The Nine Kingdoms of the Central Plains had existed since ancient times.
Monarchs and emperors had different opinions.
Civil and military officials, loyal and evil, each has its own merits.
Among them, the two rulers of the country, Zhen Zong of the Southern Tang Dynasty and Min Emperor of the Western Shu Dynasty, were the most loved by the world.
It was because the two emperors were like the two extremes of ice and fire, completely different from each other, but they were also like the same tree.
Southern Tang, Western Shu, and the Turks were connected by the borders of the three countries.
The Turks were strong, while the Southern Tang and Western Shu were weak.
Ten years ago, the Southern Tang's 'Xi Zong' Li Chang and the Western Shu 'Wen Emperor' Yang Hua met at the border of the two countries. The two countries formed an alliance of brothers to unite the strength of the two countries to resist the Turks.
When the two countries formed an alliance, they would definitely show off their muscles (armies) to show off.
This way, they could gain more authority in the alliance between the two countries and also deceive themselves by hinting that 'my Southern Tang (my Western Shu) is not the weakest country.'
However, just pulling the army out to practice their formation and martial arts was a little flashy. As the saying goes,'Whether it's a mule or a horse, you have to pull it out for a walk.' If they did not fight with real weapons, who would be convinced that the other party was stronger than them?
However, at the moment when the two countries were forming an alliance, if the two countries 'armies suffered casualties in the so-called' martial arts competition,'not only would it not look good for each other, but it would also cause a gap in their hearts, causing the alliance between the two countries to exist in name only. That would be the real loss.
Since he couldn't fight the army, he would fight the monarch.
Of course, it was not the two emperors who rolled up their sleeves and personally fought.
Instead, it was a friendly exchange between the two princes.
Who was the person that Li Chang, the Xi Sect of the Southern Tang Dynasty, disliked the most?
It was none other than Prince Xin Li Jian.
To what extent?
He did not like to see Li Chang of the Xi Sect address Li Jian as 'Prince Xin' in the imperial court, other than when he was offering sacrifices to the heavens and ancestors.
It was all because this Southern Tang Crown Prince spent his days either in poetry, wine, calligraphy, painting, or swords, halberds, bows, and sabers. Although he could be said to be a master of both martial and civil arts, he did not care about political tactics or governing the country at all.
You are the crown prince of the Southern Tang Dynasty. So what if you are good at literature and martial arts? Not learning how to use power, not learning how to govern the country, isn't this putting the cart before the horse!
Li Jian's mother's family was a large family in the Southern Tang Dynasty. Li Jian would borrow money from his uncle, who was the family head, every few days to buy rare paintings, divine weapons, famous horses, and beautiful women.
Rumor had it that the treasures in the crown prince's treasury were almost as valuable as the treasures in the palace treasury.
Li Jian usually made friends with some poor scholars and rural martial artists. To put it nicely, he was 'courteous to the virtuous and corporal.' In the eyes of his 'Emperor father', it was this' Crown Prince's son 'who made friends with some' bad friends.'
The most criticized thing was that Li Jian was romantic and passionate. In the residence, other than the crown prince's consort who came from a famous family, there were also Fengyi, Zhaoxun, Chenghui, Liangyuan, Liangdi, a total of seven concubines.
Apart from that, he also won the favor of many young ladies from noble families and was known as the Southern Tang Dynasty's 'Young Lady's Friend.'
If it wasn't for Li Jian, Li Chang's only son, his position as Crown Prince would have been abolished long ago.
On the other hand, the West Shu side was the exact opposite. The West Shu Crown Prince, Yang Ying, was described in modern terms as the 'model of the Crown Prince and the representative of the Crown Princes'.
Yang Hua, Emperor Wen of Western Shu, had a special hobby. He liked to go out in civilian clothes to inspect the residences of important officials, princes, and princes.
There was once when Emperor Wen of Western Shu went on an inspection tour in plain clothes and arrived at the residence of Crown Prince Yang Ying. He 'coincidentally' discovered the musical instruments in the Crown Prince's residence. The strings were rusted and covered in dust. It had been a long time since they had been used and maintained. Yang Hua happily praised Yang Ying for 'not liking singing and dancing geisha, but devoted himself to politics and studies'. As a result,' the zither was rusted and covered in dust'. He praised Yang Ying greatly.
