The Child Emperor

The Champion Marquis refused to admit defeat. After his initial pointless anger subsided, he gradually calmed down and began instructing his officials to launch concrete counterattacks.

The first official to take action was Minister of War Jiang Juying. Though Grand General Han Xing outranked him, he couldn’t act unilaterally – major military orders had to be reported to the Ministry of War, which would then forward them to the Emperor. During this process, if there were errors in the orders, the Ministry could return them for correction or, in cases of obvious mistakes, directly veto them.

These “errors” usually referred to grammatical mistakes, ambiguous meanings, or taboo violations that could be corrected. In extremely rare cases where military orders contained obvious ambiguities, the Ministry could temporarily veto them without reporting to the Emperor.

The Ministry officials gathered to repeatedly read the military orders sent by the Grand General until they could recite them backwards, but couldn’t find even a single stroke error. After staying up all night, they still vetoed the orders with a simple reason: the seal was unclear and possibly forged.

This was an absurd reason – unless the Grand General personally returned to the Capital with his seal, no one could prove its authenticity. The Ministry had run out of options and had to resort to such shameless tactics.

Meanwhile, the Ministry also sent direct messages to military garrisons everywhere, forbidding commanders from executing the orders.

Before dawn, Prince Donghai came knocking, his information very current thanks to the “Tigers of Guanghua.”

Han Ruzi had only about two hours to stop the Ministry of War. This was a close-quarters duel between him and the Champion Marquis, testing their quick wit and reactions.

Minister Jiang Juying was related to the Cui clan. Prince Donghai had already sent someone to contact him, but Jiang Juying only replied: “Duty comes before personal relationships.”

Yang Feng immediately went to find Guo Cong. A large group of accomplished scholars in the Capital had been eagerly waiting for someone to make a move, and the Ministry of War became their first target.

Half an hour later, the Ministry was surrounded by unarmed scholars who blocked the entrance, preventing anyone from leaving. They shouted Jiang Juying’s name, demanding he come out to explain why he was stopping disaster relief efforts across the regions.

The Ministry was only a hundred paces from the palace’s south gate. Squads of palace guards patrolled back and forth but didn’t interfere.

Jiang Juying’s men attempted to break through twice, but since these scholars were either from the Hanlin Academy or students from the Imperial Academy and College of National Scions, the runners didn’t dare use force. Being outnumbered, both attempts ended in failure.

More scholars gathered. After daybreak, a group of elderly teachers arrived, including one white-haired man supported by his disciples. With trembling hands, he publicly read a “letter of severance of ties,” breaking off his teacher-student relationship with Jiang Juying.

The situation escalated, affecting nearby government offices which had to close their doors to avoid scholars rushing in.

Several squads of soldiers tried to disperse the protesting scholars but failed and were driven away instead, as the Palace Guard’s Eight Camps didn’t allow armed personnel near the palace.

Han Ruzi kept busy. Shortly after dawn, he and Prince Donghai went to see Prince Ying.

Prince Ying’s fate seer, Yuan Zifan, joined them in receiving the visitors.

Han Ruzi brought a petition hoping government offices would consider the people’s welfare and not obstruct the distribution of grain. It promised no future punishment for dereliction of duty, already signed and sealed by Han Ruzi and Prince Donghai, seeking Prince Ying’s endorsement.

Prince Ying, still half-asleep, kept yawning in his chair and asked for brush and seal, wanting to dismiss his two nephews quickly. Yuan Zifan smiled and stopped Prince Ying, then engaged in a verbal battle with the visitors.

“Though Prince Ying is an imperial prince, he holds no official position. How could he dare interfere in state affairs during this time of succession?”

“When government is stagnant, it’s time for imperial clan members to serve. Since Prince Ying is a succession candidate, he should seize this chance to build his reputation. Why stay uninvolved?”

“The Weary Marquis and Prince Donghai would gain fame – what’s that to Prince Ying?”

“It’s about following the tides. We create the momentum, Prince Ying can utilize it. We’ve left space at the top – Prince Ying is our elder, his seal should go first on petition. We won’t compete.”

“If it benefits everyone, why not approach the Champion Marquis first?”

“That was our intention, but we came to Prince Ying first out of respect for seniority. If Prince Ying is interested, we two would gladly follow Prince Ying’s lead to see the Champion Marquis together.”

“Prince Ying is too young to be involved in this.”

“If he can participate in the succession, how can you claim he’s too young?”

Han Ruzi and Prince Donghai gradually gained the upper hand against their single opponent. Yuan Zifan, skilled at reading situations, had expected to easily defeat these two young men but found himself struggling and growing flustered.

While Han Ruzi pressured Yuan Zifan, Prince Donghai turned to persuade Prince Ying, quietly urging him to make his own decisions: “You’re the Martial Emperor’s son. If you want to be Emperor someday, you must practice keeping your word and making your own decisions now.”

“My Prince, don’t listen to his nonsense!” Yuan Zifan grew more panicked trying to handle both the Weary Marquis and watch Prince Ying, regretting not refusing these visitors earlier.

But Prince Ying was already convinced. He jumped up and shouted: “Let’s go see the Champion Marquis and ask why he’s hoarding food and grain instead of sharing!”

“Yes, he must explain himself clearly!” Prince Donghai eagerly encouraged, ignoring how much Prince Ying had misunderstood.

