All Hail Cousin Brother

Chapter 984: Accepting Fate

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Yin Huaixi’s lips curled up slightly, but his tone was still calm. “In at most three years, the sky of the Great Zhou Dynasty will completely change.”

Three years!

To the annals, it was just a blink of an eye, but to the thousands of commoners in the world, it was cruel and long.

“It’s been so long.” Yu Youyao also knew that if the calamity of the vassal kings was not resolved, there would be many conflicts between the same family for the throne, let alone among different families!

Emperor Gaozu was majestic. Back then, he divided the dynasty into vassal states and governed them because the new dynasty had just been established. There were still many things to do. At that time, the other races were strong and restless, and generals who were good at war were needed to guard against them.

After Emperor Gaozu ascended the throne, he said, “The world is so big, so we have to build vassal states. We have to protect the country and let the people live in peace. Now that the new dynasty is established, the ruler and you will guard it together. It’s good for each to have their own titles and be divided into various states.”

The general idea was that the world was so big that it was impossible to protect it with just one emperor. It had to be divided into vassal states to protect the country and the people. Now that the new dynasty had been established, the emperor would fulfill his promise and guard the country with the officials. The officials would be allocated to various states to defend the borders. Only then could the Great Zhou last for generations.

That was why the Great Zhou Dynasty was divided into areas governed by vassal lords.

This move made Emperor Gaozu’s prestige unprecedented. Later on, Emperor Gaozu issued a call for action. They fought wherever he pointed to. He was unstoppable, flattening the Northern Barbarians, the Southern Barbarians, the Western Barbarians, and the Eastern Tribes one after another.

It created the peaceful and prosperous situation of the Great Zhou Dynasty for hundreds of years.

However, the vassal lords had been guarding the vassal lands for generations, so it was inevitable that their ambitions would grow. By the time Emperor Xianzong was around, the vassal lords had already become a disaster.

Why did the previous emperor value literature over martial arts?

On the surface, it was targeted at the generals and also to recuperate.

However, in fact, anyone with discerning eyes knew that the previous emperor was really suppressing the vassal lords. In the later stages of the previous emperor’s reign, the strength of the vassal lords had already decreased greatly, and it was in sight to remove them.

Unfortunately, the previous emperor had been brooding over Consort Hui’s death, so he had worked so hard that he had fallen ill and died at his prime.

The current emperor’s expedition to the North had ruined most of the previous emperor’s hard work and reignited the ambition of the vassal lords.

The death of King Li of Zhou further intensified the vassal lords’ rebellion.

Yu Youyao suddenly remembered that she had seen an incomplete map of the grassland in Yin Huaixi’s study previously. When Yin Huaixi was young, he had already sent spies deep into the grassland to investigate the terrain. It had been ten years.

It was obvious that Yin Huaixi already had the intention to attack the North.

If King Li of Zhou did not die and went into battle with his son to calm the expedition to the North first, he would not have to worry about the vassal lords being unable to resolve the injustice!

It could only be said that all of this was fate.

Now, Yin Huaixi was only following the will of the heavens to take back everything that belonged to him and his father to start another peaceful era.

Yu Youyao took a deep breath. “Looking at history, it’s very rare for a dynasty to change in just three years.”

Yin Huaixi changed the topic. “According to the etiquette system of the state funeral, it’s not uncommon for the Empress Dowager’s coffin to be kept in a temporary shelter for two to three years before burial. The royal family has a secret spice that can keep corpses from decaying for decades. The emperor hasn’t established an heir yet, and the new emperor hasn’t taken over. The Longevity Palace is temporarily empty, so it can be used as a place for storing her coffin.’

If the new emperor ascended the throne, the Empress Dowager’s body would have to be moved to the Fengxian Hall.

Yu Youyao had an idea. She only said, “In that case, I don’t have to return to the capital to attend the state funeral for the time being. I’ll write a eulogy later and send it to the capital to express my sorrow.”

Yin Huaixi nodded. “That’s how it should be.”

