Chapter 596: Going to the Palace with a Sword Double the monthly ticket
Chapter 596: Going to the Palace with a Sword (Part ) Double the monthly ticket
Early morning, the palace.
The court meeting to discuss peace was held under the attention of the public.
According to the rules, Xu Wenyan and Xu Xuelian left most of their followers at the entrance of the imperial city.
He led the entourage of civil officials on foot through the tall and deep archway and arrived at the Meridian Gate Square, which had been stained with blood twice in just three years.
At this moment, dawn had broken in the east and the snow on the square had been cleared, but a thin layer of white frost still remained.
The civil and military officials of the imperial court had already passed through the east and west side doors, crossed the Jinshui Bridge, and were waiting in the square next to the white jade steps. Following the steps upwards, their eyes saw the majestic and solemn Golden Throne Hall.
When they saw the envoys approaching, all the ministers cast their eyes over.
I saw about twenty peace envoys wearing formal attire and holding their heads high.
The clearly distinct gazes of both parties met and collided in the air, almost as if sparks were created.
However, strangely, no one spoke until the eunuch's sharp shout was heard from the stairs.
Everyone in the square was in awe and followed the steps in an orderly manner into the Golden Throne Hall.
The civil officials were on the left, the military officers were on the right, and the other members of the envoys were left in the center.
Then, Empress Dayu, wearing a dragon robe, a crown on her head, and a pearl curtain, walked in from the side door step by step, turned around and sat on the dragon throne with dignity.
All the ministers, including the envoys, saluted in unison: "Your Majesty..."
Well, basic face is still given.
"No need to be polite, just stand up." Xu Zhenguan's voice was cold, showing no emotion.
After all the ministers stood up, Xu Zhenguan looked down at the delegation below and said calmly:
"It has been a long time since the peace delegation arrived in Beijing, but the end of the year is approaching and there should be a rule for the peace talks. Minister Sun, please report on the peace talks during this period."
The empress did not talk to the delegation immediately, but asked her ministers to report first, one reason being to inform those officials present who were not aware of the latest developments.
Secondly, there are also some people who snub the delegation, expressing the home advantage.
The chief official in charge of the negotiations this time was the Minister of Rites. Upon hearing this, he stepped out and bowed:
"Your Majesty, since the peace talks were held, we have been ordered by the Honglu Temple to deal with the wars in Xiping and Tieguan..."
The Minister of Rites first recounted the general background before announcing the specific progress of the peace talks.
Lip Chijian recounted in detail the important nodes of the negotiations over the past one or two months, including how the rebel king made many excessive demands at the beginning, and how the court then "forced" the other party to give up one by one.
When mentioning the war on the front line, he only mentioned it briefly, using a predominantly Spring and Autumn style of writing.
If we skip the repeated struggles in the process, there are two basic consensuses that have been reached now:
First, the King of Hejian and the King of Yanshan were willing to recognize the legitimacy of the empress's rule, pledge allegiance to her, and stop the war.
This is the basis for negotiation.
The second is the price the imperial court is willing to pay for this.
The court agreed to continue to retain the titles of the two vassal kings of Hejian and Yanshan, and attribute the previous rebellion to the deception of the Kuang Fu Society.
But he demanded the disarmament of the two major feudal lords.
But the delegation was not satisfied with this, and this was where the negotiations reached a deadlock.
After the Minister of Rites finished his speech, the empress finally turned her attention to the delegation.
The naive Xu Wenyan was the first to bow, and then he spoke with a smile, looking harmless:
"Thanks to your Majesty's care during this period, we have been living well in the capital. I thought that the peace talks could have a result before the New Year, so that I could bring back good news and clear up the misunderstandings of my royal family and resolve the past grudges...
However, the negotiations have been slow to make progress... Especially when I received a letter from home, I learned that the war had broken out again on the front line, which made the people of Yu country still involved in the war in the cold winter... This is what the Hejian Palace does not want to see..."
Xu Wenyan acted a little clumsily, as if he was reciting a speech.
After a long-winded speech, he sighed and showed a disappointed look:
"…My father, the king, could not bear to see his own people fighting against each other and the people being displaced, so he was willing to negotiate with great sincerity.
However, the court’s request is something that the Hejian Palace cannot agree to... I might as well explain it here today.
If you want peace, Your Majesty, in addition to publicly issuing an edict to the world, promising not to actively threaten our Hejian Palace in the future, you should also grant Dingyuan, Wen'an, Huangshui... counties to our Hejian Palace as fiefdoms, and the court should not interfere in the internal affairs of the fiefdoms..."
Xu Xuelian also spoke:
"My Yanshan Palace demands the same thing. In addition to the imperial edict, Tongyuan, Linhai, Baishan... and other places must be handed over to the Yanshan Palace forever..."
See you in the picture!
Putting aside the nonsense, it’s just two words: “cede land”!
