Chapter 70: The Nine Provinces Gather Iron to Cast a Single Character

  The Ganlu Temple is located inside the Taiji Palace's Ganlu Gate, where Yang Jian holds small court meetings to meet with his ministers and discuss state affairs. At this moment, the temple was filled with cow oil wax candles, illuminating everything brightly. Yang Jian and Empress Dugu sat shoulder to shoulder on the throne, with Xiao Shi to their right and Mohui Ye and Yang Su lined up to their left. The eyes of the five people were simultaneously fixed on Yang Zhao, who was half-kneeling in the temple, holding a volume of yellow silk with his hands clasped together.

  That yellow silk scroll is the declaration of war by Yang Xiu, the King of Shu. Inside, it contains over a thousand words, with elegant and refined language, in rhyming couplets of four and six characters. The writing style is indeed excellent. In the declaration, Yang Xiu speaks as if he were a victim, saying that from a young age, he knew his own abilities were mediocre, so from start to finish, he never dared to have any extravagant hopes for the throne. Among the five brothers, the eldest brother Yang Yong was kind and gentle, with literary and military talents that were heaven-given, and had a majestic presence. Since being appointed as crown prince, he had always been diligent and conscientious, winning the hearts of the people in the court and the countryside, and was the best candidate to inherit the throne after the emperor's passing. However, there were treacherous parties in the court, with Yang Su assisting the evil forces outside, repeatedly presenting slanderous words that harmed Yang Yong; and inside, there was the Western monk Mohe Ye, who spread heretical teachings that defied authority and morality, confusing the emperor. These two men were both part of Yang Guang's faction, and their collaboration inside and out ultimately led to Yang Yong being deposed without cause. "Unexpectedly, the story of Emperor Wen of Wei and Prince Chen of Chen has repeated itself today." It is truly a case of "heaven and man sharing the same anger, the earth and sky both detesting it".

  In the imperial edict, it is further stated that originally, I and Yang Guang were like brothers. Although my elder brother was deposed, for the sake of the overall situation, I had intended to swallow my anger and assist my second brother in governing the country of Sui well. Unexpectedly, the son born to my second brother "had not yet reached weak crown age, but his inferior character had already been revealed; investigating his nature, he was greedy and violent, just like a wolf or tiger, without any familial affection". When my son Yang You's first birthday arrived, I invited my nephew to come and celebrate, treating him with kindness and concern. However, Yang Zhao repaid kindness with enmity, and upon seeing the beauty of Princess Tang of Shu, he had lustful intentions. After getting drunk, he first forced himself on Princess Tang, then killed the senior official of the palace of Shu, Tang Zixue, and even wanted to harm his infant nephew Yang You; but was stopped by Yang Xiu and did not succeed. He took away the precious sword of the palace of Shu, injured his uncle, and fled in defeat. Before leaving, he even declared "If I become emperor one day, I will definitely have all members of the house of Shu beheaded and discarded in the market". Truly, "he has a heart of wolf and lungs of dog, unprecedented in ancient times; even Jie and Zhou could not surpass him."

  Yang Xiu said at the end of the manifesto that his own life and death were not important, but his father Yang Jian was getting older and the day he would ascend to heaven was not far away. After he passed away, Yang Guang would take the throne and would inevitably make his eldest son Yang Zhao the crown prince, which would bring disaster to the people and plunge them into a situation of "water deep and fire hot". Yang Xiu himself took action for the sake of the country and the ancestors, so he had to rise up in arms to clear the way for the emperor. He also sincerely asked Yang Jian to "boost his spirit, be close to virtuous ministers and keep away from treacherous officials", reinstate Yang Yong as crown prince, and execute Yang Zhao according to law, making it known to all that a prince who breaks the law should be punished like any other person. In this way, naturally there would be no need for war, the rivers would be clear and the seas would be calm, and the four seas would be at peace. Yang Xiu himself would also "bare his arms and carry thorns, kneel down and enter the Taiji Hall, taking upon himself the anger of the emperor". And he said it was what his heart desired, even if he had to die nine times for it, he would not regret it. He compared himself to the ancient Qu Yuan.

  The focus of this article is actually three words: "Clearing the Emperor's Side". This is also a favorite excuse used by all those who have rebelled against the system throughout history. In short, it means that the emperor has been deceived by the small people around him, and as a gentleman, he must take responsibility for the world, cannot just be good to himself, so he has to use extreme measures and so on - nothing more than occupying the moral high ground. But old tunes can't be sung forever, the older the tune, the more effective it is, the more valuable it is to continue singing.

  Yang Zhaowen's literary foundation is still a bit shallow, and it's really not easy to fully understand this article. After spending half a day's effort, he finally finished reading the whole text. The aftertaste in his heart was like opening a grocery store, with all kinds of flavors: sweet, sour, bitter, and salty. He put down the scroll, sighed softly, and said, "I've finished reading it, Grandfather Emperor."

