Romance of Gods

Chapter 213 Proclaiming Emperor ()

"Mr. Ge, what should we do next?"

On the small boat in the center, the deputy general put down his telescope and looked at Zhang Juzheng on the side.

"Do we need to concentrate our troops and take advantage of the chaos to strike?"

Zhang Juzheng shook his head and said: "Don't worry, these people are a mixed bag. The more stable we are, the more chaotic they will be. It's best to let them retreat without spending a single soldier this time."

On Xianlaowu's side, the situation on the shore has become more and more complicated, people's hearts are floating, and small-scale civil strife has begun. The stronger ones bully the weaker ones, and the younger ones rob the older ones.

If they no longer think of ways to stabilize people's hearts, they will have to stop here. The capital is clearly in front of them, and if they take one more step, they can achieve hegemony.

Xian Laowu was anxious, but also panicked.

He couldn't help but think, if Ao Sanye and the others were really making good progress, they should have breached the city gate by now, so how could they allow these officers and soldiers to go around to the rear?

If I continue to move forward, will I be a moth attracted to the flame?

Just as he was thinking about it, the spy who had just stepped forward to check the news swam back and knelt down on one knee as soon as he got on the boat.

He said in a trembling voice: "Back to Fifth Master, something bad is going on! Hanging on that pole are all the heads of the major leaders. It seems that the entire vanguard has been wiped out!"

"what!"

Xian Laowu's pupils suddenly shrank, that rumor turned out to be true!

How is this good?

Ao Sanye and others were defeated, what could he do? Should we temporarily withdraw our troops and return to Yuzhou to defend?

Just as the two sides were anxiously confronting each other, a sudden boom of artillery sounded in the distance.

Immediately afterwards, Qingliang Mountain burned, and black smoke rose into the sky, like an injured dragon, struggling and twisting its body.

"Mr. Ge, something happened." The deputy general looked back, "Is it the remnants of the soldiers on the mountain who are fighting against the trapped beasts?"

Zhang Juzheng said: "As expected, you go and command the attack on the mountain."

"As ordered!"

After the deputy general left, Zhang Juzheng flicked his sleeves and the boat slowly swayed forward under his feet.

"Fifth Master, a ship is coming!"

"Don't act rashly."

The sound of artillery fire just now made the scene even more chaotic.

"The officers and soldiers are coming!"

People shouted in unison, those who were weak-minded ran away in panic, and countless people died in the stampede.

Although Xian Laowu tried his best to let his men control the situation, their thin words were completely unable to calm the chaos.

"My fellow citizens, please calm down. I, Zhang Juzheng, the Chief Assistant of the Ming Dynasty, have been waiting for you here for a long time!"

Zhang Juzheng was less than a hundred feet away from the fleet at this moment. He was full of energy. Although he had only one voice, he was superior to tens of millions of people.

"The chief assistant of the Ming Dynasty is here! Everyone, be quiet!"

The government and military spies who had sneaked into the crowd started cheering for Zhang Juzheng and boosted his momentum.

Zhang Juzheng's reputation in the Ming Dynasty was not far behind that of the emperor.

His appearance at this time really stabilized the chaotic situation greatly. People rushed forward to see what the most powerful official of the Ming Dynasty looked like.

On the boat, someone suggested to Xian Laowu that they should take the opportunity to kill this person.

Xian Laowu was noncommittal. Although he was not good at conquering cities and territories, he had always been good at people and was the most popular among the eighteen Taibao of Pao Gehui.

If it is assumed that Ao Sanye and others have been completely destroyed, then Zhang Juzheng's purpose of coming here is self-evident, and it is clear that he is here to persuade them to surrender.

If he returns to Yuzhou now, although he can enjoy peace for a while, he will face the attack from the rebels outside the customs and the Ming Dynasty officers and soldiers.

Even if Yuzhou has an iron wall, it will definitely be breached given time, and he will not escape death in the end.

If he can set an example now and be recruited, he may not be able to be crowned king and general in the future.

Therefore, for the sake of his own future, he did not want to form a quarrel with Zhang Juzheng in full view of the public.

"Oh, it turns out to be Mr. Zhang Ge, Mr. Zhang! May I ask why you are here? Don't you know the purpose of our visit? Aren't you afraid that we will cut you into pieces?"

As he said that, Xian Laowu pointed to the big flag hanging on the mast in a pretentious manner. The eight characters "Do justice for heaven and eradicate traitors" were still dazzling.

Zhang Juzheng stroked his beard and smiled. He was so knowledgeable. Xian Laowu was bluffing at this time. He had already guessed his little thoughts clearly.

He sang with them and said: "I have been an official for more than a hundred years. I think I act upright and sit upright. You want to eradicate traitors, so what does it have to do with me?"

Xian Laowu cupped his hands and said: "Of course we know what Mr. Zhang is like, so I will treat him with courtesy and ask Mr. Zhang to step aside. Otherwise, I will wait for dozens of people and tens of thousands of people to come forward and let you cultivate deeply." , also like a mantis using its arms as a chariot."

"Of course I can get out of the way, but can you allow me to say a few words?"

