Am I the only one who didn't ascend?

Chapter 527 Aftermath
Minnesota's spring is often humid and rainy. The moisture from the southern coast seems to be a gentle touch, injecting new vitality into the earth.

On this day, the rain was drizzling all over the city.

An old man in scarlet court robes was walking in the thin rain curtain. He was slightly hunched over, but his steps were very fast. A protective Qi shield gently bloomed from his body, blocking out the raindrops and preventing them from staining his court robes.

Soon, he walked along a long staircase and gradually climbed up to a high platform. On the platform stood an exquisitely shaped palace. Its dome was carved from aqua-colored nephrite. Its design was unique and the carving was exquisite. Now it was shining like a rainbow in the drizzle, which was beautiful beyond words... It was completely impossible to tell that just a month ago, it was just a temporary patch for expediency.

Outside the hall, there stood a team of fully armed imperial guards. These guards had at least the initial stage of transformation into gods, and like puppets made by evil spirits, they exuded an icy coldness that was not human. After seeing the old man, one of the golden-topped guards whispered to the inside of the hall.

"Your Excellency, Prime Minister Xiahou Ying requests to see you."

"Oh, I see."

The next moment, the wooden door of the hall slowly opened inward, revealing a soft golden candlelight. Inside the hall, Wang Luo sat behind a desk with documents piled up like a mountain. More than a dozen red talismans symbolizing urgency were floating around him, but he ignored them.

Seeing this, Xiahou Ying's eyebrows twitched slightly, but he said nothing, just bowed his head and followed the simple etiquette of the prime minister meeting the emperor...

"No need to be polite. If you have something to say, just say it. If not, come and work overtime. I don't plan to read the official documents here. I'll leave them all to you."

Upon hearing this, Xiahou Ying lowered his head even lower, but soon raised it and responded seriously: "I'm here to ask for instructions on this year's spring ploughing..."

"I've told you that you don't need to consult me ​​on these issues. You can make your own decisions. It's best to carry my newly carved official seal with you so you can use it whenever you want." Wang Luo sighed, "If you really can't make up your mind, go to the back hall to find Tuoba Tiancheng and ask those experts from the academy to give you authoritative opinions. That way, they will take the blame if something goes wrong... If it doesn't work, find a few interns or temporary workers to be responsible for the communication of documents, and then blame them for the poor communication. In short, the problem won't be yours."

Xiahou Ying couldn't help but sigh: "Your Majesty...knows."

However, after sighing, Xiahou Ying neither went to work overtime nor left, but stayed where he was, with a hint of hesitation on his face.

Wang Luo asked, "Just speak frankly, don't make me guess. You are old now, don't act like a little girl."

Xiahou Ying had no choice but to bite the bullet and speak frankly: "Sir, is the matter of abdication really irreversible?"

Wang Luo smiled and said, "Why, do you think Gan Ai is so wise and brave that he can be a role model for the emperor, and you don't want to let him go?"

Xiahou Ying had no choice but to speak frankly again: "After the chaos in the Eastern Capital, the Queen Mother ascended to heaven, and the Yang family lost its backbone. The court structure must have undergone earth-shaking changes. I am afraid that not only this humble minister, but everyone in the court has been prepared for this. But..."

"No need to explain so much of the background, let's get straight to the point. Do you think Li Fengxian is not suitable?"

Xiahou Ying was silent for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said solemnly, "It's not suitable! Although he has talent and courage, he has no moral integrity, let alone popular support! If we hastily push him to the throne, it will only make people in all counties in the world uneasy, and Xinheng's rare stable situation will fall into chaos again."

Wang Luo smiled and explained, "You can slowly talk about virtue and popularity. The relevant plans can also be entrusted to Tuoba Tiancheng. Those scholars in the academy are strong and are best at this kind of propositional writing. In addition, we can find some historians to modify the daily records of the previous emperor, just like what we planned outside Liuyan City, and write Li Fengxian as Gan Yinghua's illegitimate son, so that even the legal system is not lacking. As for the people's hearts floating in the world, it is a big misunderstanding of yours. For the vast majority of ordinary people who work from sunrise to sunset, it has never mattered whether the person on the throne is surnamed Gan or Li, and it doesn't even matter whether the person is a dog. It is the fluctuations in the minds of those local gentry who often manipulate the people's hearts and use them for their own purposes that are really important. Without these people to contact and organize, no matter how much the people's hearts fluctuate, they can't move much."

"but……"

"So, whose mind is wavering, making you feel that the people in the whole territory may be unstable? Make a list of the people with the most wavering minds and give it to me. I will go to the Record of Exiled Immortals and try to write his name on it."

