Chapter 551: The Emperor's Conduct

Today Jiang Su is not here.

Qin Yulong is not here.

Jiang Yuan suddenly felt his body and mind refreshed and at ease—

As for Yuwen Lie, although Yuwen Lie is in the court, this man claims illness and refuses to go on campaign. Even though Jiang Yuan knows this person is truly arrogant and rude, he also understands that Yuwen Lie will not appear outside during this period.

With Wei Yiwen removed, there truly is no one with the rank or authority to stop him. At the beginning, Jiang Yuan could still put on the bearing of a sage to cope with the assembled ministers and officials.

One day he woke late, panicked in his heart, and his footsteps were somewhat hurried.

In his mind he only thought:

Today the Grand Tutor will surely rebuke me!

Passing through the palace gardens, he saw the autumn scenery, sunlight pouring down, and was suddenly struck by an insight. He halted his steps and at once muttered to himself: "Now that Jiang Su is away, and Yuwen Lie stays behind closed doors, only that old fool Wei Yiwen will say a few words to Us."

"We are the Son of Heaven—how could the Son of Heaven lower himself to toil day after day?"

"There is absolutely no such logic!"

So he turned and strolled into the courtyard, laughing and playing with his beauties and concubines, not realizing how the days passed. Wei Yiwen had been deeply worried—in truth, that Qin Huang was truly a difficult adversary, possessing the bearing and methods of a founding emperor, worthy of being called the foremost figure of the age.

Such a person had come to raid the border, and moreover held the initiative.

The strategy employed was precisely the one used years ago against this very Qin Wang—open and aboveboard, a righteous stratagem. Even someone as formidable as the God of War Jiang Su, invincible on the battlefield, would still suffer losses against such a righteous stratagem.

The reason was simple—

If they did not stop Qin Wang, Qin Wang would drive straight in.

When that happened, the national territory would be occupied.

Stopping Qin Wang was equivalent, in another sense, to having the strongest martial force and the most prestigious authority in court—the God of War Jiang Su—exchanged away. And if problems arose in the court, Jiang Su blocking the front lines would be too far away to help.

Only when the very battle plan prepared back then for the Fire Qilin Army—a force with only a single core—fell upon himself did he finally understand what pain meant.

Today dispatches from the front line arrived layer upon layer, along with matters requiring attention.

Wei Yiwen and the assembled officials waited outside for several hours, and still the Emperor did not appear. This great scholar and great Prime Minister grew angry in his heart, stopped a eunuch, and demanded: "Where is His Majesty?!"

The eunuch replied: "I do not know…"

Wei Yiwen was finally furious. He flung the eunuch aside with force, strode out of the palace, and with the Confucian art of observing qi, saw the Emperor among the pavilions and waterside platforms, amusing himself with beauties. The overlord who held half the realm under heaven had covered his eyes with the light gauze wrapped around a woman's waist, and was only spreading his arms to embrace.

Even Wei Yiwen, who had weathered countless storms in officialdom, turned cold-faced at such a moment.

"Hahahaha, where are you going, where are you going!"

"Good beauty, how clever you are, knowing to wait here for Us!"

Jiang Yuan laughed loudly, spread his arms, and in one motion embraced the person ahead, but reached up to snatch away the thin veil before his eyes, and laughed boastfully: "Hahaha, beauty, my good beauty, why don't you speak… you…"

His smile froze.

Seeing before him the dignified and solemn old man with a cold expression, a sudden fear rose in his heart. He stepped back a few paces and said: "…O-oh, so it is the Prime Minister."

Wei Yiwen's gaze swept left and right. The women who had been playing and laughing with the Emperor all turned pale with fright, paid their respects, and withdrew. Jiang Yuan felt a touch of boredom. Wei Yiwen's face was cold as he said: "Why does Your Majesty not speak?!"

The old minister was heartbroken and indignant: "Your Majesty, the safety of the realm can change in an instant. You do not apply your mind to the great affairs of the nation, but instead spend it on rouge and women—how can one abandon the state for a woman?!"

Jiang Yuan's face was respectful, but in his heart he was still displeased.

So he secretly hated Wei Yiwen.

Later he said to the Physician of the Imperial Household, Guo Yanjun: "We are the Son of Heaven, possessor of the realm—how could We be humiliated by that old fool!"

Guo Yanjun agreed, and added that in the court, all those illustrious lords were loyal ministers and fine generals who should serve the nation and share the burdens of His Majesty. He thus advised the Emperor to hold court once every five days—only needing to attend court once every five days to handle the tangled affairs—saying:

"It is useless to follow the late Emperor, toiling away pointlessly."