Yuan Zifan, being just a fate seer, couldn’t directly interfere with Prince Ying’s decisions. Servants quickly brought writing materials and seals. Prince Ying wrote his name with a flourish, even more messily than Han Ruzi’s handwriting.

Then the three relatives left for the Champion Marquis’s mansion.

Before leaving, Han Ruzi bowed to Yuan Zifan: “When the tides begin to flow, why not follow it?”

Yuan Zifan laughed and joined them. On the way, they met Lin Kunshan, who had been searching everywhere for Prince Donghai. Upon meeting, he smiled wryly: “Why did you leave without me?”

“You were sleeping so peacefully, I couldn’t bear to wake you. Come along, let’s visit the Champion Marquis together.”

The group gradually expanded. Somehow word spread, and many unexpected people joined. The actions of the Grand General and scholars had clearly signaled to the imperial clan and nobility. Many aristocratic families sent support to the Weary Marquis, Prince Donghai, and Prince Ying, though cautiously – family heads didn’t appear personally but sent young members, many of whom had been soldiers in the Weary Marquis’s Noble Guard and recently returned to the Capital.

Nominally, Prince Ying led the group, walking in front, guided by the Weary Marquis and Prince Donghai on either side since he didn’t know the way. The young prince rarely went out and was very excited, jumping around and occasionally shouting: “Champion Marquis, hand over the grain!”

The young nobles understood who really led them and paid respects to the Weary Marquis after joining, some even giving military salutes, still treating him as the Northern Protection General.

The noble mansions weren’t far apart. By the time Han Ruzi’s group reached the Champion Marquis’s mansion, they numbered over a hundred, followed by many servants and an even larger crowd of common people eager to witness this rare spectacle in the capital.

Han Ruzi and Prince Donghai deliberately moved slowly, stopping several times to introduce Prince Ying to newcomers, making the child even happier.

They were giving the Champion Marquis time to react.

Yang Feng had assessed the Champion Marquis as someone who acted rashly with little forethought, often making mistakes and then blaming others. Therefore, they should not shock him – shocked, he might make decisions harmful to both sides. Given some time and advisers to calm him down, the Champion Marquis would go to the other extreme: dumping the mess on his subordinates while only criticizing.

Near noon, the group arrived at the Champion Marquis’s gate, blocking half the street, matching the scholars at the Ministry of War in presence. Though it was hard to say which group was more impressive, the people at the Champion Marquis’s manor were more polite – no arm-waving or shouting, just a pile of visiting cards handed to the doorkeeper to give to the Champion Marquis.

The Champion Marquis had recently married, and lanterns and celebratory couplets still hung on his gate. The hundreds gathered outside looked like congratulatory visitors, just without gifts in hand.

As Yang Feng predicted, the Champion Marquis had received word early. After experiencing rage, cursing, and a series of chaotic orders, he calmed down again, followed by cowardice. The Champion Marquis finally realized the entire court wasn’t as firmly supporting his bid for the throne as he’d hoped – most were still watching and waiting. When he held advantage, the officials showed complete loyalty, but at the slightest setback, they immediately revealed their fence-sitting nature.

Chancellor Yin Wuhai, who constantly spoke of the Crown Prince Ju, had claimed illness days ago and refused visitors. Left Chief Censor Xiao Sheng and Right Chief Censor Shen Mingzhi, competing for the Chancellor position and most active before the Champion Marquis, also refused to stop the grain distribution despite their considerable power as chief censors overseeing the officials. Instead, they advised the Champion Marquis to be patient and tolerate the situation.

Minister Jiang Juying couldn’t hold out alone, and neither could the Champion Marquis.

To save face, the Champion Marquis refused to meet the Weary Marquis’s group. His fate seer Lu Congxin had to go out alone. More practical than Yuan Zifan, he didn’t argue but greeted them with smiles, saying the Champion Marquis was busy but completely agreed with the Weary Marquis, Prince Donghai, and Prince Ying that distributing grain was urgent and shouldn’t be delayed – the Ministry of War’s actions disappointed everyone.

The unsuspecting Minister Jiang Juying was thus betrayed and became everyone’s target.

Lu Congxin took the petition inside for the Champion Marquis to sign and seal, placing his mark level with Prince Ying’s and above the Weary Marquis and Prince Donghai’s, then returned it.

In reality, everyone knew that with the palace refusing to approve memorials, this petition had nowhere to go – no office would accept it. It was merely a statement of position.

The group headed to the Ministry of War. After several streets, Prince Ying recognized the way and ran ahead quickly – for him, this was an unforgettable, wonderful day.

News always traveled faster than feet. In his office, Jiang Juying finally heard of the Champion Marquis’s submission and was shocked. He reacted quickly, immediately sending officials out to assure everyone the Ministry would never contradict or veto the Grand General’s orders – it was all rumors. He himself escaped over a wall with his attendants’ help, returned home, and truly fell ill, not going out for a long time.

Han Ruzi had won another victory, but like two armies long at standoff, once battle was joined it would continue until one side was defeated and withdrew. Han Ruzi was far from final victory.

Yang Feng felt the time was right and suggested the Weary Marquis begin winning over officials, starting with Left Chief Censor Xiao Sheng, who held the deepest grudge against him.

If you are reading this on an aggregator site, do consider visiting https://tuzhitranslations.wordpress.com/ to support this translation project by leaving a comment.

← CH 225CH 227 →