Xiao Yu: I’m just…
Fusang spoke, this time without much preamble or greeting the danmaku, diving straight into the main topic.
【Legend has it that Yuwen Tai, the powerful minister of Western Wei, and Su Chuo once engaged in a timeless dialogue known as The Dialogue Between Yuwen Tai and Su Chuo.】
【Yuwen Tai, the founding ruler of Northern Zhou, once asked Su Chuo about the art of governance. During their closed-door discussion, the following exchange took place.
Yuwen Tai asked: How can a state be established?
Su Chuo answered: By appointing officials.
Yuwen Tai asked: What does “appointing officials” mean?
Su Chuo answered: Use corrupt officials, then oppose corrupt officials.】
The people of Jinling City were all startled by this terrifying dialogue: What? Is this something that can be spoken aloud?!
Although they didn’t know what Fusang intended to convey with this ancient tale from a previous dynasty, the subject matter was clearly unsettling.
In stark contrast to the people of Jinling City who watched the Celestial Screen, the danmaku on the screen accepted the dialogue’s content with ease.
(Using corrupt officials and then opposing them—these six words are like a mantra. So many emperors have done exactly this, and so many ended up losing control.)
(I think I know which historical period the host is going to talk about next… That era truly laid bare the darkness of its time.)
(But it was also the moment when the Qianwu Emperor truly shone! It’s practically a legendary scene! Who could resist such a charismatic Emperor Diting—it’s simply impossible!)
(Seems like something strange just slipped in there.)
(Qianwu Emperor! Qianwu Emperor! The emperor among emperors of Qian! The man among men! The king! The master! The pinnacle!)
(I didn’t expect the Qianwu Emperor wouldn’t be saved for the finale, but I understand—after all, it’s the Qianwu Emperor! Even the host couldn’t resist sneaking in his part earlier, right? I bet the host just wanted to talk about him!)
…
The moment the danmaku mentioned the Qianwu Emperor, it exploded with excitement. Praise and some bizarre language poured forth endlessly, turning the face of Emperor Yunqi, who was working in Yunxing Hall, dark with displeasure.
He was the one handling the memorials now. Since the Qianwu Emperor was so popular, couldn’t he come out and help with the paperwork?!
But the Celestial Screen continued to play, unaffected by anyone’s will.
Fusang smiled: 【It seems some in the danmaku have already guessed my little trick. So, let’s bring back our classic opening: Emperor Ling of the North’s mess was cleaned up by three people. We’ve already talked about Emperor Yunqi, so next, let’s discuss the second person. Originally, based on importance, this second person should have been saved for last, but I just thought of a better way to weave their stories together, so—】
【It is my great honor to now introduce the Fire Brigade Captain of Da Qian, who saved Nan Qian and then Northern Qian, the most famous cosplayer in history for his cosplay exploits, the master of turning the tide, the Gatekeeper of Eternal Emperor, the eternal Sea-Calming Needle of Da Qian, and the one who constantly competes with his own ancestor for the title of “Dog” in the “Dragon, Phoenix, Pig, Dog” ranking—Emperor Wu, Ancestral Founder of Qian!】
(So many titles! Our livestream can’t fit them all x)
(Every time I see “cosplay,” I can’t help but laugh. Who on earth came up with that first?)
(And “Dragon, Phoenix, Pig, Dog”—I’m really done. Why are the nicknames for the two Martial Emperors so weird?)
(So this is your “Eternal Emperor”? By the way, why is the Xiao family the “Dog”?)
(Probably because of the “Ode to Diting” written by Qian Taizu, comparing himself to the White Hound Diting, claiming he would listen to the voices of the people—truly the first person to self-identify as a dog.)
(You there, how dare you define the dog as Qian Taizu? Clearly, Emperor Wu also wrote a continuation. The only eternal emperor of the Qian dynasty is our Emperor Wu!)
(What Emperor Wu? Taizu was the first!)
(…They’re arguing again.)
Emperor Yunqi felt a headache coming on. Why did the fans of this “Qianwu Emperor’s” descendants argue with Taizu’s fans every single day? What kind of behavior was this?!
Fusang also sensed trouble and quickly stepped in to mediate: 【Alright, alright, everyone, let’s not argue. We’re all one family. Let’s focus on history first—the beginning of Qianwu Emperor’s career, the Jiangnan Corruption Case.】
All civil and military officials in Jinling City instinctively held their breath, their eyes fixed intently on the Celestial Screen.