Upon hearing this, Xiahou Ying was immediately silent, not daring to say anything more: "I was mistaken in thinking about this matter, please forgive me, Your Excellency."

Wang Luo said indifferently: "It doesn't matter. You are the prime minister. In the current situation, you do have a say in the selection of the emperor. It's not a matter of guilt or innocence. But you should also think that if Xinheng can't even accept a change of emperor, how can it welcome the future changes? We can still discuss the selection of the emperor here, but the entry of the Immortal Alliance is not negotiable. Doing some adaptive training early will benefit both you and others."

Xiahou Ying was completely speechless, and was about to leave, but was soon blocked by several flashing red talismans. When he raised his head again, Wang Luo was no longer behind the desk.

Helplessly, Xiahou Ying had no choice but to roll up his sleeves and be pushed by the talismans to sit in Wang Luo's seat to deal with the mountain of paperwork.

On the other side, Wang Luo arrived outside Fancheng and on the Qianxing Terrace in Dongdu in an instant.

After more than a month, a free transmission channel had been built between the High Hall of the Temple of Heaven and the Qianxing Platform in the East Capital. And Zhang Jincheng on the platform was no longer the miserable state of having only a residual soul and having to use the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to form a temporary body.

A puppet made to imitate a real person was standing on the stage. The puppet looked handsome and tall, with white clothes and red lips, just like a hermit immortal in a painting. Now, the heroic spirit Zhang Jincheng in the painting temporarily resided in this object.

However, after seeing Wang Luo, Zhang Jincheng showed helplessness on his face. For a moment, even the drizzle around him was blown away by the wind, seeming to become a little sad.

"Master Mountain Master, this puppet... can't it be replaced?"

Wang Luo said, "Why, what else are you not satisfied with? But this is a treasure of immortal rank made by the previous master craftsman of Hongyinfang, and it is bestowed by the immortals. It is much stronger than your original body. I have searched the forbidden storehouse of the imperial city, but I have not found a better treasure..."

Zhang Jincheng said helplessly, "I am not dissatisfied, I am just... too satisfied. The Hongyinfang craftsman who was blessed by the immortal was not good at socializing and lived a lonely life. When she was refining the puppet, she incorporated all her beautiful imaginations of the opposite sex into the puppet. Now I can sneeze and spray out rainbows, which is too... too exaggerated. Every time I am possessed, I feel that I am no longer myself."

"Isn't this great? Your popularity among the female audience will be unmatched. As for self-perception, when you become a heroic spirit, you will inevitably face similar situations. People will worship you and beautify everything about you, making it so that you in the story are no longer you at all. But this excessive belief can bring real power to stabilize the wilderness. Many times, the truth is not as effective as a lie. So adapt early and don't be pretentious. If the Immortal Alliance really encounters any obstacles from the people when it moves in in the future, you, the heroic spirit national master, will have to spray rainbows and guide public opinion." Hearing this, Zhang Jincheng had no choice but to sigh with a little resentment, making the breeze in the rain seem to sigh with the same sigh.

"So, what is the mission that the mountain master wants me to have today?"

Wang Luo said: "It's not an errand. I just skipped work temporarily to avoid official duties. By the way, I want to tell you a piece of good news that is not yet completely confirmed."

Zhang Jincheng was stunned and puzzled at first, but then he thought of something and a look of joy appeared on his face. He immediately pretended to listen attentively.

Suddenly, a ray of sunshine and a rainbow appeared in the rain clouds above Dongdu.

Wang Luo couldn't help but be surprised: "This does seem a bit exaggerated, and it is easy to reduce the male support rate... But back to the point, a few days ago, we sent a large number of flying swords to the Immortal Alliance, and there are results."

"..." Zhang Jincheng was stunned for a moment, shocked by this news which he had expected long ago, and was at a loss for words.

After the Dongdu Rebellion ended, Wang Luo immediately reported the news back to the Immortal Alliance... However, there was a technical problem.

The two places seemed close, but the information was completely cut off. On that day, the Golden Immortal of Wonderful Law descended and broke the glass net of Xinheng, but the damage was limited to a part and did not affect the whole area. Moreover, before the Lord of Heaven returned to Jingzhou, he also repaired most of it.

Without the protection of the Glazed Net, Xinheng would face the risk of survival in Mingzhou, a place full of wild beasts. Therefore, the existence of the Glazed Net is still indispensable... But if the Glazed Net is indispensable, it will be even more difficult for Wang Luo to get in touch with the Immortal Alliance in Xinheng.

