OR1-EPXD: The Saint
This was not the first time Li Jinnan had come to Luoyang. The relationship between the imperial court and the Protectorate of the Southern Court was sometimes tense and sometimes eased. When he went to Luoyang to study for his career, he had traveled the great mountains and rivers of the northern central plains and firmly believed that he would use all his skills to serve the king. Decades had passed, Li Jinnan had reached the rank of Minister of the Ministry of Revenue of the Southern Court, and had become an important figure in liaising between the Southern Protectorate and the imperial court. However, the confrontation between the two sides would not disappear because of his wishful thinking, and the cold confrontation of more than fifty years continued. Now, the Protectorate had eaten its own words, the Britannian Empire, which they trusted immensely, had bared its fangs, and the Changyunfu was burning in the midst of a sea of fire. Only the Heavenly Soldiers coming south could save the people of Nanting, Li Jinnan thought. The Chinese Federation had been in a downward spiral in recent years, yet it was still far superior to the Britannian Empire in terms of national strength. As long as the Son of Heaven is willing to let go, the Southern Court will be saved, and the people of the Southern Court will enjoy the long-lost peace.
Li Jinnan looked at the bustling crowds on the streets and pointed to the religious people in vestments outside and asked:
"What are these foreigners doing here?"
"Sir Li, the Ministry of Rites recently held a charity conference, and famous religious figures from all over the world have gathered here." The driver in front replied frankly, "Thanks to the blessings of the Son of Heaven ..."
Li Jinnan frowned, the wrinkles on his kindly smiling face growing. He didn't like to listen to this kind of singing of praises, Li the Heavenly Officer had always been straightforward in expressing his support or opposition, which was perhaps the main reason why he was trusted by Song Zhengcheng. It was Li Jinnan's belief that only those who dared to tell the truth and do something could save the country and the people in the midst of chaos. The Protectorate was still weak, and he believed that the imperial court would accept them and forgive their transgressions, while the entanglement of interests between the two sides could wait until the common enemy of the Britannian Empire was resolved.
The Southern Court Protectorate had made a big mistake. The Britannian Empire was barbarians, barbarians were not to be trusted, and these beasts would one day show their true colors. The war that was happening now was bad for the Southern Protectorate in the immediate future and good in the long run, it was enough to make the people give up their last illusions about the Britannian Empire. As long as the people's hearts are gathered, Li Jinnan will have the confidence to use public opinion to turn the tide and destroy the invaders who are violating his motherland.
Compared with the relatively westernized port city, Luoyang's appearance is more ancient, every building here has a long history, talented architects do not dare to destroy the original pattern of the city, but only in the periphery of the continuous expansion. Paris is labeled as modern and humanistic, Pendragon is order and majesty, then Luoyang is a city that can truly be called an ancient capital. The city's atmosphere used to mesmerize Li Jinnan, and he often lingered here, obsessing over every insignificant detail. However, as he gradually recalled the changes that had taken place in Luoyang and the imperial court itself over the years, fear gradually took root within him. Luoyang had become unfamiliar, and he saw corruption spreading, the cycle of rule and chaos resurfacing when it should least have been started.
The car stopped in front of an inn, a place where the court entertained local officials. Li Jinnan expressed his respect for the Son of Heaven to the driver with gratitude, and then went to his room and quietly waited for his guest to arrive. After dark, a middle-aged man in gray robes escorted by several attendants arrived at the door of the room and knocked on it. Li Jinnan was overjoyed and hurriedly invited the visitor into the room, and carefully observed the corners that had been cleared before talking to the other party with confidence and boldness.
"Old Li, I came prepared this time." Li Jinnan first drew out a few checks from his package, "As long as I can convince the Son of Heaven, this official is willing to ..."
"Heavenly official, today is not like the past, the situation above the court is truly not good." Under the light, the middle-aged man on the opposite side did not have half a beard on his chin, and his voice also appeared sharp, it seems to be a eunuch in the court, "To be honest, this time, it is not a question of how much money your buddy spends, it is that we are really unable to help ..."
Li Jinnan froze. He knew the rules of the court, and these eunuchs who held great power had just become the real masters of the court. In order for these people to convince the Son of Heaven or the ministers, Li Jinnan spent a lot of money to bribe them every time, and the cooperation between the two sides had always been cordial. If one day the other party was willing to give up sending to the immediate benefits, I'm afraid that the situation had deteriorated to the point where even collecting money couldn't solve the problem.
