People in the Three Kingdoms: Starting from Preaching

Chapter 635 Fall
Wei Gong hadn't made up his mind yet, but things would not wait for him. While he was struggling in his heart, there was a commotion outside the palace and soon someone came in to report. It turned out that the ministers had grabbed Li Zheng and brought him into the palace to ask for an audience. The matter had reached the point where it had to be resolved.

If he doesn't show up, many powerful people might be so angry that they would really kill Li Zheng. There would be no way out, which is not the situation that Shigong wants to see, so he can only nod with a dark face and let them enter the palace.

The palace door opened wide and many figures rushed in at once. Wei Gong saw that amidst the shouting and cries of powerful ministers, Li Zheng, who was at the center, stood still like a mountain. He looked leisurely strolling in the garden, and did not look like he was under siege. Instead, he looked as comfortable as if he was in his own living room.

Seeing this, Emiya was also amused. No wonder the Han envoys were killed so often in the past. Only a god could hold back his anger when seeing such an arrogant and asking for a beating.

However, Emiya had to play the role of a god for once. As someone who once studied in Xuanxia, ​​he knew very well how powerful Xuanxia was. Goguryeo had no capital to confront Xuanxia head-on.

"Your Highness is truly blessed with good fortune. Such a serious illness that could cause people to faint was cured in an instant. I really admire you!" Li Zheng looked up and saw that they were not in a hurry to deal with the matter at hand. Instead, they were in the mood to make sarcastic remarks.

Emiya had a blank expression on his face and said coldly, "The Ambassador doesn't need to worry about that. Compared to this, I want to know more about what's going on with you guys."

After he asked this question, many of the dignitaries below could no longer hold back and immediately stepped forward and started crying and wailing.

"Your Highness, you have to help us. This guy actually allowed Xuanxia students to commit crimes in my royal city. Many of our students died tragically in the streets in broad daylight. This kind of evil is simply unimaginable. I dare to ask that these guys be executed immediately!"

"These outsiders are so reckless. What do they think of our Goguryeo? If we don't kill people, we won't be able to appease the people's anger!"

"If Your Highness does not make the decision for us, we will crash into this palace and die, so that the previous kings can see how humiliated Goguryeo is today!"

So many powerful ministers were talking to each other, and the scene immediately made Shirou feel dizzy.

Although he is the ruler of this country, he cannot but take the powerful people below him seriously. These people are the cornerstones of the kingdom, and to some extent, King Emiya still needs to rely on them.

Just like the love-hate relationship between the Han emperor and the Han gentry, in the aristocratic society of Goguryeo, the status of the powerful and wealthy was even higher than that of the gentry. If these powerful and wealthy classes were to be disheartened, the king would not be able to sit firmly on the throne.

Emiya's mind was working rapidly, but he didn't know how to deal with the current situation.

However, the situation soon changed again, which gave him some respite.

Just when the hall was in chaos, a new wave of dignitaries entered the hall soon after their names were called out. However, this time, their stance was completely different. They spoke for Li Zheng and Xuanxia students instead.

"Your Highness, you must not disrespect the Han envoy. The reason for this is clear. It was our students who killed people first, which forced them to retaliate. Although this method is a bit violent, killing someone means paying with one's life is common sense in the world, and there is nothing to blame."

"Yes, Your Highness. I think both sides have suffered casualties. We owe each other nothing. The dead are gone. It is better to call it a day!"

"Your Highness, please stay calm. Our country and Xuanxia are neighbors separated by a narrow strip of water. We have achieved countless win-win results from friendly exchanges over the past decade. If we turn the two sides against each other over this trivial matter, not to mention how it will end if we provoke the anger of our superior country, the losses in benefits from the suspension of many cooperative projects will be countless. This should not be done!"

After the group of dignitaries who came later said this, the people in front immediately got furious, and a fierce verbal fight broke out in the hall. They were obviously all ministers of Goguryeo, but they showed two completely opposite positions on this matter.

At this moment, the two factions in the court appeared clearly in front of everyone. One side hated Xuan Xia extremely, while the other side extremely protected Xuan Xia. They were going in opposite directions.

At this moment, Emiya and Li Zheng, who were looking at this situation, had completely opposite moods.

The greater the force that was more anxious to protect Xuan Xia than himself, the more Li Zheng admired Xu Chen's foresight. Without a long period of management, how could we see the situation today.

