A Celestial Warrior who slipped through the net, with martial arts at the limit of the third tier, could really be a headache if he started a guerrilla war.
Hearing this, Lin Yang smiled. Then, his gaze turned to the area on his right where the heads of various noble families were gathered. With a little searching, he spotted Pei Ju, the head of the Wenxi Pei family, chatting and laughing with others, occasionally flashing a knowing smile.
At this time, Pei Ju was already over sixty years old (historically he was almost eighty, so don't take it too seriously). However, due to his good maintenance, he still looked like a handsome man.
At the same time, due to his age, he exudes the charm of a mature man, giving off a "national husband" vibe. He's practically a heartthrob! No wonder both Empress Yin and Bi Xiuxin were once captivated by him.
"That Stone Evil King is much smarter. He has many aliases, and he's sitting right here in the hall. He's already decided not to show up again. In fact, he might not even use the alias 'Evil King' anymore!" Lin Yang said calmly, looking at the dense, deep yellow aura above Pei Ju's head.
After some thought, even Lin Yang had to admit that he greatly admired this Stone Demon King. Although he was somewhat unscrupulous in his methods, he was still a very competent subject.
The Han Chinese people's ability to skillfully divide the Eastern and Western Turkic Khaganates was a tremendous achievement.
Therefore, with such a great achievement as a foundation, shortcomings such as playing around with saintly women and being heartless after a relationship can be tolerated. Those who achieve great things don't concern themselves with trifles.
Soon, as time passed, Lin Yang assigned tasks to the more than one hundred people inside the quiet room. As for Lin Yang, he also came to stand before the crowd outside.
"Fellow travelers, I am the Heavenly Mystery True Man, a successor of the Guangcheng Immortal Sect. Now that the world is in chaos, I have chosen an emperor on behalf of Heaven to end this chaotic era ahead of schedule and restore peace and prosperity to the world," Lin Yang said calmly.
As he spoke, he glanced at the expressions of the crowd below.
Some people looked down on it, such as the Hu people who followed Bi Xuan.
Some people are very nervous, such as Li Mi's son, Li Tianfan, who is still dreaming! He dreams that Lin Yang will choose him to become the true emperor.
Some people were completely indifferent, like Li Shimin, who looked cold and aloof at this moment. Judging from his expression, he must have obtained some inside information. And rightly so; given Cihang Jingzhai's support for him, how could they possibly know nothing?
Of course, there are also martial arts fanatics like Dugu Feng who came here today specifically to obtain the seventh ultimate technique of the "Innate Qiankun Skill"—the Heaven-Shattering Earth-Shattering Technique!
"Our origins are that of immortals from the upper realm. Our purpose is to select an emperor on behalf of Heaven and accumulate merit. Therefore, anyone who helps the true dragon emperor can obtain a spot for ascension. After the chaos ends, they can go to the upper realm with us! At that time, even if we cannot truly live forever, living for five or six hundred years will not be a problem."
As soon as he finished speaking, the crowd below erupted in noise. Onlookers are a part of every era, after all. Therefore, under their influence, the atmosphere below was quite cheerful.
"Therefore, we welcome anyone who helps the True Dragon Emperor. Each Innate Master will be gifted ten catties of spirit rice, a pot of spirit dew, and a Grandmaster-level cultivation manual. Furthermore, whether they come to join us personally, bring troops, or provide intelligence or support from within, they will all receive varying degrees of reward. Including..."
Hearing this, the onlookers below listened quite attentively. Many were even discussing what they would do after receiving these rewards. Hearing their comments, Lin Yang couldn't help but laugh.
"Back then, our first patriarch, Guang Chengzi, selected the Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan to help him defeat Chiyou. Later, our second patriarch selected King Wu, Ji Fa, to attack the Shang Dynasty and helped him defeat King Zhou of Shang. Then, our master, who is the third generation of our sect, selected the First Emperor, Ying Zheng. He unified the six kingdoms and pacified the world. Now, we are the fourth generation."
"The current state of the world is roughly like this: nine-tenths of the interests are concentrated in aristocratic families, powerful clans, and people of foreign origin and religions."
At this point, the Hu people and Hu-religious monks below all frowned. It seemed that not only did they intend to kill the immortal, but the immortal also intended to kill them!
This situation is the worst possible scenario, as it's possible the immortals were prepared and waiting for them to arrive. This time, it'll all come down to who is stronger!
