Song Xiu

Chapter 10 The Entire Hall Was Shocked
The Chongyuan Hall in the Imperial City was built in imitation of the Hanyuan Hall in the Daming Palace in the past.

What is Chongyuan?

The original intention was to admire the magnificent scene of envoys from all over the world coming to pay homage at Hanyuan Hall in the past.

The Central Plains regimes that established their capitals in Kaifeng, such as the Later Liang, Later Jin, and Later Han, all expanded and renovated the Chongyuan Hall to some extent in order to prove that they were the legitimate successors of the Tang Dynasty. Although each ruler did not reign for long, they all did so.

When Zhao Dexiu stood with his sword in hand on the open ground outside the hall, looking up at the magnificent building before him, there was no awe in his eyes.

In times of chaos, what use is a magnificent palace, no matter how grand it is? Whether a palace inspires awe depends on who lives inside.

At this moment, generals such as Pan Mei, Shi Shouxin, and Wang Shenqi were standing behind Zhao Dexiu, and behind these generals were squads of elite soldiers numbering in the hundreds.

As for the defenses around Chongyuan Hall?

Zhao Dexiu glanced around and saw that the imperial guards who originally protected Chongyuan Hall had long been replaced, and all the important gates leading to Chongyuan Hall were guarded by soldiers loyal to Zhao Kuangyin.

Perhaps before today, the young emperor in Chongyuan Hall was a promising young dragon that everyone was eagerly anticipating.

But once Zhao Dexiu was able to stand with a sword in Chongyuan Hall, the young emperor, who was still indulging in the sounds of string and wind instruments in Chongyuan Hall, had become an earthworm trapped in a cage.

Earthworms are so small, they can be killed with a lift of a foot!

Hearing the occasional sounds of singing and dancing coming from inside the hall, Shi Shouxin, being rather straightforward, was the first to express his disdain:
"The court, having lost Wei Renpu, is still indulging in fine wine and delicacies. It's laughable that the late emperor still expects us to serve such an incompetent central government!"

The late emperor that Shi Shouxin mentioned was naturally Emperor Shizong of Zhou.

Given Emperor Shizong's wisdom, he probably never imagined this day would come before his death.

Even the most brilliant person would never relinquish the throne to someone of a different surname; this is an unchanging aspect of human nature throughout history.

From Shi Shouxin's words, Zhao Dexiu could tell that he was dissatisfied with Fan Zhi and Wang Pu.

Since the late Tang Dynasty, warlords have been arrogant and almost lawless.

Most military personnel do not have a good impression of civil officials.

Before his death, in order to minimize the possibility of a military coup, Emperor Shizong appointed three regents, two of whom, apart from Wei Renpu, were scholars who knew nothing about military affairs.

This arrangement directly laid the groundwork for today's mutiny.

Given the contempt that military generals held for scholars, how could they possibly accept two civil officials with no military achievements pointing fingers at them?
With Wei Renpu present, who held considerable prestige in the army, he was able to barely suppress some of the discontent within the military.

Unexpectedly, Fan Zhi and Wang Pu, in their power struggle, used Wei Renpu's recent illness as a pretext to oust him from the Council of State.

This gave Zhao Kuangyin a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

The more Zhao Dexiu interacted with the people involved, the more truths he was able to glean from them that would not be recorded in history books.

Zhao Dexiu didn't have to wait long. When a blood-covered figure appeared, Zhao Dexiu realized that he could move.

That figure was Wang Yansheng, who had returned to the capital with him.

Zhao Dexiu saw that Wang Yansheng not only had bloodstains on his body, but he was also holding a severed head in his hand.

It's possible that the person just died at Wang Yansheng's hands. As Wang Yansheng walked towards Zhao Dexiu carrying that severed head, Zhao Dexiu could see blood still flowing from the severed head, and the flowing blood was still warm.
Fortunately, Zhao Dexiu, the son of a military family, had seen a similar scene several years ago.

Otherwise, if Zhao Dexiu had seen this scene for the first time, she might have vomited immediately.

Upon seeing Wang Yansheng return, Pan Mei, who was behind Zhao Dexiu, quickly stepped forward. After confirming that the head in Wang Yansheng's hand belonged to Han Tong, the last trace of worry on his face quietly disappeared.

After the Chenqiao Mutiny, Zhao Kuangyin held trump cards, but he was clearly still very cautious—the capture of Wei Renpu and the death of Han Tong meant that the last glimmer of hope for the Great Zhou Dynasty to turn the tide had been eliminated by Zhao Kuangyin.

Now that things have come to this, it's time to move on to the next step.

After Pan Mei asked Wang Yansheng to leave for the time being, she came to Zhao Dexiu and said:
"Your Highness, you may enter the palace now."

After saying this, Pan Mei politely stepped back behind Zhao Dexiu.

