The world is like a prison, my body is holy

Soon, the Demon-Suppressing Guards on duty led a group of eunuchs into the main hall.

Xu Wuli stood to one side of the hall, subtly observing the eunuchs. He keenly noticed that the manner of the eunuchs who came today was quite different from those who had come to announce imperial edicts in the past, who had swaggered around with their heads held high and looked down on people.

The eunuchs who came today all hunched their backs and tucked their shoulders in. When they walked, they all lowered their heads slightly, their eyes fixed on the road beneath their feet. Their steps were small and light, so light that they could hardly be heard. From beginning to end, not one of them looked up and looked directly at the eldest brother in the hall.

Even the head eunuch, who was young but already dressed in a purple three-clawed python robe, was hunched over and had his shoulders hunched. From the moment he saw this eunuch, the eunuch's smile never stopped.

He was inexperienced and only felt that the servants in the general's mansion were not this respectful to his elder brother...

"Congratulations, General! Congratulations, General!"

As soon as the young chief eunuch stepped into the hall, he greeted everyone with a smile and bowed repeatedly. His eyes and every smile line on his face radiated joy, as if a great blessing had befallen Wang Wen and he was genuinely happy for him.

Hearing the familiar voice, Wang Wen looked up, smiled, and said, "Not bad, it seems the Tang King has not treated you unfairly."

The leading eunuch was none other than Liu Qi, the junior eunuch who had previously served him and the Tang King in the Chuigong Hall.

In just half a month, he had already acquired a python robe.

Liu Qi took three steps in two, walked to the foot of the hall, lifted the hem of her python robe and bowed, shouting in a way that was irrelevant to the question, "This servant Liu Qi greets the Great General!"

This scene shocked not only Xu Wu, but also the eunuchs behind Liu Qi. They were so shocked that they didn't know what to do.

Logically speaking, since Liu Qi, as the chief official of this trip and the superior of these eunuchs, had knelt down, these eunuchs should naturally kneel down and kowtow as well.

But...they are angels!

They represent the face of the emperor and even the entire court!

How can I kneel like that?
Don't you want your head?
Clearly, this whole thing wasn't planned in advance...

At least Liu Qi did not consult with these eunuchs.

"What? You want to roast me over a fire?"

Wang Wen smiled and casually brushed it off: "Alright, get up!"

Liu Qi didn't argue and quickly got up.

Wang Wen's gaze shifted to the imperial edict held by a eunuch behind Liu Qi, and he chuckled, "The imperial edict has arrived; it seems the Tang King's throne is secure..."

Liu Qi bowed with a smile: "His Majesty has discussed with his ministers and decided that the enthronement ceremony will be held on the eighth day of the sixth month, with the reign title 'Tianqi'."

The eunuchs standing behind him were shocked and puzzled when they saw him bow to Wang Wen. They wondered if this guy had gone mad. He mentioned the Emperor's enthronement ceremony, but instead of bowing to the northwest where the Emperor was, he bowed to General Wang.
They laughed at Liu Qi for being crazy.

Liu Qi laughed at them for not seeing through it...

Wang Wen was also laughing, laughing at these shrewd people who managed to rise to the top in the imperial palace; they really were cunning and cunning.

"Apocalypse?"

Wang Wen pondered the reign title, thinking to himself that it didn't seem like a long-lived reign title.

However, he didn't say much, and simply raised his hand and said, "Let's get down to business first."

Liu Qi breathed a slight sigh of relief and bowed respectfully in response.

Then, turning around, he took the imperial edict, framed with a jade scroll and bound with cloud and dragon patterns, from the eunuch beside him with both hands, and slowly opened it: "By the grace of Heaven, I hereby appoint Wang Wen, the General Who Suppresses Demons and Pacification Commissioner of Huainan Circuit, to cleanse the court of corrupt officials, quell the national crisis, turn the tide, and save the nation from collapse. He has rendered unparalleled service to the country and its people. He is hereby granted the title of Prince of the First Rank, Grand Tutor of the First Rank, and granted the privilege of opening his own office with the same rank as the Three Excellencies... This is my decree!"

Liu Qi stood below the hall, shouting in a loud, rhythmic voice.

