Simulates history, but Chongzhen is the Divine Emperor at the beginning

Chapter 119 Visible Big Hand vs. Invisible Big Hand!

"Your Majesty's plan, I dare not agree with it!"

[As soon as these words were spoken, the Divine Emperor's smile froze...]

He stared at you blankly, not understanding why you rejected his own strategy: Are you unwilling to accept even this little sacrifice?

[By sacrificing a few insignificant Jinyiwei, we can ensure that the people of the world live and work in peace and contentment. Isn't this a good deal?]

[Honestly, any mature ruler should agree to this strategy. The God-Emperor is currently an unrivaled Deus Ex Machina. If He is willing to negotiate terms with others while maintaining His humanity, then this is undoubtedly a "gift"!]

【What's more, He is even willing to live forever with you...】

[Your Majesty's grace is higher than the sky, Your Majesty's grace is deeper than the sea, Your Majesty's grace is endless! ]

[Faced with this kind of kindness and goodwill bestowed upon you by a superior, it would be fine if you didn't immediately kneel down in gratitude, but how dare you refuse?]

【Why do you refuse? What right do you have to refuse?!】

[He couldn't figure it out... and he didn't need to think about it anymore, because from the moment you clearly rejected his kindness, your attitude was clearly revealed to Him.]

[Faced with this stubborn kid who refuses to listen to anything, is there any need for him to continue speaking?]

[And so, His expression changed drastically at a speed visible to the naked eye, from a smile to a stiffness, and from a stiffness to a gloomy expression...]

[You remained expressionless throughout the entire process, with only a sincere heart, pure and selfless, radiating infinite light from within your chest!]

【This heart is bright, what else can I say! 】

[From this moment on, you have officially declared war on this true god of the human world...]

【…】

In the seventy-eighth year of Chongzhen's reign, the Prime Minister and the Divine Emperor's talks ended in acrimony, marking the complete breakdown of their desire for peaceful coexistence and the end of the possibility of coexistence between humans and gods.

[And this is also the last time you two will have a heart-to-heart talk...]

In the seventy-ninth year of Chongzhen's reign, the Prime Minister once again investigated the crimes of the Ming Dynasty nobles and royal family princes. He imprisoned these princes and ministers on charges of "corruption," "abuse of power," "bullying," "murder," and "looting," and later pronounced the verdict in court!

The Prime Minister announced: From this day forward, with the exception of your Majesty's children, all distant vassal states, such as the Qin, Jin, and Fu, will be abolished!

Seal off the palace, settle the accounts, uncover the crimes... Expel the deposed princes from the palace, dismiss all their servants and maids, and let them fend for themselves! Even if they starve to death, it doesn't matter!

[As for the rest of the nobles, they will be deposed or punished if necessary. If their crimes are extremely serious, they will be sentenced to death!]

[As soon as this order was issued, everyone inside and outside the court was in uproar...]

[Abolishing the Ming Dynasty princes and executing the Ming Dynasty nobles, this... is this really an attempt to usurp the throne? ]

[But didn't the Prime Minister just say a few days ago that he just wanted to be like Zhuge Liang?]

[For a time, opinions abounded throughout the Ming Dynasty: Some said you were blinded by power, others said you looked down upon the Divine Emperor's might, still others said you were seeking death on purpose... and still others said you were simply insane!]

[You dare to do something like this that could cost you your life? You're absolutely crazy!]

[Of course, no one really cares whether you're crazy or not. They just want to see a river of blood...]

[Fuck! I've been fed up with that big Feizhu in the Forbidden City for a long time! No matter who's rushing the tower, we have to help out!]

[Quack! Prime Minister Zhou, lead us forward one more time!]

【loyalty!】

[One hundred million bloodthirsty and unruly people in the entire Ming Dynasty were all watching the excitement, not caring about the big deal. As a result, the voices urging him to ascend the throne grew louder and louder...]

However, to everyone's disappointment, you didn't immediately declare yourself emperor and establish a system, as everyone had expected. You didn't even have any intention of changing the dynasty... After deposing the Ming Dynasty princes and striking hard at the nobles, you didn't take any further action.

You simply continued your daily work of governing the country, diligently and loyally, as if none of the previous tower-rushing actions were your doing.

[In contrast, within the Forbidden City… to your surprise, the Divine Emperor remained calm in the face of your series of deliberate provocations. Even when the Crown Prince and his children cried to him daily about your evil ambitions, he remained unmoved.]

No one knows what He is thinking, and no one knows what His unusual silence means...

[Perhaps He hasn't yet made up His mind to eliminate you, or perhaps He still hopes to persuade you to change your mind, or perhaps He has some dark and shameful plan...]

[In short, you didn't openly rebel, and He didn't take action either. Both sides seemed to be waiting for some opportunity. A strange tacit understanding formed such a fragile balance.]

【…】

【Time moves on.】

In the eightieth year of Chongzhen's reign, everything was as usual.

In the eighty-fifth year of Chongzhen's reign, everything returned to normal.

[In the 90th year of Chongzhen’s reign, everything was as usual…]

As time progresses, the Ming Dynasty prospers under your meticulous governance. The people live and work in peace and contentment, the government is clear and efficient, and the two capitals and eighteen provinces are filled with hope for life... This is unprecedented during the Divine Emperor era; it is a true feudal era of peace and prosperity.

