Ding Ding Little Stone
Chapter 824 Long Live! Long Live!
"Your subject obeys!"
Zhang Yantong immediately bowed.
"Is there anything else to report?"
Sima Ke said blandly.
The ministers in the hall remained silent.
"In that case, Royal Sister...dismiss court?"
Sima Ke looked at Princess Pingyang, who was seated at the lower position, and inquired.
"Dismiss court."
Princess Pingyang stood up and walked down the steps with a normal expression.
"Dismiss court~~"
A small eunuch announced in a shrill voice.
"Your subjects take their leave."
"Your subjects take their leave..."
This day was also known by later generations as the day the Great Jin Dynasty officially came to an end.
At the top of the Star Gazing Tower, Sima Yuande quietly watched this scene, without joy or sorrow in his heart, and not much sentimentality, just some inexplicable feelings.
The founding of the Great Jin Dynasty, uniting the Central Plains, had finally reached its end today.
He raised his head and looked at the void. The rules were still constantly becoming clearer, as if he could see the faint existence of the Celestial Gate there, his eyes full of longing.
Ascension to the Immortal Realm!
Everything he had done was for ascending to the Immortal Realm, for longevity and eternal life.
Beside him, Feng Yuan Daoist, dressed in a Taoist robe, slowly materialized and said in a deep voice:
"The Yan army is coming too fast. If Chen Yuan makes a move at this time, you alone cannot stop him."
"What about the Buddha?"
"With the descent of the Immortal Realm, whether the Buddha makes a move or not is the same, so he has not come. I don't know what he is planning." Feng Yuan Daoist's eyes flickered as he said softly.
"It doesn't matter if he comes or not. Without the help of the Buddhist Sect, I can still open the Immortal Gate ahead of time." Sima Yuande snorted lightly. He didn't have any great enmity with the Buddha, but he did have some personal grievances.
During the battle to destroy the Great Chu, the Lingshan Buddhist Sect took action, and a strong man from the Immortal Realm also appeared. It was also a member of the Buddhist Sect. Their action had an additional condition.
That was to allow the Buddhist Sect to preach in the Central Plains and become the state religion.
Afterwards, he did open the door of convenience, allowing the Buddhist Sect to appear in the Central Plains to establish sects, and also granted the position of National Teacher to the Bodhisattva of Lingshan, but that was all.
Later, the imperial court began to intentionally restrict the Buddhist Sect, causing problems with the Buddhist Sect's preaching in the Central Plains. They only established sects in Zhongzhou, Yunzhou, Yangzhou, Qingzhou, and other places. The rest of the territories were all resisted.
As for the reason, it wasn't that he disliked the Buddhist Sect, but that there were factions in the Immortal Realm. He couldn't completely lean towards one side, lest he offend them completely.
Back then, other strong men from the Immortal Realm also instructed him not to let the Buddhist Sect become too powerful in the Central Plains.
Therefore, there were so-called personal grievances.
"National destiny?"
Feng Yuan Daoist raised an eyebrow.
"Even if the Great Jin is declining, it has stood for more than two hundred years after all, and still has some foundation. The remaining national destiny is enough to accelerate the manifestation of the Immortal Realm.
Forcibly advance the time of the Immortal Realm's descent.
Chen Yuan is just courting death by making a move now!"
"Hehe, then I can rest assured." Feng Yuan Daoist smiled faintly, his eyes slightly moving.
......
......
Outside Shenjing City, Yan Army camp.
In the central tent, Tianxu Daoist, Lingxu Daoist, Chongxu Daoist, Chen Huaiyi, Xuyan Monk, Zhao Danqing, Li Suqing, Feng Jiuge, Yang Huatian, and many other Yang God True Monarchs were all present.
Jiang He held the Zhuxian Sword in his hand and remained silent. Chen Yuan was sitting at the head of the table, carefully listening to some of Chen Huaiyi's arrangements, nodding from time to time.
As for Moro, Ancestor Su Ming, Ye Xiangnan, Old Celestial Master, and others, they were not in the tent.
"Not bad, I can rest assured to hand over the army to my uncle."
As the former young master of the Chen family army, Chen Huaiyi understood the art of war better than Chen Yuan, and was extremely close to him. While Chu Changfeng was stationed at Zhennan Pass and unable to leave.
He could rest assured to let him be the deputy commander of the three armies and lead everything.
"I wonder when the Prince of Yan plans to make a move?"
Tianxu Daoist asked with a smile.
