Chapter 141 Self-Reliance (Revised) When will the Goddess declare herself self-reliant? ...

The previous emperor of the Great Wei Dynasty was Qi Jue.

He never imagined that by listening to Xue Rang and leading some ministers and soldiers to escape from the capital, the world would change hands!

Qi Jue: "???"

Is this right? Is this reasonable? Who plays like this?

Following the normal course of events, Lu Wei died, Xue Rang died, and the newly arrived princes, in order to seize the so-called righteousness, shouldn't they have brought him back to the capital and let him continue to be a puppet emperor?

Who would have thought that Lu Hong would not look for him at all, but instead used the imperial seal to support a member of the royal family to become the new emperor!

Then what about Qi Jue? Was he rendered useless before being officially deposed?

Qi Jue couldn't accept it, and neither could those who had fled the capital with him.

But they didn't have the strength to challenge Lu Hong.

So they approached Sun Yannan.

After discussing the matter with his advisors and generals, Sun Yannan publicly invited Qi Jue to Maozhou, then proclaimed himself the rightful heir and denounced Lu Hong for plotting treason.

Lu Hong was furious upon hearing this: Has that bastard Sun Yannan gone mad?

When I held the imperial seal and established the new emperor, I bestowed upon you four counties of Chaozhou and two counties of Pingzhou, and you did not raise any objections. Now, what are you pretending to be, a righteous person?

"Why bother with him?" The newly presented beauty from Ganzhou gently massaged Lu Hong's shoulders. "Didn't you already know that Sun Yannan also had designs on the world? He's never hidden his true colors."

Lu Hong took a deep breath and thought to himself, "That makes sense."

Sun Yannan also has the ambition and strength to contend for the world. The two of them cooperated to fight against Lu Wei. Now that Lu Wei has fallen, Sun Yannan watched helplessly as Lu Hong became the new "Lu Wei", and he was naturally unwilling.

If Lu Hong were to become emperor one day, Sun Yannan would certainly not be willing to serve Lu Hong as his master. They would ultimately have to prove themselves on the battlefield and see who the final victor is.

The beauty continued, "When we paid homage to the new emperor earlier, Sun Yannan did not raise any objections. Now that he has gone back on his word, won't he become a laughingstock among the heroes of the world?"

She smiled and said, "You can seize this opportunity to criticize him for being disloyal and unjust."

Lu Hong laughed, "That's right, Sun Yannan wants to step on me? He's dreaming!"

Isn't it just about finding some so-called noble reasons? Does Sun Yannan think that only he can engage in verbal battles?

Lu Hong reached out and put his arm around the beauty's waist, and the beauty nestled into his embrace.

Lu Hong looked at him with admiration, "You actually know about these things too?"

The beautiful woman smiled brightly, subtly hinting, "My father wishes to share your burdens."

Oh, so you taught this beauty about the state of the world to make it easier for her to please him? Lu Hong understood.

“I remember, your name is…”

“My name is Tang Yu, the Yu in ‘deer without a herdsman’.”

With the compassion of a doctor, Zhou Xuan asked with concern, "Are you suffering from a heat-related cold?" The weather has been fluctuating between hot and cold lately, with such large temperature differences that it's easy to get sick.

Yu Zhaotang waved his hand to indicate that he didn't have a cold, "It's probably Xia Zhao talking badly about me."

Zhou Xuan: "Huh?"

Yu Zhaotang thought to himself, "Although I made some contributions in the Northwest, the reconquest of the Northwest was mostly due to the divine power of the goddess, and only a small part was due to General Hu and Strategist Xiang..."

If Xia Zhao could only manage to drive Lu Hong mad a few times...

I lost to her!

He squinted. No, I have to do something more.

Xiang Yuesheng and Gu Lanying were chatting.

As they approached Jinzhou, they couldn't help but start thinking about one thing: when would the goddess declare herself independent?