[Not only did the lives of the original Ming people improve, but the living conditions of the people in the five provinces of Korea and Japan that were later incorporated also saw a significant improvement!]

The five provinces' centripetal force towards the Ming Dynasty is growing stronger, and from popular sentiment to cultural integration, they are gradually moving towards integration...

[The Prime Minister's kindness is not over yet!] [People's praises for you are heard everywhere in the world, and the word "loyalty" echoes across the territory of the Ming Dynasty.]

"As for why you know all this... it's because you occasionally leave the capital and personally visit various places to observe the lives of the people. Whenever you arrive, you always arouse the excitement and excitement of the people."

[A huge crowd of people surrounded you, crying, dancing, and waving, shouting "loyalty" and "gratitude". The situation was out of control for a while...]

This time you left the capital again, first conducting some research near the Yalu River in Liaodong, then heading south to Guangdong and Guangxi, until you arrived in Guangdong, where you managed to enjoy a bite of hot Cantonese cuisine before the Lunar New Year...

【Really, you are from Dandong and want to eat Cantonese food! 】

Sitting at the table, you slowly savor the Guangdong-style dishes while listening to the Guangdong Governor carefully report on the local situation...

[From the administrative situation of local officials to the revenue and expenditure of local finances, as well as the specific implementation of some imperial decrees, the governor reported everything in detail, fearing that you might not have heard clearly.]

You said nothing the entire time, only nodding occasionally during the meal to show you understood... Finally, when the governor finished reporting on the routine matters, you finally put down your chopsticks.

The report indicated that everything was normal, and Guangdong's development was steadily improving... This was similar to the information you received in Beijing, so you didn't take it too seriously.

[Furthermore, you made a special trip from Liaodong directly south to Guangdong, and it certainly couldn't be for these simple questions... So after hearing all the general information, you asked the real reason for your trip south.]

["What happened to those... unusual Jinyiwei?"]

Upon hearing this question, the Governor immediately shuddered. "Your Excellency, I have ordered the remaining normal Jinyiwei to detain anyone who is clearly abnormal, and we are awaiting the Prime Minister's decision!"

【"Um."】

You nodded: "Bring it up."

【what? 】

The Governor was stunned, then felt a bit embarrassed: "This... Prime Minister, these crazy people are really hard to control. If we bring them here, I'm afraid..."

"It's okay, just bring it here."

Seeing you say this, the governor couldn't persuade you any further. He could only grit his teeth and order his subordinates to bring the people over... Moments later, several Jinyiwei lunatics, bound in chains, were carefully carried over.

【Quack! 】

As soon as they saw a stranger, their eyes glared red, their emotions extremely agitated, and they roared non-stop. Their bodies suddenly glowed with golden light, and their iron chains rattled, as if they were about to devour anyone at any moment!

[In a sense, they are no longer human, but true monsters in human skin. If released into the outside world, they would likely cause countless tragedies in a matter of minutes...]

[You are actually not unfamiliar with this violent state, because you have seen it countless times during your many years in power.]

【They are the Jinyiwei who are out of control! 】

Since you implemented military reforms in the 64th year of Chongzhen's reign, the number of Jinyiwei you've recruited has already exceeded one million. They are scattered across the country, slowly accumulating divine power like spinning tops.

Although the divine power gained from spinning the top was not much, and with a million people competing against each other, the accumulation of divine power was extremely slow, but as the saying goes, dripping water wears away stone... Slowly, their divine power accumulated until it eroded their sanity!

[To this day, almost every few months, a province reports that the Jinyiwei are out of control. To prevent a major chaos that the local officials cannot solve, you have to travel all over the country to personally solve these minefields that you have planted...]

[At the same time, you often receive letters from the Imperial Palace, in which the Divine Emperor sarcastically expresses: "Are you convinced now? I've already said that these Jinyiwei are going crazy. They are harmful to the Ming Dynasty and have no benefit. It's better to give them to me to refine them..."]

【And you never responded to this, just quietly running around the country. 】

[Sacrifice the Imperial Guards? That's impossible!]

Even if you, from the perspective of the upper-level rulers, believe that sacrificing the minority to save the majority is an extremely cost-effective deal, you absolutely cannot do this.

[Because the Jinyiwei have been the power you have accumulated from the very beginning, they carry your only hope. Only they can possibly defeat the almighty Divine Emperor!]

[So, even if this road is extremely difficult to walk, you must persist...]

[As for the Divine Emperor's belief that they will become harmful and useless if they lose control... That's fine, because you always have a way to solve this problem. However, this method must never be known to the Divine Emperor...]

[Looking at the still roaring human-skinned monsters, you calmly extended your invisible telekinetic hand.]

[Grab it and refine it instantly! ]

"Quack! It's the Prime Minister!"

After a moment, the Jinyiwei who had lost control regained consciousness. Before they could figure out what had happened to them, they instinctively looked towards you, each face filled with immense excitement.

【"loyalty!"】

"The Prime Minister's kindness is not over yet!"

Amidst the excited cheers, you can't help but feel a surge of ambition.

[The Divine Emperor believes that His visible hand can control everything, but little do you know that you also have an invisible hand that can manipulate people's hearts!]

The final outcome of this struggle will be determined by whether His visible hand is more powerful or your invisible hand is more powerful.

[The visible big hand vs. the invisible big hand! ]

The final stage of the struggle has officially arrived...

……

(End of this chapter)