Chapter 60 The Dust Settles
"Summon the envoys from the Southern Kingdom into the palace!"
Officials of the Great Zhou Dynasty stood on both sides of the hall. The emperor was helped by Li Zhongxian to sit on the dragon throne. When Jiang Yuanhua saw the emperor's appearance, his heart suddenly jumped for some reason.
This time, it will be foolproof.
Two envoys from the Southern Kingdom walked in, carrying boxes of tribute in their hands. They bowed before the hall and saluted: "The envoys from the Southern Kingdom pay their respects to Your Majesty. Long live Your Majesty!"
The voices of the two Southern envoys were loud enough to reach everyone's ears.
After standing up, they walked towards the jade steps step by step.
Yan Xuanyu observed the two people with great interest. The one walking slightly ahead was the assassin sent by the Southern Kingdom this time. His name was Ji Li, an assassin raised by the Southern Kingdom’s royal family in the palace. He had never appeared in public. The identity he declared to the outside world when he came to Da Zhou this time was that he was a descendant of the Southern Kingdom’s side branch.
He also knew that according to the plan of Jiang Yuanhua and others, the guards in the palace had either been bribed or had been replaced by their people without their knowledge. They only needed to wait for the emperor to be assassinated so that they could control everyone naturally.
Because of Yan Xuanyu's arrival, many things have changed from the previous life, but Jiang Yuanhua and others still intend to rebel like in the previous life. In this life, they cooperate with the Turks from inside and outside, but they are just trying to get the skin of a tiger. How long can they succeed?
Will the Turks really accept the cities promised at the beginning?
...
While Yan Xuanyu was thinking for a moment, the two envoys had already arrived at the jade steps.
All the officials on both sides focused their eyes on the envoy from the Southern Kingdom in the middle, wanting to know what the tribute from the Southern Kingdom would be this time.
The arrival of the envoys from the Southern Kingdom made the Great Zhou happy and surprised. Since the time of the previous emperor, the Southern Kingdom had rarely interacted with the Great Zhou and was no longer as submissive as before. Especially after the new emperor ascended the throne, the Southern Kingdom did not express any opinion. The arrival of the envoys from the Southern Kingdom made many people in the Great Zhou think that this was a gesture of goodwill to the Great Zhou.
Just as everyone in the hall was thinking about their own things, Yan Xuanyu saw the assassin named Ji Li open the tribute, and a cold light flashed. A sword with sharp thorn-like edges on both sides appeared in his hand like a magic trick.
Yan Xuanyu saw it most clearly. In his eyes, everything seemed to be in slow motion. He suddenly realized that it was no wonder that the Southern Country assassins were able to evade multiple inspections. It turned out that they now had extremely sophisticated retractable swords!
He heard Li Zhongxian's sharp voice beside him: "There's an assassin! Protect the emperor! Protect the emperor!!"
The hall was suddenly in chaos. According to the law of the Great Zhou Dynasty, no weapons could be brought into the palace, let alone these officials who were going to the hall. Some people wanted to step forward but were stopped by officials headed by Jiang Yuanhua.
"Jiang Yuanhua! What do you want to do?!"
At this point, Jiang Yuanhua dropped his disguise. He stopped the person who was about to leave the hall, his eyes cold and grim: "I'll give you half an incense stick of time. Will you save the dog emperor, or save yourselves?"
...
[Ding, successful use, valid for 30 seconds.]
Yan Xuanyu had no time to care about the chaos on the officials' side. When the assassin flew over from the jade steps, Yan Xuanyu also used the system's [Dragon x Tiger Fierce] card. As expected of a product of the system, Yan Xuanyu felt his whole body light as if full of strength, and a warm current flowed to his limbs.
He drew the Emperor's Sword from behind the dragon throne and confronted the assassin.
The Emperor's Sword had been placed on the throne room for hundreds of years, and he probably never thought that one day he would be picked up and used in a fight.
When Yan Xuanyu also stood up, someone in the hall noticed something was wrong.
Judging from the emperor's reaction and skills, he didn't look sickly at all like his usual self! The rumors of him being terminally ill were completely nonsense!
Jiang Yuanhua also saw it, and after a moment of silence, he sneered: "So what if it's just fake?"
