Chapter 125
Chapter 125 – The Pretender
June 19th, 182 A . D .
Luo Yang City, Imperial Palace .
"Zhang Rang, the leader of the eunuchs, conspired against the Imperial Court and was the mastermind behind the second prince a.s.sa.s.sination . A counterfeit royal command of the first prince was found in his room . He has planned to kill He Jin and the Empress He with this false command! Punishment, death by ten thousand cuts!"
"Zhao Zhong, embezzled royal palace treasures worth 200,000 taels of gold, forged a counterfeit royal decree of the late Emperor! Punishment, death by dismemberment and all properties seized!"
"Xia Yun, pretended to be a eunuch to ravish the royal maids…"
"Li Song, plotted and killed both second prince and the third prince . . . "
w.a.n.g Yun was reading the list of crimes that the ten eunuch attendants committed during the years to the public . Thousands of officials were listening to the revelation in awe, anger, astonishment, and bewilderment .
A few days ago, Liu Ping returned to Luo Yang with Dong Zhuo and all royal armies .
Dong Zhuo did not attack and siege the Capital as everyone had predicted . Instead, he deployed his soldiers in the palace and arrested the ten eunuch attendants that used to ally with Liu Ping .
Afterward, the officials, who were thought to be dead, made the appearances and declared that they pretended to die, so they could catch these eunuch crooks off-guard . They also presented the records about their crimes to other officials to witness .
The caused an uproar among the government workers . Their opinion about Liu Ping changed while Yuan Shao and other overlords were baffled by the sudden turn of events .
The ten eunuch attendants were completely executed, yet w.a.n.g Yun picked another scroll and read it out loud .
"In the past decades, the ten attendants had taken root in the royal palace for too long . Their power expanded and their hands even reached other outskirt provinces . "
"While the previous Emperor ignored the plea of the people, the first prince Liu Ping devised a master plan to catch all of them with solid pieces of evidence, so none of them could slip through the laws and caused damages to the country and the people again . "
"He sacrificed his reputation, his future, his pride, and his dignity . He played the role as an incompetence prince to fool the eunuchs that he could be easily manipulated . During the period of His Highness" disguise, he had to fake the execution of several loyal ministers and officials . "
"However, they were not actually killed . The prince hid these a.s.sumed dead officials to bait the eunuchs into actions, which they took the bait . "
"Your Highness, Prince Liu Ping gained the trust of the eunuchs and managed to acquire necessary proofs . And all of the evidences are now presented to everybody today!"
The uproar got more intense . The murmur sounds got louder . Shouts and cheers voices were everywhere .
More than half of the officials believed in the announcement while the rest could not comprehend what had actually happened .
Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao, who were ready to a.s.sault Liu Ping to claim the throne, were taken aback . They realized that they were tricked, but some parts did not make sense .
w.a.n.g Yun continued .
"It is fortunate that we also have a wise patriot that can see through His Highness" plans . He rallied his force to cooperate with the prince and took down the subordinates of the eunuchs while he rushed back to the Capital . "
The eyes of the crowd widened . They knew who w.a.n.g Yun was talking about . There was only one person that dispatched his force to the Capital, Dong Zhuo!
"Not only taken down the evil minions, but Lord Dong Zhuo also risked his life to suppress the eunuch forces in the royal palace and put them to justice!"
The crowd gazed at Dong Zhuo in admiration after they heard the exaggerated story that w.a.n.g Yun made up . On the other hand, Dong Zhuo, who was listening at the side, smirked and chuckled . He stood still with a proud expression as if the feat was nothing to him .
In reality, Dong Zhuo did not risk his life in the a.s.sault, he simply sent a few thousand cannon fodders into the palace while he sat back and enjoyed the carnage .
"Fufu, w.a.n.g Yun and that brat are good . I"m lucky that I picked the right choice . " Dong Zhuo thought .
That day when they found out the baby prince was gone, they accepted Liu Ping"s offer right away . As for the prince and Jia Xu, they made up a story that both of them were already dead and there was no need to search for them again .
…
Cao Cao watched the commotion with a frown . He also did not like this development as his chance for killing the eunuchs to get the promotion was s.n.a.t.c.hed away by Dong Zhuo . He closed his eyes to stabilize his mentality . As soon as he opened his eyes, he looked around, searching for his senior that recommended him into the palace .
"I wonder where senior Sima Fang went . Has he left the Capital?"
Cao Cao sighed . He wanted to find someone trustworthy to consult with . He needed an advisor right now .
"Benchu is too ambitious . I can"t talk to him about this . "
"Senior Lu Zhi is also away . "
"I guess I have to rely on myself for now . "
Cao Cao left the scene in disappointment . He planned to write a letter to his cousins at Chen Liu later as he had to prepare for a way out in the case if Luo Yang City was thrown into chaos because of the Liu Ping and Dong Zhuo .