Wang Wen sat steadily in the armchair, listening intently. A long, slender index finger lightly tapped the armrest, and he thought to himself, 'This is the final verdict.'

"To purge the emperor's inner circle and quell the nation's turmoil," this is the official conclusion reached by the Tang King... no, now we should call him the Tianqi Emperor, in consultation with his court officials, regarding his forced entry into the palace and assassination attempt on the emperor.

This conclusion, while somewhat like "getting on the train first and buying the ticket later," is still quite logical.

After all, Emperor Tianqi, Chai Shen, was placed on the throne by Chai Shen after he killed Emperor Zhaode.

If Chai Shen wanted to establish the legitimacy of his own throne, he had to first deny the legitimacy of Emperor Zhaode's throne; otherwise, his position as emperor would be illegitimate and lack legitimacy.

Of course, Emperor Zhaode's throne was indeed not obtained through legitimate means, so Chai Shen's denial of the legitimacy of his throne is not a distortion of the facts.

Since Emperor Zhaode's ascension to the throne was illegitimate, then Wang Wenqiang's act of storming the palace and attempting to assassinate the emperor could be considered righteous.

Whatever his true purpose in doing this, even if he was just strolling around the palace and took a dislike to Emperor Zhaode and stabbed him, it would still be a selfless act of eliminating a traitor to the country!
Wang Wen was fairly satisfied with this conclusion.

As for titles like "prestigious ancestral home," "Grand Tutor," and "Grand Master of the Palace," those are just trivial matters...

Wang Wen pondered for a moment, then casually reached out his hand.

Upon seeing this, Liu Qi hurriedly closed the imperial edict, took three steps at a time, and walked towards Wang Wen, handing the edict to him with both hands.

Just then, a hysterical scream startled everyone in the hall.

"Bold maniac!"

A young eunuch stepped forward, his handsome face flushed red, his features contorted and grotesque with rage.

He glared angrily at Wang Wen, gesturing towards the northwest and shouting hoarsely, "Seeing the imperial edict is like seeing the Emperor himself! Who gave you the audacity to treat the imperial edict with such disrespect? Aren't you afraid the Emperor will send troops to exterminate your entire clan?"

His shout stunned everyone in the lobby.

Wang Wen looked blankly at the little eunuch, then at Liu Qi, completely bewildered as to what was going on.

Xu Wu's gaze toward the little eunuch was initially one of extreme shock, but it quickly transformed into heartfelt admiration, so much so that he wanted to give him a thumbs up.

Liu Qi and the group of eunuchs who accompanied him looked at this young eunuch with eyes of utter horror, as if they had seen a ghost in broad daylight...

"Keng."

The sound of a sharp blade being drawn awakened everyone in the lobby.

However, two demon-suppressing guards who were on duty outside the hall entered in a rage, carrying gleaming knives. The two men stared intently at the little eunuch who was crowing like a chick, and without saying a word, they were about to step forward and stab him.

At the critical moment, Liu Qi suddenly sprang up, rushing forward and punching and kicking the stubborn eunuch to the ground. Then he ripped off his belt and began slapping him repeatedly: "Tell me, you bastard, which prince sent you to harm the Emperor? Speak, speak now!"

He was so angry that he trembled, and his hoarse roar even had a hint of crying in it.

However, the little eunuch who had been knocked to the ground was still angrily sticking out his neck and struggling to get up...

Wang Wen, who was in the hall, had already come to his senses. He smiled and waved to the two Demon Guards who were still holding knives and searching for a place to strike Liu Qi and the little eunuch, so they could leave first. Then, he leisurely picked up the teacup beside him and slowly sipped his tea to watch this good show.

Xu Wu pondered for a moment, then leaned close to Wang Wen and whispered in Wang Wen's ear in a voice that everyone in the hall could hear, "General, what's going on here?"

Have you heard of the Three Kingdoms period?

Wang Wen smiled and gestured towards the court: "Look, it's like Zhou Yu beating Huang Gai."

Xu Wu: "Is this eunuch in the python robe Zhou Yu?"

