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

Chapter 686 Five Tigers Make a Scene in Nanjing (Part 2)
Historical records suggest that many people believe political intrigue is something profound and impressive, but this is not the case. Most political intrigue in the world is not only not profound, but rather a haphazard and haphazard affair, going wherever things take them.

Just like this marriage alliance scheme, no one would believe that Emperor Liu Da Khan didn't have some ulterior motives involved. Arranging for a naive female official to bring a twelve-year-old princess over was simply to embarrass Xia Lin and the entire Great Wei.

That female official, without a doubt, was practically offering herself up for execution. But she was also an envoy from another country. If she angered Xia Lin over the marriage proposal, causing him to openly defy the imperial decree, it would be tantamount to giving Emperor Jingtai a powerful warning. Was this a despicable move? Absolutely. But was it effective? Of course, it was. To outsiders, it seemed like a brilliant move by Liu Bilie, but from his own perspective, he might have simply been trying to annoy Emperor Jingtai.

This is typical of the petty, narrow-mindedness of a middle-aged man, but if Xia Lin hadn't handled it in a way that no one had expected, the matter would undoubtedly have turned into a conflict between the two countries, or even into resentment of the people of Northern Han towards Great Wei, or even, in the long run, into a reason for war between the two countries in the future.

Fortunately, Xia Lin did not fall into his vile trap. Instead, he gave the Khan of the grasslands a grand wedding, but not for the princess, but for the female official.

"Little five."

"Your Majesty, I am here." Xiao Wu from the Ministry of Rites stepped forward and bowed, saying, "What are your orders, Your Majesty?"

Emperor Jingtai pursed his lips, and the thought of the question he was about to ask made him want to laugh out loud.

"Ahem... Little Wu, how are the wedding arrangements for the grassland female official going?"

At this point, Emperor Jingtai turned his head and laughed. He never expected that what was originally a rather troublesome matter would be turned into an absurd farce by Xia Lin's meddling.

But let the farce be a farce. This farce has left the Northern Han speechless. Even if the news gets back, their people will probably burst into laughter.

"Your Majesty, he has been betrothed to the son of General Shao Huai of the Southern Prefecture. General Shao has no objection and even praised the Turkic woman as a suitable wife and mother."

"Hahahaha... I know his son. He's weak and doesn't even know how to kill a chicken, yet he likes to go to brothels. He's probably going to suffer a lot now. No wonder General Shao said his daughter-in-law is a good wife and mother. Hahahaha... No, no, let me laugh for a while."

Emperor Jingtai laughed so hard that tears streamed down his face. After a long while, he continued to ask, "What are the movements of the Northern Han envoy?"

"There's been no movement from them. They're also cooperating in arranging the wedding for that female official. It seems they can't do anything about Lord Xia either."

"Very well, very well, what a helpless situation." Emperor Jingtai stood up, put his hands behind his back, paced back and forth a few times, and said, "Well then, this marriage alliance can be considered a double celebration. Go and select two treasures to give to the Northern Han female official and her husband, wishing them a long and happy marriage. As for the Northern Han princess, we cannot neglect her either. Doesn't the royal family have a villa in the north of the city?"

"Your Majesty, they are all gone. They have all been donated. The villa in the south of the city will be used as an agricultural and industrial college, while the villa in the north of the city will be used to build the Hongwen Academy."

“Oh… Hongwen Hall, yes, yes, yes.”

Xia Lin obtained the Hongwen Hall from him. At the time, Emperor Jingtai asked Xia Lin what the use of this thing was. He didn't explain it clearly, but judging from his expression, it must have been of great use.

"Then let's go to the gardens over at Zijin Mountain."

"Your Majesty, the gardens on Zijin Mountain have also been donated... It is said that they will be used to create a place for the people to visit and rest."

"You've donated again... Fine, fine, just tell me directly what other properties I own."

“Hmm…this…” Xiao Wu picked up a booklet from the side, flipping through it with cold sweat, before finally speaking: “Your Majesty…even the palace no longer belongs to Your Majesty.”

Emperor Jingtai was taken aback, then slammed his hand on the dragon throne: "Nonsense! Who did this?"

"It was...it was Lord Xia." Xiao Wu's lips twitched. "Lord Xia donated all of His Majesty's properties when His Majesty personally led the expedition."

Emperor Jingtai felt dizzy and staggered back a few steps, plopping down in a chair: "I... am homeless?"