Prince Yang Yingping destroyed the rebellion of the Tang family in Shu. Emperor Wen rewarded him with a chariot, a horse, a royal crown, a black Gui, a white jade, and an ancient armor of Western Shu.
Yang Ying spent a large sum of money to invite Daoist Master Shi Xuan, the head of the Heaven Mending Temple in Western Shu, to decorate the ancient armor with patterns. He then gave it to his uncle, the younger brother of Emperor Wen Yang Hua, the Sword King, Yang Zhong.
Yang Hua was furious when he heard this. He wasn't angry that Yang Ying had given the imperial gift to Sword King Yang Zhong. In fact, Yang Hua was hoping that Yang Ying and Yang Zhong could get closer to each other. After all, Yang Zhong was the 'guardian minister' that he had prepared for Yang Ying. If they had a good relationship, after Yang Ying ascended the throne in the future, the territory of Western Shu would be even more stable.
Yang Hua was angry that Yang Ying had spent a large sum of money to invite Taoist Qi cultivators to decorate the ancient armor with patterns. This would cause the entire West Shu dignitaries to follow suit and help increase the trend of luxury.
Unexpectedly, on the second day, the Sword King Yang Zhong went to the palace to meet the emperor. It turned out that Yang Ying had asked the Heaven Mending Temple's Perfected Shi Xuan to decorate the ancient armor with not ordinary patterns. Instead, under the premise of not reducing the defense power of the armor and not increasing the difficulty of making it, he modified the Western Shu's 'one-piece armor' into 'piece-together armor'.
It looked like it was for decoration, but in fact, it greatly reduced the iron ingot and time used to make the armor.
Moreover, if the previous one-piece armor was damaged, the repair process would be slow and complicated. If more than 30% of the armor was damaged, the entire armor would have to be melted down and recast.
As for the Assembly Armor, it could be repaired and replaced, saving a lot of repair time, avoiding the waste of fire during recasting, and increasing the service life of the armor.
A rough estimate was that it could save nine million taels of silver for West Shu every year, which was almost thirty percent of the total income of West Shu's national treasury.
Yang Ying was also loyal and did not like women.
The number of maids in the Crown Prince's residence was only the minimum number required for a country's Crown Prince. He only ate and slept with the Crown Princess Consort Xiao every day. Whether it was the palace or the people, there had never been any rumors about him. Everyone in the palace praised Yang Ying's virtue.
Every time Yang Ying went to court, he would only sit in a light carriage pulled by a single horse. The two attendants who accompanied him were also dressed frugally and plainly. He was very kind and humble to his courtiers when he had nothing to do or when he was rewarding them. If there was an order or punishment, he would be impartial.
When the two countries met, they fought with each other in literature, chess, Fu and classics, policy, army and farmers, and martial arts with bows, horses, guns and knives.
Yang Ying, the Crown Prince of Western Shu, had a mother who was a noble daughter of the Giant Spirit Clan, an ancient clan of Western Shu. Yang Ying also inherited half of her mother's bloodline. He was tall, heroic, and had boundless strength.
In Western Shu, in terms of martial arts, Yang Ying was only second to Sword King Yang Zhong.
Li Jian, the Crown Prince of the Southern Tang Dynasty, was also handsome and imposing after wearing the armor.
The people of both countries knew that the Southern Tang Crown Prince was skilled in martial arts, but no one had expected that his martial arts would be so powerful that he could suppress Yang Ying, the second strongest expert of Western Shu. Judging from his posture, even Yang Zhong, the Sword King, the strongest expert of Western Shu, might not be able to defeat Li Jian.
During the chess competition, the tall and mighty Prince of Western Shu, Yang Ying, charged forward, broke the thrusts, and broke the seals. He frequently used the "ear red attacking hand". Li Jian's side also blocked the top and retreated skillfully, defending tightly.
During the war, Yang Ying's theory of politics and agriculture was thought-provoking. Li Jian's military governance was unique.
