Chapter 22 Yang Xiang's Rebellion (Please collect and read)
On February 2, the fourth year of the Zhengei period, the dragon raised its head.

At the beginning of the new year, Prime Minister Yang Xuangan reported to His Majesty that a grand ceremony to worship the heavens should be held!

"Since my emperor ascended the throne, the government has been clean and clear, the seas and rivers are peaceful, the weather has been good, and the people have lived and worked in peace and contentment. Your Majesty also repelled the invasion of the Wu Kingdom, and you have also made great contributions to expanding the territory."

In the court, Yang Xuangan said in a deep voice: "My emperor's virtue surpasses that of the Three Sovereigns, and his achievements surpass those of the Five Emperors. It is time for him to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth to rectify the orthodoxy of our Great Yu!"

"I second the proposal!"

At least 70% of the officials in the court knelt down to welcome Prime Minister Yang's memorial.

Sitting on the dragon throne, Emperor Zhengyong was so angry that his liver ached, and subconsciously looked at the few people who were still standing.

But these people just stood there and no one spoke.

"We will discuss this matter later!"

After the court session was dismissed, Yang Xuangan and several aides were discussing in the prime minister's residence.

"Prime Minister Yang, why do you want His Majesty to hold a ceremony to offer sacrifices to the heaven? Although His Majesty is diligent in his work, he is not up to the level of holding a ceremony to offer sacrifices to the heaven..."

"What do you know?"

Yang Kang said: "This move will allow us to secretly mobilize troops and weapons for future use, and it can also undermine their prestige and make them lose the support of the people."

He opened his folding fan with a swish and said, "Throughout history, all emperors who have been qualified to offer sacrifices to heaven have either been the founders of a nation or the ones who remade the world."

"Your Majesty... there is still a little bit left."

"Prime Minister Yang is brilliant!"

"As expected of Prime Minister Yang!"

"The Concubine is now four months pregnant. She will be able to give birth to a dragon son in half a year at most."

"Once Concubine Shu gives birth to a dragon son, he will be the crown prince of Dayu!"

"Isn't there still a queen..."

"Empress? Haha, how can the Empress compare to Prime Minister Yang's grandson?"

The people below all agreed, and Prime Minister Yang was also very proud.

"There is another benefit to this move. As long as His Majesty nods in agreement, then..."

"Prime Minister! Prime Minister!"

Suddenly, one of his men ran in quickly, and without paying any attention to the strange expressions of several staff members in the hall, he hurried to Prime Minister Yang.

Prime Minister Yang frowned slightly, but he also knew that his subordinates must have something important to tell him since they were still disturbing him under such circumstances.

I could only suppress my thoughts and asked suspiciously, "What's the important matter?"

"Prime Minister... Concubine Duan is pregnant."

"what?!"

Yang Xuangan stood up suddenly and gritted his teeth and asked, "Is this true or false?"

The subordinate said, "Prime Minister, because of the Wu Kingdom assassin incident a few years ago, His Majesty cleaned up the harem and killed many of our spies, but there are still a few who are hiding deeper."

"In the early hours of this morning, they spent a lot of effort to spread this news... It's absolutely true and cannot be false!"

"Father, what happened?"

Yang Kang was surprised. Yang Xiang was a little far away from them, so he couldn't hear clearly.

Yang Xuangan signaled his men to withdraw and said, "Concubine Duan is pregnant."

"Ok?"

"what?"

"Concubine Duan is pregnant?"

"Xu Mujun has a successor?"

Several people were discussing this, and someone immediately said, "Prime Minister, Concubine Duan is pregnant. Whether it's a boy or a girl, it's bad news for us!"

"good."

Another staff member said: "The current situation, Xu Mujun is trapped in Datong Prefecture, can not return to the capital, sit back and watch us fight."

"But if Concubine Duan becomes pregnant, Xu Mujun will most likely return to the capital."

"Xu Mujun is a soldier. How dare he abandon hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians and throw them in Datong Prefecture?"

"Brother Chen is wrong. If Xu Mujun wants to come back, no one can stop him..."

"The arrow is on the string and has to be shot, Prime Minister..."

"Okay, stop arguing!"

Yang Xuangan said, "The most urgent matter is to call on all officials to submit a petition to force His Majesty to offer sacrifices to the heavens!"

"Chen Yongzhi."

"Prime Minister, I am here."

"You will be in charge of Guang'er's Imperial Guards and have them return to the capital as quickly as possible."

"Yes!"

