Rebirth: The Journey of an Heiress-Chapter 850 - 847: Officials Forcing the People to Revolt

Chapter 850: Chapter 847: Officials Forcing the People to Revolt

Though difficult, it’s not impossible to complete within ten days!

As long as the order is issued, severe punishment for non-compliance will suffice. Commoners are like ants; whatever those in power say, they must obey!

King Liang saw Li Mingrui nod at him, signaling his agreement. Only then did King Liang respond, "Within ten days, your son will certainly complete these two tasks!"

"Good!" The Emperor nodded, gazing at King Liang and calling Gao Demao, "Gao Demao..."

Gao Demao hurried forward, "Your servant is here!" freewebnσvel.cѳm

"Issue an edict to arrest the Crown Prince for attempted rebellion. From today, state affairs will be entrusted to King Liang," the Emperor commanded.

Gao Demao’s eyebrows twitched, unexpectedly the Emperor discarded the Crown Prince just like that.

"Thank you, Father Emperor!" King Liang bowed to the Emperor.

"Don’t forget, ten days! After ten days, when my nine-layered platform and the thousand boys and girls are here, I will abdicate and focus on seeking the way of immortality, passing the throne to you." After speaking, the Emperor added, "Have Xie Yuchang and Fu Ruoxi guard my bedchamber!"

King Liang watched as the Emperor swept away his robes and left, bowing respectfully, "Yes..."

Li Mingrui followed behind King Liang, stepping out of the grand hall. Looking at the sunlit resplendent multi-eaved building and the red lacquered wooden columns carved with lotus bases in the distance, his fist clenched tightly behind his back.

Soon, as long as King Liang ascends to the throne and vindicates the Second Prince... the letter in the hands of the Princess of Zhen would be useless. Moreover, the first person King Liang would deal with upon ascending the throne would be the Princess of Zhen, possibly even exterminating her entire family to avenge the Second Prince.

By then, the Bai family would be nothing but a few lines of ink in history books, the letter in the hands of the Princess of Zhen... would be insignificant, who would even remember it?

Bai Jinxiu had just received the news... that the Emperor ordered Xie Yuchang to open Wude Gate to invite King Liang into the palace. Shortly after, the Emperor’s edict was announced, imprisoning Prime Minister Lu for defying the decree, and abolishing the positions of Left and Right Prime Ministers to establish the Cabinet.

The Emperor also ordered the arrest of the Crown Prince for attempted rebellion, entrusting all state affairs to King Liang, who then appointed Li Mao as the Chief Minister of the Cabinet, bestowing favors upon officials in the court.

Subsequently, several edicts were issued...

The Emperor and King Liang commanded the Chief of Staff of the Ministry of Works to complete the nine-layered platform within ten days.

They also ordered local government offices to distribute the task of conscripting a thousand boys and girls, aged between five and ten, all from clean families, to be delivered to Dadu City by May 13th of this year. Any suitable boys and girls not surrendered would result in their neighbors being implicated and executed without mercy.

The decree also conscripted all adult men within a hundred miles of the nine-layered platform’s construction site. All adult men must arrive at the site within three days of receiving the order, or face death, with their families implicated for desertion.

Such nearly brutal measures, treating the populace like livestock, show that this Lin family’s royal power has come to an end.

Bai Jinxiu sat under the Wisteria Tree in the backyard of Rouge Square, which was part of Mrs. Liu’s dowry, feeling both hatred and a sense that the Imperial Family had brought this upon themselves. Especially the news of King Liang forcibly conscripting a thousand boys and girls within ten days would surely cause a great stir in Jin Kingdom.

Previously, her eldest sister already had her spread the word about the Emperor’s intention to use these thousand boys and girls to refine the Immortal Pill. If local officials, to complete King Liang’s ten-day order, started forcibly seizing children, it would truly be a case of officials driving the people to rebellion.