Interests can really shake people's hearts. Perhaps for these comprador groups, in the face of interests, whether it is a country or not is simply insignificant.

In fact, Li Zheng looked down on such people in his heart, but in order to realize Xuanxia's expansion blueprint of long-term stability, they had the motivation to cultivate and support such forces. Otherwise, military conquest without any fulcrum would only plunge Xuanxia into an endless vortex of war.

And Emiya, who was also examining the two groups, felt sad and angry.

Although Emiya had known about the existence of this comprador faction for a long time, seeing these people defending Xuan Xia so hard still made Emiya feel disgusted with traitors. But the more so, the sadder he felt, because he knew that he could not blame these people. Speaking of compradors, he, the king, was actually the biggest comprador.

Even those people who were calling for the killing of Xuan Xia actually just did not get any benefits brought by Xuan Xia. They just hated themselves for not being compradors.

And what those compradors said over and over again was just one thing, which was "You can't work too hard. How can you make money if you work too hard?"

Of course, Emiya also realized that he had to make a choice this time. This choice would determine the outcome of this incident, the victory or defeat of the two factions, and even the life and death of Goguryeo.

He really wanted to say, I really didn't intend to play such a big game.
"Your Highness, please make the decision!"

It was not until a long time later that the two groups in the court were tired of arguing and they all knelt down, handing the final decision-making power to Emiya, and the pressure also came towards Emiya.

This question is too difficult. If I just let this matter go, my prestige in the country will plummet, the comprador faction will naturally become stronger, and Goguryeo will no longer have any room to resist Xuanxia. It can only die slowly like this. One day, these compradors below will force me to abdicate and ask for submission, and Goguryeo's kingdom will be completely destroyed in my hands.

If Li Zheng and his students were executed, I would not be thinking about whether Goguryeo would perish in the future, but whether it would perish immediately.

But after all, if he chooses the former, he can still keep himself decent, Xuan Xia won't make things too difficult for him, and he can still maintain his wealth. But if he chooses the latter, he will really become Xuan Xia's enemy, and that will not be a joke, it could really kill people!

He looked at Li Zheng who was calm and composed. Although he was very angry in his heart, he had to endure it secretly. Behind the Han envoy was the entire Xuanxia, ​​and Xuanxia was the most terrifying existence in the world to him.

He looked at those compradors who "care about the country and the people". Although he extremely hated the faces of these people, these people controlled the most critical industries of Goguryeo today, and their power could not be ignored.

Finally, his eyes fell on the angry localists. These people might be the last tough ones of Goguryeo, but sadly, they were also the group most easily abandoned.

"I think the conflict started with the students themselves and ended with the students themselves. It would be better to stop here. Now both sides have suffered casualties and neither side owes the other anything, so there is nothing to pursue." In the quiet hall, after Emiya's slightly tired and helpless voice was conveyed, everyone's expressions also reacted differently.

Naturally, the most violent reaction came from the unbelievable localists.

"I absolutely cannot agree with this. Your Highness's actions are no different from selling out one's country for personal gain. People from other countries are so brazen and presumptuous. If our country does not respond, how will Your Majesty save his face and our country's dignity?"

Almost immediately, an old man jumped up from the ground and questioned Emiya with confidence.

The old guy didn't even bother to save face for Emiya. Such a decision really made him feel unbelievable and of course he was more angry. He almost said, "Your subjects are about to fight to the death," but when he turned around, he saw that King Emiya knelt first. How could he tolerate this?

"Your Highness, you can't kneel. We still have a million soldiers and civilians. Let's see who will have the last laugh in this bitter cold land. If you kneel down, everything will be over!"

This old guy was obviously the backbone of the local faction. After he made a heart-wrenching statement, the people behind him immediately followed suit, and soon the hall became desolate.

Shirou felt sad inside, and he couldn't bear to see these people react like that.

But he was never willing to kneel down to Xuan Xia. After all, it was his family property that was lost. However, in the face of powerful reality, all impulses had to return to rationality. Goguryeo did not have the capital to compete with Xuan Xia.

Just as he was about to say something to comfort her, he opened his mouth but before he could say anything, he saw a figure suddenly move in the hall, followed by the sound of a sword being unsheathed, and then exclamations and screams.