"Central Attendant, could it be that ..."
"Heavenly official, these past few years, the Central Plains is drought in the north and flood in the south, the natural disasters have not been interrupted." Standing Minister Li did not move and returned the check Li Jinnan placed on the table, "The treasury is almost empty. The court seems to be in a beautiful state, but in reality, it is on the verge of bankruptcy, and nine times out of ten, the public officials in the courtroom will agree to borrow from the Britannian Empire to solve the pressing problem. Old Li, we can't do anything about this, even if we persuade the Son of Heaven, the court has no way to support you."
Li Jinnan's heart was swelling with dissatisfaction. He knows, emptied the treasury is not someone else, it is these eunuchs and stand behind them in the local officials, they usually use the court's favor to expand their own power, to the court when in trouble is not heard. Over and over again, bad things are all the court to do, good things are their hand to create, the hearts of the common people on the court's antipathy are growing day by day.
"Nothing." Li Jinnan touched his nose, never relaxing the smile on his face, "I know that you tried your best ... Since this is the case, I don t know what the Son of Heaven thinks about this matter?"
"The court's opponent is EU, this is the consensus of the court." Attendant Li closed his eyes, "Old Li, listen to our advice ... Go back, you are sure to return without success this time. At that time, you will not only offend the Son of Heaven, but you will also be reprimanded by your prince after returning to the Southern Protectorate."
"Central Attendant, I appreciate it for your good intentions." Li Jinnan tightly gripped the other's hand and shoved the check hard into the eunuch's hand, "This matter, I have to do it no matter what, even if it's destined to be done badly. Behind me are the lives of tens of millions of people in the seven provinces of the Southern Court ..."
The eunuch reluctantly accepted the check and left the inn with his entourage. Li Jinnan, who had spent a sleepless night, put on his full official uniform early the next morning and was led by his guards to the Jubilee City to make a pilgrimage to see the Son of Heaven, who held supreme status in his cultural context. The Son of Heaven is no more than a mortal man, who will live and die, so what exactly are people in awe of? In history, there was no lack of sons of heaven who were overthrown by powerful ministers, and there was no lack of sons of heaven who did not live as happily as ordinary people, but even so, there were still millions of people who fantasized about ascending to the throne of the son of heaven, which had to be said to be a kind of inexplicable irony.
Li Jinnan passed through three gates and underwent three close inspections before he was able to enter the main hall. There was no court meeting on this day, no other ministers were seen in the court, only a few central attendants accompanied the Son of Heaven to the left and right. With immense reverence and excitement, Li Jinnan took one step at a time and made a great salute at the bottom of the steps to the monarch sitting on the dragon chair. The reigning Son of Heaven, with the yearly name Datong, commonly known as Emperor Datong, was a monarch known for his external toughness. Looking at the somewhat weak face of the emperor, a trace of worry rose in Li Jinnan's heart for no apparent reason.
"I, Li Jinnan, Minister of the Southern Court's Ministry of Revenue, greet Your Imperial Majesty!"
He bowed to the Emperor once again before standing respectfully in place, waiting for the Son of Heaven to inquire.
The six ministries were only supposed to have one. The Nanting Protectorate used to be just one of several Protectorates in the Federation, nothing special. More than fifty years ago, in the year A.T.B. 1927, the Protectorate of Nanting broke with the imperial court due to dissatisfaction with the court's new policy, and the Song family ancestor, who was the Lord Protector of Nanting at the time and had inherited the title of Duke of Zhenguo, made himself Prince of the County of Anhan, and soon afterward, made himself King of Zhao and established the General Director of the Protectorate of Nanting and the Six Officials, which eventually morphed into the Nanting Zhongshusheng and the Six Ministries of Nanting. Although the relationship between the Protectorate and the Imperial Court had become sour since then, both sides would sometimes ease the tension, when the Imperial Court would recruit young people from the Southern Court to go north to study, and at the same time recognize the Song family's self-appointed titles, sometimes rewarding them with additional titles. It was for this reason that Song Zhengcheng, the current Lord Protector of the Southern Court, was granted the title of Prince-consort.
"Minister Li has come all the way here, I think he must have something important to ask for." The Son of Heaven lying on the dragon chair slightly opened his eyes to look at the officials below who stood motionless, and then continued to close his eyes to rest his mind, "I've already heard that Britannia has invaded the country, could it be that the Protectorate of the Southern Court is unable to defend against it?"
