Take control of Wei Zhongxian at the start and confiscate 100 million from him!

Chapter 122 The Emperor's Decline
After the volcanic eruption-like frenzy, the lobby of the Fuzhou Guild Hall fell into an even more eerie silence.

Anger burned like fire and fear thawed like cold iron in the air. The two were originally incompatible, but at this moment, driven by the bellows of people's hearts, they were forcibly forged together.

The raging fire not only did not extinguish, but instead heated the cold iron until it was red-hot; the cold iron not only did not melt, but was tempered into a completely new texture by the burning of the fire and the subsequent sudden cooling. It had more steel hardness than simple rage, and more cohesive force of mutual destruction than bone-chilling fear!
Shui Tailang stood in the center of the crowd, and he could clearly feel this power.

It was like an invisible vortex, spinning and converging wildly around him.

He looked at his close friend Li Feiyu's face, which was twisted with grief and indignation, yet also shone with a resolute light as he found a way out. He then looked around at the faces of those who had once been carefree and poetic, but were now completely distorted by fear and anger.

An unprecedented, heavy, and illusory sense of responsibility, like a heavy shackle or a magnificent crown, suddenly fell on his shoulders.

Shui Tailang was used to being the center of attention at poetry gatherings and to having a large following in the literary world.

His life is an epic tale of being the center of attention and adulation.

At this moment, he felt that if he did not stand up, if he chose to back down when these scholars of the world were facing "annihilation," it would be a shameful betrayal.

In his eyes, which always held a gentle, Jiangnan-like quality, a glint of something unprecedented—almost cunning—flashed across them.

Shui Tailang suddenly grabbed Li Feiyu's rough and powerful hand, his voice trembling slightly with excitement, yet as firm as a drawn sword.

"Brother Li is right! We absolutely cannot sit idly by and wait for our doom!"

Two hands, one delicate and refined, wrapped in the finest silks of Jiangnan, the other rugged and weathered by the wind and sand of the Loess Plateau of Shanxi, were clasped tightly together at this moment.

This image is full of absurd yet highly provocative symbolism.

"Good brother!" Tears welled up in Li Feiyu's eyes again. He patted Shui Tailang's shoulder heavily with his other hand. "I knew it. Brother Shui, you are not a coward! On this journey, the students of the North will follow my lead! The scholars of Jiangnan still need you to rally them!"

The two hit it off.

What followed was unusually simple, so simple it was frightening.

Driven by the ultimate fear that "the imperial examination system will be abolished," all persuasion and encouragement seem superfluous.

This news was less a plague and more a spark that had been precisely launched, landing in the woodland south of the capital, a place already covered with dry wood, waiting to be burned.

It started at the Fuzhou Guild Hall, and without the help of strong winds, it spread silently and imperceptibly through the spiderweb-like alleyways, spreading lines of fire that scorched reason.

Huguang Guild Hall, Liangzhe Guild Hall, Sichuan-Shaanxi Guild Hall...

Wherever the front line reached, the courtyard gates were knocked on repeatedly.

The urgent knocking that shattered the silence of the night was like the sound of giant, long-dried trees in a forest bursting open as they were licked by flames.

"What? The imperial examination system is abolished?"

"Is the news reliable?!"

"He's gone mad! Is the Emperor trying to destroy the very foundation of the nation?"

"Who cares if it's reliable or not! The postponement of the imperial examination is a fact, isn't it?! The emperor himself scolded us, isn't that a fact?! There's no smoke without fire! We can't wait any longer!"

Those students who were initially hesitant, felt something was amiss, and wanted to wait and see, had their pitiful rationality instantly swallowed up by the tidal wave of conformity when they saw more and more people around them choosing to believe and join.

No one wants to be isolated.

No one wants to be labeled a coward when faced with matters of principle.

No one wants to bear the double consequences of missing out on this struggle due to momentary hesitation.

It was a bottomless chasm. On one side of the chasm was the pain of having buried one's ten years of hard study and never having a chance to succeed; on the other side of the chasm was the missed opportunity to raise one's voice at this historical juncture and achieve lasting fame!
Thus, the torrent was formed.

...The end of the Chou hour (1-3 AM).

There's a surge of activity from all sides!

The sky remained as black as ink, with only a few lingering stars flickering weakly on the distant horizon, as if they might be swallowed up by the impenetrable darkness at any moment.

In front of Qian Qianyi's mansion, two huge lanterns cast a dim yellow glow, illuminating a stone staircase as bright as day.

