We'll have you impersonate the Crown Prince and create a prosperous era for the Great Qian Dyna

The group of veteran officials turned pale.

They looked around in horror, but there was no one there to speak up for them.

Zhou Tiancheng is too ruthless.

With those words, "What face do you have?" and "How can you bear this?", the Emperor Emeritus's path was completely blocked.

According to Zhou Tiancheng, even if they brought back the retired emperor, he would still be a sinner of the Great Qian Dynasty if they didn't kill Kazan.

By then, the retired emperor would not only be unable to regain his throne, but even if he wanted to live a normal life, he would be subject to constant gossip and slander. Anyone who wanted to pledge allegiance to the retired emperor would have to consider their own reputation, and seizing power would be virtually impossible.

But if they kill Kazan and bring his head back to Northern Xia, this provocative act is practically telling Northern Xia to hurry up and kill someone.

In that case, would the retired emperor still have a chance to survive?

Both paths are blocked; no matter what they choose, the retired emperor is doomed.

The group of veteran officials panicked and turned to look at Zhou Rui.

"Your Majesty, you can't let His Highness the Crown Prince act recklessly!"

Zhou Rui didn't say anything; he was even a little happy inside.

The veteran officials then looked at Qin Zhi'ang.

"Lord Qin, please put in a good word for us!"

Qin Zhiang turned his head away from them, but a cold smile crept into his heart.

What kind of joke are these old geezers making?

Don't you understand the principle of "a new emperor, a new court"?

Even if Qin Zhiang was incredibly stupid, he knew perfectly well that he was an official of Zhou Rui's faction. Welcoming the retired emperor back would only cause him trouble.

But at the same time, he was also very wary.

The Crown Prince is too amazing.

This dilemma was somehow exploited by the Crown Prince, who found a way out: before the Emperor Emeritus even returned, all the roads had already been blocked.

This is the real formidable opponent that Qin Zhiang found difficult to deal with.

now.

Zhou Tiancheng had already walked up to Kazan and was looking directly into Kazan's blue eyes.

"You heard our conversation. You insulted our Great Qian Dynasty. Don't even think about leaving here alive."

"But to show our sincerity, your head will be sent back to Northern Xia. As for your body, it may be thrown into the mountains to be fed to wolves. According to the traditional customs of Northern Xia, it will be a sky burial. This is the last bit of dignity I can give you."

Kazan's brow twitched.

Is this supposed to be decent?

Speaking of heads, you know the rule of the Great Qian Dynasty: fallen leaves return to their roots.

Now that we're dealing with the body, why are you doing a sky burial?

He understands the culture of the Great Qian Dynasty.

In the Great Qian Dynasty, this would be called leaving one's body exposed in the wilderness, not even fit to become a wandering ghost!

But the Crown Prince keeps saying it's for your own good and that he's giving you face.

How could Kazan not be angry?

However, he still has a trump card up his sleeve.

He pulled a token from his pocket and held it above his head with a smile.

"This gold medal was given to me by your retired emperor when he knelt before me to save his life. He said that as long as I produced this gold medal, even your emperor would not dare to kill me."

"I'm curious, are you planning to kill me now, or are you planning to listen to your retired emperor?"

Dead silence.

The entire court was deathly silent.

Everyone looked at the gold medal.

The old ministers also saw hope, and they knelt on the ground one by one, wailing and constantly calling out to the retired emperor, looking very sincere.

Zhou Tiancheng's eyelids drooped slightly, and he cursed under his breath.

trouble.

It's just too much trouble.

Why didn't this retired emperor die sooner?

Not only is he alive, but he's also caused so much trouble. He's become a hostage, a pawn in the Northern Xia's scheme to disrupt the Great Qian court, and now he's being described as nothing more than a dog.

What's the point of him still being alive?

But Zhou Tiancheng still had to save face for the Great Qian Dynasty.

He quickly recovered.

"How do I know if your gold medal is real or fake?"