Jiang Yuan seemed amused, and casually tossed a fruit over.

Guo Yanjun knelt on the ground, held up the fruit, and cried loudly: "Thank Your Majesty for the holy fruit!"

Jiang Yuan asked: "Why call it a holy fruit?"

Guo Yanjun said: "Your Majesty is a sage, is the Son of Heaven. Wherever you go, the gods shelter and evil cannot encroach. Naturally you are a sage, and all that a sage touches bears the auspicious dragon qi of the sage and Son of Heaven. For a criminal like myself, it is naturally a holy fruit."

Jiang Yuan's intelligence naturally told him Guo Yanjun was merely flattering.

But he was proud by nature, and now that he was lord of a nation, holding half the realm under heaven, he felt that everything in the world was within his grasp. He merely laughed and called him a sycophantic minister, and paid it no heed.

At the very beginning, Jiang Yuan had pretended to be talented and virtuous, and had been quite strict with himself. But now that the great throne was firmly in his grasp, and Qin Huang Li Guanyi was being held tightly in check by Grand Tutor Jiang Su, although he still worried—after all, Jiang Su was old and might not be a match for Qin Huang—

So at the beginning, he had still resolved not to slacken.

He would build achievements like his ancestors.

And shine through the annals of history.

But because no one was watching over him, combined with the gradual lessening of Qin Wang's threat, and the temptation of Guo Yanjun's words—"Rest today, do not toil pointlessly, do not waste your years in vain"—the defenses in his heart lowered day by day.

Of course at first it was not once every five days.

But he found that the documents handled at daily court were utterly tedious, and although Li Guanyi's military edge was extremely sharp, he could not break through Jiang Su's defenses no matter what. The realm was vast—yes, it was said to have an army of two hundred thousand, but in reality each engagement was a battlefield of only several thousand or several tens of thousands.

The great State of Ying, supporting logistics and supply for a battlefield of such intensity, felt no pressure at all.

All matters at the front, entrusted to Jiang Su, allowed him to rest easy.

Thus gradually, court once every three days, once every five days, and even once every seven or eight days. Wei Yiwen was so angry his face turned white, yet still managed to endure it. Jiang Yuan at first only played with women inside the court.

But these many things soon lost their novelty for him.

Before this, he had been an Imperial Prince of a nation; all the music, delicacies, and beauties from the four quarters he had long been accustomed to enjoying. If becoming emperor still meant enjoying these same things, then hadn't he ascended the throne for nothing?!

In this year, the second year of the Daye era—the ninth month.

Qin Huang Li Guanyi and the Grand Tutor of the great State of Ying, Jiang Su, fought fiercely at the border.

The two clashed several times without a victor.

Li Guanyi withdrew and did not give battle, often shifting his position, while taking the Fire Qilin Army's scouting general, Nangong Wumeng, to travel through the lands, excavating the treasures buried within Ying's territory.

Nangong Wumeng mocked: "Have you gone mad craving money!"

"How could that be…"

Nangong Wumeng went for a walk at the end of September and accidentally entered a valley, where he saw abundant mineral deposits; the Fire Qilin Army had set up camp and was mining right under Jiang Su's nose—mining Ying State's minerals, shipping them back, forging them into arrows, and then fighting the Ying people again.

Even Jiang Su's composure could not help but stir with quiet anger.

To battle—the Qin Wang fought without defeat.

Emperor Jiang Yuan summoned the Minister of Speech Yang Da and the Grand Master of Construction Wen Kai to build palaces, conscripting two million laborers monthly, stretching south to Zaojian and north across Luobin. He ordered rare timber and strange stones from south of the Dajiang and north of the Five Ridges to be transported for the palaces; he also sought rare trees, exotic herbs, precious birds, and strange beasts to fill his gardens.

Jiang Yuan still maintained his habitual, slow method of outward expansion.

He naturally also wished to go out and display his authority.

But his mind remained clear—he knew he could not do such a thing—so he merely mobilized conscripts and redirected the currently idle logistical manpower to excavate palaces, intending to gather all the wonders of the world within the imperial palace.

When Wei Yiwen rebuked him, Jiang Yuan merely said:

"I am only building a summer palace; I have not wasted extravagantly. Is there ever a monarch in the world who has not built palaces?!"

"Even the late Emperor built many palaces, and even constructed the Star-Picking Tower for his mother. If the late Emperor could do it, why can't I?! Now that I am the Son of Heaven of this great Ying State, the people's Son of Heaven, can I not enjoy myself?!"

