King Zhou Really Was... a Master Schemer!

The ministers raised no objections to the rewards. The ranks of Earl of the North Sea and North Sea Commander were somewhat high, but roughly commensurate with the merits earned.

As for having the Royal Guards lay down their armor and return to farming, that was not their business.

They were nominally the sovereign's personal guards, after all. Naturally, the king could do whatever he pleased with them.

North Marquis Chong Houhu, who had fled to Chaoge for refuge, sensed something amiss.

Could this be a warning?

Great Shang divided its officials into those serving within the royal domain and those serving outside it.

The internal officials governed the core territory centered on Chaoge, while the external officials were the enfeoffed Feudal Lords.

External officials were subordinate to the central government, but enjoyed greater autonomy and hereditary succession rights than the regional inspectors, governors, and prefects of later eras.

Thus, the enfeoffed Feudal Lords wielded considerable power and maintained their own private armies. There was no limit on those armies: however many troops they could afford to support, they could recruit.

Of course, since most of these Feudal Lords held remote territories, no matter how diligently they farmed, the armies they supported could never rival those of the core territory in the heart of the Central Plains.

Still, they posed a threat.

If you Feudal Lords are useful, able to suppress unrest and govern your territories, wonderful. I'll leave you alone. Interfering too much would wound the enemy a thousand times while costing me eight hundred.

But if you're useless...

Chong Houhu's backside clenched. He excelled at everything except warfare, including thinking.

He was a man exceptionally good at thinking.

I'm the Marquis of the North, one of Great Shang's illustrious Four Great Vassals, yet a mere seventy-two rebel forces drove me to Chaoge for refuge?

How useless does that make me!

He admitted that he did not know how to wage war, but this was simply too useless.

How could someone so useless govern a territory and serve as one of the Feudal Lords?

If I'm such an easy target, why not simply abolish my position?

Chong Houhu realized that he had been wrong from the very beginning.

Fei Lian had successfully quelled the rebellion, and everyone acknowledged that he possessed some talent. But could Fei Lian be a better commander than Grand Tutor Wen?

Impossible! Fei Lian probably couldn't even measure up to the Ink Qilin beneath Grand Tutor Wen's backside.

And that deputy general, Kong Xuan-who even is he?

Then why had Grand Tutor Wen struggled through a prolonged campaign, while Fei Lian succeeded as soon as he took over?

The only explanation was that King Zhou had lost patience.

Grand Tutor Wen's campaign was an opportunity offered to me, North Marquis Chong Houhu. Had I volunteered to join him in crushing the rebels, we probably would have succeeded within a few months, and I could have claimed a share of the credit.

But he had not. He had chosen to hide in Chaoge City, eating, drinking, and amusing himself.

Was a lord who feared battle, a lord incapable of shouldering responsibility, the kind of vassal an enlightened king needed?

Was a lord who dared not confront a rebellion in his own territory, who lacked even the courage to serve as a guide, the kind of vassal an enlightened king needed?

Indeed, over his months in Chaoge, Chong Houhu had come to regard King Zhou as an enlightened ruler comparable to Wu Ding, a man with grand ideas and grand ambitions.

From inscribing the poem to purging the court, from replacing the commander to successfully suppressing the rebellion, everything signaled that Great Shang, dormant for decades, was about to make a major move.

The appointment of an Earl of the North Sea was a warning to him, carving away lands under the Marquis of the North's authority.

Chong Houhu felt that he could not even resist. Without Fei Lian's victory, the North Sea would still be in chaos.

Even if he resisted, could he lead troops in rebellion?

A man incapable of quelling unrest within his own territory would be neatly disposed of before his rebellion even began.

Now that Fei Lian had been made Earl of the North Sea, he had Chong Houhu firmly in his sights.

Chong Houhu had not dared fight Yuan Futong, and Yuan Futong had suffered a crushing defeat at Fei Lian's hands. If Chong Houhu faced Fei Lian...

He dared not even imagine the consequences.

Everything became clear in Chong Houhu's mind. He understood completely.

Beat the mountain to frighten the tiger!

The bonds between the Feudal Lords and Great Shang's central authority were growing ever weaker. Through Fei Lian, King Zhou was warning the Marquis of the North, and through that warning, he was warning the Feudal Lords of the other three regions!

"Select one hundred beautiful maidens from respectable families in each region!"

