Cursed Mountains and Seas

Chapter 295 A National Treasure: Emperor Wen of Han's Edict of Self-Reproach!

The West Garden, where Emperor Shaozhi resided, was located on the west side of the palace, between the West Garden Gate and the Xi'an Gate. It was a beautifully constructed royal garden.

Ever since Emperor Taizong moved the capital to Yujing City, the court has been undertaking large-scale construction projects in this area of ​​the Western Garden.

During the reign of Emperor Shaozhi, in addition to the establishment of numerous eunuch institutions here, even the emperor abandoned the perilous imperial palace and moved in.

The old Taoist priest had been cultivating here for twenty years. The core of the Great Zhao Dynasty's "rules of heaven and earth" had been moved here from the imperial palace. Although there were no nine layers of palaces to protect it, it was still an impregnable fortress.

The outer perimeter of the West Garden was guarded by three elite battalions, while the inner perimeter was guarded by the White Scale Guards and the Tengxiang Four Guards under the Imperial Horse Administration.

"Commander Lu is truly a young man of great talent. He has made a great contribution this time, rising directly from the local garrison to the capital. From now on, he will be favored by the Emperor and will have a bright future."

"When we saw you from afar, wearing that flying fish robe, we thought it was Commander Lu in person."

"So it's you, Master Cheng. You flatter me. I am far inferior to you, Grandpa. When it comes to loyalty to the emperor and serving the country, I still have much to learn from you."

Outside Renshou Palace, two patrol teams met and greeted each other with clasped hands from a distance.

On one side was Cheng Gong, the Grand Eunuch of the Imperial Horse Administration, who commanded the Tengxiang Four Guards and supervised the Western Depot. They were the emperor's personal guard forces and were naturally among the imperial guards.

The other team was led by Lu Yunchen, who had just returned to the White Scale Guard and was promoted from a local military commander to the third-rank Zhenhai Guard Commander to the third-rank Deputy Commander of the White Scale Guard.

On the surface, it may seem like the rank has dropped slightly, but everyone knows that the amount of power an official wields has little to do with his rank. Instead, it is positively correlated with his distance from the center of power.

On the surface, they were both of the third rank, but the latter's power was more than ten times greater. The old eunuch's comment of "a promising future" was actually quite subtle.

After Lu Yunchen returned to the capital from Zhenhaiwei, he secretly settled Han Shushu, with whom he had already pledged his life, in one of his many residences.

Then, without even returning home, he moved directly into the West Garden to personally protect Emperor Shaozhi.

With the "Nine-Rank Official System" hanging like a sword over their heads, the two of them became two of the old Taoist priest's most trusted confidants.

Even Lu Yunchen's third uncle, Lu Yi, who had taken over his father's mantle and been promoted to commander, was inferior to him, because the latter had children.

Even if the ruler of the state possessed a pair of discerning eyes, he could not discern whether the heart of the palace servant beside him was black or red.

However, with their interests intertwined, if the emperor were to die, both families would be brought down to earth.

Countless political enemies swarmed in and devoured them until nothing was left. The bonds of interest are more trustworthy than people's hearts.

Lu and Cheng were both close advisors to the emperor, so they naturally knew what their wealth and status depended on.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, they all turned to look at the alchemy room in Renshou Palace, where the furnace fire burned day and night, and it would still be more than a month before the elixir was refined.

Both faces were somewhat somber:

"We all know that the Five-Colored Rat Demon was just a prelude, a means to incite the overwhelming public opinion across the country to rebel against the monarch."

The truly formidable item is the talisman that follows, which uses the concept of "interaction between heaven and man" as a guide to manipulate public opinion and bring the ruler of the state to the dust.

besides"

Besides the menacing external enemies, another internal worry left them somewhat at a loss.

Now, living in Renshou Palace is not only Emperor Shaozhi, but also his other son who should have "two dragons never meeting" - the fifth-rank [Taoist alchemist] Prince Jing, Han Zaizhen.

Currently, one faction in the court, led by Yan Jiexi, the Grand Secretary of the corrupt cabinet, supports the fourth prince, Prince Jing, Han Zaizhen, to succeed as crown prince.

