The Fallen Nation System, Turning the Tide - Chapter 101: Forget the Ancestors

Chapter 101: Forget the Ancestors

“After careful consideration, I want to make a decision that goes against our ancestors.”

Xu Ying arrived in Zhenping and sent word to Zhang Keqian and Xia Chenglie to report her safety. Xu Lang was waiting for her in Zhenping.

“When I heard about the turmoil in Youzhou, I was terrified!”

Xu Lang rushed over in quick strides, grasping Xu Ying’s arms with both hands as she carefully examined her condition. When her gaze fell upon the shallow wound on Xu Ying’s neck that had already scabbed over, Xu Lang’s eyes widened as if she had caught Xu Ying red-handed. She said angrily, “Is this what everyone meant by telling me not to worry?”

Feeling guilty, Xu Ying touched her neck, covered the wound, and stepped back while defending herself, “It’s just a minor injury, nothing serious. It’s already healed.”

Displeased, Xu Lang shook off her hands. “Since the emperor has abdicated and yielded advantage to Prince Yong, what should we do now?”

Xu Ying had already thought it through on her way here. She stepped forward, grabbed Xu Lang’s sleeve, and said with an appeasing smile, “I have an idea, but I’m afraid my sister won’t support me.”

“Nonsense! When have I ever not supported you? You’re shifting blame unfairly.”

Xu Ying leaned on her shoulder and laughed, “As long as I have Fourth Sister’s support, then I’m not afraid of anything.”

Xu Lang stopped walking. “What do you want to do?”

Xu Ying straightened up and said solemnly, “After careful consideration, I want to make a decision that goes against our ancestors.”

Xu Lang looked seriously into her bright eyes, pondered for a moment, then started walking forward again. “If you’re planning to overthrow the dynasty and proclaim yourself emperor in Zhenping, there’s no need to tell me. Gao Yun and I have already discussed it – we’ll combine the forces of the northwest to support you as emperor. Zhang Keqian has negotiated with the various Western Regions kingdoms, and their rulers have all stated they only recognize you as their sovereign, regardless of the dynasty. The Western Rong and Northern Barbarians feel the same way.”

Xu Ying’s eyes widened as she stood frozen in place. When she finally recovered from the shock, she quickly hurried to catch up. “How did you all come to think of this?”

She had been hesitating about how to tell Xu Lang, afraid that her words would shock them. Little did she know they had already considered this step.

Xu Lang snorted proudly. “Little Six, you’re underestimating your sister too much. After handling court affairs alongside you for so long, even if I can’t match you, I can still figure things out through careful consideration. Moreover, as your sister, how could I fail to recognize my own sister’s ambitions?”

“My ambitions?”

“You once said you wanted to pass the throne to me, then vigorously promoted Female Officials, had Gao Yun establish the Female Medical Academy, and taught them to read and write. Wasn’t this all to improve women’s difficult circumstances? If not, you could have simply selected a child from the imperial clan to nurture carefully, appeasing the imperial family. Instead, you paid no attention to them and implemented various bans, outlawing brothels, which provoked rebellious intentions among the clans. If you had just gone along with them, you could have securely maintained your position as emperor.”

Xu Lang paused, slowing her pace. “You are the emperor of Great Jin, ultimately considering the interests of Jin’s ancestors. After death, you would eventually have to return the empire to their Xu family. As they say, no destruction, no construction. Only by abandoning the Jin throne and becoming an ancestor yourself will future generations consider what you most desire and strive for it. So back in Chuiyun, I already understood – I must help you establish a new dynasty.”

Xu Ying slightly opened her mouth. Facing Xu Lang’s gaze, she suddenly felt somewhat ashamed. She hadn’t thought that far at all – she had only felt that by doing this, those who wanted to overthrow her would come to kill her.

Xu Ying felt a sour taste in her heart. She lowered her headthe person Xu Lang and the others revered wasn’t truly her. She was merely waving the banner of righteousness while swindling others from the outside.

