Everyone fell silent.

The charges against Emperor Chengtai by Prince Xian An include patricide, which is uncertain, but the crimes of fratricide and adultery with officials' wives are beyond doubt.

After all, among his brothers, only the Wise King was still alive.

His actions in stopping the Prince Xian from killing his wife just now are enough to prove that he and the Princess Xian were having an affair.

Although Emperor Chengtai has not been particularly wise since his ascension to the throne, he has not been too much of a critic.

The wise king's coup exposed the truth.

These officials didn't know what expression to wear when facing their emperor.

His Majesty would probably find it difficult to refute.

You can't exactly say, "Although I did kill my brother and commit adultery with my wife, I did not kill my father," can you?

If a person's morality is flawed, it is difficult for others to believe what they say.

"My brother's morality has degenerated to such an extent, how can he be worthy of being the ruler of the Great Xi Dynasty and a role model for the world?"

The wise king asked the crowd.

"The jade stones unearthed by the earthquake in the western suburbs have already shown the displeasure of Heaven."

When the emperor loses his virtue, the people suffer greatly.

"Gentlemen, are you willing to continue serving such a monarch?"

No one answered.

The wise king did not need to answer.

He gestured for his men to move the eight cannons to the open space in front.

"You must have already witnessed the power of cannons."

I prepared thousands of shells for this operation, but only a few dozen have been fired so far.

If all the remaining shells are fired, you will all be reduced to mincemeat.

I think if my brother had even a shred of compassion, he wouldn't be able to bear seeing this scene.

The wise king looked at Emperor Chengtai.

"As long as my brother is willing to abdicate, I guarantee I will not go on a killing spree."

I wonder, in my elder brother's heart, is the throne more important, or the lives of his descendants, ministers, and soldiers?

The pressure was put on Emperor Chengtai.

Xiao Qingyin thought to herself that Emperor Chengtai had no choice at all.

Abdication might lead to death.

He will surely die if he doesn't abdicate.

As expected, Emperor Chengtai hesitated for only a moment before agreeing.

"Very well, I agree to abdicate."

"Scholar Bai, why haven't you brought over the writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone?"

The wise prince said to Bai Musheng.

Bai Musheng glanced at Emperor Chengtai.

Emperor Chengtai nodded slowly.

Bai Musheng then turned and left.

A short while later, he returned with a small table, a blank imperial edict, and a writing brush, ink, and inkstone.

Based on Emperor Chengtai's oral account, an imperial edict of abdication was written.

Emperor Chengtai took out his personal seal from his pocket and stamped it on the imperial edict.

After sealing it, he said to the wise prince, "The imperial seal is in the palace."

The wise prince smiled and said, "Your Majesty need not worry about that. Please trouble Scholar Bai to deliver the imperial edict."

Bai Musheng did as instructed.

After receiving the imperial edict, the wise king asked the crowd, "Your emperor has abdicated. Are you willing to submit?"

"Those who are willing to submit will retain their official positions."

No one said a word.

The wise king continued, "Those who are unwilling to submit, I will grant your wish and let you go down in history."

As soon as the words left his lips, a man in black leaped towards the crowd beside the imperial carriage, instantly taking the life of one of the officials.

Everyone was horrified.

Are you going to kill us all?

The Left Censor questioned him sternly.

The wise king smiled.

"You can choose not to die."

The Left Censor's face turned ashen.

Zuo Miaomiao tugged at his sleeve.

"Father, I am not afraid of death."

"Silly girl, what person isn't afraid of death?"

The Left Censor rubbed her head.

His face was filled with shame.

"It's your father's fault. I shouldn't have taken you to the autumn hunt."

"It's not your fault."

Zuo Miaomiao glanced at the Prince Xian, then quickly lowered her eyes.

"It is clearly the fault of the traitors and rebels."

"puff!"

Another minister died at the hands of the man in black.

The timid ministers finally couldn't hold on any longer.

They all knelt down and kowtowed.

"Long live the Emperor!"

The wise king nodded in satisfaction.

"Those who understand the times are wise."

Xiao Shengyuan was drenched in cold sweat.

He didn't want to die.

They didn't dare to kneel.

All the other ministers stood upright, but if he, the Minister of Revenue, were to kneel, he would lose all face and dignity.

Why put him in such a life-or-death situation?

Why couldn't the wise king kill His Majesty first and then let them express their opinions?

His Majesty is still alive, who would dare to make any rash moves?

What if the situation reverses?

But the executioner was about to kill him.

Xiao Shengyuan was torn between his inner turmoil and his wish that an earthquake would break the deadlock.

It was as if God had heard his heartfelt words.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The earth-shattering sound of cannons rang out again.

This time, however, the shells did not land on the camp.

Instead, it landed on the surrounding artillery vehicles.

The artillery vehicles were blown apart, the cannons fell to the ground, and the men in black were hit by shrapnel, rolling on the ground and howling in pain.

One of the cannonballs landed directly on the wise king's chariot.

If the men in black around him hadn't immediately taken him away from the carriage, the wise king would have died on the spot.

But the wise king felt no joy at having escaped disaster.

He stared in disbelief at the shells raining down on his own side.

He exclaimed in shock, "How is this possible!"

Da Xi didn't even know about the existence of the Kingdom of Yi. Even if those four Yi craftsmen fell into Yi Shuihan's hands, he would never have been able to obtain the technology to manufacture cannons from them so quickly.

Without a translator, he would have no way of communicating with those Iraqis.

Xiao Qingyin: I gave him a cheat code.

After the initial shock, the wise king ordered the cannons to be fired.

Unfortunately, it was too late.

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