A struggle at a stalemate

After disappearing for more than half a month, the new emperor returned to the main hall of the Weiyang Palace.

"Your Majesty's divine might has overwhelmed the small kingdom of Minyue! Seeing our Great Han Dynasty leading an army of 100,000 south, the Great Han Dynasty King Zou Ying was terrified by our overwhelming power and was killed by his clan!"

"Grand Master Wang Hui reports that the siege of Yuzhang has been completely lifted!"

"When Grand Minister of Agriculture Han Anguo led his troops to suppress the rebellion in Kuaiji, he reported back that the small state of Minyue was currently plagued by internal strife and was no longer capable of attacking Nanyue!"

"King Zhao Hu of Nanyue wishes to come to Chang'an City to pay his respects to Your Majesty and offers to send Crown Prince Zhao Yingqi to Chang'an City to serve as a palace guard!"

According to the new emperor's calculations, when he returned to the Weiyang Palace, the army that was attacking Minyue would be in a state of war.

Once the two sides turn to arms, no matter how much the court officials criticize or persuade, they cannot change the situation of confrontation and bloodshed; no amount of advice will have any effect.

If casualties occur, it would be perfectly reasonable for the imperial court to send reinforcements or borrow troops from surrounding vassal states.

But many things went against the new emperor's expectations.

Before the army could even arrive, the King of Minyue had already been killed.

The new emperor had prepared ten moves for his game of chess, but he never expected that his opponent would be defeated after only two moves.

This completely thwarted his plan to control the vassal kings in Jiangdu, Shouchun, and other places in the southeast of the Great Han Dynasty.

To the new emperor's surprise, Zhuang Zhu, who carried his secret orders to Shouchun City, accomplished his ultimate goal.

They hadn't even taken seven or eight steps between them, and the threat to the feudal lords hadn't even begun, yet everything was already over.

"Your Majesty, the tofu concocted by the King of Huainan should absolutely not be promoted among the common people. They'd rather eat dirt than tofu!"

"That's true. Eating beans will cause bloating, diarrhea, and death, and eating tofu will cause the body to rot. How can anyone eat this kind of white meat!"

"I don't know what possessed Zhuang Zhu, that he actually believed tofu was beneficial to the country and its people, and presented this harmful Pill Formula as tribute to the imperial court!"

"If you ask me, the Imperial Household Department shouldn't have sent people to Chang'an City to demonstrate the tofu-making process!"

The officials in the court had previously opposed sending troops to Minyue. When it came time to claim credit in court, the only ones mentioned were Taihang Wang Hui, who had restrained the army accompanying them, and Han Anguo, the Grand Minister of Agriculture. Zhuang Zhu, who was in charge of commanding the army, was rarely mentioned for his merits, and some even began to smear him.

It's not uncommon for those fighting on the front lines to stab you in the back.

These things didn't just appear in this one era; they've existed for years.

But just because something exists doesn't mean it's right.

The new emperor remained expressionless as he watched his many ministers putting on a show in the court.

If the new emperor hadn't personally witnessed Huo Qubing and others feasting on tofu, and hadn't eaten it himself, and hadn't had Zhang Xuezhou, Alchemist of the Yin- Yin-Yang School, refine it, and hadn't been the one to single-handedly handle matters such as sending troops to Minyue to coerce the Huainan Kingdom, he would have truly been deceived by the words of the people in the court.

Qin Er Shi always believed that the Qin state was peaceful and prosperous, until he was driven to the gates of Xianyang and learned the true state of the Qin state.

Emperor Jing's words, such as "difficult to distinguish between truth and falsehood" and "feeling powerless," all originated from this.

If one merely sits in a high hall, with all information derived from reports by ministers, it becomes extremely difficult to accurately discern the truth.

Cultivating loyal ministers and personally overseeing affairs became the standards that the new emperor had to follow.

The new emperor couldn't say that the officials in the court were bad, after all, these people drew their conclusions from reports, and these people were among the most outstanding in the Great Han Dynasty in terms of both cultivation and ability.

He watched the high-ranking officials argue back and forth with a blank expression. Only when the Empress Dowager, who was listening to state affairs from behind a curtain, asked him a question did the new emperor turn his head and a smile appear on his face.

"Mother, since the ministers are willing to speak, let them speak more," the new emperor said.

"It all boils down to the same old issues. How does Your Majesty intend to handle them?" the Empress Dowager asked.

"Those who perform meritorious service will be rewarded"—this is the new emperor's way.

"How does Your Majesty wish to reward me?" the Empress Dowager asked.

