Cursed Mountains and Seas

Chapter 296 The Book in the Fish Belly: Are Kings and Nobles Born with a Special Kindness?
A slender emperor, dressed in a sacrificial robe with a black upper body and a red lower body, and wearing a jade crown with twelve tassels, stepped out from the pillar of light that reached the heavens and the earth.

A strong wind blew through the mountains, causing clothes to flutter.

His expression was cold as he gazed at the distant Jade Capital City, raised a finger, and pronounced judgment upon the ruler of this dynasty:
"A tyrannical ruler! He has offended Heaven; there is no hope left to pray for!"

The Han dynasty inherited the Qin system. Based on the imperial edict system established by the Qin dynasty, Emperor Wen of Han, Liu Heng, issued the "Edict Seeking Advice" in response to the solar eclipse. This was the first time in Chinese history that an emperor had officially issued a public self-criticism document.

It was also the first self-reproach edict that conformed to the official document norms.

This edict acknowledged that, under the principle of divine intervention, all calamities on earth were the emperor's responsibility.

Even the supreme emperor and the ruler of the state can make mistakes. In his edict, Emperor Wen reflected on his own governance errors, asked his subjects to offer advice, and became a model for all emperors in later generations to blame themselves for disasters and anomalies.

The Guishan School's trump card wasn't the poisoned wine cup, golden spear, or jade belt used to assassinate the emperor, but rather Emperor Wen of Han's exemplary conduct as a "benchmark"!
Moreover, Emperor Wen of Han also fathered one of the most "standard emperors" in Chinese history—Emperor Jing of Han, Liu Qi, the chess master of the Han Dynasty.

Q: Who was the emperor in history who killed his teacher?
Han Zhanji could also be Liu Qi.

Who was the one who killed his brother?

Yang Guang and Li Shimin could also be Liu Qi.

Who was it that killed the great hero?
Zhao Gou, the "Knocking on the Gate Emperor," could also be Liu Qi.

Who was the one who deposed the empress?

Liu Che and Liu Xiu could also be Liu Qi.

Who killed the son?
Wang Mang and Li Longji could also be Liu Qi.

Who was that emperor who was hailed as a saint? Yang Jian could also be Liu Qi.
Who was that powerful emperor? Li Longji, Liu Che, or even Liu Qi.
Emperor Jing has passed away, but Liu Qi is a figure throughout the history of China.

It was common knowledge throughout the court and among the people that Emperor Shaozhi had always compared himself to Emperor Wen of Han, and even bestowed the title of Prince Jing upon his favorite fourth son, which may well have been partly an attempt to recreate the reigns of Emperors Wen and Jing.

Ironically, at this very moment, this forced connection of fate became Emperor Shaozhi's death warrant.

call--!
With the five-colored rat demon as the catalyst, a chilling atmosphere descended upon the world.

Wang Cheng, far away in Minzhou, was still happily collecting five-colored soil delivered from all over the country.

Unbeknownst to them, the five-colored rat demons they had killed had reached a critical point, and the crimson evil energy condensed into a ball, attracting the negative wishes of all the people in the world.

It seems something is about to take shape in the sky.

Listen closely and you may hear the cries of a thousand people:
"My lord, please, please don't raise taxes any further. The founding emperor stipulated that taxes should be one-thirtieth of the total, but now the taxes and corvée labor are so numerous that we can't even count them all. Our whole family is really going to starve."

"Stop hitting me, stop hitting me! I didn't know this mountain belonged to you. I'll never dare to go into the master's forest to chop firewood again."

"Ah! My legs, my hands, don't leave me in the mountains, help! Help me!"

"Give me back my newlywed wife! Someone clearly saw her being abducted into your manor by your young master, and I also saw your servants selling the silver bracelet on her wrist. What have you done to her?"

Every cry was soaked in the blood and tears of the people, and every incident told a story of greed for money, land, and sex, and of lawlessness.

The grievances of the common people cannot be redressed.

Upon hearing these accusations, Wang Cheng and his group fell silent.

With its thriving economy and the self-governing of its three major boat captains, Yuegang was not allowed to collect taxes, and the lives of the Tanka people gradually improved.

But now the most real suffering of the common people in Dazhao is being displayed to them in a bloody way—in the feudal dynasty, without official rank, one is not even considered a basic person!

The Tanka people feel they are suffering, but aren't the people inland just as suffering?
Perhaps most of the evil was committed by the gentry, nobles, and members of the imperial family; ordinary people were not worthy of being harmed by the emperor.

But ordinary people don't understand these things, nor do they care about them. They only know that the emperor is the backer for these men to do evil.

The resentment, like a volcano, kept building up and rushed straight towards the Lord of the State!
However, these malevolent energies came to the wrong place.

This is not the imperial city, and Wang Cheng has never harmed or harmed the people. On the contrary, the merit he possesses shines brightly like the moon and is growing rapidly at an exaggerated rate.

These grudges cannot be directed at him even if he seeks enemies in the void.

After a period of intense, malevolent energy, unable to find a target, dissipated and disappeared into the sky, reducing the pressure on the capital city by at least 20%.

Even so, Wang Cheng felt his back was slippery, and only when the mountain wind blew did he realize that his back was already soaked with cold sweat.

Ah Xiao took out a silk handkerchief and helped him wipe away his sweat.

But Wang Cheng didn't care about any of that, and suddenly turned his head to look in the direction of Yujing City in the north:
"This means Kameyama Publishing House has started to make its move!"

The Five-Colored Rat Demon in Minzhou made a lot of noise but did little, while the situation in the Imperial City was quite different.

Sizzle sizzle
The malevolent energy eroded the rich imperial spirit of the First Emperor of Han, and even partially assimilated the willpower contained in taxes and corvée labor into its own.

