Chapter 21

"Traitor up ahead, do you dare dismount and fight?"

King Zhou's order for Su Hu to return to Jizhou had been based on Su Hu merely refusing to offer up his daughter. But once he inscribed that rebel poem, he was openly declaring rebellion. How could Huang Feihu stand by and let a traitor escape?

He pursued Su Hu alone, on horseback.

Su Hu cursed inwardly. Huang Feihu had been demoted to the South Gate and could not even attend court. How could he possibly understand the situation there?

Does he really think I'm a rebel? No wonder he got demoted. He can't even fathom His Majesty's intentions.

And so Su Hu urged his driver to hurry.

Then he was caught up with and captured alive.

Daji, King Zhou's future consort, was also inside the carriage. Huang Feihu did not act rashly. He merely took Su Hu into custody and escorted his family back to Chaoge.

He was an exalted king, with consorts filling the Three Palaces, civil officials and military generals at his command, and eight hundred feudal lords coming to pay homage.

Zi Shou was not happy in the slightest.

[Foolishness Value: 10]

His Foolishness Value had been tallied. He had expected a hefty payout, but he still received only ten points.

Zi Shou now knew the system's settlement cycle: once every four months. The most recent settlement had happened to fall on the very night Su Hu recited his poem.

When he saw the number, he fell speechless and spent several days shutting himself away.

Why did Huang Feihu have to bring Su Hu back?

He wrote a rebel poem to rebel, so let him rebel!

How am I supposed to earn Foolishness Value if he doesn't?

Zi Shou still remembered how, at court the next day, the ministers had all angrily denounced Su Hu.

Opposing His Majesty was fine. Insulting His Majesty in open court was fine too. But rebellion was out of the question!

Even Ji Chang had kept shaking his head. This was nowhere near the right time.

If yesterday they had used the disruption of farming, land taxes, and the Laji Festival as grounds to further undermine King Zhou's prestige and sow resentment among the feudal lords, a rebellion that stirred disloyalty throughout the realm might have been viable. But...

The Wan Nian Calendar!

Ji Chang had figured a few things out. The Wan Nian Calendar had probably been calculated long ago. King Zhou had planned the early homage all along, merely waiting for the lords to challenge him over it so that he could intimidate them while also bestowing his favor.

Ji Chang had figured it out, but Zi Shou could not. He kept pondering one question.

Where exactly had things gone wrong??

Zi Shou even began doubting his own abilities. Almost a year had passed. Why could he not even manage to be a foolish ruler?

Every time, he fell short at the final hurdle.

Ever since receiving this damned system, he had successfully redeemed something only once, and even that had been the lowest-grade elixirs. They probably did not even extend his lifespan.

He had not so much as reached the threshold of cultivation. Someone with talent who spent a few months eavesdropping beside a mighty cultivator's sanctuary would probably be stronger than him.

Everything had run completely counter to the script Zi Shou had imagined...

Originally, Zi Shou had thought that with this system, he could become a foolish ruler in no time, redeem countless cultivation arts and elixirs, kick Tongtian of the East Sea, punch Yuanshi of Kunlun, have ten thousand immortals bring gifts to his court, and make the Twelve Golden Immortals willingly serve as his attendant boys.

Yet now, his Foolishness Value remained steady as a rock, marching in place.

"This is bizarre. By all rights, I shouldn't be this wise."

"But why am I such a brilliant, visionary ruler...?"

Zi Shou began questioning his entire life.

His approach should have been correct.

Whether replacing the commander or forcing Su Hu into rebellion, both should have worked in theory, and both were recorded in Investiture of the Gods.

But Kong Xuan suppressing the rebellion, the Royal Guards' ferocity, Chong Yingbiao forcibly abducting a commoner's daughter, and Wan Nian creating the Wan Nian Calendar had all been beyond Zi Shou's expectations.

Had Zi Shou known that his court contained so many capable ministers and famed generals, he might have considered tossing them all into the North Sea to plug its abyss. But he could not predict the future!

Should he give up and become a wise ruler instead?

Follow the usual routine of historical transmigration novels, develop his territory, and leave his name in the annals of history?

