Chapter 235 The King Who Lost His Country 35

Whether starting from friendship or interests, Emperor Yongqing could not convince Nan Liujing.

The severe pain from his shoulders and knees clearly conveyed such a signal to Emperor Yongqing: the young man in front of him with his blood would never let him go.

In this case, Emperor Yongqing was too lazy to tolerate it any longer.

It was absolutely impossible for him to write this self-criticism edict.

Not only did he not write it, he also spoke wildly and all kinds of insulting words were unbearable to hear.

Nan Liujing's lips curled up slightly, but there was no smile in his eyes. He squatted in front of Emperor Yongqing and gently pressed Emperor Yongqing's head with both hands.

"You are going to do... um..."

Emperor Yongqing felt as if his jaw had lost consciousness before he finished speaking.

Nan Liujing stared into Emperor Yongqing's eyes, his tone was flat, but Emperor Yongqing's back was instantly wet with cold sweat.

"You can scold me, but who allowed you to humiliate my mother?"

"Now I just dislocated your jaw. If you dare to say something you shouldn't say again, there's no need to keep your tongue." After

threatening Emperor Yongqing, Nan Liujing turned his head and looked at Qi Mingxu: "Go and see if my uncle has entered the palace."

Qi Mingxu retreated, and soon he walked in with Yao Shengan.

"My uncle, you're here." Nan Liujing said.

Emperor Yongqing raised his head suddenly and stared at Yao Shengan for a long time before he vaguely recognized him from his facial features.

When Yao Shengan just entered the palace, he had already seen the bodies of Ji Yushan and Ji Guifei. Seeing Emperor Yongqing kneeling on the ground, he felt happy.

"Why did you rush to find me in the palace?" Yao Sheng'an asked.

"I have something to ask of my uncle." Nan Liujing handed the blank edict to Yao Sheng'an, "Our emperor has not recognized his mistakes until now and is unwilling to write a confession of guilt. Let my uncle write it for him." Yao Sheng'an

was slightly stunned: "Isn't this against etiquette..."

Nan Liujing said: "If I say it's okay, then it's okay."

Pen, ink, paper and inkstone were already placed next to him. Yao Sheng'an took the blank edict and walked to the table.

When Yao Sheng'an was about to write, Nan Liujing suddenly spoke and ordered Qi Mingxu: "Brother Qi, take Emperor Yongqing to the table and make him kneel down and kowtow to repent. Stop when you finish writing the edict of repentance."

Emperor Yongqing did not expect Nan Liujing to do this, and his eyes widened in fear.

Qi Mingxu dragged Emperor Yongqing to the table, pressed and released his hands, and Emperor Yongqing struggled again, and his head kowtowed firmly.

Every time he kowtowed, it made a banging sound.

Nan Liujing nodded with satisfaction and said to Yao Shengan, "Uncle, write slowly. Write down all the crimes of Emperor Yongqing that you know."

"If one confession is not enough, then write two; if two is not enough, then write a few more."

"When these confessions are finished, I will announce them to the world, and write them into history books without changing a word, and put them in the imperial mausoleum."

Yao Shengan felt more and more happy.

This happiness fell into his pen and turned into a hearty and straightforward text.

The two confessions were finished, but the crimes of Emperor Nanling were still not finished.

Four confessions, but still felt guilty.

After five confessions in a row, Yao Shengan began to finish slowly.

The Yongqing Emperor, who was kneeling below, had already kowtowed and his head was bleeding.

"I'm done."

After a moment, Yao Sheng'an stopped writing and turned to look at Nan Liujing: "What are you going to do next?"

Nan Liujing took out the imperial seal and held it with Emperor Yongqing's hand. Then, he held up Emperor Yongqing's hand with both hands and helped Emperor Yongqing stamp each of the self-criticism edicts.

After doing all this, Nan Liujing put away the imperial seal.

"Take the guilty emperor..."

