The bright moon hung high as night fell.
It had already been nearly evening when Xu Xiao barged into the imperial palace. Reaching an agreement with the young emperor Zhao Xu and then sending people from the palace to notify the officials had taken considerable time.
In the end, the grand court assembly was scheduled for nine that night.
There were still three quarters of an hour before the assembly. In Chengqian Hall, not far from Daqing Hall, the instigator behind all this was already waiting.
Xu Xiao reclined on a wide, cushioned couch, with the three women sitting around him and carefully massaging him.
Not far away, the young emperor Zhao Xu had changed into his court robes. Solemn and unsmiling, he sat upright on the imperial dragon carriage reserved for him.
"Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager has arrived. She wishes to see you outside the hall," Eunuch Huang reported softly as he stepped forward.
Thanks to the goodwill he had earned during their earlier flight, the old eunuch had become the person the young emperor trusted most.
Although he had failed to escape and had even been dragged by the legs into the tunnel, he was loyal to the core, at least.
Hearing that Empress Dowager Gao had arrived, Zhao Xu looked at Xu Xiao. Only when he saw that Xu Xiao showed no reaction did he shake his head and speak:
"I still won't see her. Tell them that whatever it is, they can bring it up at the grand court assembly later."
"This servant understands. I'll go out and report to the Empress Dowager at once." Eunuch Huang respectfully withdrew from the hall, leaving only Xu Xiao, the three women, and the young emperor inside.
"Well done. Refusing to see her now is the right choice. Later, I'll help you tear away the veils that stand between you and power."
"A ruler must have the resolve to act decisively when the moment calls for it. With me backing you, you no longer need to rely on any empress dowager, great clans, or ministers. You can truly be an emperor whose word carries the weight of nine tripods."
"Then I thank you, Minister Xu."
"Mm, it's just a mutually beneficial arrangement. Just remember what you promised me."
Xu Xiao spoke while reclining, already considering how many people he should kill later to back Zhao Xu up.
Given his temperament, it was also the first method that came to mind, and one that had stood the test of history and produced immediate results.
Why had those ministers dropped to their knees so quickly when the peoples of the steppes had taken over the Central Plains throughout history? This was the reason.
Kill whoever opposed him; kill whoever refused to support him. Forget about winning people over with a gentle hand or being an enlightened ruler. That would only get him used and devoured, leaving nothing behind.
Hadn't they seen it? Han emperors were always thinking of conciliation and careful balancing, yet they were sold out and left with their states destroyed and families ruined. Meanwhile, after those foreign peoples came in, raised their butcher's knives, and sent heads rolling, there were still plenty of officials willing to argue their case for them.
People! They all feared overwhelming power, and few truly had no fear of death.
The three women beside him were another example. However unwilling they had been at first, now that they had seen Xu Xiao barge into the imperial palace and force the emperor to compromise, weren't they obediently acting like docile little kittens at his side?
They rubbed his legs and kneaded his shoulders. Even Wang Yuyan, who had never done anything like this before, tried to help.
Xu Xiao's strength covered up his flaws. As long as he remained strong, others could only obediently do as they were told.
He enjoyed their massage for half an hour. Only when Eunuch Huang, who was in charge of preparations for the assembly, came in to report did Xu Xiao take the three women with him to Daqing Hall.
Yes, that Daqing Hall, where so many had been slaughtered that blood flowed deep enough to float shields, and where more than a thousand Palace Front Army corpses had been piled up.
By now, the corpses strewn across the square in front of the hall had been cleared away as far as possible. Those that simply could not be moved away had been piled in a corner.
A great many Zhao Song officials smelled the nauseating stench of blood as soon as they entered the imperial city. When they saw the corpses in the distance, most could not help growing alarmed.
What on earth happened inside the imperial palace? A palace coup? How did so many people die?
Could it be that the emperor summoned us here to announce that he has taken power?
Nonsense. The Empress Dowager's carriage is still here. Something must have happened that we don't know about.
Watch how things unfold before speaking later. This is a perilous sight!
Exactly! Exactly!
Only a small number of high-ranking officials and those from great clans knew what had happened inside the palace, but they were just as apprehensive.
Where did this jianghu powerhouse come from? He actually broke into the palace, killed so many Palace Front Army soldiers, and even forced the emperor to convene a court assembly?
Jianghu and the imperial court operated by two sets of rules and played two different games.
In the past, they had each played their own game. The dignitaries who sat high in the imperial court even looked down on those of jianghu.
After all, they held power and commanded armies. Many even kept jianghu heroes and swordsmen in their households, so they had no need to fear ordinary people of jianghu.