Wang Wen: "What are you thinking? Of course it's the Tang King... Oh, now it should be called the Tianqi Emperor... Hmm, that doesn't seem right either. Never mind, let's just call him the Tang King. He is Zhou Yu."

Upon hearing this, Liu Qi swung his belt even harder, almost leaving afterimages. Xu Wu said, "Then what was Zhou Yu trying to gain by beating Huang Gai? He couldn't possibly be trying to kill you, could he? You're not Cao Cao!"

Wang Wen: "Hearing you say that, I suddenly realize I really do resemble Boss Cao..."

Xu Wu: "Are you referring to 'using the emperor to command the feudal lords'?"

Wang Wen: "Alas, I am a loyal subject of the Great Zhou!"

Xu Wu: "General, have you forgotten? Boss Cao was also a loyal subject of the Han Dynasty..."

Wang Wen: "You bastard, how can you say such things? How many heads do you have? Aren't you afraid the government will send troops to slaughter your entire family?"

Xu Wu: "I'm not afraid. I'm your soldier. If you want to kill me, then I'm sure I'll die. But if you don't want me to die, who in the world can kill me?"

Wang Wen: "Don't say that. I am a loyal subject of the Great Zhou. What's that line from the play again? 'If the ruler commands the subject to die, the subject has no choice but to die.'"

"Pfft."

The sound of a sharp blade cutting through flesh brought their charade to an end.

Liu Qi, who was sweating profusely as he listened, drew the waist knife that Xu Wu had placed on the tea table and killed the struggling eunuch on the ground with one stroke.

Crimson blood flowed onto the ground in an instant...

"Clang."

Liu Qi threw down his knife, turned around and knelt down on the ground, sweating profusely as he kowtowed, saying, "General, please be wise! This villain must be one of those incompetent princes of the imperial clan, who are unwilling to accept Your Majesty's high position and have come to sow discord between you and Your Majesty. Your Majesty regards you as your mentor and the backbone of the nation, and has never misunderstood you in the slightest. I was negligent and deserve to die, but please, General, do not misunderstand Your Majesty's sincere heart!"

This time, it wasn't just him who knelt down; all the eunuchs behind him knelt down as well, their buttocks sticking out and trembling.

"Look at this..."

Wang Wen pointed at Liu Qi and said with a smile to Xu Wu beside him, "How nicely they talk and how skillfully they handle things! When something goes wrong, their first thought is to deflect the big boss's blame and make themselves take the fall for him!"

Xu Wu nodded obsequiously, "Yes, yes, yes, I will definitely learn more from this eunuch in the future!"

Liu Qi lay on the ground, large beads of cold sweat dripping down like rain, blurring his vision and causing it to sting, but he dared not reach out to wipe them away.

He could even picture Wang Wen leaping up, breaking through the dome of the sky, flying towards Kaifeng Prefecture, storming into the imperial city, dragging the emperor, who was smugly preparing for his coronation ceremony, off the dragon throne, and beheading him with a single spear thrust…

He was indeed completely unaware of this matter.

But based on his understanding of the new emperor, he knew that the emperor must be aware of this matter.

Although he may not have personally arranged for this incident, he at least tacitly approved of it.

purpose?

Of course, it was to show off his achievements to General Wang and let him know how much effort he had put in to suppress the criticism of General Wang in the court.

Secondly, it's naturally about using someone else to do the dirty work... borrowing General Wang's unrestricted sword to kill those the officials want to kill but can't, or dare not.

At this moment, Liu Qi wished he could sprout wings, fly back to Kaifeng, rush into the imperial city, grab the new emperor by the collar, pull him before him, and shout at him: "Have you lost your mind? Using such methods on General Wang? Do you think General Wang is one of those opportunistic civil officials in court?"

Political struggles can certainly employ such indirect and suggestive tactics.

Those people in the court are all shrewd and skilled in this art, each one more proficient than the last, their skills as refined as a gazelle's horns.

But can such methods be used against a reckless man like General Wang who has no scruples?
The last fool to use this method on him was none other than Qi Qi!
What Liu Qi could understand, Wang Wen certainly understood even more clearly...

He could only lament that one's perspective is determined by one's position; the timid and cautious young man who had met him back then had transformed into a mature player in the blink of an eye.