As for the weapons, they will naturally not be disarmed.
After hearing this, the official in charge of the peace talks was fine, but many of the other ministers in the hall looked upset!
The other party is too greedy!
Although the territories proposed to be ceded by both parties were not all of Xiping and Tieguandao - everyone knew that it was impossible to cede all of them.
Even though some areas were left to the imperial court, all those areas were the poorer counties.
Secondly, the imperial court now occupies many areas in the two regions.
And the most crucial thing is... not to mention that this is tantamount to creating two "countries within a country". If it is agreed, the court will lose control over these two regions.
Especially the Xiping Road. According to the list of ceded land given by Xu Wenyan, the passage to the Western Regions will be firmly controlled by the King of Hejian.
"How can this be possible!" A trembling roar suddenly erupted in the hall without any warning.
Master Dong, who was already in his octogenarian years, walked out from the line of civil officials with the help of a cane, and tapped the ground hard with the cane in his hand, making a thumping sound.
This old minister, who had aged and weakened greatly from his busy work for state affairs over the past year, stared at the delegation angrily:
"Since you are willing to submit to me, how can you ask for fiefdom or territorial cession? You are clearly ambitious and you deserve death!"
As the Grand Master opened fire first, Yuan Li in the crowd also spoke with a cold look:
"Earlier, the two kings of Hejian and Yanshan took the initiative to propose peace talks. I thought they came with sincerity, but now it seems that they are extremely disappointing."
The Deputy Privy Councillor of the Privy Council also expressed his position on behalf of the military officers. He stepped forward, bowed to the Empress, and said loudly:
"Your Majesty, I have never heard of a war during peace talks. These two bandits mobilized troops on the front line during the peace talks, which shows that they have no sincerity! I request that these bandits be executed to serve as a warning to others!"
"His Majesty……"
"The thief has evil intentions... Don't agree to it."
For a time, the court was filled with indignation, and one official after another jumped out to denounce the rebels' actions.
However, if one looks closely, one can see that quite a number of ministers did not speak, representing another group of voices that advocated peace.
In fact, the issue of ceding territory in exchange for peace had been discussed many times in previous small court meetings.
Many ministers also thought that if they did not agree, war would break out next year and the situation would be dangerous. It would be better to pretend to be a snake and agree temporarily, and then find a way to regret it after the victory was established.
In other words, the pro-war and pro-peace factions have quarreled privately too many times.
Today's court meeting simply brought all these things to light for the first time.
However, even though many officials advocate peace, at least on this occasion they cannot publicly come out to support the delegation.
At least... not before the Empress clearly expresses her attitude.
As for what decision the empress would make, all the ministers were actually unsure.
Because up to now, even though the empress has been paying attention to the progress of the peace talks, she has never expressed any opinions.
It seems that no decision will be made until the last moment.
"Your Majesty," as the wave of angry rebukes from the ministers gradually subsided, Mr. Feng, the great guest of the Hejian Palace, stepped forward and took over the rhythm of the negotiations: "And all the adults, please don't be angry for now."
He looked calm and fearless, even with a slight smile on his face, exuding a sense of confidence as he spoke:
"I know that your majesty and the other gentlemen are unhappy, but I have a letter of latest intelligence that I want to read to your majesty."
intelligence?
At this moment, all the ministers were stunned and the hall suddenly became quiet.
I didn't expect the other party to be prepared.
Xu Zhenguan sat high on the dragon throne, looking down, his eyes swept through the pearl curtain and he said calmly:
"allow."
"Thank you, Your Majesty," Mr. Feng bowed gracefully, then took out a letter from his sleeve. The envelope had been torn open. He pulled out a piece of paper, unfolded it, and read in front of everyone:
"Your Majesty has sent a personal letter. Changes have occurred in the Buddhist ancestral temple in the Western Regions. The abbot of the Shenlong Temple, Xuanyin, has brought Bianji into the ancestral temple. They are suspected of forming an alliance with the Dharma King. They have issued a decree and secretly circulated it to the countries in the Western Regions. They are raising the banner of revenge for the destruction of Buddhism by Tianshu and are about to enter the pass in large numbers..."
boom!
Mr. Feng's light words rolled through the hall like thunder.
Almost everyone's expression changed.
Xuan Yin returned to the Western Regions after decades? He actually formed an alliance with the King of Dharma? How did he do that?
How can one mountain accommodate two tigers?
No... this is not the key point. The key point lies in the attitude of the Buddhist ancestral temple.
Before this, although the imperial court had also received news of unrest in the Western Regions, it was not sure what the Western Regions wanted to do.
The biggest guess is that the Western Regions will take advantage of the chaos to gain some benefits and occupy some border territories.
The countries in the Western Regions were a loose group and were not strong enough to be enemies with the State of Yu.