One faction, led by Xu Shaohu, the second-ranking official of the Qingliu cabinet, supported the ascension of the older third prince, Prince Yu, Han Zaiji.

Prince Jing was only two months younger than Prince Yu, both being young men of only twenty-four years old. However, because of his mother, he was more favored by Emperor Shaozhi.

This can be seen from the fact that his official rank and legal status were the same as the emperor's.

As far as they knew, at the beginning of the year, the emperor was thinking of sending Prince Jing out of the capital to his fiefdom within the year, and finally settling the crown prince, establishing the older Prince Yu as the heir apparent!

However, too many unexpected changes occurred in the first half of the year. Prince Yu's teachers, who were considered upright and honest, were highly suspicious, and the emperor's thoughts kept changing.

A few days ago, after Consort Lu Jing, the mother of Prince Jing, tearfully complained to the emperor, Emperor Shaozhi actually allowed Prince Jing to stay in the palace for a short time before he went to his fiefdom, so that he could assist him in refining elixirs.

This father and son from the imperial family were to spend 49 days and nights together.

This obvious change in attitude immediately gave the outside world a lot to think about.

This caused the already turbulent political situation to become even more shrouded in mystery, making it impossible for anyone to see clearly.

But they only dared to think these things in their hearts; even their political allies wouldn't dare to say them out loud, for doing so could lead to their execution.

At the same time, a sliver of hope arose in both of their hearts:
"If the elixir of immortality is successfully refined this time, Your Majesty will become the true Daoist ruler of the human world—the Emperor of Nine Heavens who spreads teachings, saves all living beings, and subdues demons with loyalty and filial piety."

All problems will be solved.

It's quite remarkable that the two of them could memorize such a long title word for word; they deserve to be so favored.

Snapped!
Before they could finish speaking, a cannon suddenly roared overhead.

Immediately following, the bell towers near the city gates of the capital also sounded a series of urgent alarm bells. This signal of an attack on the capital had only been sounded twice before.

The first time was because of the Oirat students 110 years ago; the second time was because of Altan Khan 10 years ago.

This third instance, also during the Shaozhi reign, was a desperate counterattack from the gentry and powerful clans.

The moment they heard the cannon fire, Lu Yunchen and Cheng Gong immediately jumped onto the inner city wall and looked outside, discovering that the three major battalions guarding the capital had already engaged the enemy.

"Who dares to trespass into the Imperial City and disturb His Majesty's presence?!" "A curfew is imposed in the Imperial City. Everyone must keep their doors tightly shut and not leave. Even living spirits of the third rank without official duties are forbidden from leaving their bodies to spy. Anyone who disobeys will be executed!"

With two loud roars, two [Demon God Dharma Images], as large as city walls, appeared on the central imperial road.

Together with the officers and soldiers of the three major camps and the ghost soldiers of the temple army, they blocked the five-colored rat demons that rushed directly into the city.

These two were none other than Liu Tao, the supreme commander of the three major camps, a first-rank military governor who was in charge of the military administration of the capital garrison, and Zhang Ao, the second-rank Minister of War who was in charge of the military administration of the capital garrison.

The two commanders of the three major battalions both looked extremely grim.

The [Emperor Shi of Han's Divine Qi], which should have covered the entire city and been impregnable, showed no reaction whatsoever to the appearance of these evil spirits, allowing them to enter unimpeded.

They were all high-ranking deities still alive, and they were well aware of the causes of this phenomenon.

"Strange phenomena appeared in the sky: a five-colored rat demon; the country has a corrupt official."

This is a backlash from long-accumulated public opinion!
Just as corrupt officials would turn a blind eye to the raging public outcry, so too would Emperor Wang Shenqi, whose power also stemmed from the will of the people, not retaliate against such legitimate public opinion.

Now we have no choice but to get rid of the rats ourselves.

"No need for further words, kill them all!"

Zhang Ao, who had just taken office as Minister of War a month ago, seemed even more radical than the military officers around him. He raised his hand and drew a line with his index finger, activating his water-related supernatural power, "Chu River Han Boundary".

