Chapter 290: Assassinating the King and Killing His Driver

The emperor's accession to the throne does not mean he ascended the throne.

Emperor Hongde was only an acting emperor. He had to wait until Jingtai was buried and the mourning period was over before the coronation ceremony could be held.

The eunuch department looked for Yuan Jianzheng, who predicted an auspicious day for the burial and sent the late emperor to the grave.

Yuan Jianzheng swore to the sky: "Tomorrow is a good day. If we miss this opportunity, there will be no such opportunity!"

Emperor Hongde and his relatives had no objection. After all, there was no corpse, just a cenotaph.

According to the previous rules, the ancestral temple would be worshipped for seven days, and the officials and royal family would offer sacrifices once. Rumors might be flying everywhere.

Now the cause of death of Emperor Jingtai is the same as that of the previous prince, taking too much elixir!

February 23, the 57th year of Jingtai.

It is appropriate to break the ground, repair the tomb, and bury the deceased.

It was still dawn, and Luojing was full of imperial guards, with a guard every three steps and a sentry every five steps.

The people in the capital already knew that today was the day of the late emperor's funeral. The brave ones stood along the street, looking eagerly in the direction of the palace, while the timid ones secretly watched through the wall and the cracks in the door.

The palace did not prohibit watching, and the royal family believed that Emperor Jingtai's reputation was very good among the people. .

After all, the fault was committed by the former prince!

The Demon Slayer Division received a notice and was responsible for guarding the section from the city to Wusheng Mountain.

Of course, the demon slayer captain was on duty, and officials from various departments watched nearby.

The reputation of Emperor Jingtai was also very good in the Demon Slayer Division, especially in the past ten years, when various treasures in the treasury were rewarded as if they were free of charge.

Zhou Yi wanted to go with his colleagues, but he received an invitation from Sanwu to wait with several Taoist friends above Wusheng Mountain.

Sanwu received the obituary of the royal family, but said that it was inconvenient for people outside the world to get involved with the royal family.

Now that Yunxiao Dao Palace has completely established the True Immortal Ancestor, it has become the head of the Yunzhou Dao Sect, and the court is unwilling to provoke it easily.

"Why haven't you come yet?"

Sanwu lost his usual calmness and spoke impatiently several times.

Changchun Zhenren said: "This is a funeral, you must walk slowly, cry every three steps, and it will take at least noon to reach Wusheng Mountain."

Wusheng Mountain is the place where Dagan Taizu became a saint. Before his death, he ordered that it was forbidden to build a mausoleum after the emperor's death. Just find an open space on the mountain to bury him.

Sanwu said: "This order from Taizu will stop the bad habit of building a mausoleum and save the people from wasting money and labor!"

Zhou Yi listened to Sanwu bragging about Taizu and shook his head secretly.

Li Hong himself died, but he was not buried in Wusheng Mountain, but at the bottom of the Demon Refining Cave with the Nine Nether Immortal Lotus.

The Demon Slaying Division and the Demon Refining Cave were established by Zhongzong. At that time, there was only the Nine Nether Immortal Lotus underground. How could Li Hong be buried here without other ideas?

There are many strange stories circulating in Wusheng Mountain, and it is hard to tell whether they are true or false.

The founding emperors in history would be embarrassed to go out without some mysterious rumors.

Several real people exchanged in a low voice, and soon it was noon.

The sound of solemn music came faintly, and soon there were thousands of people, who were in front and behind, protecting a purple coffin in the middle.

Emperor Hongde held up a six-foot white banner, tears streaming down his face, but he tried hard to hold it back. He looked extremely uncomfortable and acted out a look of grief vividly.

The other princes and grandchildren were much worse, crying loudly, crying like ghosts, and wishing to shed all the tears in their lives.

Not to mention other relatives, even the people who followed all the way felt it was too fake.

Tens of thousands of people spontaneously followed the funeral procession, and many people couldn't help wiping their tears and kneeling on the ground and shouting "Long live the emperor".

"No wonder several princes lost to Emperor Hongde, their acting skills are not up to par!"

