The Bad Guys: Everyone, let’s revive the Tang Dynasty together!

Chapter 373: Why did Your Majesty rebel? (End)

Under the cover of night, White Horse Temple.

The construction of White Horse Temple can be traced back to the seventh year of Yongping in the Eastern Han Dynasty. It is said that Emperor Ming heard that there were strange gods in the West, so he sent doctor Cai Yin and doctoral student Qin Jing to India to seek Dharma. Later, the two of them and Indian monks brought Buddhist scriptures and statues back to Luoyang. They first lived in Honglu Temple, but later they thought that Honglu was not a place to live for a long time, so the next year he ordered to build another residence outside Yongmen, which was White Horse Temple.

Over the next thousand years, the White Horse Temple was destroyed several times and was rebuilt by imperial decrees in successive dynasties. The largest reconstruction was in the first year of the Chuigong reign of Emperor Wu Zhou of the Tang Dynasty. At that time, the White Horse Temple reached its golden age in history.

However, the Central Plains was in chaos during the last years of the Tang Dynasty, and the White Horse Temple was once again not spared, with 70% to 80% of the buildings destroyed. Although Zhang Quanyi had renovated the area after he became the prefect of Henan, the scale was not large. Therefore, at this time, apart from dozens of Buddha statues and broken steles, the temple building was no different from a rather imposing mansion.

After Zhu Wen was brought to Luoyang by Xiao Yan, he lived here in the name of practicing Buddhism. The White Horse Temple became the temporary residence of the emperor.

Xiao Yan was too lazy to torture and humiliate the two emperors of the Zhu family, so all of Zhu Wen's concubines and the eunuchs and palace maids who had served him for many years were returned to him. Although he did not bring all of them to Luoyang this time, they were enough to fill half of the White Horse Temple.

On weekdays, the area around the White Horse Temple was very deserted, with farmland belonging to military families and high-ranking officials. Since it was located in the eastern suburbs of Luoyang, it was even more sparsely populated more than ten miles away. When Zhu Wen was placed here, the White Horse Temple became a forbidden area in Luoyang. The outer area was decorated with people who worked day and night, and sentries were posted several miles away. Without Xiao Yan's personal approval, anyone who came here would be detained.

This made things difficult for the monks in the White Horse Temple. Ever since Zhu Wen moved in, they were not allowed to leave without permission. All the necessities of the White Horse Temple, such as firewood, grain, rice, flour, fruits and vegetables, had to be transported here by people at night, and outsiders could not see them.

So after nearly a month, Zhu Wen, who was usually used to living a happy life, almost collapsed.

Over the past few decades, from raising troops in Xuanwu Town to usurping the Li Tang throne, Zhu Wen was the one standing at the pinnacle of the world. Except for individual princes such as the Jin State, half of the world revolved around him. He had whatever he wanted, and if he didn't have it, he would kill people.

But being reduced to such a situation overnight was unbearable for Zhu Wen himself, and even his concubines could not accept the huge gap. So even though they were imprisoned here, they tried every means to find out the news from the outside world. Even if they could not restore their original status, at least they could seize some fleeting opportunities.

But in just two months, Zhu Wen had lost nearly 20 kilograms. Fortunately, Xiao Yan had forced him to stop taking the elixirs and gave him the Qi-replenishing pills made by his surrendered ministers. His physical condition recovered a little, otherwise he might have suddenly had a stroke and died on the couch one day. He only lost 20 kilograms, which was considered good enough.

Although his health was stable, Zhu Wen was not grateful to Xiao Yan at all. He waited anxiously every day to see if the situation would change and if Xiao Yan would be overthrown by the people below. Having been in charge of Daliang for many years, Zhu Wen knew the nature of the warlords below better than anyone else. He did not believe that Xiao Yan could easily subdue every warlord. If there was any mistake, Xiao Yan would be condemned by thousands of people.

