Chapter 107: Capital Relocation Update
In the city of Yanjing.
Liu Jian reorganized the imperial guards and formed a battle array stretching for several miles outside Hanshan Temple in the west of the city.
Several miles outside Hanshan Temple, on the stone steps leading to the mountain gate, a crowd of people continued to slowly make their way to the temple gate. But this time, the difference was that these people moved slowly, without any sense of rushing in.
But they had to move forward under the supervision of the imperial guards.
Occasionally, if the guards discover someone deliberately dawdling, they will be immediately pulled out.
"What are you doing? Aren't you the most admirers of Master Xuan Jing? Now that His Majesty has allowed you to enter the temple and listen to Master Xuan Jing's lectures, what else are you dissatisfied with?"
"Hurry up and leave! If you miss the lecture, watch out for your heads!"
After a few kicks, the team reluctantly sped up its pace.
Inside the mountain gate, in the middle of the treasure hall that was open on three sides, Xuan Jing faced south, his eyes closed, and he sat cross-legged on a cushion with his palms forming a seal.
Directly behind him, where the statue of Buddha and the incense table should have been, has now been temporarily changed into the same dragon-coiled pillars and cloud-reaching steps as those in the court hall. High above is the dragon throne, which symbolizes the supreme majesty of imperial power.
Liu Jian sat half-leaning on the dragon throne, staring coldly at the skinny and inconspicuous figure of Xuan Jing in front of him.
It is this person who now has to be used to endorse the legitimacy of his throne!
He is the eldest son of the Holy Ancestor and is the rightful emperor!
My father didn't leave any imperial edict! He's been dead for so many years, why would he still linger around and leave behind such an imperial edict?
It has been more than 20 years, and I have to tell the world clearly again that he is not as good as the third prince Liu Mian back then, and he is not worthy of inheriting his throne!
Now he has fallen into this situation, a reluctant monk, standing up for the rule that should have belonged to him...
But this old monk is so ignorant! He had to threaten his people with dozens of Buddhist temples and monks in and around Yanjing before he would sit on the lecture platform honestly.
Those common people are even more ignorant!
The news that Master Xuan Jing was going to give a lecture specifically for Liu Jian was spread, but there was none of the crazy enthusiasm that had filled the entire city like last time.
Qin Feng had to send the imperial guards and urge each neighbor to come before they were forced to set off.
His eyes were cold, but there was a huge emptiness and uneasiness in his heart.
Just last night, the garrison on the Pingyang line rushed back to report that after his second son surrendered at Xiguan, the young marquis of Xiguan led 100,000 heavenly soldiers and generals into the pass, and Fanyang County also surrendered without a fight.
Liu Ziye's army marched all the way to the southeast, as if entering an empty land.
Because of the conflict he and the Crown Prince had waged in Yanjing, the troops on several lines of defense had been deployed to the outskirts of Yanjing. Only then did he hastily receive another transfer order, sending a portion of his troops out of the capital to stop Liu Ziye's army.
But even though he did all that he should have done, a strong sense of unease still enveloped him.
At this moment, when he looked at these people who were unwillingly submitting to his coercion, he felt particularly...
Dislike.
Half an hour later, the civil and military officials who were still in office entered the hall one after another with their families in Beijing.
The squares surrounding the palace were also filled with the families of the guards and clerks. Further out the second gate, there was an endless stream of people from the capital.
Liu Jian looked at the scene in front of him, which could still be described as exactly the same, and couldn't help but smile.
He said to General Qin Feng, who had been following him closely, "Tell Xuan Jing to begin now."
Qin Feng bowed slightly: "Yes."
He stood up and said to the guards below the stage from his high position: "Silence, everyone."
At the command, the guards inside and outside the palace also slammed their weapons to the ground and shouted in unison: "Silence! Silence!"
The buzzing sound in the crowd passed by and soon became completely quiet.
Qin Feng then turned towards Xuan Jing's background and said respectfully, "Master Xuan Jing, you may begin your lecture."