Those words flashed through Chong Houhu's mind.

Was King Zhou a ruler infatuated with beauty?

Would a man infatuated with beauty go months without setting foot in the Imperial Harem?

Each region! This was the final chance King Zhou had given them. The quality of the beauties the Feudal Lords presented would reflect their loyalty. If all they offered were crooked melons and split dates, merely going through the motions for their king, that would prove they had long harbored disloyal intentions!

Chong Houhu had already reached his conclusion. Coming to Chaoge had been a blessing amid misfortune. Only by personally witnessing King Zhou's every word and deed could he have arrived at such a detailed understanding.

He even began inwardly mocking the Feudal Lords of the other three regions, especially Ji Chang, the Marquis of the West, who diligently governed and gathered talented men far and wide. It would be a miracle if such behavior did not arouse the king's suspicion. Why make himself so outstanding unless he wanted to rise another step?

For a vassal lord, rising another step meant...

What a pity. They couldn't discern the true purpose behind King Zhou's selection of beauties. They would probably expose their true colors!

Huang Feihu's thoughts ran a little deeper.

He, too, believed King Zhou was issuing a warning—not merely to the Feudal Lords, but also to the ministers and their deeply entrenched cliques.

He only regretted falling into King Zhou's trap.

Huang Feihu was both the King of Wucheng Who Guards the Nation and a royal in-law. His father also commanded Jiepai Pass outside the capital. His family's influence ran deep.

After Grand Tutor Wen departed on campaign, Huang Feihu had naturally become the leader of the military officials.

Of course he had grown full of himself. King Zhou's authority had slipped from his hands, while the veteran ministers held power but no troops. Huang Feihu controlled troops, making him a sweet prize everyone coveted. Why would he not grow arrogant?

That arrogance had been his undoing.

King Zhou's poem at Nuwa Palace had never been an overture to the royal in-laws and military officials. It had all been a scheme!

He had induced Huang Feihu to lead the military officials in supporting him for a time, suppressing the veteran ministers so he could personally order a change of commander. Then, using the victory over the rebels, he had promoted trusted ministers and established a favorable image among the soldiers. Wen Zhong's return would displace Huang Feihu as the foremost military official, further suppressing him and allowing the king to take complete control of the armed forces.

The maneuver was nothing short of perfect.

King Zhou no longer favored Huang Feihu's sister and had proposed selecting new beauties. That was the clearest signal of all!

Huang Feihu even began maliciously speculating about Wen Zhong's motives for struggling at the front. He knew Grand Tutor Wen's abilities better than anyone. The man had deliberately spent months making no progress in the North Sea, all to let Huang Feihu grow arrogant at court!

King Zhou really was a master schemer!

Huang Feihu felt resentful, yet could not help bowing to his skill.

Viewed from another angle, no enlightened king would tolerate such a minister: a royal in-law whose elderly father commanded troops elsewhere, who was himself the King of Wucheng Who Guards the Nation and enjoyed immense prestige in the army. What if he harbored disloyal intentions?

Huang Feihu reckoned that King Zhou's next move would be to find an excuse to demote him.

He accepted his fate. He believed he could at least be considered loyal to his king and country, and possessed some ability. Power had merely blinded him for a time. King Zhou was clearly a wise and mighty ruler. As long as Huang Feihu demonstrated sufficient loyalty from now on, he would eventually be entrusted with important duties again.

After completing the rewards, Zi Shou remembered Huang Feihu.

Right, a demotion. I have to demote him!

Whenever he thought of Huang Feihu bypassing him to assign Kong Xuan to Fei Lian's campaign, his teeth itched with fury. Why do you have to meddle so much?

He called him out directly.

"The King of Wucheng assigned Commander Kong to accompany the Earl of the North Sea in suppressing the rebellion. His contribution was great, and he deserves a reward as well!"

Huh? Another reward? That counts as a contribution too? The ministers fell silent for a moment, unable to understand.

Huang Feihu, however, shuddered. Here it comes, here it comes!

He's definitely about to put me in my place!

Huang Feihu closed his eyes, then opened them, his mind perfectly clear.

I must demonstrate the utmost loyalty. The Huang family isn't like those Feudal Lords with fiefs beyond the capital. In the end, we still depend on the king to put food on our table.

Please send recommendation votes and tips.