He was indeed thoroughly disgusted by the methods of the Heavenly Emperor.

But to say I'm angry, it's really not that bad...

After all, Emperor Tianqi was merely showing him the work he was doing in the capital.

The same principle applies to the fact that the work of laborers leaves traces.

It's just that the emperor went a bit too far, sending a life to demonstrate his work.

"Get up!"

Wang Wenyi, with a waning interest, leaned back in his armchair and lazily murmured, "Your teacup is gone."

Hearing that there was no anger in his words, Liu Qi's heart, which had jumped into her throat, fell back into her chest with a "thud." She gasped for breath, grabbed her sleeve to wipe the sweat from her forehead, and got up. She bowed repeatedly, trembling with fear, and said, "This servant thanks the General for his mercy!"

"What are you trying to achieve...?"

Wang Wen smiled and shook his head, then sighed softly: "Go back and report to the emperor for me, and tell him that I congratulated him on ascending the throne, and I hope he still remembers what he promised me."

Just as Liu Qi was about to reply, he heard Wang Wen say, "Also, I'm naturally lazy. I like to stay home, drink tea, and practice my skills when I have nothing to do. I don't like to run around. Let him stop trying to mess with me. As long as he doesn't provoke me, Huainan Road will definitely be the most stable place in the Great Zhou, and I will definitely be the most powerful demon-slaying general in the Great Zhou."

"If anyone can't stand to see me live a peaceful life, or if I'm not having a good time, they will be ten times, a hundred times, more miserable than me. I'm telling you!"

Hearing the serious tone in his voice, Liu Qi felt the cold sweat he had just wiped away suddenly seep out again, glistening and covering his head.

Anyone can say harsh words.

Whether it has any deterrent effect depends on who makes the tough talk.

For a ruthless man who has already killed an emperor, even if he farted, his enemies would be eager to sniff it to see if this guy was in a bad mood lately...

Liu Qi had witnessed firsthand how he slaughtered the emperor like a dog, so he knew very well just how ruthless and efficient this seemingly lazy young man, who always had a smile on his face and spoke listlessly, could get things done.

He wiped his sweat, bowed meekly, and replied that he would definitely report his words to the Emperor without missing a single one.

Wang Wen waved his hand: "Alright, you've come all this way, you should at least try some of Yangzhou's authentic cuisine... Er Gou, go and welcome the fathers-in-law."

Xu Wu bowed and agreed.

Before long, Xu Wu led a group of eunuchs and a group of imperial guards out of the general's mansion.

Xu Wu was pondering whether to lead these eunuchs to a brothel to humiliate them and vent his anger for his elder brother when he heard the head eunuch in the python robe ask with a smile, "General Xu, where is the most densely populated place in Yangzhou?"

Without hesitation, Xu Wu replied, "Of course it's Caoshi. What, does Eunuch Liu also want to try some of Yangzhou's snacks?"

"Food is a minor matter; I have another important matter to attend to..."

As he spoke, he took out a neatly folded piece of yellow paper from his pocket and handed it to Xu Wu: "General Xu, please take a look."

"This humble general is unworthy of being addressed as general by Eunuch Liu. Please call me Xu Wu..."

Xu Wu gave him a perfunctory reply, took the yellow paper, and opened it. Inside, written in large characters, was the process of Emperor Zhaode's usurpation of power, as well as the order of his elder brother to risk his life to enter the capital to purge the emperor's inner circle and quell the national crisis. The imperial seal was also affixed at the end.

Liu Qi: "His Majesty is concerned that the General's sincere heart for the country and the people has been misunderstood by the elders of his hometown. Therefore, he has specially ordered me to bring this imperial edict to clarify the facts for the General and restore his reputation."

In fact, Emperor Tianqi did not make such an arrangement. He took down the imperial edict at the city gate and put it in his pocket when he left the capital.

Xu Wu solemnly put away the imperial edict: "There's no rush with the imperial edict. Please, Eunuch Liu, proceed to Tianxiang Tower first. I have already sent someone to inform Tianxiang Tower to prepare a banquet to welcome you." (End of Chapter)