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Chapter 537 Emperor (asking for monthly ticket)
The death of Emperor Jiang Wanxiang of Ying State mourned the whole nation.

In accordance with his will, there was no grand celebration and everything was kept simple. The entire empire was immersed in a sad atmosphere, but no matter how strong the emotions were, they would pass and life had to go on.

When the former king passed away, another problem that had been suppressed for a long time finally emerged uncontrollably.

And once it appeared, it became extremely intense.

Jiang Wanxiang is gone, who will be the next generation heir to this vast empire?
The Crown Prince Jiang Gao was a man of high moral character and was quite popular, but he was ultimately weak in character. Civil officials valued him, but in the eyes of military generals, he did not have the demeanor of an emperor in troubled times. The second prince Jiang Yuan was naughty in his early years, but he corrected himself later and even led his troops to provide support when the Wolf King Chen Fubi led his troops to attack the capital of Ying State, performing well.

These two princes have a huge force supporting them behind them.

After Jiang Wanxiang's death, the two forces began to secretly scheme against each other for their own future, and the two generals who had fought side by side in the previous battle to conquer Jiangnan also developed a rift.

The discussions at court at the beginning gradually became heated.

The rest of the officials did not dare to speak.

Yuwen Lie's tone was cold and hard: "Since ancient times, the eldest son has been the heir, and this has never changed. Now that the country is in danger, re-establishing a crown prince is a way to ruin the country. He Ruoqinhu, don't you know?!"

He Ruoqinhu's wife's family is related to Jiang Yuan.

Just as Jiang Wanxiang said, He Ruoqinhu had fought with him in all directions since he was young and rose step by step. Naturally, he would gather the support of a group of court officials. Now, either for their own interests or for the future, or perhaps they simply could not support Jiang Gao, so they chose to support the second prince.

He Ruoqinhu said: "Yuwen Lie, His Majesty once said that the Crown Prince is a kind and virtuous gentleman, not a ruler in troubled times. You have heard this. If the world is peaceful, I will support the Crown Prince and I am willing to sacrifice my life for him."

"But now the world is not settled, and the King of Qin's army is invincible."

"With the Crown Prince's character, how could he take up a sword and fight against Qin Wang Li Guanyi in such a chaotic world!?"

Yuwen Lie said coldly: "Even if the Crown Prince cannot fight with the King of Qin, he is much stronger than the Second Prince. You said the Crown Prince is not capable, but can the Second Prince compete with the King of Qin, Li Guanyi?"

"I'm afraid that by then the world will be in turmoil, and my country, Great Ying, will be in chaos!"

He Ruoqinhu was furious: "How can a mere bastard know the world?!"

"In troubled times, we must act decisively!"

"If the eldest son is the heir, then the late emperor was also a illegitimate child of a royal family branch. How come, in your eyes, the late emperor was also a disaster to the country?!"

Yuwen Lie was angered by this sentence.

The air rippled and there was a faint roar of angry tiger, like thunder, and the whole hall seemed to be shaking violently. The ministers and officials were not as good as them in martial arts, and they could not stand and stumbled back.

Yuwen Lie didn't waste any words.

He raised his hand and grabbed, and the energy condensed into a long sword.

With a flick of his wrist, he tore through the air and chopped directly at He Ruoqinhu. Yuwen Lie was extremely furious, and He Ruoqinhu was not willing to be outdone, so he condensed his energy into a weapon. The two divine generals actually drew their weapons and started fighting each other in this hall.

For a moment, the sound of swords trembling and whistling was harsh.

All civil and military officials retreated.

Prime Minister Wei Yiwen had a headache and could not persuade them no matter what, so he could only look at the front row of military officers.

Jiang Su closed his eyes, with a calm and composed demeanor, and seemed to have heard nothing of the argument between the two.

Wei Yiwen sighed and said, "Grandmaster, please take action."

"This is really outrageous."

Jiang Su then opened his eyes and raised his fingers. A terrifying aura rose up, creating ripples. The two dignified warriors of the Ninth Heaven actually felt suppressed at this moment, and the palms holding the weapons froze.

The weapon formed by condensed energy fell to the ground.

There was a clanging sound, and then it shattered and slowly dissipated.

There was total silence.

