The fat middle-aged man screamed and suddenly turned around as if he saw a ghost.
Xia Xun looked at him, it was really him, Zhu Yunwen! He was only ten years old, but he seemed to have aged several dozen years, with a fat body, fat cheeks, droopy eye bags, and a rosy nose...
How did he become like this in just ten years?
The white-faced and beardless old man shouted and flashed in front of Zhu Yunwen, opening his arms to protect him, just like an old hen protecting its chicks. His eyebrows were slightly furrowed, and a solemn murderous aura surged towards Xia Xun.
He shouted sternly: "Are you sent by Yan Thief? You are so brave, do you dare to kill the king!"
Xia Xun looked at him deeply and smiled faintly: "Old man, I admire you very much, although many people look down on people like you with incomplete limbs."
He looked at Zhu Yunwen again and said, "But he is no longer the emperor. You are free. Go live your own life!"
The old eunuch flushed with excitement and shouted: "That's nonsense! You are being treasonous! The king is the king, and the ministers are ministers! Our family will be the slaves of the emperor all our lives! If you dare to be unfavorable to the emperor, our family will follow you.
Let’s fight!”
A hand gently placed on his shoulder and slowly pushed him aside. The old eunuch said in panic: "Your Majesty?"
Zhu Yunwen slowly puffed up his chest. At this moment, his body vaguely regained some of the majesty of the 1995 Supreme Being.
"Ke Zhou, he is right, I... am no longer the emperor!"
"Your Majesty, you..."
Zhu Yunwen waved his hand, slowly took a step forward, stood in front of Xia Xun, squinted his eyes and looked at Xia Xun for a long time, and then said slowly: "I recognize you, I recognize you, you are Yang... Yang..."
Xia Xun bowed slightly and said, "Yang Xu!"
"Yes! Yang Xu! Yang Xu! After so many years, you have almost...no change..."
Xia Xun said: "Your Majesty has changed a lot."
Zhu Yunwen smiled miserably and said: "You don't need to call me Your Majesty. You are right. I am no longer the emperor. From the day I abandoned my wife and children and cheated my life, I was no longer the emperor!"
Xia Xun said: "Then, should I call you Mr. Ribery?"
Zhu Yunwen didn't answer. He looked at Xia Xun, but his eyes seemed to have drifted to a far, far away place. After a long time, he asked softly: "He became the emperor, right?"
Xia Xun replied: "Yes! He became the emperor."
Zhu Yunwen asked again: "My son Wen Gui, is he...still alive?"
Xia Xun said: "While alive, he was imprisoned in Fengyang Guang'an Palace in Zhongdu."
Zhu Yunwen's tears flowed down, and he choked with sobs: "Da Ming...are you okay?"
Xia Xun's expression moved slightly, and he replied: "Very good, there are floating officials in the Yunnan-Guizhou area, and the Japanese pirates in the East China Sea are no longer a thing. The Timur Empire's army wanted to conquer our Ming Dynasty but failed. To the north... while I
The Tatars and Oaras, who had established separate kingdoms during the civil strife of the Ming Dynasty, were defeated by His Majesty's personal conquests. The imperial court also established the Nurgandu Division in the far north.
Now, the emperor is about to move the capital to Beijing to permanently suppress the nomads in the north of Saibei to prevent their resurgence. To the south, the imperial court has sent troops to Annan to put down its rebellion and restore the old land of Annan to our territory. At sea, a huge fleet has also been sent to pacify the people.
The barbarians trade extensively, and I am a pioneer."
Zhu Yunwen's eyes suddenly lit up and he asked urgently: "Aren't you sent here specifically to catch me?"
Xia Xun smiled and said: "The ocean-going fleet has another commander, and I, my mission is to find your whereabouts. Just looking for it all the way, I no longer believe that you are in the Western Ocean, I wanted to find a sea route
, I didn’t expect that when I no longer wanted to look for you, I bumped into you, just now in the bathroom..."
Xia Xun said a few words briefly, and then the old eunuch realized that he had been careless, otherwise his emperor would probably never be exposed. The old eunuch immediately fell to his knees, kowtowed on his head and cried: "This slave deserves to die! This slave deserves to die!"
Damn it! It’s all my slave’s fault. Your Majesty, please kill my slave!”
Zhu Yunwen said in a deep voice: "Get up! This is my life, not your fault!"
Xia Xun looked at the old eunuch, then at Zhu Yunwen, and asked: "It is said that there are no less than dozens of people escorting you. Where are those people?"
Zhu Yunwen did not answer. He leaned down and helped the old eunuch up first. Then he turned to Xia Xun and said sadly: "I fled all the way to Quanzhou, where I boarded a merchant ship going to Nanyang and fled to Sanviqi.
I lived there for a while, because there were often smuggling merchant ships from the Ming Dynasty there. I was worried about it being unsafe, so I continued walking west. This time, I arrived in Guli and settled there.
I thought I could spend my whole life there this time, but a few years later, a businessman from Southeast Asia said that the Ming Dynasty sent a huge fleet, as huge as a floating castle on the sea. This fleet has already
After arriving in Nanwuli, it is said that we will also go to Xiaogelan, Kezhi, and Guli. I had no choice but to continue fleeing westward because I was worried that something would happen..."
