Holding the Emperor Hostage : Chapter 24: Coming to the Aid of the King

It was the twelfth day since the Prime Minister led the army out on campaign, and he was deeply missed!

Yin Shuhuai sat straight at the head of the hall, looking through the slightly swaying twelve tassels of his crown at the civil and military officials who were accusing and passing the buck to one another in the hall, and he let out a quiet sigh.

He truly did miss Huo Yan.

Ever since Huo Yan left Luoyang, the civil and military officials used the pretext that His Majesty had taken personal control of the government to restore the regular court assembly once every five days.

Do not go thinking that this court assembly once every five days could actually resolve any problems. Although the civil and military officials clamored for the Emperor to oversee the court, their performance during the assemblies remained thoroughly stable. The moment they opened their mouths, it was always about how the court must govern with benevolence and love the people, and how His Majesty must stay close to virtuous ministers and distant from petty individuals. But if you actually wanted them to get something done, then just watch!

The civil and military officials each aired their own views, and a matter as tiny as a sesame seed could be argued over for eight or ten hours without them producing a single concrete or viable solution. Yin Shuhuai even suspected that the only reason they could debate for so long was just to score that free meal provided by the court kitchen!

Compared to the lightning fast execution of Huo Yan, this efficiency was vastly inferior.

Fortunately, Yin Shuhuai had not counted on them to get things done anyway.

Before leaving, Huo Yan handed over the thirteen departments of the Prime Minister’s estate and the imperial secretariat entirely to Yin Shuhuai. The current Yin Shuhuai was essentially managing the Prime Minister’s estate with the body of an emperor.

It was completely upside down.

But it had to be said that the staff of the Prime Minister’s estate was exceptionally useful. The Western Department oversaw the clerks and personnel appointments, the Revenue Department managed rituals and agriculture, the Petition Department handled memorials, and the Treasury Department oversaw currency, salt, and iron. Each department had a clear division of labor, and every individual was absolutely loyal to the Prime Minister. Therefore, even though Huo Yan had been gone for so long, the imperial government could still function in an orderly and systematic manner.

The massive logistical machine continuously provided grain and military supplies to the army crushing the rebellion at Sishui Pass. The newly opened coal yards and weaving workshops rapidly absorbed the refugees flooding past the pass, while casually providing winter part-time work and income for the commoners during their idle season. The Revenue Department and the Palace Workshops worked together in perfect harmony inside and out, occasionally inventing and promoting newly improved farming tools and recipes to enrich the dull winter lives of the commoners. Seeing Yin Shuhuai, who had just taken personal control of the government, gradually familiarizing himself with the massive empire through his absolute control over the court via the Prime Minister’s estate, the noble families and elites who had been excluded all this time finally could no longer sit still.

They had gone to great lengths to get rid of Huo Yan precisely to seize this opportunity to grip the Emperor firmly in their hands. If Yin Shuhuai always relied heavily on the thirteen departments of the Prime Minister’s estate to get things done, where were they, the court officials, supposed to stand?

They couldn’t possibly just wait until Huo Yan crushed the rebellion and returned to monopolize absolute power again, making everyone celebrate for nothing, right?

“To think that His Majesty actually trusts Huo Yan this much! Has he forgotten how that rebel insulted the royal family back then, even wildly dreaming of deposing the old Emperor to install a new ruler? If Grand Tutor Liang had not spoken up out of justice, how could he have sat securely on the throne? Now that the Grand Tutor is dead and his clan wiped out, he doesn’t seek vengeance for the Grand Tutor, but instead works hand in glove with the old scoundrel Huo Yan! He truly is a foolish ruler! A foolish ruler!”

“If we had known it would turn out this way, the Grand Tutor should not have opposed Huo Yan’s plan to install a new ruler back then. Although the King of Dai is young, he is intelligent, fond of learning, well behaved, and sensible. If he were emperor, he would definitely stay much closer to virtuous ministers and love the people more than the current one.”

“The old scoundrel Huo Yan, in order to win the Emperor’s trust, not only sold government offices and noble titles to frantically amass wealth, but even used his control over the iron officials to open coal yards everywhere, gathering commoners and oppressing the innocent. Since the founding of the Yin Dynasty, when has there ever been such a foolish and unprincipled emperor who competes with the commoners for profit? This foolish ruler and treacherous minister truly suit each other perfectly, working hand in glove. For the sake of the realm, we must absolutely prevent the scoundrel Huo from returning to the capital.”

The noble families spoke with absolute certainty, determined to never allow Huo Yan to march his victorious army back to the capital.

Meanwhile, the grand army crushing the rebellion finally arrived at Sishui Pass. The rebel army defending Sishui Pass unleashed a massive barrage of arrows all at once. In the chaotic battle, Huo Yan was actually wounded by a stray arrow, falling headfirst off his horse. The force of one hundred thousand troops collapsed and scattered in defeat, and the Liang rebel army took the opportunity to charge out of Sishui Pass, driving straight ahead and closing in on the capital.

When the news reached Luoyang, the civil and military officials were utterly terrified. They immediately requested His Majesty to issue a decree to the realm, calling upon the various regional lords to enter the capital to aid the King and save the state.

Yin Shuhuai completely ignored the chaotic officials, only showing absolute concern over whether Prime Minister Huo Yan’s wounds were severe. He even ordered Dong Wan to dispatch two hundred imperial guards to escort the palace physician with the best medical skills to Sishui Pass: “You must preserve the Prime Minister’s life at all costs.”