Jiang Su said in a deep voice, "His Majesty has only been gone for a few months, and you two are already in the palace, drawing your weapons and fighting each other. What you are fighting for is the next generation of kings. Do you think that after His Majesty, no one can suppress you two?!"

The voice became quiet and ripples appeared in the void. Jiang Su's legendary martial arts form, which had made a breakthrough in the realm of legendary martial arts, appeared. Golden light dissipated and a heavy aura like a mountain slowly dissipated, suppressing Yuwen Lie and He Ruoqinhu.

Yuwen Lie was indifferent.

He Ruo captured the tiger and lowered his head.

Jiang Su simply said, "For this matter, you will be fined three months' salary and demoted to the third rank."

"If you do it again, don't blame me for being merciless."

Jiang Su suppressed the two generals. The court meeting of the day ended in a complicated and turbulent way. Jiang Yuan looked at Yuwen Lie, exhaled, and smiled gently. He walked forward and bowed, saying:
"General Yuwen, it seems that I have some past..."

Yuwen Lie seemed not to see him at all.

He looked straight ahead, with an indifferent and cold expression, and just walked past Jiang Yuan with big strides.

It is like seeing the ears of an ant, pig or dog!
Jiang Yuan's movements froze, his face still showing that gentle and helpless look, but a hint of extreme ruthlessness flashed through his eyes, but he only smiled bitterly and said to the ministers around him: "Yuan is young and naughty, I am afraid that he has left a very bad impression on General Yuwen, but he is unwilling to talk."

Jiang Wanxiang collapsed.

Crown Prince Jiang Gao said that in such a turbulent and strife-filled time, it was not appropriate to pretend to be sad. If he was too sad, it would lose the original intention of being sad and commemorating the deceased. All the ministers and officials saw that Jiang Gao's every move was in accordance with etiquette, and although he was sad, he still restrained himself.

But the second prince Jiang Yuan was extremely sad. He cried several times and was so sad that he even fainted. Everyone knew how sad he was. Jiang Yuan also expelled the beautiful maids in the palace and broke his guqin. He stayed away from music and women, dressed simply, and ate no meat.

Everyone praised him for his virtue and filial piety.

After Jiang Yuan returned to his residence, he entered through the inner door. From the outside, the entire mansion was extremely simple, with not many beautiful women. But inside, there were many beautiful maids, concubines, and many delicious foods and music.

Jiang Yuan changed his clothes and had beautiful maids come up to serve him. He enjoyed many luxuries and said, "How despicable Yuwen Lie is. He relied on his martial arts and didn't take me seriously. When I defeat Li Guanyi, my prestige will spread throughout the world."

"You are useless to the country at that time, so kill me and settle the score!"

"To repay you for the humiliation you inflicted today!"

The beautiful maids and concubines on both sides had gentle voices and tried to comfort His Highness, but someone else came to report good news, saying that the beauty who was sent here last year had received His Highness's favor and was now pregnant, having given birth to a child.

Jiang Yuan was overjoyed at first. He hugged the child and stroked the child's cheek.

People around congratulated me.

But a distorted expression appeared on Jiang Yuan's face again.

He stroked the child with his hands and said sadly, "What a pity, what a pity, my dear child, you came at the wrong time." The people around who were congratulating him, as well as the beautiful woman who had just given birth, were all stunned.

He looked at Jiang Yuan in disbelief.

Jiang Yuan watched as the child instinctively grasped his palm with his fingers.

There was a hint of pity in his eyes.

But when he thought of the lofty throne and the throne, the slight reluctance, the sorrow for his father's death, and the blood relationship with his elder brother all disappeared. He handed the child to the beauty and said:

"I will give you a thousand gold coins, and you can leave now."

"My father just passed away. If I had a child now, I'm afraid the public opinion would say I'm unfilial."

The beauty was stunned for a long time, unable to believe what she heard, but she still held the child, tears streaming down her face, and thanked His Highness for his kindness. Jiang Yuan also sighed, feeling sad.

So today, he favored the beautiful maid's sister and her two.

After making love, he sent the two beauties away, and suddenly thought, if I ascend to the throne one day, and this woman shows up with a child, wouldn't my reputation be ruined? !

If we were to investigate at that time, it would be extremely embarrassing.

He was the emperor at that time.

The emperor is the god of the world, ruling over all the people and is the highest authority in the world.

