Looking back now, it certainly doesn't seem very reasonable.
The Empress Dowager carefully recalled some details from the construction of the capital city.
First, there was the issue of location. Even if the King of Qin's loyalists in Heavenly Capital were to be avoided, there were still many better options for the capital of the Great Jin Dynasty. However, the emperor chose Jing Pass, a place that was previously completely unknown, as the capital. It was a bitterly cold place and close to the buffer zone of the Northern Wasteland. At that time, the Youyun area was entirely in the hands of the Northern Wasteland kingdoms. As long as they passed Northern Yan Pass, the enemy's iron cavalry could advance smoothly and attack the heart of the imperial city.
At the time, both civil and military officials disapproved of making such a place the capital.
But the emperor was quite powerful and insisted on making that place the capital, with the slogan. "The emperor guards the nation's gate!"
The slogan sounds impressive, but upon reflection, it doesn't make sense. The Great Jin Dynasty has a vast territory, and it faces more than just the Northern Wasteland as an enemy. The Southern Barbarians are heavily fortified, and there are also maritime kingdoms eyeing it covetously. How can it be that only the north is considered the emperor guarding the nation's gates?
Moving East Sea City can also help guard the nation's borders.
The manpower and resources required to build a capital city from a remote city with no prior foundation are unimaginable. In the early days of the nation, when the people's hearts were not yet settled and the finances were in dire straits, this was definitely not a good choice. However, the emperor was very stubborn and insisted on choosing this place.
Consequently, the construction of the imperial mausoleum was quite rudimentary due to insufficient budget.
After the Xiao Household line moved there, he requested to rebuild the imperial mausoleum for twenty years, but was refused each time, with the reason being financial difficulties. However, according to the Empress Dowager's intelligence, this was not the case. Under Liu Yu's management, the finances of the Great Jin Dynasty were extremely good during these twenty years. The entire capital city even had the money to build such a complex and massive magic array, yet they did not have the money to repair the imperial mausoleum.
It can only be said that this little beast doesn't take his ancestors seriously, and judging from Chen Qing's tone, it seems that things aren't so simple.
"Is the imperial lineage so important?" the Empress Dowager asked, looking at Chen Qing.
"Very important!" Chen Qing nodded with great certainty. " The Central Plains is the place with the most abundant fortune of the human race. The royal family represents the ruler of the Central Plains, and their ancestral temple is bound to the Dragon Vein. Their souls can remain in the Central Plains as earthbound spirits."
"A bound spirit?" The Empress Dowager suddenly stood up.
"Hmm," Chen Qing nodded, "The human race's fortune is too weak right now, unable to achieve the level of making one's ancestors into Ghost Immortal simply by offering sacrifices to them. Even in my Jiangnan, after the death of members of large families, they can only go to the Underworld and cannot stay in the mortal realm for too long, otherwise they will inevitably become vengeful spirits."
"But the royal family is different. The royal family has the blessing of the Central Plains and the faith of hundreds of millions of people. The royal tombs built by the royal family can form their own Dragon Vein, and this dragon Dragon Vein allows the spirits of the royal family, that is, the ancestors of the Xiao Household, to remain in the mortal world!"
"Are you telling the truth?" The Empress Dowager suddenly grabbed Chen Qing!
She had never heard of this before, but she believed it instantly. During the twenty years she lived in the palace, she often had the same dream: her father and former brothers and sisters were all silently watching her from a dark temple, which often woke her up in fright.
She had always thought it was some kind of warning from the Xiao Household ancestors, but those sorcerers reassured her, telling her that everyone's spirit would go to the Yin-Yang Road after death, and everyone knew what their fate would be; they would never care about their descendants.
This is common sense, which led her to believe that the recurring dreams of reunion were caused by some of her own obsessions.
But now that Chen Qing has said that, she suddenly realizes that it wasn't an obsession at all!
"Your Majesty, please don't be agitated," Chen Qing reassured her.
"If that's the case, then what would the emperor do with the Xiao Household temple?" Wang Ye asked, puzzled.
"Three points!" Chen Qing said solemnly, "First, corrupting the Dragon Vein and turning it into a ghost vein requires a long process. This emperor probably didn't just contact that ancient force recently; he must have been planning this for a long time. Once the dragon Dragon Vein is corrupted, the Ghost Temple will quickly corrupt the human world due to the Central Plains' fortune, bringing the power of the Ghost Domain to the human world. Yin and Ghost Domain are different, and the ghost realm is different from other ancient forces. It needs a long corruption process to invade the human world. But if it follows the proper procedures, even without interference, it would take at least a thousand years for the Ghost Domain to occupy the Central Plains."
"But corroding the Dragon Vein is different; in an extremely short time, the Ghost Domain can open the Great Gate of Yin and Yang."
"Secondly, the Xiao Household's Ghost General, the Ghost Domain, and the royal family are very compatible forces. The Ghost King in the Yin-Yang Road today were all originally human emperors. They were all seduced by the power of the Ghost Domain Realm and eventually became ghost Ghost King. However, they all failed in the wars against other ancient beings for control of the human world and were forced to return to the Ghost Domain, which led to the current situation of nine kings ruling the land. Our current emperor is the tenth king who has been seduced!"
"What about King Xiang Yu?" Wang Ye asked curiously.
" King Xiang is a special case, I'll explain later."
Wang Ye nodded. "So what did you mean by the Xiao Household Ghost General' you mentioned earlier?"
"The literal meaning," Chen Qing said in a low voice, " The Xiao Household has royal blood. Many members of the Xiao Household died in battle back then. As long as these people weren't completely devoured in the Ghost Domain, once the Central Plains' fortune deepened, they would become very special beings, unlikely to die easily. Twenty years is enough time for them to grow into extremely powerful Ghost General. If other forces in the Ghost Domain Realm cooperate and nurture them early on, then right now, our Emperor already has a legion of Ghost Commander on the Yin-Yang Road!"
Bang!!
The Empress Dowager suddenly stood up. Having not used her Bloodline Power for many years, she could no longer suppress it. The surrounding tables and chairs were instantly shattered, and golden flames burst forth. In this moment, the old woman on her deathbed transformed into an extremely terrifying beast.
"That beast."
The Empress Dowager had never been so angry, not even when her husband and brother died in battle!
After all, on the battlefield, it's a matter of life and death, and everyone's survival depends on their own methods; there's nothing more to say. However...
Some memories flashed through the old lady's mind. Now that she thought about it, she remembered how several of the Xiao Household's veterans and their contemporaries had died under such suspicious circumstances.
I initially thought the enemy was cunning, but now I wonder, is that really the case?
Some things I couldn't understand before suddenly became clear. Many of that little beast's decisions, which seemed like mistakes, were probably not. If what Chen Qing said was true, then the many times the Xiao Household died in battle back then were probably due to that.
The thought of this made the old woman want to tear that beast to pieces!
We're family, of the same bloodline, and he actually...
Are you crazy?
"Your Majesty, please calm down." Chen Qing understood the other party's feelings, but this was not the time to be emotional. No matter what the emperor of the Xiao Household had done back then, the die was cast, and there was no point in being angry anymore.
The most urgent task is to rescue Ao Zhen.
To rescue Ao Zhen, they must find the location of the Xiao Household temple.
Clearly, the simple imperial mausoleum next to the capital is fake. The remains of the Xiao Household must have been moved to another location. The earthbound spirits moved with the remains, and the real Xiao Household mausoleum is where the remains are.
Chen Qing felt that he would soon find out the true face of this emperor, his scheming over the years, and the truth behind his betrayal of the King of Qin!