Chapter 557: Tearing the Noodle Skin

Great Martial is fond of war.

Great Jin is prosperous.

Great Wei is suave.

Among the three divine states locked in love‑and‑strife, the one with the strongest military, which can be called war‑obsessed, is the Great Martial Divine State.

Great Jin Divine State has the greatest overall national strength, with the highest level in territory, population, economy, and even in battle formations, talismanic scripts, elixirs, and talismanic scrolls.

Great Wei, however, is the most refined and cultured. As a somewhat vulgar prince of Great Martial once said, even the farts of Great Wei's generals carry the scent of ink, utterly different from the bloody stench expelled by Great Martial's generals.

Great Wei boasts many scholars whose mastery of music, chess, calligraphy, and painting is unrivaled under heaven; they often produce astonishing poems and paintings that shake the world, arousing fervent pursuit by countless civil officials of the three states. Whether in Great Jin or Great Martial, Great Wei scholars studying abroad can be found domestically.

While Wu Tie waited quietly at the Imperial City Military Bureau for his subordinates to pay their respects, inside the Imperial City of Great Jin, Sima Fa let his hair hang loose; a gust of wind blew his sleek, glossy hair into flowing strands. He stood beneath a sturdy, vigorous old pine, deeply contemplative, adopting a pose of head bowed in contemplation.

His hair flew wildly, his chest bared, revealing large swaths of skin as smooth and white as mutton‑fat jade.

The sky had darkened; numerous night pearls hung around, bathing the garden in daylight‑like light, further enhancing Sima Fa's flesh with a jade glow, making him look like a perfect jade statue.

Sima Fa's gaze was deep; as he looked down at the ground, he resembled a supreme king surveying the vicissitudes of land and sea, the ebb and flow of the mortal world. His lofty, worrisome aura for country, people, and world was that of a rare, enlightened sage‑ruler.

The Vice Director of Great Jin's Ministry of Rites, Pei Youhu, wore a grim face, hands tucked in his sleeves, standing silently under a large tree a hundred paces away, helplessly watching Sima Fa, who had held that pose for an hour, assume that stance.

The Chief of Great Jin's Hall of Culture, the Imperial Four Arts Sacrificial Grand Scholar Gu Haoran, wore a plain, even somewhat shabby blue robe, holding a smooth folding fan devoid of any calligraphy or painting, and chuckled as he drew near Sima Fa.

"Your Majesty, your gaze could be a little deeper."

"Yes, yes, exactly… Think of those things that weigh heavy on your heart… Imagine that this will make your expression ever more solemn, ever more possessing the stern, majestic bearing of a ruler."

"Also, tighten your fist a bit—pay attention to the posture of your five fingers; let the veins on the back of your hand bulge slightly, showing your fervent zeal as you toil for the people of the world."

"Perfect, utterly perfect… Your Majesty, such bearing should be meticulously painted in fine brushwork, spread throughout the realm, so that the people may behold your supreme dignity."

Gu Haoran laughed especially brightly, wiggling his head and tail like a country dog that has just finished a big bone.

Dozens of Wei painters in long robes stood before long desks, encircling Sima Fa in a semicircle, each holding a fine brush, meticulously and earnestly painting his likeness from every angle.

Sima Fa suddenly had a whimsical thought: he felt that his perfect flesh, famed as a jade‑flagpole physique, would be wasted if only his empress, consorts, palace maids, and eunuchs could admire it.

Such a marvel should make all the people of the world envy and resent it, and moreover should stir the spring‑time dreams of countless maidens.

So Sima Fa summoned the painters, ordering them to carefully depict his perfect form, then had it printed and distributed throughout the realm.

The court painters of Great Jin were somewhat inferior in skill to these Wei‑studying painters.

So Gu Haoran proposed, Pei Youhu took charge of gathering, and dozens of Wei painters loitering in Anyang City swarmed into the Imperial City of Great Jin to paint Sima Fa up close.

Shockingly, while Great Wei's literary elegance is genuine, its scholars are also bold and unrestrained; besides composing poetry and painting, they like to down three or five cups of cat urine, then draw their swords and fight to the death over the tiniest matter.

Thus Great Wei scholars all wear swords.

Moreover, Great Wei scholars are obsessed with pursuing top‑grade divine weapons.

Hence the scholars of Great Wei, especially those who study abroad with means, always carry swords on their person, and those swords are fine blades.

These dozens of Wei painters summoned to the Great Jin Imperial City each wore a sword; even the poorest among them wielded a weapon of Heavenly Dao divine‑weapon grade, and a few white‑haired, renowned old painters bore swords that were innate spirit‑weapon treasures.