Impossible!

Even if he agreed, the immortals and gods above would not. The war between Shang and Zhou was bound to happen, his people were bound to throw their lives away one after another and end up on the Investiture List, and he would still end as the ruler of a fallen kingdom.

Even taking ten thousand steps back, supposing he really worked himself to death as a wise ruler and turned the tables to kill Ji Chang and Ji Fa, he would still be a mortal.

He had transmigrated into the world of Investiture of the Gods, only to be an emperor? Only to be a mortal?

Wouldn't becoming an immortal or a Buddha be more fun?

Besides, the Daji he yearned for was a demon. She was a Thousand-Year Fox Spirit, and who knew how many more years she could live? What would happen after he died of old age?

Would I get cuckolded?

By rights, foolish rulers were plentiful in this world. As a transmigrator with so many examples to follow, becoming foolish should not have been too difficult.

Yet he simply could not manage it. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became!

"Do I really have to become an ordinary king, eating my fill and waiting to die? A mere tool in the Investiture Calamity? Wouldn't that be too miserable?"

"I refuse to accept this!"

Zi Shou agonized over it. He felt his name should have been "Suffering" instead.

He could not give up.

Zi Shou began carefully analyzing the previous incidents. Gradually, a burly man surfaced.

Huang Feihu.

If not for Huang Feihu, no matter how fearlessly the Royal Guards fought, Fei Lian could never have won as long as Kong Xuan was not sent to suppress the rebellion.

If not for Huang Feihu, even with Chong Yingbiao abducting the girl first and Wan Nian creating the Wan Nian Calendar, Jizhou would have rebelled as long as the fleeing Su Hu was not brought back.

Huang Feihu, Huang Feihu, you and I cannot coexist under the same sky!

"..."

On second thought, there did not seem to be much he could do.

Not only could he not punish Huang Feihu, he had to commend him for capturing the traitor Su Hu.

Commend him...

Send him to the North Sea?

The North Sea was a fine place. Warfare had driven away many of its commoners, leaving barely any population. Its land was barren, and its troops numbered fewer than a thousand. Never mind campaigning abroad: the Gui Fang tribes to the northwest, beyond Great Shang's rule, watched like hungry tigers. If they suddenly attacked, even defending the region would be difficult unless Kong Xuan intervened.

But the North Sea already had Fei Lian administering the region and Kong Xuan overseeing military affairs. There was no position for Huang Feihu there.

Wait, Gui Fang?

Zi Shou had an idea. He would establish a new Northwest Protectorate and make Huang Feihu the Northwest Protector. He certainly would not provide any personnel. Even if Huang Feihu assembled his own staff, it would probably take months or a year. At least he would not cause trouble during the next settlement cycle.

He also needed to add a Three No's Principle: no bullying, no provocation, and no military deployment.

A little tribe like Gui Fang surely could not withstand much fighting. If Huang Feihu happened to feel inspired one day, rode his Five-Colored Divine Ox, subdued Gui Fang with three arrows, and swept through the entire northwest, the later Wei Qing, Huo Qubing, and Ban Chao might find themselves out of work.

So he absolutely had to forbid any conflict with foreign tribes. They were civilized people here in Great Shang. They had to be friendly.

After settling Huang Feihu's situation, Zi Shou felt there was still room to salvage the Su Hu affair.

Su Hu may be in prison, but I can let him out!

He immediately sent You Hun to secretly release Su Hu under cover of night, allowing him to continue back to Jizhou and rebel.

If someone at court dares risk rescuing a rebel, doesn't that prove I've lost their loyalty?

Su Hu would surely have to flee alone. That would leave Daji in Chaoge, allowing Zi Shou to bring her into the palace quite naturally.

At that thought, Zi Shou felt immensely comforted in both mind and body. Could a fox spirit possibly do anything good?

In the novel, Daji had come specifically to ruin the Shang Dynasty's fortune. As long as he regularly asked her what he should do, he would surely become a successful foolish ruler.

Now he felt much better. After completing the next stage of his plan, Zi Shou decided to spend the night with Consort Huang in the Western Palace.

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