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

Chapter 664 Playing with People Like Fools
The "pouring out grievances" segment was actually quite interesting. Xia Lin sat there listening to Pei Jun recount his hardships over the years. The story was long, and Pei Jun talked while eating. The people invited around were all comedians with excellent acting skills and knew how to flatter people.

Anyway, anyone who comes here can have an excellent gaming experience, and while drinking and chatting, they can even reminisce about the days when Emperor Hongbao was still alive.

Xia Lin wasn't in a hurry. He wanted to see what tricks this older brother surnamed Pei was up to. After all, he didn't have the authority to take him down. He still had to abide by the rules. If he just acted recklessly, what would be the difference between him and America?
The army has already entered Shanhaiguan, so let's just wait it out. Xia Lin has no qualms about eating and drinking whatever they want. They've already taken enough of the people's hard-earned money; it's time for them to give back.

"A few years ago, my father-in-law and brother-in-law passed away one after the other. This vast pass couldn't be left unguarded, but I am truly incompetent and cannot act like my father-in-law. I can only steadfastly hold it. In the following years, Huangya Pass suddenly rose to prominence. Originally, goods from both inside and outside the pass were transshipped through Shanhaiguan, but now they would rather take a longer route to Huangya Pass than come here. Shanhaiguan has naturally become depleted. Lord Xia, it's a difficult situation..."

Pei Jun was a senior member of the Pei family, a prominent figure, and the son-in-law of the military genius Li Jing. He was a well-known figure both in the imperial court and in the martial arts world.

However, he is such a person now. He treats Xia Lin with utmost respect and caution. There are certainly many fools, but he does not consider himself foolish and hopes that Xia Lin can empathize with him and understand his difficulties.

"So this is why you remained unmoved when your allies were surrounded? Do you think that without Huangyaguan, your Shanhaiguan can rise again?"

"I would never dare, but over the years, the area around Shanhaiguan has become impoverished."

Xia Lin didn't answer, but he hadn't eaten a single dish or drunk a single drop of wine from the beginning until now, which was not a good sign. Pei Jun felt his palms and soles sweating profusely.

“Alright, I see that too. In that case, I wonder if General Pei would allow me to stay at Shanhaiguan for a while. I also hold the position of Inspector General, and since something has happened, I must investigate it thoroughly, otherwise I would be unworthy of His Majesty’s grace.”

Pei Jun was taken aback. He had considered a hundred ways to play the game, but he never expected Xia Lin to choose this one. So many years had passed, who would still remember that he was an inspecting censor? Now the Censorate and the Department of Investigation had been merged into the Supervisory Bureau. Although the position of censor still existed, most of the censors had been transferred to supervisory positions at the same level. The sudden appearance of an inspecting censor was truly unexpected...

"This...this...Lord Xia is busy with official duties, how could a small place like Shanhaiguan dare to delay Lord Xia's official business?"

After Pei Jun finished speaking, Xia Lin did not reply. He just stared straight at Pei Jun, his eyes filled with genuine murderous intent.

If it were back then, Xia Lin would have made up all sorts of excuses and reasons, but now he has just told Pei Jun what he said, and what he said was not negotiation but notification.

Thirty-year-old Xia Daosheng had gradually lost patience with these people.

Silence was the best response to the situation. Although Pei Jun was resentful, he could only lower his head and agree. Let them investigate; he had nothing under his name, his finances were spotless, and his accounts were clean—he was simply poor. As for the court's allocations and taxes, they had already been used for border repairs, infrastructure construction, the welfare of the people, and disaster relief—each of which was a high-cost project, so it was normal that he didn't have the money.

Logically speaking, the capital city wouldn't send anyone to audit the accounts. Even if they did, accidents would usually happen on the way, such as "bandits robbing the mountains," "carts and horses falling into the river," "post stations catching fire," "fire dragon burning down the granary," and so on. In short, all the elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth could be gathered together.

But who would have thought that the people who came to audit the accounts this time would bring soldiers, and a large number of them at that.

"Then it is up to Lord Xia to decide."

Xia Lin didn't drink a drop of water at the banquet, which was rather alarming. As the saying goes, "He who takes a man's money is bound to be grateful," and since Xia Lin neither ate nor drank, it meant there was no room for negotiation.

What can we do then? Besides toughing it out, what other options are there? Send someone to assassinate him? That's ridiculous. He's under the protection of the new army. There are plenty of assassins in the world, but who would dare to take on such a job? Would they be courting death?
Are suicide squads any good? No, they're not good either. That's a regular army. To assassinate their commander in the camp of a regular army? That's a joke. Even the worst army in the world still has a few nails left in a broken ship, let alone a top-tier elite army like the New Army.

Xia Lin left, leaving Pei Jun and a group of companions sitting there looking at each other in bewilderment.

At this moment, one of them said with a heavy heart, "General, I'm afraid this will be difficult to handle."

