In the Chongzheng Hall, drums, music, strings and bamboos were playing, and Lu Zhongtian's enthronement ceremony was proceeding in an orderly manner. After the complicated ceremony, it was now the time for Lu Zhongtian to issue his first edict. But seeing Lu Zhongtian sitting on the emperor's throne,
His old face glowed with a bright look, and his whole figure seemed to be twenty years younger.
In front of the seat, Liu Zhenbang was reading loudly Lu Zhongtian's first imperial edict. His sharp and high-pitched voice echoed in the hall.
"...I was favored by the late emperor and abdicated the position of Emperor of the Zhou Dynasty. I knew that my virtue and talent were insufficient, and I was unworthy of it. However, I have a heavy responsibility on my shoulders. When the world rises and falls, I cannot shrink back. I can only do my best and take it.
With this heavy responsibility, I will work hard for the resurgence of the Great Zhou Dynasty. I hereby promise that when the world is rejuvenated, I will return the power to the Guo family. The Guo family gave me peaches, and I repaid them with li, also known as the people of the world.
Knowing that I am by no means a greedy person for the throne, but a person who has been entrusted by the late emperor, I will do my utmost to support the Guo family. As I ascend the throne today, I will follow the example of the sages of the past emperors, work hard for the welfare of all people, and dare not have a moment of ease.
Laziness, extravagance and laziness..."
This edict was written by Lu Zhongtian himself last night. Lu Zhongtian was originally a scholar, and he was also very talented in writing. He was about to ascend the throne and become the emperor, so he naturally wrote this first edict by himself. Because he was filled with emotion,
Therefore, the writing is also full of emotion. The excitement overflows in the words, and at the same time, he does not forget to deceive the world and conceal the fact that he has ambitions. Every line of the words shows great respect for the late Emperor Guo, with the intention of making sophistry and confusing people.
But at this moment, such an edict seemed extremely ridiculous. His Highness and his ministers were thinking about the war outside the city. The constant roar outside the city made them uneasy. But Lu Zhongtian seemed to turn a deaf ear.
"...I will change the Yuan Dynasty to Yonggu on the following days of the Great Zhou Dynasty. From now on, the whole Great Zhou Dynasty will celebrate ten days, and all the people will rejoice together. All prisoners in the world will be pardoned on this day to show the greatness of the emperor's kindness. In the next three years, all places in the Great Zhou Dynasty will be exempt from taxes for three years.
To make a living for the people, to support the people's livelihood. I will wear my clothes and eat at night, work diligently and save money, and tide over the difficulties with all the people of the world. This edict is announced to the world, and I appreciate it!"
Lu Zhongtian listened to the edict with satisfaction and looked at the ministers of His Highness with a smile. However, he found that the ministers seemed to be absent-minded, kneeling on the ground one by one and unable to cheer up. His brows furrowed and he coughed in dissatisfaction.
The ministers woke up and kowtowed in thanksgiving and shouted long live!
"Continue, continue to declare the edict!" Lu Zhongtian hummed dissatisfied and said to Liu Zhenbang.
Liu Zhenbang bowed and said yes again and again, and was about to read out the second edict. This was an edict to reward ministers. An edict based on meritorious deeds should be attractive to everyone.
At this moment, figures outside the hall flashed, and Chen Bin and Zhu Zhirong came back. Lu Zhongtian stretched out his hand to signal Liu Zhenbang to stop reading, and asked in a deep voice: "Why are you back? Has the Luoyan Army retreated?"
Chen Bin's eyes flashed and he quickly came forward to kneel down and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, please move aside. I have something to say to Your Majesty."
Lu Zhongtian frowned and said, "I asked you whether the Luoyan Army was repulsed. Answer me!"
Chen Bin breathed a sigh of relief and said: "Shang Zi is fighting fiercely, and the two adults, Wang Jun and Yuan Ping, are commanding the defense of the city and the retreat of the enemy."
