Chapter 1645 — The Firmament Emperor Lord

Taichu personally placed the crown upon his head and put the imperial robe upon him, then stepped back, step by step. The assembled ministers knelt and bowed, crying out, "Heaven Emperor Hao!

" Taichu knelt and bowed along with them, crying out, "Heaven Emperor Hao! " Heaven Emperor Hao sighed and said, "We are shallow in talent and virtue; it is wholly owing to the support of you all that the realm is prosperous and the people at peace, the world tranquil, the heavens flourishing, and no banditry arising. My lords, the days ahead are long; We hope you will lend Us much support.

Beloved ministers, rise, and take your seats.

" The crowd rose and took their seats; goddess attendants filed in and served up all manner of rare delicacies in an unending stream.

Just then, a divine general suddenly came to report, "Someone is kneeling outside the Southern Heavenly Gate, bearing thorns to beg punishment for his crime!

" The court was thrown into an uproar; the ministers whispered into one another's ears, talking all at once. "Can it be that Heavenly Master Mu has truly come to submit to Us? " Heaven Emperor Hao was stirred inwardly and said with a smile, "Bring the man who begs punishment before Us. " Before long, a man was indeed brought into the court hall — bare-backed, his hands bound fast behind him, with thorn branches thrust into his back.

Heaven Emperor Hao gazed at him intently and was somewhat disappointed; the eyes of the ministers fell upon the man, and each of them was both startled and delighted. "On the very day of Your Majesty's enthronement, the Eastern Emperor Azure Dragon has come to submit at the news — this is a most auspicious omen!

" The crowd offered congratulations one after another.

The Eastern Emperor Azure Dragon knelt prostrate on the ground and declared in a ringing voice, "Your Majesty follows Heaven and answers the people; your servant is convinced in heart and mouth.

Knowing well that he cannot withstand the celestial majesty, he has come of his own accord to submit.

He earnestly begs Your Majesty to punish him!

" Heaven Emperor Hao rose, strode to the side of the Eastern Emperor Azure Dragon, drew a thorn switch from his back, and lashed him several times with sharp cracks; then he threw down the switch and reached out both hands to raise him up. "Attendants, bring a robe and put it on Azure Dragon.

" Heaven Emperor Hao said with a smile, "Do not take it amiss, Azure Dragon. The reason We still had to whip you is that you were once Our enemy and set yourself up as Emperor, and so you had to be flogged.

But you know how to repent and mend your ways, and We admire your talents; therefore We are willing to take you in and let bygones be bygones.

" The Eastern Emperor Azure Dragon said, choking with emotion, "For Your Majesty's grace in recognizing and employing me, for your grace in not putting me to death, Azure Dragon could dash out his brains and smear the ground with them and still not repay it! " Heaven Emperor Hao laughed heartily, draped the robe over him, and said, "Beloved minister, take your seat. " The Eastern Emperor Azure Dragon sat down.

Taichu frowned slightly. The submission of the Eastern Emperor Azure Dragon was beyond his expectations. The Azure Emperor of the Eastern Heaven was his man; once Heavenly Master Hao unified the world, sooner or later he would send troops against the Eastern Pole Heaven, and by then both the Eastern Heaven and the Eastern Pole Heaven would be Taichu's territory.

And now the Eastern Emperor Azure Dragon had come to submit, and this territory would pass directly under Heaven Emperor Hao's name!

"We can only endure it," Taichu said silently in his heart. Suddenly another divine official proclaimed in a loud voice, "Yu Chenzi, envoy of the rebel Heavenly Master Mu, comes to the hall to present a letter of surrender and beg to submit, praying that the celestial grace, vast and mighty, may spread its net and leave him a way out! " At these words there was another uproar. Heaven Emperor Hao wore a smile on his face, greatly pleased at heart, and shot a glance at Taichu, thinking, "On the first day of Our enthronement, Our achievements already surpass hundreds of thousands of your years!

Father God, you cannot contend with me; this throne, I am already seated firmly upon it. " Yu Chenzi entered the hall, head lowered, both hands raising the letter of surrender high, his steps very slow.

He walked into the hall, knelt and bowed, and declared in a ringing voice, "Your guilty servant Shen Mu knows that Your Majesty's martial power covers the world and your celestial majesty is vast and mighty, and that he cannot withstand it; therefore he begs to submit!

" Heaven Emperor Hao laughed heartily, rose, and said, "Though Heavenly Master Mu and I are enemies, We admire his valor.

That We should gain such a great general as this is better than gaining the world! Present the letter of surrender! " The Chief Minister hurriedly fetched the letter of surrender.

Heaven Emperor Hao, in high spirits, said, "Read it!

" The Chief Minister hesitated a moment, then unrolled the letter and read it aloud.

When the ministers in the court heard Shen Mu's letter of surrender, they burst into a roar of laughter, mightily amused. And the wealth of Jingping that Shen Mu listed in the letter stirred their greed even more; pair after pair of eyes gave off a faint, glimmering light.

Even the Heavenly Masters could not help being moved by the wealth of Jingping, each calculating in his own mind how much of it he might carve out for himself.

When the Chief Minister came to the words Shen Mu had written — "Your servant has already slept" — a sudden flash of insight struck him, and he skipped over that passage without reading it. Heaven Emperor Hao smiled faintly and thought, "He is sensible enough — a man of promise. Only, what a pity about Langwan.

. . " The Chief Minister finished reading the letter and presented it to Heaven Emperor Hao.

Heaven Emperor Hao laid the letter aside and said mildly, "Heavenly Master Mu's writing soars with brilliance. We think this letter of surrender ought to be printed in millions of copies and distributed to every heaven, so that you rough fellows may all study it. " "Your Majesty is sage and wise!

" The court rang with praises of his virtue and merit.

Heaven Emperor Hao was delighted beyond measure and feasted and rewarded his ministers. After the ceremony was over and the ministers dispersed, only the Fire Heavenly Master, the Void Heavenly Master, the Ancestor God King, Taichu, Taiji, Yin Tianzi, and a few others remained.

Heaven Emperor Hao said, "Heavenly Master Mu's surrender of his entire realm is a matter of great weight; therefore We have kept you, fellow Daoists, behind. .

. " The Ancestor God King said hastily, "Your Majesty is too kind.

We are your servants now; how can you still call us fellow Daoists? You will be the death of us!

If Your Majesty still finds us of some use, to be called 'beloved minister' would already be a blessing from Heaven! " Heaven Emperor Hao said with feigned reluctance, "In the days when the Grand Emperor sat upon the throne, he still called the Lord of Heaven and the Earl of Earth 'fellow Daoist'.

.

. " Yin Tianzi stepped out of the ranks and said in a loud voice, "That was then, this is now! A new Heaven Emperor, a new court of ministers; the old rules cannot be applied in today's court!

" Heaven Emperor Hao said with a show of reluctance, "Then We can only follow good advice as water follows its channel.

Beloved ministers, how do you think Jingping should be divided? " The Fire Heavenly Master bowed and said, "Your Majesty, Jingping is a human realm; by rights it should fall under the jurisdiction of my Southern Heaven! I am the Heavenly Master of the human race; in but a few years I can train the rebels of Jingping until they never harbor a thought of rebellion again!