As if he suddenly thought of something, Nan Liujing changed his words: "Take the deposed emperor Nanling away and temporarily detain him with the sixth prince Nanle."

After judging the three culprits, Ji Yushan, Concubine Ji and Emperor Yongqing, it was time to settle accounts with the others.

Nan Liujing said, "Liang Guangyu, Qi Mingxu, Qi Si, listen to my orders."

The three of them clasped their fists and saluted, "I am here."

Nan Liujing handed three lists to the three of them respectively, "While the rain has not stopped, gather your men and clear out Ji Yushan's accomplices. Before dawn, arrest all the people on the list."

It doesn't mean that Ji Yushan's accomplices are all bad people.

Ji Yushan has been in control of the government for too long. In order to be able to work as an official with peace of mind, many officials in the court have more or less contact with the Ji family, or even directly take sides.

If all officials are killed with one stick, it would be disheartening.

So the list that Nan Liujing took out was a group of officials who had been investigated by the secret cabinet and had conclusive evidence of their crimes.

If we don't take advantage of the current uncertain situation to carry out a thorough cleansing, when will we wait?

If the Daye Dynasty is compared to a huge tree, the people of the world are the roots, and those corrupt officials are pests.

Without the support of the people, the tree will have an unstable foundation.

A slight storm will overturn the tree.

So if you want the tree to grow better and become more vibrant, you need to find a way to stabilize the people's hearts.

And those termites covering the tree are like ulcers attached to the bones, constantly eating away the vitality of the tree to strengthen itself.

If you don't take a strong medicine to get rid of them, it will be difficult for the tree to recover.

A new emperor appoints new ministers. Now is the best time to raise the butcher knife and shovel away the evil.

***

The rainstorm, which had originally turned down, seemed to have sensed what was about to happen in Kyoto and swept in again.

It was already late at night, but no one in the imperial capital could sleep.

The streets were filled with water that had not yet receded. Whenever someone passed by, there would be a splashing sound. And this noisy sound has never stopped since the rain began.

No one saw what was happening outside.

But everyone can guess what is happening outside.

Heavy rain and killing, depression and panic, constitute all the impressions of the people of Kyoto on this night.

When a little light appeared on the horizon, the heavy rain gradually stopped, and the killing also entered its final end.

The braver people opened the window and looked out, but they felt that everything on the street was the same as usual. At most, the streets became a little dirty and messy after the heavy rain.

Only those officials who were qualified to appear in the grand court knew that everything was different.

Late last night, the guards knocked on the doors of all officials, took away those who committed crimes on the spot, and those who did not commit crimes were told to come to the palace on time today to attend the grand court.

The officials stood in their usual positions, and looking around, the entire grand court was almost empty of a quarter of the people.

Where did this quarter of the people go... Everyone knew the answer and would not be foolish enough to ask.

"The Minister of Revenue, the Left and Right Vice Ministers of Revenue, the Minister of War, the Left and Right Vice Ministers of War did not show up."

"No one from the Ji family showed up either."

Some ministers who were standing closer and had better relationships exchanged information with each other.

It was obvious that the Ji family lost in the power struggle yesterday.

"It was the Imperial Guards who came to the mansion to inform me yesterday."

"The palace is in order. The strength of the Imperial Guards and the Dark Chamber should have been preserved. There was not much damage."

These officials were the smartest of the smart. They could guess the general direction from some details.

"Could it be that the final winner is... Your Majesty?"

Just when some of them had just come to a conclusion, a team of well-equipped guards escorted a group of people into the side hall.

When the group walked around the falling curtain and appeared in front of the court officials, everyone's eyes fell on the leader uncontrollably.

The young man was wearing a black ceremonial suit of a king and a long sword at his waist.

Perhaps he didn't sleep well last night, and there was a hint of fatigue in his eyes. However, when he raised his eyes, the fatigue disappeared in an instant, leaving only the bone-chilling coldness like the snow on the top of a thousand-year-old snow-capped mountain that never melted all year round, which made the princes and the others hold their breath subconsciously and dare not look at his face casually.

