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

Chapter 675 Waiting for the Best Price
The so-called contact is nothing more than an attempt to replicate Yang Ying.

But if Yang Ying has already suffered so much, would anyone really follow the same path as him now?
Yes, there are. Just like everyone knows drug trafficking will lead to ruin, but drug traffickers are still everywhere because the profits are just too high. Doesn't Yang Ying know that he's no match for Da Wei? How could he not know? But that's how gamblers are; even knowing they have a low probability of winning, they still want to take a chance.

The saying goes, "Take a gamble and you might win big; gamble again and you might win a motorcycle; gamble again and you might win a Jeep; gamble again and you might win a Martin." No gambler can resist the temptation of such a high-risk, high-reward strategy.

The fundamental reason why powerful families can succeed by betting everywhere is this: in chaotic times, everyone wants to gamble. If they succeed, they will achieve fame and fortune; if they fail, they will lose their heads.

Now that Yang Ying has failed, they need a new person to take his place, and Liu Heita naturally became their only choice.

No, it shouldn't be said that he was the only candidate, but rather that he was the only one. At present, the Central Plains has completely fallen into disarray, and the Li Tang will not allow a well-organized warlord to stay by their side. In addition, Tian Wei has shattered Yang Ying's power into pieces, so the only person who can do this job is Liu Heita.

As for Dou Jiande, he was indeed a good candidate, but his position was too bad. He was too far from the capital and too close to Tian Wei, making him vulnerable to being overwhelmed by the Po Lu army from Jingzhou.

On the contrary, Liu Heita, who is holed up in Shandong, is best suited to cause trouble right now.

Liu Heita initially refused their conditions for three reasons. First, if he agreed, he would become the second Yang Ying, facing not just those insignificant warlords, but Marshal Xia, whom he had admired for many years.

Secondly, these people are clearly planning to sharpen their knives again. There is no guarantee in this matter. His foundation is not stable now. If he is not careful, he may be infiltrated by such a BYD and riddled with holes. Back when the winds of change were blowing in Longxi, these aristocratic families did a lot of trouble.

Finally, and most importantly, Liu Heita came from the New Army. He liked his time in the New Army and he especially liked the atmosphere of Jiangnan Road.

He was born into a life of hardship, his parents and brothers all died in the war. Whenever he woke up in the middle of the night, he would always remember his father stroking his head and saying, "If only we could have been born in a peaceful year." Now he had such an opportunity, but his status made it difficult for him to talk about surrendering.

But today, he received a letter, a simple letter, but this letter was more important to him than a hundred thousand lobbyists. It was a letter from his dream home. The letter was not written in a consultative tone, but rather in the commanding tone of his old sergeant when he was training him.

He didn't know how to describe the feeling; it was like transforming from a rootless duckweed into a tree with roots.

However, a question arose in his mind: why was Commander Xia speaking to him in such a commanding tone? Did he know that he came from the New Army?

“I don’t know, this Liu Heita started by writing me letters urging me to become emperor, saying that if I did, he would follow my lead. Then he started spreading rumors about me, forcing you to deal with me. He was scheming to push me down the path of becoming emperor. Isn’t that suspicious?”

Emperor Jingtai stroked his chin: "There is indeed something strange about this."

“If something seemed suspicious, I’d investigate. After searching around, I found his name in the Fuliang military register. He joined the army in the fourteenth year of the Hongbao era, had captured twenty-one enemy leaders, and had suppressed bandits thirty-eight times, making him a highly decorated soldier. According to the records, the New Army originally planned to promote him to brigade commander and send him to military academy for further training, but he insisted on going to the vanguard battalion. He was already thirty-five at that time, and he couldn’t possibly compete with the young men in the vanguard battalion.” Xia Lin spread his hands, looking both amused and exasperated. “He definitely wouldn’t pass the assessment, so our political commissar planned to talk to him and suggest that he retire from the front line and go to the second line for further training, but when he got there, he found out that he had run away.”

"Ran?"

"Yeah, he ran away. I heard from his fellow soldiers that he's arrogant and couldn't stand being pushed down by those young recruits, so he ran away. But... they had already taken him out of the ranks of soldiers and were planning to train him to be a general." Xia Lin said this with a helpless expression: "And how can I put it? No matter how much he runs away, he's still a soldier I trained. I don't believe that a soldier who leaves my command won't miss the military. Plus, considering what he did to me before, this time I just gave him a military order."

"and then?"

He answered!