It was precisely these two Crown Princes who had completely different personalities and actions that ended up in a battle where there was no difference in literary skills and no winner in martial arts.'
After that, Emperor Wen of Western Shu regarded Yang Ying with even more importance. Xi Zong of the Southern Tang Dynasty also looked at Li Jian in a new light.
(It's March 25th, 2019, 18:22 points. I was setting the timing for the release of chapter 28 when I saw the total views of "The Pale of the King of Beiliang" displayed on the computer: 127 views, 1 weekly views, 164 recommendation votes, and 9 weekly recommendation votes. My heart ached. These 164 recommendation votes were voted by my son and me. In other words, this book had only five favorites so far and had not received a single recommendation ticket.
Although he knew that this had a lot to do with the fact that he only updated one chapter of 2000 words per day at the beginning. However, I still feel a little uncomfortable. I'm 64 years old this year, but I still insist on getting up at 5 am every morning and writing until 11 pm before going to bed. I write 16 out of 18 hours a day. I've said more than once that I'm only posting one chapter a day. I'm saving my manuscripts so that everyone can read them comfortably in the future. I won't stop updating. There was a limited number of recommendation tickets per day, so he could just give one to the bookworm. I've already written 47 chapters of this book, and that's even after perfecting the characters, background, geography, events, and other settings every day. As these settings become more and more perfect, I'll write more smoothly and faster every day. I'm not a fast writer, but in order to write this novel, I asked my son to teach me how to type five strokes. He said that this is faster than Pinyin. I've been practicing for three months, and now I can write 45 to 60 words per minute using software. For a moment, he had the urge to post all the manuscripts in his hand. A book friend told me to look for the author of "In the Snow" and ask him for authorization. This way, we can avoid future copyright disputes. Otherwise, it will be difficult to even sign a contract. The old man said that the inspiration for "The Pale of the King of Beiliang" came from "In the Snow", but the theme, main plot, unfolding plot, character setting, and so on were all original works. There was no plagiarism from the original works of "In the Snow" at all. Legally and literarily,"The Pale of the King of Beiliang" was completely original. Sometimes, I also wonder if it's because I'm old. The things written by a 64-year-old man make people think that they can't keep up with the times and trends. Or are you worried that I'm not in good health and might stop updating completely? Although the old man was 64 years old, it was really unfair to say that he was outdated. The old man had watched all kinds of movies, TV series, anime, and novels. The old man had been playing the game for more than a year. Every day, he would read all kinds of news and post entertainment posts on the Internet. He knew about the TV series and the Marvel series. Li Han also understood that he was Li Xueqin's meme. The old man had also watched an internet celebrity's live broadcast for a month. He didn't look at the woman! And they were all watching beside my wife. He didn't tip her a single cent! Speaking of health, the old man felt that he should be able to live for at least another 20 years. My parents had lived to be in their 90s, and there were no hereditary diseases in the family. The most important thing was that the old man loved sports. Even if he started writing now, he would go out to swim and climb mountains with his neighbors every Sunday. Today, he spent 180 yuan on a second-hand spinning bike online. Tomorrow, he would go and pick it up. In the future, after writing for two to three hours, he would ride the bike for half an hour to relax the blood circulation in his neck, waist, and legs. Therefore, unless there was a natural disaster like an earthquake or a comet hitting the earth, or a car accident while crossing the road, the old man could write for at least another 10 to 15 years in good health. He had written so much today because he wanted to vent the negative emotions in his heart and then continue writing with full enthusiasm. Gold would always shine. At least when the old man read his own writing, he felt that it was very good. He was also willing to show it to his relatives, friends, and neighbors who knew him. Even if he could not sign the contract, the old man would treat it as a form of entertainment and continue to write. My son asked me to post it on Weibo. He said that I could set the picture lock and pay to unlock it. I could also make money. He doesn't understand my heart. Although I also want to earn money, I want to prove myself more. That's why I came to Qidian. This online writer has the highest quality and is the best place to judge whether a work is good or bad. Alright, the old man was done venting. Now that he was full of motivation, he continued writing.）
In the first month of the second year after the alliance between the two countries, Li Chang, the 'Xi Zong' of the Southern Tang Dynasty, and Yang Hua, the 'Emperor Wen' of the Western Shu Dynasty, fell seriously ill. The two princes were in charge of the country.
