Chapter 126

"Helian Cheng wants to see me?" Xue Jin'an confirmed this with Cui Zui, somewhat surprised.

Helian Cheng's whereabouts at the bookstore were reported by the bookstore clerk on the same day, and then informed of Xue Jin'an through Fu Lu. This was not Helian Cheng's fault for being careless; people who could afford a membership card generally wouldn't frequent the bookstore.

The shop assistant initially carried that thick membership card information booklet because he had heard that all the members of Jiu Tian Yi were either rich or powerful, and absolutely could not be offended. The shop assistant was just an ordinary person. The reason he was able to work in the bookstore with such easy and high-paying work was because he was a servant of the Cui family. It was Master Cui who recommended him to Young Master Cui Zui, who felt more at ease using him, so he stayed on.

The shop assistant hadn't expected someone with a membership card to actually come to the bookstore. Although he was ignorant and didn't know General Helian's full name or what he looked like, he knew it was suspicious that someone like that would suddenly come to the bookstore to read books for free. So, with the mindset of better to report something wrong than to miss it, he immediately went to Jiu Tian Yi and told the manager about it after closing the shop.

The shopkeeper knew far more than the shop assistant. Upon hearing the name Helian Cheng, he not only matched his identity to the name but also connected the intricate relationships within the Helian family. He then had someone inquire about Helian Cheng's recent activities in the shop and quickly realized that General Helian was consciously observing the situation. He promptly reported the matter.

Xue Jin'an was not surprised by this, but what he did not expect was that Helian Cheng would suddenly approach the shopkeeper directly after two days of silence, asking him to pass on a message to the boss behind the scenes: "I have long admired Young Master Xue and look forward to meeting you."

After a brief analysis, Xue Jin'an understood why Helian Cheng wanted to meet him: "He wants to go back to Qizhou."

Cui Zui was quite puzzled: "There aren't many capable military officers in the court right now. He'll be able to return to Qizhou sooner or later, so what's the rush? Whether he goes back or not, your position is secure, Master. The reason he's running back now is because he's afraid of you and will try to seize power from you. That's what's causing turmoil in the Northwest Army."

Xue Jin'an remained noncommittal. Although he did not understand human emotions, he could analyze human behavior logic through data. Helian Cheng wanted to return to Qizhou not because he was panicked or afraid, but because he couldn't let go.

Helian Town has been guarding the border for nearly twenty years. The Northwest Army and Qizhou have become ingrained in his instincts. There are only two possibilities for him to completely let go: either the Rong and Di tribes will be destroyed and their people will be wiped out, or he will die on the battlefield.

Furthermore, Helian Cheng is extremely unaccustomed to the environment in the capital, and he is almost at his limit.

Cui Zui felt that someone as despicable and without faith as him would never understand Helian Cheng's selfless dedication. He asked Xue Jin'an, "Master, will you see him?"

"I won't see him." Xue Jin'an didn't think there was any need to meet with Helian Cheng. He said, "Tell him that the emperor will soon be begging him to return to Qizhou."

"Yes!" Cui Zui responded with bright eyes, knowing that his master must have had something planned in this.

Cui Zui had great faith in his master's abilities, and he believed that Helian Cheng would return soon, but he didn't expect it to be this fast.

That night, the battle report that Xue Jin'an had deliberately delayed finally arrived in the capital. The emperor was shocked and furious. He directly threw the warm and soft woman in his arms off the dragon bed. Countless officials in the capital had their mansions brightly lit, and many officials hurriedly dressed and washed up in the middle of the night to enter the palace.

The emperor was furious about the Northwest Army's unauthorized deployment of troops and wanted to punish the general named Long Aotian. However, he was stopped by the Grand Secretary Jiang Wen, who arrived in time. Under Jiang Wen's strong persuasion, the emperor had no choice but to swallow his anger and reward the Northwest Army for defeating the Rongdi army.

However, during the morning court session, before the emperor could even speak, the Empress Dowager suddenly launched an attack on the matter, angrily denouncing the Rong and Di tribes for their blatant ambitions and punishing several peace-loving ministers. She also labeled those ministers who had maintained close ties with the Rong and Di envoys since their arrival in the capital as traitors and colluding with the enemy. With this serious accusation, the court officials instantly fell silent, and no one dared to step forward to plead for those named. Even the usually stubborn Right Censor-in-Chief remained silent.

The emperor originally thought that the matter was about over, since the evidence the Empress Dowager had only proved that some ministers were too ambitious and dared to accept any kind of bribe, but there was no irrefutable evidence to directly accuse them of treason. However, the Empress Dowager was far more ruthless than anyone thought. She actually ordered several officials who had been found to have accepted bribes from Rong and Di envoys and leaked information about the court to be dragged out and beheaded.

The man wasn't even dragged to the Meridian Gate; he was beheaded as soon as he stepped out of the Hall of Diligent Governance. Blood was even splattered on the threshold. Some of the lower-ranking officials who were standing at the back witnessed this bloody scene, and one of the more timid ones rolled his eyes and fainted.

The Hall of Diligent Governance was completely silent. The only sound was the Empress Dowager calmly appointing several people to fill the vacant positions in the court, thus securing her position in the court.