  "Is that all? Do you have anything else to say?" Yang Jian leaned forward slightly, his expression more serious than ever before, and the people around him were also equally tense. The young king secretly sighed and said: "Your Majesty, this matter is very complicated. Although the King of Shu did not completely lie, my son is absolutely not a heartless person. Please listen to me from the beginning."

  Yang Zhao began to tell the story from the day he was tied up by Ning Daoqi and Fan Qinghui in the Temple of Extreme Joy. He told how he escaped to the White Cloud Hermitage to avoid being searched by government soldiers, how he got help from Yuan Tiangang and escaped at Wuzhangyuan, and how he learned about the news of the Divine Army's Yin-Yang Command and decided to go south into Shu. When Ning Daoqi and Ci Hang Jingzhai said that the Yang family should decline and the Li family should rise, and that the heavenly mandate should be on the body of Tang Guogong Li Yuan, and used a folk song "Taoli Zi" as evidence, Yang Jian and Dugu Empress both let out a cold snort at the same time, but didn't say much, just waved their hands to indicate for Sunzi to continue speaking.

  Yang Zhao stole a glance, seeing that his grandparents' faces had a faint murderous aura, and he felt a sense of relief in his heart. He continued to talk about how he later met Li Shentong and Mingyue Dajie at the Sword Pavilion, how he got into a dispute with Tang Meng's young master Tang Siwen at the Jinquan Building in Chengdu, how he was locked up in the Chengdu government office, how Tang's people first poisoned him and then sent assassins to take his life. He himself had broken through the edge of life and death, killing Tang's assassins in one fell swoop, and even raped Tang Zhongqing in a fit of rage, and so on.

  Just as the conversation had reached this point, Mo He Ye suddenly interrupted in a low voice and asked: "Wait, Zhao Er. So to say, it was someone from the Tang Sect who harmed you first, and at that time, you didn't know that woman was Tang Zhong Qing, nor did you know she was the Shu King's concubine?"

  Yang Zhao said without hesitation: "Yes, just as Master said. However, at that time, although I didn't know, I knew afterwards. In any case, I was always guilty of moral deficiency and ashamed of the many years of teaching by the Emperor."

  The Empress Dugu let out a sigh and said, "It's not your fault, Zhao'er. Even now, listening to you retell it, I feel a chill in my heart. How much more frightening must it have been for you, a child at the time... Alas..." Her tone was no longer tinged with even a hint of blame, only thick sympathy and understanding.

  The Empress Dugu spoke and expressed her attitude, the tense atmosphere in the hall suddenly relaxed. After a pause, Yang Jian asked in a low voice: "What about afterwards? Did you go to the Shu Wang Fu?"

  Yang Zhao nodded and said, "I've been. Your Majesty, it's precisely because I went that I found out about the Shu King's... plot." After slightly organizing his thoughts in his mind, he continued to recount what happened next. From Tang Zhongqing's mouth, he learned that Yang Xiu intended to seize the Yellow Emperor's Dragon Bone and then realized the gravity of the matter, deciding to disguise himself as injured and sneak into the Shu King's mansion. There, he overheard Yang Xiu and Tang Yuxue threatening and bribing the leaders of the Qingcheng, Diancang, and Yanjiafang families, asking them to follow Yang Xiu to Longyou County's Lingyun Mountain to steal the treasure. Afterwards, Yang Xiu ordered Tang Yuxue to use the evil "Bodhisattva Lock Divine Needle" on a small king from a mountain stronghold, turning him into a living puppet. He recounted everything in detail. When Yang Jian and Empress Dugu heard the eight words "Divine State Dragon Pulse, Yellow Emperor's Dragon Bone", the two elderly spouses immediately looked at each other again, their eyes filled with shock and astonishment.

  The emperor and empress did not speak, the atmosphere suddenly became silent, and Yang Zhao also automatically shut her mouth. It wasn't until after a good while that Yang Jian finally spoke in a low voice: "Alright, so... what happens afterwards? Zhao'er, you tell me carefully, don't leave out any details."

  Yang Zhao nodded gloomily and continued to tell the story of how he had snuck onto the ship fleet. He told them about how he saw Guardian Wonders and Shang stopping the ships from approaching Lingyun Mountain, and how he took advantage of the chaos to leave early and try to be the first to enter the Lingyun Cave. Along the way, he formed a temporary alliance with Fan Qinghui, but unexpectedly encountered Yang Xiu on the mountain path, and they fought each other, resulting in both being injured. The guardian deity of the Lingyun Cave, the Ice Fire Double-Headed Qilin, suddenly appeared and dragged the young master into the cave to devour him, but was instead killed by the young master, who obtained the Yin Yang Command and other things. He also emphasized how Fan Qinghui did not approve of Yang Xiu's actions and "abandoned evil for good", and even fought a great battle with the Ice Fire Double-Headed Qilin to protect himself. This was clearly an attempt to clear her name. However, Yang Jian listened and only slightly coldly smiled, neither confirming nor denying it. Empress Dugu also hummed coldly and said, "Zhao'er, don't mention this anymore, continue telling the story."

