Chapter 352

The palace maids and eunuchs on duty in the Taiji Palace all exited the main hall in an orderly fashion; saving their lives was the priority. These were all lessons learned by countless predecessors with their blood and lives.

When the old Emperor is having a fit, one must stay far, far away. It is better to be questioned afterward than to be slashed to death on the spot.

As a result, only Qiu Defu remained in the main hall.

Others could retreat, but he could not.

Others could hide, but he could not.

As the Grand Eunuch and the person most trusted by the old Emperor, the higher the power and glory he received, the greater the pressure and danger he had to endure.

At critical moments, he had to rush forward and share the fate of the old Emperor.

"Your Majesty, please take care of your health! The Prince of Chu does not remember the Emperor's grace; he is clearly unloyal and unfilial, without a lord or father. Your Majesty shouldn't hurt yourself for such a person who betrays his master and ancestors!"

Qiu Defu's words were filled with tears and blood; he hugged the old Emperor's legs, weeping bitterly, his tears and snot flowing, wishing he could take his place.

"Rebellious subjects, they are all rebellious subjects! I want to kill all these rebellious subjects."

"Yes, they are all traitors. It is good for Your Majesty to kill them all. Your Majesty, please take care of your health and do not hurt yourself for mere traitors. This world cannot do without Your Majesty, and the court cannot do without Your Majesty. Without Your Majesty, this world would be in chaos."

Qiu Defu was very skilled at providing emotional value.

Under his sincere and heartfelt comfort, the old Emperor gradually calmed down. However, he did not put down the sword in his hand; he could have another fit and start slashing people at any moment.

"He dares to scold me for being muddled and confused, to scold me for being worse than a three-year-old child, to scold me for lacking the appearance of an Emperor and having no responsibility. He is courting death!"

"Your Majesty is right; the Prince of Chu is clearly tired of living."

"Draft an edict: The Prince of Chu is raving and ranting, which is clearly a sign of being possessed by demons. For the sake of the court, for the sake of the clan, and for the sake of the people, strip him of his Prince title, demote him to a County Prince, and let him be the Prince of Chujiang!"

A single character difference, and the status is worlds apart.

The Prince of Chu is a Prince of the Blood, while the Prince of Chujiang is a County Prince; all sorts of treatment and regulations would be downgraded.

Qiu Defu immediately accepted the order, personally picked up a brush to write the edict, stamped it with the great seal, and sent it to the Government Affairs Hall to be issued to the world.

Government Affairs Hall:...

There was no reason to stop the Emperor from demoting the Prince of Chu to the Prince of Chujiang. In the end, this was beneficial to the court, and the civil officials were happy to see it happen. Although the Prince of Chu had scolded the old Emperor very satisfyingly, he was a member of the clan and naturally at odds with the civil officials. It was impossible for the civil official group to accept him just because of a memorial.

Stamped and issued the edict.

The edict was halfway there and had not yet reached the hands of the Prince of Chu when the old Emperor issued a second edict, demoting the freshly minted Prince of Chujiang to a Duke of Zhenguo.

Even the Prince title was stripped away!

It shows how much psychological damage that memorial had caused the old Emperor.

The court officials speculated that the final fate of the Prince of Chu would be demotion to a commoner and being sent to the imperial mausoleum for confinement.

Given the old Emperor's vengeful, narrow-minded, and temperamental nature, this was definitely possible; perhaps he could achieve the ultimate goal of sending him to the imperial mausoleum for confinement within this year.

Just as everyone was looking at the drama of the Prince of Chu's downfall with pity, the Prince of Chu dealt the whole world another heavy blow.

The Prince of Chu rebelled!

The Prince of Chu issued a manifesto to "clear the Emperor's side"! He raised the banner of rebellion!

In just half a month, he had already occupied two provinces and eight counties. The Prince of Chu's army was advancing like a hot knife through butter, heading south and east, occupying more territory. Wherever they went, the government troops fled at the sight, and officials opened the city gates to surrender.

The Prince of Chu's army had become an army of justice, welcomed by the people along the way.