The Imperial Court’s crusade document was also very fast. “Thief Liang is a traitorous vassal. You’re a rebel. We have received the heavenly mandate to rule the world. My brothers and I will bow and be filial…”

Later on, the document counted in detail some of the benevolent actions that the emperor had done since he ascended the throne. This included many merits when the emperor was in power, such as honoring the Empress Dowager, not recruiting any new concubines, resolving the flood, promoting national policy, eliminating the disasters that the people faced, and so on.

Although it was an exaggeration, they weren’t all groundless.

Behind these merits was the Empress Dowager’s push. The denouncement letter borrowed the Empress Dowager’s virtue.

After that, the Imperial Court stood on the standpoint of morality to condemn, comment on, and criticize the King of Liang. “If you eat the salary of a ruler, you should worry about the lives of the world. The oaths of the royal court are still in your ears. How can you forget your loyalty? Thief Liang killed the supreme leader with your officials and broke the usual etiquette…”

They gave a long speech, mentioning that the King of Liang was disloyal and unrighteous. He was heartless and could not be trusted. He was rude and unwise.

At the end, the Imperial Court said, “All the ambitious people in the world will fight against the rebellious Thief Liang. All the prefectures and counties will use their anger to calm the country and eliminate the rebellion of the King of Liang. Thief Liang will be flattened and the people will be satisfied. Our country and the world will be at peace!”

The Great Zhou Dynasty was in flames, and everyone was in danger.

In just two months, the King of Liang fought his way to Quanzhou and occupied the most prosperous city on the southeast coast.

Only at this moment did the court officials come back to their senses. During this period of time, the various abnormalities in Quanzhou were not caused by the pirates, but by the King of Liang secretly crossing the river.

Due to Heir Song, the Marquis of Zhen had vaguely sensed the abnormality in Quanzhou. Previously, in the royal court, he had strongly suggested that they send an invigilator to patrol the southeast coast, but he had received intense objections from Concubine Lan.

The Maranis of Zhen had no evidence. so the matter of inspection was left

unsettled.

This gave Thief Liang an opportunity.

It was inevitable that Concubine Lan would be accused of causing trouble for the country and politics.

The Second Prince could not absolve himself of the blame and was forced to resign from his position in the Grand Council.

When it rains, it pours. The Grand Secretary, Yu Zongshen, personally tried Ning Yuanbo’s case. He calmed the protests and disputes inside and outside the court, winning the support of thousands of students in the world.

At the same time, Ning Yuanbo’s residence had colluded with the Di people and conspired with the King of Liang to persecute King Li of Zhou, form cliques for personal gain, harm loyal and good people, and so on. More than 30 crimes surfaced.

Ning Yuanbo had colluded with the enemy to betray the country and wanted to rebel. The evidence was conclusive.

Concubine Lan was immediately stripped of her position and sent to the cold palace. Empress Ning snatched the phoenix seal and took charge of the harem. For a moment, she was in the limelight. Even Imperial Concubine Xu had to avoid her.

The Second Prince was implicated and imprisoned in the palace.

As a minister, Yu Zongshen could not overstep his imperial authority. He had to wait until the new ruler took over before dealing with the situation.

In the end, death couldn’t be escaped.

The Fourth Prince, who had always kept a low profile, naturally took on all the administrative matters of the Second Prince in the military and began to interfere in the military matters. Coincidentally, he became the most popular prince to be the heir.

The radical faction in the royalist party that supported Empress Ning also took advantage of the victory to pursue and spare no effort to recruit, suppress, and cut off Concubine Lan’s henchmen.

It was said that when the tree topples, the monkeys scatter. In order to protect themselves, the court officials who supported the Second Prince all turned to Empress Ning.

Concubine Lan had planned step by step for many years, but she had benefited Empress Ning and the Fourth Prince.

No one had expected that the first to fall would actually be the Second Prince, who seemed to have the most hope of winning the position of heir. For a moment, everyone sighed.

However, Yu Youyao knew that this was the outcome that Yin Huaixi had arranged for Concubine Lan and the Second Prince. Back then, King Li of Zhou had been accused of colluding with the enemy to betray the country and wanted to rebel..