When I came to my senses again, I only saw a flash of blood and a head rolling down, and then the entire hall fell into extreme silence.

Emiya opened his mouth and eyes wide, staring blankly at the blood-stained figure. Who else could that be but the Han envoy Li Zheng?

"This man openly undermined the vassal relationship between Xuanxia and Goguryeo, and even intended to provoke a war between the two countries. This is a serious crime and he deserves death. As an envoy of Xuanxia, ​​I cannot sit idly by and watch this happen. I can only do the work of killing the traitor on behalf of your country. I hope Your Highness will not blame foreign officials for meddling in other people's affairs!"

As he spoke, the sword in Li Zheng's hand was still dripping with blood, and his body was stained red. He didn't look like an envoy at all, but a cold-blooded soldier.

Only a circle of frightened ministers stood there in amazement, and the palace guards whose swords were suddenly taken away by others were so scared that they collapsed to the ground.

No one expected that Li Zheng could be so crazy that he dared to kill someone on the spot in public in the royal court, and the person he killed was an important figure in Goguryeo.

Arrogant, too arrogant!
Emiya's face turned red and he pointed at Li Zheng. Although he was shaking with anger, he could only say "you, you, you" in the end and couldn't utter a complete sentence.

Li Zheng didn't even look at Emiya. Instead, he turned around and faced the many ministers, looking at them with an indifferent gaze. No one, including the local faction, dared to look him in the eye.

"I believe that all the ministers also think that this thief should be executed, right?"

A cold voice came over, and everyone's heart trembled when they saw Li Zheng who looked like a god of death.

Is this the Han envoy? His reputation is well-deserved.
It was the comprador ministers who reacted first. At this juncture, there was no point in hesitation. When Li Zheng, the Han envoy, really started to act recklessly, they became more afraid to rebel.

After all, Li Zheng represents the will of the entire Xuanxia.

"Well done, well done. The Han envoy has done a great deed in killing the traitor for Goguryeo. Our country should reward him. I ask Your Highness to immediately issue an edict to identify the criminal and reward the Han envoy for his merits!"

"Yes, yes, yes, this man deserves to die. He dared to destroy the friendship and harmony between our vassal states. This is too easy a death. Otherwise, he should be torn to pieces by a chariot and tortured to death!"

"No one can destroy the relationship between the superior country and our country. Your Highness should be well aware of this!"

Everything happened in a flash, and the ministers reacted very quickly. They immediately knew what to do. Not to mention the comprador faction who had been speaking wholeheartedly for Li Zheng, even the local faction who had been shouting for war and killing just now were frightened by Li Zheng's ruthlessness.

Only when you see death approaching with your own eyes can you truly feel the actual pressure.

The head with wide eyes on the ground was undoubtedly reminding them that fooling around could really cost them their lives.
As a result, the momentum of the local faction and the comprador faction became clearly divided in strength. After feeling the change in the atmosphere, Emiya, who was almost furious, could only force himself to calm down.

The voices from the comprador faction below kept chilling him. He felt that after Li Zheng's sword, the comprador faction was really frightened, and this time they were even more determined to stand with Li Zheng.

And what they are saying now is almost the same as forcing abdication.

Emiya had a strong sense of crisis. He felt that the royal court had begun to lose its control. At this moment, he wanted to pick up his sword and kill all these people including Li Zheng. But after a while, he leaned back in his chair dejectedly and weakly.

"You are right, let's do it."

These words seemed to drain all of Emiya's strength, making him completely lose his energy. Everyone below breathed a sigh of relief and began to praise Emiya.

Shirou could only laugh bitterly at himself in his heart, thinking that he was still a coward after all.

He knew that after saying this, it almost meant that he had handed over the Goguryeo country to Xuan Xia, but what choice did he have? The comprador faction had already reached the point of forcing him to abdicate. No matter how furious he was, he had to compromise with reality.

It seems that I can't change the trend after all. Even if the woman who was held down screams a few times, she can't save herself from losing her virginity. That's all.

Although Emiya did not have the ability to predict the future, he could already vaguely see that such things were not only happening in Goguryeo, but would continue to happen in all the small countries and tribes around Xuanxia. Until one day, Xuanxia's desire was finally satisfied, and the pace of expansion began to stop, everything would end completely.
(End of this chapter)