Chapter 48: The Emperor and His Ministers Have Met with Time (48)

It started snowing again in Yanling.

The pure white snow fell down, silently burying the traces on the ground, as if to show that the world would not forever engrave the figure of anyone who had passed by.

It was so cold that it made people feel scared.

Perhaps it was because the snow was ruthless and time refused to stop for people, so people in the world paid special attention to history.

History will last forever, and those legends that were forgotten by time and lost in the long river will be passed down in their original form.

Every time it snowed, Luo Xiuyuan would think of Shen Minghuan.

It may not be appropriate to say this, Luo Xiuyuan would always think of Shen Minghuan in every scenery of the four seasons.

Watching the snow in winter, he would remember the pure white corners of that person's clothes;

In autumn, when the yellow leaves were flying, he would remember the dry grass at the feet of that person when he first entered the Lingwang Mansion;

In summer, when the cicadas were chirping in the scorching heat, he missed the time when he played chess with that person under the tree.

And spring... Shen Minghuan died in spring.

Luo Xiuyuan wanted to hold on for a little longer, to survive this long winter, to survive this endless snow, and to be buried with Shen Minghuan in the same colorful season.

But the heavens had always treated him poorly, and were unwilling to fulfill his last pale wish.

Luo Xiuyuan pushed away the medicine handed to him by the palace servant, and clearly realized that he didn't have much time left.

"Father!"

The empress, dressed in a complicated dragon robe, hurried over after the morning court.

This scene would have been very strange in the palace twenty years ago, but today, people all over the world have become accustomed to women stepping into the court.

Being an official, a prime minister, an emperor, doing business, studying, writing books, there is nothing in the world that men can do but women can't.

Luo Qingyin knelt down beside Luo Xiuyuan's bed, her voice trembling: "Father, why don't you take the medicine? Is it too bitter? I have prepared candied fruit for you..."

"Yin'er." Luo Xiuyuan said gently. Birth, aging, illness and death are normal for people. He has nothing to accept.

What's more, he has lived long enough. Shen Minghuan is gone. Lu Suiping, Lu Zhi, Lin Zhihang, Zhuo Feichen, Mr., Uncle, He Zhang, Chen Xin...

As the familiar people left one by one, he felt more and more lonely.

This kind of loneliness is more difficult to accept than death.

"For so many years, I have never asked you, Yin'er, are you willing to be the emperor?"

Luo Qingyin's eyes were slightly red, and she smiled and replied: "Father, you are joking. How glorious it is to be the emperor, how could anyone not want to be?"

"He just doesn't want to be."

Luo Xiuyuan's eyes were dazed for a moment, and suddenly realized that he had gone off topic again, "Yin'er, I choose you as the heir..."

Luo Qingyin is the daughter of Luo Xiuyuan's sister, the eleventh princess. Strictly speaking, she is no longer a member of the royal family, and no matter how the throne changes, it will not be her turn.

Luo Xiuyuan has his own children, and the royal family also has other clans, but Luo Xiuyuan still discussed with his sister and adopted the three-year-old Qingyin to his knees. He first named her a princess, then a princess, and then abdicated directly, letting Luo Qingyin become the emperor.

It's not because he likes this child so much, nor because she has shown extraordinary talent at a young age, but because -

"Because the empire needs a female emperor, a female emperor who is not born by you." Luo Qingyin slowly leaned her head against his hand, as if he had stroked her forehead when she was a child, "Father, I understand everything."

Luo Xiuyuan blinked, "Yin'er, do you think I am a good emperor?"

"Of course." Luo Qingyin's tone was firm, and every word came from the heart: "Father is a wise ruler in the prosperous times. Under your rule, the rivers and seas are peaceful, and the people are singing and dancing. All of them praise your kindness."

Luo Xiuyuan smiled: "This is all Ming Huan's idea. I just help him. In my life, there are only two things that I have done completely."

"First, posthumously confer the title of emperor to Shen Che and honor the Ming Emperor."

At that time, Qu Zhengcheng and others had all retired. After hearing this decree, they all entered the palace.

"Your Majesty, if Ming Huan were still alive, I would have no objection to your abdication, but he is dead, so what can he do even if he is honored with a great deal of honor? If he were still alive, he would not be happy to know that you caused turmoil in the dynasty because of him."

The saints said to think twice before acting, Luo Xiuyuan had already thought about it thousands of times, and he was very firm: "You should know that I am not just for fame, how can I use this to look down on Ming Huan."

Yes, Luo Xiuyuan never joked with Shen Ming Huan, so his move was very serious.

"From ancient times to the present, the succession of dynasties has always been the law of the jungle. If Shen Minghuan were still alive, he would be able to control military power and win the hearts of the people. No one in the world would question him."

