You have truly caused me great suffering!

October of the ninth year of Jianwu.

The imperial court suddenly issued an edict:
[The edict said:
I have heard that "a good bow is put away when the hunt is over; a fierce dog is unchained when the deer are at peace." This is not to forget their achievements, but to preserve their reputation and extend their blessings to future generations, so that they will not repeat the mistakes of their predecessors who perished.

The establishment of Guangyuan Hall originated from my residence when I was still a prince. Initially, Wang Yin accompanied me to Jiangnan, where he first established a network of spies and intelligence, reaching the heart of enemy states and uncovering the intrigues within the court. This achievement is highly valued by the nation.

Now that you have resigned your post and returned to your residence to enjoy your remaining years, you are hereby granted the title of Marquis of Sincerity and bestowed with a certificate of merit and iron, which guarantees that, except for treason, you will not be punished for any crime.

He was granted the first district of Jia in Qingxifang, Jinling, and was given an annual stipend of 500 shi of rice and 100 bolts of silk, as well as 20 maids for cleaning and tidying.

Whenever there was a grand court assembly, suburban sacrifice, or lecture on the classics, Marquis Chengyi was allowed to be seated at the end of the princely ranks and watch the ceremony.

The portrait was displayed in the Funing Hall.

Alas! A pillar supporting the sky must know that retreat is the key to ultimate success; a guardian of mountains and rivers must not abandon the humble life of a commoner. Wang Yin, respectfully obey my command, without hesitation or refusal.

Although His Majesty has always been generous in rewarding meritorious officials, it has been a long time since the emperor has conferred titles of nobility upon them.

Wang Yin was able to retire gracefully after achieving his goals, unlike in other dynasties where he was executed after being used to appease the officials.

This was Chen Shao's kindness. Although Wang Yin was reluctant, he was actually quite lucky to have achieved such an ending.

In the Guangyuan Hall government office, Hao Kai, in a foul mood, slammed a stack of documents heavily onto the table.

Yu Gang, who was flipping through official documents, was startled. He suddenly looked up and said with dissatisfaction, "What did I do to offend you? Why did you slam the table for no reason?"

"It's not because of you," Hao Kai said irritably, his face still looking unpleasant.

They were two of the four chief inspectors under Wang Yin, and could be considered the backbone of Guangyuantang.

The youngest, but more composed, Yu Gang put down the official documents in his hand and said slowly, "There are only the two of us in this room. If it's not aimed at me, then who is it aimed at?"

Hao Kai lowered his voice and whispered, "Who else could it be but that scoundrel surnamed Yang!"

Yu Gang wiped his eyelids and said nonchalantly, "Keep quiet and don't cause trouble."

"What are you afraid of! We brothers have risked our lives and made countless contributions for the commander over the years. Everyone knows that! Damn it, this guy surnamed Yang hasn't made a single contribution, yet he's been promoted and taken over Guangyuan Hall. You and I have risked our lives with the commander, almost losing our lives, and we still don't have his good fortune in officialdom!"

After Yang Yizhong was withdrawn from the front lines, Chen Shao gave him the official title of Commander of Guangyuan Hall, which made the other officials extremely envious.

Originally, they wouldn't dare to contend with Wang Yin while he was in power, and they all accepted his superior position.

After all, Guangyuantang was established by Wang Yin.

However, the arrival of a commander-in-chief immediately drew criticism from everyone.

Although Yu Gang didn't say anything, he was also feeling uneasy.

However, he was rather cunning and smiled, saying, "You don't need to worry about the length of time. Back in the previous dynasty, you and I were just lowly captains. Now we are both in charge of our own affairs. Isn't that all thanks to His Majesty and Commander Wang's favor and promotion? His Majesty always rewards merit. Let's work hard and we won't suffer any losses."

Hao Kai hesitated, even though he was dissatisfied. He had brought up His Majesty the Emperor, and he knew he should shut up.

Those who work in intelligence know best that you can't just say anything carelessly, or you'll get into trouble for what you say.

"This Yang Yizhong, all he does is hang around the palace all day, I don't think he's cut out for this. Speaking of which, the commander is really muddle-headed. He led us step by step to make Guangyuantang so successful, I really don't know why he had to step down!"

Yu Gang sneered inwardly, "You don't know?"
Do you think I'm stupid?!
In the entire Guangyuan Hall, who truly doesn't know the reason behind Commander Wang's abrupt retirement?

Isn't it precisely because this position is too important and cannot be held by one person for a long time that His Majesty has requested Commander Wang to retire?

Your Majesty's actions are actually perfectly justifiable, and even outsiders can wisely analyze the situation.

Moreover, the treatment His Majesty has given him is indeed generous; Wang Yin's life has not been in vain.

Seeing that his attempts to sow discord were ineffective, Hao Kai puffed out his belly and said, "I'm not saying anything else, but we all worked our way up step by step. Yang Yizhong isn't from Guangyuan Hall; he's a self-taught guy who has no expertise in intelligence. Yet he replaced Commander Wang right away. It's infuriating."

