“That damn emperor has way too big of an appetite!”

In the Governor’s Manor of Shangdang Commandery, Commandant Zhou Tai looked at the shameless message left by the damn emperor and laughed out of sheer rage. “To think his opening offer is fifty million coins… why doesn’t he just rob us!”

“This is a robbery!” Minister of the Imperial Stud Zhang Yan looked thoughtfully at the flying flower letter resting quietly on the desk and remarked, “It seems the mysterious person who delivered the secret letter to our master earlier was indeed the emperor’s henchman. To think that damn emperor actually controls such a secret guard force; he isn’t quite as useless as the rumors outside claim.”

Shentu Yang could lead eight hundred men to fight his way through the Xiongnu territory, which showed just how extraordinary his martial arts skills were.

Yet, as brave and vigilant as Shentu Yang was, the damn emperor’s secret guard could still slip a letter right into his embrace while he was asleep without him noticing a thing. If such an assassin truly wanted to kill someone in secret, who under heaven could stop them?

If the lives of everyone under heaven were hanging by the sword-tips of the emperor’s secret guards, who would dare to claim that the little emperor, trapped deep in the palace and nearly deposed, was merely a puppet?

“No wonder he has the nerve to demand fifty million!” Zhou Tai sneered, speaking with deep disgust. “We went through so much pain and suffering among the Xiongnu before finally escaping back to Yan. Big brother even plans to lead us back there to rescue more of our people. That damn emperor clearly knows what big brother wants to do, yet he uses this exact matter to blackmail him. Is he even fit to be the emperor?”

Everyone in the hall fell into a silent hush.

Zhang Yan turned to look at Shentu Yang, who sat heavily at the head of the room, “Big brother, what do you think we should do?”

Shentu Yang had already made up his mind and immediately said, “Give it to him.”

Everyone’s expressions changed drastically, “Big brother?!”

Shentu Yang waved his hand, offering no further explanation.

It was the same reasoning as before: as long as he could officially become the Duke of Yan and achieve a smooth transition of power, any price paid was worth it. Furthermore, the little emperor was going to grant him the authority to act as he saw fit, completely resolving his worries about the future.

“Fifty million is no small amount. What if the damn emperor pockets the money but refuses to issue the imperial decree?” Zhou Tai said anxiously. By then, they would be far away in Yan, and even if they immediately marched their army to attack Luoyang, they might not be able to grab the money back!

“From what I have seen of the emperor’s actions, he does not seem like an untrustworthy person. Huo Yan sent ten wagons of treasures to get the position of Chancellor, and Liang Gong became the Grand Tutor without spending a single penny. Since he dares to open his mouth for fifty million coins, he will certainly fulfill his promise.” What Shentu Yang did not say out loud was that even if Yin Shuhuai broke his promise, he wouldn’t be afraid. Fighting his way into Luoyang would always be much easier than entering it on his knees.

*

“I wonder what my hero Shentu is actually thinking.”

Inside Congde Hall, Yin Shuhuai lazily flipped through the memorials submitted by the Imperial Secretariat.

More than half a month had already passed since Yin Shuhuai sent the second flying flower letter to Shentu Yang, yet Shentu Yang’s reply was still nowhere to be found. This was the exact downside of long-distance, one-way communication. He had no idea when he would finally be able to activate the game interface and restore the private and group chat functions for his friends list.

Thinking of this, Yin Shuhuai casually checked in on the system background. Looking at the game interface, which remained completely greyed out with no sign of unlocking, he sighed heavily and slumped over the desk.

The emperor, who was waiting anxiously, had no idea that the fifty million coins escorted by a thousand troops sent by Shentu Yang was already on its way. At the same time, news that the emperor was unsatisfied with Shentu Yang’s offering of ten million coins and was actually demanding an astronomical sum of money from his subjects even a rebellious subject had already spread like wildfire through Luoyang.

Only this time, the ones spreading the nasty rumors about the emperor were not the Chancellor, who was busy setting up coal yards to resettle disaster victims, but rather the aristocratic families and noble clans who were dissatisfied with the emperor opening coal yards, hiring up refugees, and making them feel like their own interests were being harmed.

February, Second Year of the Jianyuan Era

Before the sound of firecrackers used to drive away evil spirits had even faded, a blizzard of impeachment memorials charging the emperor with forcefully seizing land, tearing down civilian houses, kidnapping commoners, and competing with the people for profit flooded into the Imperial Secretariat all at once.

It was as if the civil and military officials of the court had suddenly grown the consciences of holy saints. In their memorials, they collectively reminisced about the glory and hardships of the Great Yin ancestors who poured out their hearts and blood to build the foundations of the dynasty. Yet, they claimed the descendants of later generations were largely unfilial, not only indulging in pleasure, living in luxury and debauchery, trusting corrupt eunuchs, and keeping loyal ministers at a distance, but now even using the prestige of the emperor to sell official titles, promising the position of Duke of Yan to a rebellious subject for fifty million coins… such an absurd, incompetent ruler was simply unfit for his great responsibilities.