Xian Laowu pretended to think about it, and finally nodded and said: "Master Zhang, please speak, we are willing to listen to your teachings."

Zhang Juzheng smiled, cupped his hands, and said loudly: "Dear fellow villagers, I know that you have left your hometown and traveled across mountains and rivers to the capital because you can no longer live your life and want to seek justice from your majesty!"

"That's right! Now the common people can no longer survive! The emperor fills wells with people every year and treats the common people as nothing. Officials from all over the country collect taxes and enrich their own pockets. No one in the world is displaced! Today, you will die or I will live!"

"Correct!"

"We don't want to cause trouble! We just want to live!"

The crowd roared with overwhelming cheers.

Zhang Juzheng waited for the noise to subside and shouted: "Of course your majesty knows the sufferings of the people! Your majesty has decided to exempt taxes and rectify the government! Soon, the world will be restored to a peaceful world! Dear fellow villagers, our Ming Dynasty is facing internal and external troubles. It is a time when everyone is united. I hope the folks will understand the court’s difficulties!

I, Zhang Juzheng, guarantee with my head that as long as you are willing to turn around today, the imperial court will never pursue you for the crime of rebellion, and will also open the treasury and distribute the expenses for returning home! If you are willing to stay, you can directly become my personal soldier of the Ming Dynasty and fight against the bandits together! Whether you are willing to be a rebel and be attacked by the whole world, or whether you are willing to make contributions and honor your ancestors, it is up to you, the villagers, to decide! "

With Zhang Juzheng's sonorous and powerful words, the noisy crowd gradually became quiet.

Many of the hundreds of thousands of people came to join in the fun. Those who wanted to take advantage of the chaos and those who were really determined to rebel were only a very small part.

As soon as the news of the defeat of Mr. Ao Sanye and others spread, these people began to waver and seriously considered the conditions proposed by Zhang Juzheng.

Suddenly, heart-wrenching laughter suddenly sounded among the rivers, and the roaring sound was more harsh than the thunder under the sudden rain.

"Who!"

"Who's laughing!"

Tens of thousands of people raised their heads together and looked around. They saw white cranes in the sky, clouds shrouded in clouds, and endless laughter that seemed to be woven into a huge human face, looking into the world.

Zhang Juzheng's relaxed facial features suddenly tightened. He looked around, looking for the source of the strange smile, while Xian Laowu's legs went weak and he almost fell to the ground.

This voice was very familiar to him. It was clearly the voice of Ao Sanye! What's the matter? Mr. Ao San is not dead?

If Master Ao is still alive and has been observing secretly and sees his ambiguous attitude just now, he will definitely die without a burial place!

Thinking of this, Xianlaowu's sweat has turned into rain.

"Zhang Juzheng, you talk nonsense! You are already in trouble, and you lied about returning peace to the world. Where did you get the courage! Dear fellow citizens, I am Ao San, the leader of the Pao Brother Association. Now that we have occupied the capital, Zhang Juzheng and others can't do anything. He is just a desperado who cannot protect himself and has no home to live in!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Ao Sanye fell from the sky and stood in front of Xian Laowu with a bang, attracting the attention of others.

"Meet the adoptive father!"

"Greetings to the boss!"

Xian Laowu and others all knelt down.

Mr. Ao Sanye laughed with his hands behind his hands and looked down at Zhang Juzheng with contempt.

Zhang Juzheng sneered, "Ao San, you just saved your life and ran away for your life. How dare you come here to talk shamelessly and confuse the public! Today, everyone can escape without a trace, but you will definitely die!"

Mr. Ao Sanye waved his hand and said: "Master Zhang, stop struggling to your death. Brothers and sisters, please look at the capital. The war has started and our army has occupied the capital! I will give you two choices now. One, be buried with Zhang Juzheng; Let me take over the capital together and enjoy all the glory and wealth!"

Although Zhang Juzheng regarded Ao San as his number one enemy, he didn't pay attention to his crazy talk at the moment. It was really a big joke that he could talk about occupying the capital with his defeated soldiers. But then, the heated discussion among the people made him start to feel anxious.

"Look! The capital is really on fire!"

"This...what the hell is going on here?"

Everyone looked at the vast city together and saw billowing beacon fires rising from all over the city.

Zhang Juzheng was startled and glanced back. His expression suddenly became tense. The beacon fire that was still spreading showed that Jinling City had been lost.

But with Ao San and those people, how did he do it? Could it be that he was just pretending to be defeated before, but actually he still had a backup plan?

Mr. Ao Sanye took the opportunity to add fuel to the fire and laughed: "If the capital had not been lost, how could this majestic prime minister of a country come to the front line alone? If I hadn't received a tip, you had already arrived in the capital and came here to respond. If you really want to Let this Juzheng trick succeed! What a critical moment! Think about it, if you listen to his lies now and turn around and abandon this incredible wealth, wouldn't you regret it for the rest of your life?"

"Bitch thief! I almost fell into your trap! Brothers, kill! Enter the capital and seize wealth!"

"kill!"

"Kill this traitorous bitch!"

