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

Chapter 61 Let's just burn it out...

[Retirement, or "begging for retirement," simply means taking the initiative to apply for retirement.]

[This choice was not made casually, but after careful consideration, because you felt that you really couldn't go on...]

【What the hell! 】

[It was you, the Divine Emperor, who clearly asked me to be Prime Minister. I didn't insist on it. We agreed to a "thirty-year agreement" back then, that I would help you bring about a peaceful and prosperous era in thirty years... Now, before the thirty years are up, you're already trying to stir up trouble for me. What the hell is going on?!]

"Do you want me to continue working, or do you want me to die in office? Can you give me a definite answer?"

[I'm not Lao Yuan. You could at least label him a braggart, since the probability of pacifying Liao in five years is infinitely close to zero... But I'm not bragging! Before the 30-year mark, I've already created a peaceful and prosperous era for you. How can you explain this?]

[The mission objectives have been achieved, yet you're still not satisfied. You're frantically instigating a rebellion in me, seeking all sorts of auspicious signs at all costs, like carrying the Yuan Dynasty's Imperial Seal, a peaceful sea and a peaceful river, a dragon and a horse carrying a map, books hidden in a fish's belly, foxes howling by a bonfire, seeing the multicolored aura on Mount Longhu, and the Duke of Yansheng digging up ancient bamboo books...]

[What the hell do you want to do?! You're just waiting for me to rebel, right?!]

"First you want me to help you bring peace and prosperity, then later you're eager for me to rebel... Are you fucking schizophrenic?"

[To be honest, whoever wants to do this job can do it, but I won't do it! The old emperor should find someone else!]

[Thinking about this series of events, you feel both angry and aggrieved...]

Honestly, you really don't want to confront Him head-on in this life. After all, you've already decided to be a loyal minister, emulating Zhuge Liang in every way. Your sole desire in this life is to help Him realize His political ideal of world peace.

[But this guy is just mentally ill, insisting on putting on this show for you... Whether he's had enough of being emperor and truly wants to abdicate, or he's just trying to create a classic "the great divine emperor sees through the treacherous disguise" scene, you don't want to cater to him!]

[Damn it! At worst, I'll quit!]

[Seeing the situation deviate further and further from your ideal of a loyal official, you, feeling angry and aggrieved, decide to resign from this chaotic officialdom. With an unblemished reputation, you return to your hometown in northern Shaanxi to grow sweet potatoes... This way, you can live up to your feudal values!]

[But you never expected that the Divine Emperor of this trench would actually refuse to let you go...]

"How could Zifang bear to abandon me?"

The Divine Emperor, who is probably in his seventies or eighties, sits on the Dragon Throne and emotionally entreats you: "Zifang is skilled in governing the country. Now that the thirty-year deadline has not yet expired, please do not abandon the people of the world and leave..."

You: Happy!

You're completely helpless now: This guy really doesn't intend to let you go...

[No... I'm already over fifty, why do you insist on making me rebel?]

You didn't understand, so you simply asked Him directly: "Your Majesty, I don't want to say much, but please give me a clear answer. Will I take the position of Prime Minister or not? If Your Majesty is dissatisfied with me, I will leave immediately!"

[Your words are truly heartfelt!]

[But the Divine Emperor simply asked in bewilderment, "Why do you say that, Prime Minister?"]

【you:……】

【walk slowly! 】

[His pretense of stupidity is truly speechless, and you're practically laughing in anger. But since He's unwilling to exchange sincerity with yours, there's nothing much you can say.]

As the saying goes, "If the ruler orders his subjects to die, they must die!" It's obvious that he wants you to die as Prime Minister...

【What can I say？】

You kowtowed expressionlessly, and gradually left the increasingly gloomy palace.

You know your own death is already certain... Although, even now, you still don't understand why He wants you dead, when a monarch insists on a subject's death, even the most capable of subjects cannot escape it. Just like Yue Fei in Fengbo Pavilion, and Yu Qian after the coup d'état, a single trumped-up charge could put them to death. Now, it's simply your turn.

[All you can do is maintain your image until the very end. You must die with a pure and flawless image, so that you can live up to your life...]

【…】

After leaving the palace, you didn't return to the Prime Minister's residence to continue working as usual, but instead made a rare trip home.

Now that you're a world-renowned and renowned prime minister, you naturally can't remain in your small county in northern Shaanxi. So many years ago, you brought your parents to the capital... The house isn't luxurious, just an ordinary dwelling. Normally, only your parents and a few old servants from your hometown live there. If you hadn't explicitly stated that this was the prime minister's home, no one would have guessed it.

[Your parents are old now, both in their seventies. They know you're a simple person, so they don't usually show off... Seeing you back, they were immediately delighted and told the kitchen staff to make you something to eat...]

"Son, I received a letter from home saying that your master passed away a while ago..."

[Upon hearing this news, you, who was eating noodles, were stunned: Master... passed away? ]

【Master...】

Your thoughts drifted back to those days fifty years ago: Although Master Ding's motives for taking you on as his apprentice were not pure, he originally just wanted to use you as a marketing tool to sell you as a "child prodigy" and defraud his superiors of your rewards. But after you truly became a child prodigy renowned throughout northern Shaanxi, his relationship with you gradually shifted to a more normal one.

He meticulously coached you to pass the imperial examination, and for decades, he consistently cared about your preparations for the provincial examination. Even during your 24-year period of failing the exam, he never once showed any disdain for you. After you passed, he even gave you a gift of fifty taels of silver...

[It can be said that he is one of the most important people in the first half of your life, and one of the people who has had the greatest influence on you, second only to the bandit Li Laiheng.]

[Back then, you personally buried the bandits who died silently. Now, you bid farewell to your master...]

After a long silence, you sighed, "When I passed the imperial examination, he was already around seventy. Now, more than twenty years have passed, and he's over ninety...it's considered a happy death."

"Mother, please send five hundred taels of silver. I'll write a letter to his family as a token of consolation..."

[Actually, you should have gone to Master's funeral in person, but now... the Divine Emperor will never let you go. You can only ask your parents to offer some consolation to Master's family.]

Although five hundred taels may seem a bit small, it is actually the lifetime savings of most families. And although you are the Prime Minister, you have always been honest and don't have much money. Five hundred taels is already a lot.

[The main issue is actually that letter. It's the Prime Minister's personal letter. With this letter, Master's family has some privileges. While they can't use it to bully others, the local officials and businessmen will definitely give them a lot of face... This is also a small selfish desire of yours...]

[After finishing this, your father couldn't help but speak again.]

"Son, you're already fifty-three... Isn't it time for you to get married?"

[Marrying a wife? Leaving a loophole for the Divine Emperor?]

You smiled and shook your head: "I have pledged my life to my country. It will be difficult for me to marry and have children in this lifetime..."

[“Dad, Mom, I’m sorry…”]

[“You…sigh…”]

The parents hesitated to speak, ultimately letting out a sigh: "Although they don't understand the connection between government affairs and marriage and having children, their son has always been independent, so this must make sense."

[Forget it... Let's just consider this lineage's incense burn out for the Ming Dynasty...]

【There is always a price to pay for being a perfect person. 】

……

(End of this chapter)