Demoness, where are you Fleeing to?
Chapter 776 - 639: Return from the Teacher 4_2

Chapter 776: Chapter 639: Return from the Teacher 4_2

Liang Heng, upon hearing this, asked in confusion, "Xiaowei Yuan, what exactly are you trying to say?"

Yuan Bin, the Xiaowei of the Xiuyiwei, with a cold expression on his face, said, "Just half a month ago, under the pretext of eliminating bandits and the White Lotus Sect, the Zongbing of the transportation army, Li Chengji, gathered thirty thousand troops and stationed them in the Hejian Government!"

Everyone suddenly understood. Zongbing Li Chengji was the father of Li Xuan.

Liang Heng couldn’t help but secretly marvel at Li Xuan’s deep and far-reaching planning, then he shook his head.

He thought to himself, no matter how cunning and calculating Li Xuan might be, all it would take was for the Jingtai Emperor and the imperial grandson to die, and His Majesty would completely grasp the righteousness. At that time, even if Li Xuan had the ability to reach the heavens, he would have no choice but to face defeat and destruction.

If this man dares to lead his troops into the capital, he will show Li Xuan on the battlefield what military strategy and formations are. He will show what General Zhenshuo Liang Heng, who was once a formidable adversary to the Shiwei’s Yexian is made of!

However, before all that, they have a more urgent matter to take care of.

※※※※

About two moments later, the True Emperor Zhengtong arrived at the Taihe Gate’s Yizheng Hall.

At this point, more than a thousand court officials had already assembled here, most of them turning pale as paper, their legs shaking.

When Liang Heng started his rebellion, these courtiers were still handling affairs in the Six Yamens. Some servants and shangshus received the directive from Yu Hongchang at that time, telling them to quickly enter the palace for a meeting at Wenhua Palace.

However, Liang Heng’s lightning-fast move caught them off guard. The moment he started, he used a thousand warhorses to block the Chengtian Gate, separating the palace city inner and outer areas.

With the six ministries and the mansion of the Du Du located right in front of Chengtian Gate, these civil and military officials failed to react in time. The majority of them were trapped within their offices, then, under the threat of the Jingying Forbidden Army’s swords and blades, they arrived at Taihe Gate.

This included Cifu Gao Gu and Minister of Revenue Xiao Ci among others.

When the True Emperor Zhengtong entered the hall, almost everyone present looked at him with unease and curiosity.

Zhengtong Emperor strode forward like a shooting star and took his place on the throne.

As he sat on this familiar throne, facing a hall full of courtiers, the Zhengtong Emperor was filled with various emotions. There was relief, pleasure, and also ambitious aspirations.

The only thing that put a damper on his spirits was that the imperial seal in front of him only had ’Emperor’s Treasure of Heaven’, the rest of the seals had been taken by Yu Hongshang to the Qianqing Palace.

The Jingtai Emperor in Qianqing Palace, Yu Hongshang and that imperial grandson, as long as these three people remained alive, they would be the thorn in his side.

In addition, there were also the court officials in front of him. The Grand Secretary Chen Xun and the Minister of Punishments Yu Shiyue, the core officials of the Emperor’s faction, were absent.

Three out of the five people of the cabinet were missing, and four out of the six ministers were not present, which somewhat diminished the importance of this court meeting.

However, the Zhengtong Emperor was not surprised. Those like Chen Xun and Yu Shiyue, who held high positions and possessed middle heaven level combat prowess, if they really wanted to leave, the Jingying Forbidden Army wouldn’t be able to stop them.

At that time, Liang Heng was busy attacking the palace gate and had no time to care about these people.

Just as the True Emperor Zhengtong was lost in his thoughts, Liang Heng, positioned at the head of the military ministers, suddenly moved forward and knelt down: "Your Majesty, the True Emperor! Today, the Emperor fell severely ill due to the treachery of the Shiwei and has passed away within Qianqing Palace. This is indeed a great loss for our country! It is filling us with heartbreak and outrage."

A few tears even squeezed out of the corners of Liang Heng’s eyes. "But it is said, that a country cannot be without a ruler for a day, and a family cannot be without a master for a day! The pressing matter at hand is that our Great Jin’s throne is empty. Without a ruler, a country will fall into chaos and the people will be lost. I beseech Your Majesty, for the sake of the world and the people, to ascend to the throne once again today and rule over the lands!"

