The throne room of the Forbidden City gleamed with gold and arrogance.
239Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXqlo376l5R
Emperor Hongxi lounged on the dragon throne, one leg dangling over the armrest. He swirled wine in a jade cup and did not bother to hide his boredom.
239Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRVBSeJgSxe
"You asked for this audience, General," the emperor said. "Speak."
239Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPySXtX2Yj8
General Li raised his head. "Your Majesty, the tax increase for the northern war has arrived. The people are angry."
239Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ71caVZwcGn
"You dragged me from my chambers for this, General?" he said, not looking at the kneeling man. "Taxes. Peasants. Yawn."239Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeVMT2qHvSH
239Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSrRb9MHtAK
General Li Wei kept his head down. "Your Majesty, the commoners are learning martial arts. Every province has schools. They train in empty lots, in back alleys, even in temples."
239Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmsWjqLLQgU
"So?" The emperor took a long sip. "Let them punch the air. It keeps them busy."
239Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡahiVImsJ2Z
"They crippled three of my soldiers last week. A potter did it. A potter, Your Majesty."
239Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTnk43bpomf
The emperor laughed. "Then your soldiers are weak. Train them better."
239Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjCSzmeWrqW
"They outnumber us ten to one."
239Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHzqb6y1QMI
"Then recruit more soldiers."
239Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGTl86OGPvp
"We cannot afford it. The treasury is empty because—" The general stopped himself.
239Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ74i2tzD7aA
The emperor's eyes narrowed. "Because what?"
239Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6uGJy1K9hV
General Li raised his head. "Because you emptied it—“ he swallowed. “For your new palace. For your golden statues. For the twenty concubines you brought from the west."
239Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQwsL2uIMtg
The wine cup stopped halfway to the emperor's lips.
239Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2E4HLqimUo
"Watch your tongue," the emperor whispered.
239Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPIMSGsNy27
"I watch the kingdom bleed," the general said. "The people know about the palace. They know about the statues. They know about the taxes that feed your pleasures while their children starve. And now they know how to fight."
239Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLtPKBfnS6M
The emperor stood slowly. His arrogance had curdled into something uglier.
239Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFRKsQQL9Sv
"How dare you—"
239Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNOjMjGa5bn
"Your Majesty." Royal Sorcerer Tao Zhongwen stepped forward, his voice smooth as oil. "The general speaks bluntly, but not falsely. The people whisper. They compare you to the dynasty your great grandfather overthrew."
239Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg8QXbqhpts
The emperor froze.
239Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxgZS4KWjrM
"They say the last emperor sat on a golden throne while the country burned," Tao continued. "They say he was blind to the revolution growing beneath his feet. And then one day, the commoners stormed the palace with farming tools and torches. Your own family led them."
239Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg4RaN2Nydy
The emperor's face went pale, then red.
239Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdNgyUeUlrm
"You dare compare me to—"
239Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG7iDLisS8Q
"I compare nothing," Tao said. "I only remind you that an empire does not fall to armies. It falls to a single idea. That idea is already spreading. The people believe they can win. Because they have seen it happen before. In your grandfather's time."
239Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8jb8weWRus
Silence filled the hall.
239Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqdJTwTCyH6
The emperor sat back down. His hands trembled slightly. The wine cup clinked against the jade armrest.
239Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡysEnUqfa2m
"You think they would rise against me?" The emperor's laugh was cold.
239Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSgYGrUv1jG
"I think they could," Tao said. "Your own family took the throne by revolution. Your great grandfather led commoners with nothing but farming tools. If it happened once, it can happen again."
239Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwEegJydbKI
"What do you want from me?" he said, his voice smaller now.
239Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡto9LjdNYZU
General Li slammed his fist on the stone floor. "Ban the practice. Confiscate every manual. Arrest every teacher. We must cut the head before the serpent strikes."
239Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvHKBnYIOA3
The emperor rubbed his chin. "A full ban would take years to enforce. The army is already stretched thin."
239Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWGKDMwlBQ8
Tao nodded. "We can start small , The old masters – the ones who taught your father and grandfather – leave them for now. They carry too much honor. Move against them too soon, and the nobles and smaller powers will turn against us. But the small teachers? The ones in the eastern quarter, the southern market? Crush them. No one will weep."
239Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKWxBgm9xVj
The emperor stared at both of them.
239Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAesmqOBhOR
"And if they fight back?"
239Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLPLsxCpGYf
"Then we burn the district," the general said flatly. "Better one village than an empire."
239Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrJn7ZbbSwT
The emperor stood. His shadow stretched across the hall like a blade.
239Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Uy3CKfZen
"Here is my decree," he said. "From tomorrow, any martial arts school that teaches commoners is illegal. We will arrest the teachers first. The students who surrender will be spared. Those who resist – executed. We will start in the eastern quarter. Make an example."
239Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsz7VG9ayFO
General Li bowed his head. "It will be done."239Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJsBbYftgwf
239Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4KC9hVS5C9
He picked up his wine cup and drained it.
239Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzBpDFzKJrL
The emperor sat back down. "One more thing. If any commoner raises a fist against a soldier again – kill them on the spot. No arrest. No trial. Let the blood speak for itself."239Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm95bIr6cUT
239Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf0rOA5ctpK
"Now get out."
239Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrmcl5GEcRU
General Li bowed and walked backward toward the door. Tao followed without ceremony.
239Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgtOqJwFUzn
At the threshold, the general paused. "Your Majesty. An empire falls in a day. But it rots for years before that."
239Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJnNFEihfer
Then they were gone.
239Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYFZhERHS9x
The emperor sat alone in the golden hall. He looked at his hands – the same hands that had signed orders for palaces, statues, and twenty concubines. He then picked up a jade seal – the same seal his grandfather had used when he declared himself the first of this dynasty.
239Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjhZmdSLgI6
Outside, thunder rolled across the Forbidden City.
239Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUVQS0Ymz8K
But no rain came.
ns216.73.216.95da2
and then Add to home screen.