Dragon Raja: History Simulator

Page 86

On the other side, within the Imperial Observatory, resides Liu Xin, the most renowned Imperial Preceptor during this time.

He was dressed in imperial robes and wore a crown on his head. He stood quietly in front of a huge bronze mirror, silently looking at it.

This is the viewing platform.

The face of the Imperial Advisor Liu Xin was reflected in the bronze mirror, and incredibly, it was an unusually young face.

As is widely known, the Imperial Advisor Liu Xin was already in his fifties. In an era where fifty is considered a long life, it is hard to imagine that this was the face of an old man.

Her fair face was without a single wrinkle, and it even had a faint rosy glow. She looked so young that it was hard to believe that she was an old woman.

"elder brother."

In the empty hall, the Imperial Preceptor spoke softly, stroking the bronze mirror in front of him. His black robe sleeves fell onto the mirror, but nothing was visible on it except for a human figure.

The dome faced the stars and moon directly, and the Imperial Advisor also looked up, watching the moonlight slowly fall down the dome and shine into the bronze mirror.

In an instant, the entire hall was brightly lit.

At this moment, Liu Xin's youthful face in the bronze mirror began to fade, replaced by the figure of a tall man dressed in a white imperial robe.

He seemed to live in a huge city, the entire city made of bronze, where every gear was obediently in its place, waiting for its master to turn it.

The Imperial Advisor Liu Xin spoke softly once more: "Brother."

The sound traveled through the bronze mirror and into the ears of the man reflected in it.

The Imperial Advisor then asked, "Where are you?"

"Chengdu, Constantine, I've always been in Chengdu."

The white-clad man in the mirror spoke slowly, his voice filled with remorse: "I'm sorry, Constantine, for leaving you alone in Chang'an, but I truly cannot leave Sichuan."

I can't even leave Chengdu.

The white-clad man in the mirror is named Norton. He is the King of Bronze and Fire, one of the four ancient dragon monarchs, and one of the twins on the throne.

In this way, the identity of the Grand Preceptor Liu Xin becomes obvious: he is the other twin on the throne, Constantine, who now appears in the world under the name Liu Xin.

Of course, he had already changed his name to Liu Xiu several years ago.

However, whether in the past or present, Constantine is still more familiar with the name Liu Xin.

The Imperial Advisor gently grasped the bronze mirror, as if he thought that this would allow him to capture any trace of his brother's existence, but clearly, he was disappointed.

The Space Opening technique, one of the Seven Kingdoms in alchemy, can not only be used to construct Nibelungen, but also to cross distant spaces. However, it is clear that alchemy also has limitations, namely the limitations set for them by the Black Emperor.

After the Black Emperor died, the alchemical system was almost completely destroyed, leaving only a few foundation stones.

Thus, during the period between the death of the Black Emperor and the human conquest of the world, the entire dragon race almost lost the ability to use alchemy.

Naturally, they could not escape the war waged by the four monarchs and the "chief gods" of various regions within Nibelungen.

The dragon race declined and died out.

From then on, the surviving dragons and humans embarked together on the path of building the foundation of alchemy.

This is why, in the alchemy of the new era, there is a place for humans and hybrids.

Constantine's memories of that great destruction have gradually faded, and besides, his brother is still by his side.

This is enough.

His only regret was that he couldn't meet him in person.

Constantine knew what his brother was talking about. Two hundred years ago, the First Emperor exiled Lü Buwei to Bashu. Lü Buwei was his brother's name at that time.

Subsequently, the son of the Red Emperor killed the son of the White Emperor, and Emperor Gaozu started a rebellion by killing a white snake. That white snake was "Constantine". The entire Bashu region then became a prison set up by two emperors, the First Emperor and the Gao Emperor, for the two kings of bronze and fire.

