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

Chapter 676 The Three Armies Suffer a Major Defeat
The first round of three armies were all drawn from the local circuit armies. Although it was always said that the Great Wei had no one, in fact, each of the remaining circuits in the south had its own army. For example, Lao Guo's Po Lu Army was also a circuit army. In other words, it used the country's resources to support its own army, which obeyed orders but not proclamations.

Now Liu Heita has already started in Shandong. Their original intention was to use this incident to force Emperor Jingtai to submit. Now that Emperor Jingtai has ordered three armies to suppress Liu Heita, it is exactly what they wanted. They are too good at rigging matches.

The three armies, with their pay and personnel, marched off in a grand procession. The journey was smooth and their speed was fast. After all, the infrastructure in Gyeonggi Province was built by the same group of people as Gangnam Province, and the time was reduced by more than half compared to before.

But when they moved from Xuzhou to Haizhou and entered Langya County, where they encountered Liu Heita's army head-on, they realized what true weakness meant.

Seventy thousand men! Seventy thousand men! The Dao Army of seventy thousand men was routed at the first touch by Liu Heita's army. Even if they were rigging a match, they should at least put up some resistance, right? But they didn't even have a chance to struggle before they were scattered.

After finally reorganizing, the generals of the three armies questioned Liu Heita's envoy, asking why things had turned out this way.
The messenger naturally found Liu Heita, who was leaning against the inside of his military tent. The messenger stormed in, demanding, "General Liu, what is the reason for this? Why are you attacking so fiercely?"

"I didn't know. I only found out it was Tian Wei's army after the battle was over. Otherwise, I would have thought they were just some refugees and bandits."

"Liu Shuai! We agreed beforehand, how are you going to explain this behavior?!"

“Go tell my vanguard battalion.”

Liu Heita frowned and said casually, "You all probably underestimate me, Liu. How many of these chickens and dogs are there to attack me?"

The adjutant next to him stepped forward and whispered, "General, there are a full 70,000 men."

"Hahaha, how many people are in our vanguard battalion?"

"Only eight thousand."

"A mere eight thousand!" Liu Heita slammed his hand on the table and stood up, pointing at the two envoys: "Did you hear that? Your seventy thousand men were defeated by my eight thousand warriors! Instead of asking those seventy thousand why they were worse than pigs, you come here to criticize me? Yes, I know those are supposedly our own people, but don't go overboard with the acting. At least bring some capable fighters. What? You really want to wage a protracted war, then drag the new army over and rout me? Incompetent! If this happens again, don't ask me, ask yourselves!"

Liu Heita flicked his sleeve: "Show him out!"

The two envoys returned dejectedly, and the problem returned to them. At this moment, they discovered a major issue: Liu Heita was unruly and difficult to tame. Unlike Yang Ying, who had a proper background and could generally follow the rules, Liu Heita was a completely different story.

The three armies reorganized, but the remaining 50,000 men dared not move. Without specific instructions, they did not know where to go. Liu Heita also took advantage of this opportunity to capture Langya County, directly dividing Shandong in two. Haizhou was within reach, and even Wang Shichong of Xuzhou began to urgently mobilize troops to prepare for the upcoming battle.

"This boy is very ambitious; he should not be allowed to live."

The battle reports in the capital meticulously recorded General Liu Heita's words and actions. In a grand mansion in the capital, several distinguished elderly men sat with grim expressions. The situation in the capital had reached a critical point. If the external forces could not exert sufficient pressure on the emperor, their complete defeat and compromise would not be far off. After the recent loss of several powerful families, they would likely be unable to resist imperial power for the time being.

"If we don't keep him, who will we keep?"

The other man, his brow furrowed, questioned, "Now, only this man can accomplish this. I know he is wild and untamed, but besides him, is there anyone else? Wasn't it you who strongly recommended Yang Ying back then? And what has become of Yang Ying? His head is still dried up in front of that imperial tomb."

A middle-aged man next to him added with a smile, "He also has an apple in his mouth."

The others also fell silent, but then changed the subject and said helplessly, "It's all because Xia Daosheng is too cunning; he's really impossible to deal with."

"You all know very well who he is. He is only thirty years old, yet he was a trusted minister entrusted by the late emperor, a man of both literary and military talent. Think about it, why did the late emperor leave such a person by the side of the young emperor? Wasn't it to use him as a sharp blade? I am not surprised by his ability, but rather by the incompetence of your families, utterly incompetent."

