According to the rites of the Yin dynasty, imperial family members as well as children of the regional lords and nobility were to have their capping ceremonies performed in the ancestral temple, hosted by their fathers, upon reaching twenty years of age.

However, when Yin Shuhuai became the Emperor, his imperial father Emperor Li of Yin had already passed away for more than ten years. Before his own ascension, there were four prior emperors. Aside from Emperor You of Yin who died on a beauty’s couch less than a year after taking the throne, the other three emperors all perished at a young age. None of them lived to adulthood, so naturally, none had the opportunity to hold a capping ceremony.

Speaking of which, the imperial court had not held a capping ceremony for an emperor or a crown prince for over a decade. Now that Prime Minister Huo Yan suddenly proposed holding a grand capping ceremony for the Emperor, the entire court instantly fell into a chaotic mess. The Minister of Ceremonies, who was responsible for preparing the grand ceremony, even stayed up all night reviewing ancient texts, deeply terrified of making any blunders.

“Order the divination officials to select an auspicious date immediately, do not delay for too long…” Huo Yan leaned against the bedcouch, drinking a bowl of steaming hot medicinal soup in a single gulp. Huo Quan, who was serving at his side, immediately presented a bowl of candied fruits. Huo Yan picked up a piece and held it in his mouth, the excessively sweet candied fruit instantly dispelling the bitterness in his mouth.

Huo Yan’s brow relaxed slightly as he leaned against the resting pillow and continued speaking, “I have already ordered people to submit the memorial recommending you as Grand Marshal to His Majesty. His Majesty will approve it. After you assume the post of Grand Marshal cough cough…”

“Father!” Huo Quan leaned forward with deep concern, gently rubbing Huo Yan’s chest.

Huo Yan waved his hand, suppressing the itch in his throat as he continued, “After you assume the post of Grand Marshal, you must be loyal to His Majesty and obey His Majesty’s commands.” Looking at his youngest son who seemed hesitant to speak, Huo Yan said with a smile, “Do you want to ask me why I didn’t recommend you to be the Prime Minister, but instead want you to serve as Grand Marshal?”

Huo Quan did not speak, he merely pursed his lips and looked at Huo Yan with a trace of sadness. He actually knew why his father did not want to recommend him as Prime Minister

“Your abilities are mediocre, and you lack decisiveness. You hesitate and look back and forth when encountering matters, falling far short of your eldest brother’s firm and resolute nature, and you possess absolutely no talent for commanding troops. If it weren’t for the fact that His Majesty is merciful and kind, and currently has no trusted aides available to use, I would not have recommended you to take this position of Grand Marshal.” Huo Yan spoke these words very bluntly, causing Huo Quan to lower his head in embarrassment, hiding the warmth rising in his eyes.

“But you also have your advantages.” Huo Yan patted his son’s shoulder, speaking slowly, “You do things carefully and thoroughly, and you stick obstinately to principles. Your nature is loyal and honest; you do not crave power or cling to influence. Staying by His Majesty’s side, you only need to help him hold down the position of Grand Marshal.”

If a day truly came when troops had to be mobilized for war, with Shentu Yang’s dictatorial and arrogant nature, he would certainly not hand over the actual power of deploying and commanding troops. Furthermore, Shentu Yang had an abundance of talent under his command, every single one of them being an exceptionally outstanding and fierce general. The students and old associates of their Huo family might not win even if they tried to compete.

Therefore, Huo Yan recommending Huo Quan as Grand Marshal was first because Huo Quan was his son, who would inherit the Huo family’s political assets as the head of the household after his death. He would then hand over those political assets in their most complete state to the Emperor. This would make it clear to the world that although Huo Yan was dead, their Huo family was still heavily relied upon by the Emperor. It would prevent the Huo clan and the officials dependent on them from suffering a devastating disaster after his death.

This old man clearly knew how many people he had offended during his period as regent. Once he passed away, Shentu Yang and those old associates of families whose nine generations he had executed would definitely find ways to wipe out the entire Huo family. At that time, the Huo clan line would face the most intense retaliation.

Therefore, even if it was just to save his entire family, Huo Yan had to throw his full support behind the Emperor. He had to make the young emperor remember his kindness, and make the young emperor willingly protect the Huo family. As long as Yin Shuhuai, with the supreme dignity of the Emperor, demonstrated an attitude of closeness toward the Huo clan line, combined with the remaining power of the Huo family, it would be enough for self-preservation.