The phantom images of millions of people, their eyes brimming with blood and tears, appeared in the sky, joining the phantom image of Emperor Wen of Han in a cry:
"Dark Lord!"

"Dark Lord!"

Condemned by all, he died without illness.

With each shout, the immense, dragon-like aura within Renshou Palace weakened slightly. The old Taoist priest, who had been quietly meditating inside, still held the national treasure, the Imperial Seal, inscribed with the words "By the Mandate of Heaven, May Your Life Be Long and Prosperous."

But when Emperor Wen exclaimed, "I have offended Heaven, and there is nothing I can pray for," even the Imperial Seal of the State became too hot to handle. This treasure, representing the Emperor's Mandate of Heaven, could no longer protect him.

A deep sense of powerlessness washed over him.

He felt as if he had returned to the night of the palace coup.

Lying on the dragon bed, pinned down by a group of defenseless palace maids, the helplessness of having his neck strangled once again assaulted every nerve in his body.

Clearly, the "edict of self-reproach" is essentially another form of apotropaic power, using the resentment of the people to suppress the emperor's status as the ruler of the nation.

"How dare the thief?!"

For forty years since Emperor Shaozhi ascended the throne, the two capitals and twenty-four prefectures have been under his command.

But this time he felt he really couldn't take on the responsibility.

His status as the ruler of the state was negated by the will of the people and his edict of self-reproach, and all his cultivation was suppressed. Even his first-rank [Dan Ding Dao Shi] status, which he had painstakingly cultivated, was weakened to the extreme.

With 20% less accumulated malevolent energy, he didn't fall all the way down to the lower third rank; he could barely maintain the sixth rank.

Overwhelmed by the terror of losing control of his own life, his face no longer bore the composure of the former supreme ruler of the empire.
scream in panic:

"Escort! Escort!"

Lu Yunchen and Cheng Gong immediately led their men to the palace gate and formed a human wall to prevent any accidents.

Normally, the sons of many meritorious officials, relatives of the emperor, and high-ranking civil and military officials serve as "Military Guard Attendants".

Primarily serving as ceremonial guards, they were, in a sense, hostages of the emperor.

But this time, there wasn't a single person with connections involved in the escort mission.

They were all professional officers and captains selected from the civilian population, and were the true backbone of the White Scale Guard. They were divided into White Scale Warriors and White Scale Captains, all of whom were ghost soldiers of the temple army.

At this moment, a white lotus bloomed on their foreheads, and white scales appeared on the skin beneath their armor. Some of them rolled their eyes back and chanted, "Eternal Mother, True Emptiness Homeland."

The Han family is different from the Zhu family, who came from humble beginnings. The Han family has been the leaders of the White Lotus Sect for generations, and their foundation is much deeper. These White Scale Guards are the temple soldiers and ghost soldiers exclusively for the emperor.

The methods of control are even more domineering than Wang Cheng’s “golden evil master, silver benevolent servant” and “favor loan”. They can make them live or die as they please, and they are absolutely loyal!
However, the surprise attack by Guishan Bookstore this time was not simply a matter of temporarily removing the head of the society from his position.

The shouts of the tyrannical rulers overhead changed once again:
"Does the prince and general Xiang Ning have the guts?"

Suddenly, wisps of malevolent energy in the sky transformed into illusory arrows, which were unleashed in a volley towards Renshou Palace.

The ethereal image of Liu Tao, the "Governor-General of the Capital Garrison," flashed in place, blocking the arrows and preparing to parry them all with his weapon.

But to their horror, they discovered that no inanimate object could touch the arrows.

Upon being struck by an arrow, he immediately felt a strong urge to rebel, wanting to replace the kings and generals, and even coveting the imperial power.

His expression changed drastically, and he quickly dodged away as if he had been electrocuted.

"The enemy also possesses a second treasure to restrain the emperor, which is the talisman used during the Chen Sheng and Wu Guang uprising: the cinnabar book in the fish's belly!"
It was anchored in the first peasant uprising against a centralized dynasty—no, it was rebellion against the rebels!

The enemy was clearly well-informed about the situation inside and outside the capital, and never showed up in person.

But every move they prepared struck the imperial city guards squarely where it hurt.

Both the "Edict of Self-Reproach" and the "Red Letter from the Fish Belly" are talismans that ward off evil spirits, relying on the will of the common people. They use the enemy's own spear against his own shield, rendering all the countermeasures prepared for the gentry and powerful families useless.

At this moment, even Liu Tao, a living ghost god, with the military might of the three camps, could not stop the cinnabar letter inside the fish's belly, let alone the temple soldiers guarding Renshou Palace.

"Are kings and nobles born with a special destiny? Kill the emperor!"

"The emperor's throne rotates, this year it's my turn! Brothers, follow me and fight for a title and a prosperous future for your families!"

"Kill!"

Enveloped in a rain of arrows, palace guards were struck one after another, followed by a burst of frenzied shouts from the crowd.

The White Scale Guards, who were under deep control, fared somewhat better, but many of the Tengxiang Four Guards suddenly turned against them, stabbing their colleagues to death before rushing into the palace.

"Quick, stop them!"

Lu Yunchen roared, and the Divine Firmament Five Thunder Sword was drawn. A beam of sword light slashed down, cutting the foremost "rebel" in two.

Then the sword light split apart, unleashing a bloody storm.

Chaos reigned among the guards, with severed limbs flying everywhere and screams and shouts tearing through the sky.

To make matters worse, the arrows easily pierced through the roof tiles and fell into the buildings of the West Garden, engulfing all the palace maids and eunuchs.

Even in Renshou Palace, where the emperor was hiding, a palace servant was shot with an arrow. After struggling for a moment, he raised his hand and knocked over a candlestick, which set off a raging fire in the palace!
(End of this chapter)