Fortunately, like almost everyone else, Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang was more worried about Prince Norton, who was sleeping in Bashu. He feared that this prince would follow the path of his rebellion, enter Guanzhong, march straight into Chang'an, and destroy the Han Dynasty. Therefore, all the restrictions on the Dragon King were placed on Norton, not Constantine.

Indeed, in Liu Bang's eyes, Constantine was a weak being who could not hatch a dragon body and could be killed by him, while Norton was the one who could truly threaten his throne.

Therefore, Liu Bang's choice was not a mistake.

He used the naturally isolated mountains and rivers of Sichuan and Chongqing as a tangible form, and the vast lands of the Han Dynasty as an intangible form, combining the two to bury Norton in Sichuan and Chongqing.

Throughout history, kings, nobles, and generals have used mountains and rivers as their burial sites. However, countless emperors and generals have been buried in just one mountain, Beiman Mountain. But for the Dragon King, a completely isolated natural terrain is needed as his tombstone.

From then on, Norton never had the chance to awaken again for two hundred years during the Former Han Dynasty.

On the contrary, Constantine, after being "killed by the son of the Red Emperor and the son of the White Emperor" two hundred years ago, has finally returned through "cocooning" after two hundred years of slumber.

This time, the man who awakened was named Liu Xin, and he was also a great contributor to the uprising of Wang Mang against the Han dynasty.

Fourteen years after Wang Mang usurped the Han throne, his brother Norton also began to recover, gradually awakening and traveling the world under the alias "Li Xiong".

However, the Xin Dynasty that Wang Mang inherited still followed the Han Dynasty throne through abdication, which is extremely rare in thousands of years of history.

This is why Norton is still confined to Sichuan and Chongqing, only now he has finally come to his senses.

This is why the usually timid Constantine traveled through Chang'an, a place teeming with mixed-race families, while Norton remained in Chengdu.

Constantine looked at his brother in the mirror and said softly, "Brother, I am also a king, and I cannot live under your wing forever."

He lowered his head and muttered to himself, "I know you've always wanted me to devour you. Even when the Black Emperor was alive, you forged the Seven Deadly Sins for me to use as a way to devour the power of all my brothers..."

He looked at his brother in the mirror and almost choked up as he said, "...But I can't do that, brother. I just want him to stay by my side."

Constantine couldn't resist reaching out to touch his brother, who was thousands of miles away, but he knew that his brother was still in prison.

This is why he came to Chang'an.

Norton paused, remaining silent until Constantine had finished crying before continuing, "Constantine, if you encounter danger... no, if you feel weary, then come back. Scheming against others has never been your forte."

“No, brother,” Constantine rejected his brother’s suggestion, perhaps the first time he had disobeyed his brother Norton’s orders, and said firmly:

"I will definitely rescue you."

Norton remained silent, unsure whether to be pleased or furious. His brother had finally developed a sense of autonomy for the first time because of his own predicament, but he used it to defy him.

After a pause, Norton continued, "Constantine, you should know that saving me was never just about being a half-blood, but also about the Elder Council, the Di Hong Clan, the Di Ku Clan, the Di Jiang Clan..."

Norton rattled off six names before finally saying, "Most of them are neither truly alive nor truly dead; they are spirits trapped in Kyushu, unable to escape, but within Kyushu, they often..."

Before Norton could finish speaking, he heard a series of sounds and continuous footsteps coming from Constantine's direction on the other side.

Immediately afterwards, the footsteps stopped, and a respectful voice came from behind.

"Grand Preceptor, His Majesty requests your presence."

Constantine lowered his head slightly and said, "Brother, I'll be leaving now."

Norton nodded, watching Constantine's departing figure gradually blur and eventually disappear.

He murmured:

Goodbye, Constantine.

Take a day off

I've had a lot to do today, and my thoughts aren't quite clear. I need to organize them.

Chapter 150 The Imperial Seal and the Crimson Sky Sword

In the eleventh month of the third year of the reign of Emperor Guangwu, a comet appeared in Zhang. Emperor Guangwu then led his guests back to Chunling.

