Looking at Zhou Yao leaving quickly, Yuan Huang panicked a little.
Having been with Xiao Ruxun for so many years, he was sure that no matter how Xiao Ruxun changed, at least some things would not change. Some of his basic views on Xiao Ruxun would not change.
For example, the tone and decisiveness when he made a decision would not change. Xiao Ruxun had been like this since a long time ago when he made a decision. There was no hesitation at all.
From a long time ago, he had a decisive side to kill, and now, he was even stronger.
Xiao Ruxun really wanted to kill Yuan Yan. She wanted to kill the loyal Yuan Yan who had followed her for several years and contributed his time and sweat for her.
Yuan Huang's will began to waver, and his heart began to tremble.
"Stop! Zhou Zixian, stop right now!! "
Zhou Yao turned around and looked at Xiao Ruxun. Xiao Ruxun nodded to him, so he stopped.
"Xiao Ruxun, let me ask you, what crime did Yuan Yan commit? Do you want to kill him? "
"Xiao Ruxun?"
Xiao Ruxun grinned. "It is disrespectful to use the emperor's name in vain. Considering that you are old, I can't bear to put you on the chopping block, so I replaced him with your son, Yuan Yan. Is it reasonable?"
"You …"
Yuan Huang pointed at Xiao Ruxun and panted violently. "How can you do this …"
"Why can't I do this?"
Xiao Ruxun put away his smile and put on a cold face. "Yuan Huang, do you think I am Zhu Yijun? Do I need your permission to kill someone? Don't think too highly of yourself. I have never said that I want to share the world with the scholarly officials, and I will not allow anyone to share the world with me.
The world belongs to me, and the billions of people in the world belong to me. Everything belongs to me, and I alone have the final say. Whoever dares to make irresponsible remarks, I will send his entire family to the cemetery, and I will also give him a stone tablet with the words' death is not to be regretted 'written on it. What do you think? "
"You … you …"
"What else do you want to say? Yuan Huang, don't tell me you just learned what an emperor is today? Or do you think that all the emperors in the world are as useless as Zhu Yijun? Let me tell you, it doesn't matter if it's a civil official or a military general, whoever dares to violate my taboo must die. You are not a special case, nor are you an exception. I treat all of you equally. "
Yuan Huang's eyes widened in disbelief.
"You're not human!"
"I am the emperor, under the heavens, above all men, the supreme ruler of the nine regions."
Xiao Ruxun said coldly, "But you, you have slandered me over and over again, slandered me, slandered my Daqin. What are your intentions?"
"Rebels and traitors, everyone has the right to punish them! Why slander?! "
Yuan Huang pointed at Xiao Ruxun angrily, "I was really blind, I was really blinded, I was really blinded, I actually thought that you were the hope to support and Daming the world, I actually thought that you were the hope! I'm really stupid to the extreme! "
"You're really stupid to the extreme."
Xiao Ruxun walked in front of Yuan Huang, his cold eyes staring straight at Yuan Huang, "How stupid do you have to be to talk about Daming in front of the Emperor of the Daqin? How much do you want your family to be destroyed? How much do you want your relatives and friends to die in front of you one by one? You're just one stupid person, do you want your whole family to die with you? "
Xiao Ruxun looked at Zhou Yao and pointed at him, "As long as I give the order, Zhou Yao will immediately kill Yuan Yan, and then send his head to you. None of the relatives and friends you left in your hometown will survive. They will all be brought to you and killed one by one."
"Killed right in front of you."
"One by one."
"You will watch the whole time."
"Powerless to stop it."
"Satisfied?"
These cold and emotionless words struck hard on Yuan Huang's heart, tearing it apart.
He began to feel that everything he had experienced was actually not real, that everything was actually a dream.
From the 21st year of Wanli onwards, everything was a dream. The people he knew, the wars he had participated in, the achievements he had made, and everything he had experienced were all dreams.
Xiao Ruxun actually did not exist. He did not participate in the war in Korea, nor did he participate in the Great Peace War in Burma and the Northern Expedition. All of this was a dream, a fiction, and did not exist. He even felt that he was possessed. As long as he fiercely woke up from the dream, it would still be the 21st year of Wanli.
But reality told him that such a delusion did not exist. Xiao Ruxun was still standing in front of him, and nothing had changed.