Even the weakest category of innate spirit weapons is still an innate thing, its power far surpassing that of ordinary Heavenly Dao divine weapons.

Sima Fa summoned these Wei scholars to the palace to paint his portrait, yet he did not forbid them from bringing their personal weapons; he allowed them to wear their swords openly as they surrounded him.

Such conduct……

Under the flower tree, Pei Youhu clenched his fists inside his sleeves, painfully and agonizingly shutting his eyes, cursing in his heart: 'Foolish ruler, foolish ruler, an unprecedented fool… If these Wei people harbor ulterior motives…'

Pei Youhu glared hatefully at Sima Fa, then stared viciously at Gu Haoran.

"Treacherous minister, treacherous minister, a national traitor… Under Linghu Qingqing and Gongyang Sanlü, you, Gu Haoran, are the greatest traitor of the dynasty!"

Pei Youhu clenched his fists; as the Vice Director of Great Jin's Ministry of Rites, he oversaw diplomacy with Great Wei and Great Martial, and he naturally knew that Gu Haoran, in his youth, had once gone to study in the Great Wei Divine State.

In Pei Youhu's mind, all scholars who returned from studying in Great Wei are utterly untrustworthy, all suspected of being foreign spies.

But Gu Haoran somehow rose to become a close attendant of the imperial household, the most trusted minister beside both Sima Xian and Sima Fa, even overseeing the Hall of Culture—a weighty post—becoming a top‑ranked, pure‑and‑noble official in the Great Jin court.

This leaves one wondering where to reason.

Pei Youhu looked anxiously at the motionless Sima Fa striking his pose, thinking, 'When a state is about to perish, monsters must arise……'

This Sima Fa is precisely such a monster!

Where is there a monarch who neglects state affairs, parading his lily‑white flesh all day? You are the God‑Emperor of the Great Jin Divine State, not a courtesan selling her charms in a brothel!

A youthful‑faced, crane‑haired old eunuch, his face glowing with delight, trotted over in tiny steps, then exaggeratedly flung himself down with a 'plop' a dozen paces from Sima Fa.

With a 'hiss', the old eunuch slid along the polished, gleaming white jade corridor, coming to rest a little over a zhang behind Sima Fa, then knocked his forehead to the ground and, smiling respectfully, said, 'Your Majesty?'

Pei Youhu, Gu Haoran, and even the Great Jin officials standing aside, hands behind their backs, happily admiring the Wei scholars' painting—all raised their heads and glanced at the old eunuch.

The old eunuch Xi Fu, formerly an attendant of Sima Fa's Eastern Palace and once its chief overseer, became, upon Sima Fa's ascension as God‑Emperor of Great Jin, the chief steward of the Imperial City, commanding millions of eunuchs and palace ladies, the Inner Court's twenty‑four bureaus, the Outer Court's twelve offices established for the imperial household, and literally millions of civil officials, artisans, laborers, and soldiers—all subject to his rewards and punishments.

Moreover, Sima Fa basically never attends court to handle state affairs; all communication between the inner palace and the outer court rests in Xi Fu's hands.

Now Xi Fu can be considered one of the three to five most powerful individuals in Anyang City.

"Old coot, what's up? Don't you see I'm busy?" Sima Fa, without moving a muscle, let the wind toss his hair, the disheveled locks swaying, making him look ever more godlike and martial.

"The Duke of Yuzhou has sent a memorial. Hehe, the palace gates are shut, the memorial came through the crack." Xi Fu laughed brightly: "The Duke of Yuzhou says…"

"Shut up, tell the Duke of Yuzhou that I have issued a god‑emperor's order, handing over the Imperial City Military Bureau to him, giving him an imperial edict of appointment, showing my trust in him, showing that in my heart he is a loyal, capable, sturdy, and fierce general…" Sima Fa spoke without moving, his lips sealed, the words forced out between his teeth.

"Tell him to let loose—if he even pierces the heavens, I've got his back."

Having uttered those bold words, Sima Fa fell silent a moment, then his next sentence leaked timidity: "Well, tell him to understand—other troubles can be stirred up, but don't provoke the Linghu and Gongyang clans… Those two old coots, I can't outplay them."

"Besides the Linghu and Gongyang clans, even if Huo Xiong sleeps with the granddaughter of that old commander of the First Army, I'll cover for him!" Sima Fu chuckled 'hehehe' from between his teeth: "The First Minister's household is loyally devoted to the imperial house; sleeping with his granddaughter is no big deal."

Pei Youhu's eyes twitched violently.

Gu Haoran couldn't help but curl his lip.

Sima Fa's remark was utterly shameless—does he think the greatest use of a loyal minister in his heart is to sleep with someone else's granddaughter without responsibility?

