Liu Zhengyan held up the imperial edict he had written: "By the Mandate of Heaven, the Emperor proclaims: I pass the throne to my son, Zhao Xin, who will ascend the throne effective immediately. I appoint Liu Zhengyan and Miao Fu as Grand Marshals of the Auxiliary State, commanding all the troops under heaven."

Zhao Huan frowned slightly: "Liu Zhengyan, Miao Fu, you two come here."

Liu Zhengyan and Miao Fu were overjoyed, thinking that Zhao Huan wanted to entrust the prince to them, or that he wanted them to take care of the prince for the sake of the Song Dynasty.

"Your Majesty!" Li Sisi was shocked. Zhao Huan tacitly agreed that the two men had rebelled.

Zhao Huan waved his hand with all his might, and Liu Zhengyan and Miao Fu approached.

Zhao Huan exhaled more than he inhaled, and he looked like he was on the verge of death. With Crazy Hu dead, there was no one left in the world who could cure him.

"Master Miao, can you tell me how you became the commander of the Infantry Division?"

Miao Fu was confused and had to answer truthfully: "Your Majesty, I was personally appointed by the Supreme Emperor."

Zhao Huan smiled, his pale face taking on a sickly red hue. His lips were pale, clearly due to severe dehydration. But if he drank water, he would vomit and have diarrhea again, leaving even Hua Tuo helpless.

"He is the retired emperor again. Can't Zhao Ji do something reliable?" Zhao Huan said softly. He tried his best to lower his voice to save energy.

Miao Fu turned around and looked at Liu Zhengyan. Liu Zhengyan bowed and said, "Your Majesty, where is your jade seal? The imperial edict needs to be sealed with your jade seal."

Zhao Huan smiled slightly: "You two are really asking for your own life and death. Let me ask you two. Even if, even if I..." As he spoke, Zhao Huan began to cough violently again.

"Your Majesty!" Li Sisi and Nangong Lian'er rushed forward to rub his waist.

Zhao Huan waved his hand gently. "Even if I appoint you two as Grand Marshals of the Auxiliary State, commanding all the military power in the world, do you think those generals commanding large armies will obey your orders? Yue Fei's army in Shangjing, Han Shizhong in Shanxi, the Huainan army, the Lizhou army, the Guangnan army, the Jinghu army, the Jiangnan army—which of these regional lords would listen to you?"

Miao Fu and Liu Zhengyan were stunned when they heard this. They looked at each other, but they didn't think too much about it. They just thought that being the Grand Marshal of the Army meant high power and authority, and they no longer had to worry about other people's opinions.

Zhao Huan snorted, "If these troops from various regions march into the city under the pretext of purging the emperor, you two will probably die without a burial place."

Liu Zhengyan was so frightened that his whole body trembled, and Miao Fu wiped the sweat off his face with his divine sleeves. The two of them no longer had the arrogance and domineering attitude they had just had.

Zhao Huan sighed deeply. "How naive! I asked you how you became the commander because I thought someone as stupid as you was worthy of this position."

As he said this, Zhao Huan clapped his hands vigorously.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!" Countless imperial guards suddenly swarmed out from the beams, outside the hall, and in the courtyard.

The guards drew their bows and arrows, aiming at Miao Fu, Liu Zhengyan and others in rows.

The two were shocked, and Liu Zhengyan said tremblingly: "Why, why is this happening?"

Miao Fu was so scared that he stepped back repeatedly, his legs shaking a little.

Zhao Huan waved his hand: "Kill!"

Arrows flew like locusts, and the imperial guards shot arrows everywhere. Miao Fu and Liu Zhengyan's men in the circle instantly became hedgehogs.

Liu Zhengyan turned to flee, but with a whirlwind sound, two arrows pierced his back. He froze for a moment. Then, with a whirlwind sound, another arrow struck his heart, and Liu Zhengyan fell to the ground.

Miao Fu rushed forward with a big knife, and was hit by arrows in the chest, abdomen, and thighs, and even an arrow pierced through his left eye and into his brain.

After a long while, a guard officer stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the rebels have been completely eliminated!"

Zhao Huan felt a sweet sensation in his throat, and with a cry of "Wow!" he spat out a mouthful of blood, then passed out.

"His Majesty!"

"His Majesty!"

Everyone rushed forward in shock. Nangong Lian'er and Li Sisi supported Zhao Huan, but they felt his touch was soft and Zhao Huan's skin had lost its elasticity. Death was imminent.

Let's just say he was a great ruler. He conquered the Jin Dynasty, reformed the government, selected talented people, and used them wisely. If he were dead, future generations would probably evaluate him in this way.

After all, history is written by the victors, and the censors in power will use all the praise on him.

But our Zhao Huan is not dead, at least not yet. Hua Tuo hurriedly took out a red pill from the medicine box and gave it to Zhao Huan to drink with water.

After a while, Zhao Huan slowly regained consciousness. "Issue an order to abdicate the throne to the crown prince Zhao Xin. Li Gang, He Li, Meng Gurao, and Zhang Bangchang will serve as regents. I hope the four of them will emulate the Duke of Zhou in assisting King Cheng. They must ensure that the barbarians dare not look down on China, and that traitors and rebels dare not covet our country."

"Your Majesty!" Everyone knelt on the ground and wept. Zhao Huan was going to entrust his son to the care of others.

"Gee! Gee!..." The soldiers were sent urgently over 800 miles to the capital.

"Ding-ling-ling!" At every post station, a man and a horse would gallop towards the station, ringing bells. The mounted soldiers would hold bells in their hands and wear gold medals on their waists.

The postal envoy immediately panicked and quickly sent his soldiers with fast horses to wait at the door of the post station.

When the urgent postman arrived, another postman at the post station quickly took the gold medal and letter from his hand, then continued to mount his horse and gallop away while holding the bell.

The whole country was in mourning in Kaifeng, Bianjing.

The entire court, both civil and military officials, had been preparing for a grand celebration to welcome His Majesty's triumphant return. However, tragic news arrived: Zhao Huan issued an order in Jeju City to abdicate the throne to his son, Zhao Xin.

In the Queen's bedroom, Renming Hall, Queen Zhu Lian lay on the table and cried bitterly, while concubine Tang Wan'er hugged Princess Zhao Rou'er and burst into tears.

Several important officials stood with their hands hanging down.

After a while, Li Gang stood up and said: "Empress, please accept my condolences. His Majesty is critically ill and has passed the throne to the prince. Now, for the sake of our Great Song Dynasty, please, Empress, take charge." As he spoke, Li Gang choked up.

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!