The court officials were shocked, and Zhao Guangyi was completely dumbfounded!
He had just been scolding Zhao Jiong as a fool in the introduction of Emperor Taizong of Song on the Golden List, and now it turns out he was actually scolding himself?!
Zhao Kuangyin suppressed his anger, his eyes wide open, a cold killing intent burst forth from his body, locking onto Zhao Guangyi on the mountain. The Panlong Staff in his hand tightened by a third!
But soon, Zhao Kuangyin recalled the "Golden Coffer Covenant" made by his mother, Empress Dowager Du, during the second year of Jianlong.
Empress Dowager Du was different from other empresses dowager throughout history. Unlike those who wished for all their descendants to be emperors, she also desired Zhao Guangyi to be emperor after Zhao Kuangyin.
Therefore, during the second year of Jianlong, when Empress Dowager Du was terminally ill, Zhao Kuangyin attended to her medicine. To comfort his mother's dying wish, the two of them, witnessed by Zhao Pu, made the Golden Coffer Covenant - that after Zhao Kuangyin's death, the throne would be passed to his third brother, Zhao Guangyi!
But everyone with discerning eyes could see that this was just a kindhearted statement to comfort a dying mother, not to be taken seriously.
Furthermore, only Zhao Kuangyin, Zhao Guangyi, and Zhao Pu knew about this matter, making it a royal secret!
However, Zhao Guangyi, with the Candle Shadow and Axe Sound incident, took matters into his own hands and peacefully ascended to the throne, leaving Zhao Kuangyin in a rage!
"Zhao Guangyi, you dare covet the throne?!"
Zhao Kuangyin's face was cold. Zhao Guangyi, trembling all over, kept kowtowing:
"Your Majesty, your humble servant has erred, but I never coveted the throne. As for the future, I have no knowledge. I beg Your Majesty to forgive me!"
"Hmph!"
Zhao Kuangyin let out a long sigh and slowly closed his eyes.
Indeed, how could Zhao Guangyi know what the future holds?
But now that he knew what would happen, he had to be more cautious. At least he needed to show the court his stance - he would not follow the tradition of brother succeeding brother and allow the King of Jin to inherit the throne!
"Bring me someone! Spread my order. From this day forward, the title of King of Jin shall be abolished. Remove him from his position as Imperial Guard Captain. Summon Zhao De Zhao back to the capital and bestow upon him the title of King of Yan!"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Guangyi let out a long sigh of relief. Since he was stripped of his position, at least his life was spared.
As for the future throne, he dared not even think about it. At this point, Zhao Guangyi only wished to remain a wealthy prince for the rest of his life.
However, Zhao Pu and the court officials were truly startled!
There had never been a precedent in the Song Dynasty for a prince to be granted a kingdom. Now, with Zhao De Zhao being named King of Yan, it seemed like the Emperor was preparing to establish Zhao De Zhao as the Crown Prince!
"Your Majesty is wise, we comply!"
After finishing his decree, Zhao Kuangyin turned his gaze towards the Golden List. The countdown had reached its final stage:
【The Northern Song Dynasty countdown of Difficulty of Reversing National Decline, the 12th most difficult among all Dynasties, has concluded. Although the Northern Song Dynasty's downfall can be attributed to five factors: factional strife, incompetent rulers and treacherous officials, institutional constraints, the expansion of civil officials, and foreign invasion, the humiliation of the Jingkang Incident, and the speed with which the Northern Song Dynasty fell, all demonstrate the low difficulty in reversing its decline.】
【Overall assessment of the Northern Song Dynasty's Difficulty of Reversing National Decline: Heavenly Luck!】
【The current countdown is complete. The next ranking countdown will commence in three days. Stay tuned.】
【Any questions or requests can be directed to the author. Welcome to the viewers from all dimensions (worlds) and throughout history.】
【The comment function is now enabled. You can send comments on the Golden List.】
Seeing the words on the Golden List, Zhao Kuangyin was startled:
"It's over?"
"No! All dimensions, and throughout history? This means people from all dynasties can see what's on the Golden List?"
Zhao Kuangyin was stunned.
If this was true, then wouldn't it mean that the humiliation of the Northern Song Dynasty's downfall was visible to all the emperors and officials of the past? This would be a disgrace to be recorded in the history of the entire universe!