All the guards in the palace and the capital are his men!
He had been waiting for this day for decades.
...
Ji Li had intended to kill Yan Xuanyu with one strike, so he stabbed him in the heart. However, Yan Xuanyu easily deflected each attack, as if he had anticipated it. Yan Xuanyu didn't just dodge, remembering the system's warning that the card only lasted for thirty seconds! Ji Li, unwittingly, exposed Yan Xuanyu's weakness, and Yan Xuanyu drew his sword and stabbed Ji Li in the shoulder.
The blood instantly dyed the assassin's envoy robe dark.
The throne room will indeed be stained with blood today, but the blood shed will not be the emperor's.
...
Li Zhongxian originally wanted to step forward and die for His Majesty, and let the people around him take His Majesty away from the Golden Palace first. However, this sudden change left him stunned.
How did their Majesty become a martial arts master?
After just a few exchanges, the assassin realized he was no match for his opponent! The opponent's martial arts skills far surpassed his and he was becoming increasingly familiar with his moves. He felt bad, but since he had chosen to assassinate the Great Zhou Emperor, he had no way out!
So Ji Li's moves were deadly. Originally, Yan Xuanyu was still reluctant to kill people with his own hands, but the other party's sharp eyes suddenly woke him up. It was either the other party's death or his own death...
This thought was like opening up his Ren and Du meridians. Originally he was somewhat restrained, but now Yan Xuanyu has brought the capabilities of the system card to its fullest potential.
In Yan Xuanyu's eyes, it seemed that he had been fighting with the assassin for ten thousand years, but in reality, only a dozen seconds had passed, and some people were even in a daze and had not yet reacted!
They didn't know whether it was more shocking that the emperor, who was originally terminally ill, was actually healthy and was keeping a low profile, or that the royal family of the Southern Kingdom actually intended to assassinate the emperor of the Great Zhou.
“Puff!”
Everything happened in an instant. Yan Xuanyu thrust his sword into the assassin's heart, and like a kite with a broken string, he fell to the bottom of the stairs, rolled a few times, and was completely silent. In the other party's incredulous eyes, he hid his left hand that was stabbed by the sword in his sleeve.
The thirty seconds that [Dragon x Tiger Fierce] was effective passed quickly. At the moment the power was withdrawn, Yan Xuanyu's body swayed and he almost fell down. It was as if all the strength in his limbs was drained away. This sudden feeling of returning to the original state was not pleasant. Yan Xuanyu lowered the blood-stained sword to the ground and leaned on it to relax.
Everyone watched in amazement as the emperor seemed to kill the assassin sent by the Southern royal family with great ease.
Jiang Yuanhua's eyes were bloodshot. He was not a fool. The emperor's abnormal behavior just now only indicated one possibility!
"Jiang Yuanhua, are you going to kill the king?"
Yan Xuanyu stood on the jade steps and looked down at Jiang Yuanhua below with a calm expression.
"Lord? Are you worthy of being called the dog emperor?" Jiang Yuanhua's face turned ferocious. He knew that something was out of his control, but he did not lose. How could a plan of more than ten years be destroyed so easily? All the guards in the palace were already his people.
It was just as Yan Xuanyu expected. Fortunately, he had made sufficient preparations, otherwise he would not be able to defeat the human wave tactics of the defenders and guards in the capital.
At this moment, the sound of orderly footsteps suddenly came from outside the hall!
Before Jiang Yuanhua could smile, he suddenly realized something and turned around to see a tall figure wearing a uniform completely different from that of the capital's guards walking towards him.
That armor...is clearly of general grade!
The hall was dead silent, with only the sound of the armored general's footsteps, each one seeming to step on everyone's hearts.
The tall figure took off his helmet, revealing a face familiar to everyone.
"thump--"
The man turned his head slightly and looked in the direction of the voice, only to see Wen Yongwang sitting on the ground. There was no trace of the usual complacency of a favorite minister on his face. At this moment, his face was full of fear!
Everyone present was familiar with that face. A few days ago, most of them had jointly submitted a petition to denounce this person.
It’s Yuan Kang!
Yuan Kang saluted and said, "Your Majesty, I have fulfilled your command and captured all the rebels in the capital!"