Zhu Yunwen said sadly: "Escape, escape, finally one day, I escaped to the Persian Gulf. Along the way, some of my followers died of illness, and some were swept into the sea by the wind and waves. Only the ones who stayed with me were
Less than ten people got off. I didn’t dare to continue walking along the sea road. God knows if there would be a storm and we would all disappear into the sea?
I thought that even if the Ming Dynasty's fleet came to search for me, they would not be able to abandon so many warships and board the land to search for me very far away, so we abandoned the ship and landed, and kept going, and kept going.
When I got here, there were only a few people around me due to injuries and bandits along the way.
When I came to this place, there were only four people left with me, and one of them later died of illness. The people here told me that if I go further, there is an endless sea, and no one has ever been able to reach it.
At the end of it, no one has ever seen a ship coming from the end of the sea. I think this is the end of the horizon..."
Xia Xun asked: "Luo Kedi..., he really arranged it like this!"
Zhu Yunwen looked at him in surprise, Xia Xun smiled, and there was some relief in his smile: "You actually know how to cover up for him? Haha, it seems that you have really changed a lot in these years. You don't have to worry about him anymore, the day the city is broken
, Mr. Luo took poison and committed suicide. He has been dead for many years, so you don’t have to worry about him being implicated."
A flash of shame flashed across Zhu Yunwen's face. How many people have died for his country? Those civil servants and military generals who died in righteousness, and the countless unknown soldiers who died on the battlefield, whose names have not been passed down to the world...
But he, the emperor, lived an ignoble existence, abandoning his loyal ministers, his married wife, and his biological son.
Xia Xun glanced at his gray hair and asked, "There are three other people around you, the other two?"
Zhu Yunwen puffed up his chest and said: "I'm right here, just kill me! They are just people who were ordered to escort me, do you want to kill them all?"
When the old eunuch heard this, he got up again and guarded him nervously.
Xia Xun shook his head and said: "I'm just curious, why is there only one person left around you, and the other two have abandoned you?"
Zhu Yunwen's face suddenly turned red: "You're talking nonsense! They are loyal to me and won't tolerate you insulting me like this! I came all the way to the west and went through many ups and downs. The money I brought was either spent, lost, or robbed by bandits, and I arrived here.
There is not much time left, and they do not want to follow me and live in vain.
Except for the old man Ke Zhou, who stayed by my side to take care of me, the other two protected me for a while. After finding out that there was no danger here, they went to fend for themselves. But every New Year, they would visit me and treat me as always.
Respect! They are our loyal ministers and righteous men of the Ming Dynasty!"
Xia Xun said: "I apologize! Although the positions are different, such people are very admirable!" He looked around and said: "The environment here is not bad. You also married a beautiful French bride and gave birth to a child.
A pair of children. But, why do you grow old so fast?"
Zhu Yunwen's cheek twitched a few times, and he said painfully: "Because I have been living in guilt, because I often have nightmares. I have been told all along that I will be the future emperor, I am the prince of the country, and everyone in the world
They are all my subjects, and it is natural for me to stand at the highest place and look down on them, and enjoy their dedication with peace of mind.
Including my queen and my prince, I think it is right for anyone to die for me. Everyone can die, but I cannot, because... I am the emperor, and God has given me a special mission.
Life doesn’t just belong to me! But when I fled all the way to Nanyang, and then all the way west, I began to wonder, was my idea right?
If I hadn't put on that dragon robe and sat in the Golden Palace, what would be the difference between me and an ordinary person? Why could I let so many people die for me? I often dreamed about them, mother and son, if I hadn't been timid at the time
Instead of escaping and facing King Yan bravely, will their mother and son still die?
Fourth uncle would not dare to openly kill the king. Even if he uses some methods to get rid of me, in order to cover up others' eyes and show his innocence, he will treat my wife and children well, at least... he will not let them die. But I..."
Zhu Yunwen's eyes flashed with tears, and he sighed: "I lit the fire and said I would die for my country. In the end, it was my wife and my biological son who were pushed into the fire pit, but I...
Shameless escape!
If I had not fled shamelessly, these people who were loyal to me would not have abandoned their wives and children and left everything to escort me west. They would not have to be buried in a foreign country one by one. I often have nightmares, and I will dream about them.
I can only drink, keep drinking, only then can I sleep well."
The old eunuch shed tears as he listened, but Xia Xun was silent. After Zhu Yunwen finished speaking, he pushed the old eunuch away again and took one step, two steps, three steps forward, slowly but firmly, until he stood in front of Xia Xun.
: "Ke Zhou is old. He is just a useless eunuch. Don't kill him!"
Zhu Yunwen turned around and looked at his wife again. From the look on his face, Xia Xun knew that Zhu Yunwen's French wife should know his true identity, so she understood why he was an uninvited guest, so she showed worry and fear.
.
Zhu Yunwen smiled at her, looked at his children reluctantly, turned to face Xia Xun, and begged: "My woman is just an ignorant country girl. You see, my children are both beautiful."
They are not like the people of the Ming Dynasty. Their daughter has blond hair and their son has blue eyes. No one from the Ming Dynasty would regard them as the blood of the Ming Emperor! They pose no threat to my fourth uncle... in the slightest!"
Zhu Yunwen took a long breath and said seriously: "In the face of the country and life and death, I chose to escape! In the face of my family and life and death, I still chose to escape! For this reason, I have suffered for many years in regret.
. Now that you are here, I will no longer run away. I am willing to suffer death. I just ask you... to let them go!"
Zhu Yunwen bent his legs and knelt down with a thud!