This was the second reason why Huo Yan wanted to recommend Huo Quan as Grand Marshal he had to demonstrate the value of the Huo clan line and help the young emperor hold onto the positions of the Three Excellencies. This was to prevent Shentu Yang from following his example after his death by using a single person to concurrently hold the positions of Grand Marshal and Prime Minister, thereby directly controlling the military and political power of the imperial court in name.

In addition to this, Huo Yan, who knew perfectly well that Shentu Yang would surely plot to seize the position of Prime Minister after his death, took the trusted and capable officials serving as subordinates in his thirteen departments and scattered them into various positions throughout the court. He also recommended his trusted strategist Fan Juan and his most highly regarded grandson Huo Hong to the Emperor to serve as imperial attendants.

Thinking up to this point, Huo Yan pressed with another question, “Where has Hong reached?”

Huo Hong was Huo Yan’s eldest grandson. His father was Huo Sha, who had been murdered by the Liang rebel army masquerading as refugees while guarding the Sishui Pass. He was the grandson Huo Yan regarded most highly. He was only twenty-two years old this year and had originally been traveling around to study. After Huo Sha died, Huo Hong escorted the coffin back to their ancestral home in Nanyang, building a hut by Huo Sha’s grave to observe the mourning period.

After returning to Luoyang, Huo Yan immediately sent a message to Huo Hong, telling him to return to the capital at once. He also recommended him as an imperial attendant to serve at His Majesty’s side. This was actually contrary to proper rites, and it went completely against the Yin dynasty’s tradition of ruling the empire through filial piety, which would cause the world to criticize Huo Hong for being unfilial.

But Huo Yan insisted on doing it this way. Aside from the old man’s usual rebellious nature that never placed secular rites and laws in his eyes, it was also because Huo Yan had to convey to the world the determination of the Huo clan line to fully support His Majesty—three generations of their Huo family, from grandfather to grandson, were loyal to His Majesty. If loyalty and filial piety could not both be preserved, then fulfilling loyalty was of primary importance.

As for what to do if their reputation among the pure scholars turned rotten… Huo Yan felt that their entire family was in mortal danger, so what did they need a reputation for! Besides, who would dare to say that fulfilling loyalty to His Majesty meant throwing away one’s reputation? Anyone who dared to say such words was welcome to step forward and see whether His Majesty would employ them, and that would be the end of it.

After settling the trusted younger generation of his own family, Huo Yan also selected seven noble sons who possessed established reputations but had always maintained neutrality to serve as imperial attendants alongside Huo Hong, serving His Majesty together. The purpose of doing this was to cultivate a core group of loyal followers for the Emperor.

Although it had already been two years since His Majesty ascended the throne, starting to cultivate a core group of followers at this point was admittedly a bit late, but fixing the cage after the sheep were lost was fine; as long as the foundation could be set up, subsequent matters would be easy to handle.

“The advantage of noble sons lies in their extensive knowledge and wide experience, having their families as backing, which makes it much easier for them to serve as officials or build a reputation compared to those from humble backgrounds. Their disadvantage is that their eyes are set above the dust, and when encountering matters, they often only consider the interests of their noble clans rather than the overall situation of the world. This doesn’t matter much, as His Majesty using them is merely to convey an attitude to the noble clans…”

When Yin Shuhuai came to the Prime Minister’s mansion for the second time to visit Huo Yan, the elder, who appeared even older and weaker than before, held the Emperor’s hand and explained every detail thoroughly, “After I die, Shentu Yang will definitely submit a memorial requesting to be appointed as Prime Minister. Your Majesty can agree to his request, but you must appoint Huo Quan as Grand Marshal.”