How could the emperor make such a mistake!
So he struggled for a long time, called the secret guards, and said, "Go, kill this girl and her child."

The secret guard was stunned for a long time, but still carried out the order. When he came back to report, Jiang Yuan gave him a reward of a thousand gold coins. When the secret guard was leaving, Jiang Yuan suddenly drew his sword and stabbed the secret guard into the body from behind.

A domineering inner energy exploded, tearing the guard's internal organs into pieces.

The secret guard fell to the ground. Jiang Yuan wiped the blood with his body, kicked him, and cursed: "Despicable traitor!"

"How dare you kill my wife and children?"

Jiang Yuan wielded his weapon, hacking the loyal secret guard into a mass of rotten flesh before he stopped. He then slowly exhaled a breath, and the pain in his conscience was no longer there.

He raised his head, looked at the world in the distance, and murmured: "My child, you will not blame your father. That is the throne, the most powerful position in the world. For this position, no matter what price you pay, it is worth it."

"You will help your father too, right?"

"You won't resent your father."

As for the beauty, she was not even considered by him.

He had forgotten what that person looked like.

Because of this incident, Jiang Yuan reflected deeply on it and checked all the beauties in the villa. However, such things could not be kept completely secret after all, and the news was still leaked and recorded in the official history.

【Yuan, more and more pretentious, the children in the harem are all infertile. 】

This is the Spring and Autumn style of writing in the history books.

The royal family has a son but he is infertile.

If they were not killed, they would be exiled.

It is also said that Jiang Yuan had already [hid all the beautiful girls in other rooms several years ago, leaving only the old and ugly ones, who were dressed in colorful clothes and served as servants; the curtains were changed to silk and satin, so that all officials in the world thought he was not fond of music and sex]

The second prince, Jiang Yuan, was handsome, intelligent, serious, studious, and good at writing. He was respectful to court officials and was extremely humble.
As a result, his reputation became very famous and he was the best in the world.

But Jiang Gao does not care about these superficial things.

He is more concerned with practical matters.

In the court and even near the capital, the support and popularity of the Second Prince Jiang Yuan seemed to surpass that of Jiang Gao. On this day, after Wei Yiwen had dealt with court affairs, he was invited by Grand Tutor Jiang Su.

Jiang Su's residence was quite plain, with the solemnity of a famous general, but without too many luxurious places. Wei Yiwen entered and saw Grand Tutor Jiang Su making tea and playing chess alone. The fighting on the chessboard was extremely fierce, reflecting the whole world's situation.

Wei Yiwen calmed himself down, walked forward, and said with a smile: "Grandmaster, you are so free!"

Jiang Su said calmly: "It's not a leisurely place, there are only wars in the world."

Wei Yiwen looked at this situation and thought about the current situation of the world. It was already late autumn, and the impact of Jiang Wanxiang's death on the entire court and the hearts of the people in Ying State had not yet dissipated.

Wei Yiwen said: "With the God of War Jiang Su here, we can still stand firm in the world and rest assured."

Jiang Su shook her head and said in a solemn and calm voice: "No more." Wei Yiwen was shocked.

Jiang Su reached out and unbuttoned his clothes. His body was strong and brave, but there were many wounds. These were all from his battles. They were all old injuries. However, there were extremely hideous puncture wounds on his chest and abdomen. Even with the physical recovery ability of martial arts legend, he was still left with huge scars.

Like a dragon.

A scholar like Wei Yiwen had never seen such a tragic scene before, and he couldn't help but be shocked.

He stood up subconsciously and said:

"Master, this is!"

Jiang Su put on his loose robe again and replied, "Li Guanyi and I fought a great battle outside Zhenbei Pass. He used his immortality to pry open his vital energy and fight me to death. He paid a heavy price, but I didn't win easily."

Jiang Su picked up the chess piece and said, "These days, I often think of the past. At that time, Your Majesty was in the Star-Picking Tower, looking at the stars in the sky. At that time, the sword maniac in Jiangnan was still in seclusion, and all things were growing."

"But now, His Majesty has passed away on the battlefield, Murong Longtu has also left the martial arts world, and those people from my era have disappeared one by one. This makes me feel dazed."

"I seem to have been abandoned by them."