But if the Buddhist ancestral temple issues a decree and clearly raises the banner of revenge for the "Tianshu's destruction of Buddhism" six hundred years ago, it will mean that the Western Regions will not just be a small-scale attack to take advantage of the situation and seize territory, but will be a formal invasion!
A large-scale invasion would most likely completely overwhelm the imperial court, causing it to be defeated due to being attacked from all sides.
Even more frightening is the fact that:
If Xuanyin forms an alliance with the Dharma King, the power of Buddhism will be unprecedentedly strong. By then, even if the empress has the cultivation of a celestial being, she may not be able to defend the capital.
Almost subconsciously, some people questioned the authenticity of the information, but soon realized that such a thing could not be faked.
The King of Hejian had been operating in Xiping Road for many years and had many spies in the Western Regions, so it was not surprising that he was the first to obtain the intelligence.
But if such a big thing really happened, the court should be able to know about it later.
"This……"
"An all-out war has broken out in the Western Region..."
"Buddhist things merged...?"
At this moment, even the most hardline war advocates could not help but waver.
"Your Majesty," At this time, the old man who represented the Yanshan Palace in the peace talks also stood up and said calmly:
"With the confluence of the Eastern and Western Buddhism, the Western Regions will be united. Since they have raised the banner of revenge, it will not be a small fight. Once they invade on a large scale, my Great Yu Dynasty will be in danger... In this situation, if we are stripped of our military power, how can we resist?"
What does it have to do with your Yanshan Palace... You are clearly saying my words... Mr. Feng complained in his heart, stepped forward, and said with a smile:
"That's right. If we give up our military power, it would be like being tied up. And since Your Majesty and the other kings are all royal relatives, we should be united in the face of foreign enemies. If Your Majesty still insists on fighting against your own people at this juncture, I'm afraid..."
Xu Wenyan and Xu Xuelian looked at each other, knowing that the time had come, and spoke in unison:
"Your Majesty, please make your decision."
Forcing the palace!
It’s a blatant attempt to force the emperor to abdicate!
Anyone could see that at this moment, the delegation was using the Buddhist sects in the Western Regions to force the emperor to abdicate.
If the empress insists on not agreeing, the internal strife will continue and the situation next year will be extremely bad.
If the empress agrees, Xiping and Yanshan can be quickly stabilized, making it difficult for Buddhists in the Western Regions to invade.
But...it is no different from enfeoffment.
This is also the real reason why they dare to hold on to their promises.
Aren't you a female emperor? Don't you want to emulate Emperor Taizu and make great achievements?
What if the dynasty is invaded by foreign enemies during your reign?
A gentleman can be deceived.
As vassal kings, they do not need to consider the "overall situation", but the empress must do so.
Xu Wenyan and Xu Xuelian raised their lips as they looked at the Golden Palace which was already in turmoil and the empress who was sitting silently on the dragon throne. They almost laughed out loud.
In their opinion, the empress was already defeated.
Next, as long as they are given a way out, or even no way at all, the empress will come down on her own and agree to their demands.
Victory will eventually belong to them.
However, in the midst of the commotion, Xu Zhenguan still did not speak. She even looked away from the ministers and raised her eyes slightly to look towards the closed palace door.
Seems distracted.
Would the empress be distracted at this time?
First, Yuan Li, Dong Xuan, Ma Yan and others felt something was wrong.
then……
Xu Wenyan, Xu Xuelian and others also inexplicably felt uneasy.
Some people began to look towards the tightly closed palace door, and those who were standing nearby were surprised to hear some noise coming from outside.
There seemed to be shouts and screams... ?
No, the palace is now under the control of Your Majesty, so how could there be shouts of killing?
Sudden.
Without any warning, the tightly closed palace door was suddenly pushed open!
A cold wind swept in!
"Squeak-"
This unexpected scene suddenly suppressed the commotion in the hall, and countless eyes looked over at the same time.
Then he was stunned.
In the sudden burst of bleak daylight, a figure wearing a dark cloak and a white mask slowly walked in.
In his right hand he was holding an unsheathed sword, with fresh blood flowing down the blood trough on the blade, dripping onto the floor.
Connected in a string.
Who dares to enter the palace with a sword? !
"It's you!?"
Someone exclaimed, recognizing the new police chief of Lihuatang, who had become a famous figure in the capital in recent months.
But what followed was more shock and confusion.
How could a mere police officer and priest dare to hold a sword in the palace? Who gave him such courage? Was he crazy? And... who left the blood on the sword?
In a state of shock.
Zhao Duan glanced at everyone coldly, and his gaze finally fixed on the faces of Xu Wenyan and Xu Xuelian.
He smiled slightly, but his voice was colder than the dead of winter:
"Force the emperor to abdicate? Have you asked me?"
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ps: My bad, I have a writer's block. This paragraph is particularly difficult to write...
(End of this chapter)