The more you believe me, the more real it becomes.

Chapter 249 The Emperor (3k)

The world was indeed pried open ahead of time, but it was only a crack that was pried open; it wasn't actually pushed open.

Although this is enough for someone of his cultivation level to get out and move around.

But those higher up are truly immovable!
just
The old beggar suddenly paused, then looked towards Qingzhou, and then towards the southwest.

Theoretically, neither the Buddhist monk from Qingzhou nor the Taoist priest from the southwest should have been able to leave. But in reality, not only did these two make a move, but they did so even earlier, when their suppression was much greater.

Furthermore, since two of the three teachings have already been affected, what about the last one, Confucianism?
Thinking of this, the old beggar shook his head repeatedly.

He believed that the Confucian school should also make a move, but he was even more convinced that even if the Confucian officials did make a move, they should stay put in the capital!

After all, although this place is important, Kyoto might very well be hiding that thing! In addition, given the usual practice of the Confucian Temple, it is naturally most likely to be guarded in Kyoto.

The old beggar, still muttering to himself, hurried away. But after only ten steps, his sharp ears still caught the sounds coming from the restaurant behind him.

He clenched his sleeve, but in the end didn't turn around. He just went over the strangeness of the small seal in his mind again.

Then they drove off.

Those who remained had no interest in where the old beggar had gone. Mr. Zhang, rubbing his hands together, was the first to step forward, staring at the words on the silk cloth and clicking his tongue in amazement:

"Young sir, these characters are remarkable just by looking at them. How would we know how to make rubbings? We wouldn't want to ruin such a treasure for you!"

Du Yuan didn't reply, but simply smiled and stepped aside, gesturing for them to come closer:

"Why not give it a try? No need for paste or cotton paper, just use the Xuan paper you have here, and find a clean cloth to dip in some light ink."

In front of Du Yuan, the shopkeeper was holding several sheets of Xuan paper, which he had taken when he heard Du Yuan ask them to make rubbings.

Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. Taking advantage of having spoken a few more words with Du Yuan, Mr. Zhang took the Xuan paper from the shopkeeper and gently spread it on the silk cloth.

The Xuan paper seemed to have grown legs; as soon as it was pasted on, it obediently covered the outline of the silk cloth without even a wrinkle.

Seeing this, he hurriedly went to the kitchen and found a faded coarse cloth. He dipped it in the diluted ink on the inkstone, but before he could press it down, he heard someone beside him shout:

"It worked! Wow, it worked! It actually worked!"

He quickly moved the cloth aside and carefully lifted a corner of the Xuan paper.

Only then did he realize that the words on the silk cloth had been printed exactly on the paper, the ink was neither too dark nor too light, and even the strength of the strokes was not different at all, making it clearer than the letters he usually asked the teacher to write!
Most importantly, the land they cleared didn't spontaneously combust!
"It's that simple?" Mr. Zhang exclaimed in disbelief.

Du Yuan smiled and said:
"It's that simple!"

Seeing this, everyone became even more enthusiastic and busied themselves making a copy to take back and enshrine.

Although not all of them make a living from water, they have all traveled on water at least once or twice. And even if they don't float on water, who wouldn't want such a treasure if they came across it?
By the time everything was finished, dusk was already falling.

The innkeeper had already prepared a clean room for Du Yuan and warmly invited him to stay. Du Yuan was about to accept, but out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a middle-aged scholar dressed in an elegant long robe. After a moment's thought, he cupped his hands to the innkeeper and said:
"Thank you for your kindness, shopkeeper, but I have to go somewhere else right now."

The shopkeeper quickly chimed in:
"Don't worry, we will reserve this room for you no matter what!"

"Thank you, thank you!"

After saying this, Du Yuan turned and went out. He saw the middle-aged scholar who had come specifically to wait for him, and the two greeted each other with clasped hands.

"Sir, did you come here specifically to see me?"

The middle-aged scholar nodded solemnly:

"Indeed, I have come to find you, young master. May we walk and talk?"

After saying that, he stepped aside and gestured for them to proceed.

“Why not?” Du Yuan stepped forward and walked alongside him.

The two strolled slowly down the street, gazing at the familiar scenery on both sides. The middle-aged scholar's face was full of nostalgia: "It's been many years since I've set foot in this place."

Du Yuan didn't reply, but silently accompanied him as he walked forward.

The middle-aged scholar had barely finished speaking when his tone abruptly shifted, his gaze falling on Du Yuan:

"I invited you out today to discuss His Majesty's affairs."

Du Yuan was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes, before she nodded in response:

"To be honest, I am indeed quite curious about this His Majesty."

The middle-aged scholar nodded with a sigh of relief, his tone now more earnest:
“If you are willing to listen, that would be wonderful. I was worried you wouldn’t be interested in these things.” Before he finished speaking, he cut straight to the point:
"To talk about His Majesty, we can't avoid the Gao family, and even more so, we can't avoid the Gao family patriarch of that time—Gao Huan."

"Gao Huan was once a passionate young man, devoted to serving his country and the emperor. But after entering officialdom, he gradually changed; as he climbed to a high position, he became a powerful minister with great authority, and all he cared about was his own power."

"After the late emperor passed away in his prime, Gao Huan, in order to seize power, specially selected a nine-year-old child from the imperial clan."