When the news reached the capital, the court officials:...

What is this?

How did he suddenly rebel for no reason?

Some court officials scolded the Prince of Chu for being a rebellious subject, without a lord or father.

Other court officials suddenly realized; no wonder the Prince of Chu had submitted that memorial earlier, daring to publicly insult the old Emperor. His wolfish ambition was clearly revealed.

Everything had been premeditated. That memorial was the first shot fired to raise the banner of rebellion. Because he knew the old Emperor would definitely lose his composure and definitely demote him. He used this opportunity to raise the banner of rebellion, and the people who didn't know the truth would sympathize with him. People naturally sympathize with the weak.

The Prince of Chu, who was demoted and suppressed, was the weak one in people's eyes. A clan prince who was about to lose his life, raising the banner of rebellion to save his own life, what was wrong with that?

It was clearly the old Emperor who was acting perversely, disregarding the lives of the people, and unable to tolerate even his own relatives. If you say a few true words, he wants to kill you; saying true words is dangerous these days!

The people's lives were miserable, and the old Emperor was still causing trouble.

Rebel, rebel!

Only by rebelling against the old Emperor would the world have a good life.

The influence of the court and the old Emperor in the south was already limited, and with the scholars and strategists raised by the Prince of Chu, they were bewitching people along the way. The common people all believed that the Prince of Chu was the Son of Heaven, and the old Emperor in the palace was a wicked dragon who had usurped the throne. A wicked dragon that should have died fifty years ago had used conspiratorial means to steal the throne. Now, it was time for the throne to return to the legitimate line.

Damn!

Even the banner of legitimacy had been raised. This appeal and destructive power were directly doubled.

In this day and age, after a hundred years of tireless brainwashing and propaganda by scholars, people firmly believed in legitimacy and practiced it in their lives. The Prince of Chu was the legitimate one, the one destined by heaven, with celestial phenomena as proof.

As for the old Emperor being a wicked dragon, what evidence was there?

The mutiny and deposition of the Crown Prince was the most obvious evidence. A true dragon, a true Son of Heaven, would never depose a Crown Prince who held legitimate status.

Chaos, chaos!

People of insight with foresight had said that the mutiny and deposition of the Crown Prince was a move so bad it couldn't be worse; it confused people's hearts, disrupted order, threw the world into chaos, and would sooner or later reap its own bitter fruit.

It had only been a few months, and the bitter fruit had arrived!

Without the deposition of the Crown Prince, even if you gave the Prince of Chu ten guts, he wouldn't have dared to raise an army to rebel at this time. With the deposition of the Crown Prince, the Prince of Chu raising an army to rebel was exactly the right time, and followers were like clouds.

After the deposition of the Crown Prince, the panicked hearts and the disrupted order urgently needed someone to come forward and set things right. Only by setting things right could the hearts of the world be stabilized.

The Prince of Chu seized the opportunity and seized the hearts of the people. He stood up bravely and took on the heavy responsibility of setting things right. Once his sword was drawn, he was unstoppable. Wherever he went, everyone submitted, and there were few who resisted.

The old Emperor looked at the battle reports flying in and the reports from local officials; they were all bad news.

Two provinces fallen, three provinces fallen, the provincial capital fallen, the entire southeast fallen...

Clang!

All the memorials were thrown onto the ground.

The old Emperor was so angry that his cheeks turned red, an unnatural red.

"Esteemed ministers, do you have any countermeasures?"

The old Emperor finally remembered his court officials and held a small court meeting. Officials above the ministry level in the court attended one after another, and the nobility also sent representatives. Both sides stood on either side of the main hall of the Taiji Palace, each looking at their noses and hearts, and no one spoke.

Jiang Tu, as the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, was also qualified to attend this small court meeting. He was eager to move, wanting to step out several times, wanting to take this opportunity to seize military power.

He had money now; what he lacked was military power.

If he could hold military power, plus financial power, who would dare to look down on him in the future? Who would dare to scold him as a sycophant and a villain?