Wei Yiwen said: "Why do you say that, Grand Master? You are the military god of the world. Even if the mountains and rivers collapse, with you here, you can hold up the sky with one hand."

Jiang Su said: "I am old."

This is a very cruel statement.

This was also a sentence that Wei Yiwen never thought he would hear from Jiang Su.

The prime minister who had caused a lot of trouble to Po Jun paused for a moment. Jiang Su said, "It has been more than three hundred years since I became famous. The life span of martial arts legends is not just three hundred years, but I became famous on the battlefield."

"When I was young, I relied on my martial arts to fight to the death and did a lot of things. My energy and blood consumption was so great that my foundation was shaken early on. I am no longer the same person I used to be."

"Li Guanyi is at his peak."

"He can still gain experience from battle after battle and continue to improve. After being injured, he will recover faster than me and become stronger, but I won't. My body will not become stronger after recovering from an injury."

"He even feels tired and weak because of the injuries he sustained in the fierce battles over the past three hundred years."

"I am getting weaker, and Li Guanyi is getting stronger."

"My time is running out."

"We don't have many chances left."

Wei Yiwen remained silent for a long time before saying, "What the Grand Master meant is."

Jiang Su said: "As your majesty said, the Second Prince is more suitable for the world at this moment than the Crown Prince, not because Jiang Yuan is more talented, but on the contrary, it is because Jiang Yuan is more talented than he is."

"If it was Jiang Gao, he would definitely be stubborn and hope for world peace. He is still too immature and still holds out hope that they can live in peace."

"Jiang Yuan would indulge in enjoyment."

"He would hope that I would never come back, but he would also hope that I would defeat the enemy. When Jiang Su was still alive, he would at least not go too far."

Wei Yiwen understood that at this moment, the God of War Jiang Su no longer needed a wise ruler. He already had a powerful king as his lord, which made him satisfied.

What the god of war needs today is a battlefield where he can gallop.

And another puppet that won't hinder him.

Wei Yiwen said: "If it were His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, he might not choose to stop the Grand Tutor."

Jiang Su said: "Really?"

"Then I can wait a little longer. They will give you the answer themselves. Please."

Wei Yiwen left with a sigh, full of worry.

As a general, Jiang Su needs a stable rear, but his stability requires the king not to interfere with his military operations without authorization, and requires the king to be kind-hearted and willing to rest and recuperate at this critical juncture.

Wei Yiwen was the prime minister.

He was always facing the king, and naturally did not want to face an emperor who suppressed his desires and was extremely stubborn. From his point of view, he did not want Jiang Yuan to take the throne, but things did not develop as he wished.

The world briefly entered a period of peace, and an envoy from the Ying State arrived in the south of the Yangtze River.

They were envoys from Crown Prince Jiang Gao, who came with valuable gifts to pay a visit to King of Qin Li Guanyi, hoping to repair the relationship between the two countries. Li Guanyi received these envoys, but when he heard what the latter said, Li Guanyi smiled slightly.

The envoy was Jiang Cai, the daughter of the royal family of Ying State and a disciple of a diplomat in the academy.

She saw the very proud Pojun.

Seeing those old friends in the academy, she handed over the gift from Jiang Gao and the letter from Jiang Gao. After reading the letter, Li Guanyi said, "Brother Jiang Gao..., do you want us to negotiate peace?"

Jiang Cai said: "Yes, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is now in charge of the monarchy."

"The world is now in chaos. It has been seven or eight years since the autumn of the eleventh year of Tianqi, and it is now the autumn of the eighteenth year of Tianqi. The world has been in chaos for seven or eight years. The people have been toiling and the soldiers have been fighting hard. If this continues, when will the people have a peaceful life?"

"Your Majesty, the King of Qin is a benevolent monarch of the time. Back then, Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince and the King of Qin had an agreement that they could drink together on a day of peace."

Li Guanyi placed the letter on the table and said, "Brother Jiang Gao..."

“It’s still too immature.”

Jiang Cai pursed her lips. She saw the King of Qin and said:

"Take all the gifts back."

Jiang Cai said: "Your Majesty..."

She was unable to utter a word because she saw that the King of Qin's eyes were calm, yet they shone with a cold light like a forged weapon. He was wearing a dark blue outfit, a jade belt around his waist, and unicorn patterns hanging from his sleeves, yet he calmly held the sword at his waist.

