Chapter 177 An Emperor's Sword

The back garden,

The front yard,

A carriage was parked.

The carriage was large, with a small stove burning inside, making it quite warm.

The Yan Emperor sat inside, a blanket covering his body.

Wei Zhonghe entered the carriage and took out a red pill from his pocket.

Pills produced from this type of alchemy furnace had a pattern: the brighter the color, the stronger the toxicity.

As a Qi Refiner, Wei Zhonghe naturally knew these tricks. After all, alchemy was just the most basic and lowest-level skill for Qi Refiners, something only those charlatans who swindled food and drink would dabble in.

The Yan Emperor reached out, pinched the red pill between his fingers, and then put it into his mouth.

Swallowing was a little difficult. The Yan Emperor tilted his neck back and forcibly used his hand to smooth it down his throat, swallowing the pill.

When he lowered his head again,

His forehead was already covered in a cold sweat.

"Your Majesty, tea."

Wei Zhonghe immediately handed him a cup of tea.

The Yan Emperor took it.

The tea was scalding hot,

But the Yan Emperor didn't care, nearly gulping it down in two mouthfuls.

Then,

The Yan Emperor leaned back against the carriage wall,

His hands,

Hanging down at his sides.

Wei Zhonghe silently squatted nearby, head lowered, not daring to speak or look.

At this moment,

Outside the back garden,

A cavalry force appeared, numbering around two thousand riders, a detachment from Li Liangchen's Northern Garrison Army.

The guerrilla general and the adjutant general of this force dismounted together,

Kneeling in front of the back garden gate.

Behind them, the knights they brought also all dismounted, kneeling on one knee.

Li Liangchen had said that his Northern Garrison Army had been stationed in the capital region for far too long.

In the eyes of others, he might be an unstable blade hanging over the capital, but in reality, even he himself wasn't sure how much rust had invaded this blade.

Back then,

The entire Northern Garrison Army had been ready to risk their lives to help their Marquis seize the Dragon Throne;

But with the incident of trampling on the aristocratic families, the Princess's entry into the capital, and half of the Northern Garrison Army heading east on an expedition, everyone with eyes could see that the Marquis of the North did not want to rebel.

Not only did he not want to rebel, but he also firmly stood behind the Yan Emperor, assisting him.

Many people,

Regretted it.

In the army, there were people like Li Fusheng; in the localities, there were people like Xu Wenzu;

Regret was regret, but this wasn't necessarily a bad situation. Great Yan was still Great Yan after all, and the Yan army was still fighting for Great Yan under the banner of the Black Dragon.

So, whether you call Li Fusheng a part of the Northern Garrison Army or the Southern Pacification Army now is really hard to say;

And Xu Wenzu had long regarded himself as a powerful official of the Great Yan court, guarding the Jin region.

If they were like this,

Then naturally there were more people below.

After all,

The Yan Emperor was unmatched in his achievements, a wise and powerful ruler, and the rightful Emperor!

After all,

The current Great Yan was expanding its territory and conquering countries, winning every battle!

Under these circumstances,

The court,

The Emperor,

Wanting to win over and divide the military leaders was simply too easy, and those generals who were won over felt no guilt at all.

It was their own Marquis who wanted to be a loyal minister, and besides, they weren't betraying the country, they were being loyal to the Emperor of Great Yan, what was wrong with that?

So,

That's why on the night of the Sixth Prince's wedding, when the Princess wanted to kill Ji Chengjue, Li Liangchen and Seventh Uncle had almost plotted everything, one in the open and one in the dark.

Why not mobilize troops?

Not only because they didn't want to make a big deal out of it...

But,

Heaven knew how many of the Northern Garrison Army outside the city would be willing to follow him into the capital and into the palace if he issued a military order?

If things were really that simple,

If this Northern Garrison Army was really under Li Liangchen's control,

Then why didn't the Princess just rebel directly, force the Yan Emperor to abdicate, and let the Crown Prince ascend the throne? Wouldn't it be more pleasant for her to be the Empress instead of the Crown Princess?

It wasn't that she was unwilling, but that she couldn't.

As an Emperor, the Yan Emperor was proud, but as for the methods of an Emperor, it wasn't that he didn't know them.

How could he allow others to sleep soundly beside his bed?

A group of messengers came galloping, these messengers came from many government offices, and also from the Prince's Manor and the Eastern Palace, but when they saw the cavalry soldiers kneeling on the ground in front of the back garden gate, they were all a little dazed.

