The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 847 Death of Liu Zhaosun

On the sixth day of the sixth month of the ninth year of Guangde, the summer heat was in full swing, the sun was scorching, and a rolling heat wave swept across Tianxin City.

Under the scorching heat, the people of Beijing who were keen on politics hid in teahouses, leisurely drinking tea and discussing state affairs.

Notices prohibiting discussion of state affairs were posted everywhere in the streets and alleys of Tianxin City.

Recruitment notices were posted layer upon layer on the city walls like psoriasis.

There was not a single rickshaw driver to be seen on the streets. Occasionally, a pacification officer would hurried by, loudly reading out the conscription information under the scorching sun.

With a bang, the teahouse door was knocked open from the outside. Before the tea drinkers could react, several fully armed pacification soldiers announced loudly:
"The Princess has restored the throne, the Liaodong barbarians are rebelling, and the court is recruiting an additional 180,000 soldiers. According to the Great Qi's compulsory military service system, all men over the age of 18 are obliged to join the army! Serve the country!"

Several tea drinkers who were still drinking tea ran away, but they were a step too slow. They were tied up and pushed out of the door without any explanation and stuffed into a carriage on the side of the road.

"You've been drafted!"

~~~~~~~~~
Renshou Palace.

The cool breeze in Renshou Hall where the retired emperor lived was refreshing, making people feel no trace of the scorching heat.

At that time, Liu Zhaosun ordered his elder brother-in-law Jin Dajiu to supervise the construction of Tianxin City. It took 300,000 workers ten years to complete, and it was a huge project.

Craftsmen from the north calculated the angle of the eaves based on the sun's altitude and cleverly utilized the sunlight. Even during the summer solstice, the Hall of Mental Cultivation could provide shade and coolness, and the sunlight could not reach the hall.

In addition, the roof of the hall is very thick and there is a layer of tin blanket on the hall, so the scorching sun cannot penetrate the bricks and tiles, so the summer heat relief effect is very good.

The owner of the Hall of Mental Cultivation has finally reached the end of his life and is about to pass away.

Liu Zhaosun was wearing a dragon robe and leaning on the bed.

The retired emperor had white hair and beard, a hunched body, and looked exhausted.

Standing beside the bed were Emperor Guangde Liu Kan, Empress Christina Augusta, Empress Dowager Liu Rushi, Emperor's grandson Liu Wuji, Princess Liu Ruolan, the princes, as well as the guard Jiang Bailing and the eunuch Li Ying.

In the light of the bright whale oil lamp, there was a wound on Liu Zhaosun's cheek. Among the rugged wrinkles, the wound looked even more shocking.

This scar was left by Liu Zhaosun on the Liaodong battlefield.

The old man's weak voice came from the couch:
"A fortune teller once said that I would not live past fifty, but that was because of the promise I made to the gods in the Qing Palace..."

Liu Zhaosun struggled to stand up and coughed violently. Seeing this, Liu Kan hurried forward to support him.

Liu Zhaosun has told the story of borrowing life for Jin Yuji more than a hundred times, and even the newcomer Christina is tired of hearing it.

"Toki Ye! Life!"

The retired emperor coughed loudly, and the entire palace was shaking, as if telling the story of the time traveler's glorious military achievements that went down in history.

"Back then, I prayed in front of the statue of the Great Emperor Zhenwu for your mother's fifty-year lifespan. My lifespan has been shortened by fifty years. Your mother is no longer with us, so I guess it's time for me to go, too."

Liu Kan remained silent.

However, Christina, who was standing next to him, could no longer bear it and said in a harsh tone:

"Your Majesty! Concubine Jin Yuji is not the Emperor's mother! My husband's mother was Empress Yi'an, Zhang Yan. That poor woman died thirty-five years ago, murdered! And the woman you're talking about, Your Majesty, has only been dead for three years!"

"No rudeness!"

Liu Rushi scolded her harshly. She was very dissatisfied with the Swedish woman's act of disobeying her superiors and openly insulting Jin Yuji.

Liu Kan tugged at the queen's sleeve, signaling her not to continue.

However, the Swedish woman did not listen to Emperor Guangde's advice at all, and cursed in Nordic.