"Am I, this Son of Heaven, to take orders from you?!"

"If not, Chancellor Wei, why don't you take the throne yourself?!"

"What is this talk of self-restraint? Has any monarch in the world ever failed to build palaces and wonders to display imperial majesty and national dignity?!"

Wei Yiwen's hands trembled with rage.

The old minister blurted out: "The Qin Huang!"

The moment the words left his mouth, Wei Yiwen realized his mistake—for Emperor Jiang Yuan, the words "Qin Huang" were a taboo; merely uttering them caused his heart to churn violently.

To Wei Yiwen's surprise, Jiang Yuan's expression grew calm.

Those eyes fixed on Wei Yiwen and said:

"Chancellor Wei seems to hold that usurper emperor in high regard."

"If so, why don't you go to Jiangnan and join that usurper emperor's service?!"

Wei Yiwen's back went damp. He fell silent for a long while, then simply said:

"Your servant dares not."

But he knew that with that one breath of defiance spent, he could no longer stand in his role as an elder minister to advise. He sighed, then added: "Yet, Your Majesty's palaces and gardens are far too vast and extravagant."

"They consume too many laborers, exhausting the people and draining the treasury."

Jiang Yuan was astonished: "Exhausting the people and draining the treasury?!"

He laughed. This beautiful-faced monarch brushed his sleeve lightly and said coolly:

"Does the Chancellor not know? The autumn harvest is already over."

"Spring plowing has not yet begun. How can these months be called exhausting the people?"

"They're idle anyway."

These six words struck like a blade, freezing Wei Yiwen in place—he seemed to glimpse, within them, the true nature of this new emperor, long famed for virtue.

Wei Yiwen began to feel uneasy.

After Wei Yiwen departed, the Inner Historian Vice Minister Yu Shiji said:

"Back then, Chancellor Wei held the Breaker General Mr. in the highest esteem—now we see that the Breaker General Mr. was precisely the Qin Wang's childhood confidant, his 【Strategist-in-Chief】!"

This offhand remark made Jiang Yuan dislike Wei Yiwen even more.

He began constructing palaces in September.

Gradually, they grew larger; ordinary wonders could no longer satisfy him.

In the third year of Daye.

Also the first month of Qin Huang's third year, Qin Huang seemed to be locked in a bitter feud with Jiang Su—even during the New Year holidays, this immediate monarch refused to return home. In the freezing winter snow, clad in a black greatcoat, he pointed his finger and cursed Jiang Su.

When tired, he would bite into a slightly blackened roasted mantou.

Li Guanyi's lips twitched.

The silver-haired girl watched him quietly, extended a finger toward the mantou, her face expressionless: "There's honey."

Li Guanyi grinned. He saw the little Fire Qilin lying on its back, limbs splayed, clearly having endured something.

Li Guanyi ate the Yaoguang-made roasted mantou without changing expression.

"Delicious!"

The silver-haired girl's eyes slightly curved.

Then she lifted another enormous bundle, opened it—inside, mantou stacked like a small mountain. She stood there, expressionless, her body swaying slightly.

Li Guanyi had lived with her for ten years.

He knew this meant Yaoguang was in high spirits.

But seeing so many roasted mantou, Qin Huang and the Fire Qilin's hearts sank.

The silver-haired girl raised her hand and rolled up her left sleeve.

Then she reached for her right sleeve.

But as she did, the left sleeve slipped down again.

She tried this three times. Li Guanyi gave the Fire Qilin a signal. The little Fire Qilin scrambled up. Li Guanyi said: "Let me roll them up for you."

The silver-haired girl blinked, extended her arm.

Li Guanyi was much taller now. He bent slightly, folded her sleeve several times, secured it, then neatly folded the other sleeve. At the camp gate, the purple-eyed strategist's mouth twitched, then drooped.

Yaoguang, Bai Mao!

You're too deceitful!

The silver-haired girl thought, then reached out and took Li Guanyi's arm.

Her clear, calm eyes regarded the Breaker General with utter neutrality.

She thought again.

According to martial arts romances, he lifted his chin slightly.

Mr. Pojun: "…………"

A fragrance drifted through the air—the Fire Qilin, seizing the opportunity, had already roasted all the buns with a single blast of Qilin Fire; their skins were lightly golden and slightly cracked, crisp to the bite, yet soft inside—a single roasted bun offered three textures.

Yao Guang had successfully drawn out the Fire Qilin's highly specialized culinary talent.

