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

Chapter 65 The divine power of the God Emperor!

On December 24, the 103rd year of the Chongzhen reign, Prime Minister Zhou Liang's rebellion failed, with irrefutable evidence!

[As soon as the news came out, there was an uproar throughout the government and the country! ]

[How could the Prime Minister rebel?!]

Everyone was puzzled, but the imperial edict was indeed true: the Prime Minister's rebellion had failed, and he had been apprehended by the loyal Imperial Guards!

[Furthermore, a large-scale purge soon began in the court, and all high-ranking officials associated with the Prime Minister were not spared...]

In the 103rd year of Chongzhen's reign, the Prime Minister was arrested for treason. At the same time, Zhu Zhongcheng, the former commander of the Imperial Guard and former Minister of War, also committed suicide out of fear of punishment.

The following year, the imperial court stripped Zhu Zhongcheng of his bestowed surname and ordered him to revert to his original surname, "Lu." His descendants were also forbidden to use the surname "Zhu" during future visits to the ancestral graves, as a punishment.

[That year, the imperial court launched a massive crackdown on criminal cases. All the ministers and assistant ministers of the six ministries under the prime minister's office were arrested and imprisoned, and government affairs almost came to a standstill!]

[That year, the imperial court purged officials of all ranks in the two capitals and thirteen provinces. Anyone who expressed dissent towards the Prime Minister, from the provincial governor to the county magistrate, was imprisoned!]

[That year, the imperial court purged the Jinyiwei, dismissing tens of thousands of soldiers who sympathized with the Prime Minister!]

[That year, the imperial court purged the Beijing garrison, dismissing all 100,000 disgruntled soldiers and recruiting loyal ones to fill the garrison!]

That year, Shaanxi and the Central Plains suffered a severe drought, leaving thousands of miles of land barren! The government, completely devastated by the demolition, was unable to provide disaster relief, resulting in millions of refugees, and cases of children being sold and even eaten were commonplace!

[That year, the imperial court allowed the annexation of land and granted hundreds of thousands of hectares of fiefdom to each vassal king!]

[That year, the imperial court closed the border markets, and all private trade within and outside the Great Wall was cut off. From then on, only official trade was allowed!]

[That year, the imperial court, citing "Japanese pirate infiltration" and "foreigner harm," announced the closure of all coastal ports and implemented a "sea ban," prohibiting any ships from going out to sea.]

[That year, the imperial court abolished the so-called "steam engine" project, which had been researched by the Ministry of Works for over twenty years without any results, citing it as a waste of money and grain. It also ordered the Ministry of Revenue to reiterate the "household registration classification" and strictly implement the Ming Dynasty's ancestral system of "different household registrations, passed down from father to son"!]

[That year…]

[Every single one of these policies is designed to nullify the achievements of your reforms. The purpose couldn't be more obvious!]

[With this change in the court, it's as if you've never been prime minister, and as if you've never carried out reforms...]

From the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty to the steppes of the desert north, from Korea to Japan, and even to the West... people all over the world were shocked and couldn't understand what had happened.

[But no matter what happened, the fact is that the Ming Dynasty was closed to the outside world and was in a state of turmoil...]

Millions of refugees whose homes and families were torn apart, as well as tens of millions of angry citizens, decided to use their strength to defend the country and save Prime Minister Zhou from imprisonment!

[After receiving the Prime Minister's kindness for so many years, it's time to repay him with utmost loyalty! ]

In the 104th year of Chongzhen's reign, the two capitals and 13 provinces declared many of the imperial court's orders to be rebellious, and the whole country refused to obey them!

In that year, thirteen provinces and Nanjing Yingtian Prefecture declared their independence from the Ming Dynasty. The governors of each province personally organized an army of over ten million people to jointly attack the Ming imperial authorities headed by the Divine Emperor!

A war between humans and gods instantly ignited the world! Just as you once thought: If they can't rescue you from the Ming Dynasty prison, then let the Ming Dynasty burn!

【…】

In stark contrast to the tumultuous scene across the land, you now sit silently within the Imperial Palace... Contrary to your expectations, you are neither tortured nor imprisoned, and have even been personally summoned by the Divine Emperor.

