The Rebellious Officials and Traitors of the Late Han Dynasty

Chapter 501 Ascending the Throne
Dong Cheng was pinned to the ground by Dian Wei's iron-like hands, his cheek pressed against the cold floor tiles, but he still struggled hard, roaring with red eyes: "Qin thief! You will not die well! The ancestors of the Han Dynasty will teach you a lesson if they are still alive in heaven-"

"Drag him away!" Qin Shou interrupted coldly, and with a wave of his hand, the soldiers outside the palace rushed in and lifted Dong Cheng up. Dong Cheng's crown fell to the ground, and his hair was in disarray, but he still turned his head and shouted: "Your Majesty! Your Majesty can't--"

The voice stopped abruptly, and the soldiers had already covered his mouth and dragged him out of the hall. Seeing this, Kong Rong stumbled and threw himself against the hall pillar, banging his head against it: "The Han Dynasty is in ruins, and I, an old minister, will die for my country!"

"Stop him!" Zhong Yao shouted. The civil officials on both sides hurriedly hugged Kong Rong, but saw blood dripping from his forehead, staining his snow-white beard red. Qin Shou frowned and said, "Kong Wenju is rebellious and unruly, so he will be detained for the time being."

The palace was dead silent. Liu Xie sat slumped on the dragon throne, his hands shaking like sieves in his sleeves. When Dong Cheng was dragged away just now, the pair of wide-open eyes seemed to be burned into his mind. He suddenly remembered the rainy night when he was deposed by Dong Zhuo when he was young. It was also like this - the flash of swords, the smell of blood, and the silent suffocation.

"Your Majesty." Qin Shou's voice startled him awake. When he looked up, he saw the "King of Tang" had walked to the imperial steps, and the dragon pattern on his black brocade robe glowed dark gold in the candlelight.

Qin Shou bowed slightly, his tone respectful, but his eyes were like a hawk, looking at the other person coldly, and said: "I wonder what your majesty thinks of what Hua Qing has said?"

Liu Xie opened his mouth, his throat rolling. He caught a glimpse of Liu Bian playing with a wine jar with his eyes downcast, his fingertips rubbing the bronze animal pattern; the ministers below the steps were silent, but Hua Xin's hands holding the bamboo slips were shaking with excitement.

"I..." He heard his own dry voice, "Permission granted."

With a splash, the wine jar in Liu Bian's hand suddenly fell over, and the wine spread on the table like a small river of blood.

Suddenly, the sound of tearing silk was heard coming from the bottom of the jade steps - it turned out that Liu Ai, the chief of the imperial clan, was tearing up his court robes, and his disheveled white hair crashed into the Panlong stone pillar.

"stop!"

Hua Xin was so anxious that he stepped on one of his shoes. When the soldiers held Liu Ai, the old minister suddenly burst out with terrifying strength, and the blood on his forehead dripped on the snow like red plums.

He looked coldly at Qin Shou and the other officials, and said, "The sword that Emperor Gaozu used to kill the white snake is still in the armory of Weiyang Palace! You all..."

Unfortunately, no one in the hall paid any attention to it. They just watched Liu Ai being dragged away quietly. Even Liu Ye had a calm expression.

The wind from Longshou Plain carried fine snow, staining the five-colored soil of the Jiuzhang Shouchan Terrace into mottled spots. A large army gathered below the stage, and countless people came here to watch the Shouchan event. They would witness the end of the 400-year-old Han Dynasty and the rise of the new dynasty.

Liu Xie knelt on the east side of the altar, his legs had long lost feeling under the black crown. He stared at the twelve-tasseled crown he was holding, the tassels trembling in the wind, just like the icicles swaying under the eaves of the Weiyang Palace when Dong Zhuo was deposed four years ago.

“The auspicious time has arrived!”

The historian's singing pierced the cold wind.

The sounds of drums and music rang out, and the sounds of Shao music spread throughout the entire Longshou Plain. When Qin Shou's carriage arrived, shouts of "Long live the emperor" rang out throughout the entire Longshou Plain. The upcoming era of peace and prosperity was brought by the man before their eyes, and naturally received the support of the people.