But judging by the signs throughout the palace today, it seemed that this time the court had taken a fall.
Still, they were already here, and speculation was useless. They could only wait and see how matters would proceed today.
Soon, the Zhao Song officials took their usual positions on either side according to their ranks at a grand court assembly. Then, as the palace attendants called out the ceremonial announcements, the emperor's dragon carriage appeared.
This time, however, another group accompanied him: one man and three women, flying through the air.
"This..."
The officials were thrown into disarray. Those who did not know what had happened whispered among themselves, while those who did took a quick glance, then swiftly lowered their heads and said nothing.
None of them were fools. Such a momentous upheaval had occurred in the palace that, however strange the people beside the emperor might be, they dared not rebuke them as they would have on any other day.
Everything proceeded as usual. Amid the ceremonial calls, all the officials knelt and paid their respects.
Xu Xiao and the three women landed beside the young emperor. Watching the officials bow together below, Xu Xiao felt something rather different.
No wonder everyone wants to be emperor. Looking down from this angle really does feel good.
Today, besides the emperor, another group received the kowtows of the court's high-ranking dignitaries in their scarlet and purple robes.
The three women beside him were just as thrilled and excited as Xu Xiao, though a little afraid as well.
Every one of the dignitaries of the court below was an official they would never have dared imagine meeting before, yet all of them were prostrate on the ground. Their regard for Xu Xiao had reached its peak.
Beauty loved a hero, and the glory Xu Xiao had brought them was even more intoxicating than a hero.
Though this man has killed countless people, marrying him really does seem to be a good thing!
From their initial rejection and dislike, to their later curiosity and now their worship, people's views were easily changed.
The three women could not help stealing glances at Xu Xiao's back. They also felt that his ordinary-looking face seemed not quite so unpleasant after all.
Leaving aside Xu Xiao's and the three women's respective thoughts, Zhao Xu, seated in the place of honor, saw that the officials had finished paying their respects. After a few polite words, he directly ordered Eunuch Huang, who stood in attendance beside him, to step forward and proclaim the decree.
The hearts of the left and right chancellors and the high-ranking officials of the various ministries sank. Without a decision from the Three Departments, was the young emperor going to bypass them and act on his own?
But before they could think further, Eunuch Huang, standing in the center, had already taken out the bright yellow imperial decree. Rousing his Internal Energy, he began to read it aloud in a ringing voice:
"We have inherited the great Mandate and rule over the myriad realms. Heaven has blessed Song and bestowed upon it a hero of outstanding talent. Xu Xiao, you are loyal and brave by nature, with strategy beyond compare. You have quelled disorder within the palace and set policy for the court. Though you rose from common standing, your service to the realm is renowned. You shall be granted exalted rank to honor your extraordinary merits. We hereby appoint you Military Command Commissioner, ranked above the Three Offices and Six Ministries, with overall command of military affairs at home and abroad. All troops under heaven shall be subject to your command, and all guards of the Three Commands shall come under your direction. You are specially granted leave to enter the hall bearing a sword and wearing shoes, and your personal name shall not be used in imperial edicts. You are further granted a fief of twenty thousand households, with the revenues of five thousand households, and the titles of Establishing an Office and Equal in Ceremony to the Three Offices, and Supreme Pillar of State. Bear this weighty authority well and forever secure our borders. Let this be proclaimed far and wide, that all may know Our will. Let the officials concerned carry it out."
The decree was pure hot air, and it directly created an extraordinary post above the Three Departments and Six Ministries. In an instant, the officials erupted.
"Your Majesty, you must not!"
"Your Majesty, who is this Xu Xiao? He has done nothing for the realm. How can he be granted such a lofty post?"
"Your Majesty, please take back this command. This decree is utterly absurd. Has some villain forced Your Majesty's hand?"
The assembled ministers were indignant, though those who spoke were mostly officials without powerful backing who knew nothing of the upheaval in the palace.
Those who had heard what happened all kept their mouths shut. Their gazes were fixed not on the young emperor, but on Xu Xiao beside him.
Listening to the ministers' furious objections, the young emperor looked embarrassed and called softly:
"Minister Xu."
Hearing this, Xu Xiao knew that the young emperor had done all he could. Now it was his turn to step forward.
The emperor's decree had already been issued. Next, they would see who supported it and who opposed it!
"Have you said enough, you bunch of wine sacks and rice bags?"
Xu Xiao took one step and shot into the air, standing suspended in the sky.
His gaze was disdainful, and he carried himself with an unmistakably arrogant bearing.