“Huo Quan’s abilities are mediocre, he lacks strategy and decisiveness, and his only merit is his absolute loyalty. Your Majesty can keep him by your side, and he will listen to your words. I will have my eldest son-in-law Qin Shang control the Southern Army, my second son-in-law Jiang Chongguo serve as the Chief of Imperial Insignia to specifically manage the security of Luoyang, let Dong Wan serve as the Infantry Colonel controlling the stationing of troops at the Lin苑 Gate of the Northern Army, Jiang Yang serve as the Cavalry Colonel managing the training of cavalry for combat, and Sun Yue serve as the Archer Colonel…”

Huo Yan very cleanly placed his own people into the positions of all commanders of the Southern and Northern Armies. At the same time, he returned the iron officials and the coal yards managed by them back to the Imperial Household Department, returned the weaving workshops to the Palace Workshops, and added to that the hundreds of thousands of refugees recruited last year who had long been scattered and settled by Huo Yan into various imperial estates as tenant farmers, meaning the grain they produced would also completely belong to the Emperor… doing all this could ensure the Emperor reclaimed a portion of his financial authority.

Finally, Huo Yan recommended Zhao Bushi to serve as the Censor-in-Chief, one of the Three Excellencies.

“Zhao Bushi?” Yin Shuhuai thought blankly for a moment, confirming that he had never heard of this name.

Huo Yan laughed loudly, stating that it was very normal for the Emperor not to have heard of Zhao Bushi’s name. This was because this person’s nature was fiercely loyal and upright; he could not stand Huo Yan’s arrogance, usurpation of power, and absolute control of the court, and had multiple times criticized the errors of the Grand Marshal to his face, after which he was packed off by Huo Yan to serve as the Chancellor of the State of Lu. However, his reputation throughout the land, his seniority, and his achievements were absolutely enough to qualify him to serve as Censor-in-Chief.

However, a person like this also had a disadvantage, which was that he would only act according to his own moral path. He was an excellent official, but he might not necessarily be a blindly loyal minister to His Majesty.

“I recommend Zhao Bushi to serve as Censor-in-Chief because this person comes from the nobility. Behind his back, there are naturally many nobles and even regional lords supporting him.”

In this way, the power of the Three Excellencies could be thoroughly divided, ensuring that the newly arrived Shentu Yang would not become a single dominant force.

“The Three Excellencies each have their own factions and their own backings, and if they wish to accomplish anything, they must rely on Your Majesty’s trust. As a result, everyone will want to win over Your Majesty, rather than Your Majesty being controlled by the Three Excellencies…” Speaking up to this point, Huo Yan suffered another bout of violent, intense coughing, even vomiting a mouthful of blood.

Yin Shuhuai turned pale with alarm, “Prime Minister! Someone come quickly, summon the Director of Imperial Physicians”

Ever since the Prime Minister returned to Luoyang, Yin Shuhuai had sent all the medical officials with good medical skills from the palace to the Prime Minister’s mansion to treat him.

“I am fine.” Huo Yan wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, saying out of breath, “Your Majesty, do not make a fuss out of nothing. Now everything is prepared, we are merely waiting for the divination officials to select a proper and auspicious date to perform the capping ceremony for Your Majesty.”

Before his voice had finished falling, the medical official had already rushed over under the hurried urging of Zhuang Wuwei. After carefully checking Huo Yan’s pulse, he merely kept shaking his head.

“Don’t just shake your head!” Yin Shuhuai urged, “At least write a prescription so the Prime Minister can alleviate his pain.”

Huo Yan waved his hand with a calm face, “Do not waste your effort. I know exactly what state my body is in. For the time being, I won’t die just yet.”

Yin Shuhuai looked at Huo Yan, who placed life and death completely outside his concern, and merely felt a wave of sadness hit his nose.

Everyone knew that this absolute dictator who held total sway over the court was already at the end of his rope. Everyone was merely waiting for this dying, sick tiger to breathe its last breath, at which point they would swarm forward like vultures and hyenas.

Yet how could Huo Yan let them have their way!

The dying tiger panted, his violently heaving chest resembling a broken pair of bellows, squeezing a raspy whistling sound out of his throat, taking a long while to calm down.

Fortunately, Huo Yan did not need to wait for too long.

The day of Yi Hai in the tenth month of the second year of Jianyuan was the auspicious date selected by the divination officials. Prime Minister Huo Yan would serve as the principal guest to personally host the grand capping ceremony for His Majesty.

At this point, only three days had passed since Huo Yan returned to Luoyang.

Shentu Yang and his men, who were left completely baffled by Huo Yan’s series of dazzling operations, were all somewhat dumbfounded. A group of rough fellows who either came from slavery, from humble backgrounds, or from the remote borders still did not understand the meaning behind Huo Yan’s operations. Fortunately, there were noble sons who had surrendered to Shentu Yang who timely explained things for their master, letting Shentu Yang’s faction understand exactly what Huo Yan wanted to do—

This old man who refused to die wanted to flip the chessboard!