Half a year later, Li Chang and Yang Hua died of illness.
Li Jian and Yang Ying succeeded to the throne.
These two emperors were both succeeded by the Young Emperor. They were all alone in the court and did not have the support of any trusted aides.
The two of them were equally skilled in both martial arts and martial arts.
From the starting point, the two new emperors were exactly the same. However, the path they took and the results they obtained were completely different.
In the fifth year after the two of them took the throne, a folk song written by an unknown person was widely spread in the world:
To test the jade to burn three days full, to identify the material to wait for seven years.
When Emperor Zhenzong was in charge of rumors, Emperor Mindi was humble and respectful at that time.
If I had died at that time, who would know whether my life was true or false?
This ballad was about what Zhenzong Li Jian and Mindi Yang Ying did after they succeeded to the throne. It was a world of difference from when they were princes.
After Li Jian ascended the throne, the first imperial edict he issued was a self-reproaching edict. This new emperor of Southern Tang had set three major crimes for himself when he was the crown prince:
'Collect rare treasures, play with toys and learn less.'
'Ignorant government, lazy, not fulfilling his duties'
'Eat extravagantly, use extravagantly, enjoy life in ease
Then, within ten days, Li Jian paid a visit to the sixty-four officials with gifts, hoping that he could complement the unity of the ministers and officials.
In terms of governing the country, Li Jian proposed the 'Nine Laws of Raising the Nation' to reduce taxes, reduce corvee, increase the pay of elite soldiers, attach importance to merchants and craftsmen,'set up an inner court to act as the internal affairs of the Imperial Palace',' set up an inner court to supervise the training of the Imperial Guards ',' set up a school to raise and recommend talents for the Southern Tang', and 'set up a military academy to recruit generals and officers from various prefectures Dao City and their sons to the capital. They would stay in the capital for a long time, either to teach or to study.'
This Emperor Zhenzong had even sold all the precious calligraphy and paintings, divine weapons, famous horses, and antiques he had collected when he was the Crown Prince to the largest merchant association in the Southern Song Dynasty, the Great Prosperity. The gold and silver he obtained were used to implement the new policies.
After this once flirtatious Southern Tang's Young Lady Friend ascended the throne, other than making the original Crown Princess the Empress and the seven concubines the Imperial Concubine and Imperial Concubine, she did not marry any other beautiful women.
In the palace, more than half of the palace maids were dismissed. This included Li Jian, the Empress, the Imperial Noble Concubines, the Imperial Concubines, and the various princes and princesses. They were all thrifty and forbidden from extravagance.
In an instant, Zhen Zong Li Jian was supported by the people of Southern Tang and praised as the 'prodigal son returning, the wise ruler of Southern Tang.'
On the other hand, West Shu could be described with sixteen words: 'Expropriation, blood flowing like a river, fear in the hearts of the subjects, complaints everywhere.'
After Yang Ying took over the throne, his first order was to execute the 27 ministers who had once reprimanded him when he was the Crown Prince, including the Right Prime Minister Zhao Zhuo, the Left Assistant Minister of the Ministry of War Zhong Yue, the Left Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Revenue Ning Yuanzheng, the Imperial Censor Gu Zheng, the Commander of the Imperial Army Sima Dian Jin, the Right Assistant Minister of the Ministry of History Zheng Xiu, and the Commander of the City Guards Shen Kuo.
In the Caishikou execution ground outside Xingyang City, the killing took a full forty-two days before the execution table was removed.
Moreover, Yang Ying not only increased the taxes and corvee of Western Shu, but also wantonly collected rare treasures from the court. He also issued an edict to confer the title of 'Daoist Master' of the Heaven Mending Temple, Daoist Master Shi Xuan, and the title of 'Monk Head' of the White Horse Temple, Daoist Master Chan Ji, as the country protecting Daoist Master and the country protecting Daoist Master. They were each given ten thousand taels of gold and a thousand acres of fertile land. The Heaven Mending Temple and the White Horse Temple could be set up with ten thousand Daoist armor and monk soldiers.
