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

Chapter 665 You say the overall situation is about to be settled? It's still too early, too early.

Emperor Jingtai dealt with Consort Pei, but of course, he didn't throw her into a well like in Qing Dynasty dramas. He simply sent her to the mountains to become a nun.

This incident dealt a heavy blow to the entire Pei family, and at the same time sent a strong signal: Emperor Jingtai was telling everyone with a silent certainty that he was determined to keep Ah Sheng, and even Jesus couldn't touch him!

"Your Majesty, this way of dealing with the Imperial Concubine may cause dissatisfaction among others."

"Go to hell."

Gao Shilian was stunned by Emperor Jingtai's words. He looked at the emperor in front of him with a sense of unfamiliarity, and even had a bizarre feeling that the emperor might have been possessed...

"His Majesty……"

"You shut up too." Emperor Jingtai frowned. "Gao Shilian, how many times have I told you this? I know you want to protect your family, and you know the principle of 'if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold.' But let me tell you clearly, as long as you behave yourself, I guarantee you can continue your family's tradition of farming and scholarship. If anyone else complains about being dissatisfied, go and tell them that it was me who said this. If they have the guts, they can resign, cause trouble, or rebel. Don't embarrass yourselves in front of me anymore. I fought my way through the battlefield; their petty tricks pose no threat to me."

Emperor Jingtai's attitude was extremely firm, leaving Gao Shilian stunned. For a moment, he didn't even know where this young and ignorant emperor had gotten his support. Didn't he know that he could only rely on the powerful families to balance the faction in the court? If he showed such favoritism, the faction would definitely become dominant.

People in the world are neither good nor bad. If any one family becomes too powerful, corruption will inevitably arise. Without checks and balances, the old will simply be replaced by the new. The Great Wei will remain the same Great Wei, and nothing will change.

"Your Majesty," Gao Shilian continued, ignoring Emperor Jingtai's firm stance, "this old minister is already seventy years old. I have only a few years left to live. Whether people call me an old thief or an old dog, I, Gao Shilian, have committed many evils in my life, but I have always maintained a clear conscience and remained loyal to the Great Wei. Even though my opinions differed from those of the late Emperor and Your Majesty, I have never been a disloyal minister. I believe Your Majesty should not be swayed by one-sided opinions. A dense forest will inevitably block out the sun. Your Majesty may hate powerful families or corrupt officials, but you must remember that a hundred schools of thought contend for spring, and water that is too clear has no fish. Those who harm the country more than corrupt families are those foolish and incompetent officials. Those who do nothing are worse than those who act recklessly. Your Majesty..."

Emperor Jingtai did not refute further, but silently raised his head and glanced at Gao Shilian: "Grand Commandant Gao."

"The minister is here."

"I have always had a question that I don't understand: why do dynasties become hopeless and old after three hundred years?"

"Because...those who once wielded sharp blades to slay dragons, having devoured dragon flesh and drunk dragon blood, eventually transformed themselves into dragons."

"Is there no way to change this?"

“Yes.” Gao Shilian raised his head: “I believe that the way Fuliang is can greatly slow down this process, because the way they do it is to make people eat and spit out the food. They have to eat one bite of meat in three bites and then spit it out in six bites. Maybe there will still be some left over, but in the end, the meat is distributed. Whether it is good or bad, I dare not comment. That is not something I have seen before, but... at least it seems good at the moment.”

Emperor Jingtai nodded: "I understand, but this matter is easy to handle in one place, but it may be difficult to handle across the whole country."

“Difficult, as difficult as ascending to heaven.” Gao Shilian lowered his eyes: “Who would be willing to spit out the meat they have already swallowed? Therefore, Your Majesty must not think that the overall situation is settled. The road ahead is still long, and we must not stop for a hundred years or a thousand years.”

"Why?"

“Because of people.” Gao Shilian’s voice gradually lowered: “People are like pigs and dogs, born with desires, and desires do not cease as long as life continues. Sages are sages only because sages can go against the tide and against their own hearts, ultimately doing nothing yet acting in accordance with the mean. But how many times has the Yellow River cleared up, and how many sages have emerged?”

"What about that?"

"Fight, keep fighting, fight without letting up for a moment. Your Majesty, you must not let up or become arrogant."

Emperor Jingtai stared intently into Gao Shilian's eyes: "Grand Commandant, you know everything, why..."

“Your subject… is also a human being.” Gao Shilian lifted his robe and knelt before Emperor Jingtai: “Your subject knows his mistakes and admits them, but does not regret them, simply because his surname is Gao and he has his own principles. There are thousands upon thousands of people behind him. This is what is meant by knowing is easy but doing is hard.”