The reason why these court officials were so filled with righteous indignation was mostly because more and more coal yards were opening all over the capital region. Within a mere few months, they had actually recruited three hundred thousand refugees, causing people from all over the world to gather in response, and even many runaway slaves from noble families had used the identity of refugees to seek shelter at the coal yards.

Especially after the spring arrived, the coal yards used the excuse of giving employee benefits to completely tear down and rebuild the underground dugouts that had been built outside Luoyang earlier. The people wandering around the country finally saw a hope of survival and flooded into the capital region from all directions.

For a time, even the number of rebel forces in various regions began to drop sharply. The wealthy noble families backing those rebel forces were naturally furious!

“…I let you open coal yards to settle refugees, but how exactly did you manage to offend those noble families and clans? Looking at how furious and agitated they are, they look like they want to depose me as emperor right away.” Yin Shuhuai tossed the memorials impeaching him aside, asking even though he already knew the answer, “Is my rule as emperor really causing this much public outrage?”

Huo Yan, who sat on the lower mat, looked calmly at Yin Shuhuai as the emperor leaned lazily against a cushion and complained about nothing, “Isn’t it incredibly simple to solve this matter? Your Majesty only needs to send a private message to those court officials who are impeaching you, and those people will naturally understand exactly why, to this day, Your Majesty still sits on that throne as solid as a mountain.”

“That doesn’t seem very nice.” Yin Shuhuai thought about it for a moment, asking with a smile, “What if I end up scaring them?”

Huo Yan was directly amused by Yin Shuhuai’s shameless words, “Your Majesty is afraid of scaring them, but you weren’t afraid of scaring me? We are all ministers of the court, so why does Your Majesty favor them over me?”

Yin Shuhuai didn’t take it seriously, “The Chancellor is joking. You have lived to this age and seen all kinds of things in the world; how could a little trick of mine possibly scare you?”

Huo Yan immediately fired back, “Those old codgers aren’t that much younger than me.”

Yin Shuhuai looked with slight surprise at Huo Yan, who seemed to have a lot of built-up anger, “Does the Chancellor really despise the court officials that much?”

Before Huo Yan could speak, Yin Shuhuai slapped his own forehead as if suddenly realizing something, “Ah, that’s right. Those court ministers didn’t just submit memorials criticizing me; they also submitted a lot of memorials impeaching the Chancellor. Speaking of which, the two of us can be considered companions in misfortune.”

Huo Yan, who had absolutely no desire to be companions in misfortune with Yin Shuhuai, dismissed it dismissively, “It’s just the barking of dogs and the crowing of chickens, completely unworthy of mention.”

Is that so?

Yin Shuhuai raised an eyebrow, suddenly asking, “Since the opening of the coal yards, how much profit has been made?”

Huo Yan glanced at Yin Shuhuai, saying in a perfectly calm tone, “Your Majesty has sent so many eunuchs into the coal yards to check the account books, so why ask when you already know the answer?”

Yin Shuhuai let out a long sigh, saying with great emotion, “The Chancellor ought to know that the reason why the civil and military officials are reacting so violently is entirely because the coal yards hired workers and absorbed a massive number of refugees, which stopped the wealthy noble families from buying people by force. When you get down to it, it is nothing more than the single word ‘profit.’ If the Chancellor could give up a bit of the coal yard’s profits and share it with the noble families”

“Absolutely impossible!” Huo Yan’s expression changed instantly. He stood up and said, “The coal yards were established by the iron officials, and the iron officials are controlled by the imperial court. How can they fall into private hands for the sake of personal gain? Your Majesty need not mention this again.”

After saying his piece, he actually clasped his hands and walked right out.

Yin Shuhuai watched Huo Yan’s furious, retreating figure, unable to help but shake his head and sigh. When Liang Gong entered the palace later, the emperor acted timid and weak as he tried to stir up trouble, “…I originally wanted to step in and make peace, asking the Chancellor to shake hands and make up with the noble families so everyone could share the profits. I never expected the Chancellor would flatly reject my suggestion.”

Hearing these words, Liang Gong reprimanded Yin Shuhuai with great displeasure, “For Your Majesty to do this is truly using the heart of a petty man to measure the mind of a gentleman. Our impeachment of Your Majesty is for the sake of the empire and the common people under heaven; how could it possibly be for petty, personal profit?”

Yin Shuhuai replied, “Ah, yes, yes, yes! Everything you say is right. How about I send another letter to Shentu Yang, telling him that everything we discussed before is canceled? I don’t want that fifty million coins anymore, and I won’t name him the Duke of Yan either. After all, you noble scholars all think he is a rebellious subject and that I shouldn’t make a deal with him, right?”

Liang Gong’s expression changed completely. Looking at Yin Shuhuai, who was openly acting like a rogue, he was so angry his lips trembled, unable to utter a single word.