"What can you do if it's difficult? Do you have a way to kill him?"

With just one sentence, the man was silenced. At this point, they were at their wits' end, having no cards left to play. They could only wait for their master in the capital to see if he could create a miracle for them. But he had been waiting and had not received a reply, not even a message of agreement or disagreement. This made Pei Jun even more terrified.

If there is still no news, it means that he may have been abandoned by his family.

In fact, strictly speaking, his guess was pretty accurate. The Pei family in the capital had received the news a few days ago, and they had been meeting to discuss the issue ever since.

Some people advocated exposing Xia Lin's disobedience to the imperial decree and his unauthorized departure from the capital, making a huge fuss, and putting Emperor Jingtai on hold to see if he would actually deal with this person who had clearly defied the imperial decree.

However, many others believe that this matter should be suppressed, because matters within the court are not as simple as they seem. If the problem cannot be resolved, the person who raised the issue will likely be dealt with.

Putting the emperor on the fire to roast is easy, but what happens after that? A little thought will tell you whether it's easier to deal with Xia Lin's problem or to deal with the person who raised the issue of Xia Lin's problem.

This led to a heated debate within the Pei family, with neither side able to convince the other. In the end, someone came up with a solution: since the problem couldn't be solved, they should escalate the conflict.

They released the news overnight that Xia Lin had secretly left Beijing for the border. Here, the charm of journalism was once again demonstrated. They did not say that Xia Lin's first task after leaving Beijing was to rush to the frontier and guard the checkpoints. Instead, they changed the purpose of his actions to inspecting the border and checking accounts.

This has touched the hearts of countless people, including the Guo family of Jinyang.

It's important to understand that loyalty and disloyalty are not mutually exclusive with greed. No matter what, the Guo family was a warlord family, and every day they had to support hundreds of thousands of people. If they weren't stingy and frugal, they simply couldn't support everyone.

So on the very night the news broke, members of the Guo family approached Old Guo with great concern.

"Second Grandfather, even if my cousin's investigation isn't aimed at the Guo family, the others certainly won't let us off easily. Please go and persuade him, Second Grandfather..."

After hearing this, Lao Guo didn't show much expression on his face, and just continued to pretend to look at the book in his hand.

Seeing that he didn't move, the family member's voice was trembling with tears: "Second Grandfather..."

It was the Regent, who was playing chess with Old Guo, who spoke up at this moment: "Old Guo, why don't you say something? Look how scared you've made the child."

To save face for the prince, Old Guo slowly put down his book: "Go back and tell your parents that if they're going to investigate, they should investigate openly and without any cover-ups. You haven't done anything that's against the natural order, have you? It's just about making a little money, evading some taxes, or skimping on some grain, right?"

"Um...yes."

"Then what are you afraid of? Everyone in the world does the same thing." Old Guo glared at him. "This is no big deal. How should I explain it? Old Jiu, you tell him. I can't explain it to him."

The Regent smiled and stroked his beard, saying, "Go home and tell your family to relax; there's nothing to worry about. This time, he's probably going to strip the Mountain and Navy of their designations, which has nothing to do with you."

"Stop gossiping about me everywhere," Old Guo shouted, glaring at him. "Get lost."

Upon hearing this news, the boy breathed a sigh of relief and bowed deeply to the Prince and Old Guo: "Thank you, Regent, thank you, Second Grandfather. I'll take my leave now."

After he left, Old Guo pondered for a moment, then turned to the prince and said, "Do you think it's a good thing or a bad thing that my son offended so many people this time?" "It's hard to say whether it's a good thing or a bad thing, but at least it can extend the life of the Great Wei by thirty years. This afternoon, many old guys came to me to plead for mercy. Judging from their attitude, I know my son did the right thing."

"What do you mean 'my son'? He's my son, just your son-in-law."

"Why isn't a son-in-law a son?" The regent raised his head and said, "If you're so capable, why don't you marry your daughter to him?"

"Damn it, my daughter is forty-eight this year, old enough to be his mother." Old Guo waved his hand: "But isn't Pei Jun's daughter now His Majesty's imperial concubine?"

"Yes."

"This is a bit troublesome."

"It's alright, little Consort. We'll wait for Jing'er to return. He'll be back in triumph in the next few days, won't he?"

"Yes, that's right. After all these years, he's finally finally gotten his revenge. It wasn't easy."

“It’s all a bit childish, but the emperor personally leading an expedition is extremely dangerous.” The prince sighed. “If something happens to him, who knows what will happen in the court.”

"Stop grumbling about him. It's been so many years since your Tuoba family has produced such a spirited emperor. It's a pity that Fourth Brother won't be able to see it, otherwise he would have been nagging us for days."

"Hahaha... Yeah, my fourth brother is a sly devil."