The blood on the edges of his boots proved that what he said was true; he had indeed just experienced a battle.
Jiang Yuanhua looked at the high and mighty emperor and suddenly laughed, "So, after all my careful planning, I ended up falling into your trap!"
The ancestors of the Great Zhou Dynasty once left behind the Emperor's Sword, and only the Emperor could wield this sword, so Yan Xuanyu took the silk cloth handed to him by Li Zhongxian and slowly wiped the blood off the Emperor's Sword.
His actions made him seem even more unfathomable.
Yan Xuanyu thought, how could he be so scheming and cunning? It was simply because he knew so many stories about tyrants in history that he could easily imitate two of them and convince others to believe them!
But he just chuckled, "The Great Zhou has been plagued by problems for a long time... If it weren't for Prime Minister Jiang, how could I have exposed all the cancers, saving me the trouble of searching."
At this point, Jiang Yuanhua calmed down. He swallowed a mouthful of blood and said with a smile, "I never thought I would do this. I went to great lengths to get the late emperor to kill all the royal family members, leaving only you, Yan Xuanyu."
He laughed and laughed, his voice sounding extremely strange: "I just realized today that I was wrong!"
This was undoubtedly a bolt of thunder that struck everyone's heart!
Yan Xuanyu: Oh no.
Did he unlock the plot that was not explained clearly in the original world?
According to Jiang Yuanhua, everything that happened during the reign of the previous emperor was not a coincidence, but someone was fanning the flames!
Many officials who had served in the court since the previous emperor were present in the Golden Throne Hall today. One of them said in a trembling voice, "Jiang Yuanhua! You actually fooled everyone!"
Not only did the late emperor kill his brothers and sisters, but he was also so afraid that he eliminated several princes!
The others were also enlightened by the official's words. Many of them had a close friendship with Jiang Yuanhua. From the beginning to the end, the emperor never seemed like a dandy who was being manipulated!
Jiang Yuanhua's schemes were wicked, one thing after another, but unfortunately he ran into the fake, playboy-like Second Prince Yan Xuanyu!
It's no wonder that Jiang Yuanhua is so crazy at this moment. No matter who has been planning for decades, when he is finally close to success, he suddenly finds out that he has already lost. If it were someone else, he would probably be even crazier!
Jiang Yuanhua was smart enough to know that there was no chance of him turning things around.
Then he looked at Yuan Kang, no trace of the upright character of a loyal minister left in him. He glared at Yuan Kang with resentment and said, "What a three-fold summons... What a pity, Yuan Kang! Just imagine, you brought the Yuan army to the capital to rescue the emperor. Will the Turks and Rongdi tribes take advantage of the situation and invade the borders of the Great Zhou?"
Yuan Kang laughed and said, "Prime Minister Jiang, who told you that all I brought with me were Yuan's troops?"
After saying this, he looked towards the emperor and said with a bow, "I have only brought a few trusted men with me to the capital upon summons. The rest are elite soldiers trained by Your Majesty."
This time, Jiang Yuanhua couldn't hold it in any longer and spit out a mouthful of blood - he was so angry that he vomited blood!
OK!
What a tyrant he is! What a tyrant he is who can raise a large number of elite soldiers right under the noses of all of them!
"Someone, come and drag Jiang Yuanhua away." Yan Xuanyu said lightly.
After saying that, Yan Xuanyu glanced among the court officials. The hall was dead silent, and no one knew who was kneeling on the ground shouting "Long live the emperor".
This was like turning on some kind of switch, and everyone below the Jade Steps of the Golden Throne Hall knelt down and said—
"Long live His Majesty, long live His Majesty, long live His Majesty!"
...
Suddenly, there were countless more guards in the capital. Originally, the guards in the capital were relatives of officials, so they were all good-for-nothings. But now this group of people was definitely not comparable to those good-for-nothings. Each of them wore a black corset, had a long sword on his waist, and was tall and strong.
Only then did the people of Beijing know that this group of people had a resounding name—
Embroidered Uniform Guard.
It is said that it is directly under the jurisdiction of His Majesty today.
The capital city has been very uneasy these days. There are cries and noises almost every day, and the mansions of the wealthy and powerful families have been raided one after another.