In truth, he felt that if Wang Yin retired, it would be good for him to take his place.

Yu Gang ignored him. "We're all Commander Wang's men. If you and I stand up for him, what difference is there between us and Commander Wang staying in power?"

What His Majesty values ​​is precisely that Yang Yizhong has no foundation in Guangyuan Hall; otherwise, wouldn't it have been a waste to replace him?

The fact that the king was so close to His Majesty, yet still chose to replace him, shows that His Majesty is absolutely rational.

At this point, there should be no resistance whatsoever, otherwise, disaster may ensue.

"The newly appointed Commander-in-Chief, Commander Yang, has arrived!"

Someone outside shouted a message, also serving as a reminder to everyone inside the government office to stop talking nonsense.

It is clear that it is not just these two people who are cricketing in Yang Yizhong.

As Yang Yizhong walked up the steps, looking at the Guangyuan Hall government office, he felt a surge of pride.

The day has finally come! I can finally show my skills and win His Majesty's favor!
Wang Yin was merely a rebel under Fang La, yet he managed to rise to his current position, which shows just how important this position is.

I'm sure I can do it too!

He also didn't plan to replace these old people from Guangyuantang. This line of work was different from others. Every supervisor, manager, and even a spy had their own informants and their own network of connections.

It was precisely these networks of relationships that served as His Majesty's eyes and ears, monitoring all officials and surveying the four seas.

Yang Yizhong had no idea why he had such good fortune to gain the Emperor's favor and be appointed to such an important position.

He was unaware that all the information about himself was actually reported by Guangyuantang.

Everyone noticed that Yang Yizhong had taken off the dark blue silk robe with embroidered patterns that he had been wearing for the past few days.

Today he was wearing the same robe that Commander Wang often wore: narrow sleeves, a black cowhide belt around the waist, and the collar and cuffs were subtly woven with coiled dragons and xiezhi patterns, visible in the sunlight—a hint that he was acting on behalf of Heaven to investigate traitors.

Hao Kai felt envious and bitter, secretly thinking to himself, "Do you even know what you're wearing?"

Although he had a lot of complaints behind his back, he was very humble in front of Yang Yizhong.

Anyone who can reach this position is a shrewd and intelligent person; there are no fools among them.

No matter what, Yang Yizhong is the Commander-in-Chief personally appointed by His Majesty. Even if he is an idiot, his position will remain unshakable in the future.

Moreover, despite the negative things people say about him behind his back, the higher-ups at Guangyuantang are well aware that Yang Yizhong is very capable.

It could even be said that he surpasses Commander Wang.

He simply didn't participate in the establishment and development of Guangyuantang. By the time he arrived, Guangyuantang was already the Guangyuantang it is today.

There's no way to go any further.

Otherwise, it would be against the rules.

Yang Yizhong stepped in. He used to come here often, having worked here for a year.

But today is quite different.

Early in the morning, he went to visit Wang Yin. To be honest, Yang Yizhong was very grateful to Wang Yin.

Because he taught me everything about Guangyuantang without reservation.

Although Yang Yizhong knew very well that Wang Yin was doing this for His Majesty's sake, he was still very grateful. It would be difficult to detect if a little personal gain was hidden within this.

When he arrived, he discovered that His Majesty had also sent people to the Wang family, along with a great deal of wealth.

This further strengthened Yang Yizhong's determination to work hard and become the next Wang Yin, or even surpass him.

Once seated in the position of Commander-in-Chief, Yang Yizhong looked at a thick stack of documents, all of which contained information about the secret agents that Guangyuantang had planted in various places over the years.

This list is priceless; it's something that money can't buy.

Holding one of the lists in his hand, Yang Yizhong was once again filled with excitement. Dajing's Guangyuantang had finally ushered in its first change of coach.

Moreover, he had just taken office and there was a huge task waiting for him to handle.

His Majesty is preparing to tour the country again, this time going even further, perhaps even to the border.

The accompanying army numbered 50,000, and Guangyuantang was needed to scout, investigate, and protect them.

Raising his head, Yang Yizhong glanced at the four chief officials and eight staff members gathered in the hall.

He said with a smile, "Please, everyone, have a seat!"
-
Liu Jizu's residence.

We have a distinguished guest today.

That is the current emperor. Not many people in the entire household know about this.

The Liu family was a prime minister's family, and they also had an imperial concubine in the palace who was quite favored, so they could be considered one of the top official families in Jinling.

In recent years, the family has acquired a lot of belongings, making it quite luxurious, but Liu Jizu is not afraid at all.

The emperor was right there, but he wasn't flustered at all, because almost everything he had was a gift from the emperor.

In the Great Jing Dynasty, if your official rank is high enough to allow you to see the emperor at every celebration, you can support your whole family and live a decent life without needing a high salary.

