Thief Emperor

Chapter 345: The Reality Is Not Existing, the Name Is Hard to Exist
The capital was in chaos.

The newly enthroned Emperor Wu Yuancheng sat in the Chongde Hall, looking at the memorial in front of him, his face so gloomy that water could be squeezed out of it.

Even his brother-in-law Pei Huang, who had always had a good relationship with him, stood obediently aside and did not dare to say a word.

After a long while, the Emperor threw the memorial in his hand aside, looked at Pei Huang, and said angrily: "What did the Council of State Affairs say?"

Pei Huang then lowered his head and said, "Your Majesty, the Council of State Affairs said that the commander of Tongguan abandoned the pass and fled without asking for permission. His crime is extremely serious!"

"We should exterminate the three tribes to set an example of national law!"

The Emperor became even more furious, slammed the table fiercely, and shouted angrily: "There were 20,000 to 30,000 soldiers guarding Tongguan, and only 2,000 to 3,000 are left!"

"Am I asking them how to deal with the commander of Tongguan? I am asking how to deal with the current situation!"

Pei Huang was silent for a long time, and finally took a deep breath and whispered: "Your Majesty, there are only two ways. The first way is to send out the elite troops of the imperial army and drive these rebels out of Tongguan."

"The second way is to temporarily avoid the limelight, move the court out of the capital, and then call on the righteous people of the world to fight against the rebels together."

Pei Huang's voice became a little softer when he said this, but he still gritted his teeth and said, "As long as we are still here, there will always be opportunities in the future."

"Wei Quanzhong, Wei Quanzhong!"

The emperor slammed the table angrily and lost his temper for a long time. Then he suddenly lost his temper and slumped down on the dragon chair. He looked at Pei Huang and sighed: "Sanlang, what do you think?"

Pei Huang was silent for a long time before he whispered, "Your Majesty, if we send out the Imperial Guards now, we will be risking everything. I am not saying that the Imperial Guards cannot defeat these rebels. What I am worried about is that after the Imperial Guards have done their best and defeated the rebels who entered the pass, they will still have to..."

"We also have to face the Shuofang Army that is following us."

Although Pei Huang did not express his attitude directly, his words were not very tactful.

To put it simply, one word.

slip.

As a playmate who grew up with Pei Huang, His Majesty the Emperor naturally understood what he meant. After rubbing his brows, he murmured, "I need to think about it."

Pei Huang suddenly lowered his head and said: "Your Majesty, time..."

"Time is running out."

His Majesty the Emperor clenched his fists and shed tears, saying: "The coffin of the late Emperor has not even had time to be placed in the underground palace..."

The emperor's mausoleum was selected and excavated as soon as he ascended the throne. After it was completed, an entrance was left. When the emperor passed away, an auspicious day was chosen to bury him.

Now, it has only been a few months since the death of the previous emperor, and the auspicious day selected by the Imperial Astronomical Observatory has not yet arrived.

Upon hearing this, Pei Huang whispered, "Your Majesty, we have no choice but to take the late emperor's coffin with us. Otherwise, even if we enter the underground palace in the next few days, I'm afraid the late emperor's remains will not rest in peace."

Wu Yuancheng's mind was in a mess. He sat on the throne, his emotions almost breaking down: "Let me think about it again, let me think about it again..."

Pei Huang stepped forward silently and whispered, "Your Majesty, today's situation has nothing to do with you. The Qi bandits rebelled during the time of the previous emperor, and the imperial guards were also from the previous emperor's reign. As for the Shuofang Army, Wei Quanzhong was promoted by the previous emperor himself."

"It has nothing to do with your majesty. Your majesty, please do not feel guilty about what happened today. You should look forward and preserve your vitality so that you will have a chance to revive the Great Zhou in the future."

His Majesty the Emperor thought for a long time, and finally gritted his teeth and whispered, "First, send the late emperor's coffin out of the city."

"As for the other matters, please ask the prime ministers to come over and I will discuss them with them."

Pei Huang bowed his head deeply and retreated politely.

After Pei Sanlang left, the new emperor sat on the throne. Finally, he could not bear it anymore. He buried his head in his sleeves and sobbed softly.

He had been the crown prince for decades and had just ascended the throne.

Just getting ready to make a big move.

Before he had the chance to start his own business, he was hit hard.

Once Guanzhong was broken, there was almost no room for defense in the capital. Once a powerful enemy entered the pass and the imperial guards were unable to defeat it, the city would be besieged for a month or two and would have to open the city and surrender.

If they really wanted to hold on to the end, the more than 100 years of the Great Zhou Dynasty would most likely come to an end, and Wu Yuancheng would most likely become the last emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty and the king of a fallen country.