Daming was gone. Xiao Ruxun was the emperor, and his thoughts did not exist at all.
Not to mention that at this time, the person he had helped was planning to kill his whole family.
He was desperate.
"Why do I have to go to Burma? Even if I stay in the capital as a provincial official and wait for you to attack, I will die for my country. It will be better than now! "
Tears rolled down Yuan Huang's face, and he sat powerlessly on the ground.
Xiao Ruxun's expression did not change, and he shook his head.
"No, if you are really willing to die for your country, you should have been like Duke Song and Duke Zhao during Shen Yicheng's coup. That is a true loyal person. Unfortunately, there are too few people like that. There are only a few of them, and the rest are people that Shen Yicheng helped me to select.
It is good to have people who know how to adapt to the situation. With them, I don't have to worry about not having enough people. Confucianism is particular about becoming an official. Does it matter which family the official is from? I have always thought that even if the dynasty changes, as long as the people are still Chinese, and the dynasty is still the dynasty of China, so what does it matter?
If you want to talk about rebellion, there is really nothing much to say. If your family can't be the emperor anymore, it will be replaced by my family. What's the difference? What's wrong with that? It's just that the person who sits on the throne is unwilling. It's not a big deal. "
Then Xiao Ruxun squatted down, reached out and patted Yuan Huang's shoulder. "So, Yuan Huang, don't you think you are ridiculous and pitiful? If you really don't want to live in my Daqin, if you really think of Daming, why don't you die? "
Yuan Huang stared at Xiao Ruxun.
"Daming is gone, and now it is Daqin's world. If you think of Daming, then go with Daming. But you are still living in Daqin, living in the Year of Long Wu. You say that you are a remnant of Daming. To put it bluntly, aren't you afraid of death? Aren't you just unwilling and unwilling to die?
Since ancient times, those who were willing to die for the country were mostly lowly people, because those with status knew that death was not worth it. Those who kept saying that they were going to die, in the end, lived a good life. They only knew how to call for others to die, and they had already made plans to become officials of the new dynasty.
Loyalty is just for others to hear, and others also say it to themselves. In the end, when they are really going to die, how many people will die for the country? I guess in the eyes of those who are not dead, those people are very strange, right?
It was clearly said that we were just fooling those ignorant people to die. Why are you also fooled to die? You have told a lie a thousand times, and you still believe it? I know that the higher the status, the more wealth, and the richer the knowledge, the more unwilling you are to die. "
Xiao Ruxun stood up.
"You shout about Daming every day and think of rebellion every day. Why don't you do it? Just do it! Ah? You say that I am a rebel, that my position is not right, and that my Daqin is a fake dynasty. Why don't you do it? Why don't you do it? You say in the letter that you want to rebel. Do you want to rebel with words? Why don't you do it for me! "
Yuan Huang sat on the ground in a daze, his body trembling, his eyes frozen, unable to say a single word.
"That's why I hate people who groan without reason the most. Their mouths are prettier than anyone else's, but the reason they are like this is because they have already found a way out and are sure that they are fine. Do you dare to use the lives of your entire family to rebel against me?
I want to kill Yuan Yan, I want to kill your entire family, kill all your relatives. Are you willing to pay such a price? If you are willing, I will leave a mark in the history books for you. A loyal man would rather break than bend, his entire family dying for the country, leaving his name in history. I promise you, if you are really willing, I will let the historian write it like this and let it be passed down to future generations! But are you willing? "
Xiao Ruxun glanced at Yuan Huang.
"You're not willing because you know better than anyone that the Great Ming Dynasty won't be able to return. You also know that I feel guilty towards you and won't kill you. That's why you're so fearless. But, do you know the story of Xu You? I will not kill you, but he will. "
Xiao Ruxun pointed at Zhou Yao.
Yuan Huang looked at the expressionless Zhou Yao.
"There is a limit to my guilt towards you, and there is also a limit to my guilt towards the Great Ming Dynasty. If you think that this is the reason why I can tolerate you for the rest of my life, you are gravely mistaken. You must know that I have just discovered that the longer I am the Emperor, the less I care about the past."
Xiao Ruxun approached Yuan Huang's ear and whispered, "I really want to kill Yuan Yan, really."
Yuan Huang's body trembled even more violently.
Xiao Ruxun stood up and took a deep breath.
