Chapter 52 Grand Tutor Guan
Gao Huan had to say something that would move Guan Zhiwei.
He suddenly straightened up, still kneeling, and looked directly at her.
"You want to go home, but you're trapped here, which means you have unfinished business. You said you've lived for a long time under different identities, but you've never been an emperor, have you?"
"..." Actually, no.
"Life and death are neither things nor self, but all are fate. If death is strange, strange is the most evil thing, and the righteous energy of heaven and earth can suppress it the most. The position of the true dragon emperor is the way to break it. Heaven gives birth and heaven kills, which is the principle of the Dao. If life is the wish of the heavens, then the birth of extraordinary people must have a purpose."
Gao Huan, having spoken too much, became breathless and erupted in a violent coughing fit, spurting blood from his mouth. He wiped it away with his sleeve and continued:
"In ancient times, the four pillars of heaven collapsed, and the earth cracked. When the sky was damaged, raging fires burned, oceans flooded, and ferocious beasts devoured people. Nuwa melted five-colored stones to mend the sky, cut off the four legs of a giant tortoise to erect the four pillars of heaven, killed the water monster Black Dragon to save Jizhou, and accumulated the ashes of burned reeds to stop and resist the flood. Today, the world is in turmoil, and the people are suffering. How similar it is! We need someone to save the people from fire and water, just like Nuwa."
“You didn’t appear here for no reason, and I didn’t die and come back to life for no reason. There must be a reason for all of this, and it can’t be for some trivial matter.”
Guan Zhiwei thought to herself, "Not necessarily. The system is telling me to date."
"And if we're talking about merit, what could be greater than saving the world! Since you have no clue, why not give it a try!"
He spoke passionately, and his coughing became even more violent.
Guan Zhiwei scratched her head for a while and said, "You really know how to talk, you've given me a good ear buzzing."
After saying this string of words, Gao Huan coughed uncontrollably and collapsed to the ground, utterly exhausted, like a lump of mud that couldn't be lifted up.
He was desperate.
His body was too weak, and his words carried no weight in front of his father, who had been murdered. The new master he was to serve was the one who killed his father, and the only thing he might have that carried weight with his new master was his face.
It's outrageous that other people are also trying to use facial recognition!
Footsteps hit the ground.
Guan Zhiwei stood in front of him, looking down at him: "Then I'll go and kill that little emperor."
Gao Huan said a lot, but she didn't listen much. Only one sentence touched her: since she had no clue, what was the harm in giving it a try? At worst, she could just give up in her next life.
If I could go home, even if it's just a possibility.
I miss my mom.
Gao Huan looked at Guan Zhiwei with teary eyes. In the shimmering water, she, who had zero charm, seemed to possess an indescribable air of grace that would eventually win people over.
He knelt on both knees, his upper body straight, his hands placed on his forehead, and slowly bowed down, kowtowing deeply: "I am willing to serve you like a dog or a horse, to be loyal and devoted, even unto death."
"Death means nothing to you."
"Then die a hundred times."
Guan Zhiwei nodded in satisfaction: "Let's do it right away. I'll set up a trap and take him down."
"Kill him?" Gao Huan repeated instinctively, then gasped, "Just kill him?"
"You always want to use some strategy, but when brute force is effective, you don't need to think at all. In my life experience, the simpler and more brutal the approach, the more effective it is."
Gao Huan stared at her blankly for a long time, then said helplessly, "Please think it over."
This brutal approach might work against any ambitious warlord vying for power, but it's ineffective against a legitimate emperor. Because Guan Zhiwei's ascension to the throne requires four words: legitimacy and rightfulness.
Guan Zhiwei raised an eyebrow: "You'd better have a better idea than me."
Gao Huan wiped his face haphazardly, like a cat.
He knelt up straight, straightened his clothes, and became more elegant. "In my opinion, one should first become a powerful minister and sideline the emperor."
Like every powerful minister throughout history, he followed the established procedures step by step.