Liu Xie looked up and saw Qin Shou walking slowly onto the stage on a ochre-yellow brocade carpet. The coiled dragon pattern on his dark brocade robe shone coldly in the snow. With every step the figure took, his hand in his sleeve trembled more violently, and the jade sceptre was so slippery in his palm that he could hardly hold it.

"Your Majesty." Qin Shou stopped five steps away, and his voice floated over wrapped in white mist.

Meanwhile, Zhong Yao came forward holding the imperial seal, the jade dragon button reflecting a green light in the snow. Liu Xie saw the index finger of this great calligrapher twitching slightly. Three days ago, it was this hand that wrote on the imperial edict, "Heaven's Mandate is not permanent, and the emperor is not of one family."

"Your Majesty, please grant me the seal."

Hua Xin's voice was like a blunt knife cutting through linen, sounding very harsh. When Liu Xie stretched out his hand, a gust of wind suddenly blew up the snow on the altar. The moment the jade seal fell into Qin Shou's palm, the dark clouds in the sky suddenly cracked, and a ray of sunlight shone straight on the Zen platform. There was an immediate commotion below the stage, and an old minister knelt on the spot and shouted "a sign from heaven."

Qin Shou raised the jade seal, and the sunlight shone on the Hetian green jade. When he turned around, Liu Xie saw that his always indifferent eyes were burning with a frightening light, like a hungry wolf staring at a shivering lamb.

Although he had been assured that Qin Shou would never kill him and would even guarantee him wealth and glory, he still had no confidence in his heart.

Liu Xie was at the mercy of others. At this moment, he had no way to resist.

"Your Majesty, please crown the King of Tang!"

At this moment, Kong Rong's wild laughter suddenly pierced the solemnity. The old official with disheveled white hair suddenly broke free from the soldiers' restraints, and the scab on his forehead burst open again, and blood flowed along the wrinkles into his snow-white beard.

He just laughed and said, "The five-colored soil is stained with the blood of loyal ministers, and the Jiuzhang Terrace is built with the bones of the people! Qin thieves, you——"

The soldiers around him rushed forward to cover his mouth, but Kong Rong bit his hand hard and screamed as he crashed into the blue dragon stone sculpture in the northwest corner of the altar.

The dull sound of the skull breaking made Liu Xie's stomach cramp. He saw the old minister's blood winding like a river on the five-colored soil, which actually merged with the green soil of the Eastern Blue Dragon's position to form a strange purple color.

"Drag him down." Qin Shou's voice was colder than ice and snow. "Go on."

A group of people who are ignorant of the times, if they were really loyal to the emperor, how could the Han Dynasty be what it is today? A guy who only knows how to talk is called a celebrity only because he is a descendant of Confucius.

A person who cannot accept the facts actually committed suicide at today's ceremony. He is simply seeking death and his entire clan should be exterminated.

Liu Xie mechanically held up the twelve-tassel crown. The weight of the crown made his arms tremble. This ceremonial crown passed down by Emperor Gaozu had witnessed the rule of Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing and the glory of Emperor Wu of Han, but now it had to be worn on the head of a usurper.

When he stood on tiptoe to crown Qin Shou, he smelled the scent of agarwood on the other's collar, mixed with a faint smell of blood. For a moment, he seemed to see a mountain of corpses and a sea of ​​blood, as well as endless corpses, and his face suddenly turned pale.

The moment the tassels of Tamamo swayed, heart-wrenching cries suddenly came from the audience.

Wei Feng, a member of the Western Division of the Cabinet, had snatched the sword from the guard at some point, and now, with the blade across his neck, he shouted at Liu Xie, "I, your old minister, will go first and apologize to Emperor Guangwu in the underworld!"

The blood splattered on the snow, just like the color of the vermilion pillars of the Weiyang Palace.

Zhong Yao's face turned gloomy when he saw this. Wei Feng was his subordinate and was usually very diligent in his work. He didn't expect that he would cause such a big trouble at this time.

Damn it!

Qin Shou didn't even raise his eyelids, as if he didn't notice any of this, or as if these things had never happened.

When he smoothed his crown tassel and turned around, the twelve strings of white jade beads collided in the wind, making a sound like breaking ice. The crowd below the stage knelt down.

(End of this chapter)