What's the difference between this and being eternally condemned to infamy?
The court officials were also shocked!
Good heavens, the Heavenly Dao Golden List truly was magnificent! This divine art was truly powerful!
...
The words on the Golden List also sent shockwaves through other dimensions.
"So, the Northern Song Dynasty had this kind of thing going on. What a truly brotherly and respectful pair!"
Ying Zheng chuckled.
His heart had now calmed down. In other words, no matter what absurd things happened in the future in the Northern Song Dynasty, he could accept them!
Ridiculous! They could even do such a foolish thing as framing loyal officials. Combined with being ranked last, what kind of ridiculous things wouldn't happen in the Northern Song Dynasty?
"Your Majesty, it seems like this Golden List can be seen by more than just us!"
Li Si reminded him.
Ying Zheng nodded, "As expected of the Heavenly Dao Golden List, truly remarkable. Throughout history, the Northern Song Dynasty has truly left its mark on the annals of history!"
...
In the dimension of the First Emperor of the Han Dynasty, outside the Weiyang Palace.
"Comments? What does that mean?"
Compared to others who were focusing on history, Liu Bang saw the last line mentioning comments!
"Zifang, do you know what 'comments' are?"
Zhang Liang shook his head, "Your humble servant has no knowledge of this."
"Golden List, could you tell this old man, what is this 'comments'?"
Seeing that everyone else was clueless, Liu Bang stood up and shouted at the Golden List.
"Buzz!"
As soon as he finished speaking, an explanation appeared on the Golden List:
【Comments, also known as reviews, are written by people from all throughout history. They can send their thoughts on the Golden List.】
"Hahaha! So that's how it is, it can be played like this?"
"I want to comment!"
Liu Bang was overjoyed!
As soon as he finished speaking, a sheet of paper glowing with golden light appeared before him.
"This is..."
【Simply write your comment on the paper with your hand.】
After getting the explanation, Liu Bang, without hesitation, quickly moved his fingers across the paper.
"Done!"
The paper vanished, and Liu Bang's comment appeared on the Golden List:
【Han Gaozu Liu Bang: The fall of the Northern Song Dynasty was truly a disgrace. How could they be the true successor of the Huaxia dynasty? This is simply ridiculous!】
Looking at his words displayed on the Golden List, Liu Bang revealed a satisfied smile...
...
In the dimension of the Tang Dynasty, Zhenguan Period, outside the Daming Palace.
"Heavenly Luck outcome? That assessment is rather accurate. It seems like the Golden List's difficulty ranking has little to do with the number of factors contributing to the country's downfall!"
Li Shimin nodded.
The Northern Song Dynasty's downfall was attributed to five factors, yet it received the lowest difficulty ranking of Heavenly Luck, which proves this point!
"Your Majesty, perhaps not. There are likely many nations with more contributing factors to their downfall that rank higher. Conversely, nations with more factors contributing to their downfall might not necessarily rank high!"
Wei Zheng stroked his beard and said.
"My esteemed minister makes a valid point. Since the Golden List states the next countdown will start in three days, then for today, all of you should rest well. Three days from now, we will gather here again to observe the Golden List!"
"We comply!"
...
In the dimension of the Ming Dynasty, Hongwu Period, outside the Fengtian Palace.
"Father, look, there's something in the sky!"
Zhu Fu exclaimed excitedly.
"Han Gaozu Liu Bang?"
Zhu Yuanzhang raised an eyebrow.
"Father, if I'm not mistaken, this should be the comment function. I never thought we'd see Han Gaozu's name here. It seems that with the Golden List's descent, everyone from throughout history can indeed see it!"
Zhu Biao said with a slight smile.
"Father, should we also send a comment?"
Zhu Fu widened his eyes, his gaze gleaming.
"No need! I won't be doing such frivolous things. Now, if you have nothing else to do, get back to your respective halls. Come back here in three days to observe the Golden List!"
Zhu Yuanzhang snorted coldly. The princes immediately groaned with disappointment.
Going back to their halls to study? It was far more interesting to watch the Golden List here. Everyone began looking forward to the day the Golden List reappeared…
...
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