The favored concubine ascended to power, and her two sons were deeply loved by the late Emperor. The Crown Prince's position was precarious, but thankfully, he managed to remain vigilant until the Emperor's passing and then ascended the throne smoothly.
However, even after his enthronement, his position didn't seem to be secure. At that time in Beijing, four-tenths of the military force was under the control of Prince Three, who could be said to have power equal to the Emperor's. The only thing Prince Three lost to the Emperor was the sequence of their ages.
The Emperor was well aware of this and constantly sought to weaken Prince Three's power, whether his rebellion stemmed from an unwillingness to accept his earlier loss of the throne, or from being forced by the Emperor to save himself, or perhaps both, only they themselves might know.
