When Yan Mu rushed to Chengtian Palace, Lao Jijiu had been driven out of the palace, but he was still scolding.
"Your Majesty, it is easier to conquer the world than to defend it. The ancestors laid the foundation for great prosperity. Even if the descendants can no longer open up new territories, they must hold on to this foundation! Your Majesty, at this time when the country is in crisis, please step out of here. Chengtian Palace, go outside and take a look. The war in Biennan has started, and the people in Biennan are in dire straits! How can you not see, how can you not hear, all the people are calling you, calling you to save them? Save them! This Moon Picking Tower cannot be built. Firstly, it will cost a lot of money. Secondly, it will hurt the hearts of the ministers and the people! They are all looking at you. If you are really a wise monarch, you should sit in that temple. Sir, I think with you and feel the suffering of the people!"
When several ministers who followed Yan Mu heard this, they paused a few steps away, shaking their heads and sighing.
Yan Mu glanced at the closed palace door, his face darkened, and he ordered several ministers to come forward and persuade the old priest to stop scolding him.
Every sentence he cursed was like a knife, cutting into the emperor's face. If he continued to curse, the emperor might kill him.
Several ministers rushed forward to persuade them, but Lao Jijiu didn't listen and pushed them away.
"Your Majesty, you must wake up. If you keep closing your eyes and listening like this, Dayong will be doomed!" Old Jijiu shouted sadly.
Several officials were so frightened that their faces turned blue, and they all asked Lao Jijiu to keep his voice down.
"I just want the emperor to hear it, and I'm going to beat him awake with a hammer!"
As he spoke, the old priest actually rushed up the steps, rushed to the palace gate, and shouted inside: "Your Majesty, I was once your master, and I taught you the way of a saint and the way of a king. You have probably forgotten all about it." ! Our country, Dayong, was once the most powerful country in the Central Plains. Since you came to the throne, our national strength has been declining day by day. Even now, other countries wantonly invade our borders, but we do not dare to challenge! Sad! Lamentable! Everything The root cause of the fault lies with you, Your Majesty! You harmed loyal people! You favored traitors and traitors! You are ignorant and ignorant!"
"Presumptuous!" shouted a voice from inside, it was the emperor's thunderous wrath.
"Everything I say, veteran minister, is true. Please, Your Majesty, rein in your horse and return to your right heart!"
After the old man said his righteous words, the inner hall suddenly fell silent. The silence was so terrifying.
Several ministers retreated behind Yan Mu, and the Minister of the Ministry of Industry whispered: "It's broken, it's broken, this old priest will cause a big disaster today."
Today, he called the emperor a coward and counted so many crimes. The emperor's temperament will definitely not spare him.
Several others were also wiping away the cold sweat over the old sacrificial wine. Among them, an official from the Ministry of War said: "If it doesn't work, can we take the old sacrificial wine away?"
"This is a good idea! You have to stop his mouth!"
"Let's go together!"
Just as several ministers were about to step forward, there was a sudden shout in the hall: "Come here, take down this...take down this old guy!"
This was the voice of the emperor. He was probably too angry to speak just now, and he was still out of breath at this moment.
At this order, the guards surrounded him from both sides.
"Your Majesty!" Old Jijiu shouted, "Can you stand up to the ancestors of the Qin family?"
"kill him!"
"Your Majesty! Wake up!"
Lao Jijiu shouted this at the top of his lungs, then with a fixed look in his eyes, he rushed towards the pillar next to him.
Under everyone's astonishment, there was a clang, and the old sacrificial wine splashed with blood on the spot with determination.
"Old sacrifice wine!"
Several ministers were shocked and rushed forward.
Seeing this scene, Yan Mu seemed to have been hit with a hammer, and he was stunned in place.
"Your Highness! Your Highness! I have something to tell you!" A minister shouted to Yan Mu.
Only then did Yan Mu come back to his senses and hurriedly ran forward, but saw that the old sacrificial wine man's face was covered with blood and he was looking straight at him with trembling lips, "Prince... Da Rong... cannot die... ...People of Darong...you are saved...you are...the Qin family...you were born with all this on your shoulders...you can't run away...you can't ignore...the prince...I, Darong, also had...a strong army and a strong horse...a prosperous age... …”
After saying the last sentence, Lao Jijiu closed his eyes.
"Old sacrifice wine!"
"Old sacrifice wine!"
Several ministers gathered around the old man and cried. He was a great Confucian and a teacher for everyone in the world.
After a long time, the emperor in the palace scolded: "The crime committed by Xu Zhong and below is a serious crime against the nine clans. This case will be handed over to the prince. All nine clans of the Xu family will be arrested and beheaded at the Meridian Gate in ten days!"
In the study room, Shangguan Xu and Hongxuan sighed repeatedly.
"The literati all over the world claim to be Mr. Xu's student. He is the true master of the world. Today, he died outside Chengtian Palace to show his ambition. The literati all over the world must be greatly shocked. If, Prince, you arrest his family at this time, you will be All of them will be beheaded, then you..." Hongxuan couldn't go on at this point and could only sigh.
Shangguan Xu continued: "Then you will be reviled by the literati of the world, no, maybe by the people of the world!"
"You have lost the support of the people."
"And this is a scapegoat, and the emperor clearly asked you to bear it."
"You still have to carry it."
"Everyone's looking at you."
"If you don't follow the Emperor's orders, you are disobeying the imperial edict. If you follow the Emperor's orders, you are a sinner through the ages."
"How to choose? I can't choose."
"Every step forward and every step back is an abyss."
The corner of Yan Mu's mouth twitched, "Can you two say something useful?"
Shangguan Xu sighed again, "It's useless."
Yan Mu was silent for a moment and said, "Arrest the Xu family first."
Shangguan Xu and Hongxuan sat up straight and looked at Yan Mu, "Your Highness, the Xu family cannot be killed!"
Yan Mu took a deep breath and said, "Who said I want to kill them."
"Then..." Hongxuan's thoughts changed and he immediately understood, "Your Highness is trying to show off to the emperor, and secondly, he is protecting them."
"Well, just in case someone with evil intentions takes advantage of the chaos and causes even greater trouble."
Shangguan Xu nodded, "It's just that the prince has to be scolded."
"Oh, I haven't been scolded enough?"
"What happens after that?"
Yan Mu took a deep breath and said, "Hold on."
On the same day, the camp on the outskirts of Beijing arrested the Xu family. Regardless of whether they were young or old, all members of the Nine Clans would be sent to prison. There were many people in the Xu family, including hundreds of people in Shengjing City alone, so the queue stretched for a long street, and the people watched on both sides of the street.
"The Xu family is very kind and charitable. They are all good people."
"Yes, they are a very kind family."
"Oh, what a sin, even the swaddling babies will be spared."
"I heard that the prince ordered the arrest."
"This is the traitorous minister."
"Prince Xu was also forced to have no choice. Let's not forget that during the famine, it was the Crown Princess who helped us."
"Yes, and the war at Zhenbeiguan that year was also put down by the prince."
"The riots in Nanzhou were also put down by the Prince's Zhenbei Army."
Going to the study room, Hongxuan stroked his beard and said, "Although the people have their own opinions, most of them did not scold the prince. They also said that I believe you will uphold justice for the Xu family and will not kill them."
Yan Mu sneered, "Where do they get their confidence in me?"
"The people have sharp eyes. They have seen everything you and the Crown Princess have done over the years."
Yan Mu snorted, "I don't even have confidence in myself."
After saying this, Shangguan Xu came and said that the civil servants of the DPRK and China were on hunger strike outside Chengtian Palace to protest that the Moon Tower could not be built.
