Dragon Raja: History Simulator

Page 87

“No, Your Majesty,” Liu Xin bowed respectfully, just as he had when he met Wang Mang twenty years ago.

He said, "Your Majesty, it is already dark. Shall we head to Qingping Warehouse now? Perhaps we could have the Imperial Household Department make unified arrangements tomorrow..."

Wang Mang interrupted him, muttering to himself, "Too late, too late..."

Despite saying that, Wang Mang did not allow the eunuchs to continue leading the way.

Without waiting for Liu Xin's reply, he turned to look at the eunuch in the detailed picture, "In addition, Yuan Rang, summon Grand Tutor Wang Kuang to an audience."

Wang Kuang was the son of Wang Shun, the Grand Tutor of the Xin Dynasty, and the nephew of Emperor Wang Mang. At this moment when he was about to be betrayed by everyone, Wang Mang, who had once killed his own son for the life of a maid, could only rely on his relatives.

The eunuch, dressed in a red robe, silently accepted the order and withdrew.

Thus, only the Imperial Preceptor Liu Xin and Emperor Wang Mang remained in the empty hall.

He stepped forward, looked at the young man before him with a complicated expression, and said, "Grand Preceptor, now it's just you and me."

Liu Xin remained silent, showing no emotion whatsoever.

Wang Mang ignored him and said to himself, "Twenty years ago when we met, you looked just like this young man. Twenty years later, I am now old and gray, but you are still the same."

Liu Xin lowered his eyes and remained silent, while the lingering sound of the night patrol gong echoed from outside the hall.

Wang Mang touched his already graying temples, then looked at Liu Xin, whose head was still jet black in the candlelight, and couldn't help but smile bitterly.

"I truly envy a race like yours that can never grow old!"

Indeed, Wang Mang knew Liu Xin's identity and that he was one of the four great rulers of the Dragon Clan. However, Liu Xin was also an old friend of Wang Mang's for over twenty years.

Today, after seeing the memorials sent down from below, he fell seriously ill, a rare occurrence, and remained in a coma all day, delaying his official duties until the evening.

"Your Majesty, are you asking me to extend your life?" Liu Xin said slowly.

"Can you?" Wang Mang asked in return.

"If Your Majesty wishes, I can naturally offer you eternal blessings," Liu Xin said calmly.

Immortality is a technology that the dragon race has long since mastered. The "Life Creation" technique in the Seven Great Alchemy Kingdoms is a variant of this technology.

While the lifespan of hybrids exceeds the limits of ordinary humans, it is undoubtedly insignificant compared to that of dragons.

Even compared to Deadpool after his fall from grace, the lifespan of a hybrid is still incomparable to theirs.

The "spirits" that Odin kept in Avalon had all lived through a very long time. Until the end of time, Odin could still use King Arthur from thousands of years ago as a sacrifice to his father who was sleeping in the Arctic Ocean.

The key lies in the alchemical kingdom of [Life Creation].

If Odin could do it, then theoretically, the two brothers, the Fire King and the Fire King, could do it as well.

Wang Mang was somewhat tempted, but quickly calmed down and his heart was no longer troubled. He said, "I have governed the country into this state, how can I have the nerve to enjoy the blessing of longevity?"

He paused, looked at his old friend in front of him, and said, "Besides, I don't want to admit defeat to you."

Liu Xin took a step back and lowered his head. "Your Majesty, do you wish to fight me?"

"Is that alright?" Surprisingly, Wang Mang did not object.

At this moment, in the empty hall, Wang Mang, dressed in a black imperial robe, and Liu Xin, dressed in a white long gown, faced each other. One was an old man, and the other was a young man, yet there was no hesitation between them.

Almost instantly, an invisible ring of flames surged around the position of the Grand Preceptor Liu Xin, 5 meters, 10 meters, 100 meters. The ultimate was never the ultimate for the Dragon King. The Dragon King's anger seemed to want to burn the entire palace to ashes.

The Spirit of Words·Jun Yan.

For the Dragon King, this was not the strongest Word of Power, but it was certainly the most convenient one.

Before the king's anger could be vented, a similar aura immediately surrounded him.

Wang Mang was not afraid of the flames around him that could ignite at any moment. With each step he took forward, the flames retreated a little and dissipated in the air.

As Wang Mang walked step by step to Liu Xin, the flames of anger around him vanished completely.

It was as if the king's anger had been appeased.

Liu Xin, with a calm face, looked at the jade seal symbolizing imperial power in Wang Mang's arms and sighed, "The Imperial Seal of the State."

He recognized the object.

In human society, this is a priceless treasure; in the world of mixed races, this jade seal is equally invaluable.

Since King Wu's conquest of King Zhou, royal power has been combined with divine power, and the human king is also the Son of Heaven.

From that moment on, imperial power, symbolizing secular society, and divine power, symbolizing mixed-race society, rapidly merged and became one.

The emperor is the ruler of all humankind, and also the monarch of all mixed-race individuals.

This is a "hybrid monarch" belonging to Eastern societies.

Or rather—"Emperor".

Ying Zheng called Lü Buwei "Zhongfu" (Second Father), and Lü Buwei was Norton, who was Ying Zheng's best alchemy teacher.

It wasn't until the First Emperor unified the six kingdoms, cast twelve bronze statues to stand in Xianyang, and used the He Shi Bi as the Imperial Seal that this seal became an alchemical tool that could symbolize "Emperor" and "hybrid monarch".

This also symbolizes that the First Emperor has officially left the tutelage of his good "Uncle".

This jade seal is the best evidence.

From an alchemical perspective alone, Constantine knew very well that the Imperial Seal was no less sophisticated than the Seven Deadly Sins.

