Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 397 Zhao Kuangyi, you're a complete idiot!

"Brother, you forced me to do this!"

Carrying a jade axe, Zhao Er walked into the prison with a smile in his eyes. "If you had agreed to hand over the Palace Guard to me before, you wouldn't have ended up like this."

A night of chaos and slaughter in Bianliang City.

After dawn, Gao Huaide, who stormed the imperial city and dealt with the young emperor and Han Tong, was defeated and killed.

Han Lingkun, who assassinated Li Chongjin, was defeated by the Iron Cavalry and committed suicide.

Murong Yanzhao, who attempted to take over the military camp outside the city, was shot into a pincushion as soon as he entered the camp!

Thus, Zhao Kuangyin's rebellion group was completely wiped out.

Zhao Kuangyin, who was captured on the spot, was imprisoned in a dungeon.

Now, Zhao Erlai is seeing his brother off on his journey.

Zhao Kuangyin, bound by shackles, stared at the jade axe in Zhao Er's hand.

"This was a gift from the King of Qin."

Zhao Er brandished the jade axe. "This was given to me by the King of Qin. He said it would be perfect to send you on your way."

"You~"

With a complex expression, Zhao Kuangyin looked at his younger brother's almost crazed face and asked, "Do you really believe in that Lin Dao?"

Zhao Kuangyin did not regret his failure.

The victor is king, the loser is a villain.
What he found hard to accept was that it was his younger brother who betrayed him.

"Of course I believe you."

Zhao Erzhi said smugly, "The King of Qin has already agreed that as long as I kill you, he will make me the King of Jin, the Commander of the Palace Guards, and the commander of the Palace Guards."

"What you are unwilling to give, the King of Qin is willing to give!"

"Oh~~~"

“I’m not giving you troops because you’re too young and lack prestige.” Zhao Kuangyin stretched his body and sighed repeatedly. “Even if I were to appoint you by force, you would end up like Chai Rong when you went to war.”

"Prestige, merit, and sufficient benefits are all necessary to suppress them."

"Only by doing these things can one truly command troops."

You're way off.

"That Lin Dao is just using you and deceiving you."

"You've been bewitched, and you still haven't realized it."

Zhao Er, feeling his nose start bleeding again, raised his hand to wipe his mouth and nose. "Stop talking nonsense now, it's time for you to get going."

Having said that, he stepped forward, carrying the jade axe.

"Siblings turning against each other, Lin Dao really has some clever methods." For some reason, seeing that Zhao Er really wanted to kill him, Zhao Kuangyin felt relieved.

When Zhao Er raised the jade axe in his hand, he was horrified to see that the shackles on Zhao Kuangyin's body had fallen off!

This is Zhao Kuangyin, the highly skilled Zhao Kuangyin!
Without his shackles, the physically weak Zhao Er was no match for him!

While he was still in a daze, Zhao Kuangyin had already snatched the jade axe and kicked Zhao Er to the ground.

"That's impossible!"

Zhao Er, lying on the ground, struggled to get up, but Zhao Kuangyin stepped on him.

"Do you understand now?"

Zhao Kuangyin's face was full of bitterness. "When I was imprisoned, the shackles were removed."

Lin Dao said to me, "If you come but are unwilling to kill me, then you and I, brothers, can both live."

"From beginning to end, you were completely manipulated by him."

"You're such an idiot!"

With his vision blurring and his ears ringing, Zhao Er shook his head violently, his voice hoarse with frustration, "I! Don't! Believe!"

He couldn't believe it, and he didn't want to believe it.

I gave it my all, and this is the result.

"You~"

With a sorrowful expression on his face, Zhao Kuangyin slowly raised the jade axe in his hand. "Too stupid!"

Qin Wangfu.

"His dying words were, 'Since Zhao was born, why was Lin born?'"

With a calm expression, Lin Dao sat in his chair and nodded slightly. "Zhao Da is not bad, it's just a pity he has a good-for-nothing younger brother."

