Zhang Poyue went to Duoyuan obediently to meet Fang Yun.
Fang Yun didn't even open the door!
Zhang Poyue didn't expect that Fang Yun was even more ruthless than him and didn't give him any face at all.
Zhang Poyue stood at the door for half an hour, but finally withdrew his foot that was about to kick the door and returned to the Fengtian Hall of the imperial palace in shame.
"Queen Mother, you can see it too. It's not that I don't want to go, but Fang Yun won't let me in. I can't just bang on the door. I can't handle his ancient dragon sword. You should ask someone else for help."
Then, Zhang Poyue looked at Sheng Boyuan and said, "Minister Sheng, you are so old, why are you so angry? If it were me, since I don't like Fang Yun, I would just stay in Fengtian Palace. I can't do anything to him, but at least I can disgust him. If you really resign, wouldn't it be like announcing to the world that you, Sheng Boyuan, can't beat Fang Yun. Aren't you as scared as that old bastard Liu Shan?"
Sheng Boyuan smiled coldly and said, "Some days ago, someone in Yuan County was saying that Liu the thief has put on the green embroidered cloud robe again, and Liu the thief's old gang is gathering in Luopu Valley. Once the Holy Dao is sealed, they will start a rampage."
"Aren't they afraid of the punishment from the holy way of the various schools?" Zhang Poyue asked.
“Don’t you know who Liu Shan is? The Holy Path of the Miscellaneous Schools will certainly avoid him. Those who don’t want to leave Jingguo can avoid the Holy Path’s seal as long as they wear the things given by him. You send a letter to tell Fang Yun that if he does not go to the Holy Academy for peace talks, then the position of Left Prime Minister will be handed over to Liu Shan. In the end, he will have to watch Liu Shan’s revival and Jingguo will fall again!” Sheng Boyuan said.
Zhang Poyue frowned and said helplessly: "No matter whether Liushan comes back or not, just don't resign."
Sheng Boyuan took out the official seal and looked at the time. There were still quarter of an hour left.
"You... really want to leave?"
Sheng Boyuan stood in the hall without saying a word.
Soon, two quarters of an hour passed.
Sheng Boyuan suddenly bowed deeply to the Empress Dowager, took off his official hat, slowly put it on the ground, then sighed softly and strode out.
All the officials were stunned. They didn't expect Sheng Boyuan to be so decisive.
"My dear Minister Sheng, please stay!" The Queen Mother stood up from the dragon throne and shouted to keep him.
"From now on, Jingguo will rely on Fang Yun. If he is reliable, it doesn't matter whether I am here or not; if he is unreliable, it doesn't matter whether I am here or not. I will concentrate on the holy way when I leave. If I cannot become a great scholar, I will never set foot on the land of Jingguo again! I have done my best."
After saying that, Sheng Boyuan continued to stride out of the Fengtian Hall.
"My dear Sheng..." The Queen Mother's voice trembled, and there seemed to be a gleam of tears in the corners of her eyes.
The officials looked at Sheng Boyuan's back with mixed feelings.
Too many officials have left these days, but none of them is more important than Sheng Boyuan's departure.
"I have tried my best, your Excellency!"
The head of the Ministry of Rites, who was promoted by Sheng Boyuan, put down his official hat and followed Sheng Boyuan away.
Many people had previously followed Sheng Boyuan in threatening to resign if a vote could not be carried out. Now, all of them have resigned.
More than twenty high-ranking officials above the fifth rank actually left one after another.
According to the new laws, these people will never be able to hold official positions in Jing State again.
These people are not threatening the Queen Mother or Fang Yun.
It is really impossible to continue serving as an official in Jing State.
Under the rule of the Holy Way of Miscellaneous School, even the most shrewd and capable official will only become a mediocre or even incompetent official.
Some officials who had not previously threatened to resign began to resign.
The number of officials in the Fengtian Hall is one-quarter less than during the heyday!
If newly promoted officials are not counted, the officials who have left account for one third!
