The muzzle of the gun missed, and the bullet made a thumb-sized hole in the stone ground.
The emperor was extremely delighted and praised repeatedly: "What a great thing!"
He turned the gun to look inside the barrel, but Xie Qing quickly held his hand down and said, "Father, don't point the gun at yourself, or it might go off accidentally."
The emperor nodded and asked, "Are there any bullets left?"
Xie Qing said: "Theoretically, no. This gun can only hold one bullet. You need to reload it each time you use it. But we are also worried about the bullet getting stuck in the chamber, so it is better not to point the gun at people."
Xie Qing said, took out the bullet and taught the emperor step by step, how to load the bullet? How to load the gun.
The emperor stroked the spear and exclaimed, "It is truly a divine weapon."
After saying that, he raised his hand again, aimed at Li, and pulled the trigger without hesitation.
"Bang!"
There was a loud bang, and Li's body was shaken by the powerful force. His head exploded instantly and he died.
Two loud gunshots in succession woke up Princess Jing and the Fourth Prince.
Princess Jing staggered to her feet, and the moment she saw the emperor, she fell to her knees with a plop, saying in a trembling voice, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you."
She saw Li, whose head had been blown off, and panicked even more. She kowtowed and pleaded, "Your Majesty, please spare me! Your Majesty, please spare me! It was Li who forced us to do this! She forced us! We didn't do this voluntarily! Your Majesty, please spare me!"
The Fourth Prince had his hands tied. He looked at Xie Qing beside the Emperor, and slowly sorted out the events of the past year or two in his mind, and gradually understood.
He struggled to stand up, looked at Xie Qing and laughed at the sky: "You are too biased, the prince is useless, you helped us rise up, just to train the prince. But you didn't think about what would happen to us sons. You just want to use us as stepping stones for the prince! Whetstones!"
The emperor snorted coldly, "What will be the outcome? Those who know the current situation will be like the eldest and third brothers, who will assist the crown prince. Those who don't know the current situation will be like you or the fifth brother, who will either guard the imperial mausoleum or die."
The emperor raised his gun and pointed it at the Fourth Prince, intending to kill this unfilial son with a single blow. After a moment's hesitation, he lowered his gun and said calmly, "It would be too easy for you to die like this. Come, pass on my decree. The Fourth Prince, Xie Xiao, is guilty of treason and is to be driven out of the Meridian Gate and executed by slow slicing."
The Fourth Prince laughed heartily upon hearing the Emperor's words: "Do you think that with my death, the world will be at peace? I tell you, this is only the beginning. Just the beginning! The world is going to be in chaos! Great chaos! Great..."
The Fourth Prince was yelling, and Eunuch Zhang rushed over and covered his mouth with his handkerchief.
By this time, the Imperial Guards had also arrived and captured the men guarding the gate of the Hall of Supreme Harmony. The Imperial Guard Commander, the Grand Commandant, and all the civil and military officials rushed to the Palace of Heavenly Purity. Seeing that the Emperor was safe and sound, the officials knelt and wept bitterly, "Your Majesty, you are all right. How great!"
The Imperial Hospital Director rushed out from the crowd, ran to the emperor's side to feel his pulse, and after a while he heaved a sigh of relief: "It's all right, it's all right."
He took out a pill and gave it to the emperor to take, feeling fortunate that Mrs. Li had not acted recklessly and made his treatments of the past few days in vain.
Lu Linglong listened to the words of the director, stood beside the emperor arrogantly, looking down on everyone. The biggest contributor this time was her, Lu Linglong!
It was she who did not give His Majesty the medicine so that He could wake up soon.
She could already see herself rising to prominence and eventually becoming queen.
If she becomes the queen, wouldn't Qin Wan be her daughter-in-law?
When the time comes, I will have to watch her kneel down and salute me.
Thinking of this, Lu Linglong's back straightened up immediately.
The emperor looked at his ministers, sighed, and said, "I have not been strict in educating my son. I have made a fool of myself in front of you all."
Everyone hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, your words are too serious."
The emperor pondered for a moment, then pointed at Li's corpse on the ground and said, "Li has been executed. The traitor, Xie Xiao, will be executed by slow slicing! Execute immediately."
The emperor spoke in a nonchalant tone, as if saying that the weather was nice today, but those who knew him knew that he was very angry.
The Minister of Revenue pointed at Lord Wu and the others who were being held captive and said, "Your Majesty, what should be done with these people?"
The emperor glanced at Lord Wu and the others and chuckled, "Good fellow, quite a few of you have come. Good, good, good, very good. Knowing that the Imperial Examination will be held this year, you must be eager to make room for the next generation."
Lord Wu and Prince Jing had been mentally prepared for this, and at this moment they were dejected and speechless. The other officials standing in the team were regretful and crying bitterly, begging for mercy:
"Your Majesty, please spare my life. Your Majesty, please spare my life. We know we are wrong."
"Your Majesty, we are innocent."
"We were forced to do this. Our wives and children are in their hands." However, no matter how they cried and shouted, the emperor remained unmoved, and these people were quickly taken away.
Zigui and Yijia, along with the people from the Eastern Palace, rescued a group of ladies and girls. They were arranged to go home from the palace gate. Of course, the families of several bandit leaders, including Mrs. Wu, were left behind and handed over to the Imperial Guards to suppress them.
As for the others, the final decision will be made by the emperor.
The palace coup was quelled in just two days. The court officials looked at the Crown Prince who appeared before them and recalled the person who left the capital that day. Someone couldn't help but ask, "Who was that person who left the capital to patrol the border?"
Xie Qingyu was proud of it: "That's the Crown Princess."
The Emperor was also worried about Qin Wan, and said to the Grand Commander, "Send orders to all cities to spare those who surrender, but kill those who resist without mercy. Make sure the Crown Princess is brought back to the capital safely as soon as possible."
"Yes!" The Grand Commander immediately led his men away. Within half a day, everything in the capital was back to normal.
Immediately means right away. As soon as the emperor announced the disposition of the Fourth Prince and others, a group of people were pushed out of the Meridian Gate.
Those who should be beheaded should be beheaded, and those who should have their property confiscated and be exiled should have their property confiscated and be exiled. They must be sent off before dark.
Those who were executed by lingchi included the Fourth Prince, Lord Wu, and Prince Jing. They were stripped of their clothes, tied to a rack, and their flesh was cut off one by one.
Executioners rarely do this job, so it is the military doctors who come, as they know best how to save someone's life.
That day, the ground outside the Meridian Gate was stained red with blood, and wails echoed throughout the capital.
This will be a nightmare for countless people and also a warning to the world.
Imperial power cannot be challenged easily.
The Grand Commander led his troops to Zhengnan Prefecture and read out the imperial edict, but the generals defending the city turned a blind eye to it.
The general defending the city pointed at the Grand Commander and laughed heartily: "We only know that the Crown Prince is plotting treason. Now the Fourth Prince is in charge of the capital. The imperial edict you brought must be fake. We only obey the orders of the Fourth Prince and will never surrender. Come and arrest me if you dare."
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