Chapter 71: Changing the Era Name to Shaosheng

Arriving at the Quyuan Street in the southwest city, he dismounted from the carriage; the Eight-Character Water Mouth was surrounded by layers of Imperial Guards, while Zhong Pu, Wang En, and others stepped forward to pay their respects.

Zhao Ti said, "Prepare soft shields and short crossbows, assign two thousand soldiers, and go check inside the passage."

Several replied in agreement; in a moment the troops were assembled and entered the underground of Dongjing through this water mouth.

By now, the corpses of the bandits at the Ghost Fan Tower had been cleaned up completely; at intervals along the path inside, armies stood guard to prevent any surviving, hidden bandits from appearing.

But after several days, nothing happened; obviously, not a single bandit remained alive. Even if they hadn't been suffocated by the fierce fire oil at the time, after five or six days, thirst and hunger would have killed them.

The only thing not yet confirmed was the ancient tomb confessed by the Little Butterfly Cui Chong; soldiers cleared the way ahead, heading straight for that place.

Zhao Ti walked in the middle of the formation, looking around; he felt only chilling winds blowing in gusts and a terrifying atmosphere—truly a wicked place.

As they went deeper, the wind sounded like sobbing, as if weeping, yet the soldiers feared not this, their faces all fierce as they glared at the surroundings.

Zhong Pu said, "Your Highness, the Yin Lake lies ahead along the path; shall we stop and take a look?"

"Yin Lake?" Zhao Ti nodded. Previously, Zhong Pu had said an underground dark lake existed, but Zhao Ti reasoned no one could hide in the lake for long, so he had excluded it from investigation, leaving only soldiers to guard it.

Sure enough, a moment later a fork in the road appeared; Imperial Guards stood at the entrance, Zhong Pu led the way forward, and upon reaching it, they saw a small lake.

Soldiers held torches around the perimeter, illuminating the small lake as bright as day; the water was clear and transparent, a jade-green lake like a mirror, and under the torchlight, the scene beneath the water could be seen.

Faintly, half a palace stood at the lake bottom; unknown how many years it had existed, its colors remained vibrant and vivid, the lake water like glazed stars, and that palace seemed mysterious, stirring an inexplicable sense of solemnity in people's hearts.

Zhao Ti watched for a long while, calculating the light refraction; he felt the bottom must be very deep, and it was likely not the relic of a past dynasty as Zhong Pu had previously claimed, but perhaps already the several layers beneath the ground.

No one could hide here; even a supreme expert lacked the ability to hold their breath underwater for so many days without surfacing. Li Qiushui of the Xiaoyao Sect possessed a Turtle Breath Art, yet she probably could not hold her breath that long either. Zhang Shun, the White Stripe in the Waves, could stay underwater for three days and three nights without breathing, but that was only three days, and perhaps even that was an exaggeration.

Zhao Ti pondered for a moment and left; the soldiers continued forward, and gradually the underground passage became chaotic, showing no traces of artificial construction, only natural marks carved out by great floods.

After walking another stretch, they reached a hidden cave entrance; Zhong Pu said, "Your Highness, this is it. Cui Chong said the passage leading to the ancient tomb enters from here."

Zhao Ti said, "Have him lead the way. We don't need so many people going in; twenty soldiers with shields in front, followed by one hundred crossbowmen, and then one hundred swordsmen will suffice."

Zhong Pu went to deliver the order, then entered the passage. At first it was quite narrow, but gradually it widened and sloped downward, allowing three or five soldiers to walk side by side.

Zhao Ti observed the cave walls on both sides, seeing only bluestone protruding, jagged like horns, with no idea what stone carvings were buried within.

About a quarter-hour later, the view suddenly opened up; a soldier reported, "Your Highness, there is a very spacious place here."

Zhao Ti stepped forward and saw that this was already the end of the passage; soldiers held torches, and vaguely one could see stone men and stone beasts standing in disorder, while far behind, a massive bulge was faintly visible, resembling the front of a great tomb.

Zhao Ti squinted to look; it was pitch black, gloomy, and dimly shifting.

At this moment, soldiers walked toward that great tomb; a moment later, someone shouted, "There are corpses here."