"Then why are you coming back?" Lu Zhongtian asked.
Chen Bin raised his head and looked at Lu Zhongtian without saying a word. Lu Zhongtian also looked at Chen Bin in a daze. Suddenly he understood everything. Chen Bin just couldn't say it out loud. The situation must be bad. Chen Bin came back to discuss countermeasures with him.
Lu
Zhongtian's face turned pale, he was silent for a moment, and then said: "You have come back just in time. I am about to reward the ministers. You stand aside and listen to Liu Zhenbang read out the edict on the rewards."
Chen Bin shouted in astonishment: "Your Majesty!"
Lu Zhongtian shouted coldly: "This is my enthronement ceremony. Nothing can stop my enthronement ceremony from proceeding. Do you understand? I will not allow anyone to interfere with my important event. Stand aside and listen carefully."
Chen Bin was stunned for a moment, and finally said in a deep voice: "I obey your order."
Chen Bin's heart was like a mirror. Lu Zhongtian no longer cared about the safety of the city. He actually knew in his heart that the Luoyan Army would break through the city. But he still had to complete the enthronement ceremony. This was the last thing he could do. To fulfill his long-cherished wish,
Don't worry about anything else. Even if the city is broken and the Luoyan Army attacks, he won't be able to care about it. It doesn't matter whether it's a broken jar or a passionate love for power. In short, Lu Zhongtian is probably obsessed at this moment. What?
Don't care about anything, and can't care about anything.
The rewards in the imperial edict were extremely generous. Almost every official who followed him generously awarded rewards. Chen Bin, Liu Zhenbang, Zhu Zhirong and other confidants were even more generous in making kings and marquises. However, everyone reluctantly showed joy, although they shouted thank you.
, kowtowed repeatedly, but were worried. People felt extremely uneasy from the faces of Chen Bin and Zhu Zhirong. What they were most worried about was still the defense of the city and the progress of the war. The rewards for these empty promises were indeed generous, but they were meaningless.
.If the Luoyan Army invades, what's the point of all this?
However, Lu Zhongtian looked very happy. He ignored the reluctant expressions of happiness from the officials. He thought that he had been so kind to them, and they should all be grateful to him. More importantly, he had completed the reward.
"Liu Zhenbang, what are I going to do next?" Lu Zhongtian's excited expression seemed a little insane, a little weird and unspeakable.
Liu Zhenbang said: "Your Majesty, the next step is to worship heaven and earth, and then the holy driver will go on a tour to accept the people's congratulations and bows, and celebrate with the people."
"Okay, then let's continue and worship the heaven and the earth, okay? Okay, you all come with me, I will go to worship the heaven and the earth and thank God for his blessing." Lu Zhongtian said in a loud voice.
"Your Majesty!" Chen Bin finally couldn't help but speak again.
"What? Chen Bin, you are now my Privy Councilor. I am not kind to you. I have said before that as long as you follow me loyally, I will treat you well. I asked you to be the Privy Councilor. Isn't this what you are doing?
Is that what you are thinking? I have even given you the title of king. From now on, your family will be prominent and you will be the home of a prince. Haha. Come with me to worship heaven and earth. As long as I am still the emperor, you will follow me to enjoy the glory and wealth.
Enjoy the supreme glory." Lu Zhongtian glared at Chen Bin and said, with a smile on his lips, but his eyes seemed to be full of waning interest.
Chen Bin said no more. He knew that Lu Zhongtian completely forbade him to say any more. He knew what he wanted to tell him. He knew everything, but he just didn't want to hear it.
Lu Zhongtian stepped down from the throne, and all the ministers stood up and bowed to greet him. Step by step, Lu Zhongtian walked out of the Chongzheng Hall and came to the steps. The sunlight outside was very dazzling, and Lu Zhongtian covered his eyes with his hands.
In the bright sunshine, he looked at the hundreds of officials who were kneeling in the square, bringing their family members and servants, with no expression on their faces.
