Chapter 301: Shogun

"The Shogun..."

In the palace, the emperor, who had already matured, could not help but frown, with a big doubt in his mind:

What on earth is this old man surnamed Lin planning?

To be honest, the emperor never really believed that the monks would be his dogs, and the so-called loyal ministers were all fake. He knew that the monks' ultimate goal must be the position under him. There was no doubt about it, because that was how Taizu started his career.

But it doesn’t matter. The imperial court won’t be around for many more years anyway. Having the help of monks can actually prolong its life.

So from the first day of the new policy, the emperor was mentally prepared to be laid off...

But he never expected that there would be such a freak in the world:

As a monk, he actually didn't do anything treasonous!

Loyal, so loyal!
Loyal to the point that even the emperor thinks it's bullshit...

When he was asked to fight, he fought; when he was asked to pay tribute, he paid tribute; when he was asked to attend the court, he attended the court.

The image of a loyal minister is fully developed, he is the kind of loyal and upright person that only appears in operas!

The emperor was not afraid of him plotting to usurp the throne, but he was afraid that he would continue to be loyal, because no matter how powerful the rebel was, he could be taken down, but a truly loyal minister must never be touched, and the "false accusation" was really not feasible.

In the long run, the emperor could only watch him take over land and recruit people while continuing to shout loyalty... By now, the rebellion of the feudal lords had been suppressed by him, and the power of the world was in his hands. The court had completely lost the ability to resist.

"Now the whole world is ruled by the surname Lin, and our Dashun foundation exists in name only..."

The Queen Mother held an oil lamp and sat quietly beside her foolish son:
"Son, this is the consequence of your new policy..."

The emperor remained silent and just lowered his head...

"Mom, I can't figure it out..."

After a long time, the emperor raised his head and asked in confusion:

"I abdicated, but he didn't want to... Instead, he asked me what I wanted for the title of Shogun... What on earth was he thinking?"

"Does he really have no idea about the throne?"

This is unimaginable. How could there be a monk in the world who doesn't want to be emperor?

For a cultivator, the throne means that they can legitimately enjoy the incense and offerings from all over the world. As long as they have this unlimited incense, becoming a true god is a piece of cake!

And after becoming a true god, one can even obtain the official title of the Emperor of Heaven, ascend to heaven and be deified, and associate with other gods. Isn’t that wonderful?
Becoming a god is the ultimate wish of a cultivator!

That's why Lin Liu's behavior is abnormal:
All the conditions were clearly ready, but why was he unwilling to take that step when the moment came?

Could it be that he is a truly loyal minister?

The emperor gradually began to doubt his life...

"Whether he is a loyal minister or not."

The Queen Mother sighed:
"In short, give him whatever he wants now, and don't go against his wishes... I am the fish on the chopping board, and since it has come to this, I must not make the same mistake again."

"I am counting on him to carry on the Dashun Empire. To continue the country, we must do as he wishes... If he is willing to let Dashun live one more day, then that is a day's gain..."

"Isn't he going to be the Shogun? Confer the title immediately!"

The emperor had no choice but to write an edict...

……

[At the age of 49, you led the Eight Banners into the Great Wall, and with your real strength, you easily flattened hundreds of vassal towns across the country, and then stationed troops in various places, actually controlling the power of the Shun Dynasty. The Shun Dynasty became a commander without troops, even worse than the Zhou Emperor...]

[Everyone thinks that the mask of loyalty you have worn for your entire life is finally going to fall off, and everyone is ready to change jobs.]

[Officials are thinking about persuading the emperor to ascend the throne, the emperor is thinking about abdication, and the people are waiting for a general amnesty... The three hundred years of the Dashun Dynasty are about to end, and the time for a new dynasty is just around the corner! ]

[But to everyone's surprise, you rejected their advice and abdication, and returned to the northeastern base camp, saying, "Even if the destiny is in my hands, I only want to be the Shogun!"]

[When the news came out, everyone was shocked... But in order to extend Shun Dynasty's life as much as possible, the emperor still agreed to your request...]

[That year, the Emperor of Dashun conferred the title of "General of Conquering the Barbarians" on Lin Liu, the King of Daxi, the Lord of the Eight Banners of the Northeast, and the Dragon and Tiger General! ]

[At the same time, the emperor also consciously arranged the process of usurping the throne: he was given the same power as the three officials, was granted the nine gifts, was made the commander-in-chief of all military forces at home and abroad, wore a sword and shoes when entering the palace, did not need to bow when entering the court, did not need to use his name when praising or bowing, and used the emperor's carriage... He also ordered that all government affairs, including the affairs of the court and the country, must first be reported to the Shogun...]

[The emperor even shouted out such a slogan: "Government is in the hands of Lin family, and sacrifices are in the hands of me!"]

[Except for not directly abdicating, everything that could be arranged was arranged. It can be said that the will to survive is very strong...]

[But you who were far away in the Northeast watched all this and just smiled, not caring at all. ]

……

"It would be enough to be the Shogun. Why do you have to give me so much..." Lin Liu sighed helplessly while holding the imperial edict.

