“Great Chu is doomed! Hahaha…”
Shen Lang, who was eating, was suddenly disturbed by a loud and impassioned cry. Looking up, he saw that at some point, an elderly man in rough clothes with disheveled hair had appeared in the main hall.
“Han Chaozong?” Jiang Mengxuan instantly recognized the man—it was none other than Han Chaozong, the former Minister of Revenue who had been dismissed by the late emperor five years ago. The reason given at the time was corruption and abuse of power, but in truth, he had offended the Ye faction and was impeached. The late emperor had removed him to maintain the balance with the Prime Minister’s Residence.
To think that in just a few years, he had fallen into such a miserable state.
Han Chaozong was, after all, a late-stage Qi Guiding Realm martial artist, with a lifespan that should have easily reached 100 years. He wasn’t even 50 yet, but now he looked like a frail old man in his seventies or eighties. This filled Jiang Mengxuan with a wave of sorrow.
“Old Han, if you can just endure a little longer, once I have restructured the court and crushed the Ye family’s arrogance, I will personally reinstate you to office,” Jiang Mengxuan resolved in her heart. Once the court stabilized, she would ensure Han Chaozong returned to assist her in restoring the Great Chu Empire.
Just then, Shen Lang glanced at Han Chaozong, set down his chopsticks, and waved him over. “Old Han, stop shouting nonsense. Come sit down and have a bowl of noodles.”
Then he called to the shopkeeper, “Boss, another bowl of beef noodles. Extra scallions.”
Watching this, Jiang Mengxuan grew even more curious. This guy actually knew Han Chaozong?
Han Chaozong said nothing and simply sat down at Shen Lang’s table. Shen Lang stirred his noodles a few times, lowered his head, and asked, “Old Han, what are you shouting about every day? You got a death wish or something? Isn’t it good enough just being alive?”
Han Chaozong instantly became emotional. “Of course, I wish for our Great Chu to thrive, to restore its lands and reclaim our former capital! It’s been 200 years—how many in the court still remember that our old capital was Chang’an, and that Jinling is just a secondary seat?”
These words ignited a surge of passion in Jiang Mengxuan’s chest. Reclaiming Chang’an and returning to the old capital had always been her dream.
But then Shen Lang’s next words made her frown.
“Restoring the lands and reclaiming the old capital? What calendar year are you living in? You think yelling slogans all day is gonna change the fate of this empire? If that worked, the whole court could just stand in the streets and chant instead of doing anything real. Be more realistic and stop messing around with this nonsense.”
Han Chaozong trembled with rage. “How can you say something like that? Look at the uniform you’re wearing. You live off court salaries—shouldn’t you serve the empire and be loyal to Her Majesty?”
“Don’t make it sound so noble,” Shen Lang said after sipping the broth. “Eat the emperor’s food, do the emperor’s work—who doesn’t understand that? But strip away all that fluff, aren’t we all just trying to make a living? You think everyone’s like you, dreaming about lofty national affairs every day?”
Han Chaozong lowered his voice in protest. “How can you say such things? Do you even recognize the Empress or the law?”
“What do you want me to say?” Shen Lang asked. “I make 400 taels of silver a year. That won’t even get me a fart in the capital. If this job weren’t easy and stable, and I didn’t have anything better to do, you think I’d be here?”
Jiang Mengxuan’s brows furrowed slightly. From his words, she sensed that Shen Lang had joined the Imperial Guard purely for money and had no sense of belonging to the Great Chu Empire or its court. The source of this chapter is novelping dot com.
She slowly lifted her teacup, took a light sip, and continued listening.
“Young man, you mustn’t think like that. The future of Great Chu lies with promising talents like you!” Han Chaozong earnestly tried to persuade him. “The Empress has just ascended the throne. She desperately needs capable people. Since you’ve joined the Imperial Guard, you should fulfill your duties and support Her Majesty.”
“Enough of that,” Shen Lang waved him off. “I’m just a minor Hundred-Man Commander. No great ambitions. I just want to save enough to buy a place in the capital and live a quiet life. As for national affairs, there are enough officials in court for that. Do they really need me?”
Han Chaozong said angrily, “Young man, I didn’t think you’d be just like those Ye faction officials in the court—nothing but freeloaders in office.”