The Fire Qilin's potential was immense.

For instance, if the little Qilin knew it would be allowed to eat as many roasted buns as it wanted, baked by Yao Guang herself, it could produce three dishes and one soup overnight.

None of them repeated!

It was already winter, before the New Year; Li Guanyi had sent falcons from behind to bring meat supplies, and everyone went out to gather stones, then piled up field stoves across the open spaces between camps, set up large cauldrons, smashed the ice on the river's surface, and drew water.

They chopped large chunks of meat and boiled them together with various root vegetables.

Steam rose thickly; the aroma filled the air from one enormous pot.

The Qin Huang and soldiers, Captains, ate together, holding spears, leaning on them as they sang loudly the Ballad of the Great Wind; the entire army beat time and shouted in unison, until the chorus of three hundred thousand soldiers echoed through the winter air—everyone laughed heartily, filled with warmth.

These soldiers felt regret that they could not return home for the New Year.

But the Qin Huang was here, right ahead, eating meat with them, staying here with them—so no one was dissatisfied.

If the Qin Huang remained here, what complaint could they have?!

Leading by example, nothing more.

Meanwhile.

Emperor Jiang Yuan built the Western Garden, two hundred li in circumference; within it, a sea spanned more than ten li; artificial mountains named Fangzhang, Penglai, and Yingzhou rose over a hundred chi above the water, with terraces, pavilions, and palaces scattered across them, arranged as if by divine design.

To the north lay the Dragon Scale Canal, winding its way into the sea.

Along this waterway, sixteen courtyards were built, each with gates facing the canal; each courtyard was overseen by a Fourth-Rank Lady; halls, pavilions, and towers were extravagantly ornate. Since it was winter and the trees had shed their leaves, silk and brocade were cut into artificial flowers and leaves, tied to the branches; once faded, they were immediately replaced with fresh ones, maintaining the illusion of perpetual spring.

All sixteen courtyards' beauties bared their garments, hoping to attract the Emperor's favor.

What a scene of decadence and licentiousness.

But soon, Jiang Yuan grew weary of this game; seeing his uncle's wife was beautiful, he found an excuse to strip the uncle of his status and reduce him to commoner.

He then sent a eunuch with a golden box, personally sealed with his own signature, to present it to the Lady.

The Lady, upon seeing it, was terrified, believing it contained poison, and dared not open it.

After the eunuch urged her repeatedly, she finally opened it—and inside were several heart knots; such items were quite popular in the palace, everyone knew what they signified—the palace maids sighed in relief and exclaimed:

"We are spared death!"

The Lady opened her mouth, collapsed, and refused to thank or accept the Emperor's command.

The palace attendants forced her, pressing her down to kowtow in gratitude.

That night, the Emperor entered her chamber.

The next day, the Lady threw herself into a well and died.

Jiang Yuan did not care; he simply donned splendid robes, mounted a fine steed, and rode through his opulent garden, feeling utterly exhilarated, saying to Guo Yanjun beside him: "Now I finally understand—the grandeur and exhilaration of being a monarch!"

"No one in this world dares defy me. No one dares say no to me."

"This is the greatest pleasure, surpassing all decadent indulgences!"

He had no deep affection for that Lady.

Jiang Yuan was merely addicted to the thrill of wielding power with brutal arrogance—crushing social norms, making his authority and violence tower over others, trampling their dignity.

Is this what it means to be an Emperor?

Li Guanyi, are you also addicted to this feeling?!

The Imperial Censor Guo Yanjun suddenly said, as if casually: "I hear General Qin Yulong's wife, Lady Xue, is the second daughter of Xue Daoyong, and that Xue Daoyong's granddaughter, Xue Shuangtao, grew up with that bandit Emperor as childhood playmates."

"She holds great prestige in the army."

"Generals such as Yue Qianfeng and Yue Pengwu all respect her; they believe that even if Li Guanyi has gained fame and stolen the throne, Xue Shuangtao will still become the bandit Emperor's Empress."

Jiang Yuan replied indifferently: "So what?"

"Come now, think about it."

Guo Yanjun leaned forward, smiling with a sly, suggestive air: "If the Qin Huang marries Xue Shuangtao, then Qin Huang Li Guanyi would have to call that Lady Xue 'Auntie'—hey, and Qin Yulong is not here…"

Jiang Yuan realized something.

His heart burned with sudden heat.

He loved the exhilaration of wielding power recklessly, shattering order, fulfilling himself through domination—but he still had some sense, knowing what he could not do: his generals were guarding the frontier; to act thus now would be a grave mistake.