This new Emperor of West Shu had changed from the frugal and diligent Crown Prince to a cruel and bloodthirsty, extravagant and indulgent, and indulged in pleasure. Between the government and the people, if there is a slight disobedience to him, he will lose his official position and go to prison and be exiled to the frontier. If the punishment is serious, the whole family will be executed, even chickens and dogs will not be spared.
Yang Ying was able to act so brazenly because he had three protective talismans.
When Yang Ying was young, she had secretly created an assassin organization. This assassin organization was currently ranked sixth on the Heaven List of Ten Kills, Nan Ming.
Among the top ten killers on the Heaven List, there were lone killers and also killer organizations that could penetrate through every hole. Nan Ming was the latter, and he was also Yang Ying's first amulet.
With such an all-pervasive killer organization in his hands, not only could he make the civil and military officials 'heads go up in the morning, but he could also know each of their private secrets.
After hearing that Li Jian had paid a visit to the sixty-four important officials with gifts, Yang Ying imitated Li Jian and had the killers of Nanming place two pouches beside the pillows of the sixty-four important officials of Western Shu. One was filled with Nether Paper, and the other was filled with golden leaves.
There were 30,000 Giant Spirit Soldiers in Western Shu, one of the top ten armies on the Heaven List. They were formed by the elites of the Giant Spirit Ancient Race. They were huge in size but agile, powerful, simple-minded, loyal, and fearless. They could fight to the last person and not retreat.
The commander, Giant Spirit, was the patriarch of the Giant Spirit Ancient Race and Yang Ying's uncle.
Ten thousand of these thirty thousand soldiers guarded the borders and were the main force against the Turks.
10,000 people were patrolling the territory of West Shu. If there were any abnormal movements, they could be suppressed on the spot without asking for an edict.
Finally, 10,000 elite soldiers of the Giant Spirit Army were stationed in the capital to protect Yang Ying. This was Yang Ying's second amulet.
The Taoist masters of the Heaven Mending Temple and the White Horse Temple had been made State Preceptor by Yang Yingce, and they were allowed to raise 10,000 private troops. It caused the power of these two sects in West Shu to soar.
These two great sects seemed to have secret inheritances, and all kinds of strange people, evil methods, and evil arts were endless.
If it was said that the Southern Underworld killer organization used assassination to intimidate people, then the Heaven Mending Temple and the White Horse Temple used evil and fear to suppress righteousness. These two factions 'evil poison techniques were Yang Ying's third amulet.
"No wonder the Southern Song Dynasty was able to make the eleven countries rich. Tsk, tsk, tsk, Imperial Uncle, look, this Money Association even dared to take on the business of assassinating the emperor. It's a pity that this beauty is as beautiful as a flower. She's one of the top ten beauties on the Heaven Ranking. Imperial Uncle, you deliberately didn't leave her alive, right?”
Min Emperor Yang Ying did not have the slightest bit of tenderness as he looked at the Heaven Ranked Beauty, Nan Zi, who was lying on the ground. Her peerless beauty that was as beautiful as a flower and jade had already turned a little purple because her heart meridian had been pierced by the sword qi.
Yang Ying did not care about the dead. She reached out her large hands and touched Nan Zi's chest.
A sharp sword was placed in front of Yang Ying's hand. If his hand moved forward by half an inch, this sword that could cut through iron like mud would cut off his palm.
"Forget it, forget it. I know that this woman is also a master of the sword. Imperial Uncle, you recognize heroes and value heroes. I will let her rest in peace after her death.”
Yang Ying didn't seem to be surprised or unhappy that his uncle had attacked him.
The world only knew that Yang Ying had three protective talismans. However, they did not know that apart from the protective talisman on the surface, Yang Ying had three other protective talismans in secret. His Imperial Uncle, Sword King Yang Zhong, was one of them.
Strangely enough, this 'Uncle Zhongguo' who held a large number of troops in Western Shu and had the highest prestige in martial arts was actually able to turn a blind eye to Yang Ying's various atrocities in the five years after Yang Ying took the throne.
