I am not a deposed emperor of Han Dynasty

Zhang Anshi left, preparing to resist.

And Liu Heye and Liu Bing had withdrawn to the patrol formation of the city pavilion.

It was Shenshi at this time, and although the soldiers patrolling the city had been charging and killing for several hours, they showed no sign of fatigue.

Without him, the slaves of aristocratic families would be nothing more than a mob, completely vulnerable to a single blow.

Liu He did not order to attack the temple, but looked at the surrounding patrol soldiers in silence.

Regardless of whether they are young or old, they all have very ordinary faces, nothing special about them.

Liu He never thought that this largest rebellion would have to be put down by these ordinary patrol soldiers.

It seems that recruitment and conscription cannot be neglected.

Liu He raised his head and looked south again. The thick smoke over Changle Palace had faded a lot, and the fire should be under control.

I wonder what happened to the Queen Mother Shangguan and Yu Wuyou.

The shouts of killing in Chang'an City have subsided a lot, and I think the rest of the city has begun to calm down.

Now, only Zhang Anshi and others are left in this high temple. As long as they are captured, the matter will be settled.

When Liu He was thinking about the general situation in the city, Liu Bing had noticed his hesitation and stood up to salute and play.

"Your Majesty, it's Shenshi now. We can't delay it any longer. At night, I'm afraid things will change again."

"What's your strategy?"

"Although the high temple is an important place for worship, the Zhang thief must be eliminated. Please give an edict, your majesty, and let the humble ministers lead the troops to attack it. It can be captured in an hour."

"Aren't you afraid of being blamed for committing a crime in front of the temple?" Liu He looked at Liu Bing and asked.

"Zhang Anshi knew that we were throwing a tantrum, so he dared to resist..."

"For the sake of the world, I am not afraid of being stigmatized, and Emperor Gao will not blame me."

Liu He nodded and did not comment on Liu Bingji's words, but asked another question.

"Since Thief Zhang's defeat is certain, why do you think he still fights to the death?" Liu He asked with a smile.

"Of course he wants to leave a good reputation for sacrificing his life for righteousness, and become a model for the great families to remember him in the future." Liu Bing had already answered.

"So, if you lead troops to charge and kill, you will not only bear the infamy of committing murder in front of the temple, but also become a stepping stone under Zhang Anshi's tombstone..."

"The overall situation has been decided. I don't want a good man to die here in vain. It's not worth it for a traitor." Liu He said with a smile.

"But..." Liu Bing was a little confused and didn't know what the emperor was going to say.

"You want to say that this traitor must die?" Liu He asked again.

"Exactly!"

"Of course I want him to die, and I'm here to bear this infamy." Liu He looked at Gaomiao and saluted Gaozu in his heart.

"Your Majesty is the king of a country and cannot take risks!" Liu Bing had already hurriedly bowed down to admonish him. He thought that the emperor was going to lead his men to kill him personally.

"Don't worry, I won't take any risks." After Liu He finished speaking, he looked at Xue Yong behind him.

"Xue Yong!"

"Wei Chen is here!" Xue Yong is nearly fifty years old, but his figure is still tall and tall, much higher than everyone else.

"Bring up the cannon and blow up the high temple."

Liu He's words were ordinary, but they shocked the soldiers, including Liu Bingji and others.

Directly blowing up the high temple would not only be crazy, it would be crazy and disobedient, and it would also be arrogant.

In the blink of an eye, Liu Bing and others all knelt in front of the emperor, begging him to take back the order.

"You don't need to persuade me any more. Death is like a lamp going out. Although the high temple is solemn, it is only used for sacrifice." "If Emperor Gao is alive in heaven, he absolutely does not want to see the high temple become a hiding place for traitors. , and I don’t want to see the Han people die in front of the temple."

"Go ahead and bring in the cannons to end this turmoil as soon as possible. I will be responsible for all the infamy."

Everyone wanted to persuade him again, but seeing the emperor's determined expression, they knew there was no room for change.

For a moment, they looked at the emperor with a little more awe and admiration.

If he is willing to suffer infamy for the sake of the world, how can the emperor be more than a saint and a wise man?

"Wei!" Everyone answered in unison.

The Han Dynasty had already been able to make good cannons, and a few years ago, they used them against the Romans in Parthia.

As an important weapon of the country, there are not many occasions when cannons can be used. Except for the four protective palaces equipped with some, the rest are all stored in Weiyang Palace.

When he left the palace just now, Liu He ordered Xue Yong to send someone to bring in thirty cannons: he had long expected that they would be of great use today.

As the edict was issued, the artillery team was pushed by horse-drawn men. It took half an hour to finally position the thirty cannons and aim the muzzles at the Gaomiao.

Another quarter of an hour passed, and all the cannons were loaded with gunpowder and projectiles amid the repeated commands from the artillerymen.

At this time, the sun was already setting in the west.

Under the setting sun and torches, the shiny black cannon body exuded a black-red light, attracting everyone's attention.

The soldiers patrolling the city had all seen the power of cannons, but this was the first time they saw a cannon aimed at a high temple!

I’m afraid we will never see such a “rare” scene again in the future.

Liu He took a few steps forward, came behind the first cannon, and took the torch from the soldiers.

"Prepare!"

At his command, everyone raised their torches.

The muzzle of the gun was only fifty steps away from the Gaomiao, so there was no need to bother aiming at it.

"Fire up! Fire!"

"Fire up! Fire!"

Thirty artillerymen, including Liu He, immediately put the torches in their hands to the wire of the cannon body.

After a "sizzling" sound, thirty cannons fired at the same time, and dozens of ten-kilogram projectiles flew out of the barrel and flew towards the Gaomiao.

Although the high temple was built very solidly, it still looked like paper in front of the cannon.

In an instant, the door collapsed, the wall collapsed, the building collapsed, the window collapsed, and the overturned oil lamp even ignited the silk curtain...

After several consecutive rounds of volleys, Gaomiao was beyond recognition and screamed again and again, with flesh and blood flying everywhere.

Zhang Anshi and others, who wanted to be martyrs, died suddenly before even leaving a word of encouragement.

The rebels in the temple were either torn apart by artillery shells, smashed beyond recognition by collapsed beams, or were so frightened that they drew their swords and killed themselves.

In short, although they died tragically, no one could witness their tragedy.

The last bit of dignity of the aristocratic family was torn to pieces under the roar of cannons...

After the five volleys of fire, the majestic high temple collapsed completely, and a fire slowly burned.

After a long time, the screams in the ruins gradually subsided, Liu He still stood there, and the rest of the people silently watched the flames burning higher and higher.

The smoke of gunpowder, the sound of cannons, the flames, and the flesh and blood of this aristocratic family are the best sacrifices Liu He used to pay homage to his great ancestor.

As the tablet of Emperor Gao in the Gaomiao was burned into charcoal bit by bit, the last gap between the old era and the new era was finally filled. (End of chapter)