“Sixth Sister, don’t be afraid,” Xu Lang grasped her hand. “I know this is incredibly difficult, but rest assured, your elder sister will always support you and protect you. Just march forward boldlyif the sky falls, I’ll hold it up for you.”

“I… I don’t know how to be an emperor at all. I won’t do it well.” Xu Ying suddenly felt the weight of a heavy burden on her shoulders and grew flustered.

Xu Lang reached out to smooth the stray hairs at Xu Ying’s temples. “You’re already doing excellently. There’s no fixed standard for what makes a good emperorstandards are set by people anyway. In my eyes, no matter how you perform, you’ll always be a good emperor. Even if everyone calls you a tyrant, I’ll still see you as the finest ruler!”

“The way you put it, we sound like some villainous paira foolish ruler and her treacherous minister.” Xu Ying couldn’t help but laugh. Through her sister’s comfort, the pressure felt somewhat lighter.

“You play the foolish ruler, and I’ll be the treacherous minister. Perfect! The history books will write our names together, letting future generations know there was a pair of sistersruler and subjectwho colluded in villainy.”

Xu Ying exhaled heavily. “Alright, I’ll give it a try.”

The time had come to change this established order of heaven and earth, ruler and subject, and male superiority.

Meanwhile, in Youzhou City.

“Is Zhang Yu still refusing to surrender the Ministry of Revenue Account Books?” Prince Yong asked coldly.

“Your Highness, I’m afraid he’s a tough nut to crack. Why not execute him as a warning to others? That way, other defiant officials will fall in line,” a subordinate suggested.

Prince Yong raised a hand to stop him. “That would only provoke public outrage. Leave him for now. Where has Xu Ying fled to, and what are her movements?”

“Our men tracked her to Zhenping. She’s lying low there without showing herself. Your Highness, should we dispatch assassins to eliminate her?”

Prince Yong shook his head. “Zhenping is full of her supporters. Besides, assassins sent after her before ended up joining her Women’s Army. If I send people to kill her now, it would damage my reputation. Not advisable.”

The subordinate thought of someone else. “Your Highness, there is one person who might assist us. He originally worked for Xu Ying but was imprisoned by her when past matters came to lightshe showed no mercy. He must harbor resentment toward her. Why not release him to assassinate Xu Ying? We can claim he escaped during the chaos, so it won’t be linked to you.”

“Who is it?”

“Sun Zhuo, who once served in the Surveillance Agency under Xu Ying to monitor officials.”

Prince Yong narrowed his eyes. “No. I’ve heard Sun Zhuo was originally vengeful by nature, but somehow Xu Ying managed to win his fierce loyaltyhe became her devoted hound. Releasing him wouldn’t kill Xu Ying; it would only add wings to a tiger.”

Neither option worked. A decision still needed to be made. The subordinate secretly pursed his lips.

Just then, a guard sent by Prince Yong to protect Xu Jin’s safety stumbled in, panic-stricken, with traces of splattered blood on his face. He collapsed to the floor, scrambling on hands and knees to Prince Yong’s feet, and stammered, “Your Highness, something terrible has happened! The young master, he…”

Prince Yong’s eyes widened abruptly. He choked on his breath, leaning over the desk as he coughed violently. “What happened to my son?”

The guard’s voice trembled. “The young master was studying at the Imperial Academy today. When he couldn’t answer the tutor’s question, the tutor scolded him. The young master felt humiliated… so he drew this subordinate’s sword and killed the tutor!”

The vassal official gasped in shock. When had the heir become so tyrannical and unrestrained?

After a long silence, the air suddenly erupted with loud laughter. Prince Yong, instead of getting angry, laughed and clapped his hands in approval: “Well done! Truly worthy of being my son, with such fiery spirit. How dare a mere assistant instructor step on my son’s head and freely beat and scold him? He deserved to die!”

Prince Yong squeezed out those last few words through gritted teeth.

