Chapter 478: The First Retribution

"Li Xiang, we have but one demand: to depose the Emperor. As for who should sit on the throne after the deposition, we have no opinion. So do not imagine our actions are so base — there is no collusion of interests behind this, no underhanded scheming. We stand in broad daylight, demanding only the removal of this incompetent, dim-witted Emperor Emperor Taixing, to restore a clear and bright world to the Great Qian Dynasty."

"Restore a clear and bright world to the realm!"

"Depose the Emperor! Depose the Emperor! Depose the Emperor!"

"The Emperor is a fool — how can we cling to outdated, vulgar customs? It is time to show the world our courage and boldness. Not every minister at court is here to draw a salary and do nothing."

"The Emperor is a fool, he builds recklessly, he favors treacherous officials, he torments the realm. If Emperor Emperor Taixing is not removed, the realm will know no peace. If Emperor Emperor Taixing is not removed, the heavens over Great Qian shall crack."

One slogan after another shook the heavens, and the bolder the words grew.

Some old ministers were so frightened their faces went white.

Some of the younger officials, however, were itching to join in, apparently wanting to shout the depose-the-Emperor slogan as well.

The princes and imperial princes opened their mouths to speak, yet no one stepped forward to be the first to brave the unknown. Too difficult! To echo Zhao Mingqiao would be to seek death. To refuse him, and one always felt the chance slipping through one's fingers.

How agonizing!

He wanted to speak up and preserve some face for his father, yet could not find the right words. After all, everything his father had done these past years, apart from provoking the wrath of both Heaven and the people, left only senility and muddled incompetence.

As for the arch-traitor Jiang Tu, he had long since hidden himself away, afraid of being beaten to death by this mob of madmen. In a scene like this, if one were beaten to death, it would be a death for nothing — no one would stand up for him. He might not even find someone to collect his corpse.

Hiding was the wisest course.

As for face — when one's life is nearly gone, what use is face?

A man like Jiang Tu, who had grown up on the streets, could truly bend and stretch as needed. He knew his goal clearly: survival was the first priority. Unlike scholars, who loved to overthink; unlike wandering heroes, who cared about face; unlike rebels, who fought for a breath of pride.

They did not fight for pride, did not care for face, and never overthought. They fixed on a single target, the only target: survive!

With a clear goal, one's actions become efficient and decisive.

He hid far away, refusing to involve himself in the commotion at the Taiji Palace. Though a young eunuch, having taken his money, reported news from the Taiji Palace in a timely manner, his mind remained entirely on how to save his own life, utterly unable to throw himself into this farce that would shake the realm and shake history.

Why has the old Emperor still not woken!

Could he really have injured his brain?

That mob of madmen led by Zhao Mingqiao — so brazen. Even if the Brocaded Guards feared collateral damage, what about the Imperial Guard? The eunuchs inside the palace? Qiu Qiu Defu? What are they all doing? Why don't they seize Zhao Mingqiao?

Everyone says there are Grandmasters by Your Majesty's side. Things have already escalated to the point of deposing the Emperor — why has not a single Grandmaster stepped forward to take charge?

Are the Grandmasters of the Great Qian Dynasty content only to stand by and watch the show?

Absurd!

Utterly absurd!

Absurd and laughable!

Jiang Tu agonized, cursing Li Liangcheng for his incompetence — a dignified Chief Minister, and he could not deal with a single court official.

If he were the Chief Minister, he would have ordered Zhao Mingqiao seized eight hundred years ago, and grass would already be sprouting on the grave.

"Useless! Useless! A pack of useless fools!"

He slipped the young eunuch another sum of money, telling him to find more people and report the movements at the Taiji Palace even more promptly. Best of all would be to stir up some chaos, fish in troubled waters, and kill that man surnamed Zhao.

The young eunuch took the money, but only agreed to gather information, not to take responsibility for killing anyone.