Zhou Yi looked at the people who spontaneously sent him off and sighed: "Jingtai did a lot of good things after all. It's hard to say that he was a wise ruler. He can be said to be diligent and hardworking!"

Sanwu said: "Do you know what posthumous title the officials gave Jingtai?"

Zhou Yi: "Based on Jingtai's life, the posthumous title is Wu?"

Sanwu shook his head and said: "Jingtai favored martial arts and suppressed the civil officials for decades. How could he be given such a posthumous title!"

"What is that?"

Zhou Yi asked in confusion: "The first posthumous title of Emperor Hongde was The imperial edict is to promote the idea that filial piety is the most important thing and to govern the country with filial piety. Would he condone the civil officials to mess around? "

"The old Taoist knows a lot of secrets..."

Sanwu lowered his voice and said, "The officials originally agreed to choose one of Jing, Zheng, Mu, and Lie. Although it is not as good as Emperor Wu, it is also a good posthumous title."

"As a result, Hongde repeatedly rejected it and ordered the officials not to consider the reputation of the previous emperor. Since it is a posthumous title, it should be fair and strict!"

"The officials thought that Hongde was pure and filial to the previous emperor. In desperation, they wrote a letter to the emperor to give him a posthumous title of Wu... Guess what happened next?"

Zhou Yi and others were curious when they heard it.

This Emperor Hongde is not simple. He was able to force the officials to retreat as soon as he took office. However, the posthumous title was Wu, so why did it change again?

"Hmph! Hongde rejected it again and severely punished several officials, saying that they only knew how to flatter the late emperor."

Sanwu sneered and continued: "After that, Wang Bo'an wrote a letter saying that the late emperor was cruel and unkind, killing innocent people, and his posthumous title should be Li!"

"Hongde directly approved it, and praised Wang Bo'an for being upright and impartial!"

Cough cough cough!

A burst of coughs, the great master of spiritual cultivation was choked.

Everyone in Luojing knew about Wang Bo'an's rapid rise to fame, and Emperor Jingtai treated him more dearly than his own son.

As a result, the first person to write a letter to scold him after his death was Wang Bo'an!

Zhou Yi glanced at the funeral procession and found that there was only Wang Ye, and there was no figure of Wang Bo'an, and he couldn't help but complain in his heart.

"This guy didn't even dare to come to the funeral. Is he afraid that Emperor Jingtai will come back to life and ask for his life!"

Emperor Jingtai cherished his reputation all his life. Even if he did anything to achieve immortality, he would let his son take the blame. As a result, his posthumous title was Li.

Since the founding of the Dagan Empire, Emperor Jingtai was the first emperor to receive a posthumous title.

Dong!

The sound of the bell was melodious and heavy, and it could be heard from dozens of miles away.

The funeral procession had reached the foot of Wusheng Mountain. Only the royal family members could carry the coffin to the mountain, and all the officials had to stand in awe at the foot of the mountain to see them off.

The people who had seen them off all the way stopped here, and immediately knelt and cried again.

"Emperor Li is Emperor Li. Except for Taizu and Zhongzong, no emperor has been seen off by tens of thousands of people."

Zhou Yi looked at the royal family members and said, "The cries of the people are much more sincere than those relatives."

At this time, many top three masters were hidden in the sky above Wusheng Mountain, including all kinds of Buddhist, Taoist, and martial arts.

When everyone heard what Zhou Yi said, their souls sensed the relatives and the people, and they couldn't help but nod in agreement.

Many masters both respected and hated Emperor Jingtai. They respected his power and hated his trampling on his dignity.

On the first day of Jingtai's accession to the throne, he fought with the sects until he defeated Buddhism and Taoism, and stipulated that ordinary monks should pay taxes together. After that, he suppressed the sects in Yunzhou for decades.

Suddenly hearing that Jingtai had died, there was always a feeling that an era had passed.

God's will was like a knife, and I felt the same!

So I rushed to Luojing overnight to send Jingtai off.

Nearly 100,000 people gathered in Wusheng Mountain from heaven and earth. It was the people who were reluctant to let Jingtai go, and it was the many masters who sincerely sent him off. The least pious were the clan members and officials.