Those who are fortunate enough to enter the palace are all staunch supporters of Liu Jian's faction, and their subjective intentions are naturally much better than those of the ignorant people outside.
In addition, it is extremely rare to see Master Xuan Jing preach, so even these powerful people are still looking forward to it.
Everyone held their breath, waiting for the monk sitting quietly on the cushion to open his eyes and begin today's lecture.
However, as time passed, the palace remained unchanged in silence.
Everyone could also clearly see that Xuan Jing's eyes were still closed, with no sign of opening.
Qin Feng frowned slightly, walked around the platform where the dragon throne was, and went to the seat where Xuan Jing was sitting in front of the platform.
I saw Xuan Jing still sitting steadily on the cushion with his eyes closed peacefully.
He couldn't help but get a little angry: "Xuan Jing, the emperor ordered you to speak!"
After saying this, he leaned forward slightly and whispered to him, "You'd better behave yourself, or else, tonight all fifty-six temples in Yanjing will be burned down!"
However, his threats still failed to elicit any reaction from Xuan Jing.
The people in the hall couldn't help but whisper to each other. People outside the hall also began to wonder why the master hadn't started yet.
Qin Feng looked around and simply took a step closer to Xuan Jing and gave him a push.
"Master Xuan Jing!"
The next second, Xuan Jing, who was touched by his palm, still had his eyes closed, and fell straight backwards under his push.
Qin Feng's eyes suddenly widened, and he stepped forward to grab Xuan Jing who was lying on the ground.
Everyone in the hall focused their attention here, and in an instant they all cried out in surprise.
"What happened to Master Xuan Jing?!"
The abbot of Hanshan Temple and two young monks who were guarding Xuan Jing also rushed forward.
"Master Xuan Jing! Master Xuan Jing!"
Qin Feng was a soldier after all. He quickly checked Xuan Jing's breath and pulse, and his heart immediately turned cold.
When he looked up, he saw Liu Jian on the platform, and Liu Jian instantly understood what had happened.
Liu Jian stood up from the dragon throne and looked at Master Xuan Jing who was lying on the ground without any reaction or consciousness. His expression was furious and gloomy as he swept across the hall, looking at the faces of those who wanted to look at him but didn't dare to look directly at him.
This Xuan Jing would rather die than help him.
He even ignored the thousands of Buddhist temples and tens of thousands of Buddhist monks behind him!
A volcano erupted without restraint in his chest, and Liu Jian pinched his palm until blood dripped out.
Okay, okay, then I will make sure that your Buddhist sect disappears from the Great Zhou from now on!
Chu Bozhan immediately stepped forward upon seeing the situation. After whispering with Qin Feng, he tried to conceal the fact for the time being.
"Master Xuan Jing seems to have worked too hard and is feeling a little unwell today. The lecture cannot be held as scheduled. Once the master recovers, we will choose a better day to resume the lecture!"
"Master Xuan Jing has passed away! He wasn't unwell!"
Unexpectedly, the abbot of Hanshan Temple and two young monks nearby raised their voices and shouted.
"The Master has passed away! He did not want to help the evildoers and passed away in meditation!"
Qin Feng was quick to react and waved his hand to the imperial guards in the palace, "Catch these monks who are spreading lies and misleading the people!"
Suddenly, the cold light of swords and knives appeared in the hall.
The three abbots had no power to resist the large number of guards.
But the shout they had just made with all their might towards the outside of the hall was like a thunderclap, instantly exploding the crowd.
The crowd began to stir, moving from the temple gate to the second gate and extending all the way out.
The news that Master Xuan Jing refused to preach the sutras for the imperial court represented by Liu Jian and passed away in meditation spread quickly outside the mountain gate like waves on the sea stirred up by a strong wind.
"Since Master Xuan Jing is so wise and brave, why should we be enslaved and driven by this tyrant?!?"
"That's right! I'd rather lose my head than live under a tyrant's rule!"
"Tyrant, abdicate! Tyrant, abdicate! Tyrant, return the throne you stole from the young Marquis of Xiguan!"
“…”
The chaotic shouts finally converged into a unified outlet—
"Tyrant, abdicate! Return power to Xiguan!"