Guan Zhiwei has made great contributions, and the court has tacitly approved of her, so she can get a share of the benefits.
The emperor ordered her to be appointed Grand Tutor, thus completing the reunion of Grand Tutor Yuwen, Grand Commandant Gao, and Grand Tutor Guan. If this were a matching game exclusively for the emperor, they would all disappear in an instant.
At this time, Guan Zhiwei's only asset was her small number of soldiers, which Gao Huan had personally recruited under his banner, numbering around six thousand.
The weather has warmed up, and the disaster victims gathered in Xiahe Village are gradually returning home. A small number of people, only a few hundred, are willing to join the army and seek refuge with Guan Zhiwei.
For this group of people, getting food became a problem.
When the imperial court refused to provide grain, the emperor tearfully declared that even the imperial family had no surplus grain and that the emperor would have to find a way to support the emperor himself. To show his personal support, the emperor tightened his belt and sent out thirty cartloads of grain, leaving not a single drop.
His patched dragon robe added credibility to his words.
Guan Zhiwei could only think of two solutions. The first was to ask the powerful families for grain, as everyone knew they must have some. Even in a small place like Xiahe Village, the Chen family could throw out three cartloads of grain just to show their respect for scholars.
As a result, I was met with a rebuff.
The powerful and influential families spoke beautifully, praising her as unparalleled in heaven and earth, but when it came to getting things done, they were all as incompetent as dogs, unwilling to contribute a single grain of rice.
That left her with only one option.
“I’ll take out their family tree and kill them according to the family tree. Once they’re all wiped out, the grain will be ownerless, and I can just pick it up.”
“How is this any different from my father’s behavior?” Gao Huan lowered his head and covered his forehead, his temples throbbing.
Guan Zhiwei chuckled and said, "You're the one complaining about your father, but this time it's not me complaining about him."
Gao Huan said calmly, "My father acted recklessly and ended up with whatever fate he deserved. I only hope that you can learn from this lesson and heed my advice."
"No wonder emperors throughout history have preferred to befriend sycophants and distance themselves from virtuous people; virtuous people are such a nuisance."
Gao Huan pretended not to hear her complaints and said, "You can ask the emperor to issue an edict to collect grain from Yong'an. Yong'an is a city with many powerful families, vast land and large population, and has always been a major grain-producing province. However, they have been reporting disasters to the court for many years and have not handed over a single grain. They must be rolling in money over the years."
"They can't give it, can they?" Given the government's empty facade, Guan Zhiwei would never pay taxes either.
Gao Huan smiled slightly: "If they refuse, you can then lead your troops to plunder, wouldn't that give you a legitimate reason to act?"
"Oh! You're the cunning one."
"Thank you for praising my intelligence."
Guan Zhiwei ignored his wordplay and pondered, "Yong'an City... This place name sounds familiar. I feel like I've heard it somewhere before."
"System, come out!"
[Hmph, now you know to address me respectfully? When I tried to speak up before, you just told me to shut up!]
The layout has been updated, and the "darkening" value is already 100.
Are you going to talk or not?
Be gentle.
"I'm not listening anymore."
Guan Zhizhi, as the legitimate daughter of the Marquis of Yong'an, should have grown up in luxury, but at birth, she was switched at birth by a village woman. The village woman's daughter became the Marquis of Yong'an's legitimate daughter, while she was forced to beg for a living.
Once her scheme was exposed, the Guan family searched for her everywhere, thinking they had finally returned to their former positions. Little did they know, this was the beginning of another layer of suffering.
The fake heiress impersonated her, enjoying a life of luxury and privilege, doted on by her parents and brothers. Even her betrothed sided with the fake heiress. They claimed she was in poor health and kept her in the countryside, making her a useless, good-for-nothing young lady who suffered endless ridicule.
Guan Zhizhi tried everything to please her family, only to be betrayed. Heartbroken, she finally woke up! What a load of rubbish family, she didn't want them anymore!
[Take back everything we've lost!]
Volume Two: Darkening Value One Hundred
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