Zhu Wen's secret prayers every day really worked. Xiao Yan was eager to use Shu to establish his authority, but Yang Shihou shirked his responsibilities everywhere. With internal and external troubles, the situation in the new dynasty suddenly became tense. Between the central government and the vassal states, Xiao Yan and the many officials in Daliang, one side would fall. Under the turbulent undercurrent, the situation of irreconcilability was already in sight.

Although Zhu Wen was unaware of these circumstances, he was under house arrest with three layers of detention inside and outside, and no one had the opportunity to secretly inform him of the news, let alone contact him, the emperor who still had his dignity. Xiao Yan would not be able to chop off any of their heads.

But Zhu Wen was the emperor after all. Even though the mutiny that night looked terrible in front of Xiao Yan, without Xiao Yan's personal control, he was keenly aware of some changes in the details.

The most obvious change is that the Ye Bushou, a commander who originally guarded the White Horse Temple, had about 400 to 500 men, but today, they have been reduced to only about 100 men. Zhu Wen deliberately sent a few eunuchs who were familiar with him to investigate. It is said that these Ye Bushou who were withdrawn were sent by Xiao Yan to strengthen the imperial guards.

What to strengthen the imperial guards!
Zhu Wen knew very well that Xiao Yan was afraid that the Imperial Guards would get out of control, so he sent his trusted men to supervise the Imperial Guards!

God has eyes. Zhu Wen could not help but be overjoyed. As an emperor who climbed up from the bottom, he was the most sensitive to the situation. How could he not know that Xiao Yan must have fallen into trouble at the moment? Otherwise, how could he not send more people to guard his greatest asset, Zhu Wen, but instead tried his best to gather troops?
There must have been a big accident outside!
Who was it? Yang Shihou? Ge Congzhou? Or was there an internal conflict within the imperial guards? Or was it that Xie Yanzhang, who won my heart at first sight, came to serve the king?

The situation became more and more tense, and the signs became more and more obvious. Even Zhu Wen had seen Ye Bushou, who was responsible for guarding him, with a worried look on his face several times. Xiao Yan had not shown up at his place for a long time. In addition, these tens of thousands of troops and the imperial carriage had been stationary in Luoyang for nearly half a month. Even a fool would know that Xiao Yan must have fallen into a bad situation.

Zhu Wen has always prided himself on being an extremely wise monarch, and he believed he had seen through Xiao Yan's predicament. Naturally, he was so anxious at this time that he could not sleep or eat. He had a lot of ideas but could not get them out. Every day he tried desperately to figure out what the situation was like outside, what plans the officials in the court had, and how many people inside and outside the court would stand on Xiao Yan's side.

Of course, these are not the most important things. What Zhu Wen is most worried about is whether the ministers below will restore him to the throne if Xiao Yan falls...

According to Zhu Wen's understanding of his ministers, if he wanted to defeat Xiao Yan, he would first have to unite with the powerful vassal states outside the city, and then cooperate with the internal imperial guards, before he could compete with Xiao Yan, who had nearly 40,000 Tiger Guards in Dingbadu and Guide Army.

But in this case, the one who will have the most say in the court in the future will definitely be the powerful foreign vassal who led the troops into the court. What if these soldiers want to follow Xiao Yan's example and establish a new emperor? Or simply let Zhu Youzhen, the evil creature, sit on the throne forever? Compared with himself, the emperor, that evil creature is much easier to manipulate!

Zhu Wen was anxious and worried, and there was a possibility that he did not dare to think about. That was if a second mutiny really occurred in the court at that time, and Xiao Yan was defeated, what would happen if he wanted to take him with him?

God have mercy on him. Zhu Wen put on all kinds of attitudes in front of Xiao Yan that night, and even got a slap in the face from Xiao Yan. He was just begging for a good end from Xiao Yan. If he was so wronged and harmed by court officials and died together with Xiao Yan, I'm afraid Zhu Wen would not be willing to die and would want to claim the lives of these officials.

