Chapter 306

Grand Commander‑in‑Chief…

In the imperial palace, the emperor, who had already matured, couldn't help but furrow his brows alone; a great doubt weighed on his mind:

What the hell is that old six surnamed Lin plotting?

Speaking reasonably, the emperor never truly believed cultivators could serve him as dogs; so‑called loyal ministers are all fake. He knows cultivators' ultimate goal is definitely the seat beneath his backside—no doubt, since that's how the founding emperor Taizu rose to power.

But it doesn't matter; anyway the court won't last a few more years, and having cultivators' support actually helps prolong its life.

So from the first day of the new policies, the emperor had already braced himself for being removed from office…

But he never imagined that there actually exists such a freak in the world:

As a cultivator, he actually does not engage in the slightest bit of treason!

Loyalty, too loyal! So loyal that the emperor thinks it's ridiculous…

If you tell him to fight, he fights; if you tell him to tribute, he tributes; if you tell him to attend court, he attends court.

The image of a loyal minister is maxed out; he's the kind of peerless loyalty and virtue that only appears in operas.

The emperor isn't afraid he'll rebel and seize the throne; he's afraid he'll stay loyal, because even the fiercest rebels can be crushed, but a true loyalist must not be provoked—and the "frame‑up" tactic simply isn't feasible.

If this continues, the emperor can only watch helplessly as he collects land and people while shouting loyalty… By now he's quelled the regional warlord uprisings, holds all power in his hands, and the court has completely lost any ability to resist.

"These days the world is effectively the Lin family's; our Great Shun's foundation exists in name only…"

The empress dowager cradles an oil lamp, sits dimly beside her foolish son, and says: "Son, this is the result of your new policies…"

The emperor remains silent, merely lowering his head…

"Mother, I just can't figure it out…"

After a long while, the emperor lifts his head, bewildered, and asks:

"If I abdicate, he doesn't want it… instead he asks me for the Grand Commander‑in‑Chief post… What on earth is he thinking?"

"Could it be that he truly has no desire for the throne?"

This is unimaginable—how could there possibly be a cultivator who doesn't want to be emperor?

To a cultivator, the throne means lawfully enjoying the nation's incense offerings; with that endless incense, becoming a true god is a foregone conclusion!

Moreover, after attaining true godhood one can receive an office from the Heavenly Emperor, ascend to deify, join the ranks of the gods—how wonderful! Becoming a god is the cultivator's ultimate wish.

Thus Lin Six's behavior is abnormal: even though all the conditions are ready, why does he hesitate at the crucial moment and refuse to take that step?

Could he possibly be a genuine loyalist?

The emperor gradually begins to doubt life…

"Whether he's loyal or not…"

The empress dowager sighs: "In short, give him whatever he wants now, and don't go against his wishes… We're the meat on the chopping block; since we've come this far, we must absolutely not make a mistake."

"Our Great Shun's realm rests entirely on his shoulders; to prolong the nation's fate we must follow his wishes… If he's willing to let Great Shun survive another day, that's a gain of a day…"

"Isn't he supposed to be Grand Commander‑in‑Chief? Then confer it—right now!"

The emperor, helpless, had to start drafting the edict…

…

【Age 49, you led the Eight Banners into the pass, with genuine solid strength easily subduing over a hundred regional warlords nationwide; thereafter you garrisoned troops everywhere, in fact controlling the Shun dynasty's power, and the Shun court became a mere bare‑bones commander compared even to the Son of Heaven of Zhou…

Everyone thought that after a lifetime of wearing the loyalist mask, it would finally fall off, and everyone had prepared to jump ship.

Officials were thinking of urging the throne, the emperor was contemplating abdication, the common folk awaited a general pardon… The 300‑year‑old Shun dynasty is about to meet its natural end, the moment of dynastic change is already upon us!

But contrary to everyone's expectations, you refused their urgings and abdication, returned only to the northeastern stronghold, and declared, "Even if the Mandate of Heaven were mine, I would still wish only to be Grand Commander‑in‑Chief!"

When the news spread, everyone was stunned… but in order to give the Shun dynasty as much life as possible, the emperor still agreed to your request…

That year, the Shun emperor bestowed upon Lin Six, who held the titles of Prince of the West, Chief of the Northeastern Eight Banners, and Dragon‑Tiger General, the title of Grand Commander‑in‑Chief!

At the same time, the emperor voluntarily laid out the usurpation procedure: opening an office with the rank equal to the Three Excellencies, receiving the nine insignia, commanding all civil and military forces, bearing sword and shoes into the palace, entering court without kneeling or announcing his name, using the emperor's carriage… and ordered that all civil and military affairs must first be reported to the Grand Commander‑in‑Chief…

The emperor even shouted the slogan: "Government by the Lin lineage, sacrifices by me!"

Except for not directly abdicating, everything that could be arranged was arranged; one could say the will to survive is very strong…

But you, far away in the northeast, merely looked on all this with a faint smile, feeling no attachment whatsoever.