The white hair on his temples drooped down, and his eyes no longer had the sharpness they once had, instead they showed a calm and resolute sense of strength: "There will be no real peace through negotiations and peace talks."

"What a pity, Brother Jiang Gao, haven't you grown up in all these years?"

Jiang Cai wanted to refute.

But looking at this young but experienced king, he felt like he was meeting Jiang Wanxiang back then. He was suppressed and said, "History is long. How could a king be content with a partial peace?"

"Only by the sword can the truth be revealed."

"When two armies are at war, envoys should not be killed. Miss Jiang Cai, please go back."

Jiang Cai murmured: "The two armies are fighting..."

"Your Highness, Prince Qin, when will our two countries start fighting again?"

The King of Qin replied:
"I'm waiting, when will the war end?"

The King of Qin held the sword and walked down calmly. His steps were steady and calm, and his sleeves were rolled up. He had the spirit of an emperor. He said calmly: "The war to unify the world has already begun, and it has not stopped yet."

Jiang Cai's heart was beating wildly because of fear and oppression.

When the King of Qin walked out, he was accompanied by civil and military officials.

The first one on the right is the solemn and majestic Yue Pengwu.

The first one on the left is Po Jun, the young man who was defeated by her but fought back with a stick.

Po Jun also walked past her, but as he walked past, the corners of his mouth slightly raised:

"I win this time, Jiang Cai."

"Do you have such a monarch?"

Jiang Cai looked at the purple-eyed young man, who was extremely arrogant, with his chin slightly raised, the corners of his mouth curled up, and he was wearing elegant clothes. He didn't know if it was because of his panic, but Jiang Cai always felt that there seemed to be something like a tail behind this guy, shaking rapidly.

It seemed as if it was going to slap her in the face.

Jiang Cai sighed for a long time and said, "King Qin..."

She once thought that Jiang Gao was a benevolent and gentle king. When the King of Qin rose to power, it was Qin Wuhou. She also saw Qin Wuhou's high spirits and bravery at that time. But at that time, she still felt that Jiang Gao would surpass Qin Wuhou.

In any case, Qin Wuhou had been traveling among the people for the first ten years of his life. When it comes to imperial education and methods, and the background and power behind it, he is not as good as Jiang Gao.

But I met the King of Qin again ten years later.

Jiang Cai wouldn't even compare him with Jiang Gao.

The question that arises in his mind is who is more courageous, Jiang Wanxiang or King Qin.

Jiang Cai returned to Ying State, but this mission itself had exposed Jiang Gao's problems. He still held on to a soft and gentle illusion about the world, hoping to lay down his sword and achieve peace in another way.

He does not have the courage of a hero in troubled times.

I don’t know, there is only peace with the sword.

Perhaps, Jiang Gao still has a chance to grow. He still has that time and future. Perhaps if we teach him slowly and guide him slowly, Jiang Gao will reflect and wake up. People are all like this. No one is a hero from the beginning. They always have to grow up.

But troubled times do not give people the opportunity to grow.

Jiang Su no longer has such spare time.

What he needs is not a future benevolent and wise ruler, but a puppet who will not interfere with his battlefield decisions now. Even if this puppet will bring great harm to the entire Ying court, he does not care.

Jiang Su always sees things clearly.

Only by competing with the King of Qin can Ying State be qualified to speak about its future.

He knows clearly what is important and what is not.

Grand Tutor Jiang Su, who was authoritarian and arbitrary, took out the last will of the late Emperor Jiang Wanxiang, deposed Crown Prince Jiang Gao as the ruler of the Eastern Palace, and selected the Second Prince Jiang Yuan to ascend the throne as the emperor. He issued a general amnesty and ordered the reign to be named——

【great cause】.

The whole country was in an uproar, and there were rumors that the world was divided into two, and Ying State proclaimed itself emperor again, which seemed to have suppressed the King of Qin.

So when Jiang Yuan ascended the throne and became emperor, his influence spread far and wide.

Nan Hanwen then presented the dossier, describing the general situation of the world, people's hearts, the role of reputation, and criticizing the current ills. He then bowed and stepped forward, his voice calm and solemn:

"For the sake of the world."

"To be orthodox!"

"Your Majesty, please ascend the throne and be crowned emperor."

(End of this chapter)