Before Nagasaki was pacified, Liu Zhaosun hid deep in the palace of Zuohe City and practiced immortality and alchemy in a secret room.
Because the Supreme Emperor had lived in seclusion for a long time, many civil and military officials did not know his whereabouts.
As the saying goes, the divine dragon sees its head but not its tail. This is probably true.
All major military and state affairs of the Eastern Expedition were summarized by Dongfang Zhu and Francisco, and relayed to the Emperor every three days.
For a time, the chief steward and the high priest were so powerful that they could be said to be less than one person and more than ten thousand people.
However, the commanders-in-chief of various corps and civil affairs officials wanted to see the Supreme Emperor but could not.
All the civil and military officials who followed the Eastern Expedition were resentful.
So many people compare the Supreme Emperor to the former Ming Jiajing Emperor Zhu Houcong.
However, this metaphor is obviously biased.
During Sejong's reign, the south invaded and the north invaded, and Mongolian Ada Khan invaded the border for many years. In the 29th year of Jiajing, his troops even came to Beijing. This is known as the "Gengxu Incident" in history. The Japanese invaders invaded the southeastern coast, and it was like entering an uninhabited country. . The Supreme Emperor had already controlled Mongolia and was now wiping out the Japanese kingdom. Naturally, Ming Shizong could not compare with such extraordinary achievements.
The analogy between Zhu Houcong, the former Ming Dynasty Emperor, and the Supreme Emperor of Daqi means that they ignored the common people in the world, believed in Taoism, and insisted on seeking immortality. In the end, they both led to palace coup... This is a story for later, so I won't mention it for now.
~~~~
Not surprisingly, Zhao Zhijiao failed to meet the Supreme Emperor.
In the palace living room, Eunuch Dongfang's old face was filled with a false flattery.
Zhao Shujiao looked at him carefully and found that after not seeing him for several months, the eunuch's Adam's apple had grown back, but his voice still maintained its former softness:
"Ah, the old general's arrival is really unlucky. Your Majesty has just taken the elixir and is still in the secret room doing meditation at the moment. He has not come out of seclusion. If you want anything, let's discuss it tomorrow!"
Zhao Lijiao frowned. He had known that the Supreme Emperor was determined to practice Xuanxuan and stayed away from his ministers. He did not expect that when he came all the way from Nagasaki, the Supreme Emperor was not there.
"I came here from Nagasaki on a starry night. This is a major military and state matter that cannot be delayed. Please go in and report it immediately, father-in-law!"
After hearing this, Dongfang Zhu said calmly: "Report immediately? I'm afraid it's hard to obey. General Zhao doesn't know. The Supreme Emperor's soul has left his body and is only the last step away from ascension. Now is the most critical time. It must not be separated." Heart·····"
With that said, he waved his hand to the young eunuch to send Zhao Shujiao out of the palace.
Zhao was unwilling to leave, so he pushed away the young eunuch who stepped forward to help him, and shouted loudly: "What this general is discussing is a major military and national matter, so there is no need to talk about distractions!"
Dongfang Zhu saw his ferocity and said impatiently: "As far as the Emperor is concerned, all other things are trivial! Doesn't General Zhao know?"
Zhao Shujiao didn't talk nonsense to him. He stepped forward and pushed Dongfang Zhu away and said angrily: "Get out of the way!"
The high priest hurriedly stepped forward to dissuade him and reassured him: "Don't be angry, General Zhao. Meeting with the Supreme Emperor now requires an appointment in advance. This is the case for the chief officers of all the corps, even...even the envoys from the Kingdom of Sweden. "
Just at the beginning of this month, the envoy sent by Mr. Gu arrived at Zuohe City after a long journey, preparing to discuss the marriage between the two countries with the Emperor of Qi.
Dongfang Zhu staggered after being pushed, struggled to stand up, pointed at Zhao Shujiao's nose and cursed:
"You are so brave, you dare to interrupt the Supreme Emperor's Qing Xiu, and delay the Holy Emperor from becoming an immortal. How many heads do you have to chop off!
