Chapter 54: Purpose

Three days passed in a flash. When Wang Bo arrived at Zhangsun Wuji's home once more, Zhangsun Wuji had already prepared fine wine and delicious dishes, waiting for Wang Bo.

Last time, Wang Bo came in secretly.

But this time, Wang Bo was welcomed in by Zhangsun Wuji from the main gate.

After entering the main hall, Wang Bo saw that the spacious hall was filled with people.

These people were all dressed in identical uniforms, every one of them an official of the Great Tang.

Zhangsun Wuji introduced these people to Wang Bo one by one. Every name was one that had appeared on Wu Zetian's list, and there were even a few that were not on it.

Wang Bo guessed that this group of people should be of neutral standing.

Yet he was still dragged over by Zhangsun Wuji.

What surprised Wang Bo the most was that among this group, he saw several heavyweight figures.

For example, the Duke of Lu, who is none other than Chen Yaojin, known in the martial world as the Demon King of the Three Axes!

To be honest, Wang Bo truly hadn't expected that Zhangsun Wuji could actually pull Chen Yaojin over; this was really fucking unbelievable.

It seems I still underestimated Zhangsun Wuji.

Besides the Duke of Lu, the Duke of Ying, Li Ji, had actually also been won over by Zhangsun Wuji.

Of the twenty-four meritorious officials of Lingyan Pavilion, only Zhangsun Wuji, Chen Yaojin, and Li Ji were still alive. As it turned out, the remaining two had both been won over by Zhangsun Wuji.

Wang Bo seized a moment and couldn't help asking, "How did you do it?"

You must understand, these two are veteran generals who have rendered illustrious service for the Li-Tang dynasty and can be said to be utterly loyal to its realm.

Wang Bo remembered that more than ten years later, when Wu Zetian ascended the throne, Li Ji's grandson Li Jingye had even raised an army in rebellion. Although Li Jingye was ultimately killed, it still showed the loyalty of Li Ji's family to the Tang dynasty.

But now, Li Ji has been drawn over by Zhangsun Wuji to support Wu Zetian's ascension to the throne—to support the hen crowing at dawn.

Even Wang Bo was rather puzzled by this transformation.

Zhangsun Wuji smiled faintly and said, "My lord, do not be impatient. In a moment, I will explain this matter to you."

Thus Wang Bo had no choice but to suppress the doubt in his heart and nod.

He was, after all, not the impatient sort, and in his heart, he also had a faint guess.

This time, Zhangsun Wuji summoned the various ministers of the court precisely to introduce Wang Bo to everyone. Every minister who met Wang Bo would hastily pledge their loyalty to Wang Bo and to the Empress.

To this, Wang Bo merely smiled.

It was clear that these people had been thoroughly convinced by Zhangsun Wuji, and they looked at Wang Bo with a measure of awe, as if treating him as a divine being.

Wang Bo guessed that Zhangsun Wuji had certainly used plenty of talk about immortals, star reincarnations, the underworld, and the like to hoodwink this group.

After all, the ancients believed deeply in talk of ghosts and gods.

Even emperors were no exception; throughout history, those who prayed to gods and Buddhas, or even sought to cultivate themselves into immortals, were by no means few.

Even Li Shimin once practiced alchemy and sought immortality.

When Li Shimin was still on the throne, a minor official named Wang Xuance was sent as an envoy to India and incidentally brought back a foreign old monk called Nāropāśrama, who claimed to be already two hundred years old and said he possessed the art of immortality.

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin was utterly convinced and ordered the Minister of War to search the world for rare medicines and exotic minerals. After a long time, the elixir for prolonging life was finally concocted.

After taking the medicine, Li Shimin naturally saw no effect, but he soon passed away, after which the old monk was sent back to his country.

Even the emperor was interested in immortality, believing that immortals existed in the world and trusting in talk of ghosts and spirits—let alone other people.

When Zhangsun Wuji brought out the Gourmet Tablecloth and the AK-47, it was enough to scare these people out of their wits.

Of course, the imperial court was not entirely filled with a bunch of weaklings.

After going around and making introductions, Wang Bo noticed that several names were missing from this group; it seemed that a few people on the list had not yet arrived.

They must have declined Zhangsun Wuji's invitation, or had already made up their minds to live and die with the Great Tang.

But these people do not affect the overall situation.

Wang Bo conversed with those present for a while. After accepting the loyalty they had expressed, the group left contentedly. Their visit to see Wang Bo at Zhangsun Wuji's residence was simply to seek peace of mind.

I hope the Heavenly Empress will be greatly merciful and not cast them into the animal realm after their deaths.

After a short while, when the crowd had left, only four people remained in Zhangsun Wuji's residence.

Wang Bo, Zhangsun Wuji, Chen Yaojin, and Li Ji.

Wang Bo turned to look at Zhangsun Wuji, wanting him to explain. Zhangsun Wuji smiled slightly and said to Chen Yaojin, “Didn’t Zhijie have something to say to the lord? Why are you silent now?”

Chen Yaojin glared at Zhangsun Wuji, gritted his teeth, and said, "Fine, I'll say it now."

Wang Bo couldn't help but look at Chen Yaojin.

Chen Yaojin said, "I, Old Chen, am a rough fellow and speak plainly. If I say something wrong, I beg the envoy not to take offense."

Wang Bo said, "No, I won't. Please speak your mind."

But in his heart, he chuckled.

Is Chen Yaojin a boor? Back when Emperor Gaozong of Tang, Li Zhi, wanted to depose Empress Wang and install Empress Wu, many meritorious officials from those years remonstrated with him and clashed with Li Zhi over the matter of deposing the empress. As a result, many of those meritorious officials did not meet a good end because of this affair.

But Chen Yaojin remained silent throughout this affair, which shows that this fellow is by no means a boor.

but rather a person of subtlety within roughness.

Seeing Wang Bo agree, Chen Yaojin let go of his doubts and asked, "Angel, is the Heavenly Empress truly a reincarnation of a celestial star?"

"Of course, I believe you have also seen the magical weapon of the Heavenly Empress before her reincarnation," Wang Bo said. Since he had established the persona of the Heavenly Empress as a reincarnated star deity, he would not overturn it.

Chen Yaojin nodded and said, "The Thunderfire is infinitely powerful. If Old Chen here had such a weapon back in the day, conquering the realm wouldn't have been so arduous."

Li Ji nodded on the side. Both were men who had led troops and fought battles, and the power of the Thunder Fire astonished them.

If such a weapon had truly existed back then, the two of them were even confident they could have dominated the world with ease.

Wang Bo said, "Since that's the case, what else is there for you to doubt?"

Chen Yaojin chuckled and said, "I’m not doubting either. I was just thinking, if the Heavenly Empress really is a reincarnation of a celestial star, then might she possess the method of eternal life and immortality?"

Wang Bo glanced sideways at Chen Yaojin and couldn't help but laugh. "So that's it. That's what you're after."

Chen Yaojin just laughed, saying nothing.

Li Ji, watching from the side, also seemed quite excited.

Wang Bo said, “The Heavenly Empress is a being among immortals, and naturally possesses the method of eternal life and immortality. However, it is a pity that even if you now clearly and unequivocally support her ascension to the throne, your merit would still be insufficient for her to bestow upon you that method.”