One was used to judge the Dragon King and the four monarchs, while the other completely reopened the "path to godhood" that had long been rumored to have been severed.

When Wang Mang possessed the He Shi Bi jade, or when he was still the recognized "Son of Heaven" emperor, it meant that he was a true "mixed-blood monarch."

In terms of bloodline purity alone, Wang Mang at this time could even be considered equivalent to a dragon king of the first generation of humanoid species.

It was precisely for this reason that Wang Mang was able to use his own words and precepts to completely suppress his old friend's "anger".

Wang Mang lowered his head and looked at the Imperial Seal of the State, then couldn't help but smile self-deprecatingly, and said:

"There is already a second emperor in this world, but it seems I am still a true emperor!"

There can only be one sun in the sky, and there can only be one emperor in this world.

Although Liu Xuan has now ascended the throne and adopted the reign title Gengshi, Wang Mang was still able to use the He Shi Bi jade and the Word of Power and Precepts to suppress Liu Xin, who was the Dragon King. This means that Constantine was unable to use the Word of Power.

This means that, at least for now, Wang Mang is still the "only" emperor.

Wang Mang lowered his head to look at his old friend, whose expression remained relatively calm. Curious, Wang Mang asked:

"Grand Preceptor, aren't you afraid I'll kill you right now? I know you've been plotting a rebellion for a long time. To that end, you first fabricated that prophecy that Liu Xiu would send troops to arrest the wicked, and then changed your name to Liu Xiu."

Besides, I think your identity as the Dragon King should also appease those aristocratic families who have long been dissatisfied with me!

As he spoke, Wang Mang couldn't help but smile bitterly, his smile growing increasingly desolate.

Liu Xin still showed no intention of resisting. Looking at his old friend, a hint of pity appeared in his expression, and he said:

"So, Your Majesty, do you want to kill me?"

Do you think I can use this to appease those aristocratic families?

Liu Xin's two questions made Wang Mang fall into deep thought.

The first question wasn't about the relationship between the two—after all, what kind of normal human relationship could exist between an emperor and a dragon king?—but rather it was subtly revealing to Wang Mang that he had already left behind a "cocoon."

The second question is actually connected to the first question. The one who can appease those mixed-race families is not the Imperial Advisor Liu Xin, but the Bronze and Fire Constantine who became the dragon bone.

Dragon bones are a huge temptation for any mixed-race family, and coincidentally, most mixed-race families, except for the powerful clans of Nanyang, are still maintaining neutrality.

A single piece of the Dragon King's bone was enough to comfort them.

However, once the Dragon King leaves behind the "cocoon," his original physical body will quickly lose its vitality after death and become worthless.

The same applies to "bone", "blood" and "horn".

All Wang Mang could get was a skeleton. Over the past twenty years, Wang Mang had used this old friend to gradually eliminate the threat of mixed-race aristocratic families and ascend to the throne. After ascending the throne, he turned around and used these families to suppress the King of Bronze and Fire—his several campaigns against the Southern Barbarians were for this purpose.

Unfortunately it failed.

Now, Wang Mang wanted to make one last use of this old friend, to exploit him to the fullest extent, but that possibility was no longer possible.

He slumped back onto his throne, just as Yuan Rang entered with Grand Tutor Wang Kuang.

The eunuch, holding a crimson sword case, slowly knelt down after entering the main hall and presented it to Wang Mang.

This is the sword that Emperor Gaozu used to slay the white serpent.

The sword is named Crimson Sky.

"Open it!" Wang Mang examined it for a moment, then gave the order.

The eunuch opened the sword case, and inside, the sword was still wrapped with layers upon layers of bronze chains, as if to suppress its revival.

Wang Mang raised his head and looked at the Dragon King in front of him, who seemed to have already surrendered and awaited his death, and said, "This is the sword that Emperor Gao used to kill you two hundred years ago."

Liu Xin remained silent, merely examining the precious sword before him.

"Close it!" Wang Mang said again.

The eunuch then closed the sword case, crawled back two steps on his knees, and went to Grand Tutor Wang Kuang's side.

Wang Kuang was completely at a loss, watching the conversation between the emperor and the imperial advisor in the hall, utterly clueless.

Wang Mang turned to look at his nephew's behavior and sighed again:

"Wang Kuang, take this sword, lead 420,000 troops, and command the giant giant, march east from Luoyang and south to Nanyang to quell the rebellion."

Chapter 151 The Battle of Kunyang: The Beginning

Kunyang.

May of the fourth year of the reign of Emperor Di.

Liu Xiu gripped the writing brush tightly in one hand and held the bamboo slips in the other, slowly writing on them:

[Brother Bosheng is well. Your younger brother Liu Xiu sends this message today: Grand Tutor Wang Kuang is stationed in Luoyang, and Minister of Works Wang Yi has marched south to Nanyang and has now reached Yingchuan. His army is said to number 420,000. They will soon head west to Kunyang and enter Wancheng. Please inform everyone.]

The writing was small, but by the time it was finished, the ink had filled the entire space, densely staining the bamboo slips black.

After loosening the bamboo slips, Liu Xiu gently blew on them to dry the ink, then placed them in the sun to dry completely. He then got up and leaned against the bed to ponder.

Since the uprising began last November, nearly six months have passed, and the Green Forest Army has cooperated with the powerful clans of Nanyang to establish the current Gengshi regime.

During these six months, Liu Xiu remained unknown, and was known in the Green Forest Army as "Liu Bosheng's younger brother who is still alive."

At the same time, the Gengshi regime was almost invincible in Nanyang. After annihilating the government troops that the court had sent to suppress them at the beginning of the year, the entire Nanyang, except for Wancheng which was still under siege, had been almost completely taken over by the Gengshi regime.