"But he is dead. You want to posthumously confer him the title of emperor on the grounds that he has great talent and a broad mind, which means that your Majesty personally admits that the throne belongs to the capable."

"The imperial power can be taken away, but you cannot give it up voluntarily." Qu Zhengcheng looked at him: "Your Majesty, once this precedent is set, you know what it means."

The reason why the imperial power is stable is that everyone knows that rebellion is a serious crime.

Learn civil and martial arts and sell them to the imperial family.

Choose one person as your master and be loyal to him for life.

But once this precedent is set, who will "perform for show" and who will be willing to "choose a master"?

It's better to take turns to be the emperor, and it will be my turn next year.

"The empire needs an emperor." Qu Zhengcheng said, there can only be one.

Luo Xiuyuan's prestige became heavier with time, and he said without question: "Sir, it has always been us who think the empire needs it."

It is really an arrogant idea to think that the people need to be disciplined.

But if you think that the people always need to be disciplined, it is a very stupid idea.

Luo Xiuyuan's eyes suddenly became gentle again: "I think this is also the world that Ming Huan wants. Lu Gong, Chen Xin, you two follow Ming Huan's will and overcome all difficulties to enlighten the people. Don't you think that the soul of culture is more important than poetry and books?"

"One day, there will be no more emperors in this world."

"All people are born equal, you and I have the same freedom and immeasurable future."

At that time, Luo Xiuyuan's power and reputation were extremely high, and no one could oppose his order.

Unlike his youthful days, Luo Xiuyuan lay in bed, as weak as a candle in the wind.

He sighed, his expression somewhat complicated: "Second, I will abdicate the throne to you."

Later, as Daqi had more and more talents and the official system became more and more perfect, the role of the emperor was actually far less important.

If the new emperor is smart, that would be the best, enough to lead the dynasty to a higher level.

But if he is stupid, that doesn't matter, he will just be a mascot on the dragon throne and won't harm the people.

So when Luo Xiuyuan chose the heir, he was more concerned about the symbolic meaning behind it.

Restart the ancient abdication and make it a sharp knife to pierce the imperial power of father-to-son succession.

Choose a woman as emperor, improve the status of women in the most decisive way, and achieve equality regardless of gender.

"I have been thinking, is it right for me to do this?" Luo Xiuyuan was a little uneasy.

All his policies for governing the country came from the ink left by Shen Minghuan. Following the direction guided by the other party, he has always been very at ease.

He was afraid of these two things, fearing that the final result would not only fail to meet his expectations, but also harm Qi Chao.

Luo Qingyin held his hand, and the old and young palms joined together, as if to convey his strength to the old master of the world. "Father, I believe you can achieve your wish, and even the gentlemen will support you in the end."

Do they support me? Will Ming Huan support me too?

A dark shadow passed by Luo Xiuyuan's eyes, and he waved his hand, "Yin'er, go, and sleep alone for a while."

As if in a dream or awake, Luo Xiuyuan seemed to come to a foggy space, and he saw many old friends.

The young Qu Zhengcheng waved at him with a smile, "Yuan'er, come quickly, we will take you to see the afterlife you have been thinking about."

Lu Zhi and others also nodded slightly to him and said with a smile: "Your Majesty, you have worked hard over the years, and you are a well-deserved good emperor."

Luo Xiuyuan was a little confused. Is this the world after death? Then why didn't I see Ming Huan?

Zhuo Feichen snorted at him heavily and waved his sleeves to disperse the white mist.

Like a mirage, after the white mist dissipated, a dignified and neat, but somewhat strange building suddenly appeared.

The sound of reading aloud came from far away inside.

*

"Classmates, today we continue to explain the last chapter of ancient history - "The Last Dynasty Sheng Qi", open the book to page 82."

The teenagers wearing the same style of clothes took out their books obediently. In the empty classroom, there was only the sound of flipping books and the teacher's lecture.

"We have learned foreign history before. Students should know that looking at the world, all institutional changes and even progress have to pay the price of blood. There are also countries that split and perished in this process."

"Only our country is an exception. We have paid almost no price for the transition from feudal society to modern society. From the abdication of Emperor Qi Zhao Luo Xiuyuan to Emperor Qi Rong, until the last Emperor Qi Heng voluntarily abdicated, this process was so natural that it was a bit magical."

The teacher straightened his back and said proudly: "This progress is nearly three hundred years earlier than other countries. What is the concept of three hundred years in politics? The history of a certain country is only two hundred years!"

