"Nearly ten million taels!"
The old emperor's fury echoed through the grand hall.
At this moment, the Son of Heaven of the Great Qian Dynasty sat upright on the dragon throne, holding a secret memorial submitted by the Ministry of Revenue.
His gaze wandered over the lines of numbers annotated in cinnabar on the paper.
It listed the falsely reported expenses for the autumn provincial examinations, military ordnance, river engineering, and other items, extrapolating from the three thousand two hundred taels of repair funds in Jiangbei Circuit all the way to the accumulated deficits of the eighteen provinces of Great Qian over the years.
The emperor's eyes rested on the total sum heavily circled in red ink at the end, his breathing gradually growing heavy, the rise and fall of his chest becoming increasingly pronounced.
Looking at that number, what surfaced in his mind were the endless gardens in the water towns of Jiangnan, the fat, greasy faces of local officials, and the sour-smelling sheep kidney soup endured by the border troops in the North.
The emperor's wrist immediately exerted force, and the secret memorial flew from his hand, tumbling several times in mid-air before smashing heavily onto the golden bricks below the imperial steps.
The chief eunuch attending by his side, Companion Li, felt his knees give way, sliding down the imperial steps to a kneel, the wide hem of his python robe spreading out over the chilling golden bricks.
He buried his head deeply between his arms, his body trembling violently.
"Please appease your anger, Your Majesty. Preserving your dragon body is of the utmost importance!" Companion Li's voice carried a perfectly measured quiver. Having served in this deep palace for most of his life, he knew exactly how he should behave when this master became enraged.
The emperor ignored the slave kneeling at his feet. He stood up, his bright yellow dragon robe gleaming with a dark luster under the candlelight.
He walked with his hands behind his back to the edge of the imperial steps, looking down condescendingly at this hall that symbolized the highest power of Great Qian.
"Companion Li, you managed accounts in the Imperial Household Department. Calculate this for Us," the emperor's voice carried a chilling oppressiveness. "If these ten million taels of silver were cast into silver ingots and piled one next to another in this Fengtian Hall, could they fill the dome of this great hall?"
Companion Li's forehead struck the golden bricks with a dull thud. He didn't dare to look up at the emperor's face, only focusing on lowering his body even further.
"Master breaks this slave. That is the heavy weight of Great Qian's empire, the fat and blood of the common people. With this slave's lowly body, even ten thousand deaths would not give me the right to speak rashly of such a terrifying number."
The emperor let out a cold laugh, the sound echoing in the empty hall, carrying a mournful sharpness.
He raised his hand, pointing at the bottomless night outside the hall.
"You dare not speak rashly, but those outside dare! Not only do they dare to speak, but they also dare to reach out and take it!"
The emperor's speaking pace gradually accelerated, his footsteps pacing heavily on the imperial steps.
"From the autumn examination halls in Jiangnan to the military ordnance and provisions in the North, and to the flood control dams along the Yellow River, Our empire is full of holes they've chipped away!"
"Those noble clans, those pure-stream officials full of benevolence, righteousness, and morality, they cling to the skeleton of Great Qian, sucking the marrow and drinking the blood, emptying Our state treasury completely, and then turn around to teach Us how to be a sage king like Yao and Shun in the imperial court!"
The emperor suddenly turned around and kicked over the bronze crane candlestick next to the imperial desk. Amidst the flickering firelight, his face was half bright and half dark, killing intent already congealing into frost between his brows.
"We truly want to strip their skin and see what their hearts and livers are made of, whether they are stuffed with gold and silver treasures!"
Just as this thunderous wrath was about to overturn the dome of the great hall, a gentle and mellow voice came.
"The Sage's concern for the country and the people is a blessing to the world. However, if the thunderous wrath harms the dragon body, it will only fulfill the wishes of those bookworms."
The Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat, Xu Jie, sat upright on a red sandalwood armchair, his posture as steady as a mountain.
He wore a scarlet official robe, his graying beard immaculately groomed, a gentle smile hanging on his face.
Unlike the trembling Companion Li on the floor, Xu Jie's demeanor was unhurried. He watched the emperor vent his anger, judging that the timing was right, before slowly standing up, yet without making any grand gestures of obeisance, merely giving a slight bow.
Simply because he was Xu Jie.
"Although these accounts are shocking, since they have already been brought to light, there is an opportunity to prescribe the right medicine. Why should the Sage ruin the tranquility of this Fengtian Hall for a group of dying bugs?"