Gu Lanying was peeling a handful of wild chestnuts she had picked from the mountains. She said, "Lu Hong and Sun Yannan each have a puppet emperor. If the goddess declares herself independent, will she also need to borrow a puppet?"

Xiang Yuesheng immediately shook his head, "No, there's no need."

Gu Lanying gave Xiang Yuesheng a few of the peeled chestnuts, saying, "I also think we don't need to follow their example. We can easily come up with a few excuses and justifications. Why make a puppet for ourselves?"

In the future, they'll have to play the "abdication and handing over to a worthy successor" game, "resigning and offering three times," isn't that exhausting?

As Xiang Yuesheng ate raw chestnuts, he suddenly thought of something and laughed, "Should we imitate a fox's cry, hide a book inside a fish's belly, or carve words on a stone?"

Gu Lanying coughed suddenly, slightly disgusted. "Did you just read all those chemistry books for nothing? If you use your chemistry knowledge properly, you can create miracles anytime, anywhere."

"Let's go back and consult the goddess," Gu Lanying said.

Such an important matter naturally requires us to return and discuss it with everyone in the administration office, and to seek the goddess's opinion.

I wonder what kind of miracles the goddess would like; perhaps she would come herself. The fake miracles they concoct using physics and chemistry can never compare to a true miracle performed by the goddess herself.

He Qinglan hadn't thought about that, because Jinzhou and Shengzhou had been extremely busy lately.

While busy receiving refugees from all over the country, they solved their problems of food, clothing, shelter and transportation, and helped them settle down in the area.

While busy dealing with the occasional harassment from Sun Yannan and Lu Hong, who each had their own things to do, it didn't stop them from trying to cause trouble for He Qinglan in every possible way, such as being spies, traitors, or launching surprise attacks with elite troops.

Cheng Hui, Mo Jingchun, and Fang Qin naturally wouldn't suffer in silence, and they attacked Ganzhou and Maozhou whenever they had the chance.

The methods were simple and brutal: either they would directly use catapults and cannons to bombard their city walls and homes every few days; or they would wage a commercial war, cutting off their supply of goods and raising or lowering prices, making it impossible for the officials and people of Gan and Mao prefectures to live in peace.

Meanwhile, to prevent Sun Yannan and Lu Hong from suddenly coming to their senses and joining forces to target the Goddess, the staff of the Administrative Office were also working quickly to find ways to sow discord between the two and sabotage them every now and then.

Fang Qin spread his hands and said, "This trick is useful for now, but it is not a long-term solution. Look at the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. There are so many grudges between Shu Han and Eastern Wu, but Sun Quan still held his nose and continued to cooperate with Shu Han. Zhuge Liang also maintained relations with Eastern Wu."

Mo Jingchun answered instinctively, "That's because they have a common enemy..."

Fang Qin chuckled and gave a soft "hmm".

Mo Jingchun understood. She chuckled and said, "How about we strike first and take them down one by one?"

Who doesn't have a common enemy?

Ning Huai'an asked, "Which one should we pull, and which one should we hit?"

Mo Jingchun and Fang Qin exchanged a glance, and Fang Qin laughed, "Pull Lu Hong and beat Sun Yannan."

Why is it that Sun Yannan's hatred for the goddess is higher than Lu Hong's?

The propaganda department has been coming up with all sorts of tricks lately, with articles, cartoons, and novels published in newspapers all arguing for the legitimacy of a woman becoming empress from multiple perspectives.

The stories of Nuwa creating humans, the Queen Mother of the West, and the idea that "before the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, it was actually a matriarchal society" were all used to pave the way for the goddess to declare herself independent in the future.

Therefore, many people from all over the world can tell at a glance that He Qinglan is not content with being confined to a corner of the world; she also has the ambition to rule the world.

"Isn't that obvious?" Lu Qingxiang, a strategist (now an official under Lu Hong), waved the newspaper in his hand. "She has Jin and Sheng prefectures, as well as the southwest and northwest. She has the strength to contend with them. How could she not?"

