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

Chapter 177 Bull Demon and Snake God
Forty years is a long time, long enough for most ancient people to spend their prime years. After all, many people died early before reaching forty.

[Forty years is very short, so short that it makes you feel that your continuous efforts in three lifetimes are not worth it...]

After three lifetimes and hundreds of years of struggle, we have only achieved forty years of peace and prosperity. This is undoubtedly a tragic thing.

In just forty years, this "Ming Dynasty," the condensation of your life's work, will vanish into thin air. The dreamlike Ming Dynasty will eventually crash into the reality of the Qing Dynasty. This cannot but make you feel depressed.

[And with the fall of Heaven, your finally settled sense of belonging will also crumble: This is not home, you are still a passerby wandering in an endless cycle of reincarnation...]

So, where is home?

[In the illusory world of the next reincarnation? Or the next time? The next time?]

【you do not know.】

You only know that you must do your best to protect this hard-earned Ming Dynasty. Even if it is not your home, you must stand here until the last moment, until you accompany it to its death.

[For this, you will do whatever it takes...]

[So, on this day in the 276th year of the Chongzhen reign, after a night of intense deliberation, you finally made a helpless decision.]

"Go away..."

[Standing at the entrance to the "den of monsters and demons," you spoke to the Divine Emperor in a low voice.]

[The Divine Emperor was stunned for a long time: Happiness came too suddenly!]

[Is it true that I have been restored like this? ]

[Did Zhou Tianzun really choose the latter between power and the people?]

He was a little bit unconvinced: Normally, no feudal ruler in the world would voluntarily give up power. Even if the dynasty was facing extinction, it was none of the ruler's business. After all, why would I care about the flood after I die?

Especially in the face of threats threatening to destroy your country, shouldn't you be enjoying your life to the fullest? Why would you choose to abdicate in order to allow others to live forty more years?

Throughout history, countless emperors have been obsessed with power. Even when they knew they were dying, they refused to relinquish it, sometimes even committing acts that harmed the majority for the sake of temporary power. For example, during the witchcraft scandal in Emperor Wu of Han's later years, despite knowing the crown prince would eventually succeed him, he ruthlessly suppressed the rebellion when the prince actually raised an army.

[As for his subsequent remorse... who knows if it was just crocodile tears? Regardless, the fact is that Emperor Wu of Han would rather suppress the crown prince than maintain his throne, and this is the inherent nature of a feudal emperor.]

【But your choice is completely different from theirs...】

[Anyway, the Divine Emperor admits that he doesn't understand you.]

【But restoration is always a good thing. You may not care about power, but He does!】

[As long as I can continue to be the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, I don't care what happens! Even if the world still ends, at least my power will continue until the last moment!]

[Ming Dynasty, your emperor is back! ]

[The delighted God-Emperor, filled with indescribable excitement, stepped out of the "den of monsters and demons" under your complicated gaze, just as He had stepped out of the old crooked tree on Coal Hill...]

【…】

In the 276th year of the Chongzhen reign, during the daily court meeting, the Heavenly Kingdom officials who had entered the meeting hall were about to discuss the day's government affairs when they were surprised to see that the main seat in the hall was not occupied by the Celestial Lord, but instead by a red, furry monster...

Everyone was stunned: What's going on?

[However, what stunned everyone even more was that this short, furry monster just started talking!]

He revealed that he was the Ming Emperor who had ascended to heaven, but had now returned to the human world and was ruling the Ming Dynasty once again!

As he spoke, he also produced your "Heavenly Lord's Imperial Edict," which stated: "The Heavenly Lord has achieved perfect merit and ascended to the Pure Land. Therefore, from now on, Your Majesty will be in charge of government affairs. The subjects should not panic..."

【"this……"】

Everyone was stunned by the "Heavenly Lord's Decree"... but after all, it was the will of the Heavenly Lord, so despite their shock, they accepted it. They reluctantly prostrated themselves before the Divine Emperor, chanting in unison, "Long live our Emperor!"

Under the dual support of the intense satisfaction and sense of power brought by the three cheers of "Long Live the God", the Divine Emperor, who had been a prisoner for over a hundred years, finally straightened his back again, his face showing excitement!