The emperor's mind went blank for a while before he was brought back to his senses by the voice of Teacher Xiao X in his head.

Xue Jin'an, who was mistaken for Teacher Xiao X, commented in the live chat: 【Well done!】

[We've had enough of the court's sluggish efficiency, and it's finally been rectified.]

Our ancestors were truly mighty and powerful!

The legitimate imperial power rests with the Empress Dowager!

...

Xue Jin'an came to watch the morning court broadcast today specifically to wait for this moment. He was really annoyed by the slow pace at which the court could not get anything done in three days. As expected, the Empress Dowager was decisive and efficient. With the Empress Dowager in charge, he thought that the court he would take over in the future would have far fewer people who only knew how to talk nonsense.

Xue Jin was relieved and satisfied.

The Empress Dowager finally regained control of the court. Her style was completely opposite to the Emperor's. She was the type with a strong desire for control and would directly assign tasks that needed to be completed, rather than waiting for the court officials to argue endlessly until a result was reached before making arrangements based on their conclusions.

Of course, this does not mean that the Empress Dowager was autocratic and refused to listen to advice. It just means that she disliked pointless arguments. What she wanted to hear was for court officials to clearly explain what they should do, why they should do it, and what the advantages and disadvantages of doing it were. As for whether to use the advice, it was not up to the court officials to refute each other. It depended entirely on which side the Empress Dowager thought was more valuable.

Therefore, the morning court sessions held by the Empress Dowager during her time in power were generally short and consisted mainly of reporting, with even the format and template of the speeches being quite similar.

For ministers, such "rigid" rules limited their performance, and such morning court sessions were too oppressive. However, Xue Jin'an, as a code life form, preferred the atmosphere of this cold and pragmatic morning court session.

Sure enough, even after retiring for so many years, the Empress Dowager's habit of attending the morning court session remained unchanged. She treated the ministers like parts, putting them into the operation of the state machinery, as if she were assembling a machine.

The emperor remained silent throughout, his expression growing increasingly grim. It wasn't until the Empress Dowager arranged for him to go to Helian City to take over the Imperial Guard and reorganize it that the emperor spoke: "Qizhou has just experienced war and is in dire need of someone to guard it. Minister Helian, you should go back."

"Grandmother, Qizhou cannot be lost." The emperor stared intently into the Empress Dowager's eyes, using the lives of the people to pressure her.

The Empress Dowager gave him a deep look, seemingly dissatisfied with his behavior but having no choice but to compromise. She said in a deep voice, "Then we shall do as Your Majesty says."

The emperor immediately ordered Li Hechun to deliver the imperial decree, instructing Helian Cheng to rush to Qizhou overnight. Helian Cheng had previously offended the emperor and was told to rest and enjoy himself, and he had not attended court for several days. He was afraid that if he was late in delivering the decree, Helian Cheng would be detained in the capital by the Empress Dowager and become her right-hand man.

However, in reality, the Empress Dowager was quite satisfied with Helian Cheng's departure.

The Empress Dowager's biggest weakness right now is actually her military power. The Imperial Guard and the Imperial Clothing Bureau are all in the Emperor's hands, at least on the surface. The Empress Dowager only controls a portion of the Imperial Clothing Bureau's spies, and no matter how capable these spies are, they are no match for the regular army. If the Imperial Guard hadn't been corrupted to the point of chaos, the Empress Dowager wouldn't have dared to launch an attack on the Emperor, who holds so much power, at this time.

It was precisely because the Imperial Guard was in such a mess that the Empress Dowager could not let Helian Cheng stay. Helian Cheng was the pillar of the army; as long as he was in the capital, the soldiers would behave themselves. Once Helian Cheng took over the Imperial Guard, he would surely be able to reorganize it within three months.

The Empress Dowager was very confident in Helian Cheng's ability to intimidate the border for so many years with just his name, and to make the Rong and Di tribes have to lure him away before they could wage war against Daqi.

However, the Empress Dowager knew that the Emperor was very wary of her getting involved in military power. He might tolerate her in other matters, but once it came to military power, he would immediately oppose and refute whatever she proposed. If she suggested that Helian Cheng return to Qizhou, the Emperor would allow him to stay in the capital, and vice versa.

So the Empress Dowager took advantage of this and made the Emperor send Helian City back immediately.

Without Helian Cheng, the Empress Dowager's infiltration of military power through the Imperial Clothing Bureau will proceed much more smoothly.

However, the Empress Dowager was somewhat disappointed. Although she had some opinions about the emperor's abilities after experiencing those events, she did not expect that the emperor's abilities were even worse than she thought. The Empress Dowager knew that even if the emperor was not a particularly brilliant emperor, he was more than capable of being a ruler who could maintain the status quo. However, he had made such a mess of the court for his own selfish desires.

Yes, the Empress Dowager saw that the Emperor's leniency towards the court officials was an attempt to erase her influence, so he adopted a completely opposite governing model at any cost.

"Serving as an official is for the country and the people, not for personal gain. I hope you all will remember this." These were the words of the Empress Dowager as the court adjourned.

Xue Jin'an knew that she wasn't just saying this to the ministers, but unfortunately, the one who should have heard it the most was filled with resentment and couldn't hear it at all.