Upon hearing this, all the civil and military officials in the hall secretly breathed a sigh of relief. The title of Duke of Wei was almost the pinnacle of the Great Yu Dynasty, after all, the founding emperor had set an ironclad rule that no one could be granted the title of king except those with the surname Zhao.
In other words, with Zhao Qihong's words, Lü Tu's power had reached its zenith in the Great Yu Dynasty.
They all shouted in unison, "Congratulations to the Duke of Wei!"
Seeing that Lü Tu did not respond at all, the civil and military officials waved to the others and called out three more times.
But Lu Tu's expression remained indifferent, and a hint of disdain even appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"Why is Minister Lü silent? Is it because you dislike him?"
Lu Tu stared coldly at him until Zhao Qihong felt a chill run down his spine, then said in a cold voice, "Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Zhao Qihong visibly relaxed a little: "Issue my imperial decree that the Duke of Wei shall reward the three armies on my behalf. All the soldiers who have come from the northern border shall be richly rewarded!"
Lu Tu nodded: "Thank you, Your Majesty!"
But Lu Tu's indifferent expression throughout the whole thing already spoke volumes. With a wave of his hand, Zhao Qihong said, "Step down, Lu Aiqing and I have a long talk by candlelight!"
The civil and military officials present hurriedly withdrew to handle the arrangements, but the current situation was chaotic.
With the look in Lü Tu's eyes, Nie Yun and the others naturally understood: a full 400,000 troops would be used to officially take over the capital, including the residences of the civil and military officials, which would also be garrisoned by troops. This was all something Lü Tu had instructed them to do beforehand.
After everyone left, Zhao Qihong led Lü Tu and a group of soldiers to the Imperial Study.
He forced a fawning smile and poured tea for Lü Tu, saying, "Duke of Wei, please don't hold what happened before against your will."
Knowing full well what was going on, Lü Tu asked, "What is it?"
"I know how you felt when I listened to slander and increased taxes in the north tenfold. I promise I will never do it again, okay?"
Lu Tu smiled wickedly: "Your Majesty, you are the ruler and I am the subject. Don't even mention wanting ten times the taxes; even if you wanted my head, I should give it to you."
"No, no, no, Duke of Wei, please don't say that. I already know I was wrong." Zhao Qihong trembled upon hearing this.
His position was illegitimate from the start, and after ascending the throne, he could only appoint powerful ministers and influential figures who had previously helped him. He couldn't even make decisions about his second sister's marriage and could only listen to others' advice to send her to the Wuhuan for a political marriage. This shows that he had no real ability, otherwise he wouldn't have been so obsequious to Lü Tu.
However, Lü Tu was still wary. After all, the royal family was the royal family. Even if Zhao Qihong acted like a useless person at this moment, there were many stories in history of showing weakness to the enemy and then turning the tables. Since Lü Tu had already made up his mind to usurp the throne, he certainly wouldn't believe a single word from Zhao Qihong.
"Your Majesty, let me tell you the truth: you cannot hold onto this throne."
"Ah? Minister Lü, are you... going to kill me?"
Lu Tu shook his head: "It's not me, but the various vassal kings outside. No matter what, I'm your brother-in-law. We should be family!"
"Yes, yes, brother-in-law, you're right! My uncles opposed my succession from the beginning, and I've been very troubled by it. What do you think we should do, brother-in-law?"
Lu Tu waved his hand: "That's easy. You should have seen my fighting skills."
Zhao Qihong gave a thumbs up: "Brother-in-law's bravery is unparalleled throughout history!"
Lu Tu smiled and said, "It's not that fierce, but dealing with these vassal kings is no problem. How about this, Your Majesty, you hand over all the troops in the country to me, and I will take care of those people for you."
Zhao Qihong sat awkwardly on the dragon throne, fidgeting and fidgeting restlessly: "Brother-in-law, people will gossip if we do this."
Lu Tu sneered, "There will always be gossip, but if you don't listen, it will disappear. Besides, Your Majesty, you are the Son of Heaven. Who would dare to gossip about you? I will go and kill those who spread rumors."
But before he could finish speaking, Lü Tu heard Nie Yun warn him: "Be careful!"
Lu Tu instinctively lunged forward, and behind him came the sound of a steel blade cutting into a stone slab. Turning his head, he saw a eunuch.
"Traitor! How dare you disrespect His Majesty!"
Before Lü Tu could even make a move, Nie Yun rushed forward immediately and, with a swift stroke, beheaded the eunuch.
Lu Tu's face darkened, and he coldly ordered, "Kill all the eunuchs in the palace without exception!"
"Yes, sir!" came a chorus of responses from outside the imperial study, followed by the clanging of armor.
Lu Tu coldly looked at Zhao Qihong: "It seems that His Majesty still hates me. He called me brother-in-law one minute and then wanted my life the next."
"Minister Lü, this has nothing to do with me! It was all the work of those eunuchs. I knew nothing about it!"
Lu Tu nodded, went directly to his desk, and slammed a blank imperial edict in front of him: "Write!"
"What should I write?"
"You can't even write anything? What kind of emperor are you?!"
These words immediately shocked Zhao Qihong, who shrank back. He was truly afraid of Lü Tu, even though Lü Tu hadn't laid a hand on him the entire time, his imposing presence was stronger than that of an emperor.
This was completely beyond his comprehension. Even if other powerful ministers saw him, they would at least show him basic respect. But even though Lü Tu had now taken the position of Duke of Wei, he was still not satisfied.
Moreover, Lü Tu still had hundreds of thousands of elite troops stationed in the capital. Zhao Qihong was afraid that if he said even one more word, Lü Tu would take his life.
He picked up the pen and nodded: "I'll write. Someone, grind the ink!"
Only then did he realize that the eunuchs in the Imperial Study had long been taken away by Lü Tu's men. Lü Tu suddenly stepped forward and offered to grind the ink for him.
With his mind at ease, Zhao Qihong wrote on the imperial edict: "In recognition of Duke Lü Tu's merit in saving the emperor, he is hereby granted the title of King of Qi, with the additional title of Grand Pillar of State and concurrently Grand Marshal of the Armed Forces of the Realm!"
Finally, Zhao Qihong shakily took out the Imperial Seal of the State from his bosom, stamped it on the seal, and handed it to Lü Tu: "Brother-in-law, is this alright?"
From the moment the Imperial Seal of the State appeared, Lü Tu's eyes were glued to it. Now, after receiving the imperial edict, he looked at the seal and saw that a corner was missing, which had been replaced later. This convinced Lü Tu that it was genuine.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Holding the imperial edict, Lü Tu left the imperial study and then ordered Sun Kuang, "From today onwards, you are the commander of the Imperial Guards. You must protect His Majesty's safety. No one is allowed to enter or leave the Imperial City. Anyone who disobeys will be executed without mercy!"
"Yes, sir!" Sun Kuang was excited. He never thought he would be in this situation, actually managing to hold the emperor hostage. He could brag about this until he was 80 years old when he returned to his hometown!
After doing all this, in order to avoid suspicion, Lü Tu did not stay in the palace, but went to stay at the home of Jiang Lingfeng, the Minister of War. When the Jiang family heard that Lü Tu had arrived, they were so frightened that they rushed out to greet him.
"Welcome, Duke of Wei!"
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