Five days later, a court meeting was convened again within the Purple Extreme City.
Although Lu Chen’s injuries hadn’t fully healed, he still donned his court attire early in the morning, left the Chongde Lane, and hastened northwards along the Vermilion Bird Street towards the Purple Extreme City.
On the way, Lu Chen could discern a faint scent of blood in the surrounding air.
Glancing around, he could see traces of battles that had occurred intermittently.
In the recent days, the enigmatic Xuanjia troops had been repeatedly deployed, much like when the Empress Dowager initially came into power. The Xuanjia soldiers were frequently visiting the homes of court officials.
Grand Academicians of the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion, Grand Academicians of the Literary Repository, Ministers of the Ministry of Personnel, Ministers of the Ministry of Revenue, Left Attendants of the Ministry of Personnel, Commanders of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Left Attendants of the Engineering Department of the Imperial Guards, Principals of the Ministry of Justice, Principals of the Ministry of Revenue, and Attendants of the Ministry of Personnel…
From high-ranking officials to low-ranking officials, around thirty to forty court officials and their families were apprehended and awaiting their fate in the dungeons.
The reason for their arrest by the court was simple:
In the Empress Dowager’s palace, which had been categorized as being “under the influence of evil spirits,” the Black Tortoise Guard had discovered numerous letters and ledgers that contained extremely seditious content. These items were more or less related to the arrested officials.
And their connections were direct.
As a result, the first round of political cleansing began after the Empress Dowager’s fall from power.
Astute individuals could easily see that most of the apprehended court officials were those closest to the Empress Dowager, her staunchest supporters.
They were either relatives or in-laws of the Zhao family, or they had close relations with families and sects closely connected to the Zhao family, or they were small clans closely aligned with the Zhao family.
Indeed, as the saying goes, when one rises to power, even their chickens and dogs will ascend to heaven.
After the Empress Dowager assumed power, she elevated nearly everyone closely linked to the Zhao family to prominent positions, ensuring her loyalists occupied key governmental posts and firmly controlled the court’s policies.
Of course, for the court to function properly, capable individuals were needed to actually carry out the work. This was the foundation of an effective government.
However, not all of the Empress Dowager’s loyalists were exceptional talents. In fact, very few of them possessed the aptitude for governance.
Hence, not everyone within the court was part of the Empress Dowager’s faction.
With the dispatch of official documents bearing the imperial seal, the Armed Forces under the Empress Dowager’s control – the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Imperial Guards, and other armed units – were completely defeated by the Black Tortoise Guard. As a result, the entire city of Luo Jing had fallen into the hands of those who could control the Black Tortoise Guard.
The political landscape of Luo Jing had undergone a complete transformation!
Whether the Empress Dowager was truly under the influence of evil spirits no longer mattered. Regardless of the truth, the interest group led by her was bound to be systematically uprooted by the new governing power.
After the old guard waned, a new order was bound to emerge.
The key to this new order was the Cangming Holy King, who now held absolute control over Luo Jing.
His stance would determine the future trajectory of Luo Jing, and perhaps even the entire Great Xia.
However, at this juncture, neither the influential figures within the court nor the powerful clans could predict the Holy King’s current stance, as they had yet to interact with him.
After all, there was no precedent for a Holy King to intervene in secular matters of imperial power.
No one knew how he had silently brought his army of tens of thousands to the Purple Extreme City, crushing the power of the Empress Dowager’s faction, nor did they know his intentions.
Was it because he disliked the actions of the Empress Dowager’s faction and aimed to rectify them? Or was the Cangming Holy King already an enemy of the Empress Dowager before he was selected by the Saint Relic? Alternatively, did he have his sights set on the Empress’s exquisite beauty, willing to help her regain power in exchange for her favor?
Again,