Simulates history, but Chongzhen is the Divine Emperor at the beginning

Chapter 117 Killing to protect life!

[Sacrifice... Jinyiwei? ]

[Under the Divine Emperor's carefree attitude, a seemingly perfect plan for immortality was revealed to you, who was completely bewildered...]

Your heartfelt communication between ruler and subject is extremely effective. Your loyalty and virtue have truly touched the Divine Emperor, forcing Him to feel ashamed. As an emperor who speaks of the common people daily, He has always been aware of the mistakes of His own behavior.

"He didn't care before because He had deliberately covered His eyes... But now, your sudden appearance has torn the veil off His eyes, allowing Him to once again clearly see His mistakes, and even causing Him to feel ashamed."

When he felt deeply ashamed, he had only two options: One was to ignore everything and continue to blindly defy Heaven and oppress the people, going down this path to the bitter end!

[The other is to mend the fold before the sheep are lost, to pull back from the brink of disaster...]

[Obviously, His humanity prompted Him to choose the latter option, and He was eager to prevent the abuse of His people from happening again!]

However, He was unwilling to commit suicide for the sake of the people. So after much deliberation, He could only choose a method that was as mild as possible, so that He could maintain His own immortality while also ensuring the normal lives of the people of the world...

[The solution is: find some consumables to be scapegoats! ]

[Anyway, the Divine Emperor himself would definitely not go down to the grassroots to play spinning tops. Firstly, it's inefficient and the returns are too low. Secondly, it's too demeaning. How could a dignified emperor associate with low-level officials?]

[Therefore, a group of diligent cattle and horses are indispensable! ]

It just so happens that your theory of "class contradictions" has been successfully accepted by the public. As a result, the elite Jinyiwei, which previously required the Divine Emperor to expend divine power to maintain, have suddenly become mass-produced "fully automatic divine power production machines." Not only do they not consume divine power, but they can actually accumulate large amounts of divine power, like batches of "piggy banks."

[There are now millions of "Jinyiwei brand piggy banks" across the country. If a batch of gold coins exploded every now and then, wouldn't that be an endless source of energy?!]

[So, the Divine Emperor naturally set his sights on the Imperial Guards...]

【It should be said that this plan is quite perfect! 】

[First of all, the Jinyiwei have a lot of people. As long as you replenish them frequently, you can get unlimited gold coins. You can support the Divine Emperor and you without any pressure.]

Secondly, "class contradictions" are an eternal theme in human society. No matter how you seek revenge, it will never be completely resolved... In other words, the power of revenge under this concept is an inexhaustible and limitless energy source!

[Furthermore, if only the Imperial Guards were sacrificed, then the other billions of mortals would no longer be expendable… Moreover, you and the Divine Emperor could use your divine power to benefit all living things. Clouds and rain would rise, crops would grow, mountains would be moved, and the seas would be filled… Everything would be like a paradise on earth, and the people of the Ming Dynasty would enjoy eternal peace and prosperity.]

【This is enough to make Ming Dynasty great again! 】

[Finally, there's the Jinyiwei's own flaws... Just as the Divine Emperor said, if a mortal Jinyiwei were to forcibly bear excessive divine power, the result would inevitably be mental corruption, and ultimately complete madness!]

[The sober Jinyiwei are class warriors who are absolutely loyal to you and the people of the Ming Dynasty! ]

[And when the Jinyiwei lose control and become insane, they will become everyone's mortal enemy. There is no room for easing the tension between the two sides, because a true madman cannot understand human language...]

[In this case, the Divine Emperor only needs to kill all the out-of-control Jinyiwei. This will not only satisfy his own divine power needs, but also eliminate a major threat to the people of the Ming Dynasty. Isn't this a win-win situation?!]

[Right now, this tempting perfect ending is right before you. Just a nod of your head and the ending will be achieved...]

【But, can you really agree to this? 】

【…】

Under the Divine Emperor's expectant gaze, you ultimately couldn't bear to sacrifice others, so you couldn't help but ask, "Your Majesty's plan is certainly sound...but I have one more question."

"Why must the Imperial Guards be killed? Couldn't Your Majesty simply draw upon their divine power regularly?"