Over there,

The King of Southern Pacification drew his Kunwu blade, wanting to see His Majesty, or else he would clear the Emperor's inner circle of evil ministers;

Here,

A crowd of knights had already gathered at the gate of the back garden where His Majesty was!

Was this,

Going to be a fight?

Everything that had happened and was happening today had left many people confused;

Not only these messengers, but even the big shots behind them were the same.

It was still that saying,

If the King of Southern Pacification wanted to rebel,

Would he need to be so direct?

But,

He stubbornly shouted out those three words! (清君侧 - qing jun ce - clear the Emperor's inner circle of evil ministers)

Wei Zhonghe reached out and took a slip of paper from outside, glanced at it, and then clenched it back into his palm.

When he raised his head again,

He saw that the Yan Emperor, who had been leaning against the carriage wall earlier, was now sitting upright, his eyes as deep as an abyss.

Wei Zhonghe hurriedly reported:

"Your Majesty, the King of Southern Pacification has arrived at the city gate."

"Mm."

The Yan Emperor nodded.

After a short while,

The gate of the back garden was opened, and the carriage slowly drove out.

Immediately,

A group of imperial guards and experts from the Secret Intelligence Division protected the carriage, while the Northern Garrison Army soldiers who had been kneeling on the ground, under the leadership of their generals, mounted their horses and guarded the flanks.

During the procession,

The Emperor's ceremonial canopy was also raised.

When the Son of Heaven went on tour,

There must be the aura of the Son of Heaven's tour!

………

When the three words "Clear the Emperor's inner circle of evil ministers" entered his ears, the Crown Prince's body swayed slightly.

The brothers behind him, and the officials and nobles further back, were all stunned, followed by horror.

This, this, this,

How did it come to this!

Everyone knew that,

After His Majesty entered the back garden to recuperate, he had never come out again. Earlier, the Crown Prince led important ministers to the back garden to ask for instructions on state affairs, but later, the Yan Emperor even exempted this, and refused to see anyone.

The Crown Prince could only go to the back garden outside the city every two days, kowtowing to ask for his well-being, but he couldn't even see the Emperor's face.

Everyone knew that,

His Majesty's body was obviously in a state beyond repair.

It was understandable that His Majesty couldn't leave the back garden this time to greet them outside the city.

Because,

With His Majesty's pride, he would never allow his weak side to be presented to his ministers and people.

And the Crown Prince personally leading the officials of the imperial clan was already giving enough respect;

And yet,

The King of Southern Pacification was still not satisfied!

How arrogant, how overbearing!

Perhaps the wind was blowing too fiercely and too suddenly, so no one present came out to reprimand him.

It wasn't that everyone was afraid,

Even the Qian Kingdom, which had once had such corrupt military preparations, could still produce a few unyielding hard bones;

Great Yan had been on a path of conquering the world in recent years, so how could it be possible that everyone in the court was a coward who feared death.

It was just that the blow had come too quickly and too suddenly, and everyone was unable to recover for a while.

Ji Chengjue's gaze passed through the Crown Prince and the King of Southern Pacification in front of him, and looked at Zheng Fan.

Zheng Fan was expressionless, seemingly unable to capture the gaze from this former "good Anda".

In fact,

Marquis Zheng himself was also thinking about what this meant.

Brother,

You want to rebel, to clear the Emperor's inner circle of evil ministers, to eliminate the traitors,

You should have said so earlier,

When we were in the Jin region, we could have properly organized things, and besides defending the Snow Sea Pass and the Southern Suppression Pass, I could have transferred all the troops under my Marquis's Manor, and then you could have gathered the main force of the Southern Pacification Army in the Jin region and other warlords to come together.

Adding Tiantian,

We could have stormed into this damn Yan capital, seized the throne,

You could have been the Emperor,

I could have been a Prince,

And Tiantian could have been the Crown Prince, able to sit on your lap.

You know, Tiantian is always shouting about wanting to eat the Dragon Throne at home!

But,

Marquis Zheng also knew that this was just his free-flowing thoughts, and was obviously impossible.

So, the calmed-down Marquis Zheng also began to think, what was the reason?

This time,

The reason for not bringing Blind Man and Gou Moli, the two military advisors, wasn't because the real fortune teller had predicted that he could pick up one from the Sun family when passing through Yingdu, but because Marquis Zheng himself had also invested a lot of points in political wisdom.