The vassal officials and guards felt a chill on the back of their necks, inexplicably seeing a shadow of brutality in Prince Yong.

“Lu Yi, didn’t you want to kill one to warn a hundred? Here’s a ready-made exampletake it and use it,” Prince Yong said leisurely.

The vassal official Lu Yi swallowed hard, cupped his hands, and acknowledged the order.

“Envoy, Ji Mo is just ahead,” the translator pointed out the direction to Wang Qiu. After crossing the sea and traveling with various merchant caravans, their speed had indeed increased significantly.

Wang Qiu breathed a sigh of relief. She had finally found the direction to Ji Mo. Having drifted far from home for so long, she had missed the millet, steamed buns, and their Majesty of Great Jin every moment. Now, at last, they were about to return.

The sheep previously gifted by Ji Mo had all given birth to lambs. Many had died along the way, but two had ultimately survived, and Wang Qiu brought them back into Ji Mo’s territory.

The Women’s Army members were all overjoyed. Having traversed deserts and crossed oceans, they were thrilled to finally see Ji Mo.

Wang Qiu had prepared a set of excuses in advance to fob off the King of Ji Mo. However, when she entered the city, the Ji Mo people warmly came out to greet them.

After a while, a man with a face as black as charcoal rushed out, speaking in flawless Great Jin official language: “Lady Wang, we’ve finally found you… no, you’ve finally returned!”

“May I ask your honorable name?” Wang Qiu hesitated. Although the other party spoke fluent Han language, she remained cautious.

“Me? I’m Zhang Keqian. Everyone sent me to search for the missing Women’s Army. We arrived in Ji Mo, and the king said you had been here before. So we used Ji Mo as our base and searched all around, but we couldn’t find you. Lady Wang, where have you all been?”

Zhang Keqian noticed the large chests behind the Women’s Army members and the few fair-haired, blue-eyed, strangely featured men sitting beside them, his heart filled with confusion.

Wang Qiu recalled that this seemed to be the army supervisor Zhang Keqian. It had been so long that she couldn’t clearly remember his appearance. However, Niu Pengnan scrutinized him carefully, comparing the blurry face in his memory with the man before him, faintly sensing they were the same person.

Seeing their strong wariness, Zhang Keqian untied the token from his waist. “There are others here too. They’ve gone to relieve themselves and will return this afternoon. You’ll recognize them when you see them. We discovered a type of apple tree in Ji Mo with excellent flavor. While searching for you all, we’ve been staying here planting apple trees.”

After examining the token, Wang Qiu believed him a little. Without revealing her own situation yet, she first asked Zhang Keqian: “How is His Majesty? Are the Western Rong still invading our borders?”

Zhang Keqian waved his hand. “No, the Western Rong have surrendered. The various Western Regions states have also submitted memorials of allegiance and have even given us their Cotton Land. You’ve been away for a long time and don’t know about all the events that have occurred in between. His Majesty is no longer called ‘His Majesty’everyone now calls him ‘Dajia’.”

“Dajia?”

Wang Qiu was astonished. It didn’t seem they had been away for that longhow could Great Jin have undergone such earth-shaking changes?

The members of the Women’s Army were also astonished. Niu Pengnan exclaimed, “Your Majestyoh, nothe Great One is truly remarkable. Could it be that within just two years of ascending the throne, the northwest territories have been conquered?”

Zhang Keqian nodded in agreement. “Exactly. You’ve returned at the perfect time. The Great One plans to establish a new dynasty and proclaim himself emperor in Zhenping, founding the new Xia Country. It is both the Great One’s ancestral homeland, a blessed land cherished in dreams, and carries the meaning of unifying the Central Plains. By uniting the two northwestern regions and connecting them to the Central Plains, whether they are foreign tribes or Han Chinese, from now on, all under heaven will be one family.”

The members of the Women’s Army were utterly stunned, exclaiming in unison, “What!”