"From our current perspective, Emperor Zhao's initial move was extremely correct. It can be said that he anticipated the trajectory of history and had far-reaching influence. But in the past era, this was almost against the inherent ideas of the whole world. Even the famous courtiers of the Qi Dynasty could not understand Emperor Zhao's behavior at first."

Classes always make people drowsy. Students listlessly flipped through books and took notes by comparing them with the projection on the podium.

A student suddenly looked up when he heard this, and said with a sigh: "If Shen Minghuan were here, he would definitely understand Emperor Zhao."

If you talk about this, then everyone will not be sleepy.

The students put down their pens and raised their hands excitedly, saying, "Teacher, please tell us about Emperor Minghuang's deeds."

The teacher happened to be a fan of Shen Minghuan. He hesitated and looked at the time. He had only been in class for half a period, but...

"Okay, the class is almost over anyway, so I'll tell you about it."

"The history of the Qi Dynasty should be divided into two periods. The first half is not important. The second half is called Sheng Qi, which is marked by the coup d'état by Emperor Ming. Although we call him Emperor Ming, Shen Minghuan has never been an emperor for a day."

"This is a pity. Shen Minghuan is an unquestionable genius. All the subsequent policies that are beneficial to the country of Sheng Qi almost all have the shadow of Shen Minghuan."

"He alone paved the way for three hundred years for future generations in less than a year. Until now, we are still drawing wisdom from the few words he left behind."

The teacher sighed. Whenever he read the name of that person, he would feel that God was too cruel.

Not only cruel to that person, but also cruel to the people of the world.

If Shen Minghuan lived a few more years, how prosperous would the world be?

"Teacher, I read Chen Xin's "Daqi Chronicles". He said that they once wanted to support Shen Minghuan as the emperor, and even Luo Xiuyuan, who had inherited the throne at that time, agreed." The student was a little puzzled: "Isn't the throne good? Why did everyone want to give this position to Shen Minghuan at that time?"

The teacher said seriously: "You should know that some people are born to be kings."

This sentence came from a historian today. It sounds a bit absurd, but no one can object.

Shen Minghuan is such a person. When you see him, you can't help but follow him. When you know him, it is impossible not to believe in him.

"No one loves this world more passionately than him.

"Shen Minghuan can be admired by everyone, not only because of his unparalleled talent, but also because he truly takes the world as his responsibility. "

The teacher recalled the records about Shen Minghuan that he had read, his eyes were a little hot, and he turned his head slightly: "If there is a perfect person like a god, he will be worried about your sorrows and joys, will cherish you more than you care about yourself, stay up all night for you, work hard for you, and sacrifice his life for you..."

The teacher turned on the 3D portrait projection of Shen Minghuan, "Looking at him giving his life for you, can you not be moved?"

"So handsome!"

The teacher stared: "Superficial."

"To see what a person has given you, you must first see what that person has."

"Shen Minghuan is the only heir of the Shen family. At that time, the head of the Shen family, Shen Changqing, was his grandfather, and he loved him deeply."

"He became famous at a young age and was the most ambitious and brilliant young man in Yanling. Imagine if your parents were the richest people, giving you pocket money in six figures, and you were young, and you were scrambled for by Jingbei University with the best grades in the country... Wouldn't you be excited? "The teacher snorted, "It's a dream for you, but for Shen Minghuan, that's his experience."

It's very immersive, and the students have been hit.

"Such an excellent and proud boy was humiliated by the useless second prince. In order to let Luo Xiuyuan, whom he chose, ascend the throne, Shen Minghuan was willing to become the second prince's staff. While being spurned by the world, he was also humiliated and scolded by the second prince."

The teacher was so angry that his eyes were red, "Luo Xiuqi is a piece of shit, he is not even worthy of carrying shoes for my Minghuang! And that Luo Xiuyuan, what qualifications does he have to make Minghuang treat him so well."

The students looked at each other, "Teacher, don't get excited, don't get excited."

It's hard for the teacher not to get excited, "Later, he forced the palace, he could obviously be the emperor, but he ended up being a powerful minister. Although now we know that he had good intentions and wielded the butcher knife to eradicate the cancer, but people at that time didn't know it!"

"How much grievance he suffered, for a long time, even his father didn't understand him. It is said that emperors are lonely. In the past five thousand years, no emperor was more lonely than Shen Minghuan at that time. "

"Emperor Ming can enlighten everyone and can easily understand the unspoken worries of Emperor Zhao, but no one can keep up with his thoughts. "

"Shen Minghuan has never been an emperor, but he has the most loyal ministers, such as General Zhuo Feichen who always supports him. Later, he had many subordinates who were willing to go through fire and water for him and willingly recognize him as their lord, but in the long journey of promoting world progress, he was always lonely. "

"One person, one torch, walking alone."