"Your Imperial Majesty, on February 19th of the 13th year of Datong, the Britannian barbarians sent over 300,000 troops by land, sea, and air to invade Changyufu." Li Jinnan sorrowfully reported the current war situation to the Emperor, "The people of my Southern Court have been killed and injured in countless numbers, the displaced are counted in the millions, the military and the people are restless, and His Highness, the King of Zhao, has thrown his heart and soul into this. Your Imperial Majesty, although the Protectorate is overseas, its people are all descendants of people from the Central Plains who have traveled south, and they all look forward to Your Imperial Majesty's raising the Heavenly Soldiers to go south to defend against the enemy. In addition-"
"Alright." The Son of Heaven impatiently interrupted Li Jinnan's statement, "Li Jinnan, if you come to beg the court to send troops, I will tell you plainly today: not a single soldier will be sent."
Li Jinnan froze, his jaw dropped as he looked at the emperor, unnamable panic engulfing him. The Son of Heaven had abandoned them, abandoned these people who had pioneered and spread education in the south, and for him to actually fantasize about being able to gain the sympathy of the Son of Heaven was simply a fool's errand. He should have realized this a long time ago, Attendant Li had already warned him that the imperial court simply could not come up with the money, much less send troops. However, Li Jinnan didn't want to believe this fact, he preferred to think that he was just dreaming, this nightmare had to end as soon as possible. The Son of Heaven was the hope of all the people, a saint would not let the people down, a saint who could not fulfill the people's expectations was a sinner and must be brought down.
"Your Imperial Majesty ..." He kneeled on the ground in fear and anxiety, completely forgetting his identity, "Your Imperial Majesty, if the court does not send troops to help, the Protectorate will fall into the hands of the Britannia barbarians, and at that time, the entire Southern Ocean will be deeply victimized, and the court will never have peace ah! I implore Your Imperial Majesty-"
"Minister Li, go and tell Lord General Song what I said originally." Emperor Datong chided, "If it wasn't for the support of Emperor Zhaowu, the Great Ancestor Emperor of this dynasty, where would the Song family have been able to dominate the Southern Ocean? The power and position of the Song Family today are all given by the imperial court, but your Nanting Protectorate has been in existence for more than a hundred and fifty years since its creation, and it has never done the slightest thing in favor of the imperial court, instead, it has been an enemy of the imperial court at every turn." Saying this, the Son of Heaven picked up the walking stick beside the dragon chair and threw it at Li Jinnan, which was blocked by Attendant Li, "Count of Guangnan, tell me, what is the difference between your Protectorate of Nanting and a foreign country, except for the fact that you have the same face as the Central Plains? The court has already been extra-legal in not sending troops to crusade against you rebels and traitors, and you are actually shamelessly begging the court to fight for your authority. If I send troops to assist you today, I will have no achievement to tell Emperor Datong and Emperor Guangwen after I died ..."
Li Jinnan was scolded by the emperor and stood down in gray to listen to the lesson from the Son of Heaven. The Son of Heaven was so enraged that he even scolded the next Attendant Li into it, and finally greeted the Song family's ancestors again. The Central Attendants next to him could not hold their poker faces, they were all harmed, one of them was victimized, and it was the authority of the high eunuch group that was harmed. Therefore, the Central Attendants pleaded with the son of heaven, asking the son of heaven not to punish Attendant Li and Li Jinnan in his anger. The remaining anger of the Son of Heaven made some more remarks about the threat of EU in the north before leaving the Great Hall from the back with the support of other eunuchs, leaving the disoriented Li Jinnan standing at the same spot.
"Old Li ..."
"Don't have to say it, I know it in my heart." Li Jinnan sat paralyzed on the ground, staring blankly at the empty dragon chair.
"Don't blame His Holiness, the court is really out of money." Attendant Li called to the surrounding guards to help Li Jinnan up from the ground, "Alas, since five years ago, the situation is getting worse by the day. The peasants left their land behind and fled the countryside, while the workers in the city have no jobs ... Heavenly Officer, the imperial court can't take care of itself. Don't blame the emperor, the emperor that is pissed off ..."
