Chapter 302 Backlash
Emperor Jing'an took in everyone's expressions and was not surprised by their reactions.
The envoys of Northern Qi pretended to spread rumors that Zhao Yi was his son.
She simply thought that she had found his weakness and was certain that he would not dare to reveal Zhao Yi's true identity in order to protect Yizhen's reputation, so that his two sons would fight against Zhao Yi and cause civil unrest.
The imperial sister is right. As an emperor, he cannot have any weaknesses.
So when the rumors came out, he decided to go with the flow, turn passive into active, and expose the secret himself.
But he could not directly reveal Zhao Yi's life experience. Since Zhao Yi had half the blood of the Northern Qi royal family, the court officials would not accept Zhao Yi's identity.
Therefore, he led all the officials to the Taimiao for sacrifice today, first shifting the conflict to Northern Qi and mobilizing the ministers' hatred towards Northern Qi. Then he listed Yizhen's contributions to the Great Zhou, letting them know the interests involved, and finally revealed Zhao Yi's life experience.
These layers of preparation weakened the threat posed by Zhao Yi's background, and only then did the court officials accept Zhao Yi's existence.
Even ministers who had opinions did not dare to raise any objections.
After all, Yizhen made sacrifices for him, the emperor, and for the Great Zhou.
"When I was young, Yizhen protected me and safeguarded the Great Zhou. Now that I can summon the wind and rain, I can also protect her from the wind and rain. I will never let her suffer the slightest injustice again. I believe that my subjects will do the same."
Emperor Jing'an said solemnly, "Today, I posthumously confer the title of Princess Protector of the Nation on Yizhen, with the posthumous name of Rui'an. I also order the Ministry of Works to build the princess's tomb, a shrine, and a temple."
The ministers were stunned. Princess Yizhen had sacrificed her life for the Great Zhou, and that was undeniable. However, posthumously conferring the title of Protector of the Nation Princess and then building a shrine and temple for her was truly against the rules...
But with Emperor Jing'an's words in front of them, even if they were dissatisfied, they dared not say it.
For a moment, all the ministers looked at each other, all at a loss.
"Princess Yizhen, a woman, defended the Great Zhou. Even men couldn't match her courage and determination. She truly deserves the title of Protector of the Nation."
The elderly Prime Minister knelt down after saying this and said, "The subjects of the Great Zhou have received the kindness of the Princess Protector of the Nation. We should protect her and her bloodline and prevent them from being humiliated by the Northern Qi."
After hearing what the Prime Minister said, all the ministers knelt down in unison and echoed what the Prime Minister said.
They are tall and strong men who received the favor of Princess Yizhen, but they don't remember her kindness. Aren't they even worse than a woman?
Emperor Jing'an looked at the officials kneeling on the ground, and his furrowed brow relaxed.
If the Northern Qi had not presented the opportunity to him, he would not have found a chance to publicize Yizhen's deeds.
Yizhen's spirit tablet could only be hidden behind Yuanrong's tablet and could never be openly displayed for Zhao Yi to worship.
Emperor Jing'an put down the spirit tablet and felt relieved.
He finally cleared the darkness for her and allowed her to see the sunlight again.
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After the sacrificial ceremony, Emperor Jing'an issued an imperial decree to posthumously confer the title on the princess and ordered the Embroidered Uniform Guard to spread the story of Princess Huguo's deeds among the people.
The people thought that Zhao Yi was the son of Emperor Jing'an, but it turned out that this was not the case. Zhao Yi was actually the son of Princess Huguo.
Who is the Princess Protector of the Country?
She was the younger sister of Emperor Jing'an and had been held hostage in Northern Qi with Emperor Jing'an since childhood.
In order to protect Emperor Jing'an and prevent the Great Zhou from being crushed by the iron cavalry of Northern Qi, she was forced to submit to the power of Northern Qi and gave birth to a son. She finally died tragically in Northern Qi.
The Northern Qi was extremely shameless. They clearly knew Zhao Yi's background, but they still maliciously spread rumors and created trouble, hoping to cause civil unrest in the Great Zhou and then take advantage of the situation to attack the Great Zhou.
It's really hateful.
The people were angry because once the war broke out, it meant that their sons, husbands and fathers would have to go to the battlefield, and no one knew whether they would die on the battlefield and be separated from them forever.
It also means that their originally peaceful and prosperous lives will once again fall into dire straits and countless lives will be lost.
At the same time, what Emperor Jing'an said in the Taimiao was spread through the mouths of hundreds of officials.
The people became even more angry and rushed to the Siyi Hall. When they saw the people from Northern Qi coming out, they threw stones at them.
"Our Great Zhou has always valued peace. The Emperor only agreed to make peace with Northern Qi in order to prevent us ordinary people from being displaced and suffering from the ravages of war."
"You, a defeated nation, are not only ungrateful but also completely devoid of conscience. You come to the Great Zhou under the guise of a marriage alliance to sow discord."
"National hatred and family feuds are irreconcilable. We will not agree to a friendly relationship, let alone a marriage alliance."
"That's right. We can't make peace with Northern Qi. Northern Qi's soldiers killed our loved ones, and even killed our Great Zhou princess. They must pay with blood!"
"Blood debt must be paid with blood, blood debt must be paid with blood!"
Inside the Siyi Hall, the Northern Qi envoys and the King of Qi all looked solemn when they heard the cry of "blood debt must be paid with blood" one after another.
At this time, the guard came in from outside, covering his head and saying, "Your Highness, there are people from the Great Zhou gathered outside. When they saw us Northern Qi people leaving, they threw stones at us."
The King of Qi looked at the guard with a bloody head, slammed his fist on the table, and said with gritted teeth, "What a bunch of unruly people."
But they couldn't take action against the people of Da Zhou, otherwise, the soldiers of Da Zhou would definitely surround and wipe out Siyi Hall.
"Didn't you say that Emperor Jing'an wouldn't reveal Princess Yizhen's experiences in Northern Qi, let alone Zhao Yi's background?" The King of Qi was furious, and he shouted at Deputy Envoy Gao, "You're more likely to cause trouble than to accomplish anything. How could my father have entrusted such an important task to a fool like you?"
Deputy Envoy Gao's face was grim, but he did not dare to refute the King of Qi's words. This was because he was always confident, but he never gained the upper hand in the Great Zhou.
This time, he really didn't expect that Emperor Jing'an would speak so openly without any concealment.
They even took advantage of this favorable trend to elevate Princess Yizhen to an unattainable level, and she was revered by the people of the Great Zhou, instead of being a shameful existence.
Now their situation has taken a turn for the worse, and it is difficult for them to return home safely.
"I miscalculated." Deputy Envoy Gao was annoyed that Emperor Jing'an didn't play by the rules. Thinking of their predicament, he couldn't help but feel a little flustered. "No, if we let this situation continue, we might be captured by the Emperor of Great Zhou and used to threaten Northern Qi."
Deputy Envoy Gao was unable to remain calm and immediately wrote a letter, ordering someone to send it to Northern Qi at an accelerated speed of 800 miles.
The King of Qi was upset and went to find Princess Guangning, hoping that she could start with King Yu and give them a chance of survival.
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Emperor Jing'an cleared Yizhen's name in the Taimiao and did not allow Zhao Yi to be present, but let him stay in the Yangxin Palace.
After he had settled all matters, he changed into casual clothes, took Zhao Yi out of the palace privately, and took a carriage to Fengxing Mountain.
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