“I do not need you to teach Me what to do. Cui Zhe, judging by your behavior, are you trying to follow in Li Zhen’s footsteps? I will grant your wish! Guards, drag him out and give him twenty strokes of the board.
As for what was discussed just now, carry it out according to My decree. Anyone who raises objections again will share Cui Zhe’s crime!”
After Shao Xuji finished speaking, he swept his dragon robe around and turned to leave.
He could not concern himself with so much now. Li Zhen had left, yet he was still using Li Zhen’s policies. Even taking the worst-case scenario, if the other party seized his lifeline, how would he fight back when the time came?
In Shao Xuji’s eyes, everything Li Zhen had done was wrong, and everything Li Zhen had said was criminal.
Everyone said that Li Zhen was a great talent. Over the years, they had practically deified him.
In all of Great Yu, there was only one person who was an Immortal—and that was Shao Xuji.
If Li Zhen could carry out reforms, then Shao Xuji could do so as well. Over the years, he had learned quite a lot from Li Zhen.
It was time to reshuffle the deck.
He was not a fool; he was reshaping the imperial authority.
Shao Xuji intended to reduce Li Zhen’s influence to the lowest possible level.
That was his true intention.
Many of the people’s welfare benefits would disappear as he eliminated Li Zhen’s policies. When that happened, he would step forward and turn the tide through another method, winning back the people’s hearts!
Then everyone would remember that it was this emperor who had allowed them to live such prosperous lives.
Not Li Zhen.
“Hmph, Li Zhen, do you think I will be helpless without you? Ridiculous! You even want to establish yourself as a king? Are you cut out for that? A king? You think you deserve it!”
“After serving as chancellor for a few years, you think you can stand at the forefront of the tide? How arrogant!”
“If it were not for Me back then, you would have been nothing more than a peddler in the city. Yet now your ambitions have grown!”
“Once I capture you and bring you back, I will make you wish you were dead!”
“I will make you taste the most vicious punishments in the world!”
“Then I will watch you kneel at My feet and wag your tail, begging for mercy!”
“The current chaos in the imperial court is merely a bottleneck we are passing through. Once we get past it, Great Yu will still be the same Great Yu—but you, Li Zhen, will no longer be the same Li Zhen you once were!”
“The respect of ten thousand people and your position as the model of the scholars—all of that was given to you by Me!”
“When I employed you, you were the head of all officials. When I had no use for you, you were nothing but a little dog! I can push you up, and I can pull you down!”
“I am the supreme son of heaven!”
....
Inside the main palace hall.
The martial generals left the main palace hall with their heads held high and their chests thrust out.
The age of the martial generals had returned.
Some of the meritorious great clans that Li Zhen had once offended still existed.
They seemed to have already seen the glory that had once belonged to them slowly returning.
The many civil officials sighed repeatedly. Shao Xuji’s performance today had been utterly disappointing—one might even call it muddleheaded.
Among those who served as officials, who did not know the benefits of Li Zhen’s reforms?
And now he actually intended to abolish them?
Was this not a child’s game?
Ever since Li Zhen left, everyone understood perfectly well that the emperor’s limited abilities and vision had been exposed.
His former image of brilliance and Divine Martial prowess had all been created by Li Zhen’s public relations!
But now, Shao Xuji was digging his own grave.
The loyal ministers were considering how they might persuade Shao Xuji.
Some others had already made preparations to leave Great Yu!
Shao Xuji was now capricious, and dismissal from office was as easy for him as drinking water. There was simply no sense of security here.
They were talented; wherever they went, they could make a living.
....
What had happened to Li Zhen in Dan Prefecture was known not only to Great Yu. The intelligence networks of the other five Central Province kingdoms were no simple matter either.
Great Qing.
The Qing Emperor and the civil and military officials watched the overlapping intelligence reports from Dan Prefecture and Great Yu, laughing so hard they nearly fell over.
“Hahahaha, this is truly hilarious!”
The Qing Emperor stroked his beard and laughed heartily as he read Shao Xuji’s various statements in the imperial court.
Qing Kingdom bordered Great Yu. Great Yu enjoyed peace throughout the four seas, the realm was stable, its people prosperous, and its military powerful. It was practically a colossus.
How could one allow another to sleep soundly beside one’s own bed?
Thus, the Qing Emperor had long been worried about this matter.
