Keyboard Immortal - Chapter 2959

Chapter 1472 I Want Them All

The other party possessed the aura of a true god of order. Zu’an had sensed it during the Great Ceremony of Order, and he was absolutely certain.

But the true god of order had already perished then. What was the situation with this

person before him? “You seem quite puzzled?” Emperor Ling of Han turned around. He was slightly plump, with a square and long face. His long beard added a touch of royal majesty to his face, but what was even more striking were his eyes.

They were not the eyes of a human emperor; that kind of aloofness, scrutinizing the beings on the ground, was a feeling unique to a true god.

“Indeed, I am puzzled. I never expected to see Your Excellency here.” Zu’an said with a double meaning.

“I had a bad feeling back then, so just in case, I left a wisp of divine thought as a backup. I never expected that such a thing would actually happen.” Emperor Ling of Han looked up at the sky, as if he had traveled through time and space and seen the scene of his own demise.

Zu An seized the opportunity and said, “It was the Immortal Ancestor of Annihilation who betrayed you back then, and now He has also arrived in this world. Dong Zhuo of Xiliang is His incarnation. Why don’t you take this opportunity to take revenge?”

“Revenge?” Emperor Ling of Han smiled. “Don’t judge us true gods with your human way of thinking. I was indeed betrayed by the Immortal Ancestor of Annihilation in that secret realm, but revenge, such a lowly emotion, shouldn’t be my priority. Dong Zhuo still has great value to us.”

“Then what is your priority?” Zu An asked curiously.

“Naturally, it is to take advantage of this special world to restore everything to the glory of order.” Emperor Ling of Han opened his arms, his whole being exuding a kind of divinity, as if embracing the entire world.

Zu An’s expression was strange: “Forgive my frankness, but this is probably not easy.”

Now is the eve of chaos in the world, and he is going against the tide.

“Therefore, I need your help.” Emperor Ling of Han looked at him.

Zu An: “???”

Sensing his confusion, Emperor Ling of Han explained, “In that secret realm last time, I could sense your goodwill towards order. Furthermore, you have a close relationship with my divine envoy, and you possess the power of several other true gods, making you the perfect candidate.”

“More importantly, in this world, you have royal blood; we are naturally allies.”

Zu An’s heart stirred. Although various forces across the land were restless, the central court’s prestige remained intact, and things hadn’t yet spiraled out of control.

Moreover, his original purpose in coming to Luoyang was to use Lu Zhi’s connections to enter the upper echelons of the court and acquire enough resources to face the impending chaos.

But no matter how powerful Lu Zhi’s connections were, how could they compare to the emperor’s?

“I wonder what Your Majesty wants me to do?”

Hearing his question, Emperor Ling of Han didn’t answer directly, but instead asked, “Tell me first how the people of the world evaluate me as emperor?”

Zu An hesitated, and Emperor Ling casually replied, “To be honest, I wouldn’t be so easily swayed by the opinions of ordinary people.”

“The world says Your Majesty is a tyrant,” Zu An carefully chose his words, “Your Majesty trusts eunuchs and sycophants, distances yourself from loyal and virtuous officials, and allows the eunuch clique to cause the disaster of the Party Prohibitions, where countless scholars were persecuted. Add to that the sale of official positions, and those who paid exorbitant prices for them naturally want to recoup their losses tenfold or a hundredfold, thus exploiting the people, squeezing them dry, forcing countless people to live in misery, and ultimately leading to popular rebellion.”

“Loyal and virtuous officials? What do those foolish people know?” Emperor Ling scoffed. “Those eunuchs are sycophants, but are all those scholars loyal and virtuous? Do you know why I trusted those eunuchs so much?”

“Your Majesty probably wants to use them to fight against the aristocratic clans.”