The civil and military officials could not stand the Emperor showing such deep affection and respect for Huo Yan, and they immediately said: “The old scoundrel Huo Yan framed the loyal and virtuous, and was ambitious and fond of military glory. If he hadn’t falsely accused the Grand Tutor and deliberately forced the Liang clan into rebellion, how could he have met today’s fate—”

“You son of a maid servant, you bastard of a concubine’s child, how dare you spout such utter nonsense?” Dong Wan was so enraged that he directly grabbed the speaker by the collar, roaring in his face: “The evidence of the old scoundrel Liang Gong’s treason and rebellion is absolutely ironclad, and the Liang clan deserved to die. You cry for the Liang clan, does that mean you want to commit treason too?”

The low ranking official whose collar was grabbed said tremblingly: “Right before His Majesty, you rebel, do you actually dare to use physical force?”

“You”

“Commander, stop,” Yin Shuhuai, who had been watching cold-shouldered all this time, finally spoke up slowly.

Dong Wan let out a cold snort and released his grip with annoyance.

The official straightened his robes and cap, gave Dong Wan a smug smile, and then bowed to Yin Shuhuai: “Your Majesty is wise.”

Yin Shuhuai looked at the official with a cold, clear gaze; he did not even know this person’s name: “You believe the Liang clan is innocent?”

“Of course they are innocent. The Grand Tutor’s loyalty to Your Majesty could be witnessed by heaven and earth. Back then, when the old scoundrel Huo Yan insisted on carrying out a deposition and installation of rulers, it was Grand Tutor Liang Gong who resolutely opposed it. Has Your Majesty forgotten?”

“The remnants of the Liang clan disguised themselves as refugees to seize Sishui Pass, is that also innocent?”

“This…” The official was completely stumped by Yin Shuhuai’s single question. After contemplating for a long time, he could only brace himself and say: “When officials oppress the people, the people are forced to rebel.”

“What an excellent phrase, ‘when officials oppress the people, the people are forced to rebel,'” Yin Shuhuai was practically laughing out of pure rage. “Arrest this fellow and punish him on charges of treason.”

“Yes sir!” Dong Wan was overjoyed to hear this, and he immediately called the imperial guards to drag the man away.

“Your Majesty, you cannot! Your Majesty, you cannot! Official Wang is a famous scholar across the realm, how can Your Majesty execute a virtuous minister…”

“Whoever else wants to cry for the rebels, feel free to step forward,” Yin Shuhuai looked with burning intensity at the chaotic crowd of officials in the hall. His chilling gaze struck a tremor into everyone, and for a moment, the massive Chonde Hall fell completely silent.

After the court assembly ended, Yin Shuhuai returned to the rear palace with a dark, grim face.

“According to the information sent back by our secret spies, the Prime Minister was wounded in the back,” Dong Wan followed closely behind the Emperor, speaking with gnashing teeth. “I had best not catch that petty person who shot a hidden arrow into a man’s back, otherwise I will definitely tear him into ten thousand pieces.”

Yin Shuhuai’s brow was tightly knit. He and Huo Yan had still underestimated the black-hearted depths of those noble families and imperial relatives.

They had originally thought those noble families merely wanted to work hand in glove with the rebels to trick open the gates of Luoyang, but they never expected that they actually wanted to use the opportunity of Huo Yan leading the army out on campaign to kill Huo Yan directly in the middle of a chaotic battle.

Now Huo Yan had fallen to a hidden plot, and the rebel army was driving straight for the capital. The noble families still wanted him to summon the regional lords of the realm to aid the King and save the state.

Did they want the various lords to enter the capital to save the King? They clearly wanted to lead the wolf into the house!

Who didn’t know that while these regional lords shouted loyalty to the ruler, love for the country, and coming to the aid of the King, what they truly thought in their hearts was holding the Emperor hostage to command the other lords?

Yin Shuhuai would absolutely not fulfill the wishes of those treacherous rebels.

With Dong Wan, Huo Quan, and the others defending Luoyang, he felt perfectly at ease. After all, they were all grasshoppers tied to the same string right now.

“Issue the decree! Draft every male in Luoyang and Guanzhong between the ages of twenty and forty five to report to the southern and northern armies!”

He refused to believe it. With control over a massive army, he couldn’t possibly defeat a scattered remnant of the Liang clan. If he truly couldn’t defeat them, he would take the commoners and retreat to defend Chang’an. Relying on the natural stronghold of Tongguan Pass, could he still not block a pack of roving bandits?

However, what Yin Shuhuai never expected was that despite him not issuing a decree ordering the various regional lords to enter the capital to save the King, the various regional lords had already received inside information from the great noble families. Flying the banner of coming to the aid of the King, they were rapidly gathering their troops and rushing over.

Even Shentu Yang, who had just returned from the Xiongnu nomads with a massive victory, heard the news of the various lords coming to the aid of the King. The Duke of Yan, who was currently letting his army rest and reorganize in Shangdang, calculated the distance from Shangdang to Luoyang

“I can be loyal too! I can come to the aid of the King too!”

The battle-hardened Duke of Yan let out a loud laugh and rapidly assembled an army of one hundred thousand troops: “Pass down the order, march the army to Luoyang!”