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

Chapter 289 The Hundred Days of Reform!
What was His name again?

When you realized this, a strong sense of unease washed over you: you... seemed to genuinely not remember your brother Wanyan's name...

This is highly unusual!

[You've known Him for many years, practically the best partners. You see Him as your guide, and He sees you as his right-hand man. Your relationship is so close that He even insisted on bestowing a kingship upon you despite your lack of merit... With things this good, how could you not know His name?]

You rack your brains, feeling as if a piece of your memory has been erased, as if it were some unspeakable taboo...

Ultimately, you came to a bewildered conclusion: "I...have amnesia?"

"No, this isn't amnesia!"

With a furrowed brow, the old man under the crooked-necked tree pondered, "This should be twisted..."

"However, it's not you who's been distorted, but rather the new emperor of the Jin Dynasty. You've only been indirectly affected."

As he spoke, the Prime Minister tentatively uttered His name to you: "His name is Wanyan Kang. Can you remember it?"

[Wanyan...Kang?]

[Once prompted, you, who had been pondering for a long time, suddenly realized: you should call your elder brother "Wanyan Kang"!]

But just a moment later, the name that had just become clear suddenly blurred again... You've forgotten His name once more.

[And it was precisely because of this that you gradually realized the extraordinary nature of this matter, so you continued to ask the Prime Minister to remind you of His name, trying to remember Him through this repetitive memorization method.]

But the result was disappointing: you tried hundreds of times, and still forgot it as soon as you turned your head, as if it were a cursed, forbidden piece of knowledge...

After numerous fruitless attempts, you had no choice but to abandon this futile effort. Instead, this strange event brought back memories of your past life: the indescribable god whom Zhao Gou called the "Emperor of the Jin Dynasty"—you truly couldn't recall His name!

Even Zhao Gou was no exception!

This is highly unusual, because no matter how blindly foolish the other party may be, it is essentially a true god on par with Zhao Gou. Zhao Gou should address it by its name, not directly as "Emperor of the Jin Dynasty."

Therefore, it most likely does indeed have no name... or rather, no one can truly perceive its existence, to the point that no one, including you and Zhao Gou, can remember its name... It is an indescribable chaos from beginning to end, and even its name is a kind of unknowable "chaotic knowledge"...

[Thinking about it this way, your train of thought instantly clicked: "Big Brother is being assimilated by Chaos!"]

Since that indescribable evil god is indeed the Jin emperor, it means that if Wanyan Zongbi, who has just ascended the throne, continues to be assimilated and corrupted, he will eventually become like that!

But... what exactly caused this assimilation and contamination? And can this assimilation process be stopped or reversed?

[With a heart full of turmoil, you gritted your teeth and immediately entered the palace. After all, he was your best partner of many years, and now that he might be in danger, you naturally had to do everything in your power to help him escape peril!]

"Hopefully, it's not too late!"

【…】

"Big Brother!"

Upon meeting him, you'll be anxious and want to explain everything to him!

However, it seemed that Brother Wanyan already knew your purpose, so he simply sighed and stopped you from speaking, then slowly said, "Brother, there's no need to say more. I know what you want to say."

"However, I cannot give up the throne, nor can I give up..."

With a long sigh, He slowly began to tell you some secret information that only members of the Wanyan clan could know...

"Brother, how do you think my Wanyan clan managed to rule the Central Plains for over two hundred years amidst internal and external troubles?"

【You shake your head.】

He slowly said, "I didn't know before, but since inheriting the throne, many secrets have gradually emerged in my mind... Among them lies the foundation of my Wanyan clan!"

"Since the celestial upheaval, my Great Jin Emperor has become a residing deity alongside Zhao Gou of the Southern Song Dynasty. However, unlike Zhao Gou, my Great Jin Emperor cannot personally manage state affairs, but can only entrust the Bojilie Assembly to govern on his behalf..."

"But this doesn't mean the emperor has no role. In fact, although the emperor of our Great Jin Dynasty couldn't rule personally like Zhao Gou, the reason why the Great Jin Dynasty was able to stand for more than two hundred years despite internal and external troubles was precisely because of the power bestowed upon it by the emperor!"

[Power? You wondered.]

"The so-called authority refers to the emperor's regard for his ministers. The more the emperor values ​​his ministers, the more authority the ministers have. This directly manifests in how Marshal Wuzhu was able to keep his brainwashed soldiers, who had been alienated by the Song people, from obeying orders. In this state, the alienated soldiers could easily defeat a Song army that outnumbered them a hundredfold!"

"Besides making mindless soldiers carry out military orders, this power can also directly control a small number of civilians. Anyone who is not a member of the Wanyan clan cannot escape control, so they cannot rebel and can only continue to pay taxes and serve in the army, running errands for our Great Jin..."

