Yang Feng looked at Yan Xiang and Ji Ling below the steps, one standing with his weight resting on his saber, the other solemnly bowing, and had already made his calculations.
Of these two men, one represented Huainan's military power, the other its civil officials, and now both had placed their bets on him.
That head that had just flown into the air was their pledge of allegiance.
With matters having come this far, he was definitely going to be emperor.
But how he went about it was a whole other art.
Yan Xiang and Ji Ling exchanged a glance, clearly having thought of the same problem.
The seasoned, prudent Yan Xiang stepped forward first and bowed deeply to Yang Feng.
"Your Majesty, the traitor Yuan Shu has now been executed, but a realm cannot go a single day without a sovereign, nor can the people go a single day without a lord."
"Please choose an auspicious hour soon to formally ascend the throne and proclaim a new era name. Only then can we reassure the city's people, stabilize the situation in Huainan, and set the record straight!"
Hearing this, Ji Ling echoed him in his deep, muffled voice.
"Lord Yan is absolutely right!"
"Besides, the Heavenly Screen has already revealed that Your Majesty is the emperor of the ages favored by Heaven's mandate. In following Heaven's will and answering the people's wishes, this is precisely what we should do!"
Listening to the two of them, Yang Feng almost laughed aloud on the spot.
Good grief, the emperor of the ages, no less.
You're really afraid I won't die fast enough, aren't you?
His mind was as clear as a polished mirror.
What did the realm look like right now?
Cao Mengde in the north had just taken Yan Province, Sili, and Yuzhou.
More importantly, he held the trump card of Emperor Xian of Han, playing the game of "holding the Son of Heaven to command the lords" and occupying the high ground in both morality and legitimacy.
If Yang Feng dared proclaim himself emperor now, he would be a living target.
Cao Cao would probably wake from his dreams laughing. Just when he needed a pretext to march south, Yang Feng would be eagerly trotting over to put the "rebel" hat squarely on his own head.
When that army arrived under the banner of "upholding the Han imperial house and crushing rebellious traitors," it was hard to say how much fighting spirit these Huainan soldiers, who had only just changed masters, would have left.
Wouldn't that just be handing him kills, experience, and equipment?
No. Absolutely not.
Farm safely, don't get reckless. That was the way to go.
At this thought, Yang Feng's expression grew profoundly grave. He slowly shook his head and spoke in a tone brimming with foresight.
"Lord Yan, General Ji, we absolutely must not do this."
"Why not?"
Ji Ling was somewhat puzzled. He was a straightforward military man; since Heaven's mandate had said so, he thought they should just do it.
Yan Xiang, however, looked thoughtful. He knew this new lord was no creature destined to remain in a pond, and his words surely held a deeper meaning.
Yang Feng raised his hand and pointed north, his gaze seeming to pierce the hall's vaulted roof.
"Cao Mengde now dominates the north, holds the Son of Heaven in his grasp, and has the realm by the nose."
"If we proclaim an emperor now, we would be setting ourselves up as a target and giving him the perfect pretext for a southern campaign."
"When he attacks us in the imperial court's name, which of the realm's lords would lend us a hand?"
"We would become the common enemy of the realm. That is the road to death."
These words were like a basin of cold water over their heads, instantly jolting Ji Ling and Yan Xiang out of their lingering delight at the merit of enthroning a ruler.
They exchanged a glance and saw belated fear in each other's eyes.
Indeed, they had thought only of enthroning a new sovereign and stabilizing Huainan, forgetting that an even stronger enemy was watching hungrily from outside.
This new emperor had actually seen the larger situation of the realm so clearly in such a short time. Such vision and breadth of mind were far beyond a pleasure-seeking fool like Yuan Shu.
Yan Xiang's opinion of Yang Feng instantly rose several more notches. He bowed again, his tone even more respectful.
"Your Majesty plans deeply and sees far ahead. This old subject was foolish and nearly ruined our great undertaking."
"Then, in Your Majesty's view, what should we do next?"
Seeing that he had successfully bamboozled the two of them, Yang Feng chuckled inwardly.
That was exactly the effect I wanted.
He did not want to be some short-lived upstart king. He wanted to survive, preferably until the day he unified the realm.
No, unifying the realm would be too tiring. Better to live until the day I could enjoy retirement in peace.
