[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-restoring-the-mountains-and-rivers":3,"chapter-restoring-the-mountains-and-rivers-restoring-the-mountains-and-rivers-chapter-96":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Restoring the Mountains and Rivers",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2364365,4623,"Chapter 96: The Great Explosion in the Capital","restoring-the-mountains-and-rivers-chapter-96",96,"\u003Cp>Reentering Yangzhou, the scene before him was utterly transformed; once-bustling streets had become desolate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under the scourge of plague, merchants and travelers had vanished, and residents no longer ventured out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aside from a few merchants selling grain, oil, and daily necessities, forced by the authorities to remain open, the streets held no commerce whatsoever.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leading his troops into the city, Li Mu skillfully assumed control of Yangzhou’s defenses and took charge of epidemic prevention.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The soldiers under him were all familiar faces; many had been recruited by him originally.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those who had dared to pay lip service while secretly resisting had all been sent to die as cannon fodder—now their graves were overgrown with grass.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The local gentry also showed due respect, refraining from causing trouble.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The same epidemic prevention orders, after a change in leadership, were enforced with sudden and dramatic intensity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This left the Yangzhou prefectural officials seething with resentment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Excellency, the men below know only the Five City Military Command, not the Yangzhou Prefectural Office.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If this continues, it will surely lead to a major disaster!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ren Renming frowned as he spoke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Yangzhou’s Prefect, he deeply resented the Five City Military Command’s power grab.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had expected the epidemic response to be carried out by the Five City troops under his command.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not this—where every minor and major affair in the city had been seized by those soldiers, reducing him to a mere figurehead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What great disaster could there be?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Five City Military Command is the capital’s garrison force; they are authorized to handle daily affairs in the capital—handling Yangzhou’s affairs is beyond their mandate!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Wenyue snapped irritably.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking at this acting Prefect appointed by Nanjing’s Ministry of Personnel, he was filled with rage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If not for this fool’s incompetence, which allowed the plague to rage unchecked, he would never have had to bow to Marquis Wuyang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By convention, the military was forbidden from interfering in local governance—but the Five City Military Command was no ordinary army.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the capital, this was precisely their duty; returning to the provinces and resuming the same role was nothing unusual.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for overstepping and sidelining the Yangzhou Prefect, that was merely his bad luck—after all, the Five City Military Command answered directly to the Emperor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Wenyue did not believe he had the stature to forcibly compel them to obey a local Prefect.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Excellency, that’s not what I meant.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You are the Imperial Commissioner—yet they dared to act without even seeking your approval.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Such arrogance and lawlessness clearly indicates they are amassing troops to defy central authority…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before Ren Renming could finish, Xu Wenyue hurled his teacup at him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a loud “crash,” splashing tea drenched him from head to toe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ignoring the blood trickling from his forehead, Ren Renming knew he had irrevocably angered Grand Secretary Xu—no one received such treatment without crossing a fatal line.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Excellency, forgive me!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Excellency, forgive me!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ren Renming hastily knelt and begged for mercy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All the officials present were chilled to the bone; none dared step forward to help.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The wise knew Ren Renming had committed a fatal taboo.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To vent his own anger, he had dared to play the game of sowing discord—right up to his superior’s face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Subtle hints might have been tolerated, but this fool, oblivious to his own death sentence, had repeated it again and again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Get out!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do not let me see you again!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Wenyue said coldly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With no display of authority for some time, those below had begun treating him like a fool.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His southern journey was to achieve results and pave the way for further advancement—not to bicker with local officials.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His tensions with Marquis Wuyang were merely for the Emperor’s eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fighting to the death would benefit him not at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For the Yangzhou Prefect, the entire world was Yangzhou Prefecture; but in the eyes of this Grand Secretary, the world was the empire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Local gains or losses meant nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Deep within, Xu Wenyue’s resentment toward Nanjing’s Ministry of Personnel had reached its peak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had asked them to send people to assist in governance—not to stir up trouble.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ren Renming was not only incapable, but also lacked discernment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sending such a man here was nothing but an attempt to poison him!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Had he not reacted swiftly enough to see this man’s true nature, and kept him close and in favor, he would have eventually caused a catastrophic disaster.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With this bad impression formed, Xu Wenyue now had no intention of promoting any other officials sent by Nanjing’s Ministry of Personnel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The greatest reason the Pure Stream Faction lost political struggles was the scarcity of men willing to do real work.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not because they were incompetent, but because anyone who acted would inevitably make mistakes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His colleagues ignored achievements and instead fixated on each other’s errors, striking when the opponent was down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Internal infighting had severely dampened everyone’s motivation to act.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As a result, many officials did nothing at all, merely spinning pleasing lies to earn a good reputation and cling to high office.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This game might work for a foolish ruler, but since Emperor Tianyuan’s ascension, it had become useless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Emperor favored capable, hardworking officials; those below were forced to adapt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old men in Nanjing’s Six Ministries clearly still failed to grasp the situation, clinging to their outdated ways.