"Uncle Wang, let me tell you a joke. I heard that our neighbor, Southern Tang Zhen Zong, has been starving for a year. Hahahahaha, the ruler of a country is actually living such a miserable life. Don't you think it's funny? Hahahahaha!"
Yang Ying was telling the truth. Nan Ming, who was under his command, not only monitored the officials of Western Shu, but also collected secrets about the Turks and Southern Tang.
When Sword King Yang Zhong heard this, he sighed in his heart.‘Ever since his nephew took over the throne, he had levied exorbitant taxes and killed many people in the Western Shu court. Although the civil and military officials hated him to the bone, they did not dare to disobey him.'
'Meat? This prodigal even fed the dog delicacies like bear paws and humps.
According to the reports from Nanming, Zhenzong of Southern Tang didn't just eat meat, he even drank coarse tea that tasted bitter when he stayed up late to review memorials.
Look at our emperor, he gargled with nectar and washed his feet with dew every day.
Chen Cha? He only drank the first sprout of the new tea before dawn, and he had to brew the second tea.'
West Shu originally had 600,000 soldiers, but in order to save the annual military expenditure for him to squander, Yang Ying had actually reduced his army by 500,000, leaving only 100,000 strong soldiers as the regular military force of West Shu.
The 500,000 soldiers were 'rented' and sold to the various noble families and clans in West Shu.
However, he had the Golden Pillar of Guarding the Nation, the thirty thousand Giant Spirit Army and the all-pervasive assassin organization of the Southern Underworld, the Heaven Mending Temple and the White Horse Temple, which were not demonic sects but the Orthodoxy, which was more powerful than the demonic sects. In addition, the two major businesses of Western Shu, the Pavilion of Riches and the Pavilion of Glory, helped him control the financial roots of the various great clans of Western Shu.
Those noble families had 500,000 troops in their hands, but they still had to listen to the orders of this fatuous ruler in front of them.
He said that he would rent and sell them, but it was actually just a loincloth that he prepared for those aristocratic families and nobles to raise soldiers for the country.
As for Li Jian, he could only use the 300,000 strong Southern Tang army to deal with the Imperial Army's Palace Commander Li Zhai and his 30,000 Feathered Forest Guards.
Especially that Southern Tang border commander Wu Gui, who didn't give Li Jian any face at all. He led a hundred thousand soldiers and held his own at the Southern Tang border. He only listened to orders and not announcements. Ever since Li Jian ascended the throne, Wu Gui had never entered the court to meet the newly ascended emperor.
"Imperial Uncle, I know you don't like me. That's right, I'm not a benevolent ruler. However, since I took the throne, I opened the canal and shortened the time needed for the north-south transportation by ten times. The number of people who died on the road every year decreased from 100,000 to 10,000. It reduced the annual expenditure of the national treasury for land transportation by 80%.”
"Royal Uncle, you should know how much military expenses are saved every year by letting those noble families raise 500,000 soldiers for the country, right?”
"I'm so extravagant. My West Shu, and even the noble families in the world, have followed suit. Every year, after the Riches Pavilion and the Glory Pavilion sell those luxurious items, they hand over as much as 40 million taels of silver to the national treasury. And I only spend thirteen million taels of silver on those luxurious items every year.”
"In the past few years, when I toured the various prefectures, it was a waste of manpower and money. However, the manpower was spent on building the city defenses, and the money was spent on expanding the city. Now, the 72 main cities of my West Shu are not considered impregnable passes, but can also be called iron walls.”
"Imperial Uncle, you know that my mother is a noble daughter of the Giant Spirit Clan. I also have the Giant Spirit Bloodline in my body. My endless strength and determination are all thanks to the Giant Spirit Bloodline. However, his nephew had also suffered the bloodline curse of the Titan Race's 'Life less than 40'.”
"Nephew collected all the rare treasures in the world and put Heaven Mending Temple and White Horse Temple in important positions because Nephew refused to accept his fate. Nephew didn't want to die at forty.”
"As the Emperor of West Shu, the people can now live a long life without suffering from floods and droughts. Although taxes and corvee are heavy, there is no longer the matter of selling children and exchanging children for food like in previous years.”