The five-colored rat demons that invaded the capital had no choice but to move forward along a fixed path, like chess pieces on a chessboard.

Unless they break through the inner city defenses of the three major camps along the central imperial road, it would be impossible to break through and enter the West Garden.

"Shenyi Battalion, fire!"

The Shenji Battalion was the world's first organized artillery unit, predating the Frankish musketeers by nearly a century, but unfortunately, the improvement of firearms was not significant.

Their unique skill, the "Divine Machine Gun and Cannon Technique," allows them to become one with their guns and cannons, bringing any type of firearm to its theoretical performance limit.

As long as there is a theoretical possibility with their guns, such as hitting a fly on a Frenchman's baguette from 100 meters away, they can turn that possibility into 100%.

Everyone is a sharpshooter, and eliminating an enemy with every bullet is no problem at all.

boom!boom!boom!boom!
Countless crimson lines of fire intertwined into a deathly net in the darkness shrouded by the blood moon.

They used the original three-barreled musket, whose design hadn't changed in nearly two hundred years, with the precision of a sniper rifle and the firepower density of a semi-automatic rifle.

One by one, the five-colored rat demons were flicked between the eyebrows, let out a mournful cry, and collapsed to the ground.

Just like the five-colored soil, copper coins, gold and silver, pots and pans that were brought to Minzhou, all sorts of miscellaneous items were scattered all over the ground.

But they, like their counterparts in Minzhou, continued to follow one after another.

What's different is that these rats also brought other things to the imperial city.

When one or two mice are killed, it is barely noticeable; when ten or a hundred are killed, it is not unusual. But when the number reaches tens of thousands, it leads to a qualitative change from a quantitative change.

Wisps of red malevolent energy rose up, and if one listened closely, one could hear shouts of extreme hatred and cursing directed at the court and the emperor.

"Something's wrong!"

The two living spirits, with their most acute senses, were the first to notice something amiss.

Choosing to kill these five-colored rat demons on the spot doesn't seem like a good idea.

Especially in Yujing City, the heart of the empire and the center of power, it is also a place where those "great corrupt officials" congregate.

But when the strange phenomenon appeared, the purpose of the Guishan Bookstore had already been achieved.

At the summit of Lingshan Mountain in the western suburbs outside Yujing City.

Wearing an ancient mask and with flowing sleeves, Richun, the leader of the Guishan Book Society, solemnly took out a very ancient bamboo scroll from a mother-of-pearl inlaid box.

The magnificent light of the Dharma, a national treasure, shot straight into the sky.

Beside him was another open mother-of-pearl box, inside which was a scroll of cinnabar scripture, emanating a strong fishy smell.

[Beginning of Spring] Holding a bamboo slip, facing the direction of Jade Capital City, he recited:
"The ruler is the master of all subjects and all things under heaven."

"The ruler is the master of all subjects and all things under heaven. Precisely because he is the master of all subjects and all things under heaven, his responsibility is also the greatest."

If any aspect concerning the interests and hardships of the people is neglected, errors will inevitably occur in governance due to a lack of understanding in that area, which constitutes incompetence.
Your Majesty, since you and Emperor Wen of Han were both princes who ascended the throne and both admired the Huang-Lao philosophy, you have compared yourselves to Emperor Wen.

He often said to those around him: "I wear no more than eight sets of clothes throughout the four seasons. I change into dry clothes and wet clothes. I give these clothes to the princes, envoys and officials. I save money for their salaries and military and national needs. I am always thinking about the difficulties of the country and the hardships of the people."

He wished to emulate Emperor Wen of Han, who achieved everything through non-action, and was known for his compassion, frugality, and reluctance to be the first in the world.

"Then let His Majesty Emperor Wen personally judge whether you are worthy to be compared with him!"

He suddenly unfolded the ancient bamboo slips in his hand.

The first bamboo slip had three large characters written neatly on its top: "Edict Seeking Advice".

This was also the first edict of self-reproach issued by Emperor Wen of Han in the history of China!

(End of this chapter)