Bai Jinxiu thought, even without her pushing from behind, if her eldest sister wanted to rebel against this Lin family’s royal power, it would come naturally...

Nonetheless, Bai Jinxiu still wanted to make thorough preparations.

She remembered holding the Emperor’s personally written edict in her hand, thinking... if she wanted to maximize the use of this edict, it would be to ensure Dadu City descended into chaos before her eldest sister’s arrival, causing mutual destruction between the Crown Prince and King Liang.

"Second Young Lady..." Nanny Luo entered with small steps from outside, bowing to Bai Jinxiu and said, "Now that all the imperial guards under Xie Yuchang’s command have been taken over by King Liang, he’s dispatched battalions to arrest the Crown Prince, said to be on the Emperor’s orders. Every squad leader carries a command flag, and it’s rumored they’ve started searching for the Second Young Lady and the Crown Prince in Dadu City!"

"I understand, Nanny Luo, do not worry. I have plans in place!" Bai Jinxiu reassured Nanny Luo, assigning her some tasks to keep her busy and not overthink.

Seeing Nanny Luo nod and head to the kitchen, Bai Jinxiu got up from the stone bench and called out, "Someone come here!"

A Hidden Guard appeared in response.

"After nightfall, take people out of the south gate of Dadu City, and speak more about the tyrannical oppression of the Qin Dynasty that harmed the people and the uprising of Chen Sheng and Wu Guang within a hundred miles around the nine-layered platform. The wider the reach, the better... If necessary, integrate yourselves into the conscripted labor force to build the nine-layered platform, urging people to rise up against the Lin family’s royal power!"

The Hidden Guard was stunned by Bai Jinxiu’s words, looking up at her.

Seeing Bai Jinxiu’s sharp and stern gaze, she said, "The reason I assign this task to you, a Hidden Guard of the Bai family, and not the Imperial Hidden Guards left by grandmother, is because you are Bai family people. The royal power has decayed so much, the Imperial Family sees the people as mere chaff. Our Bai family has protected the people for generations... we cannot watch the Imperial Family degrade the people like this!"

Having been with the Bai family for so many years, the Hidden Guard didn’t fail to understand the Bai family’s great cause, and had witnessed the Imperial Family’s actions with her own eyes over the years. Understanding the Bai family’s intention to rebel, the Hidden Guard didn’t hesitate, cupping her hands in obedience, "Yes!"

·

In the courtyard arranged by Ren Shijie, the Crown Prince, who was drinking tea, was shocked when he heard that the Emperor had ordered Xie Yuchang to welcome King Liang into the palace and then issued an edict to arrest him as the rebellious Crown Prince, dropping his teacup in astonishment.

Soon after, news kept coming... saying the Emperor had already dismissed Prime Minister Lu, allowing King Liang to establish the Cabinet smoothly, appointing Li Mao as the Chief Minister of the Cabinet.

Then, the Emperor ordered the Chief of Staff of the Ministry of Works to build the nine-layered platform within ten days and commanded local officials to gather a thousand boys and girls within ten days.

The Crown Prince immediately understood that he had been abandoned by the Emperor, becoming a discarded piece.

Having been by the Emperor’s side for so long, the Crown Prince was very aware of his father’s character. Now, for the sake of this nine-layered platform and his pursuit of immortality, the Emperor had gone mad.

Thus, the Emperor was likely afraid that this chaotic situation would delay the construction of the nine-layered platform and hinder his quest for immortality, so he traded the throne and his son’s life with King Liang.

This time, the Crown Prince couldn’t even find an excuse to comfort himself.

"Your Highness..." Ren Shijie looked at the Crown Prince’s sudden dejected appearance, softly comforting, "Perhaps... this is the Emperor’s temporary strategy to stabilize King Liang."

"My father, I understand..." The Crown Prince’s voice was hoarse, "Mr. Ren, don’t try to comfort me. I understand very well. I... have been abandoned!"

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