How utterly shameless!

Speaking of which, the previous God‑Emperor of Great Jin, Sima Xian, was himself a model of a dim‑witted ruler.

And Sima Fa? He simply outshines his blue‑green predecessor…… Pei Youhu painfully closed his eyes—Great Jin, is there any hope left?

The many painters of Wei carefully traced fine lines with their brush tips; several painters' eyes gleamed, the corners of their mouths slightly lifted, revealing an extremely subtle smile.

The new god-emperor of the Jin Divine State is actually such a remarkable figure?

This is a good thing for Wei!

Hehe, I've never heard of such a thing: among the three divine states of Wei, Wu, and Jin, which court could accommodate foreign officials left behind at night... Sima Fa actually did this. The imperial city gates were all closed, yet there were still so many foreign officials, even Wei scholars mingling in the palace.

Tsk, tsk, a foolish ruler, utterly a foolish ruler, there's no escaping.

Indeed, this is great news!

The newly built headquarters of the Imperial City Military Bureau had four spirit warships hovering in the air, and four-colored spirit light illuminated the vast office and residence, making it bright as day.

Wu Tie sat upright in the council hall, holding his teacup with both hands, sipping tea in small mouthfuls. Beside him, Li Ergouzi held an iron kettle, grinning as he looked at Wu Tie's teacup.

With just this one cup of tea, Wu Tie drank from when the sky darkened until the east began to lighten.

Li Ergouzi had added hot water an unknown number of times, the tea leaves had been brewed until they were tasteless, the tea water was hardly different from plain boiled water, and Li Ergouzi truly didn't know what Wu Tie was drinking.

'Thud'.

Wu Tie set down the teacup heavily, then rubbed his palm forcefully across the rosewood desk before him.

"Ergou, you've been following me for quite a few years, haven't you?" Wu Tie said, eyeing Li Ergouzi coldly.

"Yes, yes, my lord, when you went to Dazhou back then, I, Li Ergouzi, was the first to follow you." Li Ergouzi laughed especially brightly.

He was extremely satisfied with his current life.

As a trusted aide of the Duke of Yuzhou, although his cultivation was somewhat lacking and his origins humble, he now wielded great influence in Yuzhou, a leading figure whom even noble clans had to treat with respect.

Now having arrived in An'yang... hey, seeing Wu Tie being heavily relied upon by Sima Fa, it seemed he was about to rise to prominence.

He, Li Ergouzi of humble convict origins, was bound to ascend to great heights, dragging even his chickens and dogs along.

What else could there be to be dissatisfied about?

Wu Tie smiled and nodded: "You've been with me all these years; you should also make some gains. Earlier, when we confiscated and exterminated clans in Yuzhou, I know you and your brothers got some benefits. But those are just fleeting wealth—what are they worth?"

Tapping his fingers on the large desk, Wu Tie drawled: "Fleeting wealth—what is it worth? If we speak of value, it's fiefdoms, titles, an eternal legacy to pass down to descendants. Follow me faithfully, and in the future I will guarantee you a duke's title—do you believe me?"

Li Ergouzi's breath suddenly became extremely heavy, his face flushing red.

He stared straight at Wu Tie, gritting his teeth as he said: "Lord, the wife I found two years ago, and I also took twelve concubines... they have borne Ergouzi three sons and eight daughters, eleven children in total, and now five of them are still pregnant."

"Lord, Ergouzi wants to strive for a hereditary duke title for his own children!"

Wu Tie smiled at Li Ergouzi and gave his shoulder a firm pat: "Good, as long as you have this resolve and this courage, I'll give you a chance... Well, go to the rear archives, load the North Garden Guard's roster onto a cart, take three hundred brothers to the North Garden, and at their gate burn their roster... Also, all the backup records of the North Garden Guard's officers and commanders, big and small, kept by the Imperial City Military Bureau..."

A flash of cold light appeared in Wu Tie's eyes: "And also destroy the magic sigils and soul imprints they left here that prove their personal identities, as well as all military tallies, tokens, and arrows stored—take them to the North Garden gate and smash them!"

Li Ergouzi stared at Wu Tie, mouth agape: "Lord, doing this would be to cut off the very root of the North Garden Guard."

Burning the roster means that all soldiers of the North Garden Guard are no longer the Jin's guard.

Smashing those backup records of the officers and commanders kept by the Imperial City Military Bureau likewise means they have no further connection to that bureau.

In other words, Wu Tie intends to cancel the military registration of every officer and soldier of the North Garden Guard!

A deadly feud.

An absolute deadly feud.

Wu Tie is planning to completely break with the North Garden Guard.