Ignoring the reactions of the crowd, Lin Yang continued, "Among them, although ordinary people are the most numerous, occupying nine layers, they also demand the least benefits. Even if they only occupy one layer, they can live very well. But if that's the case, then why are there still chaotic times?"
"Because the common people can't even preserve this most basic level of their interests! At this point, rebellion means death, and not rebellion also means death! The people are not afraid of death, so how can you threaten them with death!"
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Chapter 102: Their fate is sealed, there is nothing more to pray for!
The people are not afraid of death, so why threaten them with death?
This statement couldn't be simpler, and it can be considered the influence that the two great heroes, Chen Sheng and Wu Guang, brought to later generations.
Since the saying "Are kings and nobles born with a special destiny?" came into being, the Chinese people, when faced with starvation, have dared to rebel and resist. In this respect, without exaggeration or bias, we are far superior to white people in the West.
In later generations, the founding emperor of this dynasty successfully used the power of ordinary people to bring down the tycoons, compradors, and foreigners.
Unfortunately, at this time, only a minority recognized the power of the common people. These scions of noble families might have felt something after hearing Lin Yang's words, but it wasn't a profound understanding.
After all, since ancient times, Chinese officials, or rather nobles, have never cared about the lives and deaths of ordinary people.
As Wen Yanbo of the Song Dynasty once said, "Your Majesty, you are sharing the world with the scholar-officials, not with the peasants."
During the Chongzhen era of the Ming Dynasty, some officials said that the people in northern Shaanxi should stay at home and starve to death instead of going out to join the refugees in rebellion.
Seeing the bewildered expressions on everyone's faces, Lin Yang couldn't help but shake his head. This was completely miscommunication. They couldn't understand what he was saying at all. So, he would say something they could understand.
"Since my birth, in order to better select the true Son of Heaven, I have specifically consulted the historical records of the past few centuries. The result is that the situation of the Han people has been getting worse and worse. The key to this is the Hu people. To be precise, it is the Hu people and their Hu religion! Therefore, the standard this time is that they cannot be Hu people and cannot believe in Hu religions," Lin Yang said loudly.
"This is truly going to cause a huge upheaval!" Dugu Feng placed her hands on the sword hilt, her eyes shining, and asked with great curiosity.
Even if one is not interested in or knowledgeable about politics, one can still glean an almost endless killing intent from between the lines!
Hu people, Hu religion!
These two simple words, four characters in total, immediately caused an uproar among the crowd below, sparking a flurry of discussion.
"Hehe, just as I thought. I knew you wouldn't choose Li Shimin. That's even better. The Guanzhong nobles won't support you, and the northern barbarians certainly won't. The whole north is against you, which saves me a lot of trouble persuading them," Fan Qinghui thought to herself.
As she thought about it, she started to laugh. However, her already cold face suddenly looked even uglier.
Seeing this, Song Que's expression turned unusually grim. Torn between his personal ideals and his promise to Fan Qinghui, this conflict was truly agonizing.
Ignoring everyone's reactions, Lin Yang stated directly, "Therefore, the final choice this time is Zhang Lu. He is a direct descendant of the Zhang family of the Celestial Masters Sect, and his ancestors for eight generations have all been pure Han Chinese. Moreover, and most importantly, he possesses abundant dragon energy, and his hidden characteristics are no different from those of Qin Shi Huang, Ji Fa, and the Xuanyuan Clan. Furthermore..."
Then he started bragging, saying things like he was born with seven stars on his feet, a phantom of a divine dragon flashed by at his birth, he could walk at three months, speak at five months, and compose poetry at one year old. He even broke through to the Innate Realm at three. And so on…
As Lin Yang played the flute, he noticed that everyone below looked surprised and curious. Zhang Lu, standing next to him, turned his head away in embarrassment.
Seeing this, Lin Yang couldn't help but shake his head. Since Liu Bang, how many emperors throughout history had any sense of shame? Being shameless is merely a basic requirement for a qualified ruler. If you can't even do that, what kind of emperor are you?
Although Zhang Lu felt a little embarrassed, considering the occasion, he went on stage anyway. He was wearing a dragon robe, a black robe embroidered with divine dragons.
In his hand, he held a precious sword. The scabbard was decorated with dragon patterns. In fact, this was a replica of the Zhang family's ancestral Three-Five Evil-Slaying Sword.
With a clang, the sword was drawn, and in the next instant, the sword shone with the light of the sun, moon, and stars. At the same time, visible dragons appeared on either side of Zhang Lu.