So with this thought in mind, Zhu Wen came up with the last possibility.

What if Xiao Yan wins again?

Although if the imperial guards mutinied and there were support from foreign garrisons, the possibility of the court officials winning was overwhelmingly high, but Zhu Wen, who was inexplicably forced to abdicate almost overnight by Xiao Yan, felt that Xiao Yan could not be viewed from the perspective of an ordinary person. Just as Zhu Wen would never believe that Xiao Yan could raise tens of thousands of private troops in just two or three years, he also did not believe that Xiao Yan had no other cards.

Facts have proved that Zhu Wen's ascension to the throne was not a fluke. If he really put aside his thoughts of indulging in the pleasure of tenderness and killing over the years, Zhu Wen had actually vaguely realized that Xiao Yan's impatience to take him and Zhu Youzhen to the expedition might have been for some other purpose, but he could not see this purpose for the time being.

Just as Zhu Wen thought when he was enjoying Xiao Yan's dedicated service, he never thought that Xiao Yan was a dangerous person. He could kill such a person who had no foundation in the court with a decree. But the fact is that Xiao Yan's danger cannot be described in words. This official's plot is deep and his layout is far-reaching. When Zhu Wen thinks about it carefully now, he often secretly curses this official for being too ambitious and even more daring.

Would Xiao Yan, who had been thinking about today's plan several years ago, lead his troops to fight in person without any preparation? Or would he come to Guanzhong where he had no roots?
Therefore, when Zhu Wen was thinking carefully, he might have thought about how he should welcome Xiao Yan if he won again. If he appeared to pose no threat, Xiao Yan might be willing to let him return to the throne. However, Xiao Yan would surely have more power by then. What would be the point of him returning to the throne?
As time went by, as the whole Luoyang seemed to be so quiet that it fell into a strange depression, Zhu Wen became more and more uneasy. He no longer had the heart to touch the concubines and others who were used to relieve his fatigue after being imprisoned. He just huddled in the Buddhist rooms with big Buddhas every day, muttering to himself, and was frightened to death at the slightest movement outside.

In this state of distraction, Zhu Wen often feared that once the door of the Buddhist room was opened, he would see Xiao Yan, covered in blood, rushing in, commanding the remaining troops to pile up firewood, dragging him to burn themselves together. Or another vassal general such as Yang Shihou would come in with Xiao Yan's head to support his restoration as the retired emperor, but then his various attitudes would be no different from Xiao Yan's original...

This continued for several days. The circles around Zhu Wen's eyes became darker and his hair was almost completely white. He no longer looked like the majestic king he once was. The few concubines who still respected him felt like they were serving an ordinary old man when they came to serve him.

Until tonight, the continuous sound of horse hooves broke the silence of the night and came straight to the front of the White Horse Temple like a storm.

Ding Zhaopu, who had been in charge of serving or monitoring Zhu Wen, had already led several of his adopted sons to kneel down at the gate of the temple, and just shouted shrilly: "Greetings, Your Majesty!"

Xiao Yan had no expression on his face, but he nodded and stepped into the White Horse Temple with his sword hilt pressed. Rows of night guards holding torches were silently waiting for him on both sides. The light of the fire made the armor on his body look murderous.

The eunuchs and maids guarding Zhu Wen's bedroom were all stunned. Some of the loyal ones wanted to stop him, but when they saw Xiao Yan coming with a sword in hand, they were so scared that they collapsed to the ground. They only had a little strength left, but they cried out towards the bedroom: "Prince Song, Prince Song is here to kill the king!"

These eunuchs and palace maids had not fully experienced the night of the mutiny, and had never seen Zhu Wen's miserable appearance. Their loyalty at this moment could not be said to be fake. They probably really regarded Zhu Wen as an emperor who still had majesty. In an instant, inside and outside the bedroom, the entire courtyard was filled with cries.