"
With a bang, Zhao led the teacher and drew out his sword:
"In the past two years, the Holy One has been obsessed with cultivating immortals and ignored the government. Recently, even the generals have disappeared. It seems that it is all caused by sycophants like you. You deceived the superiors and deceived the inferiors. It is a heinous crime. I will kill the thieves for the country today. Kill them first. You eunuch!
"
The long sword slashed his head, and the surrounding guards were dumbfounded. They didn't expect anyone would dare to do this to Eunuch Dongfang.
After all, Dongfang Zhu was from a humble background and had never seen anything like this before. He also drew his sword, blocked the opponent's weapon, and screamed angrily:
"Well, Mr. Zhao, if you don't drink a toast, you'll have to drink wine as a penalty. If you dare to draw a sword in the palace, we think you're tired of living!"
The two started playing ping pong in the palace. The guards on the side had never seen this battle before and did not dare to step forward.
Pull the rack.
Dongfang Zhu was tall and burly, like a hill. He was young and powerful. After a few rounds, he forced Zhao Lijiao into a corner.
The father-in-law was not as gentle and courteous as the Supreme Emperor, so he waved his sword and said angrily:
"Zhao Shujiao! You are so brave! Ignoring the Emperor's repeated orders, you killed innocent people in Nagasaki. You slaughtered the city until only the old, young, women, and children were left. You destroyed a good port, burned so many ships, and delayed the Emperor's important events. , I didn’t know how to apologize when I came back, and I still dared to disturb the Supreme Emperor’s Qing Xiu. His crime deserves death!”
"Even Emperor Guangde was very courteous when he met our family. How dare you, a warrior, be so rude. Today, our family will kill you, the disloyal and unjust person, for the Qi army!"
When Francisco saw that Dongfang Zhu had murderous intentions, he quickly stood in front of Zhao Zhijiao and muttered something. While the high priest prayed to God, he comforted Dongfang Zhu and told him not to act rashly again.
Dongfang Zhu was willing to listen. He stepped forward and kicked the Portuguese away, knocking the sword out of Zhao Shujiao's hand. Just as he was about to continue, he suddenly heard a familiar voice from behind:
After training, the body resembles the shape of a crane, with two scriptures under a thousand pine trees.
I came to ask but I can't help but say, the clouds are in the sky and the water is in the bottle.
When several people looked back, the Supreme Emperor was wearing a Taoist robe, holding a fly whisk, walking in the wind, and arrived at the main hall without knowing when.
Dongfang Zhu stopped moving, as motionless as a statue.
"Your Majesty, you don't want to do it after seventy-seven forty-nine days..."
Everyone around him had knelt down and bowed to the Supreme Emperor.
The Supreme Emperor looked indifferent, sitting on the throne, leaning over to look at the trembling chief steward, his expression was like water:
"Dongfang Zhu, are you going to kill Zhao Lvjiao?"
Dongfang Zhu quickly dropped his sword, his head shaking like a rattle.
"I, I don't dare, I'm just trying to scare him, I'm..."
The Emperor waved his fly whisk, and Dongfang Zhu's upper and lower lips immediately stuck together, as if someone had sewn them up with needle and thread.
Dongfang Zhu was speechless and could only grab the ground with his head. He kept kowtowing to the Supreme Emperor, and blood soon oozed from his forehead.
The Supreme Emperor sighed: "At first, I saw that you were addicted to women and were in danger of your life, so I castrated you and made you a eunuch to follow me. Now that you have gained a little power, you pretend to be powerful and get carried away. What? You dare to say treasonous things, but it seems your tongue is useless."
"Things that are useless should be taken back."
Dongfang Zhu's face turned pale, he whined and kowtowed harder.