Although Liu Kan didn't know what his wife was cursing, he guessed from her expression that she was cursing very dirty.

Liu Rushi glared at Christina. "The fact that you were able to come to Da Qi and become the mistress of Tianxin City was all thanks to the Emperor Retired, who overcame all objections. You should thank the Emperor Retired!"

Although Empress Dowager Rui was very old, she was still full of energy and possessed the temperament of a superior.

"Should I thank this butcher?"

Christina raised her voice and retorted, "Since I am the mistress, doesn't the master have the right to question me?"

Liu Rushi slammed the table and stood up.

Liu Kan said angrily: "Enough!"

Liu Zhaosun closed his eyes in pain.

He was on his deathbed and could no longer hear the quarrel between the two women.

Liu Kan's throat moved and he was about to speak, but he heard his father talking to himself.

"Why didn't the princess come? Is she in Tianxin City? She's very aloof and proud, don't make things difficult for her."

"The eldest princess..."

Liu Kan wanted to say something but stopped himself.

He stood in front of the bed with a complicated expression, staring at his father's lips moving, listening to the old man chattering about various past events.

"Your mother is dead. Qiao Yiqi was tricked, and someone took the opportunity to poison her. Damn Zhu Youjian... Fortunately, I killed the enemy with my own hands. Kill! I avenged your mother. Everyone in the world knows the story of my regicide. I didn't want to kill Emperor Tianqi. I should have waited for him to hang himself, but he wanted to kill your mother!"

Liu Zhaosun's eyes were unfocused and his expression was dazed, as if he was telling a story from another world.

Liu Kan listened silently until he heard the words "appointed as crown prince" from his father's mouth, and the expression on his face suddenly changed.

"When a man is about to die, his words are kind. If your mother had not passed away suddenly that year, your position as Crown Prince might have been..."

Liu Kan had known for a long time that his father disliked him, but when he heard it with his own ears, tears were about to burst out.

So, I should thank Emperor Tianqi Zhu Youjian for sending someone to poison my mother Zhang Yan?
My father! When my mother died in the Forbidden City, you commanded hundreds of thousands of troops, with brave generals like clouds and counselors like rain. The generals of the nine frontiers of the Ming Dynasty all obeyed your orders, and even the cabinet had your people. You were truly second to none.

No one under heaven dares to disobey!
Everyone in the world knows that Emperor Tianqi Zhu Youjian cannot tolerate you and wants to assassinate you all the time, but you are indifferent and do not take any precautions!
You didn't even send a single soldier to protect my mother!
You just sat there and watched her being poisoned to death by people sent by Emperor Tianqi!
So you have a reason to kill the king?
Could it be that this is just a self-torture trick of yours?
Could it be that Queen Mother Zhang Yan is just a chess piece of yours?
Father, haven’t you always wanted to replace Zhu Youjian and become the new emperor all those years?

Use the death of the worthless Zhang Yan in exchange for the support of the people of the world, let them understand you, and support you in usurping power and seeking the country.

Now it seems that this deal is a good deal no matter how you look at it!
But my mother died tragically like this!
So I became redundant. If Liu Yufei wasn't a girl, the position of crown prince, the throne of the Great Qi, would never have been mine! Liu Kan clenched his fists.

The Queen of Sweden said loudly again:

"Emperor! Liu Yufei has rebelled in Shandong. She wants to abolish the New Deal and enslave billions of people! She has won over traitors and rebels, and eighteen of the forty-seven provinces support her! She wants to kill your son, she wants to kill me! She wants to destroy Da Qi!"

There was silence.

No one has yet told the dying emperor the bad news.

Liu Zhaosun was incredulous and asked, "Is this really the case?"

An expression of surprise appeared on the old man's tired face, and his thoughts returned to reality from the distant past.

Reality is cruel enough, and every second is a tragedy like the Xuanwu Gate Incident.

He looked at Liu Kan in pain, his cloudy eyes flashing, as if he wanted to get some confirmation from his son.

