Xiao Liunian, who ascended the throne, was excited by the system.
After the imperial court solemnly held Xiao Jin's funeral, the Ministry of Rites began preparing for the enthronement ceremony of the new emperor, Xiao Liunian.
The Imperial Observatory set the date for March 16th. Before that, some ministers thought that His Majesty was too young to rule in his own right and wanted to try to make a comeback.
In response to these individuals, Xiao Liunian directly gave the officials a two-day opportunity to test themselves: one day of written examination and one day of interview or debate. The venue was the Taiji Hall, which was originally the place where the emperor held court assemblies. Now, Xiao Liunian gave it a new function—an examination venue.
"Mumu, aren't you nervous?" The night before the debate, the little guy was still very nervous. His host was usually quiet and reserved, occasionally uttering a cold truth, and sometimes even putting on an act. But being surrounded by so many people, with all the firepower focused on the host, even though the host was extremely lethal, they couldn't kill them all, could they? What if they killed them all!
"If we lose the verbal battle, then we'll fight them physically. Winning the fight is a foregone conclusion! I'm not the one who should be worried." Xiao Liunian, indulging in a mischievous mood, teased the cat.
Upon hearing this, the cat, who was lying flat, suddenly sat up.
Am I about to become the villain system?
Upon seeing this, Xiao Liunian first lifted the cat high with both hands, then pulled it close and gave it a big kiss on its furry head. So cute!
"Don't worry, it won't escalate into a physical fight. I still have some respect for the elderly."
"Go to sleep!" Xiao Liunian patted the cat and began to lull it to sleep.
The next day, the system deliberately switched to tabby cat mode, or rather, tyrant mode, ready to give anyone who made things difficult for the host a few swipes! Let's see who dares to bully the host!
"Let's go." Xiao Liunian wanted to pick up the system, but the system refused. This time, it wanted to walk in front of its host and act as the imperial guard. It would show its claws to anyone who dared to offend it!
Upon seeing this, Xiao Liunian burst into laughter. Whether the cat could save the world was unknown, but it could certainly save his boring life.
With the imperial guards clearing the way, Xiao Liunian headed to the Taiji Hall. Upon entering the Taiji Hall, the imperial guards walked with steady and powerful steps, their eyes discreetly surveying the examiners inside. They seemed not to be very capable fighters, and their host would not suffer any losses.
The imperial guards jumped onto the table and occupied the upper right corner, securing an excellent attack position.
At first, the imperial guards dutifully watched everyone who asked questions of the tiny Xiao Liunian. Then they discovered that Xiao Liunian's small body contained a huge storage space, filled with knowledge. This was the knowledge reserve that could allow one to live hundreds of lives. Compared to the host, this system was truly a little useless... cough cough, lucky system.
The system later summarized today's events as follows: At first, the system thought that the enemy had a large number of people and that our side was too weak to resist. In the middle, it thought that the two sides were evenly matched. In the end, our side, with the host alone, killed the enemy without leaving a single piece of armor. Our side won easily against overwhelming odds.
On the way back, the system couldn't help but ask a question.
"Mumu, what have you been doing all this time to have such profound knowledge? They say you're learned beyond measure, but I think you're much more than that!" The system's use of "profound knowledge" is correct, but "learned beyond measure" is incorrect. However, only Xiao Liunian heard this, and since he was pleased with the cat's praise, he didn't point out the mistake.
"It's boring to stay in one position all the time, so I try to change jobs whenever I have the chance." However, this is probably because Xiao Liunian doesn't like these jobs. If she did, this wouldn't be the case.
"System, check how much is left in the points bank," Xiao Liunian said.
"There are still so many zeros," the system said weakly.
"Does your system give out this many points in advance when you go out?" Xiao Liunian asked.
"Usually it's around 100,000, only high-level systems get this many points." The system was also puzzled. It was a young system that had only just started going on missions, so how could it have so many points? Could it be like the amnesia trope in novels, that it had also lost its memory?
"It's alright. When the points bank runs out of points, we can contact the main system and ask them then." Xiao Liunian patted the cat's head.
"Let's upgrade the system first, upgrade as much as possible, and then we'll see if we can develop new features."
"Okay." The system began upgrading.
"The host has earned 11 billion points in personal upgrades and 10 billion points for ascending to the throne and achieving the title of Empress, for a total of 21 billion points, which can upgrade the system to level 21," the system calculated.
"Wait, according to the rules of martial arts upgrades, I've upgraded more than two stages in the past year, so how come I only have 11 billion points?" Xiao Liunian asked. With a tenfold increase, it had already reached 100 million points before, and now that she has upgraded sixteen levels, her points growth should be terrifying, right?
"Uh, to prevent score manipulation, martial arts upgrades can only reward points a maximum of three times per year, and this year's quota of three has already been used up!" the system replied after checking the rules.
“So, achieving the state where this force does no work in the physical world is very good! Very good!” Xiao Liunian said.
"Mumu, well, you can still level up... right? You set a level that's two levels away from the peak, right? If you level up those two levels, you'll use up all the points in the points bank." The system quickly reassured her. Although it was a bit difficult, who was its host? How could it not do it!
“Every time I decompress my cultivation, I can only reach the sixteenth level of the Reversal Realm. I have to upgrade the next two levels again. It’s too difficult to upgrade the next level. The fastest I ever went was from the sixteenth to the seventeenth level of the Reversal Realm, which took me three years. And from the seventeenth to the eighteenth level, it took me five years,” Xiao Liunian recalled. In recent times, Xiao Liunian has hardly rested and has been cultivating whenever he has time, making the most of his time. However, his progress has not changed much.
"What should I do? Am I really useless? Other systems can definitely help the host, but I still have to wait for the host to help the system." The cat said listlessly.
