Chapter 927: Please Write a Manifesto of Self-Reprimand, Your Highness <<<

Manifesto of Self-Recrimination!

As its name suggests, a self-incrimination edict is a document used by an individual to confess their own wrongdoing.
To put it plainly, it's a top-tier confession and letter of apology.
The problem is that since it's an imperial edict, only the emperor could issue it.
And the emperor, as the supreme leader of the entire national political system in feudal times, having a hereditary rule where power is passed down within the family, the whole world and all its people belong to the emperor. Could he possibly be wrong?
The emperor must at all times maintain the image of being eternally correct, never wrong, and always sacred.
Otherwise, once the image collapses, the emperor will have one more nickname: a foolish ruler.
But once a self-denunciation was issued, the emperor himself admitted that he was an incompetent ruler.
Therefore, looking back on the entire history of China, there have only been a few emperors who truly issued an imperial edict of self-reproach.
And they almost all wrote confessions in a single case.
The national regime faced internal and external troubles, and was about to perish.
At such times, in order to win over the hearts and minds of the people, and even more so to solidify the cohesion of his civil and military officials around him, making them more willing to die for him, an emperor would write a self-incriminating edict.
I know I didn't do a good job in the past, and I made a lot of mistakes. Now I realize that was wrong, and I apologize to the whole world. Please continue to work hard for me.
And almost none of the emperors who wrote self-incriminating edicts had a good ending.
So this thing, its symbolic meaning far outweighs its practical significance.
Its symbolic significance lies in destroying the emperor's sanctity.
Right now, Li Chen is the crown prince of the Qin Empire and has the power to act as regent. Therefore, he can issue an imperial decree for self-reproach.
And the purpose of this self-incrimination was to ruin his chances of ascending the throne.
How can such a prince, who admits to his incompetence and makes constant mistakes even while he is still a crown prince, possibly become a qualified emperor?

So when Li Yinhǔ voiced his demands, the already silent Taihe Hall grew even more eerily quiet.
The place was packed with people, yet there wasn't a single sound.
The entire majestic Taihe Hall, usually filled with solemnity, now seemed to carry a chill of terror.
After Li Yinhu finished speaking, he bowed his head and waited for Li Chen's storm.
According to their estimation yesterday, Li Chen absolutely couldn't have written this confession, and he would definitely be furious.
But that was the end of Li Yinhu's mission.
His purpose was to enrage Li Chen, and Zhao Xuanji and the others would take over from there.
What surprised Li Yinhu was that instead of Li Chen's roar and accusations, what he received was a deathly silence.
This oppressive silence that was making people uncomfortable, no one knew how long it had lasted, Li Chen's voice came from above.
"How does Your Majesty, King Zhao, feel that this palace has disrupted the court's order and etiquette, but doesn't say which specific things?"
Li Yinhu frowned.
What else is important?
Isn't the tug-of-war over mutual interests the most important part?

The matter had reached Zhao Xuanji's ears, but at this time, he showed no intention of speaking. Li Yinhu could only grit his teeth and reply: "Your Highness' wedding is a joyous occasion for all under heaven, yet Your Highness uses the wedding as an excuse to carry out exorbitant levies, openly extorting bribes from all the officials in court. This has caused countless officials to worry their heads white over this matter.

"The salaries of officials in our great Qin are already meager. It's a struggle to support one's family, and now Your Highness wants them to contribute more? This is forcing civil and military officials to extort money from the people below them, to increase oppressive levies and taxes!"
"If even Your Highness behaves this way, how can the rest of us be any different?"

(Editor in charge：)