Liu Kan nodded without comment:

"Father, she said she wants to uphold your aspirations and restore the glory of the Han Dynasty. She is allying with the King of Han and the King of Chu to purge the emperor's court. She promised to implement a militaristic system in the army, abolish private property, and enlist all citizens in the military. She will use military force against Burma and declare war on Britain..."

Liu Zhaosun opened his mouth and could not speak. His breathing became rapid and he inhaled less and less. The Swedish woman added:
"This vicious woman is trying to reverse history for her own selfish reasons!"

"How can you say that about the eldest princess?"

Liu Zhaosun's face turned red and his breathing became rapid.

This is a last glimmer of light.

The Swedish woman shouted, "Father, what else can I say? We will all be killed by Liu Yufei!"

Liu Kan pushed his wife away.

Liu Zhaosun said in a gentle tone:

"Kan'er, death is not scary. Death is a new beginning. I have been waiting for this day for a long time. After I die, I will return to Liaodong, to Kaiyuan..."

When my father was dying, he was still thinking about the war in Liaodong and the glorious years he had spent in Kaiyuan.

If it weren't for the "instructions" of the retired emperor, Liu Yufei wouldn't have become a female devil who brought disaster to the country and the people, and Da Qi wouldn't be facing disintegration like it is now.

Until the end of his life, he had no remorse.

Liu Kan hated the old man who was about to die from the bottom of his heart.

"Kan'er, do you hate me?"

"My son, I dare not."

After thirty years of being submissive, even though he now holds great power, Liu Kan's obedience to his father has been ingrained in his bones.

Liu Zhaosun closed his eyes.

"I dreamed that you and Liu Yufei, your siblings, were at war with each other, and the war was endless. Finally, the gods were alarmed, and the Xuanwu and Zhenwu gods descended to the world. In the dream, you became an unforgivable tyrant, bloodthirsty and self-willed... In the end, the eldest princess defended Tianxin City and killed you..."

"Don't worry, Father. Dreams and reality are opposites."

Liu Kan reached out and held his father's trembling hand.

When a dying man speaks good words, I have no reason to hate him anymore.

"The dream was so real. I thought the final outcome would be just like in the dream, so I have been wary of you and supported Liu Yufei all these years."

Liu Zhaosun shed two lines of tears: "I was wrong."

"Kan'er! I'm so ashamed of you!"

Everyone was crying.

Liu Kan consoled him, "Father, you have fulfilled your mission. And I, too, will defy fate and change my destiny. I must prevent the eldest princess from restoring the throne. Liu Yufei wants to turn Da Qi back into the violent Ming Dynasty, degenerate into a dictatorship, and make hundreds of millions of people her slaves. That's impossible."

He said with a stern expression:

"I won't let her succeed unless I die."

Liu Zhaosun no longer cared about these power struggles.

"Kan'er, I don't belong to this world. I should go, but I'm worried about you."

The old man shook his head in pain, his eyes looking forward in horror, as if he had seen something extremely terrifying.

"I'm afraid that after my death there will be a flood and all living things will be destroyed..."

"Father, no! No!"

Looking at his dying father, years of resentment in his heart suddenly dissipated like the wind.

The Queen of Sweden began to accuse the Princess of her atrocities in Liaodong, expropriating the people's land and confiscating the merchants' assets...

"shut up!"

After he had said two sentences, Liu Kan stopped him with a stern look.

"Don't worry, Father. I heard there's a famous doctor in France who's good at bloodletting. He might be able to cure your illness. I've sent a missionary to Paris..."

"That's it, that's all."

Liu Zhaosun tried to open his eyes wide, looked at Emperor Guangde, looked at his son, and used all his strength to say the last words:
"Abolish the imperial power, return government to the people, cease the wars, and allow the people to recuperate. Although the people may rejoice, my life is in danger. As a father, I will not see the day when you become a Yao or Shun..."

Liu Kan didn't notice that Liu Zhaosun had stopped breathing and was still trying to comfort his father:
"If the Great Qi can be what it is today, my father is as good as Yao and Shun..."

"Father!"

"father!"

(End of this chapter)