In the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, a unique era dominated by military men, donning the yellow robe was not considered a crime.

Bullying orphans and widows is commonplace.

After all, it's impossible to truly hand over the country to a child.

His biggest mistake was giving his younger brother a chance.

Zhao Er was not only incompetent himself, but his descendants were also incompetent.

Now, taking his younger brother with him is a way of making amends.

"Zhao Kuangyin was buried with Qingling Mausoleum."

As for Zhao Kuangyi~

Lin Dao was somewhat troubled.

Logically, he should have chopped Zhao Er up and fed him to the dogs, as was his custom.

The problem is that Zhao Er is covered in grime.

He can't even be buried, as it would pollute the land and groundwater.

"I ordered a coffin for him, put him in it, and sent him to the seaside as fast as possible."

"Find a ship, take this coffin, sail it to the vicinity of Japan, and throw it into the sea."

Lin Dao was actually quite good to Zhao Er.

I paid for a lead coffin for him myself.

Furthermore, the Bright Moon Pearl was also placed in the coffin as a burial offering for Zhao Er.

The Moon Pearl he had longed for could finally be with him forever.

After completely sealing the lead coffin, the escort team immediately dragged the coffin to the seaside.

"You brothers have left the stage."

Standing atop the city wall, I watched as the carriage carrying the lead coffin gradually disappeared into the distance.

Lin Dao took a breath. "Next, it's my turn!"

Bianliang City, the main hall of the imperial palace.

All the qualified civil and military officials in the city came here to discuss important matters.

There are two important things.

One thing is that the world is without a ruler, and a ruler must be elected as soon as possible.

Another important event was receiving envoys from the Southern Tang Dynasty.

"Now the emperor and empress are no longer here."

The meeting was chaired by Feng Dao, who spoke first, saying, "There is no emperor in the palace."

The "Supreme One" he referred to was the Empress Dowager. As for the other concubines, they were not qualified to be mentioned.

"Now our Great Zhou is being eyed by foreign enemies and is in turmoil internally."

"You are all important ministers of the Great Zhou Dynasty. You should do your best to establish a new emperor as soon as possible."

Such things were not uncommon during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period; many regional military governors had similar experiences.

Although the crowd found it somewhat strange, they were able to accept it.

As for the candidate, everyone immediately started discussing it.

"Emperor Taizu had no sons or brothers." Feng Dao gestured for silence. "Your Majesty had only one son."

The founding emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty was Guo Wei, who also had sons before him.

Unfortunately, his family and sons were all killed by Emperor Yin of the Later Han Dynasty, leaving only his adopted son Chai Rong.

Chai Rong was actually named Guo Rong. In ancient times, adopted sons could inherit the family business.

Having inherited the family business, he naturally took his adoptive father's surname as well.

When Chai Rong went to war, his banner was embroidered with Guo.

As for his original name, it was changed back when history was compiled in later generations.

Without a doubt, the new emperor could not be found in the lineage of the founding emperor, because they were all dead.

Of course, Guo Wei also has two daughters who are still alive.

But no one in the main hall would dare to suggest anything to the Empress.

Since Wu Zetian, the people of China have been terrified of being persecuted and would never allow another female emperor to emerge.

Next is Chai Rong's bloodline.

"His Majesty is an orphan with no brothers."

In fact, Chai Rong's biological father, Chai Shouli, was still alive, but Chai Rong was the adopted son who inherited the family business, so Chai Shouli naturally had no right to speak.

Legally speaking, Chai Shouli and Chai Rong have no relation whatsoever.

"All of His Majesty's sons have now been killed."

To date, Chai Rong has four sons.

His first three sons were all killed by Emperor Yin of the Later Han Dynasty.

The fourth son was Chai Zongxun.

However, he was also killed in the previous rebellion of Zhao Kuangyin.