Lingxu Daoist was also quite concerned.
Among the major immortal sects, the support and sacrifice of Mount Shu for Chen Yuan was undoubtedly the greatest. Now that it was finally time to reap the rewards, how could they not be excited?
As for the Immortal Realm, although they were also aware of it, they didn't understand the specific situation, such as...its imminent descent, otherwise the joy on their faces might turn into solemnity.
"Naturally..."
Before Chen Yuan could finish his words, a notification came from outside.
"Reporting to the Prince of Yan, Zhang Yantong, the Divine Envoy of the Xun Tian Division of the Great Jin court, seeks an audience."
"Please invite Uncle Zhang in."
"Yes."
After a moment, Zhang Yantong, dressed in the official robe of the Xun Tian Division, entered the tent, and then felt a terrifying pressure surging towards him.
Yang God True Monarch!
Yang God True Monarch!
Zhang Yantong's pupils shrank, and he was horrified. Everyone in this tent was not below the Yang God realm, which was simply terrifying. Fortunately, he was one of their own.
"Greetings, Prince of Yan!"
Zhang Yantong looked at the young man at the head of the table and bowed.
But before he could bend down, an invisible force held him up. Chen Yuan flashed and appeared in front of him in an instant, holding Zhang Yantong with both hands and said with a faint smile:
"Uncle, we're all on the same side, no need to be so polite."
"Thank you, Prince of Yan."
"Hehe, how has Uncle Zhang been recently?"
Chen Yuan asked with a smile.
"With the Yan army restraining them from the outside, and Princess Pingyang in charge from the inside, I'm doing quite well."
"Hehe, then I can rest assured. Wan Shu specially asked me about it before."
"Wan Shu, how is she...?"
"Don't worry, Uncle, Wan Shu is in Shuzhou City, safe and sound, waiting for my triumphant return."
"That's good, that's good..."
Zhang Yantong said quickly.
In front of Chen Yuan, he didn't dare to put on the airs of his old superior and father-in-law at all.
"How is the city?"
Chen Yuan sat back at the head of the table and asked casually.
"Princess Pingyang asked me to inform the Prince of Yan that Shenjing City has been thoroughly cleansed. All those who disobey are either dead or imprisoned, and no one dares to resist.
Sima Ke held a court meeting today and asked me to come as an envoy to inform the Prince of Yan that he can surrender the city at any time, waiting for the Prince of Yan's order, at any time."
Chen Yuan raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised.
After Sima Yuande showed up before and said he would wait for him in the capital, he thought that with his methods, he would be able to control everything, but he didn't expect that he really didn't care about anything.
He didn't even stop his descendants from surrendering the city, which was really beyond his expectations.
"Alright, since His Majesty is so benevolent, I naturally won't refuse. At noon tomorrow, let His Majesty leave the city, offer the jade seal and dragon robe, and announce it to the world."
Although he was wondering about Sima Yuande's methods, he didn't show it on the surface.
The other party must have some plans if he didn't show up.
However, he wasn't afraid.
"Yes, I will return immediately and inform Princess Pingyang to prepare for this matter."
"Thank you for your trouble, Uncle."
"I dare not, I dare not..."
......
The friendly meeting between the Prince of Yan and Envoy Zhang Yantong caused quite a stir when it was reported back to the capital. At the same time, many people breathed a sigh of relief. They were really worried that Chen Yuan would not agree.
They had to wipe out the fatuous ruler and tyrannical government, and even kill all the former noble families along with them.
When the news reached Princess Pingyang, she quickly issued many orders, ordering all the soldiers guarding the city to remove their armor and stand by. No one was allowed to take action without permission.
Violators would have their three clans exterminated.
As if they had practiced many times, all the soldiers in the entire capital maintained their submission without a trace of complaint to the orders issued by their superiors.
The destruction of the Great Jin was a foregone conclusion. Even the emperor was thinking of surrendering, so who would be willing to fight to the death?
Inside the palace.
It was quite deserted. All the eunuchs and palace maids were doing their jobs carefully, waiting for the trial of tomorrow. They only hoped that the legendary Prince of Yan could spare the lives of them slaves.
Cining Palace.
Since Sima Ke ascended the throne, the former Chunhua Palace was no longer suitable for the Empress Dowager to live in. Naturally, it was changed to the Empress Dowager's residence, which was Cining Palace.