So he said: "Do not speak further!"

"General Qin Yulong defends the nation—how dare you do something that undermines our own walls!"

Guo Yanjun immediately knelt on the ground: "Your Majesty, sage and virtuous Son of Heaven! Compared to Your Majesty, I am but a petty, base man—when I raise my head to see the sun, I see only Your Majesty's radiant light."

"Your Majesty, a true sage!"

Jiang Yuan, who had been slightly angry, now could only sigh helplessly: "You know how to speak."

That day, Guo Yanjun's mind stirred—he realized the Emperor had some longing for that Lady Xue, so he conspired with a group of men to bring her into the palace to meet the Emperor.

When the Emperor's heart stirred, he would surely find great satisfaction.

If the Emperor was pleased, he would gain power and wealth.

As for Qin Yulong's anger?

He dismissed it with contempt.

Ha—a mere Eighth-Level Divine General. What's the point of the title "Divine General"? The world is vast; without an army, without state power, an Eighth-Level Divine General is nothing but an Eighth-Level warrior.

Guo Yanjun led a group of men to Qin Fu, bringing a contingent of Imperial Guards to the General's residence, his face panicked and frantic, claiming the Emperor had ordered it: "We heard General Qin Yulong suffered disaster on the front—Lady Xue must hurry there immediately!"

Xue Peijun's face changed instantly, but she was, after all, Xue Daoyong's daughter, and said:

"Do you have any military intelligence? Let me see it."

Guo Yanjun froze.

He had not expected that this woman could remain so composed upon hearing such news, but his mind turned, and a lie slipped from his lips: "The intelligence is inside the palace. I serve in the same court as General Qin Yulong—how could I possibly deceive you?!"

"Lady, please come with me!"

Xue Peijun's thoughts raced; she had long sensed something was wrong. Seizing the moment when the man reached for her, she drew her dagger and in a single stroke slashed through Guo Yanjun's sleeve and arm, blood gushing out. Xue Peijun retreated and said, "Treacherous villain!"

"My husband fought for this nation unto this—whatever are you trying to do!?"

"Do you mean to drive a wedge between His Majesty and his generals?!"

But in Guo Yanjun's eyes there was no such thing as the realm.

He chuckled darkly and said: "The realm? Grand ambitions? This official truly cannot be bothered with such things—I've heard them far too often. The only dead-truth I know, the one that let me rise so fast in rank and wealth, is that this realm is Your Majesty's realm."

"When Your Majesty is pleased, I rise in rank and wealth. When Your Majesty is displeased, I gain nothing good."

"I care nothing for your famed generals; I only ask that Your Majesty be pleased. Lady, if you please!"

"Do dress yourself prettily for His Majesty—best to use the southern kingdom's colloquial speech, in the accent of Jiangnan, all the better…" He reached out to grab Xue Peijun's arm, but the next instant he suddenly froze, dimly feeling his right arm go numb and cold.

A spray of crimson exploded across his vision.

Then he saw his own arm fly up and fall.

His little finger was still twitching.

Guo Yanjun could not process what had happened; he merely stared blankly at the spot, and only then did he realize what had occurred. His face contorted, he clutched his severed arm, and let out scream after scream of agony.

The other Imperial Forest Guards had also fallen in pools of blood.

Xue Peijun gripped her dagger, staring at the scene, lost and dazed.

The air hung heavy; a wind stirred.

A grim, murderous killing intent spread on all sides, shattering the heavy stillness of the moment.

The cold ring of steel sang softly.

A long spear rested against the ground. The cold, austere divine general, dressed in plain clothes, stepped slowly through the great gate of Qin Fu. A pair of ink-black boots walked through the blood, then along the white path ahead. Passing the imperial confidant Guo Yanjun, he did not so much as glance sideways.

Guo Yanjun's eyes went bloodshot. "Wh-what are you doing?!"

"You dare hurt me—you dare—"

The heavy spear tore through the air with a piercing shriek, driving straight through Guo Yanjun's neck.

A flick of the wrist.

His neck was ripped clean open; blood splattered onto the ground, not a drop staining the general's sleeves.

A low, rumbling roar of Bai Hu.

The divine general's expression remained cold and indifferent; he did not spare it a glance.

Yuwen Lie.

?? The prototype for Jiang Yuanhang's actions and deeds is referenced from *Zizhi Tongjian — Sui Annals Four through Sui Annals Six*.

? Begging for monthly votes, friends!