In December, they recruited soldiers from Xinshi and Pinglin, and together with their commanders Wang Feng and Chen Mu, they attacked Changju in the west.

[In the fourth year of the reign of Emperor Dihuang, the first year of the reign of Emperor Gengshi, on the first day of the first month (Jiazi day), the generals Yan You and Chen Mao, who were serving as advisors to Wang Mang, were defeated at Yuyang, and the army advanced to besiege Wancheng.]

On the day of Xin Si in the second month, Liu Shenggong was established as the emperor.

In March, Emperor Guangwu, along with his generals, campaigned against Kunyang, Dingling, and Yan, and all three fell.

Wang Mang looked at the huge map in front of him. Nanyang, located southeast of Chang'an, was almost completely lost. It was the closest rebel army to the whole Guanzhong region, and had even established a state.

A sense of despair welled up within him, and the feeling of something stuck in his throat became increasingly prominent.

"Grand Preceptor, what should I do next?" Wang Mang suddenly asked.

At this moment, Liu Xin had already arrived. He had changed out of his black robe and was now wearing a plain white robe that made his features appear even more youthful. He was also looking at the map in front of him.

Looking at the map, Hebei was a land of chaos and warlordism, no longer under the control of the new dynasty. Shandong was even worse, the birthplace of the Red Eyebrows, and the imperial court had repeatedly failed in its attempts to suppress them.

In addition, Henan is also home to many powerful clans, and the imperial court's orders cannot be issued beyond Hulao Pass. Huaixi and Huainan are now even more out of reach, making it difficult to exert influence.

As for Jiangnan, the bandit groups originated in Jingzhou, and Yangzhou was already home to many powerful families, so there was no need to place any further hope there.

The four regions that can truly be considered the heartland of Guanzhong, along with Bashu, Longyou, and Shanxi, are where the powerful Qin and Former Han dynasties were able to dominate the world.

Now, Shanxi is full of bandits because of the failure to quell the Xiongnu, and the Longyou region is full of Hu people who have long harbored rebellious intentions. The powerful families in Guanzhong are no longer the same people who welcomed Wang Mang's abdication in Chang'an.

As for Bashu, Liu Xin, also known as Constantine, knew that his brother Norton, under the alias "Li Xiong," was living in Chengdu. Although trapped in Bashu, the court could not expect to receive any rescue from Bashu.

In other words, although the new dynasty outwardly still had many troops suppressing bandits in Henan and Shandong, in reality, all it possessed was the unpredictable Guanzhong region.

Liu Xin said calmly, "Your Majesty, didn't you already have a divine decree?"

"Yes! I've already thought it through."

Looking at the huge map above his head, Wang Mang felt a bitter taste in his mouth. He suddenly turned to the eunuch serving beside him and said:

"Yuan Rang".

“Your Majesty, I am here.” The eunuch stepped forward, emerging from behind Liu Xin’s short shadow, and raised his head, his eyes calm and devoid of any life.

"Lead the way to Qingping Warehouse."

Wang Mang issued the order.

Qingping Storehouse was a treasure vault in Weiyang Palace used to store ceremonial objects, containing many imperial items and other royal treasures.

Of course, this was not the reason why Wang Mang was so concerned about it at this moment. The real reason why Wang Mang thought of it at such a critical moment was that the sword that Emperor Gaozu of Han used to start his uprising by slaying the white snake was kept there.

As soon as he finished speaking, Liu Xin immediately thought of this matter. He couldn't help but take a step back, and subconsciously touched his neck with one hand.

For a monarch, being killed by a human or a hybrid is an unacceptable thing, as it directly overturns the bloodline source upon which they depend for survival.

But Liu Xin still couldn't help but recall the first mixed-race person who killed him.

"Imperial Advisor, what are your thoughts?"

Wang Mang noticed Liu Xin's trembling body and asked him this question.