Xia Lin slammed Liu Heita's reply onto the table: "Hahahaha..."

Emperor Jingtai picked up Liu Heita's reply and read it. It read: "This humble general bows and kowtows, respectfully receiving Your Majesty's decree. I am deeply grateful to Lord Xia for remembering my former subordinates, bestowing upon me calligraphy, explaining the Mandate of Heaven, and showing me the right path. Though I am foolish and dull, I understand obedience and rebellion; how could I dare to fail Lord Xia's grace of restoring me to my former glory? I humbly beg Lord Xia to petition Your Majesty to pardon my past transgressions. If I could serve as a dog or horse on the battlefield, or wield the whip in the tent, I would have no regrets even in death."

"Damn it!" Emperor Jingtai crumpled the letter into a ball: "Oh, this bastard has gone around in circles, stirring up trouble, spreading rumors, and starting an uprising, all just to get your attention, right?"

"Like a young boy experiencing his first love, he doesn't know how to attract a girl's attention, so he can only do some foolish and brave things." Xia Lin spread his hands: "A man is a boy until he dies."

Emperor Jingtai rested his chin on his hand, leaned back in his chair, and after a moment of contemplation, stood up: "Come, come, you sit here!"

“I have no interest in being an emperor. I’m living this life more to put my teacher’s beliefs into practice.”

"What belief?"

"I'm sorry to say, it sounds like I'm just shouting slogans." Xia Lin stretched. "There's not much to say. My biggest thought right now is to stabilize the situation as soon as possible, and then I'll continue to advance in technology. It's time to move on to the next stage."

"Is he going into seclusion again?"

“If you hadn’t gone into seclusion, your Great Wei would have been finished last time.” Xia Lin paused for a moment: “Avenge Anzi first.”

"Yes, let's avenge Anzi first."

However, just as Emperor Jingtai was about to leave, a sudden downpour began outside. Looking at the mist on the lake, he silently turned around and went back into the house: "Don't go back today, it's raining heavily outside."

"Which concubine will you send to keep me company this time?"

"Choose whomever you like, anyway, it's all just a charade for me. To be honest, of all the women I've met over the years, only Jinlian has truly captured my heart." Emperor Jingtai suddenly narrowed his eyes as he said this: "But her heart belongs to you."

"Don't talk nonsense." Xia Lin rolled her eyes. "I haven't spoken a word to her in years. Is it because you're not good enough?"

"Daosheng, I am inferior to you in both literary and military prowess, but when it comes to love, even ten or eight of you cannot compare to me." Emperor Jingtai shook his head helplessly and said, "If a woman has feelings for you, even if she doesn't say anything, her feelings will be overflowing from her eyes. There's no mistake about it."

"What? I'm not Li Mi."

"If you were Li Mi, things would be much easier!" Emperor Jingtai laughed heartily. "If one or two women could win over someone like you, what difference would it make if I married you off with eight more princesses?"

As they spoke, the rain outside intensified, and the two of them turned to look outside. Xia Lin frowned and said, "It seems there will be floods in the south again this year."

“Yes, it has been like this for the past few years. If it weren’t for the support of the northern granaries, there would probably be famine every year. Your judgment is correct; the land beyond the Great Wall must not be lost.” After Emperor Jingtai finished speaking, he suddenly said seriously, “Oh, right. Daosheng.”

"Ok?"

"Do you think I should still establish an heir?" "Yes." Xia Lin nodded and said, "But don't establish one yet. Before establishing an heir, deal with the former empress's relatives. Follow the late emperor's will."

"And what about you? Why don't you join a clan?"

"What the hell am I rebelling against? I'm a clan, so if I die, won't all my hard work in this life have been for nothing? Let me put it this way, I don't have any children under my name right now. Even if I did, if they weren't capable enough, the best I could give them in this life would just be enough to live a comfortable life."

Hearing Xia Lin's words and seeing the determination in his eyes, Emperor Jingtai leaned back in his chair and said, "Oh, if everyone could put me at ease like you, that would be wonderful. They have too many desires."

“I have many desires too,” Xia Lin shook his head and said, “but my desires cannot be satisfied in this era.”

Emperor Jingtai smiled and said, "Tell me, who in our harem have you taken a fancy to? I'll summon her tonight."

"Come on," Xia Lin waved his hand. "I'm not going to do such dirty things. Why don't you call a few people over and we can play mahjong?"

"That suits my purposes perfectly."