…

"Just the title of Grand Commander‑in‑Chief is enough—why give me all this?" Lin Six sighed helplessly while holding the edict.

The monkey beside him, however, was greatly excited, jumping and waving its arms:

"Master is finally going to become emperor! Once Master attains true godhood, we'll storm the Heavenly Palace and make that old fart Xue Xuan give up the throne… Fortune's wheel turns—this year it's our turn! As I say, there's no one in heaven or earth more fit than Master to be emperor and Heavenly Emperor!"

"With Master's guidance, we'll certainly establish a True Heavenly Court that serves all beings—ten thousand times stronger than those useless puppet figures!"

The monkey cheered and capered, but Lin Six shook his head: "Don't make a fuss… I truly have no interest in being emperor."

"Huh?"

As the monkey stared blankly at his master:

"But Master, didn't you always want to receive the Mandate and become emperor before?"

As a close associate, the monkey naturally knows Lin Six's long‑standing intention—just like everyone else, he planned to receive the Mandate and become emperor in the future!

After all, he's not a true loyalist, nor does he want to be the court's dog; after years of endurance, what he's been aiming for is precisely this—so why now…

Lin Six remained silent, giving no reply.

Why?

Of course it's for the future!

The past is past, the present is present; after experiencing so much, one's thoughts naturally change… and the main reason you've given up on becoming emperor is simply that it's still too early now.

This regional warlord uprising really exceeded your plans: they were too rash!

You never imagined the warlord revolt could blow up this big—overnight the whole country fell into chaos, forcing you to advance into the pass ahead of schedule…

According to your original plan, at most a few warlords would fight among themselves, while the majority should just keep farming peacefully—after all, your strategy was to swallow them gradually, not to gulp them down in one gulp.

As a result, you underestimated your threat to them and also their madness; in order to compete with you, this internal test player, for development, they actually plunged the whole nation into a great war and chaos……

War means death, especially a melee of this scale; if it drags on, not to mention possibly breeding a few Gu Kings that could rival you, the common folk alone would die in the tens of thousands!

Thus, at this critical juncture, even though you clearly knew the timing wasn't ripe, you could only advance early into the pass, helping the court suppress the great turmoil.

Now that's fine, the unification war is over, but you, being too small, simply cannot digest such a vast territory in a short time, directly causing indigestion……

If you insist on prematurely receiving the abdication and becoming emperor, you will only be able to 'treat a small state as if facing a great nation,' unable to effectively govern the regions, resulting in a chaotic world, and then trouble will multiply!

Thus, after much thought, you decided to steadily annex land and population while temporarily preserving the existence of the Shun dynasty…… Abdication and such, really not urgent.

You are not a warlord, nor a slave owner, and you do not merely want to establish a new dynasty; you want a truly lasting prosperous age!

Of course, aside from these considerations, you also harbor some private feelings: the emperor treats you well; although you are not a true loyal subject, you still owe him gratitude.

To repay the emperor's kindness, you decided to do everything possible to keep his throne, letting him sit on it a few more years…… Now the debt of gratitude is repaid!

……

Thus, from this year onward, you supported the tottering Shun court on one hand, while under the title of 'Grand General of Expedition' you continuously annexed the world.

To this end, you used the authority to establish a fief granted by the court, and in the northeast you set up a shogunate; within the shogunate you appointed your own officials and had your own laws, no different from the court!

Even more, since the emperor must consult you on everything, your shogunate in fact towers above the Shun court, the situation of the shogunate dominating the court has already formed……

Year after year passed.

As you continuously annexed land and population, your influence gradually spread across the world: people turned to the Western King, followed the doctrine, accepted dream-based education…… Not only the populace, but even the officials were all your people.

Gradually, the people knew only the shogunate, not the court; they knew only the shogun general, not the Shun emperor……

Until the year you turned sixty, you finally fully annexed the Southern Jambudvipa; the shogunate in fact replaced the Shun court, the Shun dynasty existed in name only!

Thus, people once again turned their hopeful gazes to the northeast: This time, should you receive the abdication and become emperor?

Not only the common folk thought so, but the officials and the emperor as well…… He had grown from a young emperor in his early twenties to an old man nearing fifty; since he didn't need to handle affairs, his health was excellent, and he had long since let go of throne matters: early abdication saves trouble!

But before he could finish writing the abdication edict, a bombshell suddenly came from the northeastern shogunate……

"Due to the intrusion of sea pirate bandits from the Eastern Sea, in order to protect the subjects of the Shun, the general will soon launch a punitive expedition against the sea pirates and barbarians of the Eastern Victory Divine Continent!"

"Revere the emperor, expel the barbarians!"

"General Lin's orders are to be passed down!"

In everyone's astonishment, you once again surpassed everyone's expectations, giving up the easily attainable throne, and instead, using the pretext of sea pirate intrusion, launched a punitive war against the overseas Eastern Victory Divine Continent!

……

(End of chapter)