The talented men of the State of Yan, who wished with all their hearts that their big brother would become the next powerful minister of the Yin dynasty, instantly flew into a rage, one by one shouting that they must immediately rush into the Prime Minister’s mansion to kill the old scoundrel Huo Yan.

Only Shentu Yang remained unfazed.

The General was extremely confident; no matter how dazzling Huo Yan’s operations were, as long as he held the military power in his hands, he could keep this chessboard stable.

“He thinks that by placing his sons, sons-in-law, and trusted generals as colonels in the Southern and Northern Armies, he can win battles?”

Little did he know that fighting battles had absolutely nothing to do with how high one’s official title was. Even if this motley crew were all added together, they wouldn’t even enter Shentu Yang’s eyes.

Once the two sides truly got into a conflict, Shentu Yang was confident that leading five thousand elite troops would be enough to destroy this supposedly elite force of two hundred thousand in the Southern and Northern Armies. Not to mention that Shentu Yang still had a hundred thousand troops left at the Sishui Pass, and outside Luoyang City, he sat upon a combined force of two hundred thousand allied lords’ troops; the remaining eight hundred thousand had already been sent away by Shentu Yang.

Compared to Huo Yan’s series of operations in the imperial court, compared to that Grand Marshal Huo Quan who was completely useless except for having the Huo family bloodline, and compared to the Censor-in-Chief Zhao Bushi whose reputation throughout the land was praised by scholars as unmatched, Shentu Yang was instead far more vigilant against that group of young imperial attendants who at first glance appeared to pose no threat whatsoever this was probably because Huo Yan’s taste was truly excellent. Setting aside the knowledge of the imperial attendants he recommended, every single one of them was a noble young master of exceptional elegance. This gang of people surrounded the Emperor every day, looking exactly like male peacocks spreading their feathers to court a mate and show off to the crowd, causing Shentu Yang to instantly feel a deep sense of crisis.

Especially that Huo Hong, who refused to stay properly in the countryside to observe his mourning period, and instead wore his mourning clothes every day while flaunting himself in front of the Emperor.

“…Looking exactly like a pretty boy, looking as if a gust of wind could knock him down! I have no idea what His Majesty sees in him, actually summoning him into the palace to ask for strategies for two consecutive days. What could he possibly understand!” Shentu Yang sat cross-legged outside the Chongde Hall, biting down resentfully on a dried piece of foxtail grass, spitting twice as he said with a mix of jealousy and anger, “His Majesty actually refuses to let me go inside!”

“Big brother, you can just force your way in!” Gao Jingde, who was guarding outside the Chongde Hall, pulled out the sword at his waist with a swish, plotting together with a gang of brothers who were also guarding outside the hall, “We brothers are entirely willing to serve as big brother’s vanguard, taking the lead to barge into the Chongde Hall, kill the pretty boy, and take back the Emperor of Yin.”

Zhuang Wuwei, who was also guarding outside the hall, stood before the palace doors with a crowd of eunuchs, looking over with a nervous face.

Shentu Yang glared at his own brothers who loved to watch the excitement and were eager to stir up trouble, “You think I haven’t thought about forcing my way in? But the young emperor said that if I dare to barge into the Chongde Hall without permission… he won’t let me sleep on the dragon bed at night!”

Although Shentu Yang couldn’t do anything even if he climbed onto the dragon bed, he could at least take advantage of the time after Yin Shuhuai fell asleep to stealthily hold the person in his arms to satisfy his cravings. If Yin Shuhuai truly set his heart on refusing to let him onto the dragon bed, getting into a real fight would only result in mutual destruction.

“I have no idea which bastard taught him martial arts. Tell me, why does an emperor need to have such incredible sword skills!” Shentu Yang grumbled gloomily.

The crowd of brothers looked at each other, and someone whispered quietly, “It seems big brother is also henpecked.”

“It’s all that pretty boy’s fault, let’s find a time to put a sack over his head and give him a beating!”

Inside the Chongde Hall, the ruler and minister listened to the blatant plotting outside, unable to keep from looking at each other and smiling.

