My Cultivation Starting from Archery

At last.

He gently lifted his gaze and looked towards Cao Fan, who had been standing in the corner, too afraid to speak.

"Grandpa Emperor..."

Before coming here,

Cao Fan had resolved himself three times, but when he actually arrived before this figure, he still couldn't control his fear. He approached the crowd, gently knelt on the ground, and said, "Grandpa Emperor is right, my father indeed has always been unwell."

"See, even my grandson knows."

Emperor Longqing sat on the ground, but his eyes seemed to be looking down on them from the heavens, "I remember, the previous Yan Country's Filial Emperor was just like this, forcing himself to ascend the throne when he was seriously ill. Within two years, he was worn out and died, leaving behind a still green Crown Prince, creating a situation where the ministers overpowered the sovereign, and then chaos began corrupting the court."

"The decline of Former Yan started from that time, and soon after, the rebellion of the seven princes occurred."

"It appears."

"Some among you have read well and also know how to apply your knowledge pragmatically."

A palace coup.

Should have come aggressively, to be resolved swiftly.

But right after entering the doors, something was amiss.

A few sentences into the debate.

The ministers, who were originally leveraging "society's welfare" to force the Emperor to abdicate, gradually lost their reasons to continue, not knowing how to respond and also lost their initial momentum.

"Your Majesty."

"We have no such intentions!"

"We are all loyal ministers of Great Dasheng, evident by daylight; all our actions are for the welfare of the land and the people!"

"..."

"I believe you, you also have been provoked by villains, confused for a moment."

Emperor Longqing spoke gravely, "Now that you have realized your mistakes, it is not too late; all of you leave for now. Any matters can be discussed tomorrow at the early court session. I am somewhat tired and will prepare to rest."

"This..."

The courtiers were at a loss.

"Amitabha! Emperor, fine indeed are your skilled sophistry!"

At a critical moment,

The black-robed monk intensified his tone, realizing there was no way to maintain superficial politeness any longer, and began his reproach: "Then let us talk about the chaotic conditions at court during the years of Your Majesty's spiritual retreat, which the treacherous ministers created, leading to the populace suffering indescribably, making it necessary to abdicate and address these seven cardinal sins.

"First, decades ago, Your Majesty forced the whole nation to plant the worthless Spiritual Grain, taking up fully one-tenth of the arable land, which just happened to be the only surplus food the people had annually. Since then, in bountiful years, the people barely had enough to fill their stomachs, and by the end of the year, every household was barren. In years of disaster, there were corpses everywhere, and the people had no means to live! May I ask Your Majesty, these 'Immortal Herbs' collected into the national treasury annually, what exactly are they used for, aside from diminishing the power of our Great Sheng Country?

"Second, twenty years ago, just the construction of Longevity Palace alone cost half of the annual national treasury. The timber used was transported from thousands of miles away, costing countless manpower to bring to the Capital City, resulting in the lack of funds for disaster relief and consecutive triggering of three rebellions."

"Third, the lands of the Southern...

"...

"Seventh, which is among Your Majesty's actions the most unbearable to the people of Yunzhou, Ten Days! At that time, Yunzhou was leaking strangeness everywhere, how could its gates be flung open so shortly, allowing the barbarians to slaughter the people of the Great Sheng Dynasty!

"Before the war started!

"Your Majesty even secretly met with the barbarian envoys!"

"May I ask Your Majesty, did you collude with the followers of the Witch God Sect, using the people of our Great Sheng Dynasty for a Blood Sacrifice?

"After the Ten Days of Yunzhou, the barbarian troops were sharpened and stronger than ever. Yor Majesty's actions, aren't they equivalent to helping the bandits against our Great Sheng?

"Your Majesty, why betray the nation?!

"With these seven cardinal sins!

"How can Your Majesty still have the face to call yourself a Lord, to call yourself the Emperor of Dasheng?!"

As the crimes were laid out one by one,

The courtiers, initially perplexed by the Old Emperor's sophistry, once again became intensely agitated.

Emperor Longqing listened to each of the accusations calmly; finally, a reaction appeared on his stoic face, but it was neither guilt nor anger, but... scorn! Find exclusive stories on My Virtual Library Empire

"Immortals have their own affairs, the mediocre have their own troubles!"

"Servants have their duties, and a Lord has his own problems to solve."

"You claim..."

"Spiritual Grain is useless!"

"But do you, the servants, know that now West Qi, Dongqing, and even Nan Xu are also planting Spiritual Grain. Are they also deliberately depleting their national strength?"

"Were it not for my communication with the Immortals, this world would have descended into chaos long ago!"

"It was I who, on behalf of the entire world, on behalf of all the civil and military officials, took on this infamy!"

"As for the other matters..."

"I am the Lord; there is no need to explain everything to you."

"All of you—withdraw!"

A dragon's roar.

At the end of the ranks, indeed, several people were frightened into kneeling on the spot.

"Amitabha! Greedy and unvirtuous people, you still stand here making empty arguments!"

The black-robed monk also raised his voice, "Honored guests, do not delay any further, please ask the Emperor to abdicate!"

"Please, Your Majesty, abdicate!"

At this point,

Even those who feared in their hearts

understood that there was no way back, and they collectively shouted, thunderous as a storm.

"To rule under heaven and grieve for the people's suffering, one's heart hurts in agony!"

Emperor Longqing did not respond further but instead recited two more lines of poetry and then closed his eyes again, as if everything unfolding before him had nothing to do with him.

"Clang—"

The sound of swords being drawn echoed continuously.

"Your Majesty!"

"Today, no matter what, you cannot bluff your way out."

"If not with dignity, then the monk must help you find it!"

"..."

The black-robed monk nodded, signaling for the men to take action.

"Such audacity!"

At that same moment,

the Chief Eunuch Huang Hong, leading a dozen other eunuchs, emerged from behind the Palace.