After dismissing everyone around him, Sima Ke, dressed in plain clothes, once again met his mother, Yang Huanyu. Since Chen Yuan's power had grown stronger, he had often run to this place.
After having some thoughts that he shouldn't have had, he even asked his mother to help, but she scolded him and said that everything was under the control of the Eldest Princess Pingyang, and not to have any other thoughts.
In addition to Pingyang's repeated scoldings, he finally gave up his thoughts.
"Buzz..."
The palace was filled with music. The Empress Dowager Yang was playing the guzheng. Those who could enter the palace were all first-class noble ladies, proficient in qin, chess, calligraphy, and painting. She was naturally no exception.
The sound even carried a hint of joy, which was completely different from the Great Jin Dynasty, which was about to be destroyed, as if she was celebrating.
"Mother."
After the music ended, Sima Ke bowed.
A beautiful woman in a light red robe and palace dress slowly raised her head, revealing an extremely delicate face. Although she was over forty years old, there were not many traces of time left on her face.
Even more so, after Sima Ke became the emperor, the former Imperial Concubine Yang, now the Empress Dowager Yang, seemed to be getting younger and younger. At first glance, she looked no more than thirty years old.
It was the age of maturity.
"The Emperor is here."
The Empress Dowager Yang retracted her slender jade fingers and waved her hand casually, signaling all the palace maids serving her to leave. In the blink of an eye, only the two of them, mother and son, were left in the palace.
"Mother, tomorrow...I will abdicate."
Sima Ke said in a low voice.
"What, are you reluctant?"
"No, no...I was able to sit on this throne thanks to the support of the Prince of Yan. Naturally, I know what I should do and what I shouldn't do. I'm just worried that he might not..."
To be honest, Sima Ke was actually a little conflicted.
The source of his conflict was the last time he met the Taizu Emperor. He told himself that as long as he opened his heart and allowed him to take away the national destiny.
The Great Jin Dynasty could even be maintained.
But that would inevitably lead to an endless feud with Chen Yuan. Therefore, he was very conflicted. Today he was thinking of surrendering, seeking a stable and prosperous life. Tomorrow he was thinking of resisting and continuing to be the emperor.
As the time got closer, these thoughts made him even more conflicted.
"You know what kind of person Chen Yuan is. As long as you are stable, he won't make things difficult for you. He will even treat you as a memorial archway and enshrine you for the world to see.
Furthermore..." The Empress Dowager Yang's cheeks were slightly red, and she said softly:
"Furthermore, I have some affection with him. Even if he doesn't treat you as his own son, there is still some connection. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him a stepfather. He would never attack you."
"Child, child is just..."
The Empress Dowager Yang seemed to have noticed that the Emperor's expression was a little wrong and frowned slightly:
"Ke'er, do you want to do something?"
Sima Ke gritted his teeth and said in a low voice:
"Mother, what do you think if there is a chance to let the child continue to be the emperor, should I gamble for this great mountain?"
The Empress Dowager Yang's face changed:
"Did someone say something to you?"
"Yes, there...someone found me, promising that as long as I help him once, he can completely leave Chen Yuan here. Even if the world is in chaos, the Sima family can still have a place."
"Now that the power of the court is in Pingyang's hands, how can he ask you to help?"
"This, child...can't say."
"So, what is your decision?"
"Child doesn't know."
The Empress Dowager Yang stood up, dragging her long skirt, and slowly came to Sima Ke's side, looking directly into his eyes, and said in a deep voice:
"Ke'er."
"Child is here."
"Although I live in the depths of the palace, I am not completely ignorant of the outside world. Now Chen Yuan has a million soldiers. Almost all of the thirteen states in the Central Plains are in his hands.
He is even known as the number one person since ancient times. Only the Taizu Emperor of Chu a thousand years ago can compare with him. Do you think you can compete with such an existence?
If you are honest, with my face and your dignity as the Emperor, Chen Yuan will not attack you and can grant you a lifetime of wealth. But if you are blinded by temporary impulses.
If you want to fight him at this time, I can't save you either. Not only that, but you will also involve me, involve Pingyang, and involve everyone.
Looking at the life of Prince Yan Chen Yuan, he has never lost. He has repeatedly survived life and death dangers. The late emperor was a genius, using millions of people as blood sacrifices. Xiang Qianqiu got the accumulation of the Xiang family for thousands of years.
It is said that he has become an immortal, and repeated attempts to set up killing traps against Chen Yuan have not succeeded. Do you think... who can you compare with? Are you really completely confident that you can send Chen Yuan on his way..."