Huo Hong bowed and said, “The General’s nature is straightforward, which can be considered a genuine personality.”

The grandfather and grandson pair originally thought that once Shentu Yang learned the news of Huo Yan wishing to perform the capping ceremony for His Majesty, he would surely oppose it frantically. They had even made the Southern and Northern Armies sleep on their weapons to wait for dawn, making full preparations to engage in a massive conflict and let rivers of blood flow if matters took a turn for the worse. Yet they never expected that when Shentu Yang heard the news of Huo Yan wanting to perform the capping ceremony for His Majesty, he actually showed no reaction. Instead, he was deeply dissatisfied with Huo Yan recommending noble sons to serve as His Majesty’s imperial attendants. He had even threatened the Emperor multiple times to dismiss the imperial attendants.

Shentu Yang’s reason was also fully sufficient Huo Yan had already made a deal with him, handing over the authority of defending the palace. Now he was openly placing imperial attendants into the security command, which was an act of bad faith that tore up their alliance agreement.

Yin Shuhuai was helpless. In order to appease Shentu Yang, he could only agree to let him stay overnight in the imperial palace, and even stay overnight on the dragon bed primarily because it was useless even if Yin Shuhuai disagreed; unless he could make up his mind to engage in open warfare with Shentu Yang, how else could he stop Shentu Yang from entering and leaving the imperial palace? He couldn’t get into a massive fight every single time they met, could he?

And as for Shentu Yang, it was unclear whether his brain was truly missing the nerve named political struggle, or if he truly viewed the heroes of the world as nothing. In short, he did not stop Huo Yan from extensively placing people into the court, and he had even wanted to steal the job of serving as the principal guest at His Majesty’s grand capping ceremony.

It was precisely because of Shentu Yang’s various behaviors that many insightful people in the court felt the General might not necessarily want to treat the Emperor as a puppet could it be that he was actually a loyal minister?

Little did they know that Shentu Yang merely felt the overall situation was already set, and whether he stopped it or not, he could not stop the Huo clan line from thoroughly leaning toward the Emperor. Since that was the case, why should he play the villain in vain and insist on ruining the empty ritual of Huo Yan performing the capping ceremony for His Majesty?

As for him watching silently as Huo Yan recommended Huo Quan as Grand Marshal and Zhao Bushi as Censor-in-Chief, it was furthermore because he already held the thought in his heart to bring the Emperor back to Youzhou.

Once the capital moved north, who cared about any damn Grand Marshal or Censor-in-Chief; they would be nothing more than fish on his chopping board. Why should he jump up and down at this time, not only offending the entire nobility led by the Censor-in-Chief, but also causing the Huo family and the civil and military officials to become vigilant?

Shentu Yang, who had thoroughly mastered the art of disguising himself as a simple, rough man, completely numbed the forces harboring their own calculations in Luoyang City.

Even Huo Hong, the leader of the third generation of the Huo family, was deceived by Shentu Yang. Upon returning to the Prime Minister’s mansion, he even spoke with a smile to his grandfather, “Grandfather was overly anxious. I observe that the General’s nature is straightforward; he possesses arrogance, but he does not necessarily harbor the intention to commit treason and usurp the throne.”

Huo Hong had even felt that his grandfather Huo Yan’s actions were a bit overly cautious. Back then, they should have prepared a grand ceremony to establish an empress for the Emperor, letting Yin Shuhuai marry Huo Yan’s granddaughter, the thirteen-year-old Huo Xijun, to serve as Empress. In this way, their Huo family would become the Emperor’s maternal relatives. The relationship would naturally be extraordinary. Even if the Emperor passed away in the future, as long as the Empress gave birth to a crown prince, their Huo family would naturally

“You absolutely must not harbor such thoughts!” Huo Yan stared intently at the grandson he regarded most highly, warning him with a fierce face and sharp words, “Do not think that just because Shentu Yang has not yet demonstrated his brutal side, you can ignore his threat. A fierce beast is a fierce beast; he has not harmed anyone right now merely because he is full. Once he perceives that you want to covet his prey, he will surely rise up to counterattack. This person started out with eight hundred slaves, and within a single year, he commanded three hundred thousand troops to dominate Luoyang; his grand talent and bold vision can be clearly seen from this.”