"Tyrant, abdicate! Return power to Xiguan!"
The entire Hanshan Temple was forced to be packed with a huge crowd of people in order to build momentum for today's lecture.
At this time, the crowd gathered into a tide, and the sound waves piled up, one louder than the other!
The crowd was too great. Yanjing's population had already been decimated by migration and previous wars, and now, for Liu Jian's so-called lecture, nearly the entire city had descended upon the temple. The guards were faced with this collective riot, agitated and furious, a genuine disregard for their lives.
On the contrary, I was shocked.
He held the sword in his hand, but was afraid to swing it.
A moment later, waves of angry crowds broke through the outer blockade of guards and tried hard to go towards the main hall in Hanshan Temple where Liu Jian and Xuan Jing were.
The armor of several guards in the temple was torn off by the attack, and a passage was opened up through the gaps in the crowd and the few remaining guards who could still move freely.
He ran into the hall and reported to Qin Feng.
"General Qin, the people in the temple are overly excited and have lost control!"
Such a huge commotion and shouting in the temple could already be heard clearly in this spacious hall.
Liu Jian's face turned ashen. Every shout for the tyrant to abdicate seemed to be cutting into his body.
Skinned and bones removed, blood dripping.
Chu Bozhan was, after all, a civil official, and he was old. Witnessing this scene, he broke out in a sweat.
Qin Feng was the only one who still had his sanity. After hearing the report, he immediately said, "Concentrate the troops outside the temple inside and guard the second gate of Hanshan Temple and this main hall!"
He added, "Here is a battalion of imperial guards. Follow me and protect Your Majesty as we leave the temple and return to the palace through the rear hall!"
After hearing this, Chu Bozhan, along with several old ministers in the hall, advised Liu Jian, who was still standing silently on the high hall.
"Your Majesty, we have the Imperial Guards to protect you. Please return to the palace first and take care of your health!"
Unexpectedly, Liu Jian was already enraged by the scene before him. He gritted his teeth and said, "No, I don't want to escape!"
He looked at Chu Bozhan, then at Qin Feng. "How could these powerless, untouchables get close to me when there are tens of thousands of heavily armored and sword-wielding guards here?! All the untouchables causing trouble today will be killed on the spot! I want to see who is tougher, their bones or the swords of the imperial guards!"
"Your Majesty, absolutely not!"
As soon as Liu Jian finished speaking, Chu Bozhan immediately fell to the ground and kowtowed, "Your Majesty! If you do this today, it will be real, and there will be no way to redeem yourself! Previously, the people of Yanjing were arrested and punished for reporting the corruption order, and their families were destroyed due to the rebellion of the deposed Crown Prince Liu Ziling. These incidents killed many people... but it is completely different from the massacre being carried out today! Moreover, these are almost the only people left in Yanjing! Your Majesty, you must remain calm, remain calm!"
Several more officials followed Chu Bozhan and said, "Your Majesty, the Prime Minister is absolutely right. Please remain calm and cautious!"
Ma Shurong was also among those present in the hall. He was extremely calm at this moment, and dragged himself to join the team of persuasion.
Liu Jian looked at his fallen ministers and said, "Even you are going to disobey me and rebel?"
At this time, Qin Feng, the only one who remained calm, suddenly knelt down.
The metal armor on the knees made a buzzing sound when it hit the ground, attracting everyone's attention.
Liu Jian suddenly looked at him with scrutiny and caution.
As expected, Qin Feng, who was kneeling on the ground, also said, "Your Majesty, please think twice. It is the best option for me to escort you out of the temple now."
After returning to the palace in a panic, Liu Jian began to suffer from nightmares that night.
In his dream, countless people rushed towards him, shouting loudly: "Tyrant abdicate! Tyrant abdicate!"
In the past, when he recruited hundreds of thousands or even millions of troops to go to war and mobilized civilians to pay taxes and perform labor service, he always felt that there were not enough people.
In this dream, as far as he could see, the number of people he could see clearly was no more than ten thousand.
