Chapter 65 Chapter 65 A 10,000-Tael Bounty on Prince Yin's Head
"Your Majesty, General Yin Jingheng is here to see you~"
The eunuchs of Qiankun Palace stopped Yin Jingheng and said, "General, please take off your sword."
"The general is my man, no need to hand over your sword! Please come in quickly!"
The little emperor secretly rubbed his hands under his dragon robe, unable to hide his excitement, so much so that he exempted Yin Jingheng from the etiquette between the monarch and his subjects after he entered the palace.
He looked Yin Jingheng up and down for a long while, repeatedly confirming and asking again and again whether it was the real General Heng, fearing that this man was the Prince Yin who had fled for fear of punishment.
Yin Jingheng lifted the scabbard at his waist, his brows full of heroism, almost the same as when he was awarded the title of Great General for his meritorious service in defending the border.
"It really is General Heng! I... I'm so happy. General Heng, where have you been all these years? Do you know that since you haven't returned for so many years, those powerful officials in the court have been fighting openly and secretly, each threatening me and undermining my imperial power, causing it to almost fall into the hands of thieves?"
The young emperor ignored the difference between the monarch and his subject and hugged him tightly, treating Yin Jingheng as his most trusted relative and teacher. If he had not supported him behind the scenes all these years, the throne would have changed hands long ago.
However, the young emperor didn't feel happy for long before he heard Yin Jingheng's cold voice above his head: "Your Majesty, please return the seal of command to me."
The young emperor was stunned at first, but then without thinking much, he handed the seal given to him by the empress dowager to Yin Jingheng with both hands.
He smiled shyly and said, "General, you've just returned to the court, and you're already leading your troops to war? Although there have been frequent foreign invasions on the border during your absence, I can't bear to see you overworked and send off too soon!"
"When did I ever say I was going to war? I was only taking back the seal and troops that belonged to me."
"Uh~ That's right! General, you're absolutely right. During your absence, the soldiers of the Great Yin Dynasty have been demoralized and lack discipline. Now that you're back, you should quickly train the troops and revive the morale of our Great Yin!"
Yin Jingheng had never seen the little emperor so fawning. It seemed that he was frightened by the regent.
After he took back the seal of command, he was still dissatisfied and continued to reach out to the little emperor.
"I also want your Majesty's... Imperial Seal."
"General, you...what did you say?"
The young emperor couldn't believe what he was hearing. That was the symbol of imperial power, wasn't it? Only the emperor could possess the imperial seal. Why would a general like him want it?
An expression of impatience appeared on Yin Jingheng's stern face, and he once again forced the emperor to hand over the imperial seal.
The young emperor was hesitant and reluctant to hand it over. He always felt that General Heng was completely different from his previous honest and loyal image.
He even began to regret returning the seal to him, and even more regretted allowing him to bring his sword into the palace.
The little emperor, sensing something was wrong, slowly backed away, not daring to get too close to him. Sure enough, before he had taken a few steps back, Yin Jingheng suddenly drew his sword and forced him to hand over the imperial seal.
"Why did you do this, General? Do you know that pointing a sword at the king is a crime of treason?"
Yin Jingheng sneered, "I have said that I will take back everything that belongs to me. You and I are both grandchildren of the previous emperor. Why should the throne be given to a mediocre person like you?"
The little emperor exclaimed, "Help!"
Only then did he see through Yin Jingheng's long-hidden ambition, but it was too late. He caught up with the little emperor in just a few steps, and the unrecognizable sword was across the emperor's neck. With just a little force, the throne would change hands.
At this time, the little emperor stood in front of him with trembling legs, crying and begging him for mercy.
"I'll ask you again, will you hand over the imperial seal?"
"Hand it over! Hand it over! I hand it over!"
At this time, the Queen Mother led her troops to surround the Qiankun Palace. She shouted angrily, "You bold traitor! How dare you commit treason and hold the emperor hostage? Come! Capture this traitor for me!"