【I am back again! 】

【…】

[In the 276th year of Chongzhen, the Celestial Lord ascended to heaven and the Divine Emperor was restored!]

[From the moment of his restoration, the high-spirited God-Emperor wanted to seize the opportunity to turn everything you own upside down!]

[For example, the so-called "class contradiction" theory...] [That's fake! There's no such thing as class contradiction in this world. All we need to do is kowtow!]

[For example, "Benefiting the people"...]

[That's fake! I was born to be a superior, so why should I benefit the people?]

[For example, that ridiculous "Western Paradise" theory...]

[How can this be true? There has never been any such thing as "Western Paradise"! Living to old age doesn't guarantee you ascend to the Western Paradise, and being beaten to death by me doesn't mean you'll ascend directly to paradise. This is all made up by that Zhou guy! Anyone who believes this is a fool!]

【besides……】

[In short, once he gains power, he can't wait to overthrow everything you have. Not only does he want to destroy your theories and slash your halo, he also wants to discredit you from head to toe, even going so far as to fabricate a story about you being a prostitute...]

[This is revenge! Real revenge!]

[It’s a pity that I can’t recover…]

[After all, you didn't actually ascend. You simply allowed Him to regain the throne, allowing Him to gather divine power to sustain life.]

[So after fantasizing about these unrealistic revenge plans, He returned to reality and prepared to accumulate His own divine power...]

[As for how to accumulate divine power? ]

If there were more time, the best method would naturally be to retrain the Jinyiwei and then rely on the out-of-control Jinyiwei to supply divine power... But now time is urgent, and he does not have enough divine power of his own to distribute to everyone, so he chose the fastest way: forcing people to rebel!

After carefully considering the list of potential rebels for a moment, the Divine Emperor gradually made a choice...

In the 276th year of the Chongzhen reign, the imperial court ordered layoffs in factories in Liaodong, Hebei, and other places, citing the economic downturn.

[As soon as the order was issued, hundreds of thousands of people were laid off!]

[These laid-off workers were originally bankrupt farmers who came to the city to work. Now that they have been laid off, it is equivalent to losing all their sources of livelihood!]

[Isn't this... just like letting them die?! And there's no way they can go to heaven after such an untimely death?!]

[As soon as the news came out, the public was immediately outraged...]

Hundreds of thousands of unemployed people, whose chests were crushed by boulders, took to the streets in anger, demanding an explanation from the government!

However, the imperial court's attitude was unexpectedly cold. Not only did they refuse to give an explanation, but they sent a large number of armed troops into the streets to suppress the protests, killing and injuring many people...

This unprecedented and brutal suppression completely shocked everyone: Is the imperial court taking the wrong medicine?!

At this moment, someone suddenly shouted excitedly, "I heard that the Celestial Lord has ascended to heaven, and the court has fallen into the control of treacherous people. I didn't believe it before, but today it seems to be true!"

"Since the villain wants to kill me, why not give it a try?"

Chen Sheng and Wu Guang once said: "If we are to perish now, we shall die; if we carry out our great plan, we shall also die. If we die together, is it acceptable to die for our country?"

"For the lives of my wife, children, and elders, and to prevent the cause left by the Heavenly Lord from falling into the hands of treacherous people, even if I rebel, what does it matter?"

[With just a few words, everyone, already furious, exploded!]

[“Okay! I’m going to rebel today!”]

"Yes! I want to see what kind of monster is sitting on the throne of the Heavenly Lord!"

"Brothers! Fight the damn government troops!"

Amidst the chaotic roars, the enraged people picked up all sorts of weapons, spreading the word from one person to ten, from ten to a hundred... until it reached thousands! Tens of thousands!

In the 276th year of Chongzhen's reign, a massive uprising suddenly broke out, orchestrated by someone with ulterior motives.

The flames of war quickly spread to Hebei, Liaodong, and other regions, and even other regions responded one after another, determined to fight to protect Tianzun's cause!

[At the same time, you locked yourself in a den of evil spirits, unwilling to hear or see anything, only closing your eyes, covering your ears, and gritting your teeth...]

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry…”

……

(End of this chapter)