Ao Sanye's one stone stirs up a thousand waves and takes away people's wealth and honor, which is tantamount to killing their parents.

At this moment, everyone just felt that the clouds and mist were parted, and they suddenly realized that they couldn't help but feel scared.

If you had really listened to Zhang Juzheng’s bullshit words just now, wouldn’t you have missed out on wealth and fame and become a commoner at the mercy of others forever?

The huge ups and downs finally roared into an unquenchable fire.

At this time, without the need for others to incite, a flash flood consisting of countless figures broke out, and the overwhelming mob rushed towards the capital.

Zhang Juzheng's voice was like fine sand, completely submerged in the torrent.

There are nearly 200,000 people in chaos. They are hungry, angry, and poor. At this time, they are twisted into a rope. What can stop them?

Zhang Juzheng had a high self-esteem and believed that he could turn things around.

But when he really faced the huge flow of people from the bottom, he suddenly realized that personal abilities were completely worth mentioning in the face of the rolling wheel of history.

But even so, we still have to fight hard.

He was ordered in the face of danger, and his duty was to defend Jinling City from the rebels. Behind him were thousands of fully armed elite soldiers who could resist for a while and buy some time.

When Zhang Juzheng turned the bow of the boat and hurriedly ran back, there was a boom, several cannonballs exploded beside him, and the boat swung wildly.

"Hit me hard! Kill Zhang Juzheng!"

Xian Laowu kept shouting wildly, and the cannon beside him kept firing.

Mr. Ao Sanye calmly watched Zhang Juzheng's running back and had no intention of taking action.

Xian Laowu felt uneasy and knelt down and said: "An unfilial son deserves to be nurtured by his adoptive father. Just now he had the intention of quitting and almost ruined his adoptive father's plans. I hope he will punish me!"

Mr. Ao San said calmly: "Do you know why I brought you out this time?"

"I don't know, kid, please give me some advice from my adoptive father!"

"Because you are afraid of death and know how to advance and retreat. If you were the boss or the second girl just now, you will definitely fight to the death with the other party. Doing so is heroic, but it will harm the plan. You did a good job just now, get up."

Xian Laowu felt relieved and didn't know what to say, "Thank you, foster father!"

Ao Sanye asked: "How many men and horses are available on the ship now?"

"Going back to my foster father, if we include the boatmen and handymen, there are still more than 12,000 people in total."

Mr. Ao San was finally relieved at this time. He glanced at the beacon fire on Jinling City and secretly knew that the overall situation was decided.

"Gather all the troops and follow me."

"As ordered!"

………………

Jinling City, a certain street.

"The rebels are coming! Run! Run!"

The streets were noisy, and the frightened crowd became a mess.

Sparrows walked along the wall, tree branches swayed hastily, and pierced the paper windows.

Chen Yan opened his eyes and stood up from the bed.

After a night's rest, his physical strength recovered a lot, and his major and minor injuries were repaired.

He found some more dry food to eat, and then left the house.

As soon as I walked out of the courtyard, I saw a layer of black smoke that could not be erased over the city.

Chen Yan felt a little strange. If Ao Sanye and the others had already invaded the city, there would have been gunfire.

But now I can only hear the noise of people talking, which is a bit strange.

He jumped to a high place and saw a turbulent flow of people. Soldiers, Jin Yiwei and others were mixed in the crowd, cursing and unable to maintain order.

And black smoke was billowing everywhere in the city.

It seems that someone deliberately set the fire to create chaos.

After last night's chaos, coupled with the government's continuous use of violence to impose taxes, the people of Jinling City are only one step away from collapse.

At this moment, there was a fire in the city, and people naturally broke out.

Chen Yan guessed that Ao Sanye and the others were responsible for the fire.

In this case, he cannot be idle.

He took advantage of the situation and swiped his spear, setting the house on fire at his feet. When the fire started, he turned around and ran elsewhere.

It takes years and months to build a tall building that reaches the sky; but if the tall building collapses, the time required may not be more than a fraction of a second.

Jinling, riddled with holes, is now beginning to collapse.

Chen Yan acted casually, wandering around the chaotic streets, choosing those luxurious gates and towering government offices to set fire to.

The officers and soldiers were busy with their own affairs, and some wanted to take advantage of the chaos to make a fortune. Someone discovered Chen Yan and not only did not stop him, but actually led him the way.

Chen Yan became more and more arrogant and swaggered all the way through the city. In the blink of an eye, he was followed by a large number of accomplices who committed crimes.

"Big brother!"

Suddenly, a person came forward and said flatteringly.

Chen Yan looked at him when he heard the sound, "Who is your eldest brother?"

"It's a small achievement! But we are all willing to start a career with the big brother!"

"That's right!"

All of a sudden, there were thousands of calls and hundreds of responses.

The man said again: "Brother, why don't you take your brothers to the palace to get something as big as a pen?"

Chen Yan sneered: "How dare you just go to the palace?"

"What is there to be afraid of? Now the news has come out in the city that there is an elixir of life hidden in the palace. I don't know how many people are crowding towards the palace."

(End of this chapter)