This means that Chai Rong left behind such a vast foundation for the Great Zhou Dynasty, but without a successor.

"Everyone."

Feng Dao cupped his hands in greeting to the crowd, saying, "This is the current situation."

"Let's discuss who should be the emperor."

A constant buzzing sound filled the hall as everyone whispered among themselves.

Guo Wei and Chai Rong were truly pitiful; they conquered such a vast country, yet they had no heir.

Tragic, really miserable.

"Prime Minister."

The first person to speak was Lin Dao.

He bowed to Feng Dao and asked, "Your Majesty, are you sure they have perished?"

Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent and turned to look at Feng Dao.

"Oh~~~"

Feng Dao raised his hand to wipe the corner of his eye, his voice slightly choked, "His Majesty was besieged by the rebel army and the Tang army, and finally died in battle from exhaustion."

"The Tang envoy has already returned His Majesty's body."

Most of the people inside the hall hummed in agreement, wiping their eyes or something.

But Lin Dao alone cried out in anguish, "Your Majesty~"

"His Majesty has shown me great favor, promoting me from humble beginnings."

"Now that I am facing this calamity, I hereby swear this oath!"

He drew his sword and cut off a lock of hair. "I, Lin Dao, will surely carry on His Majesty's legacy! I will avenge His Majesty! I will make all the murderers pay for their crimes in blood!"

The people in the hall realized what was happening and echoed each other's opinions.

The crowd shouted for revenge, their voices deafening.

This is politically correct, and Lin Dao is also expressing his attitude to everyone.

I will carry on His Majesty's legacy!
The first to jump out was Shi Shouxin, a general under Lin Dao.

He shouted loudly, "Gentlemen, now that the royal bloodline is broken, we should choose a meritorious minister who is good at fighting and has won battles to inherit the throne!"

"In our Great Zhou Dynasty today, only the King of Qin is the most capable fighter and has made the greatest contributions!"

"I recommend that the King of Qin inherit the throne!"

Soon, Wang Shenqi, Han Zhongyun, Li Jixun, Yang Ye and others began to shout and create momentum.

At this moment, Lin Dao humbly waved his hand and said, "I checked the records of the Imperial Hospital, and there are already concubines in His Majesty's palace who are pregnant."

"Why don't we wait for the prince to be born?"

Even martial artists have to follow certain procedures.

Even a major rebel like Zhu Wen went through the proper procedures back then, so Lin Dao naturally had to go through the same procedures as well.

This time, it was Fu Yanqing who stepped forward.

"Your Majesty is mistaken!"

This typical member of the imperial family stepped forward and said in a deep voice, "Now, to the north, the Liao Kingdom is eyeing us covetously, and to the south, the Tang, Han, Wu, and Yue Kingdoms are waiting for an opportunity to act."

"Furthermore, there are rebel troops from the Imperial Guards who are marching towards Bianliang City."

"In such a critical moment, how can we wait for a child whose gender is unknown to be born!"

He turned and extended his hands to the people in the hall, "Everyone!"

"Now that the nation is in peril, we must place our hopes on capable individuals, rather than getting bogged down in matters of bloodlines!"

For Fu Yanqing, he was not only Chai Rong's father-in-law, but also Lin Dao's father-in-law!

Even after Lin Dao ascended to power, he remained the Emperor's father-in-law!
But if it were someone else, what would he be?
Fu Yanqing has a wide and extensive network of connections, and naturally, a large number of people have expressed their support.

After the commotion subsided, everyone's attention turned to Feng Dao.

Although he was a civil official, Feng Dao's status and position were different. He had a high level of prestige and could basically represent all civil officials.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Feng Dao set out and retrieved a yellow robe.

He stepped forward and draped the yellow robe over Lin Dao's shoulders!
Taking two steps back, Feng Dao should first offer a grand salute.

"My Emperor~"

"Long live~"

"Long live~"

Long live the Emperor!

(End of this chapter)