The Ministry of Justice Prison.

The environments in the two adjacent cells are indeed very different.

On the left was a wooden cage, approximately five square meters. Outside the cage was a shallow ditch that ran through most of the cell. Dirty water, urine, and leftovers flowed out through this small ditch, leaving a strong, lingering stench. In the corner of the cell, a straw mat, glistening black, was covered with fleas and rats, dancing merrily.

To the right was a wooden cage, also five square meters in size. It had indeed been cleaned meticulously, with no dust or dirt beneath the feet, and no smell at all. Inside the cell, a simple bed was built on a wooden frame. It had a quilt, a mattress, and a pillow, and a cushion beside it. A worn, low-legged table sat on top of the cushion, with books, a brush, inkstone, and paper on it.

Qin Hui squatted in the corner of the left cell, feeling hopeless. The shiny black straw mat made him feel sick even to squat on it, let alone lie on it. Looking at Li Ye, the Imperial Secretary, who was still snoring in the cell next to him, Qin Hui couldn't help but wonder if he was blind.

"The Imperial Secretary is on the peace side, I'm on the war side, and so is Your Majesty. That's right, we're on the same side as Your Majesty, so why is Li Ye being treated better than me?"

"Could it be that I overexerted myself, and that 'groundless' memorial caused His Majesty's displeasure?"

"That's not right. After seeing this, His Majesty clearly pretended to be furious and then threw Li Ye into prison."

"That day, Zong Ze and Li Gang came out of the palace and found Qin Hui. They said that His Majesty intended to promote some pro-war figures to shoulder greater responsibilities, and that Qin Hui was on that list."

"Qin Hui also put in a lot of effort before finally choosing Li Ye as his target. Li Ye was the most prominent peace advocate at the time. His words, "Every Jin soldier is as fierce as a tiger, their horses as fierce as dragons, climbing mountains like monkeys, diving into water like a torrent, their momentum as powerful as Mount Tai, and the Song Dynasty as weak as a pile of eggs," must have made those who advocated war clench their teeth in hatred."

"If Qin Hui ascended to power by stepping on such a person, wouldn't his reputation immediately improve?"

"When His Majesty said he would be confined for three days, Qin Hui thought it was an excuse to protect him and prevent him from being criticized by the peace-seeking faction in the court. He never thought about it and was overthinking it."

Tired, sleepy and hungry!

For a moment, Qin Hui even thought that it would be better for him to just be the Left Censor-in-Chief, and why he had to rush to show off.

"Snoo! Snoo! Snoo!"

In the cell next door, Li Ye started snoring even more violently, which made Qin Hui even more heartbroken.

Damn it, why should you, a dying person, live in such a nice place?

Rage welled up in his heart, and he leaped onto the straw mat, grabbed a pitch-black rat, and thrust it through the wooden fence into Li Ye's face.

Sleep, wake up!

"who?"

Li Ye woke up in pain and saw a huge black rat on his bed. He screamed in fright.

The rat wasn't afraid of people, perhaps because it thought this was its own territory. Its small, round eyes stared at Li Ye, frightening him to tears.

Only then did Qin Hui feel better.

"Qin Hui, we have no grudges in the past and no hatred today. Why do you want to step on me to get to the top? Besides, do you think that impeaching me will make you popular with His Majesty? You will still be stuck in a dirty and smelly cell like me."

"His Majesty said you'd be put in solitary confinement for three days. It's already the fourth day, and no one has come to take you out."

"You are still too young. You have only been in the imperial court for a few years. Do you think that if His Majesty insists on resisting the Jin today, he will definitely do so tomorrow and the day after tomorrow? A new official has three major issues to deal with upon taking office, let alone His Majesty the Emperor. Ask the elders in the imperial court. When has the retired emperor not worked hard to govern the country?"

"Bullshit, how could that be possible? Zhang Dun said before, 'Prince Duan is frivolous and unfit to rule the world.' That's just the nature of the retired emperor. How can he be so diligent and hardworking? Don't even think about ruining my moral integrity."

"Zhang Dun? He was just a defeated general under Empress Dowager Xiang, and he was taken down for the ridiculous reason of disrespecting the late emperor. In this court, there's no right or wrong, black or white; it's all about interests and winning or losing."

A little background information to prove I'm not just making this up. The direct cause of Zhang Dun's resignation was heavy rain and muddy roads. The hearse carrying the late emperor got stuck in the mire. The soldiers and runners working on it from dusk until midnight couldn't get it out. Hungry, thirsty, exhausted, and sleepy, they couldn't get it out any more. They asked Zhang Dun if they could eat something and rest before trying again. It was only natural, and since it was dark and they couldn't see clearly, they agreed. Later, someone impeached Zhang Dun for disrespecting the late emperor by making him sleep in the mud while he himself slept in a warm tent. Such a person was unfit to be a role model for a minister, so he was exiled to Leizhou.

"If you don't believe me, just wait and see. The words about resisting the Jin at the coronation ceremony were ridiculous, like a child. The passionate oath that followed was like a war manifesto written by someone unknown. It was extremely vulgar. In my opinion, it was just a passing remark. Even though Wang Fu, Tong Guan, Liang Shicheng, and Zhu Zhen all signed it, they didn't have any bad intentions."

"Your Majesty, you've never been on the battlefield, so how can you imagine the bravery of the Jin soldiers? The Liao generals even said that Jurchen cavalry is invincible if it's less than 10,000 strong. Look at us now. The Eastern and Western Armies combined have 120,000 men. That bastard Guo Yaoshi brought in another 100,000 Ever-Victorious Soldiers to the Jin. Even if we don't dare deploy them to the front lines, this logistics team is still quite large."

"I heard that His Majesty has set up some kind of armed force behind enemy lines to fight the Jin army. He selected 800 elite soldiers and put some young man called Yue Fei in command. Isn't that just nonsense? What? 800 defeated 100,000, and utterly routed Guo Yaoshi's ever-victorious army?"

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It’s even more exciting later!