The emperor's gaze fell upon Xu Jie, the tyrannical aura retracting slightly.
He looked at this veteran official who had weathered three generations and sat firmly on the fishing terrace, rapidly calculating the distribution of power in the court in his mind.
As the foremost noble clan, the Xu family had disciples and former subordinates all over the world. Logically, they should have been the ones who ate the most of these ten million taels of deficit.
But after so many years of investigation by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Xu family's accounts were so clean that not a single flaw could be found, and Xu Jie's personal daily life was austere to the point of harshness.
This flawless composure made the emperor, while relying heavily on him, also harbor deep apprehension.
But right now, the emperor needed these old bones to stabilize the overall situation.
The emperor walked down the imperial steps and arrived in front of Xu Jie, the distance between them no more than three steps.
"Grand Secretary Xu, you are a sensible person." The emperor looked directly into Xu Jie's eyes, his tone slowing down, each word carrying immense weight. "The ten million taels on this memorial were not embezzled overnight. This is the rule established over a century in Great Qian, the bitter fruit born of the co-governance between the noble clans and imperial power."
"In your opinion, how should this deeply entrenched situation be handled?"
Xu Jie met the emperor's scrutiny, the smile on his face undiminished.
"In reply to the Sage, the situation of co-governance between the noble clans and imperial power was originally an expedient measure established at the beginning of the founding of the state to pacify the world."
"Now, a century has passed, and this expedient measure has become a festering sore attached to the bone. This old minister believes that it must be changed; there can be no construction without destruction."
The emperor's eyes narrowed slightly, and he took a step closer, speaking as if in a whisper, audible only to the two of them, monarch and minister.
"Then does Grand Secretary Xu believe that the foremost noble clan, the Xu family, is also among those to be changed?"
This was an extremely dangerous probe; even Companion Li, prostrate on the floor, held his breath, terrified of hearing any treasonous words.
Xu Jie didn't hesitate in the slightest. He bowed respectfully toward the heavens, his attitude submissive to the extreme.
"Under the whole heaven, every spot is the sovereign's ground; to the borders of the land, every individual is the sovereign's minister! The Xu family has received imperial grace for generations and ought to act as an exemplar for the world! If the court wishes to change this rule, the Xu family should naturally bear the brunt, without any complaints."
The emperor stared fixedly at Xu Jie for a long time before suddenly throwing his head back and laughing loudly.
That laughter broke through the oppressive atmosphere in the hall, revealing the satisfaction of controlling the overall situation.
"Good! What a 'bear the brunt'!" The emperor turned around, strode back to the imperial desk, picked up the scattered secret memorial from the floor, and tossed it onto the desk. "Since the Grand Secretary has nodded, let's get moving. Let this fire start from this year's autumn provincial examinations."
The emperor paused for a moment, his gaze piercing through the hall doors, looking toward the night sky outside the palace city.
"That old sly fox, Xu Youde, has been nesting in the position of Vice Minister of Revenue for so long, always crying poor to Us all day long."
"A few days ago, it was already made clear at the morning court session that the allocation of funds and provisions for the autumn provincial examinations would be entirely handled by Xu Youde."
"He wants people, We give him people! He wants power, We give him power! We want to see if this knife of his can cleave open this iron net."
Hearing this, the smile on Xu Jie's face deepened. He looked at the Emperor's back and asked softly, "Your Majesty chose the Xu family as your blade. Is it because you find this game of chess particularly intriguing, what with that girl stirring up storms in the Northern Frontier, paired with her calculating father here in the capital?"
The Emperor turned around, picked up a cup of cold wine from the imperial desk, and raised it in a distant toast to Xu Jie.
"Chief Minister Xu, oh, Chief Minister Xu. You can always see right through my mind."
As soon as the words left his mouth, he shook his head and added, "I should say... you can see through the mind of every emperor."
"Long before the throne was passed to me, I endlessly heard the late Emperor speak of your profound shrewdness! It was only when I truly sat upon this throne that I realized the earnestness of your intentions."
The Emperor downed the cold wine in one gulp and casually tossed the cup to the ground, letting out a crisp, shattering sound.
"This world is a grand game of chess, and I am the one moving the pieces. Since the Xu family is willing to be the pawn that crosses the river, I will naturally grant them that chance. As for whether this pawn ultimately captures the enemy general, or dies at the dividing line of the river, that will depend entirely on their own destiny."
"Such is the way of the imperial house!"
"This is what it truly means to be royalty!"