“Mr. Wendao, your words are too harsh.”

"Ha, grating? I've lived to be seventy-two, and I've seen countless talents and geniuses, but even the most exceptional talents make mistakes. If you just focus on one key point, no matter how powerful they are, they can't escape. But all these years, you looked down on him, and now you can't beat him. I told you to find his weaknesses, and you've discovered you're riddled with flaws yourself. It's laughable! Now you're infamous, your reputations ruined. Who will believe you if you try to fight him again?" The old man's voice was strong, a cold smile on his face. "Now that someone can challenge him, you're still saying this kid can't be kept. If not him, then who? You all should nominate someone. His imperial family is full of talented people, but what about you? You've long lost your former glory, and your families are just a bunch of bloated, fat fools. I told you to be careful with your words and actions, but your sons went and used firecrackers to blow up someone's corpse. Who do you think they were blowing up? He was the leader of the Legalists, the face of the dynasty. Even in death, he should be honored, and cannot be disgraced in the slightest."

In fact, they also realized that Anzi's self-sacrifice was a grand strategy left to them. There are many strategies in the world, but there is only one that cannot be broken: death.

Some people die to prove their integrity, some die to awaken their conscience, and some die to dispel the miasma. All other methods are easy to implement, but the word "death" is the most difficult to overcome.

Anmus used his own life to pave the way for those who followed, but he also set up an unsolvable trap for them, a trap known as the trap of arrogance.

Now all the hereditary nobles and prominent families in the capital have been dragged into this scheme, and no one can extricate themselves, because the one who set it up is dead.

Just as the old man said, what they need now is not to make progress but to protect themselves and get through this difficult time. If they still hold the idea that anyone who does not meet their expectations should not be allowed to live, then it is probably only a matter of time before they are completely extinguished.

The old man sat there with his head tilted back: "Our ancestor served Emperor Zhaolie of Han and was given the name Zhuge. But now I am ashamed to even mention it, and I changed my surname to Zhu long ago. Why did I abandon this surname? Isn't it because you are all so disappointing? Five surnames and seven clans, sixteen tribes in the south, I ask you, who among you is worthy of the foundation our ancestors laid for you? Calling you a bunch of good-for-nothings wouldn't be an exaggeration!"

Although he was cursing fiercely, he seemed to have a superior status and position, and although the people around him were all prominent figures, they allowed him to scold them like that.

"Mr. Wendao, how can we break out of this predicament?"

“Break the deadlock. Go and bring Anmus back from the dead, restore his reputation, and elevate him to a high position.”

The words fell silent. The meaning was clear: it was a fight to the death. And indeed, it made sense. The Legalist sect's patriarch had already emerged from seclusion, and the Legalist elites from Qingzhou, Hejian, Handan, and Luoyang had all gathered in Jinling City. Though they were currently silent, there was no doubt they would launch a major attack.

Emperor Jingtai is now facing both external and internal troubles, and their alliance is no different.

They discussed the matter at length but couldn't come to a conclusion. Meanwhile, on an island in the middle of the lake about three kilometers away from them, Emperor Jingtai was carefully studying Liu Heita's tactics.

"Good guy."

"What's wrong?" Xia Lin, who was soaking lotus root starch, turned her head and glanced at her. "Why are you so surprised?"

"This tactic looks more and more familiar to me."

"It's normal that it looks familiar; this is the New Army's tactical approach: division, infiltration, encirclement, plus tactics like besieging a stronghold to ambush reinforcements and decapitation strikes." "Then why didn't he use it in Handan? He clearly knew all this, so why did he watch his allies die?"

Emperor Jingtai was full of questions. Wasn't this person supposed to know everything? How come he was beaten like a dog back then, acting like he knew nothing?

“Isn’t he in charge of logistics? These warlords are all arrogant and self-important. He’s just a new force, so his words may not carry weight. Besides, he probably doesn’t get along with Yang Ying or Li Mi.” Xia Lin pursed his lips. “Furthermore, it’s normal for the soldiers I’ve trained to look down on these people, because in this era, Fuliang and Jiangnan Road are the brightest stars.”

"Why?"