Scouts had previously reported that Great Yu intended to deploy the troops against Great Qing, but Li Zhen had stopped it.
Li Zhen’s words from back then still echoed in his ears.
“To repel external threats, one must first pacify the interior. Once the troops are deployed, we must achieve victory in a single battle with overwhelming superiority! Give me ten years, and I can make Great Yu’s warhorses trample across the Nine Provinces!”
Those words had struck the Qing Emperor with tremendous force!
One need not fear a thief stealing from one’s home as much as one fears a thief coveting it.
That was because Great Yu had been developing far too quickly.
When that time truly came, it might be exactly as Li Zhen had said: Great Yu’s horses would trample across the Nine Provinces, with no enemy capable of withstanding even a single clash!
At the time, the Qing Emperor had been frantic with worry but powerless to do anything.
Who could have imagined that after barely a year, something like this would happen?
Li Zhen had actually been dismissed from office!
In the Qing Emperor’s eyes, Great Yu’s only threat had been that young man.
He had carefully studied Li Zhen’s series of policies and the books he had published.
All he could say was that they were breathtaking.
The Qing Emperor had sighed countless times, wondering why someone like that had ended up in Great Yu.
The thorn in his side and the irritant in his flesh had now been pulled out personally by that emperor.
All he could do was admire him—deeply admire him!
It felt as though he had dug into his own wall to steal someone else’s talent.
Of course, if he had been in the Qing Emperor’s position, he would have acted as well. Li Zhen was simply too young. But at the very least, he would have waited until he could stabilize the imperial court before making his move.
And he would not have been so indecisive.
“Shao Xuji is utterly incompetent!”
The Qing Emperor casually tossed the intelligence reports to the ground, feeling completely at ease.
“Your Majesty, the Yu Emperor’s methods and abilities are both the worst possible. Now he has become so incompetent that he is using fabricated charges to erase Li Zhen’s achievements. Such conduct is enough to show how simple-minded he is.
Should we add fuel to the fire?” Xun Yu, the chief minister of Qing Kingdom, asked with a mysterious smile.
“Well said. That is exactly what we should do. Chancellor, I will trouble you to make the arrangements.”
As a neighboring kingdom, he naturally hoped that the other side would become as chaotic as possible.
“This old minister understands!”
“If chancellor Xun requires assistance, the secret agents of the Censorate in Yu Kingdom can provide their full cooperation!” Academy Head Chen Ping of the Censorate nodded.
“Thank you for your trouble, Academy Head Chen!”
The Qing Emperor was greatly comforted by the harmonious scene before him.
Whether it was genuine or false, in any case, Great Qing still presented a united front before him.
That was enough.
“Your Majesty, regarding what happened to Li Zhen in Dan Prefecture, should we send scouts to verify it personally?”
Chen Ping respectfully asked for instructions.
“There is no need to investigate. What Li Zhen said certainly cannot be false. Looking at his actions in Great Yu, this man is skilled at using open strategies, unlike you, Academy Head Chen.
The elite troops are real, and the martial practitioners’ cultivation levels are real as well! He likely anticipated that this day would come long ago and made preparations in advance.
We need not concern ourselves with any of this. The one who should be troubled is Shao Xuji.
Besides, has Shao Xuxue not already gone to Dan Prefecture? Whether she can bring Li Zhen back will explain everything!”
The Qing Emperor waved his hand, then gently stroked his beard.
“Order the Ye family’s Ancestor to stand by at all times. If Shao Xuxue truly brings Li Zhen back, have him intercept them halfway and seize him! Li Zhen is an extraordinary talent!”
“Yes!”
...
Scenes similar to those in Qing Kingdom were unfolding in the other kingdoms as well.
However, apart from neighboring Great Qing and Great Qi, which had always coveted Li Zhen, the impact on the other kingdoms was not as great.
They merely treated it as a joke.
The other kingdom bordering Great Yu was Ling Kingdom.
The Empress of Ling looked at the information, a trace of worry flashing across her cool, clear face.
Ling Kingdom was at the bottom of the Nine Provinces and Six Kingdoms.
When her royal father passed away, she was his only daughter.
She had struggled to hold the kingdom together for five years.
She had lost count of how many times she had envied neighboring Great Yu for possessing a talent like Li Zhen.
Now.....
✦✦✦