knife

Chapter 239 No choice
Inside the Hall of Diligent Governance, more than thirty important officials of the Yuan Dynasty were gathered.

The earliest ones were summoned here by imperial decree at dawn today, and then they could never leave.

The last one arrived just half an hour ago.

They did not see the emperor.
All I saw was the heavily guarded Qin Zheng Hall.

At this point, everyone realized that a big problem had arisen.

I'm afraid the Yuan emperor is no longer with us.

"Azashi, where is His Majesty?" The first to challenge him was actually a thin scholar, who stood in front of Azashi like a kitten in front of a tiger.

However, at this moment, the tiger was crouching down, while the kitten had its whiskers and fur standing on end, its face full of anger.

This man's name is Li Zhun.

In his youth, he studied under Yu Entai, a leading figure in the Qin literary world. After completing his studies, he returned and assisted Yingzhuo in perfecting most of the political system of the Yuan Dynasty, transforming it from a tribal alliance into a centralized, unified state.

Although the Northern Yuan had some shortcomings in its political system compared to the Qin or Southern Chu, the basic framework was already complete. The rest was simply filling in the gaps, and what to fill in and how to fill in those gaps was up to the emperors of each dynasty.

The Mamba united various tribes, making them a major power in the north.
Based on this, Bayan fought a fierce battle with Qin. Although he was eventually forced to submit and pay tribute, he still successfully established the Yuan state, forcing the Qin people to acknowledge its existence.

By the time of Yingzhuo's generation, the Yuan Dynasty was developing rapidly.

The current Northern Yuan is at the peak of its power since its establishment.

Li Zhun may appear to be just a scholar with no physical strength, but in this grand hall, his status is undoubtedly number one.

Li Zhun tried to rush into the inner hall, but Azaxi reached out to stop him. Poor Li Zhun, this thin and withered old man, couldn't move Azaxi's arm no matter how hard he tried. Enraged, he first spat directly onto Azaxi's face, then turned around and shouted angrily, "Are they all dead? Open this bastard's door for me!"

At Li Zhun's shout, two burly, white-bearded old generals who were already somewhat dissatisfied rushed forward and reached out to grab Azaxi.

"Lord Li, you're so old, yet you still have such a fiery temper?" A voice came from the inner hall, and then a figure suddenly appeared in front of Li Zhun.

"Phagpa?" Li Zhun's eyes widened suddenly. "What are you doing here?"

Phagpa stepped across the threshold, his eyes sweeping over the dozens of high-ranking officials in the main hall. The once noisy hall immediately fell silent.

"Everyone, please wait patiently!" Phagpa said in a deep voice. "Lord Li, Miao De, Yelü Chongguang, Shi Xian, you all come in!"

Those whose names were called by Phagpa stepped forward one by one, and looking at Phagpa's back, each of them showed a solemn expression.

The heavy doors to the inner sanctum opened a crack.

The group of people who had just reached the door immediately smelled a strong aroma.

Li Zhun's expression changed drastically, and he rushed inside in a few large strides.

On the large dragon throne, Emperor Yingzhuo lay quietly.

Before his bed, the Third Prince Akdun was kneeling, his eyes red and swollen, his face haggard.

On the other side of the bed stood Attila, the head of the Imperial Medical Academy of the Yuan Dynasty.

"Your Majesty!" Li Zhun cried out in anguish, then knelt down with a thud. He crawled a few steps to the bedside, reached out and grabbed Ying Zhuo's already cold and stiff hand. "He was perfectly fine just over ten days ago, how could he suddenly be gone?"

Miao De, Yelü Chongguang, and Shi Xian all collapsed to their knees.

Although death was a foregone conclusion after Yingzhuo returned from the northern frontier, the fact that it actually happened still left these people somewhat at a loss.

They were used to acting under Yingzhuo's command and, deep down, believed that as long as Yingzhuo was still around, the Yuan Dynasty would be safe.

Now that their leader, who had guided them for decades, has suddenly disappeared, everyone immediately feels empty and at a loss.

Besides, this posture isn't quite right today!

The emperor is dead, and it looks like he's been dead for more than a day.
However, the death was kept secret within the palace.
Instead, he summoned all the ministers and placed them under house arrest here.
There's a lot more to this than meets the eye.

Moreover, these people, more or less, all knew what Yingzhuo meant.

But now, with the Second Prince absent, the Third Prince is in control.

More importantly, Phagpa is here.

"Lord Li, my father has been working tirelessly for the Great Yuan Dynasty, and his life force has been exhausted. He is dying!" Akdun cried out from the side.

Ignoring Aktun, Li Zhun gripped Ying Zhuo's hand tightly, looked up at Attila by the bedside, and said, word by word, "Attila, did His Majesty die peacefully in his sleep?"

Upon hearing Li Zhun's question, Yelü Zhongguang, Shi Xian, Miao De, and the others were all startled and stared intently at Attila.

