Chapter 96: To Wear the Crown, One Must Bear Its Weight

After dinner, Yi Niang brought some tea, and everyone sat around chatting casually.

"The master is turning sixteen soon." Yi Niang glanced at Yang Xuan and said with satisfaction, "The master has grown into a remarkably handsome young man, and he’s already a county magistrate. I’m thinking, it’s time to start looking into the master's marriage."

As soon as this was mentioned, even Old Thief got interested.

"Master, I think Han Ying would be a good choice."

Cao Ying stroked his beard. "She is full-figured, just right for serving the master in the bedroom."

Wang Laoer interjected casually, "Han Ying is so fat."

"Fat is good." Old Thief said dismissively. "Do you want to find a woman who’s all skin and bones? You wouldn't want to hurt the master."

Yi Niang glared. "Everyone, be quiet."

Once things settled down, a bit of joy appeared in Yi Niang's eyes. "I saw a young girl at Yongning Ward last time, even fuller than Han Ying. She was so beautiful that even I was moved."

"The master’s legal wife must be chosen with great caution," Cao Ying advised, risking Yi Niang’s wrath.

"That goes without saying." Yi Niang said matter-of-factly, "She would come in as a concubine first. If she serves well, there will naturally be benefits for her later."

"Even fatter than Han Ying? Yang Xuan, take care," Zhuque muttered.

Yang Xuan coughed dryly. "This matter... we shall discuss it later."

He read news from the future every day, especially movies and television shows, and had long been conditioned by modern aesthetics. When he heard about a woman fatter than Han Ying, he knew without needing to think that he couldn't handle it.

Old Thief blurted out, "I’m just worried the master will be pushed off the bed at night!"

"Presumptuous!" Cao Ying was furious. He stood up, ready to teach Old Thief a lesson.

Old Thief ran around a pillar, and for a moment, Cao Ying couldn't catch him.

Yang Xuan couldn't help but think of a scene from a movie and blurted out, "Jing Ke stabs the King of Qin."

"Carrying a pair of hairy legs on his shoulders!" Zhuque roared.

...

That night, Yang Xuan took out the scroll and opened the screen.

"Ancient Military Affairs."

A series of subdirectories appeared.

"Training."

The next level of subdirectories appeared.

1: A brief analysis of Qin dynasty military training.
2: Secrets of Han dynasty military drills.
3: On the combat methods of Mongol cavalry.

There was a long list of subdirectories below, with the final line reading: On the combat effectiveness brought about by steel-like discipline.

...

The next day.

After breakfast, Yang Xuan stood up. "Old Thief, continue wandering around the city."

"Understood!" Old Thief said with a grin. "I'll go do some bone-reading later."

"Bone-reading is fine," Yang Xuan sneered. "Just don't touch bones you shouldn't, or I'll break your legs."

Old Thief said sheepishly, "Certainly not."

When he arrived at the front courtyard, the three minor officials were all there.

"Greetings, Magistrate."

Yang Xuan nodded. "Thank you for your hard work."

Zhen Siwen turned to look at Yang Xuan as he left and praised, "The Magistrate is becoming increasingly composed and decisive."

Hu Zhang nodded in agreement.

Jiang Zhen said sincerely, "Indeed."

Outside the city, the Dare-to-Die Battalion assembled at the foot of the hill to the right, avoiding the view from the city.

"Form ranks!"

Zhao Youcai stepped forward. "Please, Master, give us your instructions."

Yang Xuan walked to the front of the ranks, his gaze sweeping over the rows of convicts.

"You are called the Dare-to-Die Battalion, and the name carries the scent of death. But who wants to die? No one wants to die."

Yang Xuan's words immediately perked the convicts up.

He walked slowly in front of the formation.

"Redemption is your only path, and the only way to redeem yourselves is to earn merit. But if you die in battle before earning any merit, isn't that a grievance?"

The mountain wind blew, and Yang Xuan stopped to face the formation.

"Is it a grievance?"

