After a moment of silence, Liu Xie said in a low voice with reddened eyes, "… I can promise you that I will abdicate the throne to you."
Sei Itō didn't say anything. He felt that Liu Xie still had something to say.
Sure enough, in the next moment, Liu Xie spoke again, "But please spare the lives of those ministers … Even if it's just letting them return home in grief, is that okay?"
"Okay." Sei Itō looked deeply at the young and weak boy in front of him and nodded in agreement.
Then, he stood up from the carriage with Zhen Ye in his arms and turned to walk out of the carriage while saying, "After arriving in Chang 'an, immediately hold the abdication ceremony."
After saying that, he left the imperial carriage with Zhen Ye.
Outside, when the palace maids and imperial guards saw Sei Itō and Zhen Ye come out of the imperial carriage, they were stunned at first. Then, their expressions changed and they anxiously looked at the carriage. It wasn't until they confirmed that the emperor was unharmed that they heaved a sigh of relief and relaxed.
However, after this incident, the palace maids and imperial guards became even more cautious. If there was any sign of trouble, they would check Emperor Xian before they could feel at ease.
At the same time, in another place, Ito Sei and Shinya went straight to the carriage that originally belonged to Dong Zhuo and sat inside.
"Are you sure you want to promise that child to spare those ministers?" Zhen Ye looked at Sei Itō and asked softly.
"Of course. It's rare to have such good bait. It would be a pity if I didn't make good use of it, "Sei Itō said softly with a meaningful smile on his face.
Sei Itō sighed softly and said, "But that boy is indeed a member of the imperial family. He knows how to leave a backup plan at such a young age. If he hadn't been treated as a puppet by Dong Zhuo and Cao Cao in history, he might have been able to rule the Han Dynasty for 200 years."
That's right, Liu Xie's last request was to leave a backup plan behind!
Although many of the ministers who followed Liu Xie were from aristocratic families and believed that the emperor was young and easy to bully, they wanted to take advantage of him. However, they were all ministers loyal to the Han Dynasty. As long as they didn't die, they wouldn't give up any chance to save the Han Dynasty and the emperor! Even after Liu Xie abdicated …
In their eyes, as long as Tian Zi was not dead, there was still a chance! Even if the Emperor died. They could also find a royal bloodline that suited their interests from some nook and cranny and elect them as the emperor, continuing to maintain the Han Dynasty as their appointed minister!
After all, only with the Han Dynasty could they reap the greatest benefits.
Therefore, for the sake of the Han Dynasty, for their own benefit. They would definitely use all their power and connections to cause trouble to achieve their goals. For this reason, they did not hesitate to start a war, making the already miserable people even more miserable!
This was exactly what Sei Itō could use! Through their connection, Ito Sei could completely wipe out these people who were loyal to the Han Dynasty before or after the establishment of the new country, and completely restore peace to the world!
"Let's not talk about him. Let's rest first. We've been busy the whole night. " As Sei Itō spoke, he reached out and grabbed Zhen Ye. He hugged her body and lay down on his side. Smelling the faint fragrance from Zhen Ye's body, he closed his eyes and rested.
Outside, the sun and moon rotated, changing the sky into a new one. The caravan moved and stopped, and continued to move toward Chang 'an without stopping.
Just as the caravan was smoothly heading toward Chang 'an … Ji, Gun, and Yu Prefectures, as well as Shangdou Prefecture in Bing Province and Hanoi in Si Province, were engulfed in the flames of war. Almost every day, there would be one or two cities, and even five or six counties, that would fall into the hands of Zhang He, Yan Liang, and Wen Chou's Ji Prefecture Army and Guan Yu and Zhang Fei's Yu Prefecture Army. They would also fall into the hands of the Gun Province Army led by the Great Tang Generals, as well as the Shangdou Prefecture and Hanoi Army led by the Great Tang Generals.
Coupled with the waves of flag changes brought about by the spies in these places, this number increased even more. One day, a large prefecture would silently fall into Sei Itō's sphere of influence.
Then, when the Son of Heaven's caravan was still a day away from Chang 'an, the flames of war in Jiao Province and Yangzhou were suddenly ignited. With the assistance of the Queen's Fleet and the convenience of the waterways within the borders, more than half of Kuiji and a small portion of Yuzhang were taken in the span of a single day. It could be said that they had reaped a bountiful harvest.
As a result, such a powerful force unwittingly stimulated the nerves of the Governor of Jingzhou, Liu Biao, who was born in the imperial family. In addition, he did not have a good relationship with Zhang Jin. Therefore, without any prior notice, he suddenly mobilized his troops and went straight to Cangwu.
As a last resort, Jiao Province could only send out a portion of their forces to fight with Jingzhou. This caused the speed of attacking Yangzhou to slow down a bit. However, at the same time, Jingzhou's hidden forces started a rebellion which caused Liu Biao to have a headache. This greatly restricted Jingzhou's strength and caused Jingzhou to be unable to deal with Jiao Province.