This time, it was Emperor Jingtai's turn to remain silent, because Gao Shilian's words were like a bucket of cold water, turning the young man's passionate enthusiasm into a cold, indifferent one.

"Grand Commandant, please return first. Allow me to reconsider."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Gao Shilian bowed and took his leave. Emperor Jingtai sat there holding his teacup, but his mind remained unsettled for a long time.

The minds of all intelligent people in the world are pretty much the same, and their thoughts are similar. Xia Lin had said something similar to Gao Shilian, but the two of them were in different positions and different environments. Even though they knew the same things, they still made different choices.

However, they had a choice, but Emperor Jingtai had a difficult one, because he also had his own position to choose from.

"Fuck your mother..."

Emperor Jingtai muttered a curse under his breath, leaning back in his chair. This was a bad habit he, a prince, had picked up in the military camp, and because it felt good, he couldn't shake it off.

Just then, the setting sun streamed in through the window, its light carrying a touch of springtime gentleness. The shadows of the trees swayed, and a warm breeze blew. Spring in the South, after all, arrives a little earlier than in the North.

“Zhang Shuo, the Attendant-in-Ordinary of the Eastern Terrace, came to pay his respects.”

The voice of the eunuch outside broke the Jingtai Emperor's peace. He nodded and said, "Let him in."

After a while, Old Zhang pushed open the door and entered, bowing and saying, "Greetings, Your Majesty."

"No need for formalities." Emperor Jingtai turned his head and glanced at Old Zhang: "What is it, Minister Zhang?"

Old Zhang knelt before the platform and said coldly, "Seventy-six officials, including those of the rank of Crown Prince's Attendant and Palace Attendant, have impeached the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review for abusing his power and disregarding the interests of the country. We beseech Your Majesty to make a decision."

"Anmus? He's finally been caught off guard, hasn't he?"

"Yes, Your Majesty." Old Zhang, contrary to his usual self, no longer had his usual joking demeanor: "There are eighty-two articles of impeachment. Please review them, Your Majesty."

Emperor Jingtai picked up the items from Old Zhang's hand and read them one by one. After reading them, he felt his three internal organs pound wildly and his heart stopped.

"This is outrageous! How dare they present such an impeachment to me?"

"Your Majesty, please calm down. These charges are all in accordance with the law, and the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review is doomed."

Emperor Jingtai felt his hands trembling. The smile on his face was a half-smile as he looked at the ridiculous and outrageous charges. These included things like calling a deer a horse, piles of corpses along the road, honeyed words and a dagger in the heart, using land reclamation to avoid disaster, and hoarding pearls from the East. These were all common accusations. The most outrageous one was that Anzi was a descendant of the Hu people and suspected that he was inclined to serve the Hu people...

One case after another, even involving harboring relatives of wanted criminals and engaging in illicit affairs... Any one of these charges would have been a death sentence for Anzi. All the charges were extracted from the legal codes that had been buried for hundreds of years, and even included the legal codes of Cao Wei and the Eastern Han Dynasty.

In other words, these people have started to look up legal codes from 500 years ago in order to kill Anzi. The key issue is that not only Emperor Jingtai has to recognize this legal code, but Anzi himself also has to recognize it, because the Tuoba family claims to be the successors of the Han and Wei dynasties. If their legal code is not recognized, they will have no legal legitimacy.

"Bastard! Bastard!!!"

Emperor Jingtai was furious. He had been basking in his arrogance for only a short while when this unexpected blow struck him, making him feel extremely uneasy.

"Order Xia Daosheng to return to the capital! I will massacre Nanjing. Fuck him!"

“Your Majesty, you mustn’t,” Old Zhang replied, bowing his head. “The world is still at peace. If Your Majesty does not respect the laws of our ancestors, I fear a great disaster will ensue.”

"What other important matter could there be?! I ask you, what other important matter could there be? I have just recovered the lost territories and arrived in the capital, and they want me to kill their own confidants. Isn't this like defecating on my head? This is intolerable!"

"Your Majesty, do not panic." Old Zhang raised his head, his face terribly cold: "This is also Lord An's intention. Lord An said that the law has always been watered with blood. Today it is his turn, so he should step forward. Only when he dies will there be someone to overturn his case, and only in this way will someone overturn that altar that has been there for hundreds of years."

Emperor Jingtai closed his eyes, feeling a throbbing sensation in his temples. After a long while, he opened his eyes and looked at Old Zhang: "Give me some time."

"Three years."

“Three years…three years is too long, too long.” Emperor Jingtai murmured, “I cannot let Anmus leave like this without a clear explanation. One year, I will only give you one year.”

"I will do my best."

"I don't want your efforts!" Emperor Jingtai roared. "I want your determination!"

"Yes, if I fail to accomplish this within a year, I will offer myself for a white silk noose."