Many people knelt on the ground and kowtowed to beg for their lives, while groups of loyal people crawled towards the bedroom using their hands and feet. As Xiao Yan walked indifferently, those who blocked his way were kicked away by Ye Bushou who was holding torches on both sides. Those who resisted had their necks cut directly, without caring at all about shedding blood in front of the royal family.

Ding Zhaopu and a few of his godsons followed behind, also watching it all in shock. As they lowered their heads and looked at each other, Ding Zhaopu's eyes were ferocious, and the meaning he conveyed to his godsons was very clear: You idiots who still have ideas, see clearly now, who is the master of the court now!
Seeing Xiao Yan coming in, the eunuchs who wanted to grab his clothes and try to stop him all surrendered to Buddhism. The few eunuchs who were still guarding the door of Zhu Wen's bedroom no longer dared to move, but just kowtowed like crazy.

Xiao Yan's face remained expressionless, even showing a hint of coldness. Without even a pause, Ye Bushu had already pushed the door open for him. As the firelight shone in, Xiao Yan had already stepped in, but he stood with his sword in hand, scanning the slightly dim bedroom with his empty eyes.

At this time, Ye Bu Shou, with blood on his knife, was accompanying Xiao Yan. The whole yard was filled with crying and shouting, and there was a faint smell of blood in the air. Xiao Yan's visit this time looked like he was going to kill the king.

In the bedroom, Zhu Wen and two obviously young concubines hugged each other and shivered. Their legs were limp and they huddled in a corner not daring to move. But what was unexpected was that a woman in her forties stood in front of Xiao Yan with a hairpin in her hand. Although she was also trembling and her eyes were full of fear as she looked at Xiao Yan, she did not retreat.

"Thief, if you want to kill the king, you must step over me first!"

Ye Bu Shou was about to step forward, but Xiao Yan remembered that when Emperor Zhaozong of Tang was assassinated, Li Zhaoyi and Madam Pei also protected him, but they were eventually killed. So he raised his hand, and Ye Bu Shou whispered in Xiao Yan's ear, "This is Shi."

Xiao Yan nodded. Shi was betrothed to Zhu Wen very early. She was the second wife at that time, second only to Zhu Wen's original wife Zhang Hui. She had been married to Zhu Wen for nearly twenty years. They were an old couple, so it was normal for her to be willing to sacrifice her life for Zhu Wen.

Shi had experienced the years when Zhu Wen started his career. In her eyes, Zhu Wen must still be the wise and capable Zhu Quanzhong. Although he has fallen into such a state of disgrace today, she obviously has to maintain Zhu Wen's dignity in front of Xiao Yan, the most powerful minister in Daliang and the current Cao Mang. Perhaps she simply does not want to see her wise and brave husband being humiliated.

Xiao Yan put his hands behind his back and just looked at Shi calmly. Just as he was about to say something, he heard a trembling voice suddenly coming from behind Shi.

"King Song, I only beg for your life! This country of Daliang will be handed over to King Song..."

Shi's whole body trembled, she turned around in shock and stunned to look, then froze again.

But in this cry for life, the founding emperor Zhu Wen of Daliang, who had killed countless people and walked on countless bones to this day, who fought against Li Keyong in the north, defeated Li Maozhen in the west, and suppressed many heroes in the south to establish the foundation of Daliang, and who was also famous for his debauchery and cruelty, sleeping with his daughter-in-law and having sex with his ministers' wives, now pleaded with his heart and prostrated himself in front of Xiao Yan.

In the original time and space of the world of The Bad Guys, when the Hades led the Xuanming Sect all the way to the Jiaolan Palace to commit regicide, Zhu Wen also begged his most hated son. But no matter whether it was the original time and space or the historical time and space, he could not escape the fate of being regicide by his son. What caused him to take this path was that he leaked his idea of ​​who he wanted to make the crown prince to his daughter-in-law. This made the greedy Hades not want to wait any longer and sent his father on the road with his own hands.