He squinted his eyes and looked in the direction of Nancheng in the distance, listened attentively, and suddenly a strange expression appeared on his face. Because the distant roar of siege weapons that had been lingering in his ears seemed to have stopped. The drums beside him
Lesizhu didn't know when it stopped. So the surroundings suddenly became very quiet. Quietly, you can hear the sound of the wind blowing through the treetops, and the fluttering of the wings of birds flying through the air. What you can smell in your nose is spring flowers and grass.
The air was filled with a warm and sweet smell. Lu Zhongtian turned around and looked at the ministers who were following him respectfully, and at the majestic and magnificent palace in front of him, and felt a strange feeling in his heart.
"How wonderful it would be if... I could really become the emperor and enjoy the glory of the last few years of my life. The roar of the firearms stopped, did it mean that the siege of the city had stopped? Or... the city has been broken
What?" Lu Zhongtian thought in his mind, and walked slowly down the high steps to the square. A temporary high platform for worshiping God was built in the square, and worshiping God was performed on the high platform.
At this moment, a fast horse galloped over. The knight on the horse rushed into the square regardless of the scolding of the Imperial Guards. Lu Zhongtian frowned and squinted as he looked over. He recognized this person. It was Yan Lianshan, the deputy commander of the Infantry Division of the Guards.
, that was also someone who had gone out of his Prime Minister's Palace, and was one of his loyal former guards. The expression on Yan Lianshan's face was frightened and anxious at the moment. The armor on his body was full of dust, his helmet was missing, and his hair was messy and fluffy.
, looking disheveled. His expression gives people a sense of nervousness and suffocation.
"Who is so bold? He dares to ride into the palace and capture him." Liu Zhenbang shouted loudly.
The guards swarmed forward to stop him. Yan Lianshan scolded him loudly and shouted: "I want to see Prime Minister Lu. I want to see Prime Minister Lu to report something important."
"Xiang Lu, you are the emperor now. You are so bold." Someone scolded angrily.
Lu Zhongtian frowned and said in a deep voice: "Let him come over, don't stop him."
Yan Lianshan dismounted from his saddle, galloped up the steps, came to Lu Zhongtian, and said anxiously: "Prime Minister Lu... no... Your Majesty, I am here to report... the news on the orders of Yuan Ping and Wang Jun."
Yan Lianshan realized that the situation was wrong. It seemed that the news should not be reported to Lu Zhongtian on such an occasion, so he swallowed it halfway.
Lu Zhongtian said softly: "Is it...? Is it...?"
Lu Zhongtian only asked half of the question, but Yan Lianshan understood what he wanted to ask, nodded slowly, and said hoarsely: "Yes... they... came in."
Lu Zhongtian swayed and closed his eyes. When he opened his eyes, there was a smile on his lips.
"I understand, you can go. I still want to worship heaven and earth. You go and tell Wang Jun and Yuan Ping that they have been made dukes by me, one is Guangping Gong and the other is Yong'an Gong. I also
Make them concurrently deputy privy envoys. By the way, and you, Lianshan, I have also made you a marquis. Haha, I will treat you well. You go, I want to worship heaven and earth, don't bother me again,
Don't you all come to disturb me. Today is my big day, why do you all come to disturb me? Can't you let me ascend the throne properly? You just refuse to let me be in peace."
Lu Zhongtian walked down the steps slowly and passed by Yan Lianshan. He seemed to be talking to Yan Lianshan, but it was more like mumbling to himself.
Yan Lianshan looked at the people following Lu Zhongtian with a shocked expression. His eyes were full of questions, wondering what happened to Prime Minister Lu.
"The city has been destroyed? The southern city has been destroyed, and the Luoyan Army has invaded."
Beyond the palace wall in the distance, there was a lot of noise in the streets, and the people's shouts of surprise or panic could be heard clearly, reaching the ears of Lu Zhongtian and his civil and military officials.
