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

Chapter 138 An unexpected discovery

In the 113th year of the Chongzhen reign, you were forced to agree to the Divine Emperor's "sacrifice" plan. Then, knowing full well that He was deliberately torturing you, you, with an agonizing heart, persuaded the Imperial Guards to voluntarily sacrifice themselves in exchange for the Divine Emperor's boundless favor.

[Finally, Yu Anmin, a die-hard brainwashing fan, took the initiative and led a group of elderly Jinyiwei to embark on this road to death...]

This scene is reminiscent of those foolish sacrificial stories from legends: mortals, seeking peace, offer young boys and girls to local monsters or spirits, begging them to bless the village with good weather and a stable harvest regardless of drought or flood.

In stories, such foolish sacrifices usually don't have a good outcome: for example, the monster will eat more and more young boys and girls each year, or the monster will accept the sacrifices but do nothing, and eventually the village will be destroyed by natural disasters or man-made disasters...

As you watched and thought about all this, your heart grew heavier... You didn't know whether the Divine Emperor would keep his promise. After all, this treaty had no binding force. He could abide by it if he wanted to, or not if he didn't. It was entirely up to Himself.

"If He has the intention to play with you, then this treaty will become a disaster, just like the unequal treaties signed with the Qing Dynasty. And then you will become like Li Hongzhang, nailed to the pillar of shame from then on..."

Therefore, you have to admit: the God-Emperor's plan to torture your will was indeed successful. You are truly in pain and truly tormented... In a sense, you are actually no different from a madman.

[Whether the Divine Emperor can train you like a dog is still unknown, but you have certainly been trained into a madman...]

【…】

[No one knows what happened in the palace, and no one knows how anxious and difficult you are while waiting.]

[In short, after you watched Yu Anmin and the others anxiously head towards the palace, you sat outside the palace restlessly... You wanted to hear the good news that the sacrifice was successful, but you also wanted to hear the bad news that the sacrifice failed...]

[In other words, even you can't decide which of the two is good news and which is bad news: considering the benefits, you certainly hope that the sacrifice will succeed, so that you can continue this way of sacrifice until you have the key information you are looking for.]

[But emotionally, you also hope that Yu Anmin and the others will not yield, charge the tower directly in the palace, fight the Divine Emperor to the death, and ultimately sacrifice themselves heroically, fulfilling their fighting spirit...]

[Thinking about it, even you find yourself ridiculous: this kind of split thought really doesn't seem like something a normal person could come up with... Maybe it's more logical to say this is the product of schizophrenia!]

[Perhaps, you have already gone crazy...]

【…】

[The final result, of course, was that the sacrifice was successful.]

[When you saw the Divine Emperor again, He had already recovered to about forty or fifty years old. He looked normal, as if He had not suffered any of the ominous effects of old age!]

[He sits calmly on the dragon bed, quietly watching you enter the palace...]

In stark contrast to his calmness, you saw a look of shock on your face: a figure collapsed to the ground not far away. Was that... Yu Anmin?!

"An Min?!"

You exclaimed, rushing forward to support him... After a flurry of activity, you finally confirmed that he was still alive, merely fainted, and even his divine power remained intact.

This naturally makes you breathe a sigh of relief, but it's followed by a wave of confusion: What's going on? How could he still be alive?!

[He had previously offered to sacrifice himself for everyone. Logically speaking, he shouldn't even be left alive!]

[After all, the Divine Emperor had demonstrated the refining process to you before. If he wanted to refine someone else's divine power, he had to refine that person's entire body... But now, not only is Yu Anmin still alive, but he hasn't even lost any of his divine power. What... what is going on?] [With suspicion in your heart, you can't help but look at the Divine Emperor...]

[But you see the Divine Emperor is also frowning at you, as if he wants to get to know you all over again...]

[You two stared at each other for a long time.]

Finally, He slowly spoke, "This increase in divine power is enough to allow me to continue for another three years... During these three years, I will eliminate natural disasters, regulate the rivers and seas, and ensure that the Ming Dynasty enjoys good weather and abundant harvests."

"Three years later, please send another sacrifice..."

Three years?

You silently pondered this time: Three years is not a short time, and during these three years, the world will enjoy good weather and good harvests... And the price is just a few old Jinyiwei men. From a profit perspective, this account is a win-win no matter how you calculate it...

[However, compared to these things, what you care more about now is why Yu Anmin is still alive! ]

[He hasn't spoken a word on this matter from beginning to end. Since He hasn't spoken, no matter how suspicious you are, you can't ask now, because this is the etiquette between the monarch and his subjects... So, you can only ask Yu Anmin.]

【…】

About half an hour later, the unconscious Yu Anmin slowly woke up in the Prime Minister's residence. As soon as he woke up, you immediately asked about what had happened earlier with concern.

[But the bewildered Yu Anmin didn't know how he managed to survive, because he only remembered that he and hundreds of old Jinyi were immediately grabbed by the Divine Emperor's tangible divine hand after entering the palace. As for what happened afterwards...]

He didn't remember, only that his old subordinates were reduced to ashes before him, and then transformed into balls of golden divine power that returned to the Divine Emperor...

Yu Anmin couldn't help but show shock and anger at the thought of this horrific scene. Although he had known that this would be the fate of the sacrifice, when his former subordinates actually died one by one before him, he couldn't help but feel emotional and wanted to fight the cruel and tyrannical emperor to death!

You couldn't help but frown at his words: While the death of your subordinates certainly saddens you, the fact that the Divine Emperor killed everyone else but Yu Anmin clearly concerns you more.

What does He want to do?

[Is it that Yu Anmin's flavor isn't strong enough? Or is it that He is so kind that He spared one person as a gesture of mercy?]

【Or, is there another purpose? 】

You think of one possibility after another, but none of them can completely convince you...

[However, since this has already happened, it means there must be a reason behind it. And judging by the Divine Emperor's strange reaction at the time, this may not have been His original intention, but rather the result of some kind of... coercion.]

[Since it might be forced, it means that you have once again stumbled upon a useful piece of information. Although you don't know what it's useful for yet, it's still a good start.]

The future will be even better...

……

(End of this chapter)