But that brief look was enough for everyone to guess his identity -

King Zhenbei, Yao Nan.

So the final winner was not Ji Yushan, nor Emperor Yongqing, but King Zhenbei?

Nan Liujing stood on the main hall, next to the dragon chair, and took in the reactions of the people below, and then he took off his vest.

When they knew Nan Liujing's true identity, they were all shocked.

Nan Liujing ordered someone to add a stool next to the dragon chair, and without giving them time to react, he continued: "I called everyone here today because I have a few things to inform everyone."

The first thing is about the handling of the Ji family.

The second thing is to vindicate the Yao family.

No one had any objections to the first two things. But to the next thing, everyone's reaction was very big.

Because Nan Liujing took out the five self-criticism edicts in front of everyone.

The gray-haired, old-fashioned Minister of Rites questioned: "Your Highness, Third Prince, may I ask if these self-criticism edicts were written by His Majesty?"

Nan Liujing smiled slightly and said without hiding: "No, I ordered someone to write them."

The noises below became louder.

Even with Nan Liujing's pressure, many people still whispered.

"Your Highness, Third Prince, this is not in accordance with etiquette." The Minister of Rites said.

"It is indeed against the etiquette." Nan Liujing sighed softly and asked, "What is the name of this gentleman?"

After hearing the other party's name, Nan Liujing nodded: "He refused to admit his guilt, so I had to help him admit his mistakes to the people of the world, so that the people of the world can thoroughly recognize his true face."

"If Lord Jiang thinks it is against the etiquette, why don't you help me persuade him to write these few self-criticism edicts?"

The Minister of Rites froze.

This...

Is this something he can persuade!

Nan Liujing seemed puzzled: "Why? Didn't the etiquette tell Lord Jiang how to persuade Emperor Yongqing?"

Before the Minister of Rites could speak, Prince Li, who was in charge of the affairs of the royal clan, said: "Your Highness, you are a minister, and your Majesty is the king."

"You are a son, and your Majesty is a father. Whether from the perspective of respect or filial piety, you should not do such a thing that shames the royal family and makes the world laugh."

Qi Mingxu, who was standing next to Nan Liujing, sneered.

When Brother Nan was eating and drinking in the cold palace, why didn't Prince Li stand up and say that there was something wrong with what Emperor Yongqing did?

Li Guanqi, Jiang Ding and Qi Si also looked unhappy.

Especially Qi Si, he was already thinking about putting Prince Li in a sack after some time.

Prince Li seemed not to notice their murderous gazes. He straightened his back and exuded an air of righteousness and unyielding might.

Nan Liujing was not angry at all: "If I am not mistaken, you are Prince Li, right?"

After confirming Prince Li's identity, Nan Liujing also nodded.

"Since the third thing I mentioned caused such a strong reaction, let's put these five confessions aside for the time being and talk about the fourth thing first."

"This fourth thing has something to do with you, Prince Li."

"I remember that when I was born, I was never on the royal family tree because of Emperor Yongqing's disgust. So I am not actually a member of the royal family."

When hearing this, for some reason, Prince Li suddenly had a bad premonition in his heart.

"I have used the identity of Yao Nan for many years and have become accustomed to it. The common people in the north only know Yao Nan and don't know Nan Liujing."

Nan Liujing had heard Yao Rong talk about a theory before, called the window opening theory.

If he said that the room was too dark and a window must be opened, everyone would definitely not allow it. But if he advocated tearing down the roof, they would come to reconcile and be willing to open the window. [Note]

It was difficult to get some old-fashioned people in the court to accept the five confession edicts, but as long as he said that he would tear down the entire roof, these old-fashioned people would definitely be willing to open the window.

Therefore, Nan Liujing continued, "I thought, it's better to make the best of a bad situation. From now on, my name and household registration will be in the Yao family. Everyone should think that the third prince Nan Liujing has died of illness in the cold palace, and I am just Yao Nan, the orphan of the Yao family."

