The awning docked and the three old men disembarked.
Two were holding swords, and one was being supported by others, holding the sword tightly in his hands.
Probably because he was old, he walked very slowly. The Cangzhou officers and soldiers who were checking along the way asked for their names, and they all frowned and made way for a passage.
When someone came to block him, Yang Xiu took out a copy of the imperial edict and shouted angrily.
The imperial edict is false. This is undoubtedly a capital crime, but how can a dying person care about such things?
Along the way, many aristocratic families and heads of families in rich robes squinted their eyes and looked at it. If they got upset, they would order their soldiers to drag down the few servants who were walking behind.
The screams rang out, but Yang Xiu didn't look back.
Without a servant, he and another old man continued walking, one on the left and the other on the right, supporting the terminally ill old friend.
The three of them stopped in front of the palace gate. Yang Xiu raised his head and looked at the splendor in front of him. His heart slowly sank.
"Yang Xiu, the second-rank minister of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce in the past."
"Zhao Chun, the former third-grade minister of industry."
"Lei Duo, the former Minister of Etiquette of the Third Rank."
"Please see your Majesty——"
The palace door did not open. The wind picked up and blew the three old men, their silver hair flying in the wind.
Su Waner walked out of the imperial study and stood on the exquisite balcony, listening to the announcement from the attendant.
"Mother, what should I do?"
"Morrie."
The attendant turned and left. The quick sword Ah Qi swept down and stood beside Su Waner.
"If they leave Cangzhou alive, you will attack them on the river."
Ah Qi silently jumped away.
Su Waner closed her eyes, suddenly feeling a little uncomfortable. She never liked to see such loyalty. A dynasty in its last years should be more chaotic.
Once the pillars of the Epoch Times collapsed, the dynasty was hopeless.
"Your Majesty, may I be in the palace?"
According to this decadent life, that idiot emperor, who had many concubines last night, should have slept until noon. Of course, if those palace maids and concubines who were sleeping with her showed any signs of pregnancy, she would definitely kill them.
Only she can possess the dragon species of the Great Epoch.
"Queen, an old eunuch came into the palace just now, said something, Your Majesty, Your Majesty walked out."
"Damn."
Su Waner's face was angry, she pushed the little palace lady in front of her away, hurriedly stepped out, and walked out.
As soon as she walked down the jade steps, she saw five or six old eunuchs running over, kneeling in front of her, kowtowing without saying a word.
"Step aside!"
The old eunuchs did not give in.
The quick sword Ah Qi came over coldly, several sword lights flashed through, and the old eunuchs were lying in a pool of blood.
Su Wan'er kept a cold face and continued to move forward. After hearing the sound, three or four groups of forest guards came and hurriedly gathered behind her and followed her out.
…
Yuan An, who was wearing a dragon robe, rarely showed a trace of joy when he saw a few honest old ministers again. He just thought that Cangzhou was gaining momentum and a few old loyal ministers were willing to return to the court to serve as officials.
He wanted to reach out and help several veterans up.
But the three of them, Yang Xiu, knelt in front of the palace and did not move an inch.
"Your Majesty, please open your eyes and take a look at the devastated country of Daji! The traitorous concubine is in power. Your Majesty, please quickly issue an order to kill the traitorous concubine! In this way, our Daji still has a glimmer of hope!"
Yuan An frowned, snorted coldly, and prepared to turn around and leave.
"Your Majesty, don't forget Marquis Yuan's instructions! My 400-year-old foundation may be destroyed at the hands of a woman!"
Hearing the word Yuan Hou, Yuan An paused inexplicably.
For a long period of time, he still had the thought of working hard, thinking of doing something great so that Lord Yuan in heaven could take a good look at it.
"Mr. Yang, the queen worked so hard for the sake of the court. You are wrong."
Yang Xiu burst into tears, "Your Majesty, why don't you go to Cangzhou and listen to what the people outside are saying. This dynasty in Cangzhou has lost the hearts of the people!"
"If Your Majesty is like this, how will he be different from the young emperor Yuan Lu -"
"Shut up." Yuan An interrupted angrily, "If you say one more bad word about the queen, I will kill your whole family."
The three old loyal ministers who were kneeling on the ground paused and suddenly pulled out the swords they were holding from their sheaths with difficulty.
"Please, Your Majesty, grant the death of the traitorous concubine and protect my country for four hundred years!"
The first old loyal minister was old, frail and terminally ill, but he seemed to have regained his strength when he was admonishing him. The sword cut his throat, and the blood spilled by the loyal minister stained the palace gate of Cangzhou red.
The second one followed.
"If your majesty does not listen to my words, you may become the king of the country!" Yang Xiu raised his sword and his voice was sonorous. He could not understand the general trend of the world and could not understand the many Dingbian generals and foreign kings.
In his heart, he could only pretend to be a rotten one, but he followed Ji Chao all his life.
"I dare to ask Your Majesty, whether the blood of loyal ministers can cleanse the filth in the court! The old minister Yang Xiu, borrowing the sword of integrity, remonstrates with Your Majesty, kill the traitorous concubine as soon as possible, and revive the principles of our great era!"
Yuan An took a few steps back, too shocked to answer.
The last old loyal minister killed himself with his sword in front of him. Even after taking a few steps back, there was still blood splattered on his dragon robe.
He looked down and saw that the five-clawed golden dragon on the dragon robe happened to have a dragon head covered with splattered blood.
When the wind blew, the blood-stained dragon head began to twist, as if it was alive.
Bang.
Yuan An collapsed to the ground in shock.
"Your Majesty, be careful." A hand helped him up.
When Yuan An turned around, he realized that his beloved queen had stood behind him at some point.
"Queen, these, these people——"
"They are all sycophants, instigated by common thieves." Su Waner showed a nice smile, "Your Majesty, please return to the palace. I will take care of the things here."
Yuan An nodded, still unable to suppress the panic in his heart. He took a few steps, then suddenly turned back and looked at the three corpses lying in a pool of blood.
For no reason, I thought of the young marquis who died on the city wall that day.
Walking up the royal road, the corpses of five or six old eunuchs also fell in a pool of blood. One of them was the attendant who conveyed the message to him.
Yuan An coughed dryly, and his steps began to stagger. If he hadn't been supported by someone, he might have fallen down.
"Your Majesty, are you okay?"
"No, nothing. I was a little tired after reviewing the memorial last night."
Yuan An raised his head and looked at the magnificent palace in front of him. For a moment, his whole heart began to feel sad for no reason.
…
"There is a traitorous concubine in Cangzhou, a treacherous act! I force loyal ministers to death and good generals to be killed! Today, I, King Xu Mu of Shuzhou, have raised fifty thousand of my army to fight against the thieves, obey the will of all the people, and do what is right for heaven!"
"Publish the message widely and announce it to the world. The emperor of Qing Dynasty can't wait to delay, just like the law and order!"
Standing on the high platform in Shuzhou, after reading the proclamation, Xu Mu looked up at the sky in silence.
He doesn't want the righteousness of fighting off thieves. He wants the three old loyal ministers in Cangzhou to live in peace and stability. They should have a better career, a happy family, and happy descendants.
But in this shitty world, if you don't kill with a sword, you can't bring peace to the world.