The Supreme Emperor looked at Zhao Lijiao and said with a pleasant look, "It's up to you to deal with this person, whether to kill him or not."
Zhao Shujiao was stunned. It was not that he was shocked because the Supreme Emperor was so cruel to Dongfang Zhu. What he didn't expect was that the Supreme Emperor actually had magic power. Could he really be about to become an immortal?
"My words are often rude, and it is reasonable for Eunuch Dongfang to be furious. Eunuch is just a mortal, not comparable to the Holy One. I remember that he has followed the Holy One for many years, and I beg for forgiveness."
"Okay, don't make mistakes and don't show off your anger. It seems that Yuan Chonghuan really did not misjudge the person back then."
The Supreme Emperor nodded slightly.
Dongfang Zhu's sticky lips immediately let go, his face turned pale with fear and his whole body trembled.
"Back off."
Dongfang Zhu retreats in frustration.
"I know about Nagasaki."
The Supreme Emperor did not blame Zhao Lijiao for his rudeness.
As the saying goes, if you are not in charge, you will not seek to govern. Zhao led the teachings eager for revenge, and it was difficult to form a comprehensive understanding of the empire.
"The Choshu Domain must be defeated, but not now. Honshu is the home base of the Japanese nation and the source of evil. If we start a war rashly, the losses suffered by the army will be several times that of Kyushu. If you are not careful, it will happen again fifteen years ago. It’s the same mistake, so I want to kill the shogun first, let them collapse, and then destroy them one by one.”
The Supreme Emperor continued:
"You killed tens of thousands of people in Nagasaki, burned hundreds of Japanese ships, and made Toshige Baba's head into a drinking vessel."
Zhao Lijiao was neither humble nor arrogant: "Exactly, I made a big mistake to avenge Mr. Yuan. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."
The Emperor said nothing.
During this expedition to Japan, he made repeated orders to ensure that the port of Nagasaki be preserved. Unexpectedly, so many people died.
Once the killing begins, it is difficult to stop.
Tragic scenes of war appeared before his eyes: burned-down cities and charred and twisted corpses.
"Mencius said, what's the difference between killing with a stick and a knife? I want to ask, what's the difference between killing one person and killing ten million people? In the end, both will go to hell."
"Zhenzhen Zhang said that the Japanese pirates are the descendants of evil gods, and that the Japanese country is the source of evil. The day when the Japanese are destroyed is also the day when I will ascend in the daytime. Regardless of whether this is true or not, now, I am a little hesitant..."
There was a hint of confusion in the Emperor's eyes.
"Xie Yang told me that it would be more cost-effective to kill all the Japanese, burn them all, and plunder them all than to send troops to garrison them for a long time. He also said that my becoming an immortal is not inconsistent with the army's plunder... If this is the case, the Japanese will have a chance. Ten million or fifteen million people were killed."
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, haven't you always longed to become an immortal?"
Of course Zhao Shujiao didn't know that for the Supreme Emperor, becoming an immortal meant death, because the person who slaughtered 10 million people must also be a mandrill.
Regardless of whether the Japanese are really descendants of evil gods, it is only natural that those who kill should pay with their lives.
In the reincarnation of heaven, someone must pay for all the crimes committed by the Eastern Expedition.
The Supreme Emperor is the one who repays the debt.
Death is the only way to repay.
The Supreme Emperor believed in destiny, which guided him step by step to the present and to death.
"I long to become an immortal, just like a prisoner on death row longs for death. Now that things have come to this, I can only let nature take its course."
"After Tokugawa Iemitsu is killed, on the sixth day of the first lunar month of next year, the birthday of Empress Dowager Cishou, the northern and southern armies will besiege Honshu, striving to completely destroy the Japanese country and slaughter the evil gods within three months. By then, Honshu Island will sink into the sea. And I will also ascend, and this is the end."
The Supreme Emperor waved away the crowd and stared at the east, like a statue of a god, his whole body glowing with yellow light and motionless.
