Chapter 761: Sinister and Ruthless

"The Imperial Preceptor must of course be saved, even if it exhausts the strength of our entire nation, he must be saved! But, how are we to save him?"

Upon hearing the plea for help from Zhongmeng Zhenren, the Emperor's expression turned grave, yet he wore a look of difficulty. At the very least, he appeared both anxious and at his wit's end.

Zhongmeng Zhenren had long known the Emperor would find it difficult, and said: "Your Majesty, the fate of the Imperial Preceptor is linked to the fate of this dynasty; the Imperial Preceptor is the National Fortune. Just as you said, only the Imperial Court, only Your Majesty can save the Imperial Preceptor."

His words carried immense implications, especially the phrase "the Imperial Preceptor is the National Fortune," which seemed somewhat excessive, bordering on overstepping. The crowd looked at him one after another. The Emperor revealed a perfectly measured look of confusion and asked: "How so?"

Zhongmeng Zhenren said: "When the Imperial Preceptor was born, he was born of the Great Jin, and rose together with the National Fortune. It is only that for one hundred years, he has lived alone on Zijin Mountain in a solitary image, making people forget his origins. I dare to be bold and ask Your Majesty to use one object to save my benefactor."

The Emperor asked: "What object?"

"The Great Jin Heaven-Traveling Seal!"

The crowd was in an uproar; many on the pavilion gasped, as if the night of the fifteenth day of the first lunar month were not cold enough.

The Heaven-Traveling Seal, as the name implies, is naturally the Emperor's jade seal.

The Son of Heaven has six seals, each with its own purpose, but the Emperor of the Great Jin has seven. This extra one is the Heaven-Traveling Seal forged by the Founding Emperor. Although this Heaven-Traveling Seal is called a jade seal, it is not a true seal, but a great treasure of National Fortune, similar to the National Fortune Stele of the former Wei.

Every orthodox dynasty of Shenzhou must possess such a great treasure. A great treasure can suppress the National Fortune, protect the stability of the Imperial Court, and guard Jingshi from falling. Back then, the Founding Emperor was already the hope of the world, with strong men like clouds under his command, yet he could not break into Jingshi, which was protected by the National Fortune Stele. It was not until the later stages that the Imperial Preceptor took action, breaking the defense of the National Fortune Stele and allowing the great army to storm the Imperial City, formally completing the work of changing the dynasty. Even so, the National Fortune Stele did not shatter; instead, it protected a large group of the former Wei imperial family and was taken away by them, which is the foundation for why the Turtle Bandits have not disbanded for so many years and why their hope of restoring the nation has not ceased.

To be able to break a great treasure of National Fortune with the strength of one person is like opposing the world with the strength of one person, and is part of the myth that the Imperial Preceptor is invincible. But if it is truly as Zhongmeng Zhenren says, that the Imperial Preceptor is related to the National Fortune and the Heaven-Traveling Seal, and can even be said to have been born from the Heaven-Traveling Seal—which is similar to the relationship between a Sword Image and a sword—then does that mean it was not the Imperial Preceptor who defeated the National Fortune Stele back then, but the Great Jin's new national treasure that defeated the Great Wei's old national treasure?

After all that fuss, it wasn't that the Imperial Preceptor was awesome, but that our Great Jin's Founding Emperor was awesome?

It wasn't that the Imperial Preceptor had been protecting the Jin Dynasty, but that the ancestors of the Great Jin were protecting the Jin Dynasty? It seems that the spiritual light blessing the various clans was also born from the Heaven-Traveling Seal?

This viewpoint was highly subversive to everyone's common sense, and the officials looked at each other in dismay. Some of the closer imperial relatives, such as Shou Wang and Shun Wang, seemed to have heard of this. They exchanged glances: this was a matter that should not have been exposed; having such a super-powerful figure was beneficial to everyone. They had not expected it to be exposed by Zhongmeng Zhenren, the person most closely tied to the Imperial Preceptor's interests. Did he not know that saying this would cause the Imperial Preceptor to fall from his pedestal?