"Your Majesty, it has been said that all things under heaven should belong to the state and not to individuals. The emperor should also have a profession, just like a peddler, a servant, or a county magistrate. The palace and the villa should both belong to the state. However, given Your Majesty's special status, the palace can be rented to Your Majesty for your food and lodging through the cabinet's approval."

Emperor Jingtai sat there, squinting at Xiao Wu: "I've become a day laborer? Huh!? I've become a national worker?"

"Exactly..."

"Damn it! Summon Xia... wait." Emperor Jingtai suddenly stopped calling out, raised his hand and said, "Never mind, it's nothing, you can go now."

"Your subject... takes his leave."

After everyone was gone, Emperor Jingtai immediately began to look through the land deeds and house deeds displayed in the palace. Without exception, they were all marked as invalid, while next to them was a stack of brand new contracts.

Upon closer inspection, it was found that all of the emperor's properties, including the palace, had been donated. In addition to the donated items, several lease agreements were also provided. This meant that although Emperor Jingtai was living as usual, the palace was a place rented to him by the Great Wei Dynasty.

This move left him somewhat puzzled by Xia Lin's intentions, but it seemed he was about to pull off something big...

"Delu, change your clothes and go to the island in the middle of the lake."

Emperor Jingtai changed into casual clothes, while Xia Lin was sitting on an island in the middle of the lake, grilling fish for his wife. A little girl was sitting next to him, listening to Xia Lin tell a story.

Just as he said, this marriage alliance brought him a girl, but it seems she was not a wife but a daughter. At this moment, Xia Lin was telling the story of how he fought a bear in the back mountain of his home years ago.

"That winter was particularly cold, and I wanted to go into the mountains to cut some firewood. But who knew there were two vicious bears in the mountains, one named Xiong Da and the other Xiong Er. These two bears were extremely ferocious, and having been hungry all winter, they were quite terrifying. As soon as I moved my axe, I heard a bear roar behind me: 'Who dares to disturb my brother's peaceful sleep? You might as well stay and become my food for the winter.'"

At this point, it no longer mattered why there were bears on the mountains of Luoyang that could talk; it was enough that the child was frightened. Princess Baozhu clung tightly to the hem of the Grand Princess's clothes, pressing her body against her side. Fear completely overshadowed her separation anxiety, making her forget even her worries about missing her mother.

However, just as the story reached the point where Xia Daosheng angrily slashed the Black Wind Bear, Emperor Jingtai slowly approached.

It was already dark when he suddenly appeared in the firelight, startling the little girl who cried out, "Ah!"

Xia Lin turned around and saw that Emperor Jingtai was already standing behind him, raising his chin at him: "Daosheng, come here for a moment."

"Why are you strolling over so late?"

He got up and went to Emperor Jingtai's side: "What happened?"

"You sold the entire palace to me?"

Xia Lin immediately understood what was going on. He laughed and pointed to the side, and the two of them went to the other side.

"Was it hard to accept when you first found out?"

Emperor Jingtai rolled up his sleeves: "Do you believe I'll beat you to death?"

He didn't rush to explain to Emperor Jingtai, but instead sat on a huge rock by the lake, smiling as he looked at Emperor Jingtai: "What is your current position?"

"The Emperor."

"I have a question for you: Is the emperor's reign for life? Unless someone successfully rebels, does he rule until he dies or abdicates?" "Yes."

"Alright then, isn't the emperor the person with the most power?"

"Yes."

"Then, on to the next question, is the palace rented to the emperor for ten taels of silver every year?"

"Yes."

"So now, for you, the annual expenses at the palace have only increased by ten taels of silver, and you're still living there the same?"

"Yes, but isn't that like taking off your pants to fart?"

Xia Lin smiled and looked at Emperor Jingtai: "Fine, you say it's pointless. Then let me ask you, if one day the dynasty revolts, and you, my brother, when the people want to settle accounts with you, examine your life, settle accounts for your extravagance, and calculate your wastefulness, what can you say with a clear conscience that I, as the emperor, have nothing to be ashamed of?"

Emperor Jingtai was so captivated by the attack that he couldn't utter a word for a long time.

“I promised the late emperor that I would save the Great Wei three times. And this is the fourth time. I am not saving the Great Wei, but you, my brother.”

