A rogue?
Xu Xiao savored those two words for a moment, then a trace of a sneer appeared on his face.
"I suppose so, but I don't like being called a thief. I'm robbing you in broad daylight, not stealing in secret."
When Zhao Xu had been dazed, his earlier shout had already alerted Xu Xiao to his location. Xu Xiao had followed close behind and immediately realized that the emperor had fled.
He just hadn't expected Zhao Xu to choose a tunnel, which caught Xu Xiao somewhat by surprise.
But how could a mere tunnel possibly stop Xu Xiao from pursuing him?
Since Zhao Xu liked being a burrowing gopher, Xu Xiao would force him out.
Telekinesis ran rampant. The palace was dismantled from top to bottom, its structure knocked down and pushed aside. Floor tiles and soil went flying, and before long, the little mouse hiding underground was caught.
But judging by appearances, this emperor of Zhao Song clearly still hadn't grasped the situation and actually dared to question him.
Xu Xiao had intended to make a few more jabs at Zhao Xu, but to his surprise, Zhao Xu nodded with a perfectly serious expression after hearing his answer.
"That's true. You charged straight in, and neither my soldiers nor the palace experts could stop you."
"Tell me, then. Who sent you to kill me?"
Zhao Xu neither begged for mercy nor flew into hysterics. His face was full of the composure of someone prepared to accept defeat.
For that matter, Zhao Xu was one of the Northern Song's few capable rulers. Though still only a half-grown youth, he had a bearing that was no weaker than anyone else's.
"Kill you? When did I say I wanted to kill you? I came looking for you only to borrow your palace and discuss something that would benefit us both."
Xu Xiao spoke as though he were looking at a fool.
He had never considered killing the emperor. How should he put it? For him, the drawbacks far outweighed the benefits.
In feudal times, the people were ignorant, and the symbolic significance of royal legitimacy was often something that force could do little to change. Even though Zhao Song had been weak for a long time, it still had many diehard loyalists.
Although he wanted to control this world, he didn't necessarily need to rush to kill the emperor and seize the throne.
Wouldn't it be better to be Chancellor Cao, with everything under his control?
Holding the Son of Heaven hostage to command the feudal lords was better than handling everything himself.
Besides, he wouldn't be in this world all the time. Since he would only return occasionally, installing a puppet was the best choice.
"What business required you to fight your way into my palace and throw the entire imperial court into an uproar?"
Seeing that Xu Xiao hadn't come to kill him, Zhao Xu breathed a sigh of relief, then asked with a hint of anger.
"You'll have to ask your guards about that. I properly announced my visit, but your guards were the ones who attacked me with arrows first."
"Oh? Then should I offer you an apol-"
"Bang!"
"Little emperor, do you think that just because I won't kill you, you can put on official airs and talk down to me?"
A dangerous light flickered in Xu Xiao's eyes. A moment earlier, he had flicked his Telekinesis and slammed Zhao Xu straight into the ruins of Zichen Hall.
This brat didn't seem to know which card was the higher trump!
Xu Xiao had merely answered a couple of his questions, and the fellow had already adopted the tone of a superior. Xu Xiao could only teach him a lesson.
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!" Seeing the young emperor flung into the ruins, Eunuch Huang immediately leaped out of the tunnel and hurried over to help him up.
Fortunately, Xu Xiao had only wanted to teach him a lesson and had used a little over a hundred jin of force. It was equivalent to picking Zhao Xu up and casually tossing him away.
Once Zhao Xu had been helped up, aside from his robes being a little dirty, he had only suffered a few bumps and bruises.
Before Eunuch Huang could transfer a little Internal Energy to him to reduce the swelling and ease the pain, Xu Xiao's Internal Energy had already bound his body and sent him flying straight over.
"Little emperor, let me teach you something. Learn to know your place, or you'll have plenty of suffering ahead of you."
"Others may fear your Zhao family's empty reputation and authority, but I don't. Make me angry, and I'll butcher you on the spot."
Zhao Xu forced down his fear. Faced with Xu Xiao's gaze, filled with chilling killing intent, he finally stammered, "I understand."
"Yes, that's more like it. Behave yourself and you'll still be emperor, and I won't deal with you on a whim. That's good for both of us."
Satisfied, Xu Xiao set Zhao Xu down on the ground.
The initial show of force had gone fairly well. Now it was time for the real business.
"Little emperor, I want you to summon all the officials of Kaifeng Prefecture in your name to attend a court meeting now."
Xu Xiao stated his demand directly.
He needed to remove Zhao Song's ruling class from power as quickly as possible and keep them firmly under his control before he could conveniently carry out his next move.
"What are you going to do? The palace is in chaos right now, and I don't even have anyone to deliver an edict. Besides, power at court isn't in my hands. It's in the hands of the empress dowager and the high officials of the Three Departments and Six Ministries."
Zhao Xu had some political instinct and immediately explained his situation.
Xu Xiao hadn't killed him on sight. What could he have valued about him, apart from his title as emperor?
There were plenty of examples in history of holding the Son of Heaven hostage to command the feudal lords.
"It's all right. I'll help you find people to deliver the edict, and tonight, I'll take that power back from the high officials and aristocratic clans who have been restricting you and return it to your hands."
"You only need to listen to me. I'm easier to deal with than those high officials and aristocratic clans, and I'm more willing to delegate authority."
"With me, you can truly be an emperor beneath one person and above ten thousand."
Xu Xiao made no attempt to conceal his ambition. He wanted to be the man above the emperor, but that didn't mean he needed to grasp all power in his own hands.
Power, to put it plainly, was merely an extension of strength. With enough strength to overawe the world, there was no need to worry about having insufficient control.
"All right. Find someone to draft the edict, then. I have the imperial seal on me."
Zhao Xu nodded. His instincts told him this was a good opportunity to gain power.
Besides, as Xu Xiao's prisoner, he had no standing to bargain.
As for being a puppet?
Heh, wasn't he already Empress Dowager Gao's puppet on a string?
The high officials and great noble families at court treated him with the utmost respect on the surface, but every one of his proposals and ambitions had been vetoed by them.
And so, the young and ambitious ruler and the nameless expert who had suddenly barged into Zhao Song's court happily reached an agreement.
As for how long it would all last, only heaven knew.
Before long, Xu Xiao brought the young emperor with him to gather a group of soldiers and eunuchs in the palace. He then used Zhao Xu's name to send word of an emergency court session to Zhao Song's officials in Kaifeng City.
Some ambitious figures who had already learned of the intrusion into the palace took advantage of the chaos to send out messages, while most of the officials, still in the dark, could only obey the summons.
No one knew that Zhao Song's heavens had changed until this grand court session began late at night.