Chapter 539: End (1)

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Emperor Jingyan and his ministers were surrounded outside Lin’an City. The Emperor found the two princes and said, “I will get someone to send you out. Whoever survives will inherit the throne.”

However, the two children were terrified and not happy. The seven-year-old Eighth Prince could not help but ask, “Father, can the world be peaceful again?”

Emperor Jingyan did not answer. He ordered his men to take the two princes away and divided the armed forces protecting him into two groups. Then, he asked them to rush out when the imperial guards successfully broke out of the encirclement and tried to escort the princes out.

“Go find General Yuan and Qi Xiuyuan…” Only then did the Emperor realize that there was no one he trusted completely. If only Grand Tutor Yan was still alive…

Emperor Jingyan wanted to break out of the encirclement, but the Second Prince did not want to kill the Emperor in front of so many people. Therefore, he sent an envoy over, saying he was willing to acknowledge Emperor Jingyan as the Emperor Emeritus.

Emperor Jingyan had been muddle-headed all his life. He had always been indecisive, but this time, he was very determined. Instead of agreeing to be the Emperor Emeritus, he sent his men to break out at night.

The 50,000 imperial guards charged out under the command of their commander just to give the two princes a chance of survival. Emperor Jingyan and the ministers who followed him sat in the tent and listened to the battle cries outside for the whole night.

Just as dawn was about to break, the commander of the secret guards came in covered in blood to report, “Your Majesty, the eighth and tenth princes have been sent away.” Whether they could escape from the pursuit depended on their ability.

“Your Majesty, let the commander of the imperial guards escort you away. I’ll hold the fort here.”

Emperor Jingyan shook his head slightly and sighed. “I will not be able to leave. Thank you for your company these few days. My second son, that b*stard, probably won’t make things difficult for you. When the time comes, you guys should control your temper and let him be.”

“Your Majesty!”

“I’m old. If one of the two princes takes the throne in the future, he’ll still have to rely on the help of the ministers and guards, so you have to take care of your health.”

In the evening, when the setting sun was as red as blood, the Second Prince’s rebel army and West Xia cavalrymen joined forces to take down the Emperor’s 50,000 imperial guards and rushed into the middle tent.

Emperor Jingyan, who was wearing a dragon robe, sat in the middle of the tent. He looked up at the West Xia general, then turned to the Second Prince and asked, “If you want the throne, just say it. I can just give it up to you. Why do you want to rebel in such a precarious time? The Great Zhou is about to fall. I don’t want to be an overthrown monarch.”

The Second Prince said expressionlessly, “Although Father says so, you might not think so in your heart. More than 20 years ago, when the Jingzhao incident happened, everyone said that the Great Zhou Dynasty was about to perish, but didn’t it not perish in the end? This time, the situation has already improved, and West Xia has formed an alliance with my Great Zhou Dynasty. My Great Zhou Dynasty will definitely prosper for a hundred years. How can it perish?”

Emperor Jingyan said angrily, “West Xia slaughtered my people. Do you think that the commoners will agree to the peace talk? Qi Haoran is still leading troops to fight with West Xia.”

A mocking smile appeared on the Second Prince’s face. “If you really think so, why would you spare Minister Qin’s life? Don’t you also want to make peace with West Xia? However, the conditions I offered West Xia are more generous.”

Speechless, Emperor Jingyan choked. That was indeed his plan, and it was just that he had not had the time to do so.

The ministers kneeling below Emperor Jingyan looked at him in disbelief. So this was the reason why the Emperor left Minister Qin in the palace and did not kill him.

Among them, a few upright officials felt their hearts turn to ashes.

Emperor Jingyan looked at Minister Qin and asked, “Why are you doing this when I have already promised you?”

Minister Qin did not say anything.

“For more than 20 years, I’ve treated you well. Even if the people asked me to execute you previously, I protected you…”

“Your Majesty.” Minister Qin interrupted him. “Since things have already gotten to this stage, there’s no point in saying anything more. If you have any other wishes, just say them.”

Emperor Jingyan choked and lowered his head to look at the ministers kneeling below. “Don’t pursue them.”

Minister Qin revealed a smile and said, “Of course. The few of you are the pillars of the country. As long as they understand the times, the new Emperor won’t make things difficult for them. Instead, he will have to rely on them.”

The Second Prince nodded at the side.

Emperor Jingyan closed his eyes slightly, and the guards outside came in to take away the unrelated people. An emissary came in to bathe and change Emperor Jingyan’s clothes.

Even if he were to die, he could die in a dignified manner because he was the Emperor.

The Second Prince felt a little uneasy as he sat in another tent. Minister Qin immediately stood up and said, “Your Majesty, let me send the late Emperor off.”

The Second Prince rolled his eyes. He couldn’t ask for more. After all, that was his father. If he really killed him, he would have to bear a lot of psychological pressure.

Minister Qin brought a pot of poisonous wine to see the Emperor. The latter had already washed up and was eating his last meal.

Seeing this, the emissaries retreated one after another. There were layers of soldiers guarding outside. As the Second Prince was waiting for the last moment, he actually didn’t realize that those people were all from West Xia, and his guards had long been arranged elsewhere.

The Emperor looked at Minister Qin.

Minister Qin sat opposite him and looked at the Emperor, who was clearly about the same age as him, but now appeared more than 20 years older than him. He sighed and said, “Your Majesty, you and I have gotten along for 20 years. Unfortunately, you shouldn’t have been suspicious of me for the past two years.”

Emperor Jingyan was stunned for a moment and then got furious. “So everything was planned by you. Yes, the situation started to get out of control after I killed your minions. But they were utterly useless in their positions and I am not wrong to kill them. How dare you use the entire Great Zhou to fight against me?”

Minister Qin sneered and shook his head. “That’s why I said that you shouldn’t have been suspicious of me. Without me, you really can’t do anything. Grand Tutor Yan and I have spoiled you all these years.”

At this point, his face darkened and he said, “It’s not wrong for them to be executed for their crimes. If you had used fair and square methods to execute them, at most, I would have just fought with you. It definitely wouldn’t have resulted in so much trouble. Do you think that those rebels were instigated by me? Little do you know that the person they want to kill the most is me, not you, Your Majesty.”

“Without the Great Zhou, not only will the royal Guo family die, but my Qin family will also be exterminated. Unfortunately, you failed to see this. Otherwise, all these things wouldn’t have happened. If you hadn’t done that, you’d still be the Emperor and I’d still be the Prime Minister.”

Emperor Jingyan was not smart, but more than 20 years ago he possessed two strengths. One was that he heeded the opinions of his subjects, and the other that he was diligent in government affairs. Grand Tutor Yan had chosen him to be the Emperor for these two reasons.

Other than the fact that he did not listen to his officials when he abandoned the Jingzhao Prefecture and fled south, Emperor Jingyan had performed well in the five years since he arrived in Lin’an City. His behavior was commendable and he was diligent in governance. That was why the Great Zhou gradually stabilized.

Alas, the Emperor gradually became lazy. As the number of concubines in the harem increased and life in Jiangnan gradually became prosperous, the Emperor also indulged in extravagance more and more. Naturally, he became increasingly stupid. However, at this time, Minister Qin gradually walked onto the political stage and could help the Emperor deal with government affairs..

Chapter end