The Red Mansions Across the Four Seas

Chapter 558 Abdication Edict

The ministers turned around so quickly that even Song Kuan was a little surprised.

According to the plan he had discussed with Sun Tongren, he planned to kill half of the ministers in the court in order to achieve the purpose of intimidation.Unexpectedly, just killing one Cai Feng turned the situation around in one fell swoop.

Zhao Yingqi was at the end of his rope at this time, so he had to agree to abdicate.

Luo Qihua took out the edict of abdication that he had prepared, and Zhao Yingqi marked it and stamped it with the national seal, which means that the abdication procedure has been completed.

As for the new emperor, it was beyond the expectations of most ministers.

It turned out that people thought that Song Kuan would be the king of Dongping who would succeed in manipulating this matter, but in fact it was the king of Nan'an, Han Tiandou.

However, if people think about the previous rumors about Han Tiandou beheading the white snake, they will not be surprised.

It turned out that at that time, San Francisco was already preparing for Han Tiandou's succession.

According to the arrangement of Song Kuan, Luo Qihua and others, all the ministers dispersed separately.Go back to your yamen and appease the officials.

Hou Xiaolian temporarily acted as Minister of the Ministry of War, and issued official documents to various places, ordering soldiers and horses to stop resisting and surrender to the San Francisco army.

Jia Yucun left in a hurry, returned to the Yamen of Shuntian Prefecture, and issued a notice to calm the people.

The Military Aircraft Department issued official documents to local governments, ordering local officials to abide by their duties, protect the environment and the people, and wait for the new emperor's will.

As for the official positions of the various ministers, Song Kuan may have made a promise that they will be determined after the new emperor ascends the throne.In view of the fact that all the ministers have contributed to the establishment of the new emperor, they will be rewarded according to their merits.

Naturally, the ministers didn't have to leave Chang'an, so they returned to their old posts one after another, and each of them fulfilled their duties, working harder than before.

The guards of the palace have all been replaced by Jin Yijun.The original palace guards, except for some who were killed, were all incorporated into the Imperial Forest Army.

The Royal Forest Army was originally guarding the outer perimeter of the imperial city, and now it is performing the duties of the original Jinyi Army.

The responsibilities of Jinyi Army and Yulin Army just happened to be reversed.

The city gate that was originally wide open to facilitate people's escape is still wide open.

As the news of Tianyou's abdication spread, the flow of fleeing people almost disappeared.Those who wanted to leave did not leave.

When the dynasties changed, bloody battles in the imperial capital, burning, killing, looting, wars everywhere, dead bodies everywhere and massacres of the city did not happen.

Officials still do their own errands in the yamen, and ordinary people live their lives as usual.Except for a change of emperor, nothing has changed.

In the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the deposed emperor Zhao Yingqi passed on the last imperial meal here, and the one who ate with him was Song Kuan.

Not long ago, the situation where the two of them ate together like this often happened.

At that time, the two were still like brothers, at least on the surface.

Pushing forward, there will be more such situations.More often, there are two more people, one is Han Qi and the other is Li Gan.

However, at that time, Zhao Yingqi was still the prince.

"Song Kuan, when exactly did you want to rebel?"

Zhao Yingqi's emotions have calmed down now, and his tone of voice seems to be talking about something that has little to do with him.

"I've thought about it since my grandfather."

"Why did it take so long?"

"It was impossible to succeed in rebellion before."

"Why did you make up your mind this time?"

"It will work this time."

"Why?"

"Because you became the emperor."

"You mean I..., you mean I'm incompetent?"

"It's not all. The main reason is that no one will help your family. Your family has offended everyone."

"My family treats you well, why do you have to rebel?"

"Because your family doesn't trust us and may kill us at any time."

"Actually, we are also very jealous of you. We have long wanted to withdraw from the clan, but we never did. In fact, you don't have to rebel. I never thought of killing you."