But he felt as if a mountain was pressing down on him, as if he would be completely swallowed up by this huge wave in the next moment.
Why are there so many people?
The mountains shook and the earth trembled. He dodged everywhere, trying to grasp at a solid support, seeking a safe shelter. But everything he reached for shattered into dust as he reached out. Every shelter collapsed and slid into the vast cracks of the earth before he could reach it.
Liu Jian had nowhere to hide and no one to rely on.
Behind him, the angry crowd roared and pressed forward. For the first time, he saw these ordinary people clearly, these ragged civilians. Their faces, already withered and thin, with prominent cheekbones, were now distorted by the bone-chilling hatred and rage. They crowded together, gradually approaching him. As the faces drew closer, they gradually formed a huge abyssal mouth, gaping wide and moving towards him.
Liu Jian screamed and retreated repeatedly.
With his arms raised in the air, he fell into the endless abyss of the earth with a scream...
“Ahh—”
The night was dark and Liu Jian woke up from a nightmare screaming.
The eunuch on duty heard the shout and came in trembling: "Your Majesty, what's wrong with you?"
Liu Jian sat on the curtain, gasping for breath. After a moment, his cold and hoarse voice came out: "Why don't you come in and serve me?"
The emperor's bed was separated by three layers of curtains, which were more than ten feet long.
According to the rules of the past, whenever the master had any instructions late at night, these people had to come forward to take care of it.
The eunuch outside the curtain replied tremblingly: "I am afraid of alarming Your Majesty, so I will come right away."
When the eunuch entered the tent, he wiped his sweat and asked softly if he felt any discomfort or needed massage. However, Liu Jian remained silent, staring coldly at his every move.
"Do you also think that I am a tyrant and should abdicate?"
Upon hearing this, the eunuch knelt down immediately and said, "I dare not, I dare not! Your Majesty, spare my life!"
"Mercy?"
Liu Jian sneered again: "So, you are still afraid that I will kill you."
"Go down, no need to wait on me."
After the eunuch carefully carried his life down and let out a long sigh, Liu Jian in the bedroom could no longer fall asleep and kept his eyes open until the time for the court meeting.
On the surface, he looked the same as usual, once again wearing the black court robe with a coiled dragon pattern and the nine-pearl crown. He walked into the court hall, sat upright on the dragon throne, and looked down at the ministers waiting in the hall.
Such a civil uprising occurred in Yanjing yesterday, but today's grand court meeting was attended by all the officials, who waited in an orderly and solemn manner for the court to begin.
Liu Jian said nothing.
As he expected, the old quail-like Secretary Ma Shurong walked out from among the ministers.
Ma Ronghui is over seventy years old. His face is always full of wrinkles, and he squats quietly where he should be.
Liu Jian remembered that yesterday, he was the second minister after Chu Bozhan to stand up and advise his ministers.
What is he going to advise today?
Ma Shurong has cast aside his old and weak appearance today. The 70-year-old man stood in the center of the hall with firm eyes.
"Your Majesty, I have a memorial to report."
Liu Jian said calmly, "You speak."
"I have two memorials here that I would like to present to Your Majesty."
As Ma Shurong spoke, he took out two documents from his clothes. A eunuch went down to take them and presented them to Liu Jian.
Ma Shurong then continued, "These two documents are a memorial signed jointly by all officials in Beijing, and a petition submitted by the people of Yanjing."
He adjusted his tone, "What the officials and the people are saying is that Yanjing is now in decline, with people's lives suffering. It is no longer fit to be the capital of our Great Zhou. Northwest Yucheng is renowned and is truly the place where our dynasty's prosperity converges. We are petitioning Your Majesty to select a date to relocate the capital to Xiguan Yucheng, for the sake of our Great Zhou's centenary plan!"
There was silence in the high palace.
Even Chu Bozhan, who always had something to say, remained silent and hid among the officials when he heard Ma Shurong's earth-shattering "moving the capital" theory.
Liu Jian casually flipped through the two memorials in his hand and felt that they were both heavy.