"Furthermore, how could I possibly know how the Emperor Emeritus gave it to you, or what he said?"

"What if this is a lie you made up, and you found the gold medal? Are you suggesting that our Great Qian should just let you come to our door and insult us, and then politely let you leave?"

Kazan grinned widely.

"Your Highness, do I need to prove whether it's the truth or a lie? Don't you already know the answer in your heart?"

"If it weren't for what your retired emperor himself said, would I have the audacity to insult your entire Great Qian Dynasty in such a way right here in your court?"

"However, I knew you wouldn't believe me. Now I have a letter from the Emperor Emeritus. You might as well take a look."

He then took out a parchment.

Zhou Tiancheng accepted it.

All eyes were on the letter.

With just a quick glance, Zhou Tiancheng's face turned ashen.

He didn't speak, but gave the smug Kazan a cold look before handing the letter to Huang Chen.

Huang Chen handed the letter to Zhou Rui. After reading it, Zhou Rui slammed his fist heavily on the table.

Kazan was all smiles.

"What? Are you going to say this letter is fake too?"

"If all else fails, you can have someone authenticate it. This is your Emperor Emeritus's handwriting; according to the rules, it's also an imperial edict from him!"

The civil and military officials dared not speak. They looked at Zhou Rui, then at Zhou Cheng, and seeing that both of them looked very grim, they became curious about the contents of the letter.

Zhou Rui didn't say much, but directly ordered someone to come and verify the authenticity of the letter.

The inspector glanced at the letter and turned pale with fright, but he dared not conceal anything. Comparing it to the Emperor Emeritus's handwriting, the inspector became more and more alarmed.

It took him quite a while to put the letter down.

"Really, really."

This was truly written by the retired emperor.

This moment.

Kazan's laughter reached its peak.

He looked at Zhou Rui with disdain.

"Emperor of the Great Qian Dynasty, do you dare to have this letter read aloud?"

Zhou Rui's face turned ashen.

He snorted and didn't give a direct answer, but he still handed the letter in his hand to Huang Chen.

The retired emperor's handwritten letter will inevitably be made known to everyone sooner or later.

Before long, Huang Chen's voice rang out, and the contents of the letter were presented one by one.

The main content is as follows.

The marriage alliance involved several princesses being married off to the emperor of Northern Xia, with the sisters sharing the responsibility of serving one man.

They ceded territory, giving thirteen cities in the northern frontier as a gift to the Northern Xia.

The tribute ceremony involved selecting the most beautiful women in the entire Daqian imperial concubine selection process and sending them to the Northern Xia imperial palace.

Fu Di revised the contract between Bei Xia and Da Qian, requiring the emperor of Da Qian to recognize the emperor of Bei Xia as his adoptive father.

In addition to reparations, the Great Qian Dynasty had to send a fixed amount of gold, silver, and grain to the Northern Xia every year.

Each of these statements, when read aloud, would darken the faces of the officials in the imperial court.

This is a treaty that completely humiliates and deprives the country of its rights.

Ironically, this was written by the retired emperor.

At that very moment, countless officials made up their minds that, regardless of whether the retired emperor returned or not, this man should never become emperor again; it would be best if he died on the road.

However, the Great Qian Dynasty governs the country based on filial piety. If this matter is not handled properly, it will be seen as the emperor being unfilial, which will not only cause public outcry but may also be exploited by those with ulterior motives, leading to a collapse of the rites and music system.

Just then, Zhou Tiancheng spoke up again.

"This letter is fake and doesn't count."

Everyone was stunned for a moment.

The officials who examined the handwriting all said the letter was genuine, so why would the Crown Prince still say that?

Zhou Tiancheng remained calm.

"My imperial grandfather dared to lead troops to resist the Northern Xia, having already disregarded his own life. How could he possibly write such a humiliating letter that betrays the nation's sovereignty?"

"In short, I will not admit that this letter is genuine."