"I believe your words are true. However, we dare not bet our wealth and life on your thoughts. Being a hostage is not a good feeling. You never thought of attacking those six princes, and finally Isn't it also a move? Some things are beyond your control."

"What are you going to do with my family?"

"What the new emperor means is to make you King You, hand over the palace and property, and move the family to Yunnan. Don't worry, food and clothing will be provided for you. However, if you want to maintain the original regulations and etiquette, is it right? possible."

"Actually, you can kill me, and you can also ascend the throne and start a new dynasty. Why do you have to let me abdicate?"

"The virtuous people in the world live here. This will allow us to clean up the hearts of the people as soon as possible and make a smooth transition. Killing too many people is not a good thing after all. You took the initiative to abdicate, so that people in the world can forget the previous dynasty as soon as possible. After all, the new emperor also needs the world. embraced."

"How come Han Tiandou became the emperor, and I thought it was King Dongping who became the emperor?"

"First, the Han family has the largest military strength and the most financial resources. Second, the new emperor has the highest reputation in the southwest. Third, after 20 years, it will be my family's turn. After my family has been in business for 20 years, it will be the Li family's turn."

"This is what the emperor did in turn. You are not afraid that he has been doing it for 20 years and won't do it for your family?"

"Who knows what will happen 20 years from now? We have to take one step at a time."

"I really regret that I didn't see the true colors of Luo Qihua, Sun Tongren, and Jia Yucun sooner. However, now I leave them to you, and you will be the ones who should be troubled in the future."

"Don't worry, they will not be like before in our hands."

The two chatted while eating, really like old friends.

Sun Tongren came over with a team of Jinyi soldiers, and Zhao Yingqi put down his chopsticks.

"Should I go?"

"I'll send Brother Zhao off."

Song Kuan also stood up.

There was already a team of chariots and horses waiting. The empress, the prince, several concubines, court ladies and eunuchs, a total of 50 people, were sitting in the chariot.

They are about to leave, and the Jinyi Army will escort them to Yunnan.

After leaving the Forbidden City, Zhao Yingqi stopped.

"Brother Song, please stay."

"Bon voyage, take care."

After Song Kuan finished speaking, he turned to the leader of the Jinyi Army who was escorting him.

"Treat each other with courtesy along the way, and don't make things difficult."

Zhao Yingqi glanced back at the Forbidden City, sighed inwardly, got on his horse and left.

Song Kuan watched the convoy go away until it disappeared from sight, then turned and walked towards the palace.

Is this the end of a dynasty?
He felt a little like a dream.

"I'm fine now, go back and do your thing."

Song Kuan stopped and said to Sun Tongren who had been by his side.

"Yes, my son, I will resign from my humble position."

Tongren Sun bowed and turned to leave.

Song Kuan stood for a while, then got up and walked towards the Compassion Palace.

After the first empress of Emperor Yuanheng passed away, there was no empress later. Therefore, after Emperor Tianyou came to the throne, there was no living empress dowager.

Not long after Emperor Yuanheng passed away, the imperial concubine also passed away due to illness.After Zhao Yingqi came to the throne, she named Concubine Zhou the imperial concubine.

Because Concubine Jia had passed away, Concubine Wu, who was left by the previous emperor, was made Grand Concubine.

The members of the royal family, like Prince Zhongshun, had already fled first, and the rest, who were planning to go with Zhao Yingqi this time, unexpectedly happened suddenly and became prisoners.

Fortunately, Song Kuan left them a way out and sent them to Yunnan, so they will be sent to Yunnan in batches.

Zhao Yingqi was the first to leave, and other members will also leave one after another.

The imperial concubine of Zhou Taihuang is the one who will leave in the future.

The imperial concubine Zhou Taihuang is actually very young. She is only in her 30s this year, not a few years older than Song Kuan.

What outsiders don't know is that Song Kuan has known Zhou Taihuang and his concubine for 20 years.

