Pang Xiao's people were very efficient. In the wee hours of the morning, they safely sent Qin Huaiyuan back to the city.
Qin Huaiyuan stepped into the morning light and went to see Yuchi Yan without hesitation.
He wasn't a person who would waste his life on an insignificant problem. Knowing that the situation was hopeless, he still wanted to die to prove his sincerity.
After surviving under the emperor emeritus for so many years and experiencing so many ups and downs, Qin Huaiyuan had changed from a simple-minded person full of ideals to a person who knew how to think for his family.
Since he knew that he couldn't defeat Da Zhou, it was better to think about how to obtain the most benefits for the emperor.
Yuchi Yan was in a very good mood today. Perhaps it was because he had seen Qin Yining yesterday. Even now, when he closed his eyes, he could still remember Qin Yining's docile appearance when he sent him down the mountain.
Or perhaps it was because after seeing Qin Yining, some of the stubbornness in his mind had finally been shattered. Yuchi Yan felt as if he had been stripped of his heavy shackles. His entire being felt lighter from the bottom of his heart.
"Your Majesty, Grand Preceptor Qin requests an audience.
”
"Quickly invite him in." Yuchi Yan had something to say to Qin Huaiyuan, so his voice was somewhat urgent.
Not long after, Qin Huaiyuan quickly walked into the imperial study. He bowed and said: "This subject greets the emperor. May the emperor be in good health."
"You may rise. Please sit." Yuchi Yan had a smile on his face.
Qin Huaiyuan thanked him and sat down in the official's hat chair that was brought over by the palace eunuchs. He said with a smile: "Looking at the emperor's expression, it seems like there's something joyous today?"
Yuchi Yan smiled and said: "It's not that there's anything joyous. It's just that I've thought through some things. I feel much lighter in my heart. You came at the right time today. Even if you didn't come, zhen would have summoned you. "
Qin Huaiyuan saw that Yuchi Yan seemed to be very interested, so he cooperated and asked: "What did the emperor think through?"
Yuchi Yan stood up and sternly said, "Yesterday, I went out for a patrol in plain clothes. I walked around the city for a long time and saw the tragic state of the city."
Qin Huaiyuan saw that the Emperor's brows were tightly knitted, and he couldn't hide the pain in his heart. He hurriedly knelt down and said, "This humble subject is incompetent and can't share Your Majesty's burdens."
"No, you've done very well." The Yuchi Yan helped Qin Huaiyuan up and said, "Grand Preceptor Qin has done a lot for me and the Dayan people. We can only blame the heavens for not protecting us. We didn't have any advantage at all. "
Yuchi Yan smiled bitterly and said, "When Imperial Father handed the throne to me, it wasn't because he valued my talent, but because he didn't have anyone else to inherit the throne, so he wanted me to take the blame for him. He hid a large amount of money and threw an empty shell to me. It was nothing more than wanting to leave some capital for a comeback in the future. Once the Dayan dynasty was defeated, he wouldn't want to be the humiliating emperor of a defeated country. At that time, the history books would only record that I was the last emperor of the Dayan. "
At this point, Yuchi Yan closed his eyes and clenched his fists. He said, "To be honest, my heart is full of resentment. I've never received any care from Imperial Father. As I slowly grew up, Imperial Father didn't look at me with the love of a father for his son, but with a deep fear.
"I know. He's afraid that I'll take away his position. The care he gives me is not as much as Imperial Uncle. Sometimes, I wish that the Dayan country was ruled by Imperial Uncle. Perhaps then I wouldn't have reached the end so quickly. But it's too late. "
Yuchi Yan's back was facing Qin Huaiyuan. He didn't want Qin Huaiyuan to see his cowardly tears. However, his thick nasal voice had already revealed the fact that he was crying as an emperor and as a man.
Qin Huaiyuan knelt on the ground again and quietly listened to Yuchi Yan's confession. He also felt a wave of sorrow in his heart.