The imperial army that went to attack Yan only to be captured was still being held in Yan, their lives hanging entirely on Shentu Yang’s whim. How could Liang Gong dare to ruin the matter of Shentu Yang presenting the gold offerings to request the title of Duke of Yan at a time like this? If Shentu Yang caught wind of it and murdered the sons of the noble families to vent his anger, what would they do? One had to remember that the young men of the Liang family were also in that army!

Yin Shuhuai looked at Liang Gong’s shifting expression and suddenly sneered, “I heard that recently, the coal yards have taken in quite a few runaway slaves. Where does the Grand Tutor think these runaway slaves came from?”

Liang Gong’s expression grew even more unsightly.

Yin Shuhuai stretched lazily, looking entirely bored, “You so-called virtuous scholars really aren’t very proper when it comes to doing things. You want to take all the advantages while acting innocent, wishing that every good thing under heaven belongs to you. Yet, when an opportunity is actually shoved into your hands and you are asked to step forward and take on heavy responsibilities, you back out. Hesitating and fearing risk, weighing pros and cons, wanting to achieve great things but too afraid of personal risk, seeing small gains but forgetting the danger to your lives… and you still expect to fight the Chancellor like this? On what grounds?”

“Are you really relying on nothing but your smooth-talking tongues?”

Liang Gong was so angry his old face turned purple and swollen, “Your Majesty”

“Fine.” Yin Shuhuai waved his hand, signaling that Liang Gong could leave, “No wonder the Chancellor doesn’t take a disorganized mob like you seriously. I begged him so earnestly, wanting him to share a piece of the pie with you, yet he was still unwilling.”

Speaking up to this point, Yin Shuhuai seemed to realize something and changed his tone, “Forget it, actually this can’t entirely be blamed on you. As the saying goes, when a scholar meets a soldier, arguments are useless against weapons. You people who handle pens and ink naturally can’t compare to people who handle swords and spears. You can only pick on a puppet emperor like me and fight a war of words.”

*

“Did His Majesty truly say that?”

In the Grand Tutor’s Manor

Not long after Liang Gong left the palace in a fit of rage, the scholars and ministers who were close to him all gathered at his manor. Hearing Liang Gong recount how the Emperor had ridiculed the ministers, Minister of the Imperial Secretariat Chen Mengqi was filled with uncontrollable rage, “A young brat, how dare he be this wild”

“Master Chen, speak with caution,” Liang Gong cut off Chen Mengqi’s reckless words, his gaze sweeping across everyone’s faces. “The old scoundrel Huo Yan bullies his sovereign and abuses power, even trapping His Majesty inside the palace. Without his orders, he doesn’t even allow outsiders into the palace for an audience. Right now, His Majesty is surrounded by nothing but corrupt eunuchs, so he naturally does not know of our loyalty”

“The Grand Tutor does not need to speak kindly of that little emperor. In my view, His Majesty seems perfectly content being a puppet emperor. He works hand in glove with the old scoundrel Huo Yan to bring chaos to the world, acting recklessly and committing all kinds of evil. Naturally, he cannot listen to our honest advice.”

“As things stand now, our only option is to assassinate Huo Yan to purge the court of corrupt officials. Once Huo Yan is dead, that little brat of an emperor won’t be a threat at all, and we can even go ahead and depose him to set up a new ruler!”

“Fourteen years have passed since the late Emperor Li passed away. The four emperors before and after have all been completely incompetent. This shows that Emperor Li’s lineage is simply unfit to carry out heavy responsibilities. Why don’t we select someone from a side branch”

“Sir, please speak with caution!” Liang Gong immediately cut the man’s words off, speaking with deep pain and grief, “How did it come to this! How could it possibly come to this!”

“With an incompetent ruler and corrupt ministers in power, the country will cease to be a country, and the empire is in danger. Why should the Grand Tutor hold back over a young brat? We ministers all live off the salaries provided by the Yin dynasty. Now that an incompetent ruler is on the throne, acting against all reason, we ought to move forward without looking back to wipe out the corrupt elements and maintain the court structure. Only in this way can we live up to our ancestors.”

That night, Yin Shuhuai looked at the secret report from the Grand Tutor’s manor that Zhuang Wuwei had promptly delivered, and he could not help but smile.

“Thinking back to the past, when Huo Yan recklessly talked about deposing and setting up rulers at a banquet, it was the Grand Tutor who stood up to furiously denounce Huo Yan, saying his actions were tantamount to treason. Who would have thought that today, the Grand Tutor is secretly discussing deposing and setting up rulers in his own home.”

“Zhuang Wuwei, do you think the Grand Tutor is truly loyal to the sovereign and serving the country, or is he simply disappointed in me?” Yin Shuhuai held the secret report close to the candle flame to burn it completely, murmuring, “Or perhaps, the Grand Tutor only wants a fool to be the emperor, and does not wish for me to have a mind of my own?”

Zhuang Wuwei knelt on the ground, pressing his forehead against the floor, not daring to utter a single word.