If she hadn't had such intentions, she wouldn't have taken advantage of the time when the feudal lords were "purging the court of corrupt officials" to conquer the southwest and northwest.

His companion hesitated, "But she is, after all, a woman. Throughout history, has there ever been a woman who became empress?"

Lu Qingxiang scoffed lightly, "Even during the time of Yao and Shun in ancient times, no man was called emperor." Did emperors exist from the very beginning of time?

Li Dinghui, a Confucian scholar (now writing books in Pingzhou and no longer holding an official position), calmly finished reading a stack of newspapers produced in Jinzhou, his gaze sweeping over the words "Editor-in-Chief: Xie Yingshi".

He exclaimed, "Brilliant!"

If one person says something is false, two people say it's false, three people say it, thirty people say it, three hundred people say it, is it still false?

Jinzhou used this newspaper to promote the legitimacy of the female-dominated world, and those with weak wills would unconsciously accept their "indoctrination" after hearing it too much.

Zou Jin, a renowned scholar (now serving under Lu Hong), frowned slightly. "Is it possible to discuss a merger with her?"

Li Dinghui asserted, "You mean, if any feudal lord offered her the position of empress, and promised to share the world with her in the future? No, He Qinglan would not agree."

Zou Jin was puzzled. "Why? Given the current state of the world, it's still uncertain who the final victor will be." Was He Qinglan so confident?

Li Dinghui explained, "Back when He Qinglan was still in Anling County, Jinzhou, Sun Yannan approached her to discuss cooperation, offering her the position of Imperial Concubine, but she refused."

She only had one prefecture at the time, yet she resolutely rejected Sun Yannan.

Now that she controls four regions, she can already divide the world into three with Lu Hong and Sun Yannan, so it is even less likely that she will submit to one side.

Victory or defeat is her own business; so what if she loses? Which lord knew from the beginning that he would win?

It's just a gamble.

The Taoist priest Li Zhengyin (who teaches in the mountains) stands with his hands behind his back on the mountaintop, the mountain wind blowing freely through his hair and clothes.

Jinzhou, He Qinglan.

He wondered who she was, how news about her could reach the ears of someone as reclusive as him.

A newspaper... is indeed a fine weapon.

Mo Jia's Shao Qi (traveling in Qingzhou) flipped through the newspaper. "A few months ago, Yu Yuan wrote a letter saying that she and her junior brother were now working for He Qinglan in Jinzhou?"

A fellow disciple laughed and said, "That's right, it was Ding Youyuan who specially asked Ye Hui to write a letter and introduce her to him."

Shao Qi pondered, "Could Jinzhou be a suitable place for my Mohist school?"

Otherwise, why would Ding Youyuan, who was already in Ningzhou, send his junior sister and brother to Jinzhou? Could it be that he saw He Qinglan as a future emperor back then?

The Legalist disciples with some reputation all worked under He Qinglan.

Pei Wenzhao went to the southwest, a land that was perfect for him to showcase his skills, train his disciples, and hone new talents.

“Let me give Xie Yingshi from the newspaper a suggestion,” Pei Wenzhao said with a kind smile. “Hold a debate in Jinzhou and call on scholars and students from all over the country to come to Jinzhou for a debate competition.”

The disciple was shocked. "You mean...?"

Pei Wenzhao said, "What am I thinking? I'm giving suggestions to their newspaper."

After Hu Dazhu, Xiang Yuesheng, Gu Lanying and others returned to Jinzhou with their army, He Qinglan proposed that they could declare independence.

They fawn over one "little emperor" after another; we don't need to follow their example.

Cheng Hui then began to prepare for this matter.

We held meetings to discuss procedures, conducted public relations campaigns, and prepared necessary items...

Four months later.

In Jinzhou, He Qinglan declared her independence to all the people under her rule, to the other feudal lords, and to everyone in the world.

He called himself the King of Clouds, based in Jinzhou, Shengzhou, the southwest, and the northwest.