The guards outside the palace raised their spears and attacked Yin Jingheng, but he was not afraid at all. He held the emperor hostage with one hand and raised the imperial seal with the other, ordering everyone to stop!
"The Imperial Seal, the Commander's Seal, and the Regent's Seal are all in my hands. With a single command from me, millions of Yulin troops will obey my orders. I advise you to think carefully: do you want to obey me? Or do you want to follow this mother and son to their deaths?"
The guards looked at each other in bewilderment, no one dared to step forward rashly. The Queen Mother was nearly fainted from anger. She held her breath and cursed, "Rebellion, rebellion! You and Prince Yin must have conspired together long ago to usurp the throne!"
"Your Majesty, you are wrong! He is who he is, and I am who I am. I stole this jade seal from him. Now he is an escaped prisoner and is not worthy of being my brother!"
Yin Jingheng raised his head and laughed wildly. With the jade seal in hand and the commander's seal in hand, the palace guards turned their spears and pointed them at the empress dowager.
"Mother, save me!"
The young emperor who was held hostage by Yin Jingheng still hoped that his mother would be able to rescue him, but he didn't know that the Yulin Army who were once loyal to the emperor had actually been complaining for a long time.
They were the elite soldiers and generals trained by Yin Jingheng over the years. Unfortunately, the young emperor did not cherish them at all. He listened to the instigation of flatterers and killed many loyal soldiers and generals.
Perhaps it was these grievances accumulated over the years that caused them to have doubts and disagreements at this moment about whether they should continue to be loyal to the emperor.
The Empress Dowager and the Emperor had clearly never anticipated the coup d'état of today, much less the lack of loyal ministers around them. Those who followed the imperial seal's orders were not truly loyal to the Emperor.
After Yin Jingheng seized power, he took the imperial seal and forced the emperor to issue several decrees.
"First, Prince Muchigeli of the Northern Desert Manhe Kingdom and his entourage have arrived outside Shangjing City. Your Majesty, please open the gates to welcome them."
The young emperor asked in confusion, "Those are the Rongdi of the Northern Desert! They have long coveted the Great Yin and have repeatedly invaded the border. When did they infiltrate our Great Yin Dynasty? Now they want me to open the city gates. Isn't that like inviting a wolf into the house? I absolutely cannot do such a thing that will bring disaster to our country!"
Yin Jingheng nudged the emperor's head with the hilt of his sword, and the young emperor immediately changed his tone and said, "Yes, yes, yes! Friends from afar are coming, and I must open the door to welcome them!"
"Second, immediately send troops to seize Prince Yin's mansion, speak openly and honestly, and offer a reward of ten thousand taels of gold on Prince Yin's head!"
"Ah? Do you really want to kill him? After all, he is your relative..."
"Hmm? Your Majesty has any objection?"
With Yin Jingheng's sword handle still against his head, the young emperor changed his tone again: "Kill, kill, kill! Such a traitor and rebel, beheading him is not enough to vent our hatred! He must be torn into pieces by five horses!"
After the young emperor had the eunuchs draft the first two imperial edicts, he stole a sidelong glance at Yin Jingheng and asked cautiously, "What about the third one?"
Yin Jingheng frowned, and seemed a little hesitant about this third imperial edict.
"Third... send five thousand Yulin soldiers to the Yulong Snow Mountain in the northern border... and massacre the tomb-guarding clan. Don't spare a single one!"
Although the young emperor felt that this was too cruel, he had no choice but to compromise when he thought of the sword at his back. If those people did not die, he would be the one to die.
After the three imperial edicts were issued, the sky over the capital was covered with dark clouds and heavy rain fell for several days in a row.
Prince Muchi of Beimo marched his troops into the city in the midst of a storm. Tall, bearded soldiers armed with bows and arrows, and riding on tall, fine horses, they swaggered into the palace.
In the main hall of Qiankun Palace, the little emperor sitting on the throne was restless and felt very uncomfortable. Before, with the empress dowager ruling the country from behind the curtain, he was not so nervous.
