Simulates history, but Chongzhen is the Divine Emperor at the beginning

Chapter 152 See you again

Sitting upright in the Golden Throne Hall, the yellow-robed emperor gazed upon the ongoing court proceedings, his expression clearly somewhat bored, even a bit trance-like… While ostensibly still seated on the throne, his thoughts were actually elsewhere…

The officials could naturally see that the emperor was in a daze, but instead of waking him up, they pretended not to notice.

[Or perhaps, mundane matters like the court meeting itself have nothing to do with Him. The reason He is still sitting here in a daze is just out of ritual and certain habits...]

【As for why this happened? It's obviously all thanks to you. 】

[Before you became Prime Minister, the Divine Emperor deliberately remained inactive in government affairs, but due to his diligence as an emperor, he still attended court and reviewed memorials as normal... at least he had to put in the effort.]

[But once you become Prime Minister, all power in government will be vested in you. All matters, big or small, will be decided by you, and the Emperor will no longer need to attend court for show. In this way, the Ming court will have achieved a somewhat advanced "offline monarchy system."]

[Over time, He got used to this kind of rotten life.]

[But now that you, the best employee, are dead, this system naturally no longer works...]

[But as the saying goes, once you have seen the sea, all other waters are but puddles; once you have seen Mount Wu, all other clouds are but mounds!]

Since you've become accustomed to a life of playing it safe, the Divine Emperor naturally no longer desires to govern the country. Therefore, He has found a few officials with decent political skills to replace you... While these replacement officials can't be said to be any better than you, as long as they perform normally, they're not too bad.

[And in this way, He can continue His comfortable life of playing rotten...]

[In a sense, He is even happier now than before!]

Although it used to be the "monarch offline system," he had signed a treaty with you, promising to use his divine power to benefit the people of the world. Therefore, he was always busy, more like a beast of burden than a horse... Occasionally, when he wanted to take a long vacation, he would be stabbed in the face by you, and the fierce words would make him furious. He was just half a step away from reproducing Tang Taizong's "I must kill this peasant!"

【And now, no one dares to criticize me to my face anymore! 】

Even though He didn't implement any high-pressure policies like "following the rules with your eyes" towards his subjects, they are not fearless lunatics like you after all. Although they may have certain political ideals, they have to be more humble when they think about their wives, children, and their own lives...

[So, no one dared to urge Him to work anymore, and no one dared to say anything harsh to Him anymore. Everyone avoided talking to Him if possible, and during court meetings, they pretended that the Emperor was not there, as the Emperor was useless anyway...]

[The problem is, while it's nice to be like this, when He becomes so idle, He can't help but start to feel annoyed.]

Looking at the officials in the court who didn't even dare to look at him, the Divine Emperor felt only unfamiliarity and boredom.

[And every time this happened, He couldn't help but recall the person who had dared to speak out against Him...]

【Prime Minister, Zhou Liang, Zifang.】

[That strange boy who suddenly appeared from northern Shaanxi had left an indelible impression on him with his entire life!]

His origins remain a mystery. He is clearly just a country boy, yet he is gifted with extraordinary intelligence. His words and actions are no different from those of an adult. He is eloquent, has a profound and broad mind, and possesses a sense of righteousness and compassion in his heart.

[In particular, his theory of so-called "class hatred" directly broke the old rule that ordinary people could not have too many enemies to avenge, making the large-scale expansion of the Jinyiwei possible!]

[The large-scale expansion of the Jinyiwei helped him solve his own divine power consumption problem. From then on, not only did he not have to spend divine power, but he could actually gain divine power by eating the Jinyiwei!]

[It can be said that this initiative directly rewrote His plan, allowing Him to transform from a villain destined to stir up endless darkness and turmoil into a saintly Son of Heaven who bestows grace upon all people.]

[And in this way, no one will ever mention his past misdeeds again. The new generation will only praise his merits and kindness, and cheer, "Your Majesty's kindness is not yet over!" and so on...]

[You have forever changed the Ming Dynasty, and changed Him, and left an indelible and great mark between heaven and earth! ]

[You are a true great man sent from heaven, a true savior... This proves that there have always been saviors in the world, and we must rely on the immortal emperor. To create happiness for the Ming Dynasty, the people of the Ming Dynasty do not need to do it themselves...]

[It's indeed against the will of heaven, but it's surprisingly in line with the reality here.]

[The Divine Emperor is very pleased with this. Furthermore, due to his suspicions about some of your little secrets, he is even willing to live forever with you!]

[But... who told you to resist? ]

The future is clearly bright. If you join Him in cannibalism, the Ming Dynasty will enjoy eternal prosperity. Everyone will be satisfied, except for the Jinyiwei, who are obsessed with "class ideology." But why? Why are you so unwilling to eat them?

Not only were you unwilling to eat, you also forbade Him to eat… Even when you later reluctantly agreed to His cannibalism due to practical pressure, you always immediately forced Him to go to work, eager to make Him transform every person He ate into 100% real value and use it for the benefit of the Ming Dynasty, not wanting to let their sacrifice go to waste… [Under such circumstances, you are simply like a traitor! A traitor to the ruling class!]

[And in the end, you did become a traitor... After inexplicably gaining a large amount of divine power sufficient to challenge Him, you didn't want to wait even a second and launched a rebellion!]

One man's rebellion.

Even though this rebellion had no chance of success, you still did it, as if it were a form of suicide, a form of martyrdom...

[And He, of course, does not understand and is angry! ]

[But no matter how angry He is, He still doesn't want to kill you. He can even tolerate your existence as long as you verbally promise not to rebel...]

[Unfortunately, you still chose death. Even though He didn't do anything, you still took your own life.]

[“Perhaps, I will never forget you in my entire life…”]

[Thinking of this, the Divine Emperor couldn't help but sigh deeply...]

【…】

【The court meeting is over.】

After the meeting, the officials left one after another. The Divine Emperor, who had been sitting on the Dragon Throne like a puppet for several hours, finally regained consciousness and returned to his chambers with a feeling of loss...

What should I do next?

Walking down the street, attended by eunuchs, the Divine Emperor pondered: "I can't possibly go to work anyway, not in this lifetime... The Prime Minister is dead, and I don't have the heart to dwell on right and wrong anymore. I might as well just take a lifetime vacation!"

So what should I do for the rest of the day? Play cards with the eunuchs, call my troublesome sons over and give them a good scolding, or perhaps go out and enjoy the scenery…

[Well, let’s go sightseeing. This time we’re going to Huangshan!]

[Thinking of this, the Divine Emperor entered the bedroom.]

[And just as he entered the bedroom, a faint voice suddenly reached his ears...]

[“Your Majesty, please don’t leave…”]

The Divine Emperor frowned and turned to look at the old eunuch beside him: "What are you talking about?"

【Old eunuch:? 】

[The bewildered old eunuch repeatedly denied that he had said that!]

【Didn’t he say that?】

The Divine Emperor frowned even more, and then suddenly his gaze fixed, looking into the bedroom... This glance startled him!

[Because within the bedroom, a vague figure composed of water vapor and clouds stood there, looking like both a legendary ghost and a so-called immortal!]

What surprised him even more was that, although this figure was vague and ethereal, it inexplicably had a familiar aura...

His eyes widened: "...Zifang?!"

【You smiled and bowed slightly to Him.】

["It's been many years since we last met. Your Majesty has indeed become slack..."]

……

(End of this chapter)