Emperor Huizong of Song was nothing but a foolish and incompetent ruler. How could Wang Han, such a weak and incompetent ruler, possibly leave with peace of mind?
After seeing the old eunuch off, Wang Han waved his hand again, and Yang Zhi, Lu Da, and Wu Song, who were fast asleep in the border camp, appeared in front of Wang Han.
"Attention!" Wang Han shouted, looking at the three sleeping men, Yang Zhi and his companions.
"Snap!" Almost reflexively, Yang Zhi and the other two, who were fast asleep, immediately stood up, their legs snapping straight.
"General!" Only after standing at attention did the three men groggily wake up. Looking at Wang Han in front of them and the unfamiliar surroundings, they immediately bowed and asked, "What orders does the General have for summoning us here?"
“Emperor Huizong set up a trap to poison me,” Wang Han said upon hearing this.
"General, this is outrageous! How dare they poison the General! I'll be the first to object! I'll gather everyone and storm the palace to kill that tyrant, Emperor Huizong!" Upon hearing this, Lu Da immediately shouted without any hesitation, showing no doubt about the truth of Wang Han's words.
"Yes, that's right! I've long believed that the emperor should be the Grand General. What virtue or ability does Emperor Huizong of Song possess?" Wu Song retorted. He spoke these ironic words without hesitation, nor did he doubt the truthfulness of Wang Han's words. That was his only thought.
"General, the brothers are all willing to follow you, and the people and the army are willing to support you as emperor," Yang Zhi said. This was the wish of these military officers, and even many officials, civilians, and soldiers. Otherwise, they wouldn't have allowed Wang Han to wield power that nearly rendered Emperor Huizong powerless, even when Wang Han was not in charge of affairs.
On a grand scale, under Wang Han's reforms and plans, the Song Dynasty enjoyed peace and prosperity, its people were wealthy, and its national strength was robust. On a smaller scale, Wang Han's policies and reforms gave those who had been unsuccessful more opportunities for advancement, and soldiers and generals had more equitable and reasonable plans for advancement. Their hard work was rewarded, and they were given greater recognition. Therefore, Wang Han had long been trusted by countless people from the lower classes. For those with little education, who had suffered oppression, hardship, or setbacks, Wang Han was like a second parent. No emperor had brought them wealth or fairness.
"You must not say that again!" Wang Han shook his head and said, looking at the three indignant men.
“But General, Zhao Jie wants to kill you, how can you let him go! If you care about your reputation, I will kill him and take all the blame. You can then declare yourself emperor, change the dynasty, and establish a new one.” Lu Da said excitedly, even calling Emperor Huizong by his name.
"Did I say we should spare him? I just don't have time to be emperor, but that doesn't mean we can't have a new emperor. Let's forget about the new dynasty, but we can use this opportunity to get rid of those useless ministers left behind by Emperor Huizong who don't know their own mortality," Wang Han said with a smile.
Upon hearing this, Yang Zhi and the other two stopped shouting, thinking to themselves that this was truly their mighty general.
"General, what should we do? Who should we replace as emperor?" Yang Zhi asked.
"You don't need to do anything, you don't need to worry about anything. Just wait to quell the rebellion and maintain order," Wang Han said with a smile. "As for the emperor, I've already decided on a candidate, and I will announce it when the time comes."
"Yes." Upon hearing this, the three immediately responded. They already roughly knew what Wang Han was going to do. Although they felt it was a pity that Wang Han wasn't emperor, he was a deity, and they couldn't persuade him otherwise.
"Now that you know, go back first!" Wang Han said with a smile, and with a wave of his hand, sent the group back to their original place in the same way.
Then Wang Han summoned Wu Yong and gave him some instructions.
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Early the next morning, news began to circulate throughout the palace: His Majesty had set up a trap the previous day, and the Divine Might General had been poisoned. This was spread by several imperial guards, who claimed to have witnessed it and were willing to stake their lives on it.
Although Emperor Huizong and the ministers involved took immediate steps to salvage the situation upon hearing the news, searching for its source and denying it outright, the news still spread throughout the palace and quickly beyond, leading to claims that the ministers' merits were too great and that the emperor was being killed.
Before noon, as the news became more and more believable, the palace's defenses collapsed. Almost all the imperial guards spontaneously rushed to the main hall, surrounding it with their weapons, demanding to know if the news was true. Even their commanders could no longer control them.
Many ministers and generals who heard the news questioned the emperor and some senior officials in court. Seeing the evasive looks in the eyes of some ministers, many people became more and more convinced of the truth of the rumors. They directly questioned the emperor and some senior officials, showing no fear of them. Several military officers even drew their swords, intending to kill the emperor and the ministers involved on the spot.
Seeing these agitated ministers and generals, Emperor Huizong was sweating profusely. He never expected the matter to be leaked so quickly. He tried to come up with all sorts of reasons to prove that General Shenwei was still alive and had just gone into seclusion. If he didn't handle things properly, he would be finished. These angry ministers, generals, and the imperial guards would tear him apart and label him a tyrant, and might even cause a change of dynasty, making him the emperor of a fallen kingdom.
"Listen to me, everyone. Whether this matter is true or not still needs to be verified. General Shenwei is usually elusive. His Majesty also said before that the General has gone into seclusion. It is normal that we cannot find General Shenwei for a while. We must not act rashly. We should find General Shenwei first, otherwise we will be putting General Shenwei in a position of disloyalty and injustice." Seeing that the atmosphere was becoming more and more tense, Zhong Shidao spoke up in time.
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