Now the empress dowager is under house arrest by Yin Jingheng. He sits on the throne like a puppet, and Yin Jingheng controls the strings behind the scenes. Every word the emperor says and every decree he issues must be approved by him.
The little emperor was so restless that he did not respond to Prince Mu Chi's repeated greetings.
At this moment, Yin Jingheng's ghostly voice sounded from behind: "Your Majesty, what are you thinking about? His Royal Highness the Prince is saluting you!"
"Oh, please excuse me, Prince!"
Prince Mu Chi then presented the black stone, a treasure he brought from the Northern Desert.
"This is our first meeting, Your Majesty. Gerry has brought you some gifts. I hope Your Majesty will accept them!"
"You are so polite, Prince. As a guest, I should also give you some treasures from the Great Yin in return."
"Your Majesty, there's no need to bother. Gerry wants the same thing as the general. All it takes is a nod from Your Majesty. There's no need to search for unnecessary treasures."
The young emperor knew very well that Prince Mu Chi was an ambitious and cunning man, and what he wanted was definitely not just a simple treasure.
"Then what does the prince want from me in return?"
Namuchigeli looked at Yin Jingheng with a smile. At this time, Yin Jingheng took out a pre-prepared imperial edict, opened it and presented it to the little emperor, forcing him to stamp the jade seal personally.
The little emperor took the imperial edict tremblingly and read it carefully word by word. He saw that it contained his edict to give up his throne to Yin Jingheng, as well as the imperial edict to appoint Prince Muchi as the regent of Great Yin.
His eyes had unknowingly become moist as the decree forcing him to abdicate had finally come down. Although he had expected this day to come, when the moment finally came, he caressed the throne beneath him with tears in his eyes.
"What's wrong? Your Majesty, are you unwilling?"
"No, no, no! I, oh no! I do."
The little emperor stamped the imperial seal with tears in his eyes and was driven off the throne.
Yin Jingheng sat on the throne, looking up at the sky and laughing wildly, while Prince Mu Chi bowed his hands in congratulations: "Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations, Your Majesty! Ge Li sincerely wishes to form an alliance with Your Majesty to build a friendly relationship between Great Yin and Northern Desert."
"You are so polite, Your Majesty! From now on, we are one family. Shouldn't your Great Desert Territory also submit to my Great Yin?"
"Of course. The Northern Desert will belong to you, Your Majesty, sooner or later. We, the people of the Great Desert, are fortunate to be protected by the Great Yin. The key to the survival of the dynasty lies in the people's peaceful and prosperous lives."
It turned out that before Yin Jingheng marched into the Snow Mountain in his early years, he had a private acquaintance with the prince of the Northern Desert. The Northern Desert has a vast territory, sparse population, and lacks material resources. In the past, the Rongdi people often invaded the border in order to seize resources.
Although Yin Jingheng, as a border general, had forced back the Rong and Di tribes many times, he felt that this move not only wasted manpower, but also destroyed the friendship between the two countries, leading to border wars and suffering for the people.
Therefore, he secretly formed an alliance with Muchigeli, the son of the king of Beimo Manhe. As long as Beimo was willing to help him usurp the throne and submit to him, the people of Beimo would also be the people of Dayin and would naturally be protected by Dayin.
Before returning to the court this time, he secretly asked Prince Mu Chi and his men to disguise themselves as people from the Central Plains and sneak into Dayin from the northern border, cooperating with him from inside and outside to successfully achieve the success of this coup.
On the second day after Yin Jingheng usurped the throne, the second imperial edict was issued. Thousands of imperial guards from the palace besieged Prince Yin's mansion, killing everyone they saw and ghosts they saw. Wherever they went, rivers of blood flowed.
Yin Jingheng, wearing the imperial robe and holding the emperor's Azure Dragon sword, questioned the kneeling Xu Guanshi who was begging for mercy: "I ask again, where is Yin Jinglong?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