Nan Liujing did not forget to name names.

"Prince Li, what do you think?"

His words were as gentle and polite as they could be.

But Prince Li just thought it was the whisper of a devil.

What did he think!

He thought this proposal was terrible!!!

Why was he able to be named a prince, why was he able to become the head of the clan?

Was it because of his strong ability?

Ha, he still had this little self-knowledge. He had lived for more than a dozen years and had always been idle and not doing his job.

The only reason he could live such a comfortable life was because his last name was Nan and he was the emperor's uncle.

After such a long time, even those who didn't know the situation well knew that Kyoto was completely controlled by Nan Liujing.

If Nan Liujing really registered his household registration with the Yao family, the first person to be stripped of his title and demoted to a commoner would be Prince Li.

Prince Li almost cried, but had to force a smile: "Your Highness the Third Prince, you are joking. I will go back right now to open the ancestral hall and add your name to the family tree. What do you think?"

Qi Mingxu and the other three almost couldn't help laughing out loud.

Even Liang Guangyu, who was always well-trained, was a little out of form.

Nan Liujing shook his head: "Why would I joke in such a serious occasion? Don't bother you to open the ancestral hall of your Nan family, you should open the ancestral hall of the Yao family."

"It just so happens that after rehabilitating the Yao family, I can give my grandfather, General Yao... Oh, no, if I register my household registration in the Yao family, I should call General Yao my grandfather."

Prince Li:!

Prince Li didn't dare to use filial piety to pressure Nan Liujing anymore.

What if Nan Liujing really changed his surname to Yao if he pushed Nan Liujing too far?

Nan Liujing said lightly to dismiss Prince Li, and turned his eyes to the Minister of Rites, showing the same gentle smile as before: "I have almost achieved the purpose of my uprising this time. After my household registration is settled, I will return to the North to be my King of Zhenbei. This country must be inherited by people with the surname Nan."

Minister of Rites: "..."

The Minister of Rites smiled reluctantly: "Your Highness is joking. You have quelled the chaos and eliminated treacherous officials for the court. The throne of the emperor belongs to you."

Want to support others to take the throne?

Those who dare to have this idea, have they ever asked the imperial guards in the city and the Beidi army outside the city?

"I am indeed joking." Nan Liujing said, "but I thought that I changed my surname and am no longer a member of the Daye royal family. It's time to change the name of the country."

Minister of Rites: ! !

The Minister of Rites, who had not realized the seriousness of the problem just now, was really shocked at this moment.

Change the country's name! ?

Isn't this asking them to be slaves of a conquered country!

Nan Liujing leaned back, revealing a lazy attitude: "It is better to be the founding monarch of a dynasty than to be the ninth emperor of Daye."

"You will not be oppressed by the so-called hierarchy between the monarch and his subjects, nor will you be bound by any ancestral rituals. You can interrogate anyone you want and punish anyone you want. Don't you think so?"

Qi Mingxu already understood Nan Liujing's intentions, and smiled and continued: "What you said is right, sir. If you plan to create a new dynasty, the sixteen cities in the north and the one hundred thousand troops in the north will swear to follow you to death." All the civil and military officials in the court

: !!!

The civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty dared not look directly at Nan Liujing, so they glared at Qi Mingxu, labeling him in their hearts as "treacherous", "villain", and "sinister".

Qi Si also said with amusement: "Sir, I think the name Liang is a good name for the country."

Li Guanqi said: "We started our army from Yongning City, so why not take the word Ning as the name of the country."

Jiang Ding was puzzled: "Why not call it Bei? Didn't we start our army from the north?"

The civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty: The four treacherous ministers actually discussed changing the name of the country in public! This is completely ignoring them, the officials of Daye! ! !

They are guilty.

They actually let such a villain get close to the Third Prince and let such a villain become the Third Prince's confidant.

