Chapter 122

"Your Majesty has issued an edict, but do you think the Prince of Yan will accept it?! Will the nobles of Great Ming accept it?!"

"Monarchs of every dynasty have claimed to be the Son of Heaven, boasting of sole control over imperial authority, but in all affairs under heaven, has there ever been a single matter decided by the Son of Heaven's word alone?"

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang's chest heaved violently.

"Su Qiao, are you plotting rebellion?!"

"Within the four seas, all officials and all power originate from above; how can the Son of Heaven not be considered the sole holder of imperial authority?"

Su Qiao, yielding not an inch, gazed at Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang and smiled.

"If that is so, why did Lord Shang suffer death by being torn apart by chariots?"

"If that is so, after Duke Huan of Qi died, was it also his last testament that his sons left his corpse unattended and donned armor to attack one another?"

"If that is so, how did Wang Wang Anshi's reforms end without achieving their goals?"

"Could all these things possibly have been the Son of Heaven's edicts?"

"Not to mention the five great surnames and seven prominent clans; even among the full court of civil and military officials of Great Ming, does Your Majesty truly believe they are so obedient?!"

Su Qiao's words continued to echo in the empty hall.

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang's expression had already become distorted.

Su Qiao took a deep breath.

"If Your Majesty insists on abdicating in favor of the Imperial Grandson, not only will His Highness be unable to hold the throne."

"All those prophecies—'the flying dragon soars in the sky,' 'the dragon fights in the wild,' 'the arrogant dragon has cause to repent'—will all come true as ominous predictions."

"Brothers fighting within the walls—is this truly what Your Majesty wishes to see?!"

Having spoken.

Su Qiao removed his official cap on his own accord, stood upright, and said.

"I have finished speaking; whether Your Majesty wishes to execute or dismember me, I, your subject, have no complaints."

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Su Qiao with a grave expression, his body trembling slightly despite himself.

"Good, very good! I am becoming..."

Before Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang could finish his sentence.

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian in the chat group immediately cried out.

"Great-Grandfather, you must calm down."

"If you execute Su Qiao now, he will achieve eternal fame, but what about you?"

"You must realize that everything Su Qiao said in the hall today will come to pass in the future; when that time comes, if even a single phrase or word leaks to the common people, Great-Grandfather, you will have no choice but to bear this burden of blame!"

Emperor Emperor Emperor Emperor Chengzu the Cultured:

"That's not right, Father; what happens on your end shouldn't affect my side, should it?"

"Even if you pass the throne to the version of me on your side."

"The Second Son over here will still be my problem!"

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian and Zhu Di's words woke Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang up.

If he killed Su Qiao now, he might feel satisfied in the moment.

But when all those matters—'the flying dragon soars in the sky,' 'the dragon fights in the wild,' 'the arrogant dragon has cause to repent'—all came true one by one.

At that time, the world would recall these words Su Qiao spoke in the hall today.

And he himself would become an obtuse ruler who, knowing full well it would harm his own kin, still stubbornly persisted in his ways.

In contrast, Su Qiao would then become the second famous minister in Great Ming to rank alongside Zhuge Liang, following Liu Liu Bowen!

Seeking death to buy fame!

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang, originally burning with rage, suddenly came to his senses.

Wasn't this exactly the 'seeking death to buy fame' trick played by those civil officials?

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang, sitting in the hall, could not help but snort twice.

"Good, very good."

"You are waiting for me to kill you?"

"I precisely will not kill you!"

Hearing Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang's words.

Su Qiao was momentarily stunned.

Did Old Zhu see through it?!

Thinking of this, Su Qiao's heart immediately panicked.

Even if Old Zhu doesn't behead me today, I cannot let him realize that I am simply seeking death!

"Seeking death to buy fame?"

"Let me tell you, I will not kill you; I will leave you idle and unused, and not a single word from today's court session will leak to the common people; this reputation of an obtuse ruler will not fall upon me!"

"I now ask you only one thing, and it is your last chance."

"Now I precisely will not appoint the Fourth Son as Crown Prince; you tell me, how should I deal with the Fourth Son!"

As soon as Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang finished speaking.

Zhu Di in another spacetime immediately pricked up his ears.

After all, the Prince of Yan in this spacetime faced almost the same situation as the Prince of Han on his own side.

Su Qiao's method of settlement.

Might be directly applied to Zhu Zhu Gaoxu.

Hearing Old Zhu's words, Su Qiao only then suddenly realized.

So Old Zhu had mistaken him for a remonstrating official?

You want to buy a reputation, don't you?

Then today I will show you whether I truly seek to buy a reputation!

Having realized this point.

Su Qiao's expression gradually calmed.

Looking at Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang before him, he smiled and said:

"Naturally, it is simple."

Having spoken, Su Qiao suddenly changed his tone.

He squeezed out two words through clenched teeth.

"Partition the land!"

"Your Majesty could simply pass the throne to the Crown Prince's son; Your Majesty need only cede all lands north of the Yangtze River to the Prince of Yan, permit him to declare himself Emperor, and establish two Mings standing side by side, North and South."

"The Northern Ming would guard the nation's gates and defend the borders for the Southern Ming, while the Southern Ming would supply wealth and silk to the Northern Ming to resist the barbarians."

"Even if the Prince of Yan were to lose his empire in the future,"

"he would not dare to shamelessly march south!"

The moment his voice fell.

The pride on Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang's face vanished instantly.

Could this be called buying a reputation?

This was inciting chaos throughout the realm!

Could this possibly be seeking to buy a reputation?

There are those who trade their lives for an eternal good name.

But who has ever seen someone trade their life to be reviled for ten thousand years?!

Huang Huang Zicheng, standing nearby, was the first unable to remain seated.

"Su Qiao, you are insolent!"

"Is the realm merely the private estate of some common family, that you can partition the land at will?"

"There cannot be two suns in the sky, nor two rulers in one state! Do you not fear being cursed by all generations?!"

Su Qiao looked at Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang, smiled brightly, and clasped his hands, saying:

"Cursed? Mr. Huang, what is there to be cursed for?"

"If the Prince of Yan declares himself Emperor in the north, should northern barbarians invade, the Great Ming will still have the Southern Ming to preserve the empire, leaving at least a sliver of land for the Han people under heaven."

"Moreover, since the Northern and Southern Mings are close kin, they could jointly campaign north into the Mobei and expand south into Annan; perhaps they could even achieve a hegemony unprecedented in history?"

"Your Majesty, these are the sincere words from my heart; whether to discard them or employ them rests entirely on Your Majesty's single thought."

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang stared fixedly at Su Qiao.