Behind him, a large number of military ministers also knelt down on the ground, one after another: "We beseech Your Majesty to ascend to the throne!"

Some of the scholars in the ranks were also on their knees, echoing the chorus of cheers of the crowd.

However, the overwhelming majority, including Cifu Gao Gu and the Minister of Revenue Xiao Ci, wore expressions of hesitation on their faces.

The assembly of officials was stunned by the resonating hum of Liang Heng’s words, particularly by the phrase ’Jingtai Emperor is already dead in the Qianqing Palace’.

A portion of the scholars was filled with anger, they did not believe Liang Heng and were outraged by the reinstatement of Zhengtong Emperor.

At this moment, Liang Heng abruptly stood up, gripping his waist knife and staring at the crowd, "His Majesty is the legitimate son of Xuan Emperor and the legitimate grandson of Ren Emperor. Thirteen years ago, he ascended to the throne of the Jin dynasty, and as the saying goes, ’Upon the elder brother’s death, the younger succeeds.’ Now that the Emperor is deceased and left no heir, it is only natural for His Majesty to inherit the throne. You scholars, don’t you uphold the principle of rites and laws? Is there anything wrong with what Liang has said?"

Among the officials, a Jishizhong from the Ministry of Rites stood up, "What General Liang said is correct, but His Majesty had previously designated an heir —"

Before he could finish, a flash of his knife cut off his head, blood splattering several feet away.

Liang Heng, with his long saber in hand and a snarling grin on his face, declared, "A country depends on its ruler, and a baby of just a few months is not suitable to inherit the throne. Anyone who dares to utter such detrimental and chaotic words shall be beheaded!"

His eyes, filled with wrath, pierced the crowd; the icy intimation of his blade hanging over every official’s neck, "His Majesty’s ascendance to the throne is rightful and accords with the rites and laws! Are those of you who refuse to endorse His Majesty planning treason?"

At that moment, the former Emperor Zhengtong was secretly frightened by Liang Heng’s violent and domineering behavior.

However, seeing the terror striking the officials into silence, he unexpectedly felt a sense of satisfaction.

After a long silence, some of the officials started kneeling. This included Cifu Gao Gu and the Minister of Revenue Xiao Ci, "Your Majesty, please ascend to the throne!"

Yet, inside the Yizheng Hall, there were still over three hundred scholars and more than a hundred and seventy military officers standing motionless. Their numbers accounted for half of the court.

At that moment, another Jishizhong from the Ministry of Rites stood up, "This situation violates our tradition! Firstly, the matter of the emperor’s life and death should be confirmed by the chief officials of Rites Department, and then declared to the whole world. Secondly, out of the five members of the Cabinet and Six Ministers, there are only—"

Before he could finish, Liang Heng, his eyes bulging in outrage, beheaded him on the spot.

He tried to intimidate the officials with his violent menace, but yet another Imperial Censor came forward, "I am the Jiancha Yushi Zhang Neng, I would like to ask His Majesty, where is the present Jianguo? Where is the imperial grand—"

Without letting him finish, Liang Heng was stupefied as the scholars, one by one, rose to their feet, glaring at him from the hall.

"A bunch of fools defying death!" Liang Heng gave them a murderous glance, but in the end he did not dare behead them. In irritation, he ordered, "Drag these traitors away and detain them in the Zhao Prison for trial."

After everyone standing in the hall was dragged away, he kneeled to the Zhengtong Emperor again, "Long live His Majesty! Long live! Long live!"

The echoing cheers of the officials caused Zhengtong Emperor’s face to blush with pride.

The excitement of regaining the throne temporarily overwhelmed the unease given to him by the five hundred officials.

The first thing he did next was to channel the Dragon Qi, gathered from all directions, into his six Darkdragon Guards standing by his side.

This revitalised them, restoring three to four percent of their strength, approximately at the middle heaven level.

The reason behind this was that his ascension to the throne had not yet been recognized by the people or widely accepted by the officials. With insufficient righteousness and prestige, the Dragon Qi he could summon was limited.

Yet it was sufficient to attack the Qianqing Palace.

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