My older brother said I'm invincible.

Chapter 304 Oppressive Government
Donglai, Haikou.

The wind kept whipping up waves that crashed heavily against the rocks.

Right on the shore, tall officials, whips in hand, were patrolling back and forth.

"Don't come up! Pick it up!!"

Their roars were extremely loud.

In that shallow water, many shipwrights, half of their bodies submerged, were constantly building large warships. As far as the eye could see, their numbers were countless. The entire riverbank was filled with shipwrights working tirelessly, day and night.

An old shipwright, his fingers trembling, struck the final blow with his hammer. His pupils suddenly dilated, and he turned to look at the shore. Without a word, he tilted his head back and fell to the ground.

The apprentices around him were shocked and quickly helped him up.

"What are you doing?! What are you doing?!"

The officials rushed down and loudly reprimanded them.

One of the apprentices cried and said, "My lord, we have been soaking in the water for two days. Our master is very old and can't take it anymore. Please have mercy and let him rest for a while."

"Crack~~~"

The long whip struck the apprentice hard, and the young man covered his face in pain, took a few steps back, and his eyes were full of terror.

The official's face, however, was unusually fierce. "Don't stop! Get to work!"

“Don’t stop!!”

The whip was lashed out again, and the old shipwright weakly stood up, but could not support himself and fell down again.

The officials were furious and ordered the old shipwright to be helped up and taken ashore. By then, the old shipwright was barely breathing. The soldiers discarded the old man like trash. The apprentices stirred, but when the crossbows were aimed at them, they could only continue working.

The sun rises and then sets, in a continuous cycle.

The number of artisans working in the water is dwindling; both the old and the young are unable to hold on.

Only the relatively strong boatmen remained, standing in the water day and night, working tirelessly.

They were almost numb and listless, mechanically completing their tasks.

Because they had been soaking in the water for a long time, some of the boatmen had maggots growing from their waists down.

The officials standing on the shore watched the progress, jumping and shouting, yelling loudly. More and more boatmen collapsed, but the large ship was still not completed. Those arrogant officials also knelt on the ground in despair and cried.

If the warships are not completed within the stipulated time, they will all die.

"what!!"

A boatman roared and charged toward the shore with a wooden hammer in hand. He only managed to knock down one official before being subdued by the soldiers.

The boatmen continued their work numbly, but every time they looked towards the shore, their eyes were so fierce, as if they wanted to devour the people on the shore alive.

In the villages on the shore, officials on horseback rushed into the villages, and soldiers began to arrest people.

The soldiers, fierce as tigers and wolves, charged into the village on horseback. The people screamed in terror and fled in all directions. Officials gave orders, and the soldiers seized those who tried to escape, pinning them to the ground. Children and women were brought to the village head's house, where the soldiers pointed crossbows at them. Then, the men were registered for corvée labor.

"Conscription!!"

"At least one person from each family must contribute!"

"What? You don't have a son? Then you'll come with us!"

"A woman? A woman is going too!"

"What nine years old! She's clearly sixteen!"

"Want to breastfeed? Then take your child with you!"

Finally, someone roared, eyes wide open, filled with blood and tears, stone in hand, and leaped towards the distant official, who raised his knife high!
"laugh"

With a gentle cut, Yang Guang skewered the most delicious part of the roasted meat, then smiled and offered it to the concubine beside him. The concubine smiled, bit off a piece of meat from the skewer, and began to chew.

In the distance, dancers leaped and sang the happiest songs, while musicians played their instruments with great effort, the drums beating loudly.

Below the emperor sat numerous nobles, gathered in hundreds of groups. The banquet stretched from one hall to another, where people ate meat and enjoyed captivating dances. Some members of the imperial family entangled themselves in secret, while the rest pretended not to see anything and entertained themselves.

As everyone drank, wine jugs were passed around one after another, and the aroma of alcohol wafted outwards from there.

Pei Shiju was sitting next to the emperor at that moment, raising his wine cup to toast him.