Previously, the Celestial Screen had only discussed events that had already happened in the past. Although Emperor Ling of the North was absurd, that was seven years ago. The Qian-Severing Rebellion, though humiliating, had not affected their tangible, immediate interests.
But the Jiangnan Corruption Case, which was currently of great concern to His Majesty, was different.
This case, initiated by Jiangnan Inspector Xu Lang, had implicated countless officials in Jiangnan, leading to their dismissal. It even reached Jinling City, resulting in a high-ranking official from the Ministry of Personnel being executed by Emperor Yunqi, who was afflicted with Madness Disorder, right in the imperial court, with his entire clan exterminated.
The Six Ministries, the Two Factions, and even Emperor Yunqi himself were overwhelmed by this case. In other words, any clues related to this case now almost determined everyone’s political careers.
Things that truly had visible consequences were always eagerly seized upon.
Thus, everyone watched the Celestial Screen with utmost gravity, awaiting the revelations from the Fusang Envoy.
Even a few simple words would be enough for the officials to ponder for a long time, as this genuinely affected their personal interests.
But Fusang did not continue as they had expected. Instead, she opened another scene.
【Before delving into this part of history, let’s watch a video. This is a reenactment that I believe fairly accurately recreates the situation at the time. Perhaps through this video, we can more quickly immerse ourselves in that era.】
What appeared next on the Celestial Screen was a scene that seemed as if it had just happened in reality.
In Lin’an City, Prefect of Lin’an Xiao Yu widened his eyes. Seeing himself and his colleague Wu Nao appear on the Celestial Screen, he suddenly had a very bad feeling.
“Wu Nao! Pack your things! Now!”
Xiao Yu shouted.
【In Lin’an City.
“The new Jiangnan Inspector… is coming soon, and he’s a prince! What do we do now? Report it directly?!”
Deputy Surveillance Commissioner of Jiangnan Wu Nao had a face that looked naturally hot-tempered. He threw up his hands as if at a loss, gritting his teeth in despair.
“Report? Report to whom? Bypassing the chain of command is a serious crime!”
Prefect of Lin’an Xiao Yu, dressed in his official robes, paced anxiously. Hearing this, he pointed at Wu Nao and said bitterly, “You’re insane! How dare you hide something this big from me and act on your own? If you had just told me earlier, we wouldn’t be in this mess now!”】
Wu Nao also knew he was in the wrong. He spread his hands again: “I just saw that their Ministry of Revenue and Ministry of Works had done it, so I thought I shouldn’t fall behind and joined in the fun. What do I know about this? They told me to be an official, so I came… If I’d known earlier who would become the Deputy Surveillance Commissioner of Jiangnan… losing money every day… If my family weren’t wealthy, I wouldn’t be able to keep this position.”
As soon as he said this, in Yunxing Hall in Jinling City, the Crown Prince, who had come with the Third Prince to report on their duties, immediately knelt down with a thud.
Emperor Yunqi was even leisurely skimming tea leaves with the lid of his teacup, not even glancing at him. But the Crown Prince knew that he was likely to lose a layer of skin next.
Emperor Yunqi had always adopted a hands-off attitude toward both the Third Prince and the Crown Prince. As long as they didn’t make too much of a mess, whether they formed cliques for personal gain or stirred up conflicts among the Six Ministries, Emperor Yunqi didn’t care.
In fact, he even watched them with a kind of detached amusement, after all, the Black Dragon Guards could effortlessly report every word the two princes said each day to Emperor Yunqi without the slightest discrepancy.
He had never thought these two could cause any major trouble.
But now it seemed… he had been too lenient with them.
“What do you mean by ‘their Ministry of Revenue and Ministry of Works’? What do you mean by ‘theirs’?”
Emperor Yunqi slowly repeated Wu Nao’s words from the Celestial Screen, his deep, unfathomable eyes causing the Crown Prince to kowtow with another thud.
“Father! Your son is wronged!”
The Crown Prince cried out with all his might, making the Third Prince beside him feel a bit speechless.
What’s the use of crying ‘wronged’ now? You should analyze the pros and cons!
The Third Prince thought to himself, he had wasted so much time competing with this foolish brother.
A flicker of disappointment passed through Emperor Yunqi’s eyes. The scene on the Celestial Screen continued, and he waved his hand: “You may kneel for now.”
The Crown Prince nearly collapsed.
[“What do you mean by ‘your Ministry of Revenue’ and ‘their Ministry of Works’? The Ministry of Revenue belongs to Da Qian, not to anyone’s Ministry of Revenue or Ministry of Works!”]
