r18novel Page 238
Page 238
How could he, who was always arrogant, easily accept the arrangement of fate? He frantically pulled at his hair and shouted loudly.
Ren Ruyi frowned and sheathed her sword. There was no point in continuing to hold this person hostage.
"This must be fake! I must be dreaming!" Emperor Andi shouted with wild laughter, then rushed straight towards the crenellations of the city wall.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, he leaped from the city tower and crashed to the ground in front of the city gate with a thud, turning into a pool of blood and flesh.
Everyone present was stunned. It took them a moment to react and realize that this unchangeable fact had already occurred.
"Your Majesty!" Duke Chu cried out in anguish, and the ministers of Andu also stirred up, rushing down from the city wall to kneel beside Emperor An's body and weep bitterly.
"Your Majesty! Why have you left us like this? What are we to do now?"
"Your Majesty! A rebellion has broken out in the central region of the desert, but the Duke of Chu has raised an army to defend the king! Why did you not wait until the last moment, but instead chose to die for your country?"
"Alas! The whole world grieves! Your Majesty... Waaah!"
Seeing these ministers of Anguo wailing without shedding a tear, Wei Tingyu and Ren Ruyi exchanged a smile.
He had considered secretly executing Emperor Andi after taking control of him, and then announcing it as an incident of food poisoning or an attack by assassins from the Northern Pan to cover it up.
Even though everyone knows there are suspicious circumstances surrounding Emperor Andi's death, given his previous erratic behavior, it's unlikely anyone will stand up for him.
However, in a final act of madness, this old man jumped off a building and committed suicide in full view of everyone!
Now things have really gotten complicated. All the ministers, both inside and outside the court, witnessed this scene firsthand. Emperor An took full responsibility and accepted the huge blame!
More importantly, it is clear from the mourning and wailing of the ministers of Anguo that none of them are loyal to Emperor An anymore!
Unexpectedly, the fate of a ruler of a country was so dramatic, which actually saved Wei Tingyu a lot of trouble.
Thinking of this, Wei Tingyu gave a wink to Princess Chuyue, who was standing next to him.
Princess Chuyue was stunned for a moment, then quickly realized what was happening and went over to help her father up.
"Father! Your Excellencies!" Princess Chuyue spoke solemnly and sorrowfully, "His Majesty has passed away! How should the affairs of the court be handled? You must make a decision, and not be too grief-stricken!"
"Yes! Yes!" The ministers of Anguo also came to their senses and realized that now was not the time to cry.
Besides, Emperor An's death was nothing to grieve over for them, so they all looked at Duke Chu and nodded in agreement.
You're kidding! The troops in Andu City all belong to the Duke of Chu, and there's also a large army stationed outside the city in the western part of the desert. You could say that the lives of everyone present are in his hands.
Duke Chu naturally understood. He looked up at Wei Tingyu and asked whether they should proceed according to the original plan.
Wei Tingyu returned an affirmative look, which completely reassured the Duke of Chu.
"Ahem!" He cleared his throat, and then, with his daughter's support, said with a sorrowful expression, "His Majesty has passed away! The First Prince also unfortunately passed away a few days ago."
"Now, I urge you, my esteemed officials, to offer your wise counsel on who should succeed to the throne!"
"In my opinion, we should immediately recall the Second Prince and ask him to return to the throne as soon as possible, lest the country be left in a state of turmoil and foreign enemies take advantage of the situation!"
Upon hearing Duke Chu's words, the ministers of Andu were all taken aback, and then doubts arose in their hearts.
Are you suggesting that the Second Prince return to succeed to the throne? Is this your true intention?
"No!" Before anyone could speak, Princess Chuyue objected directly, "The Second Prince was banished from Andu by the late Emperor and exiled to Tianmen Pass! Now that the late Emperor has just passed away, we cannot go against his last wishes!"
As soon as Princess Chuyue finished speaking, the ministers of Andu immediately showed expressions of sudden realization.