Seeing that the atmosphere below was almost heated, Nan Liujing raised his hand, clenched his fist to his lips, and said with a forced smile: "I see that the adults are a little tired, so today's court meeting ends here. You go back and rest. I will go to talk to Master Yao Shengan about inheritance and naturalization."

Looking at Nan Liujing's back as he left, the adults almost blurted out: Don't go!

Just as Nan Liujing was about to walk down the steps, he seemed to suddenly remember something, and returned to the dragon chair again, announcing: "We will hold another court meeting in three days to talk about the confession of guilt and the change of name and surname, and unify opinions."

After the words fell, Nan Liujing really left this time regardless of the reactions of the people below.

Qi Mingxu and others also followed Nan Liujing and left.

Only Liang Guangyu was slow to react and was stopped by a group of ministers.

*** The sky cleared up

after the rain, the air was very fresh, and the sunshine was very comfortable.

After Nan Liujing threw the question back to the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty, he felt refreshed.

Qi Mingxu and the others were all busy, and only Nan Liujing had a half-day of leisure to stroll aimlessly in the palace.

"I have lived in the palace for more than ten years, and this is my first time to set foot in these palaces." Nan Liujing said to Yao Rong.

Yao Rong said: [I haven't been here much before.]

"Does your mother know the way?"

[If you are asking me the way to the cold palace, then I know it. Nan

Liujing smiled and said, "I really can't hide it from my mother. I really want to go back to Changxin Palace to have a look."

He missed his persimmon tree and the persimmons on it.

[Then let's go as I say.]

Twenty years have passed, and many places in the palace have been adjusted, but the overall layout has not changed, so Yao Rong can still tell the general route.

Nan Liujing did not walk fast, and from time to time he told Yao Rong about interesting things in his childhood.

The road from the front court to the back palace passes through a long and narrow red corridor.

Nan Liujing stood at the entrance of the corridor, looking at the end of the corridor, and recalled: "When I was a child, I often stood at the other end and looked at this end. But I never dared to set foot on this road."

Yao Rong had been listening to him quietly, and asked: [Why? ]

"Because I felt that this palace was full of cannibalism. This red corridor was too long, too high, and too narrow for me at that time. It seemed that if I walked into it, I would be oppressed and unable to breathe."

Yao Rong looked at the corridor with Nan Liujing's perspective: [Let me walk this road with you.]

Nan Liujing walked in.

When he walked to the middle of the corridor, Yao Rong asked: [How do you feel now?]

Nan Liujing pushed aside the branches that blocked his way: "It feels good."

[You were too weak before, so you felt that the palace was scary. But now the whole palace is yours, and you certainly won't feel scared on your own territory. "

My mother is right."

Nan Liujing quickened his pace and walked the whole corridor.

He stood at the end of the corridor and looked back at the way he came.

The sunlight shone through the mottled shadows of the trees and sprinkled on the red corridor. Time was stretched to a very long length at this moment. Nan Liujing seemed to have passed through a time tunnel, and in the gap he glimpsed himself eight years ago before he reunited with his mother.

Yes, he would rather use the term "reunion after a long separation" to describe his first meeting with his mother.

Eight years ago, the twelve-year-old boy stood here, worrying about today's meal and a cotton-padded jacket for winter.

The years passed in a flash, and he, who was about to turn twenty, stood in the same place, already worrying about the problem of food and clothing for the people of the world.

This corridor witnessed his luckiest eight years.

Nan Liujing whispered, "I like this road."

Yao Rong didn't ask him why, but just said, "We can come here often for a walk in the future."

After staying for a while on the palace road, Nan Liujing and Yao Rong set out again.

After walking for a full quarter of an hour, they finally arrived near Changxin Palace.

The path leading to Changxin Palace was already overgrown with weeds, but fortunately it was winter now, and the weeds were basically dry.

Nan Liujing stepped on the dead grass and finally came to the outside of Changxin Palace. After

years of no one living and taking care of it, the walls of Changxin Palace have begun to become mottled and fall off.

