Damn it, I'm in the garbage book I wrote

Chapter 609 How presumptuous!
In fact, after careful consideration, Xia Lin felt that there was more than just coincidence in this matter, or perhaps Li Yuan's side had already reached the point of close combat.

These two siblings need a breakthrough to achieve a qualitative change from quantitative change, but their strength is still relatively weak, so they need an opportunity.

For example, they won the support of Emperor Jingtai.

It's funny, the rebel camp needs the support of the legitimate camp, but politics, like physics, often goes against intuition. During World War II, Germany and Russia were fighting so badly, but in the end, they still managed to take over Poland together.

If that's the case, then things make sense. Li Shimin and San Niang's purpose in coming here wasn't Xia Lin, but rather Emperor Jingtai. They needed Emperor Jingtai's support, but they couldn't openly go to Jinling to discuss it in a formal setting.

Because Li Yuan would be on high alert and extremely wary whenever he came into contact with Emperor Jingtai, a visit to Xia Lin was entirely different. After all, Li Yuan was aware of the relationship between San Niang and Xia Lin, and San Niang was currently in charge of the construction of the new Xianyang. Their meeting was reasonable, given that it involved a large sum of money. Furthermore, everyone knew that there was a clear competitive relationship between Li Shimin and Xia Daosheng, which greatly reduced the likelihood of Li Yuan being wary.

"So that's it."

Xia Lin tapped lightly on the window frame with her fingers, then sighed helplessly. Just then, a guard outside mysteriously brought over a box.

"General, look at this."

Xia Lin curiously took the box: "What is this thing?"

As he asked, he leaned forward and took a sniff. Immediately, a strong smell of urine, or rather ammonia, filled his nostrils, mixed with a bittersweet taste. He frowned: "Opium? Where did it come from?"

“It was a few Tibetan monks selling it by the roadside. They said it could cure tuberculosis and wounds from weapons. We didn’t believe them, so we bought it and brought it to the commander to take a look.”

Xia Lin had the taste of this stuff etched into his very soul. This thing was definitely opium paste, but it wasn't very pure; it was mixed with honey and lime.

But he really didn't expect that such a finished product would appear at this time.

"They haven't spread widely, have they?"

"No, they were stopped as soon as they arrived. We bought all the seeds they brought." The soldier picked up a leather bag: "I've never heard of such a strange thing."

"This is a very good medicinal herb, but it's also a poison that can bring ruin to the country and its people." Xia Lin brought the box to his nose and sniffed it again. "Be careful, if anyone is found selling these things again, arrest them all. Where are these Tibetan monks being held?"

"It's in the woodshed up ahead. Would you like to go see it, sir?"

Xia Lin nodded, and then his personal guards led him over. After inquiring, he learned that these monks were from India, and the method of making this opium paste was derived from a medicine-making method taught to them by a monk from the East. After discovering that this herb had terrifying analgesic, cough-suppressing, and anti-diarrheal effects, the monk cultivated it extensively in India and refined it into a paste for sale.

These Tibetan monks crossed snow-capped mountains and traversed jungles, hoping to make some money here using this latest miraculous medicine; they knew nothing else.

After hearing this, Xia Lin walked to the door, grabbed the opium box, put his hands on his hips, and muttered something: "I'm doomed. I've raised a drug lord."

Who else could these Tibetan monks be referring to besides the young Xuanzang? Xia Lin's task for him was to find and cultivate novel seeds and plants, which he diligently carried out. However, no one expected that this guy would end up cultivating opium on a large scale...

He wondered why there hadn't been any news about Master Xuanzang all these years. Turns out he was practicing alchemy in India. But that was interesting. However, the supervision of this stuff should be stricter. It was far more potent than the Five-Stone Powder of the Wei and Jin Dynasties. Getting involved with it would be the end of you.

However, things have two sides. When used as medicine, it is indeed a miraculous medicine, and even in the future, the various drugs derived from it for pain relief will undoubtedly be number one.

This thing is absolutely invaluable on the battlefield. After all, once you're on the battlefield, whether it's addictive or not is secondary...

Of course, it is also very useful for some types of pain that may cause shock, such as kidney stone pain and cancer pain. Therefore, Xia Lin decided to collect all of this stuff. In the future, it will probably be included in the special operation like salt and iron. The medical school will definitely be very interested in this stuff. The Medicine King will probably be so happy that he won't be able to sleep for several days.

This was just a minor incident, but it also revealed that the monk Xia Lin sent out back then was at least doing something worthwhile and wasn't actually playing with monkeys with the three brothers.

"Have someone tell these Tibetan monks that we've accepted all the ointments they brought. If even a single penny of it goes out of their reach, I'll skin them alive and hang them on the Himalayas to be used as popsicles."

"Order."

Then Xia Lin, holding a box of opium paste, aimed at a monkey. He needed a negative example to demonstrate the harm of opium to his men. Using humans for experiments was truly inhumane, so a monkey was a better choice; there weren't many other things in this area, but there were plenty of monkeys. Just as Xia Lin was doing something inhumane, enticing the monkey to smoke opium, Emperor Jingtai finally landed in Fuliang.

He had come here once before, but that was many years ago, when Emperor Hongbao was still alive. He came to his father's place of recuperation as the crown prince to listen to his teachings. This time, he came here again, but his father had been gone for many years.

Standing on the high platform where he had once stood with his father, gazing at the blue waters and white sails on the distant river, Emperor Jingtai was overcome with a wave of melancholy.

With a look of desolation in his eyes, he said to Jinlian beside him, "The last time I stood here with my father, he said a lot to me. I was young then and didn't understand. I only thought he was being a bit noisy, but I didn't know that my father was still alive then, and he was the one who was supporting me under the sky."