This father and daughter are clearly working together! One plays the bad cop, the other the good cop, and they don't actually intend to let the second prince return to succeed to the throne.
"Yes, yes, the county princess is right. We cannot go against the late emperor's last wishes!" Prime Minister Wang Donglai quickly stepped forward and bowed to Duke Chu, saying, "Your loyalty is as clear as the sun and moon! However, if we bring back the second prince now, the timing is really inappropriate. I'm afraid the people of Da'an will not be convinced!"
"In my humble opinion, the Third Prince is currently in the palace, and it is most appropriate for him to succeed to the throne!"
The Third Prince is still a baby, how can he shoulder any heavy responsibilities? However, as soon as the Prime Minister said this, the ministers present all nodded in support of the Third Prince's ascension to the throne.
“But the Third Prince is still young!” Duke Chu frowned and said, “As the saying goes, a country relies on a mature ruler; if the throne is unstable, the court will be in turmoil…”
"(Dede Zhao) This matter is not difficult!" Prime Minister Wang Donglai hurriedly interrupted Duke Chu, bowed respectfully, and proposed, "Please, Duke Chu, emulate the ambition of the Duke of Zhou and assist King Cheng in stabilizing the court!"
"I urge the Duke of Chu to emulate the Duke of Zhou and assist the new emperor!"
"The loyalty of Duke Chu is evident to all today! This matter concerns the safety of Anguo, so please do not refuse, Duke Chu!"
"If Duke Chu does not agree to serve as regent today, I will kill myself by crashing into this city gate!"
"Don't stop me! Today I will spill my blood on the city walls to prove my sincerity!"
...For a time, the ministers surrounding Duke Chu were discussing the matter, all pleading with him to assist the young third prince.
Some ministers were so excited that they tried to ram their heads against the city gate, but their colleagues around them helped to hold them back while pleading with the Duke of Chu to agree as soon as possible.
Wei Tingyu and Ren Ruyi, who were on the city tower, couldn't help but laugh heartily at this scene.
These seasoned politicians are all incredibly cunning!
Of course, this scene was also faithfully recorded by the historians!
Later generations and the world all know that Duke Chu did not mean it this way; he was simply unable to refuse such a kind invitation! In addition, considering the political situation in Anguo's court and the well-being of the people, he reluctantly agreed.
"In that case, I am deeply grateful for your kindness! I have no choice but to accept this important task!" Duke Chu nodded with a troubled expression, and then took on this arduous yet glorious responsibility.
……
Because Emperor An, Li Sun, died suddenly, his funeral was held in a very simple manner.
Fortunately, the emperor's tomb had been under construction since he ascended the throne, so his remains were sent directly to the mausoleum after the funeral.
The young emperor's coronation ceremony was even simpler. Under the solemn gaze of the ministers of Andu, the Duke of Chu held the third prince, who was still sucking on a pacifier, and placed him on the dragon throne.
Subsequently, Duke Chu demonstrated his unique position as a regent minister before the young emperor.
After receiving the cheers of "Long live the Emperor!" from the ministers of Anguo, the major events were completely settled!
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Chapter 205 Empress Xiao Yan has made her move! The plan is in action!
After the coronation ceremony, Duke Chu knelt respectfully before Wei Tingyu in the palace of Anguo.
Ren Ruyi and Princess Chuyue knelt on either side of Wei Tingyu, serving him his evening meal.
"This coronation ceremony was indeed tedious; a whole day has passed just like that!" Wei Tingyu looked at the Duke of Chu, who was prostrate before him, and said directly, "But all this hard work was worth it! Today, the Duke of Chu has taken control of this region of Anguo!"
"Your subject dares not!" When Duke Chu met Wei Tingyu alone, he had already used the etiquette and titles he used when meeting the emperor.
Upon hearing Wei Tingyu's words, he lowered his body even further and said, "Your subject is well aware that I am merely temporarily governing a region on behalf of my master!"
"This kingdom of Anguo can only belong to you, my lord!"
