!--The beginning of the chapter-- In the eyes of the world, the emperor is a high-ranking emperor. He combines mythical colors and is respected by all people. The whole world is not the king's land, and the shore of the land is not the king's ministers!
The emperor raised his arms and shouted, millions of tigers threw their heads and shed blood, and all the elites in the world knelt down and obeyed!
This painting feels very beautiful when I think about it, but is it really like this in reality? Of course not, the above scenes are actually imagined by ordinary people themselves.
However, what is even more tragic is that many emperors themselves are trapped in this kind of dream and cannot extricate themselves. They look at their ministers and people shouting long live, and prostrate themselves on the ground one by one, as if they are really the lord of the world.
But are those civil and military officials lying on the ground really loyal to him?
If it were not for Lieutenant General Lin's accidental discovery, Zai Chun might not have known that such a smuggling network existed outside the customs for the rest of his life.
He would not even understand whether there was a deeper entanglement of interests behind every high-sounding word spoken by those sanctimonious gentlemen in the court.
He may not even know until he goes to his grave that the land outside the customs was actually sold by corrupt officials! In the late Qing Dynasty, how many officials were bribed with money by Western forces? How many people have been threatened with terror?
The seemingly calm water surface was sparkling, and the emperor looked at everything and thought the world was so peaceful and beautiful. However, he had no idea how many water snake monsters were lurking in the deep mud at the bottom of the lake, and how much fishy and foul-smelling mud was settling. .
Since ancient times, kings have been stupid because no one showed them the true side of the world. Especially when the emperor himself was educated by so-called loyal ministers, would this kind of education be selective?
Did the Confucian scholar who was responsible for educating the emperor have some small thoughts in his heart to protect the entire bureaucracy? Did he deliberately conceal something, or deliberately exaggerate something?
The poor emperor will always be a loner. Everyone around him is scheming against him, and they all hope that the emperor will become a puppet controlled by their own forces. The so-called loyalty to the Mingjun and the Holy Lord is all Confucian nonsense.
In fact, human beings are only loyal to the powerful, and they are never loyal to the weak!
What is even more depressing is that for their own benefit, no Confucian scholar group is willing to tell the emperor the truth about the world. They are more willing to weave a beautiful dream for the emperor to enjoy comfortably in it.
The Forbidden City is very good, so don't go out. If a rich man doesn't sit in the hall, it will be dangerous to go out! Besides, emperors who often go out are not good emperors, who waste money and people. Look, didn’t Emperor Yang of Sui lose his kingdom because of his love for traveling?
Your Majesty, go eat, drink, have fun and sleep with women in the Forbidden City. Such a big country has plenty of tax revenue to support you. What? You said you like the beautiful scenery of Jiangnan? No, how about I build you a new garden in Beijing? Just treat it as your new toy and have fun with it. For matters like running the country, you just have to be in a high-level position and don't get involved in grassroots matters.
Layers upon layers of man-made traps and obstacles trapped the emperor's body, mind, and vision in a square city, while people outside could naturally do whatever they wanted.
Bullying the subordinates and concealing the superiors, liaising with foreign countries, levying excessive taxes, feeding the common people, and smuggling trade... As long as you, the emperor, can't see them, and we have become a group, then who in the world can control them?
If Zai Chun hadn't been forcibly taken out of the Forbidden City by Xiao Letian, he might never have known that his ancestor's land of Longxing was actually sold. He would never have known how much local officials had done to deceive the emperor. of sin.
Just as Ning Guta's private soldiers were moving eastward with personal and material evidence, poor Zai Chun was locked in the confinement room of the Zhiyuan, and was bitterly looking forward to the return of his master.
"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu
"Master, I was wrong. I will never act recklessly again. I will definitely obey military orders from now on. Please let me go..."
It's a pity that no matter how hard Zai Chun begged, no one let him out, because Xiao Letian had already spoken before leaving. When he returned from the Amur River victorious, when would he let Zai Chun out again? This time he would give him life. An unforgettable punishment.
Since it was the Prime Minister's order, no one dared to disobey it, so no matter how miserable Zai Chun cried, no one came to release him.
But Xiao Letian also considered that Zai Chun is a child after all, and the punishment of confinement is very cruel. The claustrophobic environment is very harmful to people's psychology, so it is confinement in name but it is punished every day by Sakamoto Ryoma and Wang Huaiyuan. People take turns accompanying him, telling stories about the war and folk stories, which can be regarded as an adjustment to Zaichun's psychology.
Today, the shocking news about Qiqihar City was brought personally by Sakamoto Ryoma.
The little emperor, who was crying in the single room, suddenly heard a familiar sound of footsteps amidst the noise of machines. He rushed directly to the iron door, "It's the Dragon Warrior Master! Is it the Dragon Warrior Mage? I can't wait until you come." What good news is there today? What delicious food did you bring me?"
The guard opened the iron door, and Zai Chun rushed forward, hoping to get some delicious food just like the previous days, and then listen to the war stories told by the other party.
But what disappointed him was that today, Monk Long Shi had nothing in his hands, and his face was extremely ugly.
"What's wrong? You... why are you looking like this!"
"Amitabha! Your Majesty, I brought you bad news today, and I will teach you a sad lesson today! Carrier pigeons are coming from Qiqihar!"
"What! Is there news? Has Hunchun succeeded? Has the mutiny been successful?" Zai Chun is extremely concerned about this matter, because he knows very well that Hunchun is loyal to him. As long as Hunchun can stand firm in these two provinces, he will be here. sphere of influence.
"Your Majesty, please take a seat... let's take a look at this latest information first!"
The secret letter was written by Lieutenant General Lin. In addition to briefly describing the process of the mutiny, the last part contained secret information from ten years ago.
The more Zai Chun looked, the more shocked he became. His mouth opened wide and he kept shaking his head, "No, it's fake! Haha, this is all fake! Impossible, how is it possible... misunderstandings, all misunderstandings!"
With a snap, the secret letter was slapped on the table. "Yishan is my uncle. He was born in a yellow belt. How could he betray the country! It's impossible. You are lying to me..." Zai Chun's voice became sharp.
Sakamoto Ryoma whispered the Buddha's name in his mouth. He was trying to soothe Zai Chun's angry heart, "Amitabha! Your Majesty, don't be angry. Is it true? We can wait for human and physical evidence!"
"These secret account books not only exposed the secrets from ten years ago, but also exposed the entire spy network of the imperial court outside the customs! Standing behind Yishan and Tepuxin are the Queen Mother and the Prince, who have raised their families through the profits of this smuggling network. Countless spies worked carefully..."
"We can arrest people based on the intelligence, and I think we will be able to dig out a lot of big fish! These are all circumstantial evidence... Don't worry, what is black cannot be whitened, and what is white cannot be blackened!"