“You are indeed a clever man,” Emperor Ling of Han said. “For hundreds of years, power in the empire has been almost entirely seized by the aristocratic families. From the court officials to the governors and prefects, and even the lower-level local officials, they are all recommended by the sons of various aristocratic families. Now, the major aristocratic families control the most wealth, land, official positions, and personnel power in the land. Is this land ultimately the land of our imperial family or the land of their aristocratic families?”

Zu An was not surprised. Although the other party did not know this history, if he could not see through this point, he would be unworthy of being called a true god.

“Now that I’m here, I can barely keep things under control, but in a few years, if a young emperor comes to the throne, or even if I’m still here, I’m afraid I’ll only end up as a puppet of these aristocratic families.” Emperor Ling of Han sneered. “That’s why I favored the Ten Attendants and imprisoned a large number of partisans, hoping to completely reverse this situation.”

“I don’t use aristocratic families for official positions, but the whole country still needs officials to govern it. I can only find other people, those wealthy but powerless people in the localities, and sell official positions to them. This not only created officials at all levels but also replenished the national treasury. It seemed like I was about to reverse the aristocratic families’ monopoly, but unfortunately, the Yellow Turban Rebellion appeared!”

“Your Majesty should have known that this was inevitable.” Zu An sighed. “This method of selecting officials is truly like drinking poison to quench thirst.”

“Of course I know that the best solution is to promote education, but unfortunately, all educational resources in this world are controlled by the aristocratic families, and productivity doesn’t support the common people’s education.” Emperor Ling of Han said coldly. “Because my original body perished, my remaining soul doesn’t have much time left, so I had to take a risky approach, but unfortunately, it all failed.”

“However, your arrival has shown me another path. You belong to the imperial family, and the gentry naturally won’t consider you one of their own. Furthermore, you made great contributions in suppressing the Yellow Turban Rebellion. My promotion of you means no one else can say anything.” His tone was somewhat excited.

Zu An thought to himself, “Lu Zhi really does consider me one of his own now.”

However, he also understood that although under Lu Zhi’s influence, the other gentry leaders had a good impression of him, it was only goodwill. If there were any conflict of interest, they would definitely support their own family members, such as Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, and even Cao Cao.

“I will announce to the world that the Crown Prince will recognize you as his Imperial Uncle. And since Bao Hong, the former Commandant of the Western Garden, died in prison, you can take over his position.” Emperor Ling of Han offered a generous gift.

Zu An never expected to become Liu Bei’s Imperial Uncle so early, and to have the military power of the Commandant of the Western Garden. In a sense, he was now on par with Yuan Shao and Cao Cao. He bowed and said, “Thank you, Your Majesty!”

“Don’t thank me yet. You must marry my daughter, Princess Wannian.” Emperor Ling of Han looked at him calmly.

Liu Bei and Emperor Ling of Han were already beyond the five degrees of mourning, so marrying a princess posed no problem with etiquette.

Zu An was startled, immediately understanding that this was a demand for him to state his position, thus binding him completely to Emperor Ling’s side.

Considering Emperor Ling’s reputation and the eunuchs’ notoriety, he knew this was far from a wise choice.

So he explained, “I hope Your Majesty will forgive me, but my teacher has already arranged a marriage for me, so I’m afraid I cannot marry the princess.”

“Lu Zhi?” Emperor Ling was immediately furious. “These aristocratic families are truly despicable! Our imperial family has finally produced a young talent, and they go to such lengths to win him over.”

He then stared at Zu An and said, “But you must make a choice: choose my side, or the other side?”

Zu An immediately felt an immense pressure. He knew that if he didn’t answer well, he might not even have a chance to leave the palace today.

“What if my answer is both?”

Emperor Ling: “???”

Zu’an then said, “I think it’s unwise for His Majesty to make me break with the aristocratic clans so openly. Instead, it would be better to use my current relationship with them to become a pawn planted among them.”

“Not all aristocratic clans need to be attacked. We can attack some and win over others. Only in this way can we restore the Han Dynasty and reshape the order of the world.”