Speaking of the late Emperor Hongbao, the two old men sighed after chirping about him for a while. Finally, the prince broke the deadlock: "Play chess, play chess. Stop looking at your lousy books. How many words do you even know?"

“I can still read, so don’t look down on me. I’ve been studying military strategy since I was a child.”

Their composure caused turmoil among the aristocratic families of the capital. Now, the mere mention of Xia Lin's name sends shivers down their spines, and the words "audit" send shivers down their spines.

However, it was at this critical juncture that Emperor Jingtai returned to the capital victorious. The victory made all the difference; his demeanor upon entering the city was different from usual. The first thing he did upon returning was not to attend court but to go to the imperial mausoleum and place the heads he had brought back in front of his father's tombstone to form a Jingguan (a mound of skulls).

The topmost figure in this mound of skulls was the bandit leader Yang Ying. Emperor Jingtai even thoughtfully had people paint eyebrows on Yang Ying's head, add crimson and pale yellow hues, stuff a luminous pearl from the East China Sea into his mouth, and put his official crown on his head, making him look both terrifying and comical.

The Hongnong Yang clan's reign has come to an end. Although some centipedes may still linger, they won't be able to cause trouble for long. Soon, other families will devour the entire Hongnong Yang clan's legacy, and any of their descendants who manage to become even a pancake seller will be considered lucky by their ancestors.

After the ancestral worship ceremony, Emperor Jingtai finally returned to the palace. He planned to rest for two days before going to court, but before he could even rest, Consort Pei came to his door in tears.

"What's wrong, my beloved concubine?"

"Your Majesty, you are unaware of the truth. My father and mother have been humiliated... Waaaaah, I don't want to live anymore."

"Don't cry, don't cry." Emperor Jingtai rubbed his temples. "Tell me properly, who is so audacious as to bully the emperor's brother-in-law?"

"It's all because of Xia Daosheng..."

"Alright, when do you want to die today?" Emperor Jingtai raised his hand to stop her rambling. "Give me a definite answer, lest your corpse stink and defile my palace."

"His Majesty……"

"roll!"

Emperor Jingtai had no patience for her. He frowned and said, "If you don't get out of here, I'll execute you, even if you don't die."

Consort Pei scrambled away, while Jinlian, who had been standing beside her as a maid, whispered, "Your Majesty, how heartless you are! They say that even a day as husband and wife brings a hundred days of kindness, yet you order someone's death so easily."

"Hey, you saw it too, she said she didn't want to live, and I couldn't do anything about it." Emperor Jingtai spread his hands: "What? Are you trying to whisper in my ear about the strongest bone in my Great Wei? Jinlian, let me ask you, what benefit would I get if I blew Xia Daosheng down?"

Jinlian shook her head: "This humble woman does not know..."

“I gain nothing! Not only will I be bullied by those powerful families, but in the end, I might not even be able to defend the Great Wei. Daosheng said to inspect Shanhaiguan, so let's inspect it. If anyone comes here to gossip about me, I will cut out their tongue.”

"But wouldn't Lord Xia's departure from the capital be considered disobeying the imperial decree?"

"What's this talk about disobeying the imperial edict? I'll just give him some secret edicts. Or I can send him a message and let him forge an imperial edict himself. He has plenty of fake seals anyway, he can just print it himself."

"Your Majesty, there is something I have always been unclear about."

“Oh, Jinlian, you speak.”

Jinlian sat down and whispered, "In the plays I've read, the emperor always suspects his ministers, and the ministers always suspect the emperor. Why doesn't His Majesty suspect Lord Xia?"

Emperor Jingtai, now embodying the air of a military ruffian, tilted his head and slapped his neck repeatedly upon hearing this: "My head rests on Xia Daosheng's neck. Xia Daosheng is still Xia Daosheng even without Tuoba Jing. But Tuoba Jing is without Xia Daosheng. Have you seen the Jingguan (a mound of corpses) in front of Father Emperor's grave?"

"After reading it... it was somewhat horrifying."

"If I were to lose Xia Daosheng, the head atop the Jingguan (a mound of skulls) with a luminous pearl in its mouth would belong to me, Tuoba Jing. Why would I doubt him? If I were to compare myself to Liu Shan (Emperor Taizong of Tang), then Xia Daosheng would be my Fei Yi, Dong Yun, Xiang Chong, and Guo Youzhi. And if I were to compare myself to Emperor Zhaolie of Han, then Daosheng would be my Zhuge Liang. Without him, could I be so glorious? Don't I, Tuoba Jing, know what kind of useless person I am?"

"Your Majesty...you are not useless; your talent is unparalleled."

"How does it compare to Daosheng?"

Jinlian remained silent, only kneeling down repeatedly.

"Get up, I know you wouldn't dare lie to me." Emperor Jingtai laughed: "There's no point in deceiving yourself. As long as he can help me, that's enough. Liu Bei never said he was more capable than Zhuge Liang."

(End of this chapter)