"Maybe it might work for other hosts, but for me, the fluffy thing saved me. After all, if it weren't for the cat, I might have done something bad instead of just petting it to relieve stress." Xiao Liunian picked up the listless cat that was squatting on the ground and gently patted it to comfort it.
Raising a pet is really difficult.
"Okay." I felt that although the words of comfort were sincere, I was still a little sad. Oh well, I guess my host will just have to make do.
Time flew by and it was March 16th. Xiao Liunian officially ascended the throne, becoming the first female emperor of the Jinling Dynasty.
"Mumu, you're so handsome! So handsome!" The cat excitedly rolled around as Xiao Liunian finished changing his clothes.
"Let's go together." Xiao Liunian waved his hand, and someone handed him a cat-themed formal suit made of the same fabric.
"Be careful when you stand on someone's shoulder, don't fall off," Xiao Liunian joked.
"Mmm!" The kitten quickly changed its clothes and jumped onto Xiao Liunian's shoulder. Today, the kitten has ascended to the throne.
As for why the ministers didn't stop Xiao Liunian from doing many of his things, there are only three key reasons:
I. Xiao Liunian arrived at Taiji Hall last that day, yet he killed the most people: the people the Ninth Prince brought with him when he forced the palace, the Imperial Guards who refused to surrender, as well as the experts under Xiao Jin's command and his subordinates. All of them died at Xiao Liunian's hands.
Second, Wu Ming, the most powerful fighter under Xiao Jin, a master of the function level, briefly allied with the ministers to adopt a son for Xiao Jin. Fearing that the child would be killed before even entering the capital, Wu Ming personally escorted Xiao Jin's future son into Jinling City. However, on the second day after Xiao Jin temporarily abdicated the throne in the Taiji Hall, someone reported to Xiao Liunian that Wu Ming intended to take advantage of the emperor's serious illness to install a young emperor and control the court. He was executed on the spot. Wu Ming died silently just like that!
Third, the Taiji Hall held two days of examinations. One day was a written test, in which Xiao Liunian's answers were impeccable. The other day was a debate, in which Xiao Liunian engaged in a lively debate with the scholars, even pointing out errors in the Ministry of Revenue and discovering problems with taxation in the Jiangnan region. He directly dispatched people to Jiangnan to investigate, with Shangguan Cai and several low-ranking officials from the Ministry of Revenue in charge. He also arranged for many guards to accompany him. Several ministers remembered Xiao Liunian's words: "Confess and you will be treated leniently; resist and you will be punished severely; those who stubbornly resist will be killed without mercy!"
Only then did they realize that they wanted to use the fact that His Majesty was young to divide power, so that His Majesty could use this opportunity to test him and, incidentally, place and promote his own people.
They did bring up Shangguan Cai's identity, but Xiao Liunian said that changing tax revenue was shaking the foundation of the country. If the foundation is unstable, the court is in danger. Anyone who tries to stop them will be killed!
Tyrant! Tyrant! Tyrant! These were the heartfelt cries of the court officials.
Later, rumors spread throughout Jinling that the new emperor was a tyrant and that many people had died at Xiao Liunian's hands before he even officially ascended the throne. Faced with such rumors, Xiao Liunian did not pay much attention.
But is it really true that they don't care?
The first court assembly after Xiao Liunian ascended the throne
Key participants: Emperor Xiao Liunian and ministers of the fifth rank and above from various departments.
Main content: Public trial of the case of the Minister of Revenue for embezzlement and perverting the law.
The verdict: The Minister of Revenue was found guilty of embezzlement and corruption, with overwhelming evidence and witnesses. His illegal gains were confiscated and deposited into the national treasury. He was imprisoned.
Since the first court assembly, rumors of Xiao Liunian's tyranny among the people have decreased significantly, presumably because many who spread such rumors have been temporarily deterred.
"Mumu, aren't you going to kill that Minister of Revenue?" The system asked, puzzled. One million taels of silver was embezzled, which was almost two years' worth of military expenses for the Wuzhou Army.
"If a mere Minister of Revenue has embezzled one million taels, how much do you think the people behind him must have?" This is only the first one million taels discovered. In the future, it could be five million taels, ten million taels, or even one hundred million taels. If they really want to confiscate all their property at once, this is the best way to make a fortune.
“You’re playing the long game, waiting for someone to come and catch the Minister of Revenue. If someone comes, we can catch a big fish along the way. If no one comes, we can also devise a plan for the Minister of Revenue to voluntarily confess to his superiors, and we can still catch a big fish. Either way, we won’t lose out.” Following Xiao Liunian, Maomao’s brain capacity also expanded considerably.
"This child is teachable!"
"I'm really short of money, I hope they send their heads over quickly!" Xiao Liunian said.
"Will Shangguan Cai seriously investigate the accounts? Will she really stand on our side?" The system was also puzzled. It didn't even know when its host had made contact with Shangguan Cai, Xiao Jin's concubine.
"Based on experience, I think so, because she's not on our side, but on the side of the Jinling court. Besides, she's been confined to the palace for the past few years, unable to use her skills. Giving her a chance is a way of showing her appreciation," Xiao Liunian replied.
"What if the experience is wrong?" the system worried. Things are always changing. What if it was reliable before but not now?
"It's alright. I've secretly arranged for Lan Sa to handle this. With her growth over the past few years, she can resolve this matter well, both financially and militarily," Xiao Liunian replied. She had indeed suffered from relying solely on experience before. Xiao Liunian strongly agreed with the idea that things are always evolving and changed, and used this as a reminder to herself not to depend too much on past experience.
The system exclaimed: "Host, you're a real expert!"
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