The Emperor, who should have been most in command of these core secrets, now wore a look of bewilderment and asked: "What is the Heaven-Traveling Seal needed for?"

Zhongmeng Zhenren said: "I ask Your Majesty to use the Heaven-Traveling Seal to recover the Imperial Preceptor, bring him into the seal to be nurtured, sort out his intelligence, and restore his power. This is originally a good thing of tracing the source. Once the Imperial Preceptor is restored to his original state, he can be released again, and Your Majesty can once again entrust him with the heavy responsibility of protecting the nation."

Amidst the slight commotion, Wang Fei, who knew the most information, realized in his heart:

It really is what it means!

The Emperor wants to consolidate power completely!

If one speaks of this Emperor today, the most important thing he has done since growing up is consolidating power. Consolidating the power of the regents, the power of the imperial uncles, the power of the Empress Dowager... there have been successes and failures. He has now prepared a big move; not only will he make up for everything he hasn't consolidated before, but he also wants to consolidate the power of the Imperial Preceptor!

Logically speaking, the Imperial Preceptor is a Loose Practitioner who drifts outside the imperial court, basically not grasping for power, only guarding Jingshi and the imperial throne. Logically, he is a force the Emperor can trust, a natural ally. If the Emperor were looking for enemies, he could search in circles and never find the Imperial Preceptor. But the Emperor has his eyes set on him: regardless of whether he has committed any faults, his very existence is a fault.

A force at the level of a Sword Immortal, clearly a force of the Great Jin Imperial Court, yet it is not subject to the Emperor's command and instead imposes various restrictions; unless a desperate situation is encountered, it is as if he does not exist. The Emperor has likely always found him an eyesore, right?

Therefore, he spent a great deal of effort laying out his plans, not hesitating to disrupt Jingshi and kill his own kin, ultimately achieving the goal of wiping out the Empress Dowager, the threatening imperial clans, and the Imperial Preceptor in one fell swoop.

At the time, Wang Fei felt it was already incredible that someone would plot to harm the Imperial Preceptor, yet he had still underestimated the Emperor. What the Emperor wants is to completely absorb the Imperial Preceptor—to have the Imperial Preceptor's power, but not the person of the Imperial Preceptor!

Wang Fei repeated his assessment in his heart once more:

Truly a sinister and ruthless ruler!

Also a ruler who is ambitious, or rather, a ruler with grand aspirations.

This is already the most ambitious Emperor in three generations.

Is the Emperor in such a hurry to consolidate power for the sake of pleasure? If it were only to be unrestrained, he could have just taken back the power of the Empress Dowager and the former court, and he could have walked sideways through Jingshi, the outer court, and the inner palace. When has the Imperial Preceptor ever restricted the Emperor from exercising power? On the contrary, because the Imperial Preceptor guards Jingshi, the worst-case scenario never happens no matter how much the Emperor messes around. The risk of deposing the Imperial Preceptor is so great that it would be better to mess with the Prime Minister.

But the Emperor has struck brazenly to snatch back this force that serves as a bottom-line guarantee, surely to do something big. The Emperor is only twenty now, just the age to have grand ambitions and do something.

It is just like clenching five fingers into a fist; consolidating the fist is for the sake of throwing a punch.

Thinking back to the imperial decree summoning all the feudal lords of the world to Jingshi, and the earlier decree to expand Jindinglou, it seems the Emperor was already plotting this big event back then. This matter is almost done now, isn't it?

It seems that today, after the Emperor resolves Shou Wang, the Empress Dowager, and the Imperial Preceptor, he will use the power of a Sword Immortal to discipline these feudal lords.

Can he do it? Of course, one cannot say he has absolute certainty, but regardless of the success rate, this should be the best opportunity for an Emperor in decades to deal with the feudal lords.

Because the Emperor once again possesses the ability to flip the table!

In this era where individual might surpasses a hundred thousand elite troops, the Imperial House only controls the increasingly rotting military power of Jingshi; they cannot be said to have strong soldiers and sturdy horses, and they cannot control those powerful, ambitious people. But what if one adds the world's only force at the level of a Sword Immortal?