When the people of the capital gathered together every day, the first thing they talked about was which high-ranking official's house had been visited by the Jinyiwei and how much property had been confiscated.
...
After Yan Xuanyu had disguised himself and sat on the top floor of the theater, he casually said to Li Zhongxian, "Why do I feel like I'm the bandit who came to Beijing to plunder?"
In recent days, the theater has almost lost its business. Now everyone in the capital is in danger, fearing that the Jinyiwei will enter the house as soon as they open their eyes.
"As expected, only those who have soldiers at their disposal have absolute say." Yan Xuanyu said lazily, "I've never understood why those civil officials, who are playing tricks in the court to suppress the military commanders, don't just bribe the military commanders to support the army?"
Li Zhongxian heard these words which could be described as "treasonous", but since it was said by His Majesty, it was nothing to worry about.
People in the capital did not expect that the emperor did not care about checks and balances, nor did he care about the court. He directly confiscated most of the officials. What was extremely surprising was that even without these officials, the affairs of the court were not greatly affected.
A few days later, Han Yuan, Lin Fu and others returned to Beijing and re-entered the court. Everyone then realized that Old Han had long known that the emperor was keeping a low profile. With Old Han and others around, there was no need to worry about court affairs.
The aristocratic families of the Great Zhou Dynasty had suffered for a long time, especially since the Great Zhou Dynasty still did not have a formal imperial examination system! As a result, the aristocratic families became more and more powerful, and Yan Xuanyu took the opportunity to start drastic actions to cut down the aristocratic families in the capital.
...
In addition, Yan Xuanyu also personally interrogated Jiang Yuanhua who was imprisoned.
Only then did he know some things that the original owner didn't know, such as why Jiang Yuanhua hated Da Zhou so much.
"You are from the previous dynasty?" Yan Xuanyu nodded slightly, "I see..."
Just like the group of people in Yan Xuanyu's previous life who always wanted to overthrow the Qing Dynasty and restore the Ming Dynasty, Jiang Yuanhua was a descendant of the previous dynasty.
However, the change of dynasties has always been a rule. When one dynasty declines, it will be replaced by another.
Yan Xuanyu felt emotional in his heart that these people of the previous dynasty were truly "loyal". They had been shouting slogans for hundreds of years, and even in his generation, they still hadn't forgotten the things of the previous dynasty.
"Because of you, how many people have died in vain, just for your ridiculous idea of restoring the previous dynasty?" Yan Xuanyu shook his head.
"Ridiculous?" Jiang Yuanhua said frantically, "Dog Emperor, you..."
Yan Xuanyu didn't let him continue. "The fall of the previous dynasty wasn't solely due to the ancestors of the Great Zhou. When the people are pushed into despair, they will rise up. Don't you understand this principle? Therefore, what's the point of restoring the previous dynasty?"
"The previous dynasty has existed for hundreds of years. The last emperor of the previous dynasty, to whom your ancestors were loyal, was cruel, merciless, and extremely licentious. So, what exactly do you want to do by restoring the previous dynasty? Even if the Great Zhou is destroyed, there will be another dynasty to take over, but I believe it will definitely not be the Chen Dynasty."
Jiang Yuanhua remained silent for a long time, not knowing whether it was because he couldn't find a way to refute Yan Xuanyu's words or because Yan Xuanyu, as the emperor of the Great Zhou, could easily say something like "the Great Zhou will be destroyed."
Yan Xuanyu continued calmly, "You colluded with the Turks and the Rongdi, causing them to attack the Great Zhou. Jiang Yuanhua, you have long since betrayed the original aspirations of your Jiang ancestors. If you truly regarded the people of the world as subjects of the Chen Dynasty, why would you allow the people here to suffer and wreak widespread misery?"
"I was just a playboy before, with very little education, yet I still understand these principles. How much of the sage books have you scholars read?!"
He knew that Jiang Yuanhua would certainly not listen to these words, and he did not expect Jiang Yuanhua to cry and confess his crimes with just a few words. Besides, his crimes could not be atonement for by a few words of confession.
Yan Xuanyu concealed the events of the previous dynasty, and everyone only knew that—
Jiang Yuanhua attempted to rebel and was executed in the autumn.
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