Seeing Pan Mei, Shi Shouxin, Wang Shenqi and others standing behind him, outsiders would have thought that they were taking orders from Zhao Dexiu today.

Only Zhao Dexiu, the person involved, knows the truth.

Pan Mei, Shi Shouxin, and others were only showing him respect because of his status; in reality, he had no real power.

But soon, he will definitely have it!

Under the watchful eyes of Pan Mei, Shi Shouxin, and others, Zhao Dexiu, sword in hand, began to walk step by step toward Chongyuan Hall.

As soon as Zhao Dexiu moved, the hundreds of elite troops behind him also sprang into action. Instantly, the clanging sounds of armor clashing with weapons echoed outside the Chongyuan Hall.

Amidst this deafening roar, Zhao Dexiu stepped onto the steps leading to the Chongyuan Hall.

The towering steps disappeared one by one in Zhao Dexiu's eyes. As the magnificent Chongyuan Hall came into view, a restless feeling arose in Zhao Dexiu's heart.

The restlessness intensified as he approached the palace gates.

The heavy palace doors were violently pushed open by the soldiers behind them, who broke the locks with their weapons.

Once the palace doors opened, the hundreds of soldiers behind Zhao Dexiu rushed into the hall, which was filled with the aroma of fine wine and delicacies, like hungry wolves pouncing on their prey.

The sudden intrusion of hundreds of soldiers with menacing faces and wielding sharp blades startled all the nobles and officials in the hall.

Many nobles and dignitaries were still holding wine cups made of gold and jade, but once the soldiers surrounded the entire hall, those nobles could no longer hold onto their wine.

In an instant, the sounds of numerous wine glasses and tableware falling to the ground echoed one after another.

The numerous chaotic and jarring sounds, like a mournful funeral dirge, testified that the end of the Great Zhou Dynasty had arrived.

The young emperor, sitting on the dragon throne in the main hall, was so frightened by this shocking scene that he burst into tears.

Facing the fearful gazes of many nobles and officials in the main hall, Zhao Dexiu walked into the hall step by step with his hand on his sword.

After entering the hall, Zhao Dexiu did not stop.

Zhao Dexiu looked at Chai Zongxun, who was sitting high above him. He was wearing a yellow robe that represented the supreme ruler, but he was in tears and kept calling out for his mother, which was extremely ridiculous.

This dramatic scene brought Zhao Dexiu's inner turmoil to its peak.

Even an eight-year-old child who is too young to understand can be called "Long Live the Emperor." In this life, he is the eldest son of the Song Dynasty. How could he not rule the world in the future?
Father, is this why you sent me back to the capital first?
Driven by inner turmoil, Zhao Dexiu moved step by step closer to the dragon throne above. Today, the Central Plains belonged to his Zhao family.

Fortunately, having lived two lives, Zhao Dexiu's character is more resilient than that of ordinary people.

When Zhao Dexiu was still some distance from the Emperor's Steps, he stopped in time.

"Do not offend the young Emperor Zhou or the Empress Dowager too much."

Zhao Dexiu knew this was essential in order to ensure a smoother transition of power to the central government.

After Zhao Dexiu stopped, he led Pan Mei, Shi Shouxin, and others to bow to Prefect Zhou and the young emperor above, saying:

"Your subject Zhao Dexiu pays respects to the Zhou ruler."

Zhao Dexiu's youthful appearance, coupled with his convincing outward appearance, softened Empress Dowager Zhou's expression.

She was almost scared to tears just now.

Since the Zhou emperor was young, she immediately had to take on the responsibility of questioning Chai Zongxun.

"What brings you here?"

Empress Dowager Zhou's stuttering only increased Zhao Dexiu and others' contempt for her.

Empress Dowager Zhou's question made Zhao Dexiu and the others want to laugh.

Given the current situation, what else can they possibly do?
Despite his inward contempt, Zhao Dexiu outwardly bowed to Empress Dowager Zhou once more with outward respect.

After bowing, Zhao Dexiu raised his eyes to look at Empress Dowager Zhou. Standing in the center of the hall, he spoke:
"I have come here for only one thing."

"What's the matter?"

"Your Majesty, I have come to request that the Emperor of the Great Zhou abdicate!"

When he spoke these words, Zhao Dexiu's voice was clear, and with the help of the special echo structure of the hall, it was enough to ensure that his words could be clearly heard by everyone in the hall.

Upon hearing Zhao Dexiu's words, the young emperor, unaware of the ways of the world, continued to sob, while the Empress Dowager was greatly alarmed and her headdress trembled.

The two prime ministers, Fan Zhi and Wang Pu, inside the hall were so angry they almost vomited blood.

"Please, Your Majesty, abdicate?"

Having read extensively throughout history, neither of these two prime ministers had ever heard of such a niche language.

Zhao Dexiu seemed very polite, so why were his words so cold?
(End of this chapter)