Chapter 197 Finale (Part 2)
It is more like an invitation letter than a letter of credence.
Qu Dubian carefully considered Yu Ruo's wording.
They didn't seem like two emperors of two countries fighting each other with swords, but old friends who had known each other for a long time.
An ordinary elegant banquet at the end of spring when pear blossoms were falling.
He placed the letter on the table, crossed his hands, rested them on his chin, and his brows were calm.
He was unusually quiet. Wen Xiaochun glanced at Ye Xiaoyuan, who secretly glanced at the contents of the letter on the table, and then his eyelids twitched wildly.
Qu Watanabe: "How long does it take to get from here to the imperial capital of Nanning?"
Wen Xiaochun looked at Ye Xiaoyuan's eyes, which were winking at him frantically, and could not understand. He said, "If we travel day and night, it will take ten days."
Unlike the post station where people changed horses and people to deliver messages over 800 miles, during a normal journey, only the same group of people traveled the entire journey and they needed to rest.
Qu Watanabe: "It's mid-February now."
The invitation said March, and Yu Ruo also calculated the time he spent on the road.
Since he dared to make the appointment, why didn't he dare to go?
"Get ready, I have an appointment."
Wen Xiaochun: "Go to the appointment?"
-
His Majesty was going to Nanning, and the Zhou court was in an uproar.
But their bombing was useless this time. Qu Dubian had asked the Imperial Hospital to guard the front of the Purple Palace early on to prevent anyone from hitting the pillar and dying after making a remonstrance, and then not being able to rescue them in time.
Last time he said he was going to take charge of the rear of the battlefield, there was a man who bumped into a pillar and was pulled out a little too late. The broken skin on his head hasn't healed in three days, which made him feel very guilty.
So this time we just stopped it.
Even if it happens, no one will die.
When an emperor who holds real power wants to do something from the bottom of his heart, no one can stop him.
Qu Dubian ordered three regent ministers and Prince Ming to supervise state affairs, and asked Taifu Fang to personally bring Xi Zixing, the future grand secretary he had chosen.
Subsequently, the capital was placed under martial law, with strict restrictions on entry and exit, including for the emperor's travels.
Upon receiving the news, Zhennan Pass quickly made preparations.
Xu Tingfeng and Xia Fuyang on the front line also cleared out an absolutely safe passage.
There wasn't even a hint of blood.
It was March when Qu Dubian arrived at the front line.
He was very clear about his own strength. There were very few people who could rival him, and he had Liu Liu protecting him. He really wanted to ride a fast horse all the way here, but Doctor Yang did not allow it.
The people in the court could not stop him from coming to Nanning, so they sent several famous doctors from the Imperial Medical Bureau, including Imperial Doctor Yang and Imperial Doctor Zhang, to be by his side.
I was afraid something might happen to him on the way.
The voices of the six ministries in the imperial court were unprecedentedly unanimous: the great achievement of great unification was right before their eyes, and even if the tombs of the emperor's ancestors were dug up, their majesties would not let a single hair of theirs be harmed!
They wished they could flatten all the stones on the road so that their Majesty could walk more smoothly.
In short, after a tiring journey, we finally arrived.
As soon as Qu Dubian came down, he saw Xu Tingfeng and called out, "Uncle."
Xu Tingfeng's eyes curved: "Yes, Your Majesty."
Qu Watanabe: "Just call me Xiao Qi."
Xu Tingfeng looked around and whispered, "Call him in private, and call him Your Majesty now."
The two exchanged a few words, and Xia Fuyang pushed aside the soldiers and walked over from the front, bowing and saying, "Your Majesty."
Qu Watanabe: "Any movement?"
Xia Fuyang shook his head.
He said coldly: "If he plays tricks on me, I will cut off his head with my own hands."
Qu Watanabe: "He is not a man who would play tricks on others. Now that he is here, just wait a while."
I guess Yu Ruo must have received the news of his coming.
He went to the resting place, washed, packed up, changed his clothes, and waited patiently.