The upside-down "Fu" pasted on the palace gate during the New Year was still pasted on the palace gate, but it had long since faded its original bright red in the wind and sun.

Nan Liujing slowly pushed open the palace gate.

Unlike the desolate and dilapidated outside, Changxin Palace was well maintained.

Every blade of grass and tree inside was almost the same as in Nan Liujing's memory.

The only difference was that the persimmon tree he had planted that year had now grown into a four-meter-tall tree.

Nan Liujing walked around the two persimmon trees, imitating his youthful ways, sitting on the ground under the trees, looking up at the trees full of red persimmons, happily counting how many persimmons had been harvested from the trees this year.

However, this year was indeed a bumper year. Nan Liujing

was dazzled by the persimmons on the trees, and he counted them three times but still couldn't count them all. In the end, he could only give up helplessly.

The system was in a playful mood and directly scanned the two persimmon trees. In less than a second, it obtained accurate data: [Host, you can tell this data to Nan Liujing.]

Yao Rong couldn't help laughing: [He counted the persimmons in order to find the mood of counting persimmons when he revisited the old place, rather than being obsessed with an exact number.]

However, Yao Rong still followed the system's instructions and passed the data to Nan Liujing.

Nan Liujing compared the number of persimmons in previous years and exclaimed: "The output this year is much higher, thanks to Master Liang who has been coming to help me take care of them. In order to thank Master Liang, I decided to send Master Liang an extra basket after these persimmons are picked."

Yao Rong praised: [This gift is good. Nan Liujing

was in high spirits, with his hands behind his back: "I like this gift, too."

He exerted a little force with his right hand and climbed up from the ground: "But this year's first batch of persimmons belongs to you, mother."

The dress on his body greatly affected the activity, but fortunately Nan Liujing did not abandon his tree-climbing skills. He climbed up the persimmon tree in a few steps and picked a red persimmon that he had long been eyeing.

"Mother, this is for you."

The persimmon disappeared from Nan Liujing's hand, but then Nan Liujing felt his palm sink again.

A bag of toffee lay quietly in his hand.

This kind of ceremonial exchange has rarely appeared.

Nan Liujing pursed his lips and smiled softly, took out one and tore open the package.

In the endless space, Yao Rong peeled the persimmon with a fruit knife and took a bite of the persimmon: [The persimmons from this tree seem to be sweeter than those from the previous one.]

"Really? Then I want to try it too."

Nan Liujing also reached out and picked a persimmon for himself.

But after picking it, he realized that he didn't bring any peeling tools with him.

[I have a knife here.]

"No need." Nan Liujing wiped the persimmon skin with a handkerchief and bit the persimmon directly with his mouth.

The bitterness of the persimmon skin and the sweetness of the persimmon flesh spread in his mouth at the same time.

He didn't care about the bitterness and finished the persimmons in his hand one by one.

After eating the persimmon, Nan Liujing got down from the tree and prepared to go back to find someone to pick persimmons.

When he left Changxin Palace, he couldn't help but look back at the palace shrouded in the setting sun.

Nan Liujing suddenly said, "Mother, after the affairs of the court are sorted out and the lives of the people are restored to order, I plan to renovate Changxin Palace."

Yao Rong was slightly stunned and asked subconsciously: [What do you want to renovate Changxin Palace into?]

"Let me think about it..."

"Changxin Palace is too dilapidated. Even if it is renovated, it is estimated that people cannot live in it. It is better to spend a little more money to demolish it directly, and then rebuild a new palace on its original foundation." The

name Zhaixing Palace instantly emerged in Yao Rong's mind.

She lowered her eyelids, trying not to reveal too much emotion: [If you want to build a new palace, you must give it a new name. Have you thought of a name for this palace? ]

"I haven't had time to think about it yet." Nan Liujing didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

There is not even a shadow of the new palace. Isn't it too early to name it now?

"But--"

Nan Liujing paused: "If I really want to give the palace a name, I should call it Zhaixing Palace."