fifth form

Chapter 3105 Second Misidentification
"Emperor Jing has really had a tough time!"

Dou Ying took out a scroll of secret edict sealed with wax, and it was clear that Dou Ying rarely opened this scroll.

When the Yang Soul Transformation Technique backfired, or perhaps due to the added mental shock that made it difficult to control his emotions, Dou Ying, while cursing many people, also took the secret decree from Emperor Jing when he entrusted his son to him.

According to the normal procedure, Dou Ying should have served as the prime minister of the Han Dynasty, overcoming all difficulties until the new emperor secured the throne, and thus gain a lasting reputation in history and countless benefits of holding a high position.

However, Dou Ying only served as prime minister for a short year, and his plan to contact Confucian scholars to control the court failed. In the end, he could only barely save himself and withdraw from the ranks of court officials.

The secret edict that Dou Ying obtained contained a list of various people who would cause obstacles, and even detailed information about these people.

The list covers a wide range of people, including those who have died in the past ten years, whom Dou Ying marked.

If you count carefully, Emperor Jing faced quite a few disloyal individuals in his front and back courtyards, but he had no choice but to use them because these people were talented enough.

This situation may seem abnormal, but it is actually something that those in power encounter quite frequently.

For example, Li Yingbo and others had only a handful of people in their core circle, and many others acted according to others' moods. In the era of Chang Kongluo and others, Pei Jing, Zhao Tianhua, Zhang Qiaoen and others had almost formed an independent force, and many people could not do anything about it and could only let them continue to develop. There were also many second-generation members of aristocratic families who had to grit their teeth and face the problem of losing their minds in their old age.

Even Zhang Xuezhou himself would encounter similar situations, such as his collaboration with Montesbottom, Nags, and others.

Even though they knew the other party had problems, they still needed to cooperate. Zhang Xuezhou was even more proactive in this regard, and he had no time to pay attention to the other party's little schemes.

While you're alive, everything is under control, and the benefits outweigh the drawbacks.

But everything changed after Emperor Jing was seriously injured, and death brought with it a high risk of prolongation, which led to the creation of this list provided to Dou Ying for comparison.

"Li Guang of the True Martial Holy Land, since when did the master of the holy land need to come out and become an official to make a profit?"

The Empress Dowager is currently at the top of the list, but Zhang Xuezhou, who knows the Empress Dowager, is not interested in her. Even if he guessed six parts of Emperor Jing's last words, there are still four parts that don't match.

Zhang Xuezhou was extremely interested in Li Guang, who was on the list. He had seen many lords of holy lands, but he had never seen a lord of a holy land so down and out.

Other holy land leaders either occupy a region of power or remain aloof and detached from external disputes. Li Guang, on the other hand, rose through the ranks of the court based on his military achievements, eventually becoming the Commandant of the Guards, one of the Nine Ministers.

For a short period, Zhang Xuezhou's situation was similar to Li Guang's. He was considered a holy son of the Kunlun Holy Land at the time, and he was also seeking advancement in the Han Dynasty court, so his intentions were not entirely pure.

"Could it be that Li Guang also practiced magic?"

After considering the matter several times, Zhang Xuezhou became more cautious about his attitude towards Li Guang, to avoid any clash of fortunes between them.

"My lord, the more critical the moment, the more you need to remain calm. The top echelons of the court have been controlled, but the middle and lower echelons have not. They have simply been misled by the higher-ups. If you could quietly tell them the truth, our Great Han Dynasty will not collapse!"

"Sigh, it sounds easy to you, but how can others believe me? If I had that ability, wouldn't I be able to start a rebellion?"

Dou Ying sighed deeply and waved his hand, signaling his trusted eunuch to fetch a jar of wine.

The secret decree was shoved back into the desk. Dou Ying sat down imposingly at the dilapidated table and carefully placed the dossier into a hidden compartment at his feet.

"Is it Lord Sima who has come here on his tour?"

Dou Ying sighed several times before finally looking at the crossbeam. His gaze was somewhat solemn, but he didn't seem particularly concerned.

"You witnessed His Majesty giving me a secret decree, which could help... Never mind, you Grand Astrologers have no other abilities besides seeing the heavens and hearing the earth, and you are not allowed to interfere in court affairs. You can only watch the rise and fall of the court with a cold eye. If I die in the future, you can write a few words about me fairly to prove that I, Dou Ying, am not bad. That will be enough!"

Dou Ying initially wanted to win them over, but after thinking it over, he quickly gave up the idea.

"It's a pity that our great Han dynasty has repeatedly encountered villains, causing constant turmoil; otherwise, we would have long been so powerful that no one would dare to provoke us!"

With a sigh, Dou Ying picked up a pen and dipped it in ink.

When his trusted eunuch brought the wine, he took a big gulp and then began to write.

Zhang Xuezhou had expected Dou Ying to write something extraordinary, but after a while, he saw the other man finish his wine in large gulps, strip off his clothes, and then write the character '忠' (loyalty) on his chest with his hand in reverse.

"He mistook me for Sima Tan. Is he putting on some kind of performance art to show that he is a 'loyal' minister?"

Dou Ying's behavior was a bit strange, but once you consider that Dou Ying was the one who was mistaken for someone else, some things seem to make sense.

"Sima Tan's position is indeed quite special. I wonder if he recorded my story or said a few kind words to me!"

In real life, clerks record every little detail, but whether their actions have a significant impact enough to be included in historical records can only be determined after their death.

The Grand Historian of the Han Dynasty was extremely strict about the recording of events.

Zhang Xuezhou had also accompanied the new emperor through the history books and knew that these people remembered the bad but not the good, and very few people could be praised by them in the records.

Thinking about it this way, it's understandable that Dou Ying only wanted to say a few words to prove he wasn't bad, and then put on a performance art piece to get the Grand Historian to record things as loyal as possible.

Dou Ying has already resorted to performance art, so it's clear that the other party doesn't have any private projects to watch.

Zhang Xuezhou was initially very unhappy with Dou Ying's hostility and even wanted to give Dou Ying a hard time, but after getting to know him, he felt that Dou Ying was not really a bad person.

"His Majesty wanted to use the Crimson Sky Sword to weaken some people, but unfortunately the plan failed. Lord Dou, you can investigate who framed Guan Fu!"

Before leaving, Zhang Xuezhou did not want to encounter the trouble of Dou Ying coming to his door again.

He changed his voice and imitated Sima Tan's voice to say a few words, thus clearing himself of his own troubles.

After briefly revealing a few words, Zhang Xuezhou saw Dou Ying stand up quickly as if he had been injected with chicken blood, his face flushed with excitement.

"I knew it... I knew His Majesty wasn't bad. His Majesty finally understands that these people are no good!"

Dou Ying muttered to himself, watching Yang Po depart, his eyes filled with excitement.

“If His Majesty is targeting someone else, he must know that Guan Fu is innocent. This must have been done by Tian Fen’s retainers who switched Guan Fu’s sword while he was drinking. They finally obtained the Chixiao Sword, and it’s impossible that they would do this just to frame and eliminate Guan Fu. But it doesn’t make sense that they returned the sword while Guan Fu was drunk… Could it be that they returned a fake sword?”

Dou Ying pondered the matter repeatedly, constantly scrutinizing and searching for the truth.

He ultimately felt he had to find the true Crimson Sky Sword, which would not only thwart Tian Fen and his associates' conspiracy but also allow him to rightfully rescue Guan Fu.