Shen Lang laughed, “Freeloaders? Alright then, tell me, Old Han, what should the court be like?”
Han Chaozong immediately clasped his hands toward the east and said, “Naturally, it should be upright and incorruptible, always acting on behalf of the people. That’s how a court should be.”
Jiang Mengxuan nodded silently. That was the kind of court she had always hoped to build.
But…
Shen Lang shook his head and set down his chopsticks. “In that case, I’d say the late emperor was right to dismiss you back then. In fact, sparing your life was already mercy beyond the law.”
Han Chaozong grew anxious. “What do you mean by that? I served the court for 23 years. I’ve never taken a single bribe. I lived upright and acted righteously. If not for the Ye faction’s false accusations, how could I have been—”
Shen Lang interrupted him, “Alright, alright. I’ve heard that speech so many times, my ears are growing calluses. Stop blaming everything on the Ye faction. If you ask me, it was the late emperor who wanted you out. The Ye faction, no matter how powerful, hasn’t committed open rebellion. This empire still belongs to the throne. Ultimately, it was your incompetence that made the emperor sick of you.”
Han Chaozong refused to accept it. “Fine, then tell me, what did I do wrong?”
Shen Lang said, “Let’s not get into everything. Just talk about the breach of the Qiantang River dike in Jiangnan ten years ago. It affected over a dozen towns and villages and left hundreds of thousands displaced. How did you handle that?”
Han Chaozong replied, “I petitioned the court to allocate relief grain to the disaster area. What’s wrong with that?”
“And yet, you requested 5 million shi of grain that was supposed to be sent to the military camp in Bingzhou.”
“So what?” Han Chaozong said righteously. “The people are the foundation of the empire. As Minister of Revenue, it was my duty to allocate more grain to relieve the disaster. How could that be wrong?”
That question left Han Chaozong speechless, and Jiang Mengxuan, who had been listening in silence, grew even more curious.
Shen Lang continued, “That flood could’ve been handled with the local granaries. But you tapped into the reserves meant for the northern war. Sure, you could say the local storage was empty, but wasn’t that your ministry’s responsibility too? If preparations had been made earlier and the dikes reinforced, would this have happened at all? And sure, the disaster victims were people—but the soldiers on the frontlines weren’t?”
Han Chaozong couldn’t respond.
Shen Lang went on, “The northern border is bitterly cold and already hard to survive in. Because of your reallocation, 5 million shi of military rations never reached the frontlines. The soldiers went hungry for almost a month and nearly mutinied. If not for a drought also hitting Northern Yan, the Bingzhou incident wouldn’t have been settled by just giving up three useless border counties.”
Han Chaozong argued, “But I acted according to Great Chu’s laws. Was that wrong?”
“No, it wasn’t.”
Shen Lang drank all the broth in his bowl, then tossed it aside.
“Let me give you a simpler example. When you were Minister of Revenue, every region was short on silver, and the national treasury was nearly empty every year. But after you were dismissed, your replacement—Wang Yu from the Ye faction—fixed that in under two years. Since then, the court’s basic expenses have never been short. So do you now understand why you were removed? It’s because you were useless. Your only strength—being clean and incorruptible—couldn’t solve the court’s problems. The Ye faction could.
Even if the Prime Minister’s Residence hadn’t impeached you, the court would’ve kicked you out sooner or later. What the Great Chu Empire needs is people who can actually get things done, not moral saints who only care about their spotless image.
Being honest is good, but isn’t that a basic requirement for an official? Why flaunt it like it’s a virtue?
If you had to choose between someone capable of real results and someone who constantly chants about integrity but does nothing, sometimes the one who can deliver results brings more benefit to the people.”
Just then, the shopkeeper brought over the noodles.
Shen Lang glanced at the now self-doubting Han Chaozong, then pulled out a string of coins and tossed them onto the table.
“Waiter, get Old Han a pot of wine.”
With that, he walked out of Wenxiang Tower without looking back.
Watching his departing figure, Jiang Mengxuan hesitated briefly, then stood and followed him.
She realized this subordinate from the Imperial Guard seemed to have a very unique perspective on governance, and she was eager to understand more about him.