[Now, after hearing Yang Feng's earth-shattering "Yizhou Plan," Fa Zheng and Li Yan, representatives of Yizhou's great aristocratic clans, had been shaken to their very cores.
The subtitles slowly faded, and new images gradually appeared on the Heavenly Screen.
The two exchanged a glance, each seeing flames called "ambition" and "resolve" in the other's eyes.
Following Liu Zhang meant merely clinging to peace in one corner, only to be swallowed up by Cao Cao or someone else sooner or later.
But if they followed this Yang Feng...
What they saw was the entire realm.
Compared with Yang Feng, Liu Zhang was practically underground while the other stood in the heavens; even the gulf between clouds and mud could not describe the difference.
Late that night, when all was quiet.
Fa Zheng and Li Yan secretly sought out Yan Xiang, the chief steward serving under Yang Feng.
The three hit it off at once, and a wild, daring plan rapidly took shape inside a secret chamber.
They would enthrone Yang Feng as emperor.
This was not just for Yang Feng, but for themselves, for the future prospects of the entire Yizhou faction.
They would act tonight.
They prepared a rough yellow blanket laden with symbolic significance.
Immediately afterward, holding Yang Feng's command token, Fa Zheng and Li Yan seized command of Liu Zhang's army with the speed of thunder striking before anyone could cover their ears.
The city's defenders already held Yang Feng in great awe, and seeing a local gentry leader like Li Yan step forward, not a single one resisted.
Then the three led a squad of personal guards straight into Liu Zhang's bedchamber.
With a brief cry of alarm, a head still lost in sleep was cleanly severed.
Blood stained the brocade quilt red.
Once all this was done, Yan Xiang personally led men to Yang Feng's residence.
Yang Feng was sleeping soundly at the time. He only felt someone tugging at him before he was dragged groggily to his feet.
His mind was still a muddle, and he had absolutely no idea what was happening.
"What are you doing...?"
"It's the middle of the night. Can't a man get some sleep...?"
By the time a gust of cold wind cleared his head completely, he discovered, to his astonishment, that he was already standing atop the towering gatehouse of Chengdu in Yizhou.
The bleak night wind made his robes snap and flutter.
Beside him, Fa Zheng and Li Yan wore solemn expressions as they ceremoniously draped the yellow blanket over his shoulders without allowing a word of protest.
Yang Feng had not even had time to speak.
Below the gatehouse, Yan Xiang abruptly waved a hand, and a sky lantern prepared well in advance was lit, rising unsteadily into the night sky.
That dim yellow point of light stood out starkly against the pitch-black night.
Mustering every ounce of strength, Yan Xiang shouted himself hoarse at the tens of thousands of officers and soldiers already assembled below.
"Officers and soldiers, look!"
"The Purple Tenuity Star streaks across the night sky! Heaven has sent an auspicious omen!"
"This is the mandate of Heaven and the will of the people!"
"Your Majesty, please ascend the throne without delay, lead the people of the realm, and bring this age of chaos to an end!"
His voice carried far, far into the night.
Yang Feng was still utterly dumbfounded and had not processed any of it.
What was going on?
How had I suddenly become His Majesty?
Yet before he could digest this enormous amount of information, the tens of thousands of officers and soldiers below the gatehouse had already dropped to one knee in unison, led by his trusted soldiers, Li Yan, Fa Zheng, and Yan Xiang.
They raised their weapons high and cried out fervently, their voices shaking the clouds.
"Long live our emperor!"
"Ten thousand years!"
"Ten thousand times ten thousand years!"
The waves of sound surged like a tide, one after another, as though they would overturn the entire city of Chengdu.
The next day, the enthronement ceremony took place as a matter of course.
Just like that, Yang Feng muddled his way onto the imperial throne, founding the Great Yang Empire and establishing its capital in Chengdu.
From then on, Yang Feng truly secured his imperial throne, holding Yizhou as his own domain and eyeing the realm like a tiger.
The images on the Heavenly Screen did not stop there.
The narrator's voice rang out again, heralding another dramatic upheaval in the realm.
[The "One Emperor Through the Ages," Yang Feng, brazenly proclaimed himself emperor, thoroughly enraging Cao Cao in the north and Lü Bu in Xu Province.]
[In their eyes, this was nothing less than the act of a treacherous minister and rebel.]
[With Emperor Xian of Han as his trump card, Cao Mengde held the Son of Heaven to command the feudal lords, issuing a proclamation calling on the realm's heroes to join forces against Yang Feng, traitor to the state.]
[For a time, those answering the call to the coalition flocked like clouds, their armies aimed straight at Yizhou.]
[Who could have known that, faced with this overwhelming military might, Yang Feng would do just one thing?]
[History called it "Shooting a Cannon at the Camp Gate."]
[This single arrow scared the entire menacing coalition army into wetting themselves.]
[To learn what happened next, tune in tomorrow.]
The large golden words froze completely on the screen here, their radiance slowly receding until all became still darkness.
Meanwhile, far away in the imperial palace in Shouchun.
Yang Feng stared blankly at the spot where the Heavenly Screen had vanished, rooted to the spot.
He was stupefied.
Utterly stupefied.
No... why did the course of history insist on veering toward me?
I'd already run all the way to Shouchun, so why was I still in the Yizhou script?
And no matter which script it was, why did they all end with me becoming emperor?
Towering waves surged through Yang Feng's heart, countless sarcastic remarks threatening to erupt.
Why did the Song family's opening script keep playing out on me?
Wasn't this just the Chenqiao Mutiny, getting draped in the yellow robe?
They'd even gone out of their way to give me an upgraded version.
Zhao Kuangyin's subordinates got him drunk and carried him up there. Me? They dragged me straight out of bed.
And that Purple Tenuity Star streaking across the night sky...
Good heavens.
That fellow Yan Xiang was something else. He'd learned to release sky lanterns to build momentum this quickly?
A talent. A real talent.
Yang Feng was utterly speechless.
He felt his temples throbbing.
I really don't particularly want to be this emperor.
My ultimate dream is to become a literary plagiarist, write some poetry, lyrics, songs, and rhapsodies, make a little money, then build a three-story house on my estate.
With three or five lovely wives and beautiful concubines living upstairs, I could spend each day drinking tea and listening to songs, living a retired life at peace with the world. Wouldn't that be nice?
Why do you lot always love hoisting people over a fire to roast?
Being emperor is the most dangerous profession there is, all right?
Yet at that moment, below the dais beside him, Chief Steward Yan Xiang and General-in-Chief Ji Ling were flushed red with excitement.
They exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with shock and wild joy.
This script... this script was far too similar!
It had practically acted out exactly what they had discussed just yesterday, without changing a thing.
So their lord-no, His Majesty-had been destined to receive Heaven's mandate all along.