The most terrifying thing is that during these nine days, countless scholars of various schools moved south with their families, away from Jingguo.
The wealth these people took away created a hole that Fang Yun could not fill.
In the Fengtian Hall, all the officials fell silent again.
Despair and depression enveloped everyone.
"Fang Yun, are you trying to force me to death?"
Behind the curtain, the Queen Mother sobbed.
No one responded, only the sound of the wind.
The Queen Mother lay on her side on the dragon throne, falling into a deep sleep. The eunuch beside her hurriedly covered her with a thin blanket.
All the officials stood in the hall, no longer speaking, but passing voice messages or writing letters with their official seals.
Under the illumination of the night pearl, there was no light on their faces.
Even after a red sun rose from the east, brightening the world, the faces of these officials were still gloomy and their eyes were still cloudy.
Like the officials in Fengtian Palace, scholars from all over Jing State did not sleep all night. They all held official seals or gathered near the holy temple, waiting for the final result.
Ji County.
Fang Yun's fellow villagers, regardless of gender, age, or whether they were scholars or not, gathered around the county academy and looked in the direction of the Holy Academy.
A woman gently patted her sleeping daughter's back and whispered, "Don't be afraid, Nannan. Fang Xusheng will solve it, he will solve it..."
Puff puff... An old man, smoking a pipe, said to the person next to him: "Fang Yun has been blessed since he was a child. I watched him grow up. He will definitely be able to overcome this hurdle..."
Ning'an County.
The air is filled with incense.
Countless people spontaneously burned incense everywhere, using this custom originating from the Zhou Dynasty to pray that Fang Yun and Jing State would overcome this difficult time.
Liu Yu, an old scholar from the Gong family who had become the abbot, was standing in front of the county academy and speaking loudly.
"Everyone, the Za family has left, but our Ning'an is busy! Our Ning'an belongs to Jingguo, Fang Xusheng, and us Ning'an people! No matter what happens outside, no matter what the Za family does, we Ning'an people have never been afraid! How can the damn Zhenfeng compare to the Barbarian Wolf Saint? Didn't he run away like a dog? Without the Za family's holy way, how can we Ning'an people live our lives! As long as Fang Xusheng is here, our Jingguo will not fall..."
Jade Sea City.
This place has become the industrial center of the human race. Countless workshops have sprung up like bamboo shoots after a spring rain, spreading inside and outside the city.
Unlike workshops in other countries, all workshops in Yuhai City have special shrines dedicated to Fang Yun’s statue.
The Li Hall once sent people to obstruct it, but everyone still used Fang Yun’s statue, only the name was changed to Lord of the Yangtze River or Wenxing Longjue, and the Li Hall was helpless.
The early risers gathered in front of the statue of Fang Yun. Each of them lit a stick of incense and lined up in order to insert their incense into the incense burner.
Seen from high above, the incense in Yuhai City is thicker than the smoke from thousands of homes.
The capital city under the emperor's feet seemed particularly indifferent.
Most people were doing what they were supposed to do, but they were a little absent-minded and would glance in the direction of the Holy Temple or the Imperial Palace from time to time.
As soon as seven o'clock arrived, the sky above the Holy Temple was covered with dark clouds and thunder flashed.
In an instant, the dark clouds suddenly expanded and covered the entire Shengyuan Continent.
The Shengyuan Continent fell into darkness.
Under everyone's horrified gaze, the dark clouds quickly shrank and finally gathered over Jing State.
The entire Jing Kingdom was shrouded in dark clouds, with lightning, thunder, and howling winds.
Under the desperate gaze of countless Jing people, dark clouds shook, thunder exploded, lightning flashed, and the country of Jing was illuminated as if it were daytime.
"Seal it off!"
A voice full of supreme majesty sounded.
The sky was filled with dark clouds and thunder, and suddenly fell.
Amid the screams of the crowd, the dark clouds and thunder turned into translucent shadows and merged into the land of Jing Kingdom.
Everyone seemed to be stuck in a swamp, moving slowly.