Soon,

Marquis Zheng understood,

And couldn't help but sigh softly.

In his heart,

It was hard to say,

He just felt,

Quite suffocated, and quite helpless;

This feeling was probably similar to when Li Fusheng and Xu Wenzu learned of Marquis of the North's actions.

At this time,

Ji Lao Liu also slightly twisted his neck a few times,

Closed his eyes,

Crossed his arms and put them into his sleeves, no longer panicking or rushing.

But in his mouth,

There was still a bitter taste.

No matter how strong the waves are in the back, you find that the waves in front of you are called Bichi (壁池 - bi chi - a brand name, implying something insurmountable).

Beside him,

Fourth Prince Ji Chengfeng and Seventh Prince Ji Chengsui,

One big and one small,

Kept looking around, their faces full of worry and shock.

The Crown Prince,

Continued to maintain his previous posture, without moving.

The autumn wind,

Blew slowly,

Carrying with it,

The elite and valiant aura of the hundred-battled soldiers from the East.

At this time,

A long cry came from the south:

"His Majesty has arrived!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

A group of civil and military officials immediately looked towards that side, and sure enough, they saw His Majesty's ceremonial canopy standing high in the air.

In an instant,

Everyone knelt down together;

Although they hadn't seen His Majesty's face for a long time, and His Majesty hadn't appeared in the palace for a long time, the authority of the Yan Emperor had already taken root in their hearts.

As long as the Yan Emperor didn't die, he was the true master of Great Yan.

"Your ministers greet Your Majesty, long live the Emperor, long live, long long live!"

"Long live the Emperor, long live, long long live!"

The officials knelt down,

The nobles knelt down,

Around them, the imperial guards knelt down;

Ji Chengjue, who had been dozing off, finally ended his lazy villager posture,

And knelt down in the direction where the ceremonial canopy was standing:

"Your son greets Father Emperor, long live Father Emperor, long live, long long live!"

Ji Chengfeng and Ji Chengsui also immediately knelt down, kowtowing to their Father Emperor.

Finally,

It was the Crown Prince,

When the carriage slowly drove over,

He,

Also knelt down.

There was also a large group who didn't kneel,

They came from the East, from the Jin region, from the Southern Pacification Army, and from the Marquis of the West's Mansion.

The two sides were clearly divided, a strong contrast.

……

While kneeling on the ground,

Ji Chengfeng whispered to Ji Chengjue, who was kneeling beside him:

"Is the King of Southern Pacification deliberately trying to torment Father Emperor to vent his anger? I don't believe he doesn't know that Father Emperor's health is bad."

Ji Chengsui also clenched his fists, his face showing anger.

As Princes, they had been humiliated today.

They had failed to share Father Emperor's worries, but instead caused Father Emperor to come forward with his seriously ill body. As sons, they were unfilial, and as ministers, they were useless.

Ji Chengjue rolled his eyes,

And said to Lao Si (Fourth):

"Okay, knowing that the King of Southern Pacification won't rebel shows that you've made progress, Fourth Brother."

"Hm?" Ji Chengfeng turned to look at his Sixth Brother.

Ji Chengjue continued:

"But which of your eyes saw that the King of Southern Pacification was deliberately tormenting our Father Emperor's body?"

"Isn't it?"

"Fourth Brother, have you been taking in too many concubines recently?"

"I'm just anxious to produce offspring for the Ji family... no, why are you suddenly asking me this?"

"This is the court, this is my Great Yan, a game between the people standing at the highest level, do you think it's a palace fight for favor among your concubines in the backyard?

What deliberately tormenting Father Emperor's body just to vent some anger,

Tch,

Childish."

He was mocked, but Lao Si didn't get angry, and immediately asked:

"Lao Liu (Sixth), then tell your brother, why is this?"

Ji Chengfeng had long known that he couldn't outsmart this Sixth Brother, so he had been very quiet this past year, and gradually understood the original Lao Wu (Fifth).

Ji Chengjue glanced around,

Here, a vast expanse of people were kneeling;

"Tell me, how long has our Father Emperor been living in the back garden?"

"For a long time, really a long time."

"Mm, Father Emperor is still Father Emperor."

"Lao Liu, aren't you talking nonsense, as long as Father Emperor doesn't………

As long as Father Emperor is here for one day, he is the sky of Great Yan."

