On the Sky Canopy, Liu Sanqi had now brought the topic back to what she had mentioned earlier: "Everywhere you look, there are panicked travelers; the entire city is veiled in silk."
"The ordeal of Cheng Ruoxuan and Weng Chengjin, that young betrothed couple, caused a huge uproar across the Great Jing Dynasty. The social customs of Great Jing had originally been relatively open, with few restrictions on women's attire when going out. But after Cheng Ruoxuan's incident, many women in Jingshi, afraid of suffering a similar fate yet knowing they were powerless against a tyrant like Emperor Jingli, began wearing veils to cover their faces when they went out.
"After this incident, Emperor Jingli showed no intention of reflecting or changing. On the contrary, he became even more debauched and tyrannical! When Emperor Jingming handed the kingdom over to him, the national treasury, though not wealthy, was by no means impoverished. But after Yin Rui ascended the throne, he began massive construction projects, conscripting labor year after year, building extravagant palaces, gardens, and bizarre spectacles. Due to his profligate and hedonistic lifestyle, the common people's lives became even more miserable, and the treasury rapidly depleted. Under these circumstances, military expenditures fell into arrears. When generals submitted memorials complaining about insufficient pay, Emperor Jingli absurdly scolded them for being blockheads who couldn't think outside the box!"
On the Sky Canopy, Liu Sanqi's lips curled into a contemptuous smile: "If any of you dear viewers who don't know how fatuous and tyrannical Emperor Jingli is thought I was about to reveal some clever solution for military funding, you'd be wrong. In fact, the solution Emperor Jingli gave those generals was very simple—just one word: 'loot'! That's right, a legitimate emperor openly instructed his generals to let their troops plunder the people!" Liu Sanqi shook her head in lament: "A monarch as absurd as Yin Rui is rare in our ancient history!"
Under the Sky Canopy, several elderly women were washing clothes by the river. Upon hearing these words, one thin, short old woman couldn't help but spit angrily and curse to her companions: "This Emperor Jingli is nothing but a heartless beast! Not a single thing he's done is something a human would do!" The others nodded in agreement: "If you ask me, our current emperor might as well hand the throne to that Emperor Jingwu! That later-era girl up there kept praising him!" "I think so too. If Emperor Jingwu took over, our lives might be better than now!" "If we could eat our fill every meal and occasionally buy some meat, that'd be great!" "Oh my, you old hag, you're not much to look at, but you sure can dream!" "What's wrong with dreaming? Dreaming doesn't cost anything!" "Hahaha, then I dream we can afford an ox, so fieldwork would be easier." The women chatted about their hopes for the future while washing clothes. But soon, their faces tensed up again at Liu Sanqi's next words.
"With a fatuous and incompetent monarch like Emperor Jingli, it's hardly surprising that the Great Jing Dynasty's border city, Zhenbei City, was breached by the Najie Tribe! And on that matter, Emperor Jingli deserves a good share of the credit for helping the Najie Tribe. If he hadn't believed the Najie Tribe's lies about peace talks, ignored his ministers' advice, and insisted on opening the city gates to welcome the Najie peace delegation, the Najie forces wouldn't have so easily coordinated with the Najan Cavalry outside the city, breached Zhenbei, and marched straight to Jingshi!"
Under the Sky Canopy, in the palace, even the usually composed Emperor Jingming blanched and swayed upon hearing that the Najie Army had captured the capital. Chief Eunuch Yuan Li, frightened, quickly supported the emperor and summoned the imperial physician. Fortunately, the emperor's health was still robust, and he recovered after a short rest.
"At this critical moment when the Great Jing was on the verge of destruction, Emperor Jingwu personally led a fierce and battle-hardened army, galloping a thousand li to rescue the capital! It was thanks to this formidable man repelling the Najan Cavalry and forcing them to retreat north that the Great Jing was saved from annihilation!" Hearing this, both Emperor Jingming and the other courtiers felt the tension in their minds ease slightly.
"However, before retreating, the Najan Cavalry did not forget to take their greatest contributor to this battle—Emperor Jingli. Yes, that coward Yin Rui couldn't even flee and was captured by the Najie! You can imagine he was never the type to choose death over dishonor. While captive, he was utterly subservient and fawning, even agreeing when the Najie humiliated him by ordering him to crawl on the ground and fight a wild dog for food, without any resistance!"