Emperor Jingtai pursed his lips, the last rays of the setting sun shining on his face, making him look melancholy and profound, his lips slightly downturned, as if he was about to cry.

"Go, go and send An Jun on his way..."

"The minister obeys the order."

Old Zhang silently withdrew, and Emperor Jingtai leaned against the window, gazing into the distance. The last ray of sunlight on the mountainside finally disappeared, and the outside gradually became pitch black, plunging the whole world into darkness.

His only thought now is to go to Liaodong and exchange places with Xia Daosheng, so that Xia Daosheng can handle things here, and he can become the General Who Conquers the North.

The thrill of life and death on the battlefield is what makes it exhilarating; there are no trivialities, only the pure, heroic spirit of true men.

Meanwhile, Xia Lin, who was still in Shanhaiguan, was unpacking a package from the capital. Inside were twenty-seven imperial edicts, but none of them had any writing on them. They were all blank edicts with three seals, and Xia Daosheng could write whatever he wanted on them.

Tucked inside the package was a secret letter from Old Zhang. When Xia Lin opened and read it, he felt his blood rush to his head.

Although he knew that Anzi had long harbored a martyr's heart, when the day actually came, he was still somewhat apprehensive. But he had no choice; the world's clarity needed to be washed clean with the blood of virtuous men, and if no one was willing to sacrifice themselves, the heavens would never be bright again.

Xia Lin read the contents of the secret letter, and the more he read, the sadder he became. At thirty, he was even more sensitive and sentimental than when he was a teenager. Back then, he only had faith in his heart and did not have much attachment to this world.

However, having lived to this age, he has unknowingly become inextricably linked to this world and can no longer extricate himself from it.

With his eyes closed, he could still recall the scene of his first meeting with Anzi, the naive boy who had been driven to the point of vomiting blood by his own unreasonable nagging, and now he was about to become a martyr and a saint.

"Rest in peace, Anzi."

Xia Lin turned around, took down the wine gourd from the cabinet, unscrewed the lid, and poured the liquid inside onto the ground: "I'll offer you a toast in advance. I'll visit your grave to catch up when I get back."

And so, Anzi was sentenced. For bending the law for personal gain and disrupting the court, his entire family was to be exterminated. However, at this critical juncture, Xia Lin sent a blank message via carrier pigeon back to Jinling.

The extermination of three clans was replaced by a three-zhang-long white silk ribbon.

"Hahaha, he abused his power for personal gain."

Anzi was eating heartily in prison, while all his colleagues from the Dali Temple watched him from outside the cell. Many of them turned their heads away, unable to bear the sight, tears streaming down their faces like spring rain.

Old Zhang sat outside the cage, leaning against the bars, tilting his head back and sighing softly: "You have one last chance, as long as..."

"No need," Anzi waved his hand. "You're not going to try and take the credit for clearing away the clouds, are you?"

"Is there another way?"

"Yes, of course there are. I could even beg His Majesty to show leniency, or even have someone write a letter to Xia Daosheng asking him to spare his life. But what then? Wouldn't that give others grounds for criticism? Without a sensational case, how can your swords be swift and sharp? There's been too much exchange of interests; it's time for someone to break open a gap in this circle."

Anzi finished his meal in a few bites, then raised his wine jug and drank it down. He then raised the jug in his hand and said, "I will go first. Please proceed with caution."

The anger and resentment of the Dali Temple were almost tangible at this moment. Old Zhang stood up, lowered his head, and left without saying a word. Then, everyone from the Dali Temple silently withdrew from the cell.

Anzi took the white silk from the table in the cell, looked at the backs of his comrades, a smile appeared on his lips, and then he hummed a line from an opera he had heard in Fuliang: "The wicked bring disaster to the people, the benevolent disrupt the law... Gentlemen, please proceed slowly."

As the white silk was hung on the roof beam, Anzi calmly ascended it. At that moment, a cool breeze rushed in from outside the window, and Anzi transformed into the banner that summoned the soul of the old era, beginning to flutter in the wind.

Emperor Jingtai sat in the palace, completely drunk. He even scolded Jinlian, who came to help him. He sat disheveled under the dragon throne, moonlight shining on him from the courtyard, wine jugs scattered around him, making him look somewhat desolate.

"Lord An...Lord An, I'm so sorry." Emperor Jingtai murmured to himself, looking up. "Within one year, I will avenge you..."

On the seventh day after the Beginning of Spring, some families in Jinling City rejoiced while others grieved. Some celebrated their newfound power, while others were heartbroken. Those who were happy felt that the world was now settled, and despite Xia Daosheng's swaggering and arrogant behavior, they had ultimately won the nearly year-long court infighting...

(End of this chapter)