"Yes, the sky of Great Yan, but the sky will inevitably have dark clouds;

No matter how sharp a precious sword is, after being sealed for a long time, it must be re-polished and maintained.

Father Emperor has stayed in the back garden for too long,

So long that, although you and I and the civil and military officials all know that Father Emperor is still the Emperor of Great Yan, in reality, our hearts have long been loosened.

The King of Southern Pacification isn't deliberately tormenting Father Emperor's body,

But like more than four years ago,

Standing behind Father Emperor, leading troops into the imperial city.

This is,

Helping Father Emperor wipe his sword,

Supporting Father Emperor,

It's Father Emperor,

Wanting to take this opportunity to leave the back garden,

At the same time,

To announce to the civil and military officials of the entire Great Yan, the people of Great Yan;

Great Yan,

Still belongs to him!"

"Then... then why doesn't Father Emperor just clean it up himself?"

"Clean up what? Clean up the Crown Prince's people, my people, your people? Why clean it up, Father Emperor is going to leave after all."

"This………" Ji Chengfeng took a deep breath.

And Xiao Qi (Little Seventh) Ji Chengsui on the side was already dumbfounded.

At this time,

The carriage,

Had already driven into the center.

Wei Zhonghe bowed and got out of the carriage, lifting the curtain.

Immediately afterwards,

The Yan Emperor, wearing a black dragon robe,

Walked out of the carriage and stood on the front platform of the carriage.

His gaze,

Swept around,

Without anger, sorrow, or joy;

An Emperor's sword propped on the ground, in reality, was supporting his body.

Finally,

The Yan Emperor looked at Tian Wujing, who was still riding on the Pixiu in front.

The next moment,

The King of Southern Pacification inserted the Kunwu blade into the ground,

Flipped over and dismounted,

The King of Southern Pacification, wearing golden armor, slowly walked towards the carriage.

At this time,

Don't know how many people's hearts were in their throats.

Because everyone knew,

The Southern King of Great Yan was a peak martial artist with amazing fighting power!

The Yan Emperor looked at the person in front of him, saw his full head of white hair, and subconsciously pursed his lips, his eyes extremely dry;

But because he had just taken the red pill, the heat in his body was rising, and there were no tears to shed.

He could only,

Speak out and call:

"Wujing………"

Tian Wujing, the King of Southern Pacification of Great Yan,

Finally walked to the front of the carriage,

And faced the Emperor standing on the carriage,

Kneeled on one knee.

Then,

In the rear,

Marquis Zheng raised his hand,

And let out a loud shout:

"Kneel to greet the Emperor!"

Instantly,

From the Marquis of the West downwards, over ten thousand elite soldiers returning from the Jin region, all sheathed their swords, dismounted, and knelt down towards the Emperor's carriage.

"Your minister,

Tian Wujing,

Greets Your Majesty, long live Your Majesty, long live, long long live."

At this time,

Don't know how many people breathed a sigh of relief in their hearts, as if a great disaster had been eliminated invisibly.

The Yan Emperor looked at Tian Wujing, who was kneeling below,

And said:

"Wujing, let's return to the palace, and wait for Liang Ting together."

As he spoke,

The Yan Emperor laughed,

And scolded:

"He is still the same as before, except for coming the earliest when called for dinner, he is always the last at other times."

"Your minister obeys!"

Tian Wujing got up and got into the carriage.

Taking advantage of the situation,

He took the Yan Emperor's Heavenly Son Sword, and used his hand to support the Yan Emperor.

The Yan Emperor's body was very light, unexpectedly light, the wide dragon robe was just an appearance.

The Yan Emperor looked at the Crown Prince kneeling below,

And shouted:

"Crown Prince, come up and drive the carriage."

"Your son obeys."

The Crown Prince got up.

At this time,

The King of Southern Pacification said:

"The Marquis of the West is best at driving carriages."

The Yan Emperor revealed a smile at the corner of his mouth,

And looked at Zheng Fan over there,

"Oh, is that so?"

The King of Southern Pacification nodded and said:

"Yes."

The Crown Prince, who had already walked to the front of the carriage, preparing to come up to pull the reins, froze in place, not knowing whether to go up or step back.

The Yan Emperor reached out,

And pointed in the direction where Zheng Fan was kneeling,

And said:

"Okay, then it will be hard for my Marquis of the West to drive the carriage for me this time."