"Yes!"

"Not uniform enough! Is it a grievance!?"

"Yes!"

Amidst the uniform shouting, Yang Xuan raised his hand.

The sound stopped abruptly.

He looked at those pairs of longing eyes and said in a deep voice, "Then follow the drills I describe. They will increase your chances of staying alive and allow you to continuously accumulate merit. In a word: obey orders, obey orders, and obey orders. Do you understand?"

"Understood!"

A group of tough bandits who had survived in the City of Sin suddenly had a bit more of the essence of life about them.

We still have hope!

"Stand straight!"

"Get the ropes, set up the poles, and pull them taut!"

"Stand straight!"

Under the autumn sun, these former convicts remained motionless.

Because the man standing in front of them wasn't moving either.

The mountain wind blew again, as if it had encountered a mountain peak in front of the formation and chose to move around it.

"Rest!"

After some time, Yang Xuan gave the order to rest.

Zhao Youcai limped over. "Master, is this kind of drill useful?"

Diao She also scratched his head. "Master, I carry a battle-axe; wherever you point, I kill. Hell, I’ve even dared to kill officials. But standing in this formation makes me sweat all over..."

"Sweat more now, bleed less in battle!"

"Form ranks."

Yang Xuan kept a straight face.

The formation reformed.

"Dense spear thrusts."

"Kill!"

"Kill!"

"More uniform!"

"Kill!"

"Forward..."

"Kill!"

The drill ended, and Yang Xuan said with satisfaction, "Next step: thrusting while hanging stones."

Uh!

Zhao Youcai and Diao She looked at each other, not daring to ask.

...

Old Thief went for a stroll outside, wanting to go back early but worrying about being caught and scolded by the gentleman Cao Ying.

Fine!

He simply crept onto the roof.

Ah!

Sunbathing is just so comfortable!

If only there were no wind.

Old Thief lay on the roof, rolled over...

Jiang Zhen came out of Cao Ying’s office, holding some documents.

After coming out, he walked in a circle and quickly looked down at the documents.

That part is fine!

But... what’s with looking left and right?

Old Thief was at a high vantage point, seeing everything clearly.

Tsk!

Old Thief clicked his tongue and quietly climbed down from the roof.

Later, Yang Xuan returned.

"Master."

"What is it?"

Yang Xuan was preparing to take a bath.

Old Thief said with a grin, "Earlier, I saw that Jiang Zhen acting suspiciously, peeking at the documents."

Yang Xuan was stunned. "Keep an eye on him!"

"Understood!"

The discovery of a suspected spy within his ranks left Yang Xuan astonished.

In his view, the He clan didn't have enough motive to do this to him, and He Huan was the type who preferred to act directly. The Four Great Families didn't have enough motivation to move against him...

Even if Chunyu Shan knew his ancestral grave had been robbed by Old Thief, he wouldn't use such roundabout methods; he would personally lead his family guards to raid the Northern Frontier.

He thought for a long time, and Yi Niang's analysis surfaced in his mind.

One becomes especially focused while bathing, and previously chaotic thoughts can gradually become clear.

What do the Four Great Families value most?

Family property?

They aren't lacking in money, grain, or fields; it is said that they have so many copper coins piled up that the strings holding them often snap. And because they store so much grain, they lose quite a bit every year.

Then it must be power.

The Four Great Families, especially the Yang clan, have had a long heritage and long-standing wealth. What do such families value?

"Unless they want to be the emperor, it must be long-lasting wealth," Yang Xuan said, looking up in a daze.

"How can one maintain long-lasting wealth? Massive strength, but once an emperor turns against you, the Four Great Families must be careful not to be purged. So, making the emperor one of their own—that is the royal path."

He finally understood.