Not long.
Early the next morning.
The gates of the imperial capital opened.
Xia Fuyang was about to lead his troops in to investigate, but Qu Dubian raised his hand and pressed down on his shoulder, "He didn't invite you, I will go in by myself."
"His Majesty!"
"Your Majesty, you can't!"
Xia Fuyang pursed his lips and said, "I will lead a team to follow Your Majesty."
Qu Watanabe acquiesced.
He took out the letter of invitation from his arms and walked into the enemy's capital.
Xia Fuyang and a group of soldiers behind him followed quietly. Yi Twelve in the dark sensed it and felt relieved.
There's really no one here.
The national flower of Da Zhou is the orchid, and the national flower of Nanning is the pear blossom.
In fact, people in Da Zhou don’t like pear blossoms very much, because when the pear trees growing in Da Zhou bloom, the flowers smell a little fishy.
Nanning, however, highly praises it.
It was the first time that Qu Dubian smelled the scent of Nanning pear blossoms. He didn’t know if it was because of the different varieties, but the scent of the pear blossoms here was slightly sweet.
A breeze was blowing from the ground, and the petals of the pear blossoms were spinning under his feet before floating away.
The place where pear blossoms bloom most beautifully and abundantly is Feixian Tower.
Located in the center of the entire imperial capital, it is the highest and most magnificent place in the imperial capital.
It is much higher than the nine-story platform of the Great Zhou Observatory.
Feixian Tower has thirteen floors. For ordinary people, climbing the stairs is tiring enough, but for people who have practiced martial arts, it is naturally nothing.
Qu Dubian stopped below and looked up at Feixian Tower in the distance.
"Old Xia, you stay downstairs, I'll go up to the appointment."
Xia Fuyang: "I'll go too."
Qu Watanabe: "Be obedient."
“…”
Xia Fuyang didn't say anything, but he didn't stop it either.
Qu Dubian took a step back slightly, gathered his internal strength, tapped the tip of his toes on the branch of the pear tree next to him, and flew up.
The thirteen-story Feixian Tower becomes narrower with each floor, making it easier for Qu Dubian to gain leverage.
When he was near the top floor, he heard a smile: "Climbing up the stairs, Your Majesty, is not very elegant."
Qu Dubian paused, landed on the second floor, acted like a polite guest who had come to an appointment, and walked up the stairs seriously.
The stairs spiral up to the top floor.
On the top floor, Yu Ruo was wearing a plain white dress and sitting on the ground with a small grill in front of him.
The place is quite spacious, about 17 or 18 square meters.
The wind on the top floor seemed more comfortable. Looking down, the whole city was covered with snow-white pear blossoms dancing in the air, pure and flawless.
Qu Watanabe: "I came here as promised."
He sat cross-legged opposite Yu Ruo and pushed the invitation letter written on the letter of credence over to him.
Yu Ruo gave him half of the roasted rabbit, which was half-cooked, and said, "This is your own portion. Roast it yourself."
Qu Dubian raised his eyebrows: "No way, I'm a guest here, and this is how you treat me?"
As he spoke, he still took the two iron skewers for the rabbit, rolled them on the iron net, and skillfully coated the rabbit with a layer of oil.
Yu Ruo: "I wanted to invite you to drink," he pointed to the jar of wine next to him, "but I remembered that you don't like strong-smelling wine. Unfortunately, I don't have any fresh fruit wine to treat you, so I can only roast a rabbit temporarily."
"The Great Zhou army is at the gates of the city. You are the emperor of the Great Zhou. It's good enough to have something to eat. Why are you so picky?"
He was also roasting a rabbit, and it looked almost done.
Qu Watanabe: "Where are the people in the imperial capital?"
"Soldiers, the civilians in the military camps in the east and west capitals... have all been moved to the place farthest from the city gate you entered. They are safe."
Qu Watanabe: "The last letter was written to me by your father, threatening me with soldiers and civilians."