A day later, the Son of Heaven's caravan arrived in Chang 'an. Sei Itō first found an intact palace and arranged for the detained officials, the Son of Heaven, Dong Zhuo, and their subordinates to enter. Lu Bu and Xu Rong personally led them to watch over them. Then, he flew into the air above Chang 'an and opened the gate to the Rubik's Cube under the witness of the original residents, the people of Luoyang, and the army. Groups of craftsmen and laborers from the Great Tang who knew how to use cultivation technology were sent out to begin the renovation of Chang' an.
With the increasingly mystical development of cultivation technology, it was almost like an immortal was performing. Bricks and wood were quickly piled up into mountains, and buildings and walls rose from the ground. In just a few moments, an intact building was erected …
Then, at nightfall, new houses that could accommodate some of the people appeared in Chang 'an.
"A miracle!"
"A god has appeared!"
"Thank you, god!"
"… …"
The residents of Chang 'an and Luoyang excitedly prostrated themselves on the ground at this exaggerated sight, loudly expressing their emotions as they kowtowed.
Another day passed, and in the blink of an eye, it was the morning of the next day.
On this day, under the watchful eyes of the people of Chang 'an and Luoyang, as well as the soldiers of the two Zhou Provinces, the Son of Heaven, Liu Xie, his trusted officials, Dong Zhuo, his subordinate officers, and counselors moved toward the altar that had suddenly appeared in the center of Chang' an in the night.
The altar was quadrangular and made entirely of limestone. It was three levels high, and each level was progressively higher, like a small flat-topped pyramid. There was an offering table on top of it, with three animals and five animals, a pile of yellow earth in the middle, and a large bronze cauldron burning with fire on the ground. Black, white, red, yellow, and green banners with dragons of the Five Directions stood around it, gently swaying in the cool breeze.
Seeing the Son of Heaven come out, the people, who didn't know what was going on, uniformly prostrated themselves in accordance with their old habits.
In an instant, a solemn and serene aura filled the air above Chang 'an.
A few moments later, Liu Xie walked up to the altar, tidied his ceremonial robes and the hanging curtain on his head, and began to stride toward the altar. Behind him were the red-eyed officials of the Han Dynasty who had stopped below the altar, and Dong Zhuo's group who were either coldly watching or absent-minded.
"Your Majesty." But when Liu Xie walked up to the altar and took out a prayer from his bosom, a sorrowful cry came from one of the officials below.
"Your Majesty!" And this cry of grief seemed to have activated some kind of signal. The other ministers also knelt on the ground one after another, and let loose a cry of anguish.
Liu Xie turned his head to look at the ministers below the altar. His eyes reddened. Then, he took a deep breath and resolutely turned around. Facing the altar in front of him, he opened the silk cloth in his hand.
Almost as soon as Liu Xie unfolded the silk cloth, Sei Itō suddenly appeared above the altar, floating in the air and looking down at Liu Xie.
"We, Liu Xie, the Son of Han Dynasty, pray to the heavens …" Liu Xie didn't look at Sei Itō above his head. Instead, he solemnly recited the abdication prayer written on the silk cloth by one of the officials.
His voice was clear and resounding, and it was supported by the sound amplification formation on the altar. It was like the sound of the heavens, and it was transmitted into the ears of every soldier, commoner, official, and merchant present, allowing them to know exactly what kind of shocking event was taking place.
After a while, Liu Xie finally read, "… We deeply feel that we have failed the trust of the people, the protection of the army, and the assistance of the officials. We have decided to follow the example of the ancient emperors and abdicate the throne to the virtuous Chen Yi. We pray here, and the heavens and earth will bear witness. "
With that, Liu Xie threw the silk cloth in his hand into the cauldron in front of him, burning it to ashes. Then, he gently raised his arms, took off the curtained crown with nine pearls on it, and placed it on the altar.
At the same time, Sei Itō flew above the altar, reached out his hand, and grabbed the curtained crown with nine pearls, and put it on his head expressionlessly.
"Civilian Liu Xie greets Your Majesty." Liu Xie knelt on the ground and shouted loudly.
"Your subjects (civilians) greet Your Majesty!" In the next moment, the officials, soldiers, and countless civilians below the altar all knelt on the ground and shouted loudly.
"From now on, the country is changed to Da Hua, and the era name is Yong Shi!" Sei Itō released a little of his divine power, spreading it to the people in Chang 'an City, and said lightly.
Then, Sei Itō turned his head to look at Liu Xie, who was kneeling below, and said again, "In addition, civilian Liu Xie's virtue is outstanding, and he has always been talented. Moreover, he is aware of the situation at the right time, and he has made great contributions. He will be conferred the title of Marquis of Anle, and will be given a residence in Chang 'an."
"I hope you can live up to your name, live in peace, and enjoy wealth forever."
"Your subject, Liu Xie, thanks Your Majesty." Liu Xie got up and knelt again.
Then, Sei Itō turned his head to look at the officials below the altar, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly, and he told them about the arrangements for them.
Just as Liu Xie had requested, they were all stripped of their official positions and sent back to their hometowns … and a new batch of people, whose names no one had heard of except for the doctor Cai Yong, became the Three Ministers, Nine Ministers, and other officials to assist the new emperor in governing the country.
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