Ch157 - Finally… had he managed to find the Boundary Master? (1/2)

11.13 – Finally… had he managed to find the Boundary Master?

translator: xiin

editor: Macabre

Summer was nearing its end. Catching up with the last days of summer, the army was ready to set out again.

Their destination was the Wang Family in the North, a large family that had been prominent for generations, their line of inheritance continuing uninterrupted. Their people had been spread across the North since long ago, and even if they surrendered, it would be very difficult for Xue Ling to make a move against them. What’s more, the Wang Family had no intention of establishing positive relationships with Xue Ling at all.

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The terrain they occupied was in the North, and advantageous to them. The Wang Family seemed fearless, but Ying Sheng set out with a laugh and told Xue Ling that he was inviting him to watch a good show.

Xue Ling was not worried that there would be things he couldn’t achieve. He simply helped him adjust his armor and told him, “I hope you can come back before the New Year.”

Ying Sheng met his eyes, laughed, and bowed his head to kiss his forehead. “I will. When I come back, I will accompany you to see the Lantern Festival in the Capital.”

Xue Ling was stunned for a moment, then recalled what he had said to the man on the fifteenth day of the New Year. He couldn’t help laughing, and any lingering worries were thoroughly let go. “Good. I’ll wait for you to return in triumph.”

Ying Sheng’s army set out towards the autumn wind, and Xue Ling also turned back to begin dealing with matters regarding the Shu King.

The Shu King had written to him to tell him that his royal mother was being well taken care of. He would bring the Empress Dowager with him to visit the Capital and see Xue Ling. Xue Ling had replied with a letter saying that they were warmly welcomed, then turned around and laid down orders through Mu Ge. As soon as the Shu King entered the Capital, he would bring his people to seize him as quickly as possible.

Xue Ling had already prepared charges for him as well as Deng Shi, and would not let them go so easily. Under normal circumstances, if they did not intentionally jump up in front of him, Xue Ling would have been too lazy to deal with them. Only this time, the Deng Family had left their brains behind when they fled in such a hurry, and believed that Xue Ling was still the same Emperor from the past that they could manipulate. They thought that he had only returned to power thanks to Ying Sheng’s support, and were now in a hurry to come back and take control once more.

Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.

Xue Ling was ready to charge Deng Shi and the Shu King with the crime of poisoning the former Emperor. Once this charge was carried out, the entire Deng Family and all nine generations would be implicated and executed, their properties confiscated. The Shu King would also have to die; unfortunately, he was an Imperial Uncle, and Xue Ling had no way to condemn his entire family to death together.

After making the preparations to deal with these two people, the trajectory of this world had already been thoroughly adjusted.

Li Yuan’s life was very busy now, but everything he did was practical and useful. After successfully putting his ideas into practice one by one, he finally understood why he had felt empty and disconnected from reality when he had been with Ji Ronghan. It was probably because Ji Ronghan had only considered himself, and not the people of the kingdom.

The people who lived in the Capital were more intimately aware of what changes the Emperor had brought to their lives. Based on this year’s policies, the common people had surplus food by the end of the year, and on several occasions, they felt proud when they discussed the Emperor – even if he was a ger.

The common people did not care about the identity and status of the person at the top. As long as they brought positive changes to their lives and made the kingdom more prosperous, they would consider them to be wise rulers, and such rulers were worthy of their respect and support.

Xue Ling prevented the collapse of Xue Kingdom by eliminating its root cause. He even found a small child from the royal lineage and began to train him as the next Emperor. The imperial clan had never lacked for children, and Xue Ling had decided on this boy at a glance. He brought him into the palace and immediately gave him the position of Crown Prince. Despite the courtiers’ objections, he directly added him into the Royal Family’s genealogy, changed his name, and had him marked down as his child.

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This process was discussed with Chen Jingzhen. As a Prime Minister, Chen Jingzhen also had to work on several things at once. Other than working for Xue Ling, he was also entrusted to take care of that child. Xue Ling wrapped the matter in nice-sounding phrases, saying that the child would have a broader vision if he followed Chen Jingzhen, and would be able to better understand the future and lead Xue Kingdom down the road they wanted it to take.

It was unknown if Chen Jingzhen truly understood what Xue Ling meant, but he began to instill some advanced modern ideas into the child. Xue Ling had no intention of preventing it, and sometimes, when Li Yuan passed by to listen to him teaching the child, he could feel sweat forming all over his head. He really wanted to sit down with Chen Jingzhen and have a proper chat about life.

Ying Sheng returned in triumph before the New Year. Xue Ling held a grand banquet for him, and then told him that their child was already six years old and could already go off on his own and buy soy sauce.

Ying Sheng had a confused expression on his face at first, but after he saw the child, he stopped talking.

That night, the Emperor brought his Imperial Consort to the Shenglong Palace. Things that could not be described took place for a long time, and the Shu Heng that had to tidy things up after them felt that like his life was rather pitiful; His Majesty’s fooling around had become quite excessive recently.

The courtiers did not know how His Majesty persuaded his Imperial Consort to accept the Crown Prince, but since the ferocious Imperial Consort had already accepted it, as ministers, there was no longer any reason they could use to object to it in front of His Majesty. Other than the courtiers who always threatened to slam their heads against the floor in protest, the remaining courtiers had long become accustomed to His Majesty’s way of doing things.

Wasn’t it just that he was doing things at random? It was fine as long as they became accustomed to it. Things were good as long as His Majesty was happy.

His Majesty was still so young. Perhaps His Majesty would be able to think things through clearly after he gave birth to his own child?

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Of course, they did not know that their injustices would not be addressed in this life. Although Xue Ling was a ger, had a red cinnabar mole to prove it, and none of the necessary organs were missing, it was impossible for him to have children.

The reason was probably because… It was too embarrassing?

After the New Year, the Shu King brought the Empress Dowager back to the Capital, and was surrounded by the imperial guards as soon as he entered the city gates. The leader of the Imperial Guards was the former primary enforcer of Six Leaf Gate, Mu Ge, who brought along an imperial decree, captured everyone the Shu King had brought with him, and threw them into the imperial prison. The Shu King and Deng Shi’s plot to poison the former emperor was publicized, and the Emperor seemed to have no intention to preserve the imperial family’s dignity. The matter kicked up a big fuss, and after everyone in the kingdom knew about it, all nine generations of the Deng Family and the Shu King were executed. Shu territory once again fell into the hands of the kingdom.

With this, all the forces that were part of Xue Kingdom had at least submitted to Xue Ling in name, which could be considered unification to some extent.

Over the next five years, the central government took complete control over the branches of territories, and people in various places were replaced by those loyal to the throne. All power was centralized in the Capital, and Xue Ling thoroughly completed the centralization of the government that he had originally intended to achieve.

Although this kind of system will gradually relax along with the development of the times, it was at least very suited to the present situation.

Five years could change a lot, but some things would never change.

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Ji Ronghan had begun to reflect on himself and had always wanted to go back to the Capital to see Li Yuan, but Li Yuan had no intention of seeing him. His heart was filled with his concern for the people, and he had already thrown himself into the cause of serving the people. At the age of eleven, the little Crown Prince was already a man who could be entrusted with heavy responsibility. After studying with the Imperial Consort these years, he had become much steadier, and could put forth many good suggestions. Xue Ling had already allowed him to participate in politics.