Emperor Jingtai froze on the spot. He slowly squatted down on the ground and took a deep breath: "Can it really work?"

"Yes, you can. If you're even more capable, you could even lead a revolution yourself."

"Me? I'm rebelling against myself?"

"Can that be called treason? That's called reform, radical reform. You're going to create an unprecedented major conflict. In other words, I'd rather see you lead a great revolution. This revolution might overthrow the imperial power, but for you, it'll be like a rebirth. You might not believe it now, but wait and see. The seeds I planted more than a decade ago should be burning soon."

"With reform, can someone like me really achieve great things?"

"Think about what your great cause is first."

"I……"

Emperor Jingtai paused, finding it difficult to speak, but Xia Lin didn't seem to want to make things difficult for him. She simply smiled and said, "No rush, have you eaten yet?"

"not yet."

"Let's eat grilled fish together."

"Just eat a little."

They ate and drank until very late. The young girl was pulled by the princess to wash up and go to bed. Only Emperor Jingtai and Xia Lin, along with a few guards, remained in front of the campfire.

They ordered the guards to bring wine, and the men sat by the lake. Although their social statuses were vastly different, in this secluded night, social status was the most despicable thing.

"A few days ago, a few strongmen came from the grasslands and challenged the masters in Jinling every day. No one could beat them."

While tearing apart the grilled fish, the guard chatted with His Majesty and Xia Lin about his recent observations in the marketplace.

"So powerful?" Emperor Jingtai asked, his face full of curiosity. "Why couldn't we beat them?"

"Those guys were known as the Tigers of the Northwest, and they said they would make a ruckus in Nanjing. No one in the capital could defeat them."

"You're all no good? You're royal guards, aren't you better than those random soldiers?"

Seeing His Majesty's surprise, the guards looked at each other and said rather embarrassedly, "Your Majesty, you don't know this, but there are rules in our camp that forbid us from participating in civilian competitions. We are naturally furious, but there's nothing we can do about it."

Xia Lin leaned back and laughed, "Tomorrow I'll summon Luo Shixin and let you see just how powerful that tiger-slaying man really is."

While the group was talking, chaos had broken out outside the island. Just now, fifteen people had been killed in the Dali Temple prison, including the scions of noble families who had been arrested in the previous days.

This threw the entire capital into chaos. The Bureau of Investigation and Statistics was on high alert, but it couldn't stop the grieving families from coming to the palace to demand justice.

Xia Lin and Emperor Jingtai were about to go to sleep, but upon hearing the news, they quickly changed their clothes and went to the Dali Temple.

"These people are truly ruthless; they don't want to leave me with even the slightest bit of leverage."

“That’s for sure.” Xia Lin’s face was gloomy. “But I can probably guess who these people are who would do something like this.”

"Who?"

"I can't say right now, as that would affect your judgment, and I'm just guessing without any evidence."

"I'm such a miserable emperor, damn it!"

When the two arrived at the scene, it was a horrific sight. In addition to the fifteen young men from noble families who had been killed, nearly twenty guards from the Dali Temple had also died on the spot. Xia Lin went forward to investigate and found that these soldiers had all been killed with a single blow. The force was astonishing, as if they had been punched head-on by a silverback gorilla.

"Where are the jailers?"

Xia Lin stepped forward and asked, and at that moment the Dali Temple official pointed to a corpse next to him and said, "He is the guard who was holding the fort."

The jailer lay on the ground, his head twisted 180 degrees, his mouth torn open, and pulled all the way to his ears. Xia Lin squinted at his grotesque death, the scene gradually replaying in his mind.

It is likely that the jailer heard the fighting outside, put the key in his mouth, and then fought the thieves to his death. After his death, someone forcibly pried open his mouth, took out the key, opened the cage, and then killed the fifteen people.

"You're causing me trouble again."

Xia Lin muttered something viciously, then turned to the detective beside him and said, "Tell Luo Shixin and Hongxiu to come to me immediately."

"As the magistrate commands!"

At this moment, Emperor Jingtai's head was about to explode, because while Xia Lin was dealing with the scene, he was dealing with the families of the deceased. Just as Xia Lin said, not every family can cut their losses and survive, and the crimes of these young people are far from that. Someone is forcing these families to take sides!
"Daosheng, please hurry... I can't hold on any longer." Faced with this group of weeping old folks, Emperor Jingtai didn't even know where to begin.

(End of this chapter)