaten your position. But as long as there is any one left, there is no hope of sitting on the throne of the crown prince. Unless you have the ability to get rid of me as well."

Faced with such a straightforward warning from the old emperor, Crown Prince Nawaf suddenly felt that the scepter brooch that was handed to him, symbolizing the position of prime minister, was a little hot to the touch. His unconfident eyes tilted his head slightly and glanced at the ministers in the palace. This weakness was of course noticed by these old foxes who had been in the palace for a long time, and they had other thoughts.

"By the way, I forgot to mention that your younger brothers and sisters, of course, include the Fourteenth. Don't forget him."