“Because I treat people as human beings.” Xia Lin turned to look at Emperor Jingtai: “I have been in charge of Fuliang for nearly fifteen years, from a small river bend to the largest city in Jiangnan Province. The wealth flowing through it every day is too much for a cart to carry. But I have no private property and no spare money. All my money has been invested. My demands are not high, and I have no grand ambitions. My goal is to treat people as human beings, to treat the people as human beings, and to treat the soldiers as human beings.”

"No wonder, no wonder they say wherever you go, the place will be named after the Xia dynasty." Emperor Jingtai laughed, showing no resentment whatsoever. He said quite frankly, "Isn't this unprecedented?"

"Yes, there are. But the problem is that they can't leave any seeds. The original intention of reforms in every dynasty was to make the country rich and powerful, but the problem they ultimately left behind was the mess of hereditary succession, with policies changing from morning to evening. No matter how good the policies are, they can't be preserved. Didn't I say that the curse of a dynasty lasting three hundred years is not that the people are bad, but that there isn't enough cake to go around? What we need to do now is to redistribute what they have."

"What about mine?"

“We also need to divide it.” Xia Lin nodded and said, “The royal family is the biggest parasite.”

"Only you would dare to say something like that that could lead to execution."

"To be honest, let's not talk about those useless things. Put aside your status as the emperor and tell me for yourself, isn't this the truth?"

"Yes, but what can I do? I'm a good-for-nothing. If it weren't for you guys, I wouldn't even be able to keep my head, let alone the country." Emperor Jingtai was immediately saddened: "Being a good-for-nothing can be really tough sometimes."

Xia Lin stepped forward and handed Emperor Jingtai a bowl of lotus root starch: "Being an emperor is about ability, not every emperor is wise and powerful. After all, there are very few like Qin Shi Huang and Emperor Wu of Han."

"Then tell me, what's the most important thing for an emperor?"

"You have self-awareness." Xia Lin said with a smile, "You actually didn't have much self-awareness at first, and you were quite petty. But I don't know when you suddenly changed, and I've never asked you how you suddenly changed so much."

Emperor Jingtai picked up the lotus root starch, took a sip, and after savoring it for a moment, said, "It was just that one day I suddenly realized that I was an emperor who couldn't even hold onto the country. But my Tuoba family has always been fond of gambling, so I took a gamble, betting that you wouldn't have any second thoughts."

Should I get up?

Emperor Jingtai laughed heartily: "This lotus root starch is quite good; it must be from the lotus roots of Yunmengze."

"It's a new variety from Fuliang, sent by my brother-in-law, your cousin."

“Fuliang…” Emperor Jingtai put down his bowl and sighed softly: “Father always thought that once things were settled and the country was at peace, I would like to go and live there for a while.”

"Yes, I miss home too. It's been so long since I've been back to visit. Let's avenge Anzi first. After we've avenged Anzi, let's reform the education system, and then I'll take you to Fuliang for a trip."

"Don't break your promise."

In fact, Emperor Jingtai himself did not know when he would be able to settle down, but people always need to have something to look forward to. He was under a lot of pressure recently. The people cursed him for killing loyal officials, and the historical records were not very good. There were also rumors circulating outside that he was a puppet emperor and that real power was in the hands of Xia Daosheng.

He ignored everything and moved forward under immense pressure. At this moment, even Xia Daosheng himself had to admit that he had the bearing of an emperor.

But it's also quite good. Watching a rather romantic emperor gradually mature from naivety to maturity is a very fulfilling thing for him.

It's too early to talk about abolishing imperial power now, because the people accept it. They still need someone to stand up for them, and the best candidate for that is the emperor.

Law? They can't even read all the words!

"Daosheng, I have something to tell you."

Xia Lin carefully examined his expression, and her brows immediately furrowed: "The look in your eyes... have you done something wrong?"

"It's not exactly something I've done wrong, but... please don't insult the emperor."

"Then I won't curse anymore, I'll curse Old Zhang instead."

"That's not it... I mean, please don't scold me after I tell you."

Xia Lin felt something was off about him the more she looked at him, and scratched her head: "Go ahead and tell me."

"When I was in Handan, I made an agreement with Han Liu that he would send a woman to marry into the Han family."

"To marry you as a peace treaty?"

"With you."

"Your mother..."

"Don't scold the emperor!" Emperor Jingtai straightened up: "You promised!"

(End of this chapter)