At this moment, Xiao Yan suddenly broke into the house with soldiers at night, and his intention to kill the king was obvious. Zhu Wen completely gave up all hope and was even willing to give up his country and beg for his life, but it seemed as if it was expected.

However, even so, including Shi, the other two concubines of Zhu Wen, Ye Bushu at the door and several eunuchs were all stunned, looking at Zhu Wen who was kneeling down in disbelief. The hairpin in Shi's hand also suddenly slipped down, making a loud noise in the silent room.

Xiao Yan held his sword and looked at Zhu Wen calmly. He walked over slowly, lowered his head and asked, "Why did your majesty rebel?"

Zhu Wen's whole body trembled, his face was full of snot and tears, he just raised his head and cried: "What does King Song mean..."

Xiao Yan sneered and said, "I heard that Yang Shihou and other officials in the court also want to obey the imperial edict to purge the emperor and eliminate the traitors. Everyone in the court and the public say that Yang Shihou only respects Your Majesty. Could it be that this trip to obey the imperial edict is not Your Majesty's intention?"

Zhu Wen's face turned pale instantly, but before he could tremble and make a sound, he saw Xiao Yan narrow his eyes slightly and said in a cold voice: "I have made great contributions to the country, how can I fail Your Majesty? Your Majesty, why are you plotting a rebellion?"

There was a clear implication of war in this sentence. Zhu Wen knew without hesitation that it was the idiots of the court officials who had exposed the conspiracy and angered Xiao Yan. Now that Xiao Yan came in anger, wasn't it the court officials who put the blame on him?
"King Song, this is a treacherous minister who misled me!"

Zhu Wen was furious and anxious, wishing he could not bow his head and stamp his feet: "Yang Shihou is a colleague who has always been arrogant and unruly! Before I abdicated, I handed over the court to the regent of King Song. How could I issue an edict to Yang Shihou! It must be Yang Shihou and his ministers who forged the edict to sow discord between me and King Song! Those ministers who want to harm King Song are the traitors in the court!"

Xiao Yan chuckled, then turned around and left.

"That's good. Since Your Majesty also holds this view, why don't you go with me to see who among the ministers is treacherous and who is loyal? Will this traitor jump out on his own?"

After saying the last sentence, Xiao Yan had already strode away. Zhu Wen, who was lying on the ground and dared not get up, shivered and raised his head fearfully, only to meet Shi's stunned gaze.

Zhu Wen's eyes flashed subconsciously, and he ordered at the same time: "Help, help me..."

However, Shi turned her head and walked a few steps outside in a daze. Ye Bushou, who was at the door, did not stop her. He watched her stagger out, as if the worldview she had believed in for many years had collapsed tonight.

Zhu Wen's legs and feet were weak, and the two younger concubines behind him did not even come to help him. They huddled in the corner and dared not move. However, they did not come in for a few nights, intending to take everyone away from here.

When he went out, he saw carriages and horses arriving outside, and Xiao Yan was looking to the west with his hands behind his back. There was a big fire over there, and the sound of fighting could be heard faintly, from the direction of Prince Song's mansion.

Zhu Wen's body was slightly hunched, but when he looked at Xiao Yan, he saw that his posture was as straight as a sword. He stood there with his hands behind his back, looking extremely sharp.

He avoided looking and dared not look any further. He looked around carefully but did not see Zhu Youzhen.

At this time, Xiao Yan's faint voice was heard from the front.

"I wonder if your majesty had in mind today's plan when he ordered the murder of Emperor Zhaozong of Tang seven years ago?"

Zhu Wen was stunned, and then he saw Xiao Yan nimbly climbing onto the horse's back, and was surrounded by countless armored soldiers heading towards Luoyang.

As for himself, he stood there stiffly with his sleeves hanging down, his whole body cold and an expression that seemed neither crying nor laughing.

(End of this chapter)