GBP Chapter 194 Breakthrough Round (9)
Chapter 194 Breakthrough Round (9)
"Didn't I say before that I knew a powerful figure? He should be the leader of the Northwest peasant uprising."
"It's alright, we'll just wait. Or you can go and deliver a message to them saying we're willing to surrender."
Gu Shijiu patted his chest and assured everyone that the army would not disturb the people and would definitely win.
A few months later, Shi Qi received a congratulatory gift: gold bars that Wolf Fang Village had previously looted.
Gu Shijiu also received a return gift, which came from several military talents.
Shi Qi's team is quite large, and these talents couldn't play a greater role under him, so they were sent here to help Gu Shijiu expand his territory.
With the help of these people, Gu Shijiu led the Black Wind Stronghold to attack the county government office;
Hanging the corrupt magistrate, who was corrupt to the point of exploiting the people, above the county government office quickly gained the support of the local people.
Gu Shijiu and Shi Qi, one in the south and the other in the north, work together.
Three years have passed, and they are about to reunite.
The imperial court naturally sent troops to pursue and intercept them, but unfortunately, it was different from most peasant uprisings in the past.
This army is strangely peculiar; it is said that everyone in it can obey orders without question.
They never disturbed or robbed the people, and occasionally even helped their fellow villagers;
Even the lowest-ranking soldiers didn't look emaciated; they appeared to be eating very well...
In short, this team conquered a large territory in the northwest and was particularly adept at manipulating the people's hearts and minds.
The emperor and his ministers, who were seated high in the imperial city, all heard about it.
However, the imperial court simply cannot afford to pay attention to these matters now.
Because something terrible has happened in the palace! Something extremely serious!
There are rumors that the current emperor is not actually a man!
Even the bloodline of the only prince is in doubt.
In fact, this matter had been circulating among both the government and the public for some time.
Since the emperor fell seriously ill, he has never visited any high-ranking concubines again, and no children have been born in the palace.
Although some low-ranking concubines occasionally served him in bed, none of them ever gained the emperor's favor.
Even the imperial concubine, who had always enjoyed the emperor's favor, has fallen out of favor.
After giving birth to her only son, the emperor not only failed to reward her, but also mocked her on several occasions.
The imperial concubine spent her days in tears, and had not been as arrogant as she once was for a long time.
Several major overhauls were carried out within the palace, targeting various acts of bullying superiors and subordinates, abusing palace servants, and engaging in illicit dealings.
They actually uncovered quite a few serious things.
Furthermore, the emperor had not allowed palace servants to attend to him for several years, and he even disliked the eunuchs who were once his closest confidants.
Rumors, though seemingly unfounded, circulated for years until recently when a concubine who had served the emperor multiple times let slip the truth, revealing that while the emperor did summon women to his bedchamber, he did not engage in any serious business.
In recent years, the concubines who have received more favor from the emperor secretly paired up with one of them, only to discover that the emperor hadn't slept with any of them.
The rumors spread far and wide, eventually reaching the ears of the Empress Dowager and the Emperor.
Upon hearing this, the emperor was furious and executed all the concubines who had slept with him within the past three years, which was somewhat like an admission of guilt.
What was originally just speculation now seems to have been confirmed by the emperor's actions.
The Empress Dowager was the first to become restless: "My son, there's so much talk about this outside, what should we do?"
The emperor was furious at the thought: "Rebellions are happening everywhere. These ministers eat the emperor's food, but instead of thinking about pacifying the country, they spend all their time watching these things. They are even worse than the gossipy women at the village entrance."
The Empress Dowager's heart sank; she knew the son she had raised all too well.
The emperor did not deny it immediately; what else could this be but a guilty conscience?
Recalling how the Emperor had rejected her suggestion to bring the princess back and make the prince disappear, the Empress Dowager felt that this was almost certainly true.
"My son, what happened to you outside? Tell me," the Empress Dowager said, trying to remain calm.
The emperor firmly denied it: "I am completely innocent."
Next, not only the Empress Dowager speculated, but the ministers also had their own ideas.
They didn't directly ask the emperor, but they all coincidentally raised the issue of establishing a crown prince during court sessions.
The emperor was unwilling to establish this adopted child as his successor, but he needed this pretext.
His original plan was to first observe which royal family's child could inherit the throne, and then bring them back to raise.
But now that the ministers are pressuring him so much, he can't do anything.
There have been many suspicious people in the palace lately, especially around the emperor.
The emperor's temper has become increasingly volatile lately, as he often discovers someone spying on him when he is changing clothes or going to bed.
This was outrageous, and the emperor punished many more eunuchs.
The atmosphere in the palace was becoming increasingly tense, and even the Empress Dowager began to reprimand the Emperor.
Killing palace servants all day long is not a good thing.
But the emperor simply couldn't control it.
He didn't understand why Gu Shijiu and Cao Huan hadn't done anything, yet the bandits in the mountains all listened to them.
He worked diligently every day, yet the ministers came to cause him trouble.
He had witnessed the suffering of the people and wanted to accomplish great things, but he was constantly hampered by obstacles in the court.
Now, all eyes are focused on the emperor's crotch, which is unheard of.
Does that mean he can't be a good emperor without that thing?
The Jurchens from the north frequently invaded from the south, bandits plagued the northwest and southwest, and there were rebellions in the southeast.
These ministers don't properly share the emperor's burdens; instead, they spend their days doing inexplicable things.
The more the emperor thought about it, the more he felt these ministers deserved to be killed...
The capital was in complete chaos when news arrived of a massive Jurchen invasion.
The court was deadlocked over who should quell the rebellion.
Because of the intense factional strife, everyone saw suppressing the rebellion as a stepping stone for their own advancement or to bring down others.
The Jurchen population was small, and the court viewed them as a minor nuisance; suppressing the rebellion in the southeast was the more pressing matter.
Who goes to the east, who goes to the north, and how to deal with the two groups of bandits in the west—they were constantly arguing about it.
However, the imperial court didn't need to make a decision; Shi Qi had done them a great favor.
He took advantage of the passage through the northern tribes and proactively met the Jurchens.
The entire court and the public were shaken; was this person insane?
In recent years, Gu Shijiu's Black Wind Village has been growing and expanding, and they have also sent people to fight the gold miners this time.
She had confidence in Shi Qi's abilities.
If they conquer the land, the bandits of Black Wind Stronghold can also claim some credit.
She even sent Cao Huan there.
This competition is going on for quite a while; the countdown just showed that the season is already halfway through, which means there are still several years to go.
Gu Shijiu wanted Cao Huan to grow as much as possible before the competition ended.
The viewers in the live stream were very confused.
"The AI will shut down the script when the game ends, and the plot won't continue to unfold, so why do anything unnecessary?"
"You just don't understand, this is just their performance style."
"Do you know who's upstairs?"
"Yes, I'm 100% sure, it's these two actors [link]. There's no such acting in the Immortal Realm."
"I'm so touched. My favorite actor has finally been recognized."
The live stream room of 6187 prominently displayed the first and second place rankings for this match.