  Yang Zhao saw his grandparents' appearance and immediately reacted. It turned out that they also knew about the existence of Ci Hang Jing, and they didn't think much of this so-called sacred place of martial arts. The young king couldn't help but smile wryly. He continued to speak. At that time, he had eaten two Qilin inner elixirs and drunk Qilin blood, so his mind was not very clear, and there were large blank spaces in between. He could only honestly say that when he regained consciousness, he saw Yang Xiu had already obtained the Huangdi Dragon Bone. He had intended to take it back, but didn't expect that the Shen Zhou dragon vein would be triggered, causing an earthquake, a landslide, and a mudslide to come pouring down, separating him and Yang Xiu in an instant, and finally having no choice but to give up.

  Yang Jian's face grew increasingly darker as he listened, and finally he couldn't bear it anymore. With a loud "Hou", he stood up straight, his anger bursting forth: "This unfilial son, how dare he disregard the safety of our great Sui dynasty for his own selfish desires, committing such a stupid act that will bring harm to future generations!" His anger had nowhere to vent, and with a swift motion, he drew out the heavenly sword that was always by his side and slashed down at a nearby purple sandalwood desk. A red glow flashed, and the desk was split into seven or eight pieces, along with the writing instruments and paper on top of it, all crashing to the ground. Empress Dugu let out a melancholy sigh, stepped down from her throne, and grasped her husband's hand, advising: "Your Majesty, take care of your dragon body first. This unfilial son... let's just pretend we never gave birth to him."

  "I report to Your Majesty, the Ministry of War has recently received many memorials from various prefectures and counties, all saying that there have been unusual changes in the earth's pulse. Some mountains and rivers have collapsed, some rivers have changed course, and some fields have subsided, all sorts of things that are not quite right, causing people to be frightened. It was just when the King of Shu rose up in arms and the Guanzhong region was shaken that I did not have time to report to Your Majesty. Now it seems...” Yang Su sighed and shook his head, his tone was calm, but there was a bit of a sarcastic flavor, like he was driving nails into someone's coffin. However, as the Right Assistant Director of the Ministry of War, in charge of the ministry's affairs, what he said was just within his duties and did not count as overstepping his bounds.

  Yang Zhao looked up at Yang Su with a gaze that was somewhat dissatisfied. Although Yang Su might be an able minister rarely seen in ancient or modern times, he was by no means a loyal one. Moreover, his desire for personal gain was extremely heavy, and secretly, he had even taken control of one of Yang Guang's souls, preparing to quietly manipulate him after Yang Guang ascended the throne, allowing himself to become the de facto ruler. Therefore, since crossing over, Yang Zhao had been secretly plotting to retrieve the soul of his father that was being held captive - only, there had never been an opportunity until now. And after the intense battle earlier, this idea had become even more resolute. If not for Yang Guang having lost a soul and becoming muddle-headed, how could he have so easily triggered his old affliction, and even gone as far as to want to beat his own son?

  Unfortunately, it's not the time to pursue Yang Su's responsibility now. Little King Wang bowed his head and advised Yang Jian in a condensed voice: "Grandfather Emperor, please calm down. In fact... actually, this time the dragon bone was stolen, Zhao Er also cannot shirk the blame. Firstly, he shouldn't have thought he could play tricks like 'Mantis catches cicada, yellow sparrow in the back'. Secondly, he shouldn't have fought with the guardian deity of Lingyun Cave and killed it. Thirdly, he shouldn't have escaped without retrieving the Huangdi Dragon Bone. The grandson's consideration was not thorough and he overestimated himself, even if he gathered all the iron in the nine states, he couldn't cast away this great mistake. If we talk about guilt, the grandson's guilt is no less than that of the King of Shu. Grandfather Emperor and Grandmother Empress can punish or scold as they wish, the grandson will willingly accept it without a word."

  Yang Jian's anger subsided slightly, and he sheathed his sword with a sigh. "If everything Zhao'er said is true," he said, "then the rebellious son has been planning this treacherous act for a long time, and you just happened to be there at the right moment. In any case, the fault does not lie with you. Alright, get up and speak."

  Yang Zhao heavily kowtowed, but did not get up and said: "Although the Emperor is magnanimous, his grandson has a guilty conscience and cannot just let things go as usual. I beg the Emperor to grant his grandson one request, so that he can have the opportunity to redeem his past mistakes."

  Dugu Empress sighed: "Alright, Zhao'er, what is it that you want? Just say it."

  Yang Zhao said in a slow and deliberate tone: "From where one falls, one must get up from there. The disaster was caused by my son, and I am willing to lead the troops again into Shu to quell the rebellion. I beg Your Majesty and the Empress Dowager to grant me this."

  ——————

  This week's progress is much better than last week. Last week, I was stuck until 4 or 5 am to finish around 3,000 words, but this week, I easily finished 5,000 words in one day, haha, and I don't even know why myself.

  Well, in short, continue to ask for votes, clicks and collections, Ali Ga Do:)