Li Jinnan pushed away the guards and just took a few steps forward before falling to the ground. He looked at the sculptures and murals above the palace and only felt that the hall was hollow and cold, an organ that devoured the living. He then looked at the amiable eunuchs beside him as if they were evil ghosts sent by the King of Hell to chase souls and claim their lives. Li Jinnan, who still had a smile on his face, shivered as he took out a few checks from his official clothes and delivered them to the other eunuchs in front of his eyes.
"This is a little bit of me, an old man's kindness, you all must accept it ..."
Li Jinnan left the palace in a muddle. He was stuffed into a car like a dead man and sent back to the hotel. Without a word, the Nanting Minister of Mandate returned to the hotel and locked himself in his room, just drinking to relieve his boredom. He drank heavily, slept when he was drunk, and continued to drink when he woke up, and no one came to disturb him for several days. The court had more important issues to deal with, and the struggle between the Son of Heaven and the magnate noble families was still going on, they didn't have the heart to pay attention to the war that was taking place in the Protectorate of Nanting. Li Jinnan didn't blame them, he only hated himself for not being able to save the people from the fire.
On the fifth day, suddenly someone knocked on the door of the room once again. The guard at the door told Li Jinnan that the visitor was a Taoist priest wearing a black Taoist robe. Li Jinnan opened the door and saw an instrumental middle-aged Taoist priest standing in front of him, this Taoist priest was holding a duster in his left hand but a cross in his right hand, which looked a bit unorthodox.
"Who are ...?"
"You must be Li Jinnan, the Minister of the Southern Court's Ministry of Officials and Count of Guangnan." The Taoist priest bowed to Li Jinnan, "I'm a Taoist priest from the Ministry of Ceremony's Taoism Records Department, and I'm here today to ask Count of Guangnan to go to the charity conference in Luoyang ..."
"Good." Li Jinnan thought to himself that he had already wasted several days, it didn't matter if he wasted a few more. He didn't dare to tell Song Zhengcheng the actual situation, in case the king made a wrong decision in his emotional state, the consequences would be unimaginable. The Taoist priest led the way in front, followed closely by Li Jinnan, and further back were the guards Li Jinnan had brought with him. The crowd arrived in front of a Taoist temple, which was not as crowded as it had been in previous days, and only a fat cleric was looking outside. The Taoist priest walked up and handed the cross in his hand to the cleric, and after whispering a few more words, the cleric left the Taoist temple straight away and disappeared from Li Jinnan's view.
"These Greeks are very reliable in their work." The cleric pointed to the interior of the Taoist temple and invited Li Jinnan to enter. Li Jinnan walked inside a room on the left, the Taoist priest casually closed the door and spoke:
"Heavenly Officer Li, you wouldn't want to return empty-handed to meet His Highness the King of Zhao, would you?"
"Hey, deceiving the king is a grave offense of death, yet I have long since put my life at risk." Li Jinnan was a bit skeptical of the other party's motives, but he believed that no one would dare to openly kill a major member of the Southern Protectorate in Luoyang, so he felt relieved to talk to the other party, "If the Taoist priest wants to get any talk of rebels out of me, I'm afraid that he'll be disappointed."
"Ahahaha, Heavenly Officer Li is really speculating about the poor Taoist with a petty mind." The Taoist laughed as he handed Li Jinnan a cup of tea and pointed to a painting behind Li Jinnan, "The poor Taoist has been traveling in the Central Plains for more than ten years, and after calculating that there is no medicine left for the imperial court, and is planning to find another job, that's all. It so happened that Heavenly Official Li came here, so the poor Taoist had a plan in mind and decided to invite Your Excellency to discuss great matters."
Li Jinnan could not guess the other party's thoughts more and more. It was a chaotic world now, Wang Shuang said so, Song Zhengcheng also said so, so there must be quite a few ambitious people in the chaotic world who wished to make a name for themselves by virtue of their own talents, Li Jinnan himself might be one of them. He never considered himself a saint, but he would not easily allow others to approach power. It was Li Jinnan's principle that the people of the Protectorate could not trust their lives to ambitious people, and that they could not allow their own lives to become the foundations of others' great achievements.
"What great thing?"
"Change the current regime order." The Taoist priest rested his duster on his other hand, " Heavenly Officer Li, Your Excellency came to Luoyang this time, I don't know what you have experienced?"
"The country's fortunes are full of difficulties, what else is there to say." Li Jinnan lowered his head in dismay.