Qian Qianyi, dressed in a scarlet court robe, was already standing quietly in front of the door, waiting. His court robe was starched and crisp, and his black gauze hat was worn meticulously. He looked energetic and vigorous, completely different from the crazy and desperate look he had just had a few days ago.

He didn't pace back and forth anxiously; instead, he stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze fixed on the end of the long street. In those peach blossom eyes that had once exuded elegance and charm, there was no longer any fear, but rather an indescribable excitement and anticipation.

"Squeak-"

A large sedan chair carried by four men stopped not far away. The curtain was lifted, and Qian Longxi, the chief minister, also dressed in a scarlet robe, slowly stepped down. Although his face was not as radiant as Qian Qianyi's, the anxiety and unease of the past few days had lessened in his brows, replaced by a sense of composure and determination.

"Mu Zhai, you're up early." Qian Longxi walked up to him, his voice calm.

Qian Qianyi smiled slightly, a smile that carried a hint of composure and complete control: "Bo Guan, today is a pivotal day that will determine our fate. How can we fall behind others?"

The two stood side by side, not in a hurry to get into the sedan chair, as if they were both enjoying the last moments of silence before dawn.

Qian Longxi glanced at the dark direction of the imperial city, and finally couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "Mu Zhai, have you started moving?"

"It's more than just moving." Qian Qianyi couldn't help but proudly extend two fingers, gently flicking them in the air as if he had caught an invisible butterfly. "The fire has been lit, and it's burning even brighter than I imagined! Bo Guan, you probably wouldn't believe it!"

He paused, his tone carrying a hint of admiration, yet also a barely perceptible sense of pleasure: "Now we'll see how the emperor responds!"

Qian Longxi gasped in shock. He had never imagined that things would escalate so quickly and so violently!
Seeing the fleeting look of surprise on Qian Longxi's face, Qian Qianyi knew that although this official held a high position and great power, his courage in taking such risks was far inferior to his own.

He stepped forward and patted Qian Longxi's arm, saying in a tone that was both comforting and encouraging, "Bo Guan, don't panic. What we need to do today is to observe the situation calmly!"

Qian Longxi's eyes flickered.

Qian Qianyi pressed his advantage, lowering his voice even further. His words seemed to possess a magical power, penetrating Qian Longxi's ears and soothing the last trace of doubt in his heart.

"Bo Guan, let's think about it. Since the founding of our Great Ming Dynasty, which emperor has ever truly been able to make absolute decisions and ignore the opinions of his ministers and the people?"

He paced slowly, reminiscing as he gave Qian Longxi his advice, and finding solace for himself as well.

"When Emperor Yingzong suffered defeat at Tumu Fortress and returned to the capital, he sought to restore the throne. It was under immense pressure that Yu Qian, the Junior Guardian, united with other officials to strongly advocate for the enthronement of Emperor Jingtai, thus stabilizing the country! What did he rely on? He relied on the unity of all officials and their adherence to the general trend!"

"Going back further, when Emperor Jiajing first ascended the throne, he wanted to posthumously honor his biological father as the Imperial Father, which sparked the Great Rites Controversy. At that time, Yang Tinghe and his son Yang Shen led all the civil and military officials to kneel outside the Zuoshun Gate, weeping and pleading with him! Their voices shook the imperial court! Although they were later flogged in court, how did the people of the world view them? They praised their integrity and lauded their loyalty! No matter how stubborn and self-willed Emperor Jiajing was, didn't he have to consider the opinions of the people and dare not go too far?"

Qian Qianyi's eyes grew brighter and brighter. He seemed to see himself speaking eloquently in the court today, with all the officials bowing and agreeing, and the young emperor sitting on the dragon throne with a livid face and a helpless expression.

"And then there's Emperor Shenzong, who was deadlocked with his ministers for over a decade over the issue of choosing an heir! The struggle over the succession was deposed and reinstated several times, and the cabinet ministers were replaced one after another. What did they rely on? It was none other than us civil officials banding together to remonstrate to the death, using ancestral laws as our weapon, forcing the emperor to compromise!"

He stopped and turned around, his gaze fixed intently on Qian Longxi: "Bo Guan, throughout history, the relationship between the emperor and the civil officials has always been a tug-of-war. When he is strong, we are weak; when he is weak, we are strong. But no matter how powerful a ruler may be, he would never dare to defy the world and become an enemy of the entire court!"

That last sentence was spoken with unwavering resolve and conviction.

The last trace of hesitation in Qian Longxi's heart vanished completely in the face of this impassioned and eloquent historical account.

Yes! That's right!

No matter how powerful an emperor is, he is ultimately just one person!

(End of this chapter)