The Empress Dowager Yang's voice kept echoing in Sima Ke's mind. There was some frustration in his eyes. Indeed, he was not qualified to compare with the late emperor and Xiang Qianqiu.
"Mother..."
"Also, since the person who found you said confidently that he could completely kill Chen Yuan, why didn't he find the late emperor? Why didn't he appear during the battle for the throne?
Can't you think about it?"
Sima Ke's face suddenly changed, and his eyes narrowed.
Yes, why?
Why didn't Taizu show up earlier to help his father?
Can seclusion and sleep explain it?
Why did he sit and watch Dashan fail? Is there a trap in this?
"Child understands."
Sima Ke let out a long breath, and his eyes gradually became firm.
"It's good that you understand."
"Child will take his leave and prepare for the abdication now."
"Go ahead."
The Empress Dowager Yang looked at Sima Ke's departing figure, and Chen Yuan's face gradually appeared in her mind, and she couldn't help but shrink her harbor, her cheeks flushed... Her long-empty heart.
Urgently needed to be filled with heat.
......
The next day, the sky was clear.
Chen Yuan, dressed in a black python robe, stood in front of the army, his crown shining brightly under the sunlight. Countless people turned their eyes to him, their eyes full of awe.
The news of the court's surrender had spread, and everyone knew that this Prince of Yan was finally going to reach the throne of supreme power.
Will become the most honorable person in the world.
Speak with the authority of heaven, words become law.
This is the emperor, the emperor who holds the power.
Chen Yuan looked at the magnificent Shenjing City, his heart full of feelings. It had been exactly three years since he woke up in this world. He had gone from a small constable in Ping'an County to this step after surviving nine deaths.
It was impossible to say that he had no feelings.
A sense of accomplishment filled his heart.
It's getting closer, getting closer...
Of course, the descent of the Immortal Realm... also seems to be getting closer.
Chen Yuan raised his head and looked at the void. Only immortals who comprehend the rules could detect the changes in the world today, which were becoming clearer and clearer. The Immortal Realm was about to be faced.
Perhaps the Immortal Realm would appear at any moment.
The huge pressure would also be completely pressed on him. All he could count on now, besides the immortals gathered around him, was only Chu Taizu.
The fall a thousand years ago, after a thousand years of merging into the world and leaving an imprint, and the momentum was extremely terrifying, it was obvious that he had left a backup plan, but unfortunately, although he could use the God-Slaying Spear to hook the imprint, he could not communicate with it.
Otherwise, he would be more confident.
Now, everything was his speculation. He didn't know what the backup plan was.
Putting half of his hope on a backup plan left by a predecessor was never Chen Yuan's style, but... there was really no way. He couldn't decide when the Immortal Realm would descend.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have attacked Zhongzhou now.
This was a last resort. He could only gather all the strength he could and fight to the death.
The Immortal Realm was not an unbeatable opponent. The Chu Taizu could do it back then, which proved this point. It was just a slightly stronger force. That was what he thought.
"Dong!"
"Dong!"
"Dong!"
....
"Dong..."
At noon, twelve bells suddenly rang in the capital, spreading throughout the world.
The gate of the capital opened, and the familiar Sima Ke was now dressed in a white robe, with his hair disheveled, his expression slightly sad. He held a tray in his hands, which contained the jade seal that was ordained by heaven.
The two eunuchs next to him also held the dragon robe and crown, following on both sides.
After that, there was a group of civil and military officials dressed in plain clothes.
Led by Sima Ke, they walked out of the city gate and slowly came to Chen Yuan. The two sides glanced at each other, and Sima Ke quickly lowered his head and said in a deep voice:
"Ke has no virtue or talent, and has usurped the throne. Heaven does not allow it. Prince Yan is accomplished in both civil and military affairs, unparalleled in talent, defends the territory and expands the land for my human race, protects the people, and is virtuous and talented...
Now, Ke only hopes that Prince Yan is kind and does not harm the people of the capital. From now on, I am willing to submit to Prince Yan, surrender the city, and ask Prince Yan to allow it."
"Beg Prince Yan to allow it!"
The civil and military officials knelt down and said in unison.
Sima Ke raised the jade seal, lowered his head and did not speak.
Chen Yuan picked up the jade seal with a normal expression, looked it over, and smiled:
"Granted!"
"Greetings, Prince Yan!"
"Long live Prince Yan!"
"Long live!!!"
.......