Under the Sky Canopy, Yin Rui was now furious at Liu Sanqi, wishing he could tear her apart. He blamed her for his current predicament. But Emperor Jingming was filled with fear and relief, grateful for this future descendant from the sky who had forewarned him. He had thought his father's behavior—believing a sorcerer's nonsense about leading a campaign against the Najie only to turn tail midway—was the most shameful in Great Jing's history. But now, his son had surpassed him, being boneless to the point of having no spine. Emperor Jingming couldn't understand how his future self could have passed the throne to someone as absurd as Yin Rui. He also secretly pondered who this 'Emperor Jingwu' that Liu Sanqi spoke of really was, planning to groom him as his successor.
While Emperor Jingming was lost in thought, Liu Sanqi on the Sky Canopy was introducing Emperor Jingwu's ascension: "Seizing the opportunity to save the capital, Emperor Jingwu, after Emperor Jingli was captured by the Najie Tribe, proclaimed that 'the sky cannot be without the sun, nor the nation without a ruler,' and declared he must shoulder the responsibility of the realm. Hehehe, that's our Great Emperor Jingwu—always straightforward, never hiding what he wants! The Najan Cavalry didn't capture Emperor Jingli because they enjoyed watching his clownish antics; they saw him as a fat pig, a bargaining chip to coerce Great Jing. So when they retreated to the captured Zhenbei City, they presented another peace treaty. Though it claimed to be for peace, it was in fact a humiliating treaty demanding territory and reparations. The Najie demanded Great Jing pay them one hundred thousand taels of gold, thirty million taels of silver, ten million bolts of cloth, seven thousand maidens, and two thousand able-bodied men. And since they already controlled Zhenbei City, Bitian City, and Guiyun City, they greedily demanded three more cities as compensation!"
Under the Sky Canopy, in the three named border cities, the common folk looked at the Sky Canopy with trepidation. Generations of living here had taught them the cruelty of the Najie. They dared not imagine their fate under Najie iron hooves. "Wife, should we pack up and move elsewhere?" "Move where? Our land is here, feeding the family all year. If we go elsewhere with no land or money, we'll starve faster!" "Why won't this damn heaven let poor folks have an easy life?" "Ah, forget it. Live one day at a time. Our fate is bad; we just have to accept it."
On the Sky Canopy, Liu Sanqi's voice remained clear: "Emperor Jingwu naturally refused to agree to the Najie's terms. So to pressure him, the Najie threatened to behead Emperor Jingli and slaughter the entire city of Zhenbei. Under the Sky Canopy, the people of Great Jing erupted in uproar, especially those in Zhenbei. No one cared about Emperor Jingli's beheading—who cares if he lives or dies? What truly concerned them was the massacre. The garrison soldiers in Zhenbei felt their faces burn with shame, wishing they could dig a hole and bury themselves. Though Liu Sanqi had said the breach was mainly due to Emperor Jingli, as soldiers responsible for defending the border, they felt guilty and blamed themselves.
"In the court, debates raged over the Najie's treaty and threats. Many ministers, frightened out of their wits, strongly advocated for peace—meaning accepting the exorbitant terms. They gave no thought to how such a treaty would devastate the national economy; they only cared about preserving their own luxurious lives, terrified that the Najan Cavalry would strike south again. We must thank the Najie again for taking Emperor Jingli away. If he had still been on the throne, he would have eagerly signed that traitorous agreement with those spineless ministers. However, as everyone knows, unlike Emperor Jingli, Emperor Jingwu was notoriously tough. So he adopted a hardline stance, declaring he would fight to the end if the Najie wanted war, and used ambushes and surprise attacks to deliver a heavy blow to the Najie Tribe when they tried to invade again!"
Under the Sky Canopy, many commoners cheered in delight at this, feeling Emperor Jingwu had boosted their morale. Even the people of Zhenbei smiled happily. But Liu Sanqi's next words froze their smiles. "After suffering heavy losses at Emperor Jingwu's hands, the Najie Tribe was unwilling to let things go. They revived their earlier threat, claiming that because Emperor Jingwu was eager for glory and had betrayed their sincerity in peace talks, they would slaughter the entire city of Zhenbei for three days and three nights to punish his insult. During those three days of massacre, Zhenbei City became a living hell. According to historical records, the Najie Army killed so many that the stench could be smelled for hundreds of li, the bones piled up like mountains, and the Bitter Abyss turned into a pool of blood. Before falling into the Najie's clutches, Zhenbei City had nearly thirty thousand residents. But seven years later, when Emperor Jingwu drove out the Najie and fully recovered the city, only about two thousand remained."
Under the Sky Canopy, a deathly silence fell over Zhenbei City, so quiet that only the faint trembling breaths and the wailing wind could be heard.