"Even when he died in the end, he was using his life to solve the last hidden danger for Daqi."

*

"Minghuan..." Luo Xiuyuan thought he would no longer cry for missing Shen Minghuan, but it turned out that he would still be heartbroken when he heard that person's name and story.

Zhuo Feichen said coldly: "Have you finished reading? Then go back. In the future, as you wish, you have done a good job as an emperor and are worthy of my master. "

Luo Xiuyuan squatted down uncomfortably and curled up into a ball, "Let me take another look, let me take another look at him, please."

"Yuan'er." Qu Zhengcheng leaned down, "The future will remember you, remember Ming Huan, and remember the friendship between you."

Qu Zhengcheng tried to help him up, but failed, so he simply sat next to him, "Yuan'er, look."

Qu Zhengcheng pointed in the air.

A large screen appeared in the direction he pointed.

[Open the screen and see the beautiful Ming Emperor.]

[One hundred million times again.]

[I would like to call this documentary the pinnacle of all media and film and television works. Do you agree? ]

[It is a bit regrettable that the documentary only shows the side faces or backs of the characters, which is not satisfying. ]

[There is nothing we can do about it. The director said that he felt that no one could play the role of Sheng Qi Fenghua in his mind. You can't travel back in time and pull Shen Minghuan and Luo Xiuyuan to play for you, right? ]

There are some words that Luo Xiuyuan has never seen before, but he seems to understand their meaning.

Luo Xiuyuan looked up silently and recognized that the scene on the screen was the first court meeting when he was emperor. At that time, Shen Minghuan was still the regent, and Chen Xin knelt in the hall with tears and laughter.

Luo Xiuyuan suddenly remembered that when someone in the court explained the reason, Shen Minghuan gave him a very complicated look.

He was thinking, and the screen was also playing this scene.

"Mr. Chen and Mr. Yin are from the same hometown. They studied together since childhood and have a very good relationship. When they went to Beijing to take the imperial examination, they were short of money, so they lived in the same room."

[They looked at each other, wow, the director is so good at shooting. They are so far away that they can't even see their faces clearly, but they can feel that they are looking at each other. ]

[Isn't this scene worthy of a close-up? Where's the photographer? Put the camera on it for me! ]

[Luo Xiuyuan doesn't know the meaning of this look yet. He may not know it until a long time later, or he may never think of it in his life. ]

[Yes, this record is still in Chen Xin's "Da Qi Chronicle". He said that the emperor once asked him with a smile if he knew Shen Minghuan before, otherwise why did the man's eyes look so strange at that time. ]

[He is jealous, right! He thought his best friend had someone else who is the best in the world. ]

[Although I know we are also guessing, I really like what Professor Gu said: Shen Minghuan heard the story of Yin Shuhuai and Chen Xin, and looked up at Luo Xiuyuan.

——Because Yin Shuhuai is to Chen Xin just like Shen Minghuan is to Luo Xiuyuan.

That look clearly said, "I will be buried in the abyss, and you will be buried in the world, and your head will be covered with snow." I will be buried in the abyss, and I will be buried in the abyss. I hope you will take care of yourself.

Woo, woo, I am crying so hard. Ming Zhao's story is all about knives. 】

Luo Xiuyuan's face turned pale. Minghuan, were you ready to die for him at that time?

Tears had already blurred his vision. Luo Xiuyuan said nothing, still looking at the screen like a self-abuse.

[High abuse warning ahead! ]

[Ah, ah, ah, I don't want to watch it. As long as I close it fast enough, the Emperor Ming will not die. ]

"Your Majesty, I'm back."

[I burst into tears. Minghuan, think about your injuries. Do you call this coming back? ]

[From some aspects, the Emperor Ming is indeed a man of his word. Tears are running down. ]

The documentary focuses on the facts, but here the director has inserted many scenes that should have been in the memories.

The young man in white looked at his best friend with a smile.

"Your Highness."

"Meet Your Highness."

"Your Highness, I will never hurt you."

"Your Majesty, all is well."

"Meet Your Majesty."

Countless young men in white intertwined and finally disappeared one by one. What was left was the figure of the young man with his hem stained with red plum blossoms.

He said, "Your Majesty, I'm back."

Luo Xiuyuan covered his chest, feeling so uncomfortable that he couldn't breathe.

Lu Zhi sighed, he raised his sleeves, and the white mist enveloped him.

The scene never disappeared, but Luo Xiuyuan disappeared.

In the school.

The student asked: "Teacher, the Emperor Ming was so powerful, why didn't he push the Qi Dynasty to transform into a modern society? All his measures were to consolidate the regime of Emperor Zhao, right?"