Even the Ascension Record could not break through the isolation of this immortal treasure and communicate directly with the Lingshan people in the Immortal Alliance. And he himself was not convenient to return in person, and he could not choose a reliable messenger, so he simply used a method of great strength to produce miracles - collecting nearly 10,000 flying swords for communication from the armies of various counties in Xinheng, and then unifying 10,000 swords and shooting them at the Immortal Alliance.

Next, as long as the Immortal Alliance does not use this sword formation as a long-range attack and directly intercepts it in mid-air... then even if there are many obstacles between the two places, there should always be a few flying swords that can successfully reach the destination and convey important information.

Now it seems that although this method seems clumsy and crude, it is indeed effective.

"So, the news about your family has also been responded to."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Jincheng couldn't help but hold his breath, feeling a little overwhelmed.

"Heh, although you didn't mention it last time, I am quite curious. And now that you are a heroic spirit of Ningyuantu, you should have a verifiable origin. In short, according to the investigation results of Qingyuan Jun, the Lord of Ziwu State, your mother should be from the Yuan family of Yangquan County... and, to this day, the Yuan family is still a big family in Yangquan and several surrounding counties. If you have the opportunity to go to Yangquan, you can go to pay homage to the ancestral hall. Your mother's name is included in the family tree."

Zhang Jincheng nodded silently.

"However, there is no rush. You can't leave until this ninth Ningyuan Map is connected to Bafang Dinghuang. And to achieve the connection, we still have a lot to do."

Having said that, Wang Luo also sighed.

These were not things he wanted to do. Unfortunately, just as Zhang Jincheng had to accept this puppet, Wang Luo also had to accept the job at hand.

After the chaos in Dongdu, he temporarily stayed in the Temple of Heaven in Fancheng to preside over the aftermath of Xinheng. After all, he had to deal with the chores here before he could see the Lord of Heaven again...

However, this process took a full month. Although Wang Luo had immediately summoned a group of think tanks from the local academy to brainstorm and come up with a plan, and although the backbone of the Yang family, led by Yang Jiuzhong, also stood on his side very tactfully and did not put up any unnecessary resistance... However, Yang Shijun's sudden departure still left Xinheng leaderless. Coupled with the sudden death of the master of Dasheng Temple and the failure of the Duke of Feng, the domestic situation was turbulent for a while. Not to mention the steady nurturing of the foundation of Dinghuang and the support of the Dinghuang barrier, if it is not handled properly, there is even a risk of civil war and division.

At this point in time, the only one who had enough prestige to make all parties submit and even win the hearts of the people was Wang Luo, an "outsider" who had close ties with the old royal family.

The so-called intricate connections mean that he is not only the incarnation of the late emperor Gan Yinghua, but also the living and dead heir who inherited Gan Yinghua's true bloodline, the reincarnation of the founding emperor, and the resonance body between Xinheng and the Immortal Alliance... At first, the scholars in the academy argued fiercely about Wang Luo's theory of origin, and the final conclusion was to take a multi-pronged approach, with all the theories laid out together for the public to use freely.

The effect was extraordinarily good. Wang Luo, who was blessed with countless legends, gained the submission and surrender of the court in a very short period of time. Therefore, he had to reluctantly take charge of the country's affairs temporarily as a special envoy.

"By the way, the Immortal Alliance has also proposed a very interesting plan this time. After carefully considering the current situation, they plan to build a temporary Dinghuang fortress between Xinheng and the Immortal Alliance - a total of ten, starting from the foot of Lingshan Mountain, one every thirty to fifty kilometers, and then all the way to Liuyan City. In this way, a safe passage can be opened up for free travel between the two countries."

Hearing this, Zhang Jincheng couldn't help but restrain his distracting thoughts about himself and began to think seriously about the main thing, and then he was sincerely amazed.

"Ten Dinghuang Fortresses in a row... The strength of the Immortal Alliance is incredible. And the decisiveness of the decision-making is even more admirable."

Wang Luo said, "It just happened to coincide with Zhu Wang's pioneering period, so the production capacity is naturally sufficient... As for decisive decision-making, haha, this method would never be adopted under normal circumstances, because the risk is too high. Without the protection of the complete Eight Directions Dinghuang barrier, the isolated fortress could be destroyed by one or two immortal officials from the lower world at any time. But now, even the Lord of the Heavenly Court has reconciled, and the safety risks should be minimal, so we can take a gamble."

Zhang Jincheng couldn't help but ask: "What happened to the Lord of Heaven is unbelievable even for me who witnessed it. Did the Immortal Alliance...just believe it?"

Regarding this question, Wang Luo said: "It is hard to say whether others believe it or not, but the person who can really make the decision must believe it."

(End of this chapter)