"That is His Majesty the present—Yakshi Won!"

"From the first year of Tianbao to the sixth year of Tianbao, His Majesty always listened to Gao Huan and even privately called him 'Uncle Father'."

The middle-aged scholar paused, a hint of sarcasm creeping into his voice:
"Gao Huan gradually relaxed when he saw that His Majesty was so 'obedient,' thinking that he had raised a qualified puppet emperor. Even so, he was still planning to replace His Majesty in two years."

"After all, the emperor is growing up day by day, and his power is becoming stronger. His position may not be so secure anymore. This is a principle that the late emperor taught him back then."

At this point, the middle-aged scholar suddenly chuckled softly, a hint of amusement flashing in his eyes:

"Gao Huan probably never expected that the boy who was so obedient to him and was only fifteen years old would personally smash his head with an iron hammer in the sixth year of Tianbao."

This was the first time Du Yuan had heard such words, and he said with undisguised surprise:
"There is such a thing?"

“Indeed!” The middle-aged scholar’s ​​smile deepened. “That day, Gao Huan woke up in the inner palace as usual and thought he would go to see the emperor. But as soon as he stepped into the palace, he heard His Majesty say that he had obtained a treasure and wanted to reward him.”

"When the emperor bestows a reward, the subject should naturally kneel to receive it. But as soon as he bent his knees, an iron hammer fell down in his face."

At this point, the middle-aged scholar couldn't help but blush, his face flushed with excitement.

"His head, the biggest traitor of the dynasty, was smashed to pieces on the spot by His Majesty himself!"

"But do you know what? This isn't the end of it!" The middle-aged scholar became more and more agitated as he spoke, his hands unconsciously clenching the corners of his sleeves.

"After Gao Huan was smashed to death, the imperial guards who rushed in froze in fear. His Majesty then shouted at them, 'Do you want to follow a dead man, or an emperor who has just killed a traitor?'"

"Gao Huan lay on the ground with his head smashed open, while the emperor, displaying the full majesty of a dragon, stood before him. How could those crude and clumsy warriors think of anything else? They immediately knelt down and kowtowed to His Majesty."

He paused deliberately, his tone filled with undisguised admiration, his voice even trembling slightly:

"But do you know what His Majesty did next?"

After saying that, he said with great excitement:

"His Majesty immediately used Gao Huan's seal to summon all the senior officers of the palace guards, ordering them to remove their armor and hand over their weapons, and invited them all to a secret room for 'entertainment'."

"Then, he summoned a group of mid- to low-ranking Imperial Guard officers, confiscated their weapons and armor, and had the Imperial Guards who had just surrendered protect them. He then personally carried Gao Huan's head and stood before these mid-ranking officers!"

His Majesty threw a pile of daggers on the ground and shouted, "Either you pick up these daggers now, go next door and kill your superiors, then take over their positions; or you become like Gao Huan, and I'll replace you with another group of people."

The middle-aged scholar spoke with great enthusiasm, as if he had witnessed it firsthand:
"Those people dared not hesitate. They immediately grabbed daggers and rushed into the secret room, stabbing the officials who had not yet reacted to death on the spot."

At this point, he couldn't help but clap his hands in approval.

"What's even more amazing is that after His Majesty took control of the Imperial Guards with these people, he didn't stay in the palace to stabilize the situation. Instead, he led the Imperial Guards straight out of the city and headed straight for the central army camp!"

He emphasized his words, his eyes filled with admiration.

"Upon arriving at the main camp, he resorted to his old tricks, ordering his lieutenant general to kill the commander-in-chief and his deputy general to kill the commander-in-chief. In this way, those who killed their superiors had no way out and could only follow His Majesty down this path."

"Just like that, in a single day, this young emperor used swift and decisive means to completely seize the most core power in the capital—military power!"

The middle-aged scholar looked at Du Yuan with great excitement and said:

"Do you know that he was only fifteen years old at the time! He showed all the signs of a great emperor, a true emperor for all ages!"

At this point, he seemed to realize he was getting a little excited, and after apologetically bowing, he still couldn't hide his admiration as he said:

"For the next year, His Majesty stayed in the camp, eating and living with the soldiers, and spending each night in a different place. He also constantly used his military power and his throne to play a game of power with various factions in the capital."

"And on the very day His Majesty seized military power, he summoned the princes to the capital and began to use the imperial family to fight against the powerful clans."

"Once the situation stabilized, he dismissed and replaced a large number of palace eunuchs, and only then did he move back to the palace from the central military camp. In the same year, with the strong support of the princes, he convened the imperial examinations!"

At this point, the middle-aged scholar said with great sarcasm:
"The feudal lords probably thought they could become like Gao Huan, but they never expected that just a few years after the imperial examination began, the emperor would kick them aside and join forces with the already struggling aristocratic families to suppress them, and then take back the excessive power that had been given to them."

"Back then, everyone knew what the emperor was doing, but no one could stop him!"

"Because they can only see what the emperor wants to do, but they can't think of how the emperor will do it, abandoning the Nine-Rank System of the imperial examinations and bypassing the Grand Secretariat of the Three Departments and Six Ministries. Who could have imagined these two things?"

(End of this chapter)