Chapter 500: I

Majestic imperial city, towering halls.

The Hall of Han Zhang, located in the northwest corner of the Palace City, was dimly lit; the vast hall was almost half submerged in darkness, only the side near the bookshelves had lamps lit, making it slightly brighter.

Towering and grand, beneath a bookshelf resembling a mountain of books, the young emperor, not wearing formal robes but simply dressed in a white deep garment, leaned against a few cushions, sidewise, reading a memorial by lamplight.

Across from him sat an elderly minister with a stern visage, sitting upright and solemn.

The old minister was like a monk in meditation, eyes slightly closed, motionless.

"Interesting, this guy is truly interesting!" the young emperor suddenly laughed heartily, shook the memorial, folded the document, rose slightly, and handed it to the old minister opposite him.

"Uncle, take a look at this— a rascal actually wants to discuss business with me using this; frankly, I'm somewhat tempted, uncle, give me some advice."

The old minister rose, bent slightly at the waist, and took the memorial from the emperor's hand.

He first examined this very novel memorial, then opened the document and read its contents: "A recklessly bold bandit."

"But he also has guts, doesn't he?" the emperor muttered to himself.

"Uncle, do you know what I see every day sitting on that imperial couch? Dead people, walking corpses. What's more infuriating is that they're only dead when they stand before me; once they leave this palace city, they instantly spring back to life, lively and jumping about."

"So I've been thinking— perhaps in their eyes, I'm the one who's dead!"

"Your Majesty, what do you wish to say?" the old minister slowly lowered the memorial and asked in a soft voice.

The emperor pointed at the document and said, "This brat treats me as a living person and actually wants to do business with me— hahaha, after being emperor for so long, this is the first time I've met someone this interesting."

"My mind is made up— I'll do this business with him!"

The old minister avoided the issue directly, instead saying, "Chen Wuji's memorial is tiger‑head, pig‑tail; seeing this, I actually thought of a few things."

"Chen Wuji's subordinates ought to be capable; such literary talent, the brushstroke reveals some administrative skill, but then it suddenly changes tone, as if written by a bandit— full of crude talk!"

"I'm wondering whether Chen Wuji had someone write this memorial, then disliked the wordiness and revised it himself."

The emperor waved his hand, saying, "Uncle, I also find the memorials you usually submit tedious— just state the matter; if something can be said in a few sentences, why make me stare at it for hours? If my words weren't ineffective, I'd have settled this long ago; whoever wastes so many bamboo slips on memorials from now on, I'll chop off his head."

The old minister, with extraordinarily long eyebrows and a beard somewhat flecked with white, suddenly stared.

He gave a bitter smile, stopped discussing Chen Wuji, and turned back to the business the emperor had just mentioned: "Your Majesty, the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Agriculture, and the Treasury cannot provide funds."

"I'll use my own money!" the emperor declared firmly. "Although I've never done business, I can still tell whether something is good or bad; this venture is sure to profit without loss— paper is a good thing."

"I could even regard Chen Wuji as sending me money; he's more loyal than a loyal subject."

"Uncle, I now understand what you meant— Chen Wuji is a bandit. But since I ascended the throne, haven't I constantly dealt with bandits? Some people, for petty profit, would even hand over the nation's territory; they're worse than bandits."

"A pack of scoundrels, using my realm as their own business, yet I can't do anything about them— how ridiculous. Damn it, just thinking about this makes me furious; I'm practically dying of anger."

The emperor suddenly resembled a tiger whose tail had been poked, jumping about and raving wildly.

The senior minister remained silent, waiting until the emperor's tirade subsided, then said: "Paper is indeed a good thing; it might someday replace bamboo slips and silk scrolls, but whether it can do so depends on its cost. If the cost is high, this will be difficult, and it will be hard to see results in the short term."

"Chen Wuji didn't write that in the memorial," the emperor said. "I'll write a letter later to ask."

"Your Majesty, it's an imperial edict!"

"What edict? It's just a letter,"

The senior minister, helpless, could only stay silent.

"Furthermore, I intend to appoint Chen Wuji as Nan Jun Jinglue Shi and Prefect of Hezhou, to oversee Nan Jun's military and civil affairs." The emperor then added, "He's merely a Provincial Soldier Captain, yet he holds Hezhou— his title doesn't match his post, it's hardly proper. He brings me a profitable venture; I'll also give him some benefits."

"Your Majesty, this must not be done recklessly," the senior minister urged urgently.

"Uncle, the realm is already in chaos. I lack the power to suppress rebellion, so I'll pick a few agreeable rebels and lend them aid; once they gain strength, they ought to remember a bit of my past favor." The emperor said this casually.

"Actually, all I can do for them is grant a minor post to regularize their status; I can't do anything else."

The senior minister was left speechless again.

"If we appoint Chen Wuji as Nan Jun Jinglue Shi, Lu Ping'an will surely not let this rest; Your Majesty, doing this may not be helping him." He spoke slowly.

"If Your Majesty truly wishes to aid Chen Wuji, it would be better to merely appoint him Prefect of Hezhou. As a subject, I ought to strongly advise against this, but personally I believe this post should indeed be added— at least Hezhou remains in our hands and has not fallen to the Qiang people."

"If we're going to give him a title, give him a big one— Lu Ping'an, that bastard, I've long disliked him." The emperor's temper flared again: "I not only want to strip him of his office, but also help Chen Wuji eliminate that old fogey, Lao Zamao. Weren't many people thrown into the heavenly prison lately? Uncle, help me think of a clever plan— send them all to Hezhou."

The senior minister startled, "Your Majesty, those people…"

"I know they're all my loyal servants; I should strive to pacify the rebellion and ideally restore their offices. But uncle, I can't do it—I've tried. Ruan Yuchang sat there coughing, and immediately a crowd below began shouting for the extermination of three clans, nine clans."

"Uncle, you're aware of this as well; there's no need to dwell on it. Instead, we should find a livelihood for these people, leaving some foundation for the great Yu."

"Furthermore, I recently intend to add fuel to the fire, exiling those few stubborn hardliners still standing firm in the court, to give them some relief."

"Send away all the good officials; I'll just sit here and play with the sycophants, to see what else they can come up with."