After Being Abducted by the General

chapter 140

After sending out the letters, Jia Qing, still nursing his injuries, once again tried to dissuade Wu Shanshi.

His words were harsh and unappealing. After numerous attempts, Wu Shanshi's anger reached its limit, and he ordered Jia Qing to be thrown into prison.

With Jia Qing locked away, there were no more dissenting voices among his subordinates.

The advisors who truly cared for Wu Shanshi felt a chill in their hearts.

Few would be as rigid as Jia Qing; most knew the importance of being prudent to preserve their own safety. Gradually, the clever and cautious advisors fell silent, while the sycophants and flatterers increased in number.

The once highly regarded ruler, Wu Shanshi, found himself irreparably estranged from his ministers.

One month later, the letters sent by Wu Shanshi to Yanzhou and Qingzhou eventually fell into the hands of Yuan Li.

Yuan Li was inspecting the Liangliao Institution when he received the letters. After reading them, he chuckled and turned to Zhao Ying, saying, "Zhou Gongdan is truly cunning."

Zhao Ying couldn't agree more. Besides the master and Chu Hechao, the last person they should offend was this Zhou Gongdan.

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Yuan Li was in a cheerful mood. He smiled widely, ordered a brazier to be brought in, and burned the letters, murmuring, "Wu Shanshi is finally taking this step."

Wu Shanshi was finally planning to declare himself emperor.

Perhaps Wu Shanshi would never know how much effort Yuan Li had put in behind the scenes for this day to come, and how much he longed for it.

Now, he finally had the chance to reap the rewards of his efforts.

With a smile on his lips, Yuan Li instructed, "Prepare gold, silver, and jewels, and send them in two separate routes from Qingzhou and Yanzhou to Jizhou. Make sure that Wu Shanshi believes these treasures are gifts from the governors."

During the two months of waiting for Che Kangbo and Hui Zizhen's responses, Wu Shanshi endured great difficulties.

He anxiously awaited the replies from his prospective allies, eager for their support.

Finally, in August, the replies from Qingzhou and Yanzhou arrived.

The two provinces did not send any written messages or letters, but they delivered boxes filled with gold, silver, and jewels. There were also many tribute gifts for the imperial court.

Seeing these riches, Wu Shanshi understood their meaning perfectly.

Overjoyed, and not wanting to disappoint his allies' expectations, as well as satisfying his innermost desires, Wu Shanshi immediately decided to ascend the throne in mid-October.

He couldn't wait any longer.

On the 20th of September, the third year of Zhouyan, the sky was cloudless.

Wu Shanshi donned the imperial dragon robe and held a grand coronation ceremony. He visited the local nobles in Jizhou and invited various scholars to witness his ascension. At noon that day, Wu Shanshi read the edict and officially declared himself emperor.

He proclaimed his imperial reign with great pomp and ceremony.

The imperial edict was written in a stern and righteous manner: "Emperor Zhouyan, devoid of virtue, has led to the division of the thirteen provinces, plunging the land into chaos and warfare for years. The people are displaced, suffering from hunger and cold, while Emperor Zhouyan indulges in pleasures without caring for their hardships. My heart aches for them. Now that I have received the will of Heaven, I can become the ruler. As Emperor, I will quell the flames of war, alleviate the suffering of the people, and rescue the common people from calamity and peril."