History will never forgive him!
After sobbing for a while, the emperor finally wiped away his tears and managed to calm down. He looked up into the distance and whispered, "Father, Father, you..."

"Did he really die of a sudden illness..."

The new king's mind has begun to wander.

He wondered if his clever and suspicious old father had foreseen this day and, for the sake of... for his reputation after death, he simply passed away and left this mess to him...

The more he thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong, and soon he broke a few more objects, scaring the palace servants into trembling with fear.

After getting angry, the emperor lay weakly on the dragon bed with tears in his eyes.

"You have caused me so much pain, so much pain..."

Just as the new emperor received the news of the Tongguan Pass breach, Wei Quanzhong on the other side also received the news. In the Shuofang Army tent, General Wei grabbed a roasted lamb leg with one hand, took a big bite, and then grinned and said, "As soon as the old man left, the court was in chaos. That young man couldn't control the situation."

The Great Zhou Dynasty still had some strength left. If the court had been more united and the imperial guards had actively supported Tongguan, Tongguan would not have been breached so quickly, and the defenders would not have even fled.

This shows that some people in the court no longer care about the court, but only think about themselves.

For example, several generals leading the imperial guards were probably thinking, if their subordinates were all killed in battle, how would they be able to have a say in the future?
It was this kind of thinking that led to the defeat at Tongguan.

General Wei's son, Wei Yao, stood in front of his father, lowered his head and smiled, "The rebels have spent a lot of money to break through Tongguan. This is a great opportunity for father."

"If we follow these rebels, we can easily occupy Guanzhong. Then we can kill that damn Qi King in the rebels, and you, father, will be the true emperor."

General Wei took a bite of the lamb leg in his mouth, glanced at his son, and after swallowing a few mouthfuls, he cursed: "You are also an idiot, extremely stupid!"

The major general was a little embarrassed and bowed his head and said, "Please give me some advice, father."

Wei Quanzhong glanced at him and said disdainfully: "It is not difficult to occupy the capital, but it is not easy to defend the capital. Do you think we are the only Jiedushi in the world?"

"With your brain, I'm afraid you're not as smart as Wang Junping."

General Wei lowered his head and said, "What Dad meant was..."

General Wei took another bite of meat and said with a smile: "Let those rebels fight with the imperial court. When they have done enough, we will be loyal ministers who can turn the tide and save the imperial court. By then, my father and I will live in the capital. Although the imperial court is still Zhou, it still has the surname Wu."

"But you have to do things according to your father's wishes."

General Wei grinned and said, "When the time comes, I will use the name of the imperial court to weaken and suppress the other Jiedushi, and then wait for the day when the time is right!"

Wei Yao's eyes lit up, and he lowered his head and said, "Father, that's brilliant!"

"You little bastard, read more books!"

General Wei cursed: "You just don't read books. All day long you either fight and kill people, or you eat, drink, whore and gamble. If you read a little, you will know your father's methods!"

"It's all in the fucking book!"

The major general was scolded harshly. He looked up at his father, feeling quite dissatisfied.

Can you read, old man?

Isn't it just to let a few scholars treat history books as story books and read them to themselves?
You only recognize a few words!
The major general was indignant.

Maybe you know more than I do!

But at this time, he naturally didn't dare to retort and just took the scolding obediently.

After scolding his son, General Wei felt refreshed and said with a smile: "You go and lead the troops, stick behind this rebel army, and when we find a suitable opportunity, our Shuofang Army will also enter Guanzhong to have some fun!"

Wei Yao lowered his head and said, "I will go and pass on the message right away."

"go Go."

General Wei waved his hand, then suddenly remembered something and called his son back, saying, "Those kids you gave birth to, find a teacher to teach them how to read and write for me!"

Wei Yao lowered his head: "Yes, I obey your command!"

…………

If it was other ordinary news, it would take at least ten days to spread from Guanzhong to Jiangdong. However, it took the Du family only five or six days to deliver such great news as the fall of Tongguan to Jinling and to Du Qian.

After Du Qian received the news, he only took a look at it and felt a chill in his heart. He slumped in his chair, feeling weak all over and didn't have the strength to stand up for a long time.

He held onto the table with his hands, still unable to get up, and finally could only shout, "Laian, Laian!"

Du Laian walked in, and hurriedly supported his young master, startled: "Young master, young master, what's wrong with you?"

"I...I'm fine, go quickly..."

Du Qian closed his eyes and said, "Please invite Envoy Li here."

Du Laian responded and hurried to invite Li Yun.

Soon, Li Yun rushed over and saw Du Qian sweating profusely. He asked, "Brother Du, what happened to you?"

Du Qian raised his head and looked at Li Yun, and it took him a long while to say a word.

"From now on, I'm afraid the imperial court will lose its reputation..."

(End of this chapter)