"Your Majesty, you have done very well."

"Good? What's so good about it?" Emperor Jingtai sighed. "If it weren't for Father, I would be lucky if Daosheng even bothered to talk to me. The fact that I've been able to live peacefully until today is ultimately thanks to Father's protection."

After he finished speaking, he raised his hand and said to the guards around him, "You can all leave now. This place is no longer needed for you. Go and rest for a few days."

Several guards refused to leave, so Emperor Jingtai frowned and said, "Disperse as I said!"

After being reprimanded like that, the guards behind him dispersed, ensuring that no one would disturb Emperor Jingtai and Jinlian's private time in this place.

Without informing any of them, their first stop was the residence where Emperor Hongbao had once lived. Emperor Jingtai ordered the gate to be opened and led Jinlian into the courtyard. They saw that the chessboard where his father and uncle had played chess was now covered with moss, as if time had frozen on that afternoon when his father laughed at him for being brave but reckless.

At that time, the Emperor was playing chess with his uncle, and Tian En was serving him with a smile. Meanwhile, the then Crown Prince, Emperor Jingtai, stood there with his back bowed and sleeves down, being scolded.

I can't remember the mistakes I made, but I always remember that I still had a father back then.

Like everyone else in the world, Emperor Jingtai once thought his father was weak and incompetent. But when he finally sat on that throne, he realized that he had exhausted all his strength just to survive. Afterwards, he had to deal with various figures and forces, which made him even more exhausted. The key was that most people did not accept him, such as Li Yuan.

It's important to understand that when his cowardly and weak father was still alive, Li Yuan didn't even dare to breathe loudly. This was because Li Yuan knew in his heart that Hongbao's relocation of the capital was not out of weakness but out of reluctance to see the country engulfed in war. If they were to confront each other head-on, Li Yuan would not have much of a chance of winning. It was because of this that Li Yuan felt guilty towards Hongbao and fulfilled his duty as a subject until the death of the emperor he respected.

When it came to his own time, guess what? Li Yuan didn't treat him like a human being at all. The moment Emperor Hongbao was buried, Li Yuan ascended the throne and declared himself emperor…

At that moment, Emperor Jingtai realized just how strong his father, whom the world mocked as incompetent and weak, truly was. His mistake was being born at the tail end of a dynasty, and he was simply no match for the powerful families of the world on his own. This is why Emperor Jingtai often muttered in his last few years that he wished he could be a few years younger.

At that time, Emperor Jingtai thought his father was just looking back in old age, but now that he was over thirty years old, when he looked back at his father's words, he realized that his father was actually regretting that he could not fight alongside young people like Xia Daosheng.

"Everyone says Father Emperor is weak." Emperor Jingtai came to the window where his father often sat and blew away a layer of dust. "But those who understand him know what it means to be born at the wrong time. If Father Emperor had been born a hundred years earlier... no, fifty years earlier, he would definitely have been able to revive the Great Wei. It wouldn't have fallen into such a state of disarray in my hands."

"Your Majesty, you can do it too... Jinlian thinks Your Majesty has been very diligent and hardworking."

"Hahaha, it's useless." Emperor Jingtai's eyes were even a little red at this moment: "I can stand here and be shouted 'Long live the Emperor' by everyone, but it is only because of my father's blessing. He planted a few big trees for me... for the Great Wei. He was worried that I would make trouble for Xia Daosheng after I ascended the throne, so he gave Daosheng the power of the army in the world. He was worried that I would deal with those young officials, so he tacitly allowed young people to form factions. My father spent the last ten years paving the way for me, but it seems that I have disappointed my father."

"No, Your Majesty. Whether it is Lord Xia or the other capable officials, they are all the memorials left by the late Emperor for Your Majesty. If Your Majesty were truly incompetent, you would not have been able to retain so many talented and ambitious people."

"Hahahaha..." Emperor Jingtai waved his hand: "Me? I'm not a good emperor. I'm petty and suspicious, but I have one advantage, which is that I'm incompetent. Sometimes, being an emperor, being incompetent is precisely the greatest ability. Do you know why I'm not worried about Daosheng plotting a rebellion?"

"Just a few days ago, His Majesty complained that Lord Xia's heart was not with His Majesty..."

"That's just jealousy, not the real issue." Emperor Jingtai pushed open the small window and took a breath of autumn air. "Because Daosheng said his schemes are those of Yao, Shun, Yu, and Tang. He looks down on my throne. Let me tell you both, his real power is already greater than mine, but I can't do anything about it because I'm incompetent, while he is. As long as he lets me continue living like this, I'm already grateful. But if he not only lets me continue as emperor but also helps to govern the Great Wei well, then it's not just a matter of being grateful. I have to thank my father for that. He lets me maintain the facade of the Great Wei, making it bright and beautiful, but ultimately he gives the real power of the Great Wei to Daosheng. Whether you call him Your Majesty or not is his business, but in reality, he is more like the ruler of the Great Wei than I am."

If you ask me if I'm angry, I'm not. Because I've figured it out: I am the Qilin beast sitting atop the palace, and Daosheng is the Yaksha wandering at midnight. Without me, he can't accomplish many things; without him, I can't even be the emperor. Once you understand this, you realize that guarding against him is actually cutting off your own path. This is something I've only understood in the last two years; before, I actually considered getting rid of him for a while.”

"But why wasn't it done in the end...?"

"I wouldn't dare," Emperor Jingtai smiled helplessly. "I'm incompetent."

(End of this chapter)