"Wang Guang."

"Prime Minister, I am here!"

"Go contact all the major martial arts schools in the capital and ask them to contribute manpower and obey my orders."

"Yes! Prime Minister!"

"Kang'er."

"Father."

"Tell the Tianming Sect that if they want to take over Dayu, they must send out one... no, two powerful masters! Otherwise, don't come to me." "Yes! Father!"

"Zhai Fang!"

"Prime Minister Yang."

A man who obviously did not look like a Central Plains person, with a short stature and a dark complexion, stood up.

"Your poisonous insect...are you sure it's effective?"

"Hehehe..."

Zhai Fang sneered, "Of course my poisonous insect is effective. As long as your people put it in the food that Emperor Zhengyong eats, the poisonous insect will gradually absorb his energy. In three months at most, he will die suddenly, and no one will be able to find out the cause of his death!"

"As I say, give him the most potent poison and I guarantee he'll die within a moment!"

"no!"

Prime Minister Yang frowned and said, "Emperor Zhengyong cannot die in the short term. I still have to wait for him to abdicate, hahahaha..."

Under Yang Xuangan's arrangement, the staff present said goodbye and left one after another.

At this time in the palace, Emperor Zhengyong was extremely excited.

"Doctor Liang, is what you said true? Concubine Duan is pregnant?"

The old doctor knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, it is absolutely true!"

"The Concubine Duan is already one month pregnant. I guarantee it with my life!"

“Okay, okay… cough, cough, cough…”

Emperor Zhengyong suddenly started coughing, subconsciously covered his chest, and almost couldn't breathe.

Doctor Liang quickly came over to support Emperor Zhengyong: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty?"

"I'm fine!"

"what……"

Doctor Liang just happened to hold down Emperor Zhengyong's wrist and said curiously, "Your Majesty, your pulse is so strange. This..."

"what happened?"

Emperor Zhengyong frowned and let Doctor Liang continue taking his pulse.

After a few breaths, Doctor Liang knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, have you felt weak and sleepy recently, and have you been dizzy, palpitating, and feeling cold?"

"How did you know?"

"Your Majesty, you have been overworked recently. I hope you can rest more."

"I understand. Please give me a prescription to refresh myself. Go down."

"This... is, Your Majesty!"

Doctor Liang left, and Emperor Zhengyong breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's great that Concubine Duan is pregnant!"

"Yang Xuangan... Let me see what other tricks you have up your sleeve, hahahaha...!"

The third day of the second month of the fourth year of Zhengei.

Thirteen officials from the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Revenue submitted a memorial, saying that our emperor’s virtue surpassed that of the Three Sovereigns and his achievements were greater than those of the Five Emperors, and he deserved to be offered sacrifices to heaven.

Emperor Zhengyong did not agree.

The eighth day of the second month in the fourth year of Zhengei.

Thirty-two officials from the Dali Temple submitted a petition and the Emperor offered sacrifices to Heaven.

Emperor Zhengyong did not agree.

The fifteenth day of the second month of the fourth year of Zhengei.

Seventy-six professors of the Imperial College jointly submitted a petition, and our emperor offered sacrifices to heaven.

Emperor Zhengyong did not agree.

At the same time, more than 200 students from the Imperial College gathered to oppose Emperor Zhengyong's sacrifice to heaven, but were driven away by the imperial guards.

The fourth year of the Shoei era, February 28th.

All officials presented memorials and our emperor offered sacrifices to heaven.

An old scholar died by hitting his head against a pillar. That night, a heavy snowstorm fell, and the sky was covered with snow.

The second day of the third month in the fourth year of Zhengei.

Emperor Zhengyong issued an edict to offer sacrifice to heaven!

That night, the imperial guards secretly opened the city gates and countless soldiers rushed in.

There were also martial artists who rushed out from the shadows and took the lead in strangling the imperial guards.

Yang Xiang shouted: "Your Majesty is incompetent and has been deceived by villains!"

"I was entrusted by the late emperor to assist my emperor."

"Now Wang Zhongyi and his eunuch party have deceived Your Majesty and are making presumptuous proposals for offering sacrifices to the heavens. This is truly disrespectful."

"Purge the emperor's entourage and punish the eunuchs!"

"Purge the emperor's entourage and punish the eunuchs!"

"Purge the emperor's entourage and punish the eunuchs!"

Amidst the constant shouts, countless imperial guards poured in from the Meridian Gate and charged towards the Jiaotai Hall!

(End of this chapter)