…
On the stage, w.a.n.g Yun continued his rumbling and exaggerated past glorious stories of Dong Zhuo and Liu Ping .
After 30 minutes of the random storytelling, Liu Ping stepped up on the stage and gazed toward the crowd .
Then he made an action that no one had ever expected .
Liu Ping knelt down on both knees, put his hands on the ground, and dropped his forehead on the floor with a loud thud .
He kowtowed to everyone .
The crowd went silent the moment Liu Ping knelt . The image of the arrogant prince was shattered from their mind .
"As the descendant of the great Han Dynasty, to the public servants of the country, to the citizens, I"m sorry for my past actions!"
His voice vibrated through the palace .
No one dared to speak after seeing such apologetic action .
Ten seconds after the awkward silence, Dong Zhuo made a move . He clapped his hands slowly .
The ma.s.s psychology took effect, one by one, the crowd also clapped their hands .
It started from a slow clap . Five people clapped . Ten people clapped . Then hundreds of people clapped together .
The sounds of clapped and cheered echoed the palace .
Hiding from the sight of everybody, Liu Ping grinned . He bit the tip of his tongue to resume his serious expression and lift up his face while he was still in a kowtow position .
"For the punishment of my past insolence, I"ll cast away my t.i.tle as the first prince and the right to the throne!"
"WHAT!?"
The cheering chants turned into shock . The sudden announcement stunned every listener .
"NO, YOUR HIGHNESS! YOU DON"T HAVE TO DO THIS!"
"You did it for the people! You don"t have to take the blame!"
"Your Highness, please reconsider!"
Among the crowd, officials that Liu Ping had planted in advance shouted out as planned .
The ma.s.s psychology took effect once again . The crowd also shouted to stop Ping .
"Your Highness! Please don"t!"
"It was not your fault! Please don"t!"
"The throne is without a successor! You can"t!"
w.a.n.g Yun also his close aides kowtowed to Liu Ping and begged him to withdraw his words .
Seeing that his plans went well, Liu Ping slowly stood up and gazed at the panic crowd . His facial complexion was ugly as if he was dissatisfied with something . He shouted .
"If I am still a prince, that means I will be the next Emperor . I"ve soiled the prestige of the Han Dynasty . I"ve ruined the reputation of the royal bloodline . Yet, are you all fine with that?"
Dong Zhuo stepped forward . With his obese body, he knelt on one knee and cupped his fist .
"I"m Dong Zhuo Zhongying, Regent of the west border, I"m willing to follow Your Majesty!"
The eyes of everyone gleamed . There was a hint in Dong Zhuo"s words . Instead of calling Liu Ping "Your Highness", he called him "Your Majesty" which was a word to call the emperor, not a prince .
It signaled that Dong Zhuo supported Liu Ping as the next Emperor .
"I"m w.a.n.g Yun Zis.h.i.+, Minister of Writing, I"m willing to follow Your Majesty!"
w.a.n.g Yun and other officials that Liu Ping tamed followed suit . As soon as the pledging started, everyone kowtowed to Liu Ping as they acknowledged him as the new Emperor .
"I"m willing to follow Your Majesty!"
"Please be our new Emperor!"
The pledging came one after another which made Liu Ping grinned . He waved his hand and shouted .
"There is a few things all of you should know! I"m a practical man, and I see tradition customs as useless fares . There will not be a coronation ceremony, so we can use the fund and the manpower for the people! There will be no celebration for my ascension to the throne, so we can allocate our budget to the poor! But, I"ll hold an oath ceremony . I"ll swear to the Heaven and the ancestors that I will be a righteous Emperor! I"ll rule the people with just! I"ll govern the country with cares, so the later generations can enjoy peace for another thousand years!"
There was no cheer or a hand-clap from the crowd . Instead, the slammed their foreheads to the ground . All of them kowtowed to Liu Ping as they were moved by the declaration . They swore their loyalty in their heart .
Dong Zhuo and w.a.n.g Yun smiled as they also bowed .
Meanwhile, Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu peered at Liu Ping with hatred and envy . They pretended to bow but they did not swear allegiance to Liu Ping .
"How did it come to this!? Wasn"t he incompetence good-for-nothing? Why!?"
"d.a.m.n it all! I wasted my times to support this brat!? Impossible!"
Yuan Shao cursed in his mind . He glanced around to see if he could use something or gain any untold information from the bystander .
"Wait, He Jin and the Empress He is not here!"
"There are still chances!"
…
…
Liu Ping returned to his private sound-proof room after the farce was done . After he sent everybody away, he burst into laughter . His cackles echoed in the enclosed soundproof room .
"HIEHAHAHAHA!! OMFG! Those r.e.t.a.r.ds, HAHAHA!"
He continued laughing for another 10 minutes, but he was interrupted by a sudden message from the system .
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Liu Ping"s eyes focus on the message . This was the first time that the system gave out something like a global announcement .
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