"This is why my Wanyan clan has ruled the Central Plains for over two hundred years!"

You listened thoughtfully: Isn't this mind control?

No wonder the Jin Dynasty, despite its internal turmoil, was able to fight on two fronts against the Mongols and the Southern Song Dynasty without falling; it turns out it was through mind control...

[Well, the Southern Song Dynasty used illusions, but the Jin Dynasty went even further, resorting to mind control... And if that's the case, then your original plan to launch a rebellion is doomed, isn't it? Since the Jin Dynasty is using mind control, your rebellion is a dead end!]

However, you weren't discouraged, because you couldn't help but think of your older brother's experience with "chaotic corruption": it seems this kind of mind control comes at a price...

"That's right, the price is me! Or rather, it's all the emperors of the Jin Dynasty..."

The elder brother sighed, "The price to pay for granting Marshal Wuzhu and his ilk such extraordinary power is that each emperor does not live more than three years after ascending the throne, and within those three years, the emperors gradually lose themselves..."

["First, he lost his name, then his mind, then his body... and finally, he lost everything, until he was forgotten by everyone..."]

Forgotten?

Your heart skipped a beat: "To what extent will it be forgotten?"

He did not answer directly, but said with a complicated expression, "An emperor is replaced every three years or so. Before me, the Great Jin Dynasty had more than seventy emperors... However, do you recall such frequent changes of the throne?"

【"this……"】

Upon hearing this, you suddenly realized: "Was the Jin Dynasty ever ruled by a different emperor before?"

Normally, the ascension of each emperor should be a major event, involving not only a grand enthronement ceremony in the capital, but also the dissemination of news of the new emperor's accession throughout the land, the change of the reign title, the granting of a general amnesty, and so on.

[Moreover, the emperor changes approximately every three years, and you've been in the Jin Kingdom for twenty or thirty years. Theoretically, you should have experienced nearly ten emperors, but... you can't recall any memories related to them at all, and you've always believed that the "Jin Kingdom emperor" was an immortal god-emperor...]

Thinking of this, a chill ran down your spine: This is... completely erasing a person from beginning to end! No one will remember this emperor's name, no one will remember his achievements, no one will even remember that he was ever emperor; all his past deeds and connections will be swept into an unknowable chaos... Thinking this, you immediately disregarded all other considerations and urgently said, "Brother! Abdicate! You cannot be emperor!"

He smiled helplessly: "There's no turning back... Once I've ascended the throne, I'll begin to be forgotten, until no one remembers me anymore..."

You were immediately distraught...

To be honest, although you were mentally prepared to die in Zhongdu when He entered the capital to ascend the throne, when it came time to actually watch your old partner die, you found that you were not as calm as you had imagined... Moreover, His way of dying was a complete death, and even people's memories of Him would be completely wiped away...

The older brother, however, remained calm. It was unclear whether he had come to terms with things or if his mind had become increasingly ruthless due to the corruption of chaos… In any case, he comforted you, saying, “No need to overthink it!”

"No matter what happens in the future, at least for now I am truly the supreme emperor, and you are truly the Great Jin Song King whom I have personally appointed!"

"With us brothers working together, what in the world can stop us? Let's implement sweeping reforms!"

With a wave of his visible hand, His boundless ambition burst forth: "Let this be my last act of doing what I can for the people of this world!"

Hearing His passionate words, you, who had been saddened and silent by His tragic end, suddenly felt a surge of energy and gritted your teeth: "Alright!"

Let this be our final dance before we burn out...

【…】

In the 218th year of the Shaoxing reign of the Song Dynasty, "Wanyan X" ascended the throne as Emperor of the Jin Dynasty amidst the homage of his ministers. You were also granted the title of "King of Song of the Great Jin," becoming the first Han Chinese in the Jin Dynasty to be granted a royal title solely as a close advisor to the emperor!

[By chance, you discover that you can't remember His name, and only then do you learn from Him that it was all because of the throne!]

[Once someone declares themselves emperor and ascends the throne as the Great Jin Emperor, they have essentially obtained a divine position, and will gradually slide towards the ultimate state of chaos... until they completely return to chaos, all their past karma is distorted and erased, and no one remembers them anymore!]

Since destruction was inevitable, the old man simply let himself go, no longer caring about "powerful ministers hindering him" or the "Haihunhou story," and directly launched reckless reforms...

[You: This is too radical! It will provoke the powerful and the common people!]

[He: What I want is radicalism!]

[Therefore, you immediately established a "Reform Conference" to handle all reform matters in the Jin state... As for the "Bojilie Conference" led by Jin Wuzhu and other royal ministers, it was simply scrapped!]