Yang Guang responded to him with a smile.

"Lord Pei, it would have been so much better if you had done this sooner. If you had treated Ran and her children the way you treated Chuluo, I would never have had the heart to punish you."

Today's banquet is Yang Guang's victory celebration.

The greatest credit, however, went to Pei Shiju, who was offering the toast. Although he was unsuccessful in dealing with Duoji, his divisive tactics were very successful on the other side, namely the Western Turks.

Because of his previous mistakes, Pei Shiju was neglected by the emperor. So, he came up with another plan. Pei Shiju used the same method. The current Chuluo Khan was nominally a subject of the Sui Dynasty, but like Duji, he was somewhat restless. Not only did he secretly communicate with other small countries, but he also failed to come when summoned by the emperor.

Pei Shiju then instructed the emperor to appoint She Kui, the chieftain who served Chuluo Khan, as the Great Khan and send him to attack Chuluo Khan. After the success, he promised to marry his daughter to him.

Chief Shekui was the grandson of Datou Khan. When the messenger arrived and told him about these things, he couldn't sit still. He hadn't expected such a good thing and couldn't stop smiling.

So the emperor immediately raised an army to attack Chuluo Khan. Chuluo Khan did not expect this, and his entire army was wiped out. He had no choice but to abandon his wife and children and lead about a thousand cavalrymen eastward. On the way, he was robbed by bandits and had no choice but to seek refuge with the King of Gaochang. Now, the emperor is preparing to send someone to invite Chuluo Khan to come again.

In this way, the plan to sow discord would be considered successful.

The enemy split and engaged in internal strife. The new Khan lacked prestige and had lost his former power, becoming extremely subservient to the emperor.

Yang Guang was very satisfied with this matter, so he forgave Pei Shiju's previous mistake and held such a lavish banquet to reward Pei Shiju.

Pei Shiju was extremely pleased with himself, his face beaming with joy.

Su Wei, standing to the side, remained silent.

These days, the emperor has been ordering the construction of warships and devising strategies to divide the enemy in the north. It seems that the war against Goryeo is drawing ever closer and is imminent.

Su Wei sighed silently to himself, but dared not say anything, and just took another sip of wine.

Just as the scene was getting more and more lively, Pei Yun found Yu Shiji, who was drinking alone, and toasted him.

Yu Shiji seemed somewhat resistant to Pei Yun, and although he had drunk some wine, he didn't talk to him much.

Pei Yun didn't care.

"Lord Yu, don't you think there are too few censors in the country? Those who should be the emperor's eyes and ears are not given important positions, do nothing, and just collect salaries. If we could add more censors who do real work, not too many, just a hundred or so, to monitor the villains and punish the thieves, there would be far fewer memorials in the court."

Yu Shiji looked at the Imperial Censor in front of him, a hint of surprise in his eyes.

The newly appointed Imperial Censor seemed ambitious and dissatisfied with his current power, racking his brains to climb higher. Yu Shiji, however, dared not get involved in such matters. He calmly said, "Perhaps so. I am unaware of these important affairs."

"You may not know, but your servants and family members may know. I have only just taken office, and I have already received many impeachments, many of which are about you. They say that you live a life of extravagance and that your children prey on the people. Some even say that you have overstepped your bounds."

Yu Shiji's hand trembled slightly, and he looked at Pei Yun again.

"Is he threatening me?"

"No, neither you nor I are those Guanzhong warriors. We are educated people who know etiquette. How could we do such despicable things as extortion and intimidation? I just feel that there are far too many warriors in the court. Look at their behavior: some embezzle, some offer bribes, some kill, and some commit arson."

"Yet no one dared to stop them. They just watched as these warriors preyed on the people and harmed the world. The things these warriors did were so outrageous that they would be ridiculed by future generations if recorded in history books."

"Didn't Lord Yu ever think of assisting the Holy King and bringing peace to the world?"

"Or perhaps you've forgotten how you got to this position?"

(End of this chapter)