Yu Ruo said calmly: "Well, so I killed my father."
Qu Watanabe paused.
Yu Ruo: "Only the emperor can command the soldiers and the people." He slowly recounted what he had done. "Among the soldiers, there are those who are willing to die for their country and are willing to drag a Great Zhou person with them before they die."
Qu Dubian lowered his brows slightly and his eyes fell on Yu Ruo's face.
"Not only the soldiers, but also the court officials... those old officials who used to scold me for my impure blood actually said that they admired me for daring to be the emperor at this time and wanted to face the national crisis with me."
Yu Ruo chuckled.
"They are extremely conservative, but they are also the backbone of this dynasty. I gathered these soldiers and ministers together, and last night, I fed them a knockout drug."
"I personally removed Nanning's last claws, pulled out its last hard bones, and then opened the gate to welcome the enemy into the dynasty's territory."
"Tell me, how will future history books record this scene today?"
Qu Dubian said: "The emperor guards the country's gates, and the king dies for the country. You have soldiers and ministers who can be used. If you fight to the death, the Great Zhou will definitely suffer. You opened the city gates to welcome them because you don't want to see the war again."
"This will reduce many casualties, but it will deprive those who are willing to die for their country of their faith. They will resent you to the extreme."
Yu Ruo turned the roasted rabbit in his hand over, cut off a small piece and tasted it.
Then he frowned, opened the jar of wine, poured it into two small cups, gave one to Qu Dubian, and drank the other himself while mixing it with the meat.
After swallowing the rabbit meat, he said, "They want to achieve the reputation of the king, his subjects and the people dying together, but there are also many people who want to live a good life."
"Those scholars, common people, and honest officials... they are swept up in the great cause, and if they say 'I don't want to die', they become cowards."
He thought of the stones thrown from the alley and the old man kneeling down.
The father selfishly let them die, and he selfishly let them live.
Since he, the emperor, has made the choice, they no longer have to choose between justice and survival.
They were all loyal subjects and righteous men, and the one who betrayed the country was the king.
Not only those who were drugged by him, but even those who originally thought it was better to surrender could point to his spine and say with a clear conscience: "We all swear to defend the city to the death, but your majesty betrayed Nanning, and we have no choice."
When you are older, you can still say to your descendants: "I was supposed to defend the city, but, alas... Your Majesty betrayed Nanning, and we had no choice. In the future, you must never be a coward who betrays your country."
Irrefutable.
If Yu were the last king, he would be trampled into a mud pit.
Those who truly want to live and die with Nanning would even wish to eat its flesh and blood alive.
Qu Dubian was quiet for a moment, then said, "So, you invited me here to serve the country."
"It's worth it, isn't it?" Yu Ruo said, "Although it was a lot of trouble, it saved both sides from casualties. If it were someone else, I would definitely not do that, because I don't trust them. But you are different."
"You will treat the people of Nanning well."
He drank another glass of wine.
"This wine is called Lihuabai. Isn't it very appropriate for the occasion?"
Qu Watanabe nodded, "The pear blossoms here are indeed beautiful."
Yu Ruo stood up, walked to the railing and looked into the distance.
Pear blossoms are flying everywhere.
Qu Watanabe also turned his head to look over.
Yu Ruo said softly: "Before I returned to China, you told me that there was a country where scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans were all equal. I dreamed about it many nights, but I could never imagine what it would be like..."
He looked for a moment, turned around, leaned against a pillar in the corner, slowly sat down and leaned against the pillar.
Seems tired.
Qu Dubian has been away from that world for twenty years, and some details of life have begun to blur in his memory. "It's a place where once you go there, you never want to come back," he said.
Yu Ruo really couldn't imagine it, so after trying for a while, he gave up.
"There is a box, open it and have a look."
There is also a small box next to the wine jar.
Qu Dubian opened it and took a look.
Inside was the imperial seal, a confession of guilt from the fallen emperor, and a letter of repentance for surrendering to the enemy.