Soon the sound of mahjong tiles filled the hall. Emperor Jingtai had summoned Zhang, Ma, and Zhou under the pretext of discussing state affairs, and the four of them played mahjong together.

The royal mahjong set is of a high standard; while the royal set uses bamboo and wooden tiles, the tribute mahjong set uses ivory tiles, which feel incredibly good to the touch. It's lightweight, high-quality, and truly a top-tier experience.

“The major families have been keeping a low profile lately, but their low profile means they’re about to make a big move.” Old Zhang said while eating, “I’ve already sent people to investigate, and there should be some news soon. Four pieces.”

"Everything is fine on my side, and the Six Ministries are much more stable. But there are signs of restlessness, and they seem to be preparing to impeach Daosheng together." Ma Zhou pursed his lips and licked them. "They should be starting to build momentum soon."

"Ah..." Emperor Jingtai sighed, "Why do they have to give up their good life? Delu, go and get me a bowl of rice, and add more of that pickled vegetable."

Xia Lin, on the other hand, looked completely unconcerned: "You just want to force me to my death."

Just as the heavy rain outside was pouring down, several of Old Zhang's spies, soaked to the bone, hurried in.

"Your Majesty, Lord Si, and the two Chancellors, there is news from the front."

"Speak," Xia Lin nodded and said, "Is it news from Shandong?"

“That’s right.” The spies stepped forward, each taking out a message wrapped in oiled paper and beginning to report one by one.

In fact, the content was pretty much what Xia Lin had guessed. Liu Heita's troops had begun to sweep across Shandong, and had already arrived in Jiaozhou from Laizhou. They then began to advance in two separate groups towards Langya and Qufu.

"There's no need to go into those details." Emperor Jingtai raised his hand. "Tell me in detail what benefits our family members have given them."

"Twelve million taels of silver, offset by weapons, armor, and provisions, plus an annual supply of three million taels of silver. This is no different from what was given to Yang Ying."

"Wow." Emperor Jingtai glanced at Xia Lin: "Wow, quite a big move. They seem to be really in a hurry."

Xia Lin smiled and played a 30,000 card: "Let them go. Order the Tianji Army, Tianjie Army, and Cavalry Army to set out together to resist the bandits in Shandong."

"The three armies?" Emperor Jingtai's eyes darted around. "Feasible? You two think it's feasible?"

Old Zhang and Ma Zhou exchanged a glance, and Ma Zhou laughed and said, "Neither of us understands military systems."

"Although I don't understand, I feel it definitely won't work." Old Zhang picked up a card: "Don't we still have a convicted criminal in our hand?"

"You mean Pei Jun?" Emperor Jingtai was taken aback: "Let him launch the attack?"

"Let him redeem himself through meritorious service after the army is routed." Old Zhang paused, then continued, "Wasn't he already kicked out of the Pei family?"

"Yes."

"Okay, fine." Xia Lin nodded and said, "You're the worst, Lao Zhang."

"Since he's been kicked out, let's let him make a name for himself and achieve a small victory, and then let the Pei family take on the Pei family."

"Could he?" Emperor Jingtai asked with some doubt. "After all, he is a member of the Pei family."

"Would he? He'd love to wipe out the Pei family." Old Zhang's face was full of sycophantic expression. "How much benefit did the Pei family get from his daughter being a concubine? Now that he and his daughter have lost power, how has the Pei family treated them? They even bribed a palace maid to poison Consort Pei, pretending she died of illness, so as not to implicate their family."

Does Pei Jun know about this?

"I don't know," Old Zhang shook his head and said, "but I told him, and he knows now."

"grass……"

The table was filled with shouts of "fuck!" This guy was really wicked, but he was also incredibly good at playing tricks on people. Although his mouth was foul and venomous, he really took his insidiousness to the extreme when it came to work. Even Xu Jingzong, who was known as the number one villain in the Great Wei Dynasty, had to admit defeat in front of him.

"To kill someone, you must first destroy their spirit?" Ma Zhou said with a smile, "Prime Minister Zhang, you are ruthless."

"Old Ma, if you ever fall into their hands, you'll know what cruelty is. Don't have any sympathy for these people."

Emperor Jingtai pondered for a moment: "Then let's do it this way. Let the three armies suffer a crushing defeat first. Hey, Daosheng, we won't win, will we?"

"How could that be? That's Liu Heita, a man who could fight Li Shimin to a standstill. You think your three Podao soldiers can beat him?" Xia Lin shook his head and laughed, "That's nothing short of wishful thinking!"

(End of this chapter)