Holding the Emperor Hostage : Chapter 12: Stubbornly Going One’s Own Way

Facing Yin Shuhuai’s overly expectant and burning gaze, Liang Gong pondered for a moment, then still agreed.

“I knew the Grand Preceptor would not disappoint me.” Yin Shuhuai slapped his thigh, warmly praising, “The Grand Preceptor truly cares for the common people, loving them as his own children.”

Liang Gong was not very interested. He had entered the palace this time to remonstrate with His Majesty to execute treacherous eunuchs and stay away from wicked ministers. He had not expected to fail in his purpose, and instead fall for His Majesty’s provocation. This made Liang Gong feel deeply frustrated.

“Since Your Majesty knows that thief Huo harbors wolfish ambitions, why associate yourself with such a traitorous person?” Liang Gong could not understand. Clearly, before today, this ruler and subject had appeared as incompatible as fire and water. Why had both of them changed so much overnight?

Could it be that His Majesty was truly a muddle headed and immoral ruler who only cared about profit? And that old thief Huo Yan had catered to his tastes, deliberately using rare treasures to bribe His Majesty, enticing him to heavily employ eunuchs, indulge in pleasure, compete with the people for profit, and throw the court into chaos. Then once His Majesty acted contrary to reason and the situation became beyond remedy, he would depose the Emperor in one stroke and establish a new ruler?

“Your Majesty is muddle headed!” The more Liang Gong thought about it, the more it made sense, and he could not help but heartbrokenly scold His Majesty, “Does Your Majesty know that old thief Huo Yan harbors evil intentions? He is deliberately enticing Your Majesty to become a muddle headed and immoral ruler. Then using Your Majesty’s foolishness to carry out deposition and establishment. How could you fall for his treacherous scheme?”

Yin Shuhuai sighed helplessly, forcibly changing the subject, “There is also honeycomb coal for use with the iron stoves. Does the Grand Preceptor know how to make honeycomb coal?”

Liang Gong roared in anger, “Your Majesty, do not look left and right while speaking of other things. For the present plan, the only way is to kill treacherous eunuchs, eliminate wicked thieves, and perform more benevolent and righteous acts—”

Yin Shuhuai said, “Honeycomb coal is made by mixing coal powder, yellow earth, and water in appropriate proportions. One piece of honeycomb coal can save at least one third of the cost. For common people who are stretched thin, it is the most suitable thing.”

Yin Shuhuai signaled Zhuang Wuwei to bring over the tools and flow charts for making honeycomb coal that he had drawn earlier. He handed the blueprints to Liang Gong with both hands, “Previously the Chancellor gave me ten cartloads of treasures. I ask the Grand Preceptor to sell those ten cartloads of treasures for silver coins, and have the government come forward to build coal yards in various places, hire local refugees and common people who cannot survive to make coal balls, then have the Iron Offices in various places provide iron stoves, and sell them to the common people at the lowest price, ensuring they can safely survive this winter.”

Yin Shuhuai’s idea was very simple. He would provide a sum of money as startup capital, have the Iron Offices come forward to open coal yards throughout the country, recruit refugees and common people, let them have money to buy iron stoves and honeycomb coal, and at least survive this winter first.

Liang Gong was furious beyond measure, “Why does Your Majesty close your eyes and stop up your ears, stubbornly going your own way—”

Yin Shuhuai could not endure it anymore, “In the Grand Preceptor’s eyes, what exactly are benevolent and righteous acts? Is only killing eunuchs benevolent and righteous? If executing eunuchs could let the common people eat their fill and dress warmly, then previously when Huo Yan killed over a thousand eunuchs, why did the common people of the Yin Dynasty still freeze and starve to death in the snow disaster?”

“Or is it that from beginning to end, the Grand Preceptor only cares about the benevolence and righteousness in your own eyes, and completely cannot see the starving corpses and refugees outside?”

Liang Gong looked at Yin Shuhuai in shock, unable to speak for a long time.

Yin Shuhuai had long known he was a puppet emperor, and every move was constrained by others. But he had not expected that communicating with Liang Gong would be even more troublesome than with Huo Yan. This world renowned one of the Three Excellencies was truly like a dog lifting a door curtain, relying entirely on his mouth. When asked to do real work, he started looking left and right while speaking of other things.

“One sentence, can you do it or not!” Yin Shuhuai was also impatient, speaking directly from the heart, “The Grand Preceptor repeatedly scolds the Chancellor as a traitorous thief, but at least the Chancellor is willing to do things. Whether the Grand Preceptor says I compete with the people for profit, or says I am muddle headed and immoral, I do not care about reputation. I only care whether my common people can eat their fill, and whether they can survive this winter.”

“If the Chancellor can help me, the Chancellor is a capable minister. If eunuchs can help me, eunuchs are good people. The Grand Preceptor cares so much about the way of the sages and worthies, but if the way of the sages and worthies you insist on cannot save lives, what use is it to the country? What use is it to me?”

The unspoken meaning was, if you can do it then step up, if you can’t then stop talking. He would naturally find people who could do things to do them.

Yin Shuhuai cursed inwardly, he was truly fed up with these self righteous people who only engaged in empty talk.