[This is your biggest question, and also your biggest concern about this plan: In fact, you can tolerate the Divine Emperor collecting divine power as a tax, and if it really can be done without killing people, then this plan is truly perfect!]

Everyone pays taxes to the Divine Emperor regularly to buy peace. While it may seem a bit pathetic, it's a good outcome. At least from now on, no one needs to worry about the Divine Emperor abusing the people. However, judging by the Divine Emperor's words, He doesn't seem to be thinking of being a "capitalist" who fleeces the sheep and milks them. Instead, He still thinks of slaughtering the fat sheep with one blow, focusing on a one-time deal with no long-term vision...

You are confused.

The Divine Emperor quickly sighed and gave you an answer: "Zifang, you don't know. Divine power not only recognizes its master, but can only flow from a large area to a small area, not from a small area to a large area... Just as the saying goes, the way of heaven is to reduce the excess and replenish the deficiency, and divine power is inherently like this."

[“If I wish to receive divine power from others, I must refine it in its entirety.”]

"If I had a choice, wouldn't I want to do as the Prime Minister said? However, there is no room for choice..."

[He then performed a demonstration for you: He had the eunuchs bring out a white-haired old prisoner from the imperial prison, and then began the experiment right in front of you.]

[He first ordered the trembling old prisoner to infuse divine power into you, allowing you to feel it for yourself...]

You sensed that external divine power and attempted to refine it... But no matter how you refined it, it refused to obey your commands. This scene was in stark contrast to the ease with which you had accepted the positions of county magistrate and provincial governor.

[Soon after, this wisp of divine power, like a rootless duckweed, dissipated within your body...]

[Facts speak louder than words. Having personally experienced this, you must now believe this: weak external divine power cannot be integrated into your vast divine power.]

[Then you can't help but think of your past life: No wonder the divine power of all officials in the court is distributed layer by layer...]

[This also explains why Liu Yizhao and others in the previous life still had enough divine power to launch the Yangzhou Rebellion after retirement. The Divine Emperor was clearly short of divine power, but he did not take back the divine power of retired officials. It turned out that this was because it could not be recovered...]

[No, it's not that it can't be recycled, but recycling would require killing people. The Divine Emperor doesn't want to commit more killings, which is why a group of retired officials still possess the divine power to start a rebellion.]

[If the Divine Emperor truly wanted to reclaim it, the scene would be exactly like what is happening right before your eyes...]

[In front of you, the indifferent God Emperor stretched out a tangible divine hand and grabbed the terrified old criminal who was begging for mercy!]

【then……】

【Instant! Refined! Transformed!】

[The old criminal's body was gone, leaving only the Divine Emperor, who looked very pleased... After a moment, the relieved Divine Emperor once again cast his expectant gaze towards you.]

"Zifang, how is it?"

[His gaze was filled with incomparable sincerity, and his meaning couldn't be clearer. If you only nodded, the story would have a perfect ending, and you would even achieve immortality...]

【Under such temptation, you can't help but fall into deep thought. 】

【…】

[Ding! Faced with the Divine Emperor's tempting plan, what do you choose: (?)]

[A: I readily agree! Prime Minister, I've long desired immortality! Your Majesty, please quickly pull me ashore, so we can slaughter the common people together... No! We don't need to slaughter the common people, just use the Imperial Guards as consumables... This will benefit the country and the people, both the public and the private. I believe the Imperial Guards will consider the overall situation and sacrifice themselves!

What? You don't want to sacrifice? That's not up to everyone. After all, there's an old American saying: Old soldiers never die, they just... just need a little help, and then the old soldier will die!

[B: Insist on refusing! Sacrifice is acceptable, but this kind of sacrifice, using loyal class warriors to feed the feudal God-Emperor, is absolutely intolerable! Moreover, the God-Emperor is still the God-Emperor after all. He holds the absolute power to decide victory or defeat, and the initiative always lies in His hands...

Even though He is as close to you as a brother now, once He has evil thoughts, this fragile alliance will be unilaterally torn up in an instant, and you, as a pendant, will have no means of counterattack. Once He breaks the agreement, all your efforts will be in vain!
If we seek peace through compromise, peace will perish; if we seek peace through struggle, peace will survive! Class fighters should always aim to overthrow the oppressors, and even if they die, they must die on the road to victory!

……

(End of this chapter)