The teacher took a sip of water: "That's wrong. On the contrary, although the abdication seemed to be proposed by Emperor Zhao, Shen Minghuan definitely contributed to it."

"First, Luo Xiuyuan was most influenced by Shen Minghuan. He subtly accepted many of Shen Minghuan's ideas. Secondly, historians speculate that the reason why Shen Minghuan finally... did not leave a way out for himself was that the aristocratic families were secondary. After all, with the ability of the Emperor Ming, it would be easy to destroy them. The most important thing is that if he were alive, his reputation would be too great."

"How smart is the Emperor Ming? Do you think he doesn't know that others want to support him as emperor? But according to their understanding of the Emperor Ming, Emperor Ming is loyal to him. Even if Emperor Ming is willing to abdicate, he can still control the power to overthrow the empire. Even after his death, his followers will support his descendants, even if they are a bunch of trash. "

"This is what Emperor Ming does not want to see, so a dead Shen Minghuan is more useful than a living one."

"The Shen family is also full of loyal martyrs. After Emperor Ming died, Shen Duo resigned. Since then, no one in the Shen family has entered the court as an official, just for fear of accidentally borrowing Shen Minghuan's power."

"I know you will say that you can survive first and then change everything step by step. I also want him to be alive. Keep a useful body and add a little more brilliance to the world."

"But this is the gap between us and the saints. Emperor Ming loves this world so much, how can he be willing to take things step by step, how can he tolerate the people suffering for a few more years? "

"He understood Luo Xiuyuan, and knew that Luo Xiuyuan would complete his actions after his death, and would not covet power, so he went to his death with peace of mind."

The teacher wanted to cry again.

"The relationship between Emperor Ming and Emperor Zhao is really good, like mountains and flowing water, close friends." The student sighed, believing in someone and believing in him until death without regrets, what a touching brotherhood.

The teacher was as if his faith was insulted, and jumped up and said: "What close friend, that's just Emperor Ming's cleverness, he understands people's hearts, he is confident in his ability to judge people, he believes in himself!"

On the screen.

[Okay, I've finished watching Emperor Ming and Emperor Zhao, I'm going to watch Emperor Ming and his general. ]

[The upstairs is awesome, I have to slow down, the general's side is full of knives. ]

[You guys are too useless, right? I'm different, I won't cry, wait, these two words are... fold, willow, I burst into tears. ]

[People will die if they are stabbed. ]

[I can't do it anymore, I have to watch something happy. Speaking of which, it's really funny that the two countries couldn't wait to merge as soon as Luo Xiuyuan and Li Chengzhuo passed away. I laugh every time I see it. ]

[Yes, yes, in fact, they were already as close as a family. I don't know what kind of bad tempers those two leaders have. ]

[Oh? Don't you know? I'm telling you, it's "Da Qi and Li Lan, neither of them will be in trouble", it's "If it's you, it doesn't matter if you surrender", it's "After the war, we will drink and talk happily in Yanling"...

It's the bottles of sake in front of the tombstone, it's the thoughts that Li Chengzhuo wrote down under the moonlight countless nights, it's the steps that he never set foot in Da Qi in his life, it's the carriage that he talked about when drinking with Zhuo Feichen...]

[Shut up, you want me to cry until I'm dehydrated before I'm satisfied? ]

[On the matter of "His Majesty the Emperor Ming raised a whole fish pond, but every fish thinks it's the only one"]

[Luo Xiuyuan: Ah, isn't it? ]

[Li Chengzhuo: Am I not the only one in the fish pond? ]

[Zhuo Feichen: Which fish should we kill today to make fish soup for your majesty? ]

[Lu Suiping: I will give you a piece of land to grow green vegetables. ]

[It's so funny. ]

*

Emperor Zhao died.

He died in his sleep, and passed away peacefully.

No one knew that Luo Xiuyuan had woken up for a moment in the dark night.

He looked at the moonlight coming through the window lattice in a daze, wondering if he had accidentally peeked into the other end of the river of time.

But after thinking about it, he still felt that it was just a bizarre dream.

Otherwise, if there was such a situation, why didn't he see Shen Minghuan over there? Isn't that the person who is most qualified to see all this?

So this was his dream, and there was no Shen Minghuan in his dream.

Luo Xiuyuan blinked, raised his hand with difficulty to wipe away the tears from the corners of his eyes, and closed his eyes.

I am now in a state of disarray due to my illness, and I only dream of idle people, not you.

——You are buried in the mud and your bones are rotten, while I am living in the world with my hair covered with snow.

I have lived in the world, and my hair is covered with snow.