Probably the Emperor’s overly harsh attitude shocked this one of the Three Excellencies from a noble family. Liang Gong was silent for a long time, then finally received the blueprints with both hands, carefully looked at them for a while, and said tactfully, “Your Majesty’s heart that loves the people is known to all. However, establishing coal yards throughout the country still needs careful consideration. This matter involves too much, and with the slightest carelessness, I fear it will waste the people’s strength and wealth, and instead betray Your Majesty’s good intentions. Why not first try it out in Luoyang for a while, and see the results?”

The reason Liang Gong said this was also very simple. Though he was honored as one of the Three Excellencies, the court was now weak, and regional lords and powerful local magnates each held their own territory, paying lip service to the court’s edicts. Not to mention that implementing this matter also involved the Iron Offices in various places. Liang Gong worried that regional lords would use this matter to massively produce weapons, and the court in distant Luoyang could not reach them with a whip. If this continued for long, it would likely cause disaster.

As for whether establishing coal yards in various places to recruit refugees would offend the noble families of the world and the meritorious nobles of the court, that was another matter.

Most importantly, the Iron Offices were controlled by Chancellor Huo Yan. Liang Gong did not wish to scheme hard only to make a wedding dress for someone else.

Yin Shuhuai was silent for a moment, then smiled and said, “If so, then I must trouble the Grand Preceptor.”

Liang Gong said solemnly, “Your Majesty is seeking blessings for the common people. This humble minister is merely running errands for Your Majesty. How can one speak of trouble?”

Liang Gong’s thinking was also very simple. Since His Majesty had already made up his mind and was determined to do this matter, then let him do it. If the matter succeeded, his prestige and reputation among the common people would rise to a higher level. If the matter failed, it could also teach the young Emperor a lesson

He was honored as one of the Three Excellencies, how could he quibble with a child who had not yet reached the age of majority?

“The Grand Preceptor understands great righteousness. I thank the Grand Preceptor on behalf of the common people.” Yin Shuhuai rose and made a bow to Liang Gong.

Liang Gong hurriedly rose and supported Yin Shuhuai’s arms, “Your Majesty must not.”

Yin Shuhuai gazed into Liang Gong’s eyes and said apologetically, “Just now I acted on impulse and misunderstood the Grand Preceptor. Please do not blame me.”

Liang Gong heard this and said with sincere fear, “Your Majesty speaks too seriously. It is all this humble minister’s fault, this humble minister should not have echoed what others say…”

Before he finished speaking, Yin Shuhuai interrupted, “The Grand Preceptor need not say more.”

The ruler and subject looked at each other and smiled, as if all previous grudges had been released.

—

To show that he truly took the Emperor’s entrustment seriously, Liang Gong also earnestly discussed with Yin Shuhuai the specific process for making honeycomb coal, and the concrete feasibility of the Iron Offices selling iron stoves to the common people.

Just before Liang Gong left the palace, Yin Shuhuai seemingly casually asked, “Did the Grand Preceptor learn from the Chancellor that I ordered the Iron Offices to make iron stoves for palace servants to keep warm?”

Liang Gong was startled upon hearing this.

Yin Shuhuai smiled, “It’s nothing. I just suddenly thought that the Iron Offices are currently controlled by the Chancellor. If we want the Iron Offices to sell iron stoves to the common people, we still need the Chancellor’s approval. I will leave this matter for the Grand Preceptor to communicate with the Chancellor.”

Liang Gong thoughtfully made a bow to His Majesty, then turned and left.

After this matter, the news that Yin Shuhuai had offended the Grand Preceptor by providing warmth for palace servants spread throughout the front court and rear palace. Regardless of how the various officials of the front court viewed this matter, the entire palace was deeply grateful for His Majesty’s kindness.

For the people living at the very bottom, the winter of the Great Yin was truly too hard to endure. Even in the palace where food and clothing were not lacking, every winter many eunuchs and palace maids, and even unfavored consorts would die of cold and hunger. Not to mention the common people outside.

Outside the heavy snow filled the sky. Inviting three to five close friends, sitting around a stove boiling wine, that was the enjoyment of noble families and powerful magnates. For the toiling masses constantly struggling on the line of death, the heavy snow filling the sky would only collapse houses, block roads, make the grass roots and tree bark visible everywhere in spring and autumn disappear for ten thousand li, and let the old, weak, sick, and disabled without winter clothes silently freeze to death in thatched huts and straw shelters in the bitter winter.

The vermilion gates reek of wine and meat, while on the road lie bones of the frozen dead.

These verses that Yin Shuhuai had learned in textbooks were the lives that the common people at the bottom of the Yin Dynasty were currently experiencing. Though Yin Shuhuai had not yet personally seen those people’s hardships, he knew it was all happening. Even the eunuchs and palace maids living in the palace were so hard pressed, not to mention the common people far from imperial power.

Having transmigrated here in one morning, with no troops, no power, and being sidelined, Yin Shuhuai truly could not do too much. But a puppet emperor was still an emperor, Yin Shuhuai thought. At least within his ability, he could let more common people who could not afford food and clothing survive this winter. Even if it was only using iron stoves to keep warm in the bitter cold winter, drinking some hot water to drive away the cold.

He just had not expected that even having transmigrated to become Emperor, wanting to accomplish one thing would actually be this difficult.