The clan members carried the coffin to the mountainside. The grave had been dug in advance. Yuan Jianzheng picked the precious land overnight.

According to the instructions of Taizu, the funeral of the royal family should be simple, just like the common people.

Yuan Jianzheng stood at the edge of the pit, calculated the time with his fingers, shook the copper bell in his hand, and said loudly.

"The time has come, bury it in peace!"

Woo woo woo!

There was another round of wailing and crying, and several princes clung to the coffin, shouting that they couldn't bear to leave their father.

When Emperor Jingtai was alive, several sons would walk around the Wanshou Palace when they passed by, fearing that they would fall into the eyes of their father.

The leader, Emperor Hongde, was wearing a black dragon robe and had a sad face. He broke the long banner in his hand and threw it into the grave, saying: "Grandpa Emperor, I will come to see you often..."

Before he finished speaking, there was a bang.

The ground suddenly cracked, and a blue-gray figure emerged from it, punching Emperor Hongde.

The incident happened suddenly, and no one reacted, watching the fist hit Emperor Hongde's head.

Buzz!

The bright spiritual light shone, protecting Emperor Hongde's body and blocking the attack.

"There is an assassin!"

A scream came from the clan members, and the faster one was the King of Chu, who had already pounced on the assassin.

"Amitabha!"

The assassin chanted the Buddha's name, and his body suddenly grew. His blue-gray monk robe shattered, revealing a body shining with golden light.

Boom!

The King of Chu punched the monk back more than ten feet, dodged and followed, and a red spear appeared in his hand, piercing the monk's forehead.

The appearance of the assassin stopped the princes and grandchildren from wailing in pain, and they couldn't help but feel regretful. Why didn't they kill Emperor Hongde? It happened to be on Wusheng Mountain, so they dug a pit and buried him, so as to avoid another funeral.

The monk assassin was far from being the opponent of the King of Chu. After just a few moves, several holes were broken on his body.

Emperor Hongde had a gloomy face. He was talking to Yuan Jianzheng and ordered him to predict the assassin's origin.

Swish!

A sound of wind came, which was a little harsher than the wind on the mountain. A dark shadow jumped out from the ground, and the same black short sword stabbed at the heart of Emperor Hongde!

Swish!

The short sword easily penetrated the protective aura, and the black dragon robe comparable to the top-grade magic weapon was also easily cut.

Seeing that the short sword was about to penetrate the back, a cold snort came from the body of Emperor Hongde, and then the silver sword light surged out and swept across the shadow assassin.

"Heart... sword..."

The shadow assassin spoke with difficulty and bitterness, and then fell to the ground, no longer making any sound.

"Protect the emperor! Protect the emperor!"

A sharp voice came, and several eunuchs from the eunuch department had already rushed from the foot of the mountain and surrounded Emperor Hongde.

Eunuch Chu fell into the battle group and joined forces with Prince Chu to suppress the second-rank monk.

The monk soon lost his strength and his injuries became more and more serious.

Emperor Hongde ordered: "King Chu, Eunuch Chu, be sure to capture him alive!"

"Amitabha!"

Upon hearing this, the monk stopped defending and put his hands together and chanted the Buddha's name: "The sea of ​​suffering is boundless, turn back and it is the shore, turn back and it is the shore..."

After speaking, the relic shattered by itself, and his soul was destroyed.

"Hmph!"

Emperor Hongde snorted coldly and asked, "My dear Yuan, have you figured out the origins of the two?"

At this time, the officials who found something strange had already rushed over and looked at Yuan Jianzheng.

"Your Majesty, I have figured out the origins of the assassins, but..."

Yuan Jianzheng glanced at the officials and said, "The identity is a bit special. If it goes wrong, there will be a big mess!"

"Special? Daring to ambush in the Holy Mountain and trying to assassinate the king, this is a slap in the face of the entire Da Gan."

Emperor Hongde said angrily, "My dear Yuan, you don't need to care about anyone. Tell me the identity of the assassin now!"

Yuan Jianzheng said, "Your Majesty, let me first say that this monk is a worshiper of the Pang family. He once practiced in the Vajra Temple and was driven out of the temple because he broke the precept of killing."