The monkey next to him was very excited and started dancing:

"Master is finally going to be the emperor! When Master becomes a true god, we will fight our way up to the Heavenly Palace and force that old Xue Xuan to give up the throne... It's my turn this year! I think there is no one in heaven or on earth more suitable to be the emperor or the emperor of heaven than Master!"

"With Master's instructions, we will definitely be able to build a real heaven that serves the people. It will be ten thousand times better than those puppets who don't care about anything!"

The monkeys cheered, but Lin Liu shook his head:
"Don't make trouble... I'm really not interested in being an emperor."

"what?"

The monkey stared at the master blankly:

"But Master, didn't you always want to be crowned emperor?"

As a close person, Monkey certainly knew what Lin Liu had been thinking all along. He thought the same as everyone else, which was to accept the throne and become emperor in the future!

After all, he is not a truly loyal minister, nor does he want to be a dog for the court. Isn't this what he has been enduring for so many years?
But why now...

Lin Liu remained silent.

【why? 】

[Of course it’s for the future! 】

[The past is the past, and the present is the present. When people experience more, their thoughts will naturally change... The main reason that prompted you to give up the title of emperor is that it is too early now.]

[This turmoil in the feudal lords has indeed gone beyond your plans: they are too impulsive! ]

[You never thought that the rebellion of the feudal lords would become so serious. All of a sudden, the whole country was plunged into war, which forced you to enter the country early...]

[According to your idea, at most a few vassal states will fight a civil war this time, and most of the vassal states should continue to farm peacefully. After all, your strategy is to gradually annex them, rather than eating a fat man in one go.]

[As a result, you underestimated the threat you posed to them, and also underestimated their madness. In order to compete with you, a beta test player, a nationwide war broke out all of a sudden...]

[There will be casualties in war, especially in a melee of this magnitude. If it drags on for too long, not to mention whether a few Gu Kings who can fight you will emerge, 30 to 50 percent of the civilians will die!]

[So at this critical moment, even though you know the time is not yet ripe, you have no choice but to enter the pass in advance and help the court suppress the chaos. ]

[That’s good. The war of unification is over, but you are too small to take over such a large territory in such a short period of time. You are so bloated that you suffer from indigestion...]

[If you insist on accepting the throne and becoming emperor ahead of time, then you will only be able to "rule a big country with a small country" and will not be able to effectively manage the various places, thus resulting in a chaotic world, which will cause a lot of trouble! ]

[So you thought about it and decided to keep the Shun Dynasty alive for the time being while steadily eroding the land and population... There's really no rush to abdicate.]

[You are not a warlord, nor a slave owner, and you don't want to just establish a new dynasty. What you want is a truly long-lasting prosperity! ]

[Of course, in addition to these considerations of interests, you also have some selfish motives: the emperor treats you well, and although you are not a true loyal minister, you still have to repay the favor.]

[In order to repay the emperor's kindness, you decided to keep his position as long as possible and let him sit on the throne for a few more years... Now the favor has been repaid! ]

【…】

[It was from this year that you began to support the crumbling Dashun court while constantly annexing the world in the name of "Shogun".]

[For this reason, you used the power of establishing a government granted to you by the court to establish a shogun's government in the northeast. The shogun's government has its own officials and laws, just like the court! ]

[Even because the emperor has to consult you first on everything, your shogunate is actually superior to the Dashun court. The trend of your shogunate dominating the court has become established...]

【Year after year passed. 】

[As you continue to annex land and population, your power gradually invades all parts of the world: people convert to the King of the West, follow the teachings, and receive education through dreams... Not only the people, but even the government are all your people. ]

[Gradually, the people only knew the shogunate but not the imperial court, and only knew the shogun but not the emperor of Dashun...]

[Until you were sixty years old, you finally occupied Nanshanbuzhou completely. The shogunate actually replaced the Dashun court, and Dashun existed in name only! ]

[So people once again looked to the Northeast with anticipation: Is this the time for him to accept the throne and become emperor? ]

[Not only the people think so, but also the officials and the emperor... He has grown from a young emperor in his early twenties to an old emperor in his fifties. Since he doesn't have to deal with government affairs, he is in good health and has long since let go of the throne: the sooner you abdicate, the easier it will be! ]

[However, before he could finish writing the edict of abdication, a piece of heavy news suddenly came out from the Northeast Shogun's shogunate...]

[“Due to the invasion of pirates from the East China Sea, in order to protect the people of Dashun, the general is about to launch a campaign against the pirates and bandits in Dongsheng Shenzhou!”]

[“Respect the Emperor and repel the barbarians!”]

【“Pass down General Lin’s order!”】

[In the astonishment of everyone, you once again exceeded everyone's imagination, giving up the throne that was within your grasp, and instead launching a war of conquest against the overseas Dongsheng Shenzhou on the pretext of "pirate invasion"! ]

……

(End of this chapter)