"Kneel down and shout 'Long live the emperor', and I will spare you and Yuan Yan and give you a chance to live. Otherwise, you will be punished for treason. Do you know what the consequence of treason is? If you don't, Zhou Yao, tell Governor-General Yuan what the consequence of treason is. "
"Yes!"
Zhou Yao said expressionlessly, "Treason. Within the three clans, all the men will be beheaded, and the women will be enslaved. They will be sent to the Musical House, the official brothels, or sold to the people.
Governor-General Yuan, this man has to die. As for the woman, I believe that once the news gets out, there will be a lot of people coming to buy her. The women of an official's family are well-educated and well-mannered, with smooth skin and tender flesh.
Xiao Ruxun nodded and looked at Yuan Huang, who was sitting on the ground.
"Have you made up your mind? I will count to three. After three, it will be useless for you to shout 'Long live the emperor'. "
Xiao Ruxun cleared his throat. "One …"
"Long live the emperor."
Before Xiao Ruxun could finish the word and the syllable lingered in his throat, he was interrupted.
Yuan Huang knelt down in front of him at a very fast speed and shouted 'Long live the emperor.'
His voice was a little low.
Xiao Ruxun felt a little regretful.
But in the end, you are not a great person. There are not many people who are willing to give everything for the country. Because there are not many, people like Sun Chengzong are especially worthy of admiration.
Unfortunately, there are too few.
At least not Yuan Huang.
"What did you say? I didn't hear you clearly. "
Xiao Ruxun spoke with a tone of regret.
Yuan Huang looked up at Xiao Ruxun, pursed his lips, and bit the flesh of his lips. After a while, he loosened his lips.
He raised his voice and shouted, "Long live the emperor!"
"Read it together! You have to read it steadily and smoothly. After the examination, there will be special officials from the Ministry of Rites to teach you how to meet the emperor. I don't believe they didn't teach you how to accurately shout these four words. "
Yuan Huang took a few deep breaths and clasped his hands to the ground. The veins on the back of his hands were bulging.
"Long live the emperor!"
His voice was louder, louder, and more stable. His breathing was smoother.
But it was still not enough.
"I've grasped the technique, but why do I feel so reluctant when I hear the meaning behind it? Am I forcing you? "
"Long live the emperor!"
"No."
"Long live the emperor!"
"Not sincere enough."
"Long live His Majesty!!"
After saying that, he directly prostrated on the ground. "I beg Your Majesty … for the sake of past contributions, please spare this old official's family …"
Tears fell drop by drop on the floor of the study. Yuan Huang cried bitterly.
"Past contributions? If that's the case … "
Xiao Ruxun walked to the door of the study and took a few breaths of fresh air.
"Zhou Yao, take him to get them."
"And then?"
"Then it's up to them. If they want to leave, then leave. If they want to stay, then come and beg. The choice is simple."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Zhou Yao walked to the side of Yuan Huang, who was prostrating on the ground. He bent down and said, "Deacon Yuan, we can go and welcome Young Master Yuan. I'm sure he wants to go out of the prison. It's dark and damp in there. It's not comfortable."
Hearing that, Yuan Huang wanted to get up, but his body was trembling so badly that he couldn't get up no matter how hard he tried. Zhou Yao reached out to support him. For a moment, he felt that Yuan Huang wanted to shake his hand off. But for some reason, he forcibly suppressed this impulse. He held onto Zhou Yao's arm and tried to stand up.
Yuan Huang staggered to Xiao Ruxun's side and knelt down again.
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your great kindness."
"I hope you will remember my great kindness. Such kindness is something that many people can't even dream of."
Xiao Ruxun smiled. "Zhou Yao, help Governor-General Yuan up and escort him there. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Xiao Ruxun nodded and let Zhou Yao help Yuan Huang slowly walk out.
When he could no longer see their backs, Xiao Ruxun closed the door of the study, walked back to the desk, and slowly sat down.
He thought it was going to be a sad thing, but why did it feel so joyful now?
The great joy seemed to want to burst out of his chest. It was too joyful.
Toying with the world in the palm of one's hand, this was something that only an emperor could do …
In the past, he was more or less secretive about it, and more or less wondered if it was really okay to do this. But now, it was all gone.
As an emperor, he still had to be so timid. What was this?
What did Liu Bang say again?
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