"Indiscriminately killing powerful people? The people I killed were all disloyal and hated by the people. I know that Imperial Uncle wants to ask me why I killed the entire family of the Right Prime Minister.”
"Zhao Zhuo is a wise and virtuous person. He has a great reputation in the West Shu community and is the leader of the West Shu community. Therefore, regardless of whether he is treacherous or loyal, evil or treacherous, I must kill his entire family. Only in this way could the backbone of those pedantic scholars who only knew how to talk about harming the country and talk about war on paper be completely shattered. Only then could they lower their heads and look at the sufferings of the people, and write practical articles that were beneficial to the country and the people. The death of Zhao Zhuo's family can change the fate of our country.”
"Imperial Uncle, do you think that without my decree to let Nan Ming off, you and Li Xishan would be able to save Zhao Zhuo's son, Zhao Changling? Hehe, I have a clear conscience towards Western Shu and Zhao Zhuo.”
When Yang Ying said this, her expression was rarely serious. Everyone said that when Yang Ying was the Crown Prince, he was pretending to be virtuous and kind. Who knew that the current Emperor Min of Western Shu and the Crown Prince Yang Ying at that time were the same for the country and the people. They had never changed.
How could the Crown Prince and the Emperor do the same?
Just like his sworn brother, Li Jian, who had followed the path he had taken when he was the Crown Prince to become the Emperor, he had become so sullen now. Nine out of ten treasuries of the Southern Tang Dynasty were empty. The generals supported the army and respected themselves, while the civil officials pretended to obey and secretly opposed them. The ruler of a country would bring his wife and children to the palace to eat cornbread and salted vegetables every day.
The people of Nanming reported that before Zhao Changling fled from Western Shu, he had sworn that he would cut Yang Ying into pieces. Even if Yang Ying died in front of Zhao Changling, he would dig out his coffin and whip his bones.'
Those who know me say that I am sad. Those who don't know me, what do you think I want?
Who in the world can know me, Yang Ying?
Was it worth it to use the infamy of a fatuous ruler for tens of thousands of years in exchange for the prosperity of Western Shu that might last for decades or centuries?
"When Li Xishan and I were discussing how to save Zhao Zhuo, he said that Zhao Zhuo deserved to die. He saved Zhao Changling because he cherished his talent.。。。。。Ah Chong was a monarch and could be called a widow. You can also call yourself me. In West Shu, I will accompany you. You... I'm not alone."
"Fifth Uncle, did Li Xishan really say that? Hahahaha, I'm not lonely, I'm not lonely! Li Xishan of the Northern Wei, one of the top ten hermits, top ten officials, and top ten demons on the Heaven Roll. From now on, you are my confidant.”
Yang Zhong, the Sword King, knew what Yang Ying had said. Otherwise, he would have deposed Yang Ying a long time ago. He told his nephew what Li Xishan had said because he wanted to let his nephew know that other than his fifth uncle, who supported him, there were still people in the world who understood him.
Yang Ying's words made the uncle and nephew completely open their hearts and work together.
"Imperial Uncle, my sworn brother Li Jian has been on the throne for five years and has issued six decrees of self-sin. However, in the five years that I have been on the throne, I have built seven graves of a thousand people and killed twenty-seven important officials of the court.”
When Yang Ying and Li Jian were still Crown Princes, when the two countries signed the alliance, they were evenly matched. They became bosom friends and secretly became sworn brothers.
"After he ascended the throne, he was diligent and frugal, and gave in to his ministers. In return, the national treasury was empty, and his family was eating nothing. Other than Li Zai, all the officials in the court were subservient to him. Even his uncle and father-in-law treated him as a passerby. As for me? I am lazy, arrogant, extravagant, arbitrary, cruel, and murderous. All the noble families in Western Shu want to eat my flesh and drink my blood, but they all obey me and dare not disobey. Imperial Uncle, why do you think this is?" Yang Ying felt that the word " I " really had a kind of comfort and warmth that he had never felt before.
"Traitorous officials are all spoiled by the benevolent monarch.”
Sword King Yang Zhong raised the sword in his hand and swore in his heart that he would protect this fake fatuous ruler of Western Shu for the sake of the people of Shu!
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]