In adolescence,.The imperial concubine of Zhou Taihuang is Song Kuan's dream.

The imperial concubine Zhou Taihuang has a very poetic name, Zhou Xuezhuang.

Now, Song Kuan can finally meet his sister Xuezhuang in a dignified and victorious capacity.

Entering Ci Ninghong's courtyard gate, he saw a beautiful woman standing in the small garden.

The rosy face is very eye-catching in the garden where the flowers have withered.

Now that face is the only flower in bloom in the garden.

Zhou Xuezhuang walked towards Song Kuan slowly, and stood a step away from him.

The two maids in the courtyard disappeared at some point.

Looking at the peerless demeanor of the gorgeously dressed woman in front of him, Song Kuan couldn't help but think of the scene where they met at the Four Seas Inn in Dashilan a few days ago.

At that time, Zhou Xuezhuang quietly slipped out of the palace to meet him.Tell him that Zhao Yingqi is going to escape.

In fact, this news is of little value to Song Kuan, because he already knew about it from other sources.

However, sister Xuezhuang sneaked out of the palace to tell her the news, which still made him ecstatic.

At that moment, Song Kuan felt that Sister Xuezhuang still cared about him the same way she did ten years ago.

Song Kuan always believed that if sister Xuezhuang hadn't entered the palace later, he would have married sister Xuezhuang.

"You finally succeeded. Is this the end of a dynasty?"

"I didn't succeed, but this dynasty is indeed over."

Zhou Xue's well-maintained jade hands gently caressed Song Kuan's face.

"Actually, you did a great job. You entered the palace alone and established the overall situation in one fell swoop."

"What they were afraid of was not me, but the 40 troops behind me. To be more precise, it was Yuan Heng and Tianyou who destroyed their dynasty. We just pushed it behind."

"Don't underestimate yourself like this. In fact, countless people are envious of you."

"They don't know my suffering. My life is actually a failure. If I don't get Sister Xuezhuang, everything about me is meaningless."

"You won't say that the dynasty was destroyed for me, right? Are you taking revenge on the emperor for taking me away from you?"

"Sometimes I use this reason to comfort myself. In fact, no. What we want to do is to protect ourselves. Maybe others don't believe it, but that's what I think."

"In another 20 years, when you become the emperor, you won't think so."

"I don't know how to be an emperor. Being an emperor is very hard. Sometimes, I really want to be a person like Jia Min. I can do what I want to do."

"I don't want to hear the name Jia Min, it reminds me of Concubine Jia."

"She's been dead for a long time."

"Yesterday I dreamed that she was asking for my life. For me, get rid of Eunuch Zhou. Now he is the only one who knows."

"I am also an insider, and Zhao Yingqi is also an insider, should we get rid of them too?"

"Who has the ability to get rid of you? Zhao Yingqi won't say anything."

"Then what are you afraid of?"

"Jia Min is still alive."

"I don't want to be an enemy of Jia Min. If possible, I want to reconcile with him."

"I know, my sister can't control you now. Forget it, go in and have a seat."

"There are too many people talking, so I won't go in. I will take care of eunuch Zhou's affairs for my sister."

"Will we meet again?"

"Probably not."

"Is it because I'm old?"

"My sister is still so young, with a variety of styles, and a peerless elegance."

"Why then?"

"The current imperial concubine Zhou is no longer my sister Xuezhuang. The past will never come back. Take care, sister."

After Song Kuan finished speaking, he turned and left resolutely.After leaving the Palace of Compassion and Ning, a gust of autumn wind blew, unconsciously, leaving a line of tears.

Looking at the back of Song Kuan going away, Zhou Xuezhuang very much hoped that Song Kuan could turn around and let her take another look at that handsome face.

A dynasty is over, and a beautiful story is also over.All that's left is regret and sadness.

As the autumn wind blew, Zhou Xuezhuang gently wiped away her tears.

(End of this chapter)