Chapter 638 Zhou Ruyuan commits suicide!
Che Mingyuan had thought that His Majesty would go and kill to his heart's content, but to his surprise, His Majesty only waved the sword twice to boost morale before putting the Star Companion Sword back on the chariot.
"Does Your Majesty intend to shelve the sword?" Che Mingyuan asked.
Shen Lanxi shook her head: "My sword is meant for foreign tribes, not for the people of Great Zhou."
After understanding the meaning, Che Mingyuan sighed that he was still too shallow in his understanding and that his thoughts about His Majesty were too superficial.
His Majesty is far more suited to sit on the dragon throne than he imagined.
...
The battle lasted shorter than expected, and more than half of Zhou Yanxing's troops surrendered, as did Zhou Ruyuan's.
At first, they were able to put up some fighting, but within an hour, their army collapsed like a house of cards, with more soldiers throwing down their weapons and surrendering than fighting.
In less than three hours, Xiao Fang cornered Zhou Ruyuan on the small road leading to Tianjin.
"Zhou Ruyuan, you can't escape now."
“You have nowhere to go. Even if you escape back to Tianjin, there will be no place for you to stay.”
Zhou Ruyuan was in a sorry state, with only a few dozen loyal subordinates with him. It was obvious who had won and who had lost, who was stronger and who was weaker.
Zhou Ruyuan looked coldly at Xiao Fang, never expecting that he would die at the hands of an unknown nobody.
The sound of horses' hooves echoed behind them; Zhao Zheng and his men had arrived.
"Zhou Ruyuan, you can't escape now. His Majesty has already secretly ordered the recapture of Tianjin."
"Even if you escape back to Tianjin, you'll be walking right into a trap!"
Zhou Ruyuan glanced in the direction of Tianjin, unable to understand how he could have suffered such a crushing defeat in such a short time.
“Chen Lanxi…” At this point, he had nothing more to say.
"I never imagined that I, Zhou Ruyuan, a hero for so long, would end up losing to a woman."
Zhao Zheng sneered: "You didn't lose to a woman, you lost to your arrogance."
Xiao Fang scoffed contemptuously: "What's wrong with women? Aren't women human? Is Your Majesty an ordinary woman?"
Zhao Zheng, recalling that he had called for water three times in one night, also began to ridicule Zhou Ruyuan.
"You are truly blind; your favorite thing to do is mistake fish eyes for pearls." His Majesty is such a good person, yet you don't know how to cherish him, and instead, you abandon such a good person as His Majesty for someone who doesn't even know what's going on.
What if it were him?
Zhao Zheng dared not think any further; there are no "what ifs" in life.
If it really happened, and Zhou Ruyuan did not divorce, what would the outcome be?
What will happen to them?
Thinking of this, they were all very glad that His Majesty had agreed to a divorce.
"Zhou Ruyuan, drop your weapons and surrender!" Countless weapons were pointed at Zhou Ruyuan and his men.
He managed to tear open a gap and escape. This time, surrounded, he was outnumbered and had no chance of escape.
It's laughable that he carries royal blood, while Shen Lanxi is a traitor. These people are blind and incompetent, not supporting him as the legitimate heir, but instead supporting a woman.
"Are you really willing to be bossed around by women and have your whole lives trampled on by one woman?" Zhou Ruyuan didn't believe they would truly be content with that.
I thought these words would evoke their resentment, but to my surprise, they even had smiles on their faces.
Zhao Zheng, Xiao Fang, and the others all just laughed off Zhou Ruyuan's words.
"Zhou Ruyuan, today we'll let you die knowing why!" Che Mingyuan urged his horse forward.
"We have never been loyal to women, but to the monarch who can bring peace and prosperity to the world. As for whether the one who sits on the throne is a man or a woman, do we care?"
Xiao Fang scoffed, "If it can bring peace to the world and make people live in peace and contentment, even if a pig is sitting on the dragon throne, I would obediently kneel down and shout 'Long live the Emperor!'"
Zhao Zheng chuckled: "What can women do? What can men do? When the late emperor was in power, he imposed exorbitant taxes, causing widespread suffering and resentment. Yet, the officials and nobles were all blind to this, turning a blind eye. While the people were starving and eating grass roots and tree bark until they vomited, these officials were bloated and fat, ignoring the lives of the people. What do the people need an emperor who eats their flesh and drinks their blood for?"
Qian Feng: "Zhou Ruyuan, the emperor who is truly supported by the people is not one who holds a large army or knows how to play power games. Rather, he is an emperor who truly cares about the people and works hard for the livelihood of all people."
Che Mingyuan: "When you were a prince, you thought about military power and worried about the army's provisions. Apart from that, did you ever care where the provisions needed by the army came from?"
"When you were in court, you were thinking about how to gain His Majesty's favor, but did you ever think about how to benefit the people after you gained that favor?"
Zhou Ruyuan had reached a dead end. Hearing so many accusations, he immediately retorted, "Those were all things that happened after I ascended the throne. If I couldn't stand firm in the court, how could I have become emperor?"
"Only after becoming emperor will I be free from constraints, and I can do whatever I want without anyone interfering."
Che Mingyuan and the others shook their heads.
"You have already proclaimed yourself emperor in Tianjin, but have you brought any benefits to the people of Tianjin?"
Zhou Ruyuan: "How could there not be? I also encouraged the people to cultivate farmland and build factories in Tianjin. I have people carrying out any things that the court does that benefit the country and the people."
He wasn't boasting about this. Although there was a suspicion of imitating the imperial court, it was all about benefiting the people, and that was the whole story. So there was no question of imitation or not imitation at all.
"Wrong. Today we will make you die a death that you will accept wholeheartedly and understand why you died."
"Even if you sit on the dragon throne, you will not be a qualified emperor."
"Although you ordered the imitation of the regulations issued by the imperial court, you did not supervise their implementation. As a result, the orders were not passed down from above and were distorted by lower-level officials, who then used them to seek personal gain and line their own pockets. Your so-called good deeds that benefit the country and the people have become a knife used by lower-level officials to harm the common people."
"You are incapable of managing your subordinates, lack the ambition to expand your territory, and are incapable of protecting the land and the people. That is why you have lost the morale of your troops, to the point that your soldiers have defected on the battlefield. You have also lost the hearts of the people, to the point that they have angrily fled Tianjin. Tianjin is just one corner of the world after you ascend the throne."
“No…” Zhou Ruyuan did not believe it.
He is the God of War of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the most outstanding prince of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Wherever he goes, he is invincible and victorious. He... he is the most outstanding of all the princes.
Zhou Ruyuan was deathly pale and refused to admit the fact of the defeat.
Che Mingyuan and the others had neither the time nor the patience to let Zhou Ruyuan continue to reflect.
They still have a lot to do.
"Capture Zhou Ruyuan and report back to His Majesty!"
"yes!"
...
Shen Lanxi received a report from Che Mingyuan and the others.
"Your Majesty, Zhou Ruyuan has committed suicide. Before he died, he offered his own life in exchange for the lives of the soldiers who followed him. This was something Your Majesty had promised before, and we have agreed on his behalf."
In addition, Che Mingyuan presented one item.
"These are Zhou Ruyuan's self-reproach edict and abdication edict written before his death."
"An abdication edict is useless, but a self-reproach edict might be of some use!"
After a moment of silence, Shen Lanxi said, "Before he died, he did at least do one right thing."
"Bury him with his family!"
Che Mingyuan and others: Those family members who were personally ordered to be shot by Zhou Ruyuan?
His Majesty issued this order...
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