The last one is a contract.
Yu Ruo asked him to promise that after annexing Nanning, he would treat the people of Nanning and the people of Da Zhou equally, and he also prepared ink.
"In that case, don't you plan to survive and supervise me?"
He didn't know what he felt. He obviously didn't have much good feelings towards Yu Ruo, but at this moment he truly felt pity and sadness for Yu Ruo's choice.
The rabbit meat that Yu Ruo gave him was not poisonous, but the half piece of rabbit meat that he roasted himself was poisonous.
When I helped Yu Ruo turn the baby over, the simulator responded as soon as my fingers touched it.
Qu Dubian asked Yu Ruo, but he already had the answer in his heart.
The other party will not agree.
He turned himself into the last piece of imperial bone of the unified Great Zhou Dynasty. Only by stepping on this imperial bone could the unified country be born amid the curses of his subjects.
Yu Ruo indeed shook his head.
"So you found out. Don't save me. This is my own choice."
In some ways, he was also a very selfish person. He stopped loyal officials from dragging the people of the city to die for their country, and presented the country to the emperor of the enemy country in the highest and most beautiful place in the imperial capital.
Born sensible, and realizing that he was half Northern Frontier person and could not inherit the throne, Yu Ruo knew that he would never be able to become a king loved by the people and assisted by wise ministers, and leave his name in history.
He thought that it would be nice to be a wise minister assisting the emperor.
But in the end, he still became emperor.
The death of the emperor who lost his country was destined to be recorded in history books with heavy ink by historians. It brought the dawn of great unification.
Dressed in white, the city is full of pear blossoms.
Today should be the day when Yu Ruo's reputation is the 'cleanest'.
"Qu Watanabe, I really envy you."
"Why envy me?"
Yeah, what are you envious of?
Yu Ruo didn’t know either.
He saw the person he longed for in Qu Dubian.
He always seems to know what he wants, weighs things rationally, understands the price he will pay, and then moves forward firmly until he achieves his goal.
When he was young, he hid his strength and pretended to be clever. He was cunning but simple-minded. Later, for the sake of his sister, he suppressed bandits, fought for power, went to the northern border, and drank poison. Even later, after finally gaining a lifetime of freedom, he chose to save the king, returned to the imperial city, and ascended the throne to become emperor.
Until today.
This may not be what he really wants, but it is definitely what he has chosen firmly.
This feeling is very attractive.
That's why there are so many people around him who support and follow him and remain steadfast.
Yu Ruo closed his eyes. He didn't say what he was envious of, but he made a joke.
"You will definitely create a unified and prosperous world. It is uncomfortable to be your enemy, but perhaps it would be comfortable to be your subject. I would rather die and reincarnate early. In eighteen years, I will be born in a prosperous world. I hope you can hold on a little longer..."
"Don't let me be reincarnated and write about you as a tyrant..."
He muttered a few more words.
Breathing gradually stopped.
for a long time.
Qu Duanbian said, "Then hurry up and get in line. After I train my successor, I will retire and wander the world in about 20 to 30 years. If you are late, you may scold me, but you may not be able to catch up."
He took the contract out of the box, pressed his thumb on the ink pad, and pressed it on the contract that treated the people of Nanning and the people of Da Zhou equally.
Upstairs of Feixian Tower.
One person sat leaning against a wooden pillar, and the other sat upright in the middle.
One seemed to be asleep, while the other was still awake.
The imperial capital was deserted and no one witnessed this spring invitation to drink pear blossom wine in March.
Just like watching the moon from the eaves many years ago.
Qu Dubian still didn't drink the glass of Lihuabai that Yu Ruo poured for him.
Now, he slowly picked up the glass of wine and drank it all.
The scattered white petals passed through the tall Feixian Tower and landed on the edge of the wine jar and the hem of clothes on the ground.
After the wine passes between lips and teeth, only a little astringency is left, not bitter, but no sweetness either.
"Sure enough, I still don't like drinking this kind of wine."
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