When the emperor emeritus, that incapable ruler, was in power, he wasn't just afraid of Yuchi Yan. He was afraid of everyone! Yuchi Yan wasn't the only one who felt pain. As a subject, he had dedicated most of his life to the imperial court. Wasn't he still played by the emperor emeritus in the palm of his hand? If he wanted to kill him, he would be killed. If he wanted to, he would be praised.
He could understand Yuchi Yan's pain. This was because he also felt the same pain. The pain of not being able to fulfill his ambitions was probably not much worse than the pain of not being able to get his father's attention, right?
"When I went out yesterday, I saw the scene of children being swapped for food." Yuchi Yan's voice started to tremble, "This Zhen saw with my own eyes an old woman in ragged clothes nibbling on a child's hand that was roasted until it was half cooked … This Zhen really wished that she could kill herself!
I didn't want to be the ruler of a fallen country, so I refused to admit my failure. I gritted my teeth and persevered until now. However, for the sake of my laughable self-esteem, innocent people were sacrificed. Grand Preceptor Qin, I was wrong. I was wrong from the beginning. "
Yuchi Yan turned around. There were tears on his face, but his eyes were unprecedentedly firm. "From the beginning, I shouldn't have plunged the people into the abyss of suffering for my own selfish reasons. As the emperor, I can't seek happiness for the people. Instead, I have to use the people as a tool to build my status. How am I different from my father? We're both selfish and fatuous. "
"Your Majesty, you've already done very well," Qin Huaiyuan persuaded, "If you had ascended the throne ten years earlier, Dayan wouldn't have perished. When you took over, some things were already irreversible. You can't be blamed for this. "
Qin Huaiyuan's persuasion was actually exaggerated. After all, Yuchi Yan's talent was limited.
However, this sentence was the most timely affirmation for Yuchi Yan when he was at his most self-denying.
Yuchi Yan felt that as long as there was one person who could understand him, then he wouldn't feel so wronged when he was the ruler of a fallen country and saved the lives of the remaining people in the city.
"Grand Preceptor Qin, thank you." Yuchi Yan smiled, but his tears flowed like a spring. He said with a heavy nasal voice, "I can't be selfish anymore. I can't let everyone be buried with my throne. I've decided to surrender to Da Zhou."
"Your Majesty …" Qin Huaiyuan's voice choked with emotion.
Although he knew this would be the result, once this decision was made, the country that Qin Huaiyuan had spent most of his life defending would be destroyed. At the same time, the efforts and youth he had invested in it would be destroyed, as well as the great dreams he had when he was young and full of mettle.
He was very sad and also very helpless.
However, he wasn't a person who would be emotional. What was done was done. There was nothing he could do to reverse the situation, so he had to think of another way out.
"Your Majesty." Qin Huaiyuan wiped his tears and took out the envelope with trembling hands. He said, "This official woke up early this morning and found this thing next to my pillow. When I opened it, it was really … Your Majesty, this official doesn't dare to speak rashly. Your Majesty, please take a look."
Yuchi Yan was startled when he heard this. He hesitantly took the letter. After he opened it and carefully read it, his thin and pale face was completely devoid of color.
Although he had already decided to surrender, the feeling of making his own decision and surrendering after being betrayed was really different.
"These people are really good. Good, good. They are my good officials and my good father-in-law." The emperor looked up to the sky and howled. He wailed, "The generals have all rebelled. Half of the civil officials have rebelled. Even my father-in-law has betrayed me! My country has already fallen. What's the point of fighting? What else can I do other than surrender? "
Qin Huaiyuan was overcome with grief. He also closed his eyes and cried.
The ruler and official hugged each other and wept bitterly.
At this time, neither of them noticed that outside the imperial study, Empress Li Yanyan had quietly retreated. She gave Eunuch Lu, who was by the emperor's side, a look and quickly left.
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