Faced with such a chaotic decree, the imperial relatives and ministers couldn't help but curse: "Damn it! We already couldn't stand this new emperor granting kingships to Han Chinese who had done nothing of merit, and now he's openly seizing power... He's just a useless piece of trash, does he really think he's the emperor?!"

[But the emperor wouldn't tolerate them. Upon hearing that these nobles dared to insult him, he immediately ordered you to imprison all the imperial relatives and ministers in the imperial prison and subject them to severe torture!]

[And you, without hesitation, immediately unleashed a flurry of blows with your copper-tipped leather belt, giving these Jin nobles a taste of the Ming Dynasty's Imperial Guard's skills...]

[Following this, your "Reform Conference" issued a series of reform decrees, covering a wide range of areas including the official system, military system, finance, education, and people's livelihood and economy!]

With so many decrees, implementation was naturally fraught with difficulties, since the powerful and wealthy in various regions were hardly obedient...

[But it doesn't matter, as the emperor's most favored confidant, you naturally possess "power"! So you directly use your mind control to force people across the land to obey your decrees!]

Of course, since this power of mind control has its limits, you can't possibly control everyone. Aside from a few die-hards who are under control, most people are still being subjected to the corporal belt... As long as the belt is used well, there will always be fewer problems than solutions!

[And so, amidst the nationwide outcry from vested interests, you, wielding your copper-tipped belts, stubbornly implemented these countless decrees. While the actual results may not have been great, at least it was undeniably satisfying!]

[You were having a blast, and the common people, who had long suffered under the oppression of the powerful, were having a blast too. It was the first time they had ever seen an emperor and princes leading them in beating up powerful officials, so naturally they were incredibly excited... So everyone followed you with boundless enthusiasm, charging everywhere you went. Wherever your powerful hand reached, unruly people proliferated!]

[People: Cack! What an exciting reform! We've got this in store for us to see!]

【…】

This was an unprecedented reform, and also a celebration that affected major cities throughout the Central Plains!

During this period, you carried out radical surgery on the corrupt giant that was the Jin Dynasty, treating what needed to be treated and eliminating what needed to be eliminated. Although the emperor was the leader of the Wanyan clan, he showed no mercy when it came to eliminating his own relatives, and his main approach was radicalism!

Perhaps He also knows that this radical reform He and You are undertaking will not have much of a positive effect; most people are simply here to revel with you... And even if the reforms were effective, once you are gone and your policies have ended, the powerful and influential will return and overthrow them all!

But... it doesn't matter! All I want is radicalism!

He doesn't expect his and your brief reforms to have much effect; He simply wants to unleash His true self before being forgotten by the world and to make sure everyone remembers Him as much as possible...

A person dies three times: once in the physical body, once when others accept Him, and once when everyone forgets Him and Him... This new emperor will die an additional death after these three. After this death, He will completely disappear from this world, and no one will know that He ever existed...

So, He has actually gone mad.

And you... are going crazy with Him!

[Because you know, the day Wanyan Laoge dies and his regime ends will also be the day you are purged by the Wanyan clan's powerful figures!]

As a close advisor to the emperor, you're already doomed. Since that's the case, why not join in the revelry and go wild!

Let you meet the end of your lives amidst the most radical and fantastical reforms...

【…】

In the 218th year of the Shaoxing reign of the Song Dynasty, a vigorous reform movement quickly spread throughout the major cities of the Jin Dynasty!

Countless powerful and wealthy individuals were imprisoned, subjected to the humiliation of being slapped with brass belts like those of the Imperial Guards! Countless corrupt officials were executed after their ill-gotten gains were confiscated, their blood spilled on the execution ground! Countless landlords and wealthy merchants had their property confiscated and were paraded through the streets as a form of public humiliation!

[In just over a hundred days, you have issued thousands of reform decrees. How can the aging Jin Dynasty withstand such a major overhaul? It is on the verge of collapse in an instant...]

But amidst this upheaval, Jin Wuzhu, imprisoned in the imperial jail, remained remarkably calm.

He was calculating the time...

"The Hundred Days' Reform... judging by the dates, it should be around in the next few days."

The old general of the royal family slowly straightened his hunched body, his sharp gaze piercing into the distant imperial palace… Though he couldn't see it, he had a premonition: the time was almost up!

The erosion of chaos will eventually come, and even the most extravagant celebrations cannot stop this historical process...

He smiled: "The emperor himself can naturally not be punished, but Zhou Jinu... you, a mere minor prince who rose to power without merit, it's time for you to receive your final judgment!"

……

(End of this chapter)