“When facing such an enemy, you either do not make an enemy of him, or you hit the mark in a single strike. Rather than being easily blinded by the immediate benefits before your eyes. Because the consequences of rashly enraging him are not necessarily something you can bear.”

That was right; Huo Yan had initially indeed wanted to prepare a grand ceremony to establish an empress for the Emperor, letting the Emperor marry a daughter of the Huo family to serve as Empress. This matter had already shown some signs early on when Huo Yan made up his mind to support Yin Shuhuai as Emperor. They merely needed to wait for Huo Yan to return from suppressing the rebellion to include it in the formal agenda.

However, all of these plans were completely dropped when Huo Yan learned from a secret report that Shentu Yang was staying overnight in the imperial palace to pester His Majesty, and had even publicly declared while drinking and making merry that he wanted to be the Empress regardless of whether such a thought was completely rebellious and lacked feasibility, in any case, once Huo Yan learned about this matter, he thoroughly abandoned the idea of letting his granddaughter serve as Empress.

First, it was out of fear that establishing an empress would provoke Shentu Yang’s animosity. The priority of the moment was to let His Majesty legitimately take personal control of the state, and Huo Yan’s physical condition no longer permitted new complications to arise. Since Shentu Yang viewed His Majesty as his private possession, Huo Yan could not make any move that would stimulate Shentu Yang. This was not merely out of concern that Shentu Yang would be enraged by the ceremony to establish an empress and step in to ruin the matter, delaying the opportunity for His Majesty to take personal control. Huo Yan was even more worried that in a fit of extreme rage, Shentu Yang would kill Huo Xijun to vent his anger.

This old man had been a powerful figure his whole life, and to consolidate his own power, he could execute an entire family of nobility without blinking an eye, yet he would not easily take risks with his own relatives.

Huo Yan did not fear Shentu Yang’s grand talent and bold vision; he merely feared Shentu Yang being blinded by personal affections. If Shentu Yang was blinded by lust and he insisted on establishing his granddaughter as Empress, far from bringing any benefits to the Huo family, it would instead harm his granddaughter and the entire Huo family line.

Furthermore, since the Huo family had made up their minds to rely on His Majesty, they should walk this path all the way to the end. Rashly proposing the establishment of an empress would instead easily cause the Emperor to harbor feelings of alienation. After all, the Yin dynasty had its own national conditions, and there were plenty of examples where the Emperor was harmed to support a young crown prince ascending the throne, after which the power of the maternal relatives was used to support the Queen Mother governing from behind the curtain. It was precisely because of considering these uncertain factors that Huo Yan, after weighing the pros and cons, changed the plan to the more moderate grand capping ceremony.

Yet now Huo Hong was numbed by the false kindness demonstrated by Shentu Yang, easily giving rise to the thought of establishing an empress. Such a performance of being blinded by grease and benefits could not help but cause disappointment when seen in Huo Yan’s eyes.

“That is your own biological younger sister; when you made this decision, did you ever consider her safety? Did you ever consider the future of the Huo family?” Huo Yan was deeply disappointed, scolding with a fierce face and sharp words, “You are the eldest grandson of the Huo family, and your uncle’s talent is mediocre, possessing only the ability to maintain what exists but lacking the merit to pioneer new ground. In the future, the fortune and disaster of the Huo family will rest entirely upon you alone. Yet now you are so frivolous, rash, and short-sighted, willing to take the risk of involving the entire family in a massive gamble merely for a sliver of invisible, untouchable possibility. Where do you place the Huo clan line? You have disappointed me too much!”

Huo Hong was proud by nature, and being scolded directly to his face by his grandfather, he instantly became red-faced with shame and embarrassment, wishing he could dig a trench in the ground to crawl inside. Yet there was still a trace of defiance on his face, “Why must grandfather state things so perilously to frighten people? I see that Shentu Yang, and he might not necessarily stop His Majesty from establishing an empress.”

Furthermore, the Emperor establishing an empress was a perfectly natural matter, part of the moral order of heaven and earth. As a minister, could Shentu Yang really stop His Majesty from establishing an empress?

“You think he doesn’t dare?” In his extreme rage, Huo Yan actually laughed from anger, “You have also established your home and career now, and you also have a wife. Let me ask you, if someone intended to find another husband for your wife, what would you do?”

Huo Hong instantly froze.