Although Wei Tingyu did not ascend the throne, the Duke of Chu, while referring to himself as a subject, still addressed Wei Tingyu as "the sovereign" rather than "Your Majesty."
Wei Tingyu was very satisfied with the Duke of Chu's performance at this time, and was convinced that the other party was not being insincere.
After witnessing firsthand the fighting prowess of the two thousand Xuanjia soldiers and one thousand cavalrymen under his command, Duke Chu would not have harbored any ill intentions towards Wei Tingyu unless he had lost his mind.
Of course, this doesn't even include Wei Tingyu's superb martial arts skills! Duke Chu personally witnessed how he took the life of Deng Hui, the commander of the Zhuyiwei, with a single move.
"Now that the central part of the desert has been destroyed, the eastern part has also sent the eldest son of its leader to Andu to express his submission!" Wei Tingyu smiled and then said, "The matter of Anguo is basically resolved. You can continue to govern as usual. I will wait for the day when I raise my banner and carry out my great undertaking..."
"Your subject will immediately lead all the troops of Anguo to rise up in support of Your Majesty! To help Your Majesty unify the world!" Duke Chu said quickly upon hearing this.
"Good!" Seeing that Duke Chu spoke with such sincerity, Wei Tingyu nodded in satisfaction and said "good."
"My lord! We, the people of Shaxi, are utterly loyal to you! Please rest assured!" Princess Chuyue, who was serving Wei Tingyu his meal, smiled sweetly and said.
"I believe in you!" Wei Tingyu naturally returned the other party's smile with a faint smile.
He will be setting off back to Wu Kingdom tomorrow. His original plan was to seize the military and political power of An Kingdom and Wu Kingdom and put them under the control of people he trusted.
When I start my rebellion in the Central Plains, the kingdoms of An and Wu can mobilize their entire armies to support me from afar! In this way, we can achieve a swift victory and minimize the damage caused by war!
Now that Anguo is under my control, the next one will naturally be Wuguo!
The 483 departments in Wuzhou are surely in chaos now, and I'm just waiting for them to come back and take charge!
Of course, there are two side stories here, one of which is the Second Prince who was previously exiled to Tianmen Pass by Emperor An, Li Sun.
Upon hearing of the Andu Incident and learning that his third brother had ascended the throne as emperor with the support of the Duke of Chu, he secretly fled to Beipan overnight.
This guy reacted quickly, realizing that staying would mean certain death for him, and that Beipan might be the only place where he could eke out a living.
It is important to understand that the hatred between Anguo and Beipan is irreconcilable; otherwise, Li Sun would not have gone to the point of life and death with Empress Zhaojie because he wanted to collude with Beipan.
Now that the Second Prince has fled to Beipan, he has immediately been branded a traitor to Anguo! Beipan also knows that this person cannot be used as a political bargaining chip, and his existence will only make Anguo more united against them.
Therefore, the leader of Beipan decisively cut off the second prince's head and sent it to Andu.
This move was also intended to curry favor with Ando, since Kitapan had naturally heard about the Ando Incident.
As the largest tribe in Anguo, the Shazhong tribe has always been the main force in the war against Beipan! However, under the walls of Andu City, they encountered an extremely elite Xuanjia army and were instantly defeated and annihilated.
The Beipan people were wary of the powerful cavalry force within Anguo's territory, and had given up their idea of raiding southward.
As for Ren Ruyi's mad disciple Li Tongguang, he also received the news on the day of the Andu Incident. When he led the Imperial Guards to the walls of Andu, he only saw a devastated battlefield.
The Golden Shadow Guard, leading the Xuanjia Army, directly stripped him of his military power!
Li Tongguang offered no resistance, for he understood that the situation was hopeless and abandoned his original ambitions, surrendering obediently.
Subsequently, in the mansion where he was imprisoned, he drank poison and committed suicide!
When Ren Ruyi learned of this, she could only sigh softly. After all, this was her disciple whom she had taught since childhood, yet she had never expected that he would ultimately follow in the footsteps of his uncle, Emperor An, Li Sun.