He glanced at the important officials and then passed by Chu Bozhan's evasive face.
"General Qin, what do you think?"
Qin Feng, who was named, stood up and knelt down, kowtowed: "I believe that Yanjing is indeed no longer suitable to be the capital. Moving the capital can be discussed."
"Therefore, my civil and military officials, along with countless subjects, are united in their resolve to move the capital."
Qin Feng bowed to the ground and said, "Your Majesty, I have no intention of forcing you. I am also concerned about your Majesty's safety."
"For my safety? Perhaps you have some reason for it, but the other court officials and common people wouldn't even think so! At this point, do you still want to deceive me like this?"
Liu Jian asked back with a sneer.
As he laughed, the laughter gradually turned into a wild laugh that echoed throughout the hall.
The civil and military officials in the hall were silent, watching with great calmness as the emperor on the high throne gradually became crazy.
"Huh? Hahahahaha... For my safety, hahahahahahaha..."
The eunuchs who were accompanying him were too close and were frightened by the creepy and crazy laughter. Liu Jian had been a shadow that had been lingering over them for too long, and it was difficult for them to suppress the subconscious trembling of their muscles.
Chu Bozhan was the person who had followed Liu Jian the longest and most steadfastly.
He could no longer hide among the officials. He crawled out and knelt on the ground, crying out in pain: "Your Majesty! Your Majesty, please calm down..."
Liu Jian laughed heartily, his voice hoarse and broken, and he choked and coughed repeatedly.
a long time.
Only those in the palace could hear Liu Jian speak again: "Move the capital, move the capital. Actually, what you want to say is that I should voluntarily abdicate the throne to Liu Ziye, the daughter of Liu Mian in Xiguan."
When Liu Jian finished speaking, all the ministers in the hall looked at each other.
His eyes were already bloodshot from the previous frenzy, but he could still clearly see the undercurrent in the hall.
He sneered again: "Why are you silent? You dare to ask me to move the capital, but you dare not admit that you are forcing me to abdicate?"
"No. I dare not."
The person who spoke was still Ma Shurong.
This old minister who had been keeping a low profile for more than 20 years suddenly changed his attitude of going with the flow, stood up and looked directly at Liu Jian, who was like a beast in the hall.
"Your Majesty, we advise you to move the capital in the name of preserving the last bit of dignity for you and the Holy Ancestor. Now that you're taking advantage of the momentum of the capital's relocation and offering to abdicate, it's the best option for you. If we were to abdicate on the day of the peace treaty, the same abdication would be made, but the difference is clear to you, Your Majesty."
"Besides, Your Majesty, you should also know better how you obtained the throne back then."
Ma Rongshuo uttered this earth-shattering statement with a calm expression.
Do you want your shameful act of regicide and father-slaying to seize the throne to be exposed before the people of the world without any concealment?
Even if you don't feel ashamed, the Holy Ancestor will be ashamed of this!
He finally bowed solemnly: "Your Majesty, please think twice."
His attitude was respectful, but his words suddenly became hundreds of times more sharp than before.
The moment Liu Jian heard this, his eyebrows twitched violently. He looked back and forth between Chu Bozhan and Qin Feng in surprise, wondering if they had leaked the information and betrayed him!
However, their reactions undoubtedly told him that they didn't.
That means Ma Shurong already knew about this? !
If the imperial edict in Liu Ziye's hand was genuine, then his third brother Liu Mian would have known about it long ago...
Besides this, who else knew? His panicked gaze darted back and forth across the hall.
So he has been living in a self-absorbed false fantasy all these years?
Liu Jian felt that Ma Shurong's words wrapped up the countless sharp swords that had hit him before, piercing his whole body, leaving no breath, and all the energy poured out.
He sat dejectedly on the dragon throne, his expression gradually dulling as he muttered to himself, "For the last, last, last face of the royal family..."
"Well, if that's the case, then I will do as you wish."
"I will announce to the world that I have committed the tyranny of the past twenty years since ascending the throne, and that my descendants are unworthy and unfilial, making them unfit to inherit the throne. Therefore...therefore, I will abdicate the throne to the young Marquis of Xiguan, Liu Ziye, whom the people have chosen."