[At this moment, you are facing the person lying on the dragon bed not far away... No, that's not a person!]

[There was no thin, old figure there at all, only an indescribable creature with red hair...]

[The red hair flutters, emitting an ominous aura. If ordinary people see it, they will feel inexplicably dizzy, terrified, and even frightened to the point of mental collapse and loss of consciousness!]

[But for some reason, after looking at it for a long time, you didn't feel any unusual reaction... You couldn't figure out the reason, so you could only attribute it to your usual strong spirit...]

[And this isn't important right now. What's important is that you know the red-haired thing on the dragon bed is the Divine Emperor! It's the Divine Emperor who has aged to a state of mutated abnormality!]

[The Divine Emperor's later years were ominous, and his body was covered with red hair...] [Suddenly, it spoke.]

[“Zifang, you win…”]

Its voice was extremely old and weak, clearly not acting: "You have passed even Lu Zhongcheng's final test. I can only believe that you are a loyal and righteous person unprecedented in history..."

You were silent for a moment before speaking.

"He... since he was a test arranged by you, why did he still commit suicide?"

[“Because he feels guilty about you…”]

It slowly spoke, "Lu Zhongcheng is undoubtedly my loyal subject, but he has also been your sworn brother for the past thirty years. He has witnessed your efforts to govern the world and the Ming Dynasty's prosperity... He truly admires and respects you, to the point that he betrayed me long ago and pledged his allegiance to you..."

"He had no choice but to follow my orders to incite you to rebellion. He already felt guilty, and then he was ordered to frame you, which made him feel even more guilty. That's why he committed suicide..."

At this point, it suddenly smiled: "You know what? For him, it would have been better for you to listen to him and rebel. Because once you rebel, he can follow you and besiege the Forbidden City without any burden, instead of ending up committing suicide out of guilt like he is doing now..."

"He truly wants you to rebel. His words of instigation weren't just acting; they came from the heart... He truly believes I'm a truly incompetent ruler, and he truly wants to kill me and establish you as the new ruler of the new dynasty..."

【You can't help but widen your eyes at this! 】

The image of my old friend gradually became clearer in my mind... Looking back now, his impassioned and rebellious words at that time really didn't seem like an act...

[So, he is actually on your side...]

You feel bitter. He was truly sincere to you, but you treated him like a fool. You wasted his kindness and made him die with a guilty conscience.

[Now you still cannot avoid death, Lu Zhongcheng also died with shame, you have lost your last chance to fight...]

[At this moment, the creature on the dragon bed seemed to see through your thoughts and said with a smile, "Do you think I will kill you?"]

"You are a true and loyal person who has passed my test. How could I kill you?"

"Don't worry. Once I've regained my former self, I'll reinstate you to your original position. Continue to govern the world for me!"

You look up in horror: "Your Majesty, forcing me to rebel, isn't that a plan to kill me?"

"Kill you? I did want you to rebel before, and then I would kill you all to nourish my tyrannical body... But now, I have recognized you, so I only need to kill all the rebellious people in the world!"

[It laughed loudly, its voice full of madness! ]

"It's alright to tell you, my divine power grows through tyrannical revenge. As long as I kill enough traitors under the pretext of revenge, my divine power will increase and my life will be prolonged!"

"Zifang, do you know that millions of people across the world have risen in rebellion because of your arrest and my various perverse actions?"

[“In this way, even if Zifang doesn’t rebel, I can still take good care of him…”]

"With Zifang as my assistant, I have nothing to worry about!"

[Your expression changes drastically!]

【…】

In the 104th year of Chongzhen's reign, the entire nation rose up in rebellion against the Ming Dynasty. Hundreds of millions of civilians and hundreds of millions of soldiers were determined to overthrow the tyrant emperor and establish Prime Minister Zhou as the new ruler.

[That year, the ominous Red-Haired Divine Emperor, dragging his decaying body, launched a dark turmoil that harvested divine power...]

[A war between humans and gods full of conspiracy is about to break out! ]

……

(End of this chapter)