"King Hui of Taihang merely rode to Yuzhang, achieving nothing of note," the new emperor said. "Han Anguo, however, used his troops stationed in Kuaiji to cross the sea and stir up trouble several times. Although no battles were fought, the result of inciting chaos in Minyue and forcing them to submit is undeniable!"

"Your Majesty's words make sense!"

Wang Hui, Han Anguo, and others were only there to gain experience; if the battles were easy, they would claim credit, and if the battles resulted in heavy losses, they would blame Zhuang Zhu.

Wang Hui was clearly a little unlucky; before he could even mobilize the troops in Yuzhang, the battle was already over.

Han Anguo, on the other hand, had the advantage of speed; at least he managed to get a sip of soup.

"Zhuang Zhu also deserves some credit for commanding the army," the Empress Dowager said. "Although his army has not yet reached the battleground and has not fought a single battle, a victory is a victory, and he still deserves the credit he deserves!"

"Yes," the new emperor nodded in agreement, "Zhuang Zhu is capable of leading an army of 100,000 men without chaos; his abilities are outstanding. He can be given appropriate responsibility."

"Zhuang Zhu has twice led troops to attack Minyue, so he can be said to have a connection with Minyue," the Empress Dowager said. "Why don't Your Majesty promote Zhuang Zhu to the position of Prefect of Kuaiji and let him guard Minyue? In this way, those neighboring states with ulterior motives will not dare to harbor any thoughts!"

"Um?"

The new emperor's eyelids twitched slightly.

The new emperor didn't have many capable and loyal ministers in the military region, and Zhuang Zhu was still a loyal minister left behind by Emperor Jing.

He never imagined that Zhuang Zhu would be kicked out of the court.

The position of Governor of Kuaiji was equivalent to that of one of the Nine Ministers, the highest-ranking official in charge of a region. For Zhuang Zhu, this was indeed a promotion.

Zhuang Zhu was promoted to an official position, but he was removed from the imperial court.

Moreover, Zhuang Zhu excels at commanding troops and deploying formations, but he lacks the ability to govern a region like Wen Weng. It is not easy for Zhuang Zhu to gain merit and be promoted, but it is very easy for him to be punished for making mistakes in governing a region.

Ultimately, Zhuang Zhu was targeted because the new emperor was too resolute in sending troops, while Zhuang Zhu led the army against all odds, thus suffering subsequent retaliation.

The Empress Dowager clearly wanted to unify the court's attitude on military and political matters and did not want Zhuang Zhu, a bad apple, to cause an uncontrollable accident.

"Zhuang Zhu presented tofu made using the alchemy techniques of the King of Huainan, saying that this product benefits the country and its people. I suppose he can use it to feed the people of Kuaiji," the Empress Dowager said, raising her eyelids.

"What Mother says is true!"

Zhuang Zhu was promoted in name only but demoted in reality. The new emperor wanted to object but had no way to do so, and it was also difficult to place Zhuang Zhu in a higher position.

He pondered Zhuang Zhu's official position and then the tofu, thinking that even if Zhuang Zhu was not good at governing a region, he couldn't possibly have caused the situation in Kuaiji County to be so dire that people couldn't even afford to eat beans.

However, Xin Di did encounter significant trouble when promoting tofu.

The envisioned widespread distribution of tofu throughout the Great Han Dynasty did not materialize. Rumors were rampant, making it difficult even for him to promote tofu in Chang'an City.

To the average person, this meat made from beans is mixed with gypsum, which exacerbates the problem of stomach aches caused by beans, and may even cause the body to rot after eating it.

The constant chatter and controversy in the court, even his forceful promotion despite the opposition, could not withstand the harm caused by the erosion of rumors.

Many of the calculations seemed to have succeeded, but in a way, they also seemed to have failed.

The King of Huainan lost a strategic Pill Formula Pill Formula, which the new emperor acquired. However, everyone feared it like a tiger, turning pale at the mere mention of tofu, rendering the Pill Formula ineffective.

The new emperor and his entourage found the secret location of Shanglin Garden, but were unable to enter it normally.

Completely blindly trusting the new emperor, General Zhuang Zhu, who was relied upon in the army, was nominally promoted but actually demoted, and could only go to Kuaiji to make tofu.

Lady Wei gave birth to a child, but as Zhang Xuezhou predicted, the child bore the mark of Confucius and could not contribute to the imperial succession, which relieved many people.

Many things were stuck in an in-between state, seemingly successful yet only failures, but the new emperor had never been as calm as he was at this moment.

In the secret library, after the Red Empyrean Sword, which had been limp for nearly a hundred years, was smeared with Ao Li's Essence Blood, this imperial sword, a royal heirloom, finally underwent a change.