"With so many eyes watching, Lord Jiang, please do not make things difficult for this servant."

"Precisely because there are so many eyes, it's the perfect chance to fish in troubled waters."

"Lord Jiang jests. Around Zhao Gong swarms a mob of madmen — every one of them a desperado. For eunuchs like us to face this kind of rabble, dying would be a death for nothing."

"What did you call him? You actually called him Zhao Gong? What virtue or ability does Zhao Mingqiao possess that you would call him Zhao Gong? Absurd! Have you eunuchs been bewitched by him as well? Deposing Your Majesty — what good is it to you? Do you really think that swapping in a different Emperor will let you ascend to the heavens?"

The young eunuch, hearing the word "eunuch," was visibly displeased. That word they could call themselves — that was self-deprecating humor. But they would not allow others to use it as an insult against them.

The young eunuch's expression was a half-smile, but his eyes were dark and gloomy, "Whether we can ascend to the heavens, I do not know. We eunuchs only know that it has been a long time since the palace has been this lively. You know as well as I that we are all lowly servants who wait on others — we understand no grand principles. Zhao Gong has spoken out boldly before so many people, and so many support him — surely he cannot be a bad man."

"Can you tell the good from the bad? What do you know of court affairs?"

"Treat us as people, and naturally he is a good man." The young eunuch gave a light laugh. "Zhao Gong never puts on airs and looks down on us eunuchs — if that does not make him a good man, what does? If Lord Jiang has the guts, why not go to the Taiji Palace yourself and confront Zhao Gong face to face? With Lord Jiang's wit, you would surely shine and win the faith of the ministers."

"Get out! Get out! If I could go to the Taiji Palace, would I still be hiding here chatting with you? Hurry off and gather information — I want to know what the situation is at the Taiji Palace now. Go, quickly!"

"Lord Jiang, wait a moment. There will be news soon."

……

"Absurd! Listen to what you are saying — is that the talk of a minister? How do your words and deeds differ from those of rebels? The dynasty has nurtured its scholars for three hundred years, not so that you could spout reckless nonsense here and throw the court into chaos. If one day the dynasty falls, you will all be the guilty ones. You have set the worst possible precedent, shattering the rules of the court."

Li Li Liangcheng was in anguish, crying out in grief!

"What rules? Clinging to a comatose dim-wit of an Emperor — what kind of rules are those?" Zhao Mingqiao demanded sharply. "The dim-witted Emperor has brought calamity to the realm. You lot do not think of admonishing him, do not think of how to settle the matter once and for all — all you know is rules, rules. Mouth 'rules' this, 'rules' that — last year at this time, I did not see any of you stop the dim-witted Emperor from deposing the Crown Prince.

When the Crown Prince was deposed, the rules had already been broken, and the court order had already rotted away. We are merely giving a few more knocks to something already broken — as the saying goes, nothing can be built without first breaking, and only through breaking can one establish anew. Are you truly going to keep indulging the dim-witted Emperor, letting him continue to torment the realm?"

"We will not agree to it!"

"Depose the dim-witted Emperor!"

"If the dynasty falls, you will all be the guilty ones!"

"Li Xiang is useless — we call on Li Xiang to step down!"

"We call on Li Xiang to die!"

"We call on Li Xiang to die!"

This mob of madmen was no longer satisfied with deposing the Emperor — they had begun to point their spears at Li Li Liangcheng. The reason: Li Li Liangcheng was still defending the so-called old order, defending the dim-witted Emperor, defending propriety.

The Crown Prince had already been deposed. In the eyes of this mob of madmen, propriety was already gone, order was already gone.

When the Crown Prince was deposed, wise men had long foreseen that the move would bring endless calamity! The order and propriety in people's hearts had been corrupted from that moment on — the harm of deposing the Crown Prince would be long-lasting, and irreparable.

Today, the first retribution for deposing the Crown Prince has come upon the old Emperor.