Because the emperor would bestow generous rewards on every festival or celebration.

Many officials in the capital who started as fifth-rank officials were desperate to advance further, all for this reason.

Overall, Liu Jizu was relatively honest and upright. He was an ambitious person who wanted to make a name for himself.

But unlike Yang Cheng, he was not extreme; he still enjoyed what he was entitled to.

Otherwise, if one's mind is filled with how financially strained one's own family is, how can one govern a country?

Chen Shao was very relaxed, leaning against the couch, pointing at several officials and laughing.

Accompanying him were Huo Anguo and Zhang Kejian.

They're all from the Hedong faction.

Zhang Kejian's trip to the Ili River Valley was actually to support Meng Nuan, because Meng Nuan lacked the prestige and seniority.

As expected, this young man did not disappoint Chen Shao and managed Yili very well, so the court recalled Zhang Kejian.

He himself was happy to stay in the capital, after all, no matter how powerful the regional officials who were sent to the provinces were, they were not as powerful as the officials in the capital.

This was the consensus among officials of the Great Jing Dynasty, just like in the previous Song Dynasty. In their minds, being sent out of the capital was considered a demotion.

Zhang Kejian's prestige was more than enough; in fact, within the Hedong faction, his influence was probably even greater than that of Li Tangchen.

However, he was from the Fenzhou branch, not Taiyuan, so his relationship with Chen Shao was a bit distant.

Both Liu Jizu and Li Tangchen chose to defect to Chen Shao when they were threatened by Zong Han in Taiyuan, in exchange for the Dingnan Army's protection of Taiyuan.

"Your Majesty made a special trip to Taiyuan last time. This time, on your inspection tour, the area you will pass through is probably even further north than Taiyuan, isn't it?"

Chen Shao nodded and said, "I'm going to Winter Camp City this time, and I might also visit the desert."

If an emperor had said this, the ministers would have certainly offered some advice, but since Chen Shao said it, everyone could only silently think about how to clear the way for the emperor and ensure his safety.

Moreover, His Majesty has another advantage: he never wastes the people's resources when he goes on inspection tours.

The last time was a good example.

During the last inspection, some officials, in order to curry favor, disobeyed the imperial decree and organized a grand welcoming procession.

As a result, they were all purged.

Once bitten, twice shy; even the most ambitious local officials wouldn't dare to repeat the mistake.

Chen Shao took a sip of tea and said, "After the last inspection, we immediately set off for the western expedition, so the journey was rather rushed. There were some places along the way that we originally planned to visit, but in the end, we chose to skip them in order to get to Yili."

"This inspection tour is not only to go to the desert, but I am even prepared to go out of the Jade Gate Pass to take a look in the west."

Yumen Pass was territory personally conquered by Chen Shao. Back then, he led a large army to conquer Hexi, successively capturing Liang, Gan, Su, Sha, and Gua, and fought all the way to Yumen Pass, completely annihilating the remaining forces of Western Xia.

Later, he sent monks to cause trouble, and then Wu Jie sent troops to destroy the Karakhanid Khanate, thus completely monopolizing the jade trade route.

With these experiences, it seems that it won't be difficult for His Majesty to leave the pass again.

In fact, many civil and military officials of the Great Jing Dynasty had already mythologized Chen Shao, and they simply did not believe that His Majesty would be in trouble.

With His Majesty looking like this, many in the court would believe he truly lives to be a thousand years old.

The main reason is that the achievements were so great that they were inevitably mythologized. Don't assume that just because everyone in the court is smart, no one will believe it.

The smarter and more capable a person is, the more they know how difficult it is to achieve such accomplishments, and the more blindly they will worship them.

Chen Shao did not stop it; in fact, he even intentionally or unintentionally fueled the flames, making himself seem very mysterious.

For no other reason than to reduce the resistance when implementing various new policies.

Even if your imperial power is highly centralized, it will be difficult to carry out certain tasks when your court officials do not trust you.

After all, things must be implemented on every inch of land. The Great Jing has 15 million square kilometers of land. How much of that can the emperor see?
Ultimately, it's up to the lower-level officials to actually implement it.

The difference between whether they genuinely implemented new policies for the emperor or were merely going through the motions is enormous.

In times of crisis, this blind worship of the emperor can be very useful.

That's how things are in the world; it's never black and white. Blind worship may seem like a derogatory term, but when used correctly, it can be a great thing.

After chatting for a while, Chen Shao was in a particularly good mood.

He has two major things to prepare for recently: one is to confer titles of kings upon the princes, and more specifically, to prepare for future enfeoffment.
The second thing was to tour the world.

Both matters went exceptionally smoothly when discussed with the ministers under his command.

It seems to indicate that things will go smoothly for me from now on.

Both of these actions were aimed at consolidating the rule of the Great Jing Dynasty, for the sake of future generations.

Gradually, Chen Shao also began to stop worrying about the present and start thinking about his descendants for generations to come. (End of this chapter)