"A woman of the Yang clan enters the palace to be the Empress and gives birth to the Crown Prince. This is the foundation of the state and can ensure the Four Great Families' wealth continues. And the Crown Princess is Chunyu Yanjiao. If things follow their course, when the Crown Prince ascends the throne, he will naturally favor the Four Great Families. Chunyu Yanjiao's child will surely be the next Crown Prince, and then everything continues as planned... Tsk tsk! A hundred years from now, the Four Great Families will likely wield power over the entire court!"

But now, a Noble Consort has poked them right in the lung.

To what extent does the Emperor dote on the Noble Consort?

He uses post-station horses to transport fruit from the south for the Noble Consort; that alone costs countless sums.

Furthermore, he has the Noble Consort call him "Er Lang," while he calls her by her childhood nickname—this news has even spread outside the palace.

The Empress, however, can only wither away in the palace every day.

She doesn't fear the withering away; she fears that while the Emperor despises her, he will also implicate the Crown Prince.

Therefore, the Empress must fight back.

She swore to make that bitch, the Noble Consort, pay.

But after searching, she found she had nowhere to start.

The Emperor doted on the Noble Consort too much; framing her was impossible, suppressing her was impossible...

What else could the Empress do?

"Besiege Wei to rescue Zhao?"

Yang Xuan shook his head. "Save the country by a curve!"

By striking at those connected to the Noble Consort, the Empress can, on one hand, intimidate the outside world, and on the other, leave the Noble Consort isolated.

What good is it for a woman to be favored if she has no one?

Once the news spread out, the leaders of the Four Great Families investigated carefully.

The Noble Consort actually had only a few people she could use.

Making a mountain out of a molehill, right?

But at a time when the Emperor treated the Noble Consort like his "vermilion cinnabar mole," this was all they could do.

"I’ve become cannon fodder?" Yang Xuan smiled bitterly.

Zhuque said gloomily, "To wear the crown, one must bear its weight. Little Xuan, your path has only just begun!"

"Yes! It has only just begun."

Yang Xuan’s eyes were bright. "I can change all of this!"

...

The weather was getting colder, and the state was racing against time to transport supplies to various regions.

"The convoy is here."

The massive convoy entered Taiping City. Everyone who could walk stepped out of their homes, drooling at the sight of the grain.

This year, they would rely on this grain to survive the winter.

Cao Ying led the men to receive it.

As bag after bag of grain entered the warehouse, Cao Ying’s heart settled down bit by bit.

"This winter, we are secure."

"Letters! Those whose names are called, step forward."

Those who thought they might have letters stayed, while the others dispersed.

"Jiang Zhen."

Jiang Zhen stepped forward. The minor official checked him, confirmed his identity, and then handed over the letter.

Jiang Zhen took out a letter. "Please deliver this to my wife."

The minor official smiled. "This is very literary; one can tell it’s a deep affection between husband and wife."

Jiang Zhen returned with the letter.

Once inside his bedroom, he checked the seal of the envelope first before opening it.

A single line of text.

Following the agreement to read by skipping words, he read it out.

"Keep watching."

The convoy that had received the letters was about to depart.

That night.

The convoy of empty carts returning formed a circle, and the men rested within it.

In the middle of the night, someone shouted, "Fire!"

A large cart caught fire. Everyone scrambled to put it out and discovered that some of the items brought back, including over ten letters, had been burned.

Early the next morning, Old Thief appeared quietly in the backyard.

"Ah!"

He yawned. Yi Niang’s voice came from the kitchen, "The master ordered ginger soup to be prepared for you to ward off the cold. Come and drink it quickly."

After downing a bowl of ginger soup, Old Thief reported to Yang Xuan with renewed vigor.

"I can't make anything out of this letter." Old Thief shook his head, wondering if Jiang Zhen had been wrongly accused.

"The simplest ancient codes are either secret languages—which are troublesome because you have to memorize a lot—or skipping characters and filling in the blanks later," Zhuque’s voice sounded lazy. "Why ask me about such trivial matters?"

This blockhead, it seems the last time I powered down was too short.

Yang Xuan started skipping from the first character, then the second, the third...

"Training troops by the mountain side, don't know if it's good or bad."