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After dismissing the officials, Xu Wenyue rubbed his temples in silent pain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yangzhou’s situation was dire; whoever served as Prefect would inherit a mountain of wreckage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Frankly, he had no desire to place his trusted men in such a perilous post—the risk of failure was far too great.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But now it was clear: he had to use his own people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Others recommended were utterly incapable of grasping his intentions or following his policies closely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Huaichang, draft the memorial: recommend Hanlin Academician Gu Youwen as Yangzhou Prefect, and Ministry of Revenue Assistant Director Ma Cunyi as Yangzhou Assistant Prefect…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Wenyue rattled off a string of names, startling Hou Huaichang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Excellency, this may be inappropriate!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hou Huaichang hurriedly urged caution.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was not that the recommended men had any flaws—in fact, they were all highly capable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Had they lacked merit, they would never have caught Grand Secretary Xu’s eye.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The problem was: all of them were Xu Wenyue’s disciples and former subordinates.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Placing them all in Yangzhou Prefecture would make nepotism glaringly obvious, inviting fierce criticism.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Relax. The Yangzhou Prefecture today is no longer the Yangzhou Prefecture of before.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Outside Yangzhou City, all three prefectures and seven counties have fallen to rebel forces, leaving behind a colossal mess to clean up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No faction will place promising officials in such a toxic post.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My recommending men here is simply to ease the court’s burden.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enough. My status does make it inappropriate to recommend them directly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Send an invitation to Marquis Wuyang—I shall host him for a banquet.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Reason ultimately prevailed; Xu Wenyue abandoned the idea of personally recommending them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the men still had to be brought over—otherwise, the cleanup would fail, and he would never be free of this mess.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Excellency, Marquis Wuyang is also an Imperial Commissioner; it would be fitting for him to recommend officials for Yangzhou’s vacancies.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But he is at odds with you. Without sufficient compensation, he will not easily agree.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hou Huaichang reminded him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Political deals were nothing new in officialdom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even bitter enemies could cooperate when necessary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The danger lay in Xu Wenyue needing something while Marquis Wuyang had no desire to trade—making the price exorbitant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Relax. The demands of those imperial relatives differ from ours.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Marquis Wuyang did not stay in the capital to enjoy comfort—he traveled thousands of miles to Yangzhou for one reason: to establish a heritable family fortune.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The salt fields across the Two Huai regions, now under direct government control, will all fall into deficit within a few years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Better to sell them to private operators than let the eunuch faction ruin them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With Marquis Wuyang’s status, securing one or two of them is not unreasonable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides, I need someone to clean up Yangzhou’s mess—does he not have his own loyalists to place?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Wenyue sneered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If there was no demand, create one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The nobility, imperial relatives, and eunuch faction had joined forces—not merely under the Emperor’s silent guidance, but to carve out a share of the salt profits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The court’s finances were strained and required more revenue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Either plunder the people, or plunder the merchants, or plunder the officials.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The first path had reached its limit; further taxation would cause the cost of rule to skyrocket.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Emperor dared not risk it, so he could only settle for a second-best option.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Da Yu dynasty was a classic case of official-business collusion; if the Emperor wanted to raise money, he could only choose to ally with one faction and crush another.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What held true above held true below as well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Wenyue, seeking to achieve political success in the salt administration reforms, likewise needed to bring in more allies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without dismantling the alliance of eunuchs, imperial in-laws, and noble meritocrats, who would take seriously a mere empty-title Imperial Envoy like him?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>……\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Boom!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A thunderous explosion ripped through the silent night sky, shaking the entire capital.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under the massive shockwave, countless houses turned to rubble, and roaring flames lit up the whole city.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The earthquake triggered by the explosion spread from the capital to Hebei, and neighboring prefectures and provinces all felt the ground tremble.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Within the imperial palace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Emperor Tianyuan, busy with his conjugal duties, was flung off his bed by the violent aftershock, his head slamming hard against the floor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ah!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Summon the imperial physician at once!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>……\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon hearing the terrible news that the Emperor was injured and unconscious, the Empress and Empress Dowager fainted as well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The harem concubines were reduced to trembling wrecks, utterly incapable of managing affairs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With no leader, the palace plunged into chaos, left only in the hands of eunuchs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>……\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tianyuan was not the only unlucky one; under the violent shockwave, the mansions of many nobles near the epicenter were reduced to ruins.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Xingguo Duke’s Mansion, the Nanyang Marquis’s Mansion, the Pingyuan Marquis’s Mansion…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One by one, illustrious noble houses vanished into history with the great explosion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only the roaring flames remained to prove they had once existed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1730,"2026-06-21T08:09:02.410Z",1,"Qwen3.5 397B","1d756280ccb9dd9d6c10c7dafdd2555bf830463861335c0e85db16ebee89b6df","restoring-the-mountains-and-rivers-chapter-97","restoring-the-mountains-and-rivers-chapter-95",391,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Frestoring-the-mountains-and-rivers-cover.jpg"]