"Wrong." The Taoist priest suddenly stepped forward and gave Li Jinnan a heavy slap. The physically swarthy Li Jinnan took a hit from the skinny Taoist priest and actually forgot to fight back, only focusing on listening to the other party's gibberish, "Where is there a national fortune? It's someone who misguided the country, a group of people who misguided the country. The Son of Heaven misplaced the country, the group of ministers misplaced the country, the countryside gentry misplaced the country, and the intelligentsia misplaced the country." The Taoist priest sneered and stepped forward, "On the sidelines, they only say that the Son of Heaven is holy and wise, but I see that the Son of Heaven is precisely the root of the evil."
"What are you talking about?"
"The poor Taoist has always known that Heavenly Official Li is a good official with a heart for the people." The Taoist monk took a few steps back and bowed to Li Jinnan in apology, "Then, Heavenly Official Li should also understand that there are treacherous ministers under the Sage Son of Heaven, and there are also virtuous ministers under the Dimwitted Son of Heaven, but the consequences can't be compared to the same thing. As long as the countryside is still the private property of the Son of Heaven, there will always be eunuchs who act as the Son of Heaven's domestic slaves to fox and tiger, and there will always be the gentry exploiting the common people. For thousands of years, we have been repeating the cycle of rule and chaos, week after week, endlessly, to the point of despair. Heavenly Officer Li, Your Excellency has the will to help the world and the people, don't you want to end this cycle?"
"It's all useless."
Li Jinnan sighed heavily, it wasn't that he wasn't aware of these words spoken by the Taoist priest, but he had selectively forgotten them in the past and thought that he was able to save the day, "All of it is useless. There is more than enough war in the world, even if there are people with the idea of revolutionizing the world, there is nothing that can be done."
The Taoist priest quietly waited for Li Jinnan to finish his inner thoughts before continuing to speak in an attempt to convince the other party.
"Admittedly, with the current situation, the main task is to crush the Britannian Empire. However, Heavenly Officer Li, the fact that we can temporarily put aside these contradictions ... doesn't mean that the contradictions don't exist. If you are able to achieve victory, you must thoroughly transform these corrupted and degenerate bodies to give it life. Otherwise, even if we defeat the Britannian Empire, the victory means nothing, it just starts the next cycle. We can't let the people pin their hopes on the Holy Emperor anymore. As much good as a holy emperor brings to the world, a dim emperor can bring as much harm, and there are always more dim emperors than holy emperors."
Li Jinnan stood up from his chair and bowed down to the Taoist priest. He was determined to find out a new path, the performance of the Son of Heaven had shattered all his expectations of monarchs, all monarchs could not be trusted, even the Song family could bury the kingdom in the hands of a fainting ruler.
"You are right." Li Jinnan said firmly, "The Southern Protectorate cannot count on the court or a bright ruler, the people must save themselves. By the way, I don't know your honorable name."
"Poor Taoist's common name is Zhang Shanhe, and the Jade Emperor is considered to have the same surname." Zhang Shanhe hurriedly helped Li Jinnan, who was almost kneeling down, "Heavenly official, the Central Plains is deeply trapped in the Divine Might of the Son of Heaven and cannot extricate itself, this innovation has to start from the South Seas, from the Nanting Protectorate. Poor Tao has been investigating for many years, and concluded that Your Excellency is a character who can open up new horizons in the midst of the chaotic world, and the rest are all just dry bones in the grave. If there is any talent in the Protectorate that can make things happen, it is probably Wang Shuang, who was recently recruited by your king to be his son's master. The two of you, with one in charge of civil affairs and the other in charge of military affairs, will be able to keep the people of Nanting peaceful within twenty years."
No one knew what the Taoist priest talked to Li Jinnan about again. A few days later, Li Jinnan, the Minister of Administration of the Southern Court, left Luoyang and traveled south to return to the Southern Court Protectorate, and together with him, there was also a Taoist priest from the Central Plains. After learning that it was impossible for the imperial court to send a single soldier to rescue Nanyang, the Protectorate, which had completely given up on asking for help from the outside, had to extensively mobilize the people to resist the invading Britannian Imperial Army, and a more brutal tug-of-war began.
Epilogue D (4/5) END
Chapter Notes:
The time is getting closer to the A.T.B. 21st Century decade that we are more familiar with.
Chinese words appearing in this article:
Zhang Shanhe(張山河)
Attendant, Changshi(常侍)