Xiao Yu was clearly much more sensitive than Wu Nao and immediately caught on. Grabbing Wu Nao’s collar, he lowered his voice and asked, “Why talk about what others are doing? What does it have to do with you? How much did you embezzle? Considering we passed the imperial examination in the same year and both come from the Wu clan, let me see if there’s any way out.”
In Lin’an City.
Xiao Yu, who had started packing to flee the moment he saw himself and Wu Nao appear on the Celestial Screen, slumped to the ground.
Wu Nao looked at him strangely: “Why aren’t you packing anymore?”
Xiao Yu smiled bitterly, numb: “I’m finished. There’s no need to pack. I’m as good as dead now.”
Elsewhere.
Is this something that can be said outright?
This was the thought running through the entire Jinling City.
In Nan Qian, it was common practice for officials to cover up and conceal information from each other at the local level, and it was even prevalent among high-ranking officials in Jinling. But while it was an unwritten rule, saying it outright was another matter. Xiao Yu’s words instantly caused an uproar throughout Jinling.
Civil and military officials were all relieved that it wasn’t court assembly time; otherwise, who knew how much drama they would have witnessed.
But one would have to be alive to see it.
In the Yan Carriage, Jun Youcheng sighed: “The official system in Nan Qian has become so chaotic…”
Everyone regarded covering up and concealing information from each other as perfectly normal. It was no wonder Emperor Yunqi became the Later Emperor.
[“How much did I embezzle? How could I possibly have embezzled?! No, I didn’t even have time to embezzle anything! Not only did I not embezzle, I even lost a lot! When building that Coastal Defense Embankment, the higher-ups insisted it had to be built, acting as if the entire Lin’an City would be hung up and beaten if it wasn’t. At the time, the reported cost was a hundred thousand, but now it’s over a hundred and fifty thousand taels!”
Wu Nao felt deeply aggrieved whenever he mentioned this: “Even if you threw a hundred times my salary into it, it wouldn’t be enough! Do you know that? A hundred times wouldn’t be enough! I went through so much trouble to pull strings and raise the funds from my family. I just can’t understand why, now, the more you do, the more grievances you have? The extra silver spent was all covered by me out of my own pocket, so why is the Ministry of Revenue still hounding me? And they even turn the tables on me! Who would have thought they were the ones embezzling!”
Xiao Yu was furious. He grabbed Wu Nao by the collar and shook him: “You fool! Some things weigh only four ounces when not put on the scale, but once weighed, they can’t be held down even with a thousand catties. What kind of situation is this now? Xu Lang has fallen! The Jun Family is finished! If you go to the Ministry of Revenue asking for money now, of course they’ll turn the tables on you!”
Xiao Yu released Wu Nao, staggering back two steps before collapsing into a nearby chair.
His voice grew weak: “Think for yourself! How much did Xu Lang embezzle? Three million taels! Last year, the court’s revenue was only eight million taels! He dared to embezzle that much, but only a hundred thousand taels were found in his home. What do you think the desperate Ministry of Revenue and Ministry of Justice will do?”
Only then did Wu Nao begin to understand: “Damn! They wouldn’t be using me as a scapegoat to fill their quota, would they?!”
Xiao Yu gave him a look that said, “You finally get it.”
Wu Nao jumped to his feet: “On what grounds?! My money was genuinely needed! I’m going to petition His Majesty! Have all their officials dismissed!”
Xiao Yu nearly fainted from frustration. It seemed this fool hadn’t heard a word he said about how bypassing superiors to report was a grave offense.
“Go ahead and dismiss them! If you can, then have all their officials dismissed!”
Xiao Yu snapped irritably.
“That… probably can’t be done, right? Is it really that intense? Can our positions actually dismiss all of them?”
Wu Nao was finally starting to use his brain, but only a little.
“So you know it can’t be done? Now that we’re caught up in Xu Lang’s corruption case, we should be figuring out how to get ourselves dismissed safely!”
Xiao Yu took a deep breath. His voice grew very, very soft, but when broadcast on the Celestial Screen, it thundered with weight.
“How laughable. They’re fighting with knives up there, but it’s Jiangnan that gets cut down!”]
Author’s Note:
Xiao Yu: I’m done being the Prefect of Lin’an. I’ll wash my hands of this and become a concubine in Jinling instead!
Consort Gan: Hah, as if being a concubine is easy.