Zhong Pu ran back: "Your Highness, three bodies have been found, all in front of the tomb."

Zhao Ti nodded: "Go take a look."

He stepped slowly into the space ahead, observing the stone-carved men and beasts; all were objects for Yin burial, of unknown dynasty, but judging by these items, the tomb's specifications seemed very high.

Arriving not far away, they saw three corpses, with soldiers gathered closely around them.

Zhao Ti glanced once and frowned; why were all three corpses lying face-down, facing outward?

Whether these three were suffocated by seeping fierce fire oil or died of hunger and thirst here, it was highly unlikely they would all be lying face-down on the ground with their heads facing outward, unless all three died while walking outward together.

He said in a deep voice, "Turn them over."

Soldiers immediately stepped forward and flipped the bodies; the place was cool, so the skin and faces of the corpses were not overly swollen or rotten, and their appearances had not changed much.

Zhong Pu called Cui Chong to identify them; Cui Chong looked for a long time and said, "General, General, the one with half a mask covering his face is that villain, the Master of Wu You Cave; the other two are his attendants."

One of the corpses was burly and broad; he wore half a golden mask on his face, but with half his face and chin exposed, he could indeed be recognized.

Zhao Ti glanced once: "Remove the mask."

Soldiers tore off the mask, revealing underneath dense scars; for some unknown reason, the Master of Wu You Cave had been disfigured.

Zhao Ti squinted his eyes: "Carry them all out."

Afterwards, he looked at the great tomb behind; the entire tomb was pressed within the earthen wall, with only the front edge exposed, and a thief's hole half a person's height in the lower right corner.

After pondering slightly, he said, "Fill this hole with earth and block the entrance to the outer passage as well. Once finished, withdraw the soldiers below from underground; only guard the Eight-Character Water Mouth outside."

Zhong Pu replied in agreement; Zhao Ti immediately returned to the surface and then entered the palace to report.

In the following days, whenever he mentioned abolishing the old laws and restoring the new laws in court, those New Party members who had previously lay dormant gradually spoke up, beginning to quarrel endlessly with the Old Party.

In the blink of an eye, it was mid-April; the weather grew warmer, and summer had arrived.

Zhao Xu proposed changing the era name, setting the new title as Shaosheng; "Shao" means to inherit and continue, and "Shaosheng" means to inherit the thoughts or actions of a sage.

Zhao Xu chose Shaosheng as the era name, his intention clear: he would continue Emperor Shenzong's reforms.

The old ministers opposed this one after another, but because of Zhao Ti's entry into court, the New Party already showed signs of resurgence; after three days of mutual attacks, Zhao Xu finally decided the new era name would remain unchanged.

Afterwards, he reorganized the court officials, starting from the lower levels, gradually replacing the Old Party members, then began demoting Vice Ministers and Ministers, and finally even replaced two Chancellors; within half a month, the court had undergone a complete bloodletting.

On the ninth day of the fifth month, Zhao Xu issued an edict posthumously granting Wang Anshi the title "Wen," and summoned Zhang Dun, Cai Bian, Zeng Bu, and others back to the capital; from then on, abolishing the old and restoring the new had become a settled matter, beyond any further change.

In the evening, Zhao Ti entered the palace and saw Zhao Xu holding a memorial, deep in thought: "Previously, I ordered the Liangjiang Circuit and the Liangzhe Circuit to investigate the Ming Cult, but they were very lazy and perfunctory. At this time of transition between old and new laws, disorder must not arise in various places; otherwise, the Old Party will use it as an excuse to disrupt civil affairs, and the new laws will inevitably be implemented poorly."

Zhao Ti said, "Your Majesty's meaning..."

Zhao Xu sighed: "This is a major matter, and it involves the military; there are currently no suitable new ministers in court available. How about Prince Yan goes?"

Zhao Ti smiled: "I am currently free, so I can undertake this."

Zhao Xu's tone was deep: "If you can discover the Ming Cult bandits' nest, destroy it all at once to prevent them from continuing to bewitch the common people."

Zhao Ti said, "I understand."

Zhao Xu thought for a moment and added: "On the way, go visit the descendants and clan members of Wang Wen Gong, and convey My greetings on My behalf."