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"Hah!" replied Qian Long"It is true that ministers must be completely loyal to their emperorBut since I am already emperor, how could I be disloyal?"
"You are obviously a Chinese and yet you submit to the ManchusIs that loyalty? When our father and mother were alive, you never attended to them properlyIs that filial behaviour?"
Beads of sweat dripped off Qian Long's forehead"At the time, I did not know," he said quietly"I first heard about it when the former leader of your Red Flower Society, Master Yu, visited me last springEven now, I'm not sure whether I believe it
"Look at yourself," Chen said"What resemblance is there to a Manchu? How can you have any further doubt?"
Qian Long brooded in silenceThe homeland of the Chinese people has fallen into the hands of the Manchus, and you yourself lead them in the oppression of our peopleIs that not disloyal, unfilial and criminal behaviour?"
For a moment, Qian Long was at a loss for a reply"And now I have fallen into your hands," he finally said, haughtily"If you are going to kill me, then kill meThere is no point wasting words
"But we made a pact on the embankment at Haining that we would never do anything to hurt one other," Chen replied softly"How can I go back on my word? And anyway, now that we know we are blood brothers, we have even less reason to do each other harm A tear trickled unbidden down his cheek
"Well, what do you want me to do? Do you want to force me to abdicate?"
"No," said Chen, wiping his miu miu knock off eyes"You can continue to be emperorBut as the wise, enlightened founder of a new dynasty
"Founder of a new dynasty?" Qian Long echoed in surpriseYou will be a Chinese emperor, not an emperor of the Manchus
Qian Long suddenly understood"So you want me to drive out the Manchus?" he said
"Yes, you will be emperor just the same, but instead of being regarded as a criminal and cursed by future generations, why not establish an outstanding and rejuvenating dynasty that will last?"
Chen saw from Qian Long's expression that his words were having the desired effect
"Being the emperor you are at present, you are simply basking in the glory of the former Manchu rulers," he continued"What is so special about that? Look at that man
Qian Long went over to the window and looked down in the direction Chen was pointing, and saw a peasant in the distance hoeing the ground
"If that man had been born in the Imperial Palace and you had been born in his farm house, he would be emperor, and you would have no choice but to hoe the field
Qian Long started at the novelty of the idea
"A man is born into the world and his life is gone in a flash," said Chen"If you achieve nothing worthwhile, you decay and rot like grass and trees without leaving a trace behindThe emperors of the past who established their own noble dynasties were truly great menEven a Tartar such as Genghis Khan could also be considered to be outstanding
Every word stabbed deep into Qian Long's heartIf, he thought, if I really do as black and white chanel handbag he says and throw the Manchus out and restore the Chinese homelands, I would truly be the founder of a dynasty and a man of greater achievements than any emperor before me
Just as he was considering an answer, he heard the sound of dogs barking in the distanceSeeing Chen frown slightly, he looked out and spied four massive hounds galloping towards the pagoda with two figures following
In the wink of an eye, they reached the base of the pagoda and there was a sharp challenge from belowQian Long and Chen, in the second-highest storey of the thirteen-storey pavilion could not hear distinctly what was said, but they saw the two new-comers and their dogs charge into the pavilionA moment later, there was a loud whistle indicating danger
Seeing help had arrived, Qian Long was overjoyedChen looked around carefully, but could see no other signs of movement: the two intruders were alone
He heard the shouts of youngsters mingling with the barks and growls of the dogs, indicating Zhou Qi and Xin Yan on the second floor were doing battle with the animalsAll of a sudden, there were two screams, and two swords were hurled out of the windowJust then, 'Crocodile' Jiang wielding his mighty iron oar chased the four dogs out of the pagoda and began beating them mercilesslySomeone on the sixth floor and gave an ear-splitting whistleThe four dogs turned and raced away
Noting the intruders had reached the sixth floor, Chen realised it meant Twelfth Brother, Ninth Brother and Eighth Brother had been tiffany bracelet unable to stop them
Suddenly, he saw 'Mastermind' Xu leap out of the seventh floor window onto the narrow roof pursued by a tiny old woman with a head of white hair and a sword slung over her back
"Watch the dart!" Xu yelled with a wave of his hand, and his opponent hastily withdrewBut it had been merely a feint, and Xu took advantage of the trick to escape round the corner
The old woman chased after him
"Watch out!" Xu yelled
"You bastard monkey," the old woman cursed"You can't fool your grandma again
She made a grab for him, but this time, it was no feint: a piece of tile Xu had picked up from the roof hurtled towards herUnable to avoid it, the old woman blocked the tile with her hand and it shatteredThe Twin Knights, standing guard on the eighth floor, appeared to be fully occupied dealing with the old woman's partner, for they gave Xu no helpXu's kung fu was no match for the old woman's, and after a few moves, he was forced to dodge out of the way again
Qian Long watched with pleasure as the two new-comers fought their way up, but Chen also seemed strangely unconcernedHe pulled a chair to the window so that he could sit and observe the battleThere were only two of them, he thoughtIn the end, they could not overcome all the Red Flower Society's fighters
Then he heard the sound of more dogs barking in the distance intermingled with shouting and galloping horses
Footsteps sounded on the stairs and Xin Yan raced in
"The guards outside report that more than two thousand mens cartier watch Manchu troops are approaching, heading straight for us," he told Chen, using the Red Flower Society's secret language
Chen nodded and Xin Yan raced back downstairsQian Long did not understand what Xin Yan had said, but seeing Chen's anxious expression, he knew it was unwelcome newsHe looked into the distance and spotted amongst the maple trees a white flag on which was written one large word: "Li"Overjoyed, he realized Commander Li had come to save him
Chen leaned out of the window and shouted: "Brother Ma, retreat into the pagoda and prepare the bows and arrows!"
Suddenly the old woman rushed into the room with the heroes close behindLord Zhou attacked her with his great sword while Chen pulled Qian Long into a corner
Xu motioned some of the others to guard the windows, and Chen shouted: "Throw down your sword and we'll spare you!"
The old woman could see she was surrounded, but she continued to fight, completely unafraid
"I've seen her sword style somewhere before, I'm sure," Zhou Qi said to Xu
"Yes, I thought it was familiar too," he replied
The old woman forced Lord Zhou back a pace, then shouted at Qian Long: "Are you the emperor?"
"Yes, I'm the emperor," he replied hastily"Are all the rescue forces here?" The woman leapt onto the table, then with her sword pointing straight out, flew at him like a great bird, thrusting the blade at his heartThe heroes had assumed she was one of Qian Long's underlings come to rescue him, and were caught completely unaware by this fast chanel bag |
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