Liu Jian used up his last bit of strength to say this.
Suddenly, there was a sound of kowtow in the hall.
"Your Majesty is wise!"
·
The twelfth month of the sixteenth year of Tianxi.
Liu Jian, the second emperor of the Zhou Dynasty, issued an edict of self-blame and abdication to the world.
The emperor counted the immoralities and tyranny he had committed in the twenty-two years since he ascended the throne, and admitted that he was guilty of his crimes. He admitted that his relationship with the former crown prince Liu Ziling, which eventually led to the rift between father and son and the war, was all the fault of Liu Jian. Liu Jian had built large-scale projects for himself, excessively plundered the people's labor, and waged wars year after year, squandering the wealth and manpower of the Zhou Dynasty that had been established for decades, and causing countless casualties among soldiers and civilians. He was guilty of this series of tyranny to the Emperor Shengzu of the Zhou Dynasty and the people of the Zhou Dynasty.
Finally, an equally lengthy passage praises the prosperity of Xiguan under the rule of Liu Ziye, Marquis of Xiguan. "Now that I have governed with impunity, I am unworthy of my position as Emperor, and therefore I will abdicate the throne to Liu Ziye, the young Marquis of Xiguan. This will ensure that the Great Zhou has a wise ruler who will bring prosperity and benefit to the people."
The edict contains a thousand words.
The edict was widely distributed in several major announcement squares in Yanjing, and people gathered in large numbers, vying to listen to the contents of the edict being read out word by word.
When the people read the first half of Liu Jian's confession, they gritted their teeth!
Is that all you think? Is that all?
Can you describe all the things you've done over the past twenty years in just 500 words?! It's simply too much to describe!!
The second half describes the merits and virtues of Liu Ziye, the young marquis of Xiguan, but I feel that no matter how much I listen to it, it is never enough and never satisfying.
Why, is the young Marquis of Xiguan so stingy?!
He is indeed a narrow-minded evil king!
You are smart enough to know what the people want and the future of the Great Zhou Dynasty, so you just abdicated the throne to the young Marquis of Xiguan!
When I think about the future, the entire Zhou Dynasty will be governed by the young Marquis of Xiguan.
With the Empress in power, every city and every county could potentially experience the same transformations that happened to Xiguan County in her time...
Oh! I can’t even imagine it!
The future is so bright, and all the hardships I have endured are finally over.
It’s a pity that those deceased relatives and friends did not live to see such a day... If Liu Jian could repent one day earlier, it wouldn’t have come to this day!
With the issuance of the imperial edict, the city defenses inside and outside Yanjing were opened, and the guards no longer prevented the people from entering and leaving freely.
Liu Ziye's army had already marched almost unhindered to a place 500 miles away from Yanjing. The county governors in various places were a little hesitant about whether they could welcome them into the city without any resistance.
The dilemma is whether or not we should show a little resistance.
Now, even the last shred of worry was gone. Each of the northern counties of Yanjing issued a notice and made preparations from afar to welcome the new emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty!
The south is temporarily far away from the threat of Liu Ziye's troops.
Although they could no longer be said to be sincere towards Liu Jian, King Yi Yang's act of splitting the land and claiming to be king had set an example for some people.
Originally, they were condemning Liu Ziye under the guise of protecting the monarch.
It's ok now!
Now that this fig leaf is gone, will they be independent or submit to the Queen?
The same problem also troubled everyone in the palace of King Yi Yang Liu Qing.
The Chief Secretary of Prince Yiyang's palace said, "Your Highness, we originally raised the banner of supporting Liu Ziling as the new emperor. Now that the former Crown Prince Liu Ziling has passed away, if we now refuse to acknowledge the tyrant's abdication and issue the so-called Holy Ancestor's edict, we can still continue to establish our own rule."
"It's just that... although Liu Ziye is a woman, she possesses the triple power of morality, popular support, and strength. If she were to ascend to the throne, it would be difficult for the prince to tolerate her."
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