With the Heaven-Traveling Seal for defense, the power of a Sword Immortal for offense, and the name of righteous orthodoxy, perhaps something can be done. With vigorous enterprise, it is not impossible to restore the grandeur of the Founding Emperor.

The Emperor must have seen this point. In his view, the Imperial Preceptor, who possesses power but has been confined by rules for many years without moving, is guilty of occupying a position without doing any work, which can be called a heinous crime. That is why he struck so brazenly, right?

Wang Fei's mood was complex.

Is such an Emperor a good thing or a bad thing for the world?

Is it a good thing or a bad thing for their Chun Wangfu?

It seems... it is not a bad thing, right?

For the Wangfu, which is to say for the imperial clan, having an ambitious boss shouldn't be a bad thing, right?

After all, everyone can see that the Imperial Court is getting worse by the day; it is only protected at the head, so it will not die, but it cannot live either.

At such a time, anyone surnamed Yuan has only two paths: come to Jingshi to muddle along and wait for death, or stay in the provinces and become a feudal king, acting as a grassroots Emperor. If one wants to revitalize, one must reach a position where one can revitalize. It is inevitable to fall into the kind of treasonous rebellion of Shun Wang; those with a bottom line, like Chun Wangfu, cannot get past that hurdle themselves.

There is no hope to speak of in such days. At this time, if an ambitious Emperor emerges, even if he is a bit cruel and a bit sinister, he can lead everyone in a Death Struggle. If he wins, it is naturally a restoration of the imperial enterprise; even if he loses, it is better than a slow death.

Chun Wangfu is also surnamed Yuan. Wang Fei's original name is not Wang Fei, but Yuan Shengfei. He is also a spirited young man. From the day he was born, he knew he was of the imperial family and knew the world belonged to his family. This concept had long been deeply rooted. He could not accept the world changing hands.

Even for... this kind of Emperor... it is not a bad thing, right?

Although it is said that the common people hope the rulers will not stir up trouble, the feudal lords of the world have not stirred up little trouble. At best, they are like Gaoyuan Marquis, guarding their own small plot of land, but she guards her gates and refuses to forge ahead; how can the common people of the world count on her? Since everyone hopes for a true hero to emerge and pacify the chaotic world, why can't this hero be the current Emperor?

Although the world is in such a terrible state and the Great Jin Imperial Court must take responsibility, what does it have to do with the Emperor? In any case, the current Emperor could not make decisions before, and the world was ruined by others. Now that he has taken personal control and grasped power and authority, he already has a higher starting point than others. If he can revitalize things and truly cleanse the world and restore the order of the Imperial Court, must the people of the world oppose him?

Therefore, seeing the Emperor being so calculated and having everyone in his plans, Wang Fei felt a sense of excitement amidst his shock.

It seems this is someone he should support?

However, he is different from those who were completely unaware of the situation and were just watching the show, confused but without any psychological burden. He knows the inside story and has done some things. Those things were by no means unjust, but it seems he is no longer of one mind with the Emperor.

Moreover, the matter is not over yet; he knows there will be an accident later.

Of course, those things do not need him to do them; his friend will not make things difficult for him or let him, a prince, stand in opposition to so many people. But if this matter is ruined and the Emperor's plans fall through, then the grand future will also become a bubble...

But... but his friend trusts him. If he steps forward to ruin his friend's affairs, an act of betrayal and going back on his word, he cannot do that either.

Is there no middle ground, no way to have the best of both worlds?

At this moment, the Emperor said: "Go and fetch the Heaven-Traveling Seal." Then he turned his head and said to Zhongmeng Zhenren: "Zhenren, is only one seal needed?"

Zhongmeng Zhenren said: "Logically, only the Heaven-Traveling Seal is needed, but if the absorption is too slow and drags on for a long time, I fear there will be great depletion, so one more person is needed to assist."

"Oh, who is it?"

"Gaoyuan Marquis Xun Junhui."