"As things stand, not only must we refrain from proclaiming an emperor, we must instead submit a memorial to Xu Capital."
Yang Feng laid out his plan.
"A memorial?"
Ji Ling was even more confused.
Yang Feng smiled faintly and explained with a plan already firmly in mind.
"Exactly."
"We will say that the traitor Yuan Shu usurped the imperial title, provoking the wrath of men and gods alike. As subjects of Han, we could not bear to watch his perverse acts, and so raised troops to execute him."
"Now that Yuan Shu has been beheaded, we shall present his head to Xu Capital to restore order to the court."
"We are loyal subjects whose hearts belong to the Great Han."
As he spoke that last sentence, an honest, utterly harmless smile appeared on Yang Feng's face.
"Hiss..."
After hearing him out, Yan Xiang and Ji Ling both sucked in a breath of cold air.
Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant!
With this one move, they would instantly whitewash themselves from rebels into meritorious subjects who upheld the Han imperial house.
Killing Yuan Shu would not merely be free of blame-it would be a meritorious deed.
However much Cao Cao wanted to march south, he would no longer have a legitimate pretext.
On the contrary, he might even have to hold his nose and bestow rewards on His Majesty... no, on the general, to recognize his achievement.
This would not only resolve the immediate crisis but also win Huainan precious time to rest and recover.
"Your Majesty truly is divine!"
Convinced in heart and spirit, Ji Ling dropped to his knees and bowed to Yang Feng, this time prostrating himself completely.
Tears also streamed down Yan Xiang's aged face as he said excitedly,
"With such a lord in Huainan, how could our great undertaking fail! This old subject is willing to have his liver and brains dashed upon the ground for Your Majesty!"
"All right, all right. Please rise, both of you."
Yang Feng waved a hand, indicating that they need not get so excited.
"Then it is settled. Lord Yan, sorry for the trouble, but I will leave drafting the memorial to you."
"As for Shouchun's defenses, sorry for the trouble, General Ji."
"This old subject obeys Your Majesty's decree!"
"This humble general obeys!"
The three discussed a few more details before going their separate ways.
Led by a palace attendant, Yang Feng leisurely moved into the bedchamber that had originally belonged to Yuan Shu.
Lying on the enormous dragon bed, large enough to sleep seven or eight people, and breathing in the lingering fragrance in the air, Yang Feng could not help letting out a contented groan.
Good lord, wasn't this far too easy?
Straight to the finish in one step, draped in imperial yellow.
When other people transmigrated, they either had to toil their way up from nothing or start in desperate straits.
But look at me. I directly inherited a complete staff and ready-made territory. Even my predecessor's countless lovely wives and beauties came bundled with the package.
Brother Yuan Shu, you really were a wonderful man!
A thousand feelings welled up in Yang Feng's heart, but then he shook his head, throwing those jumbled thoughts out of his mind.
Why think so much?
Since Heaven had given me such a dream start, I might as well enjoy it.
Anyway, as long as I didn't proclaim myself emperor now, I was just some minor figure who had recently earned merit in Boss Cao's eyes. My threat level was very low.
Besides, that Heavenly Screen would continue its revelations tomorrow.
All that talk about an emperor of the ages-it must have made a mistake.
What did my little schemes amount to compared with that Liu Zhang in Yizhou?
He was a genuine relative of the Han imperial house, sitting on the land of heavenly abundance.
The emperor of the ages the Heavenly Screen mentioned had to be him. It couldn't possibly be a salted fish like me who only wanted to lie flat.
Yes, that had to be it.
Having worked that out, Yang Feng immediately felt utterly at ease.
He beckoned to the two beautiful palace maids waiting at the door, a meaningful smile appearing on his face.
"Come, help me undress."
With that, he led the two sweetly smiling beauties inside and blew out the palace lamp.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the palace wall, Yan Xiang, who had just walked out through the palace gates, suddenly caught Ji Ling by the arm.
Ji Ling froze.
"Lord Yan, what are you..."
The respect Yan Xiang had shown before Yang Feng was gone from his face, replaced by unprecedented gravity.
Lowering his voice, he spoke each word distinctly.
"General Ji, this is a matter of great importance. Please come to my residence for a talk."
"There is something important we must discuss."