Emperor Hongde's face darkened, and he looked at Prime Minister Pang and said, "Pang, my dear, go up and identify him. Is Yuan Jianzheng's calculation correct?"

Prince Pang's face remained unchanged. He took a few steps forward to identify him carefully and nodded.

"Your Majesty, it is true that he is worshipped by my family, but this evil monk behaves arrogantly and does not even take me seriously. I have already expelled him from the Pang family last year."

"So he has already been expelled!"

Emperor Hongde said meaningfully, "Minister Yuan, tell me about the identity of the other assassin."

Yuan Jianzheng bowed and said, "The assassin's name is Yan Ying, the younger brother of Prime Minister Yan, a second-rank martial arts master, and good at assassination..."

Wow!

All officials were in an uproar, and subconsciously stayed away from the cabinet's Prime Minister Yan Gao.

Many officials did not believe that Yan Gao would risk his life to assassinate Emperor Hongde, but it was his own brother who did it, and he was only one step away from success.

Such a relationship, I have to believe it!

The last sword light that was used instantly killed the second-rank, which was obviously a means for the national martial saint to protect Emperor Hongde.

Emperor Hongde said in a deep voice: "Minister Yan, have I ever treated you harshly? You actually ordered my own brother to assassinate?"

Yan Gao slowly took off his official hat, then knelt on the ground and said.

"Your servant... I have nothing to say!"

The younger brother Yan Ying and Yan Gao, one literary and one martial, are known as a pair of heroes, and the two brothers have a deep relationship. Even though he didn't know why Yan Ying assassinated Emperor Hongde, Yan Gao knew that it was useless to argue.

Pang Xianggong's face changed, he looked at the monk who had passed away, and knelt on the ground with a plop.

"Your Majesty, I am wronged! That evil monk must have been bewitched by the Yan family to commit such a treason!"

The Yan family is doomed to die, and adding some crimes is nothing.

"Pang Aiqing is loyal and patriotic, I naturally trust him."

As Emperor Hongde said this, he actually stepped forward to help Pang Xianggong up, personally straightened his clothes for him, and said: "In the future, many matters of the cabinet will require Pang Aiqing to take more care of you!"

Pang Xianggong's face changed slightly, and he was immediately sure that the assassination was a calculation directed and acted by Emperor Hongde.

Although it was unclear why the monk and Yan Ying were controlled by Emperor Hongde, from then on, the cabinet was completely under the control of Emperor Hongde.

Whether right or wrong, Emperor Hongde nodded, and Pang Xianggong did not dare to refute anything.

The cabinet dared to displease Emperor Hongde, and the crime of regicide and treason was enough to make the nine clans of the Pang family exterminate.

Pang Xianggong's eyes were filled with tears, and he said gratefully: "I will not let your majesty down!"

Emperor Hongde nodded slightly and waved his hand.

The eunuch of the Internal Service Department escorted Yan Gao down the mountain, and the eunuch Chu and the King of Chu accompanied him to escort him. After all, the prisoner was a world-famous first-class scholar.

At this time.

Several escape lights flew from a distance and landed on Wusheng Mountain, revealing that they were Wang Bo'an and the Xianfeng Department.

"Report to your majesty!"

Wang Bo'an knelt on the ground and said loudly: "I have received a secret report that Yan Gao and the third prince are trying to rebel. The clansmen of Yan Mansion and Prince Yu Mansion have been arrested and thrown into prison!"

The third prince, who was watching the play and secretly cursing Emperor Hongde's sudden death, heard the words and his eyes went black, and he fell to the ground and fainted.

Emperor Hongde waved his hand, and someone immediately dragged the third prince down and praised him.

"You did a good job, my dear Wang. Come with me to bury the emperor!"

"I will do my best and die for you!"

Wang Bo'an stood beside the grave of Emperor Jingtai, with no fear on his face, as if he was looking at a passerby.

No trouble happened afterwards. As Emperor Hongde buried the last shovel of soil, the great hero Emperor Jingtai was finally just a pile of yellow soil, no different from ordinary people.