"Lord Li, His Majesty passed away peacefully, from a stroke leading to intracranial hemorrhage. This kind of illness has a sudden onset and is extremely dangerous. I was right beside His Majesty at the time, but even if the sage Fu were here, he would have been powerless to save him!" Attila said. "I was the one who took care of His Majesty's final appearance," Li Zhun said, looking at Attila and nodding slightly.

Given Attila's accumulated moral character over the decades, Le Choon still believed in him.

If Indra truly died for some unspeakable reason, Attila would never keep it a secret for anyone, especially not in front of himself and his group.

He absolutely cannot ascend the throne as emperor of the Yuan Dynasty without the approval of the people in this room.

Turning his head to look at Yingzhuo on the bed, Li Zhun kowtowed three more times with tears in his eyes before getting up and staring at Phagpa, saying, "His Majesty knew that he would not live long, so he made arrangements for his affairs after his death. A country cannot be without a ruler for a day. Now that His Majesty has passed away, a new ruler must be established. The imperial edict is behind the plaque of 'Upright and Bright' in the Great Hall of the Buddha. Grand Preceptor, then I would like to trouble you to go and retrieve it."

Phagpa nodded and went out.

Inside the main hall, dozens of people watched as Phagpa reappeared. With a wave of his hand, a rectangular box floated down from behind the plaque above the main hall, which read "Upright and Bright."

This scene immediately made everyone in the hall realize what was going on.

The sounds of people falling to their knees were incessant; some groaned with their foreheads touching the ground, while others pounded their fists on the ground and roared.

With the imperial edict issued, it was clear that the emperor had passed away.

Phagpa carried the box into the inner hall.

He opened it in front of the group, took out the contents, and handed it directly to Li Zhun.

Li Zhun unfolded the will, looked at its contents, and his expression suddenly sharpened. He abruptly looked up at Phagpa.

“Basiba, you haven’t come down from Tiangang Peak, so there are some things you might not know. His Majesty’s last edict was written by me personally,” Li Zhun said, emphasizing each word.

Phagpa came over, glanced at the words on the will, and said calmly, "Lord Li, is there anything wrong? Chongguang, Miaode, Shixian, you all come and take a look. Is there anything amiss?"

Yelü Chongguang was the first to stand up. He walked to Li Zhun, glanced at the imperial edict, and looked at Li Zhun again, somewhat puzzled.

"Lord Li, Imperial Preceptor, it's clearly written here that the Third Prince, Akdun, should succeed to the throne!"

Upon hearing this, Akdun, who had been kneeling on the ground, immediately burst into tears, gripping the headboard with both hands, looking as if he were in unbearable pain, and repeatedly banging his head against the edge of the bed.

"Father, Father, what have I done to deserve this? I fear I will fail to live up to your expectations!"

Li Zhun looked up and stared intently at Phagpa, who stared back without backing down.

“Lord Li, the Great Yuan needs stability, and it needs someone who can unite everyone to deal with the current crisis,” Phagpa said. “None of the three princes are as good as His Majesty at this stage. So we can only choose the most suitable one. If you think Akdun is not good enough, why don’t you go to the outer hall and ask those people if Akdun is suitable? Although the Second Prince is also wise, he is ultimately of Qin blood, and it will be difficult for him to win the hearts of everyone in the Great Yuan. Not to mention others, Jebe, who is currently in the southern border, is probably the first one who will not be convinced.”

Li Zhun's face was extremely ugly.

This will was not the one he wrote himself.

The document he wrote clearly stated that the second prince, Tiele, would inherit the throne.

The current one has been replaced.

"Where is Tiele?" Li Zhun's voice trembled slightly.

“Lord Li, half an hour ago, someone from the palace went to my second brother’s residence to inform him to come to the palace immediately!” Akedun said, kneeling on the ground with tears streaming down his face.

Li Zhun's hands trembled violently.

Inside the palace, Akdun had already taken control of the situation and isolated the inside from the outside.

The Tiele people did not know that the emperor was dead; they thought that the emperor had summoned them to give his final instructions.

As long as the emperor was alive, the palace was home to the Tiele people.

With the emperor dead, the palace became a den of dragons and tigers for the Tiele people.

Once the Tiele people enter the capital, they will surely face certain death.

Taking a few steps back, Li Zhun slumped down in front of Ying Zhuo's bed, turning his head to look at the seemingly serene face on the bed, tears streaming down his face.

No matter how heroic or insightful you were in life, once you die, you ultimately become a pawn to be manipulated by others.

The outcome was already decided; he couldn't save the Tiele.

Moreover, under the current circumstances, the death of Tiele might be in the best interest of the Yuan Dynasty.

The elites who control the Great Yuan are gathered in the outer hall. If anything were to happen to them, the Great Yuan would truly be finished.

Once Tiele dies, will the people gathered here have any other choice?